Path: newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net!stamper.news.atl.earthlink.net!elnk-atl-nf1!newsfeed.earthlink.net!newshosting.com!nx01.iad01.newshosting.com!yellow.newsread.com!news-toy.newsread.com!netaxs.com!newsread.com!POSTED.newshog.newsread.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated Approved: ascem@earthlink.net Organization: Better Living Thru TrekSmut Sender: ascem@earthlink.net Message-ID: From: "Layla V." MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list ASCEML@yahoogroups.com; contact ASCEML-owner@yahoogroups.com Subject: NEW VOY "Absolute Power" Chap 8b 18/21 (C/P, J, AU) [NC-17] Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Lines: 790 Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 12:55:46 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 209.198.142.218 X-Complaints-To: Abuse Role , We Care X-Trace: newshog.newsread.com 1092142546 209.198.142.218 (Tue, 10 Aug 2004 08:55:46 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 08:55:46 EDT Xref: news.earthlink.net alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated:82618 X-Received-Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2004 05:55:50 PDT (newsspool2.news.atl.earthlink.net) TITLE: "Absolute Power" Chapter 8b (July 2004) AUTHOR: Layla V CONTACT: v_layla@hotmail.com WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/laylatrek ARCHIVING: Personal website, CPSG, Cha_Club, ASCEML SERIES: Star Trek Voyager RATING: NC-17 for violence, sex and language PART: 18 of 21 CODES: C/P, J/m, P/T implied, All Voyager characters, AU, Angst, H/c, OCC SUMMARY: Voyager's encounter with an intergalactic STORY NOTES: Evil!Janeway alert. See Part 1 of 21 for the details. DISCLAIMER: All characters, other than the original ones created by me, are owned by Paramount. I am merely playing. No copyright infringement is intended. NOTES: Thank you, Britta, for your clearheaded suggestions CHAPTER 8b As a soldier, Chakotay knew how unendurable it was to be put in the line of fire when one didn't want the war to happen in the first place. Yet, it wasn't the first time he was finding himself caught on the wrong side of the conflict. He'd done his share of fighting for causes that should never have existed had there been any justice in the universe. However, he'd learned long ago that life wasn't fair and one had to fight for their rights, for proving wrong the uninformed, and for keeping their sanities intact. First, it had been with the Cardassians, then the Vori, and now the Zokaa'rians. At least, with the Cardassians, he'd made a choice to fight the war, and with the Vori, he'd been brainwashed to do their bidding. The Zokaa'rian conflict, on the other hand, didn't seem to quantify at all. The only shots he'd fired had been to end the Flyer's disastrous run, dammit. What the hell was he being accused of here? Yes, Janeway had wreaked havoc all along the sector, but there hadn't been any Zokaa'rian or Kel'zian fatalities, and he was willing to compensate for any damage Voyager had caused. And it wasn't as if the locals here had gone scot-free as far as culpability was concerned. His and Tom's abduction was proof positive of the fact that blame lay on both sides. It was foolish to ignore one and focus on the other. However, he would've figured out that things were messed up at the highest levels of the Sovereignty's Hierarchy even if Tuvok hadn't made his quick and discreet revelations to him right before they'd been placed in the Accused's Stand. All he had to do was look at the Royal Box in the High Council Imperial Court of Law in Deb'rar sector, where they were all gathered right now, and see all but a few cast out members of the Sovereignty High Council seated in the enclosures. To his discontent, the Kel'zian Chieftain, Kel'kar'vheel the Eighth--who was not even a member, Chakotay reminded himself--was one of the seated Royals. Resh'lon of Du'kazinon IV was not among them. Chakotay looked into his Security Chief's perceptive dark eyes and noticed the Vulcan's subtle nod towards a section of the crowd that was entirely made up of high-level Zokaa'rian luminaries and ministers. His eyes flew to a cordoned off section of the seating and there he saw the Great Overseer seated with his closest Ministers from the cabinet. For a second their eyes met and he saw disquiet in Resh'lon's gaze, mingled with barely suppressed anger, confusion, and disbelief. And Chakotay suddenly knew the High Council had ostracized the Overseer. He was only here as an observer. He wouldn't be able to do anything to help Chakotay or Voyager. "Tell me, Commander." His attention was suddenly drawn as the Sovereignty's Imperial Minister, Pro Councilor Saph'roque, addressed him from across the courtroom, his intonation lofty and cold. "Why do you think we should not simply throw your female captain into a Zokaa'rian prison, or have her executed under Zokaa'rian law for the destruction and chaos she caused?" In the ensuing silence within the Imperial Court, Chakotay found himself staring into the cool blue eyes of the middle-aged Zokaa'rian. Tuvok and himself had barely had the chance to do any real research on their prosecutor's background. All he knew was that this man served as the direct descendent to the System King--the Revered Tha'lankeer the Fifth, who was ruling this gathering--and by virtue of the Pro Councilor's relationship with him, he probably had a good one with Kel'kar'vheel as well. Chakotay could tell that the Zokaa'rians' approach was be on the offensive from the get go. Here he was standing in the Accused's podium and they wanted to intimidate him from the first sentence. Well, he was going to fight with all his might. Chakotay straightened his stance and looked calmly at the prosecutor. "Because doing so would contradict the same code of law," he said, keeping his voice confident. "Your ancient edict clearly states you cannot pass judgement on someone you deem a criminal if that person has committed crimes that were more devastating for another before committing the ones against you." The look on the Zokaa'rians lined face was of affronted surprise. He had obviously not expected Chakotay to know that little fact. "We see you have been studying our doctrines." "It's been a highly illuminating read, Pro Councilor." Chakotay nodded, secretly relieved he'd read up on Zokaa'rian law after Janeway's destructive run. "And I don't say this to make light of your loss. My whole crew and I are extremely regretful for the chaos Kathryn Janeway's actions have triggered in your peaceful realm and for that we're ready to compensate your kind Sovereignty in any way possible. He looked at the Pro Councilor. "But I would also ask your fair council to spare her life in this instance. One day Voyager will return to the Alpha Quadrant and when we do, I want Kathryn Janeway to face the charges in the Federation court of law, charges that have been put against her in the light of her actions against her ship and her crew." Saph'roque stared at Chakotay, a strange expression touching his eyes. "So you will return to your home which is over thirty thousand light years away. Grandiose plans, I must say." Chakotay felt himself frown at the Pro Councilor's tone of voice. And what did that strange look on Kel'kar'vheel's face mean? He took a deep breath to keep his nerves calm. These were imperial tactics to overawe the underdog, he told himself, nothing more. "You make some clever points," Saph'roque was still speaking, his tone deliberately scathing. "Indeed, your selection as the First One wasn't made completely irrationally. However, this council cannot see how you and your crew could ever compensate the Sovereignty. In the face of your vessel's weak condition and your crew's inefficient disposition in the wake of this deplorable incident, I can't imagine how you can make such a claim." Chakotay felt his face burn as a wave of anger enveloped him. What the hell were they gloating about? But before he could speak up, Tuvok, playing the part of his counsel, spoke up. "If I may bring the council's attention to the fact," Tuvok began, his voice cool, "that it was your impeding bureaucratic channels that caused the delay in Voyager's crew's return to their repairs, you might realize that had they been allowed to work at their own pace without any interruptions, you would not be sitting here accusing them of inefficiency." The hit was direct because Chakotay saw the Pro Councilor's face contort with anger. "This council does not have merely *this* incident to judge your crew's competence, or lack thereof, by," Saph'roque said. "One of your undisciplined crewmembers... ah yes, the Chief Engineer I am told, attacked Kel'nohr's shield grid only four days ago." "With empty torpedo tubes," Tuvok continued. "An understandable reaction to the situation that had resulted in the abduction of two of my crewmates, one of which stands here accused. While we will forever be grateful to Great Overseer Resh'lon and Minister Jess'phan's unprecedented help in the recovery of our officers, these abductions would never have taken place in the first place if your Sovereignty's security measures had been sound." "Ah yes, the abduction." Saph'roque sneered, sharing a strange covert glance with Kel'kar'vheel, who shot a baleful glare in their direction. "A most unfortunate incident. One that is unlikely to ever be repeated." The Pro Councilor turned to Chakotay again. "Now, Commander Chakotay, are you saying you really were unaware of the real reasons why your female captain committed these crimes against the Zokaa'r Sovereignty? You did say you wanted your ship and her captain to return to your far away home soon." Chakotay stared at the prosecutor. "I don't understand what you're trying to imply, Pro Councilor. Voyager will return to the Alpha Quadrant one day. That has nothing to do with this investigation or with what Kathryn Janeway did." "Oh, but it does," the Zokaa'rian stressed. "You sound too naïve, Commander. Surely you know your female captain was trying to gain access to the subspace travel technology that is the sole property of the Zokaa'rian Academy of Sciences." His voice hardened. "And that was why she attacked this good council's Zonal Command Center." Bewilderment filled Chakotay's thoughts. Where had this come from? "I am aware of your Sovereignty's great technological advances, Pro Councilor, but... I am not sure I understand--" The Pro Councilor cut him off, "And is it not true that you were well aware of your female captain's plans to attack the diplomatic settlement? And that you in fact accommodated her and reached to stop her only at the very last minute?" "I must object, High Council." It was Resh'lon, who had apparently decided he'd had enough of this posturing. "The Pro Councilor is accusing our guest, who was a victim of Zokaa'rian inefficiency. He's the chosen one and it is a dishonor to implicate him in this..." The Pro Councilor spoke in the middle of Resh'lon's interruption, impatience obvious on his face. "I must be allowed to proceed." The System King spoke up for the first time, stopping Resh'lon. "Great Overseer, you will sit down." "But he is..." Tha'lankeer bellowed, "NOW!" Looking chagrined, Resh'lon sat down, his forehead lined in distress. Chakotay stared at every member of the High Council one by one, his confusion profound. "I don't understand..." "You don't understand," Saph'roque scoffed. "That seems to be your answer to everything. But how can you lie in the face of such clear evidence?" Chakotay looked into his eyes. "What evidence?" "Evidence that clearly shows you were working in collaboration with your female captain all along." The Pro Councilor ground out every word. "That your so-called abduction was also a fluke." "High Council, this is outrageous!" Resh'lon jumped to his feet once more, his voice agitated, but he was ignored this time. "And that this in fact is the reason you don't want her dead because after all," Saph'roque continued, "you two were working in accordance with your mutually accepted plan." "This is preposterous," Chakotay said, trying to keep his voice calm and failing, as he felt renewed anger at the unbelievable accusations. "My abduction was a fluke? Your own officials were there when my Chief of Security came to get us out, weren't they?" "An unfortunate example of innocent people having their objectivity clouded," Saph'roque said. Tuvok spoke up at this. "Are you accusing your own officials of being involved in conspiracy?" "We don't have to," Saph'roque replied. "Not when we have this recording showing your Commander Chakotay conspiring with your female captain at a time when he was supposedly being tortured by aliens." The Pro Councilor's eyes bored into Chakotay's as he nodded to one of his aides. The Imperial's Court's lights were suddenly dimmed and a holographic recording was initiated on one side of the room. Chakotay stared in disbelief at the presentation. It was of himself, speaking to someone on a visual display monitor. Chakotay: "We have been here for over twenty-six hours." The other person was not visible but there was no doubt about who it was. The voice was Kathryn Janeway's: "How are they treating you?" Chakotay: "Pretty good. Tom and I aren't allowed to get out of these underground rooms but our stay here is luxurious." Janeway: "Good, I want you to stay put." Chakotay: "Captain, I've been having some interesting discussions with a few of their scientists. Some of these Kel'zians aren't happy with the Zokaa'rian designs. They say their high level technologies, like that subspace travel thing you mentioned earlier, are being put to the wrong use." Janeway: "I'm getting the same impression." Chakotay: "I've been asking them to give me an update on why we've been brought here but they're not very forthcoming. Do you have any idea what's going on?" Janeway: "Can't answer that now, Chakotay. I have arrangement to make. The official channels aren't exactly helpful. I may have to strike some underhanded deals." Chakotay: "But Captain--" Janeway: "Enough! You and Tom stay quiet and out of the way. I have everything under control." And that was the end. The recording finished and the illumination was raised. As he looked around the suddenly hot room, his own hands strangely cold, all Chakotay could see were accusation and contempt on the faces of every High Council member. Feeling suddenly lightheaded, his eyes went to Resh'lon and he saw that the anger still lingered in the Great Overseer's eyes but there now lurked a new expression--one that told Chakotay that the Great Overseer did not believe a word the Pro Councilor was spouting. The look was of trust and confidence and regret, and Chakotay felt a strange wave of relief at that. "Commander?" He heard Tuvok's soft, inquiring voice in his ear, turned to the Vulcan, and saw the same trust in the dark eyes. "I never," he said to his Chief of Security, "NEVER had this conversation with the captain at any point of time, Tuvok." Tuvok looked into his eyes for a second and nodded. And then he turned to the Pro Councilor. "Where did you obtain this recording?" "It was retrieved from the databanks in your female captain's very quarters," Saph'roque replied, his voice contemptuous. "But I have no doubt your crewmate would call this too a fake." He turned to Chakotay. "Too late, Commander Chakotay. There can be no clearer evidence than this recording." "This is not evidence. It's a fabrication," Chakotay spat. "You will have to prove the authenticity of this recording." "Don't worry. Your counsel will get one chance to defend you." Saph'roque smiled. "And when he fails, which this council is absolutely sure that he will, we will execute both YOU and your CAPTAIN under Zokaa'rian edict. The Pro Council's eyes were hard as he stared at Chakotay. "You see, your point about your female captain committing the crimes against your crew before committing them against the Sovereignty no longer applies because *you* committed *this* crime of high treason against the Sovereignty *before* your captain was unleashed on your ship. This crime is punishable by death in our statute. You signed your own death warrant." # # "The file was unbreakable, Tuvok. The coding had been so intricately programmed, no one in the quadrant could've decrypted it." Tuvok stared at the raving woman confined in the brig and felt an illogical rush of dismay fill him. Time was short and he had only been allowed back on Voyager to gather whatever evidence he could to save Chakotay and consequently Kathryn Janeway. There was no doubt in his mind that Chakotay was innocent. Tuvok knew there was no logical reason for anyone to infer that the commander and Tom Paris had been kept in any luxurious locations. He knew both his crewmates had suffered. However, save the Doctor's medical reports on his crewmates, he didn't have any solid evidence to prove their innocence. And now it appeared Kathryn Janeway was admitting to having made that encrypted recording of her conversation with Commander Chakotay. "I learned from the finest and I played my hand against the finest." Voyager's former captain stalked the small confines of the room as she spoke, her voice high-pitched, feral. "They deserved it, Tuvok. You can't tell me I should've spared them. They didn't treat me the way I deserved to be treated." Tuvok frowned. Who was she talking about? Did she mean the Voyager crew or the Zokaa'rian citizens in the settlements she had attacked? Or perhaps it was the Zokaa'rian authorities she had set out to battle? The Voyager crew was *her* crew. They were *her* people. How could she say they deserved what she did to them? And the Zokaa'rian citizens were equally off limits, as were the Zokaa'rian authorities. There was no way she could justify what she had done. "I had given them my loyalty, my WORD, as a Starfleet officer." Kathryn Janeway fumed and turned to him as she snarled, "And what did they do? They betrayed me. STABBED me in the back. They were willing to cast me aside and move on with their DESPICABLE plans." What plans? Tuvok stared at her clouded face. Plans to use the subspace technology? Had she been conferring with someone in the Kel'zian or Zokaa'rian governments about this technology? Was she talking about Chieftain Kel'kar'vheel? It was possible. After all, she had attacked his ship as well. "Well, I showed them, didn't I?" She ground her teeth. "No one can break that code. NO ONE. They can play with their decoding sequences and transceivers and gadgets for the rest of their LIVES, and they will get nowhere. The puzzle will NEVER be solved." But there was no puzzle. The recording had been decrypted easily. He had handed the chip to Seven of Nine to find out if she could uncover any discrepancies in the programming, for surely there had to be some. He knew Chakotay was innocent. But the recording itself, which apparently Kathryn Janeway had encrypted, was no mystery. Everyone knew she had made it. But how did Commander Chakotay get implicated? Tuvok just didn't understand it. What kind of game were the Zokaa'rian investigation officials playing? "I learned from the best, Tuvok." Janeway stared at him from across the forcefield. "YOU KNOW I AM THE BEST. They deserved it," she yelled, spittle spraying from her mouth as she attempted to emphasize her point. "THEY ALL DESERVED EVERY PAINFUL SECOND OF IT. I am telling you the TRUTH. They ALL deserved to DIE." As the damning words sank into his consciousness, Tuvok realized that the woman called Kathryn Janeway, who stood before him now--who had been his longtime superior, his confidant, and his friend for so many years--was someone he did not, could not, recognize at all. # # "These files have all been erased," Tom heard Harry mutter next to him. "Very, very meticulously." They were in Janeway's quarters, on their knees in the living room's carpet, as they scoured through her log entries and personal files, one by one. It was clear she had run encryption routines to hide her antics but it was still a mess. "Not meticulous enough," Tom sniffed. "They may have been erased but they've left traces all over. It was not a clean job." "It's clean enough that none of the algorithms I'm running can retrieve them now." Harry's fingers moved quickly on the terminal, his brow creased. "Maybe the files were supposed to leave traces, maybe they were not supposed to completely disappear, just be made inaccessible." "Yeah and maybe it's your algorithms that are screwed up, Harry," said Tom, his lower lip caught between his teeth as he took in a shaky breath, and then with a curse, he banged the console in anger. The terminal beeped in warning. "Tom, this is NOT helping," Harry snapped. "She wiped out the whole damn datastream." Tom felt the first tendrils of true fear fill him. Chakotay's life was in danger and they had nothing in the way of evidence to save him. "She got into the system and wiped it all out," he sighed. "Not all of it," Harry said. "She didn't get into anyone's personal accounts. Seven sent all our letters to our own systems, remember? Captain Janeway could only erase the master copy from the Astrometrics databanks." Captain Janeway was trying to wipe out all traces of the datastream from the ship's databanks. Tom frowned. But why? "There must've been something in there she was trying to hide." He looked at his friend. "What was it?" He saw anxiety in the younger man's eyes as he answered, "We have to figure out another way to retrieve them." "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" They both jumped at the sudden admonishment and turned around to face their intruder. "Seven!" Tom stared at the ex-Borg. He heard Harry ask, "What's going on?" She looked them in the eye one by one, and then her gaze fell to the open data terminal. "You have been tampering with Captain Janeway's log entries," she stated. Then her voice turned hard, "Who authorized your access to this system?" "We're not *tampering*, Seven." Tom sighed. "We're trying to find evidence that can save Chakotay." "As am I." Seven glared at him and then took a step forward. "Move away from this console." "Seven..." She straightened her posture and stared down at him with full Borg haughtiness. "If you must know, I've been authorized by Commander Tuvok to pursue this investigation." That jolted him out of pigheaded mode. She was here to help. That was a good thing. They shifted out of the way and he watched as she too assumed the crouched position on the carpet beside them. At once, her fingers were moving on the console, her eyes glued to the terminal. "What have you found?" he asked, his heart suddenly beating fast at the determined look on her face. Her face was tight. "I must match these log entries to the exact time sequence." Tom frowned. "Time sequence of what?" Seven frowned as she dug deeper into the logs. "You've been running decrypting algorithms through Captain Janeway's databanks. They are inefficient and flawed AND they are interfering with my access to her system." "Sorry." Harry sounded miffed. "We didn't know anybody was looking in there." Seven ignored him and continued foraging. "The decryption code of these deleted files corresponds closest to the time sequence of my data." Tom watched her eyes suddenly sparkle. "This file was..." "Time sequence of what?" he asked again. "What are you looking for?" But Seven was not replying. Her stare was riveted to the data on the terminal, the sparkle in her blue eyes suddenly blinding as her mouth dropped open. Tom stared at her. "Seven?" As if she was in a daze, he heard her whisper, "I believe I have found what I was looking for." "What is it?" But she was downloading whatever she had searched for into her datapadd, and then with lightning speed she was on her feet and turning around to walk out of the room. "Wait," Tom stepped up to grab her arm. "You have to tell me what's going on." She faced him with a glare, her brow creased. "There is no time. I must get this data to Commander Tuvok at once." "I just need one word," Tom begged, his heart galloping as he tried to keep his voice calm. "Is it gonna help Chakotay?" Tom didn't know what exactly Seven saw on his face but her expression suddenly softened. "Commander Chakotay did not take part in the conversation that took place with Captain Janeway while he was in the prison." "We KNOW the recording is corrupted," he stressed, "but they blame all possible flaws on disruptions caused during the attack on Voyager. They're immaterial to the Zokaa'rians." "Not anymore." Seven's eyes were clear as she stared into Tom's. "I now know whose encryption signature was used to send that videofeed through the shield grid in the first place." # # Tuvok strode towards the Imperial Minister's office, the datapadd with the evidence clenched in his hand. The number of Zokaa'rians that had come to watch the court proceedings seemed larger to him this time, and somehow more animated, as he made his way through the throng. Seven had caught up with him in the transporter room, just as he was about to be escorted back to the High Council Imperial Court of Law in the special Zokaa'rian craft that had been assigned for his transportation. The evidence had indeed opened his eyes and brightened the prospects for Commander Chakotay's complete exoneration. Now all he had to do was lay the findings in front of the High Council members. But there was something wrong. The crowd wasn't merely animated as he'd previously thought, it was agitated--the looks on the faces of people around him wrought with grief. Something had happened. Tuvok's steps slowed as he reached the Imperial Minister's office and then taking a deep breath, he walked inside. Saph'roque was surrounded by several ministers, their voices hushed as they discussed something urgently. "Pro Councilor," he announced. Saph'roque looked up at Tuvok and then frowned. "Not now, Commander." He shook his head. "We have enough trouble of our own. You will have to wait." "What has transpired?" Tuvok took a step closer, recognizing the look on the Pro Councilor's face as the same grief he'd seen on the people's outside. The ministers present in the room seemed equally agitated. The Pro Councilor looked into his eyes, his face drawn. "There has been an... attack." He swallowed. "On the fifth asteroid cluster on the Zokaa'r Homeworld. The reports are still coming in. We don't know yet how many have been lost." This was dismal indeed. Tuvok stared at the prosecutor. "What type of attack?" The Zokaa'rian pursed his lips. "A Zulon bomb--three different instances--a devastating biogenic weapon. As you can see, I have too much on my hands." *Biogenic*. Tuvok frowned. No doubt, the casualty rate would be high. However, he had his own mission. And he wanted to get it done as soon as possible. He pointed at the datapadd in his hand. "I have evidence that proves Commander Chakotay's innocence." The look on the Pro Councilor's face changed to derision. "Don't tell me. The file is a *fake* because the data is corrupted." His face turned hard. "That ploy is too old, Commander. We know the data on the file was damaged when your captain attacked your vessel. I'm afraid I don't have time to humor you now." Tuvok looked straight into the Zokaa'rian's blue eyes. "Would you consider the possibility of the data's corruption if I told you it was Chieftain Kel'kar'vheel's encryption signature that was recorded on our sensors when that file was transmitted through the energy barrier?" "What?" Saph'roque cried, a look of utter disbelief spreading on his face--in fact, on the face of every minister present in the room. "You're not serious." "I can assure you, Pro Councilor," Tuvok said, "I am always serious." The Pro Councilor shook his head. "We don't have the technology to transmit data through the energy barrier." Tuvok handed him the datapadd. "We have succeeded in matching the signature on the transmitted file with the Chieftain's signatures on previous datalinks with Voyager." Reluctantly, the Zokaa'rian was forced to study the data on the padd. "But how can this..." His eyes widened at what he saw on the padd. "These were energy spikes." Tuvok nodded, relieved that he was finally being heard. "Just one, recorded on Voyager's Borg sensors when the transmission was made exactly at 1121 ship hours on the fourth day of the away mission. When that energy spike was digitally analyzed today, it translated into this data encryption code." A frown had formed on the Zokaa'rian's face as a few of his ministers peeked at the datapadd and murmured among themselves. "This data encryption code..." "...matches Chieftain Kel'kar'vheel's signature," Tuvok completed the sentence. There was silence in the room as the Imperial Minister studied the data and discussed the findings with the others present in the room. Tuvok watched the proceedings quietly for a while, letting them absorb this revelation, and then he stepped forward. "Tell me this, Pro Councilor," Tuvok said. "How can Commander Chakotay be a part of this conspiracy if Kel'nohr's Chieftain was the one who facilitated the transmission of that data file to Voyager in the first place? How can he sit in the Royal box and watch the commander be implicated in high treason when he was the one who made possible the delivery of that videofeed?" Saph'roque looked up at him, the expression on his face an amalgamation of rage and vexation. Then he turned to one of his aides. "Locate Chieftain Kel'kar'vheel at once. Go. Apprehend him if he resists," he barked. "GO NOW!" Then he turned to Tuvok and said, "This is... astonishing evidence, Commander." His voice was contrite. "You should know that we will have to verify your Borg sensors for exact accuracy." "You can check them right now," Tuvok said. "That data isn't going anywhere." "Pro Councilor." It was the aide Saph'roque had sent on the errand. He'd come back alone. "What is it?" he asked. "The Chieftain," the aide replied. "He's not here." "Not here?" Saph'roque frowned. "You must be mistaken. All the Imperials are still in the settlement. Go check with his aide." "I've checked, Pro Councilor." The aide explained, "I've even run scanning sequences. The computer confirms he's nowhere on the station." Saph'roque stared at Tuvok and then at the aide. "Where is his ship?" "Still docked, Pro Councilor," the aide replied. "He didn't sign out with the Exiting Authorities. He just disappeared." # # END CHAPTER 8 Continued in Chap 9a _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ASCEM messages are copied to a mailing list. Most recent messages can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEML. NewMessage: