Out of the Mouths of Babes
by Aubrey Minnick
Nearly the entire crew had assembled on the grassy surface of Shamesh Omega for the blithe picnic, replete with new delicacies Neelix had concocted from the supplies recently harvested from the planet, a temperate world full of pleasant breezes, verdant meadows, and emerald forests, void of nothing exemplary, it seemed, save intelligent beings. Small silver avians, dubbed qesets, pecked at the soil nearby, their most notable distinction from earth's birds their thin, sheet-like wings which, when in flight, captured the wind like sails, sending their passengers glinting into the sunlight.
Naomi Wildman squinted as another qeset became a diamond in the sun and shifted in her new sky-blue dress that her mother had replicated especially for this occasion. She sat on a red and white checkered blanket, an ancient earth tradition, her mother explained. Turning her blue eyes back to her food, she took another bite of the amandaro berry stew and made a face. Glancing around again, she noticed Seven of Nine speaking with the Doctor. Suddenly interested, she perked her ears to catch their conversation.
". . . Insects and vermin threaten to consume our nutritional supplements. It is quite . . . disconcerting," Seven remarked.
"It's supposed to be fun!" the Doctor interjected.
"I do not see the point." Seven crossed her arms and cocked her head to signify that the conversation was terminated.
"Borgs and bugs," the Doctor sighed. "They don't mix."
Naomi giggled. She enjoyed watching grown-ups' antics. Again she scanned the scene to find another point of interest when her eyes lit upon a small furry creature, reminiscent of the holos she'd seen of Captain Janeway's pet dog, only with yellow fur and quivering, sensitive, pointed ears. She turned to her mother to ask about it, but Ensign Wildman was engaged in a conversation with Neelix. Naomi bit her lip, wondering if she should interrupt, but noticed her mother's tricorder sitting directly before her on the blanket and, without further ado, snatched it up and tiptoed off, checking behind her as she found rocks and trees to hide behind as she snuck off in pursuit of the creature.
"If I discover a new species," she reasoned to herself, "and write an away mission report, Captain Janeway will have to make me her bridge assistant." Suddenly confident, she smiled as she opened her tricorder to scan the creature and added, "Maybe she'll even want it for a pet."
She concentrated on the readings, on the flashing colored lights that she had so furiously studied in her spare time. It didn't take long for her to realize that the creature was gone. She bit her lip, scanning the foliage until she glimpsed a flash of yellow fur about twenty meters away. Closing the tricorder, she pursued it.
The meadow faded to forest as a scattering of trees thickened into a dense profusion, and Naomi stumbled over vines and roots among trappings of exotic ferns and wildflowers, straining to keep some bit of fur in sight. She darted after shadows, after a time unsure whether she chased the creature or merely the wind. The trees dispersed, and she stood on a riverbank, watching the water flow, with the creature nowhere in sight. Lost and discouraged, she crouched by the water and touched her finger to the current.
"She has called us."
Naomi jumped and gasped, startled, turning around. Wide-eyed, she stared at the two identical, blue-skinned, white-robed aliens, no taller than herself. Nervous and unsure what to do, she forced a smile and said, "Hi," with a flimsy wave.
"Greetings," returned the first.
"Welcome to Y'Khisharaq," added the second.
Naomi still clung to the tricorder, wringing it in her hands. "Who are you?"
"Or should we ask," began the first.
"Who are you?" completed the second.
"My name's Naomi. I'm from the starship Voyager."
"Voyager," echoed the one.
"In the sky?" queried the other.
Naomi nodded.
"I am Sita," returned the first.
"I am Tagan."
"Hi," offered Naomi lamely.
"Why have you come--"
"--To Y'Khisharaq?"
"The grown-ups came to get food and supplies."
"These 'grown-ups'--?" began Tagan.
"They are the adults among her species," explained Sita.
"Then she is--?"
"A child."
"She does not look it," remarked Tagan, observing her.
Confused, Naomi asked, "Then you're grown-ups?"
"Of our species--"
"Yes," finished Tagan.
"Weird," breathed Naomi.
As she pondered this new fact, Sita and Tagan conversed rapidly in their own language, its rhythm and cadence a mixture of running water and the dolphin's song. Finally, they turned back to Naomi.
"Come with us," Sita invited.
"To our home." With this, Tagan and Sita waded into the river, seemingly oblivious that Naomi still stood, bewildered, on the riverbank.
"I--" Naomi stammered, and the two Y'Khish turned calmly to face her. "I can't swim."
"You do not need to," said Tagan, confused.
A burbling sound erupted through Sita's lips. "This layer of water," she explained, "is superficial. Underneath is our city, Khalmedira."
Naomi's eyebrows knit together in concern, but she took a deep breath anyway and stepped into the river, following Sita and Tagan to whatever lay underneath.
The Y'Khish were correct. As soon as Naomi's head went under she could not only breathe, but her clothes were suddenly dry, and a magnificent city lay before her. "Wow," was all she could say, in an awed whisper.
Coral spires echoed the blue radiance of the sheet of water above, which, in the sunlight, cast a silver web of waves over the entire city, from its crystalline cathedrals and green, moss-covered halls with exotic flora burgeoning from every crevice to its simple, ivory-sheened huts where thousands of child-sized Y'Khish danced and milled about in their joyful routines.
"Khalmedira, our underwater city, is one of the most beautiful on Y'Khisharaq. All our cities are either underground or in caves."
Naomi remembered her mother telling her that there was no intelligent life on the planet they had christened "Shamesh Omega" and looked about in confusion. "How come Voyager didn't find any of your cities?"
"There is an element," began Sita.
"In our water and in our planet's crust--"
"--That makes scanning difficult."
Naomi raised her eyebrows. "Oh. But," her expression reverted to confusion, "Why do you finish each others' sentences?"
"We are telepaths," explained Sita.
"And have known each other for too long," added Tagan.
Naomi nodded, slowly absorbing all this new information.
"Now you," requested Sita expectantly.
"Show us your starship."
"Uh," stammered Naomi, "I'm kind of . . . lost."
"How are you lost?" asked Sita.
"How can you lose your starship?" added Tagan.
Naomi shifted in her boots, juggling her mother's tricorder nervously. "I . . . ran off . . . after an animal."
Tagan turned to Sita. "She is a child."
"Obviously," confirmed Sita.
Naomi fiddled with the tricorder, totally unsure what to do until a realization crossed her mind. "The tricorder!" she exclaimed, and opened it. Soon her face fell, and she closed the tricorder, discouraged. "I can't read anything down here."
"Of course not," gurgled Sita.
"Remember the elemental interference below the surface?" reminded Tagan.
"Oh!" Naomi realized and ran back up through the entrance of the city until she emerged, soaked, on the riverbank. Before her stood the Y'Khish, calm, patient, and completely dry.
"Learn to be patient," reprimanded Sita as Naomi irritably wrung out her dress.
"We have a transporter," Tagan extrapolated.
Naomi wrinkled her nose at the Y'Khish's comment and reopened the tricorder. "They're..." she squinted, cocking her head, inverting the tricorder, then turning it right side up, pointing forward and slightly to the left, "that way," and skipped over roots and branches in that direction. She darted through trees and thickets, checking her tricorder every few seconds until she ducked a branch to collide with an unflinching Seven of Nine.
"Naomi Wildman," the former Borg drone stated, "your presence is required on Voyager." She tapped her comm badge. "I have located her. Two to beam up."
"No, wait!" Naomi stammered as Sita and Tagan appeared at the edge of her vision, only to be obscured by the sparkling flash of the transporter.
The transporter room appeared, and she stepped off the platform past the Doctor, who held a tricorder aloft to examine her, making sure she was okay.
"Naomi!" called a familiar voice, and she turned to see her mother, face flooded with relief, run to her and embrace her. Naomi returned the hug weakly, knowing she was in trouble. "Don't you ever do that again!" her mother sobbed, then turned expectantly to the Doctor, holding Naomi at arm's length.
"She's fine," he assured, and patted Naomi on the shoulder.
Naomi shrugged away from all this attention, remembering her discovery. "I wanted to show you . . ."
"Naomi, honey," her mother interrupted, "nothing you could show me is worth running away like that."
"But . . ."
Naomi's mother held her finger to her lips. "Ssshhh. You're okay now, and that's all that matters," she said, embracing Naomi again.
Being thus interrupted time and again, Naomi could not help it. Her lip trembled, but she bit her tears back until her mother let her go.
"What's the matter, honey?"
Naomi shook her head.
"You can tell me."
She sniffled and looked around the room, from her mother's concerned face to the stoic Seven, on to the Doctor, Neelix, and finally to Captain Janeway, the woman who would someday make her bridge assistant. "There's people down there!" she burst. "I saw them! They live in the river, and they want to meet you, and . . ."
"Wait, wait," Captain Janeway interrupted, shaking her head in confusion. "Slow down. What was that again?"
"There's people living down there!"
"That's impossible," Neelix countered. "The sensors didn't detect any intelligent life."
"They said it's because of an element," explained Naomi.
"It is possible," Janeway proposed, "if they live underground, that our sensors can't detect them."
"They live in the river," Naomi clarified.
"Do you remember where you first saw them?"
Naomi nodded vigorously.
"Then what are we waiting for?" prompted Janeway. "Seven, Neelix, Ensign Wildman, you're with me." She paused.
Naomi stared at the Captain with big, blue, puppy dog eyes.
"Captain," her mother began.
Janeway smiled. "Keep an eye on her, Ensign. She's coming along."
With a shout of glee, Naomi hopped onto the transporter pad and hugged her mother tightly as she dematerialized for the third time that day.
Shamesh Omega, or Y'Khisharaq, as it was also known, seemed deserted in its stillness that golden late afternoon, except for a gentle breeze that inhabited the folds of Naomi's now-dry dress. "Which way is the river?" she asked, squinting at the sun, which shone just above several distant treetops.
Seven glanced up from her tricorder. "One hundred eighty seven meters east-north-east."
The landing party began their trek, with Naomi directly on Seven's heels, jogging to keep up with the Borg's long stride. Shadows creased the forest, creating creepy illusions in which Naomi imagined dragons and other strange beasts staring at her through slitted yellow eyes. She shrugged off the feeling and focused on her mission: to find the underwater city Khalmedira, and also Sita and Tagan, for she had thought of more questions to ask them, such as, if they were grown-ups, what did their kids look like? And, how come, when she went down into the city, she stayed dry, but when she went up again, she was all wet?
"Here we are," announced Captain Janeway when the landing party reached the river's edge. "Now, where are they?"
Seven's fingers danced over her tricorder. "I am reading unusual amounts of tellanium beneath the surface."
"That must be the element," offered Naomi proudly.
"How do we communicate?" asked Captain Janeway, and all eyes turned to Naomi.
Naomi, who by now was sure she had a handle on how to enter and exit the city, wordlessly strode into the water, sure she'd soon see the familiar sights of Khalmedira. She was wrong. Instead, she found herself caught in the current, splashing frantically around and hoping that this was all a bad dream. Soon, however, she felt strong arms around her and recognized her mother's voice. "Don't try to swim. I've got you."
Ashore, Naomi once again had a lot of explaining to do. "Um," she began, "I guess that wasn't the right spot in the river."
Seven went right to the point. "You reach the city by submerging yourself in the river." It was not a question.
Naomi nodded.
"Be sure you have the correct location next time."
Hanging her head, Naomi realized just how difficult finding the city would be. She didn't remember what the exact spot she had met Sita and Tagan looked like. For all she was concerned, one bit of shoreline looked just like another. She wrung out her clothes in desperation, searching her memory for one small clue. Noticing her hands were covered with mud from crawling up onto the bank, she went to the river to wash them off. She touched her finger to the water . . .
Suddenly, she jumped up and shrieked, "I've got it!" She ran down the bank hunched over, with one finger touching the water at all times. As she started to run out of breath, two familiar forms appeared. "Sita! Tagan!" she greeted.
"Naomi," the two returned simultaneously.
Captain Janeway approached them and kneeled down so that they were at eye level. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway."
Both bowed as Sita addressed the Captain. "From Y'Khisharaq--"
"--You are very welcome here," finished Tagan.
Naomi smiled knowingly.
"We thank you very much for your hospitality," answered the Captain, charmed by the friendliness of the Y'Khish. "Our youngest crewmember convinced us to return to your planet for a second look."
"Yes," returned Tagan.
"She has seen Khalmedira," added Sita.
"Now we wish--"
"--To see your starship."
"Of course," Janeway assented. "If you'll let the rest of us see your city, too."
"That can be arranged," offered Sita, who then strode directly into the water, followed by Tagan. Naomi hesitated a moment, remembering her last trip into the river, then quickly followed them in. She was relieved to see the watery dome above her, now golden in the approaching sunset. Behind her, she heard the footsteps of the rest of the landing party on the coral staircase they had appeared on.
She turned to Seven deliberately, noticing that the Borg was the only one whose eyes weren't wide in awe at the sight of the city. "So," Naomi began. "What do you think?"
Seven glanced about appraisingly. "The architecture is forty-five percent coral, twelve percent aquamarine, eight percent . . ."
Naomi cut in. "No! I meant the view."
Seven cocked her head. "It is aesthetically pleasing enough, though the scientific aspects and construction of the city are much more fascinating."
"Whatever you say," mumbled Naomi with a mischievous smile.
"Tell me," inquired Janeway, starting conversation, "how did you come to know of our starship?" She glanced sideways at Naomi.
"I suppose you think," began Sita.
"Your child revealed it to us--"
"--But our people have sophisticated scanning technology--"
"--Aligned to penetrate the elemental interference," explained Tagan.
Naomi froze, suddenly realizing that she shouldn't have told the Y'Khish about Voyager. Something about the Prime Directive . . .
"Come on, Naomi," her mother prompted, and she broke out of the thought.
With the adults there, the Y'Khish gave a more detailed tour, and Naomi found her wide-eyed wonder fizzling into boredom as minutes became hours inside yet another government building. The water above darkened, and distorted stars blinked on and off through the current. Naomi nearly fell asleep before their party transported to the riverbank, ready to entertain their Y'Khish guests, Sita and Tagan, as well as a couple of government representatives, for a late night tour of Voyager. Her eyelids drooped as she materialized on Voyager, and she was sent directly to bed.
* * *
Morning dawned in deep space as Samantha Wildman ordered the lights up in her daughter's room. "Honey," she called, "time for breakfast. You have school with the Doctor at oh-eight-hundred."
Naomi opened her eyes one at a time. She was still sleepy, but the prospect of another day excited her. Who knew? Today she could be assigned the post of bridge assistant to Captain Janeway. She sat and stretched, looking out the window to see the familiar blue-green planet of Y'Khisharaq. She wondered what had happened the night before, and made it her prerogative to ask her mother as soon as she got up.
"Well," recounted Ensign Wildman, "they toured almost the whole ship except for engineering. I would've thought they'd be interested in the bridge, but they liked hydroponics best."
Naomi smiled at the mention of the starship's "garden", as she liked to call it. "The Doctor said he wanted to give me a b--" she struggled for the word--"botany lesson there soon."
"That ought to be interesting."
* * *
In fact, the botany lesson ended up being that very day, and Naomi sat, sniffing flowers, as the Doctor explained pollination and the reproduction of plants. She peered into the middle of each blossom as the Doctor described the stamen, thinking how lovely it would be to pick enough flowers to make a wreath, a necklace, or even an entire dress!
"Naomi, are you listening?" asked the Doctor irritably.
Naomi nodded vigorously, feeling a bit guilty for letting her attention wander, when she spotted a movement out of the corner of her eye, turning to see a flash of white, which soon disappeared. "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"Are there supposed to be any animals in here?" a wide-eyed Naomi queried softly.
"No," the Doctor answered matter-of-factly, and proceeded to continue the lesson.
"There it is again!" exclaimed Naomi, seeing another flash of white. She quietly hopped to her feet and tiptoed in the direction she had seen the creature go, behind a yellow rosebush. Slowly, carefully, she sneaked around it as the creature decided to make a dash for it, right into Naomi. Both screamed and ran in opposite directions, each to a separate corner of the hydroponics bay, while the Doctor stood, studying the scene in curiosity.
"It seems that you were right," allowed the Doctor, drawing his tricorder.
"What is it?" came Naomi's voice, wavering, recovering from the shock.
"The question isn't what, but who," replied the Doctor. "It's genetic structure is that of a juvenile Y'Khish."
* * *
"Captain, what have you done with Terel?" voiced the Y'Khish ambassador forcefully, ancient sapphire features looming large on the viewscreen.
Janeway stood slowly, confused, to address the matron Y'Khish. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Last night, when we came to your starship, you kidnapped one of our own, a male child called Terel." Thin, iridescent white eyebrows arched accusingly at the Captain.
"There must be some mistake. We kidnapped no one, and only adults beamed up to our ship."
"Do not lie to me, Captain. We on Y'Khisharaq take family very seriously. It is an insult to us and to yourself that you would even consider breaking our trust. We trusted you like your child trusted us. Return Terel at once, or we will be forced to take action."
The viewscreen went blank.
Janeway turned to her crew. "We know we didn't do it, but how do we convince them that they just have an overmischievous child who wandered off somewhere in the woods? Scan for lifesigns."
Harry Kim pressed a few buttons, surveyed the results, then shook his head. "Negative, Captain."
"Hail them."
"No response."
"Shields up, red alert. I have a bad feeling about this."
Harry Kim complied, then commented, "What can they do to us, Captain? Squirt water at us?" It was then that the whole ship shuddered under an unknown assault. "Some water gun," whispered Harry.
Tuvok interjected, "Unknown objects bearing mark three-five-one and mark two-oh-eight. They appear to be pockets in subspace."
How do I fight the enemy, thought Janeway, when the enemy controls space itself? Out loud: "Evasive pattern Delta!" Voyager shifted with the movement, then rocked under another bombardment, which fried the primary power coupling and sent the ship spinning in darkness.
* * *
The Doctor held the frightened, cantaloupe-sized Y'Khish in the palm of his hand, speaking soothingly to calm it down. Naomi approached cautiously, studying the sky-blue creature in its white robe. "How did it get here?"
"One can only assume he sneaked on somehow with the visiting Y'Khish."
Naomi bit her lip, thinking. "Didn't one of them have a bag they carried with them? I can't remember for sure; I was so sleepy."
"Yes. One did. That must be how this little guy came aboard."
Naomi stepped up to the tiny Y'Khish and asked in her nicest voice, "What's your name, little fella?" The Y'Khish shied away from her.
"Either he doesn't talk, or he doesn't like strangers," commented the Doctor as the Y'Khish cuddled closer to him.
"He likes you," giggled Naomi.
Just then the starship shook, bringing Naomi to the ground and the arms of the Y'Khish tight around the Doctor's neck. "Uh-oh," observed Naomi. The ship shuddered again, and this time the lights failed. Naomi began to cry, afraid.
"Don't worry," comforted the Doctor. "Secondary systems should come on momentarily." As if on cue, a dull, rusty light filled the bay, and the two headed for the exit. Once in the corridor, the Doctor started toward sickbay, knowing there would be casualties, and Naomi ran after him, shouting over the red alert klaxons, "What about the Little Guy?"
The Doctor turned on his heels. "Listen, Naomi. I'm going to sickbay. That is not the place for a child of your age. Return to your quarters and keep away from anything that could fall and hurt you." The Doctor started to turn away, then changed his mind. "On second thought, take the Little Guy with you. He'll be safer with someone to look after him." The Doctor thrust the small Y'Khish into Naomi's arms and ran off down the corridor.
After the ship lurched again, and Naomi fought to keep her balance, she confided to the Y'Khish, "Well, I guess it's just you and me." She saw the Doctor run by again, this time presumably headed for the bridge.
Naomi frowned as she made her way down the dimly lit corridor. "I wonder why we're fighting? The only people around are the Y'Khish. Maybe," she hypothesized, "some badguys came to attack your people, and we're protecting them. Maybe the Y'Khish just like us so much they don't want us to go. Maybe...." Her thoughts trailed off. "They don't want us to go, do they? Not with you."
Naomi turned one-hundred-eighty degrees and ran for a turbolift. "Deck one, bridge," she commanded, and the doors slid shut behind her, then opened to a chaotic scene. Two consoles had exploded and an officer lay on the floor as the Doctor bent over him. "He's dead," the Doctor proclaimed, and Naomi shut her eyes to the scene.
She heard footsteps approaching and a voice. "Naomi, what are you doing here?!" It was the Doctor.
Naomi opened an eye and peered up at him, feeling ready to cry. "I--"
"Go back to your quarters!"
"But the Y'Khish . . ."
"Now!"
Naomi cried freely as the turbolift doors began to close, knowing the ship would be destroyed and she was helpless to do anything about it. And then, just as suddenly as she was afraid, she felt a determination rise in her, and stuck her foot in-between the turbolift doors. Holding the small Y'Khish tightly, she fought to squeeze through before the turbolift doors closed completely. She shot past the Doctor, who tried to stop her, and ran straight to the Captain, holding the young Y'Khish out toward her. In her bravest voice, she demanded, "Is this what they're fighting over?"
Startled into speechlessness, the Captain nodded and gently took the Y'Khish. "Naomi," she said gently, rising from her seat, "sit here while I finish this off." Once Naomi was seated, Janeway handed her the Y'Khish and strode over to Ensign Kim. "Send a message," she instructed, "on all frequencies. 'We have found Terel,' repeat, 'We have found your Terel.'" She returned to Naomi's side and put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you."
The matron Y'Khish's sour face appeared on the viewscreen. "We have put our weapons on standby. Now what is it? Do you demand a ransom?" she spat disgustedly.
"On the contrary, Ambassador. It seems that Terel was a stowaway, and we wish to return him as soon as possible. We owe it to our youngest crewmember, Naomi Wildman, for finding him."
The Ambassador's features softened somewhat at the sight of the children, and she spoke less forcibly. "Once Terel is returned safe and sound perhaps we can clear up this misunderstanding." The screen went blank.
"Naomi, Mr. Kim, Tuvok, to the transporter room," commanded Janeway, leading the way to the turbolift, but the doors opened before she could reach them, spitting out one Ensign Samantha Wildman.
"Mommy!" cried Naomi, and ran to embrace her mother.
"Oh, Naomi," wept Samantha, "I've been looking all over for you. I was afraid something had happened to you."
"No, Mom," Naomi explained. "Everything's okay. The Y'Khish were just mad because they lost this little guy," she said, showing her mother the baby Y'Khish.
A strange look crossed Ensign Wildman's face as she commented, "I know how they feel."
The two followed Janeway, hand in hand, into the turbolift.
"By the way," announced the Captain, as the turbolift doors closed, "I could use a new bridge assistant."