Part V.

He swung up into a sitting position, then immediately slowed as pain shot up his back and into his neck. He was injured, most likely a back or neck trauma.

Taking a brief moment to lock away the pain with a quick Vulcan meditation technique, he opened his eyes again to inspect his surroundings.

He sat atop a lightly padded shelf serving as a bed in a small room of three bare walls and an opening that unfortunately looked similar in form and function to devices he was well acquainted with.

He stood and walked over to the opening. He raised a hand and gingerly pushed a finger forward, not in the least surprised when he encountered a spark of energy as his finger contacted the force field he knew to be there.

He examined the walls where he deduced the field emitters to be, but like the brig on Voyager, they were shielded from tampering.

In the cell across and slightly down from him, he saw Commander Chakotay's prone form, similarly placed on his own bunk.

This spoke a few clues to his deductive mind - obviously, their captors did not want them dead, and the fact that they had been placed in the bunk and not unceremoniously dumped on the floor of the cell hinted at a degree of civility.

He filed that information back in his mind and turned to try and rouse his crewmate.

"Commander Chakotay?" he spoke, his voice rasped out of a dry throat.

"Lieutenant?" the voice was not Chakotay and came from the right, farther down the hall.

"Ensign Horton." Tuvok spoke, "You are alive. What is your condition?"

"Ummm... I think my arm is broken, or at least it was, because there's a metal frame supporting everything between my left hand and my elbow, but there's no pain, just a little soreness."

"How long have you been conscious?" he kept his voice low to avoid attracting too much attention, but to his eyes and ears, there was no one near, save the Voyager away team.

"A couple of minutes. Why?" the disembodied voice replied.

"It is important to know how long we have been unconscious because prolonged exposure to an unknown element on this planet has proven fatal to Borg drones in time." he answered. "Despite the fact that our captors do not seem to wish us harm, it is vital we escape and return to Voyager as quickly as possible."

"Lieutenant?" the voice turned thoughtful. "I don't see Thompson anywhere. I can see the Commander, but there's an empty cell beside him."

"There is no cell on my other side, Ensign." Tuvok offered. "Perhaps he is being treated for injuries much like yourself."

"Let's hope so, but I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Without evidence to the contrary, your 'feeling' is illogical and nonproductive. I suggest we work on devising a mode of escape." Tuvok decided that it would be best to occupy the ensign's attention with other tasks, rather than worry about his compatriot.

It was a good suggestion for him, too.

Chakotay awoke with a gasp. He looked around wildly, his heart racing. Where...what...

He took a deep, shuddering breath. Relief flooded through him. He was alive. He was...

Where was he?

He looked around again. Not on Voyager. Some kind of prison cell. What had happened? He'd been running, trying to get out of the cave, when...

I guess I didn't make it, he thought bitterly.

Someone was talking. Tuvok. Something about devising a mode of escape.

Chakotay started to sit up, but fell back, wincing from the pain.

He swallowed and tried to speak. His voice was a dry whisper.

"Tuvok..."

His Vulcan ears caught it. The voice was weak, but he was alive.

"I am here, Commander." Tuvok said.

Chakotay raised his head, and saw Tuvok standing, looking at him from another cell across the hall.

"Are you well?"

The First Officer fought to control himself, to hide the pain, as he struggled up to a sitting position.

"I'm fine," he grunted. "Report."

Lintorhan, frowning, pressed the silencing button a total of seven times before giving in. She rose to her feet, took a deep breath and then let it out again.

"Order!" she shouted over the top of the din. "Ladies! Gentleman! Order! This is a meeting of the governing body of Kanar! Not a younglings' playground!"

The noise gradually died down as councillors reluctantly regained their assigned seats around the room. Lintorhan sat back down with a sigh that did not go unnoticed by the man to her right.

"Well done, Lin. I was afraid dear old Jutorah was going to have a heart-attack at one stage there," Astorah said, indicating towards a particularly stressed looking - and rather rotund - man.

"He could've and done us all a favour," she muttered back, then raised her voice. "I believe the Honorable Member for Vetress had the podium."

"Thank you, Justice." He shuffled his files briefly, cleared his throat of some unknown obstruction and resumed his speech. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted…" he trailed off as cat-calls assaulted his podium. "As I was saying, we can not afford to loose this wonderful opportunity to make contact with another race. Think of all that they could offer us?"

"Like assimilation!" called out the Honorable Member for Dardan, a comment which was met with a round of somewhat nervous laughter.

Vetress ignored him and continued on regardless. "We have lost so much of what our ancestors left us - from the simple conveniences in life to the stars. Are we forever going to cower here like the basest animal, or are we going to go forth and re-claim our birthright? And even if we can not regain lost technology from them, surely it would not hurt to gain news of what goes on outside our planet's bounds?"

A beat to make sure he was finished.

"Thank you, Ventress," rumbled Astorah. "You may step down. We now call upon the Honorable Member for Cog to present his argument."

"Thank you, War," Cog replied, crossing the floor to the podium. She too took a few seconds to compile her notes. "The simple fact of the matter is, my fellow councillors," she began, "that they have a Borg on board. We can *not* risk the Collective re-discovering knowledge of our people, for then, as history has taught us, they will stop at nothing to assimilate us all. These aliens, which some of your would have us readily embrace, are no doubt in league with the Borg. Perhaps they thought if they helped willingly, they would be spared. Perhaps not, but it doesn't matter. They may even be some new type of drone, one that does not show up on our scanners. We can not risk contact," she said, pounding the podium for emphasis with each word. "As to the 'technology' and 'lost wisdom' of our ancestors, why not simply wait until they're all dead, then pick through their vessel at our leisure? The gains are just as great and the risk is much less."

"You would sit back and watch them die?"

Cog didn't bat an eye. "If the safety of my people depended upon it, yes."

"We don't even know it these newcomers will be susceptible to the virus."

"Then we have nothing to lose by remaining hidden from them - they will complete repairs and be on their way."

"Surely they will send someone looking for their missing drones?"

"They will, but they will not find them. We are far too well hidden, the prisoners too far under the protections for them to be detected."

The room exploded again over this, rapidly degenerating into shouting matches over theories and counter-theories; accusations, insults and wild speculations abounding. There were even, Lintorhan was somewhat astonished to note, a couple of rational debates taking place between those with opposing views, though they were few and far between. She sighed again and buried her head in her hands and wished, not for the first time since the nee ship had landed, that they'd all go away. They had to reach a decision by the next night cycle and, even in a closed session, it was going to be a close thing.

She looked along her row which contained the four other ranking officials of the Whoonto parliament.

"I think it's past time for a break," she said and was met by unanimous agreement.

The Doctor sat in his office, absently rubbing his chin while lost in thought. How best could he approach this matter with Captain Janeway? There was certainly no proof other than the word of their ex-drone. But he was aware that it was of the captain's opinion that when Seven of Nine had information to impart - particularly from her experiences in the Collective - it was usually something worth taking heed.

His attention snapped to the immediate when he heard a distinct hiss to his left as Sickbay's doors opened.

Captain Janeway entered. The Doctor saw her, stood to his feet, and directly picked up the PADD from his desk. She approached.

"Report." she flatly stated.

The flatness of her tone inwardly disarmed him. Nevertheless, he went into his speech: "Captain, Seven of Nine has reported some disturbing phenomena related to this planet, which have adversely affected the Borg."

The Doctor handed the PADD of symptoms and stats over to the Captain, saying: "I thought I should bring this to your attention."

She took the PADD from him and read it completely, barely moving her lips now and then as she went along.

"Well, Doctor, we obviously can't stay here. I felt uneasy about landing on this planet to begin with. Seven should have volunteered this information a bit sooner. I take it you don't have a method of treatment or vaccination on the horizon. Right?" she inquired.

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Captain! With all due respect, we only have Seven of Nine's word for this!"

"You're probably correct. I seem to be becoming a loose cannon lately... synonymous with my line of work. When you were on the planet's surface, did you detect anything unusual in the environment: viral, radioactive, or toxic?"

"Our sensors picked up nothing unusual, and I carefully scanned all materials I gathered. In fact, there are lower life forms flourishing down there."

"So this could be merely something anomalous with Borg physiology."

"My thoughts exactly!" his eyes lit up. "I am presently monitoring Seven for any physiological changes. The moment something becomes evident, I may be able to postulate a theory."

"If anyone can, it's probably you, Doctor. By the way, Seven said that entire cubes were affected. What are the specific environmental differences between a Borg cube and a Starfleet vessel?" she wondered.

"As far as I know, the temperature is significantly higher in a Borg cube. I'd have to check with the database for any elements unique to that environment," he said. "I'd say if entire cubes are disabled, then we can safely assume that whatever would affect the Borg would not be restricted to just the planet's atmosphere, but reach a vessel up in orbit well." He led the Captain to the lab area. "Just as a precaution, I am monitoring Kes as well, but most likely she will end up serving as a control."

The Doctor opened a stasis drawer and showed the Captain a myriad of flora. "These certainly don't seem to be affected by any harmful elements."

The Captain looked carefully at the flora. She then looked at the PADD again. "Well, Doctor. What would you suggest we do? The Borg are buzzing out there, waiting to assimilate us. And now, we're hiding on a planet which may kill us."

His mouth twitched in thought for a moment. "I would have to say that there's one thing we DO know: If we leave the planet, then the Borg will most definitely assimilate us. The other is still speculative at best. But there's no sense throwing caution to the wind. I recommend that we recall the away teams. If something is in fact going on, we may devise a means of protection by shielding the entire crew at once on the ship."

"Sounds like a plan. I expect you and Seven to come up with that very shield modification."

He blinked.

"Just kidding, Doctor. But I'm certain you'll do the best you can, as always." Janeway rested her hand on his shoulder. With the other hand, she tapped her combadge. "Janeway to Kim."

The Doctor blinked again, this time his mouth ajar.

=/\= Castillo here, Captain =/\=

She bowed her head a moment in error. "I apologize, Mr. Castillo. Old habit. Have all away teams return to Voyager."

=/\= Aye, Captain =/\=

"I'll keep you posted if Seven if Nine's condition changes, Captain." assured the Doctor.

At that, Janeway left Sickbay. She entered the turbolift, and headed for Engineering to get a status report on the warp-drive repairs.

As she exited the turbolift, and walked down the corridor, she was interrupted. =/\=Castillo to Captain Janeway=/\=

"Janeway here."

=/\= Captain, we cannot reach any of the away teams. They don't answer hails, and what's worse, sensors do not locate their life signs anywhere on the planet. =/\=

"Broaden your scans to detect the entire multi-phasic spectrum. Also, check to see if they were transported anywhere."

=/\=That may take while, sir=/\=

"Do it. And go to yellow alert."

=/\=Aye, Captain=/\=

"Keep me updated every fifteen minutes. Janeway out."

After ending the communication, the Captain paused her steps, and leaned against a bulkhead. Fighting her fear with bullish determination, she whispered a thought out loud to herself.

"Chakotay, dear friend, I know you will come out of this situation with everyone in tow. I'm counting on you."

As she took a deep, composing breath - she entered the doors to Engineering.

Captain Janeway felt disturbed when she first saw the blackened mess that was once a clean, efficient looking engine room. But, helping with repairs would serve as a good distraction from her worries about the away teams. In that moment, she spotted a busy Lt. Carey, and approached.

"Status report." she bolted.

"Seven of Nine is around here somewhere. She and an engineering team are repairing the warp stream constrictors. That shouldn't take any longer than two-hours at best. Torres and Paris are repairing the fusion generators in Jefferies tube 11. They won't be finished for awhile, I imagine. And then there's the warp nacelle problem." Carey responded, interrupted by handing a PADD to an engineer.

"What about the warp-nacelles?"

"The away teams are searching for polyferanide on the planet. We need it desperately for the nacelles, or they cannot be repaired."

The Captain felt a little more anxious upon hearing that news. She decided to wait until Castillo's update before starting anything in lieu of finding the needed chemical compound.

"I see you have quite a few burnt consoles left to replace. Anything I can help out with?" she inquired.

"Actually, yes there is Captain. If you wouldn't mind helping to finish replacing the consoles, I am needing to repair three emergency plasma vents."

"Have at it, Mr. Carey. I'll be glad to take the consoles." She replied, as the Lieutenant handed her his small phase-induction rod. He then went to his new task, and she began hers.

Soon, the first of the fifteen minute checks was due. As it came in, Janeway was startled by it. Her now carbon-smeared face looked surprised.

=/\=Castillo to Captain Janeway=/\=

"Go ahead, Ensign."

=/\=We still have not detected the missing away teams, sir. We do know, however, that no outside transports took place.=/\=

"Good. Continue the phasic sweep. I'd also like you to scan for any deposits of polyferanide within a five-mile radius. Keep me posted."

=/\=Aye, Captain. Castillo out.=/\=

At that, Captain Janeway continued her toil at a more frantic pace. Oblivious to anything else which would dare suggest the frailties...of worry and fear.

"Tom?" "Lieutenant Torres to Lieutenant Paris..."

B'Elanna felt a little worried about her shipmate when she didn't receive a response from Tom. When the turbolift got to Deck 11, she exited quickly and headed to the entrance to the closest Jeffries Tube. B'Elanna opened the door and crawled inside. She could hear a distant clattering up ahead, and when she rounded the corner on her hands and knees, she saw Tom hard at work on the fusion generator. Sparks were flying everywhere.

"Tom!" B'Elanna called over the noise.

Tom Paris looked over his shoulder and waved the Chief Engineer over.

"Look at this," he said and pointed at a fusion generator in a distant corner. "That one is heavily damaged. And those two over there have been totally fried."

He sighed. Hissing sparks were flying around them again.

"I also believe the comm system is down. At least I can´t reach anyone from here," Tom continued and touched his communicator.

"Paris to Engineering. Paris to the Bridge".

No response.

"Try yours," Tom suggested.

"As I was saying to Ensign Horton," said Tuvok, finishing his report, "I suggest we work on devising a mode of escape."

Chakotay fingered the spot on his tunic where his missing combadge belonged. He shook his head. "Negative," he said.

"Commander?"

Chakotay stood up, slowly and painfully. The phaser wound in his side had been treated and bandaged with some kind of artificial skin, but it still hurt. Badly.

"Regulation forty-six 'a', Mister Tuvok," said Chakotay.

A beat. Then, Tuvok nodded. "Understood, Commander."

Chakotay shuffled to the edge of the force field, leaned against the wall, and looked out into the hallway, up at the ceiling, down at the floor. "Horton," he said, "are you listening?"

"Yes, sir," said Horton.

"Make no move to escape. We're going to try to talk to these people, and let them know that we're not a threat. So do nothing that might be considered threatening. Understood?"

"Understood, Commander."

Chakotay stopped examining the hall and looked at Tuvok. "Did you detect any signs of Vulcanoid life on this planet? Any organisms with copper-based blood?"

"Negative," said Tuvok.

"Neither did I. They may never have encountered a species like yours before, and they may not know anything about your unique medical and dietary requirements. If they went to the trouble to treat our wounds, they'll probably feed us at some point. Be careful what you eat."

"Understood, Commander."

"Still," said Chakotay, looking up and down the hallway, "the local water is drinkable, and I don't know about you, but I'm thirsty."

Chakotay looked up toward the hallway ceiling, waved his right arm, and raised his voice. "Hello," he croaked, and cleared his throat. "Hello? Is anyone listening? We're thirsty. Could we have some water? Thirsty," he said, motioning toward his throat. "Water," he said, miming drinking from a cup.

"Hello?"

Sub-lieutenant Breshak watched curiously - and not without a hint of relief - as the intruders began to stir. The medics had done their best, but these were members of not one, but two new species, the likes of which they'd never seen before. The dark-skinned one even relied on *copper* rather than iron to help circulate various gasses through his blood-stream. Scientists had theorised about the existence of such life-forms, she vaguely recalled from her student days, but they'd never been encountered before. Perhaps there were even silicates aboard their ship.

One by one the prisoners regained consciousness and began to examine their surroundings. She watched and listened, fascinated, as they began to communicate with each other, the hastily-restored translator missing a few sentences before clicking in.

Their first topic of conversation, unsurprisingly, was escape, advocated by the green-blooded man. Was he the leader? Certainly, he'd been the best shot, according to those who'd actually brought him in. But no - there was the red-shirted one, with the markings on his face, over-ruling. Perhaps the markings on his face were a symbol of status? Or perhaps it was the small circular pieces of metal fixed to their necks that was the indicator. They all had different styles. The green-blooded one called him 'Commander', a word which would not translate. A name, perhaps? He wished to talk… and for a drink. She smiled despite the gravity of the situation as he made the gesture for a strong alcoholic beverage. He wouldn't be getting it.

She glanced down at her orders to check how to proceed. The Whoonto had not taken prisoners such as these in centuries, and special new guidelines had to be written. They were to be cared for - the council was still debating what to do with them - which meant they were to be fed and watered, or whatever else they required for comfort. A medic had also been assigned to oversee their continued treatment. But contact was to be kept to an absolute minimum - full camouflage suits must be worn and there was to be no verbal communication whatsoever.

With that in mind, she ordered that three meals be prepared and the medic and three other guards suit up. She and the medic would be the only ones to enter the cells themselves. The guards would be armed with a new weapon, reverse-engineered from the alien's own, capable of producing a blasts in a varying array of strengths, from a stun to an instant kill. Refinements were already being made to the design.

When everything and everyone was suited up and assembled, she keyed in the password for the door and stepped aside to let the first armed guard through. She followed immediately behind him, the medic behind her, carrying the trays and his own med kit, and the two guards behind him. One peeled off to stand in front of the door, weapon at the ready, while the first took up station to the far side of the last cell - the one containing Commander. She studied the reactions of the prisoners as she passed - it was only after much debating with herself that Breshak had decided to enter the cell block with the phase-shifting mechanism of their suits off.

She wondered if she looked as strange to him as he did to her. Well, of course she did, covered from head to toe in a material which strove to mimic the background. But then he was a veritable giant, a dusky-skinned one at that, standing two heads higher than her. He had black hair and dark eyes, and was, most bizarrely enough, missing a thumb on each hand. The copper-blooded one lacked the second thumb as well. Curious.

Facing Commander through the force field, she watched his eyes struggle to focus on her before she thumbed a switch on the suit's internal control panel. It shimmered and faded to a pale blue, clearly visible now. She raised her hands, holding them out at right angles to her body, hoping that he would recognise it as a gesture to show that she was unarmed - and meant him no harm.

Chakotay was about to call out again when he heard the sound of a door opening, down the hallway, out of sight.

I was right, he thought. We're being monitored.

He could hear soft footsteps on the stone floor of the corridor. He waited for his captors to show themselves.

And waited.

Where were they?

What was that? There had been a shimmer, a distortion of some kind, in front of his cell. It passed down the corridor to the far side of his cell. Chakotay glanced over at Tuvok: the Vulcan had seen it too; he was craning his neck, trying to get a better look at it.

Another shimmer appeared in the corridor. This one, however, stopped in front of his cell. Chakotay squinted: what was it?

Suddenly, the shimmer resolved itself into a humanoid. It was small--less than 1.5 metres in height--and wore a pale blue suit that covered it from head to foot.

Some kind of camouflage equipment, thought Chakotay. A portable cloaking device?

The small humanoid raised its hands, holding them at right angles to its body. There was something odd about its hands...

Chakotay took a couple of steps back from the entrance to his cell, and raised his own hands.

"I am Commander Chakotay," he said

He was about to say, "of the Federation Starship Voyager", but stopped. Was this a space-faring civilization? If Seven of Nine was telling the truth, this world had been invaded by the Borg. That would explain the underground habitat, and the stealth technology. But, did they know that the Borg had crossed interstellar space? Did the Prime Directive apply?

He decided to play it safe. "We are peaceful people," he said, "and we mean you no harm. I would like to speak to someone in authority."

He paused. "Can you understand me?"

At that, Captain Janeway continued her toil at a more frantic pace. Oblivious to anything else which would dare suggest the frailties...of worry and fear.

After getting one of four new consoles in place, she started on another. For a moment, though, she paused. Her mind drifted to a time passed. It was the day Harry Kim died. After the memorial service, she went to his quarters, sat on his bed, and just stared out the window into space. Subconsciously, she must have thought it would offer at least a drop of some type of closure to it all. That wasn't the case.

Was it the way he died? Was it the look in his eyes from his agony? Why did this death affect her, in a way no other death under her command did? It all came back to the day that the Borg armada compassed Voyager, completely ignoring the intrepid little boat. When Voyager followed, the series of events led to an introduction to species 8472, and the virus which plagued Harry.

What if they had just kept out of the conflict, and tried to find another route to the alpha-quadrant. Would Kim have been alive today? Would anyone be? These questions haunted the Captain day and night. But now was not the time to rehash painful yesterdays. The present was calling.

The Captain now worked more furiously than ever. Eventually, the second of the fifteen minute calls came in.

=/\=Castillo to Janeway=/\=

"Report."

=/\=No change on the away teams. We found some minute amounts of polyferanide just at the mouth of a small cave, but it isn't enough to use according to the science department. And there doesn't appear to be anything usable inside the cave=/\=

"Ok, then. Just focus on finding our people for now. Janeway out."

As she went back to her work, she spotted Seven-of-Nine using a control panel next to the grayed-out warp core. The Captain put down her tools, and strolled over.

Neelix capped the lid over the storage container, grinning at the plant sample inside. He'd already gathered quite a treasure trove to bring back to Voyager -- enough to keep the ship stocked with fresh foods for awhile.

Tzzt!

The Talaxian looked up in surprise before noticing the beetle-like insect flitting around above a nearby rock. It looked like the bug that the Doctor had scared off earlier...Neelix chuckled to himself as he crept towards it. He'd catch it this time, he knew it.

It must have sensed his presence, as it darted swiftly out of his grasp and zipped into a cave a few yards away.

Neelix narrowed his eyes. "Not getting away so fast," he wheezed, shouldering the rest of his belongings and trudging off after the beetle.

Neelix stood in the mouth of the cave and blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dimness, and looked around for the insect. He could still hear the faint sound of buzzing farther into the cave...and of voices.

Carefully stepping over the sharp rocks and pits in the dirt floor, he tried to walk in the direction of the sound. "Hello?" he called nervously, not certain if he should make his presence known at all. Maybe his imagination was just running wild again. He was always doing that sort of thing --

A light suddenly flared up before his face, and he quickly shaded his eyes and stepped back. "Neelix?" he heard a male voice inquire.

He slowly brought his hand down and found himself face to face with Castillo. "Oh...hello Ensign," he said, feeling slightly foolish.

Tuvok understood Commander Chakotay perfectly.

Regulation 46A.

He lay back on his cot and concentrated on all possible escape avenues, until movement in the other cell attracted his attention.

Their captors had finally revealed themselves and he studied them carefully. Doubtless he could overpower them easily, and most likely the same for Commander Chakotay and Ensign Horton, but the revelation of their personal cloaking suits forestalled any thought of attacking their diminutive jailers. For all he knew, the room could be filled with them at this moment.

But no, there was no evidence to support the thought that they were cloaked to sound as well as visually, but his Vulcan hearing detected more than two of them. Standard tactical training estimated at least two more, one guarding the door and one guarding the two who had entered the cell. And most definitely armed.

He heard Chakotay's greeting and decided to wait out the response to see what they said.

B'Elanna tapped her combadge. "Torres to Engineering. Torres to Captain Janeway."

She shrugged. "I guess we'll be out of contact with the others for awhile. One of us can check in on Engineering in an hour to see if everything's under control, okay?"

Tom nodded at her, and they began to repair the damaged generator.

The lighting suddenly flickered around them, becoming more dim. B'Elanna pulled a wrist beacon from her utility pack and aimed it at the faulty generator while Tom worked on it.

On the bridge, Ensign Castillo had just ended his second update to Captain Janeway. As he continued to scan, for a brief moment, the sensors faintly detected a Talaxian and a Human near the mouth of the cave scanned earlier.

Within seconds, the readings disappeared. The readings were so faint, it caused Castillo to wonder if they were just anomalies caused by a malfunction.

"Computer. Run a level-six diagnostic on the entire sensor array. Check for any functional or computer irregularities." he stated.

After several seconds, the computer responded.

=/\=All functions and computer operations regarding the sensor array are performing within normal parameters=/\=

Upon hearing the computer's diagnosis, Castillo remembered that the sensors were rotating - set to check the entire phasic spectrum. The sensors may have just rotated off of the readings. As he had forgotten to record the phasic variance at which the Talaxian and the Human had been detected, he again sought the computer.

"Computer. Check the sensor logs from the past five-minutes. What is the phasic variance at which a Talaxian life sign was detected?"

=/\=Phasic variance is 3.39=/\=

Castillo adjusted the sensors accordingly. He scanned the cave, and to his relief detected the Talaxian and Human. They stood in the cave's interior now, but their life signs grew even more faint the further they went into the cave. The cave itself appeared to be just that...a cave.

"Castillo to Neelix. Come in. Castillo to Neelix."

Unfortunately, there was no response. Even boosting the output of the communications array to maximum proved ineffective. But a least the correct phasic variance had been discovered. Castillo was prepared to notify the Captain with at least a glimmer of hope.

'Commander' apparently understood her intent to at least some extent, mirroring her gesture and taking a few steps back away from the force field. He also attempted to communicate with her again.

"I am..." the translator fed into her ear, but the rest of the sentence was lost. She appeared to be right, however. His name was 'Commander - but there was a second half to it, 'Chakotay'.

"We are a peaceful people," he continued "and we mean you no harm. I would like to speak to someone in authority."

She had to take a few seconds to sort through this and mentally fill in the gaps in the translation. His expression changed at her lack of a response.

"Can you understand me?"

After a fashion, she thought, but remained mindful of her orders. She ignored him completely and gestured instead for the medic to approach and turn off his suit as well. Then she quickly entered the deactivation sequence for the force field, careful to shield it from view of both Commander and the green-blood across the hall, and stepped into the cell. She felt a small thrill of fear at being this close to something this big and, well, bulky, and allowed it to sharpen her reflexes in case he decided to attempt to overpower them, however unlikely she thought that was.

The medic, too, entered the room, placing the trays of food on the bed and opening his medical kit and preparing to take scans. Would he prove cooperative however, was the question.

The Doctor brooded some more in his office, when Kes walked through to bring some samples to the lab. When she came back out, he intercepted her. "Kes, I'd like to check your bioreadings. See if anything has changed in the past hour."

"Of course, Doctor," she smiled.

Together they walked to the main treatment area, where he keyed in some commands and compared data. "You're fine. No change." The Doctor then checked Seven of Nine's biomonitor readings. No change. "Hm."

"It might be too soon," said the young Ocampan.

He raised an eyebrow. "Or it might never manifest. But I'd rather be overcautious than overzealous..."

Suddenly there was an insistent beeping...

"Seven. How are you? Are the repairs coming along?"

Startled, for she had not noted the approach of the diminutive Captain, Seven of Nine straightened from where she had been bent over a portable diagnostic console. Too quickly. Her cardiovascular system struggled to compensate for the sudden change in orientation after being locked in the one position for some time. Her head swam and bright flecks of light danced in front of her eyes as she attempted to focus on Janeway.

"I am…" She had been intending to say that she was functioning within normal parameters, but the dizziness did not clear as it should have, as it had on the few previous occasions this had happened.

"Seven?" Janeway asked, her voice taking on a tone Seven has come to recognise as 'concerned' as she reached out a hand to the console to steady herself.

As if echoing the Captain's concerns, the com sounded.

=/\= Doctor to Seven of Nine. Report to Sickbay =/\=

Vision now slowly starting to clear, she tapped her combadge.

"Acknowledged."

As she headed to the Engineering doors, the Captain interrupted for a brief moment.

"Seven. Just to be safe, I want someone to walk with you to Sickbay."

"I require no assistance." replied Seven.

"You probably don't. But, in light of what you've revealed about this planet's effect on the Borg, it's better to be safe."

A security guard at the door was ordered to escort Seven of Nine to Sickbay. She reluctantly agreed, and the two of them left. As the doors closed behind them, Janeway returned to her work.

As she finished replacing the second console, her combadge signaled.

=/\= Castillo to Janeway =/\=

"Janeway here."

=/\= Captain. I have located Neelix and a human inside that cave we detected. What's strange is, they are out-of-phase. The readings are faint, but they are still there. I tried to hail them on all bands...there was no response. =/\=

"Can you get a transporter lock on them?"

=/\= Stand by =/\=

After several minutes, Castillo reported back.

=/\= Captain, we cannot get a lock. It's as if something is blocking our signal. But there doesn't appear to be anything in the area which could cause such a problem =/\=

"Keep trying. And keep them on the sensors as long as possible, Ensign. I'm on my way to the Bridge. Janeway out."

At that, the Captain called Lt. Carey and informed him that she had to leave him with the rest of the repairs for now. She then put down the tools, and left Engineering.

The alien in the pale blue suit did not reply. Instead, it turned and gestured. Another humanoid figure in a pale blue suit shimmered into view beside the first. This one was carrying three stacked trays, and had a carrying case of some kind slung over its shoulder.

The first alien moved to the side of the cell's entrance. It did something out of sight, something to the wall. The force field flickered, and the field emitters stopped buzzing.

Chakotay watched as the two aliens entered his cell. The first alien just stood there. The second alien placed its three trays on the bunk, then removed a couple of devices, one large, one small, from its carrying case.

Chakotay kept his hands up and kept still. Do nothing that might be considered threatening, he thought. Keep trying to communicate. Use the first-person singular--let them know you're not part of the Borg Collective.

"If you can understand me," he said, "can you tell me what's happened to Crewman Thompson? The fourth member of our party? I'm concerned about him."

In the corridor, on the way to the turbolift, Janeway spotted Ensign Wildman walking, holding a PADD. She caught up, and they walked together.

"Samantha, hello. I'm glad I ran into you. I assume you were in the Science Lab when the sensor report on the polyferanide was sent down. I take it that what was discovered was an insufficient amount?" Janeway inquired.

"Yes ma'am. There was only about one gram at the mouth of that cave. That isn't nearly enough to sustain the type of reaction required in a warp-nacelle."

"Can anything be used as a substitute?"

"It is possible to use Tritungstenate for the same function. It's less reliable, though. In fact, it has such unstable properties, I doubt even Lt. Torres could get more than five light-years' use out of it." Wildman explained.

"How about replicating polyferanide?"

"Captain! Yes, we could do that! Engineering would need to make several modifications to the replicator systems. We then could use soil from the planet as bulk matter for the replication." the Ensign answered, enthused.

"We could store the soil in Cargo Bay two. For now, though, we will consider that our emergency plan. We may locate enough polyferanide yet."

"And anyway, I'll need to consult with the rest of the science department before we start such a undertaking, Captain."

Upon reaching the turbolift, they exchanged pleasant au revoirs, and Janeway entered.

B'Elanna pulled a wrist beacon from her utility pack and aimed it at the faulty generator while Tom worked on it.

The dim lighting overhead cast faint and fuzzy shadows. Tom took several cleansing breaths and finished the first fusion generator.

"Ok, that should do it," he murmured. "This generator is secure, three more to go".

He picked up his tool-kit.
Suddenly Tom stopped. Something was not right.
He aimed his wrist beacon at the walls and the generators, then at the ceiling.

"Did you...?" he started.

But it was too late.
Ahead and to his left, the wall suddenly shattered and imploded.
Smoking debris spattered in all directions.

"Get down!" Tom yelled.

"Bridge."

Soon, the turbolift reached the Bridge. As Janeway stepped into the room, an alarm sounded on the Ops console. She approached the station.

"Captain. A bulkhead has breached...in Jeffries Tube eleven. It appears to be minor, though." said Castillo.

"That's where Tom and B'Elanna are working." she replied, and tapping her combadge, continued with "Janeway to Torres."

After several tries with no response, the computer confirmed that the com system was malfunctioning in that area of the ship.

"Janeway to Security."

=/\= Hart here =/\=

"Mr. Hart, send someone to the area of Jeffries Tube eleven. There's been a bulkhead rupture down there, but the com is out. I just need to know if Lts. Torres and Paris are needing any help, and if they are alright."

=/\= Aye Aye, Captain =/\=

"Keep me informed. Janeway out."

Ending the communication, the Captain and Ensign Castillo together continued to try and get a transporter lock on Neelix and party.

"This time, remodulate the pattern buffers to lock on to the converse of their phase variance. Sometimes that kicks it into focus."

"Nope. No effect, Captain."

"Okay. Let's try Lt. Torres' skeletal trick. Try to lock on to the calcium in their bones, at their phase variance."

"Ma'am?"

"Do it."

"No effect either."

"Well, Mr. Castillo, this certainly is odd. I feel like sticking my head out a window and just yelling for them. They could enter Voyager through the hatch near the landing struts." she mused.

Abruptly, though, the discussion is interrupted with a new oddity.

The ensign blinked in surprise. "Uh, actually...I'm Ensign Cavanaugh," he stammered.

Neelix grimaced and shook his head. "Sorry, Mr. Cavanaugh," he said, wishing again that his old friend Harry Kim was back. "Get people confused in the dark..." He waved at the other crewmembers milling about and gestured towards the opening of the cave. "Let's get out of here for now."

He began to pick his way carefully back to the cave entrance, his packs and containers clinking together. Exhausted, he initially didn't notice the sound of footsteps running up behind him.

"Neelix, I can't contact Voyager," said a Bajoran woman in a panicky voice.

Neelix turned around to face her, startled. "Are you sure?" He tapped his combadge. "Neelix to Voyager. Can you hear me?"

There was no response, and the Talaxian exhaled sharply as he considered his options. "Don't suppose there's anything we can do but wait..." he murmured.

"Captain. It looks like Neelix now has three people with him. Two human males, and a Bajoran female. The two new life signs must have been masked deeper inside the cave. They are all just standing there now, in the mouth of the cave."

"Neelix and his away team. At least we know that one of the groups are okay." Janeway said, slightly more relieved than before.

As she uttered those words, a very faint, garbled combadge signal was detected. Janeway was more determined than ever to contact this away team. She knew instinctively that Neelix was calling.

"Castillo, record the signal."

"I got it."

"Good. Now, activate the white noise deletion filter. Adjust the primary transponder buffer to a phase variance of 3.39, and set the audio field grid to narrow." she ordered, earnestly.

"This will take a moment."

"Take as much time as you need, Ensign. I'm just a little nervous for our people. It's starting to get dark outside."

"Okay. All done."

"Good work. Play the recording now."

=/\= Neelix to Voyager. Can you hear me? =/\=

"I knew that would be him. Mr. Castillo, increase the output yield of the communication array to max. Route our signal through the deflector grid. On your mark, I'll call them."

"Ok...ready."

"Neelix, this is the Captain. Your party needs to leave the cave now. Remain about 75 meters away from the cave entrance. We are going to beam you up. Janeway out."

A smile spread across Neelix's face as he heard the static-tinged transmission. "Knew they wouldn't give up," he exclaimed. "Okay, let's move out a bit farther. The cave must've been conflicting with comm signals and transporter locks..." He signaled for the others to follow, shaking his head. Whatever secrets this planet was holding, he didn't know just yet.

Back on Voyager, Captain Janeway was glad once she realized the away-team was moving out of the cave. "Captain. It appears that your message was received. The party has left the....what? Oh."

"Is there a problem, Ensign?"

"There's no problem. They have returned to normal phase, but I had forgotten to reset the sensors back to normal. I thought I had lost them for a second, but they are on the sensors again now."

"Thank goodness. I was not looking forward to another little mishap. Anyway, as soon as you can get a lock, bring them home. I'll be in my Ready-room. Call me the moment they arrive."

"At once, Captain." responded Castillo.

As Janeway entered her Ready-room, she yawned and stretched out her arms. It had been nearly twenty-hours since she had taken so much as a break. She instantly spotted her replicator, and placed an order.

"Coffee. Black. And one cherry jelly doughnut."

As the snack appeared, she ignored the coffee, and grabbed the doughnut. Upon taking a huge bite, hot jelly oozed out the side of the doughnut, and landed on the tunic portion of her uniform.

"Captain Kathryn Janeway. Starfleet hereby cites you for being a messy eater." she muttered to herself.

She gobbled up the rest of the doughnut, removed her tunic, and placed her combadge on her desk. Taking the cup of coffee, she placed it on the desk too, and laid her soiled tunic into the replicator tray.

"Recycle mode. One new Starfleet uniform tunic. Red. Size medium-female."

At that, she put on the new tunic, pinned her combadge in place, and picked up the coffee. She then strolled over to the sofa, and sat down with her coffee. As she gazed out the bay windows at the amber sunset, she sipped the coffee and lost herself in her own thoughts.

As she remembered the day that she first met Harry Kim, her eyes welled up and the tears broke loose. Janeway immediately gulped her coffee, wiped her tears, and angrily stifled the remainder of her guilt and sentiment.

This time, however, she was unable to successfully ignore her emotion. Ever since he died, this controlled Captain had buried all of her anger, guilt, and sorrow beneath a facade of hardness. A hardness she had directed toward herself, and her fear of loosing command to mourning itself.

As the self-denying dam finally burst, she threw her coffee mug against the wall, smashed a small vase into the coffee table, and cried almost hysterically into a pillow on the sofa. Eventually reclaiming her composure, she proceeded to clean-up the mess. The combadge interrupted as she finished.

=/\= Castillo to Janeway =/\=

"Go ahead."

=/\= Neelix and his away team have just been beamed aboard. They're in the Transporter room being decontaminated. Neelix has quite a haul of plants and edibles with him, too. =/\=

"That's our Neelix, alright. Have the team meet me in the conference room. I'm on my way there."

=/\= Aye, Captain =/\=

On that note, she returned to the Bridge, and crossed over to the corridor to the Conference room.

"Mr. Castillo, you are needed in this conference too. And bring a PADD." she said, gesturing the Ensign to follow her.

They both entered the Conference room, sat down at the table, and waited. Soon, the door opened and in came Neelix and company. Captain Janeway walked over, putting a hand on both of Neelix's shoulders.

"Mr. Neelix, you are a sight for sore eyes."

Neelix clasped his hands together with a modest shrug, unable to stifle the grin that reached from one ear to the other. "Thanks, Captain...glad to be back aboard, though I enjoyed the short trip." He seated himself at the conference table, nodding at Castillo as he passed by. Might as well get to know him, since he was the replacement for Ensign Kim...

"Everything been shipshape while I was gone?" he inquired.

"Actually, no. We have been unable to locate the life signs of neither Chakotay's nor Tuvok's away-team. Four of our fellow crewmen, missing without a trace. That is the reason for this meeting."

Neelix looked gravely serious at the Captain as she spoke. The rest of his team did too. Captain Janeway continued.

"I realize that each away-team was separated from the other, so you probably have no idea of the direction in which the others went. But I would like to know if any of you recorded, or noticed anything odd or unsettling about the planet. Mr. Neelix?"

Neelix frowned in thought, tilting his head to one side. "Anything unsettling..." he wondered aloud. "I don't think so...other than our inability to contact Voyager while we were in the cave. Do you have any idea why that happened?"

"Unfortunately, we haven't determined a cause. We do know that something in that cave had pushed all of you out of phase." Captain Janeway said.

She continued. "But there was a second, unknown factor, which blocked every type of signal from reaching the far reaches of the cave altogether. It even affected the mouth of the cave. Otherwise, our phasic compensations would have allowed us to transport and signal you easily."

Neelix shook his head and sighed. Janeway sat in her seat at the head of the table. Ensign Cavanaugh was at the console on the wall, downloading his tricorder data into the computer. Ensign Luwal Breneth, the Bajoran woman, then explained all of her observations to the Captain. This, and the other away-team member's report, still revealed nothing new. Janeway's attention now focused on Cavanaugh.

"Captain. This map on the monitor was from my scans. It shows the general location of our team. As you can see, we never were more than a very few kilometers away from the ship. And here's that little cave. This red perimeter line encloses the entire area we covered. Ours was not a lot of territory, so we had no idea where the other team went." Cavanaugh explained.

"Team?"

"Yes, Captain. Chakotay, Tuvok, Horton, and another guy were just one away-team."

"I must have lost more sleep than I was aware. I thought there were two teams of four members each. But there are actually four missing crewman, on one team. Thanks for clarifying, Ensign."

Janeway then stepped over to the replicator for her coffee. She invited the others to do the same, and soon the meeting continued.

"Neelix, I hear your group found quite a bounty of useable items on the planet. I take it the science department is examining the lot as we speak?"

Over an hour had passed since Samantha Wildman was outside Engineering, talking to Captain Janeway. She was now in her quarters, and had finished letting Naomi eat her dinner. It was replicator fare, called 'Toddler Mexican Dinner Number-Two'.

After giving her daughter a bath, and getting her to go to sleep, Samantha gave commands to the computer.

"Computer. This is Ensign Wildman. Run program 'Monitor Naomi'. Authorization: Wildman-six-seven-beta."

=/\= The program has started =/\=

Seeing how sound asleep she was, Samantha left her room, entered the main room and grabbed her PADD. She then left, and headed for the Science Lab. Arriving shortly thereafter, she notices Vorik at a console.

"Good evening, Ensign. Lt. Carey is commanding Engineering until Lt. Torres returns. He sent me to inquire about Tritungstenate. As the element Tungsten is plentiful on most M-Class planets, he was wondering if deriving Tritungstenate from Tungsten would be a more viable option, than trying to find Polyferanide." he stated plainly.

"Vorik, I advise not even attempting to use Tritungstenate in a warp-nacelle. It is too unstable, and has a lower melting point than Polyferanide."

"Unfortunately, no one is finding Polyferanide on this planet. As we require approximately 0.47 metric tons, logic would dictate that we find a substitute."

"I had no idea you needed such a large amount. Vorik, I have a question." she replied.

"Proceed."

"If the replicators were to produce Polyferanide, how could they be modified to recycle planetary soil into the substance?"

"That is an interesting idea. First, we would need to determine a ratio of soil to Polyferanide. That would be applied to the input field of the replicator matrix. If we use the deflector array to generate a large enough input field, the soil could be instantly replicated into Polyferanide."

"How about storage, and system compatibility?" she inquired.

"The replicator systems would need to be adjusted, to direct their materialization subroutines through the deflector array. They could then deposit the new Polyferanide onto a specified location on the planet's surface. Then the transporter could beam-up, and deposit the substance into the proper nacelle sockets. Lt. Torres is best qualified to determine a method for these modifications."

Samantha transcribed his very words onto her PADD.

"I'll clear this with the Captain, and the science staff. You'll need to talk to B'Elanna. Then we can begin."

"I concur."

Breshak again struggled to piece together fragments of conversation. Commander seemed to be inquiring about the fourth member of their group - one called 'Crewman Thompson'. He had been killed during the initial fire fight in which these prisoners had been taken. Such a fatality would be unlikely now, not with their new weapons. Already their arrival brought change to the Whoonto. She would have liked to have told him what had happened, if only for her own peace of mind, but orders were orders. She ignored him.

She nodded to the medic who began his assessment - after some confusion from Commander, though he seemed determined to prove himself to be non-hostile. When he was done, the medic preceded her out of the cell, leaving one of the food tray on the bed. Breshak quickly re-engaged the force field and moved on to the next cell - the one containing the green-blooded man.

She approached the cell, and was again about to repeat the 'unarmed' display when a light inside her suit and a soft 'beep' alerted her to an incoming message from one of her superiors. It was of high priority. She would have to take it now, and outside of the cell block.

She gestured both the medic and one of the guards forward to continue seeing to the prisoner's needs before she thumbed the switch on her suit and shimmered from view.

Tuvok watched the exchange, or rather, the lack of it, between the foremost of their captors and Commander Chakotay. They offered no answers to his questions, but seemed to be concerned with the welfare of their prisoners, which spoke evidence that they were not overly hostile people. At least not yet. Nevertheless, escape was a priority.

When they were finished with the Commander's medical inspection, they turned their attention to his cell, but for a moment they paused.

Seemingly without reason, the first of the natives suddenly turned and left the cell block, re-activating her personal cloak.

Tuvok's hearing confirmed that she had truly stepped out of the block, and he had not detected any more guards save the two outside the cells, one of which approached him with the medic.

With a furtive glance at Chakotay, he slumped against the wall, feigning a languid and weakened state, leaning heavily against the back wall to draw them as far into the cell as possible.

He pretended to attempt to stand, and stumbled, falling to his knees.

All he needed to do was get within arm's reach of them, where he would see what effect a Vulcan neck pinch would have on each.

Neither of the aliens replied to his questions. Chakotay stood still and tried to hide his frustration. The second alien approached him with its devices. Were they unable to respond, or unwilling? Could they understand him? Did they communicate verbally?

The second alien seemed to be scanning him, passing the smaller device over his body like a wand. Its devices might be the equivalent of a medical tricorder. Chakotay's suspicions were confirmed when the wound in his side received special attention.

Those camouflage suits would make the aliens difficult to fight. If the away team was forced to escape, they would have to reconnoitre by fire. Could the alien weapons be adjusted to emit a wide beam? If so, they could use them to sweep the route ahead. Did they have a stun setting? Horton's arm was in a cast: would he be able to use one of the alien weapons?

Getting out of the cells would be the easy part. Where were they being held? How could they get to the surface? And where was Thompson? Was he dead? Hospitalized? Were the aliens holding Thompson separately, to discourage escape attempts? If they were, it was working: Chakotay wasn't going to leave anyone behind.

Chakotay was considering that a mind-meld might be necessary, either to establish communication or to escape, when the alien seemed to finish its examination. It put its devices away, picked up two of the trays on Chakotay's bunk, and left the cell. The first alien followed, and re-established the force field.

Damn, he thought, lowering his hands. They had shown no interest in communicating at all. How long could the away team...

...wait. Something was happening. The two aliens were approaching Tuvok's cell when the first one paused, gestured right and left, and disappeared from view. A third alien appeared in front of Tuvok's cell.

Tuvok--what was he doing? Chakotay watched in alarm as Tuvok slumped against the back wall of his cell, tried to straighten up, and fell to his knees.

Was Tuvok making his move? It was too soon! Chakotay cursed the alien monitoring devices. His instructions hadn't been clear enough.

If they tried to escape, and failed, they might never get another chance to communicate.

If they kept trying to communicate, and failed, they might never get another chance to escape.

What the hell do I do?

No time!

"Tuvok," he said, and hoped for the best.

Vorik left, and Ensign Wildman discussed the subject at length with her department.

Walking to the turbolift, entering, and arriving at the proper deck, Vorik returned to Engineering. Lt. Carey and two other engineers had just finished replacing the final of the burnt consoles. Vorik approached.

"Lieutenant, I conferred with Ensign Wildman regarding Tritungstenate. She insisted that it was too flawed as a useful substance for our purpose. We therefore determined that replicating Polyferanide from planetary soil would be more expedient."

"Let's see here." Carey replied, reviewing the PADD Vorik handed him. "This sounds like a good plan, but we'll have to wait and discuss it with B'Elanna when she returns."

"I agree. Until then, I will return to my duties. Which repairs are the most prudent for me to undertake at this time?" Vorik asked.

"You can help me replace the primary power relays to the plasma containment-field emitters. There was an overload while you were gone."

"Let us proceed."

Carey handed Vorik a large tool box. Carey next grabbed four new relays from the replicator, and they headed to the upper Engineering level. As they traversed a slightly inclined Jeffries tube, a large panel was seen in the bulkhead at the tube's end. Removing the panel, a disturbing, yet pleasant anomaly was discovered.

"Ensign, are those what I'm assuming they are?" Carey wondered.

Taking out his tricorder, Vorik confirmed the assumption.

"These are of Borg technology. Obviously, they are modifications remnant of our failed Borg alliance. They appear to be autonomous nano-replicating relays. Should we remove them?"

"Not at all. They've fixed themselves. B'Elanna said to leave any helpful Borg stuff in place, if it's better than ours. We'll just leave them alone." answered Carey.

"Are any other systems in need of repair?"

"Let me think. Seven repaired the stream constrictors, and I'm done with the plasma vents and replacing consoles. Unless something else quits working, the rest has to wait until we get some Polyferanide to repair the nacelles. Until then, we need only clean the carpets. They are covered with soot."

"Very well."

At that, they left the Jeffries tube and began the custodial duties.

The wall suddenly shattered and imploded. Smoking debris spattered in all directions.