by Janet, Christina, and Rocky
Dedicated to all the space explorers, those who have returned safely home as well as those who sacrificed their lives helping mankind reach for the stars.
Author's Note (jamelia): This story was planned in the summer of 2002 and has its genesis even further back, during Voyager's season 6. When we developed VV7.5 we discussed whether or not "Fury" would be considered part of our canon or not. We finally decided the split would occur after "Shattered," which meant that "Fury" was (regrettably) part of our series history and cried out for the VV7.5 "we feel the need for a fix" treatment (all events of "Fury" are assumed to have occurred).
Author's Note (christina): We know the Vidiian Antiphagia was given to the Vidiians by the Think Tank, but outside of a very select few, the Vidiians themselves do not know this.
Prologue:
Stardate 56271.2--April 8, 2380
Ocampan homeworld
"Please, Kes. Let me come with you."
Kes stopped midway up the stairs to the next landing, taking advantage of the chance to take a "breather" from their laborious climb up the stairs to the surface. "I appreciate your offer, Josan, but I'll be fine, really."
"It might be a good idea for someone to accompany you, Kes. If you become ill or..." Council member Vertris hesitated, clearly reluctant to give Kes reasons. Vertris didn't need to; Kes knew what she was trying hard not to say.
"You're afraid my Morelogium will occur en route?"
"Well, it's always a possibility," Vertris replied.
"You don't need to worry about that," Kes said, shrugging her shoulders carelessly. Vertris was trying to assure the success of the mission. It was her job to raise concerns, even if the Ocampan Ruling Council had previously aired them. Kes had answered them well enough to gain the council's somewhat reluctant consent to travel alone. Kes didn't see why she should go over it all again now.
Kes would not change her mind now, Vertris knew that. Kes suspected she was "covering her back," as Harry Kim sometimes said (Tom Paris had used a more colorful variant), preparing for questions from the council should the mission go awry. ("I tried to stop her from going alone, but Kes wouldn't listen. Lyrial and Josan, you heard her...")
A quick glance in her friends' direction changed Kes' mind about addressing the issue again. Lyrial and Josan had also been vocal about the dangers of traveling by herself. Kes reminded them that she had journeyed alone in a shuttle all the way back to Ocampa had not assuaged their fears for the safety of the woman they called "Auntie" in private. Kes never had anticipated finding strangers on Ocampa who would become family to her, but she should not have been surprised. It was, after all, what happened when people married and gained new "in-law" family members. And it wasn't the first time Kes had seen it happen on a much larger scale.
Lyrial and Josan's generosity of spirit reminded Kes of how the people of Voyager had enclosed Kes and Neelix within the family ties Captain Janeway and her crew formed after the Caretaker had pulled them immeasurably far from the ones waiting in the Alpha Quadrant. The crew comforted and supported each other as they adjusted to new lives in the Delta Quadrant, teaching Kes that the warmth of family did not need to be of blood to become a vital part of a person's existence. After she exiled herself from Voyager, she apparently forgot that lesson.
In the same way, Lyrial and Josan had become much more than friends to Kes in the months since she returned to Ocampa. The young couple shared their small cubbyhole of an apartment with her, providing Kes with a family circle, something which Kes had already lost by the time she chose all those years ago to climb to the surface of Ocampa to "see the sun" for herself. By letting Lyrial and Josan "adopt" her, Kes had turned them into her relatives, too. As such, they deserved far more than a cursory, "Don't worry about me," before she left them, possibly for the last time. She was confident she would be successful, but who knew what might happen to prevent her from meeting Lyrial and Josan again? Bitter experience had taught Kes just how uncertain life could be.
Turning to the couple, Kes caught a hand from each of them and gave them a gentle but emphatic squeeze. "Please, trust in your 'Auntie Kes.' Everything will turn out all right. I know you want to protect me, but you don't need to worry. I've taken on this task of my own free will, and it *will* be completed successfully. The Morelogium will not be a factor, I'm sure. Truthfully, I'm concerned Josan would miss your Elogium if he travels with me. It will be here very soon now!"
"How can you be so sure, Kes?" Lyrial asked plaintively.
"About my Morelogium, or your Elogium?" Kes responded with a wink. Since Lyrial did not respond to Kes' gentle teasing with a smile, as Kes had hoped, she continued in a more serious vein. " I don't want you to miss out on the chance to become a mother, as I did, Lyrial, because I had no mate near me when the time of my Elogium finally came."
Lyrial's face flamed with embarrassment, but she whispered. "We both could come."
Kes replied gently, "We've already discussed that. There isn't room in this shuttle for three people to occupy it for an extended amount of time. It's even smaller than our apartment!"
Lyrial did smile at that, but Vertris had grown impatient with this diversion from her own agenda. "The status of Lyrial and Josan's family life is not the issue here. Kes, we all know your Morelogium cannot be far in the future now. If you should die on the journey, all alone, the Council..."
"The Council did not seem all that worried about losing me to the Morelogium when they tabled my proposal for over a week, Vertris," Kes stated severely, but she quickly regretted her rigid stance when Vertris flinched visibly.
Even before Kes' return Vertris begged the council to hollow out more habitable areas beneath the surface of the planet. The others had been too short-sighted to listen to her. She was the one to present Kes' plan to search for a new home for the Ocampa to the Council, arguing that food would eventually run out, as comfortable dwellings had, if something was not done to increase, or at the very least, replenish, the dwindling supplies of energy in storage. Vertris, of all the council members, did not deserve Kes' scorn.
Kes patted the council representative on the forearm and continued, in a more placating manner, "I know that delay wasn't your fault, Vertris. You tried to make them see the merits of my suggestion right away. But I'll be fine. I'm sure of it."
Kes briefly considered whether she should confess why she was so sure the Morelogium would not be a factor. Kes actually went through it years ago, when she left Voyager for the first time. It was then the great secret had been revealed to her. The Morelogium was not really a death. A way back existed for one who knew the techniques for shifting in and out of a corporeal form of life and felt she still had "unfinished business" on this plane of existence.
Almost as soon as she thought about mentioning it, Kes dismissed the idea. Vertris and her young friends Lyrial and Josan were not yet ready for that knowledge. Turning away from her friends, Kes leaned against the handrail, surreptitiously probing the strength of the supports and wall fastenings of the stairway. This set of steps had been the least damaged from the Caretaker's final barrage, sealing the entrances to the Ocampa's subterranean hideaway ten years ago. It had been repaired and maintained by her people ever since as the only safe route to the surface. Kes wanted to make sure the way was still sound. It would be terrible if it failed when her friends were on their way back down to the caverns. They would surely perish after such a fall.
Once reassured the stairway and railing were sound, Kes resumed her upward climb, only to be interrupted by Josan. "What if you become ill or incapacitated?".
Kes glanced back over her shoulder at him but didn't stop climbing. "I thought we'd already settled this, Josan. If I were incapacitated, would you be able to pilot the shuttle back here? It took me three years to learn how to fly one properly, and I took lessons from one of the very best pilots in Starfleet. I'm afraid I couldn't do half as good a job teaching you as Tom did, even if I had twice the time. And if I did pass away, stranding you somewhere out in space wouldn't help our people. I'm sure I'll be fine, but even if I'm not and I can't return, our people won't be any worse off than before I came home last year."
"We would be far better off, thanks to the technologies you brought back with you. Finding out how to use paragithium to stretch our power resources has been a blessing," Vertris agreed. "Still, you can't blame us for feeling a bit nervous, Kes. we would be heart-broken never to see you again. And you've raised hopes that the Ocampa will see the sun and stars again!"
"It will happen! I'm sure of it! I just have to do it my own way." Kes smiled.
Vertris nodded her head. "That was always your way, if the stories about 'Kes the Adventuress' are even half true."
Kes' throaty laugh echoed in the stairwell. Tales of Kes' leaving Ocampa with her friends from the other side of the galaxy had become legendary in the years before her miraculous, unexpected return. She couldn't very well deny that!
Reaching the next landing she waited for her friends, who gathered around her. "I'm confident of success. I wish I could tell you why, but I am. Just have faith!"
Vertris, Josan, and Lyrial could not totally erase the signs of worry from their faces, but they had no alternative. Each gave her a hug in turn, letting her know they had accepted Kes' decision.
The rest of the ascent passed quickly, ending where the shuttle from Voyager was hidden, wedged within pores of the rock. Only because of Kes' ability to transform herself and the shuttle between corporeal and non-corporeal form could it be freed from its hiding place to fly again between the stars.
After all they'd discussed on the climb up, their farewells were brief, which Kes preferred. Quickly, before the good-byes could turn maudlin, Kes expanded into a fog that seeped between the molecules of the shuttle's rocky hanger. Slipping inside the shuttle, she rearranged her subatomic particles back into her usual solid form and prepared the small craft for take off.
At last the shuttle "Benaren" lifted off, disguised as a dust devil to fool any scavengers who might mark its rise, and disappeared into the night sky. After achieving orbit above the world within which she had born, Kes caught a quick glimpse of Ocampa's sun. As she aimed her craft towards the outer reaches of the system, she whispered a fervent prayer to all her forebears to help her make her promise a reality. Kes would find another home for the Ocampa, one where they could live the lives they deserved, or die in the attempt. She could not bear the alternative: the Ocampa people, huddling inside overcrowded warrens-turned-mausoleums, slowly dying off as their resources were exhausted. Kes refused to accept that fate for her people.
ACT 1:
Stardate 56271.8--April 8, 2380
Outside the Ocampa system
Although Kes had successfully convinced Vertris, Josan, and Lyrial she'd be better off if she didn't have to worry about anyone else riding with her in her shuttle, she didn't expect to be alone in space for long either. Her expectation was quickly fulfilled. Within two hours of leaving orbit around the planet of her birth and bidding the dusty brown world farewell, her comm crackled with the command to "Cease forward motion and prepare to be boarded!"
The ship which hove suddenly into view bristled with projections on its hull, clearly a formidable weapons array. The ugly ship was so large, Kes was sure few flying vessels the size of hers would have the temerity to disobey.
Of course, none of those vessels were piloted by Kes of the Ocampa, once a member of the Federation starship Voyager. She'd learned a thing or two from her time with Captain Kathryn Janeway. One of these was "talk when you can to buy time." Another was, "Don't back down in front of bullies; they'll never leave you alone if you do."
Kes opened the channel. "My name is Kes, a representative of the Ocampan people. I have no intention of doing anything to harm you or..."
Kes knew they were going to attack several seconds before a blaze of light reached out of their ship. The light arrived; the blast of their weapons did not. Using all her considerable mental strength, Kes bent the energy from the blast back against the shields of the attacking ship, shoving it in the opposite direction and out of sight. Kes gathered herself together and mentally 'pushed' her little shuttle not quite three light years in the direction she had sent her attacker.
A few seconds later she saw the craft hanging motionless in space before her, silhouetted against a brightly glowing yellow star. Several of the ugly projections from the port side had been sheared away. The ship must have had a too-close encounter with some sort of planetary body during its unexpected trip in reverse and looked a good deal less threatening now.
Kes opened a channel to the ship again, this time forcing the controls of the opposing ship to send back a visual of its bridge.
She couldn't keep a vaguely predatory smile from her lips. As efficient as a ship's inertial dampers were in protecting its crew from being harmed whenever the unimaginable speeds it traveled increased or decreased abruptly, there was always that initial microsecond before they flared into action. Kes had learned on Voyager that was just enough time for the residual inertia to bounce her away from her duty station, off her feet, or, if she were fortunate enough to be sitting at the time, to grab onto her seat and hang on for dear life.
The dampers on this ship worked the same way Voyager's had. Through the view screen, Kes watched as several heads popped into view at irregular intervals, hands rubbing against them as though to check if those all-important humanoid appendages were still fastened firmly onto their necks.
Kes engaged her comm once again. "Unidentified vessel, if your species is subject to danger from head injuries, I suggest you seek medical attention if you feel at all dizzy or lost consciousness..."
"How dare you attack us!" called out a voice from the face which swam into the central viewing area of the screen.
"Not an 'attack,' a defensive action," Kes corrected sternly. "I did nothing more than deflect the energy beam you directed at *my* shuttle back at you. Why did you shoot at me? My little ship clearly would be no threat to yours!"
"The damage to our ship says otherwise!" the alien growled.
"You have only yourselves to blame if your aggressive actions cause damage to your own ship. You don't have to bother getting your weapons systems back on line immediately. I'd concentrate on fixing your drive and your protective shielding if I were you. I have no plans to retaliate unless you fire on me again, and I wouldn't recommend it. If there is another attack, I'll gladly shove your ship back through that star, and in their present state, I don't believe your shields could prevent your hull from burning away before you came through the other side."
Orange eyes gleamed fiercely in the light green face staring back at her. He grunted as he glanced down at his instruments. She knew the tale they told. This crew had several hours of repair work to complete, at the very least, before they could endanger her again--if they were so foolish as to try again after the demonstration she'd just given them.
As he made no further effort to speak with her but did not attempt to cut off communications, Kes made a few quick adjustments to her sensors and confirmed that the colors of his face were being accurately conveyed to her. "You are of the race known as the Krowtonan Guard?" she asked.
"We are! And you are trespassing within the borders of our space," he declaimed in an imperious tone.
That fit in with the little she'd heard of the Guard. She'd never seen them face to face before but had heard they had green skin. Neelix had described them as nasty types who usually shot first and asked questions later. She should probably be grateful they chose to demand her compliance before attacking; it had given her enough time to sense their intentions. At the moment, however, Kes wasn't in a particularly forgiving mood. She was about to say so when she noted several beings in the background who were of a race Kes had encountered in the past.
"You have Haakonians traveling with you?" Kes inquired.
The alien froze so briefly it might be barely detectable to most. Kes caught it and knew that whatever he said next, he would be dissembling.
"You must be mistaken. Only the Krowtonan Guard travel on this ship."
"I can see two Haakonians clearly, standing next to one another and behind your left shoulder," Kes persisted.
The scope of the visual transmission shrank until only the face of the Guard to whom she was speaking was completely visible. Even so, one Haakonian had to step away to the right to prevent his forehead from remaining in view.
Kes laughed. "Keep your secrets, then. I'll find out what I need to know about the Haakonians and the Krowtonan Guard elsewhere, if that's the way you want it, although I doubt others will describe you to me the way you would."
The Guard officer grunted but declined to say anything to Kes.
"Then may I ask you a few questions about other races in this sector? What is happening among the Kazon sects, the Talaxians, the Trabe, and the Vidiians?"
Apparently gossiping about other races was not quite as threatening to the Krowtonan Guard as direct questions about themselves. After turning away and mumbling to someone now out of sight, he began to lecture stiffly, as if to a lesser officer he didn't much care for.
"Several Kazon sects are active in this area. They are as vicious and as disorganized as ever, but you would be well advised to avoid them just the same. Vidiian vessels have been seen, but rarely. There have not been any confirmed attacks by Vidiians on other vessels for the past four years. The Trabe have not been seen for the past two years, although rumors abound they are in hiding, waiting for chances to strike the unwary. The Haakonian Protectorate continues to provide for the defense of Talax. Several vessels have disappeared near Talax under mysterious circumstances in the last few years, however. You would be wise not to travel in that direction. Two derelict Borg vessels were found recently, apparently abandoned and filled only with corpses of drones. No living Borg has been active in this vicinity in over a year. I have answered your questions. Is there anything more you require?"
His frosty tone made it perfectly clear he'd already supplied more than he wanted to share with Kes. While she would have liked to learn much more, she decided not to waste any more time asking him about a planet for the Ocampa. Besides, it was obvious the Krowtonan Guard and/or the Haakonians would "protect" any planet settled in this vicinity. The Ocampa had already been "protected" in that sense of the word almost to extinction. As graciously as she could, Kes answered, "No. You've been very helpful."
As she leaned over break contact, the Krowtonan Guardsman surprised her. "Kes of the Ocampan people, I warn you: be vigilant when strange vessels are sighted, as we are! They are more likely to be enemies than friends."
So that was how they justified their behavior, Kes mused, although, considering those in the immediate neighborhood, the advice might be warranted. Rather than trying to push him into any further disclosures, Kes said, "Thanks again for your advice. Now, do you need any help to repair your ship, Captain...?"
"NO!" the Krowtonan Guard yelled, declining to give his name.
"I'll be leaving then, Captain. Thanks again for the information." Kes smiled at him sweetly, then cut the transmission abruptly. Closing her eyes, Kes concentrated upon herself and her shuttle, her awareness slipping down to the subatomic level where it must be for her to "play," as she thought of it, when she shifted from one state to another.
Kes' smile disappeared like the Cheshire Cat's in a book she'd read once on Voyager as her shuttle melted around her and she turned into a being of energy and light. She could imagine the Krowtonan Guard and their shadowy Haakonian compatriots/allies falling all over themselves in consternation at her sudden disappearance, trying to figure out what sort of drive she was using to create that particular visual effect.
"Let them puzzle over that a good long time," she thought smugly as she headed out into the dangerous region of space in which she found herself, one which Kes and the Ocampa could leave soon for a safer area--she hoped.
Stardate 56333.5--May 4, 2380
ShahKar, Vulcan
As soon as she entered the room, T'Pel knew her husband had made up his mind. She did not need telepathy to know this.
After almost seven decades together as bonded mates, Tuvok's body language had become imprinted within her soul. She was as familiar with it as she was the sound of his voice echoing in the hallway or the brush of his mind against hers in a meld. When Starfleet had informed her that the ship which had carried her husband into the Badlands had been declared lost, the prospect of never seeing or hearing or feeling ever again had drained her of all emotion. Ironically, this admittedly emotional response to tragedy had brought her to the state which all Vulcans seek. After the memorial service which formally established T'Pel's widowhood, she meditated daily, but it was by force of habit. She never controlled her emotions for the simple reason she had none. She was numb.
Then the numbness faded, and T'Pel perceived a tenuous yet familiar vibration in her soul whenever she meditated. She consulted with experts in such matters. Most observed that the telepathic bond which linked husband and wife was still present; they continued to be among the parted, but never parted. Most added that it was an interesting phenomenon but meant nothing. Some, however, most notably T'Verren at the temple on Mount Seleya, assured T'Pel that if her husband were truly dead, their link would have decayed by then. From then on, T'Pel had to double and redouble her efforts to control her emotions, for one constantly asserted itself. Hope.
T'Pel was certain her husband lived on somewhere, though she did not know whether she would ever see him again. She did what she could to find out what may have happened, even traveling to Deep Space Nine once to speak to personnel there who had traveled the Badlands or slipped into the Mirror Universe. From that visit, T'Pel had formed the hypothesis that the Maquis ship and Voyager had somehow become entangled within the Mirror Universe. Since others had escaped, perhaps her husband could do the same.
The details of her hypothesis had been erroneous, but hope had been fulfilled despite it. He had returned to her, and she could again observe his body language, hear his voice, and touch his mind in actual fact and not only memory.
This morning Tuvok sat hunched forward in the chair, almost as if he were about to launch himself from it; from the calm expression upon his face and the state of relaxation of his hands steepled together but resting upon his lap, she knew he intended no such thing. As if that were not enough of a clue, she noted Tuvok had lit the candles in the wall sconces of the meditation chamber but not the meditation lamp itself. The time for concentrating on the flame and considering his options had passed. Tuvok had come to a decision, and he was about to share it with her.
Since only one question had dominated her husband's thoughts for the past several weeks, she also knew which decision he must have made. The one thing she could not tell from his stance was whether the decision which had been reached was, "Stay" or "Leave."
"T'Pel, please be seated."
She sat, of course, taking the seat facing his. The light from the sconces flickered over Tuvok's skin, highlighting the noble contours and reflecting sparks of fire from the depths of his rich brown eyes. For several seconds they remained as immobile as ancient images carved out of rich warm wood in the days before Surak.
She wanted him to speak first, but this particular decision was too important to their family and had taken too long to be made for T'Pel to be able to hold her tongue as long as she needed. "I await your words, husband."
Even then Tuvok hesitated, taking a very deep breath before saying, "I have decided to resign my Starfleet commission."
Because of his struggle over making this decision, she had halfway expected this result, but she was surprised by her own reaction to his announcement. "Are you certain this is the path you wish to take? You left Starfleet once before..."
"I am certain." He raised a quizzical eyebrow. "You sound displeased. I had thought you would look forward to my spending more time with our family on Vulcan."
"I do look forward to spending more time with you. Our children, however, have reached the stage of life in which they are occupied in creating their own lives. They are much less at home now as a consequence, and... " Her voice died away in mid-sentence.
"Yes? What else?" Tuvok asked somewhat gruffly, when her hesitation lasted beyond a few seconds.
"I cannot forget you left Starfleet once before, yet later, you came to have doubts as to the wisdom of that decision."
Tuvok opened his mouth to reply but, in his turn, hesitated. He could not deny T'Pel's observation. Finally, he said, "While this may be true, I have had the opportunity since then to return and achieve the goals I once set for myself. I have never had the desire to obtain command of a Starfleet vessel of my own. Any questions I may have asked myself about this subject were fully answered when I assumed command after we were forced to... abandon Captain Janeway and Chakotay upon the planet they called New Earth."
"It was an unpleasant experience."
Tuvok stood up and began to pace, his hands clasped behind his back. "Having the crew question my decision to accept Captain Janeway's express orders to assume command and continue the journey home to the Federation, avoiding the Vidiians at all cost? It was unpleasant, granted. Yet it was also to be expected, since the non-Vulcan members of the crew had extremely volatile natures. I dealt with it adequately."
"By agreeing to their demand to contact the Vidiians, if I recall correctly? Yes, that dealt with the problem quite well," T'Pel stated calmly, with a hint of skepticism. "However, it was not your commanding Voyager to which I was referring as being the 'unpleasant experience,' but rather that you were forced to leave your friend and commanding officer Kathryn Janeway behind, expecting never to see her or Commander Chakotay again."
Tuvok came to an abrupt halt in mid-stride. His left foot stumbled slightly upon a minute irregularity of the flagstone flooring as he faced T'Pel. Despite his need to suppress a sudden surge of guilt that assailed him at the reminder of that experience, he could not help noticing how beautifully her skin was highlighted by the glow of afternoon sunlight flowing from the far window onto her face.
"Yes, it was unpleasant," he admitted. "It cannot compare to another time, however, when I was stranded away from Voyager for what Lieutenant Paris and I thought were many months; when we thought Voyager, thinking us lost, had left us behind. I thought I would never return to Vulcan to see you again."
T'Pel rose to her feet. Wordlessly, she extended her fingers to him. He accepted her offering, stroking them gently. No off-worlder could ever know just how intensely their bond was expressed by the simple exchanging of the sense of touch; but, of course, none were present to see at that moment.
When Tuvok would have dropped his hand to his side, T'Pel clasped it between both of hers and said huskily, "Bitter were the years before we received word your vessel survived, although far away. I did not lose faith that you still lived, for I sensed our bond too deeply for you to have been lost forever, but I must confess, I awoke many times wondering how many nights I would sleep alone before you returned to my side."
"Then you understand why I refuse to risk another parting such as that?"
T'Pel sighed heavily. "I do, for I also would not care to experience another separation like it. In the future, however, Starfleet Command could reverse the decision not to accept my application to serve them as a civilian. Perhaps we could wait a little longer to notify them of your intention to resign."
"In such a case, I am sure they would consider accepting me back to active duty. They did once before, despite the many years I was away, as you noted only a few minutes ago."
Her lips quivered slightly as she raised her right eyebrow. "They did indeed. I trust they would have the good sense to so once again."
Slowly, Tuvok raised his free hand to his wife's face, tracing the line of demarcation between shadow and sunlight on his wife's cheek, as he contemplated once again the merits of the matrimonial state.
Stardate 56349.4 May 6, 2380
Horspant District offices, Vidalia, Vidiia
"Ah, Dr. Pel, how good of you to meet with me," Councilor-Delegate Quentan Drin of the Horspant District said with a motion that indicated she should sit.
Denara took the offered seat. "Thank you for the invitation." She place a packet of documents on the Councilor-Delegate's desk. "I have brought my research results." She waited a second before realizing he wasn't going to look at them. "We have had excellent success with Derogasta Prenikolium combined with..."
"Denara...Dr. Pel, I am familiar with your excellent research into post-Phage treatments," Drin said. "I have been your strongest advocate here in the Sodality. But the realities of--" he hesitated a second, "--the present economic downturn are that we need to sacrifice--"
She closed her eyes at the word sacrifice. Drin continued speaking the words she'd spent many sleepless night worrying about. "--We're going to have to make significant cuts in the National Budget." He hesitated. "Unfortunately we are cutting funding to almost all research projects, including yours."
"Sir, you can't. Our people NEED the treatment. And we have to continue our research into...that other problem." She knew that Drin was a prude and mentioning the infertility problems of well over fifty percent of the population would *embarrass* him.
He still stuttered his response. "I'm sorry, Dr. Pel. I will continue to try to find funds for all your research. Several corporations are interested in providing funding for worthwhile research."
She grimaced. She'd wanted to avoid corporate funding. Her research was for the good of the people--and she wondered if a corporation would understand that.
"Times are hard, as I know you are well aware. The Antiphagia found by our scientists freed our people from worry about the Phage--but with the increased survival rate, came an increasing unemployment rate."
"Don't give me that," Denara said with a snarl. "The economy was in ruins long before the Antiphagia was found."
Drin nodded. "I'm sorry Denara, I wish I could do something." He smiled suddenly. "Perhaps I can. Mupano Industries has recently shown an interest in stepping in to provide funding for worth while research projects. I can write a letter of introduction before I retire."
"That would be appreciated," Denara said. She tried to sound enthusiastic, but the look on Drin's face suggested she hadn't succeeded. "Thank you."
"Denara..."
"I need to return to my clinic, sir." She stood, trying not to cry. "Counselor Drin, I appreciate everything you've done for me..."
"Denara..." She was out the door before he finished. She swore silently to the many gods--she didn't really care which one heard her. Or perhaps she wanted them all to hear.
"Damn them all. They're dooming our people!"
Act 2:
Stardate 56695.4--September 8, 2380
Nekrit Supply Depot
When she first left Ocampa, Kes took a similar heading to the one Voyager did when leaving her home planet ten years ago. The people of Voyager hadn't been looking for a place to settle; they'd been looking for the way home. Kes thought she remembered a few places they had passed by that had been uninhabited. Perhaps one of them would prove to be the sanctuary she sought.
It had taken Voyager's crew more than two years to reach the supply depot at the edge of the Nekrit Expanse. Kes managed to get there in five months, despite making several stops along the way to investigate the planets she thought might be possibilities.
It would have taken Voyager less than a year if the ship could have taken a straight course, without running into any trouble along the way from various aggressors like the Kazon and the Vidiians. Instead, Captain Janeway's crew had been forced to take a more meandering course, looking to replenish scarce energy and food supplies along the way. The extent of Kes' food foraging was ordering meals whenever she stopped at an inhabited planet. Her original supplies of food from home that she ate on her shuttle were still not exhausted (although the choices were becoming more limited and therefore somewhat boring to eat).
Kes' travel time was also markedly reduced because she gave her little shuttle a "push" for a few seconds from time to time. The distance a conventional warp drive craft would need a week or more to traverse, Kes traveled in a few minutes after one of her "pushes," but she couldn't keep that pace up for long. For every "push" lasting more than a few seconds at her personal "Warp 9.99999," Kes was limp and weak for the next several hours. This was acceptable during her search, since she needed to complete it in a reasonable length of time, but once she reached the Nekrit Supply Depot, she knew she had reached the practical limits for a move for her people. Kes needed to find a planet within reach of Ocampa, not one so far away there was no practical way to transport her people.
Even getting as far as the Nekrit Expanse might be impossible, and once she arrived, whispers about aggressive peoples like the Voth and the Srivani who would be encountered further ahead abounded amongst those she met at the Nekrit Supply Depot. Information in her shuttle's data banks, as well as what Kes remembered, confirmed her feeling that it was impractical to search further this way. It looked like Kes would have to turn back to investigate possibilities in another direction she and Voyager head never explored. After three months of almost constant travel, Kes had identified only one possibility, and that seemed a remote one. Kes was very unsure she should recommend it to her people.
Voyager's crew had been invited to settle on the planet of the "37's," as Captain Janeway had called it, but one hundred fifty or so members of a starship crew are a far cry from well over a million refugee Ocampans. The Boirii had not seemed quite as welcoming to Kes as she had expected from the way they'd greeted Voyager's crew. The planet itself, an "L" type, had a much more rigorous climate than she'd remembered as well. The truly habitable areas of the globe were quite limited. The sections identified as possible sites for Ocampan settlements were extremely dry, alarmingly similar to the barren deserts covering the surface of her native planet. Kes had grave doubts concerning its acceptability to her people; they would not be enticed easily to move to another dry planet, even if they were completely welcome by those who already lived there.
While pondering whether to strike out in a completely different direction immediately or return home to Ocampa to report on what she'd found out so far, when she had a chance encounter. Walking down the restaurant corridor of the supply depot, Kes had to dodge a large reptilian who possessed a tail with an apparent life of its own, slashing from side to side vigorously. She didn't quite manage it, tripped, and crashed into the Talaxian who was making his own valiant attempt to avoid stomping on the errant appendage. The tail had beaten them both.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Kes said, helping the hapless Talaxian up from the pavement.
"The fault is completely mine, lovely lady. Please accept my sincere apologies. Allow me to purchase some refreshments for you, to atone for my error. Captain Jixtan of the Talaxian freighter Victorious Morning is my name. And you are?"
"My name is Kes, " she replied, noting the Talaxian captain's resemblance to Wixiban, the "old friend" of Neelix's who led him astray on this very station. She certainly hoped he was more trustworthy than Wix had been. Regardless of his morals, Captain Jixtan obviously wasn't averse to flattering an old woman. "You don't have to get me anything. I'm fine. But are you all right? I happen to have medical training, and I am well-versed in Talaxian physiology."
"I feel fine... but perhaps it would be a good idea if you observe me for a short while--medical observations only, of course--that small beverage and snack shop over there looks like an excellent place for that. Please, come over with me."
Almost before she realized it, Kes found herself seated at a small table while an obviously healthy Captain Jixtan fetched her the cup of herb tea she'd finally agreed he could buy for her. She laughed at herself. Her own reasons for accepting his offer were as transparent as his to her. After enduring so much solitude for the past few months, she found the prospect of conversing with a familiar sort of face very appealing, even if Captain Jixtan was a stranger.
While Jixtan waited in the long line to be served, peeking over his shoulder from time to time to flutter his fingers at Kes, she relaxed at the table, enjoying the parade of alien beings passing by. Many belonged to races she recognized, but even more did not. The Nekrit Expanse truly was a very long way from her home. How overwhelming it must have been in those early days for the crew of Voyager, faced with a journey ten times as long!
"Here you are," Captain Jixtan said, placing a tray before her with a flourish. The pot of herb tea next to two stacking mugs were accompanied by a small plate (not ordered by Kes) of dainty pastries, of a type that Neelix used to make. They brought her former lover to mind again. A little misty-eyed from nostalgia, she accepted one of the cakes without comment. Jixtan sipped his own tea and nibbled on a cake, sharing the moment in respectful silence.
When he spoke again, Captain Jixtan reminded Kes even more of Neelix. "You look like you lost your best friend. Is there any way I might be of help?"
She smiled at him gratefully. "Sparing a little of your time right now to spend with an old woman like me is a great help. Thank you so much. How's your foot doing? I really am sorry I stepped on it."
"Oh, it's just fine. I think you stepped harder on that Valyrian's tail, and I don't think she even noticed." He took another sip of tea. "Well, now. You're certainly a fair way from home. Where are you bound? Are you just starting out, or are you heading back home to the station?"
Kes hesitated a moment, a little confused. Then she understood. Captain Jixtan thought she was one of the Ocampa from Suspiria's station, as he logically would. Even the Ocampans on the station had been surprised when Kes arrived there with Voyager. She considering whether or not it would be easier to let him think she was from the Ocampan station, but honesty won out. "Actually, I'm not from the Ocampan Space Station, although I understand why you would think that. I visited it once, about eight years ago."
Jixtan raised his brows. "But if you're not from the station, where are you from?"
"From the Ocampan homeworld, not far from Talax."
"Really? That's fascinating!" the captain exclaimed. "I had no idea any Ocampa still lived on that planet."
"Not on, within. We live underground."
"Well, what do you think of that? Most people I know believe the story about the Ocampa moving underground is just a legend. And after that last bombardment from the Array, before it was destroyed by the Kazon, I would have thought if any Ocampa were still hiding out somehow, they would have been killed."
"The Ocampa retreat underground is not a legend. The barrage from the Array was meant to seal us in, away from predators like the Kazon, but now we need to find a new home. We're running out of room..."
Captain Jixtan was a good listener. Kes found herself spilling out her impressions about the various planets she'd passed on the way, asking him to add anything he might know about them, to obtain a second opinion to add to her own perceptions. She remained deliberately vague about the dates and details of her arrivals and departures, however, implying that she'd left Ocampa several months earlier than she really did. Captain Jixtan seemed very nice, but he didn't need to know about the speeds she could move her little shuttle when she had the energy to do it. She also decided not to discuss the Briorii, curious if he would bring them up himself as a possibility.
"The Myleans are under the hegemony of the Haakonians, I hear."
"Yes, they are. The Talaxians are still ruled by them, too," Captain Jixtan sadly confirmed. "And you know about the Krowtonan Guards, of course?"
"Are the Krowtonan Guards ruled by the Haakonians?" Kes asked with some surprise.
"Oh, yes. They claim to be 'allies' rather than subject people, but there's always at least two Haakonian officers on every Guard ship. You don't find a Krowtonan Guard officer on every Haakonian ship, I can tell you that."
Kes filed this information away to consider further, then continued her litany. "The Baneans and Numari are still fighting each other and it wouldn't be safe to settle there. The Mithrens and Rukani were very pleasant and hospitable towards me, but both claim to have massive problems with overpopulation and can't possibly help. No room for the Ocampa on any of their planets."
"I think there's some truth to what the Rukani told you, Kes, but the Mithrens aren't all that crowded on their planets."
"We wouldn't be welcome there, that's clear. Let me see, who else have I met? Oh, yes. The Sikarians. They were coldly polite. They made their reluctance to have any personal contact with me very obvious. I'm from a 'primitive society that has little to offer in the way of compensation' for any land graciously given to us by the Sikarians. I left them without any regrets; they'd make for intolerable neighbors anyway."
Captain Jixtan laughingly confirmed that the less one saw of the Sikarians, the better.
"I found out the Sikarians claim Irixios, too, so that was another planet I had to cross off my list. Then I tried to visit the Drayans, but they're as xenophobic as ever. If there are planets where the Ocampa could settle in their space, I'll never find them. They denied me permission to travel through their space."
"I'm not surprised. They had an unfortunate experience with a ship traveling from the other side of the galaxy several years ago, I hear. They claim their religious beliefs were violated and want even less to do with the rest of us than they did before--and it wasn't much back then. I'm surprised they were even willing to talk with you. They were heavily veiled, I suppose, even though they were talking over your communication device?"
"Yes, they were all veiled." Kes decided on the spot it would be wiser not to mention anything about stopping to forage for food on uninhabited planets while with Voyager. Fortunately, she'd obscured the markings on the shuttle that identified it as a Federation craft.
After a slight hesitation, she decided she could say, "I know there are quite a few planets I've, uh... heard about that are uninhabited now, but they're owned by one race or another. Perhaps a small group of a few thousand or so people could hide out on one for a while and be overlooked, but it would be dangerous to do it without having a strong defense force for protection. If the possessor of one of those planets found out and decided to displace us forcibly, we Ocampa would have more problems than we have now. And we have a lot more than a few thousand to move to a new home. Think how many planets we'd have to sneak onto in order for everyone to have a home! That's no way to live. No wonder the Trabe are so bitter. They've had to retreat to their own vessels for a long time, fated to wander from star to star, because they don't have a homeland."
Captain Jixtan leaned back, shaking his head. "You're right about the Trabe. It has been a struggle for them, but they aren't entirely blameless, you know."
Kes smiled. "I know there's always two sides to every story. And I guess I learned the hard way it isn't so easy finding another home. I wish it were otherwise."
"I do, too. You've had quite an amazing journey! I wish I knew of a place to recommend, but you seem to have looked into the ones I thought might be available. I didn't even know Irixios was claimed by the Sikarians! It's too bad so many planets are claimed by races that have the power to hold them without really needing the planet, at least, not now. But wait--the Vidiians--you didn't mention them. If you have the right thing to offer them, they might be willing to come to an agreement over one of their uninhabited planets. They have so many!"
Kes shuddered. "Not the Vidiians! I don't want my people to become stockpiled body parts!"
"Oh, they don't steal body parts any more. Didn't you hear? Word is they found a cure for the Phage."
"I heard about it, but I didn't know if I should really believe it," Kes said, skepticism evident in her tone of voice.
"It certainly seems to be true. Except for the occasional trade ship, the Vidiians are hardly seen around the sector now. It's almost as if they've gone into hiding. Your reaction to them is fairly typical, so it might be they're lying low for a while, until resentment towards them for what they did to survive fades a little. Most people do forget, in time. Except the Drayans, maybe."
"I should think the Vidiians would want to keep out of the way for a while. I knew people who lost their lives to them."
"Many others say the same." Captain Jixtan smoothed his whiskers down in a gesture Neelix always used to do, making Kes feel even more nostalgic for her old boyfriend.
"You said you only visited the Ocampan space station once, over eight years ago. Why not go back there now? Maybe they could help your search--although, come to think of it, I'm sure they would never have moved their station there if they'd had any choice in the matter."
"They moved the station away from where it was?" Kes asked, wondering if it had anything to do with Voyager's visit.
"About three--no, it's been four years since it moved to the Qizal-Corana system. How time slips away, eh? Well, Quizal-Corana is quite a star system. Quite the system! Caused quite an uproar when the station suddenly disappeared and turned up there."
"The Quizal-Corana system? I've never heard of it."
"I only knew it as one of those places you traveled around rather than through before the Ocampa station moved there. Like I said, that system is a bit scary. It's a binary, and not the most stable system I've ever seen. The station is just one of many smaller objects in orbit. Then there are two gas giants, four metal core planets, and *three* asteroid belts, not to mention several massive debris fields circling and figure-eighting around those suns. With all the erratic gravitational stresses in the system, sometimes one of the planetary bodies gets caught and boom! Another debris field. In time, the debris fields may turn into asteroid belts, I suppose."
"That doesn't sound like the sort of place anyone would choose to move a space station. If it's so dangerous, why did Suspiria..." Kes stopped abruptly, not sure how generally Suspiria's presence was known by non-Ocampa.
"Why did that pet creature of theirs put them there? The story I heard was Suspiria moved them to where they could obtain sufficient energy supplies and materials for building, once she knew she was dying. There are six major shipping lanes that cross just outside that system and not a lot else is out there to service ships, so that may be another reason why she picked that spot. Business is always been booming whenever I stop by. Lots of travelers come through there--and more of them would be traveling in the areas you'd be interested in, compared to here. Maybe they'd have a lead for you to explore."
Kes sighed. "I don't know about that. When I was there about eight years ago with... with some friends of mine, we didn't leave under the happiest of circumstances. There still could be hard feelings."
"Eight years is a long time. I'd say it's worth a try," Jixtan said.
"True. Eight years is a long time to anyone, but especially to an Ocampa. Were you recently?" After Jixtan agreed he had been, Kes asked, "Was there someone named Tanis running the place?"
"Why, yes. A young fellow, a bit self-important, but efficient enough. Did you know him? Oh, no. I don't think you could have. I distinctly recall him saying he was only five years old. You must be thinking of old Tanis, his grandfather. Now he was a strange one! He died--or what do you call it now, 'passed into his Morelogium'--about the time the station got moved. He passed right after Suspiria shriveled up."
If both Suspiria and Tanis were gone, it might not be a bad place to visit after all, Kes thought. "I don't know the way to this Qizal-Corona... oh, it's the Qizal-Corana system, right?"
"That's it. Don't worry, I know the way. Giving you the coordinates will be a pleasure, lovely Kes!"
Stardate 56725.6--September 19, 2380
Space Station, Quizal-Corana system
Captain Jixtan had been a Talaxian of his word, supplying accurate coordinates to Kes. By the time he had to leave the Nekrit Supply Depot two days after they'd met, bound for Sakura Prime, she'd become rather fond of him. He never stopped his outrageous, but entertaining, flirtations with her. Kes didn't really mind. She couldn't help but feel flattered by his attentions. As old as she now was, not to mention looked, apparently she still had what it takes to attract a Talaxian!
Kes also suspected he was lonely. Captain Jixtan was owner, pilot, and entire crew for the Victorious Morning, just as Neelix had been a solitary trader, although Jixtan's ship was considerably larger than Neelix's. And, like Neelix, Jixtan had no close family left. His family had lived on Rynax, too.
Before his departure, Jixtan told her three ways to contact him or to leave him a message if she felt his ship could help transporting goods. "Perhaps I could even find a way to squeeze in a few families to bring them to the new home of the Ocampa." Kes was touched by the offer, since it indicated he had faith that she would eventually achieve her goal.
It also made her realize that even when she found a place for her people to settle, the logistics of conveying her people to their new home would be truly mind boggling, requiring an incredible amount of preparation, prioritization of tasks, and a degree of organization her she had not permitted her to think much about beyond the abstract so far. All that, and they'd need to find ships, too. It was premature to spend a lot of time thinking about it now, however. After all, if there were no place to move to, transport wouldn't be needed.
Kes was sitting on the main concourse of the station that had been home to approximately two thousand of her fellow Ocampa for the past three centuries, experiencing that nagging feeling one gets when one feels there is an important message to be relayed to someone else, but you can't quite remember who it is to, or if it was really that important. Kes firmly believed she could not be experiencing *déjà vu.* She really *had* been here before, to all intents and purposes. Perhaps that strange feeling was sheer disbelief she was back on the Ocampan space station. With all that had happened to her here before, she never expected to return of her own volition.
Allowing the flattery of Tanis to tempt her into becoming an aggressor, literally making her friend Tuvok's blood begin to boil, killing the plants in airponics that she'd spent so much time nurturing--these were among the principal memories she hated to revisit. The selfish and cruel dark side of her personality, which she hadn't known she'd possessed, first showed itself here and foreshadowed her later return to Voyager, threatening havoc and death to those who did not deserve it. So "visit the Ocampan space station where Suspiria lived" had never been high on her itinerary until Jixtan talked her into it.
The long-range move of the station had not had any apparent detrimental effects to the physical condition of the station. Its corridors looked much the same as the last time Kes had visited while with Voyager. The colors were different from those she remembered from her earlier visit, stronger, with sharp shadows because of the harsh light flooding into the interior through the viewports from the double stars. One sun was nearly orange and the other almost blue-white, creating intriguing shadows because of the contrasting hues. The artificial orb which Suspiria had provided to illuminate the station when it was located at its former position had bathed it with soft, almost gentle light.
Jixtan told Kes her first stop, once she arrived at the station, should be to the office of Station Master Tanis. He was effusive when she arrived, saying, "I hear you knew my grandfather. A wonderful man! We all miss him so."
Kes was rendered speechless that he knew who she was but wasn't angry with her. Considering the circumstances in which she and Voyager departed from the station, Kes decided to offer the least amount of details possible about the manner of her previous departure. She didn't want to prod the memories of any older Ocampa who might know what happened more accurately than young Tanis apparently did.
Fortunately, Kes didn't have to speak very much. This Tanis enjoyed hearing the sound of his own voice even more than his grandfather had, if his interaction with Kes that day was typical. He nattered on and on, imparting a great deal of information about planets in the sector. He quickly confirmed that Captain Jixtan's knowledge of the facts of the station's move was accurate. When Suspiria finally accepted she was dying, she dragged the station into this system, the best she could do with the strength she had left.
During the week Kes spent on the station, she learned some things that surprised her. While the station was closer to more major shipping lanes than at its original location, on the whole the Ocampa were not happy here. Although life on the station was lucrative, the uncertainty about how long the station could survive in this system dampened their spirits. It might have been different if Suspiria were still around to protect them, but Kes doubted it. Another factor seemed almost as important.
After three centuries of space station living, most of the "station" Ocampa were tired of living their lives in an unnatural environment. They were eager and willing to emigrate to a planet. The ideal situation would have been to move to a planet within the Qizal-Corana system, with the nearby station handling the bulk of interstellar traffic. Unfortunately, as Jixtan had told her, the Qizal-Corana system had no planets or even any large moons with the potential to be colonized by the Ocampa. There may have been at one time; one of the asteroid belts was positioned exactly where one might expect a Class M planet to be.
Kes considered all she had learned of the sporocystian life forms she'd known as the Caretakers. Kes knew it was unwise to generalize when the representative sample of a species numbers only two, but this pair had both exhibited an astounding lack of foresight. They were responsible for the original calamity to Ocampa, when they 'accidentally' stripped the Ocampan home planet of its ability to produce rain. Her own Caretaker had shown a callous disregard for those he considered "lesser life forms," stealing many shiploads of people from all across the galaxy looking to create a "replacement" for himself, and never bothering to send the rejects back home again.
Now add to these faults Suspiria's choice of a planetary system refuge. Kes thought she could give her the benefit of the doubt to some degree. Suspiria was influenced by how far she could travel with the station when she was in failing health. Of course, if she'd faced the truth sooner, she might have been able to take them someplace better. Both of the Caretakers had acted without properly weighing the pros and cons of their actions before jumping in to do them. Kes wondered if this was a weakness of all of their species or if the Ocampa had simply had the misfortune to be visited by a very dysfunctional couple.
One thing was clear: the bestowal of unimaginable power did not mean that wisdom--or, for that matter, compassion--would be received in equal measure. It was a sobering observation, which Kes' contacts with the imperious, self-centered Q had only reinforced.
As she sat at the cafe, trying to decide where she should go next now that she knew those on the station didn't have any recommendations for her, Kes suddenly began to shiver uncontrollably. Grabbing herself around the upper arms and rubbing them to warm herself up, Kes tried to will herself into not shaking. Gradually, she realized that a terrifying event of several years in the past had created a similar feeling. Frantically, Kes scanned the area around her, searching for a person belonging to a species that had once threatened the life of every living thing in the galaxy. None bore the distinctive three-legged physiology of Species 8472, a form which still invaded her sleep with nightmares at times, yet the buzzing inside her head simply wouldn't go away. While she tried to calm her jangled nerves, Kes studied everyone within her line of sight more carefully.
Kes was shocked when she finally recognized them. They were masquerading as fellow Ocampa. So innocuous-looking! Who would ever guess who--or what--they really were?
The "Ocampan woman" was tall, better described as distinguished or handsome rather than beautiful. Her hair was a deep red, but otherwise, there was little to differentiate her from anyone else. The "Ocampan gentleman" sitting next to her had tufts of hair on his eyebrows, pale blue eyes, and a shock of white hair that made him look eighteen if he were a day. He was studying Kes as keenly as she was staring at him.
As Kes felt anger surging through her, she forced herself to become calmer, using Vulcan disciplines Tuvok had shared with her. The last thing she wanted now was to lose control. Her fury could be terrible, as she'd learned to her despair on other occasions. Kes had to control it at all times or risk "losing her way" again. Just because she would have to control her anger, didn't need to avoid confronting them. Picking up her empty food containers, Kes threw them into the nearest recycle bin and strode determinedly to the pair at the nearby table, never breaking eye contact with the male until she stood at rigid attention in front of him.
Kes said firmly. "You can't hide from me."
"No, Missy, I don't believe we can. But what makes you assume we want to hide from you? We don't, particularly--not from you, at any rate. Would you care to join us? I think it's time we had a little chat."
"Joining two members of Species 8472 for a chat! Oh, yes--I know what you are," Kes stated firmly, trying to hold a tight rein on her temper.
"Please," the female person sniffed, "designation by number is a horrid thing, but what else can one expect from the Borg?"
Gesturing towards the empty seat across from him, the masculine entity said, "You can call me Boothby if you want, Missy, and call her Valerie Archer. Those are the names Kathryn Janeway knows us by--although we weren't wearing ears like yours when we saw her last."
"You've met Captain Janeway personally? Did you invite her back to fluidic space to chat, or did you see her out here?"
The one who called himself Boothby projected a telepathic thought into Kes' mind so unexpectedly she had no time to shield herself from it. [[[Please don't speak so loudly about fluidic space here, Kes. The fewer beings that know about us in your non-fluidic space, the better, for now.]]]
Kes was more than a little dismayed by the mental intrusion, but after thinking about it for a moment, decided he had a point. Until she knew what they were up to, shouting out who they were would be more likely to incite panic, assuming anyone in this area of space had ever heard of Species 8472. It wasn't likely to gain her anything.
Using one of the relaxation techniques she'd learned from Tuvok, Kes projected back to him, [[[I can understand you don't want us to use a Borg designation, but what do I call your species then? What is your name for yourselves?]]]
[[[People! That's the only term we ever needed before now! We didn't know any of you existed until our peaceful home domain was invaded by those serially linked killers.]]]
While multiple telepathic communications flew between the three sitting at the table, the Ocampan waiter came to ask Kes if she wanted him to bring another cup of tea to this table to have "with your friends." Kes answered the waiter in the affirmative verbally at the same time she told Boothby, [[[Now that you know about all of us in non-fluidic space, we need to have a way to differentiate you from everyone else. If you don't want us to keep calling you by a Borg designation, would you agree to be called 'Fluidians,' since that's where you come from?]]]
The Ocampan imitation version of Boothby said aloud, in a soft but intense voice, "You people are the ones with the mania for naming everything. Call us what you like, as long as it isn't that damnable Borg number thing! Fluidians is OK by me."
Valerie Archer remarked, "Actually, I rather like it. 'Fluidian.' It has a nice ring to it, and it's very descriptive."
Kes smiled up at the waiter as he placed the tea on the table in front of her. After he had walked a short distance away, Kes asked, "Where did you meet Captain Janeway? After I left Voyager, obviously."
"As my Fluidian self? Or the real Boothby?"
"There's a real Boothby?"
"There is--or was. The real one's passed on, if I'm not mistaken. Someone Janeway knew and respected from her days at Starfleet Academy."
"How did you learn about him?"
"It's a long story, Missy." [[[The short version is we got some from you and from the other telepaths on Voyager when we had contact with you during the Borg affair. And we lifted residual memories from the minds of some Borg drones when we retaliated against them for their attack upon our space. Several had been 'assimilated' at a place called Wolf 359.]]]
[[[The real Valerie Archer was one of the assimilated, you know. I patterned myself upon her. She was quite heroic to the last. Descended from one of the oldest Starfleet families, as a matter of fact.]]] The imitation Valerie smiled sadly at Kes. [[[Through me, she lives again, in a way.]]]
[[[That doesn't answer my question about when and where you actually met Captain Janeway. Stop avoiding the subject.]]]
[[[True enough, although it's not deliberate. Voyager stopped by one of our stations here in the Delta Quadrant, you see. Six years ago. That's when we met.]]]
[[[Your 'Station?' A staging area for invasion, you mean! I don't suppose you'd let me know when you plan to cleanse our galaxy of every living thing!]]] Kes' communication was the equivalent of a shout, making both of the Fluidians wince markedly.
"I admit it was originally intended for that purpose," Boothby said agreeably. [[[The invasion is now on indefinite hold, however.]]]
"You expect me to believe that?" Kes whispered intensely.
[[[If you'd stop erecting those mental barriers, Missy, you'd know I'm not lying to you. A lie is extremely difficult to maintain in mind-to-mind communication. We weren't even aware of the concept of lying until the Borg dragged us into their affairs.]]]
Valerie's mindvoice added, [[[Kes, we aren't planning to 'scour the galaxy of all living things' right now, and hopefully we never will.]]]
[[[You really *do* expect me to believe you!]]]
[[[Yes, Missy, we do. You see, we found out the Borg are an anomaly, atypical of most other entities living here. What can we say to reassure you? Destroying every living thing in this galaxy seemed to be a good idea at the time. It doesn't now. *But* we need to be vigilant. There are some beings here that none of us can trust, Fluidian and non-Fluidian alike.]]]
Valerie added, [[[Jumping to conclusions can be one of the negatives of telepathy, can't it? Whatever one feels about something at any given moment--especially strong emotions like anger or a thirst for vengeance--comes through unfiltered, blocking out anything and everything else. That's what you heard when you first encountered us seven years ago. A very unfortunate 'first contact' meeting, I'm afraid.]]]
"Quite unfortunate," Kes muttered aloud through a tight smile. She didn't know what to believe. "Are you making any more attempts at 'first contact' here?" Kes had turned her head several times during the exchanges, which were the telepathic equivalent of shouting, to see if any of the other Ocampa within her line of sight could sense them. It didn't seem as if any quivered in the slightest or looked around in annoyance while it was all going on.
Kes didn't know if she should thank the Ocampans and the Fluidians awakening her gifts or curse them for beginning her transformation into a being who first had to leave Voyager to avoid destroying it, leading inevitably to the time she had returned, full of vengeance. It was all as confusing as one of those temporal headaches Captain Janeway used to complain about.
Kes thought she had kept these ruminations secret. From 'Boothby's' next thought, however, she realized she had not.
[[[Don't blame us for your own excesses, Missy. We may have been the trigger, but you had the ability inside of that powerful little mind of yours. You were the easiest one on Voyager to communicate with when we needed to do a little sabre-rattling, true. And we *were* angry. Furious. But once we realized there was no unanimity of life form in this form of space and that Starfleet did not have a genuine alliance with the Borg, we also knew we didn't need to kill all life here to protect ourselves.]]]
[[[The Federation and Starfleet seem not be our enemies after all,]]] Valerie thought. [[[but we can't take our safety for granted any more. I guess we should thank the Borg for that lesson.]]]
"You're here to spy on us, then?" Kes said aloud.
"That's another word for it, yes," Valerie replied. "Now that we understand what 'the stakes are' if we're caught unawares again, we maintain a surveillance presence in your space--but not an invasion force. I guess you could call it a cultural exchange program of sorts, too." Valerie leaned forward and whispered to Kes, "I've learned having a body like this has its enjoyable features. Kissing is rather nice, for example. Commander Chakotay is quite a good kisser."
"You kissed Chakotay? Where? When? Why?" Kes had to force herself to lower her voice on the last three questions, since several people at nearby tables turned to look at her when the first question screeched out of her. Kes wondered if they were extremely good at hiding their ability to receive telepathic messages or if most Ocampa really didn't have the talents that Tanis had said they did.
"Archer, stop gloating about that kiss. You won't be getting them any more from him. He's busy kissing someone else now."
"Oh, I know. Even when we kissed, it was a friendly 'exploration of the humanoid body experience' type of kiss, nothing more." From the look that crossed Archer's face at that moment, however, Kes decided she wouldn't have minded a few more explorations of a similar nature.
Boothby leaned over towards Kes and said softly, "I know you don't trust us. I can't say we completely trust you people, either. But thanks to Janeway and her crew, the centralized power of the Borg has been smashed for the foreseeable future, so we're in a more trusting mood, shall we say. We know we aren't exactly on opposite sides, the way we used to think. We're ready to take a chance on some of you, too. Since we *do* bear some responsibility for your mental changes, maybe we owe you and your people a little of our help because of it."
"Do you think you're having an effect on the other Ocampans on the station?" Kes glanced around again but still saw no one who was visibly reacting to their conversations, verbal or telepathic.
Valerie responded silently, [[[We don't believe so. The other Ocampans are continuing with their evolution, but none of them here are as far along as you are. We forced contact with you, so you can sense us. Without that Suspiria life form around to lead them on, most of the ones who have the ability aren't developing it as quickly as they did before. They need an outside push from someone.]]]
[[['Push from someone!']]] Kes suddenly leaned back in her chair as she made the connection, which she immediately knew was accurate. [[[You're the ones who have been listening in when I communicate with Tuvok.!]]]
"What kind of spies would we be if we didn't keep an eye on things every way we could?" Valerie said, leaning back in her own chair. "Isn't that what you're trying to do when you contact Tuvok? And speaking of 'pushing,' what about that psycho-tele-kinetic thing you did when Voyager was about to crash?"
"You knew I did that? It did help protect them a little bit, didn't it?" Kes asked, suddenly wondering if that 'push,' too, mightn't have had a little help from another direction, one she hadn't detected at the time.
"They did crash, but it wasn't fatal. They got their ship back home. I think it's safe to say you helped." Boothby folded his arms in front of his chest, a smug expression on his face, giving Kes the distinct impression he could say more but wouldn't, just to tease her.
He could probably say a great deal more.
[[[You're right, I could, but I'm not. You've had enough to bounce around in that pretty head of yours already, Missy. We accomplished what we wanted to today. We needed to let you know we aren't the threat you think we are, even if you aren't ready to accept it yet. You will in time. That's enough for now.]]]
The only thing he actually said was, "Waiter, bring me the check."
Stardate 56736.8--September 23, 2380
Pel Clinic, Vidalia, Vidiia
Denara slammed the door to her office deliberately: only the presence of her associate stopped her from throwing her file across the room. Dr. Krazel Lem jumped at the sound of her entrance. "How'd it go. Did they say yes? Will we get the funding?"
"How do I know," she said. "The meeting was canceled." Again, she thought to herself.
"I'm sure they have their reasons."
She shrugged. "They didn't tell me. The security guard just told me the meeting had been canceled. At least this time I made it as far as the reception area." She placed her on her desk. "Thank you for covering for me this morning."
"Anytime," Krazel said. "Just let me know when the next time will be."
"There won't be a next time. Mupano's scientists can come here. They'll learn more anyway." She strove to calm down. "Who's the next patient.?"
"Fanatta Kef. He looks good." She smiled at that. Poor Fanatta was only sixteen, but he'd been hard hit by the Phage when he was seven.
"I'll see him." She took a second to compose her mind, then opened the door to the waiting room. "Hello Fanatta, how you doing?" she asked the boy as they moved toward the exam room.
He looked good, there was a definite fading along the scars on his forehead. She was pleased with the results. He raised his left hand. "I can move my fingers now," he said with a slight lisp. Another side effect of the devastation of the Phage--damaged jaw muscles that affected his speech. Even that had improved in the past few months.
"Excellent," she took the offered hand. "Show me." There was only a bit of movement--but that was more than there had been just five months earlier. Fanatta's right hand had more mobility--enough that he'd been able to find work as a sewer worker. If he could have the use of both hands, he might be able to find work elsewhere. He was a rarity amongst her clients--he could at least pay a small fee for her services.
The boy's thrill at even such a tiny movement more than made up for her frustration. If only the Sodality could see and understand that thrill.
"And the headaches?" Denara asked.
"I still have them," Fanatta said quietly. "But I'm willing to suffer." He pulled his hand out from hers. "This makes the headaches bearable."
She nodded. The drugs had some side effects. And the risk was greater if the patient had organs from Kazon 'donors'. Unfortunately many of her patients didn't know the source of their organs. "I'll have Dr. Lem fill this prescription. Let me know IMMEDIATELY if the headaches worsen."
Fanatta hugged her. "Thanks Doctor."
She smiled as he ran out the door. She would keep trying to find funding for the clinic. She had no choice.
Stardate 56739.3--September 24, 2380
outside the Qizal-Corana system
As she departed from the Ocampan space station, Kes felt herself start to shiver. "Like someone just walked over my grave," she said aloud to herself, quoting something she'd heard several times from Voyager's crew. It was a common saying among humans. She remembered the first time she heard it, and how Neelix declared that humans were a "very morbid bunch, Sweeting," when she told him about it. The memory made her smile, quelling the shivering, but far too many of her memories still brought her pain and guilt. For this reason, Kes tried to live in the moment as much as she could.
"This is a cheerful subject to think about," Kes said, again speaking to the empty shuttle. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Since I seem to want to hear myself talk, maybe I should record my feelings about this in a personal log. Just in case."
"Computer, begin personal log, Stardate... um, computer, supply the correct Stardate, please..." Kes stopped speaking and gathered her thoughts as the mellow computer voice complied with her request. She smiled to herself at her stumbling start. It had been a very long time since she'd dictated a personal log.
Clearing her throat, Kes began again, "Stardate 56739.3, personal log of Kes... of Ocampa... During my years on Voyager I went through many dangerous times, but they pale in comparison to what I endured after I left the Federation vessel. Eventually, I... I lost my way. The powers of the mind Tuvok helped me develop were magnified by my telepathic encounter with Species 8472. Unfortunately, this powerful mind was not immune to suffering a psychotic break.
"I cannot say enough about the many kindnesses shown me by Captain Janeway and the Voyager crew over the years, even when I came back intending to wreak havoc upon them. Fortunately, I came back to my right senses in time, before I did irrevocable damage to those who had once been my friends. They listened to my sad story and even gave me one of their precious shuttles so I could return to Ocampa.
"During the journey home I was completely alone, yet I healed myself. I guess I became myself again. While innocence was gone forever, I again became able to accept responsibility for my own actions. It's strange to think I'd been wiser and more responsible when I first came on board than I was in the months immediately preceding my first departure from Voyager, but it's true. It was almost as if I really *did* live my life backwards, like in the timeline with Linnis--the lifetime that never happened.
"What pains me most is to remember how I blamed Captain Janeway for the terrible things that happened to me after I left Voyager. How could I have ever done that? I'm the one who decided to climb to the surface of Ocampa, long before I even dreamed of such a thing as Voyager--long before I ever met Neelix. If anyone is to blame for that, it's me.
"I owe so much to Neelix, too. I drove him to become part of Voyager's crew because I wanted to be part of it, and later on, I pushed him away from me. I still feel shame at the way I treated him.
"I've tried to make restitution for any wrongs I've done by becoming a better person and by doing things I feel need to be done. I hope I've managed it. I know I've tried.
"After I returned to Ocampa and saw how life had changed there, I knew the Ocampa were outgrowing the caverns and that I was the only one who could help, but I didn't offer to search for a new homeworld for a long time. So many of my past actions had caused as many problems as they solved, and I was afraid of doing something else disastrous. I only found my courage when I saw I would bring doom to my people, sooner rather than later, if I didn't act. How could I live on, knowing I could have saved them but had failed to do so out of fear?
"Because I would have lived on, as a non-corporeal member of my race. I'd expected to have plenty of time, after I'd returned home, to teach my people how to develop their mental powers, the way Tuvok tutored me, and show my people the Morelogium was *not* the end of our mortal existence. It only marked a transition between the corporeal phase and the rest of our lives as non-corporeal beings, creatures of energy, who exist a much longer time. In a way, when the Caretaker called the Ocampa 'children,' he wasn't very wrong. An Ocampa exists for a long time after relinquishing the body we are allotted in this plane of existence--our 'childhood.' Of that, I'm certain.
"To get to the point we can move to the non-corporeal state, however, we must thrive as corporeal beings first. We cannot do that on our home planet. The subterranean chambers are becoming too crowded; resources are becoming too difficult to reach; and it will take too many centuries for the surface to be terraformed to the point it could be comfortable to live there again. Perhaps I would have had time to teach this generation of Ocampa how to tap into the unrealized potential of their advanced mental powers, to prepare them for life as non-corporeal beings, but it would mean there would not be any future generations of Ocampa. We would become extinct. I can't allow that to happen.
"So, though I risk making the wrong choices again, I have undertaken this journey. And this time, I accept full responsibility for all my choices, bad as well as good. If this mission fails, it will be my fault, no one else's.
Kes hesitated, wondering what else she could add. A lot, probably. She had a hunch there might be a lot she should take out--she had rambled more than a little, trying to say what she really felt. Perhaps she would record another log entry later. She'd certainly said enough for this one, but something nagged at her to say one more thing...
"End personal log!" Kes said suddenly, finally remembering to turn off the recorder. She laughed at herself. She wondered how long the computer would have continued documenting her breathing if she'd forgotten to turn it off!
Kes decided she did feel better, having unburdened herself. Better, but the encounter with Species 8472--the Fluidians, she should call them--still disquieted her.
They'd said they had no intention of invading "non-fluidic" space again. Kes wanted to believe them--mostly believed them--or was she being naïve? It was true the Borg had attacked their space first, but that didn't mean she was sure they were trustworthy.
She wished Captain Jixtan were here now so she could speak with him about this. Or maybe she should have tried harder to made room for both Lyrial and Josan to come along with her. There were more ways to contribute to a mission like this than piloting the shuttle! Having someone else to bounce ideas off of, for one. Kes had never felt her solitude more keenly than now.
Kes could add to the personal log she'd just dictated, of course, or maybe she should dictate an official log entry. She'd seldom done them, but she was sure she could remember how.
Then it struck her: Whether or not the Fluidians presented a grave danger to the Federation, she needed to let someone know what she knew. The Fluidians might intercept her communication, but she had to risk it. Perhaps the Fluidians had told her the truth. They really weren't a danger. Maybe they wanted her to let Starfleet know they were still around, ready to protect themselves, but also willing to work with the Federation for mutual benefit. What else could she do, under the circumstances? Some decisions were too big for one person to make on her own.
Kes checked the sensors, making sure no debris fields or other obstacles would be in her way to force a change of direction once she set her course. Dictating her log had not required her complete attention. She could navigate the shuttle while she spoke to the computer, but this was different. Kes would need to concentrate all of the powers of her mind to reach across the galaxy to contact Tuvok once again. To send news to the Federation, good or bad, she could not yet tell.
Stardate 56739.9--September 24, 2380
ShahKar, Vulcan
He opened his eyes suddenly. At first, he thought T'Pel had spoken to him. When he looked at her where she lay stretched out next to him, he could hear her breath and barely see, in the dim light of pre-dawn, her chest rising and falling in the even rhythm of a sound sleeper.
Perhaps he made a slight movement or sound as he studied his slumbering wife, or her sleep may have been invaded by a dream. Tuvok did not know what had caused it, but he could see the result. T'Pel's repose was disturbed in some way. She rolled upon her side and nestled her head against Tuvok's body.
As soon as his wife touched him Tuvok sensed it again, like a cry for help heard from so far away only the barest touch of sound brushed against the eardrums, so soft it could be mistaken for the moan of the wind. Since he was sure, this time, that his auditory sense had not been engaged, he recognized it for what it was: another communication from Kes, from the other side of the galaxy.
Tuvok forced himself to relax into a meditative state. In the darkness of the sleeping chamber, with T'Pel curled warmly at his side, he needed no lamp to open his thoughts to her. Images swirled into his mind.
The first image was of a being twice-familiar to Tuvok. He had been well-acquainted with the real Boothby from his years at Starfleet Academy, but he had also met Boothby's Species 8472 double. While this Boothby's image bore the elfin ears of an Ocampa, Tuvok had no doubts at all exactly whom--or rather what--Kes was showing him. To his knowledge, Boothby was human and had never traveled through the Delta Quadrant. The probability Kes would send the real Boothby's image to Tuvok now was beyond credulity, particularly since Tuvok had attended the revered groundskeeper's memorial service at Starfleet Academy only a few weeks after Voyager's return to Earth. The second image, that of an Ocampan version of Valerie Archer, confirmed Tuvok's deduction.
Tuvok could tell Kes was profoundly disturbed by her encounter with these beings, members of the race which had once let her know they wished to destroy all life in the Milky Way Galaxy. She might think they still did. Tuvok would have reassured her if he could, but in conscience he could not. He hoped they meant no harm. Voyager's last meeting with them after the encounter at Species 8472's replica of Starfleet Academy, which had been transformed into a sort of first contact mission, had been relatively cordial by its end, but that didn't mean all differences had been resolved between them.
Tuvok tried to convey to Kes she should be diplomatic, but watchful and cautious. The feeling-of-connection disintegrated before he finished. And, like last time, there was what he could only describe as 'a sense of intrusion from another being'. For a moment Tuvok was disoriented, almost dizzy. Then he knew the darkened room, was aware of the bed beneath him, felt the warmth of his wife's form stretched next to his, although she was no longer asleep. Her raised head rested upon her hand. Her open eyes regarded him gravely.
"It happened again," she said quietly. "Kes contacted you telepathically."
"Yes. I cannot deny it, nor can I fail to report these incidents to Starfleet. This time, information that may be vital to the safety of the Federation has been communicated to me."
"If the information is that critical, will you trust it to a subspace message or wish to deliver it personally?"
"I believe this news can wait for personal delivery. It may receive a less skeptical reception."
"An astute observation, my husband."
"Since I do not believe I will find sleep again for many hours, we should begin our preparations to leave for Earth at once."
"We?" T'Pel asked.
Tuvok slid out of bed and grasped his wife's hand, pulling her to her feet. "I believe I have adequately explained my desire never to be separated from you again. Unless you have something more pressing which would prevent you from accompanying me..."
"I cannot recall anything of such import. I will begin packing at once. You should arrange for our transport."
As she swept gracefully out of the room, Tuvok was left to ponder how well his wife confronted the vicissitudes of life, with an equanimity which he had yet to completely master despite years of intense study.
Life, as he had also frequently observed, was not fair.
Stardate 56739.9--September 24, 2380
outside the Qizal-Corana system
Kes had become gradually aware of the connection between Tuvok and herself; she was startled by the sudden sensation of emptiness when it broke. She was unsure if her attempt to let him know about the Fluidians had gotten through. She hadn't received any answering images from him as she had before.
Now Kes had to decide upon her next heading. Should she proceed to one of the worlds Tanis had discussed with her? He had not been very encouraging about any of them. Or should she make her way to the one planet which she dreaded to approach, yet which drew her steadily and irresistibly in its direction?
From the beginning, Kes had refused to consider the Vidiian Sodality as a source of aid for her people, yet whenever she was reminded of them, something in her stirred. Since one of her past experiences with the Vidiians had resulted in Kes' donating one of her lungs to Neelix after they'd stolen both of his, revulsion was the emotion she thought predominated, although even that had been tinged with pity. The Vidiians had done many terrible things in the name of survival, but Kes knew how terribly the Vidiians had suffered, thanks to having met Denara Pel, the Vidiian physician and Phage-sufferer who helped Voyager rescue Captain Janeway and Chakotay from New Earth.
Had Denara and her people really been cured? If so, why were they so seldom seen? Although feelings would naturally run high against the Vidiians among the other races, surely they would have made some attempts at reaching out if they were alive--wouldn't they? What if the cure had not been what totally effective? Denara--was she still alive or had the Phage killed her before a cure had been found? Assuming there had been a cure.
As Kes reviewed all she'd learned about the Vidiians, she also remembered one other thing: if there was one thing she knew she'd done right, it was to follow her instincts. Whenever that small voice whispered inside her brain, she had followed its lead, whether to triumph or disaster. This time the voice was screaming in her mind, and it was telling her to go to Vidiia.
She checked her instruments. The shuttle was flying smoothly under its own power. Kes set the navigation controls in the direction she felt compelled to go and engaged the autopilot. She needed some sleep before she could give her little ship its customary push to speed it on its way at "Warp 9.99999."
At least if she went to Vidiia she would find the answer to some, if not all, of her questions. Since she knew the name of one person who might help her, Kes felt better about her chances for success. Kes devoutly hoped she could find Dr. Denara Pel. That Dr. Pel might be in a position to help Kes and the Ocampa in some way was probably too much to ask. Kes asked for it anyway.
Act 3:
Stardate 56797.2--October 15, 2380
Pel Clinic, Vidalia, Vidiia
Dr. Denara Pel leaned against the gray and peeling wall and let out a loud sigh. There was no one else in the small exam room to inquire what the problem was. The problem. She smiled sardonically at that thought. She would be happy if there was only one problem. She'd be happy if she could only name five problems.
She opened her office door hard, the sound of it scraping the floor still causing her to cringe--even after six years of listening to it. Dr. Krazel Lem was sitting at the desk. He looked up, a look of concern on his heavily scarred face. "You should go home," he said.
"I can't. How many more?"
"Too many. I hear that Dalar's clinic has sent their overflow patients to us, again. Denara...Dr. Pel, I must insist. Please. At least take a half hour and rest?"
She shook her head. She just felt frustrated at the whole situation: the long days, the lack of funds; the lack of interest from her own government. She was trying to save her own people! She didn't bother to hide her bitterness "They said it was a miracle. A cure for the Phage. Our people went wild in celebration. The treatment was distributed...We all believed..."
"Does it really matter where the Antiphagia came from? It worked," Dr. Lem said. "The last Phage case was five years ago."
"Yes," she said with another loud sigh. "It worked." She ran her finger along the deepest of the many scars on her face. For her, the cure's arrival had been timely. She had been lucky. The treatment improvised by Voyager's Doctor had slowed down the ravages of the Phage just enough; she had not had to make the choice of dying or finding transplants.
"The scars are superficial," Dr. Lem said. His own face showed the ravages of the Phage and the several transplants he'd undergone.
"Are they?" she asked. "We lived, but our people are now doomed to die anyway."
He smiled. "Perhaps not. You aren't the only one looking for a treatment for the Antiphagia's side-effects. And maybe someone else is interested? Like maybe a large corporation? Mupano has responded to your letter, personally this time." He held up a thin packet.
She reached for it, not sure whether to be hopeful or cynical. The clinic needed to find a source of money. They would be forced to close soon without it. Many of her patients were too poor to pay any fees, and she couldn't turn them away. Any of them. Even those who'd had dozens or more transplants; or had been private organ collectors, the Hanatta. At least former Hanatta could afford to pay her.
"Well? Aren't you going to read it?" Dr. Lem said.
She opened it, and as she read the first paragraph her heart leapt with tempered joy "Mupano Tar is willing to meet with me personally to discuss the clinic and our research." It was a short letter, but once again she believed in the basic decency of her people and maybe in hope. "He says our work is too important to simply disappear." She smiled. "Lem, I'll be late tomorrow morning."
"We'll manage." His grin was lopsided, the two sides of his face needed major repair. He shared a common history with many of their patients--they also couldn't afford the massive costs for the reconstructive surgery.
Stardate 56800.3--October 16, 2380
Mupano Industries main office, Vidalia, Vidiia
"...I absolutely must have it by next week, at the latest...Uh-huh... Right... Look, I'm in a very important meeting now, and I'm due at another in just a few minutes. Get back to me on this in about two hours. I should be free to talk about this more then...Yes, very good. Talk to you then."
As he switched off his hand-held communicator, Mupano Tar turned to his visitor with a sigh. "I'm so sorry, Dr. Pel. I don't know why my people feel they need my approval for every little detail when I've chosen them for their good judgment--and why they always seem to need the most guidance whenever I'm in a very important meeting! I'm very concerned about the tragic circumstances so many of our people are in. I truly do want to help." He reached for the insulated teapot his secretary had brought in shortly after Denara's arrival.
"Some Poaly tea?" Mupano Tar said as he poured a cup. He glanced her way. She was still surprised at how healthy and how Vidiian he looked. She wondered if he was one of the small percentage who'd never been infected, or if he'd had reconstructive surgery. Considering the look of distaste from his secretary when she'd arrived--and the fact she'd only seen unscarred Vidiians in his office--she suspected he had never been infected. There was an easy way to find out--if she'd had her scanner with her. But such scans were considered a rude invasion of privacy--and considering her own status as a Phage victim, could become rather embarrassing for her.
"No, thank you," she said, with growing impatience. They had been interrupted five times in the past hour. From the way that last call had ended, Denara doubted she'd have much more of the industrialist's time, and they had still to get past the preliminary social niceties.
When Mupano's attention had been snatched away from their meeting, Denara had had plenty of time to look around her surroundings. His new office definitely indicated he could afford the surgery--if he'd even needed it. The collection of alien pottery and rugs alone was probably worth more than she'd see in her life. Her own clinic was six years old and showing its age. Her patients paid by helping around the clinic--when they could. It had never been the efficient, clean environment she'd often dreamed of--like the Sick Bay of Voyager. She smiled as she remembered Dr. Schmullis.
"So, as you were saying about your research..."
"I've been working on several fronts that are showing great promise with medications that will be able to successfully treat Antiphagia-related infertility, as well as provide affordable ways for the general public to be treated cosmetically. We've already developed indictable medications which reduce the amount of scar tissue around surgical incisions, as well as some which lighten or darken the skin so that the patchiness of..."
Mupano's communication device buzzed. "I'm sorry, Dr. Pel," he said, as he turned away from her and began to speak to someone named Ronen Loa. Denara tried to rein in her frustration at still another break in their discussion, just when she was finally starting to become enthusiastic about their meeting. As desperate as she wanted financial support for her work, she was again doubting if becoming involved with one of the grand movers and shakers of Vidiian high society was a good idea. Mupano was well known for his charity and philanthropic pursuits; as well as rumored to have been instrumental in finding the Antiphagia.
When Mupano Tar finally turned back to her, apologizing profusely for still another interruption to their meeting, Denara waved her hand offhandedly, as she said, "I understand completely how busy you are, sir. I just wanted to give you the information you need to make your decision about the worthiness of my work so that I might qualify for a grant to further my research."
"I have no doubt about the worthiness of your research, Dr. Pel. However, there are many others who are also requesting my financial assistance. I need to..."
Mupano's console beeped. When he responded, Denara heard his officious secretary's voice. :::Commissioner Veldon is here for your meeting, sir. You asked me to let you know as soon as she arrived.:::
Mupano's eyes met Denara's apologetically as he replied, "Yes, of course. Please have her brought to the Onyx Conference Room. Tell her I'll be right there. I'm sorry, Dr. Pel. We're very interested in learning more about your research, but I have another meeting. My assistant, Dr. Lendar Klim will accompany you to your clinic. Thank you for your time. I hope we can continue doing business." He left quickly. A second later the door opened again, and an unscarred Vidiian female entered. She grimaced at the sight of Denara, but Denara thought she covered it well.
"Dr. Pel," Lendar said. "Mupano is sorry that he is unable to discuss your work in greater detail with you personally, but as head of Mupano Industry's Research and Development department, I am well qualified to ascertain the usefulness of your work."
"Usefulness?" Denara said as the transporter beam started to dematerialize them. Usefulness?
"My work," Denara continued after they'd rematerialized in her clinic. She spoke quickly to hide her irritation, "My work is very useful." She pointed toward the patients sitting in the waiting room. Dr. Klim barely glanced at the waiting patients.
"Of course. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. Mupano always looks for the bigger picture. Like, what are the collateral benefits of your research?"
"Collateral benefits?" Denara glanced around. "See that boy over there?" She pointed at a sixteen year old. "I've been able to restore much of his epithelial tissues. A young man at the beginning of his life is feeling more confidence in himself and is starting to feel he will be able to contribute to society and is choosing his life's work. Isn't that a 'collateral' benefit?" This time, Dr. Klim didn't bother to hide her pained look of disgust. Denara gave up controlling her anger. "I thought my goal of restoring our people to their natural looks...and restoring their fertility were important goals for *all* our people..."
"I must not have made myself clear. While there's no money in treating patients, Mupano does want to help. After all, having well over fifty percent of the population unable to reproduce..." Dr. Klim tittered at her own joke, " is bad for business...No consumer growth potential." Denara politely smiled at the awful attempt of humor. Dr. Klim was overdoing the sales speech, but Denara was still interested in hearing more about the funding. "But the money has to come from somewhere, thus our interest in the practical--or rather economical--aspects of your research. I would like to arrange time when you aren't so busy to go over your work."
Denara hesitated. She wanted more information before committing to anything. "I'm never not busy, but I can clear some time. Tomorrow afternoon? I'd like more information on how you are planning to help."
"We can discuss that the day after tomorrow in my office. From what information you have sent us, and what I've seen, I think we can make arrangements that will be mutually advantageous."
"Mutually advantageous?" Denara didn't like the sound of the those words.
Dr. Klim faced her, her perfect smile stretched across her perfectly unblemished face. "If we can develop some additional products from your research to sell at a profit, we can make enough extra so you can afford a few luxuries with your share of the sales! That never hurts now, does it? So, I look forward to our talk. Good afternoon."
"I'm not sure..." Before Denara could finish her sentence, Dr. Klim disappeared as a transporter beam took her away. She had spent years struggling to maintain her integrity and principles in a society that had lost theirs. "Nothing has changed," she whispered to herself.
Dr. Lem walked over. "What happened? Is Mupano interested?"
"Oh, I don't know. If they're willing to fund our research, should I be put off because they seem to have a more pragmatic agenda? They want to make money from our work. A LOT of money. I shouldn't complain, I guess, if it means they'll be able to fund other worthy projects as well as ours--and still have enough to make themselves even filthier rich than they already are..."
"The world is changing, Doctor. We may have to get used to it."
"And if I don't like what it's becoming?"
Krazel had no answer for that. As he turned to leave, he paused. "Oh! Some stranger was looking for you."
"Who?"
"Some old woman, she didn't leave her name. Alien. She knew your name though."
"Alien?" Denara frowned. She had no idea why an alien would be looking for her. She shrugged it off. "Go to lunch, I can handle this."
Stardate 56806.1--October 18, 2380
Meyel District, Vidalia, Vidiia
Denara Pel sat down at her desk and activated her computer terminal. The numbers that appeared were depressing. She had not entered medicine to make money--but the clinic was barely breaking even. She'd have to get a second job--if she could find one--to pay the bills. She debated making her evening meal before tackling the bills, but knew that she would then fall asleep, and the work would still be there tomorrow.
If Mupano financed her clinic, she wouldn't have to worry about the bills--and she could hire another clinician and up-date her equipment. It was a heady dream, one that had always been impossible to achieve...until now.
So, Mupano wanted to make money--was that so bad? She would like to make a little money, move into a better apartment, take a vacation. Her last vacation--if it could be called a vacation--had been those few days on Voyager.
Her thoughts wandered to Dr. Schmullis and Voyager. She'd heard that Kazon pirates had captured Voyager, but the crew had managed to reclaim their ship...That had been seven or eight years ago. Too long ago. Since then, she'd not heard anything about the ship. She silently wished them well, as she started the process to chose the bills she would pay first. It wasn't easy. The energy bill was overdue and they were threatening to cut the power to the clinic again. She needed to request that the Sodality grant her clinic an exemption. She sighed. The Vantar Pharmaceutical bill was due now too. And the rent on the clinic was due.
She'd picked the two bills when the lights flickered. She swore silently. Power outages were a too frequent occurrence. That was something she would add to her list of things to do with Mupano's money--an independent power supply for the clinic.
She continued working. The lights flickered again. She opted this time to shut down her computer and make dinner before the power went out for the night. She started to stand, when a knock at the door caused her to freeze.
No one called at night. If, or rather, when the power went out, anyone outside was a potential victim. Even those who were supposed to protect the citizens, hid at night.
Only a real emergency would send someone out to the streets at night. She couldn't afford to be included in the communication network, so the only way for her patients to summon her for a late night emergency was to find her.
"Who's there?" she called out.
"Is this the home of Dr. Denara Pel?" a faint voice said. Denara wasn't sure if she recognized the voice or not. It seemed somewhat familiar. She went to open the door.
"Yes, may I help you?" Denara asked the heavily cloaked figure.
There was a faint laugh, as the woman revealed her face. She was Ocampan. Denara knew only one Ocampan. She stared at the woman for several seconds before she was able to ask, "Kes?"
"You remember," Kes said.
Denara wanted to ask a lot of questions, but a quick glance around the dim streets reminded her that outside was too dangerous. "Come in. Why are you here? And HOW did you get here?" she asked, the questions coming out in a long string. "Is Voyager here too?"
"No, it's just me. My story is too long, and perhaps a bit unbelievable. For now, I'm here, and I need your help."
Denara wished she had more light to study her guest. Kes was much older than she remembered. She vaguely remembered something Doctor Schmullis had said that the Ocampa had a short lifespan. "How can I help you?" Denara asked after a long silence. She offered to take Kes' cloak. Again she was amazed at how old the other seemed.
"I know the Doctor told you some of how Voyager ended up on the wrong side of the galaxy."
"Captain Janeway destroyed their only way home to save your people."
Kes nodded once. "I left Voyager a little over a year after our last contact with you and made my way back to my people. They survived--but what the Caretaker left for us in terms of energy and resources is fast running out. We need to find a new home."
Denara shook her head. "You saw what it's like out there. My people are unable to help themselves." She growled slightly, but didn't add unless there was money to be made.
"I'd heard you found a cure for the Phage," Kes frowned, "but I had no idea until I arrived just what that meant." She hesitated. "Maybe this was a mistake..."
"The Vidiian Sodality controls a number of planets we have no use for. You can ask, but..." Denara didn't hold out much hope for the cooperation of the Sodality.
"They'll want something in return." Again Kes hesitated. "My people have nothing to give in return, except a presence on some uninhabited planet, to help you maintain your claim against the other species in this sector."
"It could be enough. The Sodality doesn't want to lose control of any of our territory." The thought made Denara furious. "They continue to fund a military to guard our territories but cut funding for saving our people..." She stopped to regain her temper. "Did you have a particular planet in mind?"
Kes pulled out a chart and pointed. Denara glanced at it and frowned. "It's definitely uninhabited. Anyone who settles there would have to undergo a complete vaccination routine." She didn't add that she doubted the Vidiian Sodality would fund such a program.
"I understand. We had to leave the Captain and Commander there because of that virus. The serum you gave us, led to the development of a cure--and vaccine." Kes smiled. For the brief second, Denara really recognized the waif like woman she'd known on Voyager. "I remember the Doctor's research. We can take care of developing and administering the vaccine."
Denara smiled. "I'm glad. But, I no longer have access to such things...I'm just a lowly Phage-victim." She muttered the last line to herself, but the way Kes glanced at her, she suspected the Ocampan had heard her.
"I hope you didn't get in too much trouble."
Denara laughed bitterly. "The Captain didn't even notice. He was so fixated on capturing Voyager, he forgot honor..." She didn't continue. The Phage had destroyed her people--and the Antiphagia was a cynical justice. "Do you know what happened to Voyager?"
"They made it home just recently," Kes said. Denara smiled.
Good, she thought. Those people deserved it. "Would you care for anything to eat?" Denara asked, as the shock of seeing Kes starting to wear off, she remembered her manners.
"Denara, I'm fine. I have plenty of food on my little ship."
Denara again, wanted to ask more questions, but realized there was much Kes hadn't told--and probably wouldn't tell. Kes smiled at her.
"But don't let me stop you from preparing your own dinner."
Denara worked silently for several minutes to prepare the boiled Tiluga, while Kes sat in her one chair, apparently meditating.
"I don't know anyone who can help you," Denara said after the long silence. Her Uncle Drin had retired a few weeks ago and moved away from the city--he didn't have enough influence with the real powers to have been useful in this situation.
"I had hoped that maybe you knew someone with some connections." Kes looked up. "I'll approach a Sodality council member..."
"Wait," Denara said suddenly, "Perhaps I do..." She wasn't sure she liked the idea. Mupano would probably want more than the Sodality would for his help. "Maybe I do know someone. Mupano Tar. He's thinking of funding my research."
"You don't like the idea," Kes said softly. "Or do you not like him?"
Denara thought about her answer. "He's a business man. His interest is in profit, mine is in helping my people. He wants to use my research to make a profit."
"Yet he is willing to help you," Kes said. "Perhaps he has more heart than you give him credit for. He'll want something from us in return, won't he?"
Denara nodded several times as she stirred the Tiluga.
"A new market?" Kes asked. "As colonists on a Vidiian planet, we would be buying and trading for Vidiian goods. And perhaps after we've establish our colony, we could export food to Vidiia."
"I don't know. Mupano might be interested. But that's a long term benefit--he'll want something now."
Kes looked away. "I might have something," she whispered. "As a last resort."
"I'm meeting with his assistant the day after tomorrow, I'll ask her if I can meet with Mupano."
Stardate 56811.3--October 20, 2380
Mupano Industries main office, Vidalia, Vidiia
"I'm sorry, your name again?" Dr. Lendar Klim said with more than a hint of distaste in her voice.
"I'm Kes." From that point onward, Dr. Klim had ignored her. Kes couldn't help feeling sorry for Denara. There was no excuse for such rudeness. She decided she also felt sorry for most of the people of Vidiia, if this is how the Phage victims were treated by their own kind. She knew too well how outsiders felt about the Vidiians.
Kes took advantage of being ignored by meditating. She had decisions to make--like just what could she or the O