At Face Value - Part 9

Written - 7/03

Summary - A routine supply mission for Janeway and Torres leads to unexpected consequences for the crew when they find themselves entangled in an alien conflict.

Rating - G

Note - This story begins after the incidents in the episode Juggernaut and concludes shortly after the episode Barge of the Dead.

Part 9

The away team was crouched behind a snowdrift only a few hundred yards from their destination. Janeway and Ayala, who had been assigned by Tuvok as the senior security officer, were observing the perimeter patrols in an effort to time their arrival when they would be most conspicuous. It would help prove their point that they were not the enemy. That is if they weren't shot on sight. "Well Lieutenant, what do you think?" asked the Captain.

"No time like the present Captain." said Ayala knowing there was no such thing as a good time when it came to operations like this.

"Janeway to Delta Flyer."

"Paris here Captain, go ahead."

The transmission was incredibly clear given the circumstances. She only hoped it would stay that way. "We're on our way in. Keep an open comm channel and a transporter lock. Should something go wrong, we'll signal as arranged."

The away team had planned an emergency signal just in case. Both the Captain and B'Elanna had a subdermal transmitter implanted in their forearms. Should the mission go terribly wrong, they were within their rights to simply tap their arm over the transmitter and a signal would immediately be relayed to the Flyer. The system was set to automatically initiate a transporter sequence that would beam them all back to the shuttle. It was the Captain's idea of an added precaution, and it was a good one.

=/\=

It was over in a matter of seconds. As they approached the settlement they were immediately spotted and surrounded by a squad of Veret guards, six in all, brandishing the very same crossbow like weapons that Janeway and B'Elanna were so familiar with.

One of the guards seemed to recognize Janeway, "It's her Kamet, I swear. It's the woman we chained in the cabin."

The guard named Kamet came closer to Janeway, raising his weapon toward her throat. Ayala and one of her other security guards reacted instinctively and reached inside their parkas. But with a wave of her hand they stood still. Janeway swallowed hard, the memory of what an arrow like the one she was staring at had done to her chief engineer still fresh in her mind. "Yes, you're right. I have returned to speak with Jomar. Can you take us to him?"

The guard huffed in disbelief. "You want to see Jomar do you? I'm sure he will want to see you as well. This way." He motioned with both his head and his weapon for them to move toward the center of the settlement.

Janeway moved in front of the guard as ordered and shuddered when she felt the point of a Veret arrow contact the middle of her back. 'Kathryn, no fear, remember!' she silently told herself. Followed shortly by 'One foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other.' It became a mantra for the next few minutes as they tramped through the snow until they arrived at Jomar's cabin and Kamet opened the door to the large outer room. The rest of the guards herded them into the room and Kamet knocked on the door to the inner chamber. The last time the Captain had been here she was hauled away unconscious.

When they entered the outer room, it was filled with people. All of whom stood or turned and took notice of the strange entourage that had entered. Several of the assemblage recognized B'Elanna and Janeway and there were a number that pointed and whispered to their companions.

There had been no initial response to Kamet's knock so he tried again. From behind the group of onlookers, a woman moved toward them. As she got closer, B'Elanna and the Captain remembered her as the woman who had brought them provisions while they were held prisoner. She moved to Kamet's side and took his arm. "He is in there, but he had been very upset about Menem. He."

The woman's words were cut off in mid-sentence as the door to the inner chamber crashed open to reveal an extremely disheveled Jomar, his eyes wild with anger. "How dare you disturb me?" he bellowed so loudly that Janeway was sure they had probably heard him on Voyager.

Kamet cowered, but spoke anyway. "I'm sorry Jomar, but we have visitors." his emphasis on the last word nothing less than cynical.

"What are you." Jomar turned his attention to the other people standing outside his door for the first time and the look on his face could only be described as shock. Moving a few steps through the doorway and into the outer chamber he raised himself to his full height and positioned himself no more than a few centimeters from Janeway as he looked down upon her. "You!" He let his exclamation hang in the air for a moment before continuing, his initial surprise turning rapidly to contempt. "I thought you would be far away by now. How could you possibly be so foolish as to return here?"

Janeway mustered her strength and draped herself completely in her full Starfleet Captain persona, "I wish to talk Jomar. We may be of use to each other."

"Ha!" he laughed in her face. "What could we have to talk about? Why should I not kill you where you stand, and your companions with you?" he said with a sweep of his hand over her head.

"I know about your conflict with the Hakonene. I know they have driven you from your home. And I also know that you are paying a high price to keep up the fight. Do you really wish to continue to watch your people die before your very eyes until there is no one left?"

Janeway's words hit very close to home. Menem was dying in an adjacent room as they spoke. It enraged him that this insolent foreigner would say such things. Without thinking he grabbed her roughly by her arms and lifted her from the floor until she was looking him directly in the eye. "Who are you to say such things?"

She was now so close she could smell the ale on his breath. He was obviously at least somewhat inebriated. He would be difficult to deal with like this, but she had no choice. While she was in some discomfort from his grip on her arms, she was not really being hurt, at least not yet. And she knew she only had seconds to react before her officers would come to her defense. B'Elanna confirmed her suspicion.

"Captain!" the Lieutenant exclaimed as she forced her way through the crowd of people from her position in the back of the group to stand just slightly behind her commanding officer, reaching into her parka as she came.

"Stand down Lieutenant!" Janeway managed to say in a somewhat strained voice as she hung suspended at least half a meter off the floor. "That goes for the rest of you as well. Understood?"

She heard an unhappy chorus of "Aye Sir." but felt the subtle touch of several hands on her sides, supporting her weight as Jomar held her. She would have to remember to thank whoever it was.

Jomar studied B'Elanna. "Ah, the coward who left you alone. I would have punished her severely for her betrayal."

B'Elanna was furious. She took two strong steps forward, saw the look in her captain's eyes and stopped in her tracks. In her Maquis days, she would have reacted very differently to his words. However, she wasn't that person anymore and she trusted the Captain, even if every fiber of her being was screaming at her to show Jomar just what she was really made of.

Jomar was impressed. "You are the leader of your people Janeway. They listen to you. That is good, for their sake as well as yours." he said, practically pressing his nose to hers.

Somehow this was not going as she had thought it would. But then again she really had no idea how it would go, she had simply managed an excellent job of wishful thinking. "Jomar, if you would put me down, we can talk."

"Demanding for one so small aren't you, and a woman at that? Tell me Janeway, where are you from that a woman doesn't know her place?" He was laughing at her as he finally set her back down.

She began rubbing her arms and shrugged her neck and left shoulder when he released her. "Jomar, I believe I can help you. Think, why would I have come back and put myself willingly into your hands if I were here to harm you or your people?"

She had a point. Why indeed! And both she and her friend had obviously made miraculous recoveries from their injuries since their escapes. These strangers were unusual. Maybe there was something to her words. After all, hadn't he gotten what he had wanted in the first place, a chance to learn more about these people by them walking right into the settlement on their own? "Alright Janeway, we will talk, you and I."

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the inner chamber and slammed the door behind him leaving the rest of the away team to wait and worry.

=/\=

Back on the Delta Flyer, Tom had notified Chakotay that the away team was in the settlement and for the moment they seemed to be safe enough. He had chosen not to tell the Commander all of what he had heard over the increasingly more static laden, but continuous, comm channel. He had heard what had transpired when Jomar had recognized the Captain. While he had seen none of it, he could tell that she was being treated roughly. But she had ordered B'Elanna, and by association the rest of the team, to stand down and they had complied. For the time being he would as well.

On Voyager, Chakotay was now ready to contact the Hakonene as planned. He had no real idea how things were going with the Captain and the Veret, but he would follow through on his end of the bargain no matter what. "Harry, contact the Hakonene, tell them that we are ready to continue our trade negotiations and that I wish to speak to the Ambassador."

"Aye Sir." Harry went to work in a flash on the Commander's request and within no time he was responding. "I have the Ambassador for you Commander."

"Thanks Harry." Chakotay said as he rose from his chair to stand in the center of the bridge. "On screen."

Harry complied with the request and the Hakonene Ambassador appeared. "Commander, I understand you are interested in finalizing our trade agreement."

"You understand correctly Ambassador. We were successful in finding several minerals we can use during our tour yesterday. I have conferred with the Captain and we have also prepared a list of those items we are willing to trade for the mineral supplies. I am ready to transmit that information to you now so that you can look it over until the Captain returns from the surface." Chakotay saw the Ambassador's expression change dramatically as he responded.

"Your captain is on the surface? May I ask where and for what purpose?"

Chakotay looked down briefly to hide his smirk. When he raised his head he was again all business. "She is attempting to establish trade negotiations with the Veret."

The Ambassador's reaction was even swifter in coming than Chakotay had anticipated. "What! She is negotiating with those barbarians? What could you possibly hope to gain by trading with them? Those primitives can't have anything of value to Voyager."

'Score one for Kathryn Janeway.' thought Chakotay. The Ambassador was definitely worried about the possibility of Voyager establishing any kind of a relationship with his enemies. Now the tough part would begin. It was his job to negotiate whatever leverage he could but without giving away anything until the Captain's return. In the back of his mind he was thinking about the away team and how they were doing down on the planet. Before continuing with the Ambassador, he glanced briefly at a chronometer in his console and noticed that the team had less than three hours left before the weather was supposed to turn on them again.

=/\=

The away team stood staring at the door that had been slammed in their faces, leaving them all a little stunned. Jomar had come and gone in a rage and had essentially dragged their captain with him. In the few moments that they would have been able to react to his behavior, she had most definitely ordered them not to get involved. Now she was behind closed doors with him.

The Doctor reacted first, "How could this happen? We can't just let him take her like this!"

"Unfortunately Doctor, yes we can." Ayala stated emphatically. "The Captain obviously wanted us to remain here for the time being. She must feel she can handle this situation herself or she would have given us a clear order to stop him."

B'Elanna had no intention of staying out of this conversation. "I realize the Captain may think she can handle this by herself, but if you remember, I was with her with these people only a couple of days ago and both of us ended up in sickbay thanks to the experience."

Ayala tried to calm the heightened emotions around him. "I know that B'Elanna. But the Captain obviously knows this Jomar much better than we do. I think we should trust her judgment on this."

The Doctor and B'Elanna continued to protest and Ayala raised his hand to stop them. Tuvok had assigned him as the ranking security officer on this detail and he was taking the responsibility seriously. "Look I'm as concerned about her as you are. But I vote we give her the opportunity to handle the situation on her own, as she appears to want to do, at least for now. By the way, take a look around, we're surrounded by armed guards, just what did you have in mind?"

The team had temporarily forgotten about that small detail as they had been distracted by Jomar's behavior. The squad of Veret guards that had captured them had not moved a muscle through the whole encounter and appeared to be awaiting instructions themselves. After a few moments with all of them standing in the outer chamber staring at each other, Kamet regained his senses and obviously had decided that this was no place for them to be for the present. He motioned for his captives to move to the right, in the direction of another doorway at the far end of the corridor. "You will wait in there." he said as he opened the door to what appeared to be the Veret version of a mess hall.

The away team did as instructed, knowing that at any time they chose they could more than likely take over the situation themselves. At the very least they could contact the Flyer for a beam-out. But that wasn't their mission and they knew it. None of them were willing to accept defeat just yet, even though they were all worried about what Jomar would do.

Once they were alone, B'Elanna took the opportunity to contact Tom. "Away team to Delta Flyer."

Tom was relieved to actually be hearing a report from the team. The bits and pieces he had intercepted over the comm channel had only served to unnerve him. "I'm here B'Elanna, what's going on down there. From the sound of it, the Captain has her hands full."

"Actually Mister Paris it's more accurate to say that Jomar has his hands full. of the Captain." This coming from the Doctor who had exercised remarkable restraint to this point, but was now taking the opportunity to continue venting at the treatment the Captain had received.

Ayala frowned. "Doctor, your sarcasm notwithstanding, you're right. This guy hasn't treated Captain Janeway very well so far, but at the moment I don't think she's in any real danger." Ayala changed his attention to Tom in the Delta Flyer, raising his head slightly as he spoke as if speaking directly to the officer in the shuttle far above the settlement. "Tom, we've been separated. Captain Janeway is with Jomar in his chamber and we've been confined in another room. Can you get a fix on her?"

"Acknowledged, I'll switch the open channel to her comm badge so I can monitor what's going on in there."

"Thanks."

"Wait, you're not planning on beaming her out of there right in front of Jomar are you?" This from B'Elanna, whose sudden change of heart was inspired by the knowledge that the Captain would be more than a little angry if they were to beam her out without a direct order from her unless she was in real danger. And even though they had been splitting hairs with the Prime Directive lately, that course of action would definitely be a violation, and another reason to make Janeway very unhappy.

Another of the security officers decided to join the conversation. "So what do we do? We can't just leave her in there with him."

"Well, someone needs to make a decision." barked the Doctor while he turned to face B'Elanna. "Lieutenant, you're the ranking officer at the moment. Say something decisive."

Placing one hand on her hip and rubbing her Klingon brow with the other she began pacing the room, her thoughts in obvious turmoil. "B'Elanna?" questioned Ayala.

She moved back and forth across the room two more times and then stopped in mid stride. "Bottom line is that the Captain came down here to try to help these people. And no one knew better than she did what she was getting into. Ayala's right. I don't think we have any choice but to give her a fighting chance to do what she came here to do. Tom, let Chakotay know what's going on down here. See if they have any suggestions. Keep that link open to the Captain's comm badge and see if you can get a fix on her. Keep the lock live, but don't act on it unless one of us or the Captain herself give the go ahead. If the situation starts to deteriorate, send an audio signal directly to Ayala or myself. In the mean time, we'll see what we can come up with on our end. We'll contact you again shortly as long as we don't have company."

"Ok, but be careful down there. And keep in mind that the window on the weather is closing fast. By my count we only have about three hours left."

=/\=

Jomar released her arm as soon as they had gotten behind closed doors and stomped over to the fire. Now he was pacing. Kathryn smiled, recognizing herself in his movements. She was known for doing the very same thing on her bridge from time to time. She was also rubbing her arm vigorously knowing it would be bruising under the material of her uniform. Just as she was certain bruises were forming on her upper arms where Jomar had roughly lifted her from the ground in the outer chamber of the cabin.

Suddenly Jomar stopped pacing and turned to face her. For the moment he kept his distance. "So Janeway, you say you came here to talk. Get on with it before I change my mind about allowing you the chance."

She spoke in a fairly soft even tone of voice hoping to defuse some of his apparent anger. "As I said before, I think we can help you."

Her trick seemed to work to a certain extent, as the tone of his next response wasn't nearly as confrontational. "So you have said. And in what way do you think you can help my people?"

Janeway moved carefully toward the pictograph on the wall that she had seen when she had been here before. She stopped several feet from it so as not to defile the shrine beneath it. "I saw these when I was here before. The Veret lived in the cavern before the Hakonene came didn't they?"

He was curious now. She had shown respect for his parent's shrine and deduced the meaning of some of the pictures his ancestors had drawn. Maybe she could be trusted. He moved to stand near her and looked down into her eyes. Then he moved past her, pausing to stand before the shrine and bow his head. Then he stepped toward the wall and the remaining pictures, pointing toward them as he began to tell the story of his people.

"You are observant Janeway. Two generations ago, the legend tells that the Hakonene arrived from the sky with machines and magic. They forced my people from their cavern home into the cold of the surface world. Many died before we made it to the shores of the southern ocean. We were able to find food there by hunting and fishing, and there were forests that we harvested to build shelters and fires. But with time, the storms and the cold were unyielding, and many became sick with disease. There were five thousand of us when we were forced from the cavern. By the time my father came to be leader, there were only eight hundred."

She was shocked by the devastation Jomar's people had suffered because of their forced exile. In her experience most species of humanoids had a period of thirty to seventy years between generations. That would mean that even accounting for a certain number of new births, the Veret had to have lost a great deal more than their original number in a very short time.

"When did you start the war with the Hakonene?"

"When my father came to understand that we would all die unless we fought for our underground home. My grandfather had been the tribal leader when we were forced from the caverns. The Hakonene leader murdered him to instill fear in the Veret people. My father's life was spared then only because he was so young. My grandmother told me that his captors believed to kill one so young would only anger the other Hakonene."

He paused in his story to look directly at Janeway. He saw only interest and sympathy in her eyes so he continued. "When my father was old enough, he became the tribal leader as was his birthright. He watched many of our number perish as he grew up and it made him very bitter. When he came to power he began to train an army of warriors to one day take back the caverns. Over time they built a series of settlements like this one closer and closer to the Hakonene until one day they decided it was time. They formed raiding parties and attacked the outlying Hakonene settlements one by one in order to surround the central cavern."

So what the Hakonene had told her was largely true. There had been perimeter attacks by the Veret against them. But they had left out the very important fact that it was because they had been forced out of their home only to die on the surface. They had every reason to want to retake their home by any means available to them.

Jomar continued, "The tactic worked for some time until they tried to take the central cavern. The Hakonene defenses were too strong and my father and his warriors were never able to penetrate them. My father had been wounded in the assault on the city and died during the retreat here. I was only five seasons old. I never really knew him. In the end I lost the rest of my family to starvation and disease as we were forced to slowly retreat back to the ocean."

"I'm sorry Jomar." It was all she could think to say.

He turned again toward the shrine and bowed his head as if in prayer. When he turned back to face her again there was a fire in his eyes she had never seen before. "When I was old enough, my turn came to be leader. I vowed to avenge my people and the deaths of my father and grandfather. When we returned to the settlements, one by one we restored them and have stocked them with supplies and moved many warriors there. We have slowly left the southern ocean behind us forever and we only look forward. This time we will not stop. We will win back our home or we will all die in the attempt. We will flourish again or we will cease to exist." His voice was almost a growl now. Fierce was the only word she could use to describe it.

He had told quite a story. The main thread of which she had already surmised from the pictographs and the information she had picked up from both the Hakonene and Jomar. It was a classic example of the powerful invader throwing the weaker natives to the wolves. It had certainly happened enough in the Alpha Quadrant, even on Earth, why not here. Chakotay would probably be very interested in this story as it was eerily similar to the plight of his own people against the Cardassians and the reason for the formation of the Maquis.

They had been standing during his entire narration, and now that there was a pause, Janeway began to realize that she could feel the early stages of her next headache working their way to the bridge of her nose. "Jomar, I am saddened by your story. I had some idea of what must have happened to your people, and the facts are worse than I imagined, but I still believe I can help you."

"In what way?"

"My people and I have been in contact with the Hakonene." Janeway noticed that her statement attracted his interest immediately. To his credit he held his temper in check.

"You have. For what purpose?" he replied, his hatred of the Hakonene clearly visible on his features.

Kathryn Janeway carefully considered her words. The next few minutes would likely make or break her entire plan. "As I told you before, we came here to trade. We met them first and were able to obtain some of our supplies from them. When you captured us in the caverns we were on our way to meet them to finalize one of our arrangements. Now I would also like to arrange for trade with you and your people. We can offer you food and we have a healer in our group who may be able to help with the injured and the sick."

Now he was truly interested, was there a chance that this healer could know more than the Veret healers? He thought it possible. Janeway had certainly recovered from her previous injury quickly enough to be standing before him now. If so, maybe they could help Menem. But he had to be careful. He did not want his deep interest to openly show to this woman. He did not want to give her any advantage whatsoever. "What could we possibly have to offer you in return?"

"Your people have much to offer Jomar, your artwork and trade goods for a start, as well as your guidance in locating hunting and fishing grounds. We can always use fresh meat and fish. Most importantly we want your friendship. We would like you as an ally, not an enemy. A guarantee of safe passage through your territory now and in the future for my people would be valuable to us."

He thought for a moment and then he had an idea. Maybe there was a way to test her and help Menem at the same time. If she was lying, Menem would die anyway, but if she was telling the truth. "Very well Janeway, where is this healer of yours?"

"He is with the group that came with me. I assume they are still here in the lodge somewhere." She actually had been curious as to where her people had been taken. She had heard shuffling outside of the door shortly after Jomar had dragged her into his chamber. "He is called the Doctor."

Jomar wasted no time. He moved to the door and flung it open so hard it almost bounced off its hinges. "Kamet!" he yelled into the opening.

Kamet appeared seconds later, out of breath, and looking somewhat intimidated. "Yes Jomar!"

"Bring the captive called Doctor to me at once." he bellowed and then slammed the door again.

"Certainly Master." Kamet turned on his heals and was on his way down the corridor before he had even finished getting the words out of his mouth.

TBC