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Abruptly Chakotay realized that the being-the Shepherd, for that was who it must be-appeared different to each of them. But it--she-was clearly female.

"I am Tialin of the Shepherds," said the woman in Elder Karanuk's frail but somehow compelling voice. "You need my help. And we need yours."

CHAPTER 14

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND," SAID JANEWAY. "YOU NEED OW

help?"

Tialin smiled. Damn, but she looked like Elder Karanuk. "Please sit and be comfortable," she said, and at once five chairs that might have been taken directly from Voyager appeared. Janeway didn't make a move, and her crew followed her example.

Tialin sighed. "I suppose after your encounter with Lhiau I can understand your suspicion. Still, this may take some time. I suggest you make yourselves at home."

They still did not move. With a wave of her hand, Tialin created a seat for herself. Hers was not a standard Starfleet-issue chair, It was a sort of throne, high-backed but with thick, colorful cushions that undercut its formality.

"Well, I certainly hope you don't mind if / sit." And she did so with a flourish and a hint of a grin.

"I don't have time for this," snapped Janeway, stepping forward. Her hands went to her hips. "Are you a member of the Q Continuum? You're certainly behaving like one."

Tialin's brown eyes brightened. "Ah, the Q. Most amusing. Tricky folk, though, don't you find?"

"No trickier than you," said Telek, unable to contain himself further. He stepped forward. "We are dying. My people back in the Alpha Quadrant are dying, and all because of Shepherd intervention! You said we were right to be suspicious if we had encountered Lhiau. Is he one of you?"

"Yes and no," Tialin replied. "As I said, it's a long story. Suffice it to say that Lhiau was one of us, before he turned renegade." Her flip tone vanished and she sat up straight in the chair. "We do not condone what he has done and is trying to do, for a variety of reasons, some of which you know. We do not tinker with life. Lhiau and a few others are rogues-wild, unpredictable, and utterly untrustworthy. We deeply regret what he has done to you and will certainly give you all the aid we can."

Suddenly, Chakotay felt the hard knot of annoyance that had rested icily in his gut dissolve. Janeway's face, seemingly permanently furrowed, relaxed. One hand went to her temple.

"It's gone," she said softly. "The headache."

Out of the corner of his eye, Chakotay saw the Doctor glance at his tricorder. He expected to see

him smile, to announce that the readings were back to normal. Instead, the hologram frowned but remained silent.

Tialin smiled benevolently and inclined her head like a goddess graciously accepting worship. She extended a hand, and a sphere manifested in her palm. It was similar to the one from which she had appeared, but smaller and less intensely colorful.

"Gaze into the sphere," she said, sounding like a Gypsy fortune-teller of old. "See mere, caught safely, the First Things which have so plagued you. We have removed every trace of altered dark matter from your bodies and your vessels, and have contained it all within this sphere. I have rendered it visible to your limited range of viewing. It will trouble you and your crew no longer."

Chakotay found himself responding to the singsong voice, and he peered at the orb as he had been instructed. At first he could see nothing, and he wondered if this was some kind of Shepherd joke. But then, fleetingly, he saw something glitter and then disappear. He blinked.

"I saw something," he said to Janeway, who met his gaze and nodded.

"I did too. Thank you, Tialin."

"So tiny to be such a danger, is it not?" mused Tialin, looking intently at the sphere. Her expression turned mischievous. She turned suddenly and tossed the orb to Paris. "Catch!"

Chakotay felt his heart stop for a second as the sphere flew through the air. Reflexively, Tom caught