Controller Vesek sat alone at a table in the corner of Voyager's mess hall, his head hung in defeat and sorrow. The Doctor had released him from sick bay a short time ago, with the promise that he'd do what he could for his theta radiation poisoning while en route to meet the Malon transport in the next sector. The EMH had also warned him that it was only temporary relief that could only postpone, but not halt, the eventual outcome.
Vesek sat regretfully brooding, mostly sorry that he'd not believed Pelk about the Vihaar. The Malon controller couldn't help but berate himself for this, thinking if he'd believed Pelk, then maybe he wouldn't have died. What was he going to tell Pelk's wife, Sivad, when he got home? The couple had been married only a short time and had hoped to have children soon, which was why Pelk had joined the waste management ship in the first place to make some quick extra money. Now, Sivad had no husband and would have no children.
Vesek remembered sadly the childlike joy Pelk had shown playing with the model freighter he'd replicated for his son, and how he'd teased the younger man, telling Pelk that if he and Sivad had children of their own, then he'd have more excuses to play with toys. Pelk's lighthearted nature had helped to make freighter duty less onerous for Vesek, and he would miss that camaraderie.
"Can I get you something to eat or drink? You must be hungry after our ordeal."
Vesek looked up slowly to see the Talaxian, Neelix, who'd helped them clear the radiation from the freighter, regarding him with solicitous concern.
"Yes, I would," he answered. "I'm so tired that I didn't even think of about eating." After a pause, he added, "I'll have whatever is easiest for you. I'm not particular, so don't go to any trouble."
"No trouble at all," Neelix assured him. "I'll be right back."
The Talaxian returned moments later with a plate containing small amounts of several different types of food in one hand and a smaller plate with just one type of food in the other. Setting the larger plate down in front of the morose Malon, he said, "I thought I'd give you several different things to try. If there's one thing in particular you really like, I can get you more."
Setting his own plate on the table opposite Vesek, he added, "Mind if I join you? You look like you could use some company."
"Suit yourself." The Malon was neither welcoming, nor hostile, but merely indifferent.
Undeterred by Vesek's unenthusiastic response, Neelix plopped himself down and began to eat. After a few moments, the Talaxian asked, "Is there a anything else you need? I'll try to get whatever it may be for you."
Vesek was about to tell Neelix that he didn't need anything, but thought a moment and said, "Yes, there is. This may seem like a strange request, but could you replicate a toy model of my ship?" Noting the Talaxian's puzzled expression, he continued, "You see, Pelk had one that he was intending to give my son for his birthday when we returned to Malon Prime after this mission. When we had to evacuate ship, Pelk forgot to bring it with him. I want to see that his last wishes are carried out." After a pause, he added quietly, "Pelk was my brother in law, married to my sister, Sivad."
"I didn't know," Neelix replied. "I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Thank you," Vesek said. "The sad thing was that he was only doing these waste control missions in order to make some extra money so that he and Sivad could start a family."
Neelix cleared his throat, then said, "I think I can probably have that model ship made for you. I'm going to go check on it now, but I'll get back to you in a little while. Will you still be here or in your quarters?"
"I think I'll stay here for awhile," Vesek told him. "Being around people, even if they're not talking to me, is helpful." He stood and said, "I think I'll go see what else you have to eat while you're gone."
=/\= =/\= =/\=
Neelix went to engineering, hoping that someone there could help make the Malon ship model and that Voyager had the specs for one in its database. He was surprised to find Lt. Torres there, as he'd thought she'd have been resting in her quarters after the ordeal they'd recently endured.
"I'm surprised to see you here," Neelix said to her, by way of a greeting. "I thought you would have been sound asleep by now, after what we've been through."
"I could say the same for you," Torres pointed out. "I did try to go to sleep, but it just wasn't happening, so I decided to come here and do a bit of work to distract myself for awhile." Heaving an exasperated sigh, she demanded, "So what do you need, Neelix? I am tired and don't intend to be here very long."
"It's kind of a special request from Vesek," the Talaxian began carefully, not wanting to set off the volatile Klingon. "I promised him I'd try to do it for him."
"Do what?" Torres stood there, hands on hips, already knowing she wasn't going to like what came next."
Neelix swallowed the lump in his throat and said, "Would you be able to make a toy-sized model of the Malon freighter?"
"You're kidding, right?" Torres snorted in derision, moving to turn away from the Talaxian. "What does he want a model of that toxic waste scow for?"
"I know it sounds strange..." Neelix began.
B'Elanna cut him off. "Not just strange, but insane."
The Talaxian sighed in frustration, but otherwise gave no outward sign of his feelings to her. "I think if you listen to what I've got to say, it will begin to make a bit more sense to you."
"I doubt it," she retorted. "But, by all means, tell me the rest."
"Vesek told me that Pelk was his brother-in-law; that Pelk had married his sister," Neelix began. "Vesek had also told me that the only reason Pelk had gone on any waste missions was because he and his wife wanted to start a family and needed to make some extra money."
"I'm sorry he lost Pelk, but what does any of that have to do with a toy ship model?"
"I'm getting to that," Neelix said patiently. "Pelk had a model of their ship that he was planning to give to Vesek's son for his birthday when they returned to Malon Prime at the end of the mission. In fact, he was even playing with it just before the Vihaar started sabotaging the ship." Taking a deep breath, he concluded, "Vesek just wants to carry out Pelk's last wishes and to give his son something to remember his uncle by."
B'Elanna was quiet for a long interval, and Neelix knew to keep quiet to allow her the time to wrestle with her conscience for a moment. He was confident she'd do the right thing in the end, but knew she couldn't be badgered into doing it.
Finally, she raised her head and blew out a gusty sigh. "All right, Neelix. I'll do it. It's against my better judgment, but I'll do it as a favor to you."
Turning to walk to the nearest replicator, she continued, "I probably have the stats for their ship in our database."
"I know we didn't get off on the right foot when we first met the Malon," Neelix said as the Chief Engineer's fingers flew over the panels of the replicator controls. "But I talked to Vesek, both on their ship and just now in the mess hall and he doesn't seem like such a bad person." After a moment, he added, "They can't all be alike any more than any other species is."
"If you say so," she retorted, though lacking the usual venom she displayed when talking about the Malon. Working with Vesek aboard the freighter had somewhat altered her perceptions about the species, not that she'd willingly admit it to anyone at this point.
A short time later, the model of the Malon ship was completed. "Thanks, B'Elanna," Neelix said, opening his hand to take the model from her.
"No, I'll take it to him," she said, holding on to the model. "I was going to the mess hall to get a little something to eat before trying again to get some rest."
"You don't mind?" the Talaxian asked.
"Not at all," she assured him. "You look like you could use a bit of rest yourself after what we went through."
"I am tired," he agreed. "I appreciate it."
"No problem."
=/\= =/\= =/\=
Vesek was still sitting in the mess hall when B'Elanna Torres entered it a short time later, with the model ship in hand. His head was down, so he didn't notice her arrival. She took the time to fill a plate with food, then went over to join the morose Malon.
He looked up slowly as she approached the table, seeing the model in her hand.
She seated herself across from him, without waiting for an invitation. After setting her plate down, she handed the model to him. "Here's the model you asked for." After a pause, she added, "I'm sorry about Pelk."
"Thank you," he said quietly.
"It's no big deal," she demurred, shrugging.
"It's a big deal to me," he contradicted. "Now, I'll be able to carry out Pelk's last wishes and my son will have something tangible to remember his uncle by. Pelk was his favorite uncle, because he took the time to play with my son."
"I hope your son likes the model." she said, picking at her food.
Both Vesek and Torres were silent for a few moments as they ate their food, both unsure of how to proceed with one another.
Finally, Vesek lifted his head to look at her and said, "I've been doing a lot of thinking since we got back to Voyager." Heaving a sigh, he continued, "I've thought about some of the things you've said since we first met, and after considering it, I find I have to agree with you on much of it."
B'Elanna raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"I'm well aware of the bad reputation the Malon have in the quadrant," he began carefully. "I've always tried to be very careful about the spots I've chosen to dump the waste, but I know many of my fellow Controllers are not at all meticulous about their work and care only about profit."
"Our first two encounters with the Malon were with the kind that care only about profit," she told him. "The first, Emck, had found a vortex that led into a region completely void of stars, which he told us cut time off his waste dumping missions. He didn't care that he was poisoning a entire race of people and slowly killing them off with theta radiation poisoning. Even when we told him that the Federation had developed a way to recycle waste to remove the radiation, which allowed it to be safely used for other purposes, he refused the help we offered him because he was afraid it would cut into his profits. The second, Vrelk, tried to steal one of our probes and we had to go into the atmosphere of a gas giant to retrieve it. So, you can understand why I wasn't feeling very charitable when we first encountered your ship."
"I understand," Vesek replied. "But we're not all like that. If not for the Vihaar aboard my ship, I would have found an area well away from any inhabited planets. It takes a little longer, but it's worth it." After taking a sip of water, he asked, "You said that your people have found a way to recycle waste and re-use it, and remove the theta radiation as well?"
"Yes, we've been doing it for years and it's a very efficient system," B'Elanna said. "I'd be happy to show you how, plus help you with any retro-fitting for it to accommodate your technology."
"I would like very much to see it and learn how to adapt it to our technology," he said earnestly. "Seems as if it would create plenty of work for former freighter crews to do waste recycling, rather than merely dumping it." Pointing to the freighter blight on his face, he added, "And it would mean the end of shortened lives from theta radiation. When I get home, our doctors will be able to remove the freighter blight temporarily, but it always comes back with the next mission and it does nothing to repair the internal damage. It's probably too late for me, but perhaps my son will be able to live a long life once your technology is adopted. I have no doubt that our leaders will be interested. And if our economy can shift from disposal to recycling, then the deaths of Pelk and the rest of my crew won't have been in vain."
B'Elanna looked at Vesek for a long moment, then said, "I'd be happy to show you first thing in the morning. But, for now, I think we both need our rest."
"Until tomorrow, then."
=/\= =/\= =/\=
Over the next few days, Torres, with help from Chakotay and Seven of Nine, gave Vesek a crash course in how to recycle anti-matter waste in order to prevent theta radiation. He was an attentive and motivated student, so by the time Voyager had arrived at the rendezvous point with the Malon transport that would take Vesek back to Malon Prime, he was ready to present the information to his planet's leaders. He'd also been provided with the complete schematics on data pads to begin implementing the idea as soon as possible.
"I want to thank you and your crew for everything you've done for me," Vesek told Captain Janeway in her office, just before he was to leave for the transporter room
"All in a day's work," Janeway said, smiling. "I hope your leaders will heed our recommendations."
"I think they will," Vesek told her, confident in his reply.
"Please keep us informed of how it goes," she said briskly. "You'll be able to reach us for quite awhile before we're out of range."
At that moment, B'Elanna Torres arrived at the captain's office to escort Vesek to the transporter room.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied.
"Goodbye, and good luck" Captain Janeway told him.
"Thank you."
A few moments later, the two entered Transporter Room 1, where a crewmember stood waiting at the controls.
Turning to face B'Elanna one last time, Vesek said, "I want to thank you for all the help you gave me, both back on my own ship and after coming back to Voyager. It's going to help a lot of Malon to live better lives, not to mention others in the Delta Quadrant." After a pause, he added, "I'd always known in the back of my head that there had to be a better way than simply dumping our waste, but I needed your kick in the pants to really wake me up. And, for that, I will always be grateful."
"We all need that from time to time," she said. "For most of us, it's usually easier just to go along with things the way they've always been. All too often, it takes someone from the outside looking in to see things objectively." With a small laugh, she continued, "Or so I've been told."
"Whatever it was, I am grateful," he reiterated. After mounting the steps to the transporter and taking his place on it, "Wish me luck."
"You won't need luck," she told him. "You have the facts on your side. And, remember, you know how to contact us with any more questions your leaders might have - or to just let us know how it went and how you are."
Turning to the crew member behind the transporter controls, she said, "Energize."
=/\= =/\= =/\=
A couple of weeks later, a message came in from Malon Prime: the suggestions from Voyager had been adopted and Vesek had been put in charge of implementing the project. All it had taken was one Klingon's bad mood, some persistence on the part of the Voyager crew, the Vihaar's sabotage creating a toxic disaster, and the changed perspective of one Malon controller.