Kenneth Albrecht Dalby made his way slowly to Chakotay's ready room. The summons had come while he was checking their dwindling supplies and facing Chakotay with his preliminary report caused him to frown heavily. He had known Chakotay since they both started out in the Maquis and had grown to respect his friend a great deal. Chakotay was uncompromising and tough, but then, Ken decided, toughness was what they needed in the Maquis. Being on the run from both the Federation and the Cardassians left little time for timid pussyfooting. No one really socialised, but all were drawn together by their common bond of offering safe havens for those deprived of their homes, and of gathering medical supplies for refugees who counted on them for their support. Mostly, of course, they stole what they needed from the Federation and Cardassians and Klingons and Romulans. They weren't exactly choosy. If it was something that could do the job, that was good enough.

Besides, they didn't complain. Chakotay had given him, Ken, the opportunity to prove his worth as a first officer of a renegade vessel, and had come to trust him a great deal more than he trusted anyone else on board the Liberty. Ken had earned that trust, just as B'Elanna and Ayala had.

It was why Chakotay entrusted him with particular tasks he would give no one else on the Liberty. Chakotay knew about sacrifice and honour and freedom; whatever mission Dalby embarked on, he knew that Chakotay could count on him. Dalby sighed. Before he met Chakotay he had been angry, and wanted to lash out at anyone. Celine had just died and he had been demented those first few days after her death. Sometimes he still missed Celine like his very breath, and most nights when he dreamed of her, it was always as she looked before she died. Her terror, his own helpless rage at being unable to protect her - that had been buried where no one could touch him. Chakotay knew and understood. He didn't ever have to explain; understanding came in sympathetic eyes, in a hand that was squeezed, a consoling grip on his shoulder.

Never words.

Words couldn't quite equate with a gesture like a smile, a soft glow of compassion that was neither mushy nor detached. Just enough to make him feel that someone understood his pain. Chakotay did, and for now, that was enough for him. Celine would return in his dreams, smiling as she always did when she had news for him, or he teased her about her too long hair, or when she simply, through her smile and shining eyes said: "I love you, Ken. I will love you until my dying day."

Now Celine was dead. Chakotay had become his saviour, pulling him out of his despondency by letting him work so hard that the intense labour, the very look of gratitude on a refugee's face when she was safely escorted to a new location, made Celine's death more bearable, and her incredible sacrifice worthwhile. He didn't miss Celine so much then, but saw her in every woman he and Chakotay saved, every child whose parents had been killed and been placed with kind foster parents; every old man and woman who thanked them for saving their lives. In them Celine lived. Still, there were nights he dreamed of her and he allowed himself the luxury to dream. He was rational enough to realise that there would come a time that Celine would be just a fond memory, and that he could move on with new interests.

He had been working in close partnership with Chakotay although he was very certain he could never aspire to be the kind of leader Chakotay was, or provide the leadership the cell leader employed. Perhaps, and he was hopeful that it would happen, some of Chakotay's style and example would rub off on him. He didn’t stand in awe of Chakotay or see him as a hero like young Gerron, or Henley, or even B’Elanna Torres. Chakotay was his friend and as friends, they were equals.

A summons to Chakotay's office was not uncommon. He had often been called in a hurry, and the last time had been when Tom Paris decided being a hero meant he should cover for them when they raided a Federation medical installation. That got Tom apprehended and thrown in jail. He still felt badly about that. Tom had really done something heroic, giving him and Mariah the opportunity to hurry back while he... Ken sighed.

Chakotay had been in a foul mood for days afterwards. He had never liked Tom to begin with; secretly, Ken thought it was only because Tom charged them for piloting the Liberty and the Limpet. Paris had some big chips on his shoulder, but he was charming, endearing himself to most of the crew. Only, it rubbed Chakotay up badly that Tom Paris could be in the Maquis with nothing to recommend him except his expertise as a flyer, which came at a price. Chakotay believed everyone had to have principles and moral obligations and as far as he was concerned, Tom Paris had none.

"And, he has the finest parents who don't deserve to be treated like they're vermin."

Dalby knew that Chakotay was friends with Admiral Paris, and Doctor Paris had been his physician whenever he had been home on leave while still in Starfleet. If he asked for more information on Chakotay's knowledge of Tom's background and his own personal life, he got a look from Chakotay that said: "You wouldn't want to ruin our friendship, would you?"

He had no idea what Chakotay wanted now, but he figured the way Torres had tried to put dents in the Liberty's bulkheads with her small fists, it had to be some onboard problem serious enough that the second-in-command had to help deal with it.

He had asked Torres what the matter was. Her eyes flashed angrily when she turned on him.

"I hate Chakotay! I hate him!" was all she could get out.

Ken had wondered how B'Elanna could hate Chakotay when all she had been doing the last few months was wax lyrical about him, and stand half in awe of him. He knew Torres regarded Chakotay as something of an older brother who protected her, and whatever it was that inspired her outburst, had to disturb her very deeply. Not only did he see the angry flashes, he also sensed her disappointment. No, she was not a lovesick puppy fawning over their leader, but B'Elanna Torres had a tremendous regard for Chakotay. And why shouldn't she? He’d saved her life, just as he had saved the lives of a number of crew. Ken didn't wait to ask what troubled her so deeply. He was wary of her sudden outbursts; she was not averse to using her fists on him.

If her outburst had something to do with the way Seska had sauntered down the corridor, away from the ready room area, it was possible to put two and two together. Seska had looked like a cat that had gotten an excess of cream. It was in the way she walked, her secret little smile that never quite reached her eyes, the sway of her hips and the way she tossed her long hair. Could Seska have had some tête-à-tête with Chakotay?

He thought that highly unlikely. Chakotay was married to Kathryn Janeway, devoted and loyal to her. That much had come out of their conversation one evening when Chakotay had admitted to him how much he missed his family.

"You're my friend. I know I can trust you," Chakotay told him that night. There hadn't been much spoken afterwards, Chakotay not entirely ready to part with the more painful details of his life with a Starfleet Captain. Yet, Dalby was convinced Chakotay remained steadfastly loyal to her. He had never seen Chakotay fraternise with the females on board, and Torres was the only person with whom Chakotay had some affinity, a fiercely protective instinct.

Still, he was called to the ready room and Chakotay was going to impart something to him that should probably be kept a secret. That was the way of Chakotay. He had a computer in his cabin which was protected by layers of encryptions. He never dared ask, knowing that whatever it was that Chakotay did, their ignorance of it was their own protection. Still, it didn't stop him from conjecturing. Too often they heard how Federation vessels destroyed Cardassian strongholds that only Chakotay knew of...

When he pressed the chime, it was a muffled 'enter' he heard. The door swished open and Ken walked to the desk where Chakotay remained standing.

"You look flushed. It's either anger or...anger?"

"Yes, to both, Dalby." Chakotay's mouth twisted into a wry smile, but the smile was gone instantly.

"Something up, Chief?"

Chakotay's eyes flashed, then the dark clouds settled in them again. Dalby feared that, indeed, something was up.

"Come here," Chakotay ordered and he waved a hand to indicate Ken face the screen of the computer.

Ken looked at the screen and frowned.

"Do I know her?"

"Perhaps," Chakotay replied.

"Who is she?"

"Her name is Sedeka. She is Sub-commander of the Cardassian war vessel, the Vetar, under the command of Gul Evek."

A light dawned suddenly for Ken. He’d heard of this Cardassian woman.. There were strange tales, which were never really given any substance, mostly rumours that flew about, then died out. He knew of Gul Evek, as he should. The man had ordered the forced removal of his people from the planet Ordon. Celine...The Cardassians raped her there. He had been beaten to a pulp. He had often wondered why they didn't kill him too. But his punishment and pain was to leave him alive to live with the trauma and guilt.

"I know of Evek," he said tightly, "and I’ve heard of this woman's exploits..."

Chakotay looked at him and for a moment Dalby shrank back from the sharpness and bitterness of his gaze. A faint film of perspiration formed on Chakotay's upper lip. Was the man nervous? Ken wondered. It was Eddington who told him that a beautiful Cardassian woman played fast and loose with major guls in the Cardassian Union. They called her a strange name, an abhail... The woman on the screen was beautiful. Did Chakotay have some connection to her?

"Sedeka almost destroyed me," Chakotay said. "She ruined Kathryn's life and mine. Sedeka is a calculating, manipulating woman who will let nothing stand in the way of her mission."

"Where did you first meet her?" Ken asked as he studied the face of Sedeka again.

"On Dorvan V."

His eyes met Chakotay's.

"I...understand - "

"No, I don't think you do, Dalby. This woman manipulated me into a situation that Kathryn happened upon. After that, my marriage was destroyed. It was the Cardassians' way of getting rid of me, getting me off Dorvan V or rendering me incapable of attending the crucial peace talks there last year. That Kathryn got hurt in the process was just another unexpected bonus for them."

"The Treaty that the Cardassians signed and violated over and over?"

"Yeah, Dalby. This woman will stop at nothing, I assure you. After Kathryn left me, Sedeka continued to harass her. Then in November last year, I took revenge. I boarded the Vetar and deleted all the files Sedeka had on me and Kathryn. I poisoned her with the same hallucinogen she’d used on me. When I sent samples of my blood, my urine, the food, the wine, Sedeka's DNA - "

"Her DNA?"

Chakotay coughed, then gave a small sigh.

"I scraped her fluids from my body, the bed, the sheets and sent that on too..."

"Okay, I get the message."

"We found a complicated concoction of a hallucinogen that could literally, blow your mind..."

"And?"

"Sergei - "

"Sergei?" Ken wondered for a moment why he sounded stupid. He knew this conversation was going somewhere, that Chakotay was telling him something crucial. Somewhere he knew, he was going to be part of whatever solution Chakotay had for this particular problem, if indeed, Sedeka presented another problem to him.

"Doctor Sergei Karkoff, my best friend, lately based at Starfleet Medical but not there at the moment."

Ken hadn't wanted to ask where Sergei was. He didn't want to risk another 'ruin the friendship' look.

"What about Sergei?"

"I manufactured the hallucinogen from his notes. I had told him not to destroy his research in case we might need it again some day. I remembered his words, that Sedeka alive was more dangerous than Sedeka dead. I should have killed her then..." Chakotay said reflectively.

"She died and came back from the dead, so to speak?"

Chakotay nodded.

"How?"

Chakotay's eyes had a flinty shine in them. His mouth though, was stiff as if he tried to smile and couldn't. Ken noticed how Chakotay's fingers trembled as he touched the face of the Cardassian woman.

"I have reason to believe that she is here, on the Liberty."

Ken laughed. "Help me out here, Chakotay. There's no Cardassian crew on this vessel. The only Cardassian I know of among Federation people is Garak at Deep Space Nine..."

Chakotay gripped Ken's shoulder.

"How did Seska get on this vessel?" Chakotay's question came out of the blue.

What did Seska have to do with the Cardassian in the picture? Ken wondered. He must have voiced his thoughts aloud when he saw Chakotay frown. Ken laughed again.

"Come on, Chakotay. Seska is a Bajoran. I'm certain you noticed that," he said lightly, unable to believe what Chakotay was implying. It was an allegation of the highest order, something completely fantastic and too unlikely to be believed.

"Look, Ken, I'm pretty certain I'm not mistaken. Now, how did Seska get on this vessel?"

Chakotay's words, his very tone suggested that Ken had better reply or be neck pinched by a person other than a Vulcan. The man was as strong as an ox. If Chakotay were living on a farm in the twentieth century, he would have been able to lift two bales of hay simultaneously. Ken placed his own hand on the hand that still dug into his skin, and slowly removed it. He rubbed the tender area for a second.

"No one recommended her," he said finally.

"And?"

"She was an unknown. Her appearance on that planet was too co-incidental. But Chak, you're wanting to blame a Bajoran - "

"Keep talking to me, Dalby," Chakotay barked suddenly and Ken blanched at Chakotay's sharp tone. He hadn't wanted to talk about it before; his thoughts were merely conjectures, but he had been wondering about it.

"Well, she seems apparently unconcerned about being Bajoran, like the pride we see in Gerron sometimes. She displays tendencies of aggression and she never appears to mourn her husband. While that may be a moot point, the way she was treated by the Cardassians didn't seem to bother her much, afterwards."

"Ken, the woman was gang-raped, most probably on her own instruction."

Dalby turned ice-cold at Chakotay's words. He was certain that his shock at the outrageous claims of his leader had to show in his face, because Chakotay burst out laughing - a high, strained cackle that sounded very unlike him.

"I see you don't believe me."

"The - the evidence...she couldn't..." he started, but Chakotay's hand went up to silence him.

"What else did you notice?" Chakotay asked.

Chakotay forced him to think. B'Elanna, he knew, had had nightmares since she came on board and he surmised that Chakotay had saved her from a similar fate. Seska looked like she had completely forgotten about the horror of her ordeal unless, like Chakotay stated, it was brilliantly staged. If that were so, where did Gerron fit in all of it? Gerron had been found at the scene near the plaza where B'Elanna, Ayala and Morrison were to rendezvous with him. Gerron who looked completely out of it... Gerron who was supposed to be there with his friend... As if a thought struck him suddenly, drew in his breath sharply.

"Gerron! He said Sharuk knew a Bajoran woman called Seska. And Chak...I don't recall him ever referring to a husband..."

"I see you're beginning to see the picture. Did Gerron tell you how his friend Sharuk died?"

He’d never asked the kid. Gerron was sullen most of the time, closed off from everyone except B'Elanna and Ayala, with whom he sometimes talked. He had given Gerron an invitation several months ago to join their cell. Gerron's parents had died on Bajor; he’d escaped with two friends and made their way to Komari. Other than that, he knew little else about Gerron. Both friends had been alive then, and all three had looked equally scared, very, very young to be drifting about the sectors like they were. He met Gerron just before Enzo died, and that had been almost two months ago, now. Sharuk had been with Gerron and Sharuk had looked...guilty?

"His friend Sharuk was murdered after he told Gerron to make contact with us," Chakotay broke into his thoughts. "Did you know Sharuk's parents are on Cardassia Prime, held as hostages?"

Ken gave a low whistle as the truth of the set-up struck him. The Cardassians really were scum of the universe. Holding a young kid's parents hostage was a scum thing to do, but then the Cardassians were notorious for their unique and terrible atrocities. Most likely by now, Sharuk's parents were dead as well.

"My God. The poor kids were set up," he said sympathetically. "They killed them, letting Gerron live to witness the pick-up by us."

"Old Federation trait - they pick up the lame ducks. They knew Gerron had made contact, since Sharuk encouraged him to do so, most likely on the Cardassians' instruction. Therefore Torres, Ayala and Morrison's arrival was known to them. The Cardies then staged the lame duck scene and very realistic it was, too. Also, very typical of the lengths Sedeka would go to, to make it look real and evoke Maquis sympathy. Aren't we freedom fighters who rally around Bajorans and every other displaced individual in the universe? Therefore, Dalby, we've been had. A spy slipped on board and who knows, after ten days, what damage has been done? They know this vessel is on its way to Alkorea, and, they know the co-ordinates. I'll dare any Cardassian vessel, or Federation vessel for that matter, to make it through the plasma turbulences in the Badlands. They'll not catch us..."

Ken Dalby shook his head in amazement. Every word Chakotay spoke rang true; they were in danger of being intercepted. How did Chakotay know all this? Still, he had to ask about the Bajoran woman who, in hindsight, he realised looked like a predator.

"This Sedeka, you say, in some way turned herself into a Bajoran?"

"Ken, have you noticed our conversation is secured?"

"I didn't want to mention it." Earlier he had seen the little icon in the shape of a dog at the bottom of the screen. Once before he asked about the dog, and Chakotay simply barked: "She's called Ceara". He hadn't wanted to question Chakotay further. The man clamped up after that. Naturally, once Ceara appeared, no one could hear them talking.

"I'm taking no risks," Chakotay said, "but yes, somehow Sedeka underwent major operations to convert her from Cardassian to Bajoran. She's on a mission - "

"We're talking about Seska, right?"

"Right."

"So tell me, Chakotay, how did you know other than the complicated set-up down to the beatings and rape?"

"Two things, Dalby."

He was all ears. There was something Chakotay knew that he didn't know, and he was going to be apprised of it in the next few seconds. It was why he had been summoned. Chakotay wasn't only revealing to him this terrible truth because he wanted a good shoulder to unburden himself. If all of it were true, and he had no reason to doubt it then they had a problem, and he was going to be part of the solution.

"Tell me."

"When have you ever seen a Bajoran wear a ring with a Cardassian cat-walker as its head?"

"That ornate ring? I thought her late husband gave it to her. A cat-walker?"

"Found only on Cardassia Prime. One time Sedeka, when she communicated with me in her stupid and unguarded moments, likened me to their Cardassian cat-walker. I went into the Federation database and got a good look at the indigenous fauna of Cardassia Prime. She miscalculated by thinking no one would recognise the ring. It was probably given to her by Gul Evek."

"Okay, so what's the second one?"

"You might not believe this, but Sedeka's pheromones gave her away."

If it weren't so serious, Ken would have laughed outright. Chakotay's expression all but dared him to laugh at him. Ken shook his head. The only way in which Chakotay would know how a Cardassian's pheromones could betray her was...

"You kissed her."

"I stopped just short of stripping her. But it did the trick. I kissed Seska and all the time I smelled Sedeka as she smelled on my body on Dorvan V and when I visited her on the Vetar..."

Chakotay was quiet a few minutes after he shut off Sedeka's picture from the computer. When he looked at Ken again, there was a sad expression in his eyes. Ken felt suddenly sorry for this man who, he knew, had suffered so much.

"I gather you have reconciled with your wife, Chakotay," he said.

"Aye. On the day she gave birth to our baby I was privileged to be there and be forgiven by her..."

Ken didn't ask any more questions about Kathryn Janeway. Chakotay's eyes had a misty shine in them, a yearning look as he picked up the photograph of Kathryn. Then he put the photo down and faced Ken again. Ken sensed Chakotay wasn't finished.

"There's more?" he asked Chakotay.

Chakotay nodded. "Every time after the previous two sojourns with Sedeka - she trapped me completely the first time, you know - I retched my guts out."

"Like you did before I came in."

"Aye. I literally can't stand her smell. Now all we have to do is flush Seska out. She's up to something, Dalby, and I am her target. She wants me dead. There's a computer in her cabin. I put it there deliberately where she could pilfer it without it seeming to be listed as missing on the Liberty."

Chakotay gave him a quirky smile. Ken was in charge of supplies. He grinned sheepishly. He hadn't noticed that one of the computers was gone. Real state of the art Federation stuff they’d stolen from a derelict after one of the skirmishes with the Cardassians in which several Federation vessels were destroyed.

"Hell, Chakotay."

Chakotay patted his shoulder and nodded kindly. He had a look that apologised for withholding information from him, but Ken understood the need for security on the Liberty and in the Maquis.

"I'm playing her at her own game, Dalby," Chakotay said. "There's no other way. With Seska, if you can't match her cunning, you're dead."

Ken thought if Cardassian physicists and doctors could carry out weird and inhumane experiments on Bajoran slaves and prisoners, they could do anything. Seska was a Cardassian in a Bajoran body. If Chakotay said it was so, who was he to refute him? Besides, all the evidence was simply overwhelming against Seska. She had an altogether too furtive look when she thought no one was watching her.

"How will we flush her out?" Ken asked, excitement brewing in him.

"Okay, Ken. I've thought about it. She's probably going to strike in the next twenty four hours. If she has to report to Gul Evek, she's on a short leash. I've made her think I want her badly."

"I noticed."

"You did?"

"Back in the corridor she looked like she was walking on air."

"She's in for a very nasty surprise, Dalby."

Chakotay switched on his console again, and gestured for Dalby to take a close look.

"So tell me, Chakotay, how are we going to neutralise Seska?"

Chakotay smiled at Ken, then looked at the monitor again.

"Here's what I propose we do..."

****

B'Elanna cornered Seska in engineering. The spanner she waved as she approached Seska almost damaged the Bajoran's nose. Seska stood her ground and pushed the offending tool away from her with the palm of her hand.

"Come on, B'Elanna. I'm sure you know it was going to happen soon."

"Chakotay never falls for anyone," B'Elanna bit out. She refused to back away from Seska. "What have you done with him?"

"I kissed him, B'Elanna. I kissed him, he kissed me back. End of story, as you say, isn't it?"

"He's married. To a beautiful woman who's a Starfleet Captain."

B'Elanna knew her words held little sway, but she had to say it anyway. Still, her new friend didn't seem to have any principles where fraternising with the Boss was concerned. And Chakotay... She wanted to kill him too for looking like he enjoyed kissing Seska. She growled and Seska quickly put her hands up again.

"He kissed me, Torres, married or not, he kissed me. He even touched me...here..." Seska's hand went to her breast, the other lowering over her abdomen. B'Elanna gave a little cry at the crude way Seska demonstrated Chakotay's actions. "B'Elanna, I know you worship Chakotay. He's your hero, but even heroes can have feet of clay. When I kissed him, all he had to do was push me away if he wasn't interested. He was interested, my friend. Very interested. I'm sorry if you're disappointed - "

B'Elanna stared at Seska for several long minutes. Then she slowly dropped her arm, with the spanner dangling loosely from her hand. Seska gave a sigh of relief, but smiled nonetheless at B'Elanna's action. B'Elanna stepped away from Seska and walked to her own station where she occupied herself with listing the damage to the Liberty and the Limpet, and organising her repair programme. Not that a schedule meant anything on the Liberty. They all operated mostly on crisis management, and certain areas that required attention immediately, got it. Others had to wait. One day she had jokingly referred to her methods as Engineering Triage, when Chakotay had been down to check on her progress. There were also no replicators in most of the small cabins; she was in the process of slowly converting old ones they pilfered from Federation installations on homeworlds previously under its jurisdiction and, which fell within the Demilitarised Zone. Dalby got a few when they stripped an old derelict they came across after one of the Federation offensives against Cardassia.

She gave a sigh. Now, all she could do was occupy herself with thoughts of what she had seen in his ready room. She had never expected Chakotay to do what he had. He was fiercely devoted to his wife. So many times since she’d come on board, she’d seen how he looked longingly at her picture.’ Chakotay was a principled man who would never betray his wife by doing what he did. That was what she thought. That kiss... Hell, the way his hands had been all over Seska, and the way Seska responded, brought a furious burn of resentment to her heart. She wasn't jealous by any means, but she believed Chakotay was a man who couldn't look at another woman with lust in his eyes, even if he tried. Seska had been her friend the last few weeks. They worked well together but Seska's persistence recently, wanting to know more about Chakotay, upset her. In the beginning she could put it down to general curiosity about a man who was enigmatic. Then it became more focused on her attraction to him. Seska had been attracted to Chakotay from the start, that much was certain. Chakotay didn't give a damn, until a few days ago when she noticed that he returned Seska's lascivious looks. How could Seska forget her ordeal so quickly? How could she forget she had a husband and that only as recently as a few weeks ago? Something boiled inside her again as B'Elanna pictured the kiss and the next moment, sparks flew from her console as she hit it.

Seska glanced up once, then gave a friendly snigger at B'Elanna's burst of anger. B'Elanna remained stony for the next few minutes until a beep came from her station near the warp core and she hurried towards it. She shook her head. The screen was blank. There was nothing, no message, no hail. Why would Chakotay hail her, then suddenly stop? Then seconds later the words "Venus" appeared on her screen and she realised the message was for her eyes only. She should have known. Chakotay had told her about this after her first day on the Liberty.

"You operate the ship's critical systems, and sometimes I’ll need to speak only with you. Security reasons, Torres." She had only nodded. Her trauma was still too fresh in her mind to take in everything Chakotay said in those first two days. 'Venus' was a hidden message and the code created just for her. When it appeared on her screen she had to make certain that she was not observed closely. She grinned. No doubt Ken Dalby had his own secret code.

"See me in my cabin fifteen minutes after reading this."

When she read it, she deleted the message and walked back to the console she had only minutes earlier knocked about and damaged. Seska looked up, distracted for a moment from her work and when B'Elanna waved a hand, she continued to busy herself. B'Elanna could see the expression on Seska's face was intense as she worked.

B'Elanna wondered why Chakotay would want to see her in his cabin. She had to provide a plausible excuse for leaving engineering and getting to him. She loved him fiercely, and her disappointment at what she had seen in his office - she had completely forgotten what she had wanted to see him about in the first place - was still very raw. Now at least, she'd get a chance to confront him, even if he were going to close up like a clam.

It wasn't what she saw? What was he thinking? She was dumb or something? She was as blind as a bat? She saw two persons who would have rutted like targs if she hadn't barged in at that moment. And it wasn't as if she didn't knock to announce her arrival. They had been so out of it they didn't hear her.

Well, she was going to tell him off for forgetting that as a kind older brother and leader of their vessel, he should behave with decorum and set a good example not only for her as his awe-struck younger sister in affection, but the whole crew. Why should he suddenly, when Seska was around, itch in the crotch like there was no tomorrow?

Yes, she'd tell him to his face. She had that freedom to tell him to his face. He was like a brother to her, wasn't he? She was a good friend to him, wasn't she?

Fifteen minutes later B'Elanna finished her work and declared she was ready to take a bath, she was so full of oil. Seska scurried to her when she reached the door.

"B'Elanna."

"Yeah?"

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"Sure."

"Chakotay's cabin - "

"You know where it is," B'Elanna replied brusquely.

"Yes, yes, I know. But...um..."

"What do you want, Seska?"

Seska looked a little embarrassed, though B'Elanna couldn't imagine why she should be. She was not embarrassed when she was caught kissing Chakotay. She looked like she gloated... Gloated... Was Seska an actress? B'Elanna wondered.

"I...er, I want to give Chakotay a surprise. I - you know I like him, B'Elanna. I'm falling in love with him."

"Is there a point to this?"

"You have the code to his cabin..." How did Seska know? She was on the point of refuting Seska's claim when Seska continued quickly, "I saw you one night going in there. You didn't knock..."

B'Elanna was stunned for a few seconds. Seska's eyes flashed and B'Elanna's eyes widened as she realised that Seska was jealous. Who would know what happened in Chakotay's cabin when she was there with him? They could think anything, and Seska was no exception. B'Elanna gave her a knowing smile.

"Yeah, I have his code. Now, I have to go to the bridge. See you later, Seska."

B'Elanna didn't give Seska time to respond, or to see the expression on her friend's face. Chakotay wanted to speak with her, and while she knew what she was going to tell him, she had absolutely no idea why she was summoned to his cabin at 2100.

***

Twenty seven hours later B'Elanna stood in the small alcove in the darkness of Chakotay’s cabin and watched him sleep. He really did have a very long day and she conceded that he was tired. He was moving a little restlessly, but every time he shifted position, his hand slid under the pillow and then he'd give a sigh before settling again.

She thought of their conversation the night before. She had been mad at him, mad at Seska and mad at herself for being mad at him.

"You really think she wants to kill you, Chakotay?" She had stared disbelievingly at him.

"Yes, Torres. Let me tell you: nothing is at it seems. Seska is a spy on this vessel who used an elaborate ploy to get on it."

"But - but the rape? Was that staged?"

"Yes, that too, and you'd better believe it."

At first she couldn't. It was too fantastic that someone could stage an injury or bodily harm just for the effect. Apparently Seska did. How could she stage her own rape? That thought had made B'Elanna shudder and recoil. No woman asked to be defiled in such a horrendous manner. What was Seska? An abnormality? During that part of their conversation B'Elanna had still been in denial about Seska's betrayal. She was a Bajoran! Kahless!

"She is a Bajoran, Chakotay. It's impossible!"

But all the time she had spoken with Chakotay, her alarm grew. Chakotay had evidence that Seska was a spy; he knew her from another period in his life. Then why didn't he speak with her that first day? She had not realised how she voiced her query but when she looked at him, she remembered that first day Chakotay entered the sickbay and recoiled at the sight of Seska. At first she had thought that it was because of the way Seska looked: beaten and bruised and raped, but he had seen B'Elanna like that too. Now, she realised that it was because Chakotay had known her and had been instantly revolted by her. Still, that didn't exempt him from censure from her when she saw them kissing and clawing away at each other's faces.

"It's to lure her into my cabin, Torres."

"Huh?"

"You'll understand. Before you came here, did Seska by any chance ask you about the codes to my cabin?"

She had turned cold. How did Chakotay know? Seska did ask and was quite persistent. She had been short with her friend and didn't give her the code. Why should she do so? She was in Chakotay's confidence, and she was the only one allowed. Not even Dalby, who was a great friend and his second-in-command, could get in without announcing himself. She knew she meant something special to Chakotay and felt privileged that he entrusted her with access to his quarters. It was why she wouldn't oblige Seska.

"Yes, she did ask me."

"She's predictable, she doesn't know just how predictable - "

"But a Bajoran?"

"I'll explain afterwards. I know she'll come to my quarters sometime, and better you give it to her than spending time trying to hack into the ship's systems."

"You want me to give her the code?"

"Aye. She's going to ask again. Don't worry. She'll ask. All I want you to do, is remain hidden here just in case she becomes really creative and I'm caught by surprise."

"Chakotay, I - "

"It's an order, Torres."

"You kissed her. I should kick your - "

"There was a reason, Torres. Kick me all you want to, but keep me alive, will you?" he said with a twinkle in his eyes. She gave a shrug. When she smiled her agreement he patted her shoulder and said, "Good girl."

Any other objections she had, she kept to herself as she saw how serious Chakotay's expression became. His face suddenly became drawn and she knew he was worried. In effect, at his request, she was placing her own life in danger, too, which he wasn’t very happy about.’ She hadn't asked what Dalby's part in it was, although she knew that somewhere, Dalby would also be involved. He could be just as inscrutable as Chakotay at times.

The alcove was small, just enough room for her to stand up straight. She gave a little sigh. Chakotay had turned again in his sleep, and again his hand had gone under the pillow seeking assurance in a steel blade. She shuddered at the thought of Seska coming in and attacking Chakotay. Visions of steel hitting steel flashed and she closed her eyes suddenly, trying to shut out the image of Chakotay lying in a pool of blood. A low growl escaped her. She would kill Seska with her bare hands if she sprang suddenly on Chakotay. He'd given her that right hadn’t he? B'Elanna shrugged mentally. No, he didn't exactly give her that right. He only intimated that she hold Seska off if he were caught off-guard.

She was wide awake even though she had gone without sleep for twenty four hours straight. It was almost 0100 and Seska had gone off duty at 2100. Why was she taking so long? This afternoon, during one of their rare free moments, Seska had done just as Chakotay predicted.

"So, B'Elanna, what did you do in Chakotay's quarters the night I saw you go in there?"

It was a smart opening move, B'Elanna thought. It gave her the lead-in to talking about access codes and security.

"Seska, that's none of your business."

"Come on, B'Elanna, you think I don't know what you're doing? The man brought you back to your cabin an hour later."

She rewarded Seska with a sheepish grin.

"Okay, you got me. But you're forcing me to admit that Chakotay sees me only as a little sister. I made a fool of myself and he let me down very gently - "

"That is so like him, isn't it? He's tough and gentle at the same time."

Seska had given a sigh, then looked at B'Elanna with pleading eyes.

"You want the code to his cabin," B'Elanna stated.

"Oh, B'Elanna! I'll do ten shifts for you! I just need this break. I know he likes me. He- he wants me..."

Seska would have hugged her there and then, if Gerron hadn’t come into the small mess hall and headed straight for them. They had been diverted for a few minutes while B'Elanna patiently explained to him that he was welcome to use her station at engineering to programme some new flight strategies and maneuvers for the Limpet. The kid was soaking up knowledge like she had done in her first year at the Academy. Only when he left did both women breathe collective sighs of relief.

B'Elanna had given Seska the information she needed and spent the next minute watching Seska's eyes change colour from grey-green to dark green. The Bajoran's mouth curved into a smile that B'Elanna thought gave her the look of a predator about to pounce. B'Elanna's disquiet grew and she had felt somewhat unhappy, still not quite ready to believe that the beautiful woman sitting opposite her could want to kill Chakotay. B'Elanna had never asked Chakotay why Seska wanted to kill him. If Seska were a spy, it was probably to neutralise Chakotay. Then why? There were many Maquis cells operating in Federation space and in the Demilitarised Zone, and all had the same problem of being fugitives whom both the Federation and the Cardassians would have loved to get their hands on. For her, there were too many pieces of the puzzle still missing. Was Chakotay involved in more things than met the eye?

Her feet were beginning to ache from standing too long in one position; she was going to cramp up soon and the urge to bend and stretch was just too great. So she rubbed one foot against the other leg and somehow it gave her a little relief.

There was a price on Chakotay's head anyway, she thought. That applied to just about everyone in the Maquis, even Gerron who was still only sixteen in Earth years. Why was Chakotay such a prize? What was happening?

Before she could ponder on that question, a sound at the door alerted her. Her neck hair rose, her ears pricked. She was suddenly hyper-alert but forced her breathing to be even, even as her heart hammered against her rib cage. She could almost feel the release of adrenaline as her body readied for any pending attack. She stole a quick glance at the bunk. Chakotay hadn’t moved yet; he was still lying on his stomach, one hand tucked under his pillow with his head turned towards her. His other hand trailed on the floor. She had no time to think what a nice, cute picture it made, with him lying so vulnerable and boyish in sleep, or to think that he probably always slept like that. There was no time to imagine how Kathryn Janeway would pull the blanket over him that had slid off during the night. No gentle shaking to wake him up.

The door opened softly and B'Elanna squeezed tighter into the alcove. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the shadowy figure move forward stealthily.

B'Elanna almost gasped when she saw Seska. Even in the dark, with only starlight swelling into the cabin, she could see Seska's breathtaking beauty. Her hair hung loose over her shoulders. She wore a diaphanous gown that did little to conceal her shape, her long legs, or the swell of her breasts that B'Elanna could see were heaving as she breathed.

Funny how her wordless entreaty seemed to touch him. He stirred only slightly to lie more comfortably, then sighed deeply again. B'Elanna saw no weapon carried by Seska, but perhaps it was in her left hand. From her own vantage point she could only see Seska's profile. She tried to remember whether Seska was left-handed, then shook her head. B'Elanna stood dead still, not even wanting to shift her weight from one foot to the other. Seska reached Chakotay and when she bent over him, B'Elanna's heart raced furiously.

B'Elanna balled her fists as Seska touched Chakotay's head and she gave him a gentle caress.

A thumb grazed Chakotay's lips and she heard him moan.

Seska's hands came together and she touched something. B'Elanna heard a very, very soft click.

B'Elanna blinked...and blinked...and blinked.

In a flurry of movement so swift it left her gasping, Chakotay whipped up and the next thing B'Elanna saw, was Seska lying on the floor in a pool of blood, her head almost severed from her body. For a few seconds the torso twitched in the final throes of death until Seska gave a shuddering gasp. Her body stilled. Chakotay stood over the body, his Klingon dagger dangling from limp fingers.

Shocked to the core, B'Elanna tried to reenact what she had just seen happen in three seconds - too fast for the eye, but the images and sequence of movement were burned on her retina.

Seska bent down, her robe slipping away from her shoulders and revealing her creamy skin and breasts. Chakotay lay completely motionless on the bed, still in the last pose B'Elanna remembered - on his stomach, one hand under the pillow and the other touching the floor. Seska's left hand came up, and B'Elanna saw the flash of the ring with its ornate head. Chakotay stirred slightly. Seska pressed a spring somewhere on the ring and a click revealed the tiny needle as it slid out. There was a triumphant look in her eyes. She balled her hand into a fist and...

B'Elanna wondered why she didn't remember hearing Seska whisper "Chakotay, die now..." Like a snake uncoiling itself, Chakotay moved. First, the hand trailing on the floor gripped Seska's ankle and threw her off balance. She started to topple backwards, but in that same movement Chakotay grabbed Seska's hair, pulled her head back so that her neck, exposed, lay ready for the dagger which cut across her throat with cat-like speed, as B'Elanna heard a grinding sound. Seska never made a sound after that. Her protest died in her throat as she fell to the floor, blood spurting from the open wound in her neck. Her head faced B'Elanna and in that same moment the room illuminated enough that B'Elanna could see Seska's face. The mouth gaped wide and her tongue limped out of her mouth while her eyes were wide, still-staring.

In death, Seska's face showed surprise.

B'Elanna clasped the sides of her head, hearing screams coming from somewhere. They weren't hers. They couldn't be. She'd seen death, she'd seen corpses. Seska looked surprised...surprised... B'Elanna felt dizzy, her head buzzing with the echo of the screams.

"Torres!"

She looked up, and only belatedly felt the wetness on her cheeks. Chakotay stood over the prone body of Seska the Bajoran. She stared at Seska's grotesque dead face.

"Torres!"

When she heard his voice a second time, she moved from her spot, careful not to step near the blood that covered the area around Seska's body. B'Elanna shuddered violently. She stood still, hesitant to take another step forward.

"Come here, Torres"

Chakotay was breathing heavily, and beads of perspiration made his forehead gleam in the low illumination. When she walked carefully around the body of Seska, Chakotay's hand rested on her shoulder. For a moment B'Elanna stiffened. It was the hand that felled the woman lying dead on the floor. She looked up at him and he gave her a tired smile. Moments before Chakotay had moved like a stealthy cat, so fast that she couldn't follow his actions. Now, he looked tired.

"C-Chakotay...?

"She'll never trouble any of us again, Torres. Never."

"What has she done to you, Chakotay?"

He kept his gaze on her, and his eyes narrowed.

"You'll not know the damage this woman has done. She was a Cardassian spy, Torres. While it may be hard for you to believe, Seska is a Cardassian.

She hardly had time to absorb Chakotay's outrageous claim when the cabin doors swished open and Dalby entered.

"I see it's done, Chak," he said as he glanced at the body on the floor.

"Yes. Don't feel sorry for this woman."

Chakotay walked to his cabinet and removed a med-kit. In fascination B'Elanna and Ken Dalby watched how he returned and collected blood and skin samples from Seska; he removed the ring with its needle still protruding and placed it carefully in a little metal box. A small transparent disk Chakotay removed from the med-kit also went into the box. When he rose to his feet again, he looked at Dalby and handed him the box.

"My guess is the ring contained a poison that would have killed me in a millisecond."

"Jeez, Chakotay..." Dalby said and Chakotay smiled again.

"Sergei Karkoff is currently stationed at Deep Space Nine for a short while. You must rendezvous with Eddington's vessel and make certain that Karkoff gets this. I can tell you now, Torres and Dalby, that while Seska may have looked Bajoran, they couldn't change her blood properties or her DNA. I'll bet my last bar of latinum on that. You have three days, Dalby."

Dalby clicked his heels.

"Aye, Captain!"

"Good. Torres, get a clean-up crew in here to remove this vile creature from my quarters. We'll have to use one of our torpedo casings and shoot her into the nearest sun, and I..." Chakotay paused as he used his toe to nudge the body of the dead woman. "I'll be sleeping in one of the vacant cabins..."

"Aye...Captain..." B'Elanna said slowly as she began to collect herself.

"Well, she'll not trouble us again, will she?" Dalby said.

This time Chakotay dropped his hand on Dalby's shoulder, and B'Elanna thought how incongruous the picture looked with Chakotay's dagger still dangling from his other hand, Dalby grinning, she herself wanting to puke and poor, dead, bloody Seska looking surprised.

"Know what, Dalby?" Chakotay asked.

"What, Captain?"

"I should have killed Seska way back when she was still Sedeka."

*****

END CHAPTER TWENTY NINE  

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