A/N: Ahh, illogical plot developments... I'd forgotten just how silly this story really was... I hope you're enjoying this journey back to 1995!
Part Two
B'Elanna let out a whoop of exhilaration. {It's just like being in the Maquis again!} Her
X-wing veered under a TIE-fighter, nearly on a collision course, and prompted evasive action on the part of the TIE-fighter's pilot. He banked left - straight into a TIE-bomber, causing both to explode.
"Nice flying, Red Six," her com reported.
"Thanks, Five," she responded with a grin. "Try watchin' your backside more closely,
Tom. That one almost had you."
"Thanks for your advice, Six," Tom said wryly. "I'll try to keep it in mind. Five out."
Half the TIE-fighters were destroyed, and not a single X-wing had been downed. With so
few enemy fighters left, B'Elanna hoped to keep it that way.
Almost simultaneously, one of the remaining TIE's took up pursuit of Red Seven.
"Harry!" B'Elanna hollered over the com, "You've got a Squint. I'm coming!"
The TIE-Interceptor started pulling in closer. "Seven, watch it!" Red Leader called. "Pull
up! Before he gets any closer!"
"I can shake im!" Kim reported.
"Seven, pull out now! Before it's too late! That's an order!"
"Leader, the squint's in too close! If I pull up, I'll hit im!"
A barrage of laser fire ripped across the back of Harry's X-wing, and he panicked. "My
astromech was hit! I'm blind!"
"Harry!" B'Elanna shouted again, "Just hang on! Pull out to your right!" his X-wing
listed to the left - directly into the path of an Eyeball. And the TIE-fighter wasn't moving. "Right, Harry, right!"
When he didn't respond, she desperately tried to accelerate. She pushed all the power
available in the little fighter - and more - into one final, frantic attempt to reach Harry. But it was too late. Harry's X-wing blossomed into a small nova as he collided with the passing Eyeball.
"Harry!" she shrieked, wheeling her X-wing about to blast the Duce pursuing Red Leader.
The TIE-bomber's explosion rocked her X-wing out of control. By the time she regained control, an interceptor was onto her.
"Red Six," Red Three, the only other female pilot, announced, "you've got a Squint! Pull
out!"
B'Elanna scanned the battlefield quickly. Only three of the enemy fighters remained: two
interceptors and a bomber. An idea suddenly dawned on her. "Tom, try evasive Delta-pi."
"What? Oh, Delta-pi! Yes, ma'am!" he called enthusiastically.
"What?!" Red Leader exclaimed. "Six, what does that mean?!"
B'Elanna smiled as she executed a sharp 180 degree turn. "Just take the Duce. We can
handle the Squints." {This must be the oldest trick in the book,} she thought, {but the fancy codes will confuse people monitoring communications. They'll never guess we just performed this maneuver!} She sent her X-wing into a nose dive under the Squint which had been pursuing her.
The pilot pulled up - and crashed into the interceptor Tom had chased over. Seconds later,
Red 2 and Red 9 were successful in destroying the last Duce. The scenario was over. The New Republic was victorious.
Screens in the X-wings turned black, and the top of B'Elanna's mock-up opened. Luke
Skywalker peered in. "What's Delta-pi?" he demanded.
"Uh . . . it's a code name for the maneuver Tom and I just performed," B'Elanna
explained.
"Yeah, I heard you say that. I also heard you say something about Imperials monitoring our
communications. How could someone monitor our in-squad communications?! That's impossible! And where did you learn that maneuver, anyway? I've never seen it before! It sure isn't the oldest trick in the book'!"
She blushed, hoping she didn't look guilty. She had slipped up, seriously - and there was
no way out of this one. With only a few words, she had . . . {Wait! I didn't say anything!}
"You didn't say . . . ?" Luke glanced at her confused stare. "Then . . . by the Force . . ."
he whispered. As if in a trance, he turned and left the training area, leaving B'Elanna to puzzle over his words.
+
Chakotay took a deep breath and held it as he stepped from the turbolift to the bridge.
Childish notions of mutiny fled from his mind: it was time to face the captain. As first officer, he had the power to relieve the captain of duty, if he saw reason: and the past four months of working with the Empire had given him plenty of reasons.
"Captain," he asked quietly as he walked down in front of the command chair, "may I
speak with you - in private?"
Captain Janeway set down the PADD she had been reading and stood in a brisk military
fashion. "Lt. Tuvok, you have the bridge. I'll be in my ready room."
As soon as the ready room door slid shut, Janeway seemed to turn on him. "What is it now,
Commander?!" she exclaimed, exasperated
Chakotay took another deep breath. {This is it.} "Captain, I think it's time we had a talk."
"About what?" she asked crossly, starting to pace.
"This continued alliance with the Empire. It's not right. When my crew joined yours, we
decided to follow Starfleet rules. But lately, you've been ignoring the most important one: the Prime Directive."
"Chakotay," she sighed, "the benefits of the Prime Directive pale in comparison to the
benefits of this alliance."
"Captain," Chakotay said slowly, "What are we getting out of this relationship?"
She stopped pacing suddenly. Chakotay realized what was happening. {She doesn't know
what to say. She doesn't have the answer to that question.} After a long, uncomfortable silence, Janeway turned from the window to answer, her voice nearly mechanical. "A home, Chakotay."
"What?!" he exclaimed. "But what about the last three and a half years we've spent
searching for a way home?! Will you so easily forget everything and everyone we've left behind?!"
"No, Chakotay, I'll never forget Mark and the Starfleet rules I believed in. But it's time to
move on," she reasoned. She moved around her desk and sat before continuing. "Here, we've found a colony of . . . well, they're as Human as you and I. And, frankly . . . I'm sick of this journey. By the time we reach the Alpha Quadrant, I'll be dead. And how can you back an act that will never benefit you - it will continue to cost lives, how many more can we loose? And what about the children who will eventually reach our home? Voyager will be all they've known, they'll never fit in. It's time we decided to settle down."
Chakotay clenched his hands into fists, the only visible sign that he was angered. "Captain,
why don't we take a vote. The people who wish to go on can take Voyager and continue-"
Janeway leapt to her feet. "Commander, this is not a democracy, this is Starfleet! I am the
captain, and the crew will follow my orders! Is that clear?!"
"Lately, Captain, the orders you've been giving have been dangerously wrong. This alliance
can harm both our crew, and the people of this area. You're ignoring their needs. You've even been thinking about giving these people our technology, haven't you? I can't allow you to do this, and as first officer, it's my duty to make sure your orders are safe for all parties involved, and within Starfleet parameters. And your orders are not."
"What? Chakotay, you can't possibly-"
Commander Chakotay cut her off. "I am asking you to step down, Captain. And if you do
not, we will remove you from command."
"Commander, this sounds dangerously close to mutiny."
"It is my duty to do what is best for the crew - and that's getting as far from the Empire as
possible. And if that means removing you from command, then so be it."
"I will not step down." Her tone was firm. Chakotay didn't hear the slightest hint of
hesitation in the captain's voice.
"Then you leave me no choice." Chakotay reached up to hit his combadge.
Janeway stopped him by plucking the badge off his uniform. "No, Commander, you leave
me no choice. I believe you to be a danger to my crew. You are hereby confined to quarters until further notice." She hit her combadge. "Janeway to Tuvok. Please escort Chakotay to his quarters and post a guard outside."
Tuvok marched into Janeway's ready room, and grabbed Chakotay by the arm. As he was
led away, Chakotay glanced to see Captain Janeway's haughty gaze following him. The door closed.
+
Paris reached his quarters to find B'Elanna sitting at the computer terminal gazing intently
at the screen. "What's goin' on?" he asked, ruffling her hair.
She absent-mindedly smoothed it down. "That would explain everything," she muttered to
herself.
Ever curious, he pulled over a chair and sat down. "Explain what?"
"Just listen. Remember Skywalker introducing himself as a Jedi Master? Well today, right
after the battle drill, he asked me how the TIE- fighters could monitor our communications.
Apparently, he heard me say something about how our codes - you know, Delta-Pi and such - would confuse their monitors. But-"
Tom cut her off with a brisk shake of his head. "You didn't say anything of the sort. I was
listening. Where did he pick that up?"
B'Elanna sighed. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. That's what I thought. I didn't
say it, I thought it! So, I came back here, and looked up Jedi'. Here, read this." She pointed to a line of script on the terminal screen.
Paris flushed. "Uh . . . B'Elanna, I'm still learning how . . . "
"Well, you'd better learn to read it soon! It's the language we're gonna have to live with for the rest of our lives! It's a blessing they speak and spell in Standard. But, anyway, let me read it to you. I don't know what to make of this." She turned back to the screen. "This is how Jedi abilities are described: Jedi Knights are apt telekinetics, and are capable of limited telepathy with other Jedi and Jedi potentials.' Now tell me, Tom - what does it mean?"
"If it means what I think it means . . ." he said carefully, "then you're a Jedi."
+
"She's a Jedi potential," Luke said.
"What?!" Leia exclaimed. "But . . . it's impossible! How would you know that? How?!
We're the last of the Jedi!"
"Not the last!" Luke said. "The first! The first of a new order! The potentials are out there
- and it's up to us to find them."
"But the Emperor and Darth Vader hunted down the Jedi!" Leia stated.
Luke sighed, frustrated by her close-minded approach to everything. "Ben survived. So did
Yoda. If they could survive, others could."
"Yes," Leia agreed, "but they were Jedi Masters!"
"All Jedi received the same training. And do you forget the Guardians?"
Leia laughed in contempt at that suggestion. "Guardians. They're just a myth. All of the
Jedi were Human. Even you know that."
"And that's an assumption the Emperor spread. Enter all situations with an open mind.
Yoda wasn't Human."
Leia seemed a bit confused. "He wasn't Human?"
"Have you ever seen a two-foot tall, green Human?" Luke asked.
"He was . . . green . . ." Leia said hesitantly. "How come you never mentioned this to
me?"
Luke shrugged. "Guess I didn't think of it. But Belleana is Human, so it doesn't really
matter. If Ben could survive, her parents could. And Caldos is the perfect place to hide - almost as far out as Tatooine from the Galactic Center."
"And if she is a Jedi, how do you suggest telling her this?"
He smiled. "I was just about to head down to her floor. I'll just tell her. She's been
through an Imperial attack, I think she can handle this news."
+
Chakotay sat in his room. Four weeks he had been sitting there, waiting for a favorable
report from Hensley. The crew would mutiny, but only when the time was right. And if they had to, they would leave the Captain behind, to live with her wonderful Empire. If only it wasn't necessary - but that was only wishful thinking.
His thoughts strayed back to B'Elanna. She had been a good friend, the best. There was
still a possibility that she was alive out there, though it was one in a million. He couldn't give up on her, not after everything she had done for him. She had saved his life so many times, but he had been unable to save hers . . .
"Damn," he whispered. His thoughts kept straying along this path, always remembering
how much he owed B'Elanna, and how he would never be able to repay her. {But,} he told himself, {self-pity can lead to instability. And what I definitely don't need right now is to be unstable.}
The door chimed. "Yes?" he asked hopefully, wondering if it was finally Hensley.
It wasn't. The door slid open to admit Tuvok. Chakotay scowled at the Security Chief.
"And what does Janeway want now?"
"Nothing," Tuvok said tonelessly. "I am here of my own accord."
"Then what do you want?"
Tuvok stepped across the room to face Chakotay. "I wish to help you. I am unsatisfied with
your performance over the past weeks. You have not been acting like yourself. I wish to perform a mind touch. It is not so deep as a mind-meld, but will tell me if you are being affected in any way by members of the Empire."
"You want to check and see if I'm being controlled by an alien," Chakotay said wryly.
"In essence, yes. May I?"
Chakotay sighed. "If it'll convince you I'm sane, go ahead."
Tuvok touched Chakotay's head, a serious expression on his face, then drew back. "You
are fine."
"That was it?!" Chakotay exclaimed.
Tuvok seemed confused. "Yes, of course. It is quite simple, and does not tell me everything
about you. I can only sense what is on the surface of your consciousness."
"Oh," Chakotay said, not quite understanding. After a moment of silent thought, he asked,
"Tuvok, what do you think of Janeway's orders since we encountered this ship?"
Tuvok lifted an eyebrow. "I do not agree with her decisions, but she is the captain, and
knows what she is doing."
Chakotay sighed. "Yes, normally I understand her orders, but since the moment we
encountered the Empire, I've not been the only one questioning her orders."
"It does seem to be an unbelievable coincidence."
"Is it possible that she is the one being influenced by the Empire?"
Tuvok pondered that for a moment. "I suppose so, but if she were the one, I doubt she
would let me touch her mind."
"Must you touch her forehead?" Chakotay asked hopefully.
"No. I am a touch telepath, I must come in contact with her skin."
Chakotay puzzled over that. "If you were to accidentally' bump into her on the bridge or
in the hall, would you have enough time to search?"
Tuvok seemed deep in thought. "Yes, I do believe that would be sufficient."
"Then do it! If she's being influenced, we have an actual reason to take her from command.
It will also get us as far away from the Empire as possible."
"Does this mean you have given up on the missing shuttle crew?"
"No," Chakotay said sadly. "I think they're alive. They'll find a way to survive."
+
{God, I wish Chakotay was here,} B'Elanna thought. It had been exactly four weeks since
Luke Skywalker had come to her doorstep and suddenly informed her that she had supernatural powers - and had immediately taken her under his wing, teaching her about the Force her powers originated from. She sighed. {He knows so much more about religions than I do.} Her doubts about the existence of this Force' were overwhelming.
"Who's that man your thoughts keep returning to?" Luke asked. "I've noticed his image
in your mind several times."
{Chakotay?} she thought. {How will I explain him?} "He's my father," she stuttered, the
only excuse she could come up with.
"It must have been difficult losing him. I've noticed you longing for him to be here. I was
there when my own father died. He turned to the Dark Side, when I was very, very young. I doubt I was even born, though I'll never know for sure. In his last moments, though, he turned against his master, the Emperor, to save my life. In doing so, he turned back to the Light. I'm . . . very proud of what he was able to do in his final moments . . ."
"And how come I never knew about these powers?" she asked, steering away from such an
uncomfortable subject.
"Where do you think you got those amazing engineering skills? You modified that entire
Imperial shuttle for your own use!" Luke exclaimed.
B'Elanna was ashamed of her lie. {There was no other was to explain the shuttle,} she
assured herself. "And I thought those traits were hereditary," she said wryly.
"Since your father was also a mechanic, I assume you're from a line of mechanically
inclined Jedi. We have most of the Alderaanian records, and so we know there were quite a few Jedi on Alderaan, and at least four were unaccounted for.
"But how come Harry isn't a Jedi, too?"
"The ability to sense the Force can skip a generation, for reasons I'm unsure of. But now,"
Luke said, getting back to her lesson, "try to lift that vase over there. Let the Force flow through you, and relax. You're too tense."
B'Elanna sighed and took a deep breath, thinking of Chakotay's meditation exercises.
"Clear your mind. You're not focused on the vase."
She tried to relax, and closed her eyes.
She could almost feel Luke smiling as he said, "You're doing it. Now bring it over to me."
B'Elanna nodded.
"Good, good."
She heard the vase clunk as she rested it on the table. "I'm going to put it back on the shelf
now." As she lifted the vase back up, the door opened.
"B'Elanna!" Tom exclaimed.
B'Elanna's eyes snapped open to find Tom staring at the vase. Her concentration
elsewhere, the elegant vase fell and shattered on the floor.
Luke frowned. "It seems we have a little work to do."
+
Tuvok dashed into Chakotay's quarters, breaking his meditative state. {I was calling on
B'Elanna's spirit . . . I could almost feel her . . . This had better be good.}
"She is influenced!" Tuvok exclaimed.
Chakotay could've sworn that he was flustered . . . but it must've been a trick of the light.
"Are you sure?"
"I am positive. We must remove her from command immediately."
"And alert whomever's controlling her? Never. Tuvok, we have to wait until the time's
right."
Tuvok frowned. "Whomever is controlling her is extremely powerful. And Commander,
there are Imperial soldiers on the bridge!"
Chakotay jumped up. "What?! Stormtroopers on the bridge?!"
"Yes. It seems the captain has been working without our permission," Tuvok said. "I
suggest we work as swiftly as possible."
"We're not in a good position to do that right now, Tuvok - especially if there are Imperial
Troopers up there. They would kill whomever mutinied. You know that, don't you?"
Tuvok nodded. "We can not just sit here, though. We must do something."
Chakotay frowned. He hadn't wanted to tell Tuvok this, but . . . "Tuvok, Ensign Hensley
and I have been planning a mutiny for the past month. We're just waiting for the right time to implement our plan. Let me tell you about it . . ."