Tom carefully guided Voyager into the blackness of the nebula.

"Anything, Mr. Tuvok?" Janeway asked.

"Nothing yet, Captain."

"Keep alert." Janeway walked over to Tom and looked at the helm readings. They showed steady forward progress with no signs of any outside disturbances.

"Sickbay to Captain Janeway."

Janeway straightened. "Janeway here. Go ahead, Doctor."

"Captain, if the bridge can spare you, I think you need to return for a few minutes to look at some findings I think you'll find very interesting."

Janeway looked over at Tuvok who returned her steady stare. "On my way." Nodding, she said, "Mr. Tuvok, you have the bridge."

"Aye, Captain. Would it not be prudent to hold position here while you are away?"

She thought a moment and said, "Yes." Placing a hand on Tom's shoulder, she said, "Mr. Paris, maintain our position for now."

"Aye, Captain."

A few minutes later, Janeway strode back into sickbay. She noticed Chakotay lay sleeping on the bio bed. She walked into the office where the Doctor was studying his computer screen and said, "Doctor, you found something wrong with the Commander?"

"Not with the Commander. With your current First Officer."

Janeway stepped up. "What?"

The Doctor turned his console towards her to display a set of bio scans superimposed on the screen. Unlike Chakotay's, these scans showed marked differences in their comparison. Janeway reviewed the screen and then looked at the Doctor. "These are…"

"Lieutenant Tuvok's. I would strongly suggest he make a return visit because he is not himself as you can see."

Janeway slapped her communicator. "Janeway to Tuvok." Silence greeted her words. "Janeway to the bridge. Please respond!"

She looked at the Doctor and then felt the ship's engines engage. Muttering a curse under her breath, she slapped her communicator again and said, "Security to the bridge. Detain Lieutenant Tuvok now."

"Captain?"

"You heard me. Janeway out!" She slapped one more time and called, "B'Elanna?"

"Torres here, Captain."

"Shut the engines down now. We have an issue on the bridge."

"Captain?"

"Do it!"

After a few minutes, B'Elanna's voice sounded again over the comm.. "Captain, I've tried everything. The engines are not responding. We'll have to eject the warp core to override the computer."

Janeway sighed and rubbed her forehead. "What is our heading?"

"We are currently being pulled into the heart of the nebula."

"Then we have no choice," Janeway said, "Do it. Eject the core!"

Voyager shuttered as the warp core was ejected and the ship drifted against the black nebula in space. Just then, Chakotay awoke and jumped from his bed. He looked over at her as his wild eyes found hers. "Commander?" she said.

Chakotay looked around for a minute until he settled himself. His face finally turned to hers again and he leered at her.

Janeway's hand instinctively went for her phaser and his gaze followed her movement. He laughed and said, "I would never hurt you."

"I don't know that. You're obviously not yourself. That much is obvious. What do you and whoever Tuvok is want from us?"

"Energy."

"Forget it. I just ejected the core. You won't get it."

"Put it back."

"No."

Chakotay took a few steps towards her but she stood her ground. The Doctor backed up and grabbed a hypospray. Chakotay noticed and said, "You won't need that, Doctor. I won't hurt her."

The Doctor nodded and said, "I'll make sure that you don't."

Chakotay smiled. "Touching isn't it? Such loyalty. Never would have believed that after the past few months, would you?"

"On the contrary," Janeway said. "The last few months have made us tighter and closer than we could have ever imagined. I see you have his memories. Chakotay, I know you're there. Fight whatever this thing is inside of you."

"Thing?" Chakotay rubbed his chin. "It's just me, darling. I've managed to synchronize completely with him." Stepping up, he grabbed her arm and pushed the Doctor down as he tried to intercede. Pulling her close to him, his hot breath blew across her cheeks as he sighed and said, "You and I need to talk. Alone."

Janeway raised her chin and said, "I'd love to talk with Chakotay. Let me speak to him."

"No. You will speak with me."

Her lips thinned. "I will speak to Chakotay."

"He's not here."

Janeway's eyes darted with his. "Yes, he is. He apologized to me for your behavior in the ready room. He's there. He's fighting you. I can see it in his eyes."

Chakotay moved his lips just above hers. "He's not fighting me. He's completely with me because he wants you. I can feel his raw passion for you. It's thrilling and it has been a long time." Janeway tried to pull away but he held her tight. "You should give into it. I can make you feel very, very good. And since you and your fiancé aren't going to meet each other any time soon, what the hell, right?"

Janeway tried to yank her arm away. "You are disgusting. You have taken an honorable man and you have corrupted him. You are not the Commander and you do nothing to change my opinion of him. I'll make sure you pay for that."

Chakotay laughed and shoved her away. "You are going to be a challenge, Captain. I like that. It's been a long time since I've had a body and felt these physical desires again. I need to make use of them."

Janeway rubbed at her arm where he had bruised her. "Body? Then you were once a physical being?"

"Yes. We're currently disembodied but now, with your energy, we can sustain in your form for your natural life span. You may be the most compatible beings yet. Why haven't we met before?"

"We're not from around here."

"Ah, but you are here now and you will sustain us for many, many years to come."

"I actually have other plans."

Chakotay leered again. "Your plans have changed. I'll be making your plans from now on. "

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh really? And just what sort of plans do you have in mind?"

Chakotay stepped closer and grabbed her by the shoulders again. "You'll enjoy this. I've chosen you to be my mate. You'll be very happy with me. You should be thankful that I chose the one person on this ship that is actually attracted to you. You see we are nothing if not sensitive to your needs."

"My needs don't include mating with you."

Searching her eyes, he leaned in and crushed his lips with hers. This time he went deeper but a sharp hissing sound suddenly collapsed him against her body and he went limp. She struggled under his weight to hold him up as the Doctor finally grabbed him and placed him back on the bio bed.

Janeway wiped her mouth against the back of her hand and said, "We have to find Tuvok. Is the Commander…"

"Contained for good?" the Doctor finished. "Yes. Level 10 force field."

"Can you get this entity out of the Commander and back to the nebula?"

"Yes. I think he gave up enough information that I can develop a way to force his consciousness out of the Commander and back out into space. We'll need to be clear of the nebula though to make sure they can't attack again."

"Shields. We can raise shields after we transport them off of Voyager."

"I would still strongly suggest being away from the nebula. Shields can be their power source. They are stronger here and have…"

"Strength in numbers. Got it." Janeway looked at Chakotay and said, "How many do you think there are?"

"In the Commander, one. As far as how many live outside this ship in this nebula, that remains an unknown. I'll need more information to determine that."

"How about we not find out." Janeway slapped her communicator. "Computer, locate Lieutenant Tuvok."

"Lieutenant Tuvok is on the bridge."

She exchanged glances with the Doctor and called, "Janeway to the bridge."

"Tom here, Captain."

"Mr. Tuvok…"

"…is not happy about being in custody, Captain. He's on his fourth logical argument against his detainment but he's being cooperative."

The Doctor sighed and said, "Just like a good little Vulcan." He looked over at Chakotay and said, "It would appear that these life forms do not exert complete control over their hosts."

Janeway looked at him. "How so?"

"Well, Tuvok is still behaving like a Vulcan. The Commander is still acknowledging your authority although in a completely inappropriate way. It seems they are forced not only to maintain the limitations of the host body but also the emotions as well."

Janeway shook her head. "Chakotay would never treat or talk to me like this."

"No, not as long as he was the one in control of his actions. But that doesn't mean those primal feelings do not exist within him. Obviously they do. I believe the entity is taking what's already there and letting it loose for lack of a proper term in a misguided attempt to operate successfully here."

Janeway looked at Chakotay. "Well, I don't like his methods. He's way off base."

"Agreed."

Janeway slapped her communicator again. "B'Elanna, can we tractor the warp core but not engage it until after we clear the nebula?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Do it. Janeway to Paris. Tom, take us out of this nebula as fast as Voyager can muster. I'm on my way."

A few minutes later, Janeway stepped off the bridge and saw the security detail surrounding Tuvok. Walking over, she bent down and said, "I know what you are. You want this ship and, more importantly, this crew. You cannot have us. I will be returning you to your home."

Tuvok looked at her. "As you wish, Captain."

Janeway's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you want to go back like your friend? Did you decide you were already free so why tempt fate for others you didn't really care about?"

Tuvok nodded. "Exactly. I knew from the minute I overtook this form how you would react. I knew it was a losing proposition to expect that we could trick you. I was right."

Janeway nodded. "You were. Your friend ruined it." Standing up, she glanced at the view screen and asked, "Time to exit?"

"Almost out, Captain," Tom said. "Just a few more turns and we're out."

"Good," she said. Turning around, she ordered, "Take Lieutenant Tuvok to sickbay. The Doctor is waiting for him."

As Tuvok was led away, Tom guided Voyager out of the nebula and the spaceship shot free into the stars.

Janeway called engineering and B'Elanna confirmed the warp core had safely made the trip with them. As she and her team busied themselves with re-integrating it, Janeway called sickbay. "Doctor, are our patients ready?"

"Ready, Captain. One of them is not very happy about it. I'll give you the first guess as to which one that is."

Janeway couldn't help but give a small smile as she heard Tom say softly, "He's really gonna miss you, Captain…" She walked back to her Captain's chair and sat down. "Mr. Paris, on my order. Do we now have warp capability?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Raise shields and jump to it as soon as the Doctor's transport is complete. Ready?" Tom nodded and she said, "Now Doctor!"

A transporter beam shot from Voyager's port bow depositing the beings deep into the nebula. A cloud of white came storming from that area of space and Voyager immediately raised it shields and jumped into warp just as the cloud reached the ship.

"All clear, Captain," Tom said.

Janeway exhaled the breath she had been keeping in and said, "Thank you, Mr. Paris. Get us back on our heading. You have the bridge. I'll be in sickbay."

"Aye, Captain."

Five minutes later, Janeway strode back into sickbay. Tuvok and Chakotay each sat on the bio beds just as they had a day earlier when Voyager had retrieved the shuttle after the attack. She slowed and approached the men cautiously.

From the concerned and embarrassed look on the Commander's face, it looked like Chakotay was fully himself. He did not speak and offered limited glances in her direction. Tuvok took the floor as he straightened and said, "May I offer my apologies, Captain, for my behavior. I was…"

"Not yourself, Tuvok?" she said.

He nodded. "Indeed. I tried to communicate with the entity but was obviously unsuccessful in doing so."

"Actually, Mr. Tuvok, you were very successful. He didn't put up much of a fight even though he did try and make a run for his freedom. I'm not sure I can quite fault him for that but I'm afraid he'll need to find another way to redevelop his physical form since I very much appreciate having my friend back."

Tuvok gave her a quick nod. "I would have missed you too, Captain. It is good to be back."

Janeway looked over at Chakotay. "That goes for you too, Commander."

Chakotay didn't look at her. "Captain…"

She walked over and tentatively laid a hand on his shoulder which he quickly shrugged off. "We'll talk later, Commander."

He finally looked up at her and said, "If you don't mind, I'd prefer to have Lieutenant Tuvok take me to the brig now."

Janeway's brow furrowed. "Why? I don't normally place ship's personnel in detention because of an alien possession." She winked and said, "I'll excuse it this one time, Commander, but if it happens again, then we may have to discuss some consequences for you."

Chakotay's face remained pained. "Captain, what I did…"

Janeway lost her smile and said, "We'll talk about it later." She looked back at Tuvok and said, "Tuvok, you may take your post if the Doctor has cleared you. I would prefer you take some time for yourself but…"

"That will not be necessary, Captain."

She nodded. "I thought that would be your answer. It's good to have you back, Lieutenant."

Tuvok nodded and walked out of sickbay. Janeway looked at the Doctor who silently excused himself and headed back to his office. She turned back to Chakotay and sat down next to him. He tried to move away but she interlocked her arm with his. "Hey, it's my turn, remember?"

Chakotay looked at her. "What?"

"You said I could talk to you about anything. That goes both ways. Talk to me, Chakotay."

He shook his head and remained silent. After a few minutes, he said, "How can you even want to be near me? Trust me? What I did to you was…"

"Not your fault. It was a horrible thing for you to watch and for me to experience but it's over. It's done. We move on."

"How? How do we ever do that?" He shifted to face her and said, "Captain, you know I would never cross that line with you, ever. Right?"

Janeway squeezed his arm. "I do know that. And I also know that you and I are going to have our private thoughts. I'm very sorry that you were forced to reveal yours. It wasn't fair."

He looked away again. "I would never think that about you."

Janeway stood up and smoothed her uniform. "That's not being honest, Commander. I already know that, if this trip continues for a long time, you wouldn't mind if you and I became more than professional crew members. It's only natural that people start to pair off in a long journey like this. It's already started to happen among some of the crew. Why not you and me? We're social beings and, in Tuvok's words, it would only be logical. Only natural."

He eyed her and said, "But you made it clear that would never happen."

She crossed her arms and said, "And you don't really believe that, Commander. If you did, you wouldn't care so much about me or my well being. I'm not stupid. I am a woman underneath this uniform. So suck it up already. It happened. It's nothing I didn't already suspect you wanted to do. The manner in which it was displayed was inappropriate but it wasn't your fault. I know you would never approach me with that type of aggression. If you were that type of man, you would have done it already. You've had plenty of opportunity to do so. But I would have ended it. Just like I did."

He shook his head solemnly and said, "I would never do that to you or any other woman."

She smiled and said, "At least not without their full participation and permission, right?"

Chakotay looked shocked but finally managed his own smile complete with dimples. "I think we should end this conversation now."

Janeway laughed softly and said, "Agreed, Commander." She waved a hand towards the exit. "Let's move on, shall we?"

He nodded and stood up. "I await your orders, Captain."

She gave him a sideways glance and said, "Unfortunately, they won't be the ones you want, Commander."