AN: I apologize for the delay-I've had a rather bad attack of writer's block, but I seem to have knocked it down so the next part should not take so long.

Disclaimer: Voyager and all its characters do not belong to me.



A Good Pilot Is Hard To Find

Chapter 9

"Report," said Janeway.

"I tried everything that I could think of to penetrate their shields, but nothing worked. I can't even get through to locate where they are holding our people," said Harry.

"I have been attempting to analyze the ships surrounding us for weaknesses, but they are likewise impenetrable," said Tuvok.

"I've been searching our databases for any similar situations that may help us, but unfortunately, I found nothing. We've never encountered a race as technologically advanced as this."

"I'm afraid I didn't find out anything either," sighed Janeway. "I analyzed everything we know about them, which unfortunately is very little, and much of it is false. Doesn't anybody have some good news?"

"I managed to send out a distress signal without them noticing," spoke up Harry.

"Very good. Dismissed. Continue looking for ways to rescue our people and get out of here."

Everyone except Chakotay left.

"Things aren't looking too good, are they?" asked Chakotay.

"No, they're not. I only hope Tom will be okay until we can figure out a way to get to him."

"Tom's pretty strong. I'm sure he'll be able to survive until we get there."



"Wake up," said a cold voice above Tom.

Tom's eyelids felt very heavy, but finally he managed to open them, and as the world swam into focus, he saw Lunai standing above him holding a syringe.

"Are you ready to cooperate yet?"

"I'm not a doctor and as far as I know, neither are you. I really don't think we should be operating on anyone."

Lunai scowled. "I'd watch it if I were you, or you might just lose that mouth of yours."

Lunai held up the syringe so that Tom could see it better. It was filled with a black liquid. "Do you know what this is?" He didn't wait for Tom to answer. "This is your new worst nightmare."

"Oh good, because the old one was getting so boring."

Lunai jabbed the needle in his arm and injected the fluid into him. Suddenly if felt as if his arm was on fire.

"I won't bore you with the scientific details of what I just injected into you. All you really need to know is it will slowly work its way through your entire body." Lunai's mouth stretched into an evil grin. "I'll be back in a few hours."

Lunai left and Tom concentrated on trying to ignore the pain that was working its way up to his shoulder.



"He is tougher than I thought he would be," sighed Lunai.

"What if he does not give in?" asked the guard.

"He will give in eventually. Though, I wish it were sooner rather than later. We can afford to wait, but I hate to wait. Voyager is his only hope of rescue, but Voyager is also in need of rescue. Sonai! What are you doing there?"

Sonai stood up and stepped from behind the console where she had been hiding.

"I was on my way to my room, and I tripped, and I thought I heard something fall to the ground. I was just looking to make sure I hadn't dropped anything."

Lunai still looked suspicious. "What did you trip on?"

"I don't know. You know how clumsy I am."

"Carry on, then."

He and the guard started to walk away.

"Lunai, wait."

Lunai turned around to face Sonai again.

"What is it now?"

"I was wondering if I could help you."

"You want to help me? Why?"

"Why shouldn't I want to help my brother?"

"You've never shown me any sisterly affection before."

"That's not true!"

"Well, not since we came here, anyway," amended Lunai.

"That's because I blamed you for our being here, but I'm over that now. I'm sick of being here and I want to return to Lodakia by whatever means necessary."

"What brought on this sudden change?"

"It's not really all that sudden. I've been feeling this way for awhile."

"What do you think you could do that would be of help to me?"

"I could gain the pilot's trust and find out what would hurt him the most."

"Do you really think you could do this?"

"Yes, I could tell him that I have different beliefs from you, and offer him relief from his pain."

"Well, I suppose it's worth a try."

"Now if you would just tell me your plan."

Lunai's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why do you need to know that?"

"If I'm going to help you, I need to know exactly what I'm helping you do."

"I'm still not sure if I can trust you."

"I can use it to get the pilot to trust me. If I tell him your plan, he'll believe that I'm against you. There's nothing that he can do with the information, so it can't hurt to tell him."

"I suppose that makes sense. Alright, I'll tell you. We need the pilot to lead an army across the minefield. Guntak has men on Lodikia who are willing to help. Between the two of us we should have enough men to overtake Lodikia. Once we have taken over, we will turn off the minefield and release the rest of the Dakans. Then we will transport the Lodaikins to Daka and trigger the mine that will destroy the planet."

"Why do you need Voyager and their people on the planet?"

"We have no real need for Voyager, but we can not let them go, as they will attempt to rescue their pilot. Their crewmembers on the planet are needed if our plan fails. If we manage to escape Daka but fail to overtake Lodikia, then we shall say that the Voyager crewmembers forced some of the Lodaikins to fight with the Dakans."

"Well, that may help Guntak, but what good does it do for you?"

Lunai hesitated. "Well, they are already suspicious of me, so it will not hurt me to get caught. They will merely banish us once more. If Guntak is cleared of blame, he will be able to continue helping us find a way to escape. Without his help, the chance of our escape would be considerably less."

"Are you sure you can trust him to keep up his end?"

"Of course! He's my brother. He wouldn't betray me."

"You trust your brother, but not your sister?"

"He has always been loyal to me. You have always seemed to be against me."

"Would I have been sent here in the first place if I was truly against you?"

"They only sent you here because they assumed that as my sister you were on our side."

"That's not true."

Lunai looked as if he wanted disagree again, but changed his mind. "Okay, I trust you. I did just tell you the plan after all. If you can truly do what you say, you can you will be well rewarded once we assume control of Lodikia."

"You can count on me. What do you plan to do with Voyager if you succeed?"

"If they are lucky I may let them live, but I can not allow them to leave. I may make them my slaves."

"And the pilot?"

Lunai scowled. "There are plenty of talented pilots on Lodikia. He will no longer be needed."

"What have you done to the pilot now?"

"I injected him with solblodium."

Sonai struggled to keep the horror she was feeling out of her voice. "I'm sure he'd trust me if I could give him the cure."

"No, I cannot do that. However, in a few hours I can give you something that will ease his pain. Wait for me in your quarters."

Sonai nodded, and Lunai and the guard continued down the corridor. Sonai breathed a sigh of relief and headed for her room. She could feel her fear returning, though, as she thought about what she had just learned. She knew what she must do now. Her only fear was that she wasn't sure if she could make herself do it. As children, she and Lunai had once been quite close. It was this closeness that made it hard for her to turn her back on him, even when he became everything she was against. Lunai, had always been the strong one, not her.





"How are you feeling, Lt.?"

Lunai's voice sounded very far away. Tom felt as if his whole body was on fire now. He tried to answer, but he was finding it very difficult to form coherent thoughts.

"What, no witty answers? Are you ready to do what I ask?"

Tom still couldn't think straight enough to answer, so he simply shook his head no.

"Very well. Sleep tight. I'll see you in the morning."

The thought of spending the whole night in such pain was more than Tom could bear. Lunai smiled as Tom's screams followed him down the corridor. He stopped to listen a moment before continuing on his way to Sonai's room.

Tom could hardly believe it when a blessed coolness washed over his body. The fire was still there, but it was more bearable now. Wearily, he opened his eyes and looked up at Sonai's kind face.

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry I was not able to get the cure."

"Don't be. I don't want you to get in trouble. I'm grateful for whatever you can do for me."

"Don't worry about me. I've gained his trust."

"How did you do that?"

"It doesn't matter how I did it. I know all of his plan now."

Sonai proceeded to relate Lunai's plan to Tom.

"Of course, why stop at revenge when you can have world domination?" said Tom when she had finished.

"I want to help you."

"You have helped me."

"No, I mean I want to help you escape. I'm not sure what I can do, though. If you try to leave, you won't get very far before they notice you. I could distract them, but not long enough. Your only hope is for Voyager to rescue you."

"How can Voyager rescue me, when they are also trapped?"

Sonai pulled a small device out of her pocket. "This device will disable all their shields long enough for them to beam up their people and attack the ships surrounding them. The only problem is it has a short range."

"Can it be controlled by remote?"

"Yes."

"Can it be attached to a probe?"

"Yes, it can. I'll do that right away and send it later tonight after Lunai has gone to sleep."

"Before you send it, bring it back to be so I can attach a message."

"Okay."

Sonai left, and Tom drifted off into an uneasy sleep.



Lunai stood over Tom holding a small device in his hand. "Do you know what this is?"

"My new worst nightmare?"

"This is your only hope of escape."

Lunai closed his fist around the object and crushed it. He opened his hand and tilted the fragments onto the floor.

"You didn't really think it would work, did you? I knew of course, not to trust my sister. I intercepted her as she was bringing this back to you. My mother made me promise that I would protect my sister, but I was never very big on promises. No one gets away with betraying me. Don't worry, though, I don't plan on doing anything to you. I need you. However, there is something that I don't need that might mean something to you."

Lunai activated a viewscreen on the wall, and an image of Voyager surrounded by ships appeared.

"Now," said Lunai into his communicator.

As he said this, each of the ships surrounding Voyager opened fire.

To Be Continued…