The BLTS Archive - To Tell The Truth
#6d: M'Nea Madeleine
by melanie (melanie@skynet.ca)

---

Naomi was frustrated.  Tommy had shown her a lot of things with
shuttles.  How to pilot one -- even let her do it on a real one a few
times, not just in a simulated one on the holodeck.  How to open the
shuttlebay doors.  How to lock the hatch so no one could get in unless
she let them in.  These and other things he had taught her all were
meant to prepare her in case someone tried to take over the ship and
she had to save herself without any help from anyone else.  He had not
yet taught her how to override the controls the others had
deactivated.  So she was stuck inside with nowhere to go but outside
to face her mother, Neelix, the Captain, and the others and she did
not want to.  She figured staying in here, alone, was better than
that.

The transporter behind her activated and a woman materialized.  Since
she was unfamiliar that meant this woman could only be one person.

"Hello, Naomi.  I'm Maire Molloy," the woman introduced, confirming
Naomi's suspicions.  "You can call me Maire, if you like."

"I don't like," she said petulantly and grabbed the console to her
left then yanked the pilot's seat back towards the Helm.

Maire sunk into the co-pilot's chair.  "I don't blame you," she
sighed.  "Were I in your position, I wouldn't either."

There was silence for a while then Maire spoke again.

"You know how to fly, hmm?"

"Some.  Tommy taught me."

"And you wanted to go flying right now?  Why?"

"They won't go get Tommy."

"So you were going to?  That's very brave, going off all by yourself
to get him."

Naomi did not comment.

"There's only one problem with your plan."  She jerked a thumb towards
the one side of the shuttle.  "Well, apart from the ones they'll tell
you are the problems with your plan.  Only they don't know about this
problem."

Naomi cocked her head in her direction, interested despite her desire
not to be.  "What?"

The child's eyes grew very large and she nearly stopped breathing when
the woman explained the problem.

"Only you can't tell them," Maire insisted, meaning the adults
outside.

"Why not?"

This too was carefully explained and the little girl thought about the
reasoning.

"You're right.  They can't be told yet."

Maire nodded, leaning back in her seat.  "Now that all that is
straightened out, leanaban, what are we going to do about this mess
you've gotten yourself into?"

"What's a..."

"Leanaban?  A child.  You."

"Oh.  They're going to be mad, aren't they?"

"*Going* to be mad?  Try *are*."

"Oh."

"But they're more *concerned* about you than they are *mad*.  You're
going to be punished somehow, Naomi.  There's no escaping that."

The child nodded, resigned.

Maire smiled sympathetically and held out her arms.  "Come here,
leanaban."

Naomi went for the hug.

"Well, you ready to face the music now?"

There was a nod in response.  Maire released her so they both could
stand and a little hand slipped into hers as they proceeded to the
hatchway.

---

Sunfire did not wake Tom the instant they entered the Gherop
Homeworld's system.  He finally had fallen asleep after staring at
Naomi's drawing, thinking, for over an hour and she was reluctant to
wake him just yet.  If his plans went as he hoped, there would be no
sleep for him for the foreseeable future.  So she let him sleep as she
went about her duties, amassing intelligence and condensing it into a
report for him.

Even with the beginning of R'Co's Ceremony still a few days away,
there already were a large number of ships docked at the enormous
platform in orbit of the Gherop Homeworld and even more on landing
fields on the planet.  The still-cloaked Sunfire dutifully scanned and
catalogued each one then tapped into their ship's computers and
downloaded their information before moving on to read the computer
network on the planet.  Along the way there, they had hacked into the
information systems of the various outposts and settlements they had
found as they travelled here so much of the information she now
gathered was repetitive.  Some of it, like R'Co's current location and
the exact details of the official and the *unofficial* security
surrounding her were new.

As was the news that not all of the Rachar were dead after all.  There
were a few crewing Gherop ships.  She mulled over telling Tom this.
If he were to find out M'Nea Madeleine had others of her kind out
there, he might feel obligated to free the others too and give her to
them to raise.  Freeing them would place him in even more danger and
he was so attached to the child now that giving her up would cause him
even more pain.

She weighed her options.  Be honest, tell him about the Rachar, and
let whatever happened happen or lie to him for his own good and let
him keep the little girl he loved as his own.  It was no contest.  She
deleted the information from the Gherop database she was creating and
woke her companion.

"We're here," she told him as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"I've learned nothing new about T'Do's replacement.  R'Co seems
contented with the status quo.  She's not interested in changing
anything.  In fact, given what I've found on her in their private
files, the only thing she is interested in is herself.  Her needs, her
wants, her desires."

"Just great," he grimaced, shedding his clothing and walking to the
shower.  "Heavens forbid this be easy.  Where is she?"

"In her bedchamber.  Alone.  Security's not bad, but we've seen far
better."

"Security measures?"

"Guards stationed in the hall outside her room.  Sensors on the doors,
windows, and ventilation system but nothing monitoring her
personally."

"Good.  Rest of the report?"

As he showered and shaved, she filled him in on the highlights of the
information she had gathered.  None of it appeared to contradict any
of his plans, and they were both grateful for that.  He because he did
not want to have to rethink his plan.  She because she was worried if
he did have to rethink things he might just return to his original
plan of destroying the planet, regardless of what Camet and the others
said.

Tom stepped back into the room and headed for the chest of drawers in
the wall.  From the drawers, he extracted the clothing he had sworn he
never would wear again.  In a matter of minutes, AlphaOmegan 41783 was
back in full uniform and ready to go to work.

---

"Where are those slaves?" R'Co muttered to herself, rubbing the spot
where she thought an insect had just bit on her neck.  "All they had
to do was go to the kitchens and bring back my bedtime snack.  It
could not possibly take this long."

She rearranged her nightgown to further emphasize her "charms."
Living here under such heavy guard and scrutiny the passed few
intervals had made it impossible for her to sneak out and see her
latest lover and the sexual frustration was getting to her.  But two
of the male slaves had caught her eye that morning.  Not quite as
handsome as her current lover, but they were attractive in an exotic
sort of way and she never had had any of their species before.  A
discrete word with T'Ne had had them reassigned to her bedchamber and
by morning her frustrations would be eased considerably.

If the slaves survived that long.  Tonight she was in the mood to be
the aggressor instead of the submissive she most often was and that,
coupled with her recent enforced abstinence meant she had a lot of
aggression from which she could draw.  Too much really, she knew.
Years of playing sub/dom games with her long succession of lovers had
taught her when to draw the line, when "play" no longer was safe and
had moved into the dangerous territory and lives were at stake.  R'Co
loved to flirt with that line both as the one in the mortal danger and
the one responsible for putting someone there.  In fact, it was
becoming increasingly the case that unless her lover brought her right
up to that line, she did not receive any pleasure from the encounter.
As of late, she had found even this danger had begun to pall.  She
found herself having dark fantasies about things that could never come
true now that she was to be Leader.  She had to make a choice -- being
Leader versus fulfilling her own ultimate sexual fantasy.  There was
no way she could have both no matter how much she wished.  But perhaps
she could have the flip side of it.  What were slaves if not for using
however she saw fit?  Who cared what she did with them?  There always
were more where they came from.

She yawned broadly.  If only she did not fall asleep before they
arrived.  She could not understand why she was so sleepy all of a
sudden.  True, it had been quite the taxing day for her.  Planning the
celebrations for her Ceremony.  Trying on the different outfits she
planned to wear at various times during the festivities.  Looking over
the gifts that were arriving as tribute to the new Leader.  'And there
was dealing with that idiot T'Ne,' she grumbled to herself.  She had
kept him on in his position only because she needed a liaison between
the old and new leaderships and he was knowledgeable about how things
were done, but once she was Leader, he would be the first to go.
Perhaps N'Tra could take his place.  She was simple and unassuming.
It would be easy to control her and N'Tra certainly would not
challenge her as T'Ne constantly did in subtle and not so subtle ways.

Another yawn escaped her and her lids began to fall.  Perhaps a little
nap while she waited was in order.  Would not want to be too tired to
enjoy her slaves when they finally returned.  Seconds later, she was
in a deep sleep and never felt the transporter beam take a hold of her
and the cloaked man responsible for inflicting the "insect bite" upon
her neck.

---

"Isn't she a beauty?" Sunfire asked sarcastically as Tom undressed
R'Co and laid her on the biobed.

"Just lovely.  Vitals?"

"Stable.  She should be out for quite a few hours."

"Good.  I'd best get started.  You finished?"

"Yes.  They are well and truly 'bugged', Sunbird."

"Good.  Let's just hope this doesn't take so long that someone detects
the transmissions and checks things out."

"They will look like simple cosmic noise.  Nothing to worry about.
With all these ships in orbit, it'll take them days to eliminate them
as the cause and days more to figure out it is a transmission in the
first place."

"I know, but..."

"But we usually did this with more personnel so interference could be
run if and when those being monitored figured out they were being
monitored."

"Exactly.  You'd best get us to our destination."

"Aye, sir."

After readjusting his personal cloak to a frequency that would not
interfere with the instruments he planned to use, he moved the
instrument tray over to the biobed and set to work.  Had his patient
awoke just then, she would have been horrified to see medical
instruments moving through the air all by themselves.

---

Geron Tem was receiving strange looks from the crew he passed as he
tiredly "dragged" himself back to his quarters only minutes before the
start of Alpha shift the next morning.  Or he would have "received"
them had he been awake enough to register them.  Since returning from
his late lunch with Megan the previous afternoon, he had been closeted
in a cargo bay inventorying then transporting everything stored there
to empty spaces in other cargo bays and storage rooms all over the
ship.  He was not sure why this had to be done, something to do with
the upcoming modifications, but he and two colleagues had been told to
do it and get it done ASAP. With three of them on the job, it should
have taken them only a couple of hours.

That estimate had been made before the other two had come down sick
thanks to the Bolian brownies they had eaten at a small party in
Golwat's quarters at lunch.  Two ensigns, on their way to their
quarters farther along the corridor, had taken the two crewmen to
Sickbay for him so he could continue his work.  One of the good
Samaritans had returned not twenty minutes later to tell him he was on
his own for the rest of the shift as the Doctor was keeping his co-
workers and the rest of Golwat's party guests in Sickbay for
observation.  'Bad leola root flour,' the ensign had muttered.  'I
thought it couldn't go bad.  Well, it always tastes like it has, but
still....'  As Geron had tried to ask him about getting help for his
work, the superior officer wandered out, muttering to himself about
the EMH being more peevish than usual and having had the effrontery to
be annoyed by the prospect of having to actually do his job.  'He's
the Doctor.  He's supposed to be ministering the crew's medical needs.
What the Hell could have been so important that he had been out of
Sickbay when he was needed and had to be called back.  He's a
hologram.  Who could he be "needing to talk to" so badly?'

So Geron had consulted the Computer, found everyone he knew and might
help him were on duty or asleep, and took this to be a penance from
the Prophets for his misdeeds.  He ceased looking for someone to help
him and spent the rest that shift and the night working alone to
finish his task.  Now he was heading for his quarters for a long
shower and even longer sleep since he did not have to report for duty
until Beta shift.  The people he passed stared at him and whispered as
he walked by, though he with his eyes nearly closed did not notice.

However he did notice Megan sitting in the middle of his couch when he
entered his quarters.  "Megan?" he yawned, going to his bed to use it
to lean against as he toed off his boots.  "Shouldn't you be going on
duty?  Not that it's not nice to see you."

"Is it?"

'Maybe I'll just sleep first,' Geron muzzily thought and dropped his
uniform jacket to the deck and let his pants slither to his feet.
'Then I'll shower when I wake up.'

"Is it nice to see me, Tem?" Megan pressed.  "Is it nice to look me in
the face and know what you've done?"

'Forget pajamas,' he decided, discarding his grey turtleneck.  'My
underw-' Geron forced his eyes open and to Megan as what she was
saying sunk in.  "Huh?"

"I know, Tem," she informed him in a calm voice, never moving a
millimetre off of the couch.  "I know everything."

"Oh good," he nodded, exhaustion swamping him again.

"Yes, everything, Tem.  You.  Tom.  Torres.  Kim.  Me.  Everything."

"Hmm?"

"I know you told Tom about Kim and Torres after I explicitly told you,
Jenny, and Nozawa not to.  I know it really was because of what you
told him that he left."

By the time she had finished, his fatigue had vanished.  "Megan, I-"

"Spare me, Tem.  You said all that to him, wanting to hurt him because
you thought *I* was in love with him.  Is your faith in me and my love
for you that slight?"

"Well, you were-"

She sprang from the couch.  "It is!  Well, if you think so little of
it and me, I'll just remove myself from your life.  Not that you'd
notice."

Megan ran out and Geron automatically tried to run after her, promptly
crashing to the deck.  Kicking his uniform trousers from their tangle
around his feet, he shoved himself up and stumbled after her, shouting
her name.

But she was nowhere in sight when he emerged from his quarters in his
boxers and tank top.  Her absence enraged him.  His appearance,
however, amused the people who were in the corridor, on their way to
their duty stations for Alpha Shift.  Ducking back inside, he shucked
off the last of his clothing, dashed to the bathroom for the fastest
sonic shower in history, then was dressing in a fresh clothing, all
with the plan to go off in search of Megan and explain everything.

Then he stopped.

'What are you going to "explain" to her?' he asked himself.  'You
*did* tell Paris what she had told you not to.  You *did* tell him
because you'd thought Megan loved him, not you, and you wanted to hurt
him. There's nothing left *to* explain.  She knows everything.'

He frowned.  'How does she know everything anyway?  You certainly
didn't tell her.  Unless it was in your sleep.  But then she would
have confronted you then and there, not waited until now.  And you
didn't tell anyone else.  Only the Prophets.  And they rarely talk
directly to their followers let alone a non-Bajoran, non-follower.
They couldn't have told her."

Puzzled, Tem sat down in her still-warm spot on the couch to think,
only to be interrupted by the door chime.  Hoping against hope it was
her, he jumped up and called in an exuberant voice for his visitor to
enter.  His smile faded when Ver Faran entered, a bag over his
shoulder.

"Nice to see you, too," Ver quipped.

"I was hoping it was Megan coming back."

Ver shook his head and dropped his back next to the couch.  "Don't
think that's going to happen, kid.  I just saw her down the corridor.
The look she gave me... Let's just say, in terms of animosity, it was
more than equal to the one LaKeysha gave me a few minutes ago when I
tried to go back home after she threw me out last night."

"LaKeysha threw you out?"

"Yep."  He sprawled on the couch.  "It's a good thing you and Megan
aren't sharing quarters or we'd both be looking for places to stay
until this mess blows over."

"What mess?  What's going on?"

"What do you mean 'what mess?  What's going on?'  You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Where have you been all night?"

"Stuck in a cargo bay doing the work of three people.  What happened?"

"The Wildman kid went crazy in the Mess Hall at dinner last night.
Apparently, she saw Torres with Kim, started beating on our dear Chief
Engineer, and blurted out the news of their affair to everyone who was
in the room.  Why didn't you tell me you were the one who told Paris
everything?"

"There's no affair, Ver," Geron insisted.  "None.  I told Paris
something and he construed it as they were having an affair.  That's
all."

Ver was stunned.  "But I don't understand.  There was nothing going on
between Kim and Torres?"

"Not an affair, no."

He smiled, knowingly.  "Ah, so there was something going on though."

"Something happened, yes.  But it wasn't an affair."

The older of the two Bajorans tried for a while longer to get Geron to
be more specific but with zero success.  "Okay, keep your secrets.  It
doesn't matter anyway.  The outcome remains the same.  Paris is gone
for good and that's all that matters."

"That's all that matters?  What about truth?  What about love?  What
about the fact if he dies out there all alone it will be my fault for
having told him what drove him away from the safety of Voyager?"

"So what?"

"So what?  How can you say that?  I know you hate him, but he's still
someone who did a lot of good for this ship and crew."

Instead of going into his usual diatribe of Paris' sins, Ver narrowed
his gaze.  "You aren't thinking of supporting this fool idea of
bringing him back, are you?"  His eyes widened.  "You are, aren't you?
Geron, what are you thinking?  We just finally got rid of him and now
you want him back?  He comes back and you'll lose Megan for sure.
She'll be all over him, so glad he's back."

"I've already probably lost her!  But if I bring him back, then maybe
I can make up to everyone for the hurt I've cause them and him."

He flew out of the quarters yet Ver stayed where he was.  In fact, he
stretched out even more on the couch and went to sleep.  Had they not
been less than an hour from Y Llat Dust Cloud, he would have rushed
after Geron to talk "sense to him."  But they were and he knew from
everything he had heard about Janeway recently there was little chance
they were going to deviate from their course, not when there was the
promise of assistance in the upcoming alterations.  Paris was gone and
no revelations as to why at this late date were going to change that.

---

Ensign Nozawa had to clutch the transporter console or fall down from
shock.  He blinked hard at Ensigns Ashmore and Gallagher who were
standing on the other side of the console from him.  The two of his
three closest friends wore surprised and somewhat affronted looks at
the idea that the man they knew so well would have held something of
this magnitude from them.  "Repeat that again," he asked Ashmore.

So Ashmore did repeat it again.  This time very slowly and with
definite emphasis on every word as he related what had been said in
the Mess Hall the night before.

He shook his head.  "I don't believe this."

"So it's true?"

The Asian male looked down at his board and nodded.  "Yeah," he
sighed, "it's true."  At their gasp, his head came up.  "Just the part
about Jenny and I seeing them kissing each other.  Nothing more than
that."

"They kissed each other?" Gallagher whispered, her eyes wide.  "Define
'kissed.'"

Ashmore gave her a look that he thought this was the stupidest
question he had ever heard.  "What do you mean 'Define kissed?'"

"I mean was it a peck on the check or-"

"Mouth," Nozawa interrupted.  "Definitely an eight on a scale of one
to ten."

"Damn," the audience swore in unison.

"But this part about the affair and Geron telling anyone anything or
why, that I can't say."  He shook his head.  "Megan told us not to
tell anyone what we'd seen and I figured it anyone would have a
problem keeping their mouth shut it would be her sister.  With Jenny
Delaney you never know what she's capable of doing."  His lips twisted
at the memory of precisely what had brought that fact stunningly home
to him.  "But Geron.  I never would have thought he was that insecure
in their relationship to do something like this.  Everyone knows how
close Megan and Tom Paris always have been.  He had to have known he
was in danger of losing her for sure when he deliberately went against
what she'd told him and told Paris whatever version of things that he
did."

"A jealous man does strange things," Gallagher sighed, remembering the
"strange things" one of her previous boyfriends had done when he had
thought she was looking at other men.  "So he exaggerated to hurt
Tom."

"Must have.  Unless there actually is an affair going on and they've
been hiding it but Geron somehow found out."  He shook his head again.
"But I doubt it.  Not those two."

The doors opened and Lang rushed in just in time to hear Nozawa's last
sentence.  "I figured I'd find you all here.  You're talking about
Torres and Harry Kim?  Then you should have been at breakfast.  Neelix
is spreading the word he talked to them last night and found out
there's no affair.  Just some- How'd he phrase it?  A misguided kiss.
Whatever that's supposed to mean."

Gallagher's eyebrows lifted.  "A misguided kiss that was an eight out
of ten."

"I don't know.  This is just what his passing along."  She stepped up
to the upper level where Nozawa stood and placed an arm about the
clearly overwhelmed man.  "You okay?"

He looked at her, seeking comfort in her gaze.  "You think they're
right though?"

"Right about what?" she asked gently.

"About maybe the reason he left was because he thinks they're having
an affair?"

Lang thought for a minute then nodded.  "Yeah, I think Tom would do
that.  I mean, I don't spend much time with him, I'm usually on Gamma
shift and he is -- was -- on Alpha, but I do think he's the type to
try to bow out gracefully."

"And he'll never know now that he was told wrong."

She felt unexpected tears rising in her throat at his distressed tone.
"No, he won't."

"Oh, come on," Gallagher interrupted disgusted.  "You two sound like
you're about to join the Pro-Paris Movement.  The guy's gone.  We
aren't going after him or we wouldn't be planning to land on New
Kildare when we get there.  And Janeway's not about to let anyone go
after him.  Look what happened with the Wildman kid when she tried
last night."

"That's different," Ashmore disagreed.  "She's just a kid."

"True, but-"

"I'm not saying we should get him back," Lang explained, "just that
it's sad he won't ever know the truth.  Frankly, even if he did, I
doubt he'd come back anyway."

"I should have told him when it happened," insisted Nozawa, not really
listening to her.  "I shouldn't have listened to Megan and told him."

An argument broke out at that point over the pros and cons of Paris
not being amongst them.  Nozawa barely heard any of it.  Though his
role in everything had been a very minor one, he still found himself
regretting it and feeling guilty.

---

"There she is, Captain."

It was a seemingly needless statement of something that was obvious to
everyone on the Bridge with Maire, the person who had said it.  Only
it was not so needless as it would first appear for she and everyone
except Baytart, who had his back to the command chair therefore could
not see what was going on behind him, knew the Captain was distracted
by her thoughts.  That was quite understandable by anyone who knew
what the woman in question had been doing the night before.

After Maire had lead Naomi out of the shuttle, they had been converged
upon by a mother and godfather who were both admonishing and gushing
with relief at the same time.  Initially, the Captain and Commander
had hung back a bit, instinctively knowing they would not be welcomed
by the little girl.  Once Sam and Neelix had calmed a bit, they did
approach and Maire had gone into action.  Within minutes she was
moderating a clearing of the air between Naomi and her mother,
godfather, and captain in the guest quarters.  Chakotay had wanted to
come too, but Maire had taken him aside and told him in no uncertain
terms his presence would be more of a hindrance than asset as he and
his attitude towards Paris would complicate matters.  This
conversation was to bring an understanding between Naomi and the
adults about her feelings and only her feelings.  His presence
inevitably would open up an entirely different, though certainly
related set of issues better resolved at another time and without
Naomi.  So the Commander had been kept away from the over two hours
worth of arguing, tears, rebukes, and, in the end, the tentative peace
that had been forged.  Everyone had parted for their respective beds,
exhausted, but a little calmer. Everyone, but Janeway, who still was
deep in thought the following morning and appeared to not have slept
in the interim.

"So what do we do, Captain?" Baytart asked, turning in his chair.  "I
can't fly through that."

Maire answered for her.  "They'll send out a few ships to meet us and
guide us in.  Don't worry.  Mr. Kim, if you can send that message?"

Without looking up from his console, Harry nodded.

He too looked like he had not slept the night before only his was for
a different reason.

After their co-conspirators had left, he and B'Elanna had received a
visit from Neelix who dropped his usual friendly attitude and demanded
to know how much of what Naomi had overheard was true.  Receiving an
explanation from Harry, the Talaxian had left with a promise to
discretely spread the true version of the matter.  He obviously had
already started long before Harry had made his way to the Bridge for
the beginning of this shift since everyone Harry had met on the way up
to Deck One had given him sad looks, not openly congratulatory ones or
sneers.

Of course, there still could have been some of those.  He had been
rather wrapped up in his thoughts of the previous night to notice
much.  Most of the time he should have been sleeping had been spent
sitting up with B'Elanna, trying to comfort her as her doubts had
begun to creep in.  No matter how much he tried to assure her they
*could* reason with Tom and everything would be okay, neither one of
them totally believed it.  The damage had been done.  Tom, who felt
things more intensely than most would believe or comprehend, probably
never would be able to completely put this mess behind him.  The two
people in the Universe he had dared to trust had betrayed him, if only
to the slight extent they actually had.  The fears they would abandon
him as had all others who had claimed to care about him had now
emerged. Their relationship with him never would be the same.

'But first they had to get him back,' Harry was thinking when Maire
had asked her question.  Surfacing, he performed his task, sending the
pre- recorded message into the cloud.  "Message sent."

Settling back in her seat to Janeway's right, Maire nodded.  "They
will have detected us and dispatched ships to intercept us long before
Ensign Kim sent our message.  Once they receive it, they'll verify it
really is me and the PTC will instruct them to guide us in through the
cloud."

"PTC?" Chakotay interrupted.

"Planetary Traffic Control.  Mr. Tuvok, do not be alarmed if they take
up flanking positions around Voyager, front and back.  That's standard
op if one our test ships has lost their long-range sensors and can't
navigate the cloud.  They get close enough the damaged ship can use
short-range sensors to lock onto them and follow them safely through.
They should do the same with Voyager."

Her prediction came true thirty seconds later.

Twenty minutes after it did, Janeway and Tuvok were beaming down to
talk to an anxious New Kildarean President and the regional governors
and Maire resignedly returned to the O'Connor Propulsion Research
Facility to inform them of the demise of the Dublin.

An hour after that, the Captain's party was back on Voyager and in the
Conference Room informing the Senior Staff the New Kildareans had
agreed to help with Voyager's modifications and the OPRF had cleared a
space for Voyager to land.

Fifteen minutes later, an extremely nervous Baytart was landing the
enormous ship on the surface.

---

"What is it?"

N'Tra led T'Ne off to one side of the room, as far away from the four
guards and two slaves as possible.  "The slaves came here with the
bedtime snack R'Co requested and couldn't find her.  They went outside
to the guards to ask where she had gone and what they should do with
the snack only the guards told them as far as they knew R'Co was in
here and searched the rooms themselves but found nothing."  She
lowered her voice so the others were sure not to here.  "I thought you
weren't going to make her disappear."

"I didn't!" he hissed softly back.

"But she's gone just the same.  I've talked with the guards and our
own people and none of them saw her go.  The only way she could have
got out would be through the windows only the internal security system
would have registered their having been opened and that didn't
happen."

"Internal security knows about this?"

"Not yet.  I consulted the systems myself without their knowledge."

"Good.  I don't know how it happened, but I certainly had nothing to
do with any of this and I want to know who did.  First thing we do is
alert internal security."

"But you just said-"

"I'm not saying we tell them what's really going on.  Tell them it's a
test of their efficiency, that with all the guests who were coming or
were already here for the Ceremony, they are going to have to be
prepared for every eventuality.  Tell them R'Co herself wanted to test
their preparedness and has devised this test for them to see how they
would handle it.  She's disappeared and it's up to them to figure out
how and to locate her."

"No one will panic if they think it's all a test and R'Co is safe and
sound somewhere."

"Precisely."

"But since we know the story's not true, what really happened to her?"

"I don't know.  Maybe internal security will get lucky and find out.
In the meantime, have our people check her lovers and other known
associates.  Maybe she or someone else overrode the internal security
so she could get out the window for some reason.  And make sure this
room is checked for weapons signatures in case someone assassinated
her via disintegration.  Do that before we tell them the story about
the test.  Just in case."

"Yes, T'Ne."

"And get the head of internal security here.  I want to make sure he
reports directly to us.  In case he finds something we don't want
getting out.  And don't use the terminal in here just in case."

As she left, he turned to the slaves and the four guards, all of who
already were terrified as to what was going to happen to them because
of this.  T'Ne let them continue to stew while he waited for N'Tra to
complete her assignment.

---

Twenty minutes later, N'Tra slipped into the room where D'Itu was
reading alone.  "R'Co is gone."

D'Itu showed surprise.  "I thought you said T'Ne did not want to do
it?  It would defeat the purpose.  He wanted to discredit her.  Making
her disappear would only cause problems.  An investigation would have
to be made to find the one who made her vanish.  Were he caught, he
would go to prison and R'Co might still end up on the throne."

"He claims he didn't do it."  She narrowed her eyes.  "You're saying
*you* didn't do it either?"

"Of course.  I agree with his reasons for caution in this.  I told you
that.  You didn't do this either then?"

"No.  So if he's telling the truth, which I think he is, and I know
you are, what happened to her?  T'Ne has so many people watching her
along with the regular guards, there's no way she could have walked
out or someone walking in to get her without someone seeing."

"What about weapon's fire?  Did he check for that?  Maybe someone did
get in and disintegrated her.  Some sort of trap could have been set
when she wasn't in the room.  Her bedchamber's not watched when she's
not there.  Anyone could have gone in and done something."

"He has internal security thinking it's all some sort of a test of
their abilities, that R'Co's actually safe somewhere, waiting to see
how they do.  When they got to work, they found no evidence of any
residual weapons signatures."  She paused.  "There was a strange
energy signature, very faint.  They almost missed it.  It doesn't
match anything on file."

D'Itu paced around the room for a while, thinking.  "So she vanished
from a secured room without anyone seeing her and the only thing out
of the ordinary that has been found so far is an energy signature that
cannot be identified and may or may not be connected to all this?"

"Yes."

"She could not just vanish," he muttered to himself over and over
until he finally stopped and stared at her with wide eyes.  "Unless
she didn't 'vanish.'"

"She's invisible?  Out of phase or something?"

"Maybe, but isn't there a more likely an explanation?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like she was beamed up."

"Beamed... Voyager."

"Exactly.  She supposedly can do some sort of matter transfer.  What
if that is what that energy signature is?  Some by-product or
something of the beaming procedure?  T'Ne still is pursuing the idea
Voyager knows something about T'Do's death?  So what about this?  What
if they don't just know something more about it that we do?  What if
they somehow were in league with R'Co over it?"

"And the reason she's currently missing is because they took her to
their ship for some reason?  The briefing I'Nu gave the ships attached
to Rachar said Voyager had to be within a certain distance in order to
do this beaming thing.  We would have seen her."

"But that Sunfire, it had the technology to blind ship's and planetary
sensors to its presence.  What if Voyager could do the same?"

"But why wouldn't they have used it before now?"

"Maybe it wasn't working.  They had been in many battles before E'Arte
heard of them and began having his ships test her abilities.  It could
have been damaged in one of these battles and they had not repaired it
yet.  Or perhaps it takes a large amount of energy and they were low.
Or remember those reports of what happened immediately before Voyager
reached Rachar?  The larger ship that brought Sunfire with them?
Maybe they had the hiding technology and Voyager didn't but somehow
got it from them, either through trade or theft."

"The reports say Voyager's crew has too many regulations within which
they have to operate therefore are prevented from being duplicitous."

"However they got it, the chances are they do have it," he insisted.

"Yes, it is possible.  But why do this?  If they have sensors as
sophisticated as the reports say, why wouldn't they have seen the
slaves coming with R'Co's snack and immediately sent her back down so
we didn't know she ever was gone?"

"Maybe something malfunctioned or they didn't care if we knew.  Maybe
R'Co reneged on whatever deal she made with them regarding their role
in things and they beamed her up to deal with her."

"She does tend to double cross people, but never unless she knows she
can handle them.  With Voyager, I doubt she'd be that certain of her
ability to do that."

His mood deflating, he nodded.

"I know this disappoints you," she soothed, "but you have to be
absolutely certain of the situation before you make your move."

"Yes.  Best not reveal myself until I'm sure R'Co's out of the way for
good."

"And unfortunately that will only happen if we bide our time and let
T'Ne do his investigating."

"And let him take the fall if necessary."

"Exactly."

"But what if R'Co's not found in time for the Ceremony?"

"There will be chaos if R'Co's disappearance becomes known to be
something other than a test of security.  Some story will have to be
concocted.  I'm sure T'Ne can be relied upon to do that.  He and the
Council.  Probably they'll make up some romantic garbage along the
lines of what was said about R'Rto the Fourth.  Remember?  He
supposedly gave up being Leader to live a life of obscurity on some
remote world?  All because the love of his life, who had been kept a
secret because he was a commoner, never would have been happy with
palace life.  Everyone thought it was so romantic?  Little do they
know R'Rto actually died in his bed with four Wtwna sex slaves and the
R'Rto who gave the abdication speech was a surgically altered stand in
who died himself not long afterwards."

"Hmm.  I nearly fell off of my chair when you found the real record of
R'Rto the Fourth in the secured archives and told me about it."

"Quite understandable why the Council would want to keep the fact our
Leader died while enjoying the sexual favours of slaves from an empire
with whom we were at war at the time.  All sorts of questions would
have been raised."  She sighed.  "Like will be now if the truth gets
out."

"Unless they can find some evidence before the Ceremony to disqualify
her."

"I still wonder if I shouldn't plant something for T'Ne to find.  To
speed up the process.  He's expecting to find something anyway and if
he keeps looking for legitimate proof that might not even exist, R'Co
could die of old age before he find it."

"And if something goes wrong and you're caught you know what will
happen then?  If R'Co can be found, she still will get to the throne
and you'll end up executed for treason.  If she can't be, you'll still
be executed and your second cousin will become Leader."

"And she's mixed up with that pacifistic cult who keep advocating
harmony with the other species and equal rights for all, including our
slaves."

"Exactly.  The Gherop Empire would fall into chaos.  No, best let T'Ne
try to find any evidence there is to find all by himself for the
moment.   If he hasn't found anything within an interval, then we can
give him a bit of a nudge."

"Maybe a suggestion that Voyager may have taken her?  I think he'd
latch onto that idea and start creating a story to explain R'Co's
departure.  Voyager does seem a plausible explanation what with the
strange energy signature."

"Only if he does not think of it first or we don't come up with a
better plan.  Just in case, contact our ships that are out looking for
Voyager and Sunfire and tell them to scan them to see if R'Co is on
board.  Don't tell them who they're scanning for, just see if there's
a Gherop lifesign on board.  If there is, destroy the ship.  I want to
be sure there's no way she can come back to try to take my throne from
me."

"I'll come up with a good story for them.  That the Gherop they are
scanning for is a traitor trying to get Voyager and Sunfire to strike
at the Homeworld?  That would keep them from asking too many questions
thus giving R'Co time to identify herself to our ships and ruin things
when they do find her."

"I like the way your mind works."

She smiled.

---

'Nice cosy family,' Sunfire grimaced.  'Makes one glad they're an
orphan.'  She filed away the information she was receiving from their
devices monitoring of the Homeworld.  It was quite possible these
tidbits might be of later use.  Especially anything she could find on
this pacifistic cousin.  She might be important if things with R'Co
did not go well.

"Sunbird?"

"Yes?" came the response from her small holodeck.

"The Gherop are still looking for us and Voyager.  They now have
orders to destroy us on sight."

"Voyager's got to be well out of Gherop space by now and we've looked
at their technology.  They have nothing that will be of use to them in
trying to detect us.  Don't worry.  Now how about a status report on
our former guest?"

---

R'Co awoke with a coughing fit so violent it had her doubled over.
'What was that smell?' she wondered, opening her eyes then instantly
shutting them again when something made them sting.  Not that they
were of much use to her open anyway; it had been pitch black around
her from what little she had seen.

Her head hurt worse than the time she and her fifth lover had become a
little over-enthusiastic and she had struck her head on the stone
floor of the chapel.  She was relatively certain that was not the
reason for her current pain.  After all, she had arranged for his
execution once she had tired of him.  A monk who was willing to break
his vows of celibacy and silence?  Who knew what else he was capable
of doing?  He simply had to go.  Of course that was the same fate all
of her lovers met so his lack of self-control was nothing more than an
excuse.

Since she knew he was not the cause of the pain, there had to be
another explanation.

Groping for the controls for the room's illumination, she encountered
not the wall as she had expected, but another body, clothed in a rough
garment.  Immediately, she snatched the hand back and her eyes popped
open, stinging or not.  She still could not see anything, but the
shock of what she had just felt had been enough to banish the last of
the fuzziness from her brain.  It was then that she became at least
partially aware of her condition and surroundings.

Clearly she was lying on a floor.  A cold and uncomfortable one at
that.  The clothes she wore were rough and ill fitting, nothing like
the well-tailored gown she had been draped in when she had gone to
bed.  Around her neck was something cold and heavy that produced a
slight hum.  Over that soft sound, she could hear the sound of raspy
breathing all around her.  Lots of raspy breathing.  Wherever she was,
however she had got there, she was not alone.

There was a near deafening hissing noise followed by a less than
gentle thump.  The breathing around her was drowned out by the sound
of voices, presumably belonging to the breathers.  They were not
saying anything she could make out easily.  It was more of a general
murmur of anxiety.  Whatever was happening, her companions knew what
was going on and it was not anything good.

An instant later, she too knew.  There was the muffled clank of some
huge metal something disengaging then a high-pitched squeal followed
by a creaking of metal and the hiss of hydraulics.  A thin sliver of
blinding daylight appeared and enlarged as the ramp to the cargo hold
lowered.  As she brought her hands up to shield her eyes against the
light, she had the impression of dozens of aliens from dozens of
worlds all huddled on the floor of the hold, all with restraining
collars around their necks.  She also had the impression that
something was wrong with her hands.  Just as her eyes had adjusted
enough to the sudden illumination for her to lower her hands and see
what was wrong with them, there was the sound of heavy boots on the
ramp and cries from all around her.

"Get up, slaves!" a fierce voice shouted and it echoed around the
hold.

Frowning, she looked up before she could check her hands and saw those
closest to the hold opening being yanked to their feet by Gherop
guards and unceremoniously shoved down the ramp and into the light.
Seeing the treatment the first few of their number were receiving, the
majority of the remaining occupants scrambled to their feet and exited
of their own volition and under their own power in the hopes of
avoiding the rough treatment.  With everyone in front of her, the
light was blocked out and R'Co could not see anything.  By the time
her eyes had readjusted to the darkness, the ones obstructing her view
were herded out of the way, leaving her sitting there, squinting into
the light once more.

"Up!"  The command was shouted at her as two sets of hands roughly
hauled her to her feet and propelled her along after the others.  She
went stumbling into the back of the huge alien before her.  One of its
heads growled over its shoulder at her while the other watched where
its communal body was headed.  The group was driven out and for the
first time they saw their new home.  R'Co got to know it intimately as
she was unable to properly negotiate the last few steps down the ramp
and tripped, flying face first into the parched grown at the base of
the ramp.  Some of those behind her had seen her fall therefore were
able to avoid stepping on her.  Others had not so were not.  When they
were over her, the guards jerked her to her feet once more and pushed
her along after the others who were trudging towards a low structure
in the distance.

It was then that she discovered she had no footwear.  The surface of
the arid world was hot and burnt her tender soles.  She did much
jumping and moaning as mild burns began on her feet.

"Silence!" the guard nearest her snarled and hit her in the side with
the but of his weapon.

She fell out of line and was shoved back into it again.

"Get back into line, slave!"

"Slave!" she shouted back, finally getting over her shock and finding
her tongue.  Forgetting her feet in her indignation, she wheeled on
him.  "How dare you speak to me of all people like that!"

"Move it!" was his response and he gave her another push.

She stumbled back a few paces and held her ground once more.  "I am
R'Co!  Your Leader!  I'll have you executed for this."

The guard glanced at his partner and they both bowed low.  "Oh forgive
us, great R'Co," the great conversationalist apologized.  "We did not
recognize you in your rags."  The regretful looks on their faces
vanished.  "Move it, Opaw."

"Opaw!" she growled back and would have gone on to tell them they
needed their eyesight examined when they prodded her with the muzzles
of their weapons to turn around and follow the others again.  Gasping
at the indignity of being called a member of the lowest of all the
species in the servitude of the Gherop, she had no choice but to
follow.

"-And this is where you will stay for the rest of your lives," the
Gherop male was saying from the dais before the other slaves when R'Co
arrived, "however long that shall be.  I will tell you no one has ever
escaped from this world.  What you wear around your necks will ensure
your continued presence with us.  Stray too far and... Well, I always
find a demonstration is most useful at this point."

"Take this one," the guard who had been so "deferential" to R'Co
offered and shoved her forwards.

The male on the dais sneered at R'Co then tapped out an instruction on
a small device and pointed it at her.  Searing pains wracked her body,
starting from her neck and coursing throughout her form from there.
She fell to her hands and knees, screaming in pain.  Then it was gone.
Her body sagged with relief.

"That is just a taste of what it can do.  There is no way to remove
the collars.  To do so is to be instantly disintegrated by it.  You
will notice posts marking the perimeter of the mine area.  Cross any
of those and your collars will give you what the Opaw just received.
If you are able to withstand that, the farther you move from this
area, the more intense the pain and eventually the disintegration
function will kick in.  No one's ever made it that far yet.  This
planet has a few surprises in store for anyone who strays from the
safe areas like here.  Remember that.  And remember too, these mines
are for Halkwi ore.  That is a highly explosive mineral if treated
incorrectly so take care where you're swinging your picks.  The life
you save, may be your own."

As he turned away, he gestured with a careless hand towards the
vehicle with the long line of open topped cars behind it.  Immediately
the guards began shoving the slaves towards them.

R'Co, still on her hands and knees, pushed herself up to her feet and
started for the male,  "Her" guard and his partner grabbed her, trying
to prevent her from getting to their superior.  The commotion drew his
attention though and he approached them.

"Quite the temper, Opaw," he remarked.  "Time in the mines will fix
that."

"I will fix you!" she shouted.  "Release me immediately and your
children may be spared to live with your shame and your deaths."

"She claims she is R'Co," the guard informed his superior.

The three of them laughed heartily.

"Well, R'Co," the superior greeted with a bow, "welcome to Mot-Ri.
Mining Station 718.  I hope you enjoy your stay with us."  He became
serious.  "Put this Opaw to work.  Hard labour will cure her of her
delusions."

Towards the last of the cars, she was dragged kicking and screaming
about how they were going to regret what they were doing.  They paid
little to no attention to her venom and tossed her bodily inside the
car.  When she attempted to disembark, the silent guard whipped out a
device identical to the one his superior had used earlier and repeated
the lesson.  Her body convulsed with pain them slumped back against
one of the other occupants who then shoved her to one side.  'Someone
was going to die for this,' she vowed.  'Starting with those three and
ending with whomever had sent her here in the first place.'

She still was shaking off the residual tingles of pain when they
stopped at the bottom of the mine and the other riders began
obediently disembarking.  They had seen her pain and had learned from
it.  She, unfortunately, had not.  The guards at the bottom had to
drag her out of the car, her kicking and screaming not as loud as it
had been up top due to her body's sluggishness from the pain.  They
threw her towards a pile of rocks and a pick was tossed to the ground
beside her, narrowly missing her head.  The laughter of the one who
had done the tossing told her it was a deliberate miss.  Her anger at
that and all the other indignities she had so recently suffered gave
her renewed strength to shakily stand, using the pick for a prop.

"You-" she furiously began, only to be cut off.

"Get to work!" the guard bellowed at her.

"I'll have you publicly executed for this!"

"If anyone does any executing, Opaw, it will be *me* of *you*!  Get to
work."  He raised his hand and she could see one of the devices in his
hand.

She spat at him the vilest epithets she could think up.

Triggering the pain mechanism was his response.

When it was over, she hurled more insults at him, this time with less
energy.

Again the pain.

Again the name calling.

Finally, he tired of it and motioned for two of the slaves nearest her
to pick R'Co up.  Under his guidance, they hauled her now limp body
through the work area to a worked out section of the strip mine.
There had been constructed two buildings.  One large and similar to
the one up top only less elaborate or maintained.  The other was a
circular structure, smaller than the bedchamber in which she had
fallen asleep the night before.  It was inside this latter structure
that they pitched her.

"Let's see if some time spent here will make you more amenable to
following instructions," the guard said as he slammed the door shut
and left her in what should have been total darkness, but was not.
Looking around she could see the walls and the door were transparent
from her direction and she recognized them as the glass that had been
all the rage on the Homeworld about ten fads ago.  Glass that was
transparent one direction but impenetrable the other.  She soon
remembered why the glass had quickly gone out of fashion and why they
were using it here. It did not reflect the sunlight and keep the heat
out.  It did the complete opposite.  Under the hot sunlight, she
slowly was going to cook to death.

R'Co pushed to her feet and frantically began scratching at the seam
in the glass outlining the location of the door.  After twenty minutes
at it she slid to the floor, the heat she was unused to getting to
her.

"Interesting place you have here," a male voice said from behind her.

Slowly, she lifted her face and her eyes focused on a figure all in
midnight blue.  It was impossible for her to tell what species he was
since he was covered from head to foot in the darkest of blue
materials.  Not that identifying him really mattered.  What did was
that she was absolutely certain he had not been in here when she had
been tossed inside.  'Hallucinations?' she asked herself only to find
she had voiced it aloud.

"No hallucination.  I'm as real as you are, R'Co."

His calling her by her name, not "Opaw," made her lunge for him,
despite her exhaustion.  She did not get far before crumpling back to
the floor.  "Who are you?  What is going on?"

"Who I am is irrelevant.  What is going on, well as for that, let's
just leave that discussion for another time."

"There won't be another time because-"

"Because what?  You're going to kill me?  That wouldn't be very smart
since I'm the only one here who knows who you actually are."

"As soon as I'm missed, probably right now even, my people will be
searching for me.  I'm the most famous person in the entire Gherop
Empire.  I'm the future Leader.  These mongrels clearly are too
uneducated in current affairs to recognize me.  But once my picture is
dispatched to all quarters as the search for me continues, then
they'll recognize me and I'll be freed."

"You'd expect so, wouldn't you?  Only I don't think that'll be the
case exactly."  He withdrew an object from the folds of his cloak and
held it up so she could see herself in its reflective surface.

Not that what she saw was anything she recognized as herself.  Staring
back at her was an Opaw, thus ending the mystery as to why everyone
here needed their eyes checked for thinking she was not a Gherop.

"A trick," she insisted, turning her face away.  Out of the corner of
her eye, she saw something and looked towards her feet.  They were
covered in the dusty soil of the planet, but they clearly were
different than normal.  The colour was wrong for starters.  And she
had an extra toe on each foot.  She lifted her hands and finally saw
what she had sensed was wrong with her hands.  They did not look like
her hands at all.

"Medical trickery actually," he corrected, returning the mirror to its
pocket concealed in folds of the cloak.  "I surgically altered you to
look like an Opaw."

Her head whipped back around.  "Why?!"

"As I said before, that is for a later time."

She made another grab for him, this time in succeeding in reaching
him.  Or not reaching him as the case was.  Her hands passed right
through him.

"When I said I was as real as you, I should have been a touch more
specific.  I'm as real as you, I'm just not here.  What you see is a
projection of light representing me.  The real me is elsewhere,
monitoring all this."

"For what purpose?"

"I already told you, all in good time.  For now, I'll leave you to
contemplate your new home and situation."  With that, the figure
winked out of existence.

For a time, she pounded on the walls and frantically attempted to
prise the door open.  All she had to show for it when she finally
collapsed were bruised fists and bleeding nails.

---

"She is going to be a tough one to break, Sunbird."

Tom removed his AlphaOmegan uniform's hood.  "But I'll do it."

There was a gleam in his eye she had seen many a time before.  Every
one of those times he had doggedly continued towards his goal until he
had achieved it.  There was no doubt in her mind that the same would
be the case this time.  No matter how long it took, he would see to it
R'Co submitted to his will.  He would accept nothing less.

---

'Where was Dr. O'Connell?' Chakotay wondered, pacing about the
conference room two doors down from Maire's office in Building 1 on
the OPRF grounds.

When Maire had contacted him to come here and meet her psychology
expert, he had just been readying for bed after a long day of looking
after Voyager in the Captain's absence.  The uninformed observer would
have thought everyone could relax with the ship landed and there were
no possible threats to their safety.  The contrary was true.
Starships were designed for space, not land.  While Voyager was
perfectly capable of landing as per the designers' intent, taking her
out of her natural environment meant they had to monitor more closely
various systems that normally gave very different readings or were
never used at all during space travel.

And then there was the headache of keeping everyone's minds on their
jobs when they really wanted to be out exploring New Kildare.
Shoreleave was something they had not had the chance for much of in
recent months.  The chance of downtime on a planet so like Earth with
actual people from the Alpha Quadrant, who looked like the majority of
the crew, who did not need customs or colloquialisms explained to
them, it was such a temptation for everyone to rush to the nearest
transporter room.  Chakotay had to remind many of them more than once
they were not on shoreleave yet and to go about their duties.  But it
was like trying to keep a litter of puppies in a box.  You put one
back in and another escaped somewhere else.  So his day had been spent
chasing "puppies" who had places to go and people to see but were not
going just yet to if he had his way and he was tired.  Too tired to be
standing around some strange conference room, waiting for some retired
shrink who had been drafted by Maire to help with Chakotay's ECH
project.

He was about to leave when the door opened a white haired woman swept
in.

"Commander Chakotay?"

He nodded.

"Oh, good.  Nana O'Connell.  So sorry to have kept you waiting.  My
great-granddaughter didn't seem to want to go bed and my husband,
well, he seemed more than ready to and fell asleep in her bed and-"
She waved a hand as if to shoo away the topic and dropped into a chair
at the table.  "So, Maire tells me you want to construct a hologram to
be counsellor on your ship?"

"Along the lines of our Emergency Medical Holographic programme, yes."

"Hmm.  I can't help you with the holoprogramming.  Maire's young man,
Declan, will start laying the ground work for this then Stephane will
do the rest when he returns."

"Yes, Maire told us Stephane teaches Computer Science at the New
Dublin University and was away right now, but she never said where he
was.  On sabbatical?"

"No, just a short vacation of sorts.  He should be back in a few days.
I hope.  But in the meantime, Declan can gather all the information
they're likely to need and examine the EMH programme.  And I'll get
started on the psychology end of things."

"I would appreciate that, Dr. O'Connell."

"Maire says Voyager will be here for at least a week, maybe two, while
you do these alterations of yours.  You won't be needed to assist with
them?"

"No, Voyager's engineers will handle it with the help of Maire's
colleagues.  Meetings have been set up for most of the rest of the
crew to exchange information with the New Kildareans working in their
particular areas of study.  And some are working on trying to
understand The Relocation as you call it and hopefully reverse it and
possibly take Voyager with it so we don't have to try out this Gopher
Hole after all."

"So since you're the First Officer and aren't an engineer or a
scientist, you're left with nothing to do?"

"I will still have some duties but not many so I have time to devote
to this."

"Maire also said you've not discussed this ECH idea with anyone except
her.  Still the case?"

He nodded.  "Everyone has too much on their plates as it is.  I
thought this would only complicate matters."

"Hmm."  She relaxed back into her chair, elbows resting on the arms,
fingers steepled.  Over them, she regarded him.  "Before we begin I
think you should tell me why you want to create this ECH."

In detail, he outlined the many crises that had plagued the crew.

"And this current one.  The departure of this Thomas Paris.  What role
does that play in all this."

"I don't understand your meaning."

"You have been without an ECH for five years and have had an EMH for
all of them yet it is only now that you are contemplating copying the
concept of him to make a counsellor for yourselves.  It stands to
reason there had to be some cause that triggered your abrupt decision
to create an ECH.  Maire has told me of the strain Thomas Paris'
leaving has placed on some of the crew, your Captain, your friend
B'Elanna, yourself-"

"Me?"

"Yes, you.  I heard it in your voice when you said his name and told
me of him just now.  How precisely has his leaving effected you,
Commander?  What are you feeling?"

"It hasn't effected me.  Some of the crew, yes, but not me."

"Not at all?"

"Right."

"So this man, his leaving, meant nothing to you?"

"Only in as much as what it did to some of the others."

"Ah, so it did mean something to you."

"Look, I didn't come here for a counselling session.  Maire may have
muttered some garbage about needing my head examined to eliminate
biases that might creep into the ECH, but with you doing the
psychology end of things and this Declan and Stephane doing the
programming, any bias I may have won't enter into it.  You supposedly
were going to do all the work with me acting as liaison so you could
have access to the systems you might need to check.  The EMH
programme.  The holodecks. Whatever it is you need access to so you
can complete this.  Once you're done, I'll present you and the ECH.
That was my bit in all this."  He shoved back his chair and rose.  "If
you're looking for someone to stretch out on your couch and tell you
their problems, it's not me."

She caught his arm as he passed her chair on his way out of the room.
"Sit down, Commander," she said in a firm voice.  The muscles under
her hand tensed, but he did not move.  "If I am to help design this
ECH of yours, I need to know what sort of issues it will be called on
to help the crew deal with.  You are here so I'm using you as a
guideline to figure that out."

He relaxed ever so slightly.

"There is a lot of anger and resentment in you, mostly focused on
Thomas Paris.  Maire saw it and I've seen it too.  If we can work on
resolving those issues in you then we'll be better able to resolve
them in others."

"I'm to be a guinea pig," he guessed.

She gave him a frank look.  "You just told me you don't have anything
better to do."

He tried to come up with a good comeback to this and failed so instead
he set the padd with the specifications on the table before her.
"Call me when your computer experts need access and I'll provide it."
He removed her hand and left.

When Nana walked into her living room many minutes later, she had to
shake her head at the eager faces of the two seated on the couch.
"He's impossible," she sighed, plopping down in her husband's lap.

"Keep working on him," the O'Connell's guest insisted.  "As their
First Officer, he has a lot of influence with the crew.  If you can
calm him down and make him place things in their proper perspective,
others will see his change in attitude and follow suit."

"From what Maire says and what I've seen, it's not going to be easy.
When Thomas' name came up, I could almost see the waves of dislike
emanating from him."

"You'll have to try anyway.  There has to be a satisfactory resolution
to this.  We all agreed that this was the best way."

Nana and Oran inclined their heads.

---

"Let me get this straight, Crewman," the Doctor asked his patient,
"there is no affair?"

Flexing his newly healed broken arm, the crewman from Ship's Services
shook his head.  "None.  If you'll pardon the pun, this whole 'affair'
was blown out of proportion.  From what I heard from someone who
talked directly to Neelix, who apparently got it directly from Torres
and Kim, it was just one misguided kiss done when both were very
confused and they never told Paris because they were afraid he
wouldn't see it as the meaningless mistake it was."  He shrugged.
"Frankly, I never believed it anyway.  Those two a couple?  Ensign
Kim's a nice guy and all, but he's no match for her.  Once I was in
Engineering delivering something and I saw her in a temper and Ensign
Kim was right there, talking to her.  She wasn't mad at him, but at
someone else who wasn't there and I thought the poor guy was going to
go hide under the nearest console, he was cringing so bad."  He hopped
down off of the biobed.  "Frankly, Paris is the only one I've ever
seen not cringe in fear of her temper.  Well, him and Seven of Nine.
Thanks for the fix up, Doctor.  I have to get back to duty."

"Yes," muttered the hologram, barely noticing him leaving.  "All part
of the service."

He did not hear the doors closing behind his former patient, he was so
deep in thought, trying to remember what it was he was supposed to
have done regarding Seven yet had not.  Suddenly he remembered what it
was. Last night, he had told her he was going to see Ensign Kim and
Lieutenant Torres to get the true version of events.  On his way to
the Lieutenant's quarters, he had been called here to attend to a food
poisoning outbreak.  He had spent the rest of the night and most of
the morning monitoring them and finishing up an experiment the rest of
the day.  He had forgotten all about having to see anyone other than
his patients and his petrie dishes.  But now he remembered.

"Computer, locate Seven of Nine."  He knew she would want to know
about this, even if she would claim to be uninterested and had work to
do. He also knew it was doubtful anyone had told her this correction
to the latest bit of gossip to sweep the ship.  Given her usual
response to hearing rumours was to denounce them as speculation
without basis or merit and call them irrelevant, most had given up
trying to include her in that particular aspect of the ship's social
life.  This, however, he knew she would want to know.

"Seven of Nine is in Cargo Bay Two," the Computer informed him.

He checked the computer and found her to be in mid- regeneration.
"Tomorrow will have to be soon enough," he decided and put off giving
her the information she so badly wanted.

Days later, he would regret waiting.

---

"B'Elanna, may I speak with you?"

After a long day of meetings and planning sessions with OPRF
technicians and engineers, B'Elanna dearly wanted to shut her
quarters' door in the Captain's face.  Her resentment of this woman
was considerable and the landing of Voyager on New Kildare had only
increased it.  B'Elanna worried any speaking the two of them did would
result in the Captain making an extended stay in Sickbay.  "I really
don't-"

"B'Elanna, please."  Without waiting for an invitation, Janeway
slipped passed her and into the living room beyond.

Looking silly standing there in the doorway, B'Elanna stepped away.

Taking a seat on the couch, Kathryn folded her hands in her lap and
stared at the coffee table for a moment, marshalling her thoughts.
"It's about Tom.  Well of course it's about Tom," she muttered to
herself.  "What else would it be at this time of night?" She met
B'Elanna's hostile gaze.  "I usually don't interfere with the crew's
private lives, or I try not to anyway, but when you and Ensign Kim had
that incident a few months back you two swore there wasn't anything
romantic going on between you.  You swore it was just because you were
mad at Tom and you were wishing you'd fallen for someone stable and
even tempered like Harry.  You said you weren't actually attracted to
him.  There wasn't any spark between you.  You just wished one
suddenly would appear so you wouldn't have to deal with Tom and his
moods.  Was everything you told me and he told Commander Chakotay a
lie or was what Naomi overheard the lie?"

"I meant every word I said to you about Harry.  There's no affair.
Never has been.  Never will be.  I don't know how they got from one
innocent kiss to a full-blown affair, but Jenny Delaney, Nozawa, and
Geron Tem are going to answer for this."

"They have a lot of explaining to do, yes," the Captain sighed.

"And so do you!"

Kathryn blinked at her frankness.

"They may have done the biggest damage, but your refusing to help the
Rachar certainly helped make up Tom's mind."

"B'Elanna, I'm sorry to tell you this, but Tom's mind appears to have
been made up long before he and I ever spoke.  He said goodbye to
Naomi long before he ever saw me.  He already knew he was leaving.  My
refusing to help them only was the finishing touch," she finished
sadly.

In the face of what she could tell was the truth, Tom's mate struggled
to hold back her emotions.  Kathryn saw this and crossed to her.  She
laid her hands on the younger woman's shoulders.

"B'Elanna-"

"No!"  She wrenched herself away from her.  "You're trying to lay this
all at my feet and not take your own fair share.  I know I screwed up.
I know that.  I had a weak moment and did something stupid and now
it's come back to haunt me.  But you, you helped.  You told me not to
tell Tom about kissing Harry.  You told me it would hurt him too much
and he'd never find out anyway unless one of us told him.  So I kept
my mouth shut.  I hated keeping it from Tom, but I did it.  Then Tom
finds out anyway and all this happens and you refuse to let me go
after him!"

"B'Elanna, when you asked for us to go, you didn't know about Tom
knowing."

"Yes, I did, just not quite what he thought he knew!"

"What?"

The message with Tom's padd was brought out and read by yet another
player in this little drama.  Her reaction was the same as the others
--  stupefaction.

"Oh, no."

"Yes, oh no."

"B'Elanna, if you'd brought this to me in the first place I might
have-"

"Might have what?  Said we could go?  What about all your reasons for
us not going?"

"What reasons?"

"The ones Chakotay rattles off to anyone who asks.  'It was Tom's
decision to go.'  'He's an adult who can make up his own mind.'
'Sunfire can bring him back to us or the Alpha Quadrant anytime he
likes.'"

"'He's behaving like a child who has not go his way and has run away
from home,'" she quoted.

"Exactly."

Kathryn set the padd on the coffee table and caught B'Elanna's
shoulders again.  "B'Elanna, if I said those things it was only
because Chakotay kept saying them to me while I was... Let's be
honest, I came very close to a nervous breakdown when Tom left."

B'Elanna stopped trying to shrink away from the hands and looked at
her.

"I want him back too, B'Elanna.  Badly.  But I thought it was all my
fault that he was gone.  That the fact I'd left him behind on Rachar
then that I was being too rigid about the Prime Directive and that was
why he left.  It never occurred to me that there was any other
possible reason.  All I could think of was Tom had left me, left you,
left all of us, and it was all my fault."

The wretchedness in the older woman's tone shook the very core of
B'Elanna's resentment towards her.  She knew exactly how the Captain
felt, had felt it herself, therefore she found it increasingly
difficult to keep the anger towards her alive.  Not that she gave up
resisting the inevitable and released it.

"Then why are we here not on New Rachar?  We could have sent a message
to New Kildare or at least asked Maire to wait.  Or you could have let
me take a shuttle and go to him.  We could have rendezvoused with
Voyager later."

"B'Elanna, I can't risk letting anyone go off on their own, not when
we're so close to Gherop territory.  As for Maire, you know the New
Kildareans want to keep their world and its location a secret.  Anyone
could have intercepted the transmission and followed it along, trying
to figure out who it was meant for.  When we're finished on New
Kildare, then we'll go to New Rachar and straighten all this out.  I
promise."

"Tuvok to Captain."

She released the other woman and tapped her combadge to answer him.
"Go ahead."

"The New Kildarean President is expecting you for dinner in twenty
minutes."

"I'd forgot.  Thank you, Tuvok.  Janeway out."  She smiled at
B'Elanna, thinking they were at peace once more then left.

As she watched her go, the half-Klingon reserved her judgement on
whether or not they were friends again.

---

The shout of  "Get up, slave!" shattered the half-asleep R'Co's hopes
the previous day had been a nightmare.  She opened her eyes just as a
guard hauled her to her feet by the scruff of her tunic and propelled
her from the glass structure towards an area where a pick waited for
her to use it.  "Hopefully you're in a more sensible frame of mind
this morning, slave.  Anymore of this R'Co nonsense and you'll go back
in there.  Now get to work!"

They stood there, glaring at one another for a long moment.  Finally,
he broke it by raising the device controlling her collar and gesturing
with it.  She continued glaring at him.

Another, older guard came along and stood there, watching.  '"Is the
Opaw still at it?"

"She's just about to get to work, aren't you, Opaw?"

"I am not an Opaw," she informed them.  "I am a Gherop.  I was
surgically altered to look like an Opaw.  I am R'Co, your Leader."

"Really," the old guard smiled.  "And just why would you let this be
done to you, oh great R'Co?"

"I didn't *let* him do this to me!  I was kidnapped from the Homeworld
and woke up in the transport ship here.  He won't tell me why he's
done this or why I'm here.  He just says he'll tell me later."

"Really?"

"Yes, really.  Contact the Homeworld.  They'll confirm I'm missing.
Do a scan of me.  You'll see internally I'm not an Opaw."

"Actually, the Homeworld's covering up your disappearance," the man
who had dropped her into this mess remarked from behind the guards,
"and I've set up a field to make their scanning devices think you are
Opaw."

"See?" she demanded of the guards, gesturing to the dark clad figure.
"He admits it."

The Gherop looked behind them towards where she was indicating.

"He who?" the younger guard asked.

"Him," she answered, looking at them like they were blind.

They frowned at her then the empty space they saw.

"They can't see or hear me, R'Co," her tormentor told her.  "Only you
can."

"What do you mean, only I can see or hear you?"

"Exactly what I said."

"Enough of this nonsense," the older guard growled and grabbed the
device from his junior's hand.  He gave R'Co a sharp blast from it
then passed it back to its owner as R'Co fell to her knees.  "That's
how you handle her.  Don't forget it."

"Yes, sir."  He waited until the other guard had wandered off before
giving R'Co a prod with his boot.  "Get to work, slave."

"You might as well do it, R'Co," it was suggested to her by the
hologram now squatting down next to her.  "It's not like you have much
of a choice."

Glaring at the figure only she could see, she rose, tremors still
wracking her body.  "Never."

Another blast of pain.

More defiance.

After four more such exchanges, R'Co rose one last time, only this
time she did not glare at either of them.  She took up her pick.

Nodding approvingly, the guard moved alone to check on the progress of
other slaves.

'Well, she's getting there,' Tom thought.

'I am going to kill every one of them,' R'Co vowed, then began
swinging the pick in a poor imitation of the technique of the others.
'I'll just bide my time, then when I know what's going on, then I'll
kill them all.'

---

"What is he up to?" Q wondered.  Everything he was seeing made about
as much sense to him as it was to his son.  He glanced towards Voyager
and his mate.  Though he never would admit it to her, she sometimes
was able to come up with ideas or angles he had not seen and he wanted
to ask what her take on all this was.  But then she might declare all
this too much for their son and try to whisk both of them back to the
Continuum and he would never know what this was all about.  So he kept
his mouth shut and forced himself to be patient.  Everything would be
explained soon.  He hoped.

---

"D'Itu," T'Ne nodded.

Behind her superior, N'Tra watched her lover play his role of the
unassuming and ineffectual idiot to the limit.  There were times he
could overact, potentially ruining the impression he was trying to
make in audience.  On those occasions, it had been necessary for her
to do some subtle damage control to mend things.  This time however,
he was the flawless.

"T'Ne, what is it your assistant tells me of my cousin?"

"We do not know how or why, but she has vanished from her bedchamber,
D'Itu."

"Vanished?"

"Yes, D'Itu."

"She must be found immediately!"

"We have our best people trying to do just that.  Understandably
though, they have not been told the truth about what is going on.  We
feared there would be a panic so we have told them it is an exercise
R'Co devised to test them."

"Oh."  He nodded rather stupidly.  "Oh, I see."

"You understand why we have to keep this quiet?"  There was a bit of
surprise in his voice.  The idea that the dim-witted D'Itu actually
understood something without having it fully explained to him was
difficult to accept.

"There would be a panic.  You just said so."

The chamberlain silently laughed at himself for thinking D'Itu might
be smarter than he appeared.  "If they knew she was missing, that
someone had breached the security around R'Co, then they'll begin to
question the Empire's very security."

"And stability," N'Tra added.

"Yes.  The people need a leader, someone they can look to for those
things.  T'Do's death left a void that R'Co's becoming Leader was
supposed to fill.  But now she's gone and if she's not found before
the Ceremony, there's going to be chaos."

"Unless...."

T'Ne gave the "thoughtful" N'Tra an enquiring look.

"The story of R'Rto the Fourth just came back to me."

D'Itu smiled and sighed.  "Abdicated to lead a life of obscurity with
the love of his life.  A commoner.  My mother used to love that story.
So romantic."

"And it was a lie," T'Ne informed him.  He too had been let in on the
real story by N'Tra as part of a ploy by her to convince him she was
working for him and his goals, not her own.  "So what's your idea,
N'Tra?"

She shrugged.  "Since that... ruse worked, why not another one?  You
assert R'Co would be a bad Leader for our people and now she's gone.
Why not make the most of this opportunity?"

"Explain."

"According to the rules of succession, if something happens to R'Co,
D'Itu here automatically becomes Leader since he's next in line.  But
you said yourself, if word gets out that R'Co's disappeared, the first
person the Council will suspect of being involved will be D'Itu since
he would profit most from her disappearance.  Only by proving to the
Council who really was responsible would we clear him from suspicion.
But that would take time and there'd be the risk of the people finding
out someone kidnapped R'Co right out from under the noses of our
security people.  The Council won't want to risk that knowledge
getting out and causing a panic any more than they'd want a lengthy
investigation.  The Empire would be left vulnerable to attack without
a Leader to control it until the investigation was completed.  The
Council knows this and might be tempted to prevent it by simply
passing over D'Itu in favour of his cousin."

"His cousin the pacifist who would destroy the Empire with her peace
accords and equality for all.  Totally unsuitable."

"Yes, but they would have to accept her because she is the last in
direct line of succession.  The next candidate is too distant a
relation to be considered."

"If only we hadn't lost most of those in directly line of succession
to botulism at that family feast."

T'Ne suppressed a smile.  That had been some of her best work and no
one had ever been the wiser.  "But we did lose them and that was a
long time ago.  Too late to do anything about it now.  But we can do
something to salvage this situation.  What if the Council thought R'Co
had left of her own accord?"

"What could possibly make her do that?  There isn't a one inside these
walls who is unaware of how much she was enjoying the wealth and the
power her new position was bringing her."

"What if we could make it look like she'd found another source of
immense wealth and power?"

"We are the wealthiest, most powerful empire in the sector."

"True.  There's no one wealthier she could have left us for.  There'd
have to be another explanation.  What if she left because she thought
she had no other choice?"

"What reason could there be for that?"

"What if... What if she were..." She seemed to cast her mind about for
a plausible explanation.  "Okay, the Crown Jewels.  She was in the
jewel vaults, right?"

"Yes?"

"But she was not wearing the Gherop Crown Jewels when she came out.
Just some others."

"Because you had hidden our Crown Jewels for fear she'd try to do to
them what she had tried to have done to the official robes and head-
dress."

"We know the Jewels are safe, but no one else does.  No one saw me in
the vaults.  If say, we suggest R'Co took the Crown Jewels-"

"Why would she *take* them?  In a few intervals, they would be hers.
There's no reason why she would want to run off with them."

"Yeah," D'Itu agreed.  "They're ugly.  Even if they are some of the
symbols of Gherop wealth and power."

N'Tra gave a satisfied smile and made a gesture towards the "idiot."
"She took them because they were the irreplaceable to the Gherop and
valuable in their own right for the rarity of the metal and stones.
As for why she ran off, what was the one reason a Leader could be
removed from succession or from the throne?"

"Removed from it?  High trea-" He smiled broadly.  "Ah, I see what
you're getting at.  We say everything she did was a mere ruse.  That
she actually was..." He thought for a second.  "A X'Kri'Ri
sympathizer.  The Council's been looking for an excuse to cross the
border and engage them in battle.  If we claim R'Co was secretly
working for them, that she was pretending to be so self-absorbed and
avaricious as a cover, they'd probably believe it."

"The alterations to the official robes and head-dress were to destroy
the symbols of Gherop Leader.  The theft of the Crown Jewels...
Destroying them would be a waste since they are so valuable for their
component parts.  But as the Gherop Crown Jewels they were invaluable
to us."

"Put the image in the heads of the Council of R'Co, on the other side
of the border, wearing the Crown Jewels just to taunt us.  That would
be enough to anger them.  But there'd have to be more proof than
that."

"Say she was seen looking at classified documents?  Documents that
later disappeared along with her?"

"But we couldn't say we'd been the only ones to see her doing it.
That would be too convenient."

"D'Itu could say it too.  They'd believe him."

The Gherop in question looked stupidly from one to the other, as
though he had been having trouble following the conversation.  "Huh?
Say what?"

"We'll tell you later exactly what to say," T'Ne assured him.

"Oh, okay."

N'Tra brought them back to the subject once more.  "So we say we
figure R'Co panicked because we were on to her or she got everything
she needed or whatever.  The Council looks at the evidence,
disqualifies her, and D'Itu is Leader."

"They'll have to think up something to tell the people."

"That can be their problem.  We've done all the hard work here.  Let
them do some."

"Whoever kidnapped R'Co did the really hard work.  And there's one
hitch in the plan.  Two really.  One, the story we told everyone
already.  How do we now say it was all a mistake?"

"You tell them it was R'Co's idea that you say it.  You'll get a bit
of flak, but they can't fault you since R'Co had everyone fooled,
including them.  At the time, you knew of no reason for you to suspect
her of anything so you had no justification for disobeying her orders.
It was only later, when I discovered the documents and the Crown
Jewels were missing did we put it together."

"Why *you* discovering them missing?"

"Because if you did it all they'd get suspicious.  'A personal
vendetta against R'Co?' they'd wonder.  Besides, I'm always the one
who gets anything for you or R'Co and puts it away when you're
finished.  It'd be naturally for me to be in the position to notice
something like the documents being missing or double-checking on the
Crown Jewels being safely in their vault."

"I suppose."

"And the second hitch?"

"What if whoever has R'Co releases her or she escapes?  She'd refute
our story."

"She'd try, yes, but if we do this right, she won't be able to.  The
Council will denounce her as an traitor and have her executed or
imprisoned."

"I still wish we knew exactly who had her and for what purpose.  It
would make it easier for us to take precautionary measures if we knew
where she might be coming from and what story she might be telling."

As he talked N'Tra and D'Itu gave each other looks, consulting one
another as to whether they should go further and suggest possible
answers to T'Ne's questions.  They tacitly agreed not to.  T'Ne's lack
of foresight in how they could use R'Co's disappearance to their
advantage already had forced them to lead him a little too much.  If
they furnished him with any further insights, they ran the risk of him
catching on that N'Tra had too many ready answers to his questions and
D'Itu was making too many fortuitous remarks.  Then too there was the
question of what T'Ne would do if he knew R'Co might be on Voyager or
Sunfire.  He was perfectly willing to use legitimate channels to try
to oust her and he seemed willing to go along with their suggestions
regarding stories to tell to the Council.  But would he condone
assassinating R'Co?  N'Tra had carefully sounded him out on the
concept of assassinations and had not been pleased to hear his
ambivalence on the subject.  They were unsure what he would do if he
knew about the shoot-on-sight order she had issued to their ships in
his name.  He might react badly if he thought that might be where R'Co
was and found out about the order to destroy Voyager and Sunfire.
They could not risk him ruining everything when they were so close to
what they wanted.

"Once the Council has made its decision and gone along with what we
tell them," she soothed, "there won't be anything R'Co can do."

"Yes, you're right."

'I'm always right,' she wanted to say to him, but did not.

---

Tom gave a final glance towards R'Co then stepped back, triggering the
holo-imager to cease projecting his image and voice to her.  "What's
wrong, Sunfire?"

"We have a problem."  She replayed the entire conversation between
T'Ne, N'Tra, and D'Itu.  "The time delay between the monitoring
equipment recording the conversation, then transmitting it and our
receiving it is one hour, seven minutes."

"So they've had enough time to set their plan in motion already.  Any
luck on locating that other cousin?"

"I've found her, yes, but I hate to say it, I'm with the Gherop.
She's a nutcase.  This cult she's mixed up in, they may believe in
peace, love, and equality, but they're crazy."  She showed him a copy
of the cult's manifesto and his eyes widened to twice their size.  "I
don't think even T'Ne and company even know half of this."

"So replacing both R'Co and D'Itu with her is a no-go.  Great."

"And if they have put their plan in motion, it'll be too late for
yours."

"We have a record of them plotting this all out.  That will work in
our favour."

"But if they can follow through with their plans, the instant R'Co
reappears, she'll be branded a traitor by the Council and executed.
This D'Itu idiot will be Leader regardless."

"See what more you can find out about him."

"I'm working on it.  What about your plans?  You want me to beam up
R'Co and take her back home?"

"No, not yet.  I still want to try to break her so she'll see how
wrong her people are in what they're doing to the other species in
their space.  Mot-Ri is just the place to do that.  I don't want to
mentally condition her.  With some species it just won't take or won't
stay if it does."

"Sunbird, in order to see the error of one's ways and change, one has
to have the ability to put oneself in the other side's shoes, to be
capable of empathy, to have a conscience.  I don't think the Gherop
are or do.  There's certainly no evidence to support your assumption."

"I'm bargaining they do.  Remember that transmission we picked up from
that one I'Nu."

"Just as Rachar was about to explode, yes.  But he was desperate for
someone to come to save them because Voyager, which he wrongly thought
was in orbit, would not."

"He was very upset that Voyager would not save them," he reiterated.

"Of course he was upset.  The planet was about to blow up with him on
it."

"But there was something in the tone of his voice.  It made me think
he was thinking; 'How can they just leave us here to die?'"

"So?"

"So carry the argument along.  If he can think: 'How can they just
leave us here to die?', it follows that, if he is so stunned that
Voyager could do such a thing, he himself would not be capable of it.
Therefore, if he would have saved someone who was in his position were
the places reversed, it follows he must be capable of empathy and have
a conscience.  If *he* has a conscience, then it is possible they all
do, it's just buried more in some than others just like Terrans or
most any other species."

"Sunbird, that entire bit of rather shaky logic hinges on one thing --
your interpretation of the tone of voice of a panicking male who knew
he was dying and was begging for help but was being denied it.  His
words could just as easily be interpreted at face value -- desperation
for rescue and anger at the ship he thought was in orbit was saving
others and not him.  No conscience involved."

"I'm hoping there was."

"And even if I'Nu had a conscience, it does not mean R'Co does.  Or
that you'll be able to break her and get her to accept your way of
thinking fast enough to thwart the machinations going on back on the
Homeworld."

He knew she was right.  He had dealt with R'Co's kind before.  Those
who were haughty and so self-assured were difficult to break without
drastic measures.  Their faith in the source of their superiority
complex had to be shaken or destroyed.  A physical injury to scar
their body.  A violation of some sort to scar their psyche.  Something
that hit them hard enough to stun them into opening their minds to a
bigger reality than their own little universe of which they were king
or queen.  Then they could begin to change their attitudes.  After
having studied R'Co, he was sure her losing her wealth, status, and
power would be enough to topple her from her pedestal.  She would have
to learn to take orders for once instead of give them, to work instead
of being pampered.  But he had hoped for at least a week with her as a
slave and learning all this to firmly entrench the lesson.  Now it
looked like he would have to find another way.

His eyes closed as a plan formulated in his mind.  It was nothing he
had not done before as an AlphaOmegan.  Then he naturally had not
thought twice about it.  Now, he was a free man and contemplating
doing something so heinous he felt physically ill.

'I can't do this,' he thought.  'I can't.  I am better than The
Protectors.  I can show mercy.'

Then memories came back to him.  The destruction of Rachar.  The
violation of New Rachar's Eden.  The blackened corpses of the people
who were supposed to have been safe on their new home.  The Gherop
certainly had shown them no mercy when they had enslaved them only to
later annihilate them and their worlds.  Did they really deserve to be
shown what they could not show themselves?

"Sunfire, find me the three biggest, meanest guards down there."

"Okay, why?"

"Don't ask questions.  Just do."

"Aye, sir."

He ran to the nearest head, barely making it in time before the
contents of his stomach came up.  When it was over, he rinsed his
mouth then stood there leaning against the counter and staring at his
reflection in the mirror, what he was planning to do continued to play
over and over in his mind.  'You have no other choice,' he assured
himself.  'She has to be broken.'

---

Sunfire watched him closely as he was physically ill then went very
quiet.  She did not know what was going through his mind right then,
but upon scanning him, she discovered there was no physical reason for
him to be physically ill as he just had been.  That meant it was a
mental reason.  He was contemplating something that turned his
stomach, literally.  She went back over their conversation and his
final order to her and she could not figure out what had happened.

The next day she wished she had and had stopped him before another
large bit of his soul had been blackened by what he had holograms of
the "three biggest, meanest guards" do to their prisoner.

---

"She has to be here somewhere," B'Elanna complained.  "I know the OPRF
complex is big, but I can't be that big."

Harry trudged along beside her.  He felt like they had walked
kilometres over in the last twenty minutes and he was more than
willing to admit defeat.  When Maire's assistant had said she was in
Building 14 and would not be back for an hour, he should have held
B'Elanna to what she had told the assistant.  She had said they would
come back later, only to change her mind the moment they had exited
Building 1 and decided to go find the woman she wanted to talk to.

"B'Elanna," he tried for the fourth time, "she's probably back in her
office now.  Let's go and see."

The half-Klingon was frustrated.  She hated failure and not being able
to find Maire amongst all the workers swarming over the huge sections
that presumably were going to result in one or more ships was getting
to her.  "She has to be here."

"Then let's try asking someone again."

"We got only a vague direction last time.  Besides, they all seem too
wrapped up in building that ship to notice anything."

"Reminds me of you when you're working on an Engineering problem."

"Hmm."

"Or trying to find Maire," he mumbled to himself.

It was not quiet enough for she heard him.  "I need to ask her a few
things."

"Then why not ask her over the Comm?  Why did we have to leave Voyager
and come here to talk to her face to face?"

"Because I don't want anyone else overhearing, that's why."

He caught a hold of her arm and tugged her to a halt.  "This isn't a
request for a consultation on some problem with the alterations, is
it?"

"No."

"What's going on, B'Elanna?  What are you up to?  It's something to do
with Tom, isn't it?  You've been terribly quiet on that subject since
we came here.  I knew you had to be thinking up some new plan."

"I have been," she confessed, pulling away, "but I've never been able
to get Maire alone for five seconds to ask her about-"

"Carey to Torres," Joe's voice called.  "We have a problem."

"I'm on my way," she groaned.  "Torres out.  See, Harry?"

"Yeah.  So what do you have planned?"

"Later.  Let's go see what's got Joe all concerned."

With a final glance around, they started for the far exit.

---

As they moved out of sight, Maire and her assistant stepped out of a
shadowy corner and watched them go.

"Thanks for the warning," Maire sighed.

The assistant frowned at B'Elanna's back.  "What do you think she
wants to ask you?"

"I don't know but I was correct and it is about Tom Paris."

"You can't avoid being alone with her forever."

"No, but maybe until Tom gets back I can."

"Hmm.  You think they recognized the Vanguard?"

"No.  It's in too many pieces and is the wrong colour or alloy for
starters.  Maybe, if we were further along in the construction and
more of the sections were fused together, then they would have
recognized her, but not yet.  How long until they can be beamed into
orbit and assembled?  That's going to be the time when there'll be the
greatest chance of their sensors detecting them and the crew asking
questions."

"Two days."

"Fine.  I approached Captain Janeway this morning with the offer to
upgrade their sensors so they can see through the dust cloud.  She
jumped at it so we'll start that tomorrow and have our modifications
in effect in time to blind them to seeing the pieces appear in orbit
or the ship when we're finished.  At least until we're ready to bring
the Vanguard's cloak online."

"Makes a lot more work, their being here and having to hide the
Vanguard from them."

"When we promised Tom a new one, we didn't know they'd need to set
down to do these alterations of theirs or we would have changed things
a bit.  But it doesn't matter.  It's merely a small complication.
Nothing we cannot handle."

They walked off in the opposite direction from B'Elanna and Harry.

---

"Something strange is going on here," Janeway remarked quietly to
Seven as they strolled through the quad between the physics and
mathematics buildings of New Dublin University.  "They picked all that
up way to quickly.  It was like they were one step ahead of us the
entire time we were explaining the Gopher Hole and yatelite and its
uses."

"They are highly intelligent and they have been isolated here for
almost twenty-five years," Seven informed her in a clipped voice.
"They are scientists.  It is only natural that they would spend those
years concentrating on their field of study therefore their ability to
comprehend what we told them today is not out of line."

"Possibly."

"I have to return to Astrometrics."

The former Borg attempted to stride away.  She would have been half
way across the square in seconds if Janeway had not grabbed her arm.

"Seven, I'd like to talk to you."

"I have work to-"

"Please?  It is important."

"Very well," she agreed with reluctance.

"Over here."  She led her over to a bench and sat.  Seven did the same
with her customary awkwardly erect posture.  Every time Janeway saw
her do this, it made her wince in sympathy.  "Seven, I wanted to
discuss recent events."

"I thought we just did."

"Not the meeting we just came from.  I mean the entire thing with
B'Elanna and Harry."

"I do not know what you mean, Captain."

"Yes, you do.  I had a chat with Neelix this morning.  He told me how
everyone's been dealing with what Naomi said the other night.
Especially you."

"What Miss Wildman said is of no concern of mine, Captain."

"I think it is.  You apparently have been very concerned about Harry
lately.  Everyone's noticed."

"I have been attempting to be a friend to Ensign Kim.  Lieutenant
Paris told me he would need one at this time."

"I think it's a bit more than that."

"Really?"

"Yes.  If it really was just you trying to be a friend to Harry, you'd
still be there for him.  But you have been avoiding him lately.
Starting immediately after Naomi's bombshell."

"I have been busy as has he."

"Hmm."

She stood and made to leave.  "Captain, this is a non-issue."

"They aren't-"

Seven never heard the end of that sentence.  She was off faster than
most would have deemed safe on the ridiculously high heels she
habitually wore.

Janeway made a move to follow her only to be intercepted by a group of
students who recognized her uniform and shanghaied her for a
discussion.  Within five minutes, the Captain had forgotten about her
intention to tell Seven there was no affair between Harry and
B'Elanna.

---

"Megan, please, wait?" Geron shouted as he rounded a bend in the
corridor and thought he saw the love of his life heading towards the
turbolift at the far end.  He broke into a run, just reaching the
doors as they were about to close behind the lift's passenger.
Slipping inside, he took a deep breath and stopped as the woman turned
to face him, expectantly.  "Oh, Jenny."

"Gee, thanks, Geron.  Nice to see you.  Computer, Deck Two.  And thank
you so much for telling Paris.  Now Meg's not talking to me either.
Do you know what it's like sharing quarters with someone who won't
speak to you?  Computer, halt turbolift.  Look, I agree Paris had the
right to know what Torres and Kim did, but where'd you get this affair
thing?  And why didn't you tell anyone?  This way big news."

"I never said anything about any affair!  As far as I know, there
isn't one.  All I told him was you and Nozawa saw Kim and Torres kiss
each other."

"You told him right before he left, didn't you?  Right when you called
me to get me to repeat what Nozawa and I'd seen in that park?  He was
there, wasn't he?  Listening in?  That's why you cut me off so quickly
when I wanted to know why you wanted me to repeat it all?"

"Yes.  I was mad at him!  He'd been horrible to Megan before he went
on that mining expedition.  She wouldn't tell me what he'd said or
done. When he came back and ended up in Sickbay, I had some pinched
fingers so went there to have them tended to.  But what do I see when
I walked in?  Megan all concerned about him and asking the Doctor to
tell him she wanted to talk to him when he woke up.  I was mad at him
already, but when she bent down and kissed him before she left...
Okay, it was only on the forehead, but still, it was a kiss."

He leaned his head back against the wall of the lift and closed his
eyes.  "Then later I found him outside of Megan's door and I just lost
it.  There he was, telling me I was blind because I couldn't see how
everyone had been treating Megan before he'd chased her away to stop
her from defending him and getting ostracized herself."  His eyes
popped open and he moved closer to her in his agitation.  "He was
being her hero yet again.  Protecting her, when that's supposed to be
my job.  I'm her... whatever I am.  I'm the one who's supposed to
protect her if she needs protecting.  I'm the one who she's supposed
to rush to Sickbay to see if I'm hurt.  I'm the one she's supposed to
be kissing, not him!"

Trying to calm him before he became so mad he forgot who she was and
tried shaking some sense into her or worse, she said his name sharply.

Geron blinked rapidly and stepped back.  "Sorry, I just... He made me
so mad.  Telling me, of all people, what was best for Megan.  Telling
me I couldn't see how everyone else was starting to treat her like
they were treating him.  How *he* was trying to keep them from hurting
her. She's mine, not his.  He had no right to do any of that."

The lift beeped, indicating it wanted to continue on its course.
Jenny told it to resume before someone called down to them, asking if
there was a problem.  "Geron, two words of advice.  One, if you want
my sister back, don't ever let Megan hear you talking about her like
she's a possession.  She'll probably deck you and never see you
again."  The doors opened at Deck Two.  "And two, she loves both of
you, just not the same way.  I never saw whatever it is she sees in
him, or you for that matter, other than your obvious good looks, but
she sees a lot more in both of you.  He's always going to be a part of
her life in some way.  You'll just have to learn to live with that."

As Jenny walked towards the Mess Hall, the turbolift doors closed
between her and Geron.  He stood there, silent for a long time,
thinking about what she had said, until the lift requested a
destination and he went to his quarters.

---

"Well, A'Nce?"

"We're still on Voyager's trail, U'Pde, but there is another trail.  A
Gherop trail."

"Which predates which."

"Voyager's is a few intervals older.  Our people's is less than an
interval old.  We've found evidence they're having engine and other
problems that could account for the delay between the two trails."

"But you are certain our people are following them.  It's not merely a
coincidence?"

"Yes."  On the display before them, he marked the path of both ships.
"There are course corrections for bo-"

"What?"

"I am picking up evidence of an explosion.  There are microscopic
fragments of refined metals and alloys."

"Was it Voyager or Sunfire?  Were they destroyed?"

"Not Voyager anyway.  There's not enough to account for something as
large as either of them having been destroyed.  It could have been a
smaller ship.  Perhaps something as big as one of our shuttles.  Or it
could have been something else entirely.  There's no real way to
know...."

"Now what?"

"It appears to have been a shuttle.  There's a third trail, one coming
as far as this point then the explosion camouflaged the trail.
Voyager continues on from this point, following the trail of the third
ship and our people followed them."

"Continue following them.  I want to overtake our people at least."

"You want to capture Voyager yourself."

U'Pde gave his First Officer a look that "capture" was the last thing
on his mind.

---

Tom Paris began the next day by vomiting again.  Since he had been
unable to eat anything since before he had resigned himself to the new
wrinkle in his plan for breaking R'Co, there was nothing to show for
his long seconds of gastric convulsions.  This plus the sleepless
night he had spent tossing and turning in his bunk had not changed his
mind from going through with his objective for the day.

"R'Co's condition?" he asked Sunfire in a hoarse voice.

"She's still asleep.  No ill effects from removing either of the
implants.  Sunbird, are you okay?"

He shed his clothes and stepped into the shower.  "No," he admitted,
"but I'll live."

"Sunbird, whatever's going on, you can talk to me about it.  You know
you can."

"I know."  He leaned his forehead against the cool wall of the shower
and let the water course over him, wishing it could wash away the
agony of what he was about to have done to the unsuspecting R'Co.
Even though he personally was not going to be participating, he felt
every bit as guilty as if he were.

---

"What is it?" the male in charge of Mining Station 718 demanded curtly
from the two ill-at-ease guards who had entered his quarters while he
was dressing for the day.

"We have a problem, sir," the senior of the two stuttered.

"What is it?  Spit it out."

"You know that Opaw that's been giving us trouble?  The one that
claims she's R'Co."

"What about her?"

"She's gone."

"Tried to escape, hmm.  Her disintegration saved us the trouble of
constantly having to discipline-"

"No, sir, I mean she's gone as in missing."

He paused in reaching for his tunic and looked at them.  "What do you
mean 'missing?'  This is Mot-Ri.  No slaves go missing.  They all have
collars on them to keep track of them."

"I can't explain it, but she's gone, collar and all."

"She has to be here somewhere.  Trace her collar."

"We tried.  There's no signal."

"Then it's clearly malfunctioning.  Check logs for the perimeter.
Were there any unexplained breaches?"

"No, sir."

He yanked on his tunic and began fastening it.  "Then she has to still
be within the confines of the mine area somewhere.  You'll just have
to keep looking for her."

"It's a little more complicated than that," the second guard mumbled.
"We pulled up the cargo manifest for the ship that brought her here.
When we first noticed she was gone, we thought we might be dealing
with a rebel plot to infiltrate us.  Send in a few of their people
wearing collars they'd deactivated so their movements couldn't traced,
have them pretend to be slaves then when the time was right, they
would sneak off and do whatever they'd been sent to do.  So we thought
if we looked at the manifest we might see some proof. Something odd
about where they'd obtained her or some of the others."

"And?"

"And there's no record of her.  All the others check out fine as do
their collars, but there's nothing on her at all.  They didn't have a
single Opaw in the shipment."

The other guard picked up the narrative.  "In fact, we contacted the
ship, her captain says they haven't carried any Opaw in the passed
four shipments.  No one knows where this one came from."

"Lock the slaves in the dormitory and search the mine area.  I want
that Opaw found."

"Yes, sir."

They practically tripped over each other in their haste to leave.

Sitting heavily on his bunk, the reports he had read on the Opaw's
behaviour came back to him.  She had made wild claims she was R'Co and
had been physically altered by some unseen individual for some unknown
purpose.  The terrible thought that she had been telling the truth
flitted through his brain.  What would happen then?  If she was
rescued or somehow was restored to her old life, she would make good
on her threat to kill them and make their children suffer.  He had
five children he had not seen in many seasons.  His tour here was to
soon be over and he finally was going to be permitted to return home
and see his family again.  Thoughts of that had been all that had kept
him going for so long.  If the Opaw was R'Co, it was unlikely he ever
would see his family again.  He could not permit that to happen.  R'Co
or not, when the Opaw was found, she would have to go.  Straight to
Gherop Hell.

---

R'Co awoke to the sounds of the other slaves in the communal dormitory
waking as well.  It was her third day on the planet and she still had
yet to find a way of proving who she was or a weakness in her
tormentor.  As she hobbled down the aisle on blistered and sunburnt
feet, she tried not to make eye contact with the other slaves who were
making their way to the serving area where they would receive their
morning rations.  She had learned the hard way last night when she had
been stumbling to her assigned cot.  Inadvertently, she had caught the
eye of another slave who clearly was suffering from some sort of
delusional personality.  He had shuffled over to her cot and chattered
away incessantly to her for almost an hour before one of the dormitory
guards came along and dragged him away to his cot.  She did not want a
repeat of that.

But she never had the chance.  A big guard came along, grabbed her,
and dragged her out of the dormitory into the already bright sunlight.
He made a beeline for the glass structure in which she had spent her
first day on the planet.

"You're the new one who claims to be a Gherop, hmm?" he remarked, his
foul smelling breath hot in her ear.  "The one who thinks she's R'Co?"

Not knowing what was going on, she kept her mouth shut.

"Yes, you are, aren't you?  Told one of the other guards you were
Gherop, all he had to do was check you out and it would prove you were
telling the truth?  Well, guess what?  We've decided to take you up on
your challenge."

"But the one who did this to me," she began, "he said he had
interfered with the scanning equipment.  It won't register me as
anything other than Opaw."

He chuckled and nodded to two other guards who were standing at the
open door of the glass structure.  "Oh, we have a way around that.  A
way that does not involve scanning equipment."

They took her into the structure and shut the door, effectively
muffling her screams of a few minutes later.

---

Sunfire did not know what to say or do.

Sunbird had not told her what he had planned for R'Co when he had
asked for her to be beamed up to Sickbay the night before.  He had
removed the special implants in R'Co's eyes that had let her see him
and the subdermal communicator from behind her ear that had let her
hear him then he had beamed her to the Holodeck where a recreation of
the surface was running.  After seeing R'Co's vitals were fine, he had
stood there for a long time, watching her, then he had run to be sick
once more before falling into bed.  The next morning, after leaving
his quarters, he had gone to the Holodeck controls and only then, as
he programmed the scenario that was to unfold, had she known what he
was up to.  She did not seriously believe he intended to go through
with it.  But he obviously did because it was happening.

'At least now you know why he kept throwing up,' she thought to
herself.  'And why he looks like he's about to again.'

Few people could stomach seeing someone raped.  Even fewer could
handle being the one who ordered it done.  For someone like Tom Paris
to do that, it was almost impossible for him to take.

---

Battered and beaten, R'Co lay on the dusty ground in a heap.  Her
garments were in tatters, her flesh was torn and bleeding in places,
her eyes were swelling and blackened from being repeatedly punched
when she had tried to fight back against her attackers.  They were so
swollen, she almost could not see her rescuer, a pale stranger with
hair the colour of the Gherop sun and eyes the colour of the sky on
her favourite vacation planet as he stood off to one side.  He called
out for "two directly to Sickbay" and she felt a tingle as the scene
around her changed to an unfamiliar room.  She no longer was lying on
the ground, but on a bed.

"I am a trained medic," the stranger in the high-necked blue clothing
said in a very deep voice.  "Lie still and I will take care of you."

There was a sharp sting on the side of her neck and a soft hiss then
the pain she felt ebbed away and her head began to feel fuzzy.

"I am sorry this happened to you," he continued, making short work of
her injuries.  "Slaves don't have an easy life, I'm afraid.
Especially in places like Mot-Ri.  Their masters don't see them as
anything other than property, property to be used and abused as they
like with no regard to what the slaves want.  It's very unfair to all
involved. People who might have a lot to contribute to bettering a
society are marginalized or destroyed all because they aren't the
right species. Such a waste."  He shook his head.  "But look who I'm
talking to."  He offered her a self-deprecating smile.  "You'd know
better than I, having seen it from both sides now, R'Co.  I suppose
you'd like a shower before I start changing you back to Gherop?  Most
people who've had this happen to them want one."

"You know who I am?" she whispered, incredulously.

He nodded.

"You're working with him?"

"No, I came to rescue you from him.  And he's long gone now.  You have
nothing to worry about from him again.  Come.  The shower's this way."

Rising from the bed, R'Co followed him, not sure what to believe.

"The shower is a bit different than you are used to."  He gave her a
quick demonstration of the controls.  "Okay?"

She nodded.

He gave her a sympathetic look.  "I know you're feeling all sorts of
things, R'Co.  That's normal.  A very bad thing happened to you, but
it wasn't your fault.  It was theirs and indirectly your society's.
The ones who did this to you, they have been raised to think they can
use anyone however they wish because they are the masters and the
slaves have no legal standing in your society, no legal channels by
which they can complain about their treatment.  It's not hard to see
why those guards and the rest of your people feel no remorse for
things like what was done to you.  But it was not your fault.
Remember that.  Now, I'll leave you to your shower.  There's a robe
over there you can put on after your shower.  Towels are here.  I'll
come for you when you're through."

When she was alone, she did not immediately get into the shower, but
removed her ruined clothing and stood in front of the mirror for a
long time, staring at herself.  Though he had healed her, the bruises
and lacerations still faintly were visible on her unfamiliar Opaw
skin. She looked at each of the marks, remembered how it had been
inflicted, remembered the sting of the blow or the pressure of the
hands or arm around her, remembered how each and every one of those
marks were souvenirs of her greatest sexual experience ever.

She restrained a smile of satisfaction and a shiver of ecstasy as the
memory replayed itself.  She still planned to track down the one in
the blue-black clothes and kill him along with the others who had so
humiliated her on Mot-Ri.  They could not be permitted to live after
how they had treated the future Leader of the Gherop Empire.  But
before she personally executed the guards, she would thank her three
rapists for unknowingly making her biggest fantasy come true when she
had thought there was no way it ever would.  Long after they were
nothing but space dust, she would remember the experience and smile.

But she did not dare smile at the moment.  She had no idea if her
rescuer was watching her or not.  If he was, she was certain, given
his comments about how this was not her fault, suddenly seeing her
grinning like an idiot would be rather a surprise to him.  Had anyone
else been in her position, she was sure they would be reacting
precisely as this one expected her to be -- humiliated, angry,
suicidal even.  So she maintained the fa�ade of doing just that.  At
least until she knew what was going on and could gage the situation
properly.

---

"I just don't get it," Sam sighed to Neelix, seated in the next chaise
lounge over.  "I'd expected Naomi to be furious we came here since it
was keeping her from her Tommy, but this isn't quite what I had in
mind."  She gestured to her little girl happily playing on the
spacious back lawn with the son and daughter of two biologists she had
met at a lecture the day before.  Kieran and Kaatje Kirkpatrick's
children were of the roughly same age as Naomi and the three of them
had hit it off instantly when they had been introduced only half an
hour earlier.

"Perhaps whatever Maire said to her in the shuttle and the
conversation we and the Captain had with Naomi afterwards cleared the
air," the child's godfather suggested.

"Perhaps.  I still wish they'd tell me what they talked about.  The
two of them were in the shuttle for quite a while.  They had to have
said something to one another.  They did come out holding hands.
Something clearly happened."

Neelix laid a hand over Sam's where it lay limply on the chair arm.
"When Naomi's ready, she'll talk to us.  In the meantime, let her
enjoy herself.  It's rare for her to have an opportunity to play with
other children."

She nodded and smiled as the younger of the Kirkpatrick children did a
flying tackle to tag Naomi and all three of them went tumbling down in
a squealing heap on the grass.  The family's dogs, who had been doing
their best to join in the game of tag quickly joined the tangle of
arms and legs.

There was a shrill whistle from behind them and the dogs froze, perked
up their ears then pelted away from the kids and towards Sam and
Neelix.  The adults turned in their chairs to watch the canine attack
force charging Kaatje, who stood in the patio doorway a couple of
metres away.

"Supper will be just a few more minutes," the lady of the house told
her guests then disappeared back into the kitchen, shutting the door
behind herself and the animals.

"And they're the other strange thing," Sam whispered to the Talaxian
as they settle back into their original position watching the
children.

"The Kirkpatricks?"

"This morning I had you look after Naomi and bring her here because I
had to drop some things off at the University?"

"You wanted me to bring Naomi and meet you here later because she
would be bored going with you."

"Right.  Yesterday, when I met the Kirkpatricks and we got talking
about various things, they mentioned something they had been working
on.  A project they wouldn't go into the details of.  Anyway, I said I
would drop off some information I had and when my meeting this morning
ended early, I went to their lab to drop the information off.  I
figured I was in the building anyway, I might just as well drop it off
while I was there.  Save bringing it here and them having to take it
to work with them tomorrow."

"And?"

"And when I get to their lab and Kieran answers the door, the look on
his face was... I don't know.  It was like he was hiding something."

"What do you mean, hiding something?"

"I don't know.  It was this impression I came away with.  For
starters, he wouldn't let me into the lab.  Said they were running an
experiment they didn't want compromised.  That's fine.  I've been
there myself and had someone ruin the test by coming in at the wrong
time."

Neelix grimaced.  "I'm still really sorry about that."

Smiling, she gave his hand a squeeze.  "That wasn't a slam at you,
Neelix, and it's okay.  I was able to redo it.  But with Kieran...
There was more to it than what he was saying.  I could feel it."

"You think they're doing something illegal or something?"

"I don't know, but I'd dearly love to know what's going on in that
lab."

He checked over his shoulder to see their hosts still were in the
house then leaned towards his companion.  "That could be arranged."

"What do you mean?"

"If you're worried they might be up to something-"

"Neelix.  Are you actually suggesting break and enter?  That's
illegal."

"If they're up to something and it could jeopardize Voyager....  You
did say you gave them information for the project they were working
on."

"And if that information helps them do whatever and it jeopardizes us,
I'd be partly to blame?  Neelix, that's reaching."

"True, but if it would help you sleep better..."

"Kids, go wash up," Kieran's voice announced behind them.  "Supper's
ready."

"Do it," Sam told Neelix, referring to his suggestion.

He nodded and helped her out of her chair.

---

Hours later, while R'Co was sleeping off the surgery to return her
features to that of a Gherop, Tom removed the band from around his
neck and coughed a little.  Free of the modifier, his voice returned
to its normal tenor.

"Sunbird... We'll be in orbit of the Homeworld in five hours," she
said, changing her mind about talking to him about what he had done.

"Good.  Have they gone to the Council yet?"

"Not yet.  There's been a bit of an incident.  Two of the ships in
orbit brushed each other.  There was an evacuation of part of the
surface in case there was a crash."

"Good.  Maybe R'Co will be ready to return home in time to prevent
them from having the chance to talk to them."

"You really think so?"

"I don't know.  This one, she's a bit of an enigma.  I can't help but
think there's something with her that isn't quite right.  I just don't
know quite what it is, but there's something...."  He stared
thoughtfully at the door to Sickbay.  "I don't know."

"Her readings say she's waking."

"Beam her to the holodeck."

"Done."

"Replicate some plyzine gas."

"So you are going to try to mentally condition her?"

"Just make her more suggestible."

"Usual dosage for the gas?"

"For now.  Standard precautions in place."

Tom held out his hand and a hypospray materialized on his palm.  He
injected himself with the contents of the vial then she beamed it away
again.  "Wish me luck," he said, returning the modifier to around his
throat.  He groaned.  "I hate this thing.  Hurts."

She chuckled.  "I don't know.  I think it makes you sound sexier."

He half-smiled.  "Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome."

---

"Mr. Neelix, what are you doing?"

Neelix froze at the sound of Tuvok's voice behind him.

"I repeat, what are you doing Mr. Neelix?"

Seeing he had no choice, the Talaxian turned from the console and
tried to bluff his way out of things.  "You see, Mr. Vulcan, I had
this idea that I was testing out."

"What idea was that?"

"Oh, well," he tried to stall and returned to reading the data on the
screen.  "I started thinking that the dust cloud gives our sensors
trouble when we try to navigate through it so I was wondering if there
was any other potential difficulties for the sensors."

Tuvok consulted the settings Neelix had imput into the sensors but had
yet to give the command to execute.  "So you decided to try to scan a
laboratory in the Biology building on the campus of New Dublin
University?"

"It's the lab of two people I met yesterday.  Friends of Sam's, Ensign
Wildman's.  I know they'll be there right now so I figured if the
sensors told me they weren't there, then we'd know there was problem
with them."  Neelix mentally patted himself on the back.  The line he
had just fed the Security Chief was a brilliant bit of thinking on his
feet if he did say so himself.

"Mr. Neelix, had you related this thought to me you would have been
told such a test already had been performed just yesterday noon."  He
reached over and blanked the controls.  "You also would have been told
life support on this section of the ship is to be disengaged in less
than one hour so alterations maybe done to the environmental controls
for this area."

"Oh, well then I guess I should leave."  He gave Tuvok one of his
half- smiles then hurried out of the room.

Behind him, the Vulcan frowned at the Talaxian's back then at the
console.

---

Chakotay dismissed Nozawa who had brought the visitor from the
transporter room to the First Officer's office.

"I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice, Commander," the New
Kildarean smiled.

"What can I do for you, Declan?"

He handed him a padd.  "Just a few questions regarding your EMH's
holomatrix."

"A few?"  Chakotay blinked at the long list before him.

"Do you have time to answer them?"

"I'll answer what I can, but some of this is beyond me."

"Who can answer them?"

"The Chief Engineer would be the best one, but she's busy as you
probably know.  The Doctor himself could answer some of them."

"Perhaps we could go to Sickbay then?  He can answer what he can and I
probably can figure out the rest if I can look at the holocontrols."

"There's a bit of a problem there."

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't told anyone else about my ECH idea."

"And this would be because...?"

"I don't know how some would take it.  Everyone is focused on getting
us home.  When we get home we won't need any Emergency Counselling
Holographic programme therefore they might regard my working towards
creating one to be a lack of faith in this technology that's supposed
to get us to the Alpha Quadrant.  They won't see it as having a backup
plan just in case the Gopher Hole fails."

"So you are trying to keep in their good graces by not telling them?
I guess I can understand that.  Perhaps then we can say I'm interested
in the concept of the EMH programme and that's why I'm here.  It is
not entirely the truth nor is it entirely a lie.  I am interested in
his programme."

"Fine.  We'll play it that way.  Sickbay's this way."  He led him out
of the office and down the corridor.

"Commander?  You said everyone is focused on getting home?"

"Yes?"

"From what I've heard from Maire and from Nana O'Connell, there are
some who aren't focused on home but on a Tom Paris.  Is it true
there's one of your crew somewhere in the area and you're leaving him
behind?"

He preceded him into the lift then called for Deck Five.  "Tom Paris
is no longer a part of this crew.  He left."

"Seems a strange thing to do when you're so close to getting home.
The guy didn't have anything to go home to?"

"No.  He was cashiered out of Starfleet, disowned by his illustrious
family, and later was captured while supposedly working for the Maquis
then spent time in prison.  He's a liar and murderer and, quite
frankly, the Alpha Quadrant is a far better place without him."

"He can't be that bad.  He must have some redeeming qualities.  The
way I hear it, he was a part of this crew for some time and held a
position of some authority.  Fourth in command of the ship."

"It was a mistake.  He'd fooled everyone into thinking he was just
misunderstood and contrite regarding his past mistakes."

"Fooled everyone including you?"

The doors opened to Deck Five and Chakotay walked out, not meeting
Declan's gaze or answering his question.

---

"Well?"

Sitting in the chair before Sam's desk, Neelix shook his head.
"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok caught me before I could initiate the
scan."

"What did he say?"

"I gave him a story about testing the sensors.  I think he believed
me.  I hope anyway."

"Why don't you just trying from somewhere else?"

"He'll be watching for that and secondly, Engineering has scheduled an
upgrade on the sensors.  They'll be offline now.  That's why I had to
do this first thing this morning."

"I see."

"We could always take a tricorder and go there to scan the lab."

"Neelix, they are geneticists.  Standard precautions dictate all
genetics labs and most biology labs in general well shielded.  The
idea is to keep out anything that could corrupt the test results or
worse, alter the test subjects.  Many accidents and hideous
metamorphoses happened in the past before the rules about
precautionary shielding were in place.  Monsters were created by stray
bursts of radiation and such.  The ship's sensors would be strong
enough to cut through it, but not a tricorder."

"Well, there's always the old fashioned way.  Actually break and
enter."

"I can just hear us trying to explain that one now."

"We only have to explain if we get caught."

"That makes me feel a lot better."

---

"You wished to see me, Doctor?"

Seated behind his desk, the EMH looked up from the notes he was
compiling for the lecture he was due to give later that day to the
best and brightest of New Kildare's medical minds.  "Seven.  Yes, come
in." He abandoned his notes and stood.  "I've been trying to talk to
you for a couple of days now, but with everything going on, there just
hasn't been the chance.  It's about Lieutenant Torres and Ensign Kim."

"Doctor, I do not have time for gossip.  There is far too much to do."

He grabbed her arm before she could leave.  "But this is not gossip.
At least according to one of the crew who spoke directly to Mr. Neelix
who spoke to the two parties directly involved, it is the truth."

"Regardless, I do not have time for this."

"Is there a problem?" the Commander asked, standing in the doorway
between the main room and the Doctor's office.  His gaze was firmly
fixed on the restraining hand the EMH had on the former Borg's arm.
Over his shoulder a stranger watched with interest.

"No, Commander," Seven insisted, removing her arm from the hologram's
hand.  "Excuse me.  I have work to do."  She strode out without a
backward glance.

"What was that all about?"

"A personal matter," the Doctor dismissed.  "What can I do for you,
gentlemen?"

"Declan here is a computer expert who's interested in your programme.
He has a few questions he'd like to ask and would like to take a look
at the holoemitters and controls if you would permit?"

"I have a lecture to prepare for, but if he can be brief I don't see
why I can't oblige him."

"Thank you."

---

"So that's everything that has been happening in your absence," Tom
informed his "guest," seated across the table from him.

For the passed hour she had listened to the man she thought was her
rescuer and she was having trouble accepting the situation currently
evolving on the Homeworld.  He had recounted the plotting and
machinations of the major players and played for her the recordings he
had of the conversations regarding the conspiracy against her.  It all
had sounded overwhelmingly plausible, given how neatly the pieces fit
together yet she still was uncertain whether to believe him or not.
Not that she let on.  The entire time he had been "catching her up" as
he called it, she had been curled up in her chair, arms wrapped around
her knees, eyes staring at nothing.

"How did you get those recordings?" she finally asked in a small
voice.

"I was tracking the one who kidnapped you," he lied.  "I knew he would
be going after you so the monitoring devices were set up.
Unfortunately, he got to you before I did and you ended up on Mot-Ri."

"How did he get me out of my bedchamber?"

"Beamed you up."

"Beamed?  Like that ship Voyager does to people."

"They have the technology to do matter transference, yes.  But he is
not associated with Voyager at all nor am I."

"What did he want?"

"To make you suffer for what happened at Rachar and New Rachar.  Those
names mean anything to you?"

"T'Do died at Rachar."

"And so did almost all of the Rachar and those who escaped, later were
massacred at New Rachar."

"The slaves."

"Yes, the slaves.  Innocent people who were slaves through no fault of
their own.  Like you were for the passed few intervals."

"Why was he after me?  I had nothing to do with the Rachar."

"He is mixed up in here," he explained, tapping his forehead.  "His
plans always seem logical to him, but most often others do not see
it."

She lapsed into silence.  "Why are you helping me?" she asked after
awhile.

"To be honest, it's not entirely altruistic," he admitted.  "I do want
something."

'Here it comes,' she thought.  'Money, power, status, whatever.'

"I want you to never forget what's happened to you."

'Like I could forget.'

"Like you could forget," he echoed, though she was sure she had not
spoken.  "You've seen something first hand that very few others in
your political system or society have ever seen.  What it is like to
be a slave.  You've lived it, if only for a short time.  You know what
it's like, how they are treated.  Once we get you back to the
Homeworld and explain to the Council or your people or whomever would
have to be told what they're up to so they could be stopped, once that
happens, you'll be Leader.  If anyone can stop what happened to you
over the passed few days from ever happening to anyone else, it will
be you.  With your position and unique perspective, you can do so much
to make life better for *all* of your people, not merely those who are
Gherop and know how to curry favour with those in power."

"So I'm supposed to change the entire Gherop system, am I?"

"Don't you want to after what you've seen?  Everything that's happened
to you while you were a slave?  Those same things are happening to
everyone on Mot-Ri, to others elsewhere, every minute of every day.
You are in the position to stop that.  You honestly don't want to?"

She returned to thinking.

He stood up and pushed his chair into the table.  "I have to check
things on the Bridge so I'll let you think for awhile.  And ponder
this while you do: What would your life be like if I had not come
along when I did?"

With that he left her.

His words shook her for a moment and she raised one hand up to feel
the reassuring Gherop features she once more bore.  'Had her rescuer
not come to stop them, how would things have turned out?  Would those
guards have killed her once they were tired of what they were doing to
her?  Would they have returned her to the general population, looking
like she had so everyone would know what had been done to her?  Would
they have come back again the next time they felt acute sexual
frustration and eased it by using her again?'

There never had been this uncertainty when she had been "playing" with
her lovers.  They knew it was "play" and would stop eventually once
she and they were sated.  With guards, it had been real.  It had not
been about her pleasure, only theirs, and there was no "safe word" to
end things.  Gone had been the certainty that in time it would all be
over and no one would die.  She had relished that uncertainty, that
finally having crossed the line from "play" to reality.  It had added
a thrill for her and made her experience a level of satisfaction she
had thought she never would achieve.

She closed her eyes.  The memory of what they had done to her
returning.  Their taunts and slurs and coarse descriptions of what
they were going to do to her.  Their egging each other on to do worse
and worse things to her.  Their fists and other parts of them
inflicting terrible physical pain on her.  She tried to block the
memories, knowing what could happen if she continued to replay them.
But hard as she tried, she could not do it.  They kept coming and so
eventually did she.

---

"Sunfire, her readings?" Tom croaked, rubbing his throat.

"The gas has been deployed, but it doesn't seems to be working.  Her
anxiety level is rising but only slightly."

"So it's not impairing her mental controls, she won't have the
strength to forget things."

"Do you really think torturing her like this will work?"

At the mention of the word "torturing," his eyes closed for a brief
instant then the opened again and he was all business.  "If not, I
don't know what will.  I don't have anything left in my arsenal."  He
did not mention the one option he *did* have left -- destroying the
planet.  He wanted to forget that unless absolutely necessary.

"I hope this is all worth it then."

*As do I,* Zjna whispered to him in his head.

Realizing she had seen what he had had done, Tom felt the bile rising
in his throat and ran for his quarters to be ill once more.

With the majority of her attention preoccupied with Tom, Sunfire only
distractedly noticed the change in R'Co's readings.  Had she been
paying full attention, she might have properly interpreted what the
female in the holodeck was experiencing at that precise moment and
remarked upon it to Tom.  But she was not and had never seen this
reaction in a Gherop before so she misinterpreted it as some sort of
spasm due to the injuries that had been inflicted upon her and did not
recognize it for the Gherop form of an orgasm it was.

---

End Part Four