Summary: Kathryn meets with the task forces and things start falling into place.

Rating: PG

The task force meeting to discuss the expired trade agreements was not going well. Everyone was on edge, and it didn’t help that Representative Jorl of Moroppa was on the committee. He said little, but everyone watched his reactions carefully, often clamming up when he all but twitched an eyebrow.

What frustrated Kathryn was the defensiveness that pervaded the room when she and Sue presented the information collected from each of the planets.

Sue began to respond to a question about the accuracy of the data. “Sir…”

Kathryn placed her hand on Sue’s arm. “Let’s stop for a moment.”

“Admiral, we’re on a tight schedule,” one councilman protested.

She nodded her understanding, but instead of continuing the conversation, she leaned back in her chair and folded her hands together in her lap. “This isn’t a battle, and the last thing I’m trying to do is point fingers or cast blame.”

“Is that so?” Jorl asked. “Every time I’ve seen you lately, you’ve been casting around quite a lot of blame. Seems to me like you want to blame us for the deaths of your lover’s family.”

Ignoring the bait, she spoke to the rest of the group. “We have nine so-called debts that will never be paid, which leaves nine governments in poor standing with the Federation. Do you want these planets in the Federation or not?”

Jorl asked, “What if I said, ‘no?’”

“Then I would ask on what grounds?”

“These nine planets provide no tangible contribution to the Federation. They never have.”

“Excuse me?” She was shocked with disbelief, and with one glance around the room, she could tell that she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. “Since when does the Federation make planets pay to be members?”

“It doesn’t, but it should. Every planet, colony, or space station that wants protection from Starfleet and the Federation should have to contribute to the greater good. Why should we break the rules just to let these planets slither back to us? It’s pathetic, and they’d be embarrassed to do it.”

She blinked slowly. “You do realize that these proceedings are being recorded, don’t you?”

He shrugged as if he didn’t care.

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she said, “This is getting us nowhere. Let’s assume the answer is yes, we definitely want these planets back in the Federation. That being the case, it is my suggestion that we start fresh. Right here, right now. Terminate these contracts so we can have some movement towards re-uniting the Federation. It’s what your voters want.”

“Enough. This meeting is pointless, and it’s over.” Jorl stood and tossed a PADD to the middle of the table. “Those are the approved ‘minutes’ of this meeting.”

“What?” Janeway demanded.

He gave her a steely glare, and then deliberately dropped his eyes to her abdomen. “Watch yourself Janeway. Assuming you want to keep that.”

After he walked out of the room, no one said a word until Janeway demanded, “Who is recording this conversation?”

A clerk at the far end of the room stood. His voice trembled as he said, “Admiral, I’m sorry, but I had no other choice.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had to make the recording malfunction. He… he left me no other choice.”

With a sigh, she asked, “Blackmail?”

“I know I may lose my job over this, but I can’t lie to you, Admiral. They have pictures of my son.”

Kathryn closed her eyes and lowered her head in grief. “How old is your son?”

“He’s eight. I’m sorry.”

Councilman M’niss said, “You’re not alone.”

Kathryn’s head popped up. “How many of you would admit to being blackmailed?”

Most refused to meet her eyes, but M’niss said, “Whether or not we have been personally approached, Admiral, the control affects all of us.”

“Admiral?” Sue asked as she handed Kathryn a PADD

“Yes, Lieutenant?” One glance at it, and she tried not to smile. “It appears that we do have a recording of this, after all. And it’s still going.”

M’niss smiled with a feline ferocity. “Then I suggest we get on with this meeting. We have work to do.”

“Unless you’d like us to stop here, Admiral?” Lal asked. “For your own safety.”

Kathryn waved away his concern. “I’ve grown numb to the threats, actually.”

Sue said, “Torture will do that.”

Lal asked, “What did Jorl mean about keeping ‘that?’”

“Probably my hide,” she said casually. “Now, should we get on with it, as M’niss suggested?”

“Yes, we should.”

Kathryn picked up the PADD that Jorl left, skimmed through it, and rolled her eyes.

“What does it say?” Curd asked.

“The PADD that Jorl left,” she said for the benefit of the recording, “indicates that this task force should decide that the debts of the nine planets in question not be forgiven on the basis that it is not good for the Federation.”

M’niss said, “Well, this is it. This is when we have to stand up and be brave.”

Kathryn nodded. “If this is going to work, it’s going to take everyone banding together. No one can fix these problems alone.”

“While we may want to forgive the debts, wouldn’t we be setting a precedent that contracts with the Federation aren’t enforced?” Curd asked.

Lal pointed out, “That depends on how we phrase the resolution. According to all nine governments, these were signed under duress, during the war. This is unacceptable and the Federation is better than this.”

Curd asked, “But what if we do end up in a wartime situation? I’m not sure it’s within our jurisdiction to solve this.”

M’niss said, “No, the buck stops here. We have to do something about this. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of all the lies and subterfuge.”

When no one responded, Kathryn asked, “Does anyone have a suggestion for getting around this?”

Gisso, an expert at Federation law, offered, “The only legal way to terminate the contracts is to prove that they were signed under duress. If we do that, fingers will start pointing before you can say the word ‘go.’”

Kathryn nodded towards the data that Sue had been sharing earlier. “We have the proof.”

Curd corrected, “We have one side of the story. Need I remind you that it was Starfleet officers who were sent to negotiate those contracts? What will they say in order to protect their careers and families?”

Kathryn said, “It would be my hope that the Starfleet officers would do their duty, as I would expect from you as well. However, let’s hear some options. It’s time to get creative.”

“Admiral,” Gisso said, “We’re limited by the policies under the Articles of the Federation.”

“Then it’s time to change those policies.”

Curd said, “Agreed, but that would open this debate to the public.”

“Then open it. The situation isn’t exactly a secret.”

“What if….” M’niss rubbed the whiskers on his ears. “What if we did?”

“Go on,” Kathryn encouraged.

“We could let the press know that the task force is divided on the issue, and present two options in a formal statement. Present Jorl’s as one.”

“Can we attach his name to it?” Lal asked. “The more publicity we give to the problem areas, the better.”

Sue looked at the PADD. “It has his thumbprint.”

Curd continued, “And the other calls for an amendment to the Articles.”

Kathryn said, “If all of you get behind the amendment, I’m sure it will pass.”

Lal said, “Admiral, the amendment will pass if you’re the one behind it.”

M’niss interrupted, “No, Lal, we all need to get behind it. She can’t do this alone.”

Gisso added, “And it’s not the Admiral who can bring this resolution up for a vote. It’s us.”

“But, you can’t deny that her support will make it or break it,” Lal said.

“Quite true,” said M’niss. “And it’s no secret that you want to bring these planets back into the Federation.”

“No, it’s not.” Kathryn glanced at the clock. “I need to leave it to you to debate the wording of this resolution. Lieutenant Brooks and I have to get to another meeting.”

“This won’t be decided today, Admiral.”

“No, and something this important shouldn’t be rushed.” Kathryn handed Sue a data storage device and pointed to Jorl’s PADD. She held her finger in front of her mouth so that no one in the room would comment on what she was doing. As Sue made the copy, Kathryn said, “While I don’t know your policies for divulging the contents of your meetings, my suggestion is that you find a way to officially report that no decision was made. Stalling can work, and it may buy us some time for other things to get resolved.”

“If we make that statement to the press, Jorl won’t corroborate.”

She looked around the room at M’niss, Gisso, Curd, Lal, Brooks, and the clerk. “Seven to one in our favor.”




The task force on science and medical research funding was going about as well as the first meeting had. No one wanted to commit to anything, and Kathryn felt a tangible lack of trust in the room, even without any of the president’s supporters in the room. Liyal had wanted to be on the team, but did not get elected. Even so, his presence was felt because they knew they’d have to report back to him because he was the chair of the appropriations sub-council.

Kathryn interrupted a conversation that had gone off on a tangent by saying, “My proposal to this task-force was to a reinstate the Federation sponsorship program for science and medical research to pre-war levels. For now, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to say that this would be limited to Federation members.”

Daal said, “A nice concept, but the funding just isn’t available. Cuts had to be made because of other needs.”

“Where are those resources being used now?” When Kathryn got only silence in response, she asked, “Rebuilding?”

No one said anything, but there were affirmative nods.

Gardi took a deep breath before saying, “The funds are tied up because of the contracts that your other task force is working on eliminating.”

“What? Why does that have anything to do with this?”

“It’s a loophole,” Daal admitted. “When the contracts weren’t filled by the deadline, the sub-council charged with the rebuilding effort was authorized, by Federation law, to purchase the needed resources from any vendor who could supply them in a timely manner in order to get the projects done.”

Kathryn opened her mouth to comment and then snapped it shut, took a look around at the shocked faces, and decided to go ahead and speak. “Tell me if I’ve got this right… Those contracts were made, knowing full well that they couldn’t be delivered, and this allowed for the purchase of materials at any price?”

“Right,” Daal said.

“And where are we getting them?”

Sakish-Anar said, “I believe you visited those planets, Admiral.”

“I did?”

Sue leaned in and whispered, “Last June.”

Kathryn closed her eyes and let her head fall back. “Of course. It’s the ones that are doing remarkably well coming out of the war. The ‘success’ stories.”

Segra offered, “They really are success stories, Admiral. Our president is very proud that he brought the economies of those worlds back on track.”

Sakish-Anar added, “And his speeches about bringing prosperity include the next planet to be the focus of that effort.”

“I haven’t paid attention,” Kathryn admitted. “Which world is next?”

“This one.”

Kathryn rolled her eyes. “Oh. I did hear that after all, but I’m of the opinion that Earth is doing just fine.”

“I’d say that your opinion is common, Admiral.”

“Anyone else connecting the dots here?” she asked.

“Dots?” Segra asked.

Gardi replied, “A child’s game, Segra. When one connects all the dots together in the right order, one can see the full picture.”

“Oh.”

Kathryn got no responses to her question. “I see.”

Daal said, “There’s nothing this task force can do but make suggestions. The resources just aren’t available to follow through, despite our recommendations.”

Sighing, she replied, “This was supposed to be the easy petition.”

Sakish-Anar asked, “Would you like us to create a proposal anyway?”

“In it, are you going to be assertive enough to connect a few of these dots?”

Daal replied, “I’d like to discuss it with Dooha, first.”

Gardi said, “Look, we’ve been tip-toeing around this issue for years in order to keep the status quo. If not now, when are we going to restore the balance in the Federation Council?”

“What do you propose we do, Gardi?” Sagra asked. “This issue is bigger than any of us.”

“I propose that we point out the facts. They’re incriminating all by themselves.”

Sakish-Anar slammed his hand on the desk. “Now, we’re getting somewhere. Let’s get this down in writing.”

Kathryn proudly said, “Excellent work. May I leave you to it?”

Gardi stood to help Kathryn from her chair. “Of course you may, Admiral. It has been a pleasure to have you with us.”

“Thank you, councilman. I’m sure that all of you can examine the pre-war programs to see where the priorities lie. My staff is available to you at any time in case you’d like more information from the planets we visited.”




Kathryn took another break for lunch, checked in with her husband, and then went into the last task force meeting to discuss maintaining the independence of all Federation planets. A good portion of the time was spent debating whether or not inter-dependency was a good thing. Kathryn’s energy had waned so much that she simply didn’t have the patience or desire to participate in much in the discussion. Sue conveyed all the pertinent data when asked, but Kathryn let the council members control the meeting. Afterwards, she went straight home, crawled into bed, and slept for three hours straight.

For dinner, Justin whipped up a fresh and very flavorful stir-fry, accompanied by spring rolls from one of their favorite Thai restaurants in San Francisco. Kathryn enjoyed the meal so much that she had three servings.

“I’ll have to make that for you again, Admiral.”

“Mmmmm.” She sat back in her chair, feeling stuffed. “I’d like that, although I’m afraid I didn’t leave any room for the cheesecake you made. When did you have the time to do that, by the way?”

“This morning.”

“You were supposed to be taking the time to rest.”

He shrugged. “Cooking helps me relax. I get a lot of thinking done.”

Sue asked, “And what did you think about?”

With a wink, he said, “You.”

His commbadge chirped, interrupting their conversation. “Jarvin here.”

Larkin said, “Commander Paris and his family have requested a visit. Is the Admiral open to accepting guests?”

Kathryn nodded as she stood up from the table and began to clear it. “That would be nice. Thank you, Commander.”

“My pleasure, Admiral. Stand by.”

Sue took the dirty plates from Kathryn. “Let me take care of that, Admiral.”

“Thank you.” The doorbell rang, and Kathryn went into the foyer to greet her guests. When she saw that Owen and Matt had accompanied Tom and B’Elanna, she was definitely surprised. “I didn’t expect all of you!”

Owen leaned in and gave Kathryn a kiss on the cheek. “We hoped you wouldn’t mind, but thought it a wonderful excuse to say hello.”

“You don’t need an excuse for that.” She hugged Matt and said, “It’s so good to see you.”

“Good to see you, too, Katie. And you do look good. Are you feeling it?”

Directing them into great room, she replied, “Off and on. I just had a long nap and a wonderful dinner, so I’ve got some energy at the moment.”

“But it’s in the middle of the morning,” Tom joked. “You and your European schedule.”

“I think I’m done with that schedule for now. Not sure it’s worth going back to Paris tomorrow.”

B’Elanna asked, “Run into problems?”

“A few, but less than I expected. Some encouraging conversations happened today, and I believe it’s the right time for me to get out of their way.”

Matt said, “When these two said they needed a second afternoon off to see you, I asked if Owen and I could tag along.”

“You want to know what they’re up to,” Kathryn mused.

“Well, yes. Tom said he was doing a favor for you and was so secretive about it, I knew something was up.”

Kathryn furrowed her brow at Tom. “You used to be a better liar than that.”

“Yes, well.” He scratched his jaw. “I can come back another time.”

B’Elanna elbowed her husband. “What he’s trying to say is that we think you need help, and we know you trust these two.”

Tom replied, “I’m not saying that at all. You’re saying that.”

Looking at her two father-figures, Kathryn opened her hands. “What do you want to do?”

Owen said, “I have no problem confiding in them. Do you?”

“Only to protect them, but they’re already in danger just by being my friends.”

“Danger?” they all asked in unison.

Kathryn looked over her shoulder at Justin. “You might as well join us.”

“If you’d like, Admiral,” he said as he sat down.

She explained, “I’ve received several threats to back off. One with images of me, one with images of members of my family. With our friendship as public as it is, it wouldn’t surprise me if at some point, you’ll be followed as well.”

“What’s being done about these threats?” Matt demanded.

Justin replied, “The threats don’t have much teeth, but security has been fortified for the admiral’s family.”

Tom commented, “Great time to send me on and errand for you.”

She gave him a knowing smile. “I have faith that you made it believable that you needed to speak to him.”

“Of course.” He sat back and pretended to rub his lapel. “O’Brien is an expert in the field of transporter technology. That’s what he teaches at the academy, you know?”

Nodding, she replied, “Yes, I did know that. Along with tactical systems and ship operations – all providing topics of conversation applicable to your station at Utopia Planetia.”

B’Elanna asked all three admirals, “What is it that you want to confide in us?”

Kathryn looked at Justin and shrugged. “I guess you can know this, too.”

“Brooks is within earshot,” Tom pointed out.

“So she is. Sue,” she called out.

“Yes, Admiral?”

“You can eavesdrop or you can join us.”

“Which would you prefer?”

They all laughed as Kathryn directed, “Have a seat.”

“Anyone else, Katie?” Matt asked. “This is getting larger than I expected.”

“We could’ve invited Young and Moore from the Pioneer if I hadn’t just sent them off on an errand.”

Owen sighed. “Is this getting out of hand?”

Kathryn shook her head. “I trust every one of these people, completely. You all know pieces to this big puzzle, and perhaps if we put our information together, you can help me decide on the next course of action. Unfortunately, there’s no way to have everyone in the same room without arousing suspicion.”

Justin said, “If we’re going to discuss this, Chakotay will want to be involved.”

“Would you see if he’s available?”

“Sure,” he said as he opened a computer terminal on the coffee table. “Want me to conference in the Pioneer, too?”

“No. I can send them on errands without them knowing the whole story.”

Justin keyed in the access code to make the secure connection, and while he was doing so, he nodded towards his bag on the counter. “B’Elanna, there’s a dampening field generator in there. Would you set it up?”

“You don’t already have one going?” she said as she got up.

“Not one that strong. If I did, we wouldn’t be able to receive a combadge signal.” He tapped his badge. “Jarvin to Larkin. We’re going on com silence for a little while.”

“Understood.” The com chirped that it was closed.

B’Elanna activated the generator and sat back down just as Chakotay’s image came up on the screen.

“Justin?” he said anxiously. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you. Everything all right?”

Kathryn called out, “We’re having a little party and didn’t want you to feel left out.”

“Party?”

Justin said, “Let me switch the camera to wide angle so you can see all of us.”

“Then let me put on a shirt,” Chakotay mumbled. “Who’s at this party?”

Kathryn waved her hand in a circle to indicate that everyone should call out their name.

“B’Elanna.”

“Your best man.”

“Your best man’s father.”

“Your godfather-in-law.”

“Your wife.”

“Your wife’s lovely assistant.”

“And the guy keeping an eye on your wife.” Justin added, “You enabled the security protocols?”

“Always,” he said as he sat back down, looking a bit bed-ruffled. “Is this an impromptu-party?”

Kathryn waved to him and smiled, earning her a smile in return. “As you know, I sent Tom on that errand for me. When he asked for the afternoon off to report back, Owen and Matt decided to tag along. No one here knows everything that’s going on, so I thought this would be a good time to get everything out on the table so that you can all advise me on where to go from here.”

“Everything?” Chakotay asked. “Are you sure that’s wise?”

Matt commented, “That’s what I said. I don’t think it’s in anyone’s best interest to have all the details.”

Kathryn replied, “I’m of the opinion that at this point, you all know enough to realize that there’s a serious problem with our government, and we may be the only ones who have enough information to do something about it.”

Owen said, “I think we’ve all known there was a problem long before now.”

Tom asked, “What can three admirals, a professor, a pilot…”

“This sounds like the start of a bad joke,” B’Elanna interrupted.

“…a couple of engineers, and a tactical officer do about the government?”

Sue said, “One of those admirals has a little bit of influence.” When she got a look from Kathryn, she amended, “All of those admirals have a little influence.”

Kathryn sat forward and put her hands together. “What I’d like to do is figure out how to obtain enough evidence to go forward with an impeachment.”

Tom asked, “Do you have the authority to do that?”

“No, but I assume Khurma does. What I haven’t figured out is exactly how to bring charges against Zife and who would be the person to do that.”

Matt asked, “Do you trust Khurma?”

“Yes, I do.”

Owen shook his head. “I don’t know, Katie. I think he’s content waiting for the next election.”

“That’s possible, but I think we can also force his hand.”

“How?” Owen asked.

She nodded towards Chakotay. “I think it’s time to tell them about Broken Circle.”

Matt asked with surprise, “What?”

Chakotay looked askance at Kathryn, but did as she asked. “Broken Circle is the name of the organized group of rebels who have been responsible for the terrorist activities prior to Kathryn’s accepting her position. Before you ask, they were not responsible for any of the situations in which Kathryn has been injured.”

“What’s our connection?” Matt asked.

“We have two operatives in the group who are taking my advice, passed through Bernie, and again through a third party civilian contact.”

“How do we know we can trust this civilian?”

“His nephew is a member of Pioneer’s security team, and one of Kathryn’s poker partners.”

Owen asked, “What kind of advice are you giving them?”

Chakotay replied, “There have been nine peaceful anti-Zife protests in the last three months. We have directed them to remain calm in order to give Kathryn time to work her magic, and not to raise arms again. Their response has been positive because they are eager to do anything they can to help her. I’ve just sent word that they should jump on what happened during Kathryn’s general session Q&A, going so far as to give them publicly available facts about the voting records of the two councilmen that badgered her.”

B’Elanna said, “How many rebels are involved?”

“We’re not certain, but we suspect about 150 from eleven different species. They’re all young adults trying to get the Federation to notice that there are worlds out there in need of protection.”

She cringed. “Why does that sound familiar?”

Chakotay nodded. “That’s why we’re directing them to remain calm and from this point on, to keep their actions legal and above the law.”

“How did you find out about them?” B’Elanna asked.

Kathryn said, “From Norvellen.”

“Who?” Tom asked.

“One of the men from the cargo ship I was held captive on.”

Sue shifted uncomfortably and B’Elanna asked incredulously, “And you’re working with him?”

Owen said, “More like getting information from him and offering protection in return.”

Kathryn said, “Okay, now let’s talk about what we learned today. Sue, would you like to report?”

“Should I get my notes?”

“No. If you leave out anything pertinent, I’ll fill in.”

“Well, today, Jorl told us that we were not to forgive the debts on the basis that those nine planets didn’t deserve Federation membership because they provided no tangible resources to the Federation. But after he stormed out of the meeting, we agreed to start working on an amendment to the Articles of the Federation that will be brought up for public vote.”

“That’s ballsy,” Owen said. “Are you sure that was wise?”

Kathryn gave him a look. “Don’t get me started on whose idea it was for me to get mixed up in all this in the first place. If the people of the Federation vote on this change, it can’t be blamed on one person.”

“Want to bet?” Owen replied.

Sue asked, “Should I continue?”

“Yes, to the research meeting.”

“This is where it got really interesting. At first, no one would talk, but then they all seemed to open up. The nine contracts that we were discussing in the first meeting were all forced, knowing that they couldn’t be delivered. This opened up a loophole in the law because then the materials could be purchased from any vendor who could deliver on time without need for an official contract.”

Chakotay asked, “What?”

Kathryn nodded. “And the planets that were ready and waiting to supply the materials are the same five that I went on a song and dance tour of last June with Zife. This is why resources are depleted for science and medical research.”

Owen said with disbelief, “The resources are limited because of the costs of the war, and because we’ve lost nineteen members.”

“Surely those statistics are available,” Kathryn said. “How do we get them?”

“I’ll look into it,” Owen replied.

Chakotay said, “Then we find out how those are accessible and leak that information to the press.”

“I was thinking Broken Circle,” Kathryn replied.

“If everything comes from them, it’ll look suspicious.”

“And the press have ways of finding things out,” Sue said.

“Nor do they have to reveal their sources,” Tom added.

Kathryn rubbed her neck and nodded. “All right. See what you can find, Owen, and get that information to a reporter that we trust.”

Tom asked, “Want my report from my conversation with O’Brien?”

“Who’s O’Brien?” Matt asked.

Tom replied, “Professor of transporter technology at the Academy. He was on the Enterprise for awhile, and spent seven years at DS9.”

Justin said, “Before we go there, Tom, we should share with the admirals what we learned from the research done for us by Pioneer’s senior staff.”

“You’ve been busy, Katie.”

“Yes, I have been, Matt.” She glanced at Chakotay’s image on the computer and they shared a smile. “Back in February, I asked Bernie to find out what he could about the people closest to Zife. It took awhile, but on Tuesday, Moore brought us a list of five who are all officers of the Bolian bank.”

“Their significance?”

Justin said, “The list of supporters was filtered by those who were from the Bolius sector, contributed to both campaigns, and who have done well, economically in the last three years. Only these five were left.”

Owen and Matt shared a curious look and then Matt asked, “It was that easy?”

Kathryn replied, “I don’t know how easy it was, but it’s that specific. Also, we learned from Norvellan that he witnessed a Bolian bank officer going to see me while I was captive, and he also reported that the ship went to Bolius first after I was taken.”

“Right,” Owen said. “I remember that from the report.”

Sue said, “I didn’t realize that.”

Kathryn nodded. “So, we asked Tom to go talk to this O’Brien because Moore heard he knew a little about the Bolian bank.” She motioned for Tom to speak.

“He’s a great guy. Very suspicious at first, but when I told him that I was sent by Janeway via Picard, he opened right up. Back in ’74, he was forced to break into the Bolian Bank as part of an undercover operation, which he does not want in our reports.”

“All right,” Kathryn said.

“It’s been six years, but he’s had this incident on his conscience and, with the Bolian president under so much scrutiny, he’s been keeping his eye on the bank. He was thrilled to report what he’d learned.”

“Do tell, son.” Owen leaned forward intently.

All eyes were on Tom as he said, “The Bolian bank used to be extremely easy to break into, and most of their business was from off-worlders who wanted to hide their money. Ferengi, for example, could hide their profits there and the Ferengar government couldn’t access it. The Bolian citizens didn’t use the bank because they didn’t trust it.

“O’Brien says he has been reading articles about the prosperity on Bolias, and of course, the Fednews has reported that the President is living high on the hog.”

“Hog?” Sue asked.

Tom waved. “Euphemism. He’s been acting as if he is very wealthy. These articles report that the Bank has had record profits because of some major investors. I took the list of those five Bolians to O’Brien and while he didn’t recognize the names, he said if they were bank officers and campaign contributors, it would definitely be worth searching for a correlation with the major investors. I’d suggest starting with the mining companies who are getting rich.”

Matt said, “I’ll take that on.”

“Thank you,” Kathryn said. “Anything else, Tom?”

“Just that if you want to know more, talk to the Ferengi bartender at DS9. Will you send me?”

Kathryn shook her head. “Sorry, Tom. Pioneer is already on its way there.”

“Really?” he asked with disappointment.

“Moore knew about that connection, too,” Justin said.

Chakotay added, “I sent Dalby.”

“All right, fine,” Tom said, bummed. “I was really getting excited about blowing this ship out of the water.”

“Water?” Matt shook his head. “I should be used to this after working with you for a year.”

Kathryn commented, “It took me a couple years. Eventually, you might think it charming.”

“So, what other information do we have?” Owen asked.

Kathryn looked at Chakotay to see if he would say anything. He cocked his head in question, unsure of what she wanted to know.

Matt asked, “What is it, Katie?”

She sighed and blew out a breath. “We have some proof about the illegality of the negotiations on the contracts. Norvellen took notes.”

“But those were too damaged to interpret,” Owen said.

“Nope.”

Chakotay said, “Don’t turn them over, yet, Kathryn. You don’t know who to trust.”

“You don’t think I’m trustworthy?” Owen asked.

“Of course I do, Admiral,” Chakotay replied. “But this is the only incriminating piece of evidence we have, and it’s somewhere safe, not accessible by anyone at Starfleet Headquarters.”

“What does it say?” he asked.

Kathryn replied, “It contains threats by the Starfleet officer who was sent to get it signed. He is still on active duty, and I don’t want to destroy his career by bringing it to the table too early. We don’t know if he was coerced.”

Chakotay suggested, “Maybe one of them could look into his career and family.”

“That’s in my jurisdiction,” Matt said. “I help captains find personnel for their new ships, and I’m in the middle of a project for Riker. He wouldn’t mind if I added a name to the list of background checks if I told him it was for you.”

“All right. I’ll give you his name in private. Maybe you can help me research all the other officers who negotiated the rest of the contracts at the behest of the Council.”

“Worth a try.” Matt patted Kathryn on the bank. “This is great work, Katie. Really great work.”

“Thanks.” She sat back. “So now, I need suggestions for what to do tomorrow. I don’t think I’m going to get any further with the Council until we put the President on trial.”

Owen said, “That business with the amendment. It’s got teeth.”

“Yes, it does. The task force on resource allocation might also have something with a bite, but both need to get that information to the press without interference.”

Matt asked Justin, “How strong is your security, Lieutenant?”

“As strong as we can make it.”

“What are you suggesting?” Kathryn asked anxiously.

“I think you should take a walk down the street in Paris tomorrow. Maybe some reporters will be around.”

“I’m not comfortable with that,” Kathryn said, glancing at Chakotay. “The most recent threat was a little too… personal.”

Justin asked, “The one with your sister?”

Kathryn shook her head. “Another one today, from Jorl. He alluded to something he should have no knowledge of.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Justin asked.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to control her temper before her blood pressure spiked.

Chakotay said, “Justin, I don’t think this is the place. We’ll talk later.”

“Katie?” Matt put his hand on her back. “Are you okay?”

She rubbed her face and said, “As okay as I can be. So, if I were to run into the press tomorrow, what would you have me say?”

“I’m not putting you into a situation that would jeopardize your safety.”

Giving him an incredulous look, she said, “Same thing I told Owen earlier – don’t get me started.”

“All right,” he said carefully. “If you were to run into the press tomorrow, you might say that your conversations this week brought out more questions than answers, and nothing that you presented will have easy answers. It would let everyone know that you’re not giving up, nor is your job done.”

“Kathryn, if you’re not comfortable…,” Chakotay said gently.

Justin offered, “What if it’s a controlled environment? We could set up lunch with B’Elanna, and leak to a couple of the reporters that we trust won’t badger her.”

She thought about it for a moment and then nodded. “All right, but we do it in San Francisco at Luigi’s because it won’t look like a set-up. And, not during the lunch rush so it won’t be crowded. The reporters should just happen to be lunching there, or someone in the restaurant needs to have leaked my presence.”

Chakotay asked, “Are you expected in Paris tomorrow?”

“No one invited me.” She scratched her temple. “I think they want me to go away.”

Sue said, “Not everyone, Admiral.”

Chakotay said, “I hate to call an end to this party, but I need to sleep. It’s almost midnight here. Kathryn, could I speak to you privately for just a moment?”

She nodded. “Justin, would you transfer the connection up to my bedroom?”

“Sure, and we’ll see everyone out.”

“Thanks.”

“Kathryn?” B’Elanna called out.

“Yes, Lanna?”

“I’d like to talk to you, too. Alone.”

She sighed. “All right. I’ll be back down.”

As soon as she got upstairs and her door closed, tears welled in Kathryn’s eyes. She tried to stop them, but it was fruitless so she sat at her desk and keyed on the computer.

Chakotay spoke softly as he said, “Oh, my love. I’m so sorry.”

Grabbing a tissue, she muttered, “Damned hormones.”

“I can’t tell you how much I want to hold you.”

“Sending you away was incredibly stupid of me.”

“No,” he said gently. “Just your wanting to be strong.”

She waved at her face. “We see how well that turned out.”

“I think you’re doing great. This has been a hell of a week for you.”

“Yeah,” she smiled through her watery eyes. “I guess you want to know about today’s threat?”

He nodded. “No pressure, though, and Justin shouldn’t have asked in that venue.”

“I set the tone too casual with him and Sue. It’s been getting more out of line as the week goes on.”

“I don’t know if I’d call that out of line. After all, they are living with you and you need the friendly compassion they can offer. Set limits if you need to, but not strict ones.”

“I’ll sleep on it.” She took a deep breath. “Jorl, as he walked out of the first meeting, told me to watch myself if I wanted to keep the baby.”

“HE WHAT!?!?!” Chakotay shouted angrily.

She was taken aback by his volume, but recovered quickly. “He was being a bully. There’s no other way to describe it.”

Voice still loud, he stated, “He announced your pregnancy and threatened an unborn child?!?”

“He said to watch myself if I want to keep ‘that.’ He used the word, ‘that,’ and then dropped his eyes to my belly. Someone asked about it after he left, but I evaded.”

Chakotay pounded the desk angrily. “That son of a bitch. Damn! I need to be there!”

“I don’t want to go back to Paris tomorrow.”

“No, you shouldn’t. You’ve done enough for one week.” He took a deep breath to try to calm down. “So much for getting sleep.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize. I need to know.”

“Look, I’ll just stay here in Oregon and catch up on sleep, get my body re-acclimated to this time zone. I want to make some notes and get my thoughts in order.” She pressed her fingers against her temples. “My mind is in a jumble.”

“You didn’t sound that way tonight.”

“Good,” she yawned. “I’m glad that was impromptu, because I would’ve stressed over it otherwise.”

“Go say goodbye to your guests. You should get some rest.”

“I will. Tom and B’Elanna are the only ones left, I think.”

“Kathryn?”

“Yes?”

“I love you,” he said in all seriousness.

“Thank you. I love you just as much.”

“I’m a very lucky man.” He leaned forward. “And our baby is safe. It’s going to be okay.”

“Goodnight, honey.”

“Goodnight.”

Kathryn closed the computer, rubbed her eyes, and went back downstairs. She found B’Elanna waiting in the great room by herself. “Hi Lanna.”

She stood up quickly. “Everyone else is out on the porch.”

“All right. What do you want to see me about?”

“Nothing,” B’Elanna said as she drew Kathryn into her arms. “I just thought you needed a hug.”

Kathryn almost sobbed as she held on tightly. “Oh, Lanna.”

“This whole situation stinks, and I hate every bit of it.”

“Me, too.”

The women continued to hold each other fiercely as B’Elanna rubbed Kathryn’s back. “I can’t believe Owen and Patterson put you up to all of this. I suspected that last August, but I really can’t believe they did it.”

“It wasn’t just them. There must have been a dozen parties encouraging me to accept the job.”

B’Elanna lifted her head and looked Kathryn in the eye. “I hope this gathering tonight means it’s almost over, or that we’re at least getting closer to sending that idiot to prison.”

“I really hope so.” She took B’Elanna’s hands and held them tightly. “But I think a lot is going to change in the next week. Sure you’re up for that lunch tomorrow?”

“Absolutely. Anything to help you get this tied up.”

Kathryn gave her another quick hug and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“All right. Go on up and take a bath or something. I’ll tell Justin you’re up there.”

“Thank you. I think I will.”

“Goodnight, Kathryn.”

“Goodnight.”




When Kathryn and Justin transported to Luigi’s the next day, the restaurant was empty except for a few staff and B’Elanna. She smoothed out the front of her blue blouse, feeling a little strange to be appearing in public without her uniform.

A handsome gentleman with dark hair came up to her. “Buongiorno, Signora Janeway!”

“Buongiorno, signore.”

“Ah, tu sai l’italiano?”

She held her thumb and forefinger together. “Una piccolo. My Italian is a little rusty.”

“Let me try… Sono Stefano Luigi. Il benvenuto al mio restorante.

“Grazie, Signor Luigi.” Kathryn motioned around to the empty room. “Sei chiuso?”

“Closed? Yes, in a manner of speaking. We’ve invited a select group of patrons to start arriving uno momento. They know that you’ll be here, and will act as if it is a commonplace occurrence so that if you’re caught on video, it will not be suspicious.”

Kathryn looked to Justin. “Isn’t this a little overkill with the staging?”

“Admiral Patterson does not believe so, Ma’am.”

“Figures,” she said with a sigh. Smiling graciously, she extended her hand to their host. “Again, grazie, Signor Luigi, for being so accommodating.”

“Il mio piacere, Admiral. Anything I can do to help you is an honor.” He guided her to her seat. “Mrs. Torres tells me that your first meal following your recovery was from Luigi’s.”

“In a manner of speaking, that’s true. It was the first once my dietary restrictions were lifted.” Kathryn she sat across from B’Elanna and squeezed her hand in greeting.

Luigi asked, “And I understand that was our cannelloni?”

“Si, e magnifico. May I have the same today?”

“Certamente. And what may I get for you, Mrs. Torres?”

“Your rigatoni, please. It’s a favorite.”

“As you wish.” He took a bottle of white wine off ice and poured each of them a glass. “Our finest, for our most distinguished guests.”

“Oh, non si deve.” Kathryn held out her hand to protest.

“I insist, Admiral.” He was practically beaming with pride as he walked away to put in their order.

B’Elanna offered, “Want me to drink it for you?”

“Honestly, I don’t know which would be worse. Offending him, or anyone finding out that I had wine while in my condition.”

“In the great scheme of things, I don’t think you should worry about it, either way.”

“True,” she said with a sigh. “It’s not like I don’t have other things to worry about right now.”

“Are you ready for this?”

“No, but I will be when the moment arrives… quando arriva il momento,” Kathryn said with a laugh. “Makes me want to spend some time in Tuscany.”

“Maybe you’ll have some time before the… well, before the arrival.”

“Probably after. Things are too precarious to be planning any vacations right now.”

B’Elanna took a sip of her wine, then of Kathryn’s. “I don’t think I realized that you were so multi-lingual.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I’ve studied a few languages, but I’m only fluent in Federation Standard.”

“I’ve heard you speak French and Italian.”

“Yes, but I only know enough to be conversational. I wouldn’t be able to read a novel.”

“Any others?” she asked as their salads were set down before them.

“Chakotay wants to teach me his mother’s language.”

“Mayan?”

Kathryn nodded. “I should ask him to start with a lullaby.”

“Think he knows one?”

“If he doesn’t, he will.”

True to the Signor Luigi’s word, patrons had begun drifting in. Some smiled excitedly when they saw her and others acted obviously nonchalant. Kathryn rubbed her neck and gave B’Elanna a look of acceptance. “Well, I suppose we should enjoy this time together, structured though it may be.”

“We should. What would you like to talk about? I’d like to hear more details from our party last night, but I suppose that’s out of the question in such a public place.”

“Afraid so, just to be safe.” She took a sip of her water. “This morning, I was looking at the designs again for the… the new room.”

“Do you think anyone’s actually eavesdropping right now?”

Kathryn clicked her tongue. “Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t following me.”

“True. So did you decide?”

“I’ve narrowed it down to three, but I need to break down and ask Joe about gender.”

B’Elanna shrugged. “You don’t have to make any decisions, yet.”

“I really like the space theme, but maybe that’s too predictable.”

“For the child of a woman with a doctorate in cosmology? I don’t know why you’d think that.”

“Well, when you put it that way.”

“And of the woman who has more space kilometers on her than any other human ever?”

“That’s a rather absolute statement, don’t you think?”

“Was in an article in the Fednews, so it’s fact, right?”

“They really said that about me?”

“It’s probably true. Before we ever got started on Voyager, you had more kilometers on you than any of the other humans. Well, maybe except for Chakotay.”

Kathryn frowned. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

B’Elanna made a face and then returned to the subject at hand. “If you go with the space theme, I can let you borrow our Voyager and bird-of-prey mobile.”

“Cute. I’m torn between space, bright flowers, and teddy bears, but I read that ba… that they like to look at bright colors.” Kathryn looked around at the now full restaurant. “I’ve really got to watch what I say.”

“Not around me, but the press just showed up.”

As their meals were served, Justin came over and asked, “Would you prefer for them to catch you now or after your meal?”

“After. It will be more natural, much like last week.”

“As you wish, Admiral.”

B’Elanna asked, “What did you think of the Council’s press statement this morning?”

Kathryn did a double take. “They made a press statement?”

“You didn’t know?”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “I didn’t think to check. Nothing was planned as far as I knew.”

“It was an end-of-week report on your visit.”

“And no one thought to tell me about it?”

“Maybe they all assumed someone else would, but don’t worry, it was evasive and very brief.”

“Do you recall the details, or should I ask Justin to get it for me? I should probably know before I face the press or I’m going to look really stupid.”

“It was the head guy, Dooha. He said that as they build the 2380 budget, they’ll try to expand funding for research, but with the rebuilding efforts, resources are tight.”

Kathryn pursed her lips. “I was hoping for a lot more.”

“And, let me think… With the independence one, he basically said that they’d have to look deeper to know what the worlds want, and he said something about people taking their concerns to their representatives.”

“You’re right. Evasive.” She reached for her wine and then remembered to drink the water instead. “I was exhausted by the time that meeting started so I didn’t put much into it.”

“The big one, though.” B’Elanna cringed.

“Did he say anything about the amendment?”

“Yeah, just what we were talking about last night. An amendment to the Articles of the Federation would be needed to pardon the old contracts.”

“That’s great!” Kathryn sat back, relieved. “I was worried they’d dismiss it publically.”

“You want an amendment?”

“Definitely.”

“And you think they’ll propose one? It didn’t sound like it.”

“It’ll require a vote, and it may not pass. However, if they get that far, it will buy us a lot of time and goodwill.”

“Sounded to me like it might not happen because of the red tape that would be involved.”

“That really doesn’t matter. Just getting them to talk about it is a huge step because the council has taken a stand against those who seem to be in control.”

“I’m glad I brought it up, then,” B’Elanna said with a grin.

“Me, too. I feel a lot more energized now.”

“Ready to take on the universe?”

Kathryn chuckled. “Maybe just a handful of bullies.”

“Let’s talk about something fun, then.”

“All right. What?”

“Men.”

“Do you have any specific men in mind?” she asked with a grin.

“Our men, of course. We haven’t been alone since your wedding. Is being married to Chakotay as great as you thought it’d be?”

With a happy sigh, Kathryn replied, “Even better.”

B’Elanna rolled her eyes. “Newlyweds.”




Kathryn refreshed her lipstick, checked her teeth in her small pocket mirror, and threaded her fingers through her hair. “I should’ve pinned it up.”

“You look beautiful, and you want people to see you as a real person.”

“Do I? I thought we wanted me to seem invincible.”

“You’ll be fine. Just act like them stumbling upon you is an accident.”

They stood up and there was an immediate scrambling in the front of the restaurant. Kathryn plowed forward as if she was in a hurry to get out, and tried to look inconvenienced when the cameras turned to her.

“Admiral Janeway! May we have a moment?” a reported asked.

Kathryn smoothed out her blouse and took a deep breath. “I’m just out for a quiet lunch out with a friend today. I’m sure you understand that it’s been a very busy week.”

“Just a couple questions, ma’am, if you would?” they pressed.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded her acceptance. “Just a couple.”

A reporter asked, “What do you hope will be the outcome of your week in Paris?”

“I believe I’ve already accomplished my primary objective – bringing awareness to the issues and getting the council to take proactive steps towards helping the worlds I have visited during the past year.”

Another asked, “Do you believe the council can put aside their differences and work cooperatively?”

“I don’t see that there are opposing sides. What I see are stumbling blocks that can be overcome.”

“Admiral, have you learned anything new this week that the people should know about?”

She scratched her neck and pretended to think about her answer. “I’m not at liberty to divulge any of my private conversations, nor would I want to do so. However, at the general session, I believe we all learned some new things just by participating in the proceedings. If there’s anything I want the people of the Federation to know, it’s that a substantial percentage of the Council is ready to take the next step to improve the situations that we find ourselves in following the Dominion War.”

“Were the council members willing to work with you?”

Genuinely surprised by the question, she said, “Of course they were. It was the council who appointed me to do this job, and they were eager to hear what my team had to say.”

“Now that the issues are on the table, so to speak, do you feel safe?”

She nodded at Justin. “I have an outstanding security team.”

“You said that there are those who want to silence you. Do you know who they are?”

Kathryn smiled secretly. “They haven’t been very successful, are they?”

“Do you have any proof of corruption inside the Federation council?”

“That issue would best be addressed by an oversight committee, not a Starfleet officer.”

“What did you think about the council’s press statement this morning?”

“I didn’t hear it directly, but I understand that Representative Dooha announced that to annul any expired war-time contracts, an amendment would need to be passed?”

“Yes, Admiral. How do you feel about this amendment?”

“I think it’s a step in the right direction.” She made a motion to leave as she said, “Thank you, but I must be going.”

“Admiral! Would you like the people of the Federation to support the amendment?”

She turned to reply. “There is one thing that I would like above all others in regards to the propositions my team made this week.”

“What’s that, Admiral?”

“I would like each citizen of the Federation to come to their own conclusions and make their representatives aware of their opinions in a peaceful forum. My role is to be a liaison between those who have no voice and the council. I’ve done that. Now it’s time for the council to do their part, and they can’t do that without knowing how their constituents feel.” She turned again to go.

“Would you clarify what issue you’d like the people to focus on?”

“All of them, but the amendment is the one that if proposed, will come to a public vote.”

“What is that amendment for, exactly?”

She folded her hands in front of her and pressed her lips together as she prepared to speak. “There are nine contracts for raw materials that were made with nine former Federation worlds. These contracts can not be fulfilled based on the terms of each agreement. This situation has resulted in these planets dropping their memberships, and my suggestion to the Council is to annul the contracts so that we may start with a clean slate. To do that would require an amendment.”

“Why can’t the contracts be filled?”

“Various reasons.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“I am sorry, but I cannot. The terms of the agreements are confidential. However,” she said with a pause. “If we can move past this stumbling block, it will free up some resources for funding the other proposals. President Zife has asked us to focus on rebuilding the strength of Federation worlds. This would be a huge step in that direction.”

“Will you continue to meet with the Federation Council?”

“If asked to. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have another appointment to get to.” She nodded to Justin signaling that she really was finished.

After they walked out of the restaurant, they walked down the street to the nearest transporter station and beamed back to Kathryn’s home. Justin went directly to the viewscreen and turned on the Fednews to see what was transpiring, and it looked as if the interview was continuing as the same reporters interviewed patrons in the restaurant.

Kathryn smiled as she heard the restaurant patrons saying how excited they were to have run into her that day. But what warmed her heart the most was hearing them talk about making a positive change in the Federation, putting the past behind them, and embracing a better future.

Go To Chapter 33 - A Pain in the Neck

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