Ripples in Time
By Jamelia and Rocky
Majalay appeared taken aback for a moment. "She had an errand to perform."
"Will she be returning shortly?"
"That is no concern of yours," Majalay snapped.
The Doctor said soothingly, "I just wanted to know so that I can personally reassure her that Nan is all right, that it was nothing she did which caused him to react in this manner."
"Of course not. Why would she think otherwise?" Majalay said. The Doctor looked at her sharply, thinking he'd caught a note of uncertainty in the nurse's voice.
"No reason at all. Allergies can be difficult to discern, especially if they appear without warning, and with such dramatic effect." As he spoke, the Doctor kept his eye on his tricorder and then casually aimed the mediwand in Majalay's direction.
"Is Nan all right?" said a new voice. The Doctor looked up to see an older woman in a simple dark gray tunic enter the bedroom, a look of mingled shock and concern on her face. "Majalay, what happened? I heard Nan was taken ill at the feast."
"He had an unpleasant reaction to something he ate, I'm afraid," the Doctor said. The woman looked up in surprise; evidently she hadn't noticed him standing there. He held out his hand to the newcomer, as Majalay didn't seem inclined to make the introductions. "I am Voyager's Physician."
"Nepay, the Royal Tutor." She looked down at the sleeping child. "Is he all right now?"
The Doctor put away his instruments. "Nan will be just fine."
"That's good to know," Nepay said, relief evident in her voice.
Majalay stepped forward quickly. "If you're finished, Doctor, I will have someone escort you to the transporter chamber, so you may return to your ship."
"Thank you, but I would first like to report personally to the Matriarch," the Doctor said. "And leave a message for your Physician, so she can be fully briefed on what transpired this evening."
"Of course," said Majalay, though clearly the sooner the Doctor left the happier she would be. She turned to the Tutor. "Nepay, perhaps you wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all," Nepay said. "Just let me say good night to my favorite pupil." She bent over the child's bed and lightly touched his cheek, a tender expression on her face. "Pleasant dreams, little one."
The Doctor nodded, his mind on what he would say in his report to the Matriarch-and to Captain Janeway.
"She still isn't very happy, is she?" Icheb said softly.
"No, she isn't," Naomi replied. She hoped that their superior officer had not overheard them. Jenny Delaney had been pouting since she arrived in Astrometrics, obviously annoyed that her sister had gotten the opportunity to attend the Matriarch's feast while she was stuck "babysitting" cadets. Since overhearing that comment, Naomi and Icheb had both worked very hard at their stellar mapping duties, on their very best behavior so as to avoid upsetting her any further. "Usually, she flirts a little with Lieutenant Kim whenever he's around, but she hasn't done it once tonight, even though he's been here more than on the bridge tonight."
"Harry has been seeing Marla Gilmore for some time now. Perhaps she expressed a lack of appreciation for anyone flirting with Harry but her?"
"Maybe . . ."
By her tone, Naomi was clearly not convinced. Icheb, however, was not in the mood to gossip tonight. "We can take a break in the mess hall in a half hour. Neelix and Sarexa said they were going to have Pleeka Rind Casserole on the menu tonight."
"That is, if Lieutenant Kim hasn't eaten it all already! He loves it."
Icheb grinned. "I like it, too. We could take our trays to aeroponics if you want. 'Kes's Flower' is in bloom now," he said, referring to one of the Ocampan's plant hybrids. Even though he had never met her, it was a favorite of his, and he looked forward to its blooms as avidly as any of those who had known Kes.
Naomi smiled. "Maybe, if we can't get a good table in the mess hall." Naomi turned back to her work, trying to figure out what was wrong with the resolution on her console screen. The engineers were so busy right now, she hated to ask them to take the time to fix it.
"Icheb, can you help me get a clear picture on my console?" she finally asked. "It's definitely off."
"That's odd," Icheb said. "Mine is not clear, either, but I just finished a diagnostic and it says the screen is calibrated properly."
Naomi walked over to his station and looked at his work. As he scanned different quadrant views she could see that, like her own console, the screens all had a blurry quality, almost a double image. There was one major discrepancy however-one area where the star fields didn't match up at all. Suddenly she touched his wrist and said, "Hold that view, Icheb. Look at that! This is a lot more than just an instrument problem!"
He nodded agreement and called Jenny Delaney over immediately.
"What is it, Cadet?" Jenny asked as she approached.
"I was just incorporating the new star charts with the ones in our data base. I was having some trouble, since there are many minor discrepancies, but Naomi just pointed out one that is not minor."
"It's almost as if we're getting two images of the same star field superimposed on each other, off by only a few degrees," Naomi added. "Except for this one here. This nova is exactly where the brown dwarf we catalogued a few months ago should be."
As Jenny stared at the images, the pinched look on her face vanished. Quietly, she said, "The only way that brown dwarf could be the same star is if we are displaced in time, not just space."
Icheb looked up from his console where he had been running another set of data. "Three hundred and ninety seven years into the past, by my calculations."
Naomi was staggered by the implications. "Shouldn't we call the captain to see this?"
"I don't know how we can get word to her right now. She's on the planet with the Caephidians." Suddenly Jenny caught her breath. "Interacting with the Caephidians. It may already be too late not to have changed the future! We'd better send for Harry, and for Commander Chakotay and Tuvok right now, though. This changes everything."
ACT 3
Janeway sat in her Ready Room, trying to assimilate the astounding revelation from Astrometrics that had greeted her as soon as she returned to the ship. That was one hell of a misstep in the last slipstream jump, she thought, if it had displaced them temporally as well as spatially.
The physical distance was the least of their worries now. Certainly, it was disheartening to discover that Voyager was once more back in the Delta Quadrant-particularly after the jubilation that had greeted the earlier announcement that the ship had crossed over the invisible boundary into the Alpha Quadrant. But a dispassionate review of their situation showed that they had really only lost a total of five thousand light years. That could be easily made up-just hop right back in the slipstream. Once they determined what had gone wrong on this past attempt, she reminded herself. Still, they had over a dozen successful jumps prior to this. No, the physical distance was not the issue.
The news that they were stranded in the past, with no clue as to how to get back-this was serious. And as always when dealing with time travel, they'd have to be extremely careful not to inadvertently do anything that would change the nature of their own reality. She smiled briefly, without humor. She could certainly feel a little more sympathy for her (once and future?) nemesis Captain Braxton and the complexities that he faced, particularly when it came to Voyager. They'd certainly had more than their share of time travel experiences over the years. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling a major headache coming on.
The door signal chimed. "Come," she called, hoping it would be Tuvok. A calm dispassionate viewpoint was what she needed right now. Both he and Chakotay were due to join her in a little while to discuss the situation, and hopefully present some options.
To her surprise, she saw that it was the Doctor, once more back to his usual male appearance. She remembered now that he had stayed behind on the planet to treat the Matriarch's son. She'd forgotten all about it in the shock and confusion surrounding the most recent development. Clearly the Doctor had just returned and had come by to give her his report.
"Yes, Doctor," she said, motioning him to a seat. "How is the boy doing? Were you able to determine what caused his illness?"
"As I suspected, it was a simple allergic reaction, and when I left he was quite recovered and sleeping peacefully. No, Captain," the Doctor said, his brow furrowed, "that isn't what I came to speak to you about."
"Then what is?" she asked.
"While we were on the planet, I made an astonishing discovery that you need to know about immediately. It changes everything about our situation here."
She held up a hand. "Thank you, Doctor, but I already know."
His surprise was evident. "You do? But how? I only found out myself when I did the initial scan of the boy at the feast."
"Ensign Delaney notified me a few minutes ago," she said, more calmly than she felt.
"How did Ensign Delaney know? She was standing nowhere near me at the time."
"Not Megan, Jenny," she said, giving him a curious look. "Jenny was in Astrometrics this evening, working with Icheb and Naomi. It was their observation while charting star positions which revealed the temporal displacement."
If the Doctor had appeared to be puzzled before, that was nothing compared to the look on his face now. "Temporal displacement?" He suddenly slapped his forehead. "But of course! Now it makes perfect sense to me."
She got up and went around to where he was sitting. "Doctor," she said carefully. "What are you talking about?"
He stood as well. "What I discovered on the planet. I ran a hurried bioscan of the Matriarch's son at the feast, then another, more thorough, one in his quarters. I also scanned his nursemaid, tutor and one of the guards-all without their knowledge." He hesitated a moment, and said, "Captain, the Caephidians-they are a species we have encountered before, though that was not what they called themselves."
"Who are they?"
The Doctor's voice was very quiet as he answered. "Hirogen."
She stared at him for a long moment, not sure she'd heard him properly. "Hirogen! Are you sure?"
He nodded. "There's no doubt about it. The DNA matches exactly." He sighed, a surprisingly human gesture. "You would have probably discovered it yourself, if you had seen any adult males. But all of our dealings up to now have been with females, who lack the mottled skin and ridges of the mature males."
Hirogen. She shivered involuntarily; she remembered the vicious hunters all too well, how from the very first their encounters had been marked by extreme aggression, remembered too how the Hirogen had taken over her ship and forced her crew into the role of prey.
"But the societies are so different..." Her voice trailed off. Clearly something major must have happened within the past few centuries to cause so drastic a change.
She closed her eyes, the throbbing in her forehead having changed to a full scale pounding.
"One more minute of your time, Matriarch?" Susera, the Minister of the Interior, bowed low. Standing a step behind her, Ristina, the government's leading scientist who also served the government as the primary Science Advisor, also bowed respectfully.
Tirgana sighed. "It's very late, Susera. I've been kept up almost all night by the Warrior's Council's questions about the campaign they wish to wage against our former Second. Can't it wait until morning?"
"We would not think of bothering you at such an hour if we did not feel it was of the utmost urgency," Susera replied. The perpetual wrinkle between her eyes that Tirgana had always thought of as the Minister's "worry furrow" was even deeper than usual tonight.
"Very well. Walk with me back to my apartments and tell me what you must let me know at such an hour."
"Matriarch, you asked us to try to find out what we could of this ship, Voyager. We have sent messages over the Communications Network as far as it reaches, but no one has ever encountered a ship called Voyager. It seems to have appeared out of nowhere! We've also inquired about this Federation they represent. No one has ever heard of it, either."
Tirgana picked up her pace. "This is quite unexpected." She moved to the right of the corridor, the closest place where a communications terminal was located, and contacted her old tutor.
::::Yes?:::: Nepay drawled out her response sleepily.
"Nepay, you reported that Voyager's physician took care of Nan and then left hours ago . . ."
::::Why, yes, she did. ::::
"And Nan was well when you last saw him?"
::::He went to sleep shortly after their Doctor left. Nan was fine, as I told you. Their physician was very skilled and very good with him, too, from what I saw.::::
"Please check on Nan for me. I've just heard some rather disturbing news and I wish to make certain he is still 'fine.' "
::::Of course. It will only take me a few nuta.::::
"Thank you, Nepay. I'm sorry to disturb you."
::::Don't worry about it, my lady Tirgana. I will always serve you and your family in any way I can. It's just a little harder to wake up in the middle of the night, now that I'm in my dotage!::::
"You, never!" The Matriarch said gently, before cutting off the signal.
Turning to her courtiers, Tirgana mused, "I feel certain that Janeway is trustworthy, but it's wise to be careful."
The science advisor cleared her throat. "Matriarch, I also feel no ill will from those on Voyager. I spent a great deal of the evening speaking with their chief engineer. From the story she told about their journey and their hardships, I cannot believe they would be a deliberate threat . . ."
"You are too trusting, Ristina! That has always been a weakness!" Susera grunted.
"As I was saying, I do not believe they would offer a *deliberate* threat, but there could be another explanation for their not being known to our neighbors. B'Elanna told me the new propulsion system they use is somewhat difficult to control. Also, when they come back into normal space, a great number of transformed particles can be detected around their ship. They call the particles 'malleotrons,' but there is no doubt about what they are actually detecting."
"Any sign of chronitons?" the Matriarch asked sharply.
"They say no. I've asked Crolay-the Master of the Batina-to check her own sensor records to see if any are found, but . . ."
"Tirgana! Tirgana!" The Matriarch looked up sharply and saw Nepay loping wildly down the corridor. "Nan is missing!"
"What!" The Matriarch and her aides stopped abruptly in their tracks as the tutor, gasping for breath, fell to her knees in front of them.
"I went to your chambers . . . At first, Rakila did not answer, and I began to worry . . . I called a guard to knock down the door, and just before he was going to do it, Rakila finally opened it. She assured me Nan was well, but I told her you ordered me to check on him . . . and he was not there! And when I asked Rakila where he could be, she could not answer me! And Majalay was not even there for me to ask her what she knew!"
"Susera, call Evasek to put all our forces on the alert." Since her consort's death and the discovery of Nerab's treachery, Evasek had been serving as interim War Leader. "Ristina, check on the position of Voyager! I want to ask Janeway and her Doctor about this! And Nepay . . ." Tirgana bent down and helped her old tutor up off her knees, "Where is Rakila now?"
"I left her in your apartments, Matriarch. I'm sorry . . . I didn't think . . . I had to get word to you and I . . ."
"Nepay, you have done exactly what you should have done. Now, bring me Rakila so we can find out what she knows. I want to find my son! Now go!"
"Bridge to Captain Janeway."
Janeway stirred, having been in the midst of a particularly deep sleep. "Janeway here," she said groggily. Her eyes still shut, she automatically reached across the bed. But instead of a warm body next to her, her fingers found only empty space. She raised herself to a sitting position and confirmed that she was indeed alone. Chakotay must have gotten up already.
"Captain, we're being hailed by the Matriarch's Science Minister," Ensign Lang said.
After the recent revelations about the Caephidians' identity-and Voyager's temporal displacement-Janeway was reluctant to have more contact with the aliens than absolutely necessary. It appeared, however, that she had no choice. "All right. I'll take it here, from my quarters," Janeway replied. She caught sight of the chronometer. Hastily, she threw on her robe and keyed the terminal.
The tall figure of the Caephidian Science Advisor, still dressed in her robes from the Gratitude Feast, appeared before her. "Janeway here. Good morning, Minister Ristina. Excuse me for not being dressed yet, but my crew was letting me sleep in this morning . . ."
"Your dress is of no consequence, Captain. What is important is that your ship is still here, in orbit around our Homeworld."
"We would have said good-bye if we planned to leave, Minister," Janeway said, smiling crookedly at first, but something about the stiff posture of the Caephidian alerted her. "Is something wrong?"
"Yes, Captain, very wrong. The Matriarch's son is missing."
Janeway took a moment to digest this. "You've obviously searched the palace grounds before contacting us, I presume."
"Of course. No one has seen him. Our sensors do not record his unique biosignature anywhere on this planet or in the fleet. And one of his nursemaids is also missing."
"You've scanned Voyager, too, I take it, and know we don't have them here."
"Regretfully, yes, we have-and without your permission. You understand our need for haste."
"I do. You wish to speak to our Doctor, then, to see what h . . . she knows?" Janeway's voice was grim.
"Yes, Captain. She was one of the last to see Nan."
"I'll have the Doctor contact you immediately." Inwardly, the captain sighed as she made a mental note to warn the Doctor he'd better get ready to reprise his 'Hepburn persona' for another performance. They didn't want the Caephidians any more upset than they already were.