Part 10 - Escape

"BORG SHIPS HAVE BEEN DETECTED ONE LIGHT YEAR FROM THE BASE. ALL PERSONNEL ARE TO REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO BATTLE STATIONS."

Seven dropped Kashyk who fell to the ground gasping for air. The Devore soldiers lowered their weapons and fear washed over every face except Captain Janeway who still sat slack-jawed and staring at nothing.

"Controller Goff we must get our research and all relevant personnel off the base now." said Derrish.

The controller shook his head. "There are fifteen Devore fleets defending this system plus the finest planetary defences in the region. You have to finish your work Professor. I need Janeway for the Fearless soon."

"The evacuation protocol was agreed with High Command. In the event of a Borg attack on this system, all research teams would be immediately evacuated and all evidence of their existence destroyed. This has absolute priority Controller."

The fat controller nodded reluctantly and Derrish took charge, sending his technicians and scientists to scurry about collecting data and equipment and preparing to destroy what they could not remove.

"Seven of Nine. I would be grateful if you could help me move the Captain to the transporter area for immediate transport."

"Why can we not transport from here?" she asked.

"The planet is heavily shielded to prevent rescue attempts. Transporter signals are specifically targeted and recently we have attempted to modify the system to counter Borg transporters. Only one place on the planet can be used for transport. Now we must hurry"

"What about them." Seven pointed at Kraal and Nithqref.

"They are not required" said the Devore scientist. "Our orders are to evacuate essential staff only."

"Kathryn would not allow me to leave without them. I want the PArath's family also"

"There is no time for argument Seven. We must leave now."

"Precisely Professor. Therefore it would be prudent to agree to my terms and avoid any further delay."

He gave up. The Borg was as stubborn as the human. "All right but quickly."

Moments later, a jubilant Kraal was finishing untying his wife who had been hog-tied. The two enormous creatures had their arms full of small over-excited piglets. Urgency overcame her reluctance to interrupt the reunion and Seven gently prodded the Parath, gesturing to him to hurry and pick up the Captain and follow her. Kraal nodded his understanding, leaned down and unfastened the Captain's remaining arm restraints and picked her up. He staggered slightly and cursed. His wife who had removed her own gag snorted disapprovingly.

"Cavorting with strange women as usual; come here children, we are again obliged to follow your fool of a father!" The five piglets giggled and squealed. Kraal grinned at his wife and turned to follow Seven.

They set off after Derrish, accompanied by a senior technician and a couple of soldiers. The small group pushed their way through a platoon of Devore soldiers heading in the opposite direction. The klaxon continued to sound and green emergency lighting had come on casting a bilious light over the organised chaos. Kraal was finding the Captain quite a burden and was complaining loudly.

"Why do all emergency warning systems mean everyone has to get a headache. Turn the damned siren off you cursed excuses for sentient beings," he shouted at the scuttling Devore. He shifted the Captain in his arms.

"In Freling's name she has put on weight. No more snacks between meals for you Captain."

Seven looked at him oddly. "The Captain's change in weight results from the reinforcement of her bone structure not from overeating."

"Humour is not your strong point Seven of Nine. I suppose jokes are frowned on amongst the Borg." A Devore escort sniggered at the Parath's remark, Kraal growled, amusing the Devore was not his aim in life.

"How many Devore does it take to change a tube-light?" He asked and then answered himself "Five, one electrician, one judge and a firing squad." Kraal snorted at the Borg's unamused expression and gestured with his head toward the now scowling Devore soldier. "Well perhaps that was not funny but it annoyed him which gives me pleasure."

Seven shrugged "You may be fortunate Parath. A race who could only offer the Borg such a sense of humour would be unworthy of assimilation."

Kraal's wife admired the insult. "A better class of female than you usually meet Kraal."

Seven turned her attention to the elegant Halquine who walked before them, each body uncomfortably clutching a wriggling Parath baby but still managing to retain a certain dignity.

"Nithqref have you succeeded in contacting Captain Janeway yet."

'I can feel her but it is not yet possible to fix a link to her mind. Her neural pattern has been replaced and the new pattern is very variable but it is stabilising. I will keep trying.'

Seven glanced at the death-pale Starfleet Officer lying limply in Kraal's arms. She did not want to think about what Nithqref might find when the Halquine made contact with Kathryn.

She should be recovering, the links to her neural pathways are fully established ... but no Borg ever had to complete the transition alone. I should have prevented her from doing this.

Alone in her sensory prison Kathryn was frightened. The world she could perceive was still a jumbled mass of meaningless shapes and noises. There was very loud continuous noise which drowned out anything else but she could not identify it or put it in any context. She also thought she might be feeling movement and some pressure but without any sense of location. What if I am like this for the rest of my life? Don't be silly Katie - anyway if you stay like this the Devore will terminate you so 'the rest of your life' will be quite short. That thought cheered her up more than it should. More loud noise interrupted her thoughts.

A BORG VESSEL HAS ARRIVED WITHIN TRANSPORTER RANGE OF THE PLANET. TRANSPORT HAS BEEN TEMPORARILY DISABLED, ALL EVACUEE PERSONNEL SHOULD PROCEED TO SECTOR ONE TRANSPORT ZONE AND AWAIT CLEARANCE.

They hurried on, out of the science complex into the main prison quad. It was the first time any of them apart from Kraal's family had been outside. The heat was unbearable and a biting hot wind whipped up clouds of red dust making them choke and cover their eyes. Dozens of ragged, starved and terrified prisoners milled about, completely ignored by the frantic Devore military. Any attempt to impede the soldiers was met with blows or worse. One woman with a child, begging for help, was murdered in front of them by a soldier with a disruptor. Two hellish minutes later they were across the yard and in a corridor marked "Sector One Access - Authorised personnel only". The way was blocked by a force fields. After Derrish's voice identification the force field in front of them dropped and they proceeded along the corridor stopping for clearance at several successive force fields.

"BORG VESSEL DESTROYED. A NUMBER OF BORG HAVE TRANSPORTED TO SECTOR TWO. SECTOR NULLIFICATION INITIATED. ANY PERSONNEL TRYING TO LEAVE THE SECTOR WILL BE DESTROYED."

"Didn't we just leave sector 2?" asked Kraal.

"We were lucky," said Derrish looked even greyer than usual. "No one else will be leaving. Half my technicians are still in there."

"What will happen to them?"

"Has happened. The sector has been flooded with nerve gas to prevent any personnel being assimilated. Any living being trying to exit the sector will be destroyed by automated disruptors."

Seven thought of all the helpless prisoners who had just died and hoped that Kashyk had been amongst them.

She was to be disappointed. They entered a holding room to find Controller Goff and Kashyk waiting with a squad of heavily armed guards. "We have decided to leave the battle zone with you. I feel it is important that I closely monitor your research Professor." said the fat controller. "Transport facilities will be restored as soon as the small Borg contingent on the surface are destroyed."

Kraal put Kathryn down gently and muttered to Seven, "The fight must be going badly if they are running away."

The sound of disruptor fire nearby galvanised the squad of soldiers into activity and they took up position. Two soldiers ran through the door "The Borg have adapted to our weapons. They are trying to break through the last force field, we cannot hold them."

"How many?" yelled Kraal.

"Five. We destroyed four and the automatic disruptors took another five."

"Have there been any assimilations?" snapped Derrish.

"No Sir. I don't think so, we killed anyone injured or captured before they could be assimilated."

The remaining defenders were now retreating through the blast doors and back towards the only exit. "Stand and fight" screamed Kashyk. But the Devore were too frightened. Most of the Devore panicked and followed their comrades into the maze of transporter rooms.

"Inspector Kashyk you are to ensure that Captain Janeway's body is not taken by the Borg under any circumstances, is that clear? On pain of death Inspector!" commanded Controller Goff who then waddled out as fast as he could in the wake of his soldiers.

"Fat bastard" muttered Kashyk.

The first Borg drone appeared at the open door, disruptor fire from the automated defence systems bounced harmlessly off his shielding. His optically enhanced eyes swept the room with a dead gaze and expressionless he moved towards Seven and Kraal. Another appeared behind him.

"Shut the blast doors you fools." Kashyk shouted at the remaining soldiers.

The doors slammed shut behind the two drones. Immediately the doors were under attack from the Borg outside. The two drones inside the room only paused to looked at the closed doors before resuming their advance.

Kraal picked up a dropped disruptor and began firing at the drones trying to distract them. His wife gathered the frightened children and herded them away from the oncoming drones.

"Get Kathryn," yelled Kraal firing continuously. Seven nodded and ran towards the Captain's twitching body. She reached Kathryn at the same time as the Borg only to be knocked away by a swipe that would have killed a weaker being. The Borg lifted the Captain's body gently and plunged his assimilation tubules into her neck.

Seven screamed and threw herself at the drone pushing it backward, knowing she was already too late. Grasping the Borg's head she twisted it with rage until she heard the snapping of metallic bones and the Borg drone collapsed against her.

The second drone staggered back, brains and circuits oozing from its skull after a crushing blow from Kraal, wielding his disruptor like a club.

The noises and shapes span wildly. This is like space sickness only less fun, thought Kathryn. Then a particularly sickening swing made her senses lurch but it was followed by a curious sensation. For a brief second millions of voices swam in her head and then there was silence. And before her eyes the world solidified into intelligible forms and sounds. The sounds of fighting.

Captain Janeway rose unsteadily to her feet to find Seven of Nine and Kraal staring at her. They looked at her. Uncertainly, hope and fear mixed in their eyes. Kraal lifted his disruptor. Behind them she heard Kashyk's voice shouting "Kill her, kill the drone." The only two Devore guards who had not fled aimed their disruptors at her. But unexpectedly they hurled their weapons away screaming with pain.

'STOP! She is Captain Janeway.' echoed through the minds of those present.

'Kathryn you are alive' Nithqref stated. The brief thought was wrapped in relief and affection.

"Thank you Nithqref. That's a neat trick." She gestured at the two guards who were wringing their hands and looking at their discarded weapons with great suspicion. The Halquine's two bodies shrugged as one. 'The guards are highly suggestible - it was, as you say, a trick.'

Kathryn caught sight of her left arm and cringed at the sight of two Borg small implants protruding blackly from her pale skin. This was going to take some getting used to. She heard someone whisper a single word and knew the exact pitch of the voice, its direction and distance before her human recognition placed the voice as that of Seven of Nine and the word whispered as her own name.

Seven of Nine closed the space between herself and her Captain and lifted Kathryn gently against her.

"You frightened me, you must not do so again." She kissed her and Kathryn could feel her tears wetting her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around Seven's neck and returned the kiss.

Kathryn Janeway pulled back to breathe "Seven, are you okay? What is happening?"

Then Janeway saw the bodies of the two fallen drones. "Where did these come from? Please don't tell me these are two of the volunteers."

"No. They are real drones. Kathryn, you were assimilated, I could not reach you and I thought I had lost you forever." She kissed the slightly embarrassed Starfleet captain again.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart... it's okay now. I'm fine, I think. Hey put me down, I must be too heavy for you."

"You are not," said Seven firmly and carried on kissing her.

"I can't agree with that," said Kraal, "I had to carry you while you took your little nap and Captain you're heavier than a Parath policeman with a desk job. Here, Borg Lady let go of the little Captain and let me have a piece." Reluctantly Seven let Kathryn go and Kraal stepped in with a bone crunching hug. He set her down.

"You are one lucky humanoid. When that drone plunged those wiggly things in your neck, I thought we'd lost you."

Captain Janeway placed her hands on her hips and grinned with satisfaction "You mean it worked. I survived assimilation. Twice in one day."

"Congratulations Captain, your survival gives us all hope." said Inspector Kashyk. His voice dripped malevolence and Seven, remembering his order to the guards to kill Kathryn, stepped threateningly towards him.

"You tried to kill her. I will terminate you."

The noise of twisting metal drew their attention back to the now buckling blast doors.

Nithqref broadcast Captain, you may need to survive a few more assimilations today. There are at least three drones out there and transport off world is not yet permitted. We cannot stay here Kathryn, we should retreat back into the main transporter area.

Janeway stared at the buckling blast doors. She was concerned.

"Three you say, I don't think we can just leave them Nithqref. The risk of the Borg assimilating knowledge of our research is too great, we will have to destroy them. Kashyk can we use the transporters within this area?"

"I believe so Captain."

"Right, retreat in there - get all the civilians to safety." She pointed towards the adjacent transporter room. "Move, that's an order Kashyk." She glared at him and shrugging his shoulders, the Inspector complied.

"Seven when I give the signal you are to release the blast doors. Kraal, Nithqref and you two guards - I want covering fire and lots of it. Everyone else get back and take cover."

"Kathryn you cannot transport them their shielding will prevent it?" Seven objected.

"Did I say I was going to do that? However we will only get one shot at this so if there are any survivors then I'm afraid we will have to kill them the old fashioned way."

Kathryn took up position at the transporter controls and allowed herself a few seconds to ensure she could operate it accurately. Her Brenari acquired knowledge of Devore language and technology was extensive but the control panel was different and she had to be precise. She laid in the transporter co-ordinates, locked onto her targets and waited.

"OK Seven let them in." The heavily damaged blast doors slid apart but only partially.

The three drones stepped through the small opening into the holding area and were met by a blast of fire from Kraal and the others. The heavy fire did no apparent damage but the drones aligned themselves and started to walk purposefully towards the source of the firing. Kraal, Nithqref and the two guards retreated before them firing continuously.

Kathryn held her breath and as the three drones crossed the threshold of the transporter room she punched the transport button. The two drone corpses dematerialised and then rematerialised a few metres away inside the bodies of their marching comrades. For a millisecond the line of drones continued to march and then collapsed in a mangled line of merged bodies and limbs.

Kraal and his team stopped firing and gaped at the twitching, dying drones. The Parath sounded sombre when he said "Remind me never to annoy you Kathryn."

"I'm glad you realise what a mistake that would be" she answered bleakly. "Give me your disruptor Kraal."

She turned the weapon on the fallen Borg and with three short blasts ended their suffering. "Let's get out of here before any of their friends arrive."

Seven of Nine said nothing, she just stared at the dead Borg.

BORG LIFE FORMS HAVE BEEN TERMINATED, FIRST WAVE EVACUEE PERSONNEL REPORT TO TRANSPORTER ROOM 3. THE IMPERIUM VESSEL REVENGE IS WAITING. OTHER PERSONNEL ARE TO AWAIT ORDERS AND PREPARE FOR THE FULL EVACUATION OF THE BASE.

Captain Janeway led the way out of the chamber back towards the main transporter rooms. The rest of the small band fell silently into step behind her. They arrived at transporter room 3, a great cavern, where Goff and the surviving Devore scientists and technicians had already assembled. The senior Devore stared at Janeway unbelievingly.

"Captain Janeway you have returned and the Borg are dead. You are both lucky and resourceful and, it seems, dangerous. Inspector Kashyk has not overstated your abilities." Goff was almost affable in a threatening way. "How did you do it?"

"The Borg intruders are now fully collectivised, joined at the hip you might say." Seeing Seven wince Janeway regretted her levity. "I mean no offence Controller but can we leave this rock. I can debrief you later."

The Controller nodded and they took their places on one of the enormous transporter pads designed for moving large numbers of prisoners. Massive explosions could be heard as the Devore fleet orbiting the planet destroyed all buildings, removing all evidence and records. All surviving Devore personnel were being evacuated leaving only the frightened hordes of prisoners, huddled in the hot, biting winds, to await the inevitable Borg re-inforcements. The transport command was given and the Devore and their guests disappeared from view leaving the chaos of the prison planet behind.

Part 11 - Betrayal

They transported to the Devore warship and Kathryn immediately felt better, back in space where she belonged. Quite why it felt so different and familiar she did not know. Artificial gravity ensured there was no obvious change from the planet they had just left and there was no sense of motion. It must be the recycled air.

Her musing was cut short by Controller Goff wobbling in to the room.

"Follow me Captain. You are to continue to work here with Professor Derrish until we transfer to the Fearless which is undergoing tests. A single ship will be less easy for the Borg to find even by accident."

"What is the Fearless?" asked Kraal following behind the Captain.

"It is our second prototype transwarp vessel. It has already successfully travelled at transwarp speeds but we can only maintain the conduits for short periods as we lack the necessary Borg materials, and have had to use substitutes. Fortunately this is more than enough for rapid travel within Devore space, after a short period the drive can be regenerated and another jump can be made. Not perhaps as sophisticated as the Borg but it will suffice. We are refitting our fleets while continuing tests with the Fearless."

"What happened to the first prototype?" Janeway queried.

"A great tragedy Captain. It fell out of a transwarp conduit after a malfunction and crash landed on a planet, however the design has now been modified to ensure controlled re-entry into normal space." As he spoke he led them into a small laboratory. "You will work in here. Your equipment is in the adjoining cargo bay together with the shuttle Faraday and your drone's alcove. There are sleeping quarters allocated for you and your team along the corridor. Now sadly I must leave as I have other matters to attend to but I will see you again tomorrow Captain."

Janeway nodded impassively and the fat controller turned on his heel and departed.

*~~~*

Janeway was linked to a set of monitors while Professor Derrish clucked over her and fussed about with her implants. Seven silently assisted him. "Well it seems you were lucky that Borg came along Captain."

"The momentary link to the collective as he punctured your neck organised the data structures in your brain and the links to your enhanced senses. Otherwise you would have remained as you were, mind and body disjoined."

"Did the collective learn about me through the link?" asked Kathryn anxiously.

"We cannot know that. But we can modify our procedure to avoid the same problems with the next test subjects." He disconnected the monitoring equipment and handed her a jacket.

Janeway grimaced at the memory of the assimilation. "Perhaps you could do something to ease the discomfort, it hurt a lot Professor."

"I will see what I can do." He left the lab and Seven helped Janeway to her feet but still had not spoken.

"Seven, are you all right?" Kathryn was concerned by the former Borg's reticence.

"I am functioning within normal parameters." But Seven didn't sound all right to the Captain. And her face looked strained and apprehensive.

"Seven, are you upset about those drones? I am sorry if it distressed you but this is war. Pain and death are a sometimes a necessary evil. I did what was required."

Kathryn wondered about the truth of her own words, the killing had been a little too easy for her. She hadn't considered the dreadful result of her plan even for a moment, just the likelihood of success. She wondered if it was only her body that had been changed.

"I do not dispute the necessity Captain, your method was efficient and protected us from additional risk but Kathryn ...." Seven's distress was now apparent.

"Seven tell me." instructed Kathryn gently.

"For a short period before I blocked them out I could feel their pain and hear their voices, their screams. It was ... disturbing. In the collective drones would be shielded from any emotions or pain. It is the first time I have experienced a Borg death. I know how it feels and I am afraid."

Janeway put her arms around her Borg. She didn't really know what to say to the young woman and settled for holding her tight and whispering "I'm sorry darling, don't be afraid, I love you and will protect you." until she felt Seven's shaking subside. "I am sorry Seven, I should have found another way."

"Regrets are futile Kathryn, I broke a drone's neck to protect you and I do not regret doing that. If you had left them alive many others would have died." The ex-drone's voice hardened, "my fear is selfish and small, it weakens my collective."

Kathryn spoke again with a little more confidence now that she better understood what Seven was feeling.

"Fear is sometimes necessary Seven; for an individual to survive it must know it's own limits. And without fear there is no courage. You followed me into danger when you left Voyager, you risked your life to protect me. Would you behave differently now?"

Seven was shocked. "No!"

"Then how has this changed you? You are still the same courageous person. Perhaps acknowledging your mortality has just made you less foolhardy which is to our benefit. I don't want you behaving like an expendable drone."

Nithqref appeared in Captain Janeway's thoughts and she could sense his excitement 'Kathryn there are a large number of Free Alliance prisoners aboard this ship including some very senior politicians. Their ship was captured when they offered to help the Devore fight the Borg. The Devore deceived them and seized the vessel, its crew and the delegation from the Alliance. They are to be interrogated by Controller Goff.'

Kathryn tightened her hold on Seven. After escaping from the Borg it was easy to forget that they were still in great danger from their hosts.

"Charming people the Devore. I keep wondering when the Controller will decide that we are unnecessary. Find out the location of these prisoners and their security arrangements Nithqref. We need allies. Come on Seven you need to regenerate and I need to eat and sleep."

They returned to the quarters arranged for them. Janeway held Seven's hand as she helped the ex-drone start her regeneration cycle. A novel experience for both of them. Janeway realised that adapting to their new relationship would be strange and maybe even unsettling. For a while she stood and watched the gorgeous woman resting peacefully as she had done many times on Voyager. But now it's different, I am different.

Kathryn undressed and with some trepidation allowed herself to examine the changes to her body in the mirror.

Always fair her skin was now very pale and this was accentuated by large dark bruises that had appeared around the seven starburst implants that had surfaced. She noticed that the implants were concentrated on the left side of her body, on the back of her hand, her upper arm, one under her left ear, one on her side just lower than her breast and another on the outside of the upper thigh. The remaining pair were centred on her lower back. Varying in size from a half to three centimetres in diameter the implants were not in themselves too unpleasant but small darker veins of metal threading away from the implants were just visible under the skin and the bruising extended a considerable distance around them. Seven had assured her the bruising would disappear quite soon. Kathryn was not a vain woman but she had always known she was reasonably attractive and that brought a certain degree of self-confidence however much she might consciously deplore such shallowness. Now she found herself wondering how others would look at her and in particular how Seven might react.

Kathryn touched the implant on the back of her hand, it was the same smooth grey metal that comprised Seven's Borg components. Slightly cooler than her flesh, she had been surprised to find that it was as sensitive to temperature and pressure as her own skin and actually felt like a part of her. She closed her hand and watched the metal flex with her muscles, malleable and yet more resistant to damage than most substances known in the galaxy.

Internally she knew the changes were far greater, her cybernetically enhanced musculature and bone structure had already claimed a victim. When they were introduced to the captain of the Revenge, she had unwittingly broken three of his fingers. It had greatly amused Controller Goff. Again Seven had reassured her that she would learn to control the enhanced strength.

But the biggest change lay in the connection between her body and mind. She had a conscious awareness of her body's functions and operations. The neural processor which now formed part of her mind allowed her to monitor her heart rate, temperature, blood flow,chemical and neural states in detail as though she was a separate entity. And even more strangely she realised she could assign her mechanical 'brain' to think about something entirely different and even to operate her body while she considered something else and yet be conscious of its operations and thought patterns. It was as though her subconscious was laid bare before her. Seven had never mentioned this odd dichotomy - probably because it was so natural to her that she was unaware that other people thought differently.

"I can't call my mind my own now what with the mechanical squatter and Nithqref popping in whenever he, she or it feels like it" grumbled Janeway to herself. She caught sight of the implant on her arm in the mirror and her thoughts returned to the physical changes and a sudden sense of dread that Seven might find her repulsive. She shook the thought off as self-indulgent and foolish. 'There are more important things at stake here Kathryn than your appearance.'

*~~~*

The Revenge was travelling at high warp towards its rendezvous with the Fearless and the star field appeared as long smears of light. Captain Kathryn Janeway stood on the bridge of the Revenge and wished with all her heart that it was Voyager, she missed the ship and her command like a lost limb, the pain ever present. She listened with a kind of homesickness to the chatter amongst the Devore bridge crew as they monitored subspace communications and reported sensor readings. There was a high state of readiness and obvious nervousness of interception by the Borg.

She was careful not to betray any understanding, Kashyk and Goff made a great play of only permitting universal translators to be used when they authorised it; a security measure only required because of the large number of insurgents aboard they assured her. But as she and Seven were the only people aboard who supposedly did not speak any of the local languages she guessed that the real intention was to prevent her communicating with the rebels. Since she had acquired a complete knowledge of several local languages including Devore from the dying Brenari woman, Seven was the only person at all affected by the ban.

Janeway was waiting now for the Controller on the bridge. They were close to the rendezvous with the Devore's newest ship, the Fearless, where all the prisoners and Kathryn and her team were to be transferred. Kathryn was still unsure about what her next move should be. Goff had been interrogating his prisoners for the last sixteen hours and according to Nithqref some of them were close to breaking or death.

Time was not on their side for other reasons. The assimilation tests were now well advanced. Goff and Kashyk had suddenly dropped their scruples about using Devore soldiers as test subjects and some hundred and fifty had been assimilated without misfortune and were now undergoing training. The high command were apparently delighted with the results and Seven and the Professor were designing equipment for large scale conversions. Which is probably why we are still alive. she thought.

The Devore had withdrawn their fleets from the main Devore systems to save on further losses while their vessels and crews were converted. A mass evacuation of those systems was underway protected only by very minimal forces although the Borg had not yet renewed their attack. Seven thought the first attack had been largely exploratory and the Borg would now be ensuring that adequate numbers of ships were available for a full scale invasion.

The Revenge dropped out of warp and Captain Janeway was roused from her thoughts.

"Monitor forward" said the Master of the Revenge. And a large view screen opened up to display the space before them. A vessel hung in space, blacker than the void behind it, visible only because of a dull metallic sheen reflecting the light of the nearby star. It was not like the large potato shaped Devore war ships with their huge prisoner holds and marine barracks. Smaller than that but still bigger than any Star Fleet vessel excepting the enormous galaxy class vessels, this ship was built to intimidate and to fight. Like a gigantic squid three great arms projected forward from a central body. Weapons, Kathryn surmised. A single enormous engine bulging from the aft of the main body of the ship glowed gently and she could see three smaller auxiliary engines mounted around the central engine. She couldn't see the bow of the ship but docking ports and phaser banks were just visible along the port side.

"Open communications."

The screen cleared and a senior Devore Inspector appeared. "You are late. We have been holding station here too long."

"Apologies Inspector we had to divert to avoid a possible Borg squadron." replied the Master of the Revenge.

"The cargo is to be transferred without further delay. We are transmitting co-ordinates." And the view screen went blank.

"Friendly bastard" muttered the pilot. "So that is the Fearless. I heard they stole the design. Well it looks different enough. A bit short on aft defences though."

"I don't think that is the aft." said the co-pilot. "She can fly as well in either direction. And I heard they stole the ship not just the design. The shields will hold off a planetary cannon barrage. And the main weapon can disintegrate a small moon."

"Shut up the Gaharay will hear you."

"Nah she can't understand us. Hey woman, Kashyk promised us a record of his final interview with you and he means final." He laughed.

Janeway looked at him blankly.

"See what I mean. No idea. What kind of a culture allows its women to command space ships anyway?" The co-pilot laughed to think of such pathetic creatures.

Controller Goff had entered the bridge quietly and hearing the co-pilot's chatter, his nose wrinkled in distaste. He signalled to his assistants and the co-pilot found himself being forcibly removed from the bridge. "You will need a new pilot" said Controller Goff to the ship's master. "I would suggest a less talkative model."

He beckoned to Janeway to follow him. "I have activated the universal translator Captain. Please accompany me."

Janeway replied in English. "Controller Goff, I am afraid my grasp of Devore is no better than it was yesterday but I do enjoy this little game."

The translator activated and the Controller smiled as well as he was able. "I like to take nothing for granted Captain."

"I take it that was your new wonder ship."

"Yes, the Fearless. A very fine vessel but there are a number of problems with its design."

Kathryn remained silent but tried to look encouraging.

"Some aspects of its operation remain mysterious."

Kathryn's face showed what she hoped was appropriate puzzlement. "I don't understand Controller. Didn't it come with a manual?"

"Unfortunately not Captain. The Farini designers were contracted by the Imperium to modify one of their latest ships with the new drive and I am sad to say they reneged on our bargain after some very successful tests. Naturally we took the ship anyway but they had incorporated a number of fail safes which we have been unable to remove."

"And you would like Seven with her extensive knowledge of encryption codes to examine the ship's systems" finished Janeway. Well that answers the question about our continuing usefulness.

"As ever Captain you impress me. You have reached the correct conclusion although a little modestly. Your own contribution is likely to be as useful."

"Controller Goff, flattered as I am by your faith in our abilities I have to ask how we will benefit from co-operation? I am concerned with our long term welfare. I'm aware that certain elements do not accept that I have a future."

"You refer to Inspector Kashyk. A man of great promise but sadly little actual delivery. He will have no influence in this matter I can assure you Captain. We would like you to take command of the Fearless."

Janeway's astonishment was unfeigned and it took her a few seconds to recover. Controller Goff was visibly amused by her discomfiture. Annoyed with herself Janeway carefully kept her voice neutral asking with as much disinterest as she could muster. "That is an interesting offer Controller. Why me?"

"You are a commander of outstanding abilities and your experience outside the Imperium is of great value and is unique. I have studied the logs of your travels and nothing, except perhaps boredom, seems to overcome you. You do not appear to know the meaning of the word defeat. There are some cultural differences but as I have said before whatever your motivation, if it is in our interests, then the Imperium will accommodate you. We have allowed you to retain your telepath which is against our strictest taboo."

"Before I answer Controller I would like to see the ship, look her over."

"Of course Captain." He paused. "You do understand that once you board the Fearless you will not be able to leave. You will either command the ship or be a prisoner. No one outside the High Command is permitted to leave once they have acquired any knowledge of her. Even the bridge crew of this vessel will not be permitted to depart now that they have seen the ship."

"I understand. My team will transport to the Fearless at your convenience Controller and, before you object, it is all or none, even down to the smallest piglet."

He twisted his face in the now familiar parody of a smile and assented with good grace.

*~~~*

Fifteen minutes later Kathryn's little brood, including five small piglets, had transferred to the Fearless. According to Nithqref the Free Alliance prisoners had already been transferred.

Before they boarded Kathryn spoke to her telepath privately "Nithqref I need to know more about these prisoners and particularly anything that they know of the Fearless, the Farini, the Borg or anything else. Why take them there, it makes no sense and I don't like it."

When they materialised Kathryn looked round and drew a deep breath. The interior of the Fearless was as unlike a Devore ship as the exterior.

A certain clean but dour functionality characterised most Devore decorating and design with beige or grey metal walls and struts and grey-green controls and displays the predominating features. The Fearless was a riot of colour by contrast. Red and black fascia on the control systems, yellow and white metal walls and corridors.

Kathryn and Seven looked at each other and spoke simultaneously, "Arturis".

Their companions looked mystified but neither Kathryn or Seven spoke again until the guards had conveyed them to their quarters.

Janeway spoke first "Arturis was a representative of a very advanced race that was recently defeated by the Borg. Something for which he held me personally responsible. He tried to return me and Seven to the Borg for assimilation, a fitting punishment in his view. I don't want to presume too much but I would guess the people who designed and built this craft are from the same species. I would also guess that Controller Goff is well aware of our previous contact with this species from the logs of the Faraday. It explains his belief that Seven and I are particularly well equipped to fly this ship."

'And can you?' asked the Halquine.

"It's possible but Arturis' people were highly skilled linguists and cryptographers as well as ship builders. If they really tried to lock out the ship's systems then control would be hard to recover. In fact I doubt the ship would even be as operational as it obviously is. The other oddity is the ship's drive. Arturis' ship had a quantum slipstream drive more advanced even than the Borg transwarp drives. His people would not have needed second hand Borg technology. Something does not add up here."

"Perhaps the designers of this ship are not from the same species but merely shared some exchange of technology" commented Seven.

Janeway looked dubious. "This is all speculation. I would prefer to obtain some facts, we are missing some part of the picture. As I said I don't like any of this."

They were interrupted by the arrival of several Devore guards. "Janeway to come with us. Now."

"I will accompany you." said Seven

"No, Janeway alone." said the guard and poked his disruptor in Seven's face.

"It's all right Seven, they need me. Stay here and look after the others." Kathryn smiled reassuringly and squeezed her hand.

Kathryn stood up gracefully and followed the guards out of the door. Seven watched her go, painfully aware that she never knew if they were saying goodbye for the last time. Love was too hard.

*~~~*

Controller Goff and Inspector Kashyk were waiting for her on the bridge of the ship. Another figure stood in shadow watching her arrival.

"Captain you are here. I would like you to meet the designer of this ship Morvius of the Farini." Goff could have been introducing her at a diplomatic function.

The figure in the shadows stepped forward, he was enough like Arturis to be his twin. His features contorted with malevolent triumph.

"Morvius I wish to deliver to you the first part of your payment - Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager. Dead or alive I believe you said?" Goff still spoke as though he were discussing the price of commodities which in a way he was as Janeway now realised. Her life for a new ship.

"Dead preferred Controller but alive will do." The Farini's black eyes burned with hatred.

The Controller was matter-of-fact.

"In line with our agreement you will now give us full control of the slipstream drives. As a sign of good faith."

Morvius entered some data into his terminal. "I have transferred the lockout codes to your helm. Now I want the rest of my payment Controller."

A ragged figure was dragged through the door by two guards and dumped on the floor in front of them where it lay barely moving.

"What have you done to her?" screamed Morvius. He dropped down beside the figure and cradled her head in his arms muttering endearments.

"We interrogated her as we would any other prisoner" replied Goff in a patient but deadly tone. He hated dealing with genius, it was so unstable and emotional, so irreplaceable. "You told us yourself that if she suspected we were bringing her to you she would kill herself. At no time was she to know she was being any differently treated from the others. Now you must complete the transaction Morvius and give us full control of this ship and its weapons."

The figure on the floor raised her head to speak in a weak tired voice "Morvius please don't do this, you must not give these people this ship. They are oppressors, as evil as the Borg."

"Shh, don't speak. Look they have brought us Janeway. Our people can be revenged and the Borg will be defeated by the Devore Imperium. You must see that the Free Alliance would never have been strong enough to halt the Borg."

"They will not keep to their bargain Father, we will both be killed or kept to work for them. You have no right to do this." Exhausted by speaking the Farini female passed out, her father shook his head and gently laid her head back down. He moved back to the terminal and began entering data. Goff exchanged a satisfied look with Kashyk.

Janeway kept silent, there were too many variables. She did not feel concerned about her own position, the girl was right it was highly unlikely that any of them would be allowed to walk away from this ship and certainly not the designer. Of course the Devore might just kill Janeway and her friends once they had the Fearless under their control but she suspected that Goff had been truthful about wanting her on the Fearless, they wanted an alternative source of expertise to Morvius who was obviously unpredictable.

Nithqref she thought trying to summon the telepath.

'I am with you Kathryn and I have been observing'

You did not mention this girl

'She did not seem important Kathryn, just another young runaway rebel. I had not considered her and no one took any notice of her apart from the normal beatings. No other member of her group seemed aware of her significance.' Nithqref could not hide irritation at having missed the significance of the child and Kathryn smiled. Telepathy was a two way street.

Nithqref I am worried. The Devore obviously brought that group of prisoners here as camouflage for the Farini girl and now she has served her purpose the other prisoners are expendable. We are going to have to find a way to keep them alive. Try and contact the girl and find out what you can about Morvius; it might be better if you do not reveal your relationship to me as yet. I doubt she regards me any more kindly than her father does.

Her attention returned to the scene before her when Morvius spoke to the fat controller.

"The ship is yours Controller Goff, full control is transferred. When my daughter and I leave this ship with Janeway I will release the full technical specifications to your shipbuilders."

Goff turned to an assistant "Do we have control?"

"Confirmed Controller. The Fearless has gone to warp and engineering is warming up the slipstream drive."

Goff smiled benevolently at the Farini, "I do not think it would be wise for you to leave us just yet Morvius. There is much Borg activity in the area and of course we may have teething difficulties with such a new design. As for Captain Janeway, she will be here for you when the time is right to leave."

*~~~*

Janeway was escorted back to her quarters by Controller Goff who had assured the manic Farini that she would be kept in chains.

"An interesting situation Controller. I am trying not to take offence but it would appear that you have been parsimonious with the facts."

"It was my duty dear Captain. Often I regret the path my duty requires me to walk but nonetheless that is the path I must follow." Goff looked regretful but the impression of cold calculation remained.

"I see and where exactly is the path tending now?" asked Janeway.

"Captain Janeway, the designer Morvius is a troubled genius, the finest engineer of his generation and one of only a few thousand survivors of his race, who owe their survival in large part to his designs. Such a man is too valuable to be discarded."

"And where are the rest of his kind?" she asked curiously.

"We do not know. Hiding on some rock no doubt." With those words he dismissed the fate of a species. "Morvius came to us, to ask for a .... favour in exchange for his ship."

"He wanted me." Janeway surmised.

"Indeed. You had only recently deceived Inspector Kashyk and it seemed a simple matter to arrest you, a known criminal, and make the exchange. Unfortunately the Borg intervened and complicated a simple trade. It then became apparent to us that Morvius was not the only valuable gaharay in this sector."

"And the Fearless is not your transwarp test ship. You said that to prevent me from smelling a large Carthusian Mugwump."

The Controller looked confused for a moment as the Universal Translator struggled with mugwump.

Kathryn smiled and said brightly "I wouldn't bet the farm on converting your ships to Farini technology. We tried with very limited success and you don't have much time."

"We are aware of that Captain. The final prototype of the simulated Borg transwarp drive successfully completed testing on a converted Devore corvette 3 days ago and the drive is being installed in existing fleet vessels as we speak. That drive only permits limited transwarp travel but is sufficient for travel in Devore space."

"The Fearless and its successors are insurance for the long term future of the Imperium. The technology in the Fearless is currently unsuitable for wider adoption. We would require new ships built to these specifications."

Kathryn continued to probe gently - Goff appeared to be happy to give her information which suggested that he was very confident. She fully intended to make as much use of that as possible. "But there is another issue which interests me Controller, how do you propose to sell to Morvius the idea of his most hated enemy captaining his ship?"

Goff lips twitched at the corners as he spoke in his most unctuous voice. "I do not think Morvius has fully considered his daughter's health and how that might be adversely affected were he to protest too strongly about our plans."

Kathryn faked concern. "I would not be so sure you have control here. For example, have you tested whether this vessel is as it appears? The Farini are quite capable of disguising a cargo lugger as a warship. You already know how the Voyager crew were mislead into believing they had found a Federation starship."

"I was present at the weapons demonstration of this ship Captain Janeway. I do not think even the Farini could have faked the impressive results." He looked smug enough to slap and Kathryn restrained herself. Goff continued "But your experience with the Farini Arturis was revealing and we have overhauled the Fearless to identify any faked technology, so far without success I am glad to say."

"Well here we are. I hope your promise to Morvius about chaining me up was an empty one?"

"Of course Captain - I need you both. For the moment." The fat controller smiled benevolently at her and Kathryn suppressed an answering smile. The old devil was almost charming in a wolf in sheep's clothing kind of way.

He is so confident that he runs the show. she thought. Well we just have to do some scene stealing and make sure we get the standing ovation.

Part 12 - Traitors

Kathryn sat on a low couch in her quarters and leaned back against Seven who obligingly wrapped her arms around her Captain.

The current meeting was to discuss their predicament and Kathryn looked at her companions with affection. None of them betrayed any awareness of the changes in her but Kathyrn remained painfully self conscious. She was embarrassed by the physical changes she had undergone and pathetically grateful that Seven was showing her some affection. They had hardly seen each other for several days and Kathryn had worried that Seven was avoiding her even though rationally she knew Seven was fully occupied by her work with Professor Derrish.

Nithqref's two bodies reclined elegantly against the wall resembling the delicate sylphs of Earth legends. Despite all the hardship, the prison clothing and the beatings which had left visible marks the Halquine retained an air of grace and calm.

The youngest Parath piglets Margil, Nilka and Siunaal played tag on the floor around them while the two older ones Balaan and Greka assaulted their father who feigned being frightened. Kraal's wife Makela regarded her husband and two litters of children with her usual amused exasperation and then returned to practising some peculiar Parath martial art which she did with surprising grace for such a large woman. When Kathryn had shown surprise, the woman had explained with characteristic bluntness that her oaf of a husband was not the only fighter in the family and anyway it came in handy when sorting out the kids. Kathryn had been a little shocked and not known whether to take her seriously but it was soon obvious to the human that the Parath children were indulged by both parents despite lots of bluster and threats.

"Somehow I never imagined giving a briefing like this." Janeway joked to her assembled team in Brenari (The lingua franca of the Free Alliance).

Seven tightened her arms around the small Captain as the meaning of Kathryn's words was conveyed to her by Nithqref.

"I enjoy these meetings more than on Voyager." Seven whispered in her ear in English. (Janeway was teaching the main languages to Seven who learned faster than any human thanks to her eidetic memory but without access to any language resources it was time consuming and Seven still had some way to go to fluency.)

Janeway tilted her head back against the Borg's shoulder and smiled up at her. A snort from Kraal brought her mind back to the business of the meeting.

She hoped that the Devore were not listening. Seven had accessed ship's sensors and masked the group's life signs, setting up false signals to confuse the monitoring equipment that was liberally arranged throughout their living areas. The ex-Borg was satisfied that they would not be overheard or the gathering detected so Kathryn supposed she should be also.

Seven reported that the design and build work on the mass delivery mechanism for the anti-assimilation project was now completed.

"... the project has now transferred to an engineering team. Professor Derrish has asked me to continue work on making the anti-assimilation nanites more adaptable. Better mimics. My work allows me to retain access to the computer systems."

"Thank you Seven," Kathryn then addressed the Halquine aloud for the benefit of the others "Nithqref - have you any idea where we are going and why?"

We are accompanying the Revenge to some kind of weapon demonstration. I cannot establish any further details because only senior Devore officers have been briefed and they are too dangerous to scan. The two androgynous halves of the telepathic being looked worried and Kathryn guessed at the cause.

"What about the prisoners? What is their status?"

Some 96 prisoners were transferred and are being held in the brig. They include two very senior ambassadors from the Free Alliance. I have made contact and assured them we will do what we can to assist but conditions are very poor and several of the prisoners are seriously ill. The Devore do not appear to be feeding them or treating their sickness. The distress felt by the gentle being was transmitted to everyone together with a sense of the pain that the telepath had experienced when contacting the prisoners.

"Where is the Farini girl?"

'She is in sick bay receiving medical treatment and is still very weak. Again I have established contact with her but she is suspicious that we are Devore spies. Despite that she is willing to help rescue the prisoners. I have not revealed your involvement Kathryn, as you instructed.'

"Keep trying to get her trust, find out what she knows about this ship Nithqref. We need any edge we can get."

"So the prisoners usefulness is at an end. Actually I am surprised they have not been executed already. We need a plan to rescue them and ourselves. What are our options?" Kathryn was deliberately hard to counteract the pervasive sadness.

"Escape, Prison, Death" said Kraal succinctly, "but on a slightly less gloomy note we have the Faraday ..."

"Engines are non-operational." said Seven.

"Can it be repaired?" asked Janeway.

"No and even if it were functional, we would not be able to launch it. It was transported inside a closed cargo bay."

"We could transport it out."

"But it still won't fly." said the Borg with finality.

Kathryn was annoyed. "Does anyone have any ideas, apart from giving up, which Seven seems happy to do?" She felt Seven stiffen and pull away a little.

"We could steal a shuttle from this ship" said Kraal.

"Does it have any?" Kathryn asked, still with an edge in her voice.

"Don't know" Kraal replied unhappily.

"Well at least that's something we can investigate, if any of you can be bothered" she added bitterly. Seven released her hold on the Captain abruptly.

Nithqref remonstrated 'Kathryn, we have no immediate opportunities awaiting us. We must be patient and look for weaknesses.

"What about the prisoners, our patience may see them die," she snapped. "If you are all too afraid or too lazy then you can all get out of here now. I will do better without you." Flaming anger shook her even as she recognised the irrationality of her words. She drew a deep breath to calm herself before glancing at her companions. Again she wondered if it was just her body that had changed.

Kraal was plainly furious and an ominous growl started in his chest. He was restrained by Nithqref placing a hand on his arm and no doubt a quiet word in his mind. The Parath subsided scowling, his wife looked scarcely less angry but she held her tongue. From the way Nithqref looked at her she knew the Halquine was also disappointed. Nithqref was blunt 'Kathryn please control your temper. This behaviour is not worthy of you.'