Part 5

Telpor lazed in his office. He had overseen the latest battle from the bridge, but had tired of it and retired to the solitude of his office.

Fifteen systems were now under his direct control. He sighed in pleasure. His eyes fell on the large star chart that hung from the wall beside him. His empire was growing, added to the Cardassian territory they already held, the areas coloured in Cardassian yellow now filled at least half of the chart. The Federation was marked in a blue, taking up most of the other half. He wanted more. In time the blue would become yellow as well. Then he would focus on the Romulan Empire and then out to the Gamma and Delta quadrants. It would take time, but already he was receiving communications from other planets offering their resources in return for his ignoring their world. He would grant leniency, no need to waste his torpedoes, but he would still take them under the yellow of his empire and take what he needed.

His door chime cut through his mental scheming.

"Enter!" He barely got the word out before the door slid open.

He turned to find Kathryn standing in the doorway. A cold chill went up his back – something was wrong. He reached for his uniform pocket, to retrieve the pad, but realised he had taken the jacket off. His eyes scanned the room – there it was on the chair between his desk and Kathryn. He decided to play it calm until he could reach the pad.

"Kathryn! How are you?"

She said nothing at first. Her expression was cold, but her eyes blazed like fire. Instincts that had served Telpor through many battles over the years warned him his life was in danger. He stood slowly, making a show of being concerned about her. He edged around his desk, slowly towards his uniform jacket.

"Are you alright, Kathryn? You look tired, take a seat." He offered the other chair. The jacket was almost within reach. Kathryn stepped towards him.

"Did you have anything to do with my father's murder?"

Telpor stopped in his tracks. His eyes locked with hers. "Where did you get such a crazy idea from? I have been trying to help you – "

"Did you!" She stepped closer, the threat of violence only moments away.

"Kathryn come now. Why would I want a Federation Admiral killed?"

She seemed to consider his words. "You have contacts in the Federation. Do you know who killed my father?"

"Of course I do! Isn't that what I have been telling you? You and I have common goals. Those responsible for his death fled to these worlds, these are their powerbases. The black cancer that controls and manipulates the Federation from within. A conspiracy between worlds for power and wealth. But, we can stop them. We can take them all down. Together we are gaining what we want. I want my empire. You want revenge. It has been working well. Why would you suddenly think such foolish thoughts?"

"How do you know who these people responsible are? How did you get their names?"

"I told you all this before. I captured several high ranking Federation spies and they gave me the names. I checked it all out before I approached you."

"Or, is it that you know who was responsible because you were involved with them?"

Suddenly the ship rocking violently and sirens blared.

"Telpor to the bridge!" Melec cried over the conn.

Kathryn looked shocked and Telpor hoped this meant the end of this line of questioning.

"Let's get to the bridge" he stated and grabbed his uniform jacket as he raced for the door.

Kathryn followed close on his footsteps as he entered the bridge.

"Report!" He shouted over the sirens. He sat down in his command chair and pulled on his jacket. He felt the comforting weight of the pad in the pocket.

"We are under attack by ten Federation ships!" The conn officer replied with shock in his voice.

"Impossible!" Telpor shouted. "I would have known about this. Return fire and hail our support vessels tell them to get their ships here and help us!"

Kathryn appeared in front of his chair, hands on hips and anger still in her eyes. "Tell me!"

The ship rocked under enemy fire once more.

"Shields are down twenty five percent." Shouted a science officer.

"Later, Kathryn!" Telpor shouted.

"No now!" Kathryn shouted back. Telpor ignored her outburst. He did not worry now, he had the pad. He could control her at will.

Kathryn was only angered further by his ignoring her. She turned to the science stations and activated her energy suit. The technicians saw the move and scrambled out of the way. She sent a massive energy blast into the consoles. Fire and electricity filled the bridge and smoke filled the air.

"What do you think you are doing!" Telpor screamed at her.

She turned away from the mess and fixed him with a murderous look. "Answer me, Telpor. Do you know who was responsible?"

"I have had enough of this stupidity!" Telpor reached into his jacket and pulled out the pad. Kathryn's eyes fell on it with a frown. He waved it casually in front of her. "Would you like to know what this is? It is my insurance that you do what you are told." He pressed down on one button and watched as Kathryn doubled up in pain. Gasping she held her stomach.

"It must be quite painful and I have only got it set at a quarter power. You see I don't really care about your little crusade. I only care about my empire. You will do as you are told, or the pain gets worse."

She snarled at him through her pain. He sighed and sent another shot of pain through her. She screamed and fell to the floor.

"You see Kathryn, I need you. You are a powerful weapon that I have invested a great deal in. But, you are right – you do have a right to know who is responsible for your father's death." He crouched down by her on the floor. "You are."

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Kathryn looked up in shock at Telpor.

"Oh, yes. You are the one responsible for his death. The only reason he was killed was to get the energy suit you were working on. If only you had listened to him, he may still be alive today." He got up and moved back to his command chair.

The bridge crew had since dealt with the fires and were back to dealing with the Federation ships. Telpor saw through the view screen that his reinforcements had arrived and had joined the battle. These Federations were foolish to think they could take him.

With her pain reduced Kathryn staggered to her feet.

"I am not responsible for my father's death!" She stated, but her voice was weak and trembled with emotion. She seemed very pathetic to Telpor at that moment.

"Of course you are. You think it was all about conspiracies, no, it was about you and that energy suit. Your father was killed so that you would become the woman you are today."

"No." She said weakly. Her eyes darted from side to side and Telpor thought he saw wetness at the corner of her eyes. The ship was hit by enemy fire once more.

"Report!" Telpor returned his attention back to the battle outside the ship.

"We are rapidly losing shields. Two support ships have lost their shields and one Federation ship has lost all power." Another hit rocked Telpor almost out of his chair.

"Return fire, Idiots!" He shouted.

"We have lost all phasers and half our torpedoes." The tactical officer reported.

"Call in the rest of the fleet!" Telpor shouted back.

"The fleet is several hours away, Lord. We left for this world with only ten ships, three of which are on the other side of the system. Two have now lost shields –"

"I don't want to hear of such incompetence, destroy the lead Federation ship!"

"Yes, Lord!"

Telpor became aware that Kathryn was muttering to herself. He looked at her with some concern, he didn't want his weapon to be lost to insanity.

She looked up at him, with very sane eyes and spoke clearly through the noises of the bridge. "It was you, wasn't it. You planned all this. You are responsible. You wanted me and this suit to lead your armies, gain your empire for you."

"Of course. I acquired that suit you are wearing off a dead prisoner. We could not get it to work, so I allowed my Federation allies to study it. Your people though weak have always had superior science and technology. You headed the science team and low and behold you yourself were compatible with the suit. But, you would never leave the Federation. Not the daughter of the great Admiral Janeway. You needed to be convinced to use the suit more and with greater power. I thought killing your father would be stimulus enough. We then left enough clues for you to believe the Federation may have had some involvement and you know the rest."

Kathryn's mouth hung open in shock and disbelief.

Telpor regarded her with amusement, "You should be flattered. That so much work went into gaining you as the prize."

"Flattered?" Kathryn asked in a sharp tone.

"Yes, you were worth a lot to the empire. We waited for you to be just ripe before we tapped your potential."

"Ripe?" Kathryn sneered in distaste at this words. Blazing red hot anger fired through her veins and she threw herself at him.

He lifted the pad and pressed the pain activator. She only made it half way to him before she fell to the floor in pain. She gasped for breath as she sat on the cool metallic floor. She gathered herself against the pain and attempted to stand again. Telpor frowned at her efforts. He pressed the pain level up to 50 just to be sure. The ship was battered once more by what felt like a torpedo.

"Our shields are down!" The security chief screamed. "We have lost our engines. Lord, this is hopeless!"

Telpor rounded on the security chief and gave him a deadly glare.

Kathryn meanwhile struggled once again to regain her footing against the pain. She levered herself up against a nearby consol.

Telpor looked round to see her almost standing. He sat back and regarded her as she staggered slowly towards him. He lifted the pad threateningly at her.

"Why bother, my little Kathryn? What do you hope to achieve? If you give in now, you can return to your quarters and I will forget this ever happened. What else can you do? No one else will accept you. The Federation will never have you back after all you have done. Your family are either dead or think you insane and a traitor. What is there to live for except to gain power? You can have all the power you want in my empire Kathryn. You can live as a queen. You can have anything you want."

"I…want...you…Dead!" She growled at him.

Telpor shook his head, "I am disappointed in you, Kathryn. I had great hopes for you. I guess I am going to have to find someone else who can use that suit. Last chance, Kathryn."

She stopped, resting against a console less than a metre from the arrogant Cardassian. On the console sat a pad, still clinging to the surface despite the shaking of the ship. Kathryn rested her hand on the console, her fingers on the pad. She judged the distance to the dreaded pad he held, though her vision was slightly blurry with the pain.

The ship rocked violently under another barrage of fire. She took her moment and threw the pad at the hated pad he held. It hit his hand, startling him. She gathered her energy and threw herself at Telpor, energy suit activated.

The impact of her hitting him and the shifting of the ship beneath them rocked him from his command chair. They both got to their feet and Kathryn threw mad punches at his snake like head. He felt the hits, but still gripped onto the pad. She gripped his throat, and began squeezing with all her might. Telpor had only one arm free as he still refused to let go of the pad. He gripped her long hair with his free hand and yanked her head violently back. Kathryn screamed falling back and felt her neck and shoulders spasm sharply with pain.

Telpor rose from the floor and lifted the pad menacingly. She saw his finger press down on the button and her world went suddenly white hot with pain. She screamed and curled up tightly into a ball. Telpor stood above her laughing. The ship shuddered and all the lights went out. Within moments the dim emergency lighting came on.

Consciousness gradually returned to Kathryn. She could hear people scrambling out of the bridge.

She struggled to lift her head slightly and the bridge swam around her. She blinked rapidly, trying to push back the wave of nausea and focus her vision. She felt the energy suit flare to life over her body, though she had not consciously activated it. She felt the energy flow through the circuits, but instead of moving outward to her command as it usually did, it flowed through the suit and bathed her in a warm wave. The pain faded somewhat.

She realised then for the first time that the energy suit could also be used for healing. It had never occurred to her over the last ten years to try to heal herself or anyone else with the energy. The warm wave continued to flow through her, nourishing her.

Lifting her head she saw Telpor working feverously to regain full power for his ship.

His back was to her.

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Telpor's flag ship hung dead in space.

The battle continued around it, but the Federation no longer focused its fire power upon it. The crew had sensed the ship's ultimate defeat and had begun evacuating. Escape pods and shuttle crafts fled from the ship. Among the chaos of escape none noticed a small ship move to dock into the flagship's shuttle bay. The shuttle landed and its doors slid open.

Chakotay pulled his cowl up over his head and strode out into the emptying bay. The ship behind him closed its doors and its shields rose. He exited the bay doors and headed towards the nearest turbo lift. The few remaining crewmen paid him no attention other than to avoid him.

Striding purposefully down the half lit corridor in his black cloak and face hidden by his cowl, he was a figure not to be messed with.

Once in engineering he proceeded directly to the main console and attached a pad to its surface. A download began. He walked to the power control systems and deactivated main power completely. The ship's engines died instantly and he felt the subtle shift as the ship lost its warp field. All lighting fell away and the natural humming of the craft stilled. The only sound was the download of the pad and the red alert sirens in the background. Emergency lighting came on as the download completed.

Chakotay retrieved the pad and exited engineering, sealing the doors as he left.

He entered the turbolift and ordered it to the main bridge.

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Kathryn roared in animal fury as she gripped Telpor's chin in both her hands and wrenched it upward. The Cardassian's thick muscular neck resisted her attempts to dislocate it. Telpor grabbed at her as she gripped him from behind. Energy flared around the two as they grappled. Wrapped around him from behind she had an advantage as his large body made it difficult for him to reach her. She dug her nails into his flesh and felt the wetness of his blood on her hands.

He screamed abuse at her through his pain and frustration.

Adding more power to her suit and arm muscles she pulled harder on his chin, feeling tendons ripping and bones popping. She powered even more energy through her arms and into his exposed flesh. His body weakened beneath her, his legs no longer functioning.

He fell to his knees finally, but she realised he was trying to reach for something. Risking a moment to look, she saw the abandoned pad not two inches away from his outstretched fingers. She pulled his neck forcefully away in the opposite direction and his body had to follow.

Giving up on the pad, he returned his efforts to attacking her arms and legs wrapped round his chest. He ripped at her hands, but met free energy from the suit.

But he was strong and managed to remain on his knees and not fall to the floor in defeat. He would never surrender she realised and she did not want him to. Feeling his body weaken further she shifted her hands around his chin, getting a better grip so that she could snap his neck.

He understood what she was about to do and made a desperate attempt to claw up at her face. His hands battered at her face, his skin burnt and bleeding from prolonged contact with free energy.

She ignored his shouting and feeble attempts to save his pitiful life. She loaded the power needed into her arm muscles, braced her legs against the bridge floor and began to twist his chin.

Something at that moment struck her forcefully from behind.

She was knocked aside and Telpor fell to the floor with a heavy grunt. Sensing someone responsible she turned to see a hooded figure step from the smoke and dim light of the bridge towards her.

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For a moment she thought she was dead and that the ancient vision of death had come for her. Logic returned and the man pulled his cowl back. She recognised him as the former prisoner of Telpor whom she had sparred with in the corridor.

Seeing Telpor still weakened and clutching at his wounded throat she focused her attention on the newcomer. Standing up she felt her own body was greatly weakened.

"Why are you here?" She demanded of the man. "Why did you stop me?"

"I am here with Ambassador Tuvok and the Federation. I am here to take Telpor and yourself into custody." He said calmly, as if he were not standing before an enraged pair on a dying ship.

"He is MINE!" She screamed at the man. "I will have my revenge. He is responsible for it all, for everything that has happened to me!"

The man stepped closer and softened his voice.

"You are right. Telpor will receive the punishment he deserves. But it is not up to you whether he lives or dies, Kathryn."

"And what do I deserve? What about my life! What about what he has stolen from me?"

"Killing him will not return your father to you, nor dissolve the past ten years. All that will happen is you will have become a murderer. Is that what you want, Kathryn? To become like him?"

"I am NOTHING like him."

"Then prove it." The man challenged. "Let it go. Stop this madness now. Come with me and we will deliver Telpor into Captain Riker's hands."

Kathryn cooled at hearing Riker's name. They had gone to the Academy together. His father had been a colleague of her fathers'. Memories flashed through her mind. He had been a great officer, great prospects, just like herself.

Suddenly shame fled through her. And pain. Pain for the life she had lost and left behind.

She could have had a life, married Justin, become a captain herself by now. She imagined herself in that role and felt the shame of her actions over the last ten years. Such loss, such stupidity. What had happened to that woman she was and could have been? When was the last time she felt free and in control?

She remembered; when she held her father's dying limp body to hers. He had looked up into her eyes and she had seen his love for her just before his life slipped away.

Her mind became clear, for the first time in years and the pain ravaged through her. She cried out with the force of her feelings and fell to her knees on the bridge floor. Sobbing from her heart she covered her face. She had not cried once in ten years. And it all came to her now. The grief of losing her father and Justin. Everything she had done, all the lives she had ruined, the destruction she had caused. What had happened to her family? Her friends? Her dog! What was she to do?

"Come with me now." The man said and she realised she had spoken aloud.

She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We need to get off this ship. There are hull breaches and fires on all decks. Life support is down and the warp core may not remain stable."

She looked up at the handsome man. "What will they do with him? Will they place him a rehabilitation prison and let him out again in a year?"

He looked over at the pitiful form of Telpor, still curled up on the floor spiting blood.

"I doubt that. His crimes are too numerous."

"And what about mine?" She asked.

He regarded her silently with his dark eyes. "I do not know yet."

She looked over at Telpor, just in time to see him throw his body to the side as he brought up a phaser rifle.

Kathryn had a split second in which she shoved the man away from the shot and simultaneously sent a sharp powerful burst of energy towards Telpor.

The last thing she felt was blinding pain, before consciousness left her.

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Epilogue.

Justin leaned against the wall in Pegasus' sick bay and regarded the still form of Kathryn. He studied her pale skin and dark circles beneath her eyes. She looked so different to the woman he had known so many years ago. She had been a woman full of life back then; this form was not.

Behind him the doors slid open and Tuvok appeared beside him.

"How is she?" Tuvok inquired.

"Doctor Bashir says she will be okay. He removed Telpor's implant and the phaser wound has healed extremely quickly. He says Chakotay was here earlier and Bashir believes he treated her in some way."

"Fascinating. I had heard rumours concerning the healing abilities of the energy suits."

"Anyway, she will be alright – at least physically." Justin was pleased to see her recovering, but he remembered the violent, angry woman he and Tuvok had faced before. Her deeper wounds would take a lot longer to heal, if at tall.

Justin looked from her weak form to the ambassador.

"What will happen to her, Tuvok? I do not believe sending her to prison, or a mental ward will be what she needs. What will the Federation do with her?"

"I have been discussing that every same issue with Captain Riker and Chakotay. They both feel she would be better off going with Chakotay to join the colony with the other energy suit users. There are several colonies that work on rehabilitating the ex-Borg members. The people there have more experience with this kind oftrauma and the energy suit."

Justin looked at his old friend in surprise.

"And you agree with this, Tuvok?"

"It is the most logical option. The Federation does not have the facilities to deal with her condition and she will have a more valuable future with them than with the Federation."

Justin nodded in agreement, "will the Federation agree?"

"Chakotay was able to download Telpor's database before his ship blew up. That should help us identify who within the Federation was involved in Telpor's rise to power. It is most likely for the best that Kathryn be kept out of it for the moment. If there are traitors within the ranks, we must discover who they are and what else they may have been involved with. We have much work ahead of us."

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Kathryn stirred awake. The pain had reduced this time of wakening. She had woken earlier to find a friendly doctor scanning her with a tricorder. He had made some casual jokes, but she had passed out again. Fortunately she appeared to be alone this time.

She sighed and relaxed against the bed. She listened to the sounds of the sick bay around her. It had been a long time since she had been in a Federation sick bay. They all smelt the same she mused. Closing her eyes she drew in a long breath. Her chest still ached from the phaser burn, but she could at least breathe without excruciating pain.

For now she ignored the deeper pain. She felt too raw and weak to think about the past. She would deal with that later, depending on where she ended up. She guessed she would end up in a Federation mental assessment brig. A part of her did not want to see Earth again – it would bring back too many memories.

She heard the sick bays doors slid open. She kept her eyes closed, hoping the doctor would leave her alone. She heard gentle foot falls heading towards her bed and stopping beside her.

She reluctantly opened her eyes, but was pleased to see it was not the doctor, or captain. The handsome man with the energy suit stood over her. He gave her a large smile.

"You seem much improved."

She gave him a weak smile. "Glad to see you are alright. I wasn't sure if Telpor got you as well."

"No. You pushed me aside to save me from the blast – thank you by the way. Your return fire took him out though." His voice was soft and she gathered there was more.

"Did he survive?" She asked, not sure if she really cared.

The man took a moment to study her and then replied, "No."

She looked away. It was what she had wanted. Yet, to know that she had killed him left her feeling even more raw inside. At least she had acted in defence of another and herself, rather than simply killing him in cold blood as she had almost done. Except this man had stopped her. She looked back up at him.

"Thank you – for stopping me before." She said quietly.

He nodded silently.

"What happens now? Will you take the energy suit back to your people?" A strange pain fled through her at the thought of losing the suit despite the deeds she had done using it.

"No. It is yours at the moment. What you choose to do with it we will deal with at a later time."

She frowned at his words "We?"

He drew up a chair and sat beside her bed. "I have offered to take you back to the colony with me. The Federation have agreed to let you remain in our custody."

Surprise and relief blossomed in her chest. "What will happen to me on the colony?"

"You will have to go through an extensive series of rehabilitation. It will not be easy, but it should help you release the past and move on with your life."

"I am not sure I deserve that."

He smiled at her, "Don't think it will be easy. If you get through that you will be taught how to use the suit properly. You will be expected to help us in our work throughout the galaxy. To agree to come with me, will mean giving much of your time to serving others. If you are not prepared to do this, then it may be better for you to go to the Federation."

She considered his words. "I would welcome any opportunity to make up for what I have done."

"Good. We will leave later today, when you are ready." He got up to leave, but she reached out to stop him.

"You have done so much for me and I do not even know your name."

"My name is Chakotay." He gave her a gentle smile and headed out of the sickbay leaving her alone once more. She laid her head back against the pillow and for the first time in years fell into ta peaceful sleep.

THE END.