Captain Janeway felt her heart sink into the floor as she entered Sickbay. One of the pods was opened, and there was a sheet over the man laying inside it…..she knew immediately what that must mean.

"There's been a death, Captain," came the Doctor's grim tones as she entered, "The circuits in his pod completely overloaded, his body and mind burned by the electricity…..he was dead within seconds."

"There was nothing I could do," he added curtly, and Janeway could hear the sadness in it.

"It was Crewman Alexander Rogers," he added softly, "An Engineer, and former member of the Maquis…..he didn't have any known family."

"We're his family," said Janeway strongly.

The Doctor nodded.

Janeway stowed her grief aside.

I hate doing that...a member of my crew is dead…..But the Captain has no choice.

"Are the rest of them in danger Doctor? I thought B'Elanna took every possible precaution," she asked intently.

"She did," he answered, "I have no idea how this happened…..it's not completely unknown for stasis pods to fail in isolation…..but until we know what happened, we can only assume they're all at risk."

The meeting two hours later in her Briefing Room was pure pandemonium.

She had no desire to leave Sickbay under the circumstances, but B'Elanna was so enraged upon seeing one of her engineers dead, and then running four inconclusive diagnostics that Janeway was afraid the woman would pry all of the pods open herself.

"We have to get them all out of that damned stasis, right now," screamed B'Elanna, slamming one of her fists on the table, so hard that it rocked violently.

"B'Elanna, we still don't know what happened," said Janeway, mixing the firmness in her voice with patience.

"I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED," screamed the woman again, throwing her chair to the ground, "IT WAS THOSE DAMN K'TERRANS. They hate men, they're going to kill them all one by one."

"They are not allowed in Sickbay," said Seven coolly, "The force field is holding around it. The security officers did not report any intruders, nor are there any signs of hacking from the outside."

"I don't care," screeched B'Elanna painfully, approaching Seven with her hand clenched into a fist so hard she was drawing her own blood, "What would a DAMN BORG know about it. You don't even care that he's dead," she hissed.

"My feelings on the subject are irrelevant," stated Seven, raising an eyebrow, "I am as…..motivated to protect Voyager's male crew members as you are."

B'Elanna hissed again, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"We need to end the stasis," B'Elanna repeated more evenly. Her body was shaking with rage, and Janeway was afraid she would injure herself seriously as she struggled to contain it and have her voice heard.

"B'Elanna," said Gretchen suddenly, the first time she had spoken in the meeting.

It was a sympathetic tone that was reminiscent of Chakotay's cadence. B'Elanna was looking at her, almost for guidance, and Kathryn realized she too could hear the resemblance.

"B'Elanna," repeated Gretchen, "That may be what they want."

"What?" said Janeway.

Gretchen turned to her, "Two mysterious happenings with the stasis…..only one death…..if the K'Terrans wanted to kill all our men, surely they could think of a better plan than this…..what if the plan isn't to kill the men, but to stop the ship?"

"Why would they want to do that?" asked Janeway, "The K'Terrans are the ones who made this offer."

"They were the ones who made the offer," said Gretchen, shaking her head, "And they were the ones we've had our eyes on, the only ones who've been banned from Sickbay….what if it wasn't the K'Terrans, but it's someone using the alliance against us?"

"A traitor," said Seven's frank voice.

The air in the room changed immediately.

Not again....thought Janeway....I don't want to think of someone on my own crew as a traitor...again...

There was nothing for it but to continue, to let her Starfleet training take over, and try to determine what had happened. Janeway sat in her Ready Room alone that night, clicking through reports as the investigation into Crewman Roger's death went on.

Gretchen's accusation had taken the fight out of B'Elanna for the moment, and she had sent the three of them back to Sickbay to see what they could discover. That had been hours ago now and everything had been inconclusive. She had finally ordered them to reconvene in the morning. She hoped B'Elanna would be able to sleep or rest at least a little in that time. With no obvious course of action they all needed clear heads for this.

I need to sleep too.

It was an unwanted observation, but a correct one. She was completely exhausted.

She got up and went to her Ready Room doors. As they opened she saw a woman hovering in the doorway.

It was Gretchen…..and she was wearing a phaser rifle.

Oh no…..

She said nothing until Gretchen walked with her to the turbolift and the doors closed on them.

The younger woman spoke first, "If they want to disrupt Voyager it makes sense for them to go after her Captain," she said evenly, with an edge to her voice.

"Once word gets out about this plan failing, they'll have to try something else," she added.

The doors opened and they strode through the corridors, Gretchen's body tense and her gaze hyper vigilant.

Gretchen entered Janeway's Quarters without her request and walked ahead of her, checking Janeway's bed and bathrooms, before coming back to the living room and nodding reluctantly.

"You have a couple of days before I'm really worried," said Gretchen, eyes distant, "B'Elanna and Seven are going to spread some subtle misinformation….if they think we're seriously considering stopping, they'll wait a bit…..if they know we suspect a human traitor, or even that we've decided it's an accident, they'll have to start to spring another trap."

Janeway stared at her, unsure of how to respond.

This is what happened in her timeline…..her mother murdered by a traitor…I can't just tell her I'll be fine, she'd never believe me…

Besides…..said Janeway, a terrible feeling coming across her, she could be right…..

"Why don't you sleep on my couch tonight?" said Kathryn after a moment.

Gretchen nodded at her, "Good, I'll have a clear view of the door…..though I think a direct assault is far too risky."

"You said yourself it didn't make sense for them to attack now…..and you need your rest or you won't be thinking clearly," said Kathryn disapprovingly.

Gretchen looked at her distantly, "I won't be able to sleep anyway…I'll have nightmares, I might as well stay up."

"What about a hypospray?"

"The Doctor has me on a schedule with those to avoid them becoming ineffective, it's not my night."

"I'm overruling that," said Janeway firmly. She strode to the replicator and then came back.

Gretchen looked at her reluctantly.

"You can sleep in my bed, I'll sleep on the couch," said Janeway, trying to use Gretchen's logic, "You can give me the rifle. I'm a light sleeper, I'll wake up if anyone tries to get in. And I'll shoot them."

Gretchen nodded exhaustedly, as Janeway brought the hypospray to her neck and then took the gun.

"Alright," Gretchen mumbled as she went towards Janeway's bedroom, "That's a good plan. If anyone tries to kill you in bed they'll get me instead."

Not what I meant Gretchen, thought Janeway, knowing it would be useless to say it right now. She watched until Gretchen collapsed on her bed, clearly unconscious, and then laid down on her couch with the rifle beside her.

To her great surprise she fell unconscious almost immediately.

Janeway woke up less exhausted, but extremely tense, as if her body had been constantly worrying during the night, even if her brain had been more relaxed.

Gretchen had already been awake, sitting next to the couch with crossed legs, holding the gun and facing the door.

She did however, confirm that the hypospray had kept her under for about five hours, which was all Janeway could hope for under the circumstances.

Janeway lifted up and replicated herself a coffee, relieved when Gretchen did not insist on checking it for poison before she downed it.

Give her another day and I'm sure she'll be that paranoid.

Janeway looked at Gretchen from the side as she sipped her second coffee. The younger woman's muscles were coiled and tense. Her eyes were a bit less distant than last night, but watchful and pained.

I have to snap her out of this somehow.

Gretchen had been…..extremely upset in the Rift, but the threat had been outside Voyager, not inside it. They could predict and take precautions against monsters lurking outside the ship…..not so much monsters that masqueraded as friends.

And Kathryn had had a full senior staff to help her then.

I wouldn't feel this pressed if Tuvok were heading this investigation, Chakotay was looking after B'Elanna, Tom and Harry were distracting Gretchen, and Neelix was keeping an eye on the entire crew.

This could be another Seska and...it feels disturbingly down to just me to stop this...to make the right decisions...the ones that don't end in death and disaster...

"Gretchen," said Janeway commandingly, and the woman looked at her automatically, "Tell me why you think Alexander Rogers was killed by a Voyager crewman. I want to hear it all, every detail of your theory."

"And you're going to have some breakfast while you tell me," said Janeway, replicating a Bajoran soup, and holding it out forcefully.

To her internal relief, the young woman took the hot mug and started speaking evenly, "I have two actually….. The first is that someone doesn't want to get back to the Alpha Quadrant, and they killed Crewman Rogers to disrupt the alliance, it could've been anyone, but he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It seems…..very suspicious to me that the first "glitches" happened when we were just out of Jen Hadar territory, when it first became possible to break the alliance without dying…and when so many of us were distracted by the Velocity tournament. And then….almost as soon as we had all cleared out of Engineering, this death. Very aggressive timing."

"Take a sip Gretchen," ordered Janeway, and the woman did so, "Why wouldn't someone want to get back to the Alpha Quadrant?"

"Well," said Gretchen, looking at her intently, "A fourth of this ship is former terrorists….is it any shock not all of them would want to be in Federation territory again? Or allied space anyway? This is the closest we've ever come."

"I've promised to fight for pardons for all of them," said Janeway firmly, "And I expect to receive them...they've been a wonderful crew, and that battle is over, the Maquis don't even exist anymore."

"Yes," said Gretchen darkly, "That would be good enough for you, because you trust Starfleet, but the Maquis never did…..besides, you'll try to secure a pardon for them if what they did was something you excuse as misguided….like my father, B'Elanna….but not all the Maquis were like that…..what if they did something they know won't be forgiven, that will be found out?...Maybe that they'll be extradited to Cardassia?…You wouldn't kill over that, but why wouldn't a killer?...You've already had two traitors from the Maquis, why not a third?"

Janeway breathed in sharply and her stomach fell, but she continued thinking.

"Yes," said Janeway, "That's possible, but if they were fearing punishment, they could've stayed with the 37s, or joined Seska's uprising, or gotten off the ship with any number of alien species if they truly didn't want to go back…..even before we took the stasis, if a Voyager crew member insisted on leaving…..I would've hated it, but ultimately I would've let them go….the Maquis aren't my prisoners…..we decided that when we started this journey."

"Well then," said Gretchen, looking at her oddly, "We have my other theory, a good old fashioned murderer…..you had one of those from the Maquis too."

Janeway breathed in deeply, eyes pained for a moment, "Yes," she said, rallying her strength, "So in that theory Alexander Rogers was targeted by someone who had a grudge against him, for whatever reason. They used the initial attack as a test or to divert attention, and then they targeted and killed him."

"Or the initial attack was an Engineering issue, and it gave them an idea….or an excellent cover."

"Any of that sounds plausible," said Janeway unhappily, looking away.

"But that would mean the ship isn't truly in danger," said Gretchen, looking hopeful, "There's no particular reason to think they would kill again…..Maybe we should declare it an accident."

"I can't ignore a death in my crew,"

"I don't mean permanently," said Gretchen, "But we're half staffed and they have the advantage because we trust them, if we corner this person they'll get desperate and do something rash…..on the other hand if it is the K'Terrans or a traitor declaring it an accident could mean they'll strike again….."

"So we should make whoever it is sweat," said Janeway, "And keep declaring it inconclusive…."

"Yeah….," said Gretchen unhappily.

And make ourselves sweat as well….badly…..even if we were outnumbered or desperate….I'd rather be fighting beside one solid ally...than allied with a world of unmasked traitors...

"I want to talk to the K'Terrans," said Janeway strongly, "And see what they know."

"We should talk to Be'nl," said Gretchen firmly, "Soeur is a kind person and their technical leader….but she's the type to get taken advantage of….Be'nl's more sensible and she can keep her mouth shut…..assuming she's not against us, she'd be a great ally…..it's a risk asking the K'Terrans, but if you're set on it, it should be Be'nl."

Janeway nodded, "From what I've seen that wouldn't surprise me…..and you've dealt with them much more, I trust your judgment."

"I'll officially ask her to Velocity after our Engineering shifts," said Gretchen, looking at her intently, "And then I'll see if she can be convinced…I think she should come to Sickbay and look at the body…..It could go badly, but I don't know that telling her what happened will have the same effect."

Janeway tapped her coffee mug, "What about the holodeck? There's…no point in keeping Crewman Rogers in Sickbay, I could have the entire crime scene transported to Holodeck 2. Let me know what time, and I'll find my way there."

Gretchen nodded, and stood up.

"Finish your breakfast," ordered Janeway firmly, "And leave the phaser rifle with me, I'll bring it back to the armory."

Technically you should have had mine or…..Seven's permission to take it out, but I'm not going to have that argument right now.

Gretchen downed the soup, and looked at Janeway hauntingly, "Stay aware, keep your phaser with you, don't be alone with anyone you don't trust, and…..don't let yourself be lured anywhere."

"Alright Gretchen," said Janeway, holding her intense gaze and nodding.

"And," Gretchen looked away for a brief moment and then took a deep breath in, seeming to steel herself, "If one of us doesn't make it…I want you to know," she said breathing out, "I'm glad I got to know you again…..and it's been an honor."

She extended her hand.

This seems all kinds of wrong.

Nevertheless, Kathryn took Gretchen's hand, looking back seriously and accepting the young woman's gesture for what is was.

A mark of respect from the depth of her daughter's being, for Captain Kathryn Janeway, a woman she'd followed all her life...

Kathryn watched as Gretchen left, and despite the tense circumstances, felt herself wipe her suddenly wet cheeks. She turned to look out her window at the stars, now only vague lights, obscured and fragmented behind the K'Terran's bubble shield.

…..but not for her mother.