Chapter Thirty-Four: The Sky Is Falling

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The fire fight had broken out in the hours just after the news broadcast reached Setaris. It was a constant between Starfleet, the Helenites and everyone else on the planet. What was bad had gone to worse in a matter of hours. There wasn't a Human-Hybrid in the system that wasn't showing symptoms of the Plague. Normally sane men were mad. Mad men were sane.

Chakotay was trying to get men to the commissary in Camp One. He doubted that Ona would survive in there much longer with the world going to Hell around her. He took a blow to the head, and then there was nothing.

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The Jordan lay beneath a holographic duck blind1 parked neatly in a cave ten kilometers away from any other concentration of life on Setaris. Though they had contact with Voyager, no one else knew where they were. They had all known one hard night.

E'ron held his daughter to his chest. The child was racked with chills as the fever seized her small body. The remains of an unfinished Popsicle lay on a plate beside E'ron's chair. He was silent though his eyes burned with fire at each spasm from the girl's body.

Crewman Schneider sat on the cabin floor across from E'ron trying to get his youngest child to take sips of water.

Most of the other occupants of the runabout lay on the floor or couches. Three small forms and one large one in the very back were completely covered with sheets. Casualties of this Plague.

The EMH exited the lab area of the ship carrying a hypo-spray. "We've managed to replicate the antigen in the message from Central Quarantine, but we don't know how well it will work on hybrids." he said. "No doubt they've already tried it there, but haven't had time to send the results by subspace."

"It's the only hope?" E'ron questioned, with more shock in his voice than he would have cared to show.

The Doctor placed the hypo to the child's arm. Then moved to the other's in the cabin. Including Jesser and her two children. "It's the only hope that anyone here has."

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Kaz went over the data for the antigen on his computer in Voyager's sickbay. He pulled up a the plans on a device used by the So'na. And pointed it out to Commander Paris and Lt Kim. "This is a drone that shots out isolinear tags.2 If we replace the tags in the magazines with darts that have the antigen."

"Then we could inoculate everyone on the planet's surface." said Paris. "I wish we hadn't lost touch with the Captain last night." he shook his head. "Get Lt. Vorrik on this rite away and let me know when you are ready to deploy." He turned to the door. "I'll have Lt. Tare take us into the atmosphere so we can send them through the torpedo tubes in large numbers."

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Lieutenant Commander Phillipa Matthias tried to wipe the blood from Captain Chakotay's forehead with a cloth and some water. Water was a scarce thing since the riots had began here on Setaris. The camps were over crowded, and unless something was done soon there would be no one left on Setaris to cure. Even if they found a cure this very minute. There was no way to get it past those who had taken over the camps from the Starfleet and Helenite officials in their Coup De Stupidity.

There were nearly three thousand dead already here. And she feared that she would be joining them soon, without even a chance to say goodbye to her husband and children.

With the ash from the funeral pyres drifting on the air, she was reminded of a sad poem one of her Human ancestors wrote called The Day My Sky Fell.

Phillipa's sky was falling now.

In the gray of dawn she could see the Commissary of Camp One. The place where the riots had started over forty-eight hours ago. The place where Ambassador Ona was still a hostage. She no longer had any hope left.

"May death come to us swiftly as it has it has come to this world today." she said to the unconscious and fevered Captain.3

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1. This is a nice little trick, and since the Jordan is not a Starfleet vessel there is no breaking of certain treaties with the Romulans here.

2. These were in the movie Inserection.

3. Chakotay's tribe is the direct result of ancient genetic bonding between Humans and aliens. (See Voyager episode Tattoo and Spirit Walk book One and Two.)

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