Disclaimer: Please go back to chapter one for rating, pairing and author's note, etc.
9
Seven saw the shock in the others' faces, but her main concern was elsewhere. Turning to the screen showing Lieutenant Ayala, she spoke hastily. "Lt. Ayala, Caroline and Cassidy Priestly are not to leave the quarters and nor are you. They are at the top of my list of probable targets—in fact, they might have been the intended targets from the start."
"What?" Miranda's voice was weak now, rather than low and threatening. "My daughters?"
"Yes." Seven clenched her hands out of sight of the others. "I should have seen this earlier. I apologize."
"Seven, you better tell us everything from the beginning." Janeway patted her knee under the table, Seven guessed she tried to be reassuring, but the gesture made her feel worse as she did not think she deserved it.
"Very well. Three days ago, I noticed signs that someone was using the astrometrics star charting to plot routes, only to then erase them from the logs, as well as the backup files. I wanted to determine the identity of this individual and question them before I brought it to Kathryn's attention."
"Someone erases and covers their tracks and you don't report it?" Miranda was halfway up from her chair, but sat down when Kathryn took her arm.
"Let Seven continue."
Miranda's eyes were stormy, but she didn't say anything, merely nodded at Seven.
"The reason I did not report it was, the traces I detected made it possible for me to extrapolate the routes they'd charted. They all lead to known, non-threatening destinations. Locations we already had placed in our flight plan and submitted to Starfleet. This was not about classified matters and the two individuals most likely to be the culprits had nothing on their records to cause concern." She pulled up data from her PADD. "However, this was before today, when I realized these individuals still perform their star charting as well as transmit them on coded subspace bands, which I managed to intercept in part."
"May I?" Kathryn reached for the PADD.
Seven handed it over, her heart now cold and barren, as she was certain she was to blame for Andrea's condition.
"These are fragments from what I can see," Janeway said as she scrolled down what Seven had just read. "Oh…"
"Read it." Miranda spoke through clenched teeth.
"New orders required…lethal…still undetected…losing…mistaken identity of targets…soft targets for more impact…family members to be preferred…-xyma station…covert operative…Priestly." Janeway looked up at Seven, her eyes narrow and stormy grey. "Who in your staff is transmitting this?"
"Unless they are being framed, the trace leads to Ensign Lisa Holmberg and Crewman Jarmoa Miax."
"A human and a Trill?" Miranda blinked. "I want everything we have on them—"
"Ms. Priestly!" Ayala's voice interrupted. "I just went to check on the girls and they're not in their rooms."
"What?" Miranda stood fully this time, knocking the chair over. She slapped her comm badge, paging her children over and over.
There was no reply.
10
"Computer, locate Caroline Priestly," Kathryn said, her voice calmer than the grey storm in her eyes.
"Caroline Priestly is in Jefferies Tube fourteen-gamma."
Kathryn repeated the words, this time for Cassidy. "Cassidy Priestly is on deck thirteen, junction one-alpha."
"What the hell?" Miranda was ready to leave in an instant. "Where are they going?" And why had the girls split up? Miranda's heart was pounding so hard, it hurt her rib cage.
"Wait for us," Kathryn said from behind.
Glancing back, Miranda saw all the others who'd been in the conference room were right behind her.
"We need to organize. One that goes after Cassidy and the other finds Caroline." Kathryn split the group into two teams.
Seven added, "Jefferies Tube fourteen-gamma is located twenty-four point six meters from engineering."
Seven, Nash, and one security officer joined Miranda to look for Caroline. As they took off down the corridor, heading for the nearest turbo lift, Miranda found it impossible to not assume the worst. She tapped her comm badge. "Computer, locate Caroline Priestly. Respond through my comm badge only." She didn't want anyone with malicious intent to overhear where her twins were.
"Caroline Priestly is in Jefferies Tube fourteen-gamma."
"She hasn't moved?" Miranda cast a panicked glance at Seven. "Why is she in the same place like that?"
"I do not know, Miranda." Seven looked somber as they all entered the turbo lift. "Deck forty-two."
Miranda wondered if the turbo lift was malfunctioning and moving in slow-motion. When the door hissed open, she almost toppled one of the junior engineers waiting to enter.
"Which direction, Seven?" Miranda said as she began to run.
"Left."
Miranda couldn't remember ever running this fast. She kept glancing at the different Jefferies Tubes hatches and came to a stop at the sign that said fourteen-gamma. She opened it and crawled inside. Despite the muted light, she had no problem seeing all the way to the next junction. No Caroline. "Computer, locate Caroline Priestly." Miranda could barely speak as she gasped for air.
"Caroline Priestly is located in Jefferies Tube fourteen-gam—"
"No, she's not!" Miranda sobbed and slammed her palm into the tube flooring. "She's fucking not."
Seven passed her and kept crawling as she scanned the tube. She stopped and picked something up. "Caroline's comm badge." She held up the small item and plucked a tricorder from her belt. "The communication feature has been disabled. This comm badge can be traced, but not utilized to communicate."
"Why would anyone do that?" Miranda frowned and leaned against the wall behind her. "Where is she?"
Seven had continued scanning the tube and now turned around and started crawling toward Miranda and the others. "We must leave. Now."
"What?" Miranda shook her head. "We should look for more clues—"
Seven nudged Miranda hard. "No. There is an explosive in here set to go off any moment. Move!"
11
Janeway hurried toward the junction the computer had described as Cassidy Priestly's location. As they reached it, it soon became obvious that the little girl wasn't there. Janeway whipped out her tricorder while she asked the computer for clarification.
"Cassidy Priestly is on deck thirteen, junction one-alpha."
"No, she's not." Janeway's instrument beeped as she directed it toward the aft part of the junction. She stepped closer and saw something glimmering close to the bulkhead. "Cassidy's comm badge." She plucked it from the deck and ran the tricorder over it. "It's hers."
Tal Celes had scanned the area also and now shook her head in dismay. "She's not within scanner range, Admiral."
"Damn. Where is she, and why's her comm badge here?" Janeway pinched the bridge of her nose. She was about to suggest they widen their search when the alarm klaxons blared and the ship went to red alert. "Computer! Report!"
"A high-yield explosive has occurred in Jefferies Tube fourteen-gamma."
Janeway flinched and slapped her comm badge hard. "Janeway to Seven, what's going on?" Please answer, darling. Please.
"Seven to Janeway," a nearly unrecognizable voice said through massive coughing. "An explosive went off in the Jefferies Tube where the computer located Caroline Priestly, but we managed to vacate it in time to avoid the blast." She coughed again.
"Are you all right? And the others?"
"We are all right, Kathryn. Caroline was not there, but her—"
"Comm badge was. Same here. No sign of Cassidy either."
"Kathryn, do an extensive scan for any threat in case it was a trap as well." Seven was breathing somewhat easier. "This is looking far too planned to be a coincidence."
"I agree. Keep looking for your girl. We'll do the same here."
Janeway spent a few minutes deploying security teams all over the ship and ordering civilians to go to safe zones. If someone had put an explosive near the outer bulkheads, she could not allow any of the passengers to be hurled into open space.
"I was thinking, ma'am," Tal said. "What someone chased the girls, or threatened them…what if they tossed their comm badges to confuse whoever was after them?"
Janeway pivoted, looking appreciatively at Tal. "You have a point. They're clever girls. Their mother's daughters in every sense of the word. The question is, why would they sneak out in the first place? They were safe with Ayala—" She smacked her palm on the bulkhead. "Andy. I bet they were dying to go see Andy. They love her."
"They're not in sickbay yet, though. The Doctor would've told us." Tal tapped her chin. "There are many ways that lead to sickbay. Corridors and Jefferies Tubes."
"We could try a bio pattern scan, but that needs to be done in a more private setting as we don't want the wrong people to overhear." Janeway started running down the corridor. "Let's go."
As soon as they reached one of the conference rooms, Janeway and Tal slipped inside while the security officers stood guard.
"Computer, security input, Janeway-zero-zero-alpha-one-nine-one." Janeway waited for the computer to acknowledge. Nobody would be able to hack into the system and monitor this. Seven's Borg algorithms came saw to that. "Locate the bio patterns for Cassidy and Caroline Priestly, using their last body scan or transporter buffer."
"Locating."
Janeway tapped her foot as the computer ran the scans.
"Cassidy and Caroline Priestly are located in Jefferies Tube thirty-four beta."
"What are their vital signs?" Janeway held her breath, somehow knowing there would be bad news.
"Cassidy Priestly's vital signs are normal, with slightly elevated breathing and heart rate. Caroline Priestly is unconscious and showing signs of respiratory distress."
12
Miranda had never run this fast in her life. Seven had received information via some encrypted signal directly to her cortical implant and told her they'd located her girls.
They reached the turbo lift, and again, it seemed to take them forever to reach the deck where her girls were. "What aren't you telling me?" Miranda gasped, trying to catch her breath.
"I cannot tell you in an unsecure area. The computer states Cassidy as all right, but Caroline seems to be unconscious."
"What?" Miranda fought the urge to double over as Seven's words hit her like a blow to her solar plexus. "Un-unconscious?"
"I am sorry, Miranda. There was no easy way to disclose this." Seven's eyes were almost transparent and filled with anger. "We are going to find them and take them to sickbay."
"Oh, Gods." Miranda wondered if a mother's heart could implode from sheer terror.
The lift door opened and she ran again behind Seven as she had only vague ideas of where they were going. Seven on the other hand knew exactly and it took them less than a minute to reach the correct Jefferies Tube hatch.
Seven pulled up a tricorder and scanned the hatch, as did Nash.
"Open it!" Miranda was ready to push them aside.
"We cannot risk any potential booby traps, Miranda," Nash cautioned. "Remember your girls are on the other side. We need to be careful."
The sound of running feet alerted them to Janeway and her team's presence.
"Report," Janeway said, also out of breath.
"No signs of any explosives or wiring." Seven pulled at the handle and opened the door. "I will go in. I'm the strongest here, physically, and can remove them the fastest."
Miranda was about to object when Janeway placed a hand on her arm, gripping it. "She's right, Miranda. Let her go in." She turned to Seven. "Use caution," she said, her lips tense.
"Of course." Seven climbed inside.
Miranda bent to look, but saw nothing but the back of Seven as she crawled farther inside the tube. "What do you see, Seven?" she called out, her voice trembling.
"Give me a moment, Miranda," Seven said calmly. She shifted sideways and spoke in a calm, yet urgent voice. There was further movement and a small, tousled figure dislodged and began crawling toward them.
"Cassidy…" Miranda held out her arms and her girl scrambled the last feet so fast she fell out of the Jeffries Tube and into her mother's arms. "Bobbsey." Miranda hugged her child tightly, her eyes still on Seven's back farther into the tube. "Thank Gods you're all right."
"Mom, I'm so sorry." The little girl cried into Miranda's shoulder. "I'm so, so sorry."
"Whatever for, darling?" Miranda turned her gaze to Cassidy's tear-filled eyes.
"Caro…I think she's dead…and it's all my fault!"
13
Seven ran her tricorder over the little girl who was lying in a fetal position along the bulkhead. Caroline was pale and showed no outward signs of life, but the instrument, albeit not a medical tricorder, showed the girl had a heart rate and was in fact breathing.
Behind her, a wail of utter pain and sorrow made Seven turn her head toward the exit. Cassidy was clinging to Miranda, crying that something her fault and Miranda in turn stared right at Seven, her blue eyes burning and brimming with tears.
"She is alive, but she needs medical attention. I am taking her to sickbay." Seven didn't wait for an answer, but called for site-to-site transport for her and Caroline.
The rematerialized, Caroline in her arms as she still knelt on the floor. Seven saw the Doctor hurry from his office area. She hoisted the child up on the main biobed. "I found her like this in a Jefferies Tube with her sister, who is in good shape physically." Seven watched the Doctor scan Caroline.
"She is in the same state as Ms. Sachs," he said. "We have to assume that she's in the same kind of distress when it comes to sensory and auditory awareness."
"Stasis?" Seven felt how she paled. This was going to kill Miranda. Who could do this to a child?
The Doctor hurried to the wall unit hosting the stasis chambers. He pulled one forward and opened the lid. "Place her here, please, Seven."
Seven took Caroline in her arms. Fine tremors emanating from the girl. "Wait, Doctor, there is something happening." She held Caroline closer and the tremors stopped. Experimentally she lowered Caroline to the biobed and as soon as she let go, the tremors started again.
The Doctor had been scanning her during Seven's ministrations and now looked surprised. "This is baffling," he said, rubbing his holographic chin. "She seems to respond favorably to the closeness of a human presence."
The tingling sound of the transporter produced Miranda, Cassidy and Janeway.
"Caroline…" Miranda stepped forward and blinked in surprise when Seven put the child in her arms.
"Hold her." Seven nodded toward the Doctor. "Repeat your scan, Doctor."
He did and now his eyebrows nearly met his nonexistent hairline. "Even better than when you held her. She must sense this is her mother's embrace."
"What are you talking about?" Miranda spoke in a low growl. "Explain her condition at once."
"She's really not dead?" Cassidy's voice was shrill. Kathryn stepped up behind her and placed gentle hands on her shoulders.
"No. She's not dead. You kept her safe until we found you two."
Cassidy pivoted and clung to Janeway, wrapping her arms around her waist.
"I have to perform some more scans and go deeper. From what Seven discovered, physical nearness for this child is making her relax. This affects her system in a beneficial manner. Her heart rate goes down to normal and her breathing becomes less shallow and less frequent. If this is the case with her…it begs the question how this benefits Ms. Sachs."
Miranda rocked the daughter in her arms. "So, it's the same poison?" Her gentle voice was a true sign of how furious and distraught she was. Seven had studied the impressive woman closely ever since she first met her and knew the nuances in her tone well by now.
"Yes. That much I am certain of, but I will of course draw blood and make sure. The symptoms are identical."
"Does this mean Andrea is suffering needlessly in her stasis chamber when the presence of a loved one might have eased her pain?" Miranda took two steps toward the Doctor.
14
Janeway let go of Cassidy and stepped in front of the Doctor, as it looked like Miranda was going to tear his holographic head off. "Now we have to do what is best for Caroline and Andy, and also focus on catching the culprits."
Miranda moved back to Caroline's still body, pulling the little girl into her arms.
"Doctor," Janeway continued. "Is there any way we can provide the same physical nearness to Andy, to help with any potential anxiety? Obviously Miranda is the common denominator between the two, but having her care for both might stretch her too thin and perhaps not be enough."
"My thoughts exactly," the Doctor said, eyeing Miranda with caution. "When it comes to Ms. Sachs—to Andy—is there anyone else among you who are as close to her heart as Miranda?"
"Seven is very close to Andy, but I would say Cassidy." Janeway looked over her shoulder to Seven. "And we need you to help with the investigation."
"I can take care of Andy. I love her too." Cassidy hiccupped, her cheeks still wet, but she walked up to the stasis chamber and placed a hand on the lid.
"Yes. You are. I'm going to let the Doctor work this problem out with your help, but I need to ask you a few questions first, honey." Janeway pulled up a stool and sat down next to Cassidy, pulling her closer again. "Why did you leave your quarters?"
"We wanted to stay with Andy while mom was working. When Lt. Ayala was busy talking with you over the comm system, Caro and I snuck out through the ventilation shaft and into the Jefferies Tube."
"All right. Then what happened?"
"We climbed several decks down in the tubes, to not let anyone see us. It started to hurt our knees, so we decided to see if the coast was clear and use the turbo lift down to sickbay." Cassidy began to tremble. "When we climbed out, two men were coming out from another tube across the corridor. One had a tricorder and the other some sort of little box. Or a device. I don't know."
"Did you recognize them?"
"No. At least I don't think so." Cassidy frowned. "Anyway, we started running, and the one with the tricorder said something like 'never mind, we don't have to chase them, we find them easy enough by tracking them'. That's when we realized we had to toss our comm badges. We ran and ran, took the turbo lift in up and down several decks. Tossed our comm badges in two different places and hid in a Jefferies tube far away from sickbay. We figured we got away."
"Why didn't you page us?" Janeway frowned.
"Oh. Right." Cassidy was leaning against Janeway now, looking tired. "We tried. The comm badges kept making chirpy sounds. We even tried to make the computer help us, but it didn't respond."
Janeway realized the people in pursuit of the twins had to have used some local dampening field or scrambler. "So you were hiding?"
"Yes, we thought we'd wait some and stay in the tubes and try to find the bridge or sickbay. Caroline even had an idea we could cause a malfunctioning by kicking at the gel packs behind the hatches in the bulkhead. The big hatch toward the corridor opened and somebody tossed a package or something inside. Caroline crawled over to it—I think she meant to throw it back, but something sprayed her and she fainted right away. I thought sh-she died."
"She didn't. We're going to help her and Andy too." Janeway rocked Cassidy and looked at Seven, so furious at the callous people who balk at going after children. "Now, you stay here with your mother, sister and Andy. The Doctor will find a way for you to help Andy feel better." Janeway lead Cassidy back to her mother and nodded solemnly to her. "I'll keep you posted, Miranda."
"I hold you to it."
15
Kathryn and Seven ran more in depth scans with specialized Crime Scene Tricorder. Large and bulky, they were able to find skin epithelia, strands of hair, fingerprints and residues down to the molecular level.
"I read remnants of what has to be part of the toxin on the third beam, Kathryn," Seven said, leaning in closer.
"Watch it. We don't know how potent this is." Kathryn was working further in.
"I am being very cautious. Anything else would be counterproductive." Seven took a sample with the CST. "I am transmitting the result to sickbay as well as engineering."
"Good. I'm doing the same here," Kathryn said. "The explosion isn't much of a mystery. My take on it is that they threw in the 'box' and this contained both the explosive device and the toxin. Anyone who potentially survived the blast would be incapacitated by the toxin."
The Borg tubules in Seven's left hand wiggled in wrath-filled anticipation. Once she got her hands on these individuals, she would unleash them to penetrate their necks if that was what it took. Kathryn would not like it, but as far as Seven was concerned, anyone who goes after children—be it the Borg or nameless terrorists, you had forfeited your existence.
"We've accomplished everything we can here." Kathryn crawled toward Seven and halted next to her. "Are you all right?" She frowned.
"I am functioning at acceptable parameters, but I am angry." Seven experienced deja vu when her anger and resentment got the better of her so many times in her dealings with Kathryn.
"I know you are. As am I. We will get these people. We're in deep space, far from the nearest settlement. They have nowhere to go. I've made sure there is a ship wide lockdown, and those around sensitive areas, like sickbay, the bridge, the shuttle bays and so on, all have your eminent Borg encryption."
This made Seven smile faintly. "Good."
Kathryn crawled closer. "We will get this under control and the girls in sickbay will get better. I will make sure of it." She pressed her lips to Seven's. "We haven't rested properly since this happened. I have a few hours left in me to keep going, but then we are going to have to rest for a few hours." Cupping Seven's neck, Kathryn massaged the rigid muscles there. "All right?"
"Very well." Seven doubted she would manage to rest. "I merely—"
"The Doctor to Admiral Janeway."
Janeway tapped her comm badge. "Janeway here. Go ahead."
"Your presence I required in sickbay, admiral, and Seven's too. Andy is awake and she is sure she knows how she was poisoned."
16
Miranda had asked Cassidy to lay snuggled up against Caroline, to keep the otherwise agitated twin calm. Cassidy immediately gathered several pillows that she stacked to half sit next to her sister and not miss a thing as the Doctor lifted Andrea from the stasis chamber.
"M'randa?" Slurry, but with her eyes open and apparently not in too much discomfort," Andrea looked over the Doctor's shoulders at her lover and held out her hand.
"I'm right here, darling." Miranda hurried to the other biobed. It was when they'd opened the stasis chamber to bring Andrea out to lie next to Cassidy, to see if that had the same effect as Miranda's presences had on Caroline, that Andrea had shocked them all by opening her eyes and talking to them. "Take it easy until you find your bearings." Miranda bent over Andrea and kissed her forehead and cheeks.
"I'm all right." Frowning, Andrea looked over at the other biobed. "Caroline?"
"She's been poisoned too," Miranda said, her voice catching. "As long as we hold her, the Doctor can stabilize her vital signs. We didn't realize that about you. We may have hurt you more than necessary. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. All b-better now." Andrea hugged her weakly. "Got to find the two busineschmen…"
"What?" Miranda couldn't make out what Andrea was saying.
"From that space station where Nas wash. No. Where Nash was." Coughing and beginning to show signs of distress, Andrea waved off the Doctor who immediately showed up with his scanner. "No! The two men. Businessmen, from the space station."
"You recognized some men from the space station aboard the Brilliance?" Miranda tried to puzzle together what Andrea meant. "But Nash has been aboard for a long time now. Months. And these men only act now? Hm."
"I overheard them, but didn't know at the time what they meant." Andrea insisted on sitting up. "Better. They talked about shipments, several times. The last time, it dawned on me that they might mean weapons or something like that. Like Maladorian. I wasn't sure, but I tried to listen in more and I suppose they must've caught on to me, because that's when my coffee tasted funny. Sweet, or something. I don't use sweeteners."
"They put something in your coffee." Furious, Miranda gazed between Andrea and her daughter. "And when was this, darling?"
"Today. No. I mean, I began to feel ill pretty soon after I had the coffee. I went to collect the girls like we agreed and…I don't remember so much after that other than flickering images from sickbay. From the stasis chamber." She began looking distressed again and Miranda held Andrea close. "You're doing much better now. Right, Doctor?"
"Yes, Miranda." The Doctor managed to worm his scanner around Andrea, despite her being in Miranda's arms. "The toxin is still there, but has somehow gone dormant. This means I cannot permit Andy to leave sickbay. Not until I can render it harmless or eradicate it. I took the liberty of paging the admiral and Seven."
"Get Nash and Tal as well," ordered Miranda. "I have an idea about these men and their true objective, but I want to know what the others think." She kissed the top of Andrea's head. "And you, my darling, will do what I never do, heed the Doctor's warning. I cannot lose you or the girls. It's as simple as that."
Andrea cupped Miranda's cheek, her fingers trembling a little. "I know."
The door opened and let Janeway and Seven inside. Miranda was relieved to see them. Janeway had not only become a close friend, but she was also one of the very few people in Miranda's life whom she dared to lean on when things went awry.
"Report," Janeway barked and even her stern voice was reassuring.
"Doctor, we need more stools and chairs." Miranda waved the newcomers over. "Tal and Nash are joining us." She reached into Andrea's bag who still sat by the stasis chamber. "Darling, you're very good at drawing. Can you sketch the faces of the men you overheard talking? Don't show the girls until you're done."
Janeway looked at them with new energy. "You're on to something."
Miranda turned to Janeway. "Yes. And if I'm right, this has everything to do with Maladorian and nothing to do with weapons."
17
Janeway looked at the face of the two men that Andy had managed to sketch. One was human with narrow, hard eyes and full lips. His square jaw and high cheekbones made him ruggedly handsome, but he still wasn't anyone she'd noticed aboard the Brilliance. Then again, one face among five thousand…impossible odds.
The other man seemed to be half K'tarian. Like Naomi Wildman, whose human mother had served aboard Voyager, had the same protruding spikes on her forehead as this man. He also boasted full lips and there was something cruel about his mouth, something disdainful. This man looked familiar, somehow.
"We need to get these sketches out to every security officer." Janeway raised her hand to forestall Miranda's objections. "We have nothing that proves any of the Brilliance's crew has anything to do with these two. They seem to operate alone, or perhaps with other civilians, I'm not sure." She motioned for Miranda to speak. "Can you tell me what you mean by this being Maladorian's handiwork, but that it didn't have anything to do with his arms dealing?"
"He's going after my family. It's personal. I took Tal, and then Nash, away from his inner circle. He must have some connections in a very high position within the Federation if he knows I'm more than a mere fashion editor. Soon his henchmen will go after my family, or me, or perhaps one of you as you are also my friends. I can't prove this, but I know it."
"I don't disagree," Nash said, tossing her long braid over her shoulder. "Maladorian is known to hold a grudge forever. If you cross him, there is no going back. You're his enemy. Simple as that."
"Do you have family or friends that might be in danger?" Miranda asked.
"My family is right here." Nash placed a hand on Tal's arm. "If he hurts her, he's a dead man."
"Yes. He is." Miranda was pale, but her blue eyes glimmered of something dark and dangerous. "He went after the ones I love the most. He's forfeited—"
"It's when we turn this into a personal vendetta and lose focus that he wins." Janeway interrupted Miranda's words of cold fury. "We need to come up with a plan how to take these men into custody and also to deal with Maladorian and his people once and for all. Going off on a half-cocked mission of personal revenge is probably what he's hoping for. If we allow ourselves to take a step back and remain cool and collected, we'll get him."
"Cool and collected?" Miranda rose, agitation and nerves obviously making it hard for her to sit still. "How can you even think I can sit idly by— "I don't think you should do that at all." Janeway rose as well. "Listen to me. You have a brilliant tactical mind and so has Seven. I'm not half bad and neither are Nash and Tal. If we pull our resources, I bet we can come up with a plan that catches him with his pants around his ankles. He won't see us coming."
"Precisely." Seven nodded. "We should not capture these two men to begin with, but instead let them assume they succeeded in their endeavor."
"What do you mean?" Miranda turned and glared at Seven.
"We should put out a message that we will hold a memorial service for Caroline Priestly and jettison her body in a photon torpedo shell."