The Brig guards were whispering to each other. And whatever they were talking about seemed to be good news.
To them, anyhow.
Try as she might, B'Elanna couldn't hear a damn thing. Discreetly listening from the center of her cell, she heard only murmurs. Pressed up against the force field, rather blatantly, she heard nothing but the fizz of her body against it.
Even if she had been able to hear anything, the two Brig guards immediately stopped talking to each other and told her to step back.
She did-not without a parting obscene gesture-returning to the rear of the cell. Ayala inched over to give her room on the bench without being asked. Probably because the last time that he hadn't moved she'd knocked him onto the floor.
"What are they talking about?"
"I don't know," she snapped, keeping her voice hushed.
"They look happy."
"I know."
"That's not good."
"I know that, too."
"They could have news about Chakotay and the others," Ayala said after a moment.
She knew instantly what he was imagining.
"If Chakotay had been captured or anything of the sort, they'd tell us."
"Why?"
"So they could gloat," she told him. "Break our spirits by catching our leader."
"I guess so," Ayala replied, not particularly believing her.
"Chakotay's not going to do anything to get captured," B'Elanna reassured him. "If he's coming back to Voyager it's on his own terms."
Ayala nodded.
"We might be able to help him somehow," she continued, lowering her voice even more. She didn't care if the guards heard them wondering about the conversation, but they couldn't hear them conspiring.
"Yeah?" Ayala snorted, loudly. "From in here? How?"
"Shut up," B'Elanna hissed, glancing over at the Brig guards.
"Okay," Ayala said, considerably softer. "How? Everyone's in the Brig."
"Samantha Wildman isn't."
"She's not on our side anymore, B'Elanna. She only was because she thought we'd win."
"I know. But she was on our side once, and I think she'd do a lot to keep Janeway from knowing that."
"When I was in Sickbay for the cut on my back, she had me restrained to the bio-bed," Ayala insisted. "She was very clear, she hates us. And Janeway wouldn't believe anything we said about her."
"I think I upset her," B'Elanna mused at the first piece of information. "Look, it doesn't matter whether or not Janeway would jump out an airlock before believing us, Wildman thinks she'd believe us. If we could get access to a terminal in Sickbay, we could do something."
"One of us has to be in Sickbay for that," Ayala pointed out.
"Yes. Someone has to get injured again. And then that someone has to intimidate Wildman into letting them get on the computer."
"Without making her mad like you did."
"Yes."
"The new command codes would be useful," Ayala said thoughfully.
B'Elanna nodded, already planning.