Author's Note: If you guys are confused, a little off, or don't understand what went on three years ago, that's great. You're supposed to be that way. I'm only giving you the information you need, as you really need, I think. Anyway, I hope you like this next part.
Summary: As the Kotec continue to push for a peaceful alliance with the Federation, Janeway's suspicions grow strong. Is she right or wrong about them?
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Chapter Two:
As Tensions Grow
The meeting continued with the five of them asking questions about their culture and reasons for wanting to join the Federation. They told them about their 'peaceful' ways and how for the past hundred years they had been in isolation. They said that after being 'out of the loop' for so long, they thought that the Federation was the best way to go to understand what had been going on.
By then, Janeway was ready to take a phaser set on max. and either shoot the lot of them or herself, she couldn't decide at the moment. But, of course, she couldn't do that, so she contained herself like a good girl and waited until the Kotec left.
"What do you think, people?" Admiral Paris asked. He, along with Admiral Thomson and Captain Porter, seemed consumed with joy over them.
"I think they're lying bastards," Janeway stated, bluntly. The rest of the room starred at her but she stood her ground.
"Admiral, you will not speak that way towards a very strong and potential ally," Admiral Paris warned.
Janeway rolled her eyes and looked to Tuvok for support. "I am inclined to agree with Admiral Janeway. They did display many signs of those who are lying."
"They were nervous, Commander," Captain Porter rationalized.
"Really? About what? Our technology being a match for theirs? I doubt it. If there is nothing else for now, I must returned to Earth and finish some business." Janeway excused herself and Tuvok escorted her to the transporter pad.
"I don't trust her. She's not the same since she got back from the delta-quadrant. None of them are," Captain Porter announced.
"Especially with the way she handled the Maquis situation. The deal she made," Admiral Thomson added.
He was referring to when they got back, the Maquis were still put on trial. She and Chakotay made a deal that, considering Chakotay was the Captain, he would be the only one to go to the Penal Colony while his crew was sent to another colony that they could make their own as long as they stayed there. Starfleet accepted the offer and sentenced Chakotay to fifteen years at the Penal Colony after which it would be best for him to live with his crew.
"Yes, their experiences there changed them more than many wish to admit. But I don't think that's the problem. They all became close friends; the Maquis and the Starfleet personnel. Too close. Most seem to be compromised by them," Admiral Paris declared, a distant and strange look in his eyes.
**Starfleet Headquarters, Admiral Forrest's Office**
After a second meeting with the Kotec at Starfleet Headquarters, Janeway was ready to blow. She arranged a meeting with Admiral Paris and decided to tell him. She knew that it was something they had decided to keep between the family, but this might be her only chance to call the talks off.
"Admiral, listen to me. They are not here to propose an alliance! We had an...encounter with their species before, in the delta quadrant. They...abducted some of my crew, attacked my ship, and did sever damage to both!"
"Maybe they've changed. And besides, they have been in isolation for quite some time, you're probably getting them mixed up with someone else," he told her, not the slightest concerned with what they might have done.
"I was one of the ones they abducted, I remember their faces quite well. It's them!" She insisted.
"If this is true, then why didn't we ever get a report about it or see anything about what happened in the reports you had made?"
"We decided not to. It was emotionally horrible to all that were abducted by them. No one wanted to talk about it or write a report about it to send to Starfleet. But it happened!"
"I'm sure. Admiral, I don't care what you think you saw or decided that wasn't worth mentioning in the reports, I care about written facts. Next time you would be wise to remember that. Dismissed." Admiral Forrest was cold and very dismissive as he said all that, but Janeway complied and walked to the door of his office.
Before she left, she turned and said bluntly, "You don't trust me do you? None of you do. What, is it because I saw things you can't understand, or is it because I befriended Maquis? Perhaps you don't trust me purely because we didn't give up like you would have."
The door opened and she left. Paris didn't turn around at all but he heard the door and her footsteps grow distant.
**Starfleet Medical**
Janeway sat on the bio-bed as Doc, the EMH from Voyager and a good friend of hers, ran a tricorder over her. "Well, you're in good physical condition but you seem very distant today. Something on your mind?"
She looked at her friend. She thought back to her time on Voyager, she missed her family. She missed the adventure and the companionship they all had. Some days she even finds that she misses missing Earth; she almost missed the homesickness that she, and everyone else, became so accustom to.
"There are just some days that you should never have gotten out of bed, and this is one of them," Janeway told him.
"Well, what's so bad about it?"
She looked away from him. What had happened today was something they all dreaded and had hoped would never have happened. They all had chose not to talk about it. Not to mention it. And most of all, not to report it. But the time had come that they really needed to. The problem was, not many were going to listen.
"Remember about three years ago, when Harry, Tom, B'Elanna, Tuvok, and I went on an away mission to, what was supposed to be, a disserted planet?" The EMH nodded and she continued, "When we got back, we remembered that we had been down there for at least a week and you said that we had aged at least eight days, but it had only been two on Voyager?"
The away team composed of Captain Janeway, Ensign Kim, Lieutenants Paris and Torres, and Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, appeared out of nowhere. Doc hurried to their sides and immediately began scanning them and contacted Chakotay.
"Commander, you should report to Sickbay at once. The away team just appeared here, sir."
"On my way," he answered.
Chakotay had been worried sick over them but now he had almost as good reason to be. They were all exhausted and their systems over worked but had almost no physical damage. The only thing was the imprints along their wrist, ankles, and foreheads that were most likely caused by straps pressed hard onto their flesh. But there was also a small cut on their upper right shoulders.
The doors opened and Chakotay walked in. "How are they, Doc?"
"They are all fine, physically. Mentally, I could not tell you at this time."
"Yes, all three of you were fine but suffered from great mental trauma," Doc added.
"Well, the Kotec are here. They want to be allies to Earth and Starfleet is eating right out of their hands. There's a good chance they wont listen to me."
"Are you sure they're here for the same purpose we found out last time."
"Good chance. We wont survive this if we wait too long and Starfleet's not going to listen until it's too late."
"Then what are we going to do?" Doc asked her, unclear as to what they would be able to accomplished.
"I'm not sure yet."
She was in that same dark room. Her body was still strapped to the hard, cold chair but she was beginning to get used to it.
A horrible smell filled her nostrils. She tried to sneeze or cough or something but she kept breathing it in anyway. She began to feel drowse but did not fall asleep. The head of the chair started to move closer to her ears.
A voice, if you could call it that, talked through the headpiece. "What...is...your... species...called?"
"Human," she responded without thinking about it.
"Two...of...the...others...are...not...like...you. What...are...they?"
"She's half Klingon. The other's Vulcan," again, she didn't think but merely answered.
"Your...uniforms...suggest...that...you...are...in...a...army...of...sorts."
"We are in Starfleet. It's not an army. We're apart of the Federation." Her mouth moved to speak and answer the questions before her mind could even comprehend that they were asked. It was as though she was under a spell.
"Where...are...you...from. We...have...never...seen...your...people."
"The alpha quadrant."
"Doctor," Janeway said as she snapped out of her memory. "One thing I remember very clearly was the mind control. Do you think that they may have perfected it somehow? Made it air-born on the Philadelphia and made everyone cooperate with them but, for some reason, we're immune?"
"It's possible. But if that was the case, you would have breathed some of the drug in as well and it would still be in your bloodstream."
Doc quickly pulled out a shot and brought it up to her arm. Janeway flinched; she had never gotten used to needles afterward. Doc took the blood sample over to his console and started to run tests on it.
"Here! See this substance?" He asked as she looked over his shoulder. "This is definable not supposed to be there but it's quickly being destroyed by your white blood cells."
"Can you identify it?"
Doc pushed a few buttons and replied, "It's a mixture of three known and two unknown substances. The three known are harmless on their own but when combine...they can be one of the most powerful mind controlling agents ever. Plus these two unknown ones...I couldn't begin to tell you how to counteract this."
Janeway looked at the Doctor, his expression grave. "Then we're the only ones immune. Voyager's crew."
"Apparently. But, everyone's slit up and we don't have a ship, how do you expect us to do anything about it?"
"We'll have to get as many people together as possible."
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Hmm, what is she planning? I know and you don't! *sticks tongue out*
Please R/R and tell what you thin of this part.
Summary: As the Kotec continue to push for a peaceful alliance with the Federation, Janeway's suspicions grow strong. Is she right or wrong about them?
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
Chapter Two:
As Tensions Grow
The meeting continued with the five of them asking questions about their culture and reasons for wanting to join the Federation. They told them about their 'peaceful' ways and how for the past hundred years they had been in isolation. They said that after being 'out of the loop' for so long, they thought that the Federation was the best way to go to understand what had been going on.
By then, Janeway was ready to take a phaser set on max. and either shoot the lot of them or herself, she couldn't decide at the moment. But, of course, she couldn't do that, so she contained herself like a good girl and waited until the Kotec left.
"What do you think, people?" Admiral Paris asked. He, along with Admiral Thomson and Captain Porter, seemed consumed with joy over them.
"I think they're lying bastards," Janeway stated, bluntly. The rest of the room starred at her but she stood her ground.
"Admiral, you will not speak that way towards a very strong and potential ally," Admiral Paris warned.
Janeway rolled her eyes and looked to Tuvok for support. "I am inclined to agree with Admiral Janeway. They did display many signs of those who are lying."
"They were nervous, Commander," Captain Porter rationalized.
"Really? About what? Our technology being a match for theirs? I doubt it. If there is nothing else for now, I must returned to Earth and finish some business." Janeway excused herself and Tuvok escorted her to the transporter pad.
"I don't trust her. She's not the same since she got back from the delta-quadrant. None of them are," Captain Porter announced.
"Especially with the way she handled the Maquis situation. The deal she made," Admiral Thomson added.
He was referring to when they got back, the Maquis were still put on trial. She and Chakotay made a deal that, considering Chakotay was the Captain, he would be the only one to go to the Penal Colony while his crew was sent to another colony that they could make their own as long as they stayed there. Starfleet accepted the offer and sentenced Chakotay to fifteen years at the Penal Colony after which it would be best for him to live with his crew.
"Yes, their experiences there changed them more than many wish to admit. But I don't think that's the problem. They all became close friends; the Maquis and the Starfleet personnel. Too close. Most seem to be compromised by them," Admiral Paris declared, a distant and strange look in his eyes.
**Starfleet Headquarters, Admiral Forrest's Office**
After a second meeting with the Kotec at Starfleet Headquarters, Janeway was ready to blow. She arranged a meeting with Admiral Paris and decided to tell him. She knew that it was something they had decided to keep between the family, but this might be her only chance to call the talks off.
"Admiral, listen to me. They are not here to propose an alliance! We had an...encounter with their species before, in the delta quadrant. They...abducted some of my crew, attacked my ship, and did sever damage to both!"
"Maybe they've changed. And besides, they have been in isolation for quite some time, you're probably getting them mixed up with someone else," he told her, not the slightest concerned with what they might have done.
"I was one of the ones they abducted, I remember their faces quite well. It's them!" She insisted.
"If this is true, then why didn't we ever get a report about it or see anything about what happened in the reports you had made?"
"We decided not to. It was emotionally horrible to all that were abducted by them. No one wanted to talk about it or write a report about it to send to Starfleet. But it happened!"
"I'm sure. Admiral, I don't care what you think you saw or decided that wasn't worth mentioning in the reports, I care about written facts. Next time you would be wise to remember that. Dismissed." Admiral Forrest was cold and very dismissive as he said all that, but Janeway complied and walked to the door of his office.
Before she left, she turned and said bluntly, "You don't trust me do you? None of you do. What, is it because I saw things you can't understand, or is it because I befriended Maquis? Perhaps you don't trust me purely because we didn't give up like you would have."
The door opened and she left. Paris didn't turn around at all but he heard the door and her footsteps grow distant.
**Starfleet Medical**
Janeway sat on the bio-bed as Doc, the EMH from Voyager and a good friend of hers, ran a tricorder over her. "Well, you're in good physical condition but you seem very distant today. Something on your mind?"
She looked at her friend. She thought back to her time on Voyager, she missed her family. She missed the adventure and the companionship they all had. Some days she even finds that she misses missing Earth; she almost missed the homesickness that she, and everyone else, became so accustom to.
"There are just some days that you should never have gotten out of bed, and this is one of them," Janeway told him.
"Well, what's so bad about it?"
She looked away from him. What had happened today was something they all dreaded and had hoped would never have happened. They all had chose not to talk about it. Not to mention it. And most of all, not to report it. But the time had come that they really needed to. The problem was, not many were going to listen.
"Remember about three years ago, when Harry, Tom, B'Elanna, Tuvok, and I went on an away mission to, what was supposed to be, a disserted planet?" The EMH nodded and she continued, "When we got back, we remembered that we had been down there for at least a week and you said that we had aged at least eight days, but it had only been two on Voyager?"
The away team composed of Captain Janeway, Ensign Kim, Lieutenants Paris and Torres, and Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, appeared out of nowhere. Doc hurried to their sides and immediately began scanning them and contacted Chakotay.
"Commander, you should report to Sickbay at once. The away team just appeared here, sir."
"On my way," he answered.
Chakotay had been worried sick over them but now he had almost as good reason to be. They were all exhausted and their systems over worked but had almost no physical damage. The only thing was the imprints along their wrist, ankles, and foreheads that were most likely caused by straps pressed hard onto their flesh. But there was also a small cut on their upper right shoulders.
The doors opened and Chakotay walked in. "How are they, Doc?"
"They are all fine, physically. Mentally, I could not tell you at this time."
"Yes, all three of you were fine but suffered from great mental trauma," Doc added.
"Well, the Kotec are here. They want to be allies to Earth and Starfleet is eating right out of their hands. There's a good chance they wont listen to me."
"Are you sure they're here for the same purpose we found out last time."
"Good chance. We wont survive this if we wait too long and Starfleet's not going to listen until it's too late."
"Then what are we going to do?" Doc asked her, unclear as to what they would be able to accomplished.
"I'm not sure yet."
She was in that same dark room. Her body was still strapped to the hard, cold chair but she was beginning to get used to it.
A horrible smell filled her nostrils. She tried to sneeze or cough or something but she kept breathing it in anyway. She began to feel drowse but did not fall asleep. The head of the chair started to move closer to her ears.
A voice, if you could call it that, talked through the headpiece. "What...is...your... species...called?"
"Human," she responded without thinking about it.
"Two...of...the...others...are...not...like...you. What...are...they?"
"She's half Klingon. The other's Vulcan," again, she didn't think but merely answered.
"Your...uniforms...suggest...that...you...are...in...a...army...of...sorts."
"We are in Starfleet. It's not an army. We're apart of the Federation." Her mouth moved to speak and answer the questions before her mind could even comprehend that they were asked. It was as though she was under a spell.
"Where...are...you...from. We...have...never...seen...your...people."
"The alpha quadrant."
"Doctor," Janeway said as she snapped out of her memory. "One thing I remember very clearly was the mind control. Do you think that they may have perfected it somehow? Made it air-born on the Philadelphia and made everyone cooperate with them but, for some reason, we're immune?"
"It's possible. But if that was the case, you would have breathed some of the drug in as well and it would still be in your bloodstream."
Doc quickly pulled out a shot and brought it up to her arm. Janeway flinched; she had never gotten used to needles afterward. Doc took the blood sample over to his console and started to run tests on it.
"Here! See this substance?" He asked as she looked over his shoulder. "This is definable not supposed to be there but it's quickly being destroyed by your white blood cells."
"Can you identify it?"
Doc pushed a few buttons and replied, "It's a mixture of three known and two unknown substances. The three known are harmless on their own but when combine...they can be one of the most powerful mind controlling agents ever. Plus these two unknown ones...I couldn't begin to tell you how to counteract this."
Janeway looked at the Doctor, his expression grave. "Then we're the only ones immune. Voyager's crew."
"Apparently. But, everyone's slit up and we don't have a ship, how do you expect us to do anything about it?"
"We'll have to get as many people together as possible."
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Hmm, what is she planning? I know and you don't! *sticks tongue out*
Please R/R and tell what you thin of this part.