Part C: Then Comes the Children
B'Elanna and Seven of Nine were busying themselves with repairing the tractor beam from the Engineering console on the bridge when a blonde girl suddenly appeared directly in front of Seven. She seemed to be floating directly behind the captain toward the former Borg. "Please Mommy, save me!" the girl exclaimed. As Seven raised her hand to her cortical implant in sudden pain, the girl moved into her and vanished.
Seven collapsed, hitting her head on the engineering console and toppling to the floor.
B'Elanna knelt down to quickly examine Seven and tapped her commbadge. "Medical emergency on the bridge. Beam Seven of Nine directly to sickbay. Seven vanished in a transporter beam.
"B'Elanna, you were closest to her. What happened?"
"I think she just fainted, but then she hit her head on the console."
"Let's not take any chances. Report to sickbay, Lieutenant and have the doctor check you over as well."
"Understood," B'Elanna replied complacently against her nature. She couldn't lose both her husband and their baby. Stepping onto the turbolift, she instructed the computer to take her to Deck 6.
When she entered sickbay, she found the doctor administering to a weak, but conscious Seven. "How is she, Doc?" B'Elanna asked.
"I'm still trying to determine the cause of her collapse. As far as I can tell, something activated her cortical implant, bringing on a hallucination."
"Hallucination?"
"Unless you or any other member of the bridge crew saw a little girl."
"She was begging for me to save her," Seven told B'Elanna.
"Could this little girl have been a manifestation of your younger self?" the Klingon asked.
Seven thought for a moment, replaying the image inside her head. "No, she did not look like me. She did say 'mommy' but I'm uncertain she was speaking directly to me. It was more like intercepting a subspace transmission. Besides, given Harry's oriental background, our daughter is likely to have dark hair."
When the captain called him to her ready room, Chakotay didn't expect to find her sitting on her sofa, gazing at the planet and drinking a cup of coffee.
"Captain?" he questioned. "Have you decided how to handle their demands?"
"Yes. We're going to tell both sides that we have repaired the portal and that we're willing to return it to them."
"That's a tricky Trojan horse to play. How do you plan on convincing them?"
"First we'll contact the Balia leader and request that she beam aboard Voyager to personally receive the portal. She will have to lower her shields during transport and Mr. Carey will seize the opportunity to locate Tom and Harry and accessing the site to site transporter, beam them directly to sickbay for the doctor's thorough examination."
"What if she refuses to beam over to Voyager? She's going to see through this ruse."
"That's where Seven's hallucination comes into play. The doctor believes that she did not experience a hallucination but rather her cortical implant somehow reacted to this sierra similarly to how the actual portal would work."
"Are you saying that these aliens may believe we have the portal, because they detected Seven's implant?"
"Precisely. Balia will want to come over to Voyager, because, according to her, the real portal cannot survive a transporter beam."
Sudden pain. Seven screamed out and the doctor rushed over to her, followed closely by B'Elanna. "What's happening to me?"
"You've gone into labor," the doctor responded. He glanced up at B'Elanna and pointed at a cart a few meters away. "Hand me that hypospray."
"Labor! It's too early for that! The baby will not survive."
"Try to relax, Seven. Remember, the baby can sense your duress." He accepted the hypospray from B'Elanna, adjusted its settings, and pressed it against Seven's neck. Activating the biobed's support frame, he set it to monitor Seven's contractions. "When you feel the next labor pain, I want you to describe the intensity of the pain. I need to know if it is more or less than the first. If they do not lessen within the next few contractions, I will have to attempt an alternate procedure." The doctor walked over to his console to change a few of the settings there to also help with monitoring Seven's condition.
Grabbing B'Elanna's hand, Seven pleaded, "Promise me, if my baby dies, you'll name yours Annika."
"Don't be ridiculous," B'Elanna replied. "Your little girl is going to be just fine."
"Of course," the doctor interjected. "You are in my capable hands. Now relax, both of you. Lieutenant Torres, I'm releasing you to your quarters. I expect you to get at least a few hours of sleep before returning to duty."
"How can I sleep with our husbands in danger?"
"No arguments. You're jeopardizing the condition of my patient and yours as well."
B'Elanna removed her hand from the patient's, but before she could move away, Seven screamed out in pain and clutched at her cortical implant. As the doctor rushed to her side, the chief engineer backed away. Would Seven lose her baby despite their assurances? " Is she having another contraction?"
"No!" both doctor and patient yelled.
Suddenly, B'Elanna's attention was distracted away from them as she noticed a shadowy figure dart across the room. "We have an intruder!"
After entertaining his Voyager guests with music and literature of his people for better than an hour, Telar told them it was time to set up for the meeting. He led Tuvok and Neelix into a conference room and promptly excused himself with the claim that he needed to greet the delegates at the front door. When he realized that the alien was taking an unreasonably long time returning to them, Tuvok became suspicions and began examining their surroundings more closely. First, he realized that the door had been sealed from the outside and that there were no other exists. Then he attempted to contact Voyager only to discover that their commbadges had been deactivated. While Neelix continued to search desperately for an escape route, Tuvok took the next logical step.
"What are you doing, Mr. Vulcan?" Neelix asked, both discouragement and curiosity getting to him.
Having spent the last several minutes studying the Vardin computer system through the wall panel access with little success, Tuvok did not welcome the Talaxian's interruption. Nonetheless, he knew from experience that Neelix would only grow more insistent if ignored.
"I am attempting to understand the Vardin code, so we may find a way to override the lock on the door."
"Good thinking! Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Yes. You can stay out of my way and keep quiet."
Although Neelix backed up a couple of steps, he continued to look on earnestly as Tuvok deciphered the code. They were both startled when the door slid open.
"Get away from there!" Ralea exclaimed, waving a phaser at them. "You will not be leaving here or have any contact with Voyager until Captain Janeway has returned the portal that rightfully belongs to my people."
"You are too late," Tuvok responded. He tapped a button on the panel and suddenly Ralea's image shifted.
"What have you done?" Ralea clutched at her grotesquely aged face.
"Obviously, I have revealed your secret and that of your people. Perhaps now is a good time to explain yourself."
Lowering her arms and placing her phaser in its holster, the Vardin woman nodded defeatedly. "We're dying and we have only ourselves to blame." She moved toward the commpanel and Tuvok stepped out of her way. She initiated a code and a window on the far wall appeared. "Look outside," she encouraged them.
As Neelix and Tuvok looked through the window and scanned the area, they saw several natives stopping to examine one another in horror and then clutch at their own aged faces. Screaming broke out as one of them began slapping himself in self-mortification. "It appears as though you have a bigger problem than you let on," Tuvok said. "If this delegation truly was a ruse, then I suggest you contact your government representatives immediately and tell them to come here right away."
Ralea laughed, but it sounded more like an anguished cry. "Contact our government? This delegation was a delusion created by my poor addle-minded brother. He forgets that the last member of our government died nearly a decade ago. He appointed himself a council member to help feed his delusion. Amazingly, it's served the remaining citizens well, because they listen to him. Look out there again." She paused for them to do so. "How many people do you count? Eighty-seven percent of the people you saw when you arrived were holograms. The citizens of this town, other than a few nomads, are all that remain of Vardin. They are all members of Telar's so-called faction."
"Amazing," Neelix exclaimed. "But why go to the trouble of luring us into a trap?"
"Would you have helped us otherwise?"
"Perhaps, you're guiding your mistrust toward the Balia erroneously toward us," Tuvok suggested. "We have on several occasions answered a cry for help without any promises of a reward afterward."
"Does that mean you are still willing to help us now?"
"If you allow us to return to our ship and commit no more deceptions, it is likely our captain will continue to offer you aid."
"Very well. You may contact your starship."
Neelix tapped at his commbadge, not surprised that it now worked. "Good work, Mr. Vulcan! Neelix to Voyager."
"Chakotay here," the commander responded. "Neelix, it's good to hear from you."
Seven watched as the captain and the doctor spoke inside his office. Obviously, the girl she'd seen on the bridge and then sickbay was not an hallucination, since B'Elanna had seen her as well. If not an hallucination, then what?
Although the contractions had lessened, she feared that the cause was still present and the baby would remain in danger until they left Vardin. She agonized over choosing between her husband and their child. What were Janeway and the doctor deciding for her?
They looked in her direction, apologetic expressions on their faces. After a moment, they stepped out and approached her. The captain looked almost as though she were in as much pain as Seven as she addressed her former Borg officer. " Seven, the Doctor and I have reached a hypothesis about the cause of your condition. Doctor?" Janeway stepped aside so the Doctor could move closer to his patient.
"I believe that as long as we remain in orbit of Vardin, I will be unable to stabilize your condition. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to save the baby if you deliver now. If we leave immediately, your chances of making it to full term are excellent. But that would mean leaving Tom and Harry behind."
"I won't order you to risk the life of your baby," Janeway said. " Nor will I order you to give your husband up without a fight. From your description of your so-called hallucinations, I believe your cortical implant is behaving similar to the portal these aliens are looking for. With a little tweaking from B'Elanna, I'd theorize that your implant could open the Sierra and save the children of Vardin."
"At the risk of sacrificing my own," Seven said dourly. She turned on her side away from the Doctor and Janeway. " If I lose this baby, I will not adapt."
Before either of them could respond, Chell paged the captain from the bridge. " Janeway here," she responded.
"I think you want to access the viewscreen from sickbay," Chell said. "Commander Tuvok wishes to speak with you."
Rushing past the Doctor and making her way around to the console, Janeway tapped into the bridge's viewscreen and smiled as her old Vulcan friend greeted her. "Captain, the Vardin have been deceiving us."
She laughed at how ludicrous his logic sounded and then nearly cried with joy to see him unharmed. "We've learned a secret or two about them from Voyager as well," she told him. "If we could meet again in the conference room, I have a proposal to make to both the Vardin and the Balia."
Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "I am curious to learn of this proposal."
B'Elanna had every intention of following doctor's orders. She had slipped into her nightgown and under her covers, then had closed her eyes, but had been unable to block out the internal noise. She was worried about Tom and Harry and she was worried about Seven. She had tossed and turned until finally, her rumbling stomach made her discard the notion of getting any sleep. So she'd changed into a casual maternity dress and headed for the mess hall. Compulsory, she'd grabbed the talisman from off her dresser on her way out. Although she knew she was being superstitious, she felt Tom closer to her with the Braktae in her possession.
Lieutenant Baxter was currently serving up dinner and B'Elanna attempted to eat what he was passing off as beef stew. She never thought she'd feel nostalgic for Neelix' cooking.
B'Elanna did not get far into her meal when Samantha Wildman along with Naomi and Jeremy walked over with their dinner trays. "Thank you, ensign, for watching my son all day," she said. She took Jeremy's tray from him and set it down on the table. He walked around to the other side and sat next to his mother.
"You are welcome as always," Samantha replied. "Would you mind if Naomi and I join you? I thought maybe you'd like another adult to talk with."
"Thank you for the offer, but I'd rather be left alone right now. You can't truly understand how I feel anyway. Your husband isn't being held on an alien ship."
Samantha grew flush, belying her level response. " Are you forgetting that I left my husband behind in the Alpha Quadrant? Unless a miracle returns us home, I will never see him again. Naomi will never know her father."
"I'm sorry. I should have thought before I reacted. It's just that I'm so tired and on edge." She said the Braktae at the tables center and it almost seemed as though it were staring mockingly at her. " I've thoroughly scanned this little beast and I can find no trace of anything ever having been inside it."
Despite B'Elanna's insistence that she wanted to be left alone, Samantha sat down across from her and Naomi followed suit. " I wish I could offer you some reassurance," the ensign said, reaching out to gently squeeze B'Elanna's arm. "We both know that Captain Janeway won't leave them behind without exploring every option."
"You may not have heard that Seven is in sickbay. She will lose the baby if we don't warp away from this area soon. Unless we can somehow find another way to open this Sierra.
"I hadn't realized," Samantha responded, growing distant. "You know what happened with Naomi when she was born. I thought I could not bear living another day before Harry Kim approached me with the greatest bundle I've ever received."
"What happened with me, Mommy?" Naomi asked pleadingly.
"I'll explain everything to you when you're a little older." The ensign turned back toward B'Elanna. "How are you doing? The stress can't be good for your baby either."
"The Doctor examined and released me with strict orders to get some sleep. I tried to shut off all the noise inside my head and finally decided that maybe a hot meal would do the trick."
"I'm not scheduled for another duty shift until tomorrow morning. Why don't I keep Jeremy over night?"
"Yay!" both children exclaimed together.
"They don't like the idea at all," Samantha said sarcastically. B'Elanna managed to smile despite her adversity.
Minutes after speaking with her chief of security over communications, Janeway assembled another conference meeting with Chakotay, Tuvok, Neelix and the two Vardin also present. The Doctor was also ready to provide his input through the emergency medical holographic channel. Ralea and Telar looked as though they could pose as the great-grandparents of their former selves. How much time did their people have before extinction was inevitable?
"It is my opinion," the Doctor began, "that Seven's cortical implant can be used as a portal to open this Sierra with only minor adaptations. While this will certainly serve " He glanced at the aliens. " your purpose, my first concern must be the health of my patient and her unborn child. Frankly, the child's best bet is to get as far away from Vardin space as possible. But that option would leave Mr. Kim and Mr. Paris behind and Seven refuses to choose that option. She has decided to attempt to open the Sierra. Once the Sierra is open and the alien children out safely, I believe Seven's condition will stabilize and she will be able to carry her baby to full term if she makes it through the procedure."
"Doctor, how is Seven doing now?" Janeway asked.
"I've managed to stop the contractions. Her condition is stable at the moment, but I cannot make any guarantees if we hold off much longer."
"Captain Janeway," Telar began, "allow this to happen. An entire civilization is at stake."
"You may not approve of my tactics," Ralea said, "but certainly you understand our cause."
Janeway turned toward the ancient aliens. "My first duty is to my crew. You took advantage of our goodwill. You deceived us, held my crewmen hostage and now you ask us to continue offering our help without any guarantees."
"Captain, if it helps persuade you any, we were not mistreated," Neelix said. "Ralea was wrong to hold us against our will, but think of the children. They are innocent. They deserve the chance to prove their own worth."
"Mr. Neelix speaks for the both of us," Tuvok responded. Janeway thought she would never hear her Vulcan officer agree with the Talaxian. "The children do not deserve to be punished for their parents' crimes."
Janeway wondered if she would be bringing the children into a new peaceful world or into one where they would soon learn to hate and fear one another. Could either civilization be saved or were they doomed to extinction?
"We are overlooking one important matter," Chakotay pointed out. "We don't know if the Balia will release Tom and Harry when the portal is open. Before we continue, we must bring the Balia in on this arrangement. Their children are trapped inside this Sierra, too, and we were asked to mediate their peace negotiations."
"Agreed," the captain replied. She nodded toward her chief security officer. "Mr. Tuvok, hail the Balia ship."
"Aye captain," the Vulcan said, accessing the terminal closes to him.
Ulewa answered the hail immediately and Tuvok transferred her image to the larger viewscreen on the wall opposite them. "Have you discovered a solution?" Ulewa asked.
"We believe we have," Janeway responded.
The Balia woman's gaze shifted toward her enemies. "I see your holographic interface is no longer functioning." Her smile revealed her pleasure over their misfortune.
"We all know you use the same technology," Ralea spat. "You're no raving beauty either."
The captain raised a hand. "Please. We cannot accomplish anything through bickering. If we ever had the real portal, it most likely was destroyed by our ignorance. A crew member of mine is a former Borg and the Doctor believes her cortical implant can be modified to simulate your portal. I'm offering you a means to rescue your children, but first you must return my crewmen unharmed.
"You must first prove you speak the truth. Introduce me to this former Borg."
"She is formerly inside our sickbay, where she is being treated by our doctor. She's pregnant and proximity to the Sierra has caused her to go into premature labor. So you see, more than two members of my crew are in danger. Our offer is sincere. Why else would we place Seven and her unborn baby in jeopardy? But if you want further proof, I can have you beamed directly to our sickbay and you can witness the procedure first hand."
"No! How do I know this isn't a trick? You want me to lower my shields so you can retrieve your crewmen and warp out of our space without helping us save our innocent children."
"Fine," Janeway said tersely, glancing at her first officer, who gave her an I-told-you-so look. "Will you accept it as proof if we route your commlink to sickbay?"
The alien nodded. "That is an acceptable alternative."
"Doctor." The captain turned to her small viewscreen. "Are you and Lieutenant Carey ready to proceed?"
"The sooner the better," the EMH replied.
"Very well, Commander Chakotay and I will arrive in sickbay momentarily."
The two Vardin stood. "Captain Janeway," Telar said in an urgent tone. "These are our children. We insist that you allow us to oversee this procedure as well."
"Granted," Janeway said with a nod and everyone exited the conference room.
When they arrived in sickbay, Carey was nearly finished with the modifications of Seven's cortical implant. Seven was directing him as the alignment with the Sierra became visually clearer to her. Janeway thought about B'Elanna as she watched and wished her chief engineer was well and alert enough to join them. B'Elanna was getting much needed rest for herself and the baby now and the captain felt comfort in knowing B'Elanna would be back on her feet in time to welcome her husband back aboard Voyager.
"The modifications are complete," the engineer said and stepped out of the Doctor's way.
The Doctor quickly scanned his patient and nodded his ascent to continue.
"How do you use the portal to open the Sierra?" Janeway asked the Vardin.
Seven of Nine answered instead. "Captain, allow me to demonstrate." She raised her hand to her Borg implant and as she tapped it, her pupil began to glow. The light radiated out several meters, broadening as it inched across sickbay. Voyager crew members backed out of its path, while the Vardin embraced it. Soon, no one was afraid of the Sierra. It shown white, then blue, then purple. Janeway could barely force herself to look away from its brilliance, but she had to know if Seven was all right. Her former Borg officer was lying against the biobed an enthralled smile on her face. Rarely did Seven show such emotion.
Returning her attention to the Sierra, the captain saw small figures coming into focus. "How many children are inside there?"
"Six hundred nine thousand, three hundred and twenty three," Ralea responded. She knelt to one knee and welcomed the first child, a boy of about three, into her arms. To Janeway's relief, she noticed the child was a Balia. Maybe the children would help bring about an end to their racial differences.
"It will take days to recover all of them," Tuvok stated the obvious.
"They have been trapped inside the Sierra in stasis for nearly a century. A few more days of waiting is nothing compared to the long years we've waited for this bitter war's end."
"We have time for this, Tuvok," Chakotay said, smiling broadly as a little girl ran up to him.
"Indeed," Tuvok agreed. " However, Voyager is only large enough to accommodate a few hundred of them at a time. We will need to beam them down to the planet in groups."
Janeway turned toward the small viewscreen that permitted Ulewa's view. "Will you allow your children to be beamed down to Vardin until you can arrange for their transport?"
Ulewa studied her long-time enemies suspiciously. "Captain Janeway, have you forgotten about the slavery of my people practiced by the Vardin. Our children are young blood for them to exploit."
"I promise you that slavery will be completely abolished. Members of my group will guard your children closely. "
"You must reach an agreement," Janeway said insistently. "The children cannot all remain on Voyager, nor could you possible house all of them on your ship."
With a growing ease, Ulewa watched as Telar and Ralea welcomed both groups of children equally. "I will allow the children to be transported to the planet," she responded. "What choice do I have? All that remains of my people are aboard this ship with me now." As she began crying, her face was mixed with both joy and sorrow.
"Ambassador Neelix," the captain said, "help Mr. Tuvok round up children and escort them to Transporter Room 1 in groups."
"I'd be happy to, captain," Neelix replied and clapped his hands to get the attention of several children nearby him. He encouraged them to play "follow the leader" and travel to the great transporter that would take them back to their parents. Although Tuvok shared the same goal, getting the children off Voyager, he took a less-puerile approach. Janeway was amazed at how easily the children trusted strangers
"Telar, please provide them with appropriate beam-down coordinates and then you can assist Commander Chakotay in escorting children to Transporter Room 2. We'll keep both transporters functioning around the clock until the last child is safely on the planet's surface."
"Of course," the Vardin responded. "Please allow me to use your commlink to notify my subordinates to expect the children's arrival."
Janeway gestured toward the Doctor's panel with a nod. She turned and approached Seven and the Doctor, placing a comforting hand on Seven. "How are you doing?"
"I am very tired," Seven replied. "But I am well and content."
"I will give you a sedative," the Doctor offered. "With all the hustle and bustle inside sickbay, it's the only way you'll get any sleep." He picked up a hypospray and administered it before she had a chance to argue with him.
"I will comply with my need for sleep." Seven grasped the captain's hand. "But you must see to my husband's return."
"He'll be back aboard Voyager before you open your eyes again."
Nodding, Seven closed her eyes and succumbed to exhaustion.
"Take care of her, Doctor," the captain ordered unnecessarily and walked over to the small viewscreen from where Ulewa was still watching raptly. "All right, Ulewa. We've activated your portal and your children are emerging safely in droves. I believe you promised to return my crewmen unharmed."
The Balia leader nodded. "I'll have them beamed in the corridor outside your sickbay. A direct beam inside sickbay might disrupt the Sierra."
"That's acceptable."
B'Elanna was dreaming. How else could she explain the warm hand brushing against her arm or the lips closing around hers? Tom's aftershave tickled her nose. Could one smell in a dream? She stirred, fighting the physical urge to come fully awake. She didn't want to disturb the dream and lose her memory of Tom forever. "B'Elanna," a soft voice caressed her ear like a melody. And then she did open her eyes and wrapped her arms fully around her husband.
"Oh Tom," she exclaimed, showering him with kisses. "I thought "
"Shh, shh," he silenced her. "I want to lie in bed and hold you for hours, forget about all that has happened in the past couple of days. But first, there's something you have to see. Get dressed."
"What? Where are you taking me?"
At first B'Elanna could see nothing beyond the brilliant glory, but then after careful study she was able to make out several small figures. "What has happened to sickbay?" she asked in horror.
"It's wonderful," Tom told her. "They managed to open the Sierra with seven's cortical implant." A child ran toward them and nearly plowed into Tom before the pilot moved out of the way. "Now they're rounding up the children and beaming them in groups down to the planet."
"I've been informed that my sickbay will remain occupied for at least another two and a half days," the Doctor said, coming up from behind them. "I had to move Seven of Nine to her quarters a few hours ago. Since I can do nothing about the situation, I've decided to join them." He clapped his hands and began grabbing children by their shirts. "Come along. It's your turn now."
In session the captain, Chakotay, Tuvok, and Neelix followed the Doctor to round up more groups of children. Curios B'Elanna stepped inside sickbay and approached the open mouth of the Sierra. "B'Elanna?" Tom questioned concerned. When she turned around and smiled at him, her hand rubbing at her protruding belly, he knew she was thinking the same thing as him. "We left off with 's'" he voiced the realization and she nodded enthusiastically.
"Seven," the Doctor said softly. Knowing the sedative he'd given her earlier was about to wear off, he'd entered her quarters to examine her thoroughly. After determining that she was suffering no ill effects from the Sierra, he decided to gently coax her awake.
She began stirring and mumbled, "Doctor? My baby!"
"You're baby is fine. Neither of you have suffered any permanent effects from your experience. I have someone else here with me." He moved aside so Harry could step forward.
"Harry!" she exclaimed with more emotion than either of them had ever heard her express. Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around him and coaxed him into bed with her.
"I'll leave you two alone," the Doctor said tactfully and left.
Caught up in one another, neither Harry nor Seven acknowledged the Doctor's exit. After several kisses, Harry pulled back slightly. "Seven, you know what I said about Ensign Wildman before I left for Vardin?"
"Of course. You think I have a latent attraction for her."
"I've had a lot of time to think about that." He hesitated.
"And?" she insisted.
"And I was being stupid. You were watching her interact with Naomi and dreaming about the future with our daughter."
"Correct. I will forgive you...this time."
After sharing a quick laugh, they resumed their cuddling.
Three days later, the last of the alien children were beamed down to Vardin and Janeway, and Neelix met with the representatives from both sides in Voyager's conference room.
"We have helped you recover the most precious gift," Janeway said. "Through your children, your cultures can live on if you allow your grudges to end. Don't spoil this opportunity by rearing old animosities. Neelix?" She nodded in her appointed ambassador direction.
The Talaxian was clutching two data padds against his chest and brought them to the table. "Since you requested my ambassadorial services, I've taken the liberty of drawing up a preliminary agreement between your two peoples. Mind you, I haven't had the chance to study both your cultures thoroughly, but I think I've done a reasonable job."
"How did you find the time to even write this?" Telar asked as he accepted one of the data padds and began scrolling through its contents. Ralea leaned over his shoulder to browse along with him.
Neelix handed the other padd to Ulewa. "I thought it through inside my head while we were rounding up the children. It was only a matter of writing it all down before this meeting. You'll note, the first item on the list is probably the most important issue: the end of all slavery practices. Then much of the rest of it deals with provisions for the children. Many of them no longer have living parents and unfortunately, appropriate guides are dwindling."
"You're suggesting that my people live on the planet with the Vardin!" Ulewa exclaimed.
"It would offer the children the best hope of survival when the last of the elders have past on."
"He's right," Ralea admitted. "The children depend on our cooperation." Her brother nodded in agreement.
Everyone looked expectantly at the Balia representative. "If I am to agree to this, I want equal treatment of my people's children. They will receive adequate housing, clothing and food. And they will be offered the same education as your children."
"Provisions we have much of," Telar promised. "And as far as schooling goes, we will expect equal instruction from your elders."
Ulewa nodded and Neelix filled the room with his resounding clap. "Great! Glad I could be of service to you."
Epilogue: (or "Plenty of Letters Left in the Alphabet")
Tom Paris stepped into his newborn daughter's room to peer down at her sleeping form. "Sweet Sierra," he said with a smile.
"Don't wake her," B'Elanna whispered into his ear as she came up from behind him. "I just got her to sleep ten minutes ago."
"I just wanted to give her this." He unfolded his arms to reveal the Braktae. "The Balia believe it will watch over a child while she's sleeping and protect her." He set the small statue on Sierra's dresser. "I need to know my family is safe." He placed his arm around his wife and they walked out of the room together.
"Our bed is warm and safe," she teased, smiling flirtatiously at him.
He bent down toward her, offering her an open-mouthed kiss, his tongue darting in and out to brush playfully across her lips. "How many children did you say you wanted?" he teased back.
She laughed as she took his hands into hers and escorted him into their bedroom. "There's still plenty of letters left in the alphabet..."