"Vocalization treatment?" B'Elanna asked, not bothering to hide her confusion, as she and Neelix stepped out into the corridor.
"Yes. During your regular check-ups, the Doctor sings to your baby. It's a way to foster a love of music while in utero." Neelix frowned. "I think." He shrugged. "I'm not sure it's medically required, but you go along with it because it makes him happy."
That she would have the patience for such inanity belied all common sense. B'Elanna shook her head in disbelief. "A hologram who loves singing and is also a doctor. Now I've seen everything."
"Yes, he's unusual, but he's exceeded his programming and you helped him do that."
"Me?"
"You're a very talented engineer, B'Elanna, but more to the point, you were able to imagine how you could augment the Doctor's personality subroutines to make him a key member of the crew." Neelix's whiskers twitched. "You'll have to forgive him. He's very excited about your baby. Surprisingly, there hasn't been a baby born on Voyager since Naomi Wildman five years ago."
B'Elanna considered. "Five years? How long have you been on the ship?"
"I joined Voyager's crew shortly after it was pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker seven years ago," Neelix said as he led the way down a long curving corridor. "I'm the only one on board who is native to this quadrant; the rest of you call the Alpha Quadrant home, and you've been on a journey to return there. I've never been to Earth, but the crew talks very fondly of that world, even those like you who aren't from there."
B'Elanna frowned. "Earth…" she said softly. "I met some people on Quarra from there. They didn't have anything nice to say about it."
"And let me guess," Neelix said, "none of them knew anything about Voyager either?"
"No." B'Elanna thought for a moment. "How long will it take to return to the Alpha Quadrant?"
"Thirty years, give or take."
"Oh." The prospect of being stuck on a starship for that many years seemed distinctly unattractive to B'Elanna. She was still contemplating this revelation when the corridor branched into two directions, and Neelix veered to the right. A few steps later, Neelix paused in front of a set of double doors.
"Welcome to Engineering," he said, punching in an authorization code into a nearby touchpad. "You spend most of your time here, sometimes two shifts back to back. If you didn't have to sleep and eat, I'm sure you'd never stop working. You take your responsibilities to the ship very seriously. Without your expertise, I'm not sure the ship would have survived this long in the Delta Quadrant. It's not an easy job you have." The doors slid open and Neelix gestured with his arm for B'Elanna to proceed inside.
B'Elanna stepped into the empty room tentatively. The warp core – the centerpiece of Engineering – rose the height of the room, its liquid blue innards glowing and pulsating rhythmically. Workstations and consoles lined the walls, each with its own unique interface and diagnostic capabilities. Other than the buzz of the warp core and the distant whirr of other ship systems, the room was curiously devoid of activity. An engine room on a starship of this size should have a staff of at least a dozen personnel at any given time.
B'Elanna turned, puzzled, to Neelix. "Where is everyone?"
"On Quarra," he answered grimly. "Voyager hit a subspace mine while on its way to rendezvous with Commander Chakotay, Ensign Kim and myself. Tetryon radiation flooded the ship and the Captain ordered an evacuation and left the Doctor in charge. The intent was for you to return as soon as the radiation had been vented, but we believe your escape pods were intercepted by the Quarrans. They have a labor shortage—"
"And they found us," B'Elanna finished softly. She recalled how Marchin mentioned the sudden influx of workers on Quarra. Perhaps this was the explanation. As loathe as she was to admit it, Neelix's story did have a ring of truth to it.
"Yes. They kidnapped our crew and altered their memories to make them forget they were taken against their will," Neelix said grimly. "And that's why we need your help, B'Elanna, to get the others back."
B'Elanna left Neelix's side to examine the panels. Diagrams filled almost every screen, and most of them had some kind notation next to them. B'Elanna touched some of the screens lightly, knowing instinctively what some of the readings meant. One of them, frozen on a warning message, caught B'Elanna's eye.
... warp core breach imminent in thirty seconds. Shut down the reactor modules and transfer plasma flow before ejecting the core.
The message stirred a faint whisper of a memory in the back of her mind.
She was floating in space, fighting the deep desire to sleep. Her breaths came in short, shallow bursts. The space currents buffeted her body and nausea threatened. The panic over ejecting and subsequently losing the warp core had evaporated into the emptiness. There was only the space between them now. Only one clear thought remained to her, and she struggled to get the words out. "I have to tell you the truth," she whispered.
B'Elanna leaned against the console, her palms flat on the slick surface. She closed her eyes, counting her breaths to calm herself. What is happening to me? She blinked to clear her vision.
"B'Elanna, what's wrong?" Neelix asked in concern. She heaved another sigh, nodded and turned to face him.
"I- I ejected the core once, right?" B'Elanna pointed to the panel spitting out the readings from the most vital part of the ship.
"Yes, several years ago."
"It was-" she paused, her voice thick with emotion "-the worst day of my life." She had a dim memory of sitting in a corridor that resembled the one leading to Engineering, tipping her head back against the wall, her eyes half-closed in dismay. Who the hell had she said those words to?
"I think it was a pretty bad day. We found you and Mr. Paris close to death," Neelix acknowledged.
Mr. Paris. There was that name again.
"Can you remember anything else?" Neelix asked anxiously.
B'Elanna shook her head. "No, just that, and it's only a fragment."
She contemplated the diagnostic screen and the frozen warning message on the screen. Automatically, she ran her fingers across a sequence of buttons and when asked, typed in an intricate authorization code. The warning message disappeared as the screen reset itself and now the readings showed the warp core was indeed functioning within normal and acceptable parameters. B'Elanna let out a sigh of relief and looked over at Neelix. He was smiling at her, but she couldn't quite figure out why.
"Come with me." Neelix took her arm. "I have someone I want you to meet."
They walked to the left of the warp core and then took the 'lift to the second level.
"This way," Neelix said. B'Elanna followed him. They stopped in front of a console and Neelix pointed to a pair of legs extending from beneath the panel.
"You remember Harry Kim," Neelix said, his voice tinged with optimism.
A young Asian man pushed himself out from beneath the console. He wore a yellow uniform, and his black hair flopped down on his forehead. A smudge of grease stained his cheek, and he'd rolled his sleeves up. Harry put the tool down, wiped his hands on his black pants, and offered B'Elanna a broad smile.
"Hey B'Elanna," Harry said. "Glad you're here; I could use your help." His eyes crinkled with humor. "It's hell trying to put your engines back together, let me tell you."
B'Elanna shook her head as she glanced apologetically at first at Harry and then at Neelix.
"No, I'm sorry," she said. "I've never seen you before."
Harry looked crestfallen but Neelix didn't seem deterred by B'Elanna's revelation.
"Well, he's a very good friend of yours," Neelix persisted. He picked up the tool from the floor and showed it to B'Elanna. "And aside from you, there's no one better with a hyperspanner."
Harry laughed self-deprecatingly. "I'm not having a whole lot of luck today though," he said, casting a hopeful look in B'Elanna's direction.
B'Elanna took the hyperspanner from Neelix and examined it carefully. The heft of it felt comfortable in her grip and she knew exactly the best way to wield it for best results.
"What's the problem?" Neelix directed the question at Harry.
"I've got the transporters back on line, but I've I'm having no luck boosting the range and the pattern buffers. The primary relays keep shorting out. I've already replaced key components multiple times, but I don't know what I'm overlooking." Harry sounded frustrated and B'Elanna regarded him sympathetically. She could understand that kind of desperation, had felt it before-
... can't reroute power because the cross-section capacity has decreased due to the shorts in power grid twelve A. You'll have to manually replace them otherwise the whole panel will short.
"Maybe B'Elanna could help you," Neelix said. B'Elanna's eyes widened in surprise, but Harry nodded and pointed at a section of the console that was flashing a 'system overload' warning.
"Every time I try increasing the ohmic resistance, I end up-" Harry began.
... it's in the coils. Try realigning them; that should work.
"That's your issue," B'Elanna interrupted without thinking. "You have to realign the induction coils to handle the extra power. Here, let me do it." With some difficulty, she squatted down next to Harry, and then dropped down to her knees. She squinted at the intricate web of circuitry, sensors and wires, and then found the problematic coils. Using the hyperspanner, she gently pried it loose, replaced the fuse, and then expertly welded it back into place. With an assist from Neelix, she stood up, and after a moment of scrutiny, tapped a few buttons and the warning message blinked off.
"Thanks," Harry said. He rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I didn't see that. I guess I'm more exhausted than I thought." He grinned at B'Elanna. "Good to have you back, Maquis."
Maquis?
"Sure," B'Elanna said uncertainly.
"We'd better keep going," Neelix said. "B'Elanna's memories are still affected by what the Quarrans did to her, Harry, and I'm hoping by showing her around the ship, it will trigger her recovery more quickly."
Harry nodded in acknowledgement. "Good luck, I hope it works because we don't have a lot of time before the Quarrans find us again. I'd like to get us operational again sooner rather than later," he said in a grim tone of voice before sliding back underneath the workstation.
B'Elanna's hearts quickened in anticipation. Were the Quarran authorities looking for her? She followed Neelix, quickening her pace to catch up with him.
"Without the engineering staff, Mr. Kim has been doing his best to keep the ship running on his own," Neelix said in a low voice. "I don't think he's slept in a couple of days." He coughed slightly. "And he wasn't feeling well earlier due to something he ate. So, he isn't entirely himself now, but I assure you, he is a very competent officer."
"If you say so."
Neelix guided her in the direction of the 'lift. As they made the way down to the first floor of Engineering, Neelix said in that relentlessly encouraging way of his, "I do think you're starting to remember something. The ease with which you handled those repairs… You might not remember Voyager, but you do remember her systems. That's something, right?"
B'Elanna had to admit Voyager's systems did feel familiar with her, but the fact she couldn't recall anything about her alleged life aboard the starship still gave her pause. The fog that had been her constant companion for the last three weeks seemed to be clearing from her mind, and while she still felt off-balance, she had to concede Neelix's point; there was a familiarity about Voyager she couldn't deny. Uncertainty was beginning to nibble at the edges of her mind. But she hadn't forgotten what Quarra represented - the promise of better life for her and her baby - and she couldn't quite let that go. She rested her hand on the railing that separated the main floor from the warp core as she stared at the almost hypnotic swirls that assured her the core was working as it should.
"What is it?" Neelix asked gently.
"I don't know what's real and what's not. Your Doctor pokes me with medical instruments, you introduce me to strangers, tell me they're friends," B'Elanna said, but with less heat than when she'd made the same argument to the Doctor just an hour earlier. "For all I know, you're the ones trying to manipulate my memories."
"I know this is a lot for you to absorb, but-" Neelix began but B'Elanna didn't let him finish.
"You mentioned the escape pods and Quarran authorities finding us. I don't remember any of that at all. What I recall is stepping off a transport nearly three weeks ago, and immediately finding a job and a place to live," she said passionately. "Quarra is a great place to live. They don't need to kidnap people; people just come there." Like I did. The absurdity of a large group hailing from worlds more than thirty years' journey from Quarra suddenly struck her. She caught her breath and tightened her grip on the railing.
"And before that?" Neelix prodded.
"What do you mean?" B'Elanna stopped to face him.
"Before you boarded that transport. What was your life like?"
B'Elanna sighed. How many times had she repeated this story? Just contemplating the broad details of her past depressed her, but it had become such a part of her biography during the last three weeks that it was impossible to imagine any other narrative for herself. "I was on Kessik. Alone, pregnant, unemployed, wishing I could find a better home for myself and my baby," she recited in a monotone voice.
"You already have a home."
"Right." She did a quick mental calculation. "And according to you, it's at least thirty thousand light years away."
"I'm not talking about Earth," Neelix said gently. His expression turned earnest. "I'm talking about Voyager. We're just getting started. Let me fill in the gaps for you, show you what your life looked like before you were taken to Quarra." He tipped his head in the direction of the main Engineering doors. "Please."
B'Elanna's gaze met his. There was no guile in his yellow-brown eyes. You have nothing to lose by going with him, she thought. And there was a distinct possibility he was telling her the truth. She inhaled sharply.
"All right," B'Elanna said, her voice trembling. "Show me."
Neelix led the way into the corridor. Like Sickbay, the corridor lights were extremely bright, and the paneling and carpeting were in various shades of gray.
"This way," Neelix said.
B'Elanna matched her stride with his. As they walked through the corridors, B'Elanna looked around, hoping to see something or someone familiar, but nothing jolted her memory.
"Was I... was I ever on Kessik?" she asked uncertainly.
"Yes. You grew up there, but it's been many years since you've been there."
"How many years?"
Neelix considered. "I don't know precisely, but as I mentioned, Voyager has been in the Delta Quadrant for seven years now and you haven't talked to your mother in more than ten years. So, it's been at least a decade, if not longer, since you've set foot on that world. You- you hated Kessik."
In spite of herself, B'Elanna smiled. 'Hated' would be an understatement of the emotions she felt towards her homeworld.
"I know that's true," she said. "I couldn't wait to leave that place." She offered Neelix a tentative smile as they stepped into a turbolift.
"Deck nine," Neelix said. The turbolift started to move, gathering speed as it moved through the decks. B'Elanna leaned against the wall. The high-heeled boots she'd found in the bag of clothing Neelix had brought were starting to feel increasingly tight on her feet, and she could feel a wave of fatigue washing over her.
… Oh, my feet. Ow. I haven't had a chance to sit down all day.
… If you're thinking of cheering me up, don't bother.
"B'Elanna?" Neelix placed his hand gently on her forearm. "What is it?"
She jerked back to attention. "Yes, sorry. I'm—I'm tired."
"If you want to stop—"
"No," she said firmly. The technical-minded part of her brain was starting to assemble the puzzle: the holoimage of a baby with Klingon features, the way she understood how to fix the problems with the transporter signal, the intrusive fragments of memory. And there was something about Neelix's presence she found oddly comforting the more time she spent with him. Somehow, she knew this wasn't the first time he'd tried to help her with a problem. She considered all this evidence and then asked, "Did I come to Voyager from Kessik?"
"No. You lived on Earth for a couple years, went to Starfleet Academy-"
"I didn't graduate, did I?" B'Elanna asked abruptly. She didn't know how she knew this detail, but it seemed right to her.
"No, you didn't," Neelix confirmed. The turbolift came to a stop and when the doors opened, Neelix indicated they needed to turn to the right. As they walked down the corridor, Neelix related more details of her life. "After you left the Academy, you spent a few years working in the engine rooms on various commercial transport ships. You met Chakotay when he saved your life – I don't know all the details, so you'll have to ask him – and then you joined the Maquis."
B'Elanna experienced a flash of recognition. Hadn't Harry Kim called her 'Maquis' just a few minutes ago? She dug deep into her memory, recalled damp and cold nights huddled in caves, the adrenaline rush after successfully raiding a camp, the reptilian grey-skinned humanoids advancing towards her position. B'Elanna said suddenly, "The enemy we fought… they were called Cardassians." She looked to Neelix for confirmation.
Neelix nodded. "Yes, they are. But it wasn't just about the Cardassians, but also about the rights of settlers in the Federation. Like many conflicts, it's a complicated situation, with many sides to the truth. Like all things, it depends on who you ask." Neelix stopped. "Well, here we are."
The door in front of them appeared exactly like every other door on Voyager: dark grey paneled with silver-grey metal accents. A small touchpad was just to the left of the door. There were no other indications as to what lay on the other side of the door. B'Elanna shivered.
"Where are we?" B'Elanna asked in a small voice.
"These are your quarters. You live here," Neelix answered gently.