Chapter 11

"I've been searching the galaxy for a compatible bio-molecular structure."

He would check his findings once more. He knew what the answer would be, though.

Self-doubt was not part of his programming, yet he had learned from the Voyager crew that often one needed to check the results just one more time: just so you know you had been right in the end.

And so the Doctor went over all of the data once more; almost driven to find a flaw in his analysis. Unfortunately he had to admit he had been correct the first time: the Ocampa in the stasis-pods were dying.

"Right now," he told Janeway and Chakotay a few minutes later as he returned to the ship, "the only thing keeping them alive is the pods. But the technology is not perfect: they are still aging."

"Would our technology prolong their time?" Chakotay asked.

"Probably," the hologram answered. But it would take quite a long time to convert all the pods. And the power on the array is nearly depleted."

"So there is nothing we can do for them?" the Captain asked.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor reluctantly answered. "But no." He shrugged. "You must remember these people have reached the age where they die naturally."

"It still feels wrong," Chakotay said, and a big part of the Doctor agreed.

Before the three of them could continue their discussion, Harry interrupted it.

Captain, he announced over the com. The Kazon are back.

The three of them filed out of the ready-room onto the bridge.

"Persistent, aren't they," Janeway remarked. She stood to one side and the Doctor went to stand beside her.

"Hail them," Chakotay ordered.

"Aye-aye, Captain," Harry said. Moments later the familiar face of Maje Culluh appeared on the view-screen.

"What do you want, Culluh?" Chakotay demanded.

"My fight is not with you today," the shaggy alien snarled. "But I have waited long enough for my reward!"

"Your reward?"

"The female promised me a reward for being here," Culluh said. The Doctor wondered who the 'female' the Kazon referred to was. "Now I will take what is mine!"

Chakotay frowned, but the Doctor was starting to understand the strange conversation and it frightened him.

"Captain," the Vulcan said, obviously also starting to put two-and-two together. "I believe Maje Culluh is planning to plunder the array."

Yes, just as the Doctor had thought.

"Is this true?' Chakotay roughly demanded.

"She promised me!" Culluh growled. "Stay out of my way or we will destroy you."

"Well, it seems we've been here before, as well," Janeway dryly remarked. The Doctor had not been mobile then, but he knew what she was referring to: Voyager's very first days in the Delta quadrant. Only then it had been another Maje that had threatened to plunder the array – the Caretaker's array. Then it had been the Ocampa on the Ocampa homeworld that had been in danger from the Kazon. And once more only Voyager stood between the Kazon and the Ocampa.

"There are people on the array," Chakotay informed the Kazon.

"Then they, too, had better stay out of my way."

"Captain," the Doctor interrupted. "The energy on the array is already at the minimum. If it has to sustain a boarding party, it will be depleted in minutes."

Chakotay looked over at Harry and the young man nodded. The Doctor knew this meant that the sound of the transmission had been muted. Then the Captain looked over at the Doctor.

"Doctor," he asked, "if we were to give the array some additional power, how long will the Ocampa have?"

The doctor shrugged. "Months."

"Captain, I must point out that anything we do to interfere will not help the Ocampa," Tuvok echoed the Doctor's thoughts. "The Kazon will merely raid that as well."

The Doctor was aware of some of his faults, but he really had a burning desire to heal others. There was nothing that hurt so much as knowing he could do nothing to save a life. Yet time has taught him a few lessons, as well. He knew that sometimes life forces one to choose between the lesser of two evils.

"Captain," he now said. "The stasis pods at the back have already failed. The energy the array used on life-support when the Admiral was there had drained the system beyond repair. The rest of the pods will start to fail within days."

Chakotay looked at the Doctor and the hologram wondered what the man was thinking. In many ways Janeway had been predictable, but Chakotay was much more of an enigma. The Doctor often found it unnerving to have him as Captain as he never really knew what was going to happen.

"So if we leave the Ocampa, they will die in days," Chakotay finally said. "And if we help them, we will give the Kazon reason to raid them and it might only prolong the Ocampa's lives by months."

"Yes, Captain," the Doctor said even though Chakotay had not really asked him a question. "And we can't bring them on board either. There are just too many of them."

The Doctor looked over at Janeway, who was silent next to him. He recognised the look of determination on her face, but there was something more there, as well. Well, if it had been him, he would have...he would have...no, not that either.

After a moment he realised he, too, would have had too much difficulty to decide the fate of the Ocampa. He looked back at Janeway and realised how she must be feeling: relief that the decision was not hers anymore, but sadness because she must know – just as the Doctor knew – that any decision would haunt Chakotay for the rest of his life.

Such moments of clarity were difficult for the Doctor. He returned his attention to the Captain, sure now what the choice would have to be. "Captain, we cannot help the Ocampa," he said with as much determination as he could muster. "But we cannot give the Kazon any other advantages, either."

Chakotay glanced over at Tuvok, who nodded. He looked at Janeway, but she refused to even blink, the Doctor saw. The senior officers had given their recommendations, now it was up to the Captain to choose.

"Harry, resume audio," Captain Chakotay said. The whole conversation had taken mere seconds, but already Culluh looked angry – angrier.

"Culluh, we will not allow you to raid the Ocampa's array," he told the alien on the view-screen.

"And what will you do to stop us?" the Kazon Maje sneered. "You insignificant little ship means nothing to us."

Everyone knew that was a lie: the true prize here would have been Voyager. But before anyone could respond, the view-screen went blank. Culluh had broken the connection.

"Mister Tuvok, prepare three photon torpedoes," their Captain said. Tuvok went over to the Tactical station. The bridge was silent except for the sound of Harry tapping at his controls. Then the dark man replied:

"Torpedoes ready, Captain."

"Fire at the central mast of the array, Lieutenant."

"Aye, Captain."

Tuvok fired. Three sparkling dots appeared on screen, only to impact with the array seconds later. It exploded: the Kazon would not get at its technology.

"Offer a prayer for the Ocampa tonight," Chakotay softly said. He turned to Harry. "If the Kazon hails us, ignore them. They will have nothing to say that we haven't heard before."

"Aye-aye."