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Chakotay stared as the words on the screen faded. Before he could speak, the woman across from him said, "His reactions were genuine. He knew nothing of the death."

"You killed Matroci?" the Starfleet commander demanded, ignoring the woman.

The Implementer looked unhappy. "It was not authorized. We may loathe the Culilann, but we are not murderers. The worst of it is, this is not the first time a Culil has been killed in one of the Culilann villages. Over the last six months, five Culils have died under mysterious circumstances."

"During Recoveries?" Chakotay asked.

"Once or twice, as with mis Matroci. Other times, no. I brought you here to ask for your help, Commander. These murders are a bad thing for us. They could stir up resentment against us among the Culilann. Tell us everything you learned during your time with them."

Chakotay regarded the Implementer. "I don't know that the answers lie with the Culilann. It sounds like an Alilann, or a group of them, have been acting on their own and killing the Culils. We should start an investigation here."

"And we will, don't worry," said the Implementer. "But first I would like to start an investigation of you." He leaned forward, his blue eyes penetrating. "You and your friend didn't arrive in the normal fashion, or else even Shamraa Ezbai would have been able to Intercept you properly. We saw no ships, heard no communications-you suddenly were just here, on our planet. How did you do this? And why?"

"It's a long story," Chakotay warned.

"We have nothing but time," the Implementer answered frostily.

So Chakotay started at the very beginning, trying to condense years of adventures into a few words. He explained how they had ended up in the Delta Quadrant, his alliance with Captain Janeway. He spoke of their first encounter with Telek R'Mor, and how bitter it was not to be able to transport home when it seemed as though the opportunity had finally arisen. He went into greater detail about the more recent events, telling them about the Shepherds, the Romulans, and the mutated dark matter which had such deadly, devastating results.

The more he spoke, the more rapt his audience became. At one point, the Implementer seemed to have completely forgotten about his beloved articrunch and leaned forward, barely blinking. Even the woman who was supposed to be monitoring him for deception seemed to forget her task and simply stared at him. Father would be so proud of me, Chakotay thought, amused. I've become a storyteller.

Finally he came to the part about finding Khala. "You see!" interjected Ezbai, unable to contain himself. "Khala is with Chakotay's people, and he and Tom are here. We've got to help him find his ship!"

For the first time, the Implementer seemed as excited as Ezbai. "Yes, we do. We need to learn more about this dark matter as well. Perhaps we too have encountered some, and aren't even aware of it" A thought seemed to occur to him. "It could be that this is what is motivating the killers. Dark matter renders one's judgment unreliable, yes?"

Chakotay thought of Neelix, attacking Telek with a kitchen knife. "Sometimes," he said. He did not say what he thought hi his heart: that someone among the Alilann, or a group of them, had simply decided that they hated the Culilann enough to kill their spiritual leaders. He would like to be wrong, would like to blame it on the dark matter, but he was all too aware that sometimes evil existed quite well without any assistance.

The Implementer nodded, as if satisfied. "Well, problem solved. It's clear to me that this dark matter is the culprit."

Chakotay couldn't help it. "Dark matter can't wield directed energy weapons," he said. "We need to stop these killers before they strike again."

"Of course," said the Implementer, nodding as if the two of them were in perfect agreement rather than conflict. "We need to concentrate on being able to detect this dark matter. That will stop the killing."

"Will it?"

"Chakotay, you are not