The Seventh Year of the Journey of Neelix & Kes
By ~aoi~ EPOIR
As she walked into the central garden, the artificial
wind brushed against her body gently. The sound of her own footsteps comforted her. The green plants and multi-colored flowers that surrounded the
path of stones and bricks gave her a feeling of being part of the nature. Ever since she was little, she always felt
attached to the natural environments around her. However, destiny did not grant her the chance until she met
'them.'
Soon she arrived at a pond. She
walked over to a bench right at the edge of it and sat down. As her body came in contact with the cold
metallic surface, her body shivered. To
her, the bench did not belong to the environment. She sighed and looked around.
"There you are!" a man, covered with gray, and almost white, hair,
walked toward her. "I've been looking all
over for you." Under the sun, the signs
of old age were shown with no doubt on his face. His slightly bent back indicated that he was possibly a taller
man when he was younger. Nevertheless,
he was still taller than she was.
"Daggin," the woman said as she recognized him. "I told you. I can take care of myself."
"I know you can. But it's better
to have a friend look out for you."
The woman smiled. "Thanks, but
really, I am fine."
"Alright, alright. Just don't
forget about our dinner tonight."
"Oh right. What are you making?"
'Sweetie, I will make your favorite dessert tonight.'
"That's wonderful," replied the woman delightfully.
"What's wonderful?" asked Daggin.
The woman stared at the confused look on his face. Suddenly, she realized that those weren't
the words that came out from his mouth. "Oh I mean, I'll see you then."
"Alright. But don't stay too
late Kes." Daggin turned and walked
away slowly.
The woman, by the name of Kes, turned and looked back at the pond in
front of her. She wondered, how was he
doing? Was he still cooking her
favorite dessert? Had he ever stopped
to think about her? Was he…still
heading toward the Alpha Quadrant with the crew of Voyager? She thought deeply, as if hoping that the
message would get to him some how, 'How are you? Neelix.'
*********
"Just a moment! Everyone will
get their food real soon!" At that, the
crowd gave out a sound of disappointment and walked away from the cooking
area. The orange-tufted Talaxian just
couldn't help it. The replicators were
offline for days without warning. All
he could do was 'improvise', just as Captain Janeway always says.
"Neelix!" the Talaxian heard a yell of his name. He was too busy to even look at who was the
one calling out to him.
"Dinner will be out shortly," he said as he ran around in the kitchen,
the former Captain's Private Dining Room.
"Neelix." The voice was closer this
time.
"I said," a bit annoyed as he turned to the caller. "Dinner will be out…" He cut himself off
just as he realized the caller was Captain Kathryn Janeway of Voyager, the
captain that had been trying to get the crew home for the past seven
years. "I'm…I'm sorry captain. I didn't realize that you were…were…"
The captain smiled at him. "It's
alright Neelix. I understand the
situation around here."
"Forgive me. If the replicators
were still online, the crowd wouldn't even be here."
"B'Elanna is already working on it."
"That's good to hear." The
Talaxian was glad. Not because of the
half-human and half-Klingon engineer was working on the problem, but because of
the assuring words of the captain. She
never failed to get them out of trouble ever since he boarded Voyager. On the ship, she was his most trusted
individual. "How can I help you
captain?"
"I came by for some coffee."
"Black as usual?"
"You know me too well Neelix."
Neelix quickly walked to a counter and got her a pot of hot and black
coffee. The sound of the liquid hitting
against the bottom of the cup and the smell of the coffee carried with the
rising steam soothed the captain. The
coffee was the cure for headaches and the maintainer of energy. Without it, it would be surprising to her
that she could've survived the harsh journey home.
The
captain gave a comforting sigh as she finished the cup of coffee. "Thanks a lot Neelix." She put down the cup. The loyal Talaxian's eyes followed her until
she disappeared behind the doorway.
"Anytime," he whispered to himself. With a smile, he continued his work.
After a day of hard work, Neelix could finally return to his own
quarters to rest. The door opened as he
stood in front of his own doorway. The
darkness filtered the whole room. Even
though the stars were passing by in straight lines out the window, the darkness
seemed to have consumed that tiny bit of light also. Being a subject to nihiliphobia, the fear of nothingness, he did
not hesitate to turn on the lights. "Computer, lights."
The light soon filtered out every corner, every area that it could come
in contact with. He walked toward a
chair and sat down. The darkness
reminded him of the time when Voyager was trapped in an area the crew called
the Void. The night beings came aboard
the ship and if Captain Janeway didn't make contact with them, they could've
been destroyed. With a sigh, he walked
up to his bed and allowed the artificial gravity to pull him down to it.
An hour later, he was still awake. He could not sleep. He could not
stop thinking about his past. When he
came aboard Voyager, he wasn't looking for a job as a morale officer or a
cook. Voyager was just an escape and an
opportunity for him. First, it could
protect Kes and him from the Kazons. Second, who wouldn't want to be on a ship with nice quarters and
never-ending supply of food and water? It was like a heaven to him.
But he never imagined being alone on this ship without Kes. Sometimes, late at night, he could've sworn
that Kes was calling out to him. No
matter how hard he tried, he could not return the call. The last time he saw her, was when she came
back to Voyager looking for revenge. Dear Kes was lost. He regretted not
being able to be there for all those years that she must have suffered by
herself. He did not get a chance to
tell her that. Where was she now? Is she back on Ocampa? Did she encounter any problems on her
way? How was she?
*********
When she woke up, the day was already adjusted to night. Sometimes, she felt it did not really matter
since they lived underground. When she
checked the time, she realized she was already late for the dinner. She quickly ran back down the path she
walked on earlier today.
At night, the footsteps seemed to be louder, more distinct. No one was around. She was running alone. Earlier
today, the path did not seem to be that difficult compared to the one now. For a few seconds, she thought she would not
make it. Ironically, the situation was
similar to her life.
She left the Ocampa, in search of something greater and something beyond
the simple underground life. She never
imagined that once she got out, she was captured by the Kazons. Neelix was the one who saved her. Shortly after that, they encountered the
intrepid crew of Voyager.
She was thankful for the experience on Voyager. She made a lot of good friends on that
ship. The adventurous Tom Paris, the
kind-hearted doctor, the naive Ensign Kim, the intelligent Lt Torres, the
contemplative Tuvok, courageous Commander Chakotay, and Captain Janeway, who
never stopped finding a way to bring her crew home.
Whenever she had a problem, Capt Janeway was always there for her. Like the time when she had an early elogium,
Capt Janeway guided her through her own fears and came out to talk about her
problem. She regretted attacking
Voyager. At the time, anger was the
only emotion in her heart. She forgot
all about the guidance and kindness she received on Voyager. By the time she realized that she was wrong,
it was already too late. She had to
travel all the way back to Ocampa by herself, with the loneliness that
penetrated her heart.
She soon arrived at the house. The light was off. When she
entered, everything seemed so lifeless. She took a few steps in the house and turned on the lights. She walked over to touch the plate of
food. It was still warm. "Daggin," she yelled. She wondered if her voice went through every
corner of the house, and the echo that came back to her made the house seemed
empty.
Her body soon reached the kitchen of the house. With that, she screamed and collapsed on to
the floor. She buried her face in her
hands. A kind of pain was pushed
through her heart like a sharp knife. The same kind of pain that she had when she left Voyager. Everything was fading around her. The air that faded made it even harder for
her to breathe. She opened her mouth
but no sound came up. In that instance,
only the lifeless body in the kitchen and she existed.
*********
Gasping, he fell off his bed. A
sudden feeling of remorse and sadness rushed through his body. His sweaty palm searched for the metallic
triangle that symbolized the organization called Starfleet and held on to
it. The pressure from his fingers
activated a communication technology that no one could imagine hundred of years
earlier. "Nee...Neelix to the senior
staff. Please meet me in the mess hall
right away." Without letting anyone
respond, he quickly got into his usual garnish outfits and walked out the door.
The half-confused and half-sleepy staff walked toward the Mess Hall. "This better be important," B'Elanna folded
her arms in front of her chest as she walked slowly toward the Mess Hall.
"Please don't let it be another midnight dessert surprise," her husband,
Tom Paris, responded, as he walked side by side with her.
The staff soon arrived to see Neelix standing behind the counter of the
cooking area facing them. Captain
Janeway quickly noticed something was wrong just by the expression on Neelix's
face. She walked closer to the console
slowly. "What is it, Neelix?"
The sorrow on his face soon concerned everyone in the room. Even the former Borg drone, Seven of Nine,
who expresses as little emotions as possible, covered her face with concern.
"I…I…" the words just would not come out of Neelix's mouth.
"Neelix, what is it," the captain asked again as she leaned toward the
console. "We have known each other for
seven years already. You can tell us
anything."
"I…I…" He took a few seconds to breathe. "I…" He looked up and looked into everyone's eyes. "I wish to leave Voyager."
All the people in that room could not believe what they were
hearing. They have known Neelix for
seven years, and now, he wanted to leave?
"But why?" asked Tom.
"I had a dream."
"A dream?" Seven asked curiously.
"It was more than a dream. It
was more like…like a vision. It was
very real and vivid."
"What did you see?" asked Tuvok the
Vulcan.
"I saw…I saw Kes…" stammered Neelix.
"Kes?" asked the captain.
"She…something terrible has happened…she's all alone…I need to be there
for her…"
A
sudden realization came into her mind. "You wish to return to Ocampa?"
Ensign Kim spoke up, "But Ocampa is far behind us. It'll take you years to get back."
The doctor walked up to him. "Mr. Neelix, I understand how you feel. I care for Kes too. Even though
she left four years ago, I still care for her. But, you have to realize that, by the time you get back to Ocampa, Kes
might be…" The hologram did not want to hurt Neelix any further by using the
word 'dead.' It was true. An Ocampan only had the life span of nine
years.
The Talaxian was sobbing. Tears
were rushing out of his eyes. The
captain walked around the console and up to him. She let out her arms to surround Neelix's body with them. She understood perfectly how he felt. This journey was inhumane and harsh since
the beginning. But somehow, she knew
that they would survive. They would
find a way home. The crew needed to be
strong, and not let anything stand in their way.
*********
After she returned to her homeworld, she was able to save her people
from the Kazons. However, she knew that
one day, when she passes on, they would be vulnerable again.
She sighed and closed her eyes. Somehow, the message got through. She could feel it. She
smiled. She knew that the crew of
Voyager was well and that they were still heading toward their home. Best of all, she knew Neelix was still alive
and well. In her heart, she would
always pray for them and hope that they would one day reach their
destination. Maybe one day, they would
meet again. If not in this world,
maybe, just maybe, in another world.
THE END