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_State of Flux

Episode Synopsis
An awayteam find a replicator from Voyager on a Kazon ship, meanwhile Janeway is forced to try out the Doctor's new coffee patch.

Rebooted
24th April 2019

Original Written
16th October 2002

 

Chakotay, Neelix, Harry, James, Seska, Ian and Lee were all part of one awayteam. Neelix was next to a weird looking plant, Lee and Ian were watching him looking rather worried.

"Hey, this is Leola Root.. I can finally stock up on some," Neelix said.

"Ohno," Ian and Lee groaned.

Neelix ignored them, he started pulling some bits off the plant.

Chakotay spotted a plant with coffee beans lying next to it. "Uhoh," he muttered. He pulled a phaser out and disintergrated the whole plant. He innocently walked away.

Neelix rushed over to Harry, "look what I found!"

Harry looked at what Neelix had in his hands, some red wriggly worms. Harry tried to hold back the vomit. "What the hell is that?"

"Blood worms, I can make all sorts of meals with these," Neelix replied.

"Um.. great," Harry muttered. He rushed away from Neelix. Neelix shrugged, he went over to Chakotay instead.

Meanwhile Seska was bugging James and Ian. "Soo, do either of you want to go out with me?"

Ian and James glanced at each other, "no way."

"Are you sure?" Seska asked, trying her best to look slutty.

"I thought you were going out with Chakotay?" Ian asked.

"I am," Seska replied.

"Ookay then," Ian muttered.

"What, you will go out with me?" Seska asked.

"No I said ookay then just for the sake of it," Ian replied. He walked away.

"No, don't leave me alone with her," James said in a panicky voice.

"So, Jamesy we're all alone at last," Seska said.

Chakotay came over, "have either of you found anything other than caffeine bushes or gross food?"

"Oh yes I have," Seska said, sounding a little too flirty.

"What then?" Chakotay asked, just as clueless as ever.

"I think I found something over there," James said quickly. He rushed away.

"I think I lost it, I'll have to look for it again," Seska said.

"Ok then," Chakotay said. He walked away.

"Jackass," Seska muttered. She followed James, he noticed and he tried to pick up speed.

In: "Voyager to Awayteam."

Chakotay tapped his commbadge. "Chakotay here."

In: "Any unexpected lifesigns down there?"

Chakotay pulled his tricorder out, he looked at it briefly before putting it away again. "Nothing but bloodworms, Neelix wants to bring some back for some casserole or something. I wasn't really listening."

In: "More like the writer wasn't listening."

In: "Shut up Tom. Anyway we're picking up an unidentified ship in lower orbit, collect your teams and prepare to transport back to the ship."

"Acknowledged," Chakotay said. He tapped his commbadge again. "All units report to transport site A immediately."

In: "Voyager to awayteam, transport back immediately."

"Didn't she just tell us to do that?" Ian asked.

"Yeah," Lee muttered in response.

Harry came over to Chakotay, Neelix, Ian and Lee. "Where's Seska and James?"

"Finally, we've lost her," Ian whispered to Lee.

Chakotay tapped his commbadge, "Chakotay to Seska." He got no reply.

"This is getting better, I think she's dead," Ian said as James came back to the group. Chakotay just sighed.

"Transporter room, can you detect Ensign Seska's commbadge signal?" Chakotay asked.

In: "Negative Commander, I'm not reading any sign of her."

"She was picking berries over there," Harry said.

"No she wasn't, she was trying to pick up James," Lee sniggered.

"Shut up," James muttered.

"I don't believe that for a second," Chakotay said.

"Yeah, just follow the proper script people," Harry said.

"Gladly," James muttered.

"Anyway, there were caves nearby, she might've went inside one," Harry said.

"Being inside a cave must be blocking her commbadge signal. You all go back to the ship, I'll look for her," Chakotay said. He walked away from the team.

"Damn it," James and Ian muttered.

"Meh, Chakotay doesn't know how to find a cold, don't worry about it," Lee said.

"Ookay, that didn't make any sense," Ian said.

 

Chakotay went inside one of the caves, he heard some footsteps coming towards him. He quickly hid behind a big rock, a couple of figures walked passed holding weapons. When they were gone Chakotay continued to go further into the cave. He pulled out a phaser just as somebody else jumped out. It was Seska.

"Oh it's just you," Seska muttered.

"What are you doing in here?" Chakotay asked.

"I told you I found something. I found some mushrooms growing at the entrance to the cave. I wanted to teach Neelix how to make your favourite soup," Seska replied.

"I appreciate the thought, but we have to leave," Chakotay said. He and Seska headed back to the entrance of the cave. Two Kazon suddenly appeared in front of them. The four exchanged fire, one Kazon went down, then Chakotay was hit. Seska shot the last one.

Seska helped Chakotay to his feet and they both got out of the cave.

Meanwhile on the FVDA ship:
Damien, Myleene, Saddam and Osama were playing a broken version of Mouse Trap. Well Damien and Myleene were playing, Saddam and Osama flirted with each other. Meanwhile Johnny was staring at himself lovingly in the mirror while his clone watched nearby.

"Ha, take that!" Damien laughed as the trap landed on a blue mouse.

"Damien, that was your mouse," Myleene said.

"What? Ah crap!" Damien yelled.

"Saddam, it's your turn," Myleene said.

"You're evil," Saddam said to Osama.

"No you are," Osama said.

"Ugh, not this again," Damien muttered.

"No you are!" Saddam yelled.

"No you are!" Osama yelled.

"Neither of you are evil, now just roll the dice!" Myleene yelled.

Both Osama and Saddam stared at her in shock, Osama burst out crying. Saddam patted his back in comfort, "Myleene you hussy, you made my Osamy cry."

"Oh brother," Damien muttered. He smiled evilly, he used the distraction to swap the blue mouse with the red one. "Heh heh suckers."

"Damien, that was my mouse! Put it back this minute!" Myleene screamed.

"No, make me!" Damien yelled. He stuck his tongue out at her. Suddenly Myleene jumped onto Damien, she started to beat him up.

"Oh you're so cute, Johnny," Johnny said to the mirror.

"Oh please," Johnny Junior muttered.

Brannon and Rick came into the room. "Ohno, not again. Mouse Trap is always the game that starts all the fights," Rick muttered.

"No, you're thinking of Monopoly," Brannon said.

"Whatever!" Rick muttered.

"You always pick on me, I'll kill you!" Myleene screamed as she shook Damien countless times.

"Aaargh, everyone picks on you, don't take it out on me! Get off you psycho cow!" Damien yelled.

"Die die die!" Myleene screamed.

"Geeze, someone's got PMS," Brannon said.

"What?" Myleene screeched. She jumped off Damien, she quickly jumped onto Brannon instead.

"I want to marry you again Johnny," Johnny said to the mirror.

"We really should get rid of that mirror," Rick muttered.

"Hey, is that console making a noise, or is it just me again?" Osama asked.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, there was a beepy noise coming from one of the stations. Johnny finally managed to tear himself away from the mirror to check it. "Oh it's just the Borg again, nothing serious." He went back to the mirror.

"WHAT!" everyone yelled. They all rushed to their stations. Johnny Junior went to Tactical instead of his 'mum and dad'.

"We're being hailed," Johnny Junior said.

"Here we go again," Damien moaned.

The viewscreen changed to show the interior of the Borg ship. The crew were all greeted by the awful site of Jericute-os of Borg and the Borg Queen.

"There you are, prepare to be assimilated this time, mwahahaha," the Borg Queen laughed.

"Yeah, resistance is... resistance is um.. resistance is timeless," Jericute-os of Borg said.

"You bimbo, can't you do anything right!" the Borg Queen yelled, she smacked Jericute-os of Borg.

"Wait a minute, didn't we blow up Jericute-os of Borg with a bomb Damien put in her?" Brannon asked.

"Oh come on Brannon, we all know that Jeri Ryan is immortal, why do you think she keeps dying and coming back as Seven in later seasons?" Rick replied.

"Rick, we're not suppose to know that, idiot," Brannon said.

"Um, why not?" Rick asked.

"Because then we wouldn't try to destroy Fifth Voyager since we know they survive to Season 8," Brannon replied.

"Excuse me, can I just remind everyone of something?" Saddam asked.

"No!" everyone yelled.

"Well we are in danger," Saddam replied.

"Oh fine, where were we?" Rick asked.

"I'll tell you, we were going to assimilate you, mwahahahaha," the Borg Queen laughed.

"Oh yeah, well do you want Myleene first or Osama?" Brannon asked.

The Borg Queen looked rather scared, "do we have to have Myleene and Osama?"

"Well, duh," Brannon muttered.

"On second thought we might just save our assimilating for more innocent people. Bye!" the Borg Queen stuttered.

"But, but we had a deal," Jericute-os of Borg moaned.

"Oh yeah, I'll just kill you instead," the Borg Queen said.

"But, you can't kill me. I'm Jeri Ryan, everyone loves me," Jericute-os of Borg moaned.

Everyone laughed, "in your dreams."

"But Brannon loves me," Jericute-os of Borg said.

"I do, when did that happen?" Brannon asked, sounding rather scared.

"Sorry Barbie, you're going to die," the Borg Queen said. She pulled a machine gun out of nowhere and she shot Jericute-os of Borg.

"A machine gun? Oookay then," Rick said.

"You know I can still assimilate some of you," the Borg Queen said.

"It's a great weapon, really," Rick stuttered.

"I thought so. Now I'm off to assimilate some worthwhile people, bye!" the Borg Queen said. The viewscreen changed to show the Borg ship flying away.

"Phew, who would have thought Myleene and Osama would be that useful?" Brannon asked.

"What did you say about me Brannon?" Myleene asked.

"I said who would of thought.. uhoh," Brannon muttered. Myleene jumped onto him again and started to beat him up.

"Hey, who put the green mouse under the trap, Damien?" Saddam asked.

"Myleene," Damien replied.

Myleene glared at him, Damien pointed at Osama. Saddam didn't look too happy. "How could you do that to me, Osama?"

"It wasn't me, honest!" Osama cried.

"Of course not," Saddam said sarcastically. Both of them started slapping each other.

"Oh for god's sake, this is like deja vu," Rick said.

"Ok, why is there three mice under that trap?" Myleene asked.

Damien once again pointed at Osama. Myleene just shrugged, she jumped onto Damien again.

Anyway, back to seriousness... aka Voyager.. ok maybe not:
Kathryn came into Sickbay. The Doctor and Kes were talking, they turned to Kathryn looking like they were facing death.

"You wanted to see me, Doctor?" Kathryn asked.

"Er yes Captain, we have had a few complaints... well Chakotay did. Anyway we have something that may help us solve the problem," the Doctor replied.

"Complaints about what?" Kathryn asked.

The Doctor and Kes glanced at each other looking even more worried than before. Kes picked up a small packet, she opened it up and she took out a round patch.

"What is that?" Kathryn asked.

"Computer lock all the doors in Sickbay," the Doctor said quickly.

"What, what's going on?" Kathryn asked.

"This is for the crew's good, Captain.." Kes said nervously. She went closer to Kathryn with the patch.

"No, what's that .. no, it's not what I think it is, is it?" Kathryn asked nervously.

"Depends what you think it is," the Doctor said.

"I'm the Captain, I order you to stop! Keep that away from me!" Kathryn screamed. She ran for the door but obviously it was locked. Kes went up to her and she tried to put the patch onto Kathryn's hand. She pushed Kes out of the way and she ran into the office.

"This is going to be harder than we thought," Kes muttered.

"We'll have to sedate her," the Doctor said. He picked up a hypospray, he then went into the office. Kathryn started throwing anything she could pick up at the Doctor. They went straight through him, though he was still able to hold the hypospray, don't ask me how.

"NO, keep away from me!" Kathryn yelled. The Doctor loomed closer and closer to her, Kes came up behind him holding the patch. "Oh dear god... nooooooooooooooooo!"

Meanwhile, Chakotay's Quarters:
Chakotay was busy calving a bit of wood when the door chimed. "Come in!"

Seska came in holding a big bowl, she went up to the table he was sitting at. "I didn't think I'd make it. Feeling better?"

"Yeah, what have you got there?" Chakotay replied. Seska sat down next to him, she lifted the lid off the bowl.

"Real food," Seska said.

"You got Neelix to make some mushroom soup," Chakotay said in amazement. Both of them started to eat it.

"Are you kidding? Neelix wanted to mix the mushrooms with a bit of Leola root," Seska said. She laughed, "we had a tug of war with the mushrooms. Tuvok and Kes had to break us up. Then Neelix threw me out of his kitchen."

"Then how did you?" Chakotay asked.

"It was strictly a Marquis operation. We just had to create a moral crisis, one of our people had a severe case of home sickness. Neelix just had to go and cheer them up. While they all broke into folk songs, Jack Foster and I snuck into the kitchen," Seska replied.

"You looted the food reserves?" Chakotay said questioningly.

"Well he wasn't going to give us a decent meal," Seska replied.

Chakotay put down the spoon, "I can't believe you did this."

"Well it's not like we were hiding anything. I did bring soup straight to the first officer didn't I?" Seska said.

"Thanks for including me in a criminal conspiracy. Does he know about this?" Chakotay asked.

"Well the morale crisis ended a few minutes ago so.." Seska replied.

In: "Neelix to Commander Chakotay."

"I guess that he probably does," Seska said.

"Go ahead Neelix," Chakotay muttered.

In: "Some awful person has just stolen food... they have.."

"I know," Chakotay said.

In: "It was that Seska wasn't it?"

"I promise that all those involved will be punished. Chakotay out," Chakotay said. Seska tried to look innocent but Chakotay didn't soften up. "Replicator privileges revoked for two days, everyone, including me."

"They're not going to do it," Seska pouted.

"Then I'll personally put them in the brig," Chakotay said. He went over to the window.

"You'd put me in the brig after all we've been through?" Seska said questioningly. She went over to him, she put her arms around him. "The soup was worth losing replicator privileges for two days."

"That's not the point," Chakotay muttered.

"I get the point, can we make up now?" Seska asked. Chakotay turned around to face her. "Who else knows how to make your favourite soup like I do?"

"No one. But we agreed a long time that this wouldn't work," Chakotay replied.

"Look around Chakotay, there aren't that many potential girlfriends after you," Seska said. She turned around and she headed towards the door. "Of course, if you're not interested. I've had my eye on young Ensign Taylor." She smiled and she walked out.

In: "Tuvok to all senior officers, please report to the Bridge."

The Bridge:
Chakotay came on to the bridge as everyone was watching a message on the viewscreen.

"We require help immediately, anyone who can hear this message. Please help," the Kazon said in a panicky tone of voice.

"It has the same readings as the Kazon Nistrom ship that we encountered earlier," Tuvok said.

"This maybe a trap. The Kazon Nistrom are the most dangerous sect of them all," Neelix said.

"Mr Kim, has that ship sustained any damage?" Chakotay asked.

"As far as I can tell there is a reactor breakdown there," Harry replied.

"Tom, is there any other Kazon ships out there?" Chakotay asked.

"No, just the one that sent the distress call," Tom replied.

"Set a course for that ship," Chakotay ordered.

Kathryn came out of her Ready Room, she sat down on her chair. "Captain, I must protest, we are going to a Kazon Nistrom ship to help them, it could be a trap," Neelix said.

"Don't bloody protest to me... leave me alone!" Kathryn screamed. Everyone looked her way. They saw a coffee patch on her hand, she kept rubbing it but it wouldn't come off.

The Kazon ship:
Tuvok, Chakotay, B'Elanna and Seska rematerialised. The room was misty, and in ruins. They saw dead Kazon all trapped in what looked like rock. There was a forcefield nearby.

"Someone is alive over here," Seska said. Everyone else followed her over to a moving Kazon.

"Awayteam to Voyager. We've found a living Kazon on the Bridge, beam him to Sickbay," Chakotay said.

In: "Acknowledged."

The Kazon dematerialised. "It appears that the explosion came from this console," Tuvok said.

"Does it look a little odd to you?" B'Elanna asked.

Chakotay came over to stand beside B'Elanna. "It doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the Bridge."

"It's made of the same material that only the Federation use. How did it get here?" B'Elanna asked.

Sickbay:
Chakotay and Tuvok went up to Kathryn, the Doctor and Kes.

"Remarkable, all of the cells in his body have been altered," the Doctor said.

"Altered?" Chakotay said questioningly.

"His cells have mutated, or they have been fused with in organic matter," the Doctor said.

"The crewmembers nearest to the explosion were melded with huge pieces of metal fragments. He was luckier than the others," Chakotay said.

"I'll have to operate if we're going to keep him alive. Let's just hope we have compatible donors on the ship," the Doctor said.

"I'll check the crew database," Kes said.

"We'll keep you informed," the Doctor said.

Kathryn, Chakotay and Tuvok left the room. "Captain, there was a Federation signature in the explosion," Tuvok said.

"WHAT!?" Kathryn screamed.

Chakotay cringed, "it appears they were trying to install a device that was incompatible with their own ship systems."

"You're saying that they may have a Federation weapon on board?" Kathryn asked.

"The console on the Bridge was the source of the explosion. We're not sure what it was and it'll be hard to get too," Chakotay replied.

"We can't transport it off?" Kathryn asked.

"Not with all that radiation nearby," Chakotay replied.

"How the hell did they get a hold of Federation technology?" Kathryn asked.

"There are only three options I can think of. One, it's not Federation technology at all.. it's just technology similar. Two, another Federation starship may have been transported to the Delta Quadrant prior to our arrival," Tuvok said as they got to the turbolift. "They could've interacted with the Kazon."

"Were there any reports of missing starships?" Chakotay asked.

"Not to my knowledge," Kathryn snapped in response.

"Three, someone from this ship has given technology to the Kazon," Tuvok said.

"Hold turbolift. I don't like number 3 at all Tuvok," Kathryn snapped.

"It's the most probable explanation. It may not be a coincidence that the Kazon ship that was in orbit was the one that had the technology on board. Also it can not only be a coincidence that they somehow managed to deceive our sensors. Someone must of given them instructions before we arrived," Tuvok said.

"I want you to personally check the communication logs," Kathryn snapped. She turned to Chakotay. "Who would've had a chance to meet with the Kazon on the surface?"

"Dozens of people, we were scattered everywhere," Chakotay replied.

"Ensign Seska and Taylor both disappeared for a while," Tuvok said. Kathryn growled at him. "You did find Ensign Seska in a cave where the Kazon were."

"Seska nearly killed me because she thought I was Kazon. She wouldn't do this," Chakotay said.

"She is still a suspect, Commander," Tuvok said.

"Why would anyone on this ship betray us damn it!" Kathryn yelled.

"I guess the only way we'll know is if we get that console back," Chakotay said.

"Agreed, resume," Kathryn said.

Engineering:
"Releasing the forcefield isn't an option, the radiation will just spread further," B'Elanna said.

"We could generate a localized subspace bubble, to get passed the forcefield," Seska said.

"One minor subspace disruption and you're dead, too risky," B'Elanna said.

"I'm willing to take that risk," Seska said.

"I guess we could use an expander," James muttered. He went over to the nearest station. "It could trick the containment field."

"Trick it how?" B'Elanna asked as she went over to him.

"Move it out of the way. It'll simply move the field and the radiation will move along with it," James replied.

"How long will it take to set it up?" Kathryn asked.

"We should have it done by tomorrow," B'Elanna replied.

"I want it ready by the end of the day," Kathryn said.

"No, I mean it. That's the best I can do," B'Elanna said.

"Fine!" Kathryn snapped. She stormed out of the room.

"Ok, we'll start on the Bridge. Harry, James, Seska..." B'Elanna said.

"No, I want Seska to co-ordinate the mission from the Bridge," Chakotay said. He walked out of the room. Seska glanced at B'Elanna before following him out.

"Danny, you're with us too," B'Elanna said. Everyone mentioned headed out.

"What was that all about?" Seska asked.

"What?" Chakotay said questioningly.

"You know what, there's nothing to do on the Bridge," Seska said.

"I disagree, we need someone to.." Chakotay said. Seska stepped in front of him.

"What the hell is going on?" Seska asked.

"There is some concern about you. I found you near the Kazon on the planet," Chakotay replied.

"Oh I see, so now I'm a traitor. You just took me off my assignment," Seska muttered.

"I'm trying to take you away from danger, I'm trying to protect you," Chakotay said.

"This is your idea of protection? You may as well point the finger at me in front of the entire crew," Seska said angrily.

"You don't put someone you don't trust to the Bridge. Look if something goes wrong I don't want you anywhere near it," Chakotay said. Seska stormed off.

Sickbay:
Seska went over to Kes. "Is he ok?"

"It doesn't look good, we need to replace his blood," Kes replied.

Kes went over to the Kazon's bedside. "Will he regain consciousness?"

"I'm not sure. If he does there will be no way to know how much brain damage he has suffered," the Doctor replied.

"He's the only one that really knows what happened on that ship. The only one that can tell them I had nothing to do with it," Seska said.

"You? I don't understand," the Doctor said.

"Will you call me when he wakes up?" Seska asked.

"Of course," the Doctor replied.

Seska headed out again. "Ensign?" Kes said quickly. Seska came back over. "Did you ever come in to leave a blood sample on file?"

"No, I never got round to it," Seska replied.

"I've been trying to find compatible donors, your file never came up," Kes said.

"My blood won't help you. I had a childhood illness that affected it. I was told never to donate blood," Seska said.

"All the more reason we should have your blood on file," the Doctor said.

"I will, right now I have something more important to take care of," Seska said. She left the room.

The Ready Room:
"Someone did send an unauthorised transmission," Tuvok said.

"Whoever did it knew how to cover their tracks. It was a week ago on a night shift," Chakotay said.

"Who was there?" Kathryn asked.

"B'Elanna, Danny, James, Seska, and Claire," Chakotay replied.

"We tried to narrow it down to a single console but once again whoever did it blocked out our access," Tuvok said.

"It's like running backwards through circuits, we keep coming across dead ends," Chakotay said.

"Who out of those people could actually do this?" Kathryn asked.

"Claire's only a Academy student, and Danny isn't capable of things like that. The others though could," Chakotay replied.

In: "Kim to Janeway, there's an unauthorised transport in progress."

"Computer who just left the ship?" Kathryn asked.

"Ensign Seska," the computer replied. The three left the Ready Room.

"Chakotay to Seska, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Chakotay asked.

In: "Retrieving the console, the Captain wanted it today. James' plan couldn't do it time but mine will."

"Captain, it seems logical that she has went over to retrieve the console so she can destroy anything that'll give her away," Tuvok said.

"No, she's probably gone over there to prove herself, can't you see that!" Chakotay yelled.

"Do you want me to beam her out?" Harry asked.

"We could kill her if we do," Kathryn replied.

Everyone heard a scream go over the commlink.

"Get her out of there, get her to Sickbay!" Chakotay ordered.

"Energising," Harry said.

Sickbay:
Chakotay rushed over to Seska's side. Her skin was badly burnt.

"I'll need a dermal regenerator, we need to do a blood scan," the Doctor said. Chakotay held her burnt hand.

The Ready Room:
Kathryn was busy putting more coffee patches on her arm. Chakotay, Tuvok and James came in.

"Have a seat, now!" Kathryn yelled. She put another coffee patch on her arm as James sat down nervously.

"How are things been going for you?" Chakotay asked.

"Um, fine I guess," James replied.

"What about Tom, been getting along with him?" Chakotay asked.

"Well sorta, I haven't talked to him for a while," James replied.

"He did spark an interest with Jessie, didn't he?" Kathryn asked.

"What's this about anyway?" James asked.

"Don't interrupt me!" Kathryn yelled. The three guys nearly got blown away by her yelling. "As I was saying, Tom was interested in her. That maybe a little hard to accept, someone in your position."

"It did bother me at first, but I don't think he's interested anymore. Has he complained about me or something?" James asked.

"No, he hasn't," Kathryn replied.

"So.. why am I here. I don't think I've done anything wrong for a while," James said.

"Hmm," Chakotay muttered.

"Have you had any contact with the Kazon Nistrom since we arrived in the Delta Quadrant?" Tuvok asked.

"No.. I don't even like them," James replied.

"You and Seska left on your own for a while, on the planet where we saw the Kazon," Chakotay said.

"I was just trying to get away from her, she kept following me," James said nervously.

"What about before the planet, did you have any reason to contact a Kazon ship?" Kathryn asked.

"I told you, I don't like them," James said.

"A transmission was sent from Engineering last week. Weren't you there on night shift overtime?" Tuvok asked.

"Mostly," James replied.

"Mostly? Did you see anyone else at your station?" Chakotay asked.

James shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Seska probably."

"Seska again?" Kathryn said with a frown. "What is it with you two."

"She follows me around sometimes. Everytime I'm in Engineering, it's a pain," James replied angrily. Everyone just stared at him, like they were waiting for him to say something else. "I didn't do anything wrong," James said calmer than before.

"I really like to believe you, James, but somebody did contact the Kazon. Until we find out who, you are restricted to quarters," Kathryn said. She nodded at him.

James slowly got up and left the room, Tuvok followed him. "What do you think?" Kathryn asked.

"He's a good hacker, he had a motive, he had the opportunity," Chakotay replied.

"He's also got lots of friends on this ship, there is no way he'd betray them just over a quarrel with Tom. However Seska spent the last two years as an enemy of the Federation," Kathryn said on the way out.

"James has been in the Marquis for nine months, in a way he's been an enemy too," Chakotay said. Kathryn stared at him for a little while before leaving the room. He followed her out.

Sickbay:
Kathryn, Kes and the Doctor were in the Doctor's office.

"Seska's blood is missing all the Bajoran blood factors," Kes said.

"Meaning?" Kathryn asked.

"She was born Cardassian," the Doctor replied.

The Ready Room:
"I'd rather hear her side of the story before we dismiss it. Has she been told?" Chakotay asked.

"No," Kathryn replied.

"I want to be the one who questions her," Chakotay said.

"I think we should wait until we've retrieved the console," Kathryn said.

Sickbay:
Chakotay went over to Seska, who was now awake. "It's a replicator, constructed by materials from Voyager."

"I guess everyone thinks I went over to sabotage it," Seska said.

"Did you?" Chakotay asked.

"I was only trying to show everyone, show you. You really think I had something to do with this, don't you?" Seska asked.

"To be honest, I'm not sure anymore. I'm not sure of a lot things," Chakotay said.

"Why don't you ask your animal guide?" Seska said sarcastically.

"I intend to," Chakotay said.

"Good, get back to me when you do," Seska said as she lay back down.

"You know I've been wondering about what's been real and what's not been real," Chakotay said.

Seska started to sit up, "what's wrong with you Chakotay? Tell me, you owe me that much."

"What do I owe to a Cardassian spy that infiltrated my crew?" Chakotay said questioningly.

"What are you talking about?" Seska asked.

"Your blood shows no sign of Bajoran DNA," Chakotay replied.

"It's the result of Orchids disease. I survived because a Cardassian woman donated blood to me," Seska said. She fully sat up. "You must think I'm horrible. You think I gave you my heart to get your Marquis secrets."

"I'm starting to wonder," Chakotay said.

"Let me tell you something, your secrets weren't good enough. They wouldn't of been worth the trouble for a Cardassian agent. Do you believe in me?" Seska asked.

"I want to," Chakotay replied.

"Good, can I go now?" Seska asked.

"Don't rush things," Chakotay replied.

"But I'm going stir crazy in here," Seska said.

"We need to find out where the replicator was taken from," Chakotay said.

"What'll that tell you?" Seska asked.

"It will tell us who took it," Chakotay replied.

"I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to log in using their own name," Seska said.

"Chief Inspector Tuvok leaves no stones unturned. I'll tell the Captain what you told me, we'll clear this up soon," Chakotay said. He left the room, Tuvok was waiting outside. "She says a Cardassian blood donation saved her life as a child."

"Did you set our plan in motion?" Tuvok asked.

"Yes," Chakotay replied.

"I gave Mr Taylor the same information," Tuvok said.

"Then all we have to do is wait, someone will take the bait," Chakotay said. He walked away.

Engineering:
Chakotay and Tuvok were sitting near the core, playing a card game. Tuvok won straight away. "I believe that's 94 points to me," Tuvok said. B'Elanna came over.

"If you need to be sponsored in a Gin tournament in the future, let me know," Chakotay said.

"Two more Kazon warships are on their way, we can't stay here much longer," B'Elanna said. A console nearby started beeping.

"That sounds like it to me," Chakotay said.

"Somebody is accessing the infantry database, they're going straight to the broken replicator," B'Elanna said.

"Should we start the trace yet?" Chakotay asked.

"Negative, it might alert them," Tuvok said as he worked at the console. "Curious, whoever's doing this is leaving evidence at the scene of the crime to incriminate the guilty party."

"They're using an security code to get in," B'Elanna said.

"Which suggests they're hiding it, but not very well," Chakotay said.

"Who's is it?" B'Elanna asked.

"It's Seska's," Chakotay muttered.

"Then it must be James. He's trying to point the finger at Seska," B'Elanna said.

Later, Sickbay:
The room was dark, only Seska was there. Chakotay entered with an unreadable face.

"It's over, we know who gave the technology to the Kazon."

"Who?" Seska asked as she sat up.

"You did," Chakotay replied.

"Look, I don't know what kind of evidence you've found but..." Seska said.

"We found the evidence you put there for us to find, your own security code. We were monitoring the infantry logs, watching to see if you or James would try to cover your tracks," Chakotay said.

"Hell of a way to do it, put in my own security code," Seska muttered.

"Of course you did, you thought that no one would suspect you'd be that careless to put your own security code in. You tried to make it look like someone else would frame you," Chakotay said.

"Have you ever thought for a minute that maybe somebody did," Seska said.

"We traced the computer station, it took us a while but we found out which station. The one in Sickbay," Chakotay said.

The lights came on. Kathryn, Tuvok, Foster and Thompson came in. Foster and Thompson stayed at the doors. "I'd say that it was a Marquis operation, if I didn't already know you were a Cardassian. Computer activate EMH."

The Doctor appeared and he went over to Chakotay's side. "Ah, have I been called to testify?"

"Before you even mentioned Orchids disease to me, the Doctor already had thought of that possibility," Chakotay said.

"I must say that a Doctor less informed about the disease may of been fooled. My program knows all there is to know about Orchids disease. There is no way that a blood donor or a childhood virus could change the DNA in your blood. You are Cardassian Seska," the Doctor said.

"That didn't mean you were the traitor, we needed more evidence and you gave it to us. What I want to know now is, why?" Chakotay asked.

"I did it for you, I did it for this crew. We are alone here, because of a decision made by a Starfleet Captain. A Starfleet Captain who destroyed our only chance to get home. Federation rules, Federation nobility, Federation compassion. Do you realise that if we were on a Cardassian ship we'd be home now. We must forge alliances to survive, the Kazon Nistrom were willing to support us just for some minor technology," Seska said angrily.

"That minor technology could disrupt the balance of power in this quadrant," Kathryn snapped.

"Change it in our favour, that's all that matters. You're a fool, Captain... and you are fools to follow her. I can't imagine how I could have ever loved you," Seska said. Chakotay looked on shocked.

"Computer command XJL," Seska said. Suddenly she dematerialised.

"Override transport," Chakotay said.

"Cannot comply," the computer said.

"Computer, locate place of transport," Kathryn said.

"The Kazon warship," the computer replied.

In: "Paris to Janeway, the Kazon ship is powering up it's engines."

"Tractor them," Kathryn ordered.

In: "There's also two Kazon warships about 10 minutes away."

"Captain, even with our superior defences there is no way we could defend ourselves against three Kazon warships," Tuvok said.

"Power down tractor beam, set a course out of here, warp 4," Kathryn said.

In: "Yes ma'am."

"We'll have to wait until another day to settle with Seska," Kathryn said.

The next day:
Kathryn stormed into Sickbay with coffee patches even on her face. "I want more patches!"

"But Captain, the patches are putting more caffeine into your blood than your normal intake of coffee does," the Doctor said.

"Gimme more coffee, NOW!" Kathryn yelled.

"Why don't we just remove them, it'll be safer if you did have normal coffee. The patches are making you aggressive and irritable," the Doctor said.

"Whatever, just do something!" Kathryn yelled.

The Doctor and Kes glanced at each other, they both sighed.

 

****THE END****

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