VII.
Harry Kim watched the cloaked space station on the console in front of him. "If they didn't know we were here before, they know it now."
"Oh, they know we're here. The Enterprise is hard to miss," Paris said.
Over the comm, they heard Captain Picard's voice broadcasting on an open channel. "Cloaked space station, this is Captain Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise. Please respond." There was no response, and Picard repeated his hail.
After Picard sent the message a third time, a lieutenant commander in a red Starfleet uniform appeared on the view screen. "This is Lieutenant Commander Black," the man said. "What is your business here, Captain?"
"We received a distress call from the station," Picard replied.
"I'm not aware of any distress call," Black said.
Paris turned to Kim and shook his head. "Bullshit," he whispered.
"If you'll give an away team permission to board the station, we can ensure that no one is in danger," Picard said.
"I'm not at liberty to authorize that, sir," Lieutenant Commander Black said, sounding more nervous by the minute.
"Who is your commanding officer, Commander Black?" Picard asked.
"Um, well…" Black stuttered.
"I am the commander of this station, Captain," a new voice replied, and on the view screen, Paris and Kim gasped when they saw a Romulan female.
"Who are you?" Picard asked.
"I am Commander Teral," she said, "and this area is under surveillance by the Romulan Empire."
"The Romulan Empire?" Picard queried. "Then why are we detecting a Federation space station with human life signs aboard?"
"You are not in command here, Captain Picard," said Teral, "and I am. I suggest that if you and your friends in the smaller ship value your lives, you turn around and leave now."
"Some of our people are aboard your station," said Picard, "and we're not leaving without them."
"No one has been authorized to board this station. If your people are on board, then they have violated protocol by being here."
"Their violation of protocol can be dealt with through appropriate channels once we have them back," Picard replied. "If you'll allow an away team to come aboard…"
"No away teams will be permitted on the station," Teral cut him off. "You and your companions will leave now, or I will be forced to open fire. You have been warned, Captain."
"The station is charging weapons," Kim said.
"Shields up!" Paris ordered. The Flyer's shields came up at the same time as the Enterprise's.
"A Federation space station firing openly on Starfleet vessels?" Picard said, maintaining his composure. "When this gets back to Starfleet Command…"
Teral didn't let Picard finish. "It won't get back to Starfleet Command, Captain, as you and your companions won't live long enough to relay the message."
"I think you're underestimating us, Commander Teral," said Picard.
"Perhaps, Captain, it is you who have underestimated me. You leave me no choice."
In front of Harry Kim's eyes, the space station decloaked, revealing its massive size compared to the two small starships in front of it. And then, before Kim
could make sense of the sensor readings in front of him, two Romulan warbirds appeared off their port bow.
Fire! The order still rang in her mind, but Janeway hesitated. She didn't want to blow her cover, but she couldn't bring herself to fire on her oldest friend.
Captain, you must obey! Seven cried.
Careful to shield her thoughts from Garrett, Janeway surreptitiously changed the settings on her weapon to stun. She looked Tuvok in the eye, trying to communicate through her gaze that she was sorry. She hoped she was not imagining the flicker of understanding in his eyes just before she fired. Tuvok crumpled to the ground. She could feel the surge of Garrett's satisfaction.
"Oh, Captain," he said smugly, "if only you could see yourself now. You were once so strong, and now you are merely an automaton bent to my will."
Janeway wanted desperately to turn her weapon on Garrett and kill him on the spot.
No! Seven insisted. If you kill Garrett before we set up the dampening field and disconnect him from the collective, we may never be able to sever the link. We may never be able to save Chakotay.
Seven's words penetrated the haze of anger she felt, and Janeway restrained herself.
"Garrett to Zupanich," she heard the admiral say over the comm. "Garrett to Zupanich." There was no answer over the comm, and Janeway felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps the Doctor had found a way to incapacitate Zupanich.
"Damn it!" Garrett swore. "Where is he? I need more nanoprobes." Garrett tapped his comm badge again. "Admiral Garrett to security. Have a team go to sickbay immediately and check on Dr. Zupanich."
"Yes, sir," came the reply of one of the security officers.
Garrett smirked at Janeway. "You, my dear captain, will be the one to assimilate the newest drone into our collective."
"Here," Torres said, gesturing to the hatch in front of them. "This is where I was supposed to meet Tuvok."
The Doctor had his tricorder open and was scanning the area beyond the hatch. "I'm reading several life signs in the cargo bay, including Seven of Nine and one Vulcan. The Vulcan is unconscious."
Torres growled under her breath. "I thought Vulcans weren't supposed to get impatient."
"Perhaps he felt it was the logical thing to do," the Doctor suggested.
"Either way, he can't be any help to us now. Is Garrett in the cargo bay?"
"It is difficult to distinguish one human life sign from another with all the interference being generated by the station," the Doctor replied. "However, if we enter the cargo bay, the drones will surely alert him to our presence."
"Can you stir up some trouble?" Torres asked. "Distract the drones and ensure they summon Garrett?"
"I'm a doctor, not a sideshow."
Torres leveled a glare at the EMH.
"All right, all right," he relented. "I'll create an incident to ensure that the drones will summon Garrett, if they didn't already do so when Mr. Tuvok appeared."
"I'll need time to set up the forcefield and get close enough to Garrett to activate it," Torres said.
"I understand."
"I'll be right behind you, Doc," Torres assured him.
"Don't wait too long," the Doctor warned. "I don't want my program decompiled in the process."
"Don't worry," said Torres. "I'm right here. Are you ready?"
The Doctor nodded, and Torres braced herself against the Jefferies Tube hatch. "Three, two, one," she counted down and opened the hatch.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Harry shouted as the Flyer ducked between the laser beams coming from the space station. "I'm doing my best, Harry," replied Tom as his fingers flew over the ship's controls. "Where's the damn Gryphon?"
"It should be here any minute."
"That's good, because I don't think even Picard can handle two warbirds for much longer."
Harry took his eyes off the Flyer's tactical display for long enough to glance at what the Enterprise was doing. Tom was right; the flagship's shields wouldn't last too long under heavy fire from two Romulan warbirds. "Can't we help Captain Picard with some kind of distraction?"
"We're doing the best we can by drawing the firepower of that station!" Tom replied.
A third Starfleet ship dropped out of warp. "Federation ships, this is the USS Gryphon. Do you require assistance?"
"What does it look like?" Tom muttered under his breath. Then he opened a channel. "Gryphon, this is Lieutenant Tom Paris. We could use all the help we can get."
Picard chimed in with orders for the Gryphon to engage one of the warbirds, leaving the Enterprise only one warbird to deal with.
The station's firepower was massive, but its bulky awkwardness made it inaccurate and clumsy. It had clearly been designed with stealth, not battle, in mind. Picard drew the warbirds gradually away from the station while the Flyer darted between the phaser beams coming from the large structure.
"It's working!" Harry exclaimed.
"If Picard can get those warbirds out of range of the station, maybe we have a chance of getting aboard to save B'Elanna and the others," said Paris.
Just then, the Flyer shook as a laser beam glanced off the starboard bow. "Shields at eighty-five percent," Harry warned. "Watch it!"
"I'm watching, Harry. I'm watching."
"Well, watch closer." Kim glanced at the tactical readout again. "Tom, I think we better get over there and help Captain Picard. The Gryphon's shields are already down to sixty-five percent."
Janeway stood still. Even if it meant blowing her cover, she would not help Garrett assimilate Tuvok. She could only hope that Torres and the Doctor had somehow managed to incapacitate Zupanich and that they were now on their way here, along with the portable dampening field generator.
The seconds ticked by, and Janeway held her breath, fearing Garrett's next orders, but before he could give one, the Jefferies Tube hatch opened, and the EMH leapt out. "Admiral," the Doctor greeted Garrett smoothly.
"You! What have you done to Dr. Zupanich, you crazy hologram?" Garrett asked.
"Dr. Zupanich is unharmed," the EMH replied, "although that's better than he deserves."
Behind the Doctor, Janeway could see B'Elanna's head peeking out of the hatch. As the Doctor continued to distract Garrett, Janeway saw Torres taking stock of the room. She was manipulating a small mechanical device — the portable field generator! Janeway sighed in relief, but her relief was short lived. B'Elanna was more than three meters from Garrett in her position in the hatch. She'd have to enter the cargo bay to activate the dampening field, and she would surely be detected before she could get close enough to Garrett to make use of the device.
"What is Dr. Zupanich's dark secret, Admiral? How have you used it to manipulate him?" the Doctor was asking Garrett as B'Elanna opened the hatch further. She had obviously finished setting up the device. She just needed to get close enough to Garrett to use it. She jumped out of the hatch and rolled on the floor towards Garrett, but Garrett was quick, quicker than Janeway had given him credit for.
She suddenly realized that Garrett had been watching B'Elanna all along, through the eyes of his drones, including her. She berated herself for her own carelessness, but then realized such thoughts were pointless. Garrett would have seen Torres regardless, through the eyes of the security drones and Chakotay. Garrett gave the order, and she raised her weapon along with the other drones.
Torres froze on the floor, partway through her roll, not quite close enough to Garrett to activate the device.
The Chakotay-drone stepped forward. "Don't move," he said.
"Chakotay," B'Elanna said. "It's me, B'Elanna. I'm your friend."
"Get up," he said. "Move over there." He gestured with his weapon in the opposite direction from Garrett.
Reluctantly, Torres complied.
"Commander Chakotay," the Doctor tried, "You're not yourself. You're under the influence of Admiral Garrett. Let us help you."
"Stay back," the Chakotay-drone replied, still keeping his weapon trained on Torres. Janeway's weapon was also aimed at B'Elanna, while the other two drones had their phasers pointed at the Doctor.
"Chakotay…" B'Elanna tried again.
"Quiet!" he snapped.
Garrett regarded his new prisoners smugly. "Lieutenant Torres, Doctor, I'm glad you'll have the pleasure of seeing how efficiently my drones work. Your captain and commander are excellent additions to my collective." He leveled his gaze at Torres. "As will you be."
"Over my dead body!" Torres exclaimed, lunging towards the admiral again. Before she could get within range of him, the Chakotay drone fired at her. She ducked, evading the beam, and had to roll away from Garrett to avoid Chakotay's second shot. Crouching at the ready, her own weapon in hand, she looked at Garrett defiantly.
"Stay where you are," the Chakotay-drone ordered. "If you try that again, I will shoot you," he said. "This weapon is set to kill. Now drop your weapon and put your hands up."
Torres forced herself to relax and followed the Chakotay-drone's instructions. "Okay," she said. "Okay, Chakotay. It's all right."
"Don't call him that!" Garrett snapped. "This is Drone Zero Two. Chakotay is dead."
"You're a liar, Garrett," Torres shot back. "A liar and a criminal. You'll never get away with this."
Garrett looked around the cargo bay and laughed. "Oh, but Lieutenant, I already have. Don't you see? You have no escape. Your captain and your commander have already been turned into drones. You'll be next, just as soon as my team gets to sickbay and finds Dr. Zupanich."
"Dr. Zupanich won't be of any use to you at the moment," Torres gloated. "Your drones couldn't stop that."
Garrett glared at her. "Dr. Zupanich may be momentarily incapacitated, but that's not going to stop me. Today, tomorrow, or next week, you will be turned into drones and you will serve me!" The two security drones moved towards the Doctor, forcing him away from Garrett and next to Torres.
The Chakotay-drone kept his weapon trained on B'Elanna. "On your knees," he ordered her in the coldest tone she had ever heard from his lips. "Now." Fear and anger clearly visible on her face, Torres obeyed.
Now, Seven's voice echoed in Janeway's mind.
Janeway saw Admiral Garrett's head snap up. "What the…" he started, and then stopped, frozen cold.
Admiral Garrett, Garrett heard the voice in his mind, this is Seven of Nine.
His head jerked and his eyes found the blue eyes of Drone Zero One. No, he thought back. Your designation is Drone Zero One. You are part of my collective.
I am an individual, the thought came back to him. I have allowed you to believe that you and Dr. Zupanich succeeded in erasing my individuality, but you have failed. Dr. Zupanich's nanoprobes did not rewrite my neural pathways.
No! Garrett replied, taking a step towards her. It cannot be. You are the beginning of my collective. You will obey me!
Seven raised her weapon and pointed it at Garrett. She spoke aloud, and at the same time, Garrett heard the words echo in his mind, "I will not comply."
The cargo bay erupted in a melee of phaser fire. Garrett's drones fired at Seven, but she ran for cover behind a computer console, evading their blasts. Janeway took out one of the security drones and ducked to avoid fire from the other.
In the confusion, the Doctor grabbed the portable field generator from Torres and leapt towards Garrett, activating the device. B'Elanna dropped to the floor, firing on the second security guard drone and rolling to escape a shot from the Chakotay-drone.
"No!" Garrett cried as he realized that he had been severed from his collective. "No, they're mine! Mine!"
Frantically, Garrett raised his own weapon and began to fire erratically. One of his shots hit B'Elanna in the leg, and she stumbled to the ground, crying out in pain.
As B'Elanna fell, Janeway had a clear shot at Garrett, and the admiral crumpled into unconsciousness as her beam hit him. Janeway stepped towards B'Elanna, but before she could reach her, a chilling voice said, "Stop where you are." She looked up to see that the Chakotay-drone was pointing his phaser at her. "Drop your weapon," he ordered.
The tone of his voice sent shivers down her spine, and she knew that if she did not obey, he would shoot her. She dropped the phaser. "Chakotay, don't shoot. It's me. It's Kathryn."
"You are Drone Zero Five," the Chakotay-drone said.
With the guard drones and Garrett incapacitated, the phaser fire in the cargo bay stopped. Seven stood from her position behind the computer console and realized that the Chakotay-drone was pointing his weapon at Janeway. "Captain!" she exclaimed, leveling her own phaser at Chakotay.
"Wait!" Janeway ordered. The Chakotay-drone's expression was confused and uncertain. She reached out to him in her mind. Drone Zero Two, drop your weapon, she ordered in her most clear command tone.
Knowing nothing more than how to obey orders, the Chakotay-drone obeyed, and his phaser fell to the floor of the cargo bay with a clatter. His eyes darted around the room, and his lip trembled. "It's all right, Chakotay," Kathryn said in a soothing tone. "You're going to be okay. You have to trust us." She extended a hand to him and stepped towards him. "Take my hand. Come on." Through the link she still had with him, she tried to send soothing, warm feelings, but what she felt back from him was fear and uncertainty. She took another step towards him.
Like a frightened animal, Chakotay bolted, ramming into Kathryn and knocking her over as he passed. She hit the floor with a loud thud.
Janeway heard Seven's voice cut through the jumble of emotions in her mind and looked up in time to see Chakotay freeze. Stop! Drone Zero Two, this is Drone Zero One. Do not move. Remain where you are. The order was clear and simple, and Chakotay obeyed.
"Doctor, can you sedate him?" Seven asked as she stepped towards Janeway and helped her up off the floor.
"Yes," the Doctor replied, taking a hypospray from the medkit he had brought from sickbay. "Help me." As the Doctor pressed a hypospray to Chakotay's neck, Janeway and Seven caught him before he crashed to the floor.
"We'll take care of him as soon as we see to B'Elanna and Tuvok," said Janeway.
The Doctor was already kneeling next to Torres. "Lieutenant, are you all right?" he asked.
"It's just my leg," B'Elanna managed through gritted teeth.
The Doctor looked at the wound. "Nothing I can't fix."
While the Doctor busied himself with Torres, Seven manned one of the computer consoles in the cargo bay. "The station is engaged in battle with three Federation ships," she reported, "including the Delta Flyer. There are also two Romulan warbirds that have decloaked."
The Doctor tended to Torres' wounded leg and then revived Tuvok, pressing a hypospray to the Vulcan's neck. Janeway helped Tuvok up while the Doctor helped Torres to her feet. "We have to get to the bridge," said Janeway, "and take command of this station."
"Lieutenant Torres and Commander Tuvok should be in sickbay," the Doctor protested.
"I'm fine," Torres shot back, bending and straightening her leg which the Doctor had repaired with a dermal regenerator. She picked up her weapon where she had dropped it on the floor. "It's time to show these bastards what we're made of."
"Tuvok?" Janeway asked, looking at her old friend with concern.
"I, too, am willing and able to assist, Captain."
"Seven, can we get through to the Flyer?" Janeway asked.
"Communications are being jammed from the bridge, Captain."
"Well, then, we'll take the bridge and then contact Tom and Harry from there. Doctor, take care of Commander Chakotay. Remain here until you hear from us. We don't know if the station's sickbay is secure. Seven, set up a forcefield around this cargo bay so that no one can come in or out until we let them. Seven, Tuvok, Torres, you're with me. Doctor, we'll see you on the other side." She looked around at her crew and then at Chakotay's still form lying on the cargo bay floor. "It's time to end this once and for all."
"Shields down to forty-five percent!" Kim shouted.
"It's that station!" Tom shouted back, over the din of the battle. The Romulan commander had decided to initiate a new tactic; wide beam, sweeping phaser fire was nearly impossible for the Federation ships to evade while still battling the two Romulan warbirds. "If we could just get close enough to disable their weapons…"
Tom's sentence was cut off by another phaser sweep hitting the Flyer. "Thirty-eight percent," Harry warned. "Tom, can you fly us in closer to those warbirds?"
"Closer?" "The Romulans won't want to hit their own ships, will they?"
"All right," said Tom. "It's worth a try." He flew in closer to one of the warbirds, trying to evade the Romulans' weapons as he did so. "What's the status of the Enterprise and the Gryphon?"
"The Gryphon's shields are down to twenty-percent. The Enterprise is holding up better. One of the warbird's shields are failing. Picard has them pinned down," Harry reported.
Off their port bow, the Enterprise fired a photon torpedo at the failing warbird, and the ship exploded. Tom let out a whoop of victory, but the feeling didn't last. The station launched another spread of phaser fire, and Tom flipped the Flyer in a fancy maneuver to evade another hit. "That was close!" he exclaimed.
"The Gryphon wasn't so lucky," said Harry. "Their shields are down, and the other warbird is moving in on them."
"Fire on that warbird!" Tom ordered. "Target their weapons systems."
Harry fired, and then shook his head in frustration. "Their shields are still up!"
The warbird moved into position to fire on the Gryphon. Both Tom and Harry knew that this would be a fatal blow for the other Starfleet ship. The Enterprise was moving to intercept, but before it could move, the station launched a photon torpedo, and the Enterprise was hit. "The Enterprise shields are holding, but barely!" said Harry.
The Enterprise fired a photon torpedo on the remaining warbird. It was a direct hit. "That'll show 'em!" Tom exclaimed.
"That warbird's warp core is going to blow," Harry warned. "I'm detecting transporter readings. The crew is evacuating to the station."
As Tom backed the Flyer away from the warbird, a transmission cut through the chaos, broadcasting on all channels. "It's coming from the station," Harry said.
"Stand down!" said a familiar voice. The station stopped firing.
"Captain!" Tom shouted, a wide grin appearing on his face.
On the view screen, Captain Janeway appeared on the station's bridge. Tuvok, Torres, and Seven were all around her, each of their phasers pointed at a different bridge officer. Janeway had her weapon pointed at the Romulan commander. "I'd tell you to order your ships to stand down," Janeway said to the Romulan, "but that doesn't seem to be necessary anymore."
The second warbird blew to pieces, and the Flyer rocked slightly from the impact. The Romulan commander gritted her teeth, clearly unhappy with the situation.
Tom peered at the view screen. "B'Elanna!" Tom said, "You're okay."
"Yes," she said. "You?"
"We're okay," Tom replied.
"Tuvok, put me through to the Enterprise," Janeway ordered.
"This is Captain Picard," Picard said as his image appeared on the screen next to Janeway's. "Captain, we need teams to beam over and secure the station immediately," said Janeway. "I have taken command of the bridge, but many of Garrett's men still have free reign on the station."
"The crew of the second Romulan warbird also beamed to the station," Tom said.
"We need to secure the station as soon as possible," added Torres. "Who knows what Garrett's followers will do when they find out he's no longer in command."
"I'll beam over security teams immediately," said Picard.
"We also have patients to transport to your sickbay," said Janeway. She paused. "The nature of their injuries is… unique. I'd like to send Voyager's EMH aboard with them given his experience dealing with Borg technology."
Tom and Harry exchanged a glance. The captain and the others on the bridge all appeared to be fine, but Commander Chakotay was nowhere to be seen.
"I'd like to volunteer to go as well, Captain," said Seven. "I may be able to help the Doctor reprogram the nanoprobes."
Tom watched as Janeway nodded her agreement and informed Picard that Seven of Nine would be beaming aboard the Enterprise as well. Nanoprobes — the word still sent shivers down Tom's spine.
Picard turned to his bridge crew and ordered them to assemble the appropriate teams. "We're on our way, Captain Janeway," he said. "Picard out." Picard ended the transmission, so only the station and the Flyer remained in communication.
"Captain, are you all right?" Tom asked. "What happened?"
"It's a long, strange story, Tom. Just get down here, and quickly."
Tom peered through the view screen and caught his wife's eye. He could see from the expression on her face that something was terribly, terribly wrong.
As Kathryn Janeway materialized on the transporter pad of the Enterprise, the exhaustion she'd been holding at bay threatened to overwhelm her. The room spun around her, and her knees began to buckle. Her eyes shut, and her arms flailed, searching for something to hold onto. Two strong hands grasped hers, and a strong, calm presence steadied her. She opened her eyes.
"Kathryn."
She looked up into the steady gaze of Captain Picard. "Jean-Luc. Thank you."
He released one of her hands and helped her down from the transporter pad. "Lieutenant Torres and Commander Tuvok beamed aboard almost an hour ago."
"How are they?"
"Dr. Crusher examined them. They're both fine. No permanent damage."
Janeway nodded, afraid to ask about Chakotay's status. He had been dark to her through the link for hours, so she knew he was still unconscious. She could sense Seven's continued worry for him.
"You look like you could use a trip to sickbay yourself," Picard suggested.
She did want to go to sickbay, not to be examined, but to check on Chakotay and Seven. She nodded to Picard and followed him out of the transporter room. "Commander Riker's team is doing a final security sweep of the station now. I've asked Lieutenant Paris and Ensign Kim to compile all the evidence they can for our case against Admiral Garrett."
"We've detained the remaining crew from the station as well as the crew of the Romulan warbird. They're in our brig," Picard informed her. "They will all need to be questioned in regards to their actions here."
Janeway shook her head. The whole thing had the potential to turn into a disastrous scandal for Starfleet. "I imagine the brass will do everything they can to keep this quiet."
Picard grimaced; he had obviously had the same thought. "Hopefully that won't be an obstacle to convicting Admiral Garrett."
"We'll just need to build an airtight case against him."
"We will," Picard assured her. "Your team has gathered a wealth of evidence."
"I just keep thinking about everyone Garrett must have gotten around to make this project possible. He claimed to me that he had sanction from Starfleet. What if he did?"
Picard shook his head. "I can't believe that."
"I couldn't either, at first, but after seeing the resources he had on that station, I'm beginning to wonder."
"Maybe his sanction came from another source," Picard suggested as they stepped into the turbolift. "Deck eight," he ordered.
"Such as?"
"The Romulans."
"How has Starfleet decided to handle the Romulan situation?"
"The Romulans deny all knowledge of Commander Teral's activities here. They claim that her last posting was to the Kolarin System just outside the Romulan Neutral Zone." Picard paused. "I'm not sure if they're telling the truth, or if Commander Teral is being thrown to the wolves to protect Romulan peace with the Federation."
"What does she say?"
"Commander Teral has refused to say anything."
"What about the other Romulans, the crew of the warbird?" Janeway asked.
"The Romulan government is asking for their extradition. I already have my best people questioning them. If it is determined that they knew nothing about Garrett's activities aboard the station, we'll grant the Romulans' extradition request."
"If their primary posting was aboard the warbird, I doubt they were privy to what happened on the station."
"That brings up another question," said Picard. "Was this a joint operation?"
Janeway nodded. "If so, was it instigated by Starfleet or the Romulans? Or Admiral Garrett on his own?"
The turbolift doors opened onto deck eight. "Hopefully we'll be able to determine that by examining Garrett's logs and interviewing station personnel," Picard replied.
"I have a hard time believing so many Starfleet officers would willingly participate in such an evil project. I hope they didn't know what they were doing. But Dr. Zupanich knew."
"Zupanich isn't Starfleet. Commander Data discovered that."
"Really? Where did Garrett find him?"
"We don't know; the doctor is refusing to talk."
"That could be a problem. We'll need his testimony against Garrett." She paused. "The station must be protected from tampering until Garrett can be tried and convicted."
"Captain Dolath and the Gryphon will remain here," said Picard. "And I've already had quarantine beacons put up around the station."
"Of course," Janeway said with a small smile. "Who did you speak to at Headquarters?"
"Hayes. He wants your report as soon as possible."
Janeway grimaced. "My coming out here wasn't exactly authorized."
"But you did uncover quite a plot. Hayes seems willing to hear the evidence before bringing charges against anybody."
She paused just outside the doors to sickbay. "As long as Garrett and Zupanich are punished for their crimes, and Commander Chakotay recovers, Hayes can charge me with whatever he wants." She looked at the doors to sickbay. She could feel Seven's presence within, but Chakotay was still dark to her. She stepped forward and the doors swished open.
Garrett was lying on a biobed surrounded by a forcefield. The other two security guards who had been made into drones were also on biobeds, unconscious. Chakotay lay on another biobed, Seven and the Doctor hovering over him. Before she could approach him, Dr. Beverly Crusher greeted her, "Captain Janeway."
"Dr. Crusher, good to see you again." Janeway's eyes were not on the red-headed doctor, but on the biobed in the corner of sickbay. "Excuse me," she said to Crusher and Picard, as she walked past them to the bed where Chakotay lay.
Captain, Seven greeted her through the link.
Seven, are you all right?
I am undamaged, Captain. The same cannot be said for Chakotay.
"Doctor, what's his condition?" she asked the EMH. She stepped next to the biobed and looked down at Chakotay. His face appeared serene. If she didn't know that his personality and individuality had been erased, she would think he was sleeping peacefully. Her hand found his and squeezed it.
"I've extracted Zupanich's nanoprobes from the commander's system. Seven and I have reprogrammed some of her nanoprobes to repair the commander's neural pathways."
Seven handed the Doctor a hypospray. "Here, Doctor."
He pressed the hypo to Chakotay's neck and looked back at Janeway. "You need to be examined as well, Captain. I want to make sure Garrett's nanoprobes haven't done any permanent damage."
"And them?" she asked, gesturing to Garrett and the security drones.
"We're keeping them sedated. After I complete Commander Chakotay's procedure, I will remove the nanoprobes and myo-neural cortical arrays from the other drones and attempt to restore them to their original states with modified nanoprobes."
"What's Garrett's condition?"
"Dr. Crusher removed his neural transceiver. He is no longer connected to any of his drones," said the EMH. "He should regain consciousness in a few hours. As long as he's fit, he'll be transferred to the brig then."
"Where he belongs," Janeway said.
Seven ran a medical tricorder over Chakotay. "The nanoprobes are working. They are attempting to repair Chakotay's neural pathways."
The Doctor turned his tricorder towards Janeway. "Now, Captain, please have a seat."
"Doctor…"
The EMH gestured to an empty biobed, and Janeway reluctantly sat down while he ran the medical tricorder over her. "Hm. Exhaustion, dehydration, several minor contusions. It's a wonder you're still standing."
"I've been through worse."
"I'll need to remove the nanoprobes from your system as well, Captain, and the myo-neural cortical array."
Janeway's eyes strayed back to Chakotay's still form on the biobed. Seven was hovering over him, holding his hand, and she looked away. The nanoprobes and the array were her only link to him. "The nanoprobes and the array," she asked, "are they causing any damage?"
"Not at the moment," the Doctor replied, running a dermal regenerator over some bruises and minor cuts she had sustained during the fight in the cargo bay. "But they should be removed."
"Doctor," Janeway said, looking him in the eye, "tell me the truth. What's Commander Chakotay's condition?"
The Doctor glanced over at the commander, and then back at Janeway. "It's not good," he admitted softly. "The nanoprobes have a chance of repairing his neural pathways, but even if they do, there's no way of telling what permanent damage has been done to his personality, his memories."
"Don't remove our myo-neural cortical arrays yet, mine and Chakotay's," Janeway said, equally softly. "Back on the station, I was able to reach him through our shared memories. If Seven's nanoprobes fail to bring him back, maybe I can reach him again."
The EMH looked at Janeway sadly. "I can wait a few days to remove the arrays from yourself and Commander Chakotay. That won't cause any damage to either of you. But I have to tell you in my honest medical opinion that the likelihood of anyone being able to reach the commander should the nanoprobes fail is almost nil. Even if the neurological damage can be repaired, there's no telling what psychological damage has been done. The Commander Chakotay we know may very well be gone forever."
Stricken by the Doctor's words, Janeway's eyes shot back to the biobed where Chakotay lay. Seven looked up, her eyes met the captain's, and by her haunted expression, Janeway knew that she, too, knew the truth that the Doctor had spoken.