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Uncle Neelix. He'd tried to kill that nice Romulan, and despite their attempts to shield her, Naomi had heard what they'd said: "Getting worse, not better... might not survive."

Suddenly she hugged Plotter close. Naomi's small chest hitched and she started to cry. She was scared, so scared, and nobody was willing even to talk to her. The game was no longer fun, and she stained the doll's soft blue fabric with hot tears of loneliness and fear.

It had been a long and draining day. Janeway had been up now for over twenty hours straight. It was only when she'd begun nodding off while assisting Telek R'Mor and Seven of Nine mat she realized she was becoming more of a hindrance to their quest than a help.

She began getting ready for bed and went over the events of the day in her mind. Telek's revelations had stunned them all, but at least they provided

some kind of answer for what was going on aboard the ship. Neelix's attempt at murder had shocked Janeway more than she liked to admit Such a gentle, benevolent soul. So hard to believe he would resort to violence,

Dark matter inside them. She paused in brushing her short, auburn hair and met her own eyes in the mirror. Janeway examined her reflection, as if she could see the alien matter inside her body if she looked hard enough. Unconsciously she raised a hand to touch her face, then deliberately lowered it and continued with her preparation for sleep.

The uproar mat had greeted Telek's suggestion that they contact the Shepherds had been almost overwhelming. At first glance, such an idea seemed foolish at best, dangerous at worst. After all, if Telek was to be believed, weren't the Shepherds the ones who had done this in the first place? But Telek's argument had been convincing.

"Lhiau has slipped a time or two," Telek had said. "He has alluded to others who disagreed with him, and the very name he has adopted to describe bis people seems contrary to his actions. What does a shepherd do? He takes care of animals. How could one destroy the flock he was sent to tend and still truly be a shepherd? No, Captain, there are other Shepherds than Lhiau, I would stake my life on it And even if there are not, it is my opinion that the risk is worth taking. There is no alternative."

No alternative. That was a statement mat had never sat particularly well with Janeway. There were

always alternatives, if one looked hard enough. So she'd had the Doctor run some tests, had B'Elanna reconfigure the damned sensors, and sat down with Telek and Seven to plot out a search for alien beings who might or might not be inclined to help them.

"I'd almost welcome a visit from Q at this point," she muttered as she patted her face dry. Glancing around, although there was no one else present- yet-she added, "I said almost."

Janeway remained alone in her quarters, and for that small favor she was grateful.

Her head was killing her. After realizing what they were dealing with, the Doctor had stopped all attempts at treating her. "You'll just have to live with the pain," he'd told her. "I'll keep monitoring you to make sure it doesn't get to a dangerous point."

"Thank you," Janeway had replied dryly.

Her neck and shoulders were tense as well. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised. A warm room often helped to relax her as she slept, so she asked the computer to turn up the heat a few degrees. Janeway took a washcloth, dunked it in cold water, wrung it out, and pressed the cold cloth to her forehead. It was an old-fashioned trick from the days when headaches were more common than now, and she'd found that it even worked a little.

"Lights," she called in a weary voice as she sank down on her bed. The room went dark, save for the constant, faint illumination of the stars.

She pulled the blankets up to her chin, took a deep

breath, and surrendered to the warm comfort of her bed. The warmth

-heat-

enveloped her and sleep, for once, came