Disclaimer: see part 1
Coeur de Lion
By Katie
Chapter 13
Things That Need Discussing
Ysakc was the first of the Hirogen to wake from their forced nap. He opened his eyes, letting the optical nerves adjust
themselves to the brightness of the place he was. When he finally
could keep his eyes open without having to squint, he found the
muzzle of a phaser rifle pointed at his chest. The rifle was held by
a dark skinned Federation officer in a yellow uniform. Ysakc
raised his hands in an appeasing manner.
"I'm not going to do anything against you, Federation," he
assured him, knowing that the universal translator in the
Federations' communicators would translate his words faithfully.
The crewman didn't reply anything. Instead, he tapped his
communicator. "Rolle to Tuvok."
"Tuvok here," answered the Chief of Security's
disembodied voice. "Sir, the Hirogen's medical officer has just regained consciousness," Rolle informed his superior.
"Bring him to the Captain's Ready Room," ordered Tuvok.
The commlink broken, Rolle gestured for the Hirogen to stand. When Ysakc stood, he
recognized all of the boarding party's members lying in this room in rows. One of them was covered with a gray blanket. His gaze quickly scanned the still forms of his fellow warriors. He was relieved to see that Kaar was not dead.
Things could have gotten complicated in this case, particularly
Sarpa Tarench.
The doors to the Cargobay hissed open and allowed a Security team of four to enter. "Commander Tuvok wants this
Hirogen to be escorted to the Captain's Ready Room," Rolle
informed his colleagues.
"My name is Ysakc, I'm their Medic," Ysakc told them. He
knew that Kaar would want to try a new first contact with the
Federations if possible. Now that he was given the chance to do so,
Ysakc decided it best to act on his Alpha's orders and wishes.
Neither of the five men in yellow said anything in return.
They just gestured for him to accompany them. Two of them were walking in front of him, the other two were following him, their phaser rifles at the ready. Ysakc found this humiliating, but taken what they'd done to the Federations, he considered it only just that the tables were turned now. So he didn't object. On the contrary, he tried to try everything possible that was within his power to get into negotiations with Captain Janeway. The way to her Ready
Room seemed to be longer now than he remembered it to be, probably because now it was him who had to obey. To his surprise were Commanders Tuvok and Chakotay
awaiting him in the Captain's place. He quickly recognized that
Kaar's trophies had been removed from the walls. The room
seemed more spacious now, and definitely colder. Two of his
guards remained posted outsides, whereas the other two followed
him into the room.
"I'm Commander Chakotay," the dark-haired man with the
tattoo on his left temple introduced himself. From what Ysakc knew about the Federations' etiquette, he
was supposed to introduce himself now. "Ysakc S'huna, Medic," he said curtly, trying to add a conversational touch to his tone. Much was at stake here, that much he knew. Just how much was yet to be seen.
"Well, Mr S'huna, I guess you owe us an explanation to this, and above all," Chakotay added, "a suggestion as to how you
think you're going to compensate for the damage you've done." "I understand, Commander," Ysakc nodded. "I'd prefer it if
you called me Ysakc, this is the name by which we are used to
address each other. May I ask where Captain Janeway is?"
Chakotay hesitated for a split second. Instead, Tuvok
answered him: "The Captain has decided that the Commander
handle this."
Ysakc didn't buy the excuse. He knew Chakotay, and he
knew Captain Janeway. They were more than fellow officers and
friends, they were bonded to each other in a way that was beyond
his understanding. Kaar had tried to explain the concept of love to
him, but they'd been interrupted and afterwards there hadn't been a
chance to resume the conversation. The Hirogen Medic immediately understood, though, that the Commander's silence ran deeper than the Vulcan's excuse. "Captain Janeway has been
injured, I presume.""That need not concern you, Mr Ysakc," Tuvok decided, his voice calm but his hint unequivocal.
The Commander's opinion on this matter was another one, though. He rose from the Captain's chair and circled the desk to stand in front of the Hirogen Medic. Chakotay was a tall man, as
was Tuvok, and yet did the Hirogen stand one head taller than them. Even Klingons weren't a match to them. "Yes, Tuvok, I think
that that actually does need concern Mr Ysakc," Chakotay objected
calmly. "The Captain isn't here because our Doctor is trying to save
her life. One of your friends has hunted her down just before we
could get a hold of you. She is the last on a very long list of
casualties our crew had to suffer because of your insatiable blood
thirst. Many of the names on this list appear as often as four times,
some of them thanks to your medical expertise on human
physiology, or rather lack thereof. Our ship is a wreck, the damage will take weeks to be repaired. We're running low on energy and
we don't have the material necessary to do all of the repairs.
Don't you think that need concern him, Tuvok?" The Vulcan just cocked an eyebrow at his superior's short
list of damage and casualties. Ysakc did the equal to the
Federations' swallowing hard. As far as he as a Medic knew, was this list the Commander had just given him more than incomplete.
On the other hand he wasn't sure how much the Federations really
knew about what they had been done to.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Commander," Ysakc said.
"That'll sure help us repair our ship," Chakotay hissed with
a stinging sarcasm that was so untypical for him and as of yet
unknown to the Starfleet crew.
"If you'll let me explain," Ysakc tried to defend himself.
"Please."
Something in Tuvok told him that they should hear the
Hirogen out, and he was about to tell the Commander, when Chakotay began: "Go ahead. The Captain always listens to both
sides of the story, so how can I deny you the chance to explain yourself." Tuvok's eyebrow rose even higher. Once again he'd
underestimated the Commander. The whole situation threatened to
get the best of all of them, so he couldn't blame Chakotay for
falling back into old Maquis habits. After all, he'd known him back then, and so he knew that the Dorvanian always tried to be just. Sometimes this character trait would surface at the eleventh hour,
but so far Tuvok could always rely on it. He couldn't help
commenting on the Commander's decision, though.
"In dubio pro reo."
=/\=
"Thank you, Lieutenant, for helping me," the Doctor said,
watching his student close the wound in the Captain's stomach.
After Tom had healed the last of the injured skin tissue with the
dermal regenerator, the Doctor applied a compress in the injured
spot and fixed it with a sticking plaster. Catching the Lieutenant's
asking glance from beneath his lashes, the Hologram explained
himself. "The compress is warming the wound, and at the same
time is constantly giving off medication that kills the pain and prevents inflammation. Even in the 24th century, this kind of
treatment couldn't be made redundant by the progress of medicine."
"But it makes bed rest necessary," Tom pointed out. "How do you think you can keep Janeway from getting up?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow at this and shook his head
sadly. "I'm afraid, we'll have to inform the Commander that for the time being it's necessary to put the Captain into artificial coma." "I understand," Tom nodded. "I'll take of her now, Doctor.
Maybe you could look after B'Elanna, she's very upset about her
holographic pregnancy." He ripped a stripe of plaster off the roll
and fixed with it the compress the Doctor had prepared for the
bullet wound in her thigh. He struggled dressing her in one of the
blue medical gowns and carried her to the biobed next to
B'Elanna's. After he'd covered her with a blanket he turned around
to look after his girlfriend.
The Doctor had woken her for his examination. B'Elanna's
hands were resting on her chest, and she kept looking at the ceiling.
When she recognized Tom standing next to her, she smiled. "How's the Captain doing?" "She'll recover soon," Tom informed her. "You can induce the artificial coma, Doctor," he added.
But the Hologram only nodded absentmindedly. He put the
tricorder away he'd been using for his examination and started to
palpate B'Elanna's swollen belly through her 1940's style maternity
dress. B'Elanna looked at him curiously. Since when did a
holographic projection need palpating? Something within her told
her that this wasn't quite right. She gladly accepted Tom's proffered
hand.
"Doctor, what is it?" Tom urged the hologram to tell them.
He too was growing nervous.
Finally, the Doctor finished his examination and looked at
them. "This is not a holographic projection, Lieutenants. Miss
Torres is really pregnant," the Doctor told them, obviously not
quite knowing which tone to choose. "I guess congratulations are
in order?"
=/\=
Time had no meaning. It seemed to stretch into eternity and last only for the blink of an eye at the same heartbeat. It took
the couple several heartbeats to realize what the words of the Doctor meant. When they exchanged glances, the cerulean eyes of the man were as dumbfounded as the umber eyes of the woman. They were going to be parents, but they had no idea how they'd
managed to do so. They knew of course about the theory, and
they'd already had lots of practice in it, too. But with the help of Starfleet's finest medical technology they'd always taken care not
to become parents. They wanted to have a child one day, but not
now. They'd wanted to wait for the right moment, they'd wanted to
make this very important choice for themselves.
But as it appeared, the choice had already been made for
them. Their hands joined on the swell of her belly, wanting to
touch the fact that sounded so completely unbelievable. It was
there, the child, cradled safely and securely in the generous warmth
of its mother's womb. And they could hear its heartbeat, which was
somewhat irregular, but otherwise it sounded strong and healthy.
A million questions were on the tips of their tongues, but they didn't seem able to articulate any of them. The Doctor then decided the relieve them of their misery. "The Hirogen must have done it," he began, and with that, the dams of the couple's speechlessness were broken.
"We were on contraceptives, the two of us!" the half-Klingon woman whispered, her voice flat with disbelief. The Hologram nodded, his lips pressed together to form a
thin line. "They have broken them off, taken a sample of your DNA, Lieutenant Paris, and impregnated Miss Torres with it. Why
I don't know."
B'Elanna looked at Tom, tightening her grip around his
hand.
"How long ... I mean ..."
"It's been only twenty days, but somehow they've managed
to increase the growth of the fetus in a way that by now you're
nearing the due date. It's somehow ironic, considering they don't
seem to be able to treat human injuries properly," the Doctor
added.
"What about the child? Is it all right?" Tom wanted to
know. It was all he could do not to grab the tricorder and take some
readings himself. The silence that settled in the room was almost as oppressive as the noonday heat in Ste Claire. Tom had relieved the
Doctor of the most recent dilemma he'd had to face, and maybe the
most difficult since the Hirogen's take-over. The question was whether or not to tell the couple about the health—or rather lack
thereof—of their unborn child, and if so he'd have had to find the
right moment. But now the decision had been made for him, and so
the Doctor couldn't but tell them what he knew. The Hologram
hadn't felt that wretched in a long time.
"No, it's not, I'm afraid," he began, waiting for the couple's
reaction. Now his question about congratulations being in order seemed the most stupid thing he'd ever said, but he couldn't take it back anymore. Once again he was being reminded of still having to learn a lot about proper bedside-manner. And he wanted to teach
Seven about the finesse of humanity and being human? What
pathetic an irony that was. "The increased growth of the fetus
hasn't allowed it to develop properly." B'Elanna looked at the Hologram askance, not quite certain how to deal with what she'd just been told. This was difficult for all of them, but why did the Doctor have to make it worse by being that hesitant? The young engineer took a deep breath to steady
herself before she asked the Doctor to tell them everything, without
holding back any information. This was still so abstract, it almost
sounded as if they were talking about any baby, but not theirs.
"Well, its brain and organs are underdeveloped, and there's
nothing I could do about that," the Doctor said. "His life
expectancy will not exceed more than ten days."
"So it's a boy," Tom observed. For the first time since
they'd been having this conversation it seemed real. Now that they knew about the child's sex, it appeared to Tom that they couldn't talk about it in an objective way any longer. The child had become
a person, somebody who needed their help. He was part of their
lives now.
It was their son they were talking about. B'Elanna's head swam. If only Tom hadn't said this simple sentence. It consisted of only four little words, but those four little
words had changed her point of view completely. Now she couldn't ignore the reality of her situation. She was really carrying their child, and it was only a matter of maybe not even hours until she
would hold this reality in her arms.
She wasn't sure if she wanted any children, had never been.
Her own childhood hadn't been easy, and she wasn't sure she wanted to burden an innocent child with having to bear with her as its mother. But now that she was irrevocably confronted with her
own child, she wasn't so sure of her opinion any more.
Anger rose from deep within her. Her son wasn't meant to
be, and to make sure that his life didn't shake up things too much,
he was taken the right to live before he was even born. What kind
of sick idea was this? Why creating a child just to let it die shortly
after its birth? If it hadn't been for the Hirogen's responsibility on
that matter, B'Elanna would have changed her doubt in God into denial of his existence.
"Yes, it's your son," the Doctor nodded. He was surprised at the calm of the two young officers, he'd expected at least
B'Elanna to react heavily to the news. But somehow her
motherhood seemed to bring her human side to the surface. This
was at least a little good this entire story had in it. He tried to flash
the couple an encouraging and compassionate smile, then turned
away from them to grant them some privacy. After all there was
another patient who needed his attention. He administered the
hypospray Tom had prepared earlier, and induced Janeway's
artificial coma.
But he never forgot about the little boy who'd been created
and yet wasn't allowed to live.
=/\=
"We haven't always been the violent species that we are
now," Ysakc began his explanation. It was a difficult task for him
to tell the history of his people in as few as possible words and yet
have the Federations get the right impression of their motifs. He'd
never done this before, at least not to prey. But actually, the
Federations weren't their prey anymore, thanks to their cunning and strong determination and will to survive. To Ysakc's surprise were the expressions on the faces of the two men open-minded, or at least did he hope so. The two commanders were studying him intently, not breaking eye-contact
with him for a single second. There was nothing hostile in their
eyes, though. From the very beginning, Ysakc had been fascinated
by the high variety of emotions that mirrored themselves in the
eyes of the Federations, and the control they had over them.
"We once were a peaceful species, but like your people, struggles about food and territory made us violent. This had led us
to a point where we became addicted to killing. From that point on,
our culture decayed, and our people left our homeworld to find
other prey. None of our scientists has ever tried to find a cure,"
Ysakc explained.
"Because the addiction didn't leave them enough time to do
their research," Tuvok pointed out.
"Or at least they could do their research only in secrecy,"
Chakotay added. "Is that so? From what I understand it must have
been like that."
Ysakc nodded. It was amazing how much insight the
Federations were having into their history. When he told them that,
the Commander smiled some what lugubrious. "To us, this is
unfortunately no new concept, I'm afraid. I know from an
addiction for gambling that almost ruined the flagship of Starfleet.
If it hadn't been for one young man, the results of this addiction
could have ruined even more than the ship."
"The only difference is that your people have always been
able to fight for peace actively, something which was made
impossible for us. But that's a difficult thing to explain. Suffice it
to say that there've always been a handful of courageous men in
my people who tried to find a solution to our problem," the
Hirogen medic explained.
"And you are one of them, I assume," Tuvok concluded.
Yaskc nodded again. "It is very dangerous, but I am lucky
to serve under a leader who has the same attitudes. I'm sure he'd
like to negotiate with you, if you are willing, that is. I am well
aware of the damage we've inflicted on your people, and I am
willing to help you repair it."
The muscles in Chakotay's jaw knotted and clenched. He
didn't know if this Hirogen medic could be trusted because he
didn't know anything about the Hirogen code of honor. Maybe he
had an hidden agenda and tried to lure them into a false sense of
security. That was something Chakotay didn't want to risk. He
wished he could discuss this with Kathryn, she always seemed to
know who was trustworthy. But she was down in Sickbay, and
hell, he didn't even know how she was faring, didn't know if she'd
survived the Hirogen's attack.
"We will take your offer into consideration, Mr Ysakc,"
Tuvok eventually said. Obviously the Vulcan was sure of the
Hirogen's sincerity either. And after all that had happened, he
considered it a wise step to let the Hirogen wait for an answer to
this. He wanted to discuss this with Commander Chakotay, and
with the Captain if possible. From his experience in diplomacy, it
was also likely that the Hirogen would be more likely to make
concessions the longer they had to wait. On the other hand, they
couldn't take too much of their time, because the ship needed
repairing badly.
"As you wish," Ysakc nodded, giving them the impression
of them being the ones who had done the wrong.
"That's really generous of you," Chakotay quipped in this
new found sense of sarcasm that Tuvok had gotten to know so
recently. Tuvok nodded at his two security officers to let them
know that the Hirogen's presence wasn't necessary any longer.
After they had left and the doors had closed behind them,
Chakotay let his relief show. He brushed his hands across his face,
pinching the base of his nose between his thumb and index finger
to drive the oncoming headache away. Then he leaned heavily into
the Captain's desk. "What do you make of him, Tuvok?" he
eventually asked his Vulcan Chief of Security.
"I am not sure of his sincerity. Furthermore am I convinced that the Hirogen will expect something in return for their proffered
help," the Vulcan analyzed the medic's behavior. Then he added:
"On the other hand did Mr Ysakc seem inexperienced in
diplomacy, and I think that we should consider this when
continuing our negotiations with him."
Chakotay smiled wearily. "You mean we should take
advantage of him. Tuvok, that's not particularly the fine Vulcan
manners you are renowned for."
Tuvok tilted his head and was about the reply something,
when the intercom chirped and the Doctor asked to talk with
Chakotay. "Go ahead, Doctor," Chakotay answered the hologram's
hail, after he'd tapped the communicator on his chest. He hadn't
yet had the time to change from his tuxedo shirt and trousers, so
the 24th century device pinned to the shirt seemed somewhat out of
place. Tuvok instead had somehow found the time to change from
his bartender's outfit into his golden uniform.
"Commander, there are several things that need discussing
down here," the hologram explained.
Chakotay felt an uneasy feeling rise in his guts, hoping at
the same time that Kathryn was alright. "How is the Captain?" he
couldn't help asking.
"She'll recover soon, but let me explain this to you in
Sickbay," the Doctor said.
=/\=
Five minutes later the doors to Sickbay hissed open and let
the Commanders enter. Their eyes locked immediately on the
Chief Engineer and the pilot who were sitting on one of the
biobeds, the latter holding the woman in his arms. Chakotay
frowned. The Doctor had said that everything was alright, hadn't
he? So why ... and then he realized what was going on. When
B'Elanna shifted in her boyfriend's embrace Chakotay noticed that
her belly wasn't gone. That was when the Doctor joined them. Noticing the
direction into which the commanders were looking, he explained in
a low voice: "The Captain will be fine soon. But Lieutenant Torres
..."
Neither of the commanders knew the Doctor for being lost
for words, so the situation must really be dire.
"She's pregnant, isn't she?" Chakotay diagnosed. He
looked at his friend in her boyfriend's arms. B'Elanna didn't look
much like herself, the news of her pregnancy must have been a
complete surprise for her. He could understand her only too well,
after all he'd been in a similar situation himself, only that it hadn't
been him who'd been impregnated against his will. Seska had
simply raped him, had taken a sample of his DNA of him and had
impregnated herself with it. The only thing that had given him a
sense of satisfaction was the discovery that the child was Kazon,
after all. But what had the crew had to endure because of his strong
feelings as a father?
"Yes, the Hirogen have impregnated her with Lieutenant
Paris' DNA. But since the term has been reduced to less than three
weeks the child couldn't develop properly," the Doctor informed
them.
"Meaning?" Tuvok asked, his raised eyebrow conveying
his condemnation of the Hirogen's deeds. He was calm on the
outside, but inside his calm was waging a war with his ire. This was topping it all. After all what the Hirogen had done to them, they now even demanded something in exchange for their help.
Tuvok then vowed that they wouldn't get away with that. Even
Vulcan understanding and insight did have their limits, and those
the Hirogen had exhausted by far.
"Meaning that the life expectancy of the child doesn't
exceed more than maybe ten days, I'm afraid," the Doctor revealed
to them.
Chakotay's patience came to an end then. He curled his
hands into tight fists, beating the air with them, his face red with
ire. "How dare they do this to her? Who do they think they are?
Gods? If I can get hold of a single one of them I can't promise I
can pull myself together. Those bastards!" Chakotay flew into a
rage. Neither Tuvok nor the Doctor had lived to see him like this,
and if Kathryn could have seen him like this, she would have
gotten to know the true angry warrior within him.
Chakotay's outrage called for the couple's attention on the
biobed. "Chakotay!" B'Elanna softly called for her best friend. The Dorvanian had crossed Sickbay with a few long strides, suddenly
sorry for his getting so loud. Accepting his friend's proffered
hands, he pulled her into his arms. Paris let go of her only
reluctantly, but he knew about the clos3 bonding that was between
the two of them.
"I'm so sorry, B'Elanna, if only I could do something for
you," Chakotay softly said, suddenly the gentle understanding man
everybody knew him to be.
"Yes, if only ... " B'Elanna replied, stroking the
Dorvanian's back. "But we'll have to cope with it."
Chakotay was looking at Paris over B'Elanna's shoulder,
and he was surprised to find the sandy haired pilot in utter calm.
How could he be that calm, knowing that his girlfriend and him
had been raped and misused as guinea-pigs, and, to top it all, that
their child wasn't going to live? How could he? Didn't he see the
turmoil B'Elanna was in?
"We ...," Tom choked. He wasn't as confident as he
looked. He realized what Chakotay must be thinking about him
from the dangerous twinkling in his dark eyes. But didn't he realize
that this was B'Elanna, that her Human side had taken over, and
that she needed him to lean on. How could he let himself go then
when she needed him so much? "Don't worry, Commander. I've
promised the Captain to take good care of her, and I'm not going to
let either of them down."
"You'd better not," Chakotay murmured. He was angry at
himself. He had to trust Paris for the sake of B'Elanna. It wouldn't
help her in any way if she noticed that her best friend and her lover
were constantly at each other's throats. It'd only add to her misery
and this was the last thing Chakotay wanted. What great a help he
was! "I'm sorry, Tom, this entire business has gotten the better of
me."
Tom hesitated only for an instant before he gave his
superior a friendly slap on the shoulder. "Forget it, okay?"
To be continued ...
Coeur de Lion
By Katie
Chapter 13
Things That Need Discussing
Ysakc was the first of the Hirogen to wake from their forced nap. He opened his eyes, letting the optical nerves adjust
themselves to the brightness of the place he was. When he finally
could keep his eyes open without having to squint, he found the
muzzle of a phaser rifle pointed at his chest. The rifle was held by
a dark skinned Federation officer in a yellow uniform. Ysakc
raised his hands in an appeasing manner.
"I'm not going to do anything against you, Federation," he
assured him, knowing that the universal translator in the
Federations' communicators would translate his words faithfully.
The crewman didn't reply anything. Instead, he tapped his
communicator. "Rolle to Tuvok."
"Tuvok here," answered the Chief of Security's
disembodied voice. "Sir, the Hirogen's medical officer has just regained consciousness," Rolle informed his superior.
"Bring him to the Captain's Ready Room," ordered Tuvok.
The commlink broken, Rolle gestured for the Hirogen to stand. When Ysakc stood, he
recognized all of the boarding party's members lying in this room in rows. One of them was covered with a gray blanket. His gaze quickly scanned the still forms of his fellow warriors. He was relieved to see that Kaar was not dead.
Things could have gotten complicated in this case, particularly
Sarpa Tarench.
The doors to the Cargobay hissed open and allowed a Security team of four to enter. "Commander Tuvok wants this
Hirogen to be escorted to the Captain's Ready Room," Rolle
informed his colleagues.
"My name is Ysakc, I'm their Medic," Ysakc told them. He
knew that Kaar would want to try a new first contact with the
Federations if possible. Now that he was given the chance to do so,
Ysakc decided it best to act on his Alpha's orders and wishes.
Neither of the five men in yellow said anything in return.
They just gestured for him to accompany them. Two of them were walking in front of him, the other two were following him, their phaser rifles at the ready. Ysakc found this humiliating, but taken what they'd done to the Federations, he considered it only just that the tables were turned now. So he didn't object. On the contrary, he tried to try everything possible that was within his power to get into negotiations with Captain Janeway. The way to her Ready
Room seemed to be longer now than he remembered it to be, probably because now it was him who had to obey. To his surprise were Commanders Tuvok and Chakotay
awaiting him in the Captain's place. He quickly recognized that
Kaar's trophies had been removed from the walls. The room
seemed more spacious now, and definitely colder. Two of his
guards remained posted outsides, whereas the other two followed
him into the room.
"I'm Commander Chakotay," the dark-haired man with the
tattoo on his left temple introduced himself. From what Ysakc knew about the Federations' etiquette, he
was supposed to introduce himself now. "Ysakc S'huna, Medic," he said curtly, trying to add a conversational touch to his tone. Much was at stake here, that much he knew. Just how much was yet to be seen.
"Well, Mr S'huna, I guess you owe us an explanation to this, and above all," Chakotay added, "a suggestion as to how you
think you're going to compensate for the damage you've done." "I understand, Commander," Ysakc nodded. "I'd prefer it if
you called me Ysakc, this is the name by which we are used to
address each other. May I ask where Captain Janeway is?"
Chakotay hesitated for a split second. Instead, Tuvok
answered him: "The Captain has decided that the Commander
handle this."
Ysakc didn't buy the excuse. He knew Chakotay, and he
knew Captain Janeway. They were more than fellow officers and
friends, they were bonded to each other in a way that was beyond
his understanding. Kaar had tried to explain the concept of love to
him, but they'd been interrupted and afterwards there hadn't been a
chance to resume the conversation. The Hirogen Medic immediately understood, though, that the Commander's silence ran deeper than the Vulcan's excuse. "Captain Janeway has been
injured, I presume.""That need not concern you, Mr Ysakc," Tuvok decided, his voice calm but his hint unequivocal.
The Commander's opinion on this matter was another one, though. He rose from the Captain's chair and circled the desk to stand in front of the Hirogen Medic. Chakotay was a tall man, as
was Tuvok, and yet did the Hirogen stand one head taller than them. Even Klingons weren't a match to them. "Yes, Tuvok, I think
that that actually does need concern Mr Ysakc," Chakotay objected
calmly. "The Captain isn't here because our Doctor is trying to save
her life. One of your friends has hunted her down just before we
could get a hold of you. She is the last on a very long list of
casualties our crew had to suffer because of your insatiable blood
thirst. Many of the names on this list appear as often as four times,
some of them thanks to your medical expertise on human
physiology, or rather lack thereof. Our ship is a wreck, the damage will take weeks to be repaired. We're running low on energy and
we don't have the material necessary to do all of the repairs.
Don't you think that need concern him, Tuvok?" The Vulcan just cocked an eyebrow at his superior's short
list of damage and casualties. Ysakc did the equal to the
Federations' swallowing hard. As far as he as a Medic knew, was this list the Commander had just given him more than incomplete.
On the other hand he wasn't sure how much the Federations really
knew about what they had been done to.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Commander," Ysakc said.
"That'll sure help us repair our ship," Chakotay hissed with
a stinging sarcasm that was so untypical for him and as of yet
unknown to the Starfleet crew.
"If you'll let me explain," Ysakc tried to defend himself.
"Please."
Something in Tuvok told him that they should hear the
Hirogen out, and he was about to tell the Commander, when Chakotay began: "Go ahead. The Captain always listens to both
sides of the story, so how can I deny you the chance to explain yourself." Tuvok's eyebrow rose even higher. Once again he'd
underestimated the Commander. The whole situation threatened to
get the best of all of them, so he couldn't blame Chakotay for
falling back into old Maquis habits. After all, he'd known him back then, and so he knew that the Dorvanian always tried to be just. Sometimes this character trait would surface at the eleventh hour,
but so far Tuvok could always rely on it. He couldn't help
commenting on the Commander's decision, though.
"In dubio pro reo."
=/\=
"Thank you, Lieutenant, for helping me," the Doctor said,
watching his student close the wound in the Captain's stomach.
After Tom had healed the last of the injured skin tissue with the
dermal regenerator, the Doctor applied a compress in the injured
spot and fixed it with a sticking plaster. Catching the Lieutenant's
asking glance from beneath his lashes, the Hologram explained
himself. "The compress is warming the wound, and at the same
time is constantly giving off medication that kills the pain and prevents inflammation. Even in the 24th century, this kind of
treatment couldn't be made redundant by the progress of medicine."
"But it makes bed rest necessary," Tom pointed out. "How do you think you can keep Janeway from getting up?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow at this and shook his head
sadly. "I'm afraid, we'll have to inform the Commander that for the time being it's necessary to put the Captain into artificial coma." "I understand," Tom nodded. "I'll take of her now, Doctor.
Maybe you could look after B'Elanna, she's very upset about her
holographic pregnancy." He ripped a stripe of plaster off the roll
and fixed with it the compress the Doctor had prepared for the
bullet wound in her thigh. He struggled dressing her in one of the
blue medical gowns and carried her to the biobed next to
B'Elanna's. After he'd covered her with a blanket he turned around
to look after his girlfriend.
The Doctor had woken her for his examination. B'Elanna's
hands were resting on her chest, and she kept looking at the ceiling.
When she recognized Tom standing next to her, she smiled. "How's the Captain doing?" "She'll recover soon," Tom informed her. "You can induce the artificial coma, Doctor," he added.
But the Hologram only nodded absentmindedly. He put the
tricorder away he'd been using for his examination and started to
palpate B'Elanna's swollen belly through her 1940's style maternity
dress. B'Elanna looked at him curiously. Since when did a
holographic projection need palpating? Something within her told
her that this wasn't quite right. She gladly accepted Tom's proffered
hand.
"Doctor, what is it?" Tom urged the hologram to tell them.
He too was growing nervous.
Finally, the Doctor finished his examination and looked at
them. "This is not a holographic projection, Lieutenants. Miss
Torres is really pregnant," the Doctor told them, obviously not
quite knowing which tone to choose. "I guess congratulations are
in order?"
=/\=
Time had no meaning. It seemed to stretch into eternity and last only for the blink of an eye at the same heartbeat. It took
the couple several heartbeats to realize what the words of the Doctor meant. When they exchanged glances, the cerulean eyes of the man were as dumbfounded as the umber eyes of the woman. They were going to be parents, but they had no idea how they'd
managed to do so. They knew of course about the theory, and
they'd already had lots of practice in it, too. But with the help of Starfleet's finest medical technology they'd always taken care not
to become parents. They wanted to have a child one day, but not
now. They'd wanted to wait for the right moment, they'd wanted to
make this very important choice for themselves.
But as it appeared, the choice had already been made for
them. Their hands joined on the swell of her belly, wanting to
touch the fact that sounded so completely unbelievable. It was
there, the child, cradled safely and securely in the generous warmth
of its mother's womb. And they could hear its heartbeat, which was
somewhat irregular, but otherwise it sounded strong and healthy.
A million questions were on the tips of their tongues, but they didn't seem able to articulate any of them. The Doctor then decided the relieve them of their misery. "The Hirogen must have done it," he began, and with that, the dams of the couple's speechlessness were broken.
"We were on contraceptives, the two of us!" the half-Klingon woman whispered, her voice flat with disbelief. The Hologram nodded, his lips pressed together to form a
thin line. "They have broken them off, taken a sample of your DNA, Lieutenant Paris, and impregnated Miss Torres with it. Why
I don't know."
B'Elanna looked at Tom, tightening her grip around his
hand.
"How long ... I mean ..."
"It's been only twenty days, but somehow they've managed
to increase the growth of the fetus in a way that by now you're
nearing the due date. It's somehow ironic, considering they don't
seem to be able to treat human injuries properly," the Doctor
added.
"What about the child? Is it all right?" Tom wanted to
know. It was all he could do not to grab the tricorder and take some
readings himself. The silence that settled in the room was almost as oppressive as the noonday heat in Ste Claire. Tom had relieved the
Doctor of the most recent dilemma he'd had to face, and maybe the
most difficult since the Hirogen's take-over. The question was whether or not to tell the couple about the health—or rather lack
thereof—of their unborn child, and if so he'd have had to find the
right moment. But now the decision had been made for him, and so
the Doctor couldn't but tell them what he knew. The Hologram
hadn't felt that wretched in a long time.
"No, it's not, I'm afraid," he began, waiting for the couple's
reaction. Now his question about congratulations being in order seemed the most stupid thing he'd ever said, but he couldn't take it back anymore. Once again he was being reminded of still having to learn a lot about proper bedside-manner. And he wanted to teach
Seven about the finesse of humanity and being human? What
pathetic an irony that was. "The increased growth of the fetus
hasn't allowed it to develop properly." B'Elanna looked at the Hologram askance, not quite certain how to deal with what she'd just been told. This was difficult for all of them, but why did the Doctor have to make it worse by being that hesitant? The young engineer took a deep breath to steady
herself before she asked the Doctor to tell them everything, without
holding back any information. This was still so abstract, it almost
sounded as if they were talking about any baby, but not theirs.
"Well, its brain and organs are underdeveloped, and there's
nothing I could do about that," the Doctor said. "His life
expectancy will not exceed more than ten days."
"So it's a boy," Tom observed. For the first time since
they'd been having this conversation it seemed real. Now that they knew about the child's sex, it appeared to Tom that they couldn't talk about it in an objective way any longer. The child had become
a person, somebody who needed their help. He was part of their
lives now.
It was their son they were talking about. B'Elanna's head swam. If only Tom hadn't said this simple sentence. It consisted of only four little words, but those four little
words had changed her point of view completely. Now she couldn't ignore the reality of her situation. She was really carrying their child, and it was only a matter of maybe not even hours until she
would hold this reality in her arms.
She wasn't sure if she wanted any children, had never been.
Her own childhood hadn't been easy, and she wasn't sure she wanted to burden an innocent child with having to bear with her as its mother. But now that she was irrevocably confronted with her
own child, she wasn't so sure of her opinion any more.
Anger rose from deep within her. Her son wasn't meant to
be, and to make sure that his life didn't shake up things too much,
he was taken the right to live before he was even born. What kind
of sick idea was this? Why creating a child just to let it die shortly
after its birth? If it hadn't been for the Hirogen's responsibility on
that matter, B'Elanna would have changed her doubt in God into denial of his existence.
"Yes, it's your son," the Doctor nodded. He was surprised at the calm of the two young officers, he'd expected at least
B'Elanna to react heavily to the news. But somehow her
motherhood seemed to bring her human side to the surface. This
was at least a little good this entire story had in it. He tried to flash
the couple an encouraging and compassionate smile, then turned
away from them to grant them some privacy. After all there was
another patient who needed his attention. He administered the
hypospray Tom had prepared earlier, and induced Janeway's
artificial coma.
But he never forgot about the little boy who'd been created
and yet wasn't allowed to live.
=/\=
"We haven't always been the violent species that we are
now," Ysakc began his explanation. It was a difficult task for him
to tell the history of his people in as few as possible words and yet
have the Federations get the right impression of their motifs. He'd
never done this before, at least not to prey. But actually, the
Federations weren't their prey anymore, thanks to their cunning and strong determination and will to survive. To Ysakc's surprise were the expressions on the faces of the two men open-minded, or at least did he hope so. The two commanders were studying him intently, not breaking eye-contact
with him for a single second. There was nothing hostile in their
eyes, though. From the very beginning, Ysakc had been fascinated
by the high variety of emotions that mirrored themselves in the
eyes of the Federations, and the control they had over them.
"We once were a peaceful species, but like your people, struggles about food and territory made us violent. This had led us
to a point where we became addicted to killing. From that point on,
our culture decayed, and our people left our homeworld to find
other prey. None of our scientists has ever tried to find a cure,"
Ysakc explained.
"Because the addiction didn't leave them enough time to do
their research," Tuvok pointed out.
"Or at least they could do their research only in secrecy,"
Chakotay added. "Is that so? From what I understand it must have
been like that."
Ysakc nodded. It was amazing how much insight the
Federations were having into their history. When he told them that,
the Commander smiled some what lugubrious. "To us, this is
unfortunately no new concept, I'm afraid. I know from an
addiction for gambling that almost ruined the flagship of Starfleet.
If it hadn't been for one young man, the results of this addiction
could have ruined even more than the ship."
"The only difference is that your people have always been
able to fight for peace actively, something which was made
impossible for us. But that's a difficult thing to explain. Suffice it
to say that there've always been a handful of courageous men in
my people who tried to find a solution to our problem," the
Hirogen medic explained.
"And you are one of them, I assume," Tuvok concluded.
Yaskc nodded again. "It is very dangerous, but I am lucky
to serve under a leader who has the same attitudes. I'm sure he'd
like to negotiate with you, if you are willing, that is. I am well
aware of the damage we've inflicted on your people, and I am
willing to help you repair it."
The muscles in Chakotay's jaw knotted and clenched. He
didn't know if this Hirogen medic could be trusted because he
didn't know anything about the Hirogen code of honor. Maybe he
had an hidden agenda and tried to lure them into a false sense of
security. That was something Chakotay didn't want to risk. He
wished he could discuss this with Kathryn, she always seemed to
know who was trustworthy. But she was down in Sickbay, and
hell, he didn't even know how she was faring, didn't know if she'd
survived the Hirogen's attack.
"We will take your offer into consideration, Mr Ysakc,"
Tuvok eventually said. Obviously the Vulcan was sure of the
Hirogen's sincerity either. And after all that had happened, he
considered it a wise step to let the Hirogen wait for an answer to
this. He wanted to discuss this with Commander Chakotay, and
with the Captain if possible. From his experience in diplomacy, it
was also likely that the Hirogen would be more likely to make
concessions the longer they had to wait. On the other hand, they
couldn't take too much of their time, because the ship needed
repairing badly.
"As you wish," Ysakc nodded, giving them the impression
of them being the ones who had done the wrong.
"That's really generous of you," Chakotay quipped in this
new found sense of sarcasm that Tuvok had gotten to know so
recently. Tuvok nodded at his two security officers to let them
know that the Hirogen's presence wasn't necessary any longer.
After they had left and the doors had closed behind them,
Chakotay let his relief show. He brushed his hands across his face,
pinching the base of his nose between his thumb and index finger
to drive the oncoming headache away. Then he leaned heavily into
the Captain's desk. "What do you make of him, Tuvok?" he
eventually asked his Vulcan Chief of Security.
"I am not sure of his sincerity. Furthermore am I convinced that the Hirogen will expect something in return for their proffered
help," the Vulcan analyzed the medic's behavior. Then he added:
"On the other hand did Mr Ysakc seem inexperienced in
diplomacy, and I think that we should consider this when
continuing our negotiations with him."
Chakotay smiled wearily. "You mean we should take
advantage of him. Tuvok, that's not particularly the fine Vulcan
manners you are renowned for."
Tuvok tilted his head and was about the reply something,
when the intercom chirped and the Doctor asked to talk with
Chakotay. "Go ahead, Doctor," Chakotay answered the hologram's
hail, after he'd tapped the communicator on his chest. He hadn't
yet had the time to change from his tuxedo shirt and trousers, so
the 24th century device pinned to the shirt seemed somewhat out of
place. Tuvok instead had somehow found the time to change from
his bartender's outfit into his golden uniform.
"Commander, there are several things that need discussing
down here," the hologram explained.
Chakotay felt an uneasy feeling rise in his guts, hoping at
the same time that Kathryn was alright. "How is the Captain?" he
couldn't help asking.
"She'll recover soon, but let me explain this to you in
Sickbay," the Doctor said.
=/\=
Five minutes later the doors to Sickbay hissed open and let
the Commanders enter. Their eyes locked immediately on the
Chief Engineer and the pilot who were sitting on one of the
biobeds, the latter holding the woman in his arms. Chakotay
frowned. The Doctor had said that everything was alright, hadn't
he? So why ... and then he realized what was going on. When
B'Elanna shifted in her boyfriend's embrace Chakotay noticed that
her belly wasn't gone. That was when the Doctor joined them. Noticing the
direction into which the commanders were looking, he explained in
a low voice: "The Captain will be fine soon. But Lieutenant Torres
..."
Neither of the commanders knew the Doctor for being lost
for words, so the situation must really be dire.
"She's pregnant, isn't she?" Chakotay diagnosed. He
looked at his friend in her boyfriend's arms. B'Elanna didn't look
much like herself, the news of her pregnancy must have been a
complete surprise for her. He could understand her only too well,
after all he'd been in a similar situation himself, only that it hadn't
been him who'd been impregnated against his will. Seska had
simply raped him, had taken a sample of his DNA of him and had
impregnated herself with it. The only thing that had given him a
sense of satisfaction was the discovery that the child was Kazon,
after all. But what had the crew had to endure because of his strong
feelings as a father?
"Yes, the Hirogen have impregnated her with Lieutenant
Paris' DNA. But since the term has been reduced to less than three
weeks the child couldn't develop properly," the Doctor informed
them.
"Meaning?" Tuvok asked, his raised eyebrow conveying
his condemnation of the Hirogen's deeds. He was calm on the
outside, but inside his calm was waging a war with his ire. This was topping it all. After all what the Hirogen had done to them, they now even demanded something in exchange for their help.
Tuvok then vowed that they wouldn't get away with that. Even
Vulcan understanding and insight did have their limits, and those
the Hirogen had exhausted by far.
"Meaning that the life expectancy of the child doesn't
exceed more than maybe ten days, I'm afraid," the Doctor revealed
to them.
Chakotay's patience came to an end then. He curled his
hands into tight fists, beating the air with them, his face red with
ire. "How dare they do this to her? Who do they think they are?
Gods? If I can get hold of a single one of them I can't promise I
can pull myself together. Those bastards!" Chakotay flew into a
rage. Neither Tuvok nor the Doctor had lived to see him like this,
and if Kathryn could have seen him like this, she would have
gotten to know the true angry warrior within him.
Chakotay's outrage called for the couple's attention on the
biobed. "Chakotay!" B'Elanna softly called for her best friend. The Dorvanian had crossed Sickbay with a few long strides, suddenly
sorry for his getting so loud. Accepting his friend's proffered
hands, he pulled her into his arms. Paris let go of her only
reluctantly, but he knew about the clos3 bonding that was between
the two of them.
"I'm so sorry, B'Elanna, if only I could do something for
you," Chakotay softly said, suddenly the gentle understanding man
everybody knew him to be.
"Yes, if only ... " B'Elanna replied, stroking the
Dorvanian's back. "But we'll have to cope with it."
Chakotay was looking at Paris over B'Elanna's shoulder,
and he was surprised to find the sandy haired pilot in utter calm.
How could he be that calm, knowing that his girlfriend and him
had been raped and misused as guinea-pigs, and, to top it all, that
their child wasn't going to live? How could he? Didn't he see the
turmoil B'Elanna was in?
"We ...," Tom choked. He wasn't as confident as he
looked. He realized what Chakotay must be thinking about him
from the dangerous twinkling in his dark eyes. But didn't he realize
that this was B'Elanna, that her Human side had taken over, and
that she needed him to lean on. How could he let himself go then
when she needed him so much? "Don't worry, Commander. I've
promised the Captain to take good care of her, and I'm not going to
let either of them down."
"You'd better not," Chakotay murmured. He was angry at
himself. He had to trust Paris for the sake of B'Elanna. It wouldn't
help her in any way if she noticed that her best friend and her lover
were constantly at each other's throats. It'd only add to her misery
and this was the last thing Chakotay wanted. What great a help he
was! "I'm sorry, Tom, this entire business has gotten the better of
me."
Tom hesitated only for an instant before he gave his
superior a friendly slap on the shoulder. "Forget it, okay?"
To be continued ...