They hadn't even been on Vulcan for an entire day, and already it was as boring as eating a plateful of sawdust. Kathryn Janeway wanted to be out, among the stars, exploring. She wanted to be on the cutting edge. She wanted to defend the Federation against its enemies. She did not want to be the guest of honor at a seminar entitled "Nonsentient Small Herbivorous Fauna of the Delta Quadrant."

But even the captain didn't always get what she wanted.

The Vulcans seemed to be interested in the subject matter. She understood its importance, but the Vulcans could make just about any subject painfully boring when they wanted to discuss it to death, and they wanted to do so now. She wondered if Tuvok was enjoying himself. Certainly he'd never admit to enjoying himself, but he might be.

Her combadge chirped. "Hansen to Captain Janeway." The voice was female.

For a moment she blinked, unsure. "Er...go ahead," she said.

"I require the senior command crew on the ship. It is a matter of extreme importance." Now she had it. It was Seven. Why was she using her human name now? It didn't matter. It did get her out of of discussing poisonous toads indigenous to Kazon planets, so she'd take what she could get. "On my way," she said.

Graciously she smiled. "I am terribly sorry for the interruption," she said to her Vulcan hosts. "I have a matter I must attend to. I'll be back as soon as I possibly can." Then, as quickly as she could, she escaped into the hallway and beamed back to Voyager.

Seven was waiting for her in the transporter room, standing with her hands behind her back.

"Captain," she said simply.

"You're using your human name now," Janeway observed.

Seven raised an eyebrow. "I am. Psychologists at Starfleet Medical recommended that I do so in order to further integrate into human society." Her voice trembled a bit. "It has been confusing. But that is not why I summoned you."

Janeway nodded slowly. "All right," she said. "Let's wait until everyone is here."

It did not take long for the rest of the command crew to arrive. Most of them seemed happy to be out of their respective conferences. They assembled in the briefing room. Seven stood, faced them, and seemed troubled.

"All right, Seven," Janeway said. "What's so important that you brought us here?"

Seven's eyes moved from crewmember to crewmember. After a moment, she spoke.

"The Ankari summoning device is no longer on Voyager."

Janeway leaned forward. "Well, where is it?" she said. "Some of our artifacts from the Delta Quadrant were removed from the ship to be examined by Starfleet experts. Maybe it didn't get back on the ship in time."

Seven shook her head. "No," she said. "There were articles removed from the ship. Each one was logged and eventually returned before our departure from Earth. There are a few items that are the subject of legitimate study, but their locations are known and logged. The Ankari summoning device was simply taken and removed from the roster so that we would not easily detect it." She seemed annoyed, and Janeway recalled having given her the job of making sure everything was onboard. "Sometime between our arrival from the Delta Quadrant and our departure yesterday, the device was stolen."

Janeway thought for a moment. Marla Gilmore had been kidnapped. She had seen it and so had Seven. Now the Ankari summoning device was missing. She didn't like where this was going.

"There is more," Seven said, and turned to the comm screen. "Computer, display the service record of Marla Gilmore."

The computer beeped and obediently displayed Marla Gilmore's picture. Next to that was her name, rank of crewman, and dates of service. A note under that indicated she had resigned from Starfleet.

That was all.

Janeway leaned forward. A frown creased her features. "That's not right," she said. "Computer, display further information on Crewman Gilmore."

Blooooop-palurp. "Unable to comply."

"Why?" Janeway snapped.

"The requested records are classified."

Janeway knew sketchily what was in Gilmore's file. There was a lengthy explanation of the entire Equinox incident. Gilmore had made a voluntary confession of her role in it. There were standard crew fitness reports from Torres, who had liked Gilmore. There was the security report a year after she had come on board, when Janeway had removed her security restrictions. Gilmore had asked to see her a few times; had she put that in her file? It was hard to remember.

"Unclassify them," Janeway ordered. "Authorization Janeway, one alpha four."

Blooooop-palurp. "Unable to comply."

She leaned forward then, wishing the computer could be intimidated. She could see the others begin to exchange looks. "I am the captain of this ship," she hissed through her teeth. "Unclassify those records."

Blooooop-palurp. "Unable to--,"

"Yes, we've established that," Janeway said. "Who classified the records?"

Blooooop-palurp. "Unable to identify classifier of records."

"I have investigated further," Seven said archly. "The records of all other crewmen aboard the Equinox have been similarly locked out. Most references to the Equinox have been locked out. We no longer have access to the schematics of their enhanced warp device, any reference to the Ankari, their summoning device, or the nucleogenic life forms. All that remains is that Voyager discovered another starship in the Delta Quadrant which was later destroyed."

Fury coursed through Janeway's veins. She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "Who did this?" she asked, trying to keep her voice under control.

Seven seemed uncomfortable. "I...do not know."

Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "Captain, if I may. If someone has the ability to access Voyager in Earth Spacedockswithout leaving a record, and kidnap Marla Gilmore outside of Starfleet's Justice Annex, it is prudent to assume they may have sufficient capability to monitor us now. We should not reveal our suspicions to authorities immediately. Our own investigation should be clandestine."

"So what can we find?" Janeway asked testily. Her eyes flashed.

Chakotay pondered for a moment before speaking. "If these two events are connected – and it sure looks like they are – someone wants to recreate the enhanced warp device aboard the Equinox. There are a variety of people it could be. Romulans, Klingons, Cardassians, Breen – a lot of races might be interested in having a look at it."

Janeway nodded. "Tuvok, begin investigating...as quietly as you can. Tell me what you need. For now, no one is to discuss this matter with anyone outside of this room unless you clear it with myself or Tuvok. Carry on as normal. Dismissed."

The crew filed out, but Chakotay stayed behind. He eyed her solemnly. Chakotay nodded solemnly. "I can tell by that look in your eye," he said calmly. "You're angry."

Janeway's lips twisted. "They kidnap my crewman. They steal from my ship. They lock me out of my own files. You're goddam right, I'm angry." Her eyes met his and she wondered if he was thinking of Equinox, and how she'd told him then she was angry

It wouldn't come to that this time. At least she hoped so.

The X5573 was a small ship, designed for stealth and operational security. It could tail starships for weeks at a time. Its hull was plated in black microcoating that made it hard to see. If that didn't work, a cloaking device of Romulan origin, improved by Section 31's engineers, could hide it.

It hung in space next to the USS Grambyo. The Nova-class ship had been battered and beaten with precisely measured brutality. Benning didn't understand it. Oh, he understood what they were doing, but not why they were doing it. On the other hand, everything would be explained to him if he needed to know. That was life in Section.

Benning knew approximately where they were: beyond Federation space, in the small pocket containing Trill and Bajor. Beyond them lay the Cardassian Union. For now, it was perfect space for Section 31; Cardassia was too busy licking its wounds to pay attention to the Bajorans, let alone worry about a single beat-up science vessel. They wouldn't see the X5573.

By now, the ship had been rebadged as the USS Epinoxa, and it would be easy enough to etch that back to Equinox. Benning didn't think it was necessary -- what, was Gilmore going to put on a spacesuit and go crawling over the ship's hull? But his superiors were thorough, if nothing else. He still thought this whole rigmarole was elaborate, but Kilbourne had his reasons.

He entered the readyroom and waited a moment for his boss to acknowledge him. Kilbourne was the agent in charge here. He turned around when Benning came in.

Kilbourne didn't look like much. He was an older man. Benning thought he might be fifty or so. He didn't know Kilbourne's first name, and wasn't sure if Kilbourne knew his. He wasn't particularly tall and had nondescript features. He was the sort of man who might resemble an Academy instructor, or a schoolteacher, or a neighbor – someone who played a small part in your life a long time ago. He was a gray man, just a face in the crowd with unknown thoughts grinding away behind his unassuming brow. He had been in Section 31 for years.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Benning asked.

Kilbourne nodded. "Sit down, please." His voice was soft and pleasant. Benning didn't ever remember seeing him angry. He didn't think he wanted to. From what he knew of Kilbourne – which wasn't much – he had been part of some of Section 31's most controversial projects.

Benning sat down. Kilbourne looked at him calmly for a moment. "You've done good work with Gilmore and the ship," he said. "Are you sure Voyager won't be able to access their files on Gilmore or the Equinox incident?"

Benning nodded slowly. "I did the work myself, sir. Those files can only be decrypted by Section 31."

"Did you read them?"

"I read what I was given."

Kilbourne tapped the screen and displayed a view of the battered Grambyo. "Then you know about the the enhanced warp device Marla Gilmore created. If we're lucky, Voyager didn't study it too hard. Fortunately, Janeway got it wrong. Read the transcripts. It's funny in a way." He pushed a PADD across the desk, and Benning craned his neck to look at it. Kilbourne' voice was reflective and thoughtful. "Janeway read Ransom's experiment wrong and didn't realize it. She thought his warp enhancements only gave him point oh three percent increase. Five minutes later he told her that Equinox traveled ten thousand light-years in less than two weeks." Kilbourne chuckled and shook his head. "She was so wrapped up in righteous fury she didn't realize her mistake, I guess. Fortunately, we did."

He gestured at the ramshackle starship that his engineers had meticulously and brutally damaged to mimic its lost sister ship. Conveniently, Voyager's scans of Equinox had provided them exactly what they needed.

"Ten thousand light years in less than two weeks. At speeds like that, we can deploy a ship from Earth to Romulus or Qo'nos in minutes instead of hours. We could launch from anywhere in the Federation and be in orbit around any planet we wanted before they could ever bring their defenses up. It's reliable and reproducible. It's backwards compatible with existing warp technology. Perfect for a pre-emptive strike. That's why I sent you to bring Marla Gilmore into our custody. She's the only one in the quadrant who knows how to build the damn thing. With me so far?"

Benning nodded slowly, realizing the brilliance of the plan. A burly starship bristling with torpedoes and phasers would be viewed with suspicion by any of the Federation's enemies. A small, poorly armed science vessel? No one would think anything of that...until it was on its way, which would be too late. There were plenty of ways such a vessel could be used to launch an attack – biogenic weapons, most likely. Biogenic weapons had won the Dominion War, after all. Even so, he had his doubts.

"Yes, sir. I don't see why we needed to build a fake Equinox, though."

Kilbourne eyed him slowly for a moment or two from his watery blue eyes. "If we held her prisoner, she'd refuse to build it," he said. "Any prisoner will refuse to cooperate; it's been proved over and over. We could break her, but that would take time. This way is easier."

"Mind scanning techniques are pretty good," Benning pointed out. "We probed Lessing, didn't we?" It was a rhetorical question; he'd found Noah Lessing in a bar in San Francisco a day before Gilmore's release. He'd done the mindscan himself.

"They do, but they leave...problems sometimes. It's not pretty. We didn't need Lessing. We need her brain untouched for right now. We can't replace it."

"Why not just lock her in a holodeck and have her build it that way?" Benning asked curiously.

Kilbourne shook his head. "It wouldn't work. She knows what the drive should look like and how it should operate. We don't. We can't simulate what we don't know. We have the field generator on the ship, so we don't need to worry about the mutagenic lifeforms attacking. Most of the crew members are holograms. We're projecting them from here. Three agents are aboard the ship. We surgically altered them to resemble Captain Ransom, Commander Burke, and Noah Lessing. They're in contact with us constantly, and they'll adjust their performance. The EMH on board Grambyo is on our side; he'll keep her doped up enough that she'll be confused. She'll believe it."

Benning nodded.

"That's not your concern, though." Kilbourne tapped the comm screen and displayed the service record of Captain Kathryn Janeway. "Psyops has some questions on Janeway. Apparently she took the Equinox events personally and was pretty tough on the survivors. However, she also saw when you packaged Gilmore for shipment, and she's been making noise to Starfleet."

Benning said nothing, but flushed red. "I...I'm sorry, sir."

Kilbourne shrugged. "That's what we have contingency plans for," he said mildly. "Some people in Psyops think that Janeway wouldn't shed any tears over the loss of an Equinox crewmember. Others think that Janeway might get troublesome anyway." He made a gesture of contempt. "Starship captains. They think they can change the universe."

Benning nodded slowly.

"I want you to keep an eye on Voyager," Kilbourne said reflectively. "Odds are Janeway won't do anything more than make some noise about Gilmore, but we need to be sure. Take a shuttle to the nearest starbase, and get yourself to Vulcan. If Janeway does do anything more than make noise, I want to know about it."

Benning nodded. "Of course, sir." He rose to leave.

"Mr. Benning," Kilbourne intoned softly.

"Yes, sir?"

"Good luck."