The dedication ceremony was far more mundane than the building itself. Kathryn thought the majority of the speeches were rather bland, confirming her belief that celebrations like this, although sincerely meant to honor the building, its creators, and the people who would utilize it, had to contain one universal component for occasions such as these: boring speeches by dignitaries. Only a few reached a higher level. President Chimeral Dop's speech was one, displaying his skills as an orator and politician in the way he skillfully avoided giving Mupano Industries too much credit for the day's events while lauding Denara Pel, Project Pathfinder, and Starfleet for their aid and support for the migration of hundreds of thousands of Vidiian and Ocampan citizens, giving them a chance to build new lives on New Earth.
Ambassador and temporary colony governor Daeja Thev's speech was also a highlight. While relatively short, it was filled with humor, sincere good wishes, and heartfelt praise for the accomplishment of the Ocampa people. She asked Angelo Tessoni to stand in front of the gathering, explaining his role as builder and primary designer, not only of this magnificent building, but of the entire complex. When Angelo took his seat again, amid the cheers of the attendees, his smile was the broadest Kathryn could ever recall gracing his face. The man cast off by Starfleet because of the catastrophe that was the Equinox had found his true calling here on New Earth. Kathryn appreciated Dae's speech all the more because the alternative would have been a long and pompous one from Diaza, if he were still the ambassador/governor, in which case she doubted Angelo would have been recognized, let alone given credit for his work.
Kathryn was pleased she hadn't been asked to speak. Looking as she did now, she would not have wanted to address such a large crowd from the stage. On this day, Martis-Benaren Hall held almost one thousand people, many of them standees. She knew she'd have to endure being introduced to the crowd; Dae had warned her that was coming. Kathryn didn't know who would accord her the honor, although Chakotay had assured her he'd make sure she could get to her feet quickly when her name was called, even if he had to push her erect by the butt.
When she heard the end of Dae's speech, Kathryn realized who would acknowledge her. Dae closed her remarks by saying, "I have been given the singular honor of introducing our final speaker, without whom this hall and, indeed, the settlement of New Earth by the Vidiian, the Trabe, and the Ocampan peoples, as well as those who have come with me from the Federation, could never have come about. I give you the architect of the Ocampan migration: Kes."
A broadly smiling Kes walked to the podium to a standing ovation from the audience. By the time she had waved down the cheers so she could begin her speech, a combination of gold and red light from tinted areas of the panels streamed over her, burnishing her hair and body with a halo of color. "She's our rosy cheeked golden girl again today, Chakotay," Kathryn observed to her husband, whispering softly, remembering the sweet but strong Ocampan who had joined Voyager's crew so many years ago.
"I thank you for your very kind words, Ambassador Thev, but you give me too much credit. I certainly didn't do it alone. I had a tremendous amount of help, from so many people. Let me introduce some of them to you . . ." After naming several Ocampa who were not already on the dais, as well as a few who were, Kes acknowledged Dr. Denara Pel, Vidiian President Dop, her Fluidian friends Boothby and Valeria, Captain Jixtan of the Victorious Morning, and President Dop's son-in-law Jervan Chal as being integral to the success of the colony's establishment. Kes thanked Captains La Forge, Merves, and Tuvok for all of their assistance, as well as the Haakonian and Krowtonen Guard captains and their crews who were still helping to guard Ocampa during the migration.
As promised, Chakotay helped Kathryn to her feet when Kes called her name, although he took to his feet and pulled her up by her hands rather than by the inelegant manner he had threatened. Kes had called his name with Kathryn's. The other Voyager crew members in attendance were also asked to stand and wave to the crowd. Finally, Kes announced, "And last, but certainly not least - Ambassador Neelix of Talax, who rescued me from slavery and went with me on an incredible adventure on Voyager that, in a way, has still not ended. Please, a very warm welcome and thank you to Ambassador Neelix and his lovely wife Sarexa."
As Neelix and Sarexa took their seats, Kes sighed. "There are so many more people I should thank for helping us in all our endeavors, but I'm sure most have you are more than ready for the speeches to end!" A ripple of laughter swept through the audience. "There are two more people I must acknowledge today. You know their names if you know the name of this wonderful edifice. My father Benaren and my mother Martis always believed in me. They encouraged me to study and to think, to be brave and resourceful, and most of all, they told me they were sure that some day, I would see the sun. And I did see the sun. I saw stars and planets and nebulas and all sorts of wonders. But I also met people in pain, people who needed healing, who needed a place to call home. Thanks to my parents, I was able to act on what I believed was right and necessary, not only for my own people, but for others who needed my help. My parents are not here in person today. I cannot ask them to stand up and take a bow for all they have done for me, and by extension, for all of you. But I am sure their spirits are here with us today, as are the spirits of all of our ancestors. Let us thank them for bringing us to this day, and, with the help of the United Federation of Planets in the Alpha Quadrant, to a new day for all who have joined together to form our new Delta Quadrant Confederation of Worlds."
The applause was thunderous, but Chakotay spoke loudly enough for Kathryn to hear. "Our friends the Romulans will not be too happy when they read the transcript of that speech. I wonder where they are today? I can already hear them screaming about 'expansionist Federation policies'!"
"I believe they left three days ago to visit a planet Boothby thought might be just the ticket for their own foothold in the Delta Quadrant."
"Smart man, that Boothby."
After the "speechifying," as Tom called it, was finally over, Kathryn and her former staff on the original Voyager, including Tal and Angelo, Harry Kim and Captain Geordi La Forge from Odyssey, drifted through the crowd towards the stage.
"I'm glad you could make it, Kathryn. I have to say you look ready to pop at any moment," Daeja Thev observed. She glanced over at Tal Celes and did a double take. "Let me amend that. Both of you look ready to pop at any moment!"
"We are, Ambassador, we are," Tal replied wearily. "In fact, Angelo, I think we need to go home. Now."
"We will, Celes, but first, doesn't that man standing next to the Vidiian president look awfully familiar?"
"Jim Morrow!" Celes cried out joyfully, waving enthusiastically at the man on the stage. "Oh, Jim! How are you doing? It's been too long!"
Deputy Director James Morrow of the newly renamed Delta Quadrant Confederation Security Force looked towards his boss, Director Jerzan Chal. At Jerzan's acknowledgement he would cover for him, Jim jumped down the steps of the platform, hugging Tal first, before shaking hands with his former compatriots and ship mates. By the time he reached Kathryn and Chakotay, he was almost out of breath but beaming. He shook both of their hands firmly before his former captain reached up to give him an awkward hug, awkward because of her belly, not because of anything other than genuine happiness for the man.
"You look great, Morrow. How is it, being back in a uniform again?" Chakotay asked.
"Commander, it feels perfect."
"The Vidiians are treating you well, then." Kathryn stated it as a truth, not as a question.
"Captain, this is what I always wanted. I thought I'd lost any chance of doing this again. At first, I didn't think I wanted to come back with Angelo and the other colonists. If Ro Laren of Deep Space Nine hadn't encouraged me, I'd probably be in prison or in some ditch somewhere back in the Alpha Quadrant by now. By coming back, I found people who can understand what we did, because they did terrible things in desperation, too. Chal said that to me when he recruited me. He said we could help each other find redemption. And I'm trying. I'll continue to try, for the rest of my life."
"We're happy for you, Jim. Come see us if you can when you visit Tal and Angelo. We're planning on living here on New Earth for the foreseeable future."
"I'll do that. And congratulations to both of you on the new sprout!"
Eventually, when the meeting and greeting with the various dignitaries had wound down, Kes came down to her friends. "Follow me to the reception I told you about. It's in another building in this complex."
"I don't think we can come, Kes," Angelo said. "Tal wants to go back home and put up her feet."
"I'm sorry you'll miss it, but I'm sure the others can tell you all about it."
"We can arrange a site-to-site for you from Odyssey," Geordi La Forge offered. "I should get back there myself. " Angelo and Tal thanked Captain La Forge. The three shimmered away barely a minute later.
Kes led the rest of the group to a much smaller hall. The sides and roof of the building echoed the shape of the Martis-Benaren Hall, except that instead of the elongated oval base featured in the main hall, the smaller building's base was almost round. "Like a coracle," Tom said.
"Like a what?" Chakotay inquired.
"A coracle. It's a little boat that was used from very ancient times in Ireland. It had a wooden framework covered in skins. Angelo said he thought of making the roof look like it was made of leather at first, but then he decided it would make a better impression if all three buildings in the complex matched."
"Tom, if I'm not mistaken, you must have been a consultant on this building," Kathryn said.
"Hey, I like boats. You know that."
"And ancient cars, and fast shuttles, and corny space ships . . ." B'Elanna added with a sigh.
When Kes entered the reception, everyone present stood and applauded her for several minutes. Vertris, one of the Ocampan dignitaries, invited Kes to be the first to take a selections of treats from the line of tables around half the perimeter of the room. For quite a while, the room was filled with the happy buzzing of people enjoying good food and drink and congenial company. Kathryn estimated that about one hundred Ocampa were in attendance, which Kes confirmed. "We have about a dozen who used to live on the Qizal-Corana station, and the rest are from the caverns." The remaining twenty or so guests were primarily connected to Voyager in some way.
When most of the food and drink had been consumed, Kes circulated around the room, asking the guests to take a seat. The chairs were moveable. Kes had them set up in a "theater in the round" type of arrangement. After most of the crowd had done as she asked, Kes walked into the open space in the center of the room. "Settle down, everyone, please! I have something very important to share with you all."
The Voyager contingent sat together, on one side of the circle, surrounding Kathryn and Chakotay. Kathryn was glad when the rumbling of voices finally ceased and Kes could begin whatever it was she had to say.
"I know most of the Ocampa in this room know each other, and I know that you all know and have had a chance to work recently with Commander Tuvok and his wife T'Pel. I'm sure you also know the other people from Voyager by reputation, if not personally." When Kes waved in the direction of the Voyager group, Tom waved back enthusiastically, eliciting laughter from the crowd when B'Elanna elbowed him to stop.
"I know you all know our people's story, how the Caretaker and Suspiria were visitors from another galaxy who managed to ruin our home world by accident. They felt badly about what they did, but they couldn't undo the damage. So instead, they 'protected' us in their own way. They protected us almost to extinction." The crowd murmured. While this was an old story to them, the injustice still rankled.
"As we all know, the Caretaker and Suspiria were very long-lived, but they weren't immortal. Suspiria took a group to live on a space station, and when she was dying, moved them to a place that provided economic opportunity but little safety. And the Caretaker stole ships from the other side of the galaxy to try to get help for himself and us, but he never sent any of those poor people back. That's how I came to travel on the first Voyager for three years. Tuvok and others helped me discover things about myself then that I believe will make a tremendous difference to all of us in the future." Kes turned to Kathryn. "Captain Janeway, when you met the Caretaker just before he died, what did he say was the reason he had to protect the Ocampa?"
When Kathryn seemed reluctant to answer, Kes added, "Did he say we were children, and that's why he had to protect us?
Reluctantly, Kathryn confirmed, "Yes that's what he said."
Kes replied, "I actually believe he may have been right about our being 'children,' although since he was wrong about so many other things, I don't think even he knew how true that was. But his idea of 'protection' was to provide us with food that shortened our lifespans and reduced our fertility, so that in only a few generations, with every generation of only one child born for each female's solitary Elogium, we would have died out."
Kes turned in another direction, to face the group from the Qizal-Corana system station. "Suspiria did help you learn more about your mental possibilities, and she permitted you to live lives of fifteen to twenty years. That's probably in keeping with our natural spans. Still, most races live that long during their formative years, as children, before going on to much longer lives as adults. Is it an accident that the lives we have known are no longer than the childhoods of most races? I don't think so."
"When I went along with Neelix on Voyager, it was in the spirit of adventure, and I certainly found it! I learned about many people along the way, here in the Delta Quadrant, and from the Starfleet databases about people in the other three quadrants. I met the people on Suspiria's station not long before I met the Fluidians, in that first very terrible First Contact with their race, when the Borg attacked them." Kes pointed to the back of the room and waved to two individuals, who were both in their natural "skins" if not shapes. "I'm so sorry for mistaking you for the aggressors then, Boothby and Valeria!"
Boothby answered, "Plenty of blame for that misunderstanding on everyone's part, Kes. I'm just glad we all understand each other better now. May it always be so."
Kes smiled back at him before continuing, "As painful as some of those experiences were, all of them led me back here, to this day. On Voyager, Tuvok worked with me, as he has with you over the past few months, to open my mind to the telepathic heritage of our people. On Suspiria's station, I met Tanis, who broadened my understanding of the possibilities of the mind - and of its dangers, too, if misused. Then, when I met the Fluidians, my mental growth accelerated so quickly and completely that I came to an epiphany. I had to leave Voyager because of a change that came over me: a change that we Ocampa call the Morilogium."
The crowd erupted in shock. A man shouted out to her, "No, Kes, that can't be! You're still here with us now!"
Kes waited a moment for the rumbling to subside. "Ah, yes, you think the Morilogium is the end of life, that it's death, as the other races around us call it. But it's not so! If we develop our minds the way we were meant to, the Morilogium is a transformation, not an end. As other races leave childhood, they change physically into their adult forms. I believe we live what we think of as short lives because it is our childhood that we 'see.' The 'adult' form of the Ocampa is a being of pure energy, like an Alpha Quadrant race I learned about called the Organians." Kes began to pace around the circle, making eye contact with as many of her people as she could as she faced in each direction. Tension permeated the atmosphere. Kathryn could see that many of the Ocampa were not sure if what their "Auntie Kes" was telling them could be true.
