Just as I was feeling that I could not go on much longer, my life changed again, with as much drama as my first arrest. Kim moved to sit next to me during association, clutching his PADD as usual. He pointed to a formula on the screen.

"You're smart. Can you have a look at this with me?"

I was aware that Chakotay had edged towards me, and I tensed up slightly as I glanced at the screen. At first glance, it appeared to be covered in warp geometry formulae. I was confused, and was just about to turn and ask Kim why he was showing me this, when something caught my eye. The formulae were code-breakers, and the work I had taken as examples, was really coded messages. I looked down and gradually was able to read

"We want to try and reach them again. We need you to remove the tracking pellets. Come with us"

I hid my shock with ease, years of interrogation had left me practised in the art of concealing my emotions. Reaching down towards the PADD, I mumbled

"I think you need to do it this way, it may make more sense if you use a Kosinsky function in place of the Cochrane formula?"

As I waffled on, I wrote

"I can help, I will be ready"

Kim glanced at the PADD and frowned for a minute

"Yeah, you're probably right. I hadn't thought of that. I might run it past you again in a few days"

I spent the next days on tenterhooks. I could not find peace in meditation, I could not find peace in anything. I attempted to calm myself by preparing as best I could. I began to hide more TKL's, I hid my old command pips in the armpit of my jumpsuit. I also tried to ignore the persistent tremor in my hands, but I was terrified that I would be rendered useless because of the shaking. I had been shot by too many phasers set to heavy stun, and the shaking was the effect. It was permanent and incurable, a scar of 53.

It was just as I was watching my hands shake, worrying about them, that it happened. The cellblock blacked out and the dim emergency lights came on, flickering ominously. I was suddenly blinded by a bright flash as the forcefields fell. I ran out, being careful to get behind Kim and Chakotay. Laren followed my lead and ran. Jamatina threw herself at her forcefield, but it remained intact. Her side of the room watched in frustration as we charged out, leaving them trapped. My last view of her was when she blew a kiss through the forcefield at our departing forms.

There was only a skeleton security crew on duty, we were no longer considered as high-risk as we had once been. They were alerted to our escape, but Kim and Chakotay's plan was so meticulous that they did not catch up with us until we were outside the docking bay. Kim, Chakotay and myself were up front and able to make it through the docking bay doors before the guards could fire. Laren was at the back and, realising that she would not make it through the doors, she turned and charged the guards, screaming like an animal. Just as the door closed, the screaming stopped, and with a weird gasping, sucking sound, she was vaporised. There was no time to mourn. Kim ran up to the nearest shuttle and began typing in commands on his PADD, opening the shuttle ramp as we bundled inside.

"Harry Kim to all Starbase Personnel!" He accessed communications and began broadcasting throughout the Starbase.

"We are occupying the Shuttle Erasmus and I have control of all shuttle systems. Open the bay doors or I will initiate shuttle auto-destruct, taking out the docking bay and all of deck 7!"

Sloan's voice came over the shuttle speaker. Even though it was older than it had been at the time, the voice still struck the Fear into me,

"You can't do that. All out systems are protected."

"Oh yeah? Really" With that, Kim typed commands into the shuttle control and within a minute, the base computer chimed

"Warning! Life Support in Section 41 has been terminated. Evacuate section immediately"

"We will Not be threatened by criminals like you!" Sloan's angry voice echoed around the shuttle.

"Warning! Life Support in Section 40 has been terminated. Evacuate section immediately"

Silently, the shuttlebay doors came up and we were free to leave.

"Remember. We will always find you. We can still track you. You can leave here, but you'll never leave us. We will always be tracking you"

With Sloan's threat in our ears, Chakotay set a course for the Badlands.