Star Trek Voyager: Eternal Soul

Chapter XIX: Destiny's Voyager

Delta Quadrant, Starship Voyager, Stardate 54952.2:

The bridge crew remained silent for several long moments due to the completely unpredictable nature of the situation they found themselves in. Suspecting that the Vryke was nearby and possibly tracking Voyager was enough to fuel anyone's adrenalin, but hearing the creature actually speak to them removed all doubt as to its location. The strange, hostile alien entity had discovered them at last and – even as it spoke to them – was busy taking control of their starship.

There was a brief moment of silence after it announced its presence, chuckling gleefully as it did so. Finally, Captain Janeway rose to her feet and smiled dryly. "I should warn you, we're quite familiar by now with your preferred method of prisoner treatment once you capture a starship," she informed the Vryke. "Are you willing to negotiate with us this time, or should we start blowing up critical systems that take days to repair… perhaps even the entire ship?"

"Negotiations require each participant to offer something that the other wants," the Vryke responded almost immediately. "You have nothing that I want Captain Janeway… I am now in total control of everything that happens within the Trade Coalition. Who in this Quadrant can hope to stop me if you cannot?"

"We have plenty to offer," countered Janeway, gesturing toward the spacious bridge and the people surrounding her. "It is true that you are now in a position to influence or destroy my ship. But Voyager is a powerful starship with advanced weaponry and a maximum warp velocity far greater than you are currently used to. My crew and I familiarized ourselves with the techniques that you have utilized in the past to capture vessels, so I can assure you we have made preparations to terminate your control of this ship at any time." She leaned casually against the handrail circling the center of the bridge. "But that could change… If you help us end the fighting within the Trade Coalition and its member planets, we might be willing to help you achieve a few of your own objectives. But that won't happen unless you agree first to talk with us."

"It is unlikely that you are willing to negotiate anything Captain Janeway," the creature decided, a distinct note of arrogance prevalent in its tone. "I do not believe you expected me to to capture your ship… that you are now stalling for time in hopes that your crew can come up with a defense against my powers. I assure you, they cannot… my influence now dominates everything within the Yukshaan and Rafali star systems. I can return to Minister Ketterlin's home world at any time and retake control of his entire race. So I ask you, what possible reason could I have for sparing your ship and crew? What could I possibly need from you?"

"You can return to the Yukshaan system at warp four," pointed out Janeway. "Voyager, with my crew's cooperation, is capable of moving you back and forth between the two star systems much faster. And… eventually I would think you're going to want to expand your influence even farther, to cultures in other star systems. We have observed firsthand that it takes a great deal of time to carve those subspace tunnels of yours, and we have also proven that our standard space-based weaponry can collapse them in minutes and render them completely useless to you. You're searching for a way to co-exist with the life forms in this universe, so if we offer you a chance to remain in charge of everything – which is obviously what you're after – then perhaps you could grant us mere mortals who serve under your command a few privileges in return."

There was a long pause after the Captain completed her last sentence, during which time everyone waited with growing anticipation. The bridge systems flickered unexpectedly and temporarily lost power, then reactivated normally as though nothing problematic had ever taken place. From her position next to Tuvok, Seven observed the entire process with great trepidation. "Captain… just as it did a century ago aboard Enterprise, the Vryke is searching through our memory banks and copying all of our data into its memory."

"If that is the case, then it should be aware of the directive Starfleet Command passed along to us in their most recent message," spoke up Chakotay, glancing toward the Comm-system where the bodiless voice continued to speak from. "We have been ordered to find a way to destroy you," he told the Vryke. "And if we can't do that, then you have also seen that we have orders to destroy Voyager if need be in order to keep you from using its technology against the people of this region. Do you have any doubts that we would hesitate to do so if you force our hand?"

"Yes I believe you would destroy your own starship," admitted the Vryke. "That is certainly a tactical move that has been used against me in the past." The entity fell silent for a moment, during which time Seven monitored its progress on the tactical console. She watched curiously while the creature accessed all of their data and assimilated it into its memory. "Hmmm, I notice that a lot of the personal and official logs that this crew normally keeps have not been filed in recent days. Is your crew growing lazy or are you hiding something from me Captain?"

"We're hiding as much as we possibly can," Janeway responded grimly. "You'll also find that certain key systems have already been isolated from our main computer. We know very well what you are capable of, so we made certain that we would have as many bargaining chips as possible at our disposal if you managed to breach our defenses. I myself want very badly to survive… after all, I have repeatedly promised my crew that I would find a way to someday return them home to their families."

"Your logs do contain many entries on that subject," noted the creature. "Your starship is alone here in the Delta Quadrant… and I am very familiar with loneliness. I have found many entries in your log emphasizing your strong desire to return to your own side of the galaxy."

"Yes," admitted the Captain truthfully. "During the past seven years, we have tried everything we could possibly think of to get home. Up until now we have occasionally discovered a shortcut here or there, but nothing sufficient to significantly shorten our journey. Then you came along with your ability to create subspace ruptures… Quite naturally we are very interested in striking some sort of deal with you, since this proven ability could easily get us home."

The Vryke giggled hysterically, its laughter shrill and condescending. "I notice that you were originally stranded in the Delta Quadrant because of your willingness to sacrifice the Caretaker's Array to save the lives of strangers," it cackled. "You follow Starfleet rules and regulations too closely, and because of that your crew suffers. I fail to see why they have not mutinied against you long ago and appointed someone smarter to lead them."

"I have never regretted that decision," stated Janeway sincerely, seething a bit at the Vryke's ongoing arrogance. "If faced with a similar situation again, I would again put the lives of innocent Ocampans first. Starfleet has always been dedicated to exploring space and meeting new life forms – you for instance. You certainly qualify as one of the most unique discoveries in our entire history."

"Your statements concur with your log entries," agreed the invading entity. "Captain Ransom and the starship Equinox presented your crew with another opportunity to return home, but you vehemently opposed him at every turn… even to the point of firing weapons at a fellow Starfleet crew. Truly you are a failure as a leader, Captain Janeway. If it wasn't for your misguided compassion, you and your crew would be home already."

"If you've scanned all of our data banks, then you can confirm we have all kinds of information and technology available that could greatly assist you in your efforts to reshape the cultures here in the Delta Quadrant," Chakotay observed. "All you have to do is assist us in getting back to the Alpha Quadrant, and we'll give you Voyager… you can put a Rafalian or Yukshaan replacement crew aboard her and use it as your flagship."

"Do not lie to me First Officer Chakotay," the Vryke declared angrily. "I know all about your peace talks with the Stefe'en, not to mention the meetings with the Yukshaan and Rafalian delegates that have taken place here on Voyager. Those meetings all had a central objective dedicated primarily to my complete and utter destruction. If I'm reading your logs correctly, you have been unwilling to compromise prior to know. Obviously my unexpected arrival here has changed your minds on this matter."

"Since you're here now, at the very least we can agree to negotiate, can't we?" Janeway's expression appeared sincere. "You have all of the knowledge available in our data banks at your disposal, but you still require people to operate those systems and make them work for you. We could help you with that… come to some sort of agreement. If you assist us in finding a way back to the Alpha Quadrant, perhaps I will let you keep Voyager, but I need to know first that the people here will be safe. Can we agree to discuss this matter further?"

Again there was a prolonged silence as the alien entity thought the matter over.

"I do not believe you," the Vryke said finally. "I think you are trying to deceive me in some manner… your behavior to date suggests that you would never leave these people behind if you felt that their long term safety was threatened. Such actions would not be in keeping with your past behavior, certainly not if the information contained within your personal logs is accurate."

Janeway glanced over toward B'Elanna and their eyes met. At the Captain's command the Chief Engineer was ready to implement a short-fuse detonation that they had rigged as their last resort… their final option if the Vryke chose not to cooperate. As Janeway had already pointed out, many of Voyager's key systems had been carefully isolated from the main computer as a precaution against Vryke interference.

All of the normal self destruction protocols regulated by the main computer had been disabled and were no longer active… Lt. Torres could destabilize the warp core and blow up the entire ship within seconds of receiving Janeway's authorization to do so. She had received orders to stay in her seat throughout the crisis – regardless of where anyone else went and no matter what anyone said. If the Captain left the bridge, then an emergency Comm-badge signal was all she would need. Either the creature would agree to talk matters over or they would annihilate it, even if they had to sacrifice the starship and everyone aboard her in order to do it.

While it had kept its higher brain functions located aboard the Yukshaan starship, the Vryke had already proven it was virtually invulnerable. Its proven abilities to generate defensive shields and attack approaching ships could probably even defend against a Borg attack. That was why Janeway's command team had voted to trick it into letting the entity believe that it had outwitted them. By allowing the creature to board Voyager, the Captain was making certain they had at least one opportunity to destroy it. Even without a physical body the alien was still a living being… an anti-matter explosion at the very heart of its thought process would very likely leave the rest of its body helpless or dead. A starship warp engine explosion would disrupt both matter and energy, instantly this time before the creature could flee to a safer location.

"Can we agree to negotiate?" Janeway repeated. She placed her hands on her hips, never once taking her eyes off of Torres. If the creature grew disinterested in Voyager and tried to leave, they would have no choice but to try and kill it, never knowing for certain whether or not they were successful. However, all senior officers had agreed privately that the Vryke's greed would leave it susceptible to the temptation of their advanced technology. It would want to keep the Starfleet vessel at any cost, so they had all been fairly certain it would agree to negotations.

The wait this time as the Vryke considered its options seemed interminable.

"Yes, I think we should discuss this situation further," the creature decided, the tone of its voice holding a distinct note of approval. "I am still in control of your vessel, after all, and can destroy you at any time. I find myself very intrigued by your logs and all of the fascinating information that your crew has gathered during your time here in the Delta Quadrant… particularly this long-distance communications link you have established with Starfleet. I could possibly widen their micro-wormhole in a fraction of the time it would take me to create a subspace tunnel of my own. If you please me sufficiently and continue to cooperate, I may send your crew home… but you will have to let me keep Voyager."

Idmund Ketterlin's face paled noticeably. "You can't do that Captain!" he said heatedly. "You can't just abandon us to the whims of this… this monster…"

Janeway glanced at him scornfully. "No one is abandoning anyone just yet Minister," she assured him. "Gather your diplomatic team together and meet us in the mess hall. We're going to work out an agreement with this creature and end this situation peacefully."

That's right, the Vryke thought gleefully as it watched and listened to the Captain prattle on. All it had to do was let Janeway think that it was open to her brand of diplomacy… let her think that it wanted to make a deal with her. If it could delay them long enough, it would soon be able to begin influencing the decision making processes in their brains using the same technique that it had captured General Cabreu Skellan with. A gradual escalation of its mind control was all that would be needed; the Starfleet crew would never even suspect that they were being manipulated until it was too late.

The Vryke had once again seized control of a Federation starship, and this time it planned to keep it.

The Doctor glared at Tom Paris as the Lieutenant entered Sickbay, tossing aside a medical tricorder. "It's not working!" he growled furiously. "I'm using auxiliary power from engineering, just like we planned, to send a high frequency signal radiating through all of the ship's bio-neural gel packs. According to my computer model, the modifications we made should already be having a noticeable healing effect on the Vryke's tortured mind."

"Did you listen to the conversation on the bridge?" Paris watched his reaction curiously.

"Yes I did," the Doctor admitted. "And that's what I don't understand… by now the creature's ability to reason and think rationally should have increased by at least fifty percent. But that's not happening… its still overreacting emotionally and its behavior appears totally unchanged."

Paris sat down on the edge of Sickbay's central, primary bio-bed. "I realize you have a nurturing nature and want to cure every patient you run across," Tom said calmly. "But your database contains lots of information on psychology… have you ever considered the possibility that maybe this creature simply chooses to be evil…?"

The Doctor frowned, mentally reviewing the meticulous research that he had completed over the past few days. "Of course I considered it," he admitted. "However, the computer analysis that Seven and I completed clearly shows indications of bipolar disorder – a condition that should be the cause of aberrant behavior equivalent to similar mental illnesses in a humanoid brain. I am certain that I planned for everything…"

Paris snorted with laughter. "The Vryke is a bully!" he shouted at the Doctor. "Face it Doc… this thing does whatever it wants and goes wherever it wants because it enjoys picking on lower life forms." He stood up and his eyes flashed. "No, I take that back," he decided. "The Vryke is worse than a bully. People are getting killed by this creature… all you have to do is read through our Starfleet logs spanning two centuries to find out for yourself. We have plenty of evidence proving that everywhere this thing goes people die."

The Doctor sighed and turned his attention back to the central interface console that he had set up linking his Sickbay systems to Voyager's main computer. He reviewed the statistics once again and still saw no sign of improvement. The Vryke's mental activity was truly enormous, but even so there was absolutely no change from the previous sensor readings that they had taken during their battle with it in the Yukshaan star system.

"Doc… we don't have a lot of time," Paris reminded him. "The Captain has to make a final decision and she wants to know… can you heal this creature or not?"

Voyager's holographic Doctor pondered the issue carefully for a moment longer. "No," he said finally. "Ultimately the choice to do good things or bad things is up to each individual. I have done all I can and this creature's behavior still shows no signs of improvement… not even minor ones. Unless it does something completely unexpected – such as withdrawing unconditionally from Voyager – I have to conclude that you are right… that this entity is an evil being. Unfortunately I have no way of determining whether it became a monster during its isolation within the Questar gravity well, or whether it has always behaved in this manner. After all, the creature has been around for more than 300 million years!" He shook his head slowly back and forth with more than a little dismay. "I could continue my efforts to treat it with an eventual possibility of success… but how many more people will die in the meantime? Right now, here in this century, I have no choice to conclude that the Vyrke is a villain"

"Thanks Doc," Paris said, heading immediately for the door. "If you need to contact me, I'll be with the Captain and the others."

When Tom Paris arrived in Voyager's mess hall, Captain Janeway was already busy visiting with Idmund Ketterlin and Joseth Addersbay. She glanced up as he entered and Tom hesitated, then slowly shook his head and mouthed the word "No" at her. The Captain acknowledged the prearranged signal with a nod and set her coffee mug on the table between the Prime Minister and Addersbay. Paris continued into the room and moved to stand next to Tuvok. The aroma of baking bread filled the room; a crewman behind the counter was on duty and busily planning upcoming meals. No one seemed to notice him though, since everyone was preoccupied with the Vryke. Its powerful presence could be felt everywhere throughout the ship.

A Comm-badge lay in the middle of the central conference table… a table that had been set up specifically for the peace talks. Once everyone had arrived, negotiations had resumed and the Vryke was currently using the communicator to speak to them. The creature's current mood was once again growing angry – it was not yet satisfied that they had anything meaningful to offer it.

"What happens on the planets and colonies within the Yukshaan Trade Coalition is my business... particularly if I allow Voyager's crew to return to the Alpha Quadrant. Honestly Captain Janeway, I hope you and your colleagues have something significant to offer me. I must say, you're very rapidly running out of time to convince me to spare your lives."

"What gives you the right to capture and kill my people?" Minister Ketterlin shouted angrily. He leaned forward intensely toward the communicator. "Do you really believe that our population will comply with your decision to appear from nowhere and just appoint yourself as some sort of God-like dictator? Do you really believe that we will not fight back?"

"Fight all you want," the Vryke responded bluntly. "I will kill off all who resist me. Those who agree to serve and obey will live."

"If I might ask, what specifically is your ultimate goal here in our region of space?" Addersbay inquired curiously. "If all of the people on all of our planets do end up complying with all of your demands, what will happen then? Will you rule over us benevolently, or will you kill indiscriminately whenever someone offends you?"

"I will rule over all of you… I will rewrite your laws," declared the creature. "I make no promises… you are lower life forms to me and nothing more. If you are worthy of survival you will fight and win wars for me as I continue to expand my influence throughout this Quadrant."

Captain Janeway exhaled slowly, shrugging helplessly at both Ketterlin and Addersbay. Leaving her coffee mug right where it was she stood up and walked slowly over to the central mess hall replicator. She glanced over toward Chakotay and Tuvok… both men nodded supportively in her direction. Without further delay she came to her final decision.

"Black coffee… hot," she stated casually. In front of her the replicator sprang immediately to life, particularly the new device attached to it. Glowing green and gold lights began flashing on its surface as the replicator warmed up, and then unexpectedly began drawing significant power from the main computer's primary systems networked throughout the starship. Around them and everywhere else aboard Voyager, lights dimmed and entire systems temporarily lost power.

"What are… you… DOING?" The Vryke said suddenly as the starship's power systems continued to fluctuate unsteadily. Its voice was no longer emotionless… for the first time since they had encountered the creature it sounded frightened and more than a little confused.

The overhead lighting flickered a second time and most of the starship's primary systems temporarily went off-line as the power supplied to them was diverted and rerouted through the mess hall's primary replicator. Next to Captain Janeway's left hand the modified device continued to hum with activity… it was obviously very busy doing something much more difficult than simply materializing a fresh cup of hot coffee. Ketterlin, Addersbay and the other delegates appeared very frightened by the sudden changes surrounding them – they were all still new to life aboard the Starfleet vessel and therefore unused to the dangerous situations common to deep space exploration.

But no one – not even the Starfleet crew – expected the Vryke to scream as loudly as it did. In less than thirty seconds, the creature's arrogant tone had changed to one of pure agony.

"Stop… please… stop before…" The pleading voice trailed off in mid-sentence and was followed almost immediately by a second scream of anguish.

In front of Janeway, the replicator's materializing software activated and a large brick of granite appeared within the device. Grabbing the stone with both hands she carefully lifted it out of the machine and set it to one side. Then she returned her attention once again to the replicator. "Black coffee… hot," she repeated.

Processing this newest voice command, the replicator immediately began a second sequence. They heard a final scream of pain from the Vryke that cut off mid-way through the replicator's second cycle. This time a much smaller block of stone appeared inside the food manufacturing device and Janeway nodded with approval as she removed it and set it on top of the larger block. Smiling with satisfaction she tapped her Comm-badge. "Bridge, this is Janeway."

"Torres here."

"B'Elanna, what is the status of the Vryke particle field surrounding us?" asked the Captain curiously. "Can you and Seven detect a difference up there?"

There was a seemingly endless pause as they waited for a response. "We lost power as expected," Torres confirmed. "But everything appears to be okay now. All major systems are back on-line and complete control has been restored to the bridge. Either the Vryke decided to leave Voyager or your plan worked. What do you think Seven?"

"My assessment is similar to yours," Seven's voice responded. "There are significant changes throughout Voyager." Again they waited as she activated the ship's main sensor array and used it to scan the surrounding area. "There are also definite indications that the cloud of Vryke particles surrounding us is rapidly losing cohesion… all of the elements within the field are beginning to drift randomly."

Ketterlin's expression was one of complete shock. "What did you do Captain?"

Sitting opposite him Chakotay smiled. "The Vryke is composed entirely of energy," he reminded them with a relieved chuckle. "The creature may not have a physical body in the same manner that we do, but its electromagnetic structure is still bound by the laws of physics in this universe. We simply planned for that and took advantage of it."

The Prime Minister continued to regard them with disbelief. "How?"

Janeway smiled. "When the Vryke took over Voyager, its energy naturally found a comfortable new home in our starship's bio-neural gel packs. While it was there, our Doctor tried to heal its brain functions using a fluctuating resonance pulse emanating throughout the ship's power supply, but Mr. Paris signaled me that he was unsuccessful. We were thus left with no alternative except to kill the creature. Rather than blow up the ship and everyone aboard, my command crew and I decided to have a backup plan in place." She pointed at the replicator. "I used a preset code phrase to activate a filter subroutine within this replicator. Its internal processor is hooked into the main computer and programmed to identify the Vryke's higher brain functions, then route that energy directly to this device. Before the creature even knew what was happening to it, we converted all energy matching the original entity from Questar into physical stone." She rapped loudly on the granite blocks in front of her with the knuckles of her right hand. "This is all that remains of its brain… without a consciousness to control the body, the rest of it is helpless."

Ketterlin remained unconvinced. "Surely you aren't suggesting that this creature is dead…"

From the communicator sitting on the table in front of the Minister, Seven's voice corrected him. "It is very dead," she observed. "Voyager's Astrometric sensors are back on-line, and they clearly indicate that the Vryke's particle field is dissipating rapidly… all of the visible and invisible radiant energy that it collected from the surrounding stars is being released back into space. I am recording the entire process and can assure you that the view is quite lovely."

Captain Janeway held up the smaller of the two stone bricks. "I would suggest adding these to our collection… we could take them down to Sickbay and set them next to the Caretaker's remains, but I hardly think that the Vryke deserves such an honor. The Caretaker was an alien to our galaxy, but a role model for all space faring species… he sacrificed his entire future to care for a people that he had once wronged. By comparison, the Vryke wasn't capable of anything except deception, hate and murder."

Joseth Addersbay had been sitting quietly, listening to the entire affair. "So quickly you were able to subvert the plans of this creature?" he asked with a look of wonder. "Truly your technology grants you remarkable capabilities."

Chakotay nodded. "Unfortunately with those abilities come great responsibility," he replied. "We have to be very careful who we share our information with… too many cultures would use such knowledge for violence." His gaze shifted to Tom Paris. "I take it the Doctor is disappointed that his treatment plan failed."

Tom allowed himself a small smile. "It's a two-sided failure for him I'm afraid. His ego is damaged because his ideas didn't work, and he genuinely feels for the Vryke because his compassionate nature sincerely wanted to heal it." He shrugged. "Part of me agreed with him – how often do we run into a life form from so long ago that can still communicate with us? The scientific loss in this opportunity to know more about our galaxy is enormous."

"I completely agree with you Tom," the First Officer told him. "But we have as much right to exist as the Vryke does, and it quite obviously was planning to dispose of everyone aboard this ship as soon as it was certain we were of no further use to it."

The Captain returned to the central conference table and retrieved her favorite coffee mug. "Tuvok, please have damage control run a complete level three diagnostic on all systems throughout the ship. Verify that everything is back on-line and functioning properly. Also have Seven run a detailed internal sensor sweep as well… if there are any residual traces of the energy signature matching the original entity's pattern from Columbia's records, want them located and purged from our systems as soon as possible."

"Aye Captain."

The younger 'q' returned to the Continuum still chuckling. He sat down next to his father and a fresh burst of laughter temporarily overcame him. "Aunt Kathy turned it into a rock!" he gasped, tears running from the corners of his eyes. "A ROCK!" He clutched his sides and continued to laugh uncontrollably for a moment longer.

'Q' watched his son for a minute and then put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know you're proud of your Aunt Kathy's handling of this situation," he said calmly. "But one of the primary reasons that I wanted you here with me is to emphasize just how precious life within this universe of ours is… any life!" The cocky grin on his son's face vanished as he saw the grim, determined look on the face of his father.

"Of course life is precious, but she had no choice Dad… that thing was going to…"

"Listen to me son!" Q's voice boomed. "A parent cannot save his son from making all of the same mistakes that he once did, but I can certainly try my best to warn you about the major ones. The powers of a 'Q' give us limitless abilities, and you have already experimented with a great many of them. I did the same thing during much of my own adolescence, and I can tell you that I had a lot of fun doing so. But I hurt a lot of lower life forms along the way… some of them pretty badly. Others I mistreated and manipulated for my own amusement. It wasn't until I met Jean Luc Picard that I fully began to realize the potential that existed within lower life forms… they have so little and accomplish so much using only what they have. My attachment to Starfleet became a much stronger, familial bond during a time when I was temporarily exiled from the Continuum. At a crucial point in my life, when I was alone and totally vulnerable, enemies from my past appeared and tried to kill me."

Young 'q' appeared bored. "I've heard this story before Dad."

"Then hear it again my boy, because you can see the future just as well as I can and you're going to need to remember this particular story for the rest of your life. I showed up on Voyager very early during their trip home, at a time when one of our colleagues had grown tired of immortality. He hated the concept of an eternal soul and simply wanted to end his existence even though he was punished for those beliefs by the other members of our Continuum. I must confess that a bit of my cocky nature persisted during those days and I dabbled with the concept of sending Voyager back to the Alpha Quadrant earlier than planned in exchange for Janeway's cooperation handling our renegade 'Q'. At the time I believed I was testing her for potential weaknesses in her moral values, but now I'm convinced that I was the one who ended up learning something. If I had sent her back, all of the good that they have accomplished here in the Delta Quadrant since that initial visit wouldn't have happened."

"Their intervention in the affairs of Delta Quadrant cultures has had some negative consequences too Dad."

"Absolutely correct son. But if you examine the history of the universe a little more closely I think you will discover that good and evil are always difficult to define… at first. Evil may triumph for a time, but eventually it collapses under the weight of its own inherent weaknesses. I left Voyager in the Delta Quadrant because I could see that there were still so many things left for them to do. Their accomplishments and role model behavior have profoundly influenced cultures that – until now – have done nothing but bicker amongst each other and wage endless, bloody wars. There were admittedly some diamonds hiding amidst all the rubbish, but not nearly enough of them to make a genuine long-term difference. That has all changed now, thanks to Voyager's presence. They were the catalyst, and change is spiraling out of control with many of the people whose lives they have touched."

"What has this got to do with me?" Young 'q' looked truly mystified at his father's behavior.

"I myself must be a role model now that I am a parent, and I would not be doing my job properly if I failed to point out to you that I am not perfect… that I myself have made many mistakes during my lifetime. I want you to learn about compassion and tolerance and positive change before you get caught up in the evil that is still prevalent throughout much of this galaxy."

'q' regarded his father thoughtfully. "That must have been hard for you to admit…" he decided. "…that you are flawed and have made mistakes."

'Q' laughed. "Believe me, it is even more difficult to admit these things to someone you love," he told his son. "But there it is… I'm not saying that you will someday be stripped of your powers in the same way that I was. All I'm asking you to do is think very carefully about the life forms you interact with – what would they do if you were suddenly powerless? Would they help you adjust to a new life, as Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew tried to help me, or would they come after you hoping to even a score?"

"That's a good life lesson, but it's not the whole story behind this Vryke situation, is it?" asked 'q'. "There's something else about all of this… something you haven't allowed me to see yet."

"Ah, your intuitive nature is so like me my son… I am so proud of you. If your mother was here she would be jealous and disappointed to see that so much of me has been captured within you. Yes, there is indeed an additional issue to be resolved here. It involves a very old friend… the one who saved my life during that time I was aboard Enterprise and completely helpless."

"Why can't I see it then?"

"You can. But you won't realize just how precious all life is until we pass into that timeline."

Placing a comforting arm around his son's shoulder, 'Q' led him toward the future.

"Dad?" the boy asked softly.

"Yes, my son?"

"What about this all powerful God that so many cultures speak of? If He truly existed we would certainly know about it, wouldn't we? After all, we can see everything!"

'Q' shrugged. "I've never seen any sign of Him… and I've been around a long time my boy."

'q' noticed his father glancing back over his shoulder, as though looking for someone while he spoke the words, but he decided not to pursue the matter further.

Delta Quadrant, Starship Voyager, Stardate 54952.4:

"I am glad to hear that everything has been settled and that your ship is safe," decided Governor Villip Ruksin respectfully, the relief in his tone quite obvious. An image of him sitting behind a luxurious desk in his private office on Rafali Prime was displayed on Voyager's viewscreen. "I am certain that General Skellan and Minister Ketterlin will agree that both of our cultures owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Without your assistance, the killing in this region would have continued indefinitely… that creature would have enslaved all of us eventually."

"There are always alternatives Governor," replied Janeway. "Fortunately for us we were able to brainstorm enough of them to keep our common enemy off guard. The Vryke's greed and lust for power blinded it… it never even suspected that it had weaknesses just like any other life form until it was too late."

Ruksin nodded in agreement. "I have a meeting to attend later… we're going to decide what to do about Derryn Akseth and the others involved in his scheming," he informed her. "We still haven't decided just who should be prosecuted and who should be granted amnesty."

"I don't envy you that task," the Captain decided. "I've had to discipline people before, but never regarding abuse of power on so grand a scale. I take it from your fatigued appearance that the corruption within your government runs deep?"

"The scandals touch more people I used to trust than I ever could have imagined," the Governor responded. "Many are coming forward and admitting their role… others continue to out each other in order to save themselves. Once we reveal just how much documentation we have on file proving their guilt, most of them give in and admit their part. I expect that those who are honest from the start and own up to what they did will be the ones we go easy on. But those are our problems now and we will deal with them."He smiled wanly. "I know you are anxious to continue your journey home, but we are all hoping that you will stay in the region for awhile longer. My people have informed me that they want to hold a celebration at some point in the next few days, so they can thank you and your crew personally."

Janeway laughed at his comment. "We'll be around for awhile longer Governor," she assured him. "I have delegates and crewmen from both Yukshaan and Rafali Prime on board. Once we drop them off, we still have to swing by the Stefe'en home world and return Commander Chakotay's friend."

"Then I look forward to speaking with you again very soon," said the Governor, nodding politely as he terminated the transmission. The viewscreen immediately switched back to its view overlooking the Rafali home world as it floated gracefully in space beneath Voyager's orbit. Janeway picked up a data padd and carefully began recording notes that she was planning to add into her logs later that evening.

Using padds had quickly become routine… they had been operating under total secrecy ever since their first encounter with the Vryke, and she supposed that it was now safe again for everyone to resume their normal routine. Before the matter slipped into the background of non-essential things to do once again, she made a ship wide announcement that the Vryke crisis was officially ended. The Captain instructed all hands to resume normal shipboard operations, including the careful and meticulous task of recording both professional and private log entries.

As she finished, Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "Captain, we are receiving another transmission," he reported, sounding a bit puzzled even through his carefully controlled Vulcan demeanor. "It appears to be from Ambassador Neelix… the message originates from his homestead asteroid."

Next to Janeway, Chakotay chuckled at the news. "Neelix?"

Tuvok confirmed the origin codes. "Affirmative. I am routing the transmission to the main viewscreen. It is indeed Ambassador Neelix."

Their Talaxian friend was standing proudly next to the woman Dexa and her son Brax. Neelix had already formed a close bond with the two of them since his original arrival on the colony, and he kept hinting that the bond between them was growing stronger every day. At the sight of the smiling faces, Captain Janeway rose from her seat and walked forward and paused behind Tom Paris. "Neelix…" she said warmly. "It's good to hear from you out of the blue like this… is there something wrong on your end that we can help you with?"

"Not exactly Captain," decided Neelix. "I've been trying to reach you for several hours now, but your orbit was on the wrong side of that planet you're hanging around. There is something quite urgent that you need to do."

Standing to his left, the boy Brax waved. "Hi Captain Janeway!" he said enthusiastically.

"Brax!" said Dexa almost immediately. "You promised that you would be quiet!" She frowned at her son, but he continued to grin… genuinely happy to see the crew of Voyager again.

"Captain," Neelix continued. "Apparently there is some sort of local subspace interference in your area generated by that creature you've been chasing. Seven assured me that you have control of the situation, but I must say it doesn't sound friendly in the least and I hope you resolve the matter very soon."

"Relax Ambassador," the Captain suggested. "What's the problem? What do we need to do?"

"Commander Data and Ensign Kim were unable to get the Delta Flyer out of the Rafalian star system as planned and suffered damage during a battle with an enemy starship. They told me that everyone seems to be okay, but they wanted you to know that their warp engines are off-line and communications are down. Since a direct line of communication to you wasn't possible, they contacted me here and requested that I relay a message to you."

From his position at the helm, Tom Paris glanced warily back toward Janeway and then returned his attention to the viewscreen. "How much damage?" he asked suspiciously. "What have they done to my baby?"

"Hey!" B'Elanna Torres said sharply, drawing his gaze immediately to the engineering console. "Your baby is right here, remember?" She pointed at her swollen tummy for emphasis. "Don't forget that for a minute buddy boy, or I'll make arrangements with the Doctor for you to carry her around inside your belly for a few weeks!"

Neelix cackled with laughter for a moment at both B'Elanna's response and her angry expression, then grew serious once again. "I don't know exactly how much damage was done," he replied. "Ensign Kim did not go into detail, but he did mention that the Flyer's warp drive was off-line and that local communication with you was impossible. Since we are located in a direction well away from the areas of greatest disruption, he sent me their exact coordinates. I am relaying them to you right now… they are hiding near a pair of moons orbiting the fifth planet, which I believe should be the only gas giant in your star system."

"Thanks for the update Neelix," said Janeway gratefully. "We'll chart a course to intercept them immediately." She nodded to Tom Paris and he began plotting the necessary changes, mumbling something about the damage to his precious Flyer as he did so.

On the viewscreen Neelix leaned closer to the visual pickup on his end, surveying the bridge crew until his gaze came to rest on Tuvok. "Hi there Mr. Vulcan!" he said with a friendly wave. "How have you been doing?"

"I am fine Neelix," Tuvok replied, and once again a raised eyebrow was the only reaction he would offer. "I hope life at your new home is going well."

"It is. And thanks."

Paris glanced up from his console. "I've plotted and laid in an interception course at half impulse. We'll rendezvous with the Delta Flyer in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks again Neelix," said Janeway. "We owe you one."

"No problem Captain. Please take care of yourselves."

The Captain smiled confidently. "We always seem to find a way."

Author's notes: Believe it or not, there's quite a bit left in this story to tell! So I hope that the unexpected simplicity of the solution to the Vryke matter caught everyone off guard, and would appreciate it if you all stick around to find out more about some of the core issues driving this story. There's at least one BIG surprise left, I promise you!