Disclaimer and summary: See part 1

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Part Twenty-Six

Neelix handed the tray with Janeway's meal to his companion,
then knocked on the door to her shelter. When he didn't receive
an answer, he frowned in concern. Janeway didn't usually ignore
him. "I think something's wrong," he said quietly, turning to
look at 'Chuck' Roberts.

Roberts handed the tray back to Neelix. "Take this. I'll go in
first, just in case," she said. She waited until the Talaxian had
taken the tray and stepped back, then moved up to the door and
opened it.

Drawing her phaser, Roberts carefully stepped into the shelter
and looked around. It didn't take her long to spot Janeway, lying
unconscious on the floor. She walked over to the other woman
and crouched down. Then she reached out a hand, intending to
find out if Janeway had a fever.

However, her hand halted in mid-motion and her eyes widened in
alarm when she noticed the foam around Janeway's mouth.
Roberts withdrew her hand, stood up and hurried back to the
door. "Neelix, you'd better go get Mrs. Wildman. Janeway needs
medical attention," she said seriously as she put her phaser away.

Neelix frowned in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Janeway's unconscious," Roberts answered. "And she has foam
around her mouth."

"Oh, dear," Neelix said worriedly. "I'll get Samantha right
away." He handed the tray to Roberts, then turned and left in a
hurry.

Roberts went back into the shelter and put the tray down, making
sure it wouldn't get in the way, then walked over and knelt next
to Janeway again. Then she laid a hand on the other woman's
forehead, only to snatch it away. Janeway was burning hot with
fever.

Then she noticed that Janeway was breathing shallowly.
Frowning slightly, Roberts checked the other woman's pulse.
The frown deepened when she discovered that Janeway's pulse
was weak and irregular.

Roberts let go of Janeway's wrist and sat back on her heels. She
hoped that Samantha Wildman would arrive soon. Voyager's
captain was obviously in danger and the sooner she got medical
attention, the better. For all of them.

*****

GenA hit the chime to his sister's quarters, then waited
impatiently for her to answer. A moment later, the door opened,
revealing RiKaH standing on the other side. "RiKaH, I need you
to take care of everything here," he said without preamble. "I
have to go to the "Yuzla" immediately."

RiKaH studied her brother's serious face. "Of course, NabTel,"
she said. She hesitated for a heartbeat, then asked, "What's
wrong?"

"I have to talk to Dr. JanRy. I just got a message from Voyager's
doctor," NabTel answered. "Something is wrong with the device
implanted in Tom Paris. Their doctor has to keep him sedated."

RiKaH frowned in puzzlement. "Why?"

"Because when Tom is conscious, he's in constant pain from the
implant," NabTel answered with a sigh. He answered his sister's
next question before she could ask. "The doctor can't remove the
device without causing Tom serious brain damage."

"Can't he just turn it off?"

"No. He checked, and apparently the thing can only be turned off
by using the controlling device," NabTel answered, then added,
"And SuelLo has destroyed that."

RiKaH cursed softly, then said, "So you're hoping that Dr. JanRy
can somehow turn off Tom Paris' implant." It was a statement,
not a question. When her brother nodded, she said, "You better
hurry, then. The sooner that implant is deactivated the better. I'll
take care of everything here and keep an eye on the "Yuzla" in
case SicA decides to attack Voyager. Or us," she added as an
afterthought.

"That won't be necessary," NabTel said. At RiKaH's questioning
look, he elaborated. "I found proof that SicA is LecSe. I'm going
to put SuelLo in charge of the "Yuzla"."

RiKaH smiled slightly. "You're going to give your mate the
proof and let him deal with SicA so you don't have to, aren't
you?"

NabTel gave his sister a fleeting smile. "You know me so well,"
he answered, eliciting an amused, "Of course I do," from RiKaH.
Then he turned and headed for the transporter room, confident
that his sister would take care of any problems that might arise in
his absence.

*****

Baytart, Hamilton, Isabelle, Layla, Rollins, Jarvin, Kyle, Tal
Celes and Jeanette Kofoed left the Chief Engineer's office to
start their assigned duties. Harry and B'Elanna stayed behind
with Chakotay while the latter commed sick bay in hopes of
getting a progress report from the doctor. "Chakotay to sick
bay."

"Commander," the doctor answered, appearing on the view
screen. "How nice of you to call. I assume you want an update on
Mr. Paris' condition."

"Yes, Doctor," Chakotay answered. "How is he?"

"I have Mr. Paris sedated in order to keep him from being in
pain," the doctor answered. He held up a hand to forestall
Chakotay's next question. "Upon further examination of Mr.
Paris, I discovered that it is impossible for me to remove the
implant without seriously damaging his Temporal Lobe.
Furthermore, it appears that the only way to deactivate the device
is by using the controller and that has been destroyed."

Harry and B'Elanna exchanged a horrified glance, then looked at
Chakotay whose expression matched theirs. "Isn't there
*anything* you can do, Doctor?" Chakotay asked.

"No," the doctor answered. "However, I have apprised GenA of
the situation, and he is going to talk to the 'doctor' who
performed the procedure to implant the device." The sarcasm
with which the EMH uttered the word 'doctor' was clear.

"Do you think the alien doctor will be able to help?" Chakotay
asked.

"I certainly hope so," the hologram answered. "If he can't, I have
no idea what to do. I can't keep Mr. Paris sedated forever, but if
the implant can't be removed, or at least turned off, he will
eventually go crazy from the constant pain." The doctor hesitated
for a moment, then added, "If there isn't a way to turn the device
off, the most merciful thing would be to let Mr. Paris die."

"I see." It took all of Chakotay's self-control not to react visibly
to that statement. He knew that the doctor never would have
mentioned that possibility if his ethical subroutines hadn't been
disabled. Although Chakotay briefly wished that he hadn't done
that, he knew that it had been necessary in order for the doctor to
be able to fool the aliens. And now it seemed that the doctor
wouldn't be getting his ethical subroutines back just yet.

Chakotay shook off his thoughts and returned his attention to the
doctor. "Comm me when you know anything."

"Of course, Commander," the doctor answered and cut the link.

Chakotay turned off the view screen and dragged a hand over his
face before he turned around to look at Harry and B'Elanna. He
knew that they would probably have something to say about the
last part of his conversation with the EMH, and he really wasn't
in the mood for the indignation he was sure they felt.

"Chakotay, you can't seriously consider the doctor's
suggestion!" B'Elanna exclaimed in disbelief when she saw the
tired, unhappy look on his face.

Chakotay didn't answer. "Let's go and see how Tuvok's doing
with Tom's security locks," he said instead, then moved towards
the office door.

B'Elanna opened her mouth to say something, but Harry's hand
on her arm caused her to look at the other man. He shook his
head at her. "Not now, Chief," he said quietly.

"But…"

"B'Elanna, the Commander obviously doesn't want to talk about
it right now." When Harry saw the protest on her face, he added,
"Would *you* want to talk about it if you'd just been informed
that you might lose your lover?"

B'Elanna sighed. "No, I wouldn't," she admitted. "Alright, I'll
leave it alone for now, but I *am* going to bring it up later," she
added firmly.

Harry smiled fleetingly. "I never doubted it. Now, come on, let's
find out if Tuvok's given up yet."

*****

SicA looked up from the padd she was reading when the door to
her quarters opened without warning. She put the padd down and
rose from her chair with a frown of annoyance when she saw
who entered. "How did you get into my private quarters?" she
asked. "And what are those guards doing here?"

"MoZdee, you are relieved of command and under arrest for
treason," SuelLo said without answering her questions. He
turned to the guards. "Take her to the brig."

"What do you mean, I'm under arrest for treason?" SicA asked
outraged as two of the guards moved over and grabbed her arms.

SuelLo turned back to her. "I have proof that you are LecSe," he
informed her dispassionately and held up the padd in his hand.
As she opened her mouth to protest again, he added,
"*Irrefutable* proof, so don't bother denying it."

MoZdee's eyes flashed with anger as she twisted in the guards'
grip, trying to get free. When that didn't work, she decided to use
her emergency plan. "Computer, implement…." That was as far
as she got before SuelLo interrupted her.

"Don't bother. I erased your voice print from the computer
before I came here." SuelLo smiled coldly. "The computer no
longer recognizes your voice."

Ignoring her scream of rage, SuelLo nodded for his guards to
take the prisoner away. As soon as the door closed after them, he
moved to the computer console and went to work. It was time to
ensure that no one attempted to release MoZdee from the brig.

TBC