Disclaimer: ST Voyager and all characters therein are the property of Paramount & CBS, no infringement intended.
Scene Two!
At the Paris' residence most of the Voyager crew were gathered to watch the broadcast, listening to their commanding officer's words, whilst watching the moving images on the main half of the screen, recognising the video footage that Robin Hood had made at their Family picnic, especially the treatment of Seven, Icheb and the Doctor, by the black clad security personnel.
"Do we know how they are fairing?" Dalby asked, pointing to their three friends on the screen.
"Dad's looking into it now, but he's not hopeful, as Admiral Hayes doesn't even know who ordered their internment," Tom informed them.
"Pity we can't just transport them out," said Lyssa Campbell, who'd often been assigned the post in transporter room one, over the years of their journey.
"With the communications system as open as it is, we'd be lucky to get them out in one piece," someone said with a smile in their voice.
"It is more the security system surrounding that compound that would be the problem," said Ayala quietly.
"I wonder if Chakotay is watching," her tone sad and concerned.
"He can't exactly avoid it, Lanna," her husband said softly sitting beside her, his arms holding her close, whilst their daughter slept in her arms innocently oblivious to what was happening around her.
=/\=
In the cafe across town, Hood and his men watched and listened as some of the disgruntled customers tried every channel only to discover the same "news" on all the channels.
"What's going on?" someone shouted angrily.
"Oh just shut up and listen," said the calm tones of the cafe proprietor.
"That Woman has been in the news far too often for my liking!" shouted the angry voice.
"Yeah especially since her First Officer went missing," noted another sourly. Instead of answering, the proprietor just clicked the volume control and the voice of Janeway filled the area effectively drowning out any other vocal sound. Thus the customers had no choice but to be quiet and listen. Robin smiled to himself as the proprietor went back to his domain taking the control device with him. This had always been the man's way of dealing with his more vocal customers, so that they either sat quiet and listened or left.
"Do you think they know something?" asked one of his Merry Men in hushed tones.
"They might," he agreed. "But not likely."
"More likely the silent ones," noted the other, pointing out a small group of black clad squaddies, sitting in a corner and who looked rather uncomfortable and distinctly uneasy.
"We'd better keep an eye on them," Robin said softly, his eyes roaming over the rest of the customers, hoping they wouldn't turn ugly in the light of the revelations yet to come.
=/\=
Across the star systems more and more Star ships, Star-bases, colonies, outposts, merchant shipping and the like were drawn in unwittingly to what was taking place in Sector 001. The Klingon's were the first to find their communications linked into the broadcast; at first the High Council and Command were enraged that their systems were being used in this way openly exposing them to their enemies, but when they realised that the Romulan's were in the same position, the Klingon High Chancellor decided to sit back and watch, he knew his time would come.
"Leave it alone!" he ordered and sat back in his chair and watched Janeway with growing respect and admiration. "A True Warrior," he whispered to the concern of those who heard him, but the Emperor just smiled in agreement.
The Tal Shiar tried every means at their disposal to get out of the loop, but to no avail. The Praetor ordered all Romulan's just to wait, watch, listen and learn, from the broadcast.
"What can those Human's ever teach us?" snapped one of his Senators'.
"Perhaps nothing," he agreed. "But how do we know unless we listen."
"Not that we have any choice in the matter," muttered another.
"Everyone is in the same position, Senator," he responded calmly. His words ended the muttering, thus they too awaited a chance to speak, because the Praetor knew that would come.
On Cardassia, their broken home scattered around them could do nothing but wait, watch and listen, their ships scattered throughout their system unable to navigate anywhere. Elim Garak watched at High Command central control with his usual patience and a sense of grudging respect for this Starfleet Captain, even in the face of what came next:
"Is there something you're not telling me? Janeway asked pointedly. "All those planets that you are purposing to support life and food production, all sustained heavy bombardment from orbital ships. Question is, were they all Cardassian or perhaps you'd like to implicate someone else?"
"I don't know what you mean!?" trying to avoid eye contact with her.
"Cardassia would love to implicate the Maquis in some of their more dubious activities in the former DMZ, especially those planets that were devastated from orbit. But they didn't have the right weaponry to obliterate whole regions, fertile valleys, forests, poisoning ground water supplies, etc; not even at ground level and certainly not from orbit. Cardassian War-ships could, even some experimental Starfleet weaponry could. Perhaps those developed to fight the Borg?" her tone hardening, especially as the male still refused to look at her directly. "What are you trying to hide, Rear Admiral Pleasances?" she questioned quietly.
=/\=
In his prison cell Teero was quietly seething with utter contempt and anger, not at Janeway as she revealed what had been happening to herself, her crew, and what this male Admiral was asking her to endorse in the DMZ; His anger and loathing was aimed at this Admiral Pleasances, if not the entire Federation and Starfleet for allowing this person to get away with what amounted to genocide in his eyes, including what had taken place at Tevlik's Moon to the Maquis and their families sheltering there. In Teero's mind they were all guilty of that mass murder there and he turned his thoughts to an even bigger revenge. It was Janeway's next words that stopped him developing those thoughts further.
"As for the whereabouts of my former XO, that is anyone's guess, but I'm sure someone knows and is not saying. For their sakes I hope they stay silent," Janeway said her expression hard and sad. "It appears that his disappearance has caused a chain reaction of events as though he shouldn't have," she paused frowning puzzled as she gathered her thoughts. "It has raised some very pertinent questions though, questions that require some very pressing and truthful answers. One – Why was he attacked - mugged by persons unknown twice for an act he'd never even considered – let alone carried out? Two – Why is a certain question asked of the Command Team that has never crossed our conscious thoughts – and again we never carried out? Just a side point on that a ship's command team is often made up of three persons not two, as is the case with Voyager's Command Team."
=/\=
On the USS Enterprise, the steady expressions around the ship's main bridge reflected the seriousness of what Janeway was saying, but the senior staff also knew there were some serious short comings within the Federation and Starfleet HQ command that couldn't be ignored and that Voyager's unexpected arrival had sent shockwaves of unease rippling across the high echelons of Admiralty, the question now was why and who?
"Mister Data, is the communications system holding?" Picard asked concerned.
"Yes Captain. The signal is boosted every time. There have been some attempts to close it, but the command is counteracting those attempts; including from the Borg."
"It's reached that far?" asked the soft voice of Counsellor Troi.
"It is still reaching out and will continue to do so until the command to stop is issued."
"And that can only come from one Captain Kathryn Janeway," noted Riker.
"Indeed, Number One. Indeed," mused Picard relaxing back into his seat, to await the outcome of this tirade of words and questions. "Scene Two almost complete," he muttered softly. Commander Data looked round at him, but said nothing as he continued to monitor the broadcast and the integrity of the communications system, not that he could shut it down or interfere with it in anyway, only Janeway could do that. He smiled to himself.
=/\=
NB: Sorry this has taken a while. Please review, Thank you for your patience.
