The Refugee
"The vessel is within range," the crisp Vulcan voice announced.
Captain Janeway responded to Lt. Commander Tuvok's information by sitting forward in her command seat. "On screen," she instructed.
Voyager's long range sensors had detected a ship adrift in space and they had altered course to investigate. Now, the main viewscreen showed her a sleek, elegant starship which made Voyager look like a garbage hauler by comparison.
"Pretty ship," Lieutenant Paris noted appreciatively. "Too bad she'd dead in the water."
Janeway smiled at her helmsman's antique phrasing. Then she focused her attention on the image before her, trying to determine the cause of the ship's abandonment. To her eyes, though, she could see nothing amiss. The smooth hull was seamless—almost organic—and without any visible flaw or blemish. She was about to ask Tuvok if his scans picked up something she was overlooking, when the Vulcan anticipated her question.
"Sensors detect no outward signs of damage, nor evidence of any system failures. The ship appears simply to have powered down."
Commander Chakotay frowned. "No power means no life support. Why would anyone shut everything down and then abandon ship?"
Unless they hadn't, Janeway found herself thinking.
As if on cue, Ensign Kim piped up from his station at ops. "There are still people on board! I'm picking up two life signs in one of the escape pods, very faint."
The entire bridge crew gaped in surprise, and Janeway found herself standing, her hands gripping the rail in front of her. "Mr. Kim, lock onto those life signs and beam them directly to Sickbay," she instructed. Then she tapped her combadge. "Bridge to the Doctor, we've got casualties coming your way."
"Acknowledged," came the familiar reply.
"Mr. Tuvok," the captain said, turning her attention back to the Vulcan, "Lock onto that ship and bring her in." As the commander moved to comply, Janeway released her grip on the rail and began to pace. "We probably won't be getting any information from our new guests for a while, but we need to know more about what happened. I don't want a similar fate to hit Voyager." She looked to the young ensign. "Mr. Kim, can you establish a link with their computer, and see if their logs can tell us anything?"
Harry shook his head. "Not with a ship-wide shutdown. We'd have to bring up power first."
Janeway nodded and looked to her first officer. "Chakotay, you and Harry get over there and see what you can do. We need answers."
"Aye, Captain," they replied in unison, already heading for the turbolift.
The doors opened with a soft hiss and Janeway strode into Sickbay. "Report," she said, as she crossed to where the Doctor stood over the primary biobed.
The EMH straightened up and shook his head. "There's not much to tell. I've stabilized her life signs, but she's still unconscious."
Janeway looked down and almost gasped aloud. The patient was practically a child, surely no more than twelve or thirteen standard Earth years. She possessed a fragile beauty, her pale skin and glossy black curls reminding the captain of an antique porcelain doll. The only visible indication that she was not human was the delicate ridge that framed her face and gave it a distinct, heart shape.
"Can you wake her?" Janeway asked.
"I'm not sure that I want to," the Doctor said. "At least not until I understand a little more about what happened to her. She's in a state of severe shock—and not from lack of life support. The best guess I can hazard from her brainwave activity is extreme fear."
"Something scared her?"
"Abject terror would be more accurate, judging from the readings," he answered. "Then again, I could be way off. The neural pathways of her cerebral cortex are far more complex than anything I've seen before. There is evidence of alterations on a genetic level, based on an examination of her companion's brain."
With a start, Janeway recalled that they had beamed over two passengers. For the first time, she noticed the shrouded form on one of the other beds.
"I'm afraid he was too far gone," the Doctor informed her in hushed tones. "I couldn't do anything for him." Noticing her reluctance to approach the other form, he said, "He was much older, perhaps some sort of guardian or chaperone."
"Her father?" Janeway pondered, nearly unable to voice the idea.
The Doctor shook his head. "Not if you go by appearance. He looked nothing like her."
Janeway made an effort to get her emotions under control, with a twinge of envy at the thought that Tuvok would have had little trouble doing so. Tearing her gaze away from the still form, she looked back at the girl.
"What were they doing, alone on a ship that was obviously intended for a much larger crew?" And what had frightened her? She thought to herself, gazing down at the alabaster face.
Chakotay's breath rasped loudly in the confined space of his helmet and he suppressed a shudder as he swung the beam of his light around. In spite of its power, the light seemed barely able to pierce the absolute black, making it hard to shake the irrational feeling of a presence lurking just out of reach.
Refocusing on his task, the commander searched for clues to explain the ship's condition. Every room he had examined was in perfect order, with no evidence to suggest anything beyond Tuvok's simple—but improbable—assessment that they had simply shut everything down.
"Chakotay to Kim," he spoke into the comlink of his environmental suit, "What's your status?"
"I've almost got it, Sir," came the reply.
"Well, I'm not finding any answers this way," the commander said. "Let's just get the lights on and then get out of here."
"I'm with you on that one," the ensign chuckled. The laugh was cut short by a half-strangled gasp.
"Harry, are you all right?"
After a moment, Ensign Kim responded. "Yeah, Commander," came the sheepish reply. "I could have sworn that something…" he groped for the words. "I don't know… I just had this sudden, icy chill pass through me. Must have been a glitch in my suit's air processors."
Chakotay didn't respond. The impenetrable dark was starting to unnerve him, and he began turning around and around, whipping his light from corner to corner. Something was in the room. He could feel it.
He broke off his frantic spinning and began to head back to where he'd left Ensign Kim as fast as his cumbersome suit would allow. The faster he walked, though, the more certain he was of that unseen something following right on his heels.
Swallowing to keep his racing heart from clogging his throat, Chakotay forced his eyes to remain locked on the passage in front of him. He ignored as best he could the terrible urge to turn around.
With a suddenness that made him jump, the ship hummed with life and the lights came up just as Chakotay rounded the corner into the control room. But instead of finding Harry beaming with satisfaction, the ensign was backed against the wall, staring blankly and shaking with stupefied horror. With the last shreds of his composure consumed by fear, Chakotay barked into the comlink, "Emergency beam-out! Get us out now!"
"Commander, is everything okay?" Janeway asked over the comlink from Sickbay.
When he responded, Chakotay's voice was steady but she could still detect labored breathing. "We're fine, Captain. We just got a bit spooked over there." Trying to change the subject, he informed her, "We got power up on the alien ship and we're ready to establish a datalink."
"Good work," Janeway responded. "Have Harry route it through Astrometrics, where Seven can help him sort through the data." She paused a moment before asking, "Can you manage the Bridge while I stay with our patient?"
"Aye, Captain," he said. "I'm on my way."
Janeway couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry. She'd known her crew for too long to think that any of them would be frightened of a little darkness. The fact that they'd been frightened in the same place where the mysterious girl had been terrorized was too much of a coincidence for her liking.
Harry's fingers flashed over the panel as he set up the link with the alien computer. Seven of Nine stood at his side, watching the procedure with her hands folded behind her back.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to take over?" she asked him. "Are you quite recovered from your… incident?"
"I'm fine, Seven," he answered, embarrassed that the whole crew seemed aware of his moment of irrational weakness. "There," he said, punching in the last commands. The holo-emitters came online and transformed the stream of incoming data into a three-dimensional display. "Shall we go over recent sensor data," he asked, "Or should we start with the logs?"
"It might also be worthwhile to determine the ship's point of origin," Seven pointed out, stepping up to the console. "To facilitate returning the ship and its survivor to their home world."
"Good idea," Harry said, "But I think the captain wanted us to focus on finding out what happened first."
Seven's eyebrow arched. "Does the captain think that whatever happened aboard that vessel may also occur aboard Voyager?"
The ensign shrugged at Seven's query, but before he could reply the control panel erupted with a bright arc of energy, followed by a shower of sparks.
"Bridge to Astrometrics," Chakotay's voice broke in over the comlink. "What's going on down there?"
Harry cautiously stepped back to the work station and gingerly tested the console. A quick examination of the sensor records gave him the answer. "We had some sort of feedback surge from the other computer. It doesn't appear that anything's been damaged." He turned to assess Seven's condition just in time to see her arm strike out and connect with the side of his head. He crumpled to the deck and the Borg drone walked calmly out of the room.
"Wake her," Janeway commanded, her lips pursed sternly.
"I still don't know what that will do to—" the Doctor started, only to be brusquely interrupted.
"Seven of Nine just attacked one of her fellow crewman, and is currently doing her best to thwart security," the captain said. "We need answers, and we need them now."
With a slight scowl at the manner in which he was being treated, the EMH prepared a hypospray and applied it to the girl's neck. After a moment, intense violet eyes opened.
Almost immediately, she screamed and leapt from the biobed, cramming herself into a corner and balling up in a defensive posture. Janeway moved to kneel next to her, trying to calm her. It took some minutes of gentle cooing before the girl registered her surroundings and looked questioningly at the captain.
"It's okay," Janeway said, "You're safe." When she noticed the awareness in the girl's eyes, she said, "We found your ship adrift with all power shut down. Can you tell us what happened?"
"Ymani," the girl replied.
"My name is Kathryn."
This brought only a shake of her head, but before the girl could clarify, another voice broke in.
"Tuvok to Captain Janeway."
Janeway tapped her combadge. "Go ahead, Commander."
"We have Seven secured behind force fields, but she gives no indication of recognition. Scans are inconclusive but seem to indicate that she is under the influence of a non-corporeal entity."
After the recent occurrences, Janeway spoke the first thought that entered her mind. "Are you telling me she's been possessed by a ghost?"
Mild disdain was evident in his voice when he replied, "I made no reference to archaic human folklore. I simply stated the fact that—" The comlink picked up noise and shouting, then Tuvok's voice again: "The entity has left Seven's body."
"Where's it gone?" Janeway demanded.
"It appears to have accessed the ship's power grid," the Vulcan replied.
It could be anywhere, Janeway thought grimly.
"Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway." It was obvious from her voice that the former Borg was shaken, but determined to report. "The entity is after the girl."
"Ymani," the girl said again, bringing Janeway's attention back into the room.
"We were fleeing Ymani. Tamal was helping me—he was always good to me." The girl's eyes flicked for a moment to the form on the other biobed. Her eyes welled with tears, but none fell.
"We received a transmission, but Tamal said not to access it or respond. Then Ymani was aboard our ship. We sealed ourselves in an escape pod, but Tamal said Ymani could travel along power conduits and get through. So he shut down all power. He meant for us to get away, but without power the ejection sequence was off-line, and the manual releases were jammed. Ymani couldn't get us, but we were running out of air…" she trailed off and looked again at the shrouded form of Tamal.
Janeway didn't want to intrude on her grief, but she had to get more information. The entity that was loose on Voyager was obviously the same being which had stalked the girl and her companion. As gently as she could under the strain of urgency, the captain asked, "Who—or what—is this… Ymani?"
"We are Ymani," came the sudden answer from behind her.
Janeway jumped and turned to see the Doctor standing over them. The voice, she realized, had been his and his image appeared somewhat blurred. She immediately surmised that the entity had somehow integrated itself with the EMH.
"We are the embodiment of every ruling Empress of the great Myala, and will be every Empress yet to come," the Doctor said. "We are all of the knowledge of the past, the wise counsel of the present, and the guiding force of the future."
"What do you want with her?" Janeway asked, moving protectively between the Doctor's image and the girl. "Why have you attacked my ship and my crew?"
"The Empress has died," the entity said simply. "Isala is next in line. Ymani must conjoin with her to preserve the memories of those who went before her and those that will come."
"Fascinating," came Tuvok's voice. "It is not unlike the symbiosis that exists among the Trill of the Alpha Quadrant." Janeway looked past the Doctor to see him standing, with Seven and a security team, just inside the doorway.
The entity seemed to take no notice of their arrival. "You are attempting to keep us from Isala," the entity said, through the Doctor, with a definite note of hostility.
"You're going to take away my mind," Isala whimpered, trying to squirm further back into the corner.
"She fears you," Janeway said, knowing she was stating the obvious, but wanting to keep the discussion open. "It doesn't appear that she wants to 'conjoin' with you."
"It is regretful that the Empress died before Isala was of an age to understand," the entity said. "Her training is incomplete, but the needs of the Myala outweigh other considerations. Ymani must be preserved. We must conjoin."
The Doctor's image took a step forward, and Janeway felt Isala clench the back of her uniform. The captain put out her arms in a gesture that made it clear she would not give up Isala.
"You will move aside," the entity demanded. "You will not stand in the way of Ymani. We will conjoin with Isala."
Janeway knew that the Ymani would not give up, and that it was more than capable of doing considerable damage to Voyager and her crew. At the same time, she disliked the idea of turning over a frightened child to something the child couldn't understand. "Is there no way to allow her time to complete her training?" Janeway asked, trying to find a compromise. "Is there no one who could act as regent until that time?"
"Isala is the only one among the Myala whose physical mind has been made capable of receiving Ymani. Without a host, We are incapable of ruling alone." The entity turned to face Seven. "Only through the sophisticated technologies of your companion and this holographic matrix has Ymani been able to have any influence on the physical realm."
Janeway grasped at the possibility that suddenly occurred to her. "If we were to create a holomatrix similar to the one in which you presently reside, would you be able to lead the Myala until Isala is ready to conjoin?"
The entity was silent some moments before replying. "It appears that we would be capable of such a thing, but Ymani cannot say with certainty whether the Myala will accept such an arrangement.
Janeway's natural diplomacy was in full stride when she said, "Then let's go to the Myala and find out."
Captain's Log—Supplemental:
Our mission to the home world of the Myala has been successful, though not without the usual bureaucratic delays and headaches. I think it was B'Elanna and Harry's impressive work on the Ymani holomatrix that saved the day in the end. And I am confident that the technology won't be needed for long.
Isala had a lot of time to talk with the Ymani during her time aboard and has gone a long way to clearing up her misunderstanding of conjoining. Like a joined Trill, she would never lose her mind or her personality, but would gain eons of wisdom and guidance from the spirits of her ancestors.
When her time comes, I wish Isala a long and prosperous rule.