By Carolyn Carey
Chapter 4 "Rex Tremedae"The sun rose yet again. Kathryn Janeway lay exhausted in her bed. She had had one of the worst nights in her life. Nightmare after nightmare had roused her from her much needed sleep. She could have killed for a cup of coffee, but that seemed to be the only delicacy the Kalanar had not yet discovered. She got up and walked over to the window. Moving the drapes to one side she gazed out onto the beautiful vista of the Kalanar countryside. Yet to her the land no longer held any charm. There was something to the human adage, "It's the people who make a place..." In this case the people had turned this paradise sour.
She knew she was to meet with Talshek's science team today. She was to help them develop a weapon against the Neddiin. It was against everything she believed in, her own personal morals, the Prime Directive, Starfleet, the Federation, everything she stood for. But she was only doing this in order to get her crew back. She had no intention to really help the Kalanar develop in their war against the Neddiin. She would pretend and hope they would fall for her guise.
The fever still had a firm hold on her. She shivered slightly. Her throat burned dryly, but she had gotten so accustomed to the sensation to the point were she no loner felt a craving for water.
There was a knock on the door and a servant entered with a tray of food and drink and a dress draped over his arm. Under different circumstances she would have marveled at the beautiful colors, style and the exquisite material of the garment, but in this case the sight of it alone left a bitter taste in her mouth. The servant put the tray down and hung the dress over the back of a chair. Then he went into the adjacent bathroom and started running her bathwater. The perfume of intoxicating bath oil assaulted her senses. She sighed heavily and resigned herself to the fact that she would have to act the part for the time being. She would have to take that bath, have at least some of the food and put on that dress.
After quickly having completed the tedious morning ritual that had been forced upon her, Kathryn Janeway stood in front of a mirror and admired herself in her new dress. The sight of herself made her sick. She wanted to throw something at her reflection and shatter the damn mirror into a thousand pieces. She needed some air, so she rushed over to the window and opened it wide, leaning out with her eyes closed and breathing in deeply. The fresh morning air was soothing.
There was another knock at the door and someone entered the room.
Kathryn Janeway stiffened.
"Ah! I see your enjoying the beautiful morning. The view is quite something, isn't it?"
Wearily she turned around to face the commissioner.
"I must say, the dress is very becoming." he commented whilst his eyes raked over her figure.
The gauze-like material of the garment clung to her every curve, and its azure shades accentuated the blue of her eyes.
"Lets skip the pleasantries, Commissioner. Why don't you get straight to the point of your visit?"
Talshek was not used to being talked to in such a manner. His features darkened briefly, but then he continued,
"You and I will take a little trip to our research facility in the Tumani cluster. That's were the development of the weapon is taking place. I will introduce you to my science team, and we will remain there for one week. If after that period you have not made any valuable contributions to the project, I will nullify our agreement, and you and your crew will be executed. Is that understood?"
Kathryn Janeway took a deep breath and then nodded once.
"Good. Come!"
He waved his hand in a grand gesture, motioning her to move ahead of him. She complied, but when she had just passed him he moved next to her, his hand supporting the small of her back. Kathryn stopped dead and fixed him with angry eyes that allowed no compromise in this matter.
The commissioner raised his hand in silent capitulation and gestured her to move on. She thought she heard him mutter something like "It's going to be a long week". Silently they walked all the way out of the house, across the well-maintained lawn into a vessel that she had not seen since her arrival on Kalanar Prime.
This time he allowed her to remain on the bridge. She sat in a chair next to his, towards the center of the bridge. On the viewscreen the stars streaked by at warp speed. Several Kalanar soldiers worked at consoles that lined the bulkheads of the ovoid bridge.
They had been traveling in silence for what seemed like hours. Janeway could barely keep her back straight any longer. The fever had taken its toll on her, and she felt herself grow weaker yet again. She could not allow it to take over. She had to hold on somehow, until she had her crew and Voyager back, although somehow she very much doubted that Talshek was going to keep his promises. Then again, she was not about to keep her end of the bargain either.
The ship dropped out of warp and a star cluster became visible in the distance. However, there was no sign of the starbase that Talshek had mentioned. She frowned. Was this one of his little tricks?
Seeing her confusion, Talshek smirked.
"Don't worry, Captain. The base is there. It's hiding behind a moon somewhere in that cluster."
"What's our ETA?" Talshek barked at one of his officers.
The reply came immediately, like a gunshot.
"Thirty-four minutes, Sir!"
Then another officer interrupted,
"Sir, I'm reading a vessel, one hundred and forty light-years off our starboard bow... correction, three vessels."
Talshek tensed, his hands balling into tight fists.
"Configuration?"
"They are Neddiin fighters, Sir! They have assumed tactical formation and are on an intercept course."
"Do we have enough time to get to the research facility before they reach us?"
"No, Sir. At current speed they will intercept in twelve minutes."
"Screens up! Battlestations!"
The ship lurched slightly as its shields went up around it. As opposed to Voyager during red alert, the bridge remained fully lit.
"Helm, get us to the nearest planet, moon or asteroid, somewhere where we can hide. Standby weapons! Show me those ships!"
Kathryn Janeway thought she could smell the fear on the Kalanar Bridge. Judging by the commissioner's and his crew's reactions, the situation was serious. Three vicious looking Neddiin fighters appeared on the small viewscreen. Voyager's captain had become quite familiar with their sleek, obsidian design. Their hull was almost black, hiding them from the bare eye. The design was streamlined for maximum maneuverability, and the fighter vessels were heavily armed. These ships were the exact same kind that had forced Voyager to her knees, although only through sheer outnumbering. Her ship would have been able to withstand an attack of only three Neddiin fighter vessels, but the small Kalanar cruiser was obviously no match for them.
"Sir, I can't take us to safety before they intercept." the helm officer reported with a shaky voice.
Kathryn fixed her gaze on Talshek and for a split second she saw panic in his eyes.
"Alright, we will have to engage them. Fire weapons on my command! How long until they get here?"
"Two minutes, Sir!
The ships now filled the entire viewscreen.
"Reduce magnification by three hundred percent!" Talshek barked.
His eyes met hers, and there was something in them that she had not seen before. An apology? Was he sorry for drawing her into this?
The small Kalanar cruiser lurched violently as the first wave of Neddiin weapons fire hit. Consoles exploded and people tumbled about. Kathryn held onto her chair with an iron grip. Talshek's face had turned to stone.
"Evasive maneuvers! Fire at will!" he barked through clenched teeth.
The ship lurched again, and this time the inertial dampeners went offline, causing the floor to tilt to port. Janeway was hurled off her chair and hit her side hard against one of the consoles. Then the ship regained inertia as quickly as it had lost it, the only evidence of the disaster being her painfully bruised ribs.
"Damage report!" Talshek shouted over the chaos on the bridge.
"Inertial dampeners went offline, emergency systems are holding. Warp drive and impulse power are offline, shields are down to two percent. Sensors are blind. Life support is failing..."
Another officer interrupted,
"Sir, the Neddiin are hailing us! Audio only!"
Talshek nodded sharply.
The raspy voice of a Neddiin filled the bridge.
"Kalanar vessel, you will be boarded. You are prisoners of war. Resist arrest and you will die."
Janeway rolled her eyes. Why did the species in the Delta Quadrant all have the same lines?
Talshek and Janeway were separated from the other officers and thrown into the same cell, much to Janeway's dismay. She wanted to get as much distance from him as possible. Then two Neddiin guards came and took Talshek away. Maybe there was a God after all?
The sickening sweet smell of decay hung around the ship. Was it some odor the Neddiin gave off, similar pheromones in human? Or were they simply unhygienic? Much like the Kalanar, the Neddiin appeared almost human, except for the two small cavities right between their eyes, and a double row of sharp pointy teeth that lined both jaws. They were a little taller on average than humans and wore military uniforms. It was clear they were a war faring race, judging by their ships and uniforms, and the way they showed their hospitality...
Kathryn was shaken out of her thoughts by a loud scream, followed by a long wail. Then the screaming started again, this time even louder. The cries went on and on, until they turned into crazed shrieks. She held her ears in horror. Whoever that voice belonged to was in absolute agony. Following the final shriek came an eerie silence.
Heavy footsteps approached the cell, and the guards threw Talshek back in. He collapsed in a heap on the cold metal ground.
Shocked, Kathryn went down on her knees and examined his still form. His pulse was very faint, and he was unconscious. She rolled him around so that she could see his front and gasped when she saw the state he was in. His face was covered in vicious bruises and lacerations, his nose looked broken. His lower arm appeared dislocated and hung at an odd angle. The swelling off his hands could only mean one thing -- his fingers had been broken. Blood stuck to his dark hair. She could only guess at what they had done to the rest of his body.
As much right as she had to hate this man, she could not help but feel compassionate. He deserved a lot, but this was too much. She tore some fabric off her dress and began to wipe his face. If they were going to get out of here, he would have to regain consciousness, and she would make sure he did. She bent down until her lips almost touched his ear and whispered urgently,
"Talshek, wake up! Open your eyes!"
Nothing happened.
She continued to speak into his ear, and eventually her efforts were rewarded with a low moan emanating from deep within his throat.
"Commissioner, I know you're in pain, but please look at me! Open your eyes!"
He moaned again, and then his eyelids opened scant millimeters.
"I'm ... sorry..." he rasped, then moaned again.
"Shhhh... don't speak. Just listen. We have to get out of here, but I'm going to need your help. Is there any way we can contact your officers?"
Talshek gasped in pain.
"They're.... dead..."
"What?"
"The Neddiin... it's what they do.... They've .... feasted on them..."
"WHAT?"
"They're carnivores.... eat other species.... sometimes even each other... cannibals..."
Suddenly the origin of the sweet, foul smell that hovered in the air became only too apparent. Kathryn Janeway shuddered and suppressed the urge to retch.
She pushed the abhorrent thoughts that flodded her mind aside and concentrated on the problem at hand. If they were cannibals, they would not want to miss out on feasting on the commissioner if her were dead. If she called for the guards and pretended that he had died, if she could then overpower them when they entered the cell, and if she could then get hold of a weapon and overpower the crew of the Neddiin ship, they might just stand a chance. Too many 'ifs'... She was sure that Tuvok would have given her one of his dire estimates of her plans chance to succeed, had he been present... What would it be? One in two billion? And how many Neddiin were on this vessel?
"Talshek... how many are there?"
"The average... Neddiin fighter has a crew... compliment of thirteen..."
It was less than she had thought, but still too many... Still, it was their only chance of survival. She did not intend to become the special on tonight's menu...
"Talshek, play dead!"
"Kathryn, what...? You can't possibly take them on..."
"I have a few tricks up my sleeve." she said with a confidence she did not feel.
She went up to the forcefield and shouted,
"Hey, somebody get this carcass out of here! He's beginning to smell!"
She did not have to wait long. One of the Neddiin guards came towards the cell and lowered the forcefield. He stepped inside and bent down to feel the Kalanar's pulse, licking his lips in anticipation. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his neck. It was the last thing he would remember before falling back into darkness. Talshek's eyes opened wide in disbelief.
"How?"
"I knew getting Tuvok to teach me the Vulcan neck pinch would come in handy sometime," she smirked.
She bent over the motionless body of the Neddiin soldier and grabbed his disruptor rifle. Then, concerned clearly written on her face, she turned back to Talshek.
"Can you walk?"
"I don't know..."
The Kalanar commissioner carefully sat up and tried to get to his feet, but he was too weak.
"Here, let me help you."
Janeway slung her arm under his shoulders and hoisted him up with a groan, supporting almost his entire bodyweight. She would not be able to last long this way. He was a slim, but well-built man, and he was about a foot taller than she. The laws of physics worked against them. Luckily, after the initial hoist, he seemed to be able to find his balance, and after a few hesitant steps he was able to support more of his own weight, although he still relied on her to steady him.
They stopped at a door that led out into a corridor, resting for a while.
"Kathryn, there is something you must know..."
She shook her head.
"It can wait. Safe your strength, Talshek!"
"No, I must tell you... the research facility on the starbase... in the Tumani cluster... it's where we keep Voyager..."
"What?"
"If you... get out of here alive... take your ship and free your crew!"
He took a deep shuddering breath. Talking was obviously too much for him. Then he took a small data pad out of the pocket of his uniform.
"Here are the shield calibrations... for the penal colony on Laxys III."
She looked at him in disbelief. He was perfectly serious.
"I'm sorry... for what I've done to you... and your crew... I don't want to die without knowing that you know that."
Kathryn Janeway took the pad from him and comfortingly squeezed the shoulder of the man she had come to think of as her worst enemy until scant minutes ago.
"You're not going to die, Talshek. Now, lets go!"
They met up with the second guard just outside the room that contained their cell. Janeway pointed her disruptor rifle at him.
"I hope this is set for stun", she thought, just before she shot him.
The Neddiin collapsed to the ground. She felt his pulse. It was weak, but steady. Hurriedly Talshek and Janeway continued on their way to the Neddiin fighter's bridge.
They examined every room they passed in order to make sure that they were not being attacked from behind. Yet room after room was empty. The ship seemed deserted.
At one point they had stormed a chamber that lay in total darkness. A potent wave of the sickening sweet odor that went through the entire vessel assaulted their senses. Janeway stumbled over something on the ground and fell, her hands making contact with a sticky metallic floor. Talshek ordered the lights on. The harrowing view that greeted their eyes made their blood curl. Humanoid bones were scattered all over the ground and tables. Dried blood lined the walls and furniture, as well as most of the floor. Janeway realized in horror that what she had tripped over was the skull of a humanoid. Her hands were covered in a sticky red substance -- blood. Severed limbs lay everywhere, some half consumed. But the most harrowing sight of all was the head of a Kalanar soldier sitting on a table, its dead eyes staring at Janeway and her companion, its bloodstained mouth gaping in a silent scream of terror.
Talshek slid to the ground. These were the remnants of his people, his crew. He averted his eyes. Janeway fought against the rising bile in her throat. Tears rose in her eyes. There was no word to describe the evil of the Neddiin. She had thought of Talshek as the devil incarnate... Well, it looked like she had been wrong. The Neddiin were by far more malicious. As quickly as she could manage she dragged the injured commissioner out of the Neddiin mess hall.
The door closed behind them and they took in the purer air of the corridor. The pungent smell of the cadavers in the adjacent room however clung to them, or maybe they just imagined that it did.
Finally they cowered in front of the door to the control center. Janeway set her disruptor rifle for a wide stun beam. It was the only way they would stand a chance against the rest of the Neddiin. They had not run into any more soldiers. Apparently they were all on the bridge.
When Janeway gave the sign, Talshek activated the door controls, and it opened with a hydraulic hiss. Janeway jumped forward, disrupter rifle ahead and stormed onto the bridge. The Neddiin captain and his crew turned towards her in surprise. Her appearance on the bridge had been truly unexpected. She pointed the rifle at them and fired for a little longer than necessary. The revulsion she harbored towards these people was so overpowering, she had to fight the urge to vaporize them.
The Neddiin crew crumpled to the floor. Quickly Janeway went to the helm and began to familiarize herself with the alien controls while Talshek dragged himself onto the bridge to join her. The vessel was already on course for the research facility in the Tumani cluster. Apparently the Neddiin had plans to attack it, no doubt wanting to take Voyager and use it for their own sinister purposes. She dreaded to think what they could do with some of Voyager's technology, especially the transporters, weapons systems, and the parts that had been modified with Borg technology. Although the Neddiin weapons had always been powerful, none of their vessels would have been a match for Voyager's weapons arsenal, but Voyager had been outnumbered. Even Voyager had been powerless against an attack force of more than a dozen Neddiin fighters, all hacking away on her shields.
"We're going to reach the research facility in fifteen minutes. Lets hope they won't fire at us!" Janeway commented wryly.
"I will speak to them," Talshek half groaned and staggered to a communications panel.
On the viewscreen a moon came into view. The assumed a wide orbit around it, and a starbase was revealed on its shadowed side. Secured by docking clamps to its port bow, majestic like a jewel in a crown, towered the embodiment of Kathryn Janeway's hopes: Voyager.