On the Bridge, Paris reports: "It's still on course for the planet at warp 9." Janeway: "Mr Paris, bring us to within 10 kilometres. Maintain a parallel position." She opens a com. channel to Torres who is in a transporter room. "Bridge to Torres. Your status?" Torres, who is standing by the operations console along with the duty transporter officer, replies: "I don't understand it, Captain. Dreadnought's shields are not recognising my security codes any more. We can't initiate transport." Janeway: "You'd better get back up here, Lieutenant." Torres: "Aye, Captain."

Janeway: "Mr Tuvok, let's take a shot at disabling its drive systems. Ready photons. Red alert." Chakotay tells her: "Torres programmed the missile's shields to adjust to all known weapons, even Starfleet's." Janeway replies: "Voyager wasn't in service when she did it. We're equipped with Type 6 photon torpedoes. They may just get through." To Tuvok: "Fire!"

Voyager fires at Dreadnought. Tuvok reports: "No discernible damage, Captain." Chakotay: "It must've scanned our weapons, adapted its shields." Paris: "Captain, it's maintaining course and speed."

"You stand your weapons and I'll stand down mine." "When a bomb starts talking about itself in the third person, I get worried." So when I was just over there, and you shut yourself off, you were lying to me?" Dreadnought sends a surge along the tachyon beam into Voyager's power system. "The missile was not significantly damaged. It has maintained its course for Rakosa."

Kim: "We're being hailed by the missile." Janeway: "Let's hear it." Dreadnought: "Unidentified Federation ship, although this vessel is Cardassian in design, it has been appropriated by the Maquis. Please stand down your weapons." Janeway: "You stand your weapons and I'll stand down mine." Dreadnought: "You are interfering with a tactical mission against Cardassian aggressors. This vessel is programmed to respond with all necessary force to prevent any disruption to its mission." Torres: "Dreadnought, why have you resumed course?" Dreadnought: "Hello, B'Elanna. Course was resumed once your safe departure from this vessel was confirmed. It was a necessary response to your deception." Torres: "My deception?" Dreadnought: "You are in participating in the Delta Quadrant Deception." Janeway: "Explain, Dreadnought." Dreadnought: "False information has been entered into Dreadnought's navigational sensor array." Paris: "When a bomb starts talking about itself in the third person, I get worried." Torres: "Why would I enter false information?" Dreadnought: "Probability assessment indicates you are being coerced by Cardassian forces." Janeway: "You've already identified Voyager as a Federation ship, Dreadnought. Your scanners must indicate this is not a Cardassian crew." Dreadnought: "Probability assessment indicates you are operating within the parameters of the Cardassian-Federation alliance as described in the treaty of 2367, a treaty rejected by the Maquis." While Dreadnought speaks, Torres is standing facing Lt. Ayala, who was Chakotay's righthand man in the Maquis and a fellow Maquis crewmember of Torres'. As Dreadnought finishes speaking, Ayala turns and goes to work at the master situation display, Ops II section. Torres: "So when I was just over there, and you shut yourself off, you were lying to me?" Dreadnought: "Acknowledged." Torres to Janeway and Chakotay: "I never taught it to do that!" Dreadnought: "That is not correct, B'Elanna. Your tactical subroutine instructed Dreadnought to prepare responses for 39 potential Cardassian threats. The possibility of your capture and coercion was number 7." Janeway: "Dreadnought, is there any way we can prove to you that you are actually in the Delta Quadrant, that this is not a deception?" Dreadnought: "The probability of being in the Delta Quadrant, 75,000 light-years from last confirmed location is negligible. The target is located in the Alpha Quadrant. Target lock has been established. There will be no further warnings. Terminating communications link." As Dreadnought closes the comblink, Torres is thinking desperately, finally saying: "The one possible vulnerability I remember is in the thoron shock emitter. If we can get it to fire at full power that should destabilise the reactor core for 30 seconds. A single sustained tachyon beam might penetrate that core and destroy it. Janeway: "What will it take to provoke Dreadnought into firing?" Torres: "It shouldn't be that difficult. Once we go after it with an all-out assault, the emitter should fire." Janeway: "Mr Tuvok, set your target. Ready photons." Tuvok: "Ready, Captain." Janeway: "Fire." Tuvok: "The missile's thoron shock emitter has fired." Janeway: "Initiate the tachyon beam." Tuvok: "We have penetrated its shields. Direct hit to the core." Kim: "I'm reading an energy build-up in its reactor. It should overload in about 30 seconds. Wait a minute. There's a plasma surge coming from its core. What the hell-?" At that moment the surge, which is fed back up the tachyon beam, causes several explosions on the Bridge and the ship is heavily jolted by the impact. Janeway: "Report!" Kim: "It sent a surge along the tachyon beam into our main power system. We've got EPS relays burnt out all over the ship!" Paris: "I'm not getting any response from the warp or impulse drive! Even the maneuvering thrusters are out!" Tuvok: "The missile was not significantly damaged. It has maintained its course for Rakosa."

USS Voyager is adrift and without power. In her Ready Room, Janeway is in contact with First Minister Kellan of Rakosa V. Janeway: "Our engines will be back online in less than an hour, First Minister, then we'll try again." Kellan: "Did you sustain any casualties, Captain?" Janeway: "A few: a broken arm, a broken leg. Fortunately, that's all." Kellan: "I'm pleased to hear that. We are projecting casualties at 2 million, if the worst occurs. I have deployed our fleet to intercept this missile in a matter of hours." Janeway: "First Minister, we've analysed your defensive capabilities and they're no match for what they're facing. You must've realised that yourself." Kellan: "And what would you have me do? Sit here and wait for death to fall from the sky? I'm sorry. We haven't had much sleep. We weren't prepared for anything like this. We are not a warlike race. We haven't devoted our resources to building weapons like yours." Janeway: "First Minister-" Kellan: "Please. I've always hated that title. My name is Kellan. I prefer that." Janeway: "Our chief engineer is trying to return to the missile's control room. She's still our best chance at disarming it. There's no reason to send your fleet on a hopeless mission." Kellan: "I appreciate your efforts truly, but the decision has been made. We have some good pilots, Captain. Perhaps they will surprise you."

	In the transporter room, Torres is on a transporter pad while Kim works busily at the operator controls. Kim: "Blocked again." Torres puts down her engineering toolbox and joins Kim at the console. "We don't have time for this."
	Kim: "Don't worry. We'll find a way to get you back over there." Torres: "We wouldn't have to if I'd done my job right the first time." Kim: "You couldn't expect to guess every move it made." Torres: "Why not? Dreadnought seems pretty good at guessing mine." Kim: "It's only as smart as you made it." Torres: "I'm not so sure about that, Harry. Its programs are adaptive. It's been accumulating data all this time. It spends every minute of every day thinking about new strategies and new probabilities." Kim: "And I bet it doesn't spend much time worrying about what it could've done differently." Torres returns to the transporter pad: "Alright, Starfleet. Let's give it another try."
	This time the beam out is successful and Torres materialises on Dreadnought. Dreadnought: "Unauthorised entry detected. Initiating DNA scan. Hello, B'Elanna. Your last systems access was today at 08:40 hours. Current time is 19:31 hours. Have you had a pleasant day?" Torres, sarcastically: "Oh yes, swell day." She tries to activate a workstation console but Dreadnought reports: "Access to programmer interface has been denied." Torres tries another control console but is again blocked. "Access to programmer interface has been denied." Frustrated, she bangs the console.

She gets up, moves to another section, Torres crouches by an access panel and moves a tool toward it to make an adjustment.

Suddenly Dreadnought shorts out the tool, and the shock throws Torres backwards. Dreadnought: "Access to circuit pathways has been denied. Be advised that the intensity of the shock will increase if you attempt to open the panel again."

Torres uses her tricorder to locate the circuitry section she wants, locates it and removes the access panel.
Torres: "I'm disappointed in you, Dreadnought. If I really was a Cardassian agent, you should've killed me with the first charge."

	She removes a component. Dreadnought: "Probability assessment indicates that you are being coerced by Cardassian forces." Torres: "Somehow I expected you to put up more of a fight."
A monitor display aboard Dreadnought indicates a proximity alert against approaching hostiles. (pop-up window)	Suddenly one of Dreadnought's monitor displays activates. Torres wants to know what is going on: "Computer?" Dreadnought: "Stage 2 alert has been activated." Torres: "Tell me what's happening." Dreadnought: "There are 15 priority targets approaching. All weapons systems at full readiness. Speed: full impulse."
	Torres examines the monitor and sees the targets displayed: "The Rakosan fleet."

Thanks to Feeble Minds for the animated star background (tweaked by me).