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From: Carolyn Bremer <cbremer@uoknor.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative
Subject: (New) VOY: And The There Were None 4/4
Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 21:04:29 -0500
Organization: The University of Oklahoma (USA)
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And Then There Were None 
VOY part 4/4 (the first part was the synopsis)

Carolyn Bremer
cbremer@uoknor.edu

DISCLAIMER:
	Star Trek, Star Trek Voyager, and the Characters created within are the 
property of Paramount. The story and those parts not designed by 
Paramount are copyright 1996 by Carolyn Bremer.


Part Three


	"Why Sickbay?" Kim was trying to keep up with B'Elanna as she ran 
through the corridors.
	"Because they last time we had trouble with the bio-neural systems, the 
Doctor helped us 'cure' them. Maybe he can assist us again this time." They 
turned a corner and slid into Sickbay. "Computer, initiate emergency 
medical hologram."
	"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."
	"Doctor, I believe something is effecting the bio-neural circuitry of the 
ship and we need to access it to detect any non-physical presence."
	"I see. And why do we need to do that." The Doctor put an awkward stress 
on the word 'we.'
	"Because, whatever is out there has the captain, too."
	"Thank you for keeping me informed of ship's gossip. What else should I 
know?"
	B'Elanna again explained her dream and Kim filled him in on the theory 
the ship itself could detect the non-physical readings. The Doctor neatly 
summed it up, "So a Klingon's nightmares have led us to believe the only 
sentient being capable of finding the invisible crew is the ship? What will 
we think of next?"
	Kim pleaded, "Doctor, we need your help. The power fluctuations we've 
had are indicative of a problem in the bio-neural circuitry, but we can't 
track it down."
	"I suppose if something didn't want to be found, it would devise a way to 
blind the hunters. I'll see what I can do." the sententious Doctor dove into 
the computer screen in his office. "I'll contact as soon as I have something."
	"Now what?" B'Elanna asked Harry.
	"Well, I'm going back to bed.." Harry let a long yawn escape him.
	"How can you sleep at a time like this, Starfleet?"
	"Because it is the middle of the night and I am tired." Harry started to 
leave but stopped and turned back. "You're not worried about having 
another nightmare, are you, B'Elanna?"
	"No, I'm worried about it actually happening."
	"Oh, all right, let's both go to Engineering and trying adapting an 
interface to the ship's systems."
	"Thanks, Harry, I appreciate that."
	The two officers worked in tandem for three hours before receiving a hail 
from the Doctor. He explained "The bio-neural circuitry was effected by an 
idiopathic cascade failure, but not to worry as I had devised a 
chemotherapeutic treatment. It should selectively destroy the effected 
sub-systems within eight hours."
	"So now we have eight hours to finish this interface." Harry rubbed his 
eyes. 
	"I think we can have it ready in two." B'Elanna punched in a modification 
in the configuration they were designing. "If we bypass the flow 
constrictors, and tap directly into a gel pack, I think it will work. We just 
need to replicate the right connector."

* * * *

	The Doctor was quite proud of himself, for a hologram, and sat down to 
run further tests on his chemotherapeutic treatment. As he reached for a 
padd, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. A body 
was lying on the floor in Sickbay. *I didn't leave anyone there.* As he 
moved closer, he recognized the crumpled form.
	Chakotay was pacing nervously on the bridge. "You mean, she just 
re-appeared! Out of nowhere?" 
	"Yes, Commander. I was working in my office and neither heard nor saw 
anything unusual. In fact, Lt. Torres and Ensign Kim had just left."
	"Well, if Kes is back, I wonder if the captain and Tuvok are as well."
	"As Kes returned to the exact position from which she was taken, I suggest 
you look for Tuvok in the Briefing room. Since no one knows from where or 
when the captain disappeared, I cannot suggest a location for her."
	Chakotay leaped to the Briefing Room and navigated around the large table. 
Indeed, Tuvok was there, or at least his body was. without pausing to check 
Tuvok's condition, Chakotay arranged and an emergency transport for 
Tuvok to Sickbay and returned to the Bridge. "Computer, location of 
Captain Janeway."
	"Captain Janeway is not on board."
	Chakotay stood with his stout arms crossed, feet slightly apart. Paris 
could feel his tension. "Commander, Kes and Tuvok disappeared at the same 
time, I guess it is only logical that they return together."
	"Sickbay to Bridge. I thought you should know the condition of Kes and 
Tuvok."
	"Go ahead, Doctor." The Doctor had an unworldly presence on the view 
screen which never failed to bother Chakotay. 
	"I've never seen anything like it. While their vital signs are strong, I can 
find no trace of synaptic patterns."
	"You mean they're brain dead but their bodies are functioning without 
external life-support?" Chakotay was perplexed.
	"That is precisely what I mean. Their conditions are utterly implausible, 
and yet it is the case. I am sorry I cannot explain it, nor can I do anything 
to correct it. They are alive, for the moment, but I have idea how or why."
	Behind the Doctor, the Sickbay doors slid open and in waddled Neelix. "Oh 
my dearest, my sweet pea, what have they done to you?" Neelix reached 
down and took Kes' hand in his own. Seeing her on a bio-bed in Sickbay 
with no outward signs of life but the slow, rhythmic motion of her lungs 
expanding her chest, was too much for him. "I will not leave your side. You 
can count on me to be here for you."
	Chakotay wiped a smirk off his face. "Keep me informed, Doctor." The 
view screen shifted back to its painting of stars. "Any ideas?" Chakotay 
asked no one in particular.
	"I think lunch will be better for it." quipped Tom. Chakotay burned him 
with a glare. "I do have a question, though."
	"Yes, Mr. Paris."
	"Does the computer read Kes and Tuvok's return?"
	"Computer, location of Lt. Tuvok."
	"Lt. Tuvok is not on board."
	"Chakotay to Security. I want a ship-wide search for the captain. The 
sensors do not pick her up, but we have reason to believe she may be on 
board, somewhere. And do it fast."
	Before Chakotay was through, Harry stepped out of the turbolift. "We are 
ready to initialize the interface. Lt. Torres is standing by in Engineering."
	"Thank you Mr. Kim. Begin initialization procedure." 
	Several minutes passed as Harry and B'Elanna troubleshooted their 
design. Finally, Ensign Kim announced they were on line, and immediately 
a loud barrage of white noise filled the entire ship, pushing well past the 
comfortable decibel limit. Chakotay's booming voice cut through it. "What 
the hell is going on?"
	"I'm not sure, Commander." Kim's fingers danced a complex pattern on 
his console. "We're reading a massive influx of psychogenic particles." 
Harry's own voice did not cut through the noise as easily as Chakotay's had.
	Paris shouted, "I'll re-calibrate the ships sensors to the new interface 
see if I can filter out the racket." The din slowly abated until all that was 
left was a soft, pulsing sound of air. "It sounds like breathing." Tom was, 
however, clearly unsure of his assessment.
	"Where is it coming from? Mr. Paris, any thoughts?"
	"All external influences have been filtered out, so it must be coming from 
inside the ship."
	"I believe that what you are hearing is coming from the bio-neural 
circuitry." B'Elanna's voice flooded through the comm system. 
	It was replaced by the Doctor's. "Commander, I think you should get down 
here."
	"I'll be in Sickbay, Paris you have the Bridge, B'Elanna, try to confirm 
your suspicions. Chakotay out."
	As Tom swiveled back to his console, he muttered, "Aye, Sir." 

* * * *

	"Commander," The Doctor began before Chakotay had stepped through the 
doors to Sickbay. "Please, observe this." He gestured to the bio-beds 
holding Kes and Tuvok. The breathing sound was as loud in Sickbay as it had 
been on the bridge, and was just a pervasive.
	"Yes, Doctor. I see them. Please tell me what I am to observe." 
	"Listen to the sound of the breathing and watch them."
	Chakotay began to catch on. "It is the sound of their breathing! It is Kes 
and Tuvok breathing." He shook his head. "I don't understand."
	"Apparently, the ship is acting as their cerebral centers. There is no 
synaptic energy within their own bodies, but I believe you will find it 
contained within the bio-neural circuitry."
	"Is that possible?"
	"Commander, what we are currently observing is impossible, or rather 
it would have been yesterday. I suggest you consider every option."
	"Thank you, Doctor." Chakotay walked slowly out of Sickbay, but did not 
head toward the bridge. He cogitated as he strolled about the decks, an old 
practice he began in his childhood. Finally, a thought struck him and he 
picked up the pace. "Chakotay to Engineering. B'Elanna, can you selectively 
filter out the breathing we're hearing?"
	"Sure, we can do that rather easily with a band pass filter."
	"I'm on my way."
	The first thing Chakotay did when he entered Engineering was to establish 
a comm link to the Doctor. "Doctor, I need to see Kes and Tuvok. B'Elanna, 
set your filter to reject the sound of one of them breathing."
	In just a few seconds, it was clear the Tuvok's breathing had been 
eliminated from what they were hearing. "Good, now Kes'."
	Again, B'Elanna quickly accomplished the prescribed task. Then, scarcely 
audible, in the background was one more person breathing. It was shallow 
and erratic. "That is the captain." B'Elanna was ecstatic.
	"Maybe not, but a good guess if you ask me. Try to locate her, Lieutenant."
	"I'm on it." B'Elanna was thrown half way across Engineering by the jolt 
that blasted the ship.
	"Bridge to Chakotay." Tom's voice belied his discomfort with command of 
the Bridge when under attack."
	"Report!" Shot back Chakotay.
	"It think it's back, Commander." Another energy discharge rocked the 
ship. "Shields are holding, whatever that means in this situation."
	"I'm on my way back to the Bridge, Paris. Please be kind enough to keep 
the ship in one piece until I get there." Under his breath, in an urgent tone 
he spoke to Lt. Torres. "Find the captain."
	The bridge was punctuated by the red alert klaxons. Chakotay listened to 
each officer's report in turn and learned nothing new. Kim was just 
finishing, "and Security reports they have swept through the entire ship 
but found no trace of the captain, Sir." His voice trailed off.
	Chakotay could hardly accomplish anything but to wonder where the 
captain was. Why had Tuvok and Kes been returned while the captain had 
not? There was a time, many years past, when he had worked toward the 
command of a starship. He thought of all that had happened since then: he 
had tasted command as a Maquis, but did not hold the prestige of a Starfleet 
vessel. Now that the prospect of a captaincy was coming into view more 
clearly than it ever had before, he desperately wished for circumstances to 
permit him to remain as Voyager's First Officer.
	B'Elanna's voice demanded his attention. "Chakotay, I have an idea, but I 
can't begin to tell you its chances at success."
	"I'll take anything right now, Lieutenant."
	"The forward power grid has responded to the bio-neural interface in a 
manner, well, different from the rest of the ship. My best guess is 
that...this is absurd!" 
	"Calm down, B'Elanna. Everything about this defies convention. Tell me 
what you're thinking."
	"If the bio-neural network is in some way holding the synaptic patterns 
of our missing crew, then my best guess is that they are in the forward 
power grid."
	"How do we get them out?"
	"I knew you were going to ask that."
	Kim interjected, "We could put the forward power grid on conventional 
iso-linear circuitry."
	"And release the synaptic patterns." said B'Elanna.
	"Or kill them." Paris managed to bring the level of optimism crashing 
down.
	"They're as good as dead now, Chakotay." B'Elanna countered, "you asked 
for an idea, and you've got the best one I have."
	Chakotay took a moment to think. "All right, take the forward power grid 
off line and bypass the bio-neural network. Re-route it through the 
iso-linear circuitry."
 	Paris added, "I certainly hope our friend doesn't visit us again while the 
power grid is off line, we'll have no shields."
	"Mr. Kim, please go to Engineering and assist Lt. Torres. Make that 
transition as quickly as possible." Chakotay sat in the big chair and waited.
	Fortunately, it wasn't a long wait. B'Elanna signaled they were shutting 
down the power grid. Voyager was a sitting duck, vulnerable, and without 
her captain. 
	"Power grids up an running on iso-linear circuitry, Sir."
	"Thank you, Mr. Kim. I am very happy to hear that." 

* * * *

	Kathryn Janeway moved through her feelings of abandonment and settled 
on loneliness. *It is not so different from being the captain of a crew,* she 
thought. *It is lonely at the bottom...* She sat solemnly in her chair for 
several hours. A spate of resoluteness shook her, and she arose. *This is 
ridiculous, I'm sitting around like a defeated animal.* Janeway headed for 
her sanctuary, her private space, her ready room. Before she was seated at 
her desk, the ship lurched. *Under attack? We're under attack and I'm the 
only one on the ship?* The ship again rankled her from her feet, and as she 
went down she hit her head on the side of her desk.
	The flood of dizziness returned. Again, she found herself on the floor of 
her Ready Room without the memory of having fallen. And again, she was 
reminded of her newly mended ribs when she tried to sit up. When she 
lifted her, head, the vertigo assaulted her, and she once again lost memory 
and consciousness.

* * * *

	"Sickbay to Bridge." The Doctor's voice was excited. "Whatever you've 
done seems to have worked, although my patients have not regained 
consciousness, they have repossessed their synaptic patterns. All readings 
are normal, and I expect them to make a full recovery. Any sign of the 
captain?"
	"Not yet, Doctor." The good news was tempered by a reminder that his job 
was as yet incomplete. "Where would the captain have been last night?"
	Paris answered him. "Her quarters? The holodeck? Her Ready Room?"
	Chakotay popped up and said "Ready Room." He flew to the doors and held 
his breath hoping against hope that he would find her. 
	And there she was. Unconscious, but breathing. Chakotay reached for her 
comm badge and pressed it until he heard it chirp, "Transporter Room, 
emergency transport to Sickbay. Now!" As he passed through the 
Bridge--at break neck speed thinking he could catch up with the 
transport--he yelled at Paris "We've got her back!"

* * * *

	Kathryn Janeway sat on the couch in her Ready Room. She held a cup of 
coffee in the palms of her hand. Chakotay put his hand on her shoulder.
	"It was a most intriguing experience."
	Chakotay laughed, "You sound like Tuvok at his de-briefing."
	"Perhaps as sound as he did, but I know I feel differently from him. I feel 
like I've come home, and I really know where home is." She smiled at him, 
"there are still many unanswered questions."
	"The best guess we have is that a life-form of unknown intent took your 
corporeal bodies, but somehow your synaptic patterns were stored in the 
ship's bio-neural system. B'Elanna thinks the shields caused a 
feedback-loop of sorts, and that the bio-neural network was the recipient 
of your psyches."
	"I guess whatever was out there could sense that Tuvok and Kes had a 
greater ability to detect them than anyone else on board."
	"And I believe they took you to ensure the same thing."
	"But I hadn't come to any conclusions."
	"Yes, but a ship without her captain tends leads a desultory existence."
	"Chakotay, I have never doubted your ability to lead the crew in a clear 
and directed manner."
	Thank you, Captain. That means a great deal to me." The commander let 
himself relax--truly relax for the first time in quite awhile. "We're glad 
you're back, Captain." He held her darting eyes, "I'm glad you're back."


***
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