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"Nor do we wish to fight you," said Jekri hurriedly, surprising Janeway. "Help us."

Utterly confused, Janeway opened her mouth to ask more questions when suddenly the reason for the request became clear. Jekri's image disappeared, replaced by the image of the ships on the screen. One of the warbirds had maneuvered itself between the Talvath and the other warbirds. Now the other three began to open fire: one targeted the warbird protecting the Talvath and the other two swooped in on Voyager.

The ship rocked from the impact "Harry," cried Janeway, "any sign of dark matter in those vessels?"

"Not yet, but-there they go." Sure enough, as he spoke the two attacking warbirds slowly disappeared.

'Target engines and weapons systems, Tuvok. Mr. Kim, get the chairman back."

"Captain," said R'Mor.

"Not now, Telek."

"Captain!" Janeway gave him an angry glance at his direct defiance. Telek barreled on. "You must protect the Talvath! It has the wormhole technology aboard- the Shepherd augmentation of my own efforts. It could be your way home!"

Janeway stared, all the anger suddenly gone. It could be your way home. She had not even considered it. She had been so completely focused on retrieving the dark matter that the fact that Telek, in conjunction with the Shepherds, would know exactly how to send them home, to their proper place and proper time, had simply never come up.

"I've got her, Captain," said Kim, interrupting Janeway's sudden flood of hopeful thoughts.

"On screen," ordered Janeway.

Again the image of the chairman of the Tal Shiar filled Voyager's screen. Before either woman could speak, both ships were attacked by the three hostile warbirds.

"Captain!" cried Jekri, clutching a console in a desperate attempt to keep her balance. "The Para'tar and I seek your assistance! Destroy the other three warbirds!" Although she was beseeching Janeway for a favor, Jekri Kaleh spoke almost as if giving an order. Janeway opted to ignore the other woman's attitude. There would be time to hash things out with Kaleh and the commander of the currently friendly warbird once the other three had been subdued.

Jekri was aboard the Talvath, of course, throwing a wrench even deeper into the works. And she and the single warbird who had chosen to protect the little science vessel were as clearly targets of the other ships as was Voyager. It was a puzzle, but Janeway would have time for puzzle solving later. Now she had to act.

"Chairman-"

"No longer," growled the small woman. Janeway was surprised and suspected a lie, but continued.

"We will attempt to extend our shields to cover your vessel. The Para 'tar is too large for such protection, but we will continue to defend it. If you approach at your slowest speed, you should be able to penetrate our shields without forcing us to lower them."

"At my slowest speed, I shall be dead before I reach your shields!" snapped the Romulan.

Janeway lifted an eyebrow. "Have it your way," she replied coolly.

The woman at the controls of the Talvath fixed Janeway with a cold, hostile stare that unnerved the captain totally. And that didn't happen all that often. She could understand why Jekri Kaleh, despite her youth and small stature, had made such a formidable chairman of so dark an organization as the Tal Shiar. But Janeway merely lifted her own chin in a subtle gesture of defiance.

"End communication," she told Kim. At once, the screen again filled with the image of battling warbirds. The ship rocked and this time the lights flickered briefly. Janeway could smell the acrid scent of burning.

"A direct hit," said Tuvok in his usual calm voice. "The warp core is offline. We are venting plasma from the starboard nacelle. Injury reports are coming in from decks seven, twelve, fourteen, and ten."

Janeway heard a sharp intake of breath. It came from the conn, and as her gaze flickered to Ensign Jenkins,

she saw that the young woman was clutching a burned hand. Janeway