“In my experience,” Janeway agreed.
“Captain Farkas?” Lieutenant Kar called from tactical.
“Report,” Farkas ordered.
“The other fourteen vessels present are altering their configuration, forming into attack groups.”
“Acknowledged,” Farkas said, turning to Janeway. “A precaution?” she asked.
“A warning, perhaps,” Janeway suggested. “I assume our precautions are in place?”
“Yes, Admiral.”
Janeway did not know how many CIF vessels were standing ready on the other side of the Gateway to come to the Shudka’s aid, should an attack commence. Cin had assured her that she had seen to her own safety, and she reiterated that if hostilities ensued, the Vesta should retreat. The admiral had not advised her that the Vesta’s plan was to retreat thousands of light-years away. She sincerely hoped that the congenial tone already adopted by Meeml was not an aberration.
“We are being hailed, Captain,” Jepel reported from ops.
“By the Lightcarrier?”
“No, Captain. The largest Devore vessel, the Manticle, has maneuvered itself closer to the Lightcarrier and is requesting to speak with the presider.”
“Are you ready to make another friend?” Janeway asked of Cin.
“Absolutely,” Cin said.
The channel was opened, and a face Admiral Janeway would never forget appeared on the main viewscreen beside the image of Cin.
From the corner of the viewscreen, Janeway was cognizant of movement near the presider, but her attention was focused on the face of Inspector Kashyk. He was handsome as ever, his black hair trimmed shorter than she remembered. The slight cranial protrusions that replaced his eyebrows, centering a small bony ridge that ran vertically from the center of his forehead almost to the bridge of his nose, were the only significant differences between his rugged face and any human male’s. His cheeks dimpled broadly when he smiled, as he did now, presumably in greeting. But his eyes, soft brown orbs in which the admiral had once found both respect and considerable passion, now held only unrestrained contempt.
Looking back to Cin, Janeway started to speak but stopped. First Consul Dreeg was now visible on the screen, standing directly behind the presider.
VOYAGER
Sensors had confirmed to Captain Chakotay that the Galen was in orbit of the First World, exactly where she was supposed to be. Demeter had not yet arrived.
Hoping Commander Glenn might know something about Demeter’s absence, Chakotay ordered Waters to open a channel as soon as they were in range.
“Good morning, Captain Chakotay,” Glenn greeted him. “You’re back a little earlier than expected.”
“As soon as we are in range, I need you to transport Lieutenant Barclay to Voyager,” Chakotay said briskly.
“We can dispatch a shuttle now, sir,” Glenn suggested.
“That won’t be necessary. The Confederacy has seen our transporters in action.”
“Understood, sir,” Glenn said, clearly curious as to how this had come to pass. “Is there a specific problem?” she began.
“Our EMH is not functioning properly,” Chakotay said, choosing his words carefully. “I am certain Lieutenant Barclay will be able to rectify that.”
Glenn’s eyes widened in alarm. “Several hours ago, we received new orders from the Vesta. Admiral Janeway departed less than an hour ago to join an exploratory group, including high-level representatives of the Confederacy, seeking to address the alien ships assembled beyond the Gateway. We were told to await your arrival here, as well as Demeter’s, and the Vesta’s return before taking further action.”
Chakotay exhaled slowly, reading between the lines. The admiral had gone with the presider to confront the aliens at the Gateway. It had to be a diplomatic overture. There was no way Kathryn had decided to join the Confederacy’s fight, in the absence of the establishment of a formal alliance. There was also no way she had agreed to an alliance without hearing his and O’Donnell’s reports. It was also likely that the presider was not advising her own people about her intentions.
Presumably the admiral had provided Glenn with an expected return time, and if she failed to arrive as scheduled, or worse, Glenn was to take the Galen to their predetermined rendezvous point along with Voyager and Demeter.
“Has Demeter reported in?”
“No, sir. She is due back shortly.”
“Demeter will not arrive in orbit of the First World any time soon, Captain Chakotay,” the voice of General Mattings said as he broke into the comm channel Voyager was using to speak with the Galen. “Forgive the interruption, Captain, but I needed to speak with you urgently, and your operations officer hasn’t been receiving our hails—or was, perhaps, ordered not to respond to them?”
“Waters, put the general on the viewscreen,” Chakotay ordered. “Commander Glenn, maintain your open channel.”
“Yes, Captain,” Glenn said.
“General Mattings,” Chakotay said evenly, “until I am able to provide a full report of our last mission to Admiral Janeway, you and I have nothing to discuss.”
“Yes, we do,” Mattings said. His face had lost much of the confidence and congeniality it had held the first time he had spoken face-to-face with Chakotay. The captain sensed that some, but not all, of that was due to the events that had transpired at Lecahn.
“As I am sure you are aware, this channel is being monitored by the CIF.”
Someone is listening, and he can’t speak freely now either, Chakotay realized. Otherwise this reminder was pointless.
“I received word several hours ago that your Commander O’Donnell illegally transported Overseer Bralt to the Demeter. He then departed Confederacy space with the overseer using something he called his ‘slipstream drive’ and advised the Fourth Jroone not to expect their return for twelve hours. The commander insisted that Bralt was not his prisoner, but I’m not sure what else to call him.”
“Where were they going?” Chakotay asked.
“The last lemm,” Mattings replied.
The Ark Planet? What would have led O’Donnell to take this action was impossible for Chakotay to imagine, though he was certain the commander would have fifty good reasons the next time they spoke. None of them would change the fact that even the appearance of abducting a Confederacy official was a grievous offense. More important, the space around the Ark Planet was no longer secure. Voyager and Demeter had been chased from it at high warp several weeks earlier by five alien ships that had joined those attacking the Gateway. O’Donnell was intelligent and resourceful. This choice seemed neither to Chakotay, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
Worst of all, Admiral Janeway clearly intended her fleet to rendezvous outside of the Confederacy, possibly in very short order, and Demeter was now too far out of range to receive her orders. Their last known destination, Vitrum, was hours outside comm range, and depending on when they had left, they could not be expected back at Vitrum for a minimum of six to eight hours, assuming their mission went exactly as planned.
“I have been ordered to maintain position in orbit of the First World until Demeter makes contact and we can confirm the safety of our overseer. Voyager and Galen are to remain here, secured by my officers, until that time,” Mattings advised.
Chakotay didn’t like the sound of that, but as long as he could get Barclay on board, Voyager and the Galen would stand ready to depart with or without the general’s blessing. Once clear of the Confederacy, Voyager could regroup with Demeter at the Ark Planet. If they timed it wrong, however, Demeter could be trapped in Confederacy space when they returned, unless O’Donnell simply set course for the rendezvous coordinates when he discovered that the rest of the fleet was gone. Should rescue of Demeter be required, the situation would be more complicated, but Chakotay would cross that bridge when he had to.
“The problem, Captain, is that I’m a ranking general, and right now forty ships normally under my command are assembling on our
side of the Gateway, awaiting orders to enter and engage. That’s a fight I have no intention of missing, and my rank permits me a certain amount of discretion in situations like this.”
“If you’re asking for my word that Voyager and the Galen will remain here . . .” Chakotay began.
“No, Captain,” Mattings said. “I’m asking you to join us. I think Galen is safer here, and Demeter will need all the friends she can get when she returns.”
“General, you know I can’t take sides in this,” Chakotay said.
“I do. I don’t need your tactical expertise. It occurs to me that your interests on the other side of the Gateway would be best served by your presence there. We both know how to take care of our own, don’t we?”
At last, Chakotay understood. Demeter wasn’t the only fleet vessel in harm’s way right now. The general clearly suspected that Vesta was as well, though he wasn’t free to say more on a monitored channel.
“Give me a few minutes to bring a specialist from Galen to Voyager and we’ll follow you through the Gateway, General.”
“Don’t take too long,” Mattings advised.
“We won’t. Voyager out.”
As soon as Waters had confirmed that the general’s signal was gone and transporter room one advised that Barclay had arrived, Chakotay addressed himself again to Glenn. “Wait here as long as you can. Demeter needs to know what has developed here. But tend to your own first. Understood?”
“Yes, Captain. Galen out.”
Turning to Lieutenant Kim, who sat at his left hand, Chakotay said, “Impressions?”
“What was O’Donnell thinking?” Kim demanded.
“We’ll know soon enough,” Chakotay replied. “But why is the general helping us?”
“He might not be,” Kim said. “Or he might feel bad about Lecahn and is looking for a way to make amends. I think he still wants this alliance. Maybe he thinks this is the only way to secure it.”
“Either way,” Chakotay said.
Kim nodded, tapping his combadge. “This is Lieutenant Kim to all hands. Red alert.”
VESTA
“Greetings, Presider Cin. I am Inspector Kashyk. My people, the Devore, control a vast imperium many light-years from here that, like your Confederacy, has brought peace and stability to all of the territory we control.”
All that was missing for Admiral Janeway was a little Mahler playing in the background. Perhaps Kashyk had outgrown his infatuation with Earth’s classical composers. Otherwise he seemed cheerful enough, though the steel behind his words was impossible to miss.
“Several years ago, I encountered the Federation Starship Voyager. They claimed to be explorers far from home and sought safe passage through our space. We were quite moved by their predicament and most willing to allow this, as long as their leader, then Captain Kathryn Janeway, agreed to abide by our laws while traversing our territory.
“Had I known then as much as I do now about the people of the Federation, particularly their penchant for duplicity, I would never have asked my superiors to consider their request. Like you, I fear, I was misled by the assurances they gave of their peaceful intentions, as well as their stated willingness to abide by our customs.
“I don’t know if their technological advances have given them the mistaken impression that they are superior to other spacefaring people, or if they simply make a habit of placing their needs and desires above anyone else’s. What I do know is that in the seven years the Voyager traveled through the First Quadrant, they left a swath of destruction and devastation in their wake. They demonstrated time and again that, while they will say otherwise, they have no respect for other cultures, their laws, or their territories.”
“Inspector Kashyk,” Cin said. “While I appreciate your intentions in warning me about your history with the Federation, there are certainly two sides to every story, and before I accept yours as truth, I must hear the other. Representatives from the Federation have been our guests for several weeks now, and they have shown us nothing but respect and courtesy.”
Cin paused as Dreeg stepped forward and whispered something in her ear. Confusion furrowed her brow before she waved him away impatiently. Janeway could not understand all of what Dreeg said, but she clearly heard the word “Vitrum” fall from his lips.
“That is easy to believe, Presider, as it was my initial experience as well. Sadly, I learned much too late that every word spoken by Kathryn Janeway was a lie.”
Janeway knew Kashyk too well to take offense at these words. The complicated dance they had done for several weeks included absolute deception on both their parts, personal as well as professional. Her only regret was that when the music had stopped, part of her had truly hoped she was wrong not to trust Kashyk. Apart from his surface charms, he was a fascinating, complicated man, something she had found too rarely in her life and almost never in the days she had spent leading Voyager home through the Delta Quadrant. Ultimately he had told her that she had made a most tempting offer. Vanity, perhaps, had allowed her to believe that he’d meant it. It stung, but only for a moment, to realize that even that had obviously been a lie. The admiral’s primary focus now was to find a way to diffuse this situation.
“Our newest allies—or Kinara, as Rigger Meeml calls us—including the Turei and the Vaadwaur have similar frustrating tales of their encounters with Voyager and Captain Janeway when she entered their territory. Those events ended in higher casualty rates than my people suffered. I grieve with them. It would be easy to lay all of this at the feet of the desperate circumstances in which Voyager found itself when she first arrived in our quadrant. A single ship so far from home is certainly within its rights to defend itself from aggressors. They did what they must in order to survive, Janeway will most certainly opine.
“However, recent reports from a First Quadrant species known as the Tarkons suggest that the Federation’s pattern of reckless behavior has continued, despite the fact that they have returned to our quadrant with significant resources, more powerful ships, and are no longer under threat of becoming stranded here, given their vastly improved propulsion systems. I had hoped our experience with Captain Janeway was an isolated incident. Now I can say with absolute confidence and authority that the Federation’s intentions toward any civilized society are hostile, and their actual goals will likely bear no resemblance to those they have discussed with you.
“I have also learned since how miserly Janeway can be with significant intelligence. She has likely told you much about the grand history of her Federation, but details that would be of great use to you, or us, are withheld in the interest of preserving their tactical advantages.
“Given your location,” Kashyk continued, “you may be unaware of several recent changes to the landscape of the First Quadrant. Large areas once considered too dangerous to explore are now open to any spacefaring race with the ability and the nerve to hazard them. As a result, numerous species, including our own, have discovered and begun to map the subspace corridors you call ‘the streams’ and utilize them to further their exploratory goals.
“We have also received intelligence indicating that the Federation was responsible, less than a year ago, for annihilating the Borg completely. Did the admiral happen to share any of this with you or your people during your brief acquaintance?”
Janeway’s stomach fell simultaneously with Presider Cin’s face. There was much the presider was likely willing to take with a grain of salt, but given her people’s history with the Borg, this lie of omission was going to feel like a betrayal.
“Is this true?” Cin demanded of Janeway.
“It is a long story, Presider,” Janeway said, “one that I have not yet been at liberty to share with you.”
Kashyk smiled. “Not at liberty, Admiral? No citizen of this quadrant would greet such news with anything but joy and unrestrained gratitude toward those who brought it to pass. Yet you have chosen to withhold it, perhaps because your Federation has now returned to occupy the territory
once held by those you have vanquished?”
“No,” Janeway said simply.
“The bottom line, Presider, is this,” Kashyk said. “Every species assembled here is more than willing to accept your suggestion of peaceful negotiation for passage through the Confederacy’s streams; on one condition.
“The Confederacy of the Worlds of the First Quadrant must disavow Admiral Janeway and end any discussion of alliance with the Federation she represents. You will release Admiral Janeway into our custody so that she may stand trial for her crimes against numerous First Quadrant species. Once that is done, our work, the work of truly like-minded and peace-loving people, can begin.”
After a long pause, Cin again addressed herself to Janeway: “It is not my place and may not be within my power to meet the Inspector’s terms, but before I even consider them, I require an explanation from you.”
“As you indicated earlier, Presider, there are two sides to every story. I will gladly share mine with you. I believe our conduct while we have been guests in your territory has demonstrated our true character and purpose here. I can assure you that I have not lied to you about anything. There is intelligence I possess that it has not been appropriate for me to divulge at this stage in our relationship, but as it progressed, I would have been able to be more forthcoming. Our version of the encounters Inspector Kashyk speaks of differs greatly from his, as you might well imagine. I suggest we return to your territory to discuss these matters before you continue in your negotiations.”
“Be advised, Presider,” Kashyk interjected, “that no matter what she tells you or where you ultimately decide to place your faith, our terms will not change. The price for peace includes the transfer of Kathryn Janeway to our custody, and it is not negotiable.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
STARFLEET MEDICAL
Doctor Riley Frazier lay on the long sofa. Axum knelt at her side, one hand gently resting on her forehead, the other holding her left hand in his.
Star Trek: Voyager - 043 - Acts of Contrition Page 36
