Arana's Tale - Chapter 7

By Kudara

Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and all who sail in her belong to Paramount/Viacom and no infringement of copyright/trade marks is intended.

Disclaimer: The Dungeons and Dragons Role-playing System is owned by Wizards of the Coast and no infringement of copyright/trademarks is intended. The only thing I would like to lay claim to is the original D&D character used in this story.

Rating: T (13+)

Feedback: Always welcome, feedback is what encourages me to keep writing. Please let me know what you like and what you dislike about the story.

Revision History: 9/11/04; 03/17/05

Summary: Arana meets the Borg children and senior staff.

"The time is 0500 hours," I awoke upon hearing the voice of the computer, and remembered the day before. Sitting up, I looked outside the window at the streaking stars and felt a sense of wonderand more than a bit of doubt. This world was so different from mine; the change was even greater than when I left the Ilmater Order to become a Paladin. Yet it was what Torm required of me; and I knew that he would not ask more than I was capable of achieving.

I grinned ruefully, reminded of the training lectures I had given over the years; now it was time for me to be in training once again. "Oh well "I told myself, as I had stated to my students more than once, "don't expect Torm's idea of what you are capable of to be easy. Just know that it can be done if you give all of yourself to accomplishing it."

With that I rolled out of bed and onto the floor and began my morning stretches, mapping out my morning as I did so. I figured I had an hour to work out, an hour to pray, and then 30 minutes to bathe, 'recycle' my clothing, and get dressed. Something told me that Seven and the children would arrive precisely at 0650 hours.

An hour later I was feeling more awake after as strenuous a workout I could manage without weights or the assistance of another. I resolved to inquire of Seven whether the ship had some type of gymnasium.

Quieting my mind, I knelt on the floor and allowed my sense of the room to fade away. I concentrated on feeling the divine energy around me and began drawing it into myself. As I did so, I chanted in silently the dawn words of praise to Ilmater. It had been years since I had received a personal visit from the Crying god, so I was surprised when I heard his gentle voice responding in my mind.

"The children you freed are safe within my Temple at Waterdeep. You bore the lashes of my sister bravely, my priestess. Know that you are where we need to be at this time. Learn these people's customs and their technology, and learn what you can of this place. The Lord of Darkness is showing a keen interest in this realm. Torm has detected the presence of his follower's here, but we do not know his devices. You must be our eyes and ears on this plane. Hopefully you will learn something that will give us insight into what his plans may be."

I felt his power move through me, and realized that I had been given the knowledge of more priestly spells: the ability to call down divine fire upon an enemy, to restore someone who had their strength or powers drained by another, and the ability to heal another of poisoning through my clerical skills instead of using my Paladin ability – all this had been taught to me.

Now I needed to choose words for the somatic component of the spell. I shrugged; I had always used elven words for this so why not continue? I decided to use ur, the word for fire, for the divine fire spell. I choose the word entulesse for the spell to restore drained abilities, as it was the elven word to return something, and the negative of the word poison, avasangwa, for the spell to cure poisoning.

I continued my meditations once those essential tasks were completed, and quickly realized that my 'pool' of divine power had increased as well. After finishing the hymn of praise to, I immediately began the dawn hymn of praise to Torm. By the time I had finished both, an hour had passed; and I climbed to my feet and quickly went into the bathing room to strip off my clothes and shower.

I was used to bathing quickly, and I still had twenty minutes remaining when I recycled my underclothes and then stood in front of the replicator trying to decide what to wear that day. "Historical garments; renaissance; male." I told the computer, repeating the Captain's suggestion of the day before. When the pictures of the different garment styles showed up on the screen, I quickly choose the doublet style and then the Mantua style from among the possible doublets.

The Mantua differed from most doublets in that it laced along both sides under the arms instead of down the front and down the sides. This style of doublet had a single front panel, usually of brocade, then panels under the arm holes; two short square panels in the front and one rectangular panel in the rear at the bottom of the garment made up the waist. Rolled corded banding ran along every seam, and the arm holes were decorated with inch thick banding.

I had loved this very style of doublet on Faerun, where it was called the Waterdeep' but the difficulty in getting it correctly tailored, as well as the cost, had limited my wardrobe to only two of these. With this replicator, however, it was amazingly easy to create a garment that fit perfectly.

I choose silver and emerald for my colors, and then picked out an emerald green high necked shirt and emerald green trews. I dressed and examined myself in the full length mirror provided in the bathing room with a critical eye and sighed at my milk pale skin. Anyone looking at me immediately knew that one of my parents was a moon-elf. At least I could wear all the jewel tone colors; earth tone's, however, made me look jaundiced.

I had to chuckle when I realized I had been frowning unhappily at my modest bosom under the silver brocade. I reminded myself that, if I were as endowed as Seven, that I would ruin the clean lines of the doublet; and it wasn't as if anyone ever mistook me for a male, so I obviously had enough of a chest.

I admired the effect of the outfit, how it brought out the blue tones in my skin and emphasized my eyes. Once again I was thankful that I came from uncommonly tall parents; if I had been five foot four or so as most half-elven women, I would, quite frankly, look rather silly in this style of clothing. But at five foot nine, I had the height and leanness needed to look elegant in them.

I grinned to myself, remembering how I had a reputation for being one of the more vain Knights of the Order. It was true; and I was not ashamed to lay the blame squarely at my father's feet. Moon-elves were, after all, known for their perfectionist taste in clothing. 'I will just have to resign myself to developing that same reputation aboard Voyager,' I thought to myself with a smile. I quickly combed out and rebound my hair and asked, "Computer, time please."

"The time is 0646 hours," it replied.

I nodded to myself and went over to the window and stared out at the passing stars. "Talk about a view to make oneself feel humble" I thought. Curiously, I wondered how many of the myriad stars had planets with people of some type upon them. Certainly I had noticed many different types of races last night. Neelix was certainly different from any other person I had met, but I had noticed at least three other races besides the humans present.

"Seven to Arana," came the sound of Seven's voice over my combadge.

"Please come in, Lady Seven," I replied, guessing that she was waiting just outside the sensor range of the door.

I stood up in time to greet Seven and the four children who entered with her, "Good morn to you all. May Ilmater and Torm's blessings be upon you."

I looked curiously at the children. From Seven's descriptions, I guessed that the tall teenage boy was Icheb, a good looking young man with close clipped coal black hair and a prominent ridge running vertically from his nose to his hairline. A silvery implant along the ridge was all that remained visible of his Borg past.

The two younger twin boys were Azan and Rebi; Seven had called their race Wysati, and they differed from humans only in the ridged line of small bumps that extended from their nose up their forehead. The remnant of their Borg past was a small copper colored disk on their left temples. The girl had a prominent ridged nose, but the ridge ended just above her eyebrows. I knew this must be Metozi, and I could tell by the direct, curious look she gave me that she was probably a handful at times.

"Children, this is Champion Arana. Do not touch any of her belongings," the last was said as the children caught sight of my mithryl armor and weapons, and after an initial curious look, I was deemed much less interesting that it, at least for the present.

Obediently the three younger children held their hands behind their backs and continued examining the armor intently. Icheb stood by Seven, dividing his attention for the moment between the armor and myself. I smiled at Seven, who was wearing the black civilian uniform over the modified biosuit. "You look lovely this morning, Milady, the uniform well suits you." She raised a brow in response to my comment, but I did elicit a small smile from her, as well, in response.

"You must be Icheb," I said to him with a smile.

"And you are Champion Arana," he replied with a shy smile.

"Seven said your armor is made of mithryl," said Metozi, "but I couldn't find any alloy called that in Voyager's database."

I nodded, "Mithryl may exist only in Faerun; it is a magical metal, smelted and forged by the dwarves deep in their mountain halls. It is stronger than any other known metal, even admantium, and much lighter as well."

Metozi nodded. "You have pretty hair," she announced.

"Thank you, you do as well and those are nice braids," I replied.

Seven shifted, apparently impatient, "We must leave for the mess hall or we will be late."

I grinned at her, "Do they stop serving at 0730 hours?"

"No, but the children's day is arranged to allow for the greatest number of activities. Beginning our meal late will disrupt the planned schedule," Seven informed me seriously.

I blinked at this and glanced at the children who had muted mutinous expressions on their faces. I sighed to myself thinking that Seven had a lot to learn about children, but it wasn't particularly surprising that she had no idea what she was doing wrong. Still this was the wrong time and place for such a conversation, so I simply nodded. I also wanted to discuss with her the message I had received from Ilmater, but it too would have to wait.

As we set off to the mess hall, Metozi moved up to take my hand and walk beside me, "If you want I can braid your hair," she offered.

I smiled at her pleased, "I love braids but they look terrible if I try to do them myself. I would be happy to accept your assistance, Metozi."

She grinned back at me obviously pleased by my answer.

As we got on the turbolift for Deck 2 where the mess hall was located, Seven asked me, "Did you receive the Captain's message, Arana?"

I groaned, "I knew there would be something I forgot. If I received it on the console machine then, no, I have not read it."

"You do not have to use the one in your quarters; if you do not mind accompanying us to the science lab for the children's lessons you can use the one there," Seven responded.

I grinned at the children, "Perhaps I should join them, I know nothing about all this technology. Now if you want to know the best way to kill a red dragon, however, I could teach you quite a lot." We stepped out of the turbo lift and walked toward the mess hall.

As we walked into the mess hall, we seemed to attract quite our share of attentionmost of which seemed to be focused on Seven and her new uniform, and the rest upon me. Metozi's next question firmly established me as the preferred focus of attention, "You killed a red dragon?" she asked with doubt obvious in her tone.

"Not alone; I was assisting my silver dragon friend to protect her hatchlings," I answered.

We had stepped in front of the serving window and I smiled at Neelix, "Good morn, Neelix, what wonderful culinary creation have you made for us this morning?"

"Ah, Champion Arana, lets see; we have some eggs we picked up a few planets ago, and my first attempt to make hash browns," Neelix said with a cheerful smile.

"Some of each please, Neelix," I replied.

After he had handed me a plate, I went to sit down with Seven and the children who were all having the liquid nutritional supplements she had consumed the night before. The mess hall was still unusually quiet, with frequent short glances being directed at our table. Most of those glances were openly curious, a very few bordered on hostile. Those people I quietly memorized the faces of and resolved to find out what exactly the Captain had written last night.

"How did you know the silver dragon," Metozi asked me.

I hurriedly swallowed my first taste of the eggs, finding them to have an odd flavor that I could not tell if I liked or disliked. "Ah, well," I said remembering that first meeting with Alessea fondly. Not surprising since she had ended up being my first lover since my childhood. "Silver dragons have the ability to transform themselves into the form of a human. Lady Alessea was very beautiful as a human, lithe as an elf, with silver hair that flowed down her back, and the deepest blue eyes."

I paused, remembering her and wondering with some sorrow how she was and whether or not the Order thought I had perished at the hands of the Lovitarians. "I did not know that she was a dragon for several months after I first met her. I was still a squire at the time and we had become… rather close companions before she told me. It came as rather a shock to know that she was a silver dragon and that she was 230 years older than I." I grinned ruefully at myself, remembering well the day she had informed me of her other identity.

I glanced at Seven and got a rather narrow eyed look in return; I could sense her annoyance. I blinked, confused by her reaction; then I realized that Seven, at least, had correctly deciphered my words and realized that Alessea and I had been lovers. Seven might have not reacted to my acknowledgement of my attraction to her yesterday, but she was obviously reacting with what looked suspiciously like jealousy now.

"That was over ten years ago though; our paths went different ways a little over a year later. When I met her again two years later, we were still friends but not as close as we were before." I said the last words while looking directly at Seven, letting her know that I meant that Alessea and I had decided not to be lovers after we met again.

"It was during that time that she got pregnant and laid her eggs. She invited me to come and see them after they were hatched and I accepted." I paused and smiled at Metozi, "That was when I got the opportunity to go dragon back riding."

I took a quick opportunity to finish my eggs, then began speaking again. "I rode most of the way up into the mountains where she was nesting, and left my mount at a reputable inn for my return. Alessea had sent a map of the mountains with her invitation, and I made my way on foot from the inn to where she wanted to meet me. It took me a few hours, and it was almost noon before I arrived."

I took a sip of what Neelix had called orange juice, a pleasing drink both sweet and tart at the same time. "Alessea was an adult dragon of course, so meeting her for the first time in her natural form was a bit intimidating."

Icheb asked curiously, "How large is an adult dragon?"

I pondered his question for a moment then hesitantly answered, "I would say thirty five feet tall, and maybe ninety foot long including the tail."

"What did she look like?" asked Rebi, the first I had heard a word out of either twin.

"Well, all the good natured dragons look exactly like the metal they are named for: Bronze, Brass, Copper, Gold and Silver. The scale patterns and crest along the top of their body differ greatly among them. Silver dragons are also called shield dragons for the large scale plates they have on their heads and along their throats and undersides. There are only four scales that cover their entire heads. One covers their entire muzzle up to just below their eyes, another covers the area around their eyes, and two smaller ones on either side protect their horns." I paused to sip some juice and hoped that my description was making sense.

I glanced at Seven and the children and had to smile at the intent looks on their faces. A quick look about the mess hall revealed several people openly listening to my tale. Some of them had similarly intent looks; some of them had openly skeptical expressions. One caramel skinned woman with rather prominent bony ridges running up her forehead was openly frowning at me as I met her gaze. I sensed a muted hostility radiating from her that puzzled me, for I did not know who she might be or why she would dislike me. The only thing I could tell was that she was wearing the same uniform as the two crewmen from last evening.

I shrugged and continued my description, "The silver and brass dragons have one crest that runs from their heads along their backbone to the tip of their tail. The crest is several feet tall except for a short area just in front of the wing joints. The wings themselves on a silver or brass dragon are just like the wings on bats." I paused for a moment then asked, "Do you have bats here?"

Five heads nodded almost in unison, and Seven said, "Yes they are native to Earth, small winged rodents that use sonar to navigate."

I nodded, "Sounds like the same animal; perhaps you can show me a picture of one."

"It is time for us to leave for the science lab; I will bring up a picture of one," said Seven. I glanced down at my mostly uneaten hash browns, as Neelix had called them, and sighed. "But we will wait and allow Arana to finish her meal uninterrupted by any more questions first," Seven finished. Thus, with five sets of eyes on me, I quickly finished my breakfast trying to eat as politely as possible under their scrutiny.

We left the mess hall after disposing of our dishes and headed for the science lab. From the looks I got as we left, I knew I left behind some disappointed listeners as well; but Seven seemed adamant about sticking to the children's schedule. Once we arrived at the lab, I looked around with curiosity at all the strange pictographs that covered the walls and at the round raised disk that was set off to the side in an alcove very like the area in sickbay I had first found myself in yesterday.

After first bringing up a picture of a bat and receiving my confirmation that the creature was the same as the bat I knew from Faerun, Seven started the children on their day's lessons. She indicated that I should follow her over to the alcove and showed me how to open the messages stored for me in the computer. This lead to the discovery that I could not read Federation Standard, nor after the combadges were instructed to stop translating, could I understand spoken Federation Standard.

Seven looked a bit dismayed at this, "You will need to learn written and spoken Federation Standard before we can start your other lessons."

I nodded and indicated the messages, "Is there anything in these I need to know, Milady?"

Seven glanced over the two messages waiting for me, "This one is the ship wide message Captain Janeway sent out at 2300 hours last night. It details Starfleet policy regarding harassment, and includes statements by the Captain, Commander Chakotay and Lt. Commander Tuvok that there has been ongoing harassment of one of the crewmembers and that this behavior will not be tolerated. Any further offenses will result in official reprimands and possible punishment in accordance with regulations. The second message is from Captain Janeway requesting your attendance at the senior staff meeting this morning at 0900 hours."

Seeing my look of concern Seven said, "We have 45 minutes before the meeting. I will prepare a course of study for you in the meantime to begin learning Federation Standard." With that she began tapping quickly on the console. and within a few minutes she indicated that I should take her place there.

Displayed on the console was what were obviously letters and numbers. Thus began my first lessons in Federation Standard. Thirty minutes later I felt I had a pretty good grasp of the first few lessons, at least I had moved beyond the basics into learning actual words and basic sentence structure. I had been ignoring the children's chatter and it took Seven touching me on the arm to draw me out of my intense focus on the information in front of me.

"It is time we left for the meeting, Arana," Seven said as she glanced over my shoulder to see where I was in the tutorial. I thought I saw an approving look ghost over her face as she saw where I was in the lesson.

I took the opportunity of our journey to the Briefing room to tell Seven about my communication with Ilmater. I did not have the time to answer her first question as to who the Lord of Darkness was before we arrived at our destination.

"Captain Janeway will want to know of this," Seven said as she paused outside the door. I nodded in reply and we stepped forward toward the doors which opened as they sensed us.

When we entered the conference room, Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay, Lt. Tuvok, the Doctor, the dark haired hostile woman from the mess hall, and two males, one light haired with blue eyes and the other dark haired with dark eyes, were already present. When Seven and I walked into the conference room, the officers whose names I did not know looked surprised at my presence.

I paused at the door to nod respectfully to the Captain and greeted her, "Good morn, Captain, I trust this new day sees you well?"

"It does, Arana, thank you," she replied with a smile.

I turned to Commander Chakotay, Lt. Tuvok and the Doctor, "Gentlemen, good morn; I hope you had peaceful rests." The three of them either smiled or, in the case of Lt. Tuvok, nodded, in response and indicated that they had indeed rested well.

Greetings finished, I walked over to Captain Janeway and in a voice low enough to not be overheard said, "I was graced with guidance from Ilmater during my morning prayers. He informed me that some of Bane's followers have been detected operating within this realm. That is the reason I was sent here, to try and find out what they might be planning."

She had looked at me in surprise at first, and her expression changed over the course of my statements into a slight frown. "Somewhere? The Delta Quadrant is a rather large place to look for someone without more specific guidance. You're going to need more information than that to even start a search. And who or what is this Bane?"

I started to answer but she interrupted, "I'll want to discuss this in the meeting anyway, there's no reason for you to explain it twice."

The Captain sat down in her chair and immediately those who had been having low voiced conversations stopped and turned their attention to her. As there were no seats left, I simply stood by the Captain's left shoulder.

"I'm sure some of you already know about the newest addition to our crew, but I'd like to make formal introductions this morning. This is Arana, Champion of Torm and Priestess of Ilmater, from Faerun. We aren't quite sure where it is located, except that it's not in our galaxy and it might be located in some type of parallel universe. Arana, you already know Commander Chakotay and Lt. Tuvok from last night. My other officers are Lt. B'Elanna Torres, Chief Engineer; Lt. Tom Paris, Helmsman, and Ensign Harry Kim, Operations Officer."

I nodded to each of them as they were introduced, noting the name of the caramel skinned woman who now looked rather confused instead of hostile. I wasn't sure what had prompted the change, but it was a welcome one. Lt. Paris and Ensign Kim had expressions of confusion mixed with keen interest upon their faces.

"What is a Champion of Torm?" asked Lt. Paris examining me with curiosity.

Captain Janeway smiled at him, "Have you heard of a Paladin, Tom?"

Lt. Paris looked surprised, "Ah… a holy warrior?"

I nodded to him, "As good a definition as any. I was a Paladin of Torm for three years before I was chosen to become one of his Champions."

His eyes got wider, "So, some type of elite Paladin?"

I shrugged uncomfortably, "I do not think of myself as any better than any other Paladin, Lt. Paris. I have just been singled out by Torm for more… difficult duties." I noted Lt. Torres' expression out of the corner of my eye, and recognized it as familiar to me. I had seen that same wary, uncomfortable look before, usually from people who for some reason had an innate distrust of anyone or anything religious.

Lt. Paris just nodded in response to my explanation, and I could tell that his opinion had not been changed at all by my words. In truth many in the Order thought of us as a type of elite Paladin, though many of us had been clerics as well before being chosen.

"Lt. Tuvok and Seven will be in charge of Arana's education; her world made little use of technology so she's got a lot to adjust to on Voyager. Instead of technology, Faerun used what we would term magic. The Doctor's examination of Arana has shown how this is possible. Arana has the ability to store bio-electrical energy and use it for various purposes such as healing. Arana if you would demonstrate with the light orison you used yesterday please."

I nodded, said "cala" and gestured, invoking the small globe of light above my hand; the gasps around the table at its appearance I found amusingthough in all honesty I could see how such a thing would be amazing to a people who relied on technology to do such things.

"The globe is safe to touch, it is formed of bio-electrical energy that matches that stored by several organs inside Arana's body," said Seven.

Everyone besides the Captain and Seven came up to examine the light globe. After they done so, the Captain had Seven report on her actions of the day before. I listened intently, highly interested in hearing Seven's own point of view on how she rescued me. To my surprise, I found the reactions of those around the table almost as interesting as Seven's briefing.

It was obvious that they were not used to hearing about such things. I expected revulsion, but the amount of shock Seven's recital evoked astonished me. The second thing that surprised me was the look in Seven's eye as she did so; I hadn't realized before how much yesterday had upset her. She was keeping it well hidden behind the emotionless shell she projected, but I could see it in her eyes as she glanced frequently my way during her account.

After Seven had finished, the Doctor gave a brief report on what he had discovered about the organs that I had that allowed me to store energy. It was interesting to hear a technical description of how I could cast spells, and I wondered if the Doctor would be able to see a difference in these organs today due to Ilmater's blessing this morning.

"I also have a theory that would explain the unusual results of Arana's brain wave pattern. After extensive comparison with all known Alpha and Delta quadrant races, I found some similarities in Arana's brain wave pattern to known empathic races like the Argelian's, Napians and Human/Betazoid hybrids," the Doctor paused and I looked at him puzzled, "I believe what gives our Paladin her ability to sense whether a person is 'good' or 'evil' is that she is empathic."

I was puzzled by the word he was using, my combadge was not translating it into my language either. "What is this Federation Standard word you are using, "empathic"? My communications badge is not translating it into Common."

I received looks of universal surprise from around the table; even the Captain swung around in her chair to look up at me. Before the Doctor could speak, the Captain said, "It's the ability to sense other people's emotions, as opposed to telepathy which is the ability to read thoughts. Were you able to sense good and evil in people, Arana, before you became a Paladin?"

"No, Captain. I received that ability when I became a Priestess of Ilmater. Thankfully I was not born with it," 'very thankfully' I added to myself and glanced at Seven as I made the last statement. I saw understanding in her eyes when I did so, though I saw curiosity in the others. "My mother was captured and made a slave while pregnant with me, thus I was born a slave as well, and remained so until my 16th year when I was freed by the Priests of Ilmater. At times my life was not pleasant; I can only imagine it would have been more so if I had been 'empathic'."

"I'm sorry, Arana, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," said the Captain.

"It is my past, Captain; I would not be who I am today without it." I answered her.

I saw something flicker in her eyes before she replied, "I understand."

Obviously the Captain had her own ghosts and demons in the past, I thought, but now was certainly not the time or place to bring such matters up.

"Well," said the Doctor, "I would like to do further testing with Arana to determine how these abilities of her's work."

"Just don't take too much of her time away from her studies, Doctor," answered the Captain.

"Perhaps after lunch, Doctor?" I asked.

He nodded, looking eager, "That would be fine; I look forward to seeing you then Arana."

Seeing that the Doctor was finished, the Captain asked me to repeat what I had told her about how I had ended up in the Lovitarians hands.

"Why didn't you try and escape or use one of your spells to heal yourself?" asked Lt. Torres when I finished.

I looked at her and replied, "They required that I give them my word as a Paladin that I would not use my abilities or try and escape." I received several incredulous looks after I made this statement.

"You mean you just let them take you to be tortured without any fight at all?" Lt. Torres asked incredulously.

I noticed Seven frowning at her disapprovingly before Captain Janeway said in a rebuking tone, "Lt. Torres!"

"Let me guess; you can't lie or break your word?" Lt. Paris inserted his question deftly into the following silence.

"You are correct, Lt. Paris. A Paladin does not lie or break their word of honor," I nodded.

Lt. Torres shook her head and mumbled under her breath, "Sounds like a Klingon." I do not think she meant it to be over heard though, and I wondered what a Klingon was and why my being honorable reminded her of one.

"Trust me, Lt. Torres, I would rather face a thousand orcs in battle than face that particular situation again. It was a very difficult thing for me to do, but once I made the decision to acquiesce to their demands I could not go back on my oath," I replied. She was still frowning at me and shook her head at my comment, but did not say anything further.

The Captain broke the silence that fell after my comment, "Arana, if you will repeat the information you received this morning and please give us some background on who Bane is."

I repeated the guidance I received, and was not surprised when several people asked if I had more specific directions.

"The Delta Quadrant's just a bit bigger than a planet," remarked Lt. Torres shortly.

"Arana is undoubtedly aware of that fact, Lt. Torres," interjected Seven coolly.

I rushed to answer before the two women, who were now glaring at one another, could say anything else. "I am beginning to understand that this is true, Lt. Torres. However, I do not believe I am being asked to go anywhere for now. Ilmater was merely letting me know that the gate was to this realm for a specific reason. It could, after all, have just as easily been to Torm's temple in Waterdeep or Tantras. I have no doubt that when the appropriate time comes I will be given the information I need to find Bane's agents."

"So, this was just an advance warning. Any idea when you might get some specifics?" said Captain Janeway after a brief, but stern look in the direction of Lt. Torres and Seven direction.

I shrugged, "When the time is right I will be given enough directions to find where I am supposed to be. It has been thus since I first became a priestess, Captain Janeway."

She sighed, "I hate being in the dark about things that might affect my crew…. What can you tell us of Bane?"

"Bane was a moral once along with Bhaal and Myrkul. Even then he desired to be the most feared and powerful tyrant Faerun has ever known. The three of them managed to get Jergal, the former god of strife, death, and the dead, to give them his powers. Bane became the god of strife but, becoming a minor god was not enough for him, he wanted more power. So in 1358 he and Myrkul stole Lord Ao's Tablets of Fate, upon which are written the names and domains of all the gods of Faerun, hoping they would help him take some of the other gods' powers.

This precipitated what is known on Faerun as the Time of Troubles, when Lord Ao cast down the gods and made them walk Faerun as Avatars. In Tantras, Torm and Bane met in battle and they slew one another. Torm was resurrected through the power of Ao and Bane was reborn in 1372 in a place called Xvim; it is not known how he was resurrected. When he was a mortal Bane ruled his realm through fear and terror; now that he is a god he desires to rule all of Faerun and force all gods and mortals to submit to him. If he is seeking something here, then it would be a thing or maybe allies which he thinks would help him achieve this goal," I finished.

"So, what are these gods?" spoke Ensign Kim for the first time.

I looked at him, puzzled for a moment, then realized I had heard no mention of any god by anyone excepting myself in this place. "You have no gods?" I asked.

"Different cultures hold different spiritual beliefs," answered Lt. Cmdr Tuvok. "However their deities do not make physical appearances in their believers' lives."

I tried to imagine this, but it was too different for me to comprehend. The gods and goddesses of Faerun were so entwined in our lives, for both good and evil, that it was difficult to imagine what it might be like without them.

"I do not know how to answer your question Ensign Kim." I admitted. "The gods and goddesses of Faerun are powerful immortals. Some are good, such as Tyr, Ilmater and Torm. Some are neutral, such as the Red Knight the Goddess of Tactics and Tempus the God of War. Some such as Bane and Lovitar are exceedingly cruel and evil." I hesitated for a moment, "I cannot even imagine what it must be like to live where one does not have to fight against such evil."

"I believe that's enough questions for right now," Captain Janeway cut off whatever remaining questions there might be. "Arana, I believe you were in the research lab before you came to the meeting?" She waited for my nod, "Do you believe you can find your way back?"

I nodded with confidence, I was already getting a sense of the ship and Seven's explanations had been clear on how to navigate. "Yes Captain, I believe I can find my way back to the research lab," I answered.

She nodded to me, "Then that's all, Arana, the rest of the meeting will be departmental reports. I'll try and stop by sometime today or tonight and see how you are settling in."

"Seven has been most kind in that regard, Captain, she has made me feel very welcome here," I smiled at Seven who gave me a slight smile in return. From around the table I noticed several heads turning toward me with varied amounts of surprise apparent. "Until I see you next, may Torm watch over you," I directed this toward the entire table as I nodded and then turned smartly and left the room.

Outside I looked about for a moment, orienting myself, then began to carefully retrace my steps toward the research lab. As I walked I mused to myself about the open surprise several of the senior staff had shown at my comment. Did I see Seven so differently from everyone else? And if so why? was it just that I didn't see her as one of these Borg and no one else could see beyond her past?