“Come”.

Doctor Zimmerman stepped into her ready room, almost as if her thoughts had summoned him. She smiled at the welcome interruption and waved him towards a seat. As he slid into the chair opposite her, Kathryn noted that he had his forearms wrapped tightly around two padds.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, thankyou.”

“How’s Kes?”

“Fine. She’s been spending a fair amount of time in her quarters, but I saw her for dinner last night.”

The doctor didn’t add anything further, and she didn’t press him on the point. Instead she glanced again at the padds. Zimmerman smiled tightly and slid the first across the desk towards her.

“I thought you might be interested in this.”

“What is it?” Kathryn asked, as she began scanning the text. Her eyes caught her own name, and she read the rest of that sentence, then the next, then the next. The doctor merely watched her as she read in silence, her eyebrows gradually raising.

“What is this?” she asked again, more quietly this time.

Zimmerman grimaced. “A news report. A friend from Earth sent it to me this morning. I wasn’t sure if you’d read it.”

“I hadn’t”, said Kathryn, snapping the padd down on her desk. “But it doesn’t seem to be new news, does it?”

“It’s the third one like it that I’ve read this week.”

“Well, that’s the price we pay for having a free press, I suppose”.

“Aren’t you angry?”

“What good would that do?” Kathryn said tiredly.

“You should file a protest. This is libel. Or defamation. Possibly both.”

“They’re rumours, Doctor, nothing more.”

“Rumours given credence by… by unscrupulous dirt-digging so-called journalists.”

She didn’t respond to the doctor’s comments, merely raising her eyebrow again, to his obvious exasperation.

“So, the Admiral can say anything he likes about you, and you won’t respond?”

“I don’t see the Admiral’s name in that report.”

Zimmerman snorted. “Oh, come on Captain. We both know he’s responsible for this one. And the last one. And the one before that.”

“Then what should I do? Sling dirt at him in return?” She glanced at the padd again. “Criticise his command abilities? Suggest he’s been less than diligent in his application of the Prime Directive? Not to mention his -” here she tried hard to keep a straight face “- possibly inappropriate behaviour towards members of his crew.”

“No. I don’t know. Something. Anything. We’re letting him get away with this. And the lies about Chakotay betraying the Maquis. The cover-up surrounding Lamond. We’re sitting here doing nothing about all of it.”

“We’re not doing nothing, Doctor. We’re finding the Maquis.”

The doctor waved his hand at her contemptuously. “Don’t give me that. Our ‘important mission’. Everyone knows they won’t be at the colony when we arrive.”

“Then we’ll look somewhere else.”

“We need to be looking for more evidence about what happened to that shuttle. Who’s orchestrating this campaign. Why Starfleet is sanctioning these lies.”

“Doctor”, she said quietly. “I appreciate your enthusiasm. And your support. Tuvok and I have both filed official protests about Lamond’s failure to stay and investigate the explosion, about the burglaries at our apartments, and about Starfleet’s unwillingness to release any evidence proving Chakotay betrayed his colleagues.”

“And how have they responded?”

“They’ve ignored us. What more would you have us do?”

Zimmerman stared at her for a long moment, then looked down at the other padd.

“Perhaps you’d also be interested in reading this”.

He slid the padd across the desk. Kathryn picked it up, scanned the contents, then threw it down.

“That’s not acceptable.”

“I’m not asking your permission.”

“You can’t do this.”

“It’s already done.”

“Doctor-”.

“No”. He held up his hand to forestall her protest. I’ve thought about this. It’s what I want. It’s what my conscience demands. I thought I could stay, but I was wrong.”

“If this is because of Kes-”.

“This has nothing to do with Kes! This is about Harry, and Chakotay, and you.” He sighed, then continued more calmly. “I’ll be leaving the ship with her. But that isn’t my primary reason for leaving. You know that.”

Kathryn shook her head. “But why resign? Why not just take a temporary leave of absence. You can think about this further. Come back if you change your mind. Come back when we solve this mess.”

“No, I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Zimmerman stood to leave, then turned back towards her desk. “If there is a war… well, I’ll come back to help the wounded then. They’ll need all the doctors they can get. But I won’t stay now and serve their lies.”

Kathryn couldn’t ignore the undercurrent of accusation in his voice. She knew what he knew – perhaps more. Did he think she was ignoring her conscience too? Serving Starfleet’s lies? Betraying her friends in the Maquis?

As if sensing her thoughts the doctor added, “I’m not saying this is the best response, Captain. It’s not what I expect you do to. Maybe… maybe you have something else planned. But this is all I can do. I hope you understand.”

“I understand. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

The doctor dipped his head slightly. “Well, what sort of Chief Medical Officer would I be if you were delighted to see me go?”

She grinned wryly at that. “Not mine”.

“I’m flattered.”

“I’d flatter you more if I thought it would make you stay.”

He allowed a small smile to escape his lips. “Thankyou.”

“It wouldn’t help, would it?”

Zimmerman shook his head, as he stepped towards the doors. “No. But thankyou for trying.”

“Doctor”, she called after him. “Be careful.”

He bobbed his head. “You too, Kathryn.”

As the doors slid behind him, Kathryn fought against the urge to slump with her head down on the desk. This wasn’t exactly the best start to a mission – the resignation of one of her senior staff. As she stared down at his letter, she admitted that the loss of Doctor Zimmerman wasn’t the only reason for the growing uneasiness in her belly. Privately, she’d agreed with everything he had said. What kind of a Captain does that make me? she wondered. How can I lead these people?

The question brought back an unexpected memory, one of sitting in the command chair on the Liberty, wondering exactly the same thing. Then she’d worried her voice wouldn’t carry any authority in Chakotay’s absence. Then, the answer had been both simple and difficult – by winning their respect. Did she even care if this Starfleet crew were reading, or believing the rumours Groot was busy spreading about her? Did she care if they respected her? She replicated herself a cup of tea, and sat for a while by the window, pondering the question. When the answer came, it did nothing to ease her discomfort: Not as much as I cared then.

~~~

“Well”, Kathryn said, her hands resting irritably on her hips, “this is just what we expected.”

Commander Cavitt shot her an inscrutable look, but didn’t reply. Instead he walked over to a young ensign, who cradled a tricorder in her palm as she continued to scan the caves. Cavitt stopped just beside her, and said something quietly. The young woman shook her head and muttered a response.

Kathryn sighed and glanced around them. The caves looked just as she remembered, except for one small detail: they were empty. Even the Maquis’ store of supplies had been whisked away. Only the tricorder readings, and the odd footprint in the dust, hinted that anyone had ever lived here. After landing Voyager on a nearby plane, it had taken her about half hour to lead the away team to this point. Cavitt had griped about her insistence on walking instead of remaining in orbit and using the transporters. Tuvok quickly silenced him with a remark about the presence of metals in the rock which would interfere with the process, and with scanning for the caves themselves.

“The Maquis chose this place for a reason”, he explained. “It is logical that it would be nearly impossible to find from orbit.”

Despite Cavitt’s excellent service record, Kathryn couldn’t help wishing that she had Tuvok as her first officer instead. Tuvok, she knew, wouldn’t insist on calling her Captain in private if she told him not to. Tuvok wouldn’t watch her during briefings with a glint of mistrust in his eyes, silently questioning every decision. With the loss of Doctor Zimmerman and Kes, she thought glumly, Tuvok was now her only ally on Voyager.

As soon as they had landed, Kes and Doctor Zimmerman had said their farewells before heading off for the township. Kathryn was worried about the young woman. She’d been withdrawn since Harry’s death, and Kathryn had hoped she could be around to help her through the grieving process. She didn’t doubt that the doctor would keep an eye on Kes. But who would keep an eye on him?

Cavitt’s voice broke into her thoughts. “There isn’t anyone here”, he announced.

I said there wouldn’t be, Kathryn wanted to say. Instead, she brushed back a stray lock of hair and nodded. “Do we have any clues about where they might have gone?”

Cavitt stared at her for a moment. “Well,” he said, “I thought that you might be able to help us with that.”

Kathryn frowned down at her own tricorder, before realising that wasn’t what he meant. She bit her tongue again, forcing herself to remain calm. “As I said in our last meeting, Tuvok and I have a few suggestions. There’s a science outpost several light years from here. One of the Maquis was sighted there a few days after the shuttle explosion.”

As Cavitt nodded, his lips pursed dubiously, Kathryn wondered what B’Elanna Torres had been doing there. Was she still searching for supplies for the cloaking device? Were she and Hogan responsible for stealing components from the research lab? Needless to say, she hadn’t told Cavitt that she knew what Torres’ mission was.

“The outpost reported several thefts at about the same time”, Cavitt pointed out. “If they were stealing supplies, they could be long gone by now.”

Most of all, Kathryn thought, she hated his chafing habit of stating what was damned obvious.

“We have other leads too.” She glanced around the caves again. “And it seems clear they’re long gone from here. We shouldn’t waste any more time.”

“I’d like to conduct a more thorough search of the area”.

“What for?”

“To see if they left anything behind. It might take us several hours.”

Kathryn thought she could see a flicker of annoyance in Cavitt’s eyes, and did her best to suppress a smile. So, she thought, he’s not pleased with this search mission either. Someone must be insisting he play along. Someone with influence over him. She nodded contritely.

“If you think it’s necessary, I won’t argue.”

Write that it your little report to Groot, she added silently. As she glanced around the caves, Kathryn wished there was something here for them to find. Her own leads for tracking down the Maquis cell were frustratingly vague. Her gut feeling told her that the most tantalizing hints were prodding them in the wrong direction. The Chakotay she knew wouldn’t take the safe option. The reports suggesting he was sighted on Deep Space Nine seemed to confirm this. What are you doing there, of all places? she thought. Not hiding. Not looking for supplies. What then? Again, her gut hinted he was on the trail of something else. Perhaps searching for the truth about the shuttle explosion. Whatever he was up to, they wouldn’t find the answers in this dusty cave.

With a jolt she realised Cavitt had continued speaking, and she hadn’t heard a word. She opened her mouth to mutter a vague reply when her communicator chirped.

“Janeway here.”

“Captain Janeway”, came back an unfamiliar voice. “This is Captain Bennis of the Starship Liverpool. We’re in orbit of the planet at the moment.”

Kathryn shot a glance at Cavitt, who looked away guiltily. “Captain”, she replied, continuing to stare at her XO. “We weren’t expecting you.”

Cavitt studiously avoided her eyes.

“Weren’t you?” Bennis too sounded surprised. “I’d ask you to join me, Captain, but I’ve only come to deliver my passengers.”

“Passengers?”

Cavitt was definitely fidgeting now.

“Your replacement officers.”

“Officers? Oh, you mean my new Chief Medical Officer. You can beam him straight to the ship. I’ll transmit-”

“I’ve already been in contact with your ship, Captain, to arrange the transport. I was just letting you know they were on their way.”

An awful thought struck her then. “Captain Bennis, you said ‘they’.”

“That’s right.”

“Who is the other officer?”

There was silence on the comm line for a moment, before Bennis replied. “Lieutenant Kumuda, Ma’am.”

Kathryn glared at Cavitt, who obviously knew exactly what was going on.

“Lieutenant Kumuda?” she repeated. “From the Tanazaki?”

“That’s right. We picked her up yesterday. She’s replacing your tactical officer. We-” Bennis hesitated again before continuing, obviously uncomfortable at having to be the messenger “-we have orders to take Lieutenant Tuvok back with us. I understood you’d been informed of these changes.”

“No”, Kathryn said slowly, her voice icy, “no I had not been.”

“They have their orders with them, Captain.”

“I’m sure they do. Thankyou, Captain. Janeway out.”

As she broke the connection, Cavitt took a step towards her. “Captain-” he began.

She held up a hand towards him. “I’ll deal with you in a moment. Ensign”, she said to the young woman. “I want you to wait outside”. The Ensign bobbed her head, and moved quickly out of the caves. Kathryn slapped her communicator. “Janeway to Voyager.”

“Voyager here.”

She exhaled in relief as Tuvok’s voice responded. “Tuvok, I’m returning to the ship. I need to speak with you immediately. You are not to leave until I return, is that understood?”

Tuvok’s brief pause told her he had received his transfer orders. “Yes, Captain.”

“Good. Janeway out.”

She turned her icy stare back to Cavitt. “Alright Mister,” she said, hands on hips again. “I want to know exactly what you and Admiral Groot have been discussing.”

“I don’t know what you-” Cavitt began, but trailed off at the expression on her face. He stuck his chin out belligerently. “I’m responsible for the personnel onboard Voyager.”

“Yes”, Kathryn said quietly. “But I’m still responsible for breaking noses when they need breaking.”

She smiled inwardly with satisfaction as Cavitt blinked rapidly at that. Groot had obviously supplied him with transcripts of her Liberty debriefings. She wondered how much he knew. For that matter, it occurred to her that he had no idea how much she knew. Perhaps it was time to take a gamble.

“Are you threatening me, Captain?”

She cocked her head to one side. “Do you think I should be?”

Cavitt looked confused now. “No”.

“Because if I was threatening you, it wouldn’t be with a simple nosebleed,” she said. “If I was, I’d be more likely to do it with some information of my own. Let’s say, something that’s been hidden in a certain officer’s files. The kind of disciplinary tidbit that might just damage that officer’s career if it was ever made public. Something that someone else helped to hide, as a favour.”

Cavitt stared at her, clearly taken aback. “How did you-” he began.

“Commander”, she said, “I don’t think we want to start playing that game, do you? Let’s just say we both have our own friends.”

“Alright”, he said weakly.

“Then start talking.”

Much to her surprise, given that she’d been lying through her teeth, he did.

~~~

Louis Zimmerman sipped his ale slowly, glancing with some distaste at the bar around him. He had no idea why Kes would want to come here, of all places. They hadn’t yet organised somewhere to stay, or transport away from Jotham Four. It occurred to him, also, that he had no idea where she intended to go. He peered across the table at the young woman, who seemed absorbed in her own drink. She looked up, saw him watching her, and smiled.

“What are you doing here, Doctor?”

He blinked at the unexpected question. “I was about to ask you the same thing. Why are we here?”

Kes shook her head. “I mean you. Why are you here?”

“I told you earlier. I decided I felt too uncomfortable staying in Starfleet at the moment.”

“Why not go back to Earth? Don’t you have family there?”

“Some. A cousin. A brother. Nobody I’m very close too.”

She nodded silently, but Zimmerman was unsure if she was satisfied with his response. He wondered, for about the hundredth time, if she already knew about his feelings towards her.

“I’m not a mercenary”, he began quietly. “I’m not accustomed to selling my services to the highest bidder. And although I’m disgusted with Starfleet at the moment, I’m not about to sign up to the Maquis cause.” He paused, sipping his drink while he gathered his thoughts. “But it seems to me that you have some idea about how to find out the truth about what happened to Harry, and the others. I’d like to be a part of that. I’m not sure how I can help you. But I want to be with you anyway.”

Kes stared at him, and he could sense her mind working rapidly. “Thankyou, Doctor”, she said eventually.

He gave her a small smile. “Perhaps you’d better call me Louis.”

“Alright, Louis.”

“So, why are we here?”

“I’m waiting for someone.”

“Have you arranged a meeting?”

“No. But I know he’ll be here.”

Zimmerman frowned at her. It was true that Kes had unusual mental abilities, abilities she’d only recently started experimenting with. Could she contact other telepaths already?

“How do you know?”

Kes shrugged. “I don’t know how I know. I just do.”

The doctor opened his mouth to ask another question, the shut it again as he sighted a familiar figure making his way towards them. Seeing the expression on his face, Kes turned her head, then grinned broadly.

“Here he is now.”

The man walked up to their table, then slid smoothly into an empty chair.

“Hello, strangers.”

“Mr Hogan”, the doctor greeted him.

Kes leaned over and pressed the man’s hand warmly. “Hello”, she said. “It’s good to see you again.”

“You too. Both of you”, he added, nodding at Zimmerman.

“How did you know we were here?” Louis asked.

“I’ve been watching you.”

“Did you know Voyager was here? They’re looking for you. Well”, he added, “not you specifically. All of Chakotay’s cell.”

“I know”, Hogan said. “They’ve just left. Why are you here?” he said to Kes. “I thought you were going to Earth.”

“I was. But I wanted to help you find out what happened to Harry and the others. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I couldn’t stay there and do nothing.”

“What about him?” Hogan said, jerking his head towards the doctor.

Zimmerman opened his mouth to protest that he could speak for himself, but Kes’ soft voice replied too quickly.

“Louis wants to help, too. Where I go, he goes.”

Hogan glanced speculatively from the doctor to Kes, then back. Louis tried to ignore the flush of warmth he’d felt at her words.

“I’ve left Starfleet”, he offered. “So you don’t have to worry about that. We’re not spying for them.”

“Good. I’d hate to have to kill you, Doc.” Hogan grinned tightly at them both. “Besides, we might need your services.” His face turned grim.

“What’s wrong? Is somebody hurt?”

“Not yet. Not that we know of”. Hogan shook his head, glanced around the bar, and lowered his voice. “But Chakotay and Tom are missing.”

They both stared at him in surprise. “Tom is with you?” Kes said.

“With Chakotay. Torres and I were off finding supplies, when he linked up with Chakotay here in Newcastle. They went off to find one of Tom’s contacts. At least that’s what Chakotay’s last message said. No one’s heard from either of them in a week. It isn’t like Chakotay to stay out of touch. I think Torres is getting really worried.”

“Where could they be?” Kes said.

“The last thing we heard, they were leaving DS9, and being chased by a Starship. Can’t remember which one.”

“They went to Deep Space Nine?” the doctor said incredulously. “You know there’s another warrant for Chakotay’s arrest.”

“Of course I know. But you know Paris.” He shrugged. “I guess Chakotay thought it was a good risk. Who would expect them to turn up there?”

“Is it possible the Starship caught them?” Kes asked.

“I don’t think so. Not according to our contacts, anyway. They seem to have just disappeared. We’re heading off to find them now, then when we do, it will be time to chase us some Cardassians.” Hogan pushed his chair back and stood. “If you’re coming with us, we’d better get back to the ship.”

Louis definitely felt lost now. “What ship?”

Hogan grinned at him. “The Liberty, of course. It’s in orbit now.”

“In orbit?” Zimmerman repeated stupidly. “But Voyager was just here. You could have been caught.”

Hogan chuckled and slapped him on the back. “B’Elanna has a little surprise for you two. We’ve made a few modifications to the old girl since you last saw her.”

“Enough to make it invisible?” Louis said. Hogan smiled again but didn’t respond. “You…” the doctor gasped, then lowered his voice to a whisper. “You have a cloaking device?”

Hogan laughed. “Come on”, he said. “You know how cranky Torres gets when she’s kept waiting.”

Kes and Louis shared a glance. They did know. Pushing their chairs back, they hurried after Hogan, out into the street.

~~~

End of part twenty five

~ read part twenty six ~

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