Star Trek: Voyager - 043 - Acts of Contrition

by Kirsten Beyer

  “What higher intention is there?” Dreeg asked. “We would protect our people from that which they are not yet ready to integrate into their lives. When a need was perceived, we would begin production and facilitate the slow introduction of that technology into our society in the least disruptive manner. Change is good, but it must be pursued at a pace that will not destabilize the peace we currently enjoy.”

  “I will need time to consider your proposal, First Consul,” Janeway said.

  “Of course.”

  “I will contact your office when I am ready to proceed.”

  “Thank you, Admiral,” Dreeg said.

  Janeway and her team maintained a tense silence until they had boarded their shuttle to return to the Galen and the hatches were sealed. As they were lifting off, Cambridge said, “You’re not seriously considering anything that man suggested, are you, Admiral?”

  Janeway shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. But the Vesta, Demeter, and Voyager are still out there. I need to secure their safety before I officially shatter Dreeg’s hopes.”

  “He doesn’t expect you to agree, Admiral,” Lieutenant Lasren said from behind her.

  Turning, Janeway said, “I didn’t think so, either.”

  “What does he expect?” Psilakis asked.

  “I don’t know,” Lasren admitted. “He was withholding something, concerned you might detect it. He wasn’t afraid, exactly. The people in that room aren’t like the others here. They are the only individuals I have encountered so far who are actually happy.”

  LECAHN

  Although rank had its privileges, the obligation Chakotay and many other Starfleet captains found most regrettable was the regulation stating that the captain of a vessel did not leave that vessel except under extraordinary circumstances. The heady days of leading away teams to make firsthand discoveries were behind those who accepted the center seat on a starship. The lack of a regular change of scenery, particularly on extended missions, was one every captain must learn to accept.

  Of course, every captain also had the latitude to ignore that regulation when he saw fit. As soon as Voyager reached orbit over Lecahn, Chakotay handed the bridge to B’Elanna and ordered Lieutenant Patel to accompany him to the shuttlebay. His first officer had been incommunicado for two days, and Chakotay needed to know what Kim had learned before another day was spent touring the manufacturing center General Mattings had indicated was their first stop on the planet’s surface.

  Chakotay brought the shuttle to rest on a long circular docking platform placed in the center of parklike grounds that surrounded a collection of tall buildings. He and Patel exited the shuttle together to find Kim, Mattings, and two other officers from the Lamont waiting there.

  Mattings extended his hand to Chakotay as he approached, but there was a new sharpness to his eyes that the captain found disquieting.

  “Captain, good to see you.”

  “And you, General.”

  “You remember JC Eleoate and JP Creak?”

  “I do. Good morning,” Chakotay greeted them.

  “Your Lieutenant Kim is a good man, Captain,” Mattings said.

  “You’ll get no argument from me there,” Chakotay said, nodding to Kim.

  “When we chose Lecahn for this visit, it was my intention to knock your socks off, Captain,” Mattings said, gesturing to the complex of buildings constructed from a reflective surface that was blinding in the harsh morning light. “This facility, in particular, produces the most advanced tactical technology the CIF uses. Some of our best minds toil away daily in those buildings. And their chefs prepare food that you won’t find in the best restaurants on the First World.”

  “It sounds like we have an interesting day ahead of us, General,” Chakotay said.

  The general handed Chakotay a small tablet containing coordinates for another location on the planet’s surface. “We do, but not here. Twenty thousand clicks away, near the planet’s southern pole, is another facility. I’d like you and your people to accompany us there.”

  “Why?” Chakotay asked.

  “I have some questions. And I need the most honest answers you can provide.”

  The general’s manner was disconcerting. Chakotay wondered if he might be courteously escorted into a trap. To refuse would hinder any alliance. Of that, Chakotay had no doubt. To accept might be more dangerous.

  “I have a feeling I know where the general is taking us, Captain,” Kim offered. “I think we should go.”

  “Mind if Harry accompanies me in our shuttle, just so I don’t lose my way?” Chakotay asked.

  “We’ll regroup at the site, Captain,” Mattings said, nodding. “My men and I will transport there now using protectors and make sure the site’s overseer is ready to meet with you. I hope you brought a jacket.”

  “We’ll manage,” Chakotay said.

  As soon as he, Patel, and Kim were safely back on the shuttle and their course had been entered and confirmed, Chakotay said, “Where are we going, Harry?”

  “One of the technologies Lecahn produces is the protectors, sir,” Kim replied. “I had a discussion with Mattings last night about the ancient ones. He seemed surprised to learn that they communicated with us.”

  “I’m surprised you told him,” Chakotay said.

  “Your instincts about the general are right, Chakotay. He’s doing his duty, protecting the Confederacy. He wants to learn from us.”

  “It sounds like he already has,” Chakotay said.

  “I did not provide any specific data on the means we developed to communicate with the protectors. But I did confirm my initial suspicion about the ones that brought us here.”

  “What was that?” Chakotay asked.

  “They weren’t too damaged to survive when they arrived here. Once we had been accepted, they destroyed themselves rather than risk capture by the Confederacy.”

  Chakotay sighed, shaking his head. “Do you believe they feared for themselves?”

  “I think they didn’t want to be forced to provide the data they had acquired about us to the Confederacy,” Kim replied.

  “That’s awful,” Patel noted sadly.

  “I’ve got our landing area in sight,” Chakotay advised them.

  A few minutes later they had set down on an icy plain. After donning heavy-weather gear, they began to make their way carefully toward a small building standing in the middle of what appeared to be a vast, white wasteland. The single-story, square edifice was constructed of thick metal and surrounded by field emitters that likely provided additional shielding. As they approached the doors, Kim said, “Those look familiar.”

  “Where have you seen them before?” Patel asked.

  “In the cavern below the surface of the Ark Planet where the proctor and the sentries were born,” Kim replied.

  A small sensor array was visible above the door. A soft blue light bathed the away team once they were within range. After a quick scan, the doors parted.

  Chakotay found the general and his men already inside. Several Leodts clad in gray coats were busy monitoring the numerous science stations that lined all four walls of the room’s interior. In the center, a transparent room had been raised a few meters above the floor on a round platform. Visible through the windows, a single Djinari male worked at a circular control station, not unlike the one in the center of a CIF vessel’s bridge.

  The general motioned for Chakotay and his team to follow him up the steps leading to the central office. Eleoate and Creak brought up the rear.

  “Mister Hsu?” the general said as everyone filed in behind him. The Djinari looked up and nodded at his new guests. “These are the Federation representatives I told you about.”

  “Welcome,” Hsu said briskly. “As I mentioned, General, we are on a tight production schedule. I can’t spare much time.”

  “I think when you hear what Lieutenant Kim has to say, you’ll find a few extra minutes.” Turning to Kim, the general said, “Harry, tell Mister Hsu about the anci
ent ones.”

  Kim looked to Chakotay, who nodded for him to proceed.

  “Several months ago, our ship discovered a vast area of space protected by a cloaking field generated by your ancient protectors. We had first encountered one of them almost forty thousand light-years away several years ago. It had transmitted a great deal of data to us, including the coordinates for that area. When we arrived, we transmitted that message back to the protectors and they disabled the cloaking matrix. We discovered what we called the Ark Planet—”

  “You’ve seen the last lemm?” Hsu interrupted.

  “We saw more than that,” Kim said. “We discovered the cavern where the ancient wave forms were created. We subsequently learned how to decipher a number of data transmissions from the wave forms; essentially, we learned how to program and communicate with them.”

  Hsu looked to Mattings in wonder. Kim saw Eleote standing behind the general and staring at him for the first time with something resembling respect.

  “What was the purpose of your communication?” Hsu asked.

  “The planet was in pretty bad shape. A number of species brought there, saved by the protectors, were dying. We helped them reorganize many of the ecosystems and revitalize the atmosphere to enable most of the species still present to survive.”

  Hsu’s mouth was now open, his jaw slack.

  “When that work was done, we asked them to tell us about the Worlds of the First Quadrant. We had discovered a hull fragment from one of your vessels. They initiated telepathic contact and showed every person on our ship how your people first called them into being, used them, and how they were eventually freed.”

  “The ancient ones spoke to you?” Eleoate said reverently.

  Kim nodded.

  After a long pause, the general cleared his throat. “I was raised to honor the Source. I was taught that the Source carved the Great River to lead our people to the First World. The Source gave us the ancient protectors to sustain the streams and enable us to rebuild our civilization on that world. When that work was sufficient, the Source directed the ancient ones to cease their efforts and they were left in peace to protect the last lemm.”

  “How did your people learn to use the protectors to reinforce the streams?” Kim asked.

  “By doing nothing,” Hsu replied. “A fully formed protector will immediately seek out the nearest stream and take up residence there unless held and forced to do otherwise.”

  “And who decides how long they are allowed to function before they are replaced?” Chakotay asked.

  “In a way, they do,” Hsu said. “As soon as they demonstrate even slight resistance to new programming, they are dispersed and replaced. Those used to transport individuals have the shortest life span.”

  “Here’s my question,” the general said as his voice dropped to a low tone of warning. “Are the wave forms you create capable of evolving to the same point the ancient protectors achieved? Can they be taught to not just move living things from one place to another, but to cherish living things? Are the protectors we use so callously, in fact, sentient life-forms?”

  Hsu shook his head. “They are not life-forms, General.”

  Mattings looked to Kim. “Is he lying to me?”

  “No, sir,” Kim replied.

  “If I may,” Patel interjected.

  Mattings nodded. “Yes, Miss?”

  “Lieutenant Devi Patel. I’m a xenobiologist. I assisted Lieutenant Kim with our efforts to program the protectors.” Mattings nodded, and she continued. “The wave forms are technology. They do not possess many of the most important attributes of life. They have no metabolism and they cannot procreate. But they are also not the first technology we have encountered that is capable of advancing beyond its original design. It might be going too far to suggest that they are sentient.”

  “But it might not?” the general asked.

  “I don’t know,” Hsu said.

  “What would it take for you to answer that question?” the general asked.

  “Disobeying my standing directives on the maintenance of the protectors,” Hsu said. “I doubt the Consortium would agree to expend resources for even a single experiment.”

  “Why would the Consortium have the last word on this?” Chakotay asked.

  “They own the technology used to create the protectors and regulate every aspect of its use and the distribution of protectors,” Hsu replied.

  “The protectors we use now are essential,” the general said. “But it seems a waste not to explore their full potential. Imagine how much more they could do for us if we allowed them to reach the levels of functionality Lieutenant Kim has observed.”

  “It might displease the Source, General,” Eleoate interjected. “Our Confederacy has thrived by limiting the uses of the protectors. If the Source intended otherwise, surely it would provide us with a sign.”

  “I’m the last man anyone would call religious, but even I can see that the Source already has given us a sign,” the general said, nodding toward Kim.

  “General, a word?” Chakotay asked.

  “Mister Hsu, kindly take Lieutenants Kim and Patel to the floor and show them how this facility works. See to their security,” the general added to Eleoate and Creak.

  When they were alone, Chakotay said, “I don’t think Hsu is authorized to do what you’re asking. Aren’t there channels you could go through to request exploring the potential of the protectors?”

  “If I didn’t have any intention of living long enough to learn the answer,” the general replied. “My people are great believers in the way things have always been.”

  “Is there anything wrong with the way things have always been?” Chakotay asked.

  The general shrugged. “You tell me.”

  “I’m the wrong person to ask,” Chakotay said. “My father, Kolopek, was also a great believer in the virtues of the past. He would have had me live there with him forever. But I was born a contrary. I wanted more. I fought him at every turn, demanding he allow me to go and find it.”

  “But you were born into a universe where there were ways to fulfill that need. The more my people acquire are only those things that can be measured and assigned a price.”

  “The day may come when they too want something different,” Chakotay said. “One may grow complacent, but even in peace the spirit stirs.”

  “I didn’t realize you were a man of faith.”

  “My people have a rich spiritual heritage,” Chakotay said. “I spent many years refusing to appreciate it, but, like most truths, it found me eventually and held me.”

  “The Great River has carried me safely through my life, and I am told that’s because the Source ordered it so. If it did, I am grateful. But I wasn’t made to spend my life on my knees thanking the Source repeatedly for its generosity. I was made to keep my people safe. That’s getting harder to do.” After a pause the general added, “I don’t want to see the Confederacy fall into chaos because we refused to use every resource at our disposal to its fullest potential. Our ancient protectors gave their lives for you, in return for all you’d done for them. The day may come, sooner rather than later, when we need them to do the same for us, but we don’t know how to earn that loyalty.”

  “Excuse me, General,” JC Eleoate said, reentering the control center.

  “What is it?”

  “The Lamont has detected five ships on course to enter the system.”

  “Identity?”

  “The Unmarked,” Eleoate replied.

  “Prepare for transport,” the general said, nodding. Turning back to Chakotay he said, “You’re welcome to stay here. This won’t take long. The Lamont will take care of them in a matter of minutes. Just order Voyager out of orbit and tell them to retreat to the edge of the system until I give the all clear.”

  “I’ve seen your ship in battle. I know its power. Will it be enough?” Chakotay asked.

  Mattings smiled grimly. “They sent five. We could handle fifty all by our
selves. I wouldn’t mind showing your Lieutenant Kim how. He might have a few more helpful suggestions for us.”

  Chakotay nodded. “Lieutenant Kim may return to the Lamont. Patel and I will get back to Voyager and keep her out of harm’s way.”

  “I’ll see you on the other side, Captain,” Mattings said.

  VOYAGER

  As soon as his shuttle entered the bay, Chakotay ordered Torres to set a course toward the edge of the system and hold position. He ordered Patel to report to astrometrics to study the events that were about to unfold.

  They were well on their way when the captain reached the bridge.

  “Report,” Chakotay ordered.

  “We’ll clear the fourth planet in fifteen minutes and reach the system’s edge in under an hour,” Torres said. “Five unidentified ships are approaching with shields raised and weapons hot. What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know,” Chakotay replied. “Stay close, acting first officer,” he said, smiling.

  Torres slid into the chair to Chakotay’s left, asking softly, “Where’s Harry?”

  “Still observing. Waters, open an encrypted channel to the Lamont, audio only.”

  “Aye, sir. Channel open,” the lieutenant indicated from ops.

  “Voyager to General Mattings.”

  The voice of JC Eleoate responded. “General Mattings is coordinating our defense of Lecahn, Captain Chakotay.” Chakotay could hear the general barking orders in the background.

  “Advise him that Voyager is out of harm’s way. Is there anything I should know about these Unmarked attackers? If there’s any chance we might become a target, I’d like to be prepared.”

  “The Unmarked are a hostile faction comprised of individuals from several member worlds that are currently experiencing high levels of social unrest. They believe their elected representatives are not redressing their grievances adequately, and some are circulating petitions to leave the Confederacy. Their problems are of their own making. They must learn to work harder to improve their standard of living. Instead, they have recently begun to harass planets and outposts that are critical to the Confederacy in an effort to draw attention to their unfortunate circumstances.”