Part VI.

"Tom? Tom are you all right?" she sputtered.

Seven, escort trailing a cautious few steps behind her, strode through the Sickbay doors and into the main treatment area. She'd had another dizzy spell in the corridor on the way and had to stop momentarily until it passed. Her escort's natural wariness of her had been increased when she accidentally knocked him to the wall, brushing aside unneeded assistance at the juncture. Humans were so... fragile. Still, the sudden onset of the symptoms she'd been predicting for the last few hours was... disturbing.

The Doctor was impatiently waiting for her.

"Ah there you are, Seven. Kes?" The Ocampan brought a tray over while the Doctor moved to take Seven's arm. The security guard seemed adamant in remaining in position by the former Borg's side. The Doctor rolled his eyes and sighed. "Would you mind letting me take my patient to the biobed?" Sheepish, the goldshirt stepped back.

Kes handed the Doctor his tricorder. "What are your current discomforts, Seven?" he asked while taking her readings. He eyed her as he leaned forward slightly. "Even the 'irrelevant' ones."

She eyed him back. "I have experienced visual distortion and brief periods of vertigo, accompanied by nausea." She paused momentarily, as if cataloguing her symptoms. "I am presently experiencing a pressure... here." She raised her hand to touch her forehead.

"Hm." He trained the tricorder's diagnostic component in the spot Seven indicated, then the general area. He looked her in the left eye while doing so, and Seven looked back. The Doctor tapped the interface on his tricorder and frowned at the readings. He moved away from the biobed by one step and held up his index finger. "Follow my finger," he instructed. As she complied, he watched her eyes. "Hm." he grunted again.

She looked at him with anticipation.

"It appears that the cybernetic contacts which interface with your occular implant have slightly deteriorated. I don't know whether it is related, but you also appear to have a slight case of sinusitis. The latter COULD be responsible for your dizziness and nausea, but I can't be certain." He closed his tricorder. "I'm going to have to keep you in Sickbay - to repair the interface and run more tests."

The Doctor could tell that Seven of Nine was not looking forward to it, but she held up her head and straightened out her shoulders. "I will comply."

He smiled and handed the tricorder back to Kes. He then walked over to the security guard. "You can stand over there if it suits you," he indicated an area by the doorway, "but you're not going to get in my way in MY Sickbay. Is that understood?" They stared each other down for many seconds before the guard nodded and backed off. The Doctor sighed and shook his head. Security: never there when you actually need them...

"What happened?"

"Iīm okay. Just scorched me a little," Tom replied to B'Elanna and coughed. "See? That bulkhead over there has breached and nearly killed us. That was a close shave!"

He coughed again. His chest hurt like hell.

"And what about you? Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine," B'Elanna growled. "What the hell did you touch to cause the whole Jeffries tube to buckle?" She wiped her hand across her blackened face and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.

She saw Tom's usually calm, handsome face contort into a look of discomfort. He clutched his chest.

B'Elanna crawled over to Tom and leaned over him, running her hands softly over his torso, feeling for contusions. "What can I do for you?" she whispered.

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

"They are indeed," answered the Talaxian, beaming. "I think you'll be pleased with the amount of plants and edible goods we picked up on the planet. That's one thing that's gone well on this trip, it seems..."

He shook his head, musing. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Captain?"

"Actually, I think we've covered as much ground as possible on the subject of our missing crewmen for now. Does anyone else have anything to add?"

As not a soul had anything else to contribute, Captain Janeway dismissed Neelix and his compatriots. The foursome exited the Conference room, and Janeway and Castillo returned to the Bridge. The moment she sat in her chair...a com signal grabbed her attention.

=/\= Wildman to the Captain =/\=

"Go ahead, Ensign."

=/\= Captain, the science and botany departments have examined the plants and edibles that Neelix brought. As soon as the Doctor okays everything, they will be distributed for use by the appropriate departments. =/\=

"That'll be fine. By the way, how do things look for our backup Polyferanide plan?"

=/\= I was about to tell you that. We can do it, and Engineering agrees on it's feasibility. As soon as Lt. Torres assigns the work, we can begin simulations =/\=

"I'll just let Science and Engineering work out the plan, then. Whatever B'Elanna decides is okay with me. Keep me informed. Janeway out."

Ending the conversation, Janeway sighed and stared at the viewscreen. The darkness of night had arrived, and her mind raced in anxiety about the missing comrades she was now starting to long for. Would they be safe outside, on this planet in the dark? Had they remained safe in the daylight?

A helplessness similar to that she had experienced toward Harry Kim was creeping into her psyche yet again. But, she would not fail her comrades this time.

"Castillo, I want around the clock scans of the twenty-five mile radius surrounding Voyager. You are commanding the night-shift tonight?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Focus the scans on a 2.5 to 3.5 phasic range. If you find anything or anyone who belongs to us, beam it up immediately. Give me a holler, too. I'm going to go try and eat some dinner."

"Will do Captain."

"Very well, then. You have the Bridge."

Saying those very words, the Captain entered the turbolift.

While Kes prepared a set of hyposprays for the Doctor's exam with Seven, the surgical console began to beep again. She tapped the light. "Sickbay," she said.

=/\= This is security. Please send medics to Jeffries Tube #11. We may had a blast in that area, and two crewmen are not responding. =/\=

"Acknowledged. Sickbay out" she said calmly, then dispatched four medics to the area.

The Doctor heard Kes at the communications panel and asked her: "Did Mister Neelix arrive from the away mission? I'd like to isolate his booty as quickly as possible until we've resolved for certain that these organic materials are safe to come in contact with, much less ingest."

"I'll do that now, Doctor."

He smiled. "Thank you." He took it upon himself to bring the first tray of hyposprays and instruments over to the biobed...

On the way down to the desired deck, her combadge signaled.

=/\= Lt. Hart to Captain Janeway =/\=

"Janeway here."

=/\= Captain, the debris around Jeffries tube eleven is blocking our path to the location of Lts. Torres and Paris. We're going to dig through, and Medics are on the way in case anyone is injured. =/\=

"Keep me updated, Mr. Hart. I'm trusting the situation to Security's capable hands. Use whatever resources necessary to get them out of there."

=/\= Understood, Captain. Hart out. =/\=

The turbolift door opened as the message ended, and Captain Janeway coasted to her quarters. As she entered, the replicator was ignored, and she laid on top of her made bed. Closing her eyes, she still could only remain awake, and worry.

Frustrated, she arose and used her last replicator ration of the day in ordering a light supper. Eating everything instinctively was the most she could enthuse. And as her guilt and fear refused to ease, she decided to make another visit to Mr. DaVinci.

Having left her quarters, and finally arriving at the Holodeck, she activated the DaVinci program. She soon entered, and as the doors to DaVinci's studio opened, he wasn't there. After a brief search around the house, he was discovered having a cup of tea by the fireplace in his study.

"Maestro. Are you feeling alright?"

"I am positively Katarina. And though it is always pleasant to see you, a maiden must never travel alone in the dark hours. What summons you to greet me?" he asked, surprised.

"I was supping with the widow Medias on the lane, and thought I would pay a visit to another friend."

"The pleasure is mine. Have some tea, and a confection. They are a little stale I'm afraid, but the baker refuses to create anew until his quota is gone."

"Tea only, thanks."

A matronly servant poured a cup, and passed it to Janeway. She then left the room, and the Maestro entertained his guest with several humorous town anecdotes.

"...and then her betrothed inquired 'Exactly whom did you expect to be hiding inside your closet?'"

"Oh no. Tell me he hadn't jumped out the window before her regular suitor arrived... ha ha ha..."

"As you have guessed, he did just that... hee hee"

Hearing that answer, Janeway laughed hysterically. And wiping the tears, she took another sip of her tea as the laughter subsided. Shortly, the conversation lulled, moving to the more serious.

"Katarina, I know you well. Is it merely my imagination, or do I sense troubling waters building inside you?"

"I confess that you indeed sense something, my friend. Four of my foot soldiers are missing, but my company lacks the ability to find them." she relayed.

"Shall we travail to the cathedral? The priest is still at mass, and we will import on him to seek the face of God on behalf of your indisposed."

"Another time, perhaps."

"As you wish. I can, however, offer a more humanistic solution if you would like."

"Certainly."

"Katarina, our very nature is to hope. We hope to see the daylight destroy the darkness, and are renewed continually by it's occurrence. It is the same in battle. Troops know their commander watches over the prize, as surely as your compatriots serve you for the same. If you accept that they hope in you, then you must dare to invest hope in them surviving."

"You're probably right. Knowing Commander Chakotay, they more than likely are fine. Well. I need to go I think."

"You are always welcome to stay."

Putting her hand on his shoulder, she stared at him as a student does a mentor. They each spoke a fond adieu, and Captain Janeway ended the program.

As she left the Holodeck and walked to the turbolift, an expected update came through the com channel.

=/\= Hart to the Captain =/\=

"Go ahead."

=/\= Captain, we have a mess down there by Jeffries tube eleven. We've only dug through about a fourth of the debris. It's going to be awhile before we can get to Torres and Paris. =/\=

"Are communications still offline?"

=/\= Yes. I'm currently in the tubal juncture on Deck Ten, because the com channels aren't working anywhere on Deck Eleven now. =/\=

"How about beaming our people out of there?"

=/\= Too dangerous, Captain. There is probably way too much debris around them. One of the engineers said it would run the risk of occluding their patterns with loose matter. =/\=

"Well, it looks like digging is your only option for now. Redouble your efforts, and keep both Security shifts on duty. Looks like not very many of us are going to be sleeping tonight. Keep me informed, Lieutenant. Janeway out."

During the conversation, the Captain decided that sleeping was not a luxury she would allow herself during the present crises. When she reached the turbolift, she entered and returned to the Bridge. As she stepped onto the Bridge, she proceeded to go to the only place that ever really allowed her solitude - the Captain's chair.

She sat down, and waited...

Tom looked around and shook his head.

"I donīt know. Looks like the debris is blocking our way out of here. We should..." he coughed and clutched his chest again.

"Now it hurts," he moaned and tapped his communicator.

"Paris to Sickbay. Paris to the Bridge. Please respond!"

Nothing.

"Great. Where is a doctor when you need one?"

Tom stared at the door. He'd better think of something fast.

Tom didn't look good. B'Elanna knew that they needed to get out of the tube and over to Sickbay as soon as possible.

She crawled over to the end of the tunnel where debris and remnants of the broken walls jutted. The half-Klingon tried to clear some of the pieces out of her way but nothing would budge. Frustrated, she banged her arms against the material blocking her path, screaming "Let us out of here!"

When she didn't get a response, she crawled back over to Tom and pulled out her tricorder. It was inoperable. "Damn," she growled.

Tom nodded, not speaking. He felt terrible and his chest was a place of pain.

"At least we have plenty of time to make our own escape" he said, his voice dry.

For a moment, Tom wondered what had happened to the away team. Maybe they were having a nice picnic right now while he was... . Well. Life was difficult at times and the trick was to survive. He looked at B'Elanna, who was still sitting next to him, holding the inoperative tricorder.

"What about the toolkit?" he asked.

"Sickbay to Neelix."

=/\= Well hello, Kes! =/\=

The Ocampan smiled. Although their romance had cooled somewhat over the past few months, the two remained very close friends. "Hello, Neelix. Glad you're back aboard. How was it down there?"

The Talaxian's voice betrayed every bit of awe as he described the forest clearing and how abundantly life flourished. Kes' affinity to nature allowed her to be swept her up by his description, until she head the Doctor clear his through. It was back to business...

"Neelix, the Doctor requests that everything you brought back with you be taken to Sickbay at once for quarantine and evaluation."

=/\= I wish I could help you, Kes, but it's all in the Science Lab =/\=

"All right then. I'll contact them."

=/\= I can continue telling you about my adventures over dinner? =/\=

"That would be wonderful, Neelix!"

=/\= Till then, my Dearest... =/\= Neelix was still the flatterer.

After the heat in her cheeks subsided, Kes contacted the lab. Meanwhile, the Doctor had just activated the biobed's arch...

Kes had just spoken to Ensign Wildman about the Doctor's orders. Being stored in the large stasis bins in the Science Lab for species classification purposes, the four large barrels of useable plants that Neelix gleaned from the planet were called to Sickbay. The Doctor needed to examine them. Ensign Wildman relayed Kes' message.

"Okay, folks. We need to take all this up to Sickbay now. I need one of you to each pull a barrel...I'll take this one." she said.

"Wait." interrupted Jomin, the Botanist, "Tell the Doctor that none of these plants were touched by or exposed to us in any way. He'll probably lecture me, if he thinks I touched them when I catalogued them. Actually, I had the computer classify them from the stasis bin."

"I'll tell him; but the Doctor isn't quite the ogre you think he is. He's actually quite pleasant." Samantha replied.

"I find that hard to believe. A few days after he was activated, when I asked him to remove a huge pimple from my nose, he refused and said 'I was not aware my programming included giving facials'."

Ensign Wildman looked strangely at her, and desperately tried to hide her laughter as she and three other science officers left the lab with the floral goods in tow.

They eventually delivered the entire load to Sickbay, but neglected to assure the Doctor about the lack of crew exposure to the plants.

As soon as the medicinal findings arrived in Sickbay Kes joined the Doctor, who seemed to her to be perturbed by a confusion that had resulted in the potentially edible matter having been sent to Science instead of Sickbay for quarantine.

"Would you like me to begin work on these, Doctor, while you sort out the problem?" she offered.

"Place them in stasis drawer Beta for now, Kes." He said. He knew that in moments she would be by his side with the necessary surgical instruments and a... "hypospray of Anesthezine."

"Tuvok."

The Vulcan looked up as he caught Chakotay's eye. Apparently, he thought it was too early to attempt an escape.

He rose to his feet, looking shaken and accepted an arm to rise. The ploy could wait until later. He sat back on his bunk as the aliens examined him.

B'Elanna looked around her in the dim light. She spied a toolkit wedged under some metal and grabbed for it. It was stuck! As B'Elanna pulled with all her might to try and dislodge it, she could hear a moaning sound of the walls starting to crumble.

Then another sound caught her attention. A faint tapping sound was coming from what used to be the entrance to the jeffries tube. She could also hear the sound of voices talking.

"Do you hear that?" she turned to Tom. "They're trying to get us out of here!"

She pushed herself against the wall beside Tom. Exhausted and hot, she wiped her hand across her forehead. 'Is the air getting thinner in here?' - she thought. 'I can hardly breathe.'

The Captain had been waiting for news about the missing away team, and about the two trapped senior officers for over two-hours. She had been sound asleep in her command chair for most of that time... too stubborn to rest and wait in her quarters.

As the chronometer reached 2000 hours, Ensign Castillo waited at his post for his relief - a young Vulcan named T'Punn - to come to the Bridge, so he could have dinner. She soon arrived.

"Shhh. Be sure not to wake Captain Janeway unless absolutely necessary. And here are her orders." whispered Castillo to Ensign T'Punn, handing her his PADD.

"Understood." she replied.

Castillo then quietly left the Bridge, and T'Punn continued the scans for the missing foursome.

After several minutes passed, a signal came through the Captain's combadge. She eased out of her slumber, slightly confused, speaking out of the REM zone.

=/\= Hart to Janeway... =/\=

=/\= Hart to Captain Janeway. Do you read me? =/\=

"...Chakotay...it isn't your f.. Huh? Oh. Sorry, Mr. Hart. Report." the Captain mumbled, then answered as her fog cleared.

=/\= Captain, just a quick update. We are making great progress in getting through to Paris and Torres. We expect to have them out within the hour. =/\=

"Well, that is great news to hear, Lieutenant. Keep up the good work, and let me know the moment you get them out of there."

=/\= Will do, Captain. Hart out. =/\=

On hearing that, Janeway straightened her uniform, and turned to see Ensign T'Punn busy at Ops. A face now more commonly seen on the Bridge since Castillo was promoted to the senior staff, the Captain walked over.

"Good evening, Ensign. How go the scans?"

"They are proceeding according to standard protocol. Do you require additional settings at this time, Captain?" inquired the Vulcan.

"Not right now, Ensign. Just wondering if you found anything."

"No anticipated nor anomalous readings indicated at this time. I shall continue." she stated.

Captain Janeway nodded and slightly smirked at T'Punn. Of the four Vulcans on Voyager, the Captain had always considered this female more green-blooded than the three men. Janeway never liked her... but professionalism never let it show. This Captain, like most in her chair, was non-biased to a fault.

Now walking away from Ops, to help the waiting seem less trying, Janeway sat in the empty Helm seat and reviewed the navigation logs.

"Do you hear that?" BīElanna asked.

"Hear what? All I'm hearing are my own lungs right now," Tom replied and coughed again.

He looked at B'Elanna and saw a mixture of emotions flitting across her face; she was exhausted but there was something else. Tom frowned. Rescue was on the way, but would they make it in time?

The Captain was reviewing the navigation logs from the past three months. They indicated that the planet Voyager was on now, was in a solar system only 42.6 light-years away from the Borg system nearly destroyed by species 8472 some time ago.

It made her a little fearful to realize how insignificant that was, in relation to the remaining 10,000 some odd light-years of mostly Borg space they had to cross - if they even survived this planet's unknown demons. As she sighed and shook her head, an Ops report interrupted.

"Captain, sensors indicate a large thunderstorm approaching from the west. It will cause no damage whatever to Voyager. I will now resume scans for our crewman." T'Punn factually stated.

"Never underestimate a thunderstorm, Ensign. If this were happening about thirty-five years ago in Bloomington, I would probably be hiding under my bed from the thunder alone." mused Janeway

"The electrical energy required to damage our hull would be approximately 776.9 Petavolts. That is atmospherically impossible on an M-Class planet."

"And to hear the thunder from a bolt like that... I would hide under my bed even now."

"That would be a highly illogical course of action." replied the Vulcan, raising an eyebrow.

"Resume your scans, Ensign." Janeway retorted, irritated that her humor was misunderstood. Though it was not a surprise.

As the thunderstorm began, Captain Janeway went to her Ready Room. She sat on the sofa, and watched the heavenly orchestra that once frightened her... like it did on countless summer nights in Indiana.

"What's wrong, B'Elanna?" asked Tom.

"Is it hot in here?" asked B'Elanna. Her breathing was becoming more labored and her skin felt like it was on fire.

She pulled off her Starfleet sweater and pulled her hair up and away from her face.

"I hope they get us out of here soon," she whispered.

Captain Janeway was watching the storm from her Ready Room window.

Meanwhile, Ensign Castillo had just arrived to the Mess Hall from his quarters where he had showered and put on a fresh uniform. As the doors opened, he noticed several crewman watching the thunderstorm through the row of Mess Hall windows.

After Castillo grabbed his tray, and conversed with Neelix as he scooped some of his casserole onto the tray, the Ensign picked up a dinner roll and some dessert. Looking for a table, he saw Lt. Joe Carey sitting at a table near the corner, and joined him.

As he sat down, a big bolt of lightning moved across the sky outside. The entire room noticed, as everything briefly lit up.

"Boy, was that a big one." Carey said.

"I'll say. I'd hate to be out there with that away-team." replied Castillo.

"And the sensors still haven't detected them?"

"Nope. The Captain has tried almost every setting too. We have a phase variance on them... we think. The night shift is going to scan all night, so maybe we will find something by morning." Castillo explained.

"Hopefully. By the way, what on earth do you think Neelix has in this casserole?"

"You didn't ask? He calls it 'Yitzchi Casserole', made from Yitzchi - Rinaxian cucumbers. He grew them in the hydroponics bay."

"Then what's this stringy stuff?" asked Carey.

"Swiss cheese."

Hearing that, they both laughed and finished eating. As the talking continued, Carey said that Vorik was holding Engineering. Castillo revealed the name of the young lady on whom he has a crush... and the storm raged on.

The Doctor looked down at Seven's calm face. It was devoid of all her Borg arrogance. He couldn't deny that she was actually quite lovely. It caused him to wonder what other Borg drones might truly look like should they be rescued from their grey, monotonous existence. The colors, the shapes, the species; many would be their race's sole representative.

Once the allotted time had passed for the Anesthezine to take full effect, he signaled Kes for her assistance. As Kes handed the appropriate instruments to the Doctor, she became aware of the cortical monitor attached to the side of her neck, the twin to one Seven was wearing. Her thoughts turned to Seven herself. How was she feeling? Was she experiencing fear, pain, curiosity? Kes was interested to know how the ex-drone would deal with this situation, but at the same time worried for her.

The Doctor removed Seven's occular implant and bade Kes hold it in place four centimeters above their subject's face. He investigated the fine tendrils he'd fashioned for the prosthetic to interface with Borg technology. "Hm!"

Kes, not wanting to move the eyepiece, refrained from asking anything.

However, having worked with Kes by his side for almost three years, the Doctor knew this would have been where his assistant would have said SOMETHING, and surmised it was her attempt to keep the cyborg eye steady in her hands. "There are signs of degradation where the prosthetic attached to the Borg circuitry," he volunteered. "That would explain why her eyesight has been giving her trouble." With Kes still holding the eye, he helped himself to a finer instrument...

Lieutenant Hart was standing crouched in one end of Jeffries Tube eleven. After several hours of him and three security officers digging and moving debris; Hart ordered a forth round of using phaser torches.

"Okay. Stop. That should be the last we have to burn through."

"Hey. We've gotten through another layer." said one of the security people.

"Good. Let the digging commence... again."

They returned to the tedious process. The medics waited outside the tube hatch, in the corridor.

The Doctor trimmed the ends of cybernetic connectoids which attached to Seven's prosthetic eye. He ordered Kes to quickly place them into a small stasis drawer for later analysis, while he held the eye over Seven's sleeping face. Once the Ocampan returned, they set about reattaching the former Borg's occular implant...

Two hours later, the procedure was completed. Anticipating the EMH's request, Kes already had hyposprays loaded to restore Seven's consciousness and equilibrium just enough to get her to Cargo Bay Two. However, there would be a change of plans.

"Kes, let's go to the Science lab and take a look at those samples." The Doctor was far from satisfied with what he had seen, having only given Seven the implant in question barely a week before.

Kes nodded and followed him through his office. She went straight to the stasis drawer to fetch the specimen, while he transferred his program to the mobile emitter. A quick page on her combadge, and two medics arrived to monitor Seven's condition in their absence.

Satisfied, he nodded with a smile and they left for Deck Eight.

Lieutenant Carey and Ensign Castillo ended their conversation in the Mess Hall. The thunderstorm had now gone on for over an hour, but was finally beginning to ease. Castillo returned to his quarters and Carey to Engineering.

As he entered the doors to the now tidy engine room, Carey walked over to Vorik and they discussed minor engine concerns. That would soon change into a new subject.

"Whoa. Did you feel that, Vorik?" Carey asked, as Voyager jolted slightly downward.

"I did indeed."

"Computer. Has Voyager's horizontal plum been altered?"

=/\= Affirmative. The aft landing struts have lowered by 13.2 meters =/\=

"What was the cause?"

=/\= Terrainian substructure has been compromised =/\=

"A sink hole. Boy, is that a new one for Voyager."

"Sir?" Vorik wondered.

"The ship has a sink hole under one portion - that's a hole in the ground. The rain probably caused it."

"Can it be compensated for?"

"Yep. After I tell the Captain. Lt. Carey to Captain Janeway."

=/\= Yes, Mr. Carey... I was expecting your call. Report. =/\=

"A sink hole has opened beneath the aft landing struts. It isn't serious now, but we may need to move if it gets worse."

=/\= I would rather we not move unless absolutely necessary, Lieutenant. Do we have other options? =/\=

"We have several. Let me consult with the engineering staff, and we can come up with a plan."

=/\= That'll be fine. Keep me updated. Janeway out. =/\=

Ending the conversation, Carey, Vorik, and several other engineers discussed the subject at length. After nearly an half-hour, an easy solution was quickly drawn.

"Carey to Janeway."

=/\= Go ahead. =/\=

"The sink hole problem can be fixed by extending the struts by a determined margin. We need to go to the mechanic's porch outside to make the adjustments, however."

=/\= Do it. And please be careful under there... take hand phasers. =/\=

"Will do, Captain. Carey out. Vorik.. you're with me. Ensign Silverstein, hold the fort."

He and Vorik grabbed tools, tricorders, and PADDs, and headed to the nearest turbolift. They directly arrived at Deck 15, and located the exit hatch near the aft landing struts.

As they exited and climbed down the ladder, they stood on the mechanic's porch - a platform above the left strut. A console was there, on Voyager's belly. The cool wind blew mist all over them... but they soon made the corrections and extended the landing struts according to a precise depth indicated by tricorder. The ship leveled off.

"Okay, lock them down Vorik."

As the lock down protocol was re-initiated, Carey noticed that EDIN - the Exterior Data Input Node - was powered off. He showed Vorik, and they re-entered the ship. The hatch closed behind them and they climbed back up the ladder to the exit room in Deck 15.

"Lieutenant, the damaged fusion generators that Lieutenant Torres went to repair, is the most likely cause of EDIN being offline."

"I agree. Let's return to Engineering."

En route, Carey updated Captain Janeway. The case was closed - all had returned to normal on the horizontal level. They soon entered Engineering.

Little did anyone realize, that due to the EDIN power-off...Chakotay's tricorder data and personal logs never reached Voyager.

"Almost got it, Kes. Raise the magnification by another 20%."

It was a busy afternoon in the lab, but they managed to get the main station. What the Doctor saw was not very reassuring. "I see... hm."

"What is it, Doctor?" asked Kes in her usual, sultry tone.

"I see something... quite fascinating," he said. "There appears to be some sort of rapid corrosion happening on the Borg remnants. The sliver of sample circuitry from our own ship is just fine. This is quite incredible really - the speed with Which this is occurring..." the Doctor once again keyed in a new configuration; the scanning equipment gave off an unpleasant sound for the fifth time. "Unfortunately, I am unable to detect the frequency of the radiation responsible."

The Doctor paused and looked up. "Seven!" He looked over at Kes. "Meet me back in Sickbay as soon as possible," he said, then left the station and disappeared.

The Doctor frowned as he quickened his pace towards the turbolift. He tapped his combadge. "Doctor to Captain Janeway!"

=/\= Go ahead, Doctor =/\=

"It is imperative that you meet me in Sickbay at once!"

There was a pause. He entered the lift. Finally:

=/\= On my Way. =/\=

He closed his eyes and sighed. This was not going to be easy. In the meantime: "Doctor to Neelix."

=/\= Neelix here. What is it, Doctor? =/\=

"Come take your flora and fauna from stasis drawer Beta. That's the largest one on the bottom left in my lab."

The Talaxian sounded barely able to contain himself. =/\= At once, Doctor! =/\=

Minutes later, he was back in Sickbay's treatment area. The medics reported no incident or change in Seven of Nine's condition, but he knew better.

B'Elanna pulled off her Starfleet sweater and pulled her hair up and away from her face.

"I hope they get us out of here soon," she whispered.

Tom clutched at his chest and nodded. It was getting hard for him to speak without drawing a large amount of pain from it.

Suddenly, the faint tapping sound at the entrance to the Jeffries tube died away.

B'Elanna gave Tom a worried look before struggling to get to her knees to crawl closer to the blocked entrance. Again she tugged uselessly at the debris until she collapsed with fatigue.

Tom saw her laying on the floor. He panicked. "B'Elanna...." he gasped, ignoring the flash of pain in his chest his voice prompted. He tried to move closer to her. "B'Elanna..." he whispered weakly.

B'Elanna's eyes fluttered open, giving her a view of the ceiling. Confused, she tried to sit up but fell back when a wave of dizziness hit her. She heard Tom calling her name nearby. "Tom," she rasped. She could hardly breathe and she felt as if it had to be over 40 degrees Celsius in the room.

Tom managed to position himself beside the half-Kilngon. She didn't look good. Her breaths were coming in short ragged bursts and she was covered in a light sheen of perspiration. There was something beautiful about her, though. Even in this moment of weakness, her eyes shone and her hair fell across her face, framing it in a breathtaking way. 'Why is it you can't go more than two minutes without thinking of her in a romantic sense?' he thought.

B'Elanna drew several difficult breaths into her lungs. She saw Tom's face above her looking worried. 'There he is, thinking of my predicament when he's in horrible pain...' B'Elanna thought in admiration. They just might die in here, and she had treated him so horribly all these years. "I... have... tell... you...," she whispered in separate labored breaths.

"Shhh," said Tom. He ran his hand over her hair softly before taking her hand and squeezing it.

B'Elanna eyes teared up and she forced out, "Love... you... Tom..." She shut her eyes.

Tom would have had a chance to react if not for the huge crash at the edge of the tube. Through a huge cloud of dust, Tom saw several mustard clad arms reaching through and feeling for life. The dust started Tom coughing. The pain the coughs brought was terrible.

Finally, Lieutenant Hart pushed through and crawled to the pair. "Are you all right, sir?" he asked while surveying his surroundings. Still coughing, Tom shook his head and pointed to B'Elanna. He clutched his chest painfully. The rest of the rescue team entered the tube and began to move Tom and B'Elanna out. "We can't beam anything in or out of here," the ensign explained. "There's been some sort of radiation leak. We'll beam you to Sickbay as soon as we get past the debris."

A grateful Tom nodded. He looked over at B'Elanna who was being lifted by several of the team. She looked very limp. Tom shuddered.

"On my way." answered Captain Janeway.

The tone of the Doctor's voice gave her an uneasy feeling. If something about this planet had now been discovered, which would pose a threat to even one member of her crew, what would her next option be?

The Borg, every second, seemed less and less ominous. Compared to an invisible, intangible nemesis; a cube was least of all things - something real to hide from. But as this was not the time for fear of any sort, she immediately headed for Sickbay.

"T'Punn, you have the Bridge." said Janeway as she approached the turbolift.

T'Punn nodded, and raised an eyebrow, due to the fact that she would be the only one on the Bridge once the Captain left. Precisely why Captain Janeway ordered her to so obviously... and she looked amused as she entered the turbolift.

After the quick trip down, the turbolift stopped on the intended deck and Janeway emerged.

As she entered Sickbay, she first noticed Seven-of-Nine laying on the biobed of importance as it were. She walked over and saw the young woman - Annika Hansen - not the drone. Janeway melted briefly, but re-hardened herself and turned to face the impatient looking Doctor.

The Captain answered his summons in record time. "Good Evening, Doctor. You obviously have some unpleasant news to tell me... what have you discovered?"

His brow knitted, the Doctor met his superior's gaze. "Is it that obvious?"

He walked over to the biobed where Seven lay and entered a few commands on the arch which was still activated over her still form. While it scanned and compiled the data he expected, he started. "The good news is: the planet is harmless to us. In fact, I've asked Mister Neelix' to retrieve his booty."

Captain Janeway only had to give him that look which told him: "And the bad news?"

He continued. "There is of course an exception to the rule. The remaining Borg technology in Seven of Nine's body is deteriorating due to some form of radiation which we may neither detect or protect her from. I tried all possible frequencies to isolate it, but without success..."

The arch beeped adamantly, and he went over to it. "Take a look." Doctor and the Captain looked at the flashing diagram. "I first noticed this when her occular implant began to lose its effectiveness. And in some areas of her body," he pointed to key areas on the display, "there may at this stage be the start of discomfort, perhaps a stiffness in mobility. But in time, those areas will shut down altogether. Seven's higher functions will be affected soon thereafter."

He turned off the display and opened the arch. "And that's not all. Expect any remaining Borg technology which was affixed to the ship during our recent alliance with them to be prone to malfunctions as well. They're not immune to this degradation. If only we can get enough information, I might be able to devise a means to shield Seven from the harmful effects..."

The Doctor waited for a response from the Captain. She merely nodded as if deep in thought.

The Doctor took additional scans of Seven, then somberly walked to his office from her biobed. He knew the Captain was thinking about his findings, and would respond to him when she had something to say.

Captain Janeway stood by Seven's bedside for several minutes. As the Doctor was again busy in his office, she came into his office, with an idea.

"Doctor. As far as we know, in light of your findings of course, there are now two things resistant to the Borg: Species 8472, and this planet." she said, gesturing with both hands.

The Doctor looked at her inquisitively. She had his full attention.

"Is there any way the enhanced nanoprobes could be modified, to use their Species 8472 encoding... to treat Seven?"

The Doctor shook his head. "With Species 8472, we were dealing with an organic virus. This is different. A specific frequency has been utilized. It compromises the Borg and the Borg only." He put his PADD down and walked back with the Captain to the treatment area, hands clasped behind his back. "I'm not exactly sure how, since our own technology isn't sophisticated enough to isolate it."

He noticed Kes standing by Seven's biobed, ready to assist. "Ah Kes. It's time to revive our patient."

Kes smiled and held out a hypospray. "2cc's of Netinaline."

The Doctor smiled back. "Excellent as always."

The Captain stood a ways beyond the biobed as the Doctor revived Seven.

The Doctor pressed the hypo into the side of Seven's neck, as Kes stood by and Captain Janeway looked on from a distance. As Seven slowly opened her eyes, the Doctor was the first to greet her.

"Hello, Seven," he smiled.

The former Borg slowly brought herself to prop up on one elbow. Bringing a hand to her left temple, she closed her eyes and frowned, saying nothing.

The Doctor whispered to Kes: "Asinolyathin."

The Ocampan nodded and prepared a hypospray and placed it into his hand.

"Seven," said the Doctor, "I'm going to give you a mild analgesic for your headache. That should handle the discomfort..." he added as an afterthought: "so that you may perform - with greater efficiency of course."

With help, from the Doctor on one side and Kes on the other, Seven of Nine managed to sit up. It was then when she noticed a third attendee. "Captain Janeway."

She stepped closer to the biobed.

"Seven. I certainly empathize with your headache... they can be grueling. Anyway, I know you probably are going to push yourself into getting back to your duties. I just want you to know, that you need to concentrate on your full recovery for now - the work will be there anytime."

The Doctor smiled in semi-agreement. Seven started to respond, but grimaced slightly, and instead responded with a generic 'Yes, Captain'.

Janeway patted Seven on the hand. As she walked away, she said "Doctor, I need to speak to you for just a second."

He nodded and whispered something to Kes. Seven laid back down and Kes placed a cold compress on the former Borg's forehead to comfort her until the analgesic took full effect.

He then walked into his office, where Janeway was waiting for him.

"Doctor. Something important has occurred to me, or I wouldn't take you away from your patient. In your opinion, why would a type of naturally occurring radiation which will not harm organic tissue, affect only one type of alien technology?"

The Doctor pondered her question for a moment, then spoke: "It is obvious... someone has devised a specific frequency which effectively protects this planet from the Borg. This is not a random force of nature by any means, Captain."

"So at least we have some sort of idea as to what we're looking for. I'll leave you to your patient. Keep me updated, Doctor." she said.

He nodded, and returned to Seven's bedside. Janeway headed to the Sickbay door, looking toward Seven - concerned.

Captain Janeway left Sickbay, and headed for the turbolift. She passed Neelix on the way, as he toted two large, empty barrels.

"Good Evening, Mr. Neelix." she said.

He returned the 'hello' and continued to his destination. The Captain entered the turbolift, onward to Engineering. She soon arrived.

As she saw Lieutenant Carey on the upper level, she called out. "Mr. Carey."

"Yes, Captain." he answered, leaning on the rail.

"I have a big job for you. I'd better come up there first, though."

He waited for a few moments. She stepped onto the engineer's lift and came up.

"Lieutenant. We must remove all Borg technology from every system on Voyager... immediately."

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Absolutely."

"I hope you realize how difficult and tedious that will be, Captain. Especially without Seven or B'Elanna available."

"You're right. But it has to be done, regardless. Every single piece of Borg technology on this ship is soon to malfunction, and just quit working period. I assume the ship's systems will not react well when that occurs?"

"We're talking shipwide overloads and shutdowns. The damage to so many systems could keep us grounded for months." Carey replied.

"Exactly. So let's get started... I'll be rolling up my sleeves too. Where do we begin?"

Carey grabbed a PADD and started pointing out information to the Captain. She nodded, got some tools, and crawled under an upper console. Carey began gathering the troops via mouth and combadge.

Soon the entire engine room was crowded with Vorik, other engineers, and other crewmen. Busy and full of activity was the place... like midday in a small town. And this was a drop in the bucket.

Sub-lieutenant Breshak paced nervously in the small antechamber, pausing periodically to re-adjust her uniform. After all, it wasn't every day you were called before the rulers of your world, let alone to present testimony on a matter that could change your very society. She'd been summoned from the cell block a scant fifteen minutes earlier by her commander - just enough time to clean up and change into her dress uniform. She wished she had a mirror.

The side door opened to admit another guard - this one bearing a squad leader's rank. She had met him but once - he commanded the squad that had brought the prisoners in.

"The council will see you now," he said formally.

Breshak nodded her thanks, took a deep breath to brace herself, and entered the council chamber.

Astorah glanced up from his copious notes as their second-last interviewee filed through the door. She appeared nervous to his practiced eye, but she hid it admirably.

For the Council of Five, the ultimate decision makers in the Whoonto parliament, it had been a long afternoon. The Five had earlier removed the matter from the debate of the Greater Council, much to its collective anger, deciding unanimously that the normal bureaucracy of the Whoonto could not handle this extraordinary matter with the speed it required.

"Please, sit down. Breshak, isn't it?" Lintorhan, sitting to his left, asked.

"Yes, Justice," the sub-lieutenant replied, quickly sitting in the chair provided.

"We have a number of questions we'd like to ask you regarding the three aliens. We understand you've been assigned as their primary care giver," asked Industry - Mrindaw, sitting to Astorah's right.

"Yes, Industry."

"Quite a prominent assignment. Should give a boost to your career."

"Yes, Industry."

Time to get down to business.

"You have had, comparatively speaking, considerable contact with these aliens," Astorah said abruptly. "How do you find them?"

"I have little insight to offer as they have only been conscious a short time. As captives, War, I have found them to be intelligent, non-hostile and communicative. The one called 'Commander Chakotay' told me that they were a peaceful people. I believed him."

"It could be lying."

"He could, yes, Amenities."

"There are fears that these aliens are a new type of Borg," Lintorhan asked. "Do you share them?"

"I do not, Justice."

"Your reasoning?"

"Justice, they do not look or behave like any of the Borg we have encountered or have been described to us by our ancestors. During the time I observed them, they did not appear to be part of a collective. They are individuals with their own personalities. Also, our medical personnel have found minimal amounts of technology in their bodies - not enough to account for even a past assimilation."

"Your recommendations?"

"War?"

"Should contact be made, yes or no?"

"I believe they mean us no harm, War."

"That is a yes, then?"

"Yes, War. At the very least, I believe that we should hear what their side of the story is."

Astorah looked glanced around him and saw that his fellow councilors had no further questions. He smiled briefly at the sub-lieutenant.

"We will take that matter under advisement. Thank you for your time, Sub-Lieutenant Breshak. You will remain within the government complex in case we have further need of you."

Breshak saluted and hastily retreated from the council's scrutiny. After the door had closed behind her, Lintorhan pressed the intercom set in the table.