CHAPTER 1

Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct to Unimatrix 01 and Astrometrics Officer of USS Voyager, stood staring at her reflection in the mirror of her temporary quarters. She and Chakotay were going sightseeing in the Bay area and he had told her to dress casually. She hoped the slacks and blouse she had replicated would be sufficient; life on Voyager had been much simpler with the biometric suits the EMH had designed to support her remaining implants.

The past week was a blur of confusion for her. With the appearance of Admiral Janeway from twenty-six years in the future, Voyager and her crew had three days to prepare for battle with the Borg and then, suddenly, they were back in the Alpha quadrant. Her relationship with Chakotay was still in the early stages when they had been presented with the means to return to Earth ten days ago. Now he was her only anchor. So far Chakotay and Starfleet had kept her too busy to make more than brief contact with her only family. The only recognizable facet of her life since Voyager had docked at McKinley Station had been her trips back to the ship to regenerate. She was always accompanied by Starfleet security personnel while on the ship, but just walking the familiar decks brought her comfort.

Seven wished desperately that Captain Janeway would contact her. She had always hoped that when they did manage to return to Earth that Voyager's captain would remember her promise to take Seven to her hometown of Bloomington, Indiana. That Janeway would ask Seven to stay with her and would help her adjust to this new and confusing life as she had helped her find her humanity during their time on Voyager. Instead, after the captain had returned from several days on the family farm, Chakotay had explained to her that Janeway had been swept up in debriefings and was now facing a Board of Inquiry. Seven had no doubts that Janeway would be acquitted of all charges. Her command during their time in the Delta quadrant had been exemplary and integrity had governed all her command decisions. Seven knew that the entire command staff of Voyager would come to the captain's defense. She was sure that few Starfleet captains could inspire the loyalty Janeway had.

She was determined to give her best to the relationship with Chakotay so she kept her anxiety and longing hidden. Only once had she faltered; as she and Chakotay had walked down the gangway leaving Voyager. She had been unable to resist turning back for one last look at the woman who had given her so much. When their eyes met the stab of desolation that tore through her heart nearly felled her. While her deepest emotional connection on Voyager had not been with Chakotay, the First Office was kind, intelligent and regarded as an admirable man and great potential partner by most of the female crew. But as hard as she tried, she still had misgivings. All of her research had indicated that strong emotions were an integral part of human romantic relationships, though even with the removal of her neural inhibitor she had yet to feel the surging emotions she expected. While her interactions with Chakotay were pleasant and she enjoyed his company, she had resisted his demands for increased intimacy because she could not ignore the feeling that there should be…more. She had no logical basis for the feeling, but sensed somehow that without the more, true intimacy with him would never be possible. She desperately wished for someone with whom she could discuss this. For Captain Janeway to once more help her understand the feelings inside. But she had only Chakotay now and that was by her own choice. This evening, he was late…again.

Since the debriefings had begun Chakotay had been preoccupied. Yet he had claimed that his meetings with Starfleet officers had been low-key and fairly cordial; due, no doubt, to Janeway's efforts. Seven's briefings had been intense with hatred of the Borg evident in every question asked and in every demand made for information. Memories of the battle of Wolf 359 were still fresh in Starfleet's collective memory, and the fact that she had been present there was weighing heavily against her. Seven strongly suspected that the outcome of her debriefings would not be good, despite the best efforts of Captain Janeway and other members of Voyager's command staff. But Captain Janeway had not failed her before, and she wanted to believe that her captain would not do so now. In the meantime, she had a dinner date with Chakotay.

The door chime interrupted her musing and she admitted Chakotay. He kissed her briefly and gave her a tight smile.

"How did your debriefings go today, Seven?"

"They were unpleasant and are becoming more so each day. Have you heard anything from Captain Janeway?"

"No, the inquiry begins Monday morning. She has until then to prepare her defense. I expect most of the command staff will be called to testify, but I don't think this is anything more than Starfleet covering its backside. She bent over backwards to adhere to Starfleet principles the whole time we were in the Delta quadrant and they certainly can't hold her responsible for the actions of her future self. She refused to do what Admiral Janeway wanted because it left the Alpha quadrant too vulnerable to the Borg. She insisted that the only way we would use the transwarp corridor would be if we destroyed the entire hub so that no Borg could reach the Federation. They can't ignore that. The captain will be fine."

"I hope you are correct. Are we ready to go to dinner?"

"Yes, but you'll probably want to bring a sweater or something. It will get cool and damp once the evening fog rolls in."

As Seven went to her closet for a jacket the door chimed again.

"Would you get that?" she called to Chakotay.

When she re-entered the living room four burly Starfleet Security officers were standing there.

"Are you Seven of Nine, former Tertiary Adjunct to Unimatrix 01 of the Borg Collective?" asked the leader.

"Yes, I am." A sharp feeling of misgiving struck Seven and she shrugged into her jacket to free her hands. "What is this about? Explain!"

"You're to accompany us. We have orders to bring you to Headquarters for debriefing."

"I have never before required an escort to my briefings. And why am I being summoned on a Friday evening after duty hours?" Slowly, never taking her eyes from the security officers, she edged closer to Chakotay. "This is highly irregular. I will not comply!" A frown furrowed her brow.

"You need to come with us, ma'am."

She turned to Chakotay. "What's happening here? Contact the Captain immediately and ask for her help. There is something wrong with this summons!"

"I…I don't know what's going on," he blustered to the security officers. "Who authorized this? Let me see your orders."

"With all due respect, Commander, you don't have the authority to question my orders." The officer's gaze shifted back to the former drone. "Now come along, ma'am."

"You'd better go with them, Seven. I'll try to contact the Captain and find out if she knows what's going on."

"I do not think I should accompany them until we have more data. Captain Janeway will know what to do. Contact her immediately, Chakotay!"

"Just go with them, Seven. I'll straighten this out and come get you in an hour or so."

"Ma'am, are you going to come peacefully or will we need to take you in by force?"

Seven stiffened. "Lieutenant, not even four of you could bring me by force." She dropped one foot slightly back and balanced her weight evenly, hands loosely fisted ready for combat. On Voyager her hand-to-hand and weapons ratings had been second only to those of the Chief Tactical and Security Officer. "Do not make me prove it."

Chakotay reached out and grabbed her arms. "Honey, this has got to be a misunderstanding. Just go with the…"

As Seven glared at Chakotay and wrenched her arms free of his grasp, the Lieutenant pulled a small concealed phaser and fired a heavy stun beam. She had only a moment to look at Chakotay in disbelief and then collapsed, unconscious. A quick hypospray to her neck ensured that she would stay that way. The two largest security agents wrapped her arms around their necks, grabbed her around her waist and dragged her out of the small apartment.

"Thanks for your help, Commander. I'll make sure they know about your cooperation at Headquarters."

"This is just a physical exam, right?"

"Yeah, a physical exam. Now just remember what we talked about. She'll be back safe and sound before you know it." With that the security officer spun on his heel and left Chakotay standing in the middle of his girlfriend's living room with only his guilty conscience for company.

Meanwhile across the large Starfleet complex at Headquarters, the pleasant view overlooking the manicured grounds was wasted on the office's sole occupant who was totally focused on reviewing mission logs of the USS Voyager. At least she appeared to be.

Voyager had been stranded in the Delta Quadrant after being carried there by the Caretaker's array. Her captain, Kathryn Janeway, had destroyed the array in an effort to protect the Ocampa home world; eliminating any chance of a quick return to the Alpha Quadrant. It had taken seven years for the Intrepid-class scout ship to return to Earth. Seven years of hardship, struggle, battle and death. Through it all Captain Janeway had never faltered in her resolve to get her ship and crew home. Her success made her a hero in the eyes of the civilian populace. That she did so with the help of a time-traveling future self using not-yet-invented and stolen technology was the cause of the Board of Inquiry she would face in three days.

However their journey home had not been a complete hardship. They had become a family in their journey with an abiding loyalty to each other forged during their years in the Delta quadrant. Starship crews came and went, but this crew would remain close for the rest of their lives. They had faced the worst the Delta quadrant could throw at them and had survived together. They had discovered species unimagined in the Alpha quadrant, and had collected scientific and astrometric data that would keep Starfleet and civilian scientists busy for years.

Janeway leaned back in her chair and reflected on what she considered the greatest achievement of their voyage: her Astrometrics officer, Seven of Nine. To survive the passage through the vast Borg territory Janeway had formed an alliance with the Collective. Seven of Nine had been their liaison drone. The alliance had been terminated by Voyager's First Officer Chakotay because of his inherent distrust of the Borg. To recover from that disastrous decision, on Janeway's orders, Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres had fired a feedback pulse through Voyager's comm system and destroyed Seven of Nine's neural link to the hive mind. When the neural link had been broken Seven's human biology began to re-assert itself with a vengeance. Voyager's Emergency Medical Hologram surgically removed nearly 80% of her Borg implants, saving her life. Once the drone had been severed from the Collective, the Captain discovered that she was actually Annika Hansen, the daughter of Federation scientists who had been assimilated by the Borg. Annika was only six when her assimilation had occurred.

Seven's journey back to humanity had been difficult, but she had succeeded beyond Janeway's wildest hopes, and had become a valued and trusted officer. She had designed and built, on Voyager, the most advanced Astrometrics laboratory in the galaxy and the Starfleet engineers at McKinley Station were in awe of her enhanced sensor designs. Seven had risked her life to save Voyager on many occasions and Janeway was convinced that without her none of them would have made it home. And an amazing thing had happened while Janeway mentored, encouraged, raged at, despaired of, laughed with and not so gently nudged Seven of Nine into regaining her humanity. She had fallen utterly in love with the remarkable young woman.

Janeway had never acted on her feelings however, the unwritten Starfleet maxim of never becoming romantically involved with a member of your crew was too deeply ingrained. Even when it became obvious that Seven cared deeply for her, Janeway had not allowed her true feelings to show. So when Seven was finally ready for love it was not to Kathryn that she turned, but instead she began dating Chakotay, the same officer who had attempted to kill her when she first came aboard. Kathryn had wept bitter tears in the privacy of her quarters as the relationship blossomed and silently endured the heartache of watching the woman she loved in the arms of another.

A week earlier, when Voyager had finally docked at McKinley Station, it had taken every ounce of command discipline Janeway possessed to smile and wish the beautiful former drone and her First Officer well as they disembarked. They said their farewells and the couple had started down the docking arm. Janeway could not tear her eyes away from the sight of Seven walking out of her life. Then suddenly, the young woman had turned to look back at her. The fear and pain in that look was seared in Janeway's memory. When she had seen the last of her crew off and walked down the ramp into the arms of her mother and sister, Kathryn had sobbed uncontrollably. They had wrapped her in their love and bundled her off to the family homestead knowing something was terribly wrong but giving her the space to tell them in her own time. Under their gentle care she had regained her equilibrium and poise, never admitting the source of her pain to them.

After three days the debriefings had begun. Janeway had staunchly defended the Maquis members of her crew to the Starfleet brass and ensured them full pardons and offers of permanent commissions in Starfleet. She had fought tooth and nail for Seven of Nine and her EMH. The Emergency Medical Hologram would be allowed to continue practicing medicine, her declaration of his sentience had been accepted. While some questions remained unresolved Janeway was confident she would overcome the distrust Starfleet Command held of Seven's history with the Borg and guarantee her safety, too.

Then the questions of how they had managed to transit a Borg transwarp conduit to the Alpha quadrant began. When the future Admiral Janeway's involvement surfaced the debriefings were summarily suspended and a Board of Inquiry called. Now she would have to defend her command decisions to the board. If she was unsuccessful she would face court martial on charges of official misconduct and violations of both the Prime Directive and Temporal Prime Directive. She had been assigned this temporary office to review her logs and prepare for the inquiry. But even facing the loss of her career and a lengthy prison sentence Janeway could not help but think about Seven of Nine.

Seven and Chakotay had been assigned temporary quarters until the crew debriefings were complete. After that they would have three months' leave before being posted to their next assignments should they choose to remain with Starfleet. Janeway wondered what Seven was doing and how she was adjusting to life on Earth. While the young woman had been born human on the Tendara Colony her life had been spent in space, she had never been on her home world before. Seven would be trying to cope not only with a new relationship and new emotions but also a new planet and billions of new faces in close proximity. Janeway hoped that it would not be overwhelming for the former drone. She had always assumed that since Seven's only family on Earth was an elderly aunt, the young woman would stay with her on the Janeway farm where she and her mother could help Seven with her transition to life on Earth. She had fervently hoped that once she and Seven were away from Voyager that she would finally be able to confess her feelings and begin exploring the possibilities of a relationship with Seven. But now Seven had Chakotay to help her adjust, to show her the sights of Earth, to love.

When I get a spare minute, I really should touch base with her and make sure she's okay. I claim to be her friend. A friend would do that. Oh God, I've missed my chance totally, haven't I? I've lost her, she thought. With a heavy sigh, Janeway turned back to her logs.

The following Monday morning Kathryn Janeway sat at her mother's table trying to eat breakfast over the protests of her nervous stomach. She could barely get her coffee down, let alone the large stack of pancakes and sausage her mother had placed in front of her.

"Kathryn, don't be nervous. I've called every friend your father ever had in Starfleet and every one of them said the same thing. This is nothing but a formality."

"It may be a formality, Mom, but they could still find reason to charge me. There were plenty of times when we were out-gunned and had to improvise to survive."

"Darling, you know Starfleet. They're just making sure that all the is are dotted and the ts are crossed. It will be fine."

"I hope you're right, Mom. I don't relish the idea of spending the next ten years in prison."

"Nonsense. You just stand tall and tell them the truth. You did your duty and you brought your ship and crew home. I am so proud of you and I know your father would have been, too. You will be totally exonerated. I'm sure of it."

Janeway grinned at her mother. "Is that a promise?"

Her mother grinned back at her. "A guarantee."

Forty minutes later Janeway tugged the tunic of her uniform down, squared her shoulders and walked through the doors of the hearing room, her head held high and ready for whatever the Board threw at her.

On the far side of the Starfleet complex B'Elanna Torres rang the chime of Seven of Nine's door once again. She knew that Seven wasn't due for debriefing until 1300 hours and they had made arrangements to go out to breakfast this morning and catch up, but Seven apparently wasn't at home. B'Elanna chuckled to herself wondering if maybe Seven and Chakotay had gotten a lot closer than anyone thought since their return to Earth. She took the lift up a floor and walked to Chakotay's door. He answered the chime immediately.

"Hey, Chakotay. Where's Seven? We're supposed to go out to breakfast. Tell her I'm here," she said with a grin.

"She's not here. Isn't she home?" The look on Chakotay's face wiped her grin away.

"No, she's not. Where is she? Seven wouldn't forget a date, even with me."

"I…I don't know," he stammered.

"What don't you know? Where she is?" There was something in the way he wouldn't meet her eyes that disturbed B'Elanna deeply. "What the hell is going on here?" She growled menacingly as she invaded his personal space. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Friday night…we had a date for dinner and sightseeing. Just as we were getting ready to leave Starfleet Security came and took her away for a briefing."

"Starfleet Security came and took Seven away for a briefing? On a Friday evening? After duty hours? You didn't think to check with anybody before you let her go with them? You didn't try to stop them? How fuckin' stupid are you?" Still Chakotay would not meet her eyes. "There's more going on here than you're telling me. Spill it now or so help me, I'll beat it out of you and I don't give a damn how much bigger you are! You know I can do it too!" She grabbed his shirt and pushed him against the wall. "What's really going on here?"

Chakotay crumbled. "Thursday afternoon Starfleet Security had a meeting with me. They told me they needed to physically examine Seven to make sure her Borg technology wasn't a threat to the Federation. They told me that if I convinced her to go with them they'd make sure I was pardoned and kept my Starfleet commission. I thought she'd be back home by this morning."

B'Elanna couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You willingly turned her over to Starfleet Security? You convinced her to go with them? Are you out of your fuckin' mind?" The stocky Chief Engineer punched the taller man so hard he slumped to the floor unconscious. She delivered several hard kicks to the lump at her feet, paused to get a grip on her temper then ran for the comm link to contact her husband.

"Tom, get Miral to your folks' house and get hold of Harry. Meet me at the inquiry room where they're questioning the Captain."

"B'Elanna, what's going on?"

"We've got an emergency. Just meet me there ASAP and I'll fill you in."

The look on her face told him she was not joking and he signed off, immediately calling Harry Kim at home. "Harry? We've got an emergency…"

B'Elanna knew of only one way to deal with the crisis. Captain Janeway had to be told immediately. She left Chakotay unconscious and bleeding on his floor and raced for Starfleet Headquarters.

"Captain Janeway, would you explain to the board what your reasons were for initiating an alliance with the Borg Collective?"

The question had been asked and answered so often since her return that Janeway felt like she was a holo-recording.

"Admiral, once again, we were entering the Borg home territory. It is a vast expanse and Voyager was no match for a Borg cube in a combat situation. We had already observed that something was fighting the Borg and beating them. Our EMH had successfully modified Borg nanoprobes so that they were effective against what we came to know as Species 8472. I thought that if we could present the Borg with a weapon to use against Species 8472 we could barter that technology for safe passage across their space."

"And did it never occur to you to consider the Prime Directive to maintain neutrality among alien species?" snapped Admiral Nechayev.

"Of course it did. However, it wasn't proprietary Starfleet technology. It was Borg technology that we'd modified. Our alliance did not violate the tenets of the Prime Directive, especially when Species 8472 made telepathic contact with one of my crew. We discovered their true goal was to cleanse the quadrant of all inferior life forms, which was basically every other species in the quadrant. In addition, to go around Borg space would have added fifteen years to what was looking like a fifty-year journey. The welfare of my crew took precedence in that instance. I had to make the effort to get my ship and crew home."

"I'd like to address the issue of the Borg drone on your crew," said Admiral Richardson. "Explain to this Board how you came to have a drone on your ship in the first place."

"To begin with, Seven of Nine was born human. She is a Federation citizen so stop calling her 'the drone'. She's a human being who was assimilated by the Collective at the age of six. She's a remarkable…"

Shouting and muted thumps from outside the door of the inquiry room caused everyone's heads to turn.

"Ensign, see what's going on out there!" commanded Admiral Paris. The security officer stepped to the doors and opened one. Raised voices immediately permeated the room.

"Dammit! I have to see Captain Janeway right now! There's an emergency and she's got to know about it. Let me in there!" Janeway stood as she recognized her Chief Engineer's voice.

"Ensign! Let Lieutenant Torres in," she called out, walking toward the doorway. B'Elanna pushed her way through the security detachment and into the room.

"Captain, I need to speak with you privately. Right now," she said quietly as she reached Janeway.

"In the hall," replied Janeway tersely, nodding her head toward the doors. As they stepped into the hallway Janeway turned to the security officers stationed there. "Gentlemen, if you'd give us a minute?" the officers stepped into the meeting room and closed the doors.

"What's going on, B'Elanna?"

"Seven's missing. She's been gone since Friday night. Chakotay admitted to me that he agreed to turn her over to Starfleet Security for some kind of 'physical exam'. He claims she was supposed to be home by this morning and she isn't."

Janeway stared at her, stunned. "What! Chakotay turned her over to Security? They have no reason to examine her. I had the Doctor transmit all her medical records to Starfleet before we docked. They already know all about her implants!"

Admiral Owen Paris strode into the hallway and faced his protégé and daughter-in-law.

"Kathryn? B'Elanna? What the hell's going on out here?"

Fury etched every feature of Janeway's face as she responded. "Seven of Nine's been taken by Starfleet Security for some kind of physical exam. Which one of you bastards decided to pull this stunt?" She brushed past the dumbfounded admiral and back into the hearing room followed closely by her engineer and the Admiral.

"I want to know which one of you is responsible for detaining my Astrometrics Officer! Which one of you issued the order to have her taken into custody?"

The admirals of the Board of Inquiry looked at each other in confusion. In an attempt to defuse the situation Admiral Paris said gently, "Kathryn, no one in this room ordered any member of your crew to be detained."

"Well then, perhaps you'd care to explain how a Security detachment took her away Friday night!"

Admiral Nechayev stood up. "Captain Janeway, sit down! Who do you think you're addressing? Flag officers do not answer to you!"

"They're going to, Admiral. Because when I find my Astrometrics Officer, believe me, I will be the one bringing charges. And I assure you, you WILL answer them!"

"Captain Janeway, you will take your seat and we will resume this hearing! You do not just up and walk out on a Board of Inquiry!"

"Oh? Watch me!" Janeway spun on her heel and stormed out of the room with B'Elanna in close pursuit. As she did, she missed the pointed glance between Admirals Paris and Patterson.

Once in the hallway they headed for the Comm Center on the lower level as B'Elanna filled her in on her earlier conversation with Chakotay.

"We've got to get hold of Tuvok and Tom and Harry."

"Tom and Harry are on their way here now. I got hold of them before I left Chakotay's place."

"Good work. You know, the more I think about this the more worried I get," Janeway stopped abruptly. "Not just that somebody wanted to examine her," she observed resting her hands on her hips as she thought. "They wouldn't send a Security detail to take her. She'd be ordered to report to Starfleet Medical. This whole thing stinks to high heaven! C'mon!"

When they reached the Comm Center Janeway put in an emergency hail to Tuvok at the Vulcan Consulate.

"Tuvok here, Captain. How may I help you?"

"Tuvok, old friend, I know you need to spend time with your family and I hate to cut your leave short, but I need you and your expertise back here at Headquarters right away. Seven of Nine was taken by Security Friday night, supposedly for a physical exam, and we have to find where she's being held."

The Vulcan's brows knit. "No Security detail should have been necessary, Captain. Seven had been cooperating with all the debriefings. They had only to order her to Starfleet Medical if they required any additional examinations."

"That's what I thought, but B'Elanna found out that Chakotay was approached by Security the day before. They promised that he'd be pardoned and keep his rank if he cooperated with them."

"Starfleet security officers could never tender such an offer. It is beyond the scope of their duties. We must assume that she has been taken by other parties. I will arrive at Headquarters within a quarter hour. Do not worry, Captain. We will find her. Tuvok out."

Janeway and B'Elanna turned away from the comm screen just as Admirals Paris and Patterson entered the room.

"There you are! You two need to come with us. We need to talk. Now!" Paris's look and tone brooked no argument. Silently, the two flag officers led the women to a small meeting room down the hall where Admiral Patterson's adjunct stood guard. When they had entered and Paris closed the door Patterson pulled out a scanner and ran it around the room.

"It's clean," he confirmed to Paris.

"Owen, what's going on here?" demanded Janeway.

"The two of you sit down and listen carefully. There's a lot that's happened while you were gone, some of it not good. You know, of course, about the Dominion War. What you don't know is that during that war, certain…factions…within Starfleet pushed for and created a black ops detachment called Section 31. They were charged with doing those things that we don't like to acknowledge happen in a war. Its operating authority stems from an obscure provision of the Starfleet charter — Article 14, Section 31, from which its name is derived — which makes allowances for 'bending the rules' during times of extraordinary threats. Some Federation Council and Starfleet officials took it a step further and secretly created a standing organization able to respond to any threat, preemptively if need be. It was officially disbanded at the end of the Dominion War, but in recent months Admiral Patterson and I have noticed things that make us think it wasn't disbanded, merely moved under the radar into unofficial status."

He was interrupted by a knock at the door. Patterson held up his hand to signal for quiet and called "Come!"

The door opened and Tom Paris, Tuvok and Harry Kim entered.

Admiral Paris cocked an eyebrow at his son. "I assume my granddaughter is being looked after properly?"

"Don't worry, Dad, she's at your place with Mom. She'll be staying with you for a while. You'll get to spoil her rotten. Captain, Admiral Patterson," Tom greeted the group.

"Sit down, you three. I'm trying to explain to Kathryn why it isn't a good idea to go off half-cocked in search of your Seven of Nine."

"I assume you are referring to the involvement of Section 31 in the disappearance?" asked Tuvok.

Janeway looked at him in amazement.

"Captain, I spent several hours talking with Starfleet Security officers I previously served with shortly after Voyager docked."

"So you know about Section 31?"

"I know that Section 31 was re-activated during the Dominion War. I know that no responsible Starfleet Security officers would have taken Seven of Nine into custody. That some group was able to impersonate Security means that they have considerable resources at their disposal. The logical assumption is that Section 31 was responsible."

"That's what Admiral Patterson and I believe too," replied the senior Paris. "But you also need to know that we believe a high-ranking officer, maybe even a flag officer, is secretly commanding Section 31 even though it was officially disbanded. The problem is we don't know which one. Right now the only ones we trust are each other."

"Er, what's Section 31?" asked Harry.

Briefly, Admiral Paris explained and gave them all a detailed description of events that had aroused his suspicions about the covert group.

"And you have no idea who's running this group now?" asked Tom when he finished.

"We have our suspicions, but no real proof. We can't move against anyone without rock-solid evidence. Especially if we hope to uncover and disband Section 31."

"So what do we do to find out where Seven is?" asked B'Elanna.

"I will go directly to Starfleet Security and begin analyzing their logs for the period in question," said Tuvok. "Captain, I would think there is more information to be obtained from Commander Chakotay. Admiral Patterson, if you could get Lieutenants Kim, Torres and Paris authorization to examine the flight logs of McKinley Control for the period in question that would help."

"I'll want B'Elanna with me when I confront Chakotay," said Janeway. Torres nodded.

"What are we looking for, Tuvok?" inquired Harry Kim.

"To begin with, any ship that requested a holding pattern over the western part of the North American sector Friday evening. Then any interplanetary or interstellar craft with a change of flight plan, especially those with a last minute change in flight plans. Once we get a list of questionable craft and flight plans Lieutenant Kim should go to the Astrometrics lab on Voyager and begin scanning for any residual warp or impulse signatures originating with those craft. Now, how shall we communicate?"

"We'll stop by my office in a minute. I've got special comm badges that operate on a secure omicron channel. We'll use those," replied Admiral Patterson.

"Captain, what about your Board of Inquiry?" asked Harry.

"To hell with my Board of Inquiry," Janeway said, rising from her seat and heading toward the door, "Finding Seven is more important. If they want my pips, they can have 'em."

"Kathryn, we'll deal with the board. You find your officer," said Admiral Paris. "Nobody is taking your pips."

The group agreed to contact the admirals in two hours' time and left the conference room.