Chapter 13

The "attack" on the rebel base had been planned. They would strike at morning, when most of the rebels would be off collecting supplies or leading small air strikes and raids. They would hit a structure Harry knew was empty. If everything went according to plan, no one would get hurt, but they would give the impression of condemning the rebels for acting against the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance.

When the details were ironed out, Harry asked to be dismissed. It had been days since he'd slept in a real bed or had any privacy. He was eager to return to his tiny room for the night.

B'Elanna knew she could use the rest, too, but there was one more "prisoner" with whom she needed to clear the air before she would be able to sleep. Chakotay had been brought to the strategy session but had staunchly refused to provide them with any information. One of the Klingons had managed to hit him once in the torso before Gowron and B'Elanna both ordered him to stop. Gowron gave a speech about the dishonor of harming someone who was unable to fight back, and B'Elanna reminded them all that their mission was to convert the Terrans into accepting her as a leader, not to alienate them. She wasn't entirely certain the guards were convinced, but at least they'd left Chakotay alone. He had been taken back to his quarters by the Andorian whose name she still didn't know.

And so it was that she was standing outside Chakotay's room, ready to try to talk to him. She rationalized that she just wanted him to understand that they were the good guys and that she supported his cause, but she knew it was more than that. Even if he wasn't her Chakotay, he was still Chakotay, and she was still trying to win his approval just as she had when she'd first joined his cell in the Maquis. There was something about the way he had accepted her unconditionally, trusting in her talents and even advocating on her behalf to Captain Janeway. Chakotay was, in some ways, the first real friend she'd ever had. She couldn't stand the thought of him hating her in any universe.

Their meeting didn't go off well. He stood erect, chest puffed out proudly. "No matter what you do to me, you can't stop the Terrans from seeking their independence."

"I'm not going to do anything to you," she repeated with some exhaustion. "I just came here to tell you that you've got the wrong idea about us."

He ran a hand across his solar plexus in reminder of the blow he'd taken earlier and laughed. "I'm pretty sure my ideas about you are accurate."

"I'm not your enemy, Chakotay."

He sneered at her – a look B'Elanna had never seen on her Chakotay's face. "You are the product of a vulgar practice of the Klingons, and as far as I'm concerned, you've been tainted by their blood. You're worse than they are. At least Klingons don't try to befriend us. But you – living halfway between two worlds – you're contemptible. You're a Terran gone wrong, and if we ever do take control over the Alliance, I'm going to make sure people like you are the first ones we get rid of."

Her hand came up and struck him across the cheek before she even realized what had happened, and then she was out of his room in a flash. In the corridor she paused for a moment to catch her breath. As she leaned against the bulkhead, panting slightly, she felt tears stinging her eyes.

Moral quandaries were something Starfleet prepared its officers for. Harry Kim couldn't even tally the number of classes he'd taken with "ethics" either in the course title or somewhere on the syllabus. There had been an entire class devoted to application of the Prime Directive, both philosophically and historically; Modern Federation Ethics; Early Starfleet History, in which the class debated whether Starfleet had historically adhered to its own tenets; and, a class he'd thoroughly enjoyed, Morality in the Twenty-Fourth Century.

With all this training Harry understood the situation at hand. The Obsidian Order – Are they really a revolutionary organization in this universe? It made his head spin – needed B'Elanna to take power as their puppet. In order to do that convincingly, they needed everyone else in the sector to think B'Elanna was a force to be reckoned with. It wouldn't look good to have her find a location for the Terran Rebellion, take one person, and leave suddenly. To play the part convincingly, she had to command her people to strike the base – even if that meant they were attacking Terrans who were on the same side as the Obsidian Order.

He'd told Gowron and Damar as much information about the base as he could, given that he'd only been there a short time, and it mildly relieved his conscience that the attack was going to be staged in such a way so that no one ought to get hurt. Of course, the practical side of him, the side that had been in space for four years, knew that these things rarely went according to plan. Still, based on the target and the time of day they'd chosen, he had hopes that there would be no casualties.

Casualty. Such an ugly word for what it really means. It sounds as if someone's death is a casual thing.

Although Harry understood the position B'Elanna was in, he was beginning to wonder if she wasn't letting her power go to her head a little. He'd seen her snap at her crew and lash out at Gowron – in fairness, it was all behavior he'd seen from her before, but this time it wasn't because she was trying to get Voyager repaired quickly. She seem fixated on her ascension to power, and even though she said she'd been trying to break into Damar's database, Harry couldn't help doubting her efforts – and feeling guilty about his doubt.

He fleetingly considered mutiny, but he knew it was not a real option. There weren't enough people to pull it off. The Klingons might be willing to overthrow the "mongrel," but they wouldn't rally behind a Terran mutineer. Tom and maybe even the Andorian would follow him, and probably the other prisoners for the sake of freedom, but then Damar and Gowron would be left with the mess of trying to decide whether to "discipline" them or reveal their true identities.

For the moment Harry had to let B'Elanna take the reins. And he wasn't entirely comfortable with that arrangement.

She's your friend, and she's never lied to you. Are you going to stop trusting her now?

If this universe could break the bond between them and cause them to turn their suspicions on each other, what chance did they have of getting out of it?

Harry closed his eyes and hoped that in the morning the situation would seem a little less gray.

At 0800 that morning, in a tiny room lit only with a faint red light in a corner, Harry sat down to breakfast with the Andorian with one antenna (he'd have to remember to ask B'Elanna about that), Tom, and Chakotay. The four of them didn't speak to each other. The Andorian felt himself above the others, and so did Chakotay; Tom was generally reticent, except, it seemed, in B'Elanna's presence, and Harry was too anxious about the impending strike.

At 0815 the Andorian dabbed his blue mouth with his napkin and then tossed it onto the table. "Back to your rooms, Terrans," he announced.

They were being herded down the corridor when the ship rocked violently. Chakotay took the opportunity to shove the Andorian against the bulkhead. The Andorian hastened to his feet and tried valiantly to keep his three charges under control, but Chakotay was a loose cannon, and Harry a seasoned Starfleet officer. It only took a minute before they had him subdued, silently asking Tom to guard him. Tom gave them an urgent "Go!" in response.

They ran in opposite directions: Chakotay toward the escape pods, and Harry toward the bridge.

There was chaos as the bridge crew tried to manage the attack. B'Elanna caught herself against a console as they took another hit, mentally clucking her tongue at the crew's lack of discipline. The Cardassians seemed flummoxed by the rebels' unorthodox attack pattern, and the Klingons were roaring, ready to blow the small rebel craft to pieces with their superior firepower. Damar and Gowron were having a hell of a time corralling them.

"Nobody blows up that ship until I say so!" B'Elanna hollered over the din.

"They're hailing," a Klingon announced.

The doors to the bridge opened, admitting Harry, just as the viewscreen activated to reveal the face of Kathryn Janeway.

"Captain, what are you doing?" B'Elanna sputtered. "Kathryn."

But her attention was focused on Harry. "This is payback for betraying us, Harry. Fire."

The ship was hit again, but it was little more than an annoyance to B'Elanna's crew.

"Get her off the screen!" Gowron ordered.

Harry and B'Elanna exchanged another look. This was the distraction they needed. Harry slipped into B'Elanna's ready room while the rest of the bridge was glued to either their consoles or the viewscreen.

"Fire on that ship!" Gowron yelled at the weapons officer. "Now!"

Before B'Elanna could protest Gowron's order, there was another round of weapons fire, and then more ruckus as a Cardassian patroller positioned itself between the two ships. One of the Klingons tried to tell them he saw it on sensors over the noise of the red alert, but by that time they were all staring at it on the viewscreen.

"What's going on?" Tom yelled above the din as he stumbled onto the bridge.

"It's Seska!" one of the Cardassians cried in surprise.

B'Elanna shoved Tom in the direction of the ready room and hurried over to Damar. "Did she come to help us?"

The bridge crew realized simultaneously that Seska's weapons weren't trained on the rebels.

"Someone has launched an escape pod," one of the Klingons reported.

"Seska's hailing."

Before the viewscreen was fully activated, they could hear Seska was calling out, "You are harboring known enemies of the Alliance. Stand down."

B'Elanna looked with concern at Damar and Gowron. If Seska was aware that the ship was under the control of the Obsidian Order, they were all doomed.

Damar leaned forward, his gray fingers gripping the nearest console tightly. "We have arrested those enemies," he replied menacingly. "And we are on our way to make certain their entire base of operations is destroyed. This is the sub-regent's ship. I suggest it is you who should stand down – or be arrested for treason."

Nothing like a little chest thumping when you're backed into a corner, B'Elanna thought, holding her breath while she awaited Seska's response. The viewscreen went dark.

"The Cardassians are moving off," one of the Klingons reported, just as another announced, "The rebel ship is moving away."

"Follow that ship!" Gowron ordered, though it was unclear which he meant.

It didn't matter. Both ships jumped to warp speed.

B'Elanna could hear Damar sigh from across the bridge. "Stand down red alert." It was difficult to miss the annoyance in his voice.

"You'd better get out of here," B'Elanna warned as she strode into her ready room. "Damar and Gowron are probably going to come in to strategize any minute."

"Tom got me through the security lockouts," Harry reported.

"You're sure you didn't trip any alarms?"

"Positive," Tom said, flashing her a confident smile.

"We still have to decrypt the database," Harry continued. "Do you have a padd I can download it to? I can work on it in my room."

B'Elanna looked around for a moment and then tossed one to him. As Harry copied the information, a console beeped. They looked at each other in alarm.

"Tom, you said you were sure –"

"It's a message," he cut her off. "It's from Seska's ship."

Harry moved beside him. "It's being routed through an auxiliary database," he told B'Elanna. "She must have sent it during the attack."

"What does it say?"

Tom looked up at her in surprise. "'Don't trust Damar. He won't let you go home.'"