Fleet Admiral O'Shaughnessy sat in a wide office chair in a safe, if remote, location that was undisclosed even to some of his compatriots. He had taken upon himself to invite only his closest friends, those he could trust implicitly to breathe not a word to anyone. He did not like to admit to himself that the Cassandras were a problem – perhaps a catastrophic one, at that. Admiral Montoya and Admiral Pallin sat with him in stony silence.
At last Montoya said, "Let them destroy San Francisco. It truly does not matter as long as we have what we need."
"Oh? And what is that?"
"Access to the biohazard, and materials to build a new prototype."
"It's not that simple. People at Starfleet are asking questions. They want to know who these women are."
"That information is unattainable."
Admiral O'Shaughnessy resisted the urge to laugh. "No information," he said, "is unattainable. If it can't be researched, it can be bought. And if it can't be bought, it can be forced from the mouths of even the most stalwart of soldiers."
Pallin rose abruptly. "Speaking of unattainable information," he said, "I have it on good authority that Kathryn Janeway means to seek out the Borg collective."
"To what end?"
"Members of the Apocrypha racing club believe that the Ultimate Starfleet Officer project stems from some type of alliance."
"An alliance? A deal with the devil, so to speak?"
"So to speak, sir."
"That's just fine. If she does gain access to the collective, she'll find out that there is no alliance, and no doubt she will be assimilated, or simply killed. Finally, gentlemen, a problem that solves itself."
"You doubt her ability to survive a confrontation with the Borg."
O'Shaughnessy frowned. "Even a cat with nine lives," he replied, "must see the day when luck runs out. If I didn't know better I would say that Janeway learned a thing or two from her association with our morbid friends the Cassandras."
Pallin did not see the humor in this comment. "I think, sir" he said, "that she means to survive."
"And I meant to win at cards the other night, but things just didn't swing my way, now did they? We are in the middle of a war, and you insist on worrying about one woman with no allies and remarkably bad judgment. Perhaps she will learn the truth, but if she does, she will be without a tongue to speak it."