Chapter Two: The Border

Day 21

Janeway

"Captain, I'm reading three Kazon warships approaching our position!" Harry says, disrupting the unusual calm that has fallen over Voyager's bridge.

"Why didn't we detect them before?" Cavit asks.

"I'm not sure... the radiation from the nebula must be disrupting our sensors somehow."

"The ships are assuming a tactical formation around us," says Tuvok. "Raising shields."

"Red alert! Stadi, get us out of here, warp 9!" I order. The bridge lights dim, and the panels lining the walls flash red. But before the Betazoid pilot can respond to my command, Voyager shakes from Kazon weapons' fire.

"Carey to Janeway, that last hit cut right through our shields and damaged our warp drive!" The Lieutenant's voice comes through distorted by the ship's comm system. "They're using some sort of advanced weaponry I've never seen before!"

"How long until you can fix them?"

"At least half an hour."

Another volley sends me flying out of my chair. Next to me, Chakotay grabs the arms of his seat, barely managing to avoid ramming into Cavit. I'll have to ask Carey to install seatbelts once this is over,I think, and clamber to my feet. "Tuvok––return fire!"

"Why aren't our shields doing any good!?" Cavit says.

"They seem to be using weapons technology adapted from that of the Caretaker's Array. I am attempting to remodulate shields to compensate."

"I had no idea they'd be able to reverse engineer anything useful this quickly..." I mutter, and brush my hair out of my eyes. It's fallen out of its immaculate bun, but to say that I don't have time to worry about that now would be an understatement.

The viewscreen shows the lead ship firing again, but this time Voyager's shields absorb nearly all of the blast. "Modifications are holding," Tuvok says.

"There's another ship approaching..." Harry begins.

"Reinforcements?"

"I don't think so––it has a slightly different warp signature. There's a good chance it's a Nistrim scout ship––we're only a few days away from where we guessed their space began."

I hesitate. "We could use all the help we can get," says Cavit, sensing my indecision. "They might be willing to come to our rescue if we tell them that we're interested in an alliance."

"He's right," Chakotay says.

Another explosion sends sparks flying. I don't know how much longer Voyager can survive this...

"Captain!" Cavit prompts.

It's time to make the call. I glance at him, then order, "Hail them."

Cavit gives a brief nod of approval.

"Opening hailing frequencies," Harry says.

The image of a tall Kazon man fills the viewscreen. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager," I begin, giving my longer title for full effect.

"This is Koral of the Kazon Nistrim. You are trespassing in our territory. Prepare to be boarded."

I can tell he's about to cut off the transmission. "Wait!"

He looks back up at us and smirks wordlessly.

"I'll destroy this ship rather than allow your people to capture it, but it doesn't have to come to that." I'm talking quickly, painfully aware of the fact that the Ogla might find a way to break through Tuvok's shield modifications at any moment. "We're willing to make a deal, an alliance of sorts. We give you specifications for some of Voyager's systems. In exchange, you escort us and another smaller ship safely through Kazon space."

"Maje Culluh will be interested to hear your offer," he says. "I will take you to speak with him. Koral out."

"He's opening fire on the Ogla," says Harry.

"Tuvok, status?" Cavit asks.

"The lead warship is disabled. The others' shields are at 45 and 83, respectively, and falling. The third's main plasma cannons are damaged; they've fallen back on secondary systems." A moment later: "They're withdrawing."

"Damage reports are coming in," Cavit says grimly, breaking the euphoric mood on the bridge. "Warp engines are still offline, and shields are nearly depleted. Decks thirteen through fifteen have taken heavy damage. There are six crew members with minor injuries; Doctor Fitzgerald is treating them now."

"The Nistrim are hailing us," Harry says.

"On screen."

"The First Maje is currently attending a conference of the senior Askara and several other allied sects on the planet Rakara V," says Koral. "I will escort you there. I'm transmitting the coordinates now."

"You may have noticed that our warp engines were damaged in the conflict," I reply. "We'll have to travel at impulse speed for at least the next day."

"Very well. But complete repairs soon––at that speed, the journey will take weeks."

I nod. "I'm sure my engineers are working as fast as they can."

"Good. Koral out."

"Well, he's refreshingly blunt," Chakotay says, breaking the silence. Next to him, Cavit grunts in agreement.

Ensign Stadi swivels her chair around to look in our direction. "I've received Koral's flight plan," she says. "It will take us across the border and deep into Nistrim space."

Chakotay, Cavit, and I crowd in around the conn. "It looks fairly straightforward," Cavit says. "Once we have warp speed back, it should only take a few days to get there."

"What's to stop them from just ambushing us and seizing Voyager as soon as we arrive at Rakara?" Chakotay asks.

He's got a point. "I'm hoping they'll try diplomacy first, when they realize that we're willing to self-destruct if necessary," I say. "But if the alliance doesn't work out... it's a distinct possibility. We'll have to be prepared to transport out of wherever negotiations are being held and escape at high speed if necessary. They won't be able to match any velocity above warp 7 for long, if at all. We should be able to outrun them easily."

"Should I lay in a course?" Stadi asks.

"Do it." I try to sound confident for the bridge crew's sake, but somehow, I can't shake the feeling that I'm making a serious mistake.

One day later Carey has warp engines back online, and I sit in my ready room sipping a cup of black coffee and watching the stars streak by as Voyager passes further and further into Nistrim space.

Day 25

Carey

"There's something I need to tell you," I say. The Captain nods intently and takes a sip of her coffee, then hands me a mug as well.

"What's on your mind?" she asks.

Where to start? I wonder. "I... received a disturbing message about ten minutes ago," I finally begin. "I don't remember the exact wording, but... it hinted at plans for a mutiny aboard Voyager."

Janeway's eyes become more alert, and she sits up taller in her chair, leaning forward to look directly at me. "Do you have a copy of this message that I could examine?" she asks.

"It was text only, and set to automatically delete itself exactly five minutes after I opened it. About a minute before that, I realized it might happen, and copied down about half." I hand her a PADD. She examines it, her expression growing more worried with every sentence.

"I'll have to tell Tuvok and Cavit as soon as possible..." she mutters, then, to me, "I'm sure you understand that it would be best to keep such a delicate matter from the rest of the crew for the time being. Will you promise me that you won't mention a word of this to anyone?"

I nod vigorously.

"I'd like to have Tuvok attempt to trace the message to its original source. He'll need to use your computer terminal, with your permission."

"Of course. Anything to keep Voyager safe."

She pauses and looks down at the cup of coffee in her hand, then glances back up at me. She looks like she's about to do something she may regret later. "I'm glad you feel that way," she says. "In that case, there's one more thing. If this... person contacts you again, I want you to pretend to be interested in their plan, play along with them. A time may come when we need a spy on the inside of their movement. I don't want to order you to do this, I know it could put you in danger, but... you know what's at stake."

I can hear my pulse pounding in my ears. I'm an engineer, not some sort of double agent! I want to shout, but I know she's right. This is too important not to risk my own life for. "I accept," I say, trying to sound resolute.

Day 27

Chakotay

Three hours until Rakara.

Voyager's crew is on edge. An air of deadly calm hangs about the corridors, seeming to stifle all sound. I've talked to B'Elanna and Seska. They seem supportive of the plan, as far as I can tell. Now, all we can do is wait.

I'm standing outside the door of Janeway's ready room. I've been on the bridge with a clear view of that door for hours, and as far as I know, she hasn't left since.

"Enter!" I hear her shout.

I take a deep breath and open the sliding door. Voyager's captain sits at her desk, coffee cup in hand, examining something on her computer screen. That must be on her fifth cup by now, at least. "Only a few hours until we reach Rakara," she says.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"No––I have to follow through with this." She's trying to convince herself, not me, and we both know it. The mug in her hand is empty. She looks down at it vacantly and steps over to the replicator. "Can I get you anything?" she asks.

"Just an herbal tea, thank you."

She hands me a porcelain teacup with a delicate pattern of gold paint around the edge. I take a sip, noting the pleasant peppermint flavor, and say, "You look troubled."

Her face takes on a guarded look. "Yes... I'd be lying if I said I was completely certain that we're doing the right thing."

"I have something that might help you order your thoughts." She eyes me with interest as I assemble the contents of my medicine bundle––a river stone, a blackbird's feather, and the Akoonah––on her desk.

"What is it?" she asks.

"It's a device my people use, to perform what we call a vision quest. It allows me to commune with my animal guide, a sort of... helpful spirit that takes the form of a familiar animal, or to speak with the spirits of my ancestors."

"What do I do?"

"Place your hand on the Akoonah," I instruct. "Try to calm your mind. Think of a place where you felt completely at peace..."

Janeway

I close my eyes.

I can hear Chakotay intoning words in an unfamiliar language, low and hypnotic, then switching back to something I can understand: "We are far from the sacred places of our grandfathers, we are far from the bones of our people..."

All sound fades away. I can feel a cool sea breeze on my skin, and smell a slight hint of salt in the air.

I look around, examining my surroundings. I'm standing on the seashore, where I came with Mark the night before I left to take command of Voyager.

"Kathryn?"

I hear a familiar voice behind me and whirl around. My father is standing there, looking just as he did when I last saw him 15 years ago, decked out in a Starfleet Admiral's uniform. He smiles and says, "Walk with me."

I'd like to believe it's him, but I can't quite bring myself to think that this is anything more than a hallucination. A remarkably realistic one, though.

Strangely, this all seems perfectly normal. That device must put your brain into a sort of dream state, I think, where some part of you accepts that what's happening can't be real, but a bigger part just wants to play along.

We start to walk down the shore. When I glance behind me, I can see only one set of footprints stretching out behind us.

"You seem troubled," he says.

"That's what Chakotay just told me."

"Your new ally?"

"If all goes according to plan, within the next few days we'll be allied with more than just the Maquis."

"What brilliant plan have you pulled out of thin air now?"

"You're a figment of my subconscious mind. You should know everything I know."

"Humor me."

"All right. Long story short, we're about to open negotiations with a Kazon sect called the Nistrim, led by a man called Maje Culluh. I'm hoping to give them certain technologies in exchange for free passage through their space."

"Trading Federation technology to the enemy, Kathryn?"

"I didn't come here to be lectured by my own mind. I've had quite enough of that this last month, thanks." This is what Chakotay does for relaxation? I wonder.

"I never said you shouldn't do it, I was only asking questions like any good scientist would. I am your subconscious, remember? If you can't talk about your problems to anyone on this ship, I'm the only option left."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes at him. "They'll cease to be 'the enemy' as soon as we sign the agreement. And I won't give them weapons of any kind."

"Sound logic––any sane Vulcan would approve. So the question remains... what are you doing here?"

"You know, I'm starting to wonder myself."

"The situation must be pretty desperate if you're resorting to spiritual means to solve your problems. I think there's something you're not telling me."

I stare stubbornly at the sandstone cliffs off to the distance.

"Something involving... a mutiny, perhaps?" he prompts.

"Yes, there's that."

"And how are you addressing this threat to your security?"

"Lieutenant Tuvok is working on it, but he hasn't found any leads yet. Whoever sent that message has done a remarkably thorough job covering their tracks."

"Do you think it's the Maquis?"

"More importantly, do you think Chakotay can hear anything I'm saying? Am I hallucinating all of this, or am I actually saying it out loud––my physical body sitting in the ready room, that is?"

"The former, I think."

"Good," I say, mentally berating myself for not being more careful. What if Chakotay was listening to my side of the conversation? I'd have let him in on the fact that we know about the mutiny, and that Carey is acting as a double agent. That is, if he's the one behind it all, which I still doubt.

"I've come to trust Chakotay and the others," I tell him. "I can't quite believe they would do something like that at any time, let alone while there are only three of them on board. And I know none of my people would willingly assist them."

"Which begs the question... if not the Maquis, then who?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," I say.

"You've said it yourself, I don't know any more than you do. But I might be able to offer some advice..."

"Good. I could use some of that around now."

"Trust and loyalty are strange things," he says. "Take nothing for granted. And remember, danger can come from both outside and in."

The sound of waves lapping on the shore fades away.

I open my eyes.

Note: Next time on Balance of Power... The crew arrives at Rakara, at which point everything goes horribly wrong. Please remember to review, or else I might just have to let Culluh destroy Voyager in the next chapter, and big thanks to my one lonely reviewer from last chapter, and anyone who favorited this story. Anyone who can guess who's going to mutiny and when, if at all, gets a complimentary bowl of leola root stew straight from Neelix's currently-nonexistent kitchen, or some of Janeway's coffee, your pick.