NB: Finally after some personal prompts and one from cojack, I have restarted this story and with the aim of completing it. Thank you everyone who reads, follows, reviews and favorites, thank you for your patience.
Better get the reminder about no copyright infringement out of the way. see chapter one for a full disclosure. Ta!
Juggernaut!
"Who or what are these Vaadwaur?" asked Admiral Pleasances angrily, alerting the Camp's Commandant to the fact that they were now linked into the broadcast, something he was none too happy about, yet he also realised there wasn't much he could do about it; glaring at the blonde female.
"The Vaadwaur are a species from the Delta Quadrant, a warrior race who use sub-space corridors to travel around their area, conquering all they came into contact with. Their name is an old Talaxian word meaning 'Foolish',"Seven informed them.
"What would they want with Starfleet?"
"I believe they are responding to a fixed beacon signal sent out fourteen years ago from co-ordinates 37.871361; minus 122.25984."
=/\=
Within her office Admiral Necheyev swore softly under her breath, knowing that those figures brought her to the area just down the corridor from her current position, recalling something of the rumours and conjecture that had taken place there fourteen years ago, when she'd been working her way up through the Admiralty ranks and the conspiracy that Captain Picard and Cmdr. Riker had averted at that time. Now it appeared as if the beacon was receiving an answer. The President looked at her mildly surprised at her colourful language, yet he didn't rebuke her for them, realising why they'd been uttered.
"Alynna?" he questioned softly.
"Lt. Cmdr. Dexter Remmick and the parasites," she informed him quietly.
"Isn't that the information that is missing?" he queried, and swore himself when she nodded confirmation, his words making her smile grimly for although his were in his native tongue, they were still understandable and far more colourful than her own. "Sorry," he said, noting her expression. Before either could say anything else their attention was drawn back to the broadcast.
=/\=
"Why now? Surely they would have picked it up before now!"
"They were not awake fourteen years ago," said Icheb. "They were awoken on Stardate 53167.9."
"By whom?"
"By myself," said Seven softly. "They had put themselves into cryo-stasis expecting to wake up about five years later, when their enemies would have given up, but something went wrong with the timer device. When I activated the sequence to revive them it was discovered they'd been in stasis for 892 years."
"Dragon's teeth, Commander Chakotay called them," the EMH added softly. No-one said anything as they contemplated what had been said as most cultures had stories of a similar nature to do with dragons etc.
"Why?" asked their Commander of Seven.
"Prior to meeting the Vaadwaur, I had been advised that it would be good to cultivate compassion, something the Borg do not understand, but I chose the wrong context to exercise that compassion," her tone sincere. "I was also strongly reprimanded and reminded by the command team that I should have asked for permission first, rather than to have acted on my own," she admitted.
"Probably explains why we are here in this holding compound, rather than roaming free on the streets," said Icheb his tone expressing his thoughts on the matter.
=/\=
Aboard Voyager Janeway felt her heart clench at the obvious bitterness in the young man's tone, he had after all expected to be welcomed openly but cautiously perhaps, rather than be locked up and subjected to who knew what. Elliot put a gentle hand on her arm in silent understanding. She was also rapidly coming to an uncomfortable realisation that the Starfleet she'd known and loved all her life appeared not to exist anymore and that revelation shook her to her core. No wonder her de-briefings had skipped over or brushed aside some of her more questionable command decisions; because the standard she had been brought up with appeared to no longer apply in the Starfleet of today. It had been her personal conduct with her XO that they had questioned the longest and perhaps now she could see why.
"They think I changed my loyalties out there, from Starfleet to Maquis," she whispered softly, aghast at the very idea.
"It was your loyalty to those very principles that had your XO re-following Starfleet rules and protocols again," noted her aide quietly. His having an outsider's view of matters that had taken place in the DQ gave weight to his timely observation.
"No, Elliott, he followed me."
"Ask him!" the conviction in his tone caused her to look askance at him. "The com-system is wide open; you don't need a location now. And he can respond incognito!" he added.
=/\=
Tom and B'Elanna exchanged a look with each other hoping she would take the plunge. Everyone not connected to Starfleet and even some of those within its hallowed halls needed to see what some were capable of; Admiral Pleasances a case in point. They quietly waited, hopeful, because they both knew their friend and former commander would not deny her a truthful response.
=/\=
Janeway again looked askance at her aide, one who'd stood beside her now, despite the fact that he'd been a plant at first. She realised he trusted her to do what was right by Starfleet's guiding principles, something some in Admiralty had thrown out when it appeared convenient to do so.
"Chakotay, I know this isn't really an ideal situation to ask this but..." pausing and taking a deep breath still feeling unsure, but Elliott's encouraging smile convinced her. "Why did you put on the uniform again?"
Silence greeted this pointed question, a question that Admiralty had never asked as if they believed it was she who'd changed loyalties, she realised.
"Why?" questioned his well known tones, but audio only. "Because at the time it felt the right thing to do, and especially in view of our unique situation," he said gently. His pause felt loaded and she could almost picture his gentle teasing smile. "The primary reason though was because you – Kathryn Janeway applied the Starfleet principle to protect the innocent; rather than let politics dictate your motives and actions," he added with strong conviction. "War can never ever justify throwing those hardcore principles out the proverbial window whenever it suits," he added, bitterness colouring his tone.
"The end doesn't always justify the means!" noted a Romulan, surprising many.
"There is no honour in that," growled Martok. "When there is no honour chaos ensues," his tone implying that he was remembering events or people in his own kind's past, yet he did not voice them; because his words could equally apply across the full humanoid spectrum.
=/\=
Eyes watched and ears listened across the whole of humanoid space as the comm. system opened wide allowing all to hear what their leaders and others in authority were doing; not all liked what they were hearing or seeing, but they felt powerless to do anything about what was taking place within the higher echelons on Earth. So all they could do at that moment was to listen whilst the 'Juggernaut' of revelations lumbered on, leaving many uneasy and apprehensive.
However there was one set of eyes and ears that felt that they could do something about the events unfolding before them, it was just a case of trying to predict where the 'Juggernaut' appeared to be heading. So far it had been running at full steam ahead, with no signs of stopping, now thankfully it looked like it was slowing.
"You cannot interfere," noted one.
"Maybe not directly," the watcher agreed quietly.
"Not at all!" said another.
"I cannot in all good conscience let these events continue," pausing a moment to look at his fellow watchers. "The information about who has locked up three members of Voyager's crew has yet to be revealed along with what they'd been told to produce. That will not be a good revelation to put out to the public at large," he argued quietly.
"Maybe the Q was right, humans are not to be trusted out in space and the wonders in contains."
"Their capacity towards self annihilation, being a case in point," noted the first one.
"Those who have a good understanding of Starfleet's guiding principles will not let that happen," the watcher said gently. "Seven and her friends have sabotaged that scheme," he added. "They understand the consequences of unleashing such a genetic weapon, better than those in Section 31 do."
"You should still not interfere."
"If the revelation that the DNA set in that weapon is no longer in this part of linear time it could be a revelation too far."
"Linear time is so restrictive!" noted another.
"For you maybe, but it is what I have known most of my life, until now," his voice growing with deep conviction. There was silence among the group although none had spoken out loud as they'd conversed; now the pause was loaded.
"Do what you feel you must," said the female of the group, her tone understanding his need.
"But do not reveal yourself," was the strong admonition. "As it is not yet time."
"And I thought you didn't like linear time!" he teased amused and set his course for Voyager's computer database.
=/\=
Meanwhile on Earth, Martok's words had had an effect on B'Elanna, feeling her husband give her a reassuring squeeze, his arms protectively around her; his expression understanding knowing she was recalling some of her own painful history and events.
"Is Seven right about the Vaadwaur?" Lyssa asked cautiously.
"I should think so; both she and Icheb have perfect memory recall," noted Paris.
"Maybe you should look at this," said his father handing him the notepad. "It just arrived a moment ago," he added byway of an explanation. On it was not only the 'Family's' information, but more importantly it included the neatly scripted data from one Lt. Cmdr. Data of the Enterprise.
"Dad?" puzzled, looking askance at his father, whilst Ayala read the info, over Dalby's shoulder.
"The only places that data can be found is with, Cmdr. Data, Seven, Icheb, your EMH and Voyager's archives."
"Why would anyone want to remove it?" asked Kenneth Dalby. "It happened, didn't it?"
"Yes, it did. But these Bluegills are an offshoot of the Trill symbionts'; something their Commission has been very reluctant to admit to that fact. What they have to do with Iconia and these Vaadwaur, we have yet to discover."
"The Vaadwaur were asleep for over 800 years. Wasn't the Iconian's still around then?" asked Mariah Henley.
"Their culture appeared to be waning at around about that time," Paris senior admitted quietly.
"The Vaadwaur were fighting for their lives at the time they went to sleep and were very possibly at the apex of their military power."
"Not powerful enough to fight off all their enemies' determination to defeat them though!" said Lyssa Campbell.
"True. Although they didn't fight back or stand up to their enemies, but went into hibernation, so-to-speak, they weren't defeated or overthrown."
"Perhaps these Bluegills had something to do with that. Maybe that's why they're responding to that homing signal!"
"This is all conjecture at the moment."
"Yes, Admiral, but it's all we have, until someone else puts their 'spoke in the wheel'," said Dalby, grinning at Paris junior, at the idiom he'd added.
=/\=
I will remove the Dear Reader chapters at a later date. Enjoy!
