Author: Christy Anderson
You can contact me at kittyunlimited@go.com.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Paramount minus Ensign Christy Anderson and a few selected insignificant characters.
This is the end once again… I hope everyone has enjoyed this as much as I have. Bis folgende Zeit… Until next time, Christy…
Stars of Night (Sterne der Nacht): Part 10
Nicht wieder… Not again! The buzzing of a phaser shot slipped past me, and the security guard nearest me fell. The fighting was drawing to a close, but on the floor were scattered a dozen of Starfleet security officers, slowly being transported to Sick Bay. Without another thought, I turned my well-aimed phaser shots at them one by one, stunning the rest of the attackers. As the last one of the aliens collapsed, I knelt down to the security guard that had fallen just a few minutes before. Noting his dropping vital signs, I nodded to a crewman standing by the wayside. "Take him directly to Sick Bay," I ordered. I stood up and tapped my Comm badge defiantly. "Security team 3 to the Captain. The attack has been neutralized."
Abruptly the scenes in the holodeck shimmered away and Tuvok stepped forward to meet me. I let out a sigh of relief and attempted to calm my heavy breathing. Wincing, I gave a weak smile and wiped a bead of sweat from my brow. "So?" I questioned breathlessly.
Despite my pleading, Tuvok made no attempt to hurry himself. With great patience, he raised his one brow and slowly began with his face emotionless. "You did extremely well, Ensign Anderson. You completed the simulation with no mistakes. Needless to say, you passed. I will alert the Captain that you are ready to begin your shifts on the bridge," he said as he made a curt nod to dismiss himself.
Ich führte es durch… I did it… Inside, I strangely felt a deep sense of pride as Tuvok turned and walked out of the holodeck, but the anger and sadness from the previous night soon replaced it. As anyone could expect, I was still in shock that Tre'kent had decided to stay on his home planet. I sighed as I realized that the last transport from and to the planet was in two short hours. From Harry I had learned that Tre'kent had stayed aboard Voyager during the night in the guest quarters. Dreadfully, I fought the urge to see him off and give him my best wishes. I couldn't keep him out of my mind, and I couldn't get away from the pain.
Warum muß er gehen? Ich verstehe nicht… Why does he have to leave? I do not understand... Despite my cautiousness, a tear slipped down my cheek. I very much wanted to talk with somebody, somebody who could understand. I thought of all the times I had talked with Samantha, but now she wasn't here. The Doctor was going to keep her in Sick Bay until she gave birth, because he had found a potentially harmful Ktarian chemical in her blood. The Doctor would barely let me see her, and he warned me that I was not to upset her, a.k.a. stick to light subjects. Tre'kent was not an issue that she needed to hear about just now.
I thought about seeing the Captain like I had done a few times in the past, but I was too scared of her reaction. Somehow I knew that Tom and Harry were not the answers to the problem either. I sighed as I realized that I barely knew B'Elanna or Kes, and my situation seemed of a more personal level than light conversation.
I could feel more tears welling up as I realized how alone I was without Samantha. In a flash, my Father's image flashed across my mind, and I thought about how good it would feel to be sitting in the old lab once again. In a hasty decision I gave the computer the familiar command. "Computer, initiate program Anderson Two."
The computer beeped. "That program is already in use."
I did a double take, and every second that passed I became more and more confused. "Computer, initiate program Anderson Two," I commanded again.
The computer beeped. "The program you have specified is already in use," it insisted.
"Where?" I demanded.
"The program is active in Holodeck 1," it chimed.
I stood up and left Holodeck 2, the doors swishing behind me. As I walked the short distance to the next holodeck I could feel my emotions surging. I tapped on the console to confirm what the computer was saying. "Computer, open holodeck doors."
The computer beeped. "Unable to comply. Holodeck doors are locked from the inside."
I took in a sharp breath. "Computer, confirm the occupants of the holodeck," I ordered.
"Tre'kent, Moheelean species, temporary visitor," the computer informed me.
I mentally agreed, too temporary, I thought with another tear. I tried to bite back my turbulent emotions, and thought only of remaining strong. "Computer, activate interface with Holodeck 1 and reroute the signal to this console."
The computer beeped as it cooperated with me. Immediately I could see the familiar scene inside the holodeck. "Tre'kent," I called out.
But he did not seem to hear me. Instead, he had his back turned towards me as he watched the hologram of my Father pace about the lab. The lights were dimmed, and I assumed that my Father was doing a photosynthesis experiment. He turned to Tre'kent and pursed his lips. "You hurt her though, Tre'kent, your attempt to protect her only hurt her. She must be told the truth," my Father persisted.
"I cannot tell her," Tre'kent said softly.
"Die Wahrheit stellt Sie frei ein, schneidet sie alle Schwergängigkeiten und erlaubt Ihnen anzusteigen… The truth will set you free, it will cut all bindings and allow you to soar..." my Father quoted wisely. I nodded and wiped away another tear as I remembered the time that he had given me the same advice. Perplexed I watched as Tre'kent's eyes became clouded.
"I can't tell her…" he explained.
My Father shook his head. "If you love Christy, then you will tell her," he said with a heartfelt voice. I watched the scene as if in a dream, suddenly realizing that they were talking about me. What was he not telling me? I tried to keep my head from wandering, wondering. It was too painful to pretend that things had happened otherwise. Still, as I continued to stare at the scene, I saw all the reasons that I loved Tre'kent reflected back in his mere image and nature. I smiled as I remembered the ways his eyes lit up as he laughed, and his warm comforting embrace that he always had ready to offer.
Yet now there were mounds of tears in his eyes, and in his arms he rested his head. I watched the hologram come and pat him on his back. "You said you are to leave soon, Tre'kent… why not go and find my daughter now?"
Tre'kent shook his head. "Let me stay here a while, but if I cannot tell her, you must tell her when she sees you again. It will be the only way she will understand my decision. You must tell her if I do not!" he demanded.
My Father straightened up his stance and gave a defiant look. "If you do not tell my daughter, Tre'kent, I will not either. If she cannot hear it from the one she loves, then she will not hear about it at all."
My mind was racing as I wondered about what he had not told me. As my conscience began to silently prey, I moved my arm to shut down the connection and return to my quarters.
"Lieutenant Torres to Ensign Anderson," a voice interrupted.
I quickly hit the button and then answered her. "Ensign Anderson here," I said quickly, too busy to notice whether Tre'kent had heard her.
"Report to Engineering at once. It seems that those shield modifications you made are having a long term effect on the warp core."
I gently nodded to myself and instinctually headed to the turbolift. "On my way."
As I entered Engineering, I could sense that something was wrong. Outside, I couldn't hear the familiar buzz of the people working and chattering. As I walked inside I turned around to see Engineering empty and evacuated. Becoming wary and nervous I halted and looked around for a second time. Anxiously I tapped my Comm badge. "Ensign Anderson to Lieutenant Torres."
I waited for her to respond, but nothing came. "Computer, locate B'Elanna Torres."
The computer beeped. "Lieutenant Torres is in Engineering."
I looked around. "B'Elanna?" I called. "Ensign Anderson reporting here as requested." Still there was no sign of her. "Computer, specify location of B'Elanna Torres," I commanded again.
The computer beeped again. "B'Elanna Torres is in Engineering, lower deck, sect. 32 alpha," it droned.
I verbally scoffed. "That's impossible!" I cried as I walked over to the console at sect. 32 alpha. As I took a closer look I gasped, stunned to see dozens of Comm badges in a large pile. Immediately me recent security training took over as I began to entertain any possibilities: an alien attack, a spatial anomaly, a break in the time continuum. On the screen, an active file told me that Engineering had been set on automatic controls for the next three hours.
"Computer, locate Ensign Vorik," I commanded as evenly as I could manage.
The computer beeped. "Ensign Vorik is in Engineering."
"Specify," I shouted automatically, becoming defensive at the slightest things.
"Lower deck, sect. 32 alpha," the computer responded.
"Confirm all crew members in Engineering, lower deck, sect. 32 alpha," I requested.
The computer beeped. "Ensign Lindsay Ballard, Ensign Fred Tarel, Crewman Timothy Lang, Ensign Tabitha Spencer, Lieutenant…"
"Computer, belay command," I shouted. I spun around to tap my Comm badge.
"Ensign Kim to Ensign Anderson," Harry's voice said over the system before I could do anything.
"Ensign Anderson here," I replied.
"Christy, I need your help in the Jefferies tube on Deck 8, sect. 11," Harry informed me.
"Harry, there's a problem in Engineering- nobody is here," I began.
Instantaneously Harry's laugh interrupted me. "Wonderful joke, Christy," he said as he laughed. "Now report here immediately; this might take us awhile." The Comm link was terminated abruptly, and I had no idea what to do except to try to contact the Captain.
"Ensign Anderson to Captain Janeway," I said as I tapped the Comm badge.
"Janeway here, Ensign," she said.
"Captain…" I began. As I spoke, I heard the Captain's exasperated sigh of contempt.
"Look, Christy, if this is about working with Harry, I don't want to hear it. Report to the Jefferies tube immediately," she interrupted calmly.
"No, Captain…" I began again.
"Do it ensign. Janeway out," her agitated voice ended.
I sighed and hoped that I could convince Harry that something was wrong, but by the time I reached the Jefferies tube, there was nothing left of him but his Starfleet Comm badge, along with several others. On the floor laid a PADD, with some sort of shield harmonics on it. No matter which way I looked at it though, I could not make heads or tails of it. I looked around and decided what to do next, but the Comm system answered for me.
"Lieutenant Stanfield to Ensign Anderson."
"Ensign Anderson here," I answered.
"Ensign, I want you to report to Astrometrics. No questions, just report here now."
Ich bin so konfus… I am so confused… My head was beginning to hurt as I tried to decipher what was happening around me. "On my way," I said slowly heading toward the tubolift for another time.
When I emerged from the turbolift a few minutes later, Astrometrics was not hard to find. However, when I arrived there, Astrometrics had been powered off recently. I could feel myself becoming more anxious and disturbed by the minute. "Computer, locate Lieutenant Stanfield," I snapped in an oncoming panic.
The computer beeped. "Lieutenant Stanfield is in the Science Lab," the hollow voice divulged. I stood rooted to the spot as I contemplated my next move.
"Computer, what is the status of the Science Lab," I demanded.
The computer beeped again. "The Science Lab is powering down."
Immediately I began to run, hoping that I could catch possibly one of the last people on board Voyager. I stood outside the doors, and finally commanded the computer to open them. As the doors swished open, I looked inside the Science Lab to find it completely deserted, but powered to full. In the center of the room lied the Comm badges of what seemed to be the entire science staff. I shook my head forcefully. Keines von diesem ist sinnvoll… None of this made sense. Was tue ich jetzt? … What do I do now?
"Commander Chakotay to Ensign Anderson," a voice interrupted my train of thoughts.
"Ensign Anderson, here," I replied warily.
"Something's happening, Ensign. We need you on the Bridge immediately. Be careful as you come up."
I suddenly took a large intake of breath. "On my way," I answered.
I left hurriedly for the turbolift, already anticipating the scene on the Bridge. By the time I arrived, they would all be reduced down to Comm badges, lying on the Captain's chair. As the doors began to open I shut my eyes tight and took two steps forward. I gulped as I opened them. The anticipated scene materialized before my eyes. I picked up one of the Comm badges on the Captain's chair and studied it intensely, determined to make something of this perplexing situation. I tapped a few buttons on the con to view an active file stating that Voyager was on autopilot for the next three hours. I moved around the bridge intermittently to find that almost all of the ship's systems had been put on automatic. Was geschieht? … What is happening?
With a sudden burst of inspiration I flew back to the center of the Bridge. "Computer, run a bioscan throughout Voyager, locate Captain Janeway," I commanded smugly.
The computer beeped in negate. "Security Authorization Level 9 required," it informed me.
I shook my head as I realized that I had hit another dead end. "Computer, status of all bioscans," I requested.
The computer beeped. "Restricted."
"Lieutenant Paris to Ensign Anderson," Tom's voice came over the Comm system.
Inwardly I relaxed at the sound of his friendly voice. "Ensign Anderson here," I replied.
"Christy, Harry's looking for you, why haven't you reported to the Jefferies tube?" he asked.
"Tom, I went there. Harry is only a Comm badge!" I exclaimed.
There was an unmistakable silence at the other end of the link. "Are you feeling all right, Christy?" Tom asked concernedly.
"Tom, there is nobody on the Bridge!" I yelled.
"Christy, I just left the Bridge, you were not there. The computer says you are in Astrometrics. Where are you?"
"Tom, I am on the bridge!" I yelled again, this time more nervous than the first.
"Christy, listen to me. There is something wrong. You are not on the bridge. You are in Astrometrics with five people surrounding you. Can you see them?"
Tears of frustration began to pour down my cheeks. "Tom, I'm on the Bridge and it is deserted," I still insisted.
"Christy, hold tight. I am initiating a site to site transport to Sick Bay. Listen to me; there is no need to be alarmed, you are hallucinating. Just try to stay calm. I promise you that I will have you feeling better in a few minutes," Tom's calm voice commanded. Immediately I felt the transporter beam reach me and whisk me away.
I rematerialized on biobed 1 with the Doctor standing over me. "Where's Tom?" I asked.
The Doctor looked at me as if I had grown horns. "Lieutenant Paris is on Bridge duty," he said matter-of-factly, running a tricorder over me.
It was now my turn to stare unbelievingly. "Tom was talking to me over the Comm; he transported me here," I told him.
The Doctor looked worried. "I was talking to you, Ensign, in Astrometrics. Did you think that I was Tom?"
I gave him a blank stare and shrugged. Out of curiosity, I turned around to look for Samantha, maybe the Doctor would let me speak with her. On the opposite side of Sick Bay, I saw an empty biobed beside the box of her things that I had brought down for her before. I glanced at the Doctor again and raised my eyebrows. "Where is Samantha?" I asked.
The Doctor became flustered. "Ah, Ensign Wildman, um… is not in Sick Bay. Has she been here?" he asked.
"Doctor, Samantha's nine months pregnant. You were going to keep her here until she gave birth. There is her stuff. Where is she?"
The Doctor became even more jumpy. "Yes, Ensign Wildman left a few minutes ago to get a shower and collect a few more things from her quarters."
"You let her out of Sick Bay?" I asked in disbelief.
"I put a cortical monitor on her, she'll be fine. In fact, she's due back in a few minutes. Now, can you promise me that you'll leave your work for a few days?"
I shook my head, then nodded, and turned back to him, all of a sudden unsure of what he had just asked me. "Don't worry," he continued, "this hypospray will counteract the hallucinations," he said comfortingly as he injected me with the compound.
"Go to the Mess Hall and get something to eat. I'll tell the Captain that I have relieved you from duty."
I walked out of Sick Bay, too weak and confused to protest. As I approached the Mess Hall, I expected to find millions of Comm badges littering the floor. I stood outside the door for a moment, too afraid to open it. It's now or never… As I gulped, the doors swished open to reveal a festive and crowded Mess Hall. There was a pause of silence as everyone drew in a deep breath.
"Happy Birthday!" everyone shouted at once.
Completely surprised, my mouth dropped open in wonder and slowly curved into a smile. "Happy 18th Birthday!" the Captain exclaimed as she came up to me. "I bet you forgot, Christy, and you do not know how many measures we took to make sure that you did."
Astounded I took a step backward to digest it all. Halluziniere ich?… Am I hallucinating? Mentally I calculated the stardate and confirmed that Captain Janeway was right. Today was December 27th, my birthday. "Oh well this is a surprise," I started.
She smiled and gave me a hug. "I hope we didn't scare you too much," she said with a grin. There were lots of times, though, when you almost caught us. The Doctor and Tom covered up our last mistake by convincing you that you were hallucinating. I hope you can forgive us."
B'Elanna came up and joined in the conversation, suddenly whisked away by her volatile emotions. "Too bad the Doctor almost blew it!" she exploded. Her facial expressions relaxed and she continued in a softer tone. "You know, the next time I go to Sick Bay for a check up, I think I may tinker around with the Doctor's truthful subroutines. Why Tom had to go over the Comm to 'inform' you that you were hallucinating, because the Doctor couldn't speak such evil. Then you ask him where Samantha is and he almost blew it. I don't believe that he couldn't think of anything else! I almost deleted him when he asked you if Ensign Wildman had been in Sick Bay, of course she was!" B'Elanna finished in a heat of passion.
I nodded, too amazed to speak, and allowed B'Elanna and the Captain to take my arm and lead me to a table where the senior staff was sitting. Samantha had been invited to the table, and as she saw me approaching, she attempted to give me a weak smile. "Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!… Happy Birthday!" she exclaimed. Her pale face lit up with her vibrant joy as she pointed me to the chair next to her.
I heard more commotion behind me and turned as Neelix and Kes slowly came up with a birthday cake. "Happy Birthday, Christy! I believe there are eighteen candles on here, although, the Captain might want to check. The first time I counted them, Harry informed me that I had 27."
I laughed again as Kes came up to give me a hug. "Bilden Sie einen Wunsch… make a wish," I heard Samantha call from behind me. I shut my eyes tightly and wished for only one thing with my entire heart. As I slowly opened my eyes, I blew the candles out with three breaths.
"Come one, Christy. Is that the best you can do?" Tom taunted from his side of the table. Neelix moved up to cut the cake and began distributing it to everyone with the help of Kes. By now the entire Mess Hall had resumed talking, and miscellaneous people pulled themselves away from the crowd to wish me their best. For awhile, I found a break from the pain Tre'kent had caused, laughing and smiling made all of it dispel temporarily. With a sad glance, I noticed that he had not joined the festivities.
I felt a light tap on the arm, and turned around to see Commander Chakotay. In his hand he held a slender object wrapped in colorful paper. "I think I know what someone wanted for her Birthday," he said mischievously.
I unwrapped the gift to find a PADD. On it had my new duty shift schedule, with three hard earned Bridge shifts. I smiled; this PADD made all of my dreams tangible. "Thank you, Commander, Captain," I said formally.
Samantha pushed a package over. "This is what I got from my quarters," she informed me. The package was square, and the wrapping had been hand done, not replicated. I gave her a thankful glance before beginning to open the package. As the wrapping came off, all that sat there was a small square box. I nervously removed the lid to peer inside. As I took the object out of the box, I noticed that it was of alien origin. The object was black, box shaped and ornate looking, but on the top was a hazed white sphere. She leaned forward painfully and attempted to hit a few buttons. Quickly the sphere lit up and a star system appeared over the object.
"It's some kind of holo-projector that shows space10 light-years away from here in this holo-cube," she said as she ran her hand through the holo-image. As I studied it more closely, I could see the stars slowly moving past.
"Es ist so unterschiedlich und eindeutig. Ich verehre es… This is so different and unique, Samantha. I adore it!" I told her thankfully.
She smiled. "I acquired it a few months ago and kept it hidden in my quarters. I am very please that you like it."
"Danke… Thank you," I said again.
"Sie sind willkommen… You are welcome," she responded. Immediately the two of us broke off into German conversation. She had amazingly improved during her long hours in Sick Bay. I began to laugh when I noticed the table staring at us, especially the Captain. During the past months, Tom and Harry had grown accustomed to it and rarely asked for a translation, knowing that I would take it upon myself to explain myself when needed.
Samantha and I broke out into a fit of laughter as the looks on everyone's faces proved to be too much. But my happiness was displaced when my eye caught sight of the figure that had walked into the room… Tre'kent. He came over to the table and rigidly took the seat across from me that the Captain offered to him. As the party progressed on, he rarely looked up from his plate.
More than three hours later, we still found ourselves in the Mess Hall, now quite empty and quiet. Samantha had long been taken back to Sick Bay, too flushed from the excitement. Neelix hobbled around still, creating various racket as he went around trying to clean up.
Tre'kent finally looked up and blushed. "Would you join me outside?" he asked. "We could take a walk."
I reluctantly nodded and accepted his hand. Gently, he led me out of the Mess Hall and into the corridor. "I thought you were supposed to leave over an hour ago," I began softly.
He nodded to affirm this. "But I'm not going," he said slowly. "I'm not going if you don't want me to."
I drew in a breath and threw my arms around him. "Of course I want you to stay!" I said tearfully.
"No, Christy," he said firmly. "I do not want you to decide until you've heard me out."
We stopped in the middle of the hall, deserted and forsaken. "Christy, I told you about my species rare gene. This gene also allows us to set up a permanent telepathic link with our mate," he began slowly.
Scared, I pulled away. "But we only just met…" I began.
He nodded. "I know," he answered quickly, "but it happens slowly over a period of time. That's why it is so hard for my species to break from romance. The undoing of the link is torturous and painful. I did not know that we would begin to develop it," he apologized.
"Develop it?" I questioned.
Tre'kent smiled. "When you stood up for me in front of the Captain in Sick Bay, you had a surge of irrational emotion."
"That can happen to anybody in love," I said softly.
"Not if I could fully read your mind at the time… I was shaken, Christy. Right away, I had the Doctor run a multi-spectral scan over you. Your previous brain waves showed patterns of distinct telepathy."
I searched his eyes. "Is there any way to break it?" I questioned.
"We can prolong it," Tre'kent answered.
"That's good enough for me," I said with a smile.
"Christy, you have to understand this. There is still a large risk. I do not think that our relationship is worth risking your well being. We are not sure if this relationship will work," Tre'kent insisted.
I shrugged. "We will have long enough to find out," I said as I took a step closer.
He smiled warmly. "Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly.
"Ich bin positiv… I am positive," I said before engaging in a kiss. He pulled me in closer, and then stepped back and took my hand.
The stars gleamed brightly from the window in the old lab. Tre'kent sat beside me on the couch, gazing at the stars. Tenderly he stroked my hair as I rested my head against his chest. The lab was darkened, and my Father had long since left. Tonight I found it truly comforting to sit here and meditate. I looked up at Tre'kent and smiled.
"At the deepest hour of the Evening Light, All come out to see the Stars of the Night.
Search them for the Guidance of the Day, For these stars will ne'er lead you astray," Tre'kent quoted with his deep voice.
I pulled him in closer and stole another warm kiss. "I've never been happier," I said simply. He smiled and gently pulled my head back down on his chest to rest.
"I know," he said softly. He paused as if unsure to continue. I felt a strange sensation sweep over me, but looked up to see Tre'kent smiling. "Your birthday wish came true," he revealed as I could suddenly see into his peaceful mind. "I am here to stay."
Inwardly, I beamed with joy, as I contentedly turned my attentions out the window and past the lab. Together with Tre'kent I sat and stared, just soaking in my source of strength, die Sterne der Nacht.
Das Ende… The End