Chapter One
Seeking Refuge
Danni Wix pushed the gel pack into place with a little pop! The gel pack glowed up at her darkly, and she sighed. They hadn't had to replace a gel pack in a while, and they had thought that perhaps they could go without worrying for a bit. Then one of the gel packs had promptly burned it's self out. Voyager was steadily becoming harder to maintain.
Danni checked the chronometer on the wall. The numbers of 1200 hours gazed back steadily. She picked up her equipment and closed the compartment she had been working on. Returning the equipment to engineering, she set off for the mess hall where she was to meet her boyfriend of three months, Harry Kim, for a bit of lunch.
Arriving in the mess hall, she could smell the spice-and-oil smell of Neelix's cooking. He was very eager for people to try out his dishes, and was sometimes a little overzealous about it. He often forgot that things like "Alfarian hair pasta" didn't always appeal to the sentients from the Alpha Quadrant. Today, the special seemed to be some sort of fillet and a mess of green vegetables. At least that's what Danni hoped it was. Luckily, Neelix was busily stirring a boiling pot of something and didn't have time to come and explain the menu to her. She quickly scooped up a plate and whisked it away from the counter before Neelix could spare a few moments.
Seating herself at one of the small tables, she watched as the rest of the crew filed in and out of the mess hall, collecting and dropping back off their plates. She did notice that most of the plates were empty, so the fillet and vegetables must have been good.
"Mind if I join you?"
Danni looked up at B'Elanna Torres, who was standing over her, a tray of food in her hands. Danni shrugged with a grin.
"Sure, go ahead," she replied, taking a quick bite of her own food. Delicious.
B'Elanna sat down. She picked at her food for a moment before deciding that it was all right to eat. "Have you seen Harry at all in the past few minutes?" She asked, seemingly casually.
"No," Danni said, trying to answer as clearly as she could while swallowing her own bite of food. "Why, did you need him for something?"
"I thought he was having lunch with you," B'Elanna said, with a slight frown on her face. "He left the bridge twenty minutes ago. Just before I did."
Danni looked up without taking another bite. "Well, we were supposed to be having lunch…" She looked at the chronometer. "I thought he'd be here before this."
"Everything's okay, isn't it?" B'Elanna probed, expecting a telling off at the worst.
"I think so," Danni said, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. "I mean, I had to cancel dinner last night because I had to stay on another shift. We haven't really talked since then. I hope he's not too upset."
"He seemed really eager to get to lunch with you," B'Elanna mentioned, chewing methodically.
"You don't think-" Danni stopped mid-sentence.
B'Elanna immediately guessed what she was thinking. "Danni, these aren't signs that he's loosing interest. It's been steady for three months now. I think he'd tell you if something was wrong."
Danni shrugged and nodded, picking at her food again. "Well, I'm sure he was just delayed and-"
"Ensign Wix, please report to the bridge," Danni's comlink twittered, cutting her off. Danni was up like a shot, bringing her tray with her. She barely got out a "nice to see you, B'Elanna" before dumping her tray and hurrying off to the bridge.
When the turbolift's doors finally slid open, she froze in place. On the screen was a friendly, smiling face. What struck her the most were his ears. Much like a human's, yet pointed at the tips. She reached back under her hair to touch her own ear subconsciously. Pointed, just like his. Her gaze shifted quickly toward Janeway.
"Captain?" She managed to squeak out.
"Danielle Wix, I'd like you to meet Aiden," Janeway said smoothly. "He's a fairie, just like you."
Danni didn't reply. She just stared. Aiden was an earth name. The man was a fairie. How had the fairies gotten this far from home? These questions and more swirled in her head.
"It's good to finally meet you, ma'am," Aiden said slowly, allowing his presence to sink in.
Danni found her voice, although it was still small, quiet and quivery. "A pleasure," she managed to croak. "And your business here?"
Aiden seemed quite taken aback by her blunt question. Danni herself was almost surprised at her rudeness. It was the Captain's job to ask that question, not hers.
"As a matter of fact," Aiden said, drawing in his breath through his teeth. "I've come seeking refuge."
"Please state the nature of the medical emergency." -- The Doctor
Danni stared at the short, sandy-haired fairie from across the table in the Capain's ready room. Janeway had had him transported to the ship so that he could further explain his earlier statement.
"You see, Captain, I have had an encounter with the aliens of this sector. The Voshi. One of their ships has been following me for several days now, and only just caught up to me last night. The captain's name was K'Vosh- or more specifically, Kal Vosh, they all have the surname Vosh, it appears. Perhaps you've heard of him?" Aiden paused to await the Captain's reply. Janeway nodded slowly.
"As a matter of fact, we encountered the very same being, just three months ago," she told him cautiously, not revealing whether the meeting had been of a benevolent or hostile nature.
"Well, I hope your encounter with him was a bit more pleasant than mine," Aiden continued. "He asked me to come aboard, and at my refusal, fired on my ship. Thank goodness for our advanced shielding, or I would have never gotten away!" He paused briefly to sigh and touch his smooth forehead. "So you see, that's where the damage to my ship came from."
Janeway clucked her tongue. The fairie's ship had sustained massive damage to its shielding systems and outer hull. The comm. system was in danger of failure at any moment. She gave a nod. "So what is it, exactly, that you want from us?"
"Unless I miss my guess," Aiden leaned forward to rest his forearms on the table, "they're still after me. I carry… vital information for my people. We're at war with the Voshi, you see. We entered the war only two earth months ago, but have already suffered heavy casualties. I was on my way to a rendezvous with some of my people when I was fired upon."
Danni wondered briefly how he knew about earth. His name, his speech, they all added up to a human's, or perhaps that of a fairie from the Alpha quadrant. She opened her mouth to ask, but Janeway interrupted before she could let the words out.
"We will provide you with refuge, Mr. Aiden," Janeway said slowly. "And we can take you to the rendezvous with your people."
Danni looked up, startled. The Captain rarely made rash decisions like this. As a general rule, she consulted the senior officers before deciding anything. Chakotay met her eyes from across the table, and she could tell that he was just as startled as she.