Rumble on Voyager. Written by Enterprise1701_d

Chapter five

Jack, dressed in a crisp Starfleet uniform, was sitting at the oval table that was at the center of the conference room of Voyager. Also seated at the table were Captain Janeway at the other side of the table, with Commander Chakotay on her right and Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on her left. Since delivering his report, Jack seemed to find himself deeper in trouble with each passing moment, culminating with his meeting with the senior officers of Voyager. For the first time, he was grateful for the years of hard training.

Staring back at the senior officers, Jack analyzed their behavior. Chakotay was obviously feeling conflicting emotions: gratitude for reclaiming the ship, but also anger about the deception on Jack's part. Janeway's command mask was nearly perfect, but there were slight indications that told Jack probably more than Chakotay's open face displayed. Janeway obviously placed high emphasis on loyalty, and Jack had betrayed her trust. Tuvok showed no emotions whatsoever, and Jack knew he had an ally. Since the Vulcan had no emotional bias against him, Jack could use simple logic to sway the chief of security in his favor.

"Tell me, Mr. Dupré, if that's really your name, why didn't you tell anyone sooner?" the captain asked suddenly, after silence had filled the room for a couple of minutes. Since Jack had been trained to counter psychological torture as well as physical torture, he had stayed calm. He knew he could handle the situation. He kept himself reminding that this was not a Cardassian or Romulan ship. Both those races were known for their extensive torture practices.

"I can assure you that my name is Jack Dupré, Captain. As to why I didn't tell you: my orders were very specific. I was not to blow my cover, under any circumstances. I was under orders to investigate certain rumors, and this is all I can share on my mission." Jack's voice was calm and collected. The man appeared unimpressed by sitting at the same table with three high-ranking officers.

"If you weren't to blow your cover, why did you retake Voyager?" Chakotay asked.

"Because Voyager is my home now, Commander. If I didn't do it, who would have?"

"The Doctor was still on board. He has retaken Voyager before. And he has retaken the Prometheus from Romulan captors as well," the Captain told Jack.

"He has retaken Voyager from Seska and the Kazons with the help of ensign Suder," Jack answered back, referring to an event in the past were a renegade Voyager member led an alien race to take over the ship. "The Doctor retook the Prometheus with the help of another hologram, namely an EMH mark II," Jack negated the other event, where the Doctor had been sent to the Alpha Quadrant, and found himself on a captured federation ship. "In any case, although the Doctor's experience is substantial, it is severely limited. I have been trained for a variety of undercover missions."

"Assassination. Intelligence gathering. Sabotage. Rescue. Reclamation of Federation property. Class-one operative, graduated top of his class. Very impressive, Mr. Dupré," the Section 31 commander said. "We need your expertise as Deep-cover expert. Section 31 thinks that some prominent Federation and Starfleet members are secretly funding and helping the Maquis fight the Cardassians. We need you to investigate those allegations."

"Yes, sir," Jack answered. "What is my cover, sir?"

"Ex-ensign in Starfleet Security. Mediocre man, retired due to dissatisfaction with the job. You wanted excitement, and you think the maquis can help you with that."

"What are my clearances, sir?"

"You can use whatever trick you know to keep your cover intact, but be sure never to blow it by appearing too knowledgeable."

"Yes, sir."

"That is all. Good luck, Operative. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

Janeway could feel the situation slipping out of her hands. She was faced with someone who was not intimidated by her rank, her appearance, or the points she made. She was about to ask something, when a call came into the conference room.

"Excuse me Captain, but is Jack there?" it was Samantha Wildman, Naomi's mother.

The captain stared at Jack, seemingly at indecision for the moment.

"He's here. We're still in a meeting, can't this wait?" the captain's voice became more irritable.

"I'm sorry, Captain, but it's Naomi. She refuses to go to sleep without Jack here."

"She'll just have to manage," Janeway almost-barked.

"Excuse me, Captain," Jack said. "Ensign Wildman, can you put Naomi on?"

"Sure, Jack," Samantha Wildman said. Moments later, Naomi's voice came through the link.

"What's the problem, Sweetie?" Jack asked. Chakotay and Janeway startled at the gentleness that suddenly had taken over Jack's voice.

"I need you to check for monsters," Naomi answered.

"I'm talking to the Captain right now," Jack said. "So I can't come personally. Say what, Sweetie? Can you borrow your mother's tricorder?"

Naomi hesitated very little, possibly just asking with her eyes. Her mother must have agreed, because Naomi said she could moments later.

"Good. Now, set the tricorder as I showed you. Only this time set it for motions. Not too sensitive, or it'll warn you of your own breathing, and we wouldn't want that, would we, Sweetie?"

Naomi's voice laughed as the chirping of tricorder controls was audible through the comm.-link. "I have it," the girl answered about half a minute later.

"Good. That should keep you safe for the night." Now where did that come from? Why am I playing along? Oh, well… in for a penny, in for a pound. "Monsters are very scared of continuous motion-scans, you know."

"Really? " Naomi asked.

"Really," Jack answered. "The continuous sensor beams make them lose their coherence."

"Okay," Naomi answered, obviously getting into the bed, now that the small handheld sensory device as at her nightstand. "Goodnight, Sweetie."

"Goodnight, Jack," Naomi answered. Samantha Wildman thanked Jack too, and apologized to the captain before breaking off communications.

"Sweet kid," Jack said, his voice returning to normal, all the genteelness seemingly melting as snow in the sun.

"I need you to release access to your personnel records," Janeway demanded, voice icy. Her stare could peel paint of a ship's hull, and her voice backed it up. However, Jack had faced instructors for years that were worse than Janeway. He wasn't trying to get her goat, but he found himself in a very hard situation. He had decided to stay calm, and use logic. It was obvious Janeway was agitated over the call, but she couldn't blame him for helping a child. Certainly not a child as sweet as Naomi.

"I can't do that, Captain. My real records have been uploaded into the computer in order for it to release my real clearance level. I can't release them without damaging Section 31 further than I already have."

"That's another thing. I've heard rumors on Section 31, but I thought they were just that, rumors. Now I find out you are real. How? Where do you get funding for this?"

"We have been around since the Starfleet charter was signed, over 200 years ago. Since then, we have existed as shadows, rumors and unsubstantial legends."

"Doing what?" Janeway barked.

"Whatever needs to be done, Captain. Cardassia has the Obsidian Order. Romulus has the Tal Shiar. We have Section 31."

"Are you telling us that you are a member of an organization that opposes everything Starfleet and the Federation stands for?"

Jack didn't flinch. "We defend the Federation, Captain," Jack said, standing up. He walked to the replicator. "Computer, this is Jack Dupré, Class-one operative."

Confirmed.

"Delete all security sensors logs of the last 24 hours using deep-level S31 wipe, and release them."

Security sensor logs wiped and released.

"Return my personnel files to previous status, and return access level to ensign."

Jack Dupré, ensign. The computer noted. Jack smiled weakly. "Computer, confirm my identity."

Dupré, Jack. Ensign. Current assignment: Security, Beta-shift.

"Thank you," Jack said, sitting back down. He turned to the three senior officers. "I returned everything to the way it was, Captain."

Janeway stared at the man who had just, right in front of them, wiped 24 hours of the sensor logs, and altered his personnel record. "I think we all need time to deal with this," Janeway grunted. "Until we've done so, you are suspended, and all your access has been revoked. I won't confine you to quarters, because you did rescue the crew, and this ship. Dismissed."

Jack stood up, clipped the communicator off his tunic, and threw it onto the table. He took the one pin off his collar, and threw it right next to the communicator. He nodded briefly to the three officers, and strode out of the conference room. Not giving a single look at any of the bridge officers, Jack marched off the bridge, and into the lift.

By the time 12 hours had passed, everyone knew of Jack, and more or less knew what he was. After all, he had been pulled from duty, and Naomi wasn't one to keep quiet about Jack's identity. She had told her mother everything, which had told the rest of the ship.

Not knowing quite what to do, Jack found himself craving isolation. He wanted to be alone, but everywhere it was the same everywhere: conversations would halt, and people would stare at him, quietly whispering among themselves.

Alright. You can handle this, Jack. Remember your training. You spent months in isolation cabins, and this is no different. You are in isolation. Treat it as such, dammit! So, that was what he did. He strode purposely to the mess on deck 2, and planted himself in a chair at an empty table. His back was to most of the patrons, his eyes trained on the outside view. Nobody saw it, but Jack felt infinitely more relaxed now that he could focus on something that wasn't related to his situation.

"Coffee?" Neelix, the Talaxian cook-annex-morale officer asked. Neelix was the first friendly alien Voyager had encountered in the Delta quadrant, and he had agreed to come along with them for the journey to Earth.

Jack nodded. "Please," he said. The Talaxian poured him a cup of coffee, which Jack took with a polite nod.

"You know, you don't look very approachable like that," Neelix offered.

"Really?" Jack asked. "I hadn't noticed," he added sarcastically. Jack looked away from the star field, focusing on at Neelix. "I'm sorry. I'm just on edge. Everywhere I go, people have been giving me the cold shower."

"Well, I'm just glad you came through when needed," Neelix said, smiling. "I don't care about people's pasts. You know, this will all blow over."

Jack had no problems with following the jump in thoughts. He had been trained to have a sharp mind. "How do you see that? Janeway butted me off duty, and people have been looking at me as if I am Satan himself."

"I don't know who or what Satan is, but people who took me in, someone they never knew, aren't likely to kick you off."

"You never heard of the devil, Neelix? Well, Satan's just a name for the devil. That's how they've been looking at me. And I'm not scared of being thrown off. I'm just hoping things won't stay this way for the rest of the trip."

"Well, I don't think so," Neelix said, smiling at Jack, who still looked at impassive as ever. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think my stew is going to burn."

Jack refocused on the speckled expanse outside the window. "Easy for you to say," Jack muttered. His thoughts disappeared as he became engulfed in the stars once again.

No matter how much he wanted to, Jack's trained mind wouldn't detach itself from reality. Every footstep was picked up, every conversation registered. Even though his back was turned to the others, Jack could pinpoint where everyone was.

This can't go on, Jack's mind whispered. I need solitude, he concluded. He got up, quiet as a ghost, and walked out the door, never bothering to look at anyone. Most people didn't even realize he was gone until they noticed his seat was empty. Then, of course, conversations changed to 'where did he go?'

Jack made his way to the rear of the ship. Even though his access had been revoked, Jack entered the shuttle bay.

Security here is abominable. I didn't even have to override anything. I could just walk in. stared at the huge door at the end of the bay, and his thoughts focused on the expanse that lay behind it. Turning on his heel, he walked to the controls, and opened the doors, making sure the force-field was in place. He ignored the fact that alarms were sounded in the bay, to warn for the opening of the outer bay door.

He left the control station, and walked to the Delta Flyer, one of the shuttles in the bay. Instead of getting in it, and jumped up on its roof. He let his legs hang over the rear edge, and stared out through the crystal-clear force-field to the starry expanse. Having found solitude, Jack finally felt the weight drop off his shoulders. The ship was traveling at low warp, thus creating streaks in Jack's field of vision. He didn't mind…after all, this was no worse than the view he had seen outside the mess window.

His peace didn't last, as Tuvok came bursting through the door, leading a security team. Jack sighed, and continued to stare out the 'window'.

"You have a lousy sense of timing, Tuvok," Jack told the Vulcan, without having looked once at him.

"Indeed. You have been removed from duty, Mr. Dupré. As such, your access to the shuttle bay has been revoked."

Jack refused to sigh, though he really wanted to. "Isolation is preferable to the ship," he told the Vulcan. "And this is the best place for isolation."

Jack was sure the Vulcan had raised one eyebrow when he said, "The brig is sure to give you isolation."

The agent looked at Tuvok for the first time. "Was that a threat, Tuvok?"

"Merely an observation. Now, shall you come willingly, or will we have to use force?"

You couldn't force me if your lives depended on it, Jack thought while continuing to look at the streaky expanse, and then finally jumped off the shuttle. He started walking out the bay, with Tuvok and his security team right on his heels.

"So, are you going to put me in the brig, or were your observations flawed?"

"They were not," Tuvok assured the agent. "However, I believe I shall 'let it go' for the time being." Jack gave a dry snort.

"In that case, you know where to find me," Jack said, turning on his heel and striding back into the shuttle bay. He chuckled inwardly when he heard Tuvok's dry indeed.

Jack sighed as he relaxed against the wall of the brig. He was sitting up on his cot, resting his back against the wall the cot was attached to. Closing his eyes, his mind wandered. The only thing disturbing his peace was the soft hum of the security force field keeping Jack in the cell. The operative tuned out the almost inaudible vibrations.

Peace. Finally…His mind flashed to the events during his training he would so much like to forget.

Jack left the isolation cell, and looked around. No longer was his whole world centered around the small cell. He could see other people. Other halls, and passages.

"How did the rest do?" Jack asked his teacher.

"Ten others made it, Jack."

"Aria?" Jack asked. His mind refused to think straight right now. Otherwise, it would have told him that he and Aria were trying to keep quiet about their relationship. Jack had just tipped his hand.

"Student Aria Johansson was…unsuccessful," the teacher said.

"Define unsuccessful," Jack asked, turning to the teacher.

"She…collapsed psychologically. Now, it is time for debriefing."

Jack went trough the debriefing in an almost mechanical manner. He felt cold and dead inside. Aria…imploded? She came in second, right after him! She was so good at these things…Jack knew she was. If it weren't for his ability to amass technical data like a robot, she would have been the first in the class!

When he finally was able to see her, Jack found Aria sitting in a chair like a vegetable. No amount of him calling her name, touching her, begging for a sign of life helped. She sat there, staring in front of her, and she stayed that way. Using what little he could use while still in training, Jack arranged for a private room. It wasn't until he graduated that he managed to get her transferred to the best sanatorium in the Federation. The verdict was that she would probably never recover.

Jack had kept visiting her, until he was called away on the Maquis mission. Now he would probably never see her again.

Jack realized he needed to rethink his options. He had his solitude now, and all the time he needed to think. Well, time until Captain Janeway was going to disturb his peace, that is. Jack knew it was only a matter of time before the captain came bursting in, demanding an explanation. He had accepted what had happened to Aria, but that didn't keep him from feeling the sting.

Speak of the devil. Jack's mind muttered as his ears picked up the sound of the detention area's double doors opening. Not opening his eyes once, Jack spoke as the two pair of feet halted in front of his cell. By the time they halted, Jack had already buried his past deep within his mind once again.

"Captain. Commander," he greeted Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay.

"What are you doing, Jack?" Chakotay asked. "We let you walk free on the ship, and you go out of your way to make our lives miserable!"

Jack opened his eyes, forcing himself not to give his 'you're dead' stare. "I need to be left alone, Commander. I need to think, and I can't do it when people keep staring at me. So, instead of being treated like a criminal out there, I prefer to be treated like one in here." Jack's voice was calm, logical. Not a trace of emotion sounded through.

Jack closed his eyes again, and rested his head against the wall as well. He heard Tuvok join the two officers, obviously returning form some other pressing matter. The operative greeted him, not bothering to look. He could identify most of the crew by the sound of their feet.

"So, you WANT to be in the brig?" Janeway asked, dubiously. This was one of the few times she actually felt at a loss for words.

"What I want, Captain, is for everything to return to the way it was. But, I know that's not possible. So, I will use what was taught to me be my employers."

"Which is?" Janeway asked. Her voice sounded cold, but Jack could detect the subtle undertones of confusion. Jack had unnerved her, thrown her off-guard, and the operative knew it.

"Isolation. Normally, if this were Federation space, I would have contacted Section 31, and be gone off this ship before you knew it. Unfortunately, we're in the Delta Quadrant, so I will just isolate myself from the rest of the ship."

"That's not healthy, Mr. Dupré," Tuvok answered.

Jack opened his eyes, and forced himself to remain neutral once again. "Not healthy is what's happening out there, Tuvok. People stare at me like I'm a criminal. What is truly dangerous is the fact that I have been under a lot of stress lately, and I'm about to break. Now, Tuvok, you have been trained in the martial arts. You know his dangerous it is to lose your self-control. Well, now imagine what it is like for me, who has been trained not to detain, but to kill." Jack knew his emotions were sounding through. His control was slipping. Closing his eyes, Jack brought his hands together, and forced himself to calm down.

"That would be…unwanted," Tuvok answered. "What I don't understand is the following. If you have been trained to remain undercover for a lengthy period of time, why are you now losing control?"

"Because, Tuvok, when I'm on a mission, it doesn't matter what I feel. I have objectives to focus on. And when the mission is over, Section 31 retrieves me, and I am allowed to 'acclimatize', so to speak. I can regain my composure, and return to my home until the next mission comes along. Right now, I am not allowed to calm down, I need to keep my defenses up all the time, and I am powerless to defend myself, because I know that, if I do, people will get hurt."

"I see," Tuvok answered thoughtfully.

"What do you mean by 'people will get hurt', Jack? Would you actually attack someone?" Janeway asked.

Jack thought long and hard about that. He knew he could, and was very likely to, attack someone. He also knew he should tell Janeway that.

"I can deal with it, captain. This is merely the preferred option. Remove the cause for the problem solves the problem. Right now, the problem is most of the crew. So, I removed the crew. Problem solved."

"Most of the crew?" Chakotay asked.

Jack actually smiled. It was such an unnatural gesture for the operative it startled the officers. "Naomi and Neelix have been amicable, captain. The rest range from impassive to outright hostile. The latter coming from beta-shift of Security more than the rest of the ship."

"Those were your colleagues. It is natural for them to resent you. You lied to them for six years," Tuvok answered.

"Like you lied to Chakotay while you were undercover on his ship. Yet, he doesn't resent you. Resentment ages, Tuvok. Things would get back to normal, eventually, yet they won't get back to normal as long as I am not allowed to integrate back into normal routine. By removing me from duty, I am now merely a passenger on a ship where everyone else has to do his or her part to get home. I am made an outcast for saving the ship." Jack snorted. Some gratitude, his mind added.

"I see…" Janeway muttered. "I don't know how much good it would do to return you to your former duties. Now that your secrets are out, and you don't have to hold back, I'm sure you can do a lot more good in some other parts of the ship. B'elanna especially wants to have a word with you. Something to do with modifications you made to the ship while she was away." Captain Janeway referred to B'elanna Torres, the chief engineer of Voyager.

"Section 31 trick. Not good for the engines, but extra speed is sometimes necessary," Jack said, shrugging slightly. "I'm not asking for special treatment, captain. Just allow me to return to my former duties, allow the crew to see that I am still the same guy, basically."

"You have more confidence now, Mr. Dupré. I doubt anyone would see you as the same person you were before," Tuvok interjected.

"I am. The best covers are based on the operative's own personality. The Jack Dupré you have known for six years was the Jack Dupré that entered Section 31 special ops training."

"We could try it, captain," Tuvok said, appearing to accept that answer.

Janeway seemed to think for a few moments, and then nodded to the officer manning the cell's controls. The force field disengaged. Jack looked on as the captain entered the cell, and stared down at him, as he remained seated on his cot.

"We'll try this, Mr. Dupré. But one false move, and I'll have you confined to this brig for the rest of the journey!"

Jack got up, towered over the captain, and stared at her. "Just fine," he said.

"Good," Janeway said, walking back out the small cell. "Report to Security, tomorrow at 1500 hours."

After Tuvok and Chakotay had left the brig, Janeway turned to Jack before leaving herself. "And thank you for saving the ship," Janeway said, leaving.

Jack cocked his head to one side. "You're most welcome, captain," he whispered, before leaving himself. Jack had a good feeling about tomorrow. Yes, he was sure that everything was going to work out in the end after all.