Chapter 7 – Devolution
"Denara Pel. Blasphemer, traitor!"
Few Vidiians could still spit properly through all the grafting that held them together. Those that could, did.
"Your actions run counter to everything it means to be Vidiian. You have no respect for our culture, our struggle, or our traditions. Your cure is a lie, and you have betrayed us to the enemy!"
Dragged before a series of holographic avatars representing the Sodality, Dr. Denara Pel found herself arguing medical ethics with those who, in her opinion, long ago lost sight of the meaning of the phrase.
"The Think Tank told us we would need to be patient" she hissed through gritted teeth. While her body had not yet returned to a completely deformity-free state, she was actually recognizable as something other than a pile of grafts.
"Patience is not something we have in great supply" replied a council member. Indeed, the treatment's speed could at best be called "glacial." It did not escape her notice that most of those glowering at her were older.
Far from restoring Vidiian society, the Think Tank's cure opened a schism. Many younger Vidiians like Pel were more than willing to wait while the antiviral ran its course. Their elders, however, were torn between distraught and infuriated.
"This will work" insisted Pel. "It takes time! The medical board should at least understand that!"
Instead, they sent her before the present council, being "unable to substantiate" her findings.
"Your guilt has already been determined. Now…"
Proximity alarms went off, bathing the whole proceeding in orange.
"Guards! Restrain the prisoner."
Pel looked at them with contempt. "You are no better than the Hirogen! You pilfer technology like tractor beams from other species—why? So you can keep hunting for organs even though if you would just wait¸ the phage would be defeated by this medicine? Are you too proud to accept help?"
Then the whole station slid sideways, as though yanked by an invisible hand. On the bridge, an angry station commander demanded an explanation.
"Whatever we just captured outmasses us by several orders of magnitude."
The blue-white of hyperspace entranced many viewing it for the first time.
"Now, not to alarm you or anything" said Admiral Jason Proudmoore, "but some ships blank all their viewports when jumping to lightspeed. Not everybody can just stare at it for hours on end!"
"The medical database he sent over does mention psychological conditions supposedly caused by observing this…hyperspace" intoned the Doctor. "If any symptoms appear, alert me immediately!"
Proudmoore showed particular interest in the Doctor, as his ship possessed no compatible holo-emitters yet here the holo-doc was, just like in Voyager's sickbay.
"We didn't invent this one" replied Captain Janeway while pointing at the mobile emitter on the Doctor's shoulder. "A little bit of time-travel and rule-bending."
Not two hours passed before NRSS Redemption dropped to realspace with zero warning. Inertial compensators minimized crew injury, though the ship itself sustained structural damage.
"What happened?" demanded Proudmoore.
"Interdiction field" replied sensors, sounding for all the world like this was the Coruscant Security Zone.
He turned to his counterpart.
"Does your civilization have anti-lightspeed devices?"
Janeway snorted.
"You'd think so, with all the times the warp drive couldn't be used—but it's just the weirdness of this galaxy. Still, technological means to prevent ships from jumping to warp exist. Pulling ships out of warp is another thing entirely."
"Whatever it is, we're at sublight speed now" reported operations.
"Picking up a…space station" added sensors. "Small, only a few hundred meters in length. Venting some kind of fuel or coolant."
The rest of Voyager's senior staff got involved in the conversation.
"This is ridiculous. Let me guess, this is another threat I am underestimating?" snapped Proudmoore as the relatively tiny installation appeared on a holoprojector. "Even the original Golan platforms were bigger than this!"
"Size is no guarantee of strength" said Tom. "I've seen my wife take out far bigger guys than her…"
"I'm not sure if that's strength, or just Klingon stubbornness" replied B'Elanna Torres. "Either way, it works!"
"Admiral, the station. It's…moving with us."
"What do you mean?" asked Proudmoore.
"Sir, it appears to have locked on with some kind of tractor beam, but it might as well be a Jawa trying to slow down a bantha. We're also reading small fluctuations in our shield grid."
"Incoming hostiles, port bow!"
Four warships not found in Redemption's database appeared, weapons blazing.
"Link to Voyager's computer—figure out who's attacking us!" ordered the Admiral. Before that could be done, the entire Star Dreadnaught rocked gently, like a large seafaring vessel hit by small waves.
"Sir!" reported tactical. "The attackers are gone."
"What do you mean, gone?" demanded Proudmoore. "Did they cloak?"
"In our experience, the Vidiians lack that ability" said Tuvok. "However, we have not encountered them for some time—over a year. It is logical to assume that a society whose primary means of survival is stealing organs from still-living beings may have either developed or obtained a technology that makes this process easier."
Proudmoore's face twisted into a sour expression.
"Stealing organs? That sounds like some kind of Coruscant undercity street gang."
Tactical finally got a chance to explain where, exactly, the four ships went.
"The bump you just felt? These attackers fired their weapons, then attempted to engage what we think is some form of faster-than-light propulsion. Without checking to see if the path ahead was clear."
"Sir!" reported an ensign at operations. "We are receiving reports of intruders in cargo bay AA-23."
Tuvok's eyes narrowed.
"If they have in fact boarded your vessel, I must request to accompany your security forces. Their weapons are highly unusual, and we have dealt with this threat several times."
Seven of Nine also stepped forward.
"My unique physiology makes me resistant to their attacks. I shall join you."
"Patch their comm badges into the ship's internal network" ordered the Admiral. "We'll want regular updates!"
As the team left, Proudmoore turned to Janeway.
"Now I really wish we had transporters. And those comms look useful as well."
