by Alys Landale
Danag stood alone at the back of the bridge. He looked towards the door for Satira, but she never came. Finally, Tom noticed this as well. “Danag, do you know where Satira is?”
The man shook his head. “I’m sorry sir. I think she’s in sickbay, but she was supposed to come down to the bridge for departure.”
Tom’s brow furrowed. It wasn’t like her to be late. Danag was getting worried as well. She had been fairly upset when she returned to the ship. He didn’t know what she might do.
Paris was about to ask the computer the location of Satira when she walked through the door. Her head was slightly downcast as she made her way towards Danag.
“I apologize for my tardiness,” she said in a low voice.
Paris noticed that she was acting extremely strange; however, he said nothing. Danag on the other hand, wasn’t about to let this go without being noticed.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered.
Satira’s eyes seemed to be focused on something far away. In a low voice she said, “I can not come back.”
“If you’re still upset about that fight, don’t be. Karnus deserved what came to him. Besides, it’ll all be forgotten in a week.”
She looked up into his eyes. He could see the pain reflected in her orbs, and she could see the worry in his. “I can not come back. Karnus has banished me. I can never come back.”
Danag was silent for a moment as he took in her words. He had no idea what to say. Instead, he merely took her hand in his and held it. She looked down at their two hands joined together. As she raised her head back up to look at him, a small smile was on her lips. This time he didn’t ruin the moment by speaking.
Paris was flying through the wormhole when he felt it.
*
*With this new technology, we’ll be able to take our race to perfection.* said a woman.
The man next to her shook his head and laughed. *I wouldn’t go that far, but I will say that this should help to advance us far beyond any other race we know of. Imagine it, with these cybernetic implants; we can prolong a person’s life by decades. Why, there would be no more diseases, no more hunger. Once we incorporate this into society, our people will finally be able to live with or without food. Why you can just go into regeneration to heal your wounds, supply your food, and go to sleep.*
Paris recognized the man who had just spoken. He was the same one that had seen him earlier. The man ran a hand through his short blue hair. He looked to be in his late twenties, if he were human, but Tom had no idea who this race was.
*Vestin Landis, you’re crazy.* said the woman.
Tom’s eyes widened. Landis? Aria had once told him about a man like this. In fact, that was where part of his name had come from. Tom began to grow even more agitated. Just where in the Hell was he?
The man referred to as Vestin Landis laughed as well. *You can call me crazy now, Evae, but we’ll just see who is chosen as Chief Researcher for the Dykinae Triverate. Why I’ll be leading our people into a new era while you, you’ll still be stuck down here working on engineering designs.*
*I’ll have you know, I like engineering,* replied Evae as she laughed as well. *And just what makes you think that you’re
‘Collective’ as you call it, will revolutionize our civilization?*
Vestin’s smile grew. *Oh it’ll revolutionize more than our society, it’ll revolutionize the whole galaxy.*
*
Tom was pulled back into reality just before Voyager hit a series of irregularities in the wormhole. He quickly began to maneuver the ship around the turbulence as fast as possible.
Janeway held onto the side of her chair as they flew through the last piece of turbulence. Tom could have easily avoided that.
Why didn’t he do so before they entered the irregularity?
She let it go. He was under a lot of pressure at the present time. It would be best not to distract him by bringing it up.
Instead, she turned to Ensign Kim.
“How long before we’re out of the wormhole?”
“We only have a few more minutes, Captain.” Harry replied.
She nodded. Whatever was distracting Tom, she hoped he could manage to maintain his concentration until they were out of the wormhole.
Tom was still in a daze as he docked Voyager to the Resistance station, so there was little patience for him to spend on those around him. Raken approached him.
“I take it you were able to secure the assistance of the Dezorisians?”
Tom nodded. “Yes, they’ll provide backup once we attack. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be in my quarters.” Paris then walked away, but Raken followed.
“Is that it?” he asked. “If we’re still going to follow through with this little ‘plan’ of yours, we need to finish preparing for it. You can’t just go to your quarters now. We’ve still got preparations to make!”
Tom let out a sigh. “Listen Raken, I’m extremely tired right now. I haven’t seen a bed for over two days. I’m going to get a few hours of sleep, then we can continue planning. Is that clear enough for you?”
The other captain said nothing after that. It was no secret that Raken held no friendship towards Rune, but even he knew when to give the human room. Raken let Paris go. He hated the man, but he was smart enough to know that without Rune Landis, their mission would never succeed.
Gerek then approached Raken. The captain let out an audible sigh but acknowledged the man’s presence nonetheless. “What do you want?”
Gerek said nothing for a few minutes. He then came to his point, “I’ll be leaving shortly. I was wondering if you could direct me to where Lieutenant Torres is. We still have some unfinished business.”
“She should still be on Voyager. You can find her there.”
Gerek gave a slight nod and then left. He needed to talk to B’Elanna just a little more before he left.
Paris walked into his cabin. As usual, his head felt as if it was about to explode. He sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands.
*Of all times Aria* he thought. *Of all times, this had to happen now.*
He wished that the Nalyan would just come out and tell him what it was she wanted him to know. He had no idea what all of these memories meant. They made no sense. And now they were beginning to effect his duties as well. He had come close to losing Voyager in that wormhole earlier; he couldn’t risk the chance that the same thing would happen again.
He picked himself up off the couch and walked over to Xara’s room. She was sleeping. Not wanting to wake her, he made his way back to his own bed and lay down in it.
He didn’t even have time to take his shoes off, before he had fallen asleep.
*
*Vestin, I’m telling you, we’ve gone too far.*
Vestin turned to his colleague. *What do you mean, ‘gone too far.’ We’ve barely touched the aspects this technology could bring.*
Paris watched as the two began arguing. Vestin looked to have aged at least five years since Tom had last seen him. The woman beside him was the same that Tom had seen as well. The two were carrying on similarly to when Paris had last ‘visited’ them.
The small lab they had been working in before had grown into a huge research facility. Borg alcoves and maturation chambers lined the walls. Now even the two researchers seemed to have been ‘assimilated.’ They each had Borg implants attached to them; however, they were nowhere near as cybernetically covered as the actual Borg were. They still possessed the normal vestiges of individuals; clothes, opinions, ideas. They weren’t yet assimilated in terms of the Borg.
Vestin’s colleague looked around her. *It has been five years, Vestin. We’ve managed to incorporate this technology into our society. We’ve taken it as far as it can go. We need to stop now.*
Vestin gave her a sour look. *Listen to me, Evae. In five years, we have changed the way our society acts. Our species is now the most advanced one in this sector; I’d even venture to say, in this quadrant. Sure, we’ve prolonged
our people’s lives, we’ve gotten rid of hunger and disease, but there’s still so much more we can do. We still have those out there who are being killed off. Not because of famine or pestilence, but because of their own hatred. The only way our society can evolve is if we rid ourselves of the wars that are breaking us apart.*
Evae gave a sigh. She pushed back some of her long, rose-colored hair and stared out at her surroundings. They were moving too fast. Almost all of their people had been ‘assimilated’ as Vestin called it. Now she could barely recognize the traits that had grown once so prominent in her own people. It was scaring her. They needed to slow down, but according to Vestin, that would never happen.
*And just how is this technology going to get rid us of wars. Explain that to me Vestin.* she demanded.
He ushered her over to one of the nearby computer consoles. Tom watched as Vestin ordered a computer file brought onto the screen. *This,* he said. *Is going to make that happen.*
Evae looked at the screen. *What is it?*
*It’s a ‘neural transceiver.’ By using this, we can link all of our minds together. There would be no more secrets, no more hatred. Our race could work as one to advance our species into the future. Can you imagine what we could accomplish if we all worked together as one instead of allowing jealousy and greed to guide us.?*
Evae could tell that he was proud of his accomplishment, but she on the other hand... Something in the back of her mind kept telling her that this wasn’t going to work out the way Vestin had in mind.
*You can’t just act like a god, Vestin. By doing this, you would be saying that you’re just as great as the Spirit, Himself. What about a person’s individuality? Did you ever think about that?*
*But this won’t erase a person’s individualism. It will just allow us all to be closer than we’ve ever been.* He took Evae’s hand in his. *You know me Evae, we’ve been mates for almost five years now. Trust me.*
She looked down at their hands. After a few seconds, a slight smile touched her lips. *I know, Vestin. I trust you.*
*
Paris woke up a few minutes later. He blinked his eyes a few times, as he tried to determine his surroundings. This was beginning to take its toll on him. He didn’t even know who the people were that he kept seeing. Of course, he knew their names by now: Vestin and Evae. He knew they were Dykinae, too, but what did that help. Wait, Dykinae? Wasn’t that the same species that created the station he was assimilated in.
All of it was beginning to get jumbled in his mind. He didn’t have time for this. He still had work to do on the plans for the battle.
Getting out of bed, he looked to see how long he had been asleep. Only ten minutes. He rubbed his temples. If that was the kind of rest he would be getting, he might as well go back to work. Not having taken off his clothes, he simply left his sleeping quarters and went in to check on Xara. She was still asleep as well.
He then left his quarters. *Might as well go find Raken,* he thought.
B’Elanna was just leaving Voyager when Gerek popped up at her side once more.
“What now?” she asked.
The man put a hand to his heart. “I’m hurt B’Elanna. You act as if you don’t want to see me.”
“It’s not an act.” she replied coldly. The man was beginning to get on her last nerve and she wasn’t afraid to tell him either.
“Look, I’m not in the mood to put up with you. If you have anything worthwhile to say, tell me now or leave.”
“Oh, I have ‘something’ to tell you alright, but it’ll have to wait. What I wanted to know was if you were really going along on this little ‘attack’ with Rune.”
She turned a pair of cold eyes to him. “If you think I’m a coward, I can promise you I can change your opinion.” There was a slight growl in her voice as she issued this challenge.
He remained unfazed; however and merely said. “No, I know you’re no coward. I was just wondering whether you were going to play a part in this little charade or not. There’s no way it will ever work. Me, I’m leaving now.” He paused for a while. “As you know I’m a man of business. I was wanting to know whether or not you’d come with me. I could use a good engineer and I know there’s plenty I have to teach you.”
Her eyes narrowed in vehemence. “You’re a bigger pig than Paris ever hoped to be. I’m going on this mission and it ‘will’ succeed. As for your offer, there’s nothing you could ever teach me. If you want an apt pupil, go find Seven of Nine. I’m sure you could teach her a few things, and she could teach you a ‘lot’ more.”
His body shuddered at the thought of that. “No thanks,” he said. “I still have use for some of my ‘appendages.’ But you’re wrong about one thing. There’s plenty left for me to teach you. And I promise you, you’ll be around to learn it.” He gave her a quick wink. “So long, for now, Torres. I’ll see you soon.”
B’Elanna watched him leave. She had never been so happy to see anyone walk away than she had him. With any luck, his last statement wouldn’t come true. She put no faith in him ‘teaching’ her anything, but what she feared was him following her. The last thing she needed was a stalker.
Her thoughts then turned to how Seven had ‘dissuaded’ him a month ago. She laughed despite herself. Perhaps there were a few things one could learn from a Borg.
Seven of Nine finished the last of the weapon’s modifications. All of the Resistance vessels and phasers now had the capability of Borg weaponry at their disposal. She realized that the Empire had the same advantage, so she added a few extra sequences into the modifications as well as a few shield modifications that would enable cloaking mechanisms as well. That should give the Resistance a greater advantage now.
She shut down her workstation and walked over to her alcove. She hadn’t regenerated in days, it was about time she did so. Just as she was about to step inside, Ensign Kim walked into the cargo bay.
He smiled. “Hello, Seven.”
She looked over to the ensign. “It is good to see you Harry.”
His smile grew as he thought back to over a year ago. Seven had somewhere within that time begun to call him ‘Harry’ instead of the usual ‘Ensign’ or ‘Ensign Kim.’
“Is there a matter you wish to discuss?” she asked.
He took a few minutes to make a reply. “Oh, um yeah. The captain wanted to know if you had finished making the weapon modifications yet. And did you manage to modify the rest of the phasers as well?”
“They have been completed. All photon rifles and phasers have been modified according to the specifications Ensign Paris requested. Is there anything else?”
He stood there for a few extra minutes, “Well, I just wanted to know what you thought about all of this.”
She raised an ocular implant. “Explain.”
He walked over to her side. “It’s just that, we finally reach home, and then we’re sent back into the Delta Quadrant again.
You never even had a chance to see your homeworld.”
She contemplated his words for a moment. “I regret that our stay in the Alpha Quadrant could not be prolonged; however, if we had not returned to the Empire, the Borg would have the technology to assimilate earth as well as other Alpha Quadrant species.”
“You have a point Seven, but I still wish none of this had happened. For the past six years all I’ve dreamed of is finally getting home. And then we got so close...”
Seven had been around humans long enough to realize that she needed to say something. She could tell that Harry was in need of comfort. She had faced similar ‘feelings’ when she had first been separated from the Collective.
Not really knowing whether or not she was doing the right thing, she took his hand in hers and squeezed it slightly. He had done similar for her on occasions such as this; therefore, it seemed the appropriate thing to do.
“This crew has faced many difficulties and beaten infinite odds on many occasions. Voyager successfully made it home once, we shall do so again.” She told him.
He looked into her eyes. “Thanks.” he said. “There’s nothing like Borg reassurance to help boost your confidence.”
She attempted to give her best ‘smile.’ He laughed for a few minutes. Seven’s brow furrowed and her expression turned into a frown of concentration.
“Did I perform something humorable?”
He stopped laughing. “No, Seven, you did just fine. I guess I’m just not used to seeing you smile before.”
“Then I shall not do so.”
“No, no,” he said. “There was nothing bad about it. You should smile more often. You look even prettier when you do.”
Her brow furrowed again. “I am ‘pretty?’”
Suddenly realizing his slip of the tongue, he looked down at his feet. “Well, in the sense that... Sometimes you just... I really like the way you...” He had no idea what to say, so he finally just came to the point. “Oh, come on, you have to have noticed how the other men look at you.”
“I have observed this in various men aboard Voyager; however, I was not aware that it was because I was ‘pretty.’ I was under the influence that males of your species would procreate with any female.”
Harry blushed slightly. “Well, I wouldn’t put it that way, but there are tons of people on Voyager that find you attractive.”
“And you are one of these people,” Seven asked.
Harry cleared his throat a few times, as he tried to pause. “Well, yeah, I mean... yeah.”
She was silent for a few more seconds and then spoke again. “I am appreciative that you have brought this to my attention. I shall try to smile for you more often.”
This elicited even more laughter from Harry. Seven’s brow furrowed yet again, but this time she asked no more questions.
Xara woke up in the middle of the night. She sat up in bed and stared at the wall ahead of her. That dream had been so strange, so scary. She quickly got out of bed and made her way into the living area. She needed to find Rune. She knew that she couldn’t tell him about it, but right now she just needed someone to talk to.
