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Episode Synopsis
Faye and Triah become unintentionally involved in an alien experiment which brings a secret out into the open.

Written
9th, 11th - 13th April 2004

Episode Based In
March 2380

The Pegasus C:
"What do you mean, I stole this ship fair and square!" a youngish woman with really big hair screeched.

The viewscreen in front of her showed Picard. His forehead wrinkled up, "um miss, just because you stole it, doesn't mean it's yours."

The woman growled, "I'm not a miss."

Riker grinned in his usual cheeky way. The woman jumped in shock seconds later, she turned around and knocked him unconscious with her fist.

"You look like a miss, then again that display from Riker doesn't prove much these days," Picard said.

"You're telling me," the woman snarled. She stepped closer to the viewscreen, "listen old man, I am the greatest threat this universe has ever known and..."

"No, the greatest threat this universe has ever known are the Softmicron and their games," Picard said.

"Ok, the greatest threat in this galaxy," the woman sighed.

Picard looked confused, "I'd still say the Softmicron are."

The woman leaned on the nearest banister, "listen buddy, all it takes is a small kick to make you agree with me. I really don't want to do that."

"If you're so much of a threat, why not?" Picard said.

"Because I'd rather wait until I get the chance to destroy you," the woman replied.

Brock stepped out of the turbolift, with his pink frilly apron on and a tray of Japanese rice balls in his hands. "Hamburgers ready Mr Damien, all shaped like rabbits like you asked."

The woman slowly turned around, "firstly, you piece of crap, the old man isn't supposed to know who I am. Secondly, those are not hamburgers!"

"Well four kids told me that," Brock stuttered.

"Ok don't take this as a compliment but I'm sure you're smarter than those bratty kids you hang around with!" Damien snapped.

Brock frowned, "I was talking about the dubbing people, that's what they're called. I think."

Damien rolled his, or rather her eyes, "please god take that apron off. I can't take you seriously with it on."

"Yes sir," Brock pouted. He took off the apron to reveal a horrible Hawaiian shirt.

Damien tried not to laugh, "oh god, get out of my sight. Insults overload."

Brock turned around and left via the turbolift. Riker then woke back up, "hey hot girl, why did you punch me?"

"I am Damien you imbecile!" Damien groaned.

"Um, do you realise that the commlink is still open?" Picard muttered.

"Yes I do realise that," Damien grumbled. He glanced back at one crewmember, "put that on mute from now on."

"Mr Damien, I am well aware of your actions involving Voyager and my old ship for the last ten years. I assure you, this situation will be dealt with very quickly. Picard out," Picard said. The viewscreen changed to show a Watership Down screensaver.

"Why did you put up that screensaver?" Damien asked.

"Because you like rabbits," Riker replied, looking pleased with himself.

"I told you to put up the one with the cute 3D rabbits running around the meadow," Damien groaned.

"Oh," Riker sighed. "Oh well, either way they're not cute."

Damien punched him again, "hmm, I like having bony hands." He headed for his Ready Room.

"Sir, a Cardassian ship is hailing us," a crewmember said.

Damien stopped just outside door, "so?"

"So they're hailing," the crewmember muttered.

"Does it look like I care?" Damien groaned.

"Not sure sir, all I can see is your host's big arse and huge hair," the crewmember replied.

"Fine!" Damien groaned as he turned around. He glanced behind him, "oh my god this is big, no wonder the chairs I sit on seem much smaller than before."

"The Cardassian ship has left a message on our answering machine," the crewmember said.

"Wow, we have an answering machine?" Damien said.

The crewmember nodded, "yes. Putting the message on screen now."

The viewscreen turned black. The computer voice started speaking, "you now have zero messages."

"I think I deleted it," the crewmember muttered.

"Who cares, I never liked them anyway. We'll have to test out the machine later," Damien said.

Meanwhile, Voyager:
Picard was now on the Voyager viewscreen, "we have just contacted the stolen ship."

"And?" Andrea muttered while filing her nails.

"It's Damien," Picard replied.

Chakotay stood up, "is the ship the Pegasus?"

"Yes, did I not mention that?" Picard replied.

Chakotay shook his head, "the ship he was on was destroyed. There shouldn't have been anyone to jump into."

"That hasn't stopped him before. He probably had the Pegasus nearby just in case," Andrea said.

"Great," Chakotay grumbled.

"We tried to reason with him, until we knew it was him," Picard said. "I'll keep you informed, Picard out."

"Who's we?" Bryan muttered.

Andrea shrugged, "he was a Borg once."

"The Pegasus isn't that far from here, a Cardassian ship is nearby it," Jodie said.

"She's right, it's heading our way," Bryan said. "God these people are annoying, now I understand the Marquis thing."

Chakotay tapped his commbadge, "Bridge to Janeway."

In: "Go ahead."

"The Cardassians are heading for us. I thought you'd want to know," Chakotay said.

In: "Thanks Commander, I'll be right there."

Earth, Indiana:
Sasha was sitting right in front of the TV watching a cheesy kids movie. James and Jessie were sitting on the sofa behind her, basically just staring into space. The computer nearby started beeping, the sound of it brought them back to life. James brought the computer over to him.

Jessie sighed, "how long is this show?"

"It's a film mummy," Sasha replied without taking her eyes off the TV.

"Oh great," Jessie muttered to herself.

"Jess, can we talk in another room?" James asked.

Jessie's eyes lit up, "yes please." They both got up and headed into the kitchen.

"Starfleet have just told me what the community service is," James said.

"It must be bad as we had to leave the room," Jessie said.

"What?" James looked confused. "Oh, I just wanted to get away from that film."

Jessie laughed, "well what is it?"

"Well, you know that England's been a popular spot for Games for the past decade, right?" James questioned.

"Oh, you're going to join Lena and the others? That's handy," Jessie said.

"No, I just have to help clear up the rubble at previous sites," James muttered.

Jessie frowned, "what?"

"A lot of Games were lost so there's lots of collapsed buildings and stuff. They figured I'd be helpful in moving the heavier things," James said.

"Well they've managed a while without you so far. Why didn't they just let you help Lena and the others?" Jessie asked.

"Cos they think I'll use a Game to escape my punishment, and they want me to do a day time job where they can watch me. Plus they want me to avoid fights of any kind, they don't trust me," James replied.

Jessie folded her arms, "day job, that means early morning right?"

"Yeah, so?" James replied.

"Well England's five hours ahead of the time we're used to now, Voyager and the Enterprise used one of the American timezones," Jessie said. "I mean you're going to have to leave at god knows what hour in the morning to just get there."

"I never thought about that," James muttered.

"It could be worse I guess," Jessie said.

"You mean I could be working in Australia?" James said.

"No I was thinking of one of those planets which are close to suns and don't turn," Jessie said.

James shook his head, "I start tomorrow at eight, so that's three am, oh crap. I'd prefer to be on that planet for community service actually. How would they know the time if I stole their watches and clocks on the first day?"

Jessie smiled, "damn Earth for spinning, huh."

"Yeah, this is why I hate Earth," James sighed.

"You must hate a lot of planets then," Jessie commented.

Sasha ran into the room, "mummy, daddy, the good bit's coming up!" She ran back into the living room.

"Well why not, I need all the sleep I can get," James said, he followed Sasha into the living room. Jessie laughed as she did the same.

Voyager:
"Cardassians and Damien on the same day, wonderful," Kathryn grumbled.

"They're in range now," Jodie said.

Kathryn sighed, "hail them." The ship shook slightly. "I didn't say fire weapons at them Emma."

"I didn't this time, I swear. They started it," Emma said from Tactical.

"Try again," Kathryn said.

"They're responding," Jodie said.

Gul Satai appeared on the screen, "I hope you're only talking to me to surrender, Captain."

"You do realise that this is an act of war if you continue Satai," Kathryn snapped.

"And if we retaliate you're outnumbered, three to one," Andrea said.

"Should I tell the other ships to fire?" Jodie asked.

Satai's face tightened, "you will surrender Voyager or I will ask for reinforcements myself."

"Why do you want Voyager?" Kathryn asked.

"We didn't originally, but it'll be an acceptable payment as you didn't give us what we wanted," Satai replied.

Kathryn rolled her eyes, "it was a fair trial, for this series anyway. You agreed to a proper trial, and you lost, accept it."

"He was guilty, I don't see why he got away with it," Satai grumbled. "Now either hand him over or I'll take Voyager and it's crew."

"He's not onboard. What should I tell the flagship and the Leda?" Kathryn said.

Satai narrowed her eyes, "you'd like me to believe that. Surrender the ship or we'll lower it's shields by force." The viewscreen went back to normal.

"Like that's a hard task," Emma muttered.

"God what a bitch," Jodie grumbled.

"Jodie inform the fleet of Satai's decision. Emma, ready weapons," Kathryn ordered.

"This is the part I like," Emma grinned.

Jodie smiled, "yes Captain."

The console behind the command chairs exploded, sending sparks everywhere. "That's not possible, that hit knocked out the shields," Chakotay said from his old chair.

"Hey, get out of my chair!" Andrea snapped. Chakotay pulled a face at her.

Emma groaned, "I told you it wasn't a hard task, they must have known our shield frequencies."

"There's a transport in process," Jodie said.

Kathryn glanced over at her, "intruders?"

"No, two crewmembers have been taken," Jodie replied. She looked up from her station. "Triah and Faye, they're gone."

"Shouldn't they be on the Enterprise right now?" Bryan muttered.

"Get them back," Andrea ordered.

"I can't, they've raised their own shields," Jodie said.

"They lowered their shields? Damn why did I stop firing?" Emma muttered angrily to herself.

Chakotay ignored Emma and glanced over at Jodie, "what would they want with Faye and Triah."

"The computer doesn't work that way you idiot," Jodie muttered.

Kathryn groaned while Chakotay stared blankly at Jodie. "Something tells me we'll find out soon."

The Cardassian Ship:
Faye woke up on an uncomfortable bed, two Cardassians were standing over her.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're in our medical bay," Cardassian 1 replied.

"Why?" Faye asked, sitting up.

"We need justice and your friend is going to help us get it," Cardassian 2 replied.

"Can I just say one thing?" Faye said. Cardassian 2 nodded his head. "Get over it."

"I see," Cardassian 1 grumbled, he pulled out a needle.

Faye's eyes widened, "there's no need for that."

Cardassian 2 laughed, "you're useless to us otherwise."

"Well that's ok, I'm used to being useless," Faye stuttered.

Cardassian 1 pushed the needle into Triah's arm, who was on the neighbouring bed. "You're more useful than you think."

The Leda, Conference Room:
All the main and regular castmembers on the fleet had sat around the large table.

"They used a new scanner to analyse our shields. The rest of the fleet now put their shields on continuous rotating frequencies," Angela said.

"Oh right, is there anything else Starfleet have 'forgotten' to tell us?" Kathryn grumbled.

Andrea sighed, "this isn't another secret mission if that's what you're suggesting."

"Then what does the Cardassians hope to achieve by doing this?" Chakotay questioned.

"The only thing I can think of is Triah and Faye are hostages," Harry replied.

"No," Tom shook his head. "Voyager's shields were down, they could have tried to take over it instead. They wanted us to surrender after all."

"We still can't rule out that possibility though," B'Elanna said.

"They would have hailed us by now with demands, it must be something else," Kathryn sighed.

"Maybe they just want information," Craig said.

"If that's the case we have to get them back quickly," Chakotay said.

"Well that's easy. Three against one, no problem," Emma said.

"All in favour?" Evil C grumbled. Everyone glanced in his and Emma's direction.

"We do have a treaty with them now, remember?" Andrea muttered.

"Well they obviously don't give a toss about it, or they wouldn't have attacked us and everything," Emma said.

"Yeah, why not do the same to them," Evil C said.

"That's not the way the Federation do things," Andrea pointed out.

"Well I'm sorry but the Federation can't afford to keep the pushover reputation. Kidnapping, threats and unprovoked attacks is an act of war," Chakotay said. Almost everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"I think we're all agreed, but we do need a better plan than just attacking them," Kathryn said.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tom commented. "Beat the crap out of them, and when their shields are down again we rescue Faye and Triah."

"That works for me," Kathryn said. "Dismissed."

Voyager:
"Status?" Kathryn questioned as she left her Ready Room.

"Ooh a new word," Andrea commented. Kathryn rolled her eyes.

"Weapons are ready and shields are at 100%," Emma said with glee.

"And the rest of the fleet?" Chakotay questioned.

"They're ready when we are," Jodie said. Chakotay stared blankly at her. "Which we are."

"Bryan, evasive maneuvers beta two. Emma do your thing," Kathryn commanded.

"Oh yeah," Emma giggled.

The Enterprise:
Tom glanced behind him, "Foster, you know what you're doing right?"

Foster raised his eyebrow, "I'm not just a pretty security boy, you know."

"Yes yes, you're not even that," Tom muttered.

Angela tried not to laugh, "ok Noah, I hope you're better at flying than you are a cooking. We've begun the attack."

Noah pulled a face, "god, what a bitch."

Tani glanced at him from opps, "next time, say it quieter."

Tom smirked, "guys, save it for later."

The Leda:
"Well?" Harry said.

"They're returning fire," Lee replied, the ship shook right on cue. "Shields are holding."

"Return the favour," Tom ordered.

Lilly got out of her chair, "Naomi can you make the ship go into a loop?"

Naomi glanced at her uneasily, "only by accident."

"Typical, what were you supposed to be doing at the time?" Evil C asked.

"Swerve the ship out of the way," Naomi replied.

Lilly rolled her eyes, "just do that again, ok."

"But I never do that right," Naomi stuttered.

"Naomi," everyone else groaned.

It then hit her, "oh yeah, right."

"Once she's done that Lee, I want you to fire at their engines. That should stop them from maneuvering," Lilly ordered.

"Right," Lee said.

Voyager:
"Emma, take it easy on the torpedoes," Andrea said.

Emma blushed, "sorry."

Bryan stared at his station, dumbfounded. "Who's flying the Leda?"

"Naomi, why?" Jodie replied.

"That cow, she knows that I have been trying to do a loop for ages," Bryan grumbled. "Can I try one?"

"No!" everyone replied.

"Yes, I got their shields down," Emma giggled.

"With help from the other two ships, right Em?" Jodie commented.

"Whatever," Emma shrugged.

"Beam Triah and Faye back Jodie," Andrea ordered.

"Aye aye," Jodie nodded her head.

"Now Bryan, get us to warp and no looping," Kathryn said.

Bryan pouted, "fine but it is embarrassing that Naomi can do something better than you can, that isn't dressing tarty or flirting."

"Oh I'm so better than her at flirting," Jodie commented, winking at no one in particular.

Chakotay rolled his eyes, "damn blondes."

Early hours of the next day
Indiana:
James entered the living room, he was surprised to find Gretchen sitting on the sofa. "Oh crap, did the power go off or something?"

Gretchen glanced back at him, "no, it is two am, don't worry."

"Why are you still up?" James asked.

"Well the original idea was I could have a nice quiet time to myself at this time. Since you're starting that community service I'll have to think of a new plan," Gretchen replied.

"Believe it or not but I can be quiet," James said.

Gretchen sighed, "no it's fine, I've had enough time to myself in recent years anyway." She pulled herself off the sofa, "coffee?"

"Sure," James replied. He followed Gretchen into the kitchen.

She poured water into a kettle and switched it on. "How long do you have to do this anyway?"

"Three whole months," James muttered in response.

"Well it's better than prison," Gretchen joked.

"Not really. I get up at two am to get to England for three am, as they are five hours ahead of us. It's a twelve hour day so I'm not back here until four pm. Then I have to go to bed several hours later to catch up with the lack of sleep the previous night cos I can't get to sleep until midnight anyway," James said.

Gretchen stared blankly, "um, you may get used to it so." She finished making the coffee, she handed it to him. "Coffee?"

"Thanks," James said. "It's not so bad really cos I can pick up Duncan from school on the way home."

"Oh that's good, why did no one tell me that?" Gretchen asked.

"Well I've been picking him up anyway, that's why," James replied.

"Not when you were in that brig," Gretchen sighed.

James cringed at the strength of the coffee, "did you put two spoons in?"

Gretchen nodded, "it will help believe me. Now, how are you getting there?"

"One of the guys that works with me has to pick me up. He always gets to work early so he was volunteered," James replied.

"What time will he be here?" Gretchen asked.

A loud knock on the front door caught their attention. "Round about now."

"Does he still think he's in England? Tell him to knock quieter next time," Gretchen grumbled.

"I will," James said as he put down the cup. He headed for the front door. His face turned a little white when he opened it.

A guy the same age as him strolled in, "hey Stuart, ready?"

"Not now, no," James replied.

The guy frowned, "er, why?" He looked confused, "wait a minute, they told me I was giving a lift to a James Stuart, not Taylor."

"Ah, my mum re-married, well stepmum," James said.

"Oh right," the guy said. "Is it cos of me that you're not ready?"

"Kinda," James replied.

"Well in my defence, I did stupid things in the gang cos I was told too," the guy said.

"Too bad you weren't told to jump off a cliff," James muttered.

The guy laughed, "oh that's a good one."

James pulled a face, "I wasn't joking, Stephen."

"It was still funny," Stephen said. "We have to go now ok, you can be all moody with me in the shuttle."

"Fine ok, but next time you knock at the door, do it quieter," James said.

Stephen's eyes shifted, "er why?"

"We're in America you idiot, it's not seven am here," James replied.

Stephen used his fingers to count, "seven, five or six hours, oh oops."

"I see you're just as bright as ever," James commented.

Little while later, the shuttle:
Stephen keyed in a few commands, "ok that's on autopilot."

"I hope you're not going to land with that on," James said.

"What's wrong with that?" Stephen asked.

"Well you don't want to give the shuttle another excuse to crash," James replied. He glanced over at Stephen, he was staring blankly. "Actually on second thought, keep it on."

Stephen nodded, "right." He turned his chair around slightly, "so you've changed a lot since school. Killing people, way cool."

"Hang on, did Starfleet tell every worker what I did?" James asked.

"Not exactly, news spreads fast around our little group," Stephen replied. "I must warn you now that these guys are volunteers, they are only doing this job because they've lost people because of Games."

"Ok, why are you warning me?" James asked.

"Well you weren't around to stop the Games, they'll be a bit bitter," Stephen replied.

"You said news spread fast, didn't they not know that I was stuck several decades away from here for ten years?" James questioned.

"Yeah they do, but I think they're just stupid," Stephen replied.

"You think they're stupid? This should be fun," James commented.

Stephen nodded, "I was quite surprised to find out about you though. Everyone thought you were a bit of a freak, but I never thought that you were actually one of those Slayer guys."

"Slayer guys?" James muttered.

"What?" Stephen said, confused. "Oh right, there are girl Slayers too."

James rolled his eyes, "oh my god."

Stephen didn't hear him, "look if you're still mad about that fight with my gang, remember I was told what to do ok."

"Right, I didn't hear anyone tell you to kick me in the face when I was knocked to the ground," James said.

Stephen looked nervous, "oh you remember that part? That was my decision I admit, but the worst one wasn't my idea."

"You know I couldn't get a doctor's appointment for two weeks, because of that I still have the scar on my back," James said.

Stephen smiled, "really? Oh cool, can I see it when you meet the guys. I can say to them, 'look what I did to a Slayer, I rock'."

James glared at him, "my god, you are sick."

"But, no I'm not," Stephen muttered.

"When we get there I'm speaking to the person in charge, someone else can pick me up from now on," James said.

"That person in charge will be a bit bitter towards you too," Stephen commented. "I on the other hand will be loved by everyone for this."

"Ok screw that, I'll walk home or something," James said.

"You're stupid, England is across the ocean. Can you swim across the ocean?" Stephen muttered.

"No, I said I'll walk so I'll walk," James said.

Stephen laughed, "nice knowing you, really."

"Well there's another way I can do this," James said.

"Oh what?" Stephen questioned.

"I can kill you and steal your shuttle," James replied.

Stephen's eyes widened, "uh you don't have to do that. I'll be quiet about this, honest."

"Good," James said.

Stephen turned to his station again but he didn't stay there long. "Oh I heard you married Jessie, good choice."

James groaned, "for crying out loud, please shut up."

"Oh, but I want to know, is she still really hot?" Stephen asked.

"Yes, and she's also hot tempered like me, but worse right now," James replied.

"Well so much for seeing her again then. Oh how's Danny?" Stephen asked, winking.

"Well not crazy enough to date you again," James replied. Stephen rolled his eyes. "She's married."

"Oh crap, all the hot ones are taken," Stephen grumbled.

"And they're not stupid either," James muttered.

"Excluding Jessie, she married you after all," Stephen said, laughing at his own joke.

"You do realise that you're pissing off a Slayer who's killed a few people, don't you?" James grumbled.

"Geez it was a joke. You're allowed to insult me, why can't I insult you?" Stephen said.

"Because I am more of a freak than I used to be, and you don't have your gang with you," James replied. "Oh and I didn't finish off my coffee."

"But that's good though, coffee makes people more tense," Stephen said.

"It does the opposite in my family Stephy," James said.

Stephen's eyes widened, "ok."

A few hours later
Voyager, the Ready Room:
"What is this crap!" Kathryn yelled, she threw a PADD at Andrea. She ducked just in time.

"It's a damage report Janeway," Andrea muttered. She knelt down to pick up the PADD.

"Kathryn you should have a coffee," Chakotay calmly said. He went over to the replicator. "Coffee black."

"I will not be bribed Chakotay," Kathryn grumbled.

Chakotay handed the coffee to her, "she was only showing you a damage report, you don't need bribery."

Kathryn drank the cup very quickly, she calmed down in an instant. "I see your point, let me see it."

Andrea slowly handed her the PADD. "That's very creepy," she whispered.

Chakotay nodded, "it's better this way round, so don't complain."

"It's good to be home isn't it? For once we have a battle that doesn't give us as much damage," Kathryn sighed happily.

In: "Bridge to Janeway, the Pegasus is hailing us."

"Yes but we still didn't get rid of Damien," Chakotay commented.

"He's not a problem," Kathryn said as she stood up. She tapped her commbadge, "I'm on my way."

Chakotay and Andrea followed Kathryn back onto the bridge. "Put him onscreen," Chakotay ordered.

"Okeydokey," Jodie said.

Damien appeared on the viewscreen. Kathryn looked confused, "who's this?"

"Uh Kath..." Chakotay muttered.

"Who do you think, your arch nemesis. Mwahahaha," Damien laughed.

"Oh great, is the Borg Queen back from the dead again?" Kathryn groaned.

"No no, you're more evil arch nemesis," Damien grumbled.

Kathryn gasped, "the coffee pixies?" Andrea tried not to laugh.

Chakotay walked up to Kathryn's side, "Kathryn, that was just a dream."

"Oh yeah," Kathryn said.

"Look I'm Damien," Damien grumbled.

"Oh sorry, I just didn't recognise your host," Kathryn said.

Damien groaned, "does Destiny's Child ring a bell to you?"

Kathryn looked confused again, "no a destined child does not ring any bells"

"Fine, Crazy In Love?" Damien muttered.

Kathryn looked disgusted, "I'm sorry Damien, but I think we should just remain enemies."

Damien now looked disgusted himself, "eew no, that's a song title. Ok what about Baby Boy?"

"No I don't have a baby boy, besides you don't look like a boy to me," Kathryn replied.

"This could go on all day," Andrea muttered to herself.

"Ok what about Me, Myself and I?" Damien said.

"It's all me, me me with you, isn't it Damien?" Kathryn said, rolling her eyes.

"Ok, Naughty Girl!" Damien snapped.

"How dare you! Get him off my screen!" Kathryn snapped back.

Jodie giggled, "yes ma'am."

Meanwhile, the Enterprise:
Tom, Triah, Faye and Angela were in their usual places, Foster had taken Noah's place at the helm.

"You know him from school, ok give me some dirt," Tom said.

Angela rolled her eyes, "I knew him for a little while."

"Oh come on, there has to be something," Tom moaned.

"Why on earth do you want to know what James did when he was thirteen?" Triah muttered.

"It's interesting," Tom replied.

"I only hung around with him for a week or two, there isn't much dirt," Angela said.

"All right fine, what about Jessie?" Tom asked.

"Ok I'll play. Jessie was a little shy and used to talk about me behind my back. She used to bitch about me really quietly when I was still around," Angela replied.

"Shy, as in Faye shy?" Triah questioned.

Faye looked up from her station, "what?"

"Yes Faye kind of shy," Angela replied.

"Ok, Danny?" Tom said.

Angela smiled, "the blonde girl with the dirty mind?"

"Yep that's right," Tom replied.

"Oh she used to date a lot. Since Jessie was a bit of a cow towards me I only had Danny to talk to, and she always talked about guys," Angela said.

"I'm not surprised," Tom sniggered.

"Yeah well, that's why I preferred being with James. He didn't gossip, he didn't talk about boys and I kinda felt sorry for him," Angela said.

"Why?" Tom questioned.

"Well I met him on the way home from school. He had just been beaten up by a gang so I helped him. He had problems getting a doctor's appointment so he was a wreck the entire time I knew him," Angela replied.

Tom raised his eyebrow, "James was beaten up, oh I should have saw that."

"There were supposedly about six of them. Two guys from his class, one of the guys younger brother and his really big seventeen year old brother. The other two were from the big guy's class," Angela said.

"God she can't tell an interesting story right, I'm falling asleep," Faye muttered.

Triah smiled, glancing over at Faye, "good one." Angela and Tom obviously hadn't heard her.

Faye frowned, "what?"

"You should pay more attention, I said that was a good one," Triah replied.

"But I didn't say anything," Faye muttered.

"Oh, sorry," Triah said, sounding confused.

Tom tried his best not to laugh, "oh that explains a lot."

"It does?" Angela raised her eyebrow.

"For god's sake Captain, if you don't stop flirting with Tom I'm going to throw up on my console. Hmm yeah, I should have said that, oh well," Faye said. Triah glanced over at her. "Oh god, I'm so tired. I shouldn't have stayed up all night again."

"Uh, that's weird," Triah commented.

Tom and Angela glanced at her. "What is?" Tom asked.

"I hear Faye talking but when I looked at her, her mouth wasn't moving," Triah replied.

Faye looked confused herself, "I wasn't talking." She gasped, "I was only thinking that stuff, how did you do that?"

Triah's eyes widened, "you were thinking that, well that makes sense."

"Um can I ask how?" Angela commented.

"God, who'd put an irritating whore like her in charge of this ship," Faye muttered.

Triah laughed, "oh this is good."

"Hang on, Triah is human, she can't be telepathic or something," Tom said.

Bryan groaned, "oh god, has Lena let some of her nanoprobes escape again?"

Triah thought for a few seconds, "I can't hear her, nope."

"I'd know if there were nanoprobes in me," Faye added. "No no, you should have said something like 'do I look like a Borg drone," she groaned.

"Well I'm not telepathic or I'd hear other people too," Triah said.

"True, Faye can you hear her?" Tom asked.

Faye rolled her eyes, "of course I can, I'm telepathic anyway."

"Oh right," Tom looked embarrassed.

"Maybe the Cardassians did something to them while they were on their ship," Angela said.

"That makes more sense, you two really should report to Sickbay," Tom said.

Later, Sickbay:
Doctor Jones' brow wrinkled up, "hmm."

"There is a change in me too. I can control my telepathy better now, and right now I can't," Faye said.

"You mean you can hear everything I think?" Triah asked nervously.

"Yep, it's obviously the same with you," Faye replied. "Don't think about any of your secrets."

"I'll try my best," Triah muttered.

Doctor Jones put down the tricorder. "I suspected as much, you both have an implant in your head. That is sending each of your thought patterns to the other."

"The needles, they injected something into both of us," Faye said.

"But why would they want to do this?" Triah asked.

"I am not sure. Maybe it was something that went wrong," Doctor Jones replied.

"They said we'd be useful in bringing them justice," Faye said.

Triah sighed, "well they did something wrong then."

"Maybe one of their crewmembers has one of these too," Doctor Jones said. He picked up the tricorder again. Faye and Triah looked confused. "They may be transmitting both of your thoughts to a volunteer. They might want information."

"Funny way of getting it," Triah muttered.

Faye stared at her, "uh huh, they could have took someone else."

Doctor Jones smiled, "I wouldn't worry about it anymore. I can get the implant out easily."

"Good, get it out now," Triah said.

Faye raised her eyebrow, "that hurt."

Triah smiled, "sorry Faye, it's nothing personal. You really do have interesting thoughts."

"Yeah you too," Faye said.

New Manchester:
Lena and James were at a table inside a small coffee shop. A waitress came over to drop off two cups of coffee.

"How's the punishment?" Lena asked.

"It could be better," James replied. "For one thing I'm lumbered with a guy who was in a gang I had fights with at school. The rest of the workers are angry that I didn't stop the Games that killed or taken their family and friends."

"Oh, well do you want me to help you beat the crap out of them?" Lena grinned.

"Well you can do what you want Lena, I was told that if I get into one fight my punishment time will get extended," James said.

Lena groaned, "I bet that's a pain in the butt."

"Speaking of those, why Daniel?" James questioned.

Lena's eyes widened, "what?"

"So it's true then," James said.

"What are you talking about?" Lena asked.

"Somebody told me you and Daniel are an item," James replied.

Lena rolled her eyes, "I went out with him once."

"And?" James questioned.

"Hey, I don't ask details about your relationship," Lena muttered.

"You do sometimes. What happened?" James asked.

"We went for a coffee, big deal," Lena replied.

"Oh my god," James said. Lena stared at him. "Mum is so going to kill you."

"Why, why would she be mad?" Lena asked.

"Having a date involving coffee? You're going to be more in trouble with her than I was on New Earth, the first time," James replied.

Lena pulled a face, "what, I don't get that. You slept with somebody, how's that not as bad as having a coffee with someone?"

"This is Janeway we're talking about. Coffee is like her one true love. Sharing coffee with someone would be like getting pregnant, except Janeway would be ok with the latter eventually," James replied.

"Don't be stupid James, she likes coffee so she'll be happy that I'm drinking it," Lena grumbled.

"Trust me on this, she's a very mixed up woman," James said.

Lena groaned, "you're just trying to worry me."

James shrugged his shoulders, "I could be, but it doesn't mean that I'm wrong."

"It wasn't even a proper date anyway," Lena muttered.

"Look Lena, Craig's not worth all this. He and Zare is just a phase anyway," James said.

Lena frowned, "what?"

"It's obvious why you're dating Daniel. Craig got another girlfriend very quickly, for him anyway, and it just happened to be another Slayer who's older than him," James replied.

"I know where you're going with this and you're wrong. Craig was always over jealous, it drove me crazy and I don't like him that way. I just went out with Daniel cos I felt like it," Lena said.

"Ok, whatever you say Lena," James said.

The Bridge:
Tom, Faye, Bryan and Angela were all in their usual places, Tom had Johnathan on his knee.

"My god, I never expected that," Tom said.

Faye groaned, "please don't tell her I let it slip. Sometimes I don't know whether I'm thinking something or saying it."

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed for once," Tom said.

"Wow, next we'll be seeing Faye becoming a tart and sleeping with lots of guys," Bryan commented. Faye looked rather disgusted.

Tom glared at his son, "hey, I can be discreet if I want to be."

"Ookay," Bryan muttered.

Triah walked out of the turbolift, she headed for her station. Everyone but Faye watched her every move. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, we were just wondering if you were ok," Tom said.

Angela nodded quickly, "yes that's what we were doing."

Johnathan giggled, "so is it a boy or a girl?" Tom quickly covered his mouth.

Triah stared at him, "uh what?"

"He said is Angela a boy or a girl," Tom blurted out.

Angela glared at him, "well that's what we all wonder about you, Tommy."

"Ok," Triah said. She turned back to her station.

"Who's the dad?" Johnathan asked.

"Johnathan, I'm your father. Stop playing that game," Tom blurted out. Johnathan looked confused.

Triah turned to Faye, she looked really nervous. "Faye, what have you been telling them?"

"Um I'm sorry," Faye stuttered quietly. "I'm going through my shy stage again."

Triah glanced at the others, Johnathan grinned at her. "Well?"

"She said 'oh my god, Triah might actually be...'" Johnathan said, but Tom covered his mouth again.

Triah's eyes widened, "I was just thinking about it, doesn't mean I am. When I gain a little weight, I get paranoid."

"Ok good," Faye said.

"So are you having a kid?" Johnathan asked.

"No!" Triah snapped.

"Thank god, that attitude towards her own kid," Bryan commented.

Triah glared at him, "Bryan shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you."

Later:
Craig was doing his security rounds with Zare and one unknown crewmember.

"I still can't believe it. She never took me to a coffee shop," Craig rambled on.

Zare groaned, "what's the big deal with the coffee shop?"

"She's a Janeway," Craig replied.

"I see your point," Zare said.

"It's the principle of the thing. What does she see in that guy anyway?" Craig grumbled.

"He is good looking," Zare said. Craig stared at her. "Oh please don't say you're jealous of that one comment."

"I think I should be," Craig grumbled.

"Well I should be jealous about the whining you keep doing about Lena and her new boyfriend, but I'm not," Zare said.

Craig sighed, "sorry."

Zare smiled, "you're forgiven. He is a lot older than she is I guess."

"That's what I thought," Craig said.

Johnathan ran up to him, he tugged on his trouser leg. "Mr Anderson?"

"Um, yeah?" Craig said.

"I know something about your stepsister," Johnathan said.

Craig frowned, "um ok, what?"

"She's pregnant, bye," Johnathan replied. He ran off in the opposite direction.

Craig glanced at Zare looking slightly pale, "oh my god."

"I know, her kid won't ever have to be told to clean his or her room," Zare said.

The Enterprise bridge:
"I can't believe it, you believe that kid over me," Triah protested.

Craig eyed her, "you do look bigger, I just thought you'd gained weight."

Triah raised her eyebrow, "oh thanks very much."

"Who's the dad?" Craig asked.

Triah groaned, "I don't know."

"What?" Craig said.

"The Enterprise's old doc told me it happened in July. I haven't had a boyfriend in yonks and there was only one incident I can think of that explains this," Triah said.

Craig groaned, "ohno, the third month anniversary party of the 'hurray we're safe from man killing Jessie' party."

Triah nodded her head, "yeah."

"But all the guys went to it cos Jessie attacked nearly everyone whilst evil," Craig groaned.

"I don't remember most of the party, but I do remember that some of the guys weren't drinking cos they were still on painkillers," Triah said.

"Oh thank god that's right," Craig sighed.

"And some of them had been hurt in a certain area, I doubt I would have gotten pregnant by one of them," Triah said.

"Why don't you just get a DNA test?" Craig asked.

Triah looked nervous, "cos I don't want to know."

"Why not?" Craig groaned.

"Because knowing my luck I'll get stuck with the worst guy of the lot. I'll be raising him or her on my own anyway," Triah said.

"You can't do that," Craig said.

Triah tried to look innocent, "my child will have his or her Uncle Craig instead."

Craig softened up, "oh really, cool. I'm going to be an uncle." He snapped out of it, "no Triah, I need to know who it is."

"But I don't, you'll have to respect that," Triah said.

"Triah you're not entirely stupid. It won't be a bad guy, I promise," Craig said.

Triah rolled her eyes, "fine, but if it's a bad guy I'll make sure I'll never become an aunt."

"Heh, you will be..." Craig stuttered with his eyes wide.

"Not really if you keep going out with Slayers. They can't sleep with people," Triah said.

"Didn't stop James did it," Craig muttered.

"Yeah, you'd think Kevin would have been the first to break that rule," Triah said.

Craig stood up, "ok, I'm going to find out who it is."

"How?" Triah asked.

"Well if you don't do the DNA test I'll have to use my investigation expertise to find out," Craig replied.

Triah tried not to laugh, "whatever you say Craig."

The Mess Hall:
Tom and Harry were sitting together talking, with a glass of Noah's mixed fruit drink each. Craig walked over to the table holding a PADD, "hey guys, can I join you?"

"Sure I guess," Harry replied.

Craig sat down next to Tom. "Do you remember the party after Jessie turned not evil again?"

"Which time?" Harry asked.

"The second time," Craig replied.

"Then no I don't. I got too drunk during that," Harry said.

Tom laughed, "oh yeah you did. B'Elanna and I celebrated in our own way, if you get what I mean, so I do remember it."

Craig looked disgusted, "that's nice."

"Why do you ask?" Harry asked.

"Just curious. What about the three month anniversary one?" Craig questioned.

Tom sniggered, "you mean the last one, the one that killed off any chance of celebrating it again?"

"Yeah," Craig replied.

"Yes I remember that one. Lots of people got totally hammered and nearly flew the Enterprise into a star," Tom said.

"Really, I must have missed that part," Harry laughed.

Craig groaned, "don't tell me, you were drunk during that one too?"

"A little yeah," Harry replied.

"Drunk? He was the one who took command of the Enterprise and ordered everyone to beam to the sun. No one wanted to so everyone settled for the fly into it idea, thinking that the shields would protect them," Tom said.

"I bet the readers wish that was in an episode," Harry said uncomfortably.

"Hell yeah," Tom laughed.

"Oh so you were too busy being in command to be hitting on girls," Craig questioned.

"I don't know, what's this all about?" Harry asked.

Craig ignored him, "do you usually hit on girls when you're drunk?"

Harry glanced at Tom, "uh I don't know."

"Craig, tell us what this is about," Tom said.

Craig groaned, "like I'd tell you Tom."

Tom laughed, "oh, Johnathan told you about Triah then."

"Oh crap," Craig groaned.

"What about Triah?" Harry questioned.

"She's pregnant," Tom replied.

"See, this is why I didn't want to tell you," Craig shook his head.

"Oh sorry," Tom muttered.

Harry looked rather annoyed, "so why are you asking stupid questions... oh, you think I did something?"

Tom burst out laughing, "you never know."

Harry glared at him, "no no, Triah and me, I've never really liked her. I wouldn't."

"Ok fine. Tom?" Craig said.

Tom nearly choked on his fruit drink, "me? Craig please, I love my wife and kids, I wouldn't either."

"Even when drunk?" Craig asked.

"No. I don't remember drinking that much at that party anyway," Tom replied.

Craig typed a few things into his PADD, "ok thanks." He caught sight of Foster, "excuse me." He rushed after him.

"Good god, he's obsessive," Harry muttered.

"I would be too," Tom said.

Earth, Danny/Ian's club in Newcastle:
Ian handed over a pint to some guy on the other side of the bar. "That'll be one fifty please." The guy handed him the money.

"So do you remember it?" Craig asked.

Ian walked back over to him. "I remember the first party. I couldn't drink in that one as I was taking pain killers."

"Oh, were you drunk at the third one?" Craig asked.

Ian used the machine nearby him to fill another glass, "was that the one where we nearly got severely sun burned?"

"Yeah, supposedly," Craig replied.

"Hmm some of it. I didn't stick around for long, I had to keep an eye on the twins," Ian said.

"Oh," Craig said.

Ian grinned, "what's bothering you?"

"Nothing, I'm just curious," Craig replied.

Ian handed him the glass he had just filled up. "That one's on the house, unless you don't tell me what this is about."

Craig rolled his eyes, "I'm trying to find out who knocked up my sister."

Ian's eyes widened, "Triah? Sorry I didn't see anyone with her."

"Ok, I'm getting nowhere here," Craig muttered.

"Nobody a suspect then?" Ian questioned.

"I only have Harry on my list so far," Craig replied.

Ian laughed, "Harry? He's too head over heels for Emma to do anything with Triah, unless he's not getting anywhere with her."

"The theory is that they were both drunk at the time. Triah doesn't remember, and I doubt there's any sick guys on the ship that would use a drunk girl when sober," Craig said.

"No, I'd say try Kevin if he wasn't a Slayer," Ian said.

"I already have. He claims he was seeing a cute ensign from Engineering at the time," Craig said.

"You've been to New Manchester then," Ian said.

"Yeah but I still need to ask Neelix, Daniel, James and Evil C if they know anything. I don't know where Neelix is right now, Daniel wasn't home, James is working at a game site and I can never find Evil C," Craig muttered.

Ian cleared his throat, "you've been asking every guy you know similar questions right?"

"Right, why point that out?" Craig said.

"My guess is that you suspect it was one of them, including me," Ian said.

Craig shrugged, "sorry but I have to make sure."

"Well can I give you a hand?" Ian asked.

"Please," Craig groaned.

"It won't be James or Evil C," Ian said.

"Oh, why?" Craig questioned.

Ian tried not to laugh, "I know James is infamous for getting Jessie pregnant, despite the fact that she couldn't get pregnant easily, but he's like me. I wouldn't cheat on Danny for any reason, drunk or sober."

"Ok I guess, what about Evil C? I barely know him," Craig said.

"Not the kind of drunk to do the things you're suggesting, plus he's still hung up on that Claire incident," Ian said.

Craig groaned, "then what am I supposed to do?"

"Get a DNA test," Ian replied.

"That was my suggestion but Triah doesn't want to do that," Craig said.

"Why not?" Ian asked.

"She doesn't want to know," Craig replied.

"Maybe you should leave it then," Ian said.

"I would normally but I have to think of my unborn niece or nephew. They'll need a dad, so I need find out who it is," Craig said.

Ian sighed, "ok, but I hope for your sake it's someone who actually is willing to be a dad."

Later, Triah's Quarters:
Triah sighed nervously, "I'm not looking forward to this."

"With good reason, here," Craig muttered. He handed over the PADD.

Triah took a good long look at it. "Ok, Neelix is in here?"

"I did a report on every guy, except me," Craig shrugged his shoulders.

"Fair enough. What does LOL stand for?" Triah asked.

"Laugh out loud," Craig replied.

Triah tried not to laugh, "I see." She continued to scan through the PADD.

"I am not exactly sure who it is, but I've narrowed it down to three guys," Craig said.

Triah raised her eyebrow, "oh god."

"The only way to know is a DNA test," Craig said.

"Well I don't like the sound of any of these, I don't want to know," Triah muttered.

"What's wrong with them?" Craig asked.

"Do you even know these guys?" Triah snapped.

"Two of them yeah. I only knew Lee in the first few years of the journey," Craig replied.

"Craig, Lee is gay," Triah muttered.

"I know that. Check the PADD, it explains why he's a suspect," Craig said.

"Ok Harry I can understand but why the other two?" Triah grumbled.

"Everything's in the PADD Triah. Now will you do a DNA test?" Craig asked.

"No. Now I'm even more scared to find out," Triah said. "You promised that it would be a decent guy, if we do a DNA test it will just help you break that promise."

"But Triah, your child needs a dad," Craig said.

"I'm sure he will much prefer his Uncle Craig instead," Triah said.

"No don't do that again, I..." Craig groaned. "Wait, he and his, it's a boy?"

Triah grinned, "yeah, I checked with the doc an hour ago."

"Oh cool, that's great. When is he due?" Craig asked.

"Due date is early April. You can't be exactly sure though," Triah replied.

Craig got off his chair and rushed over to hug her. "Don't worry I won't give him any dating tips."

Triah rolled her eyes, "you really should, I don't want him having loads of girlfriends."

The doors opened, Johnathan ran in. "My dad saw Craig picking his nose and eating what was on his finger an hour ago. Pass it on." He ran back out.

"Eew gross, get away from me!" Triah groaned.

Craig pulled away from her, "I didn't do that. Oh, Tom said he saw it." He walked over to the computer, after fiddling with it he sat in front of it. "Hi it's me, I just overheard Tom talking to Harry. He said that he was thinking of getting Johnathan to hit on Sasha." He pressed a few buttons.

Triah laughed, "you are cruel Craig."

"No, I'm just better at revenge than he is," Craig commented. He sat down next to Triah on the sofa.

****THE END****

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