Title: Twist of Fate: Vulnerability

Author: Whoa Nellie ([email protected])

Series: Voyager

Rating: NC-17 (sex and violence)

Codes: C/f

Synopsis: Something is affecting the crew of Voyager and no one is immune. Originally posted to ASC on October 7, 2004.

Author's Notes: This story does stand on its own, not necessary to have read the previous stories except for more detailed background information on Ceshlyta and how she got there.

Previous stories from the Twist of Fate storyline (in order): Blessings of the Sky Spirits, Wyrd, What Comes Naturally, Fresh Perspective, Culinary Delights, Chaos Theory, Unforeseen Circumstance, A Matter of Definition, Love and Copulation, Million Kilometer High Club, Comings and Goings and Bare Necessities.

Background: Ceshlyta is Chakotay's wife and soulmate. She is descended from the Inheritors through a different tribe and was joined with Chakotay in a wedding at the Temple of the Sky Spirits before they put her on Voyager. She was a Professor of Botany on Earth when the Sky Spirits joined their souls, intertwined their life paths and put her on Voyager. Her nickname, used by most of the other crew members, is Sassy.

Acknowledgements: Paramount owns all the marbles, we just have a lot more fun playing with them.

Feedback is always appreciated, posted or e-mail.

Whoa Nellie's Romance Star Trek Fan Fiction Stories

http://whoanellie.fortunecity.com

VULNERABILITY

"Dinner's ready," Sassy announced as she stepped into the cabin of the Delta Flyer.

Chakotay tapped several controls before standing up to move toward the back of the ship. "Autopilot is set. We'll rendezvous with Voyager tomorrow, probably around 1200."

She turned to go back into the back compartment sighing "couldn't you just pull over and park somewhere for a while longer?"

"Don't you want to get back?"

Sassy turned back around and put her arms around his neck, her fingers idly toying with the short, dark hair at the nape of his neck. "These past three weeks have been idyllic; having you all to myself has made this trip seem like a second honeymoon."

Chakotay lowered his head to gently capture her lips in a soft, lingering kiss. "A three week trading mission is supposed to be work; but, Captain Janeway was very agreeable to my suggestion that you and I handle this away mission alone while the rest of the crew took shore leave on Onste'."

"Well," she murmured as she nuzzled the warm skin under his chin. "I should thank you properly for this brilliant idea."

His hands gripped her hips and he rocked her against the evidence of the effect that she was having on him. "But I've already been extensively rewarded for my aforementioned brilliance."

Sassy pulled open his uniform jacket, her hands lingeringly trailing down the hard wall of his chest to pull his shirt out of his pants. This light, flirtatious banter was the most incredibly erotic foreplay she could ever imagine. The relaxed and playful interaction looked casual but belied the complete trust and intimacy that existed between them. Her palms flattened against the solid wall of his abdomen and roved across the smooth plane, pushing his shirt upward until he stripped it off over his head and tossed it to the floor. His skin was warm beneath her lips as they followed the trail that her hands had taken. "I'm sure there's something I've neglected to thank you properly for," she murmured against his chest.

"And here I was thinking that I hadn't been appropriately appreciative of my incredible wife as of late," Chakotay commented. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply at the feeling of her teeth closing around one of his nipples. His hands tangled themselves in her long, silky, black hair and held her head close, wordlessly encouraging her oral ministrations. This was one of his favorite times, the slow, easy build-up of desire; the sensation of having an eternity to sate their passions for one another was the pinnacle of eroticism to him.

With his nipple between her teeth, she began backing her way into the rear compartment and toward the bunks, forcing him to come with her. Her gentle giant, it was such a dichotomy that he was a large, strong, commanding man and yet so tender and sensitive. Her own nipples ached in sympathy--or perhaps yearning--for what she was doing to his by the time she felt the back of the bunk behind her and released her hold on him. "It seems that we both have work to do," she gasped breathlessly.

One by one, he opened the buttons of the mint-green blouse that she wore. "You're not dressed for work," he pointed out with an inviting smile.

"You mean I'm not undressed for work," she corrected him, reaching for the fastening of his uniform pants.

Discarding the blouse on the floor, he made quick work of the long, flowing skirt she wore and her undergarments. "You are now," he said hoarsely. He cupped her face in his hands and drew her mouth to his for a long, smoldering kiss. His tongue slipped into the moist recesses of her mouth, her warm body pressed tight against him. He guided her back onto the bunk, swiftly stripping the rest of his uniform and boots off before joining her. The pressure was increasing, his need to bury himself in her softness clamoring at his desire to enjoy the sight of her beautiful, tawny body laying open to him; the anticipation of pleasure was almost as enjoyable as the pleasure itself. His mouth found one of her breasts, suckling strongly and waiting for the expected reaction from her. He knew her by heart after all of the time they'd been together; he knew her every sound and her every pleasure. Her hips bucked up at the sensations that he was creating and he moved his mouth to her other breast as his hand glided down to her hips, caressing the already-glistening folds of skin. He listened to the pitch of her whimpers, knowing how close she was to her pleasure by the sounds she made.

As always, Sassy quickly found herself lost in the waves of pleasure coursing through her body. She tried to tell him how much she enjoyed what he was doing, but all she could do was moan and whimper, hoping he knew how she felt. Sharp twinges from his mouth on her breast shot through her stomach to spark low in her hips and driving them to twist and jerk restlessly with every heartbeat. Her hands gripped his dark head and pulled him up to cover her body with his, sometimes his patience was an excruciating torment. She captured his lips, forcing her tongue between his to taunt it into an erotic dance. One hand slipped between their bodies to find his pulsing hardness, stroking it sensuously without breaking the kiss. She opened her thighs wider and braced her heels against the mattress, needing to feel their bodies joined. Her hips lifted of their own accord as she guided him into her, breaking the kiss to breath a sigh of pleasure at the sheer fullness of him when he was completely sheathed in her body. Their hips settled into a synchronized tempo and she gazed up into the face of her husband, contorted with his own passion. His eyes had darkened to almost black and beads of sweat glistened against his tanned skin.

The sweet sensation of completion inevitably enveloped him when he held his wife, his most precious blessing. Their hips moved together as one, his hips drawing back to pull almost completely out of her body before driving down to meet her hips as they sought him out. The hardened nipples of her breasts rubbed against his chest, every inch of his body feeling the soft warmth of her body caressing his skin. His hands slid down to grip her hips tightly, increasing the tempo to drive into her body harder and faster in response to the demands of his own body. She tightened around him with every stroke, her heat in conjunction with the exquisite milking sensation firing his desires to ever-increasing heights. He paused only slightly when her body spasmed around him, her cry of release echoing around him, before thrusting into her with even more urgency. He loved the feeling of her body beneath him after she reached orgasm, relaxed and yielding beneath him with gentle ripples of muscle beneath the skin--the aftermath of her release; she was completely unguarded both emotionally and physically, in these moments and that trust went to the core of their bond. He was absorbed in the feeling of their bodies joining over and over when she reached up to stroke his tattoo, softly whispering words of love in the tongue of their ancestors. His body jerked, his own release tearing through him and he collapsed against her, still inside her.

Sassy cradled his head on her chest and combed her fingers through the short, dark hair. "Well, I'm certainly feeling very appreciated right now."

"My pleasure, mi aalm," he gasped.

"After you catch your breath," she began, "I just discovered something to show my gratitude for."

Chakotay nipped at the still-stiffened nipple of her breast. "How about you feed me first, I have the feeling that I'm going to need my strength for this expression of gratitude for which I will undoubtedly feel compelled to show my appreciation."

"Well, we're definitely going to need some sustenance, it looks like we have a long night ahead of us."

.........................................

"Gerat, are you finished with that resonator?" Crewman Sek looked up from the relays that he was realigning onboard Voyager.

A muffled whimper was the only response.

"Gerat, are you okay?" Getting up, he rounded the corner to where the other man had been working. What greeted his eyes sickened him.

Gerat had taken off his uniform jacket and was sweating profusely. His eyes were darting wildly in their sockets as his hands clawed at the exposed skin of his forearms. Blood dripped onto the floor from the gouges he had already dug into his flesh. Trembling and whimpering incoherently, he was frantically trying to rip his own skin off.

When Sek saw the distraught man remove his shirt to begin clawing at his torso, he sprang into action. He moved quickly to grab Gerat's hands, trying to stop the mutilation.

"NO!" the hysterical crewman screamed. "They're eating me. I've got to get them out! LET ME GO." He shoved the other man away and turned to run down the corridor, still scratching at his chest and arms.

"Sek to security, I need some help here, Deck 12, Section 5." He broke into a sprint to chase down the screaming, bleeding man.

At the next corridor junction, Gerat had been stopped by the responding security team, but they were having trouble subduing him. Sek tried to help them until, finally, one of the security officers stunned Gerat with a phaser.

"Security to Sickbay, medical emergency. Beam Crewman Gerat to Sickbay."

The three men watched as the bloodied form shimmered and disappeared.

....................................................

As soon as all of the senior staff were seated, Captain Janeway got right to business. "Doctor, report."

"Crewman Gerat apparently suffered some sort of psychotic episode which induced him to attempt to remove his own flesh."

Tom and Harry exchanged winces across the briefing room table as they listened to the Doctor's report.

"I have repaired the physical damage and Gerat has no memory of the incident or why he would do that. I released him to his quarters with a neurocortical monitor. If he has no further episodes over the next two days, he can return to duty," the Doctor finished.

"How similar is this to the other two incidents?" Janeway asked.

The Doctor sighed. "That's hard to say since I can't find a cause for any of them. In one case, Susan Nicoletti suffered plasma burns when she began ripping out conduits; the other case involved Ensign Kyoto trying to remove his own eyes and now this one. Scans have not revealed any pathogens or foreign agents in their bodies, two are human, one Bajoran, one from maintenance, one from engineering and one from operations. There is no common denominator and no identifiable cause in any of the incidents."

"That is not entirely correct, Doctor," Lieutenant Commander Tuvok observed. "There would logically be both a common denominator and a catalyst. We simply have not yet identified them."

Janeway sat forward in her chair. "Harry, what can you add to this?"

"Internal sensors show nothing out of the ordinary. I've run a complete diagnostic of the environmental systems and everything checks out." Ensign Kim passed a PADD with the results of his scans to the captain.

Reviewing the information, Janeway continued. "Seven, is there anything unusual about this sector of space?"

"No, Captain, radiation and energy levels are all within normal limits," the Borg drone reported.

"Mr. Neelix, what about the kitchen. Have there been any new, unusual food supplies brought on board within the past month?"

"As opposed to the regular, unusual stuff he serves," B'Elanna muttered to Tom who was sitting next to her.

Neelix shook his head. "No, Captain, nothing in the past month."

"All right, suggestions." Janeway sat back, throwing her hands out to the senior staff around the table.

The Doctor spoke first. "I'd suggest that we proceed on the hypothesis of this being a space psychosis of some sort. I can review the psychological profiles of two of the affected crewmembers, but Crewman Gerat was a Maquis. I don't have a profile on him."

" Commander Chakotay is due back from his away mission today," Janeway said. "I'll brief him on the situation and have him talk to Gerat, see if he can find something we're missing."

Tuvok spoke up. "I will increase security patrols to minimize the injury potential in any further episodes."

"Good idea," Janeway nodded. "B'Elanna, I want you and Harry to work together. Get teams of people scanning this entire ship, molecule by molecule if necessary, looking for anything questionable."

Torres and Kim nodded in confirmation.

"Seven," the captain continued. "Continue running sensor sweeps of the area and see if you can enhance the sensitivity of the internal sensors. Tom, I want you to be available to the Doctor if he needs you to cover Sickbay while he works on this. Everyone clear?" As everyone acknowledged their assignments, she stood. "Dismissed."

...................................

"Do you really think that's necessary?" Sassy asked, pausing in her work. She had gone straight to the garden to check on it since it was the first time she'd been away from 'her' garden for any extended length of time. Captain Janeway had requested that Chakotay report to her ready room as soon as they'd docked. He'd just stopped by to fill her in on the situation onboard Voyager and make a request.

Chakotay fingered her long braid of hair and tenderly stroked her face. "I thought we decided that you would obey with my instructions regarding your safety."

Sighing, she nuzzled his palm. "What I meant was do you think that the situation is that serious? I have never disobeyed your requests on that subject and you know it."

"No, you haven't," he acknowledged, "and yes, I do think the situation warrants an escort for my wife. Just stay here until I come to pick you up or send someone to escort you back to our quarters. Until we get some answers, I'll feel a lot better knowing that you're safe."

"Given what you've told me, I'm in no way inclined to disagree with your recommendations, mi aalm," she said. Waving a PADD she continued, "besides, between transplanting all of the specimens that I brought back and cataloguing everything that's been added in my absence, not to mention routine maintenance, I have more than enough work to keep me busy for at least a week."

"Do you need any help?"

She shook her head. "No, thank you. There's a log of what was added while we were gone and there were crew members assigned to tend the garden so it's just a matter of my getting caught up."

Chakotay brushed a quick kiss across her lips. "None of the incidents have occurred in here, so don't worry about anything. I'll leave you to your work and see if I can solve this mystery. See you later, aalm."

.....................................

"I wish I could explain it, Commander." Gerat sat in his quarters, a neurocortical monitor just below his right ear, facing Chakotay. "I just don't remember anything."

Chakotay took a deep breath. He had spent the past day reviewing duty shifts, duty assignments and department logs for the past month. Three different departments was the logistical equivalent to almost half the ship's business for the past thirty days.

"You reported for duty on time and no one noticed anything unusual about your behavior. Do you remember that?" Chakotay looked up from his PADD.

"Yes, but nothing after that. There was some discussion about relays on Deck 12 that needed realigned, but that's when things start to get kind of hazy." The Bajoran shook his head as if trying to clear the fog from his memory.

"Did you do anything unusual before your duty shift?"

"No," he thought for a moment. "I meditated in the garden and then had breakfast."

"The garden?" Chakotay reiterated.

"Yes, sir. I use the plants and flowers to relax for meditation purposes, a natural environment. It beats using my holodeck time to sit in contemplation," Gerat shrugged.

Chakotay chuckled. "I understand." Turning serious, he carefully posed his next question. "Would you allow me to review your personal logs for the past few weeks? I'm reluctant to invade your privacy, but I'll be asking Nicoletti and Kyoto for the same permission. I'm hoping to find a common denominator to link your episode with theirs."

"Yes, sir, that'll be fine," although hesitant, he nodded in agreement. "Anything you think might help."

Standing, Chakotay smiled in appreciation. "Thank you and I promise to respect the privacy of anything I hear in those logs."

"I know you will," Gerat assured the Commander as he exited the quarters.

............................................

"Have there been any more incidents?" Sassy asked Chakotay. He had stopped by the garden to have lunch with her and was idly toying with some of the plants while she finished up her work.

"No, none since Gerat two days ago," he replied. "I've gone through the personal logs of all three affected crewmembers, but still nothing. The details of their logs were starting to blur together, so I thought I could do with a break."

Reaching for the plant container next to her, she began transferring it into the freshly upturned soil. "Well, as soon as I finish transplanting the specimens that I brought back from our trip, we can have lunch. I still need to inventory the specimens that were added from Onste' while we were gone, but I can do that later."

Chakotay settled onto a nearby bench. "I'm a bit surprised to find you here alone. Judging by how many people spend time in here on a regular basis, I'd expect this place to be hopping."

Sassy began preparing the soil for the last specimen to be transplanted. "It does get active in here at times, but it's usually quiet in the middle parts of Alpha and Gamma shifts."

He rubbed his ear and shook his head. "Did the crewmembers assigned to cover for you in the garden over the past few weeks do all right?"

"As far as I've seen," she said. "According to the logs and what I've seen in my maintenance routine, they did great." She stood up, brushing her hands off. "Well, I'm all yours."

Chakotay leapt from the bench and charged at her. "NO!" he screamed. His fist lashed out, striking the monster attaching itself to Sassy's head. The monsters were everywhere on her, consuming her. He flailed at them in a desperate effort to kill them before they destroyed her. His blows didn't seem to phase the beasts so he began pummeling them with all of his strength.

The door opened to admit Seven and Harry who was carrying a picnic basket. Seven immediately called for security while Harry dropped the basket and ran toward Chakotay, tackling him to the floor.

Seven activated her communicator. "Medical emergency, transport Professor Ceshlyta directly to Sickbay."

Chakotay threw Harry off and scrambled toward Sassy just as her unconscious, bloody form shimmered and disappeared. Something grabbed his arm, prompting him to swing in that direction. Frantic to find where Sassy had been taken, he turned on the thing that had driven him away from her. He slammed his fists against the tenuous force holding him.

Security burst into the garden and immediately raised their phasers. One of them fired a stun blast at the First Officer, catching both Chakotay and Harry. Both men dropped to the floor and were transported to Sickbay.

......................................................

At the EMH's urgent summons, Tom turned his station over to an ensign and sprinted toward the turbolift.

"What's going on, Doctor?" Janeway called down to Sickbay over the comm.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "I've got one critically injured patient, one with minor injuries and what I believe is the fourth incident of our mystery infection."

"Who, Doctor?" Janeway demanded.

"Commander Chakotay, Sassy and Harry," he replied. "I'll give you a full report as soon as they're all stable."

.......................................................

Janeway paced the length of the Doctor's office while Tuvok reviewed incident reports on the EMH's computer console. Several hours had passed since the latest incident without any word from the Doctor, so she had decided to wait in Sickbay. Seven was sitting with Harry and had filled Janeway and Tuvok in on what Harry and she had walked into in the garden. Harry had a broken nose, which Tom had quickly repaired while the EMH was prepping Sassy for surgery. Chakotay remained sedated and restrained.

"Surgery went well," the EMH announced as he walked into his office.

Janeway breathed a sigh of relief. "How is she?"

The EMH shook his head. "Stable but she still has a long way to go; Commander Chakotay did quite a bit of damage to her. She has a concussion, fractured cheekbones, broken nose and jaw, four broken ribs, a couple of broken fingers, a punctured lung and massive internal bleeding. I've repaired the worst of the damage; it'll take several days to regenerate the broken bones, as weak as she is I can't put her body under the strain of using the osteoregenerator that extensively."

"What about Commander Chakotay and Ensign Kim?" Tuvok asked.

"I'm releasing Ensign Kim to his quarters," the EMH replied. "There's a mild concussion in addition to the broken nose but neither are serious. The Tattooed Terror had quite a day."

"That'll be enough, Doctor," Janeway snapped. "Can we talk to Chakotay?"

Picking up a hypospray, the Doctor selected the required medication. "I'll wake him up for you, Captain."

Janeway and Tuvok followed the EMH out to the biobed where Chakotay lay. After the hiss of the hypospray, she waited for Chakotay to awaken. "Relax, Commander, you're in Sickbay."

"What happened?" he tried to sit up and looked down at the restraints holding him in confusion.

"What is the last thing you recall?" Tuvok asked.

The Doctor released the restraints and helped Chakotay sit up.

Rubbing his head, he thought back. "Sitting in the garden, I was talking to Sassy while she finished up some work." Realization struck and he glanced from Janeway to Tuvok, "I had an episode, didn't I?"

Janeway motioned for Tuvok and the Doctor to step away before she spoke. "Yes, Commander, you had an episode. I'm afraid you injured Sassy during the incident."

"Where is she?" he demanded. Frantically looking around, he spotted her still in the surgical alcove. His heart in his stomach, he rushed over to her. Her face was swollen and bruised, her eyes didn't look like they would open even if she weren't unconscious. "How bad?" he rasped hoarsely.

"The Doctor says she'll be fine," Janeway said.

Chakotay turned toward the Doctor who had quietly followed them over to Sassy's bed. "How bad?"

"Multiple fractures of the face and torso, concussion, punctured lung and internal hemorrhaging," the EMH answered. "She'll be here for at least a week and she'll need rest for a week beyond that, but she'll make a complete recovery."

Tuvok spoke up. "You are not responsible for your actions, Commander. Ensign Kim and Seven walked in and witnessed your episode. You were apparently trying to save Professor Ceshlyta from some unspecified creatures that you thought were attacking her."

"Instead I was the creature attacking her," Chakotay whispered. He looked up, "Harry and Seven were there? Did I hurt them, too?"

Janeway nodded. "You broke Harry's nose; Seven summoned security and they stunned you before you could hurt anyone else."

Chakotay stroked Sassy's hair. "I know I should be confined to quarters, Captain, but I'd like to request that I be confined here so that I can stay with Sassy."

"I need you to keep working on the source of these outbreaks, Commander," Janeway noted. "But perhaps the Doctor should run some tests and keep you under observation for the night."

Taking the chair that the EMH brought over, he sat next to the biobed and gently took Sassy's hand in his. "Thank you."

........................................................

Two days later, very tired-looking senior officers commiserated over lunch. B'Elanna and Harry had been working extra hours on the scans of the ship. Seven had run more than a dozen logarithms on the astrometrical data from the sensors and Tom had put in double shifts between stints at the helm and in Sickbay.

"I am so sore." B'Elanna stretched and reached around to rub at the small of her back.

"I'd tell you to stop by Sickbay for a muscle relaxer, but I've got my hands full as it is," Tom replied through mouthfuls of food.

Harry nodded in agreement. "Everyone's been worrying about the littlest things being a symptom of whatever this is. How's Sassy doing?"

"GET OFF THIS SHIP!"

They all turned their head at the commotion. Neelix had a chopping knife and was yelling at Vorik who was getting something to eat. The Vulcan backed away as the Talaxian rounded the counter and charged at him, screaming.

"Neelix, what--?" Harry didn't get to finish the sentence before Vorik collided with him, both men crashing to the floor.

Tom rose and tried to take the knife away from Neelix. He recoiled, falling onto the table as the knife sliced across his jaw and down his throat. Neelix dropped, unconscious, after B'Elanna drove her fist into the side of his head.

"Torres to the transporter room. Lock onto Tom and Neelix and transport them both to Sickbay." Nursing her knuckles, she began clearing up the mess created by the brief scene.

Seven helped Harry to his feet surreptitiously checking him for injuries. Relieved when she detected nothing, she offered a hand to Vorik and the three pitched in with the clean-up.

"Impressive and efficient resolution to the incident, Lieutenant," Vorik noted calmly.

"Go on to Sickbay," Harry suggested to B'Elanna. "We'll take care of things here."

....................................................

Sassy stirred, the slight movement sending a twinge of pain through her body and jolting her awake. She flinched involuntarily as her eyes focused on Chakotay sitting next to the bed. She relaxed just as quickly, but not before a flicker of pain crossed his face at her reaction. It wasn't that she blamed Chakotay, it was just the memory of his fists pummeling her mercilessly that was difficult to get past. Almost every time that she'd opened her eyes since she woke in Sickbay, he'd been there, which was heartwarming once she got past the momentary panic that the sight of him invoked. Hopefully that would fade as her injuries healed and time passed. She loved him more than anything, even now, but reconciling the gentle man she adored with the psychotic monster who'd so brutally attacked her was going to take some time. "Hi, mi aalm," she used their endearment in an effort to soften her involuntary reaction.

"I brought some things from our quarters for you," Chakotay said, clearing his throat when his first attempt to speak brought only choked rasping. He pulled his hand away from her and pointed as he listed, "your bonsai tree in case you want to meditate, some clothes, our comforter and pillows so you'd be more comfortable, your brush and some toiletries. If there's anything else you need, just let me know."

"I'm not going to apologize," she said in a firm but quiet voice. "No, I don't want to hear the thousandth apology from you either; but I'm not going to apologize for being startled to see you hovering over me after what happened. "

Chakotay smoothed out imaginary wrinkles in the comforter. "What do you want from me? What do you want to hear? I promised you once that I would never hurt you and I nearly killed you. I insisted you remain confined to the garden or our quarters and not wander around the ship without an escort and I end up being your biggest threat. I want to fix this, I just don't know how."

Sassy struggled to sit up, the pain quickly making her regret that effort. She smiled gratefully up at Chakotay when he stepped up and helped her get comfortable. "Thank you and you're not a threat to me, at least no more of a threat than anyone else on this ship right now; whatever is causing these incidents is the problem. I know you feel guilty about what happened, but it's not fair for you to make me feel guilty because I have an involuntary reaction to being beaten to a bloody pulp by my own husband," she sighed deeply. "I know it wasn't your fault and you would never have done that if you could help it, just try to understand that my being startled when I open my eyes and see you there is a reaction to what happened, not an indication of my feelings toward you."

"I hate that you have to be scared of me."

"Then find out what's causing these episodes," she said. Reaching out for his hand, she pulled him to sit beside her on the biobed. "How's the investigation coming?"

He cradled her hand in his, kissing the design on her palm before nuzzling it against his cheek. "I'm still working on a common denominator among the victims."

"Have there been any more?"

Chakotay gestured toward the center of the room. "They just brought Neelix and Tom in, Neelix had an episode and went crazy with a knife. Tom got cut but it's not serious."

Sassy reached out for him, caressing his cheek as she drew him toward her for a quick kiss. "Duty calls," she whispered softly.

Across Sickbay, Neelix struggled to sit up. "Did I hurt anyone?"

Janeway put a calming hand on his shoulder, tacitly coaxing him back onto the biobed.

"Aside from slicing and dicing Mr. Paris, no." The Doctor attached a neurocortical monitor to the Talaxian.

"Is he all right?"

Tom hopped off of a nearby biobed and walked over. "I'm fine, Neelix. Don't sweat it."

"Do you remember anything that might help us?" Janeway drew Neelix's attention back to the matter at hand.

Trying to calm himself, the Talaxian searched his memories. "No, Captain, I'm sorry. I was in the kitchen all day, except for a quick trip to the garden for a few things."

"The garden?" Chakotay walked over from Sassy's bed.

Everyone turned to look.

"Does that mean something, Commander?" Janeway asked.

"I'm not sure," Chakotay admitted. "Everyone who has experienced this psychosis, including myself, has been in the garden on the day it happened. There isn't a clear connection, the time lapse between being in the garden and the episode is different for each individual, but it is a common factor. The only commonality that I've been able to find so far."

"Yet Professor Ceshlyta has not experienced this," Tuvok pointed out.

"Nevertheless, it's something. Good work," Janeway congratulated Chakotay. She directed her attention to her security chief. "Tuvok, you and Chakotay check it out. Tom, find Harry and go over the list of plants and flowers in there. See if anything's been added in the past month."

"Yes, ma'am," the three officers replied in unison as they filed out.

..............................................

Chakotay and Tuvok stood just inside the doorway to hydroponics. They both held tricorders out scanning the room. To the naked eye, the room looked perfectly normal.

"Anything?" Chakotay tapped a few controls on his tricorder.

"Atmospheric conditions all registering normal," Tuvok reported from his scans.

"Same here." Keeping the tricorder active, Chakotay moved further inside the room. "Why don't we split up? I'll scan this side of the bay and you take that one."

"Agreed." Tuvok headed toward the near wall to begin a systematic sweep of his half.

Two hours later the men met in the center of the room.

"Well, I'm no botanist but I didn't turn up anything but plants and dirt." Chakotay snapped his tricorder shut.

"Perhaps we should give the results of these scans to the Doctor and Professor Ceshlyta for further analysis," Tuvok suggested.

Chakotay nodded. "Good idea. I'll drop these off in Sickbay." He accepted the tricorder that Tuvok held out and started toward the door.

..............................................

"Have you finished the scan?" Tom called out to Harry who was working at another console.

Tapping a few, final controls he replied. "Just about, there are four plants that the computer can't identify. I'm running them through the botanical database now. The internal sensors don't register anything dangerous or unusual about them."

Tom walked over to peer at the display. "Food plants or flowers?"

"Both," Harry answered. "Three of them are food-producing plants and one is a flower."

"When were they brought aboard?" Tom moved in to pull up the garden's log.

Harry pointed to the pertinent file. "All within the past three weeks, except . . . "

"Except what?"

"There's no entry for the flower." The ensign shot a quizzical glance at Tom. "How did it get onto the ship without any record of being brought on board?"

"Could someone have replicated it?" Tom pulled up the replicator files.

"Not if the computer doesn't have any information on it," Harry pointed out. "Sassy's got detailed files on every plant in that garden."

Tom accessed the Flyer's log. "Could she have picked it up on the trading mission that she and Chakotay just got back from?"

"There are entries from other plants she brought back with her," Harry pointed out on the screen. "Why wouldn't she list the flower?"

............................................

'Sickbay to the Captain.'

In her command chair on the bridge, Janeway activated the comm system. "Go ahead, Doctor."

'We've had another episode, Captain. At least I think that's what it is.'

Janeway stood and adjusted her uniform. Nodding to the most senior member of the bridge crew, she directed. "Contact Commanders Chakotay and Tuvok and have them meet me in Sickbay. You have the bridge."

............................................

In the garden, Tom and Harry searched the plants. "Which one is it?" Tom asked.

"Over here," Harry pointed toward the back corner just in front of the genniberry hedges. "This one."

Tom opened a drawer, looking for a specimen container. "I'll take a cutting of it to the Doc for analysis." Holding the plant steady with one hand, he snipped a small piece of one of the leaves and added one of the flower petals before sealing the container.

'Torres to Paris.'

Tom, both his hands occupied, tapped his communicator with his knuckles. "Paris here, what is it, B'Elanna? Are you all right?"

'I'm fine,' came her response. 'But I'm not guaranteeing your health if you've forgotten about dinner.'

Tom winced. "Of course not. You're cooking, how could I forget that?"

'I slaved over a hot replicator for fifteen minutes, flyboy.'

Harry motioned for the container. "I can take that to Sickbay," he whispered.

Mouthing a 'thank you' at his friend, Tom acknowledged to B'Elanna. "I'll be there in two minutes; I'm on my way now. Paris out."

After Tom sprinted from the room, Harry chuckled as he eyed the flower samples in the container. Tucking it in his jacket pocket, he headed for Sickbay.

...................................................

"Report, Doctor." Tuvok and Chakotay had just arrived in Sickbay when Janeway walked in.

"Crewman Yosa was found at the bottom of a Jeffries tube. Judging by the concussion and broken bones, I'd say he fell at least one deck, maybe two." The Doctor didn't even look up from his treatment of the injured crewman.

Tuvok turned to the captain. "He was discovered by one of the crews doing a sweep of that section. It's not known how long he was there."

"I'll check his duty assignment and personal logs, see if he was anywhere near the garden today." Chakotay suggested heading off to his office at her nod.

Janeway walked over to stand by the bed. Looking down at the unconscious member of her crew, she questioned Tuvok. "Did your sweep of the garden turn up anything?"

The security chief moved closer. "No. Commander Chakotay brought the tricorder readings for the Doctor to review, but Yosa was discovered before he could conduct that analysis."

"If you bring them here, I can look them over," Sassy called out from her bed. "It is my garden you suspect is connected."

Janeway looked to the EMH. "Doctor?"

"As long as she stays in bed, I don't see any harm in her reviewing the tricorder readings," the Doctor said.

Tuvok gestured toward Yosa. "I need to complete my rounds. Please notify me when he is conscious, Doctor."

As Janeway and Tuvok exited Sickbay, they nearly collided with Ensign Kim who was on his way into the room.

"Sorry, Captain, Commander," Harry apologized and stepped aside to let them pass.

"No harm done, Ensign," Janeway dismissed the apology. "Do you have anything to report?"

Digging out the container, he held it up for them to see. "Tom and I came across this flower in the garden that the computer can't identify and there's no record of when it was added. We thought the Doc ought to have a look."

"Give it to Sassy, Ensign," the Doctor called out from across the room. "Grab a tricorder for her from the tray over there."

.............................................

B'Elanna eyed Tom with concern. He was breathing funny and tugging at his uniform in obvious discomfort. Beads of sweat trickled down his face and neck, drenching the collar of his jacket.

"Are you all right? I may not be a great chef, but I don't think I can poison you with replicated food."

Tom ripped his jacket off. "Air, I need air." His gaze skittered around the room frantically. "There's not enough oxygen in here," he panted. His eyes fell on the viewport. "I need to go outside."

B'Elanna watched in confused horror as Tom threw himself against the window. "What are you doing?" Rushing over, she tried to sit him down on the couch. She went sprawling onto the floor when he shoved her away and slammed himself into the window again. Blood was trickling down his face, the force of the last blow had opened a small cut on his forehead. He didn't seem to notice as he continued to claw and hit the window in hysteria.

"Torres to Sickbay, Tom's affected. You'll need to sedate him when he appears."

'Understood, Lieutenant,' the Doctor responded.

She stood, carefully keeping her distance. "Computer, lock onto Lieutenant Paris and beam him to Sickbay."

.........................................

"Come in." Janeway looked up from her computer console at the sound of the chime. The door to her ready room slid open and Chakotay stepped inside. "Commander, do you have any news?"

"News, yes. Good news, no." He reported, taking the seat she gestured to. "Tom's been affected, he tried to leave the ship through a viewport. He's all right, minor concussion and a small cut on his head, the Doctor has already released him to his quarters. I've reviewed Yosa's log and there's nothing to indicate that he was anywhere near the garden today. He had been pulling a double shift sweeping the Jeffries tubes in the lower decks."

Swiveling around in her chair, Janeway stood up to pace. "We know Tom was in the garden with Harry earlier. Has Harry shown any unusual symptoms?"

"No, the Doctor ran a full scan on him, nothing. He's wearing a neurocortical monitor for the time being." The Commander shifted around in his chair and continued his report. "I've had B'Elanna send a team back through the tubes that Yosa scanned earlier to see if they could turn something up."

"Good thinking." She sat on the edge of her desk and drummed her fingers. "There has got to be something causing this."

Offering the captain a PADD with the most recent reports, Chakotay stood. "I think we're closing in on it."

"I just hope we find it before someone gets killed," Janeway sighed.

"Same here, I'll keep you informed."

..............................................

"Doctor," Sassy called out.

Looking up from his scan of the still-unconscious Yosa, the EMH replied. "Yes?"

"Could you take a look at this analysis?" She gestured toward him with the tricorder. "There's something here that I need your input on."

The Doctor set his tricorder on a nearby tray and went in to view the data she was indicating. Quickly, he activated his communicator. "Doctor to Commander Tuvok, please report to Sickbay.

Moments later, Tuvok appeared in the doorway immediately followed by Chakotay. "You wanted to see me, Doctor," the Vulcan greeted them.

"Is this about the psychotic episodes, Doctor?" Chakotay spoke up. He had been with the security chief when the Doctor summoned him.

Spinning his console to face the two officers, the Doctor stood. "I believe so. Ensign Kim brought clippings from a suspicious flower in the garden that Lieutenant Paris and he discovered during their review. Sassy's analysis revealed some interesting properties. The flower secretes a chemical that, on humanoid physiology, affects neurochemistry. If heat is applied to the flower petals, the smoke would filter in through the olfactory sense and create a euphoric sensation. But," here he paused in his explanation for dramatic effect. "The chemical secreted by the plant leaves is a concentrated dose, extremely toxic and easily absorbed by the skin. The more concentrated dose results in intensely hallucinogenic qualities."

Tuvok examined the results of the chemical breakdown of the flower. "Where did it come from?"

"Unknown, Paris and Kim were trying to track that down before Mr. Paris had his episode," the Doctor responded.

"Probably when he took the cutting of the plant," Chakotay surmised.

Sassy laid back in bed, tired from her exertion. "I know I didn't bring it aboard, nor did I approve its planting in the garden. I didn't have a chance to finish cataloguing the plants added while Chakotay and I were gone, so it must have been brought aboard then."

"I will remove the plant from hydroponics," Tuvok stated. "Please complete your report as soon as possible, Doctor."

"Hold on a second, Tuvok," Chakotay held his hand out. "Someone brought that plant on board and went to certain lengths to conceal it from discovery."

The security chief nodded in understanding. "Doctor, have you told anyone else about this?"

"No, Sassy just showed it to me and I immediately called you."

"I will ask that both of you maintain strict confidence about these findings," Tuvok directed to Sassy and the Doctor, both acknowledging the request. "Commander Chakotay, I will open a link to hydroponics from my office so that we may watch for the culprit to retrieve more of the flower."

Chakotay nodded. "I'll stop by the mess and grab us some dinner. It looks like it's going to be a long night."

"Agreed," the Vulcan concurred.

....................................

After several very long nights with the two men trading off the surveillance, Chakotay finally saw a break. He set his coffee mug down on his desk-- Tuvok had set up a link to each of their offices after the first night so that one of them could be monitoring hydroponics continuously. Sitting up straight, he watched as Ensign Dorado entered the bay and headed straight for the flower. She carefully clipped two of the flower petals, catching them in a bowl she carried. The first officer noted that she was careful not to touch the plant.

Tapping his communicator, he called to Tuvok. "We've got something happening."

'Acknowledged, Commander,' Tuvok was instantly awake.

"Computer," Chakotay pulled up a schematic of Voyager. "Pinpoint current location of Ensign Dorado and track her movements."

" Ensign Dorado is currently in her quarters," the computer announced.

"Lock on to Ensign Dorado's life sign and track." He tried a different tack.

"Unable to comply," came the computer's response.

"Can you locate the chemical composition of flower Alpha Chi One and track?" This was frustrating. He tapped controls, trying to discover why he couldn't locate the ensign.

"Controls offline." The disembodied voice seemed to taunt him.

The door swished open to admit Tuvok. "It was Ensign Dorado, but everything is offline," Chakotay told him. "I can't track her movements."

Checking the display, Tuvok shook his head. "Someone's running a feedback loop through the internal sensors. It'll take at least a couple of hours to bring them back on line."

"Damn," Chakotay slammed his hands on his desk. "Wait a minute, where did Yosa fall?"

"He was discovered in the Jeffries tube junction on Deck 15, Section 6," Tuvok recalled from the security report.

Chakotay stood. "That's as good a place to start as any."

.......................................................

The two men actually entered the Jeffries tubes on Deck 13, crawling through the narrow passageways to Section 6. Chakotay was leading and, as they neared the junction of Section 6, he could smell the barest traces of an acrid aroma. Just about that same time, Tuvok tapped his leg and indicated to him with hand signals that he could hear something. Carefully inching toward the ladder, he swung himself onto the rungs and moved down several steps to give the Vulcan room to follow. The smoke in the tube made him feel light-headed and he tightened his grip on the rung to avoid falling. He stopped at the junction on Deck 14.

"They're at the bottom of the next length," he whispered.

"I will go first," Tuvok advised, checking to see that his phaser was set to stun and motioning for the Commander to do the same.

Chakotay hated the idea of firing on his own crew, but they didn't really know what they'd find or how the individuals involved would react to being caught. He checked the setting on his phaser and nodded to Tuvok that he was ready. Moving down the ladder as quickly as silence would allow, they reached the bottom-most point on the ship. There they discovered four crewmembers lounging in a euphoric daze amidst thick, pungent smoke. He wondered briefly why the internal sensors weren't setting off any alarms when he remembered that they were offline. This would explain why those sensors had been taken offline.

"Everyone on your feet," Tuvok instructed, phaser in hand.

Groggily, the four struggled to their feet. Ensign Doyle was the first to speak. "You've got no business butting in to what we do on our own time, especially you, Commander. This isn't much different than your vision quests. We're simply choosing to experience an altered state of being."

Chakotay doused the smoldering material and picked up the bowl. He was furious and had to work hard to suppress the urge to hit someone. "This is nothing like a vision quest, crewman. This flower is responsible for my wife being in Sickbay; she was nearly killed by me and five other people have been injured because of your altered state. You can all consider yourselves on report; after we stop by Sickbay, you'll be spending time in the brig. I'll decide how to deal with you later."

"This is most illogical behavior," Tuvok noted to Storik, a fellow Vulcan and a member of his security force.

"Logic is highly overrated," Storik shrugged, nearly tipping over in his dazed condition.

Tuvok alternated his gaze between the two security officers involved. "Am I to assume that the two of you were responsible for bypassing security protocols to secure the plant and achieve this?"

"Yep," Ensign Ricket nodded and snapped off a haphazard salute. "Quite logical deduction, sir."

Chakotay stared at Doyle. "Do we have you to thank for the internal sensors being offline?"

The former Maquis confirmed the suspicion and added, "and the environmental controls to prevent the smoke from getting into the ventilation system. Yosa took care of cleaning up all traces when we were done. We had everything covered."

"Not quite," Tuvok noted. "As Commander Chakotay stated, people were being affected by the chemicals on the plant leaves that you kept in the garden."

"We needed a warm environment with the proper lighting," Dorado explained.

...........................................

"Come." Captain Janeway was reviewing status reports in her ready room.

Chakotay strode into the room, PADD in hand. It had been a long night of scans in Sickbay and then detoxification for the four crewmembers. They had finally gotten straight answers from all five involved in the wee hours of the morning, piecing together the details of this operation.

"Ah, Commander. I heard that you and Tuvok managed to solve our little mystery last night." She took a drink of coffee and waved him into the chair opposite her desk.

"Yes, Captain." He handed her the PADD before he sat down. "It seems that Crewman Doyle discovered a particular flower during his shore leave on Onste'. The locals there burn it as incense to clear away odors, but to humanoid physiology it has the effect of a narcotic, in smoke form. The plant secretes a chemical that produces an acrid smoke when heat is applied, but in solid form it's very concentrated which has the effect of a strong hallucinogen. Their skin was apparently very thick, almost leathery; whereas our skin is porous. They don't absorb the toxin through their skin the way our people can."

"I thought there were several people involved?" Janeway scanned the PADD.

"Yes, five in fact. Crewmen Doyle showed the incense to several others who participated in getting the flower aboard and inhaling the smoke. Ensigns Ricket and Storik from Security bypassed protocols and internal sensors to transport it aboard and account for all of their whereabouts while they were smoking. Doyle took out internal sensors and environmental controls to avoid detection and Yosa retrieved petals from the flower to burn in their smoking sessions and cleared away the residual ashes and remnants of smoke afterward. Ensign Dorado put the plant in a section of the garden where she had some other personal gardening projects hoping that Sassy wouldn't look too closely when she got back," Chakotay summed up the various roles.

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she shook her head in mild bemusement. "Well, we did want the two crews to work together. That's what, two Starfleet and three former Maquis?"

"This isn't exactly the teamwork that I had hoped for," he replied dryly.

"How did Yosa fall down the Jeffries tube?"

"He was clearing away the smoke and ashes from the previous meeting and inhaled more of the smoke on top of the dose he got before. When he tried to climb out of the Jeffries tube, he lost his grip," Chakotay explained.

"Did they have any explanation as to why?"

The Commander rolled his eyes. "They said that they were feeling confined on Voyager so far from home and the euphoric sensation relaxed them and gave them a feeling of freedom."

"Shoreleave without ever leaving the ship," she paraphrased with disgust. "Have you decided how you're going to handle this?"

Chakotay heaved a deep sigh. "No matter what I do to them, Ricket and Storik are in for a rough time with Tuvok; to say he's displeased with them would be an understatement. I think it's a safe bet that they'll be patrolling the bowels of the ship for the next twenty years. Officially, this incident will go on their records, they'll be docked one month's worth of both holodeck time and replicator rations and their duty assignment for the time being is to scrub out all of the Jeffries tubes on Decks 13 through 15 to remove all traces of the smoke."

Janeway raised an eyebrow. "That'll take at least a couple of weeks."

"Sixteen duty shifts apiece according to Tuvok," he corrected. "They'll be put back on their normal duty shifts after that. They're also required to submit letters of apology to all crewmembers affected by the flower."

"Where is the flower now?"

"Sickbay," Chakotay answered. "As soon as the Doctor is done with his analysis, it'll be recycled and any information in the database about its transporter pattern or molecular structure will be erased. The Doctor will retain the information on its chemical composition in the medical database."

"Will there be any long-term affects for anyone affected by this flower?"

"The Doctor says no." Chakotay stood to leave. "If there's nothing else, the Doctor is releasing Sassy to our quarters today."

"Go," she said. "And tell Sassy that I'll stop by tomorrow for a cup of tea."

"Yes ma'am." The door slid shut behind him as he exited.

Janeway set the PADD down on her desk. "Captain's Log, Stardate . . . "

**FINIS**

When in Rome

Twist of Fate Index