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'We've cleared the Ocampan system, Captain.'
'Thank you, Mr Paris. Maintain present speed and course. Mr Tuvok, any sign of pursuit?'
'Negative, Captain.'
'Very well. Stand down to Yellow Alert. Commander, you have the bridge,' she said, standing up and turning to Kes.
'We need to talk...'
################
'Please, sit down,' Janeway said, the door of her ready room hissing shut behind them. Kes hesitated before taking the seat in front of her desk, folding her hands in her lap.
'Two coffees, black,' Janeway said, crossing to the replicator and there was a humm. Picking up the steaming mugs, Janeway took her seat behind her desk, passing one to Kes and taking the other for herself. Kes sniffed it before taking a cautious sip.
'What is it?' she asked and Janeway gave her a quick smile.
'Coffee,' she said. 'And the only thing that keeps me going after a hard day,' she added, taking a sip herself. 'Do you think Toscat will send ships after us?'
'I don't think so. As far as I know, no-one has ever left Ocampa, except me...'
Her voice trailed off and Janeway reached out, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
'Alright. We'll give you quarters here until you decide what to do. A room,' she added, seeing Kes' expression. Pulling her workstation towards her, she quickly tapped a sequence into the terminal. 'There. You're on Deck 2, Section 3. Crew Quarters 14. It's not much, but you'll have a bed and shower to yourself. The turbolift on the bridge will take you there. Settle in and then report to Sickbay for a routine medical checkup.'
'Thank you, Captain.'
################
'Report, Commander,' Janeway said, as she stepped out of her ready room onto the bridge.
'Course Alpha laid in,' Chakotay said, rising from the Captain's chair. 'We're holding Warp 6...'
'Thank you,' Janeway said, looking around the bridge. 'Where's Seven of Nine?'
'She requested access to the Astrometric lab. Ensign Cheung is with her,' he added, seeing Janeway's expression.
'Very well. I need to talk to her. As you were, Commander...'
'Aye, Captain...'
################
Janeway stepped into the Astrometrics lab to find Seven of Nine seated at the curved console, her hands moving swiftly across the controls. Ensign Cheung stood in the corner, his back ramrod straight and his hand resting near his phaser.
'What are you doing?' Janeway asked.
'I have improved the efficiency of your long-range sensors by 18%,' Seven said, without looking round. 'I have also been scanning along the route of your Course Alpha...'
She manipulated the controls and the screen focused zoomed in on a sector of the map.
'There is a radiation nebula 3.2 light years on our present course that is not including on your star charts...'
'...very well,' Janeway said, tapping her combadge. 'Janeway to Bridge...'
'Go ahead, Captain...'
'Astrometrics will be transmitting a course correction to the Helm. See that it's implemented...'
'Aye, Captain...'
################
Kes stepped out of the sonic shower, looking around the quarters that she had been assigned. Even though Captain Janeway had called it small, it was about four times larger than her room back on Ocampa. Opening the closet, she found a selection of simple tunics in muted colours. Dressing quickly, she stepped out of her quarters, heading for the turbolift.
'Sickbay,' she said, the doors hissing closed, opening a few seconds later on an identical looking corridor. Stepping out, she looked around, heading towards the doors to Sickbay. They hissed open and she stepped inside to find a blonde-haired woman in a blue tunic sitting behind her desk.
'Yes?' she asked and Kes hesitated.
'My name is Kes,' she said. 'Captain Janeway said I should come for a...medical check-up...'
'Of course,' she said, gesturing to one bed's around the edge of the room. 'My name's Dr Pulaski. Please, sit down...'
Kes did as she asked as Pulaski said
'Computer, activate Emergency Medical Holographic Programme...'
The air shimmered and a balding man appeared next to the bed.
'Please state the nature of the medical situation...'
'Medical examination of new crew member. ' Pulaski said.
'Very well,' he said. 'Computer, create medical log for new crew member...'
'Working. Medical log created. Awaiting initial physiological scan...'
################
'Mr Carey,' B'Ellana said as she stepped into Engineering, straightening her uniform jacket.
'Yes, Lieutenant?' Carey said, looking up from the Warp Diagnostic console as she approached.
'Report, Lieutenant,' B'Ellana said and his eyes narrowed.
'Everything's in hand, sir...'
'That's not what I asked, Lieutenant. Update me on what's going on...'
'...aye, sir. We've just completed the routine Warp Core diagnostic, Bevon and Saartak are chasing down that power fluctuation on Deck 9 and we're getting ready to overhaul Shuttles 4 and 5, sir. Will there be anything else, sir?'
'...no. Thank you, Mr Carey. Dismissed...'
'Aye, sir. Thank you...'
Carey turned on his heel and marched, B'Ellana watching him go. With an effort, she unclenched her fist, turning and stalking into her office.
Forget him. You've got work to do...
################
'There. I've completed all the required medical scans,' the Doctor said, stepping back and closing his tricorder. 'However, it is most irregular to take on a civilian crew member during an extended deep space mission without prior approval from Starfleet Command. According to General Order...'
'Thank you, Doctor,' Pulaski said, quickly. 'Now...'
'Need some help, here! Medic!'
'Doctor!' Pulaski snapped,
Hearing the shout, Pulaski's' head whipped round to the door, where a dark-haired man in a yellow tunic was supporting a Bolian with one arm over his shoulder
'Ensign Bevon,' Pulaski said. 'What happened?'
'EPS relay overloaded. Saartak was next to it...'
'I'm fine,' Saartak said. 'It was just a small surge...
'We still need to check you out,' Pulaski said, as Bevon helped him onto the bio-bed. 'Doctor, you're up...'
'Doctor,' Saartak said. 'I'd prefer if you...'
'In an emergency, will you still be complaining who treats you?' Pulaski said, glancing over at Kes.
'We're done here. Your free to go. I'd suggest getting yourself something to eat. The mess hall's on Deck 6...'
################
'Kes?'
Hearing Captain Janeway's voice, Kes turned to see her stepping out of the galley, a mug of coffee in her hand.
'Captain...'
'Is everything alright...?'
'...yes. Dr Pulaski said that I should get something to eat, but...'
She looked around, shrugging helplessly and Janeway smiled.
'Come on,' she said, leading Kes over to the replicators. 'Computer, tomato soup. For two.'
There was a humm and two steaming bowls appeared on a tray, each with a spoon. Picking them up, Janeway lead her to a table and pulled out a chair, taking the seat opposite her.
'How are you feeling?' she asked and Kes hesitated.
'I...am not sure. Everything is...very different...'
'I'm sure it must be,' Janeway said, as Kes took a spoonful of her soup. 'Do you have family back on Ocampa. Your parents?'
'Parents?' Kes asked and Janeway frowned.
'Your Mother and Father? Those...who you were born to and raised by...'
'I...don't understand. All Ocampa are created from the gene bank. We have no..."mother" or "father"...'
'I understand,' Janeway said, just as Commander Chakotay came over the intercom.
'Captain Janeway to the Bridge...'
################
'Report, Commander,' Janeway said, as she stepped out of the turbolift onto the Bridge.
'We've detected a space station on long-range sensors,' Chakotay said, from where he was standing next to Mr Kim at the Operations Station. 'From the communications we've intercepted, it appears to be a trading station...'
'Opinions, Commander?'
'It would be a good opportunity to learn more about the Delta Quadrant,' Chakotay said, just as Mr Paris spoke up from the Helm.
'We might also be able to find some local star charts, Captain...'
'Agreed. Mr Paris, lay in a course change...'
'Already done, Captain.'
'Engage.'
################
'Now on impulse power, Captain,' Tom said, as they dropped out of warp.
'Onscreen,' Janeway ordered, Mr Kim punching up an image of the station on the viewer. Large and blocky, it appeared to be constructed from numerous prefabricated modules that had been fitted together. Even with a cursory glance, Janeway counted about 30 ships moving around the station or attached to docking ports.
'Any communications, Mr Kim?'
'A lot of local traffic, Captain, but nothing directed towards us...'
'Very well. One quarter impulse, Mr Paris. Move us into a parking orbit...'
'Aye, Captain...'
'Mr Tuvok, you'll lead the away team...'
'Aye, Captain...'
################
As the transporter effect faded, Tuvok looked around the station. They were standing at a 4-way junction, each of the corridors packed with people who were clustering around the stalls and shops.
'Nice place,' Paris said and Tuvok turned towards him.
'Your appreciation of the local environment is incidental to our assignment, Lieutenant. We are hear to familiarise ourselves with the station and locate anyone who may be able to provide us with navigational charts or data...'
'Sure, Tuvok. But, we shouldn't overlook more...informal sources of information. There should be some local traders or boomers who'll have information about this area...'
'...very well. You and Mr Kim will locate these..."informal sources", while I make enquiries about the star charts we seek...'
'Yes, sir...'
################
'This is the place,' Tom said with a grin, as he led Harry towards a doorway with a glowing neon sign above the door.
'That's a bar,' Harry said, with a frown. 'Tom, we're supposed to be looking for information...'
'And, we are. C'mon, Harry. Where else do you think the people we're looking for a going to be...'
'Alright,' Harry said. 'But, I'm glad I've got my phaser...'
Reluctantly, he followed Tom into the dingy bar, making their way through the press of people to where a heavy-set humanoid with dark red skin was cleaning glasses with a grimy cloth.
'Yes? What do you want?'
'Something strong,' Tom said, laying a strip of Latinum on the bar.
'Tom, we're on du...' Harry began, before Tom pressed his foot down on his toe.
The bartender glowered at him before grabbing a bottle from under the counter and splashing some into two glasses. He reached for the Latinum and Tom held it down with his finger.
'Not so fast. We're looking for someone trustworthy who knows about this area of space...'
'Table in the back, on the left,' the bartender growled, snatching up the latinum and slipping it into his tunic.
'Thanks,' Tom said, downing his drink in one go and grabbing the other one, practically dragging Harry with him.
'Hey!' He protested, as Tom pulled him into a dark corner.
'Harry, this isn't the Officers' club. This is a spacer's bar. If you don't want to end up with your throat cut, you need to blend in. Now, shut up and let's go meet this guy...'
Shoving Harry ahead of him, they made their way over to the table at the back of the bar where a whiskered humanoid with a ridged head was sitting, dressed in rough, stained clothes.
'Yes?' he said, looking up from his drink. 'What can I do for you...gentlemen...?'
'We heard that you know a lot about this area of space,' Tom said, pulling out a chair and sitting down, glancing up at Harry until he did the same.
'I've been around,' he said, taking a swig of his drink. 'What's it to you?'
'We're...not from around here. We were hoping to find someone who could give us some information about what we can expect to encounter...'
'I think I can do better than that,' he said. 'I know this region of space better than anyone and I would be happy to act as a guide in exchange for...a small consideration...'
'Such as...?'
'Passage from this station and a berth until I can find a new ship...'
'We'll need to speak to our Captain,' Tom said. 'Mr...?'
'Neelix...'
################
'You promised what?' Janeway asked, glaring at Paris and Kim, who were standing at attention in her ready room.
'We didn't promise anything, Captain,' Paris replied. 'I said that we'd need to speak with you, first...'
'You were sent to find star charts, Mr Paris, not to take on hitchhikers...'
'With respect, Captain, what he can offer us is more useful than any star chart...'
'...I see. Mr Kim, what do you have to say for yourself...'
'...I agree with To...Lieutenant Paris, Captain...'
'...alright. You're both dismissed...'
'Aye, Captain...'
As soon as the door had hissed shut behind them, Janeway tapped her commbadge.
'Janeway to Tuvok...'
'Go ahead, Captain...'
'Please bring our guest to see me...'
'Aye, Captain...'
Less than a minute later, Tuvok was escorting him into the ready room.
'Mr Neelix,' she said, standing up. 'My name is Captain Janeway...'
'Delighted to meet you, Captain,' Neelix said. 'I must say, this is a marvellous ship...'
'Lieutenant Paris tells me that you know this area of space well, Mr Neelix,' Janeway said, gesturing for him to sit.
'I am famous for knowing it well. I spent two years in the Talaxian Defence Force on a patrol cruiser, like most people my age. After that, I've been a trader, an explorer, a chef and a merchant. What I don't know about this area of space isn't worth knowing...'
'...very well, Mr Neelix,' Janeway said. 'You can stay, on a provisional basis...'
'Thank you, Captain. You won't regret it...'
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any reviews, comments or constructive criticisms are very welcome.
