Chapter Six
Talarn managed to pinpoint a gap in the security field and, with precise use of the sensors, found a way to beam down. Evek, Talarn, and Parmak beamed down into the underground city, along with Kes – although they left Neelix behind. The young Ocampa led them through her city, looking for a man she said was named Daggin.
They ended up in a small area of the city while Kes scoured it, looking for her friend. Evek and Talarn focused their energies on their equipment, trying to locate and non-Ocampan lifesigns, but the Caretaker's shields prevented them from being effective. Dependant on Kes and her knowledge of the city to find the missing crew, they followed her. Talarn was reluctant, but Evek trusted the Ocampa to keep her word.
"Kes?" a male voice asked. Kes glanced around, then turned around suddenly. She burst into a huge grin and grabbed the man who had spoken.
"Uncle Elrem!" she exclaimed. "Where is everyone? How are you?" Elrem laughed, although Evek noted that he took in each of the Cardassians with a glance before responding to Kes.
"Always asking questions, Kes. You're the one who left for the surface, I should be asking you all the question!" He exhaled with a smile. "I see you've found friends. Daggin is out… but I sense that you have need of something. Can I help?"
"Yes, Uncle," Kes said. "I need to find the aliens that the Caretaker sends to us. Some of them are friends of these people – they saved me from the Kazon," she said. Elrem stroked his chin.
"Well, I assume that they'd be in the central medical facility, that's where all the ones the Caretaker sends us are taken. But there's been quite a racket there recently and no new people have been announced – maybe they're being held inside?" he said. Elrem grasped Kes' arm and led the group towards the center of the city. "Come, we'll see what we can do for your new friends."
Harry Kim's eyes opened up once more. The anesthetics that he had been exposed to, time and again, were beginning to lose their effect on his system. Glancing from side to side, he noted that the Cardassian had been removed from the room after they'd been knocked out the last time, but the Klingon woman – the Maquis – was still here. She was sitting calmly on the opposite bunk and staring at him. All right that's… kind of scary.
"About time you woke up, Starfleet," she growled.
"I'm sorry my body isn't as resistant to sleeping gas as yours is. Maybe if you hadn't tried to kill the Cardassian every time you regained consciousness I would have been awake and we could have had a decent conversation," Kim grated. "Have the doctors and guards returned lately?"
"No," the woman said. "I think they've decided we're more trouble than we're worth and have just left us in here." She stood and turned towards the door and slammed her fists into it, causing a loud bang. "Do you hear me, petaQs?" she shouted.
"I can't imagine why," Harry muttered. The woman continued to smash the door, which didn't budge. He stood and grabbed her arms from behind, but she turned and slapped him away. "Calm down, okay?" he said. "I'm Harry. Harry Kim."
She glared at him. "B'Elanna Torres. I'm one of the Maquis those Cardassians are trying to exterminate." She paused, breathing heavily. "And you're Starfleet, the cowards who aren't willing to fight for their own dying colonists," she spat viciously.
"Hey! If the colonists hadn't started the fighting when they destroyed the Bok'nor, then neither of us would be having this conversation and instead of hunting you down I could be doing what I signed up for – exploring." Harry sat down on the bed. He looked over his body, noting several lumps had formed over different areas of his skin. Glancing at B'Elanna, he noticed that she had developed them as well. He sighed. "Instead, I'm going to die in a cell on a planet in the Delta Quadrant, seventy thousand lightyears from my parents because I went on a merry chase of a bunch of terrorists."
"We're not going to die, Starfleet. Not in here, not if I have anything to say about it," B'Elanna said. She paced around the room. "And the Maquis aren't terrorists, Starfleet. Not by a longshot."
"They look like it from where I'm sitting," Kim groused. "Worse, you're jeopardizing a peace that took decades to finally create. I don't know about you, but I don't want another war."
B'Elanna laughed. "Coward."
"You're damn straight I am," Harry said. "Starfleet is responsible for defending the Federation and if I have to, I will. But I don't want to die fighting a war, Maquis. I can think of many better ways to spend my life."
B'Elanna stood and walked over to him, putting her face close to his. "Yeah, Starfleet? Can you? What of the dead on Dorvan? What of the Federation colonists who have been captured, interrogated, and murdered? What of the people of Setlik III? What about the Bajorans, who spent fifty years being raped, plundered, and murdered by your so-called allies? If you think the Cardassians can ever be negotiated with, you're sorely mistaken. They're murderous, lying bastards, every last one of them." She pulled back and resumed her pacing.
Harry watched her. "How many would die in a war, Maquis? How many would die who would have lived if there had been peace?"
"At least they would die for something, instead of dying because the Cardassians decided they should on a whim," B'Elanna growled. "At least, after the war was over, the killing would stop."
"Would it?" asked Harry. "Would it really? Or would it only stop once one side was eradicated, forever. Genocide, Maquis. Is that what you want?"
"What I want? Do you know what I want?" B'Elanna turned and looked at him with fire in her eyes. "I want Chakotay's family back. I want Dalby's wife alive. I want Gerron's parents to be here to raise him. I want the colonists who are dead to be returned to life. I want the fathers who have lost their sons and the mothers who have lost their daughters to those bastards to have them given back. I want Bajor the way it was before fifty years of rampant destruction. And I want to make sure the Cardassians never, ever, do it to anyone else. That's what I want, Starfleet."
Kes walked towards the entrance to the hospital facility, ignoring the looks shot by onlookers towards her and her Cardassian companions. Elrem glared back at them, but Kes just strode onwards.
"Stop." The telepathic voice brought Kes up short, although her Cardassian companions continued onwards as if nothing had happened.
Kes scowled. "They can't speak telepathically, Toscet, so please speak aloud," she said. Evek, Talarn, and Parmak stopped, turning towards the confrontation. An Ocampan male, accompanied by two others, walked up and imposed himself between them and the hospital gates.
"You went against everything we hold dear, Kes, to go to the surface and now you return with outsiders? Have you forgotten everything the Caretaker has done for us? How he saved our lives by his grace?" Toscet's face turned into a pronounced frown. "What do you want from us now?"
Kes strode up to him. Though he was a head taller than she, she stared up at him in bold defiance. "What has the Caretaker done for us, Toscet? We have forgotten who we are. We have lost so much and become dependent – addicted even – to his generosity. What happens if he should disappear? Would we suffer from withdrawal? Would we just roll over and die because we no longer know how to sustain ourselves?" She spoke in a loud, intense voice. "These people helped me, Toscet, and I will help them. We've come for those the Caretaker sent."
Toscet met Kes' defiance with a regal, overbearing look of disdain. "You chose to leave us, Kes, and leave us you shall. Go back to the surface where you now belong." He turned to Evek. "If you want your people, you can have them. Most of the ones the Caretaker sends us are grateful for whatever we can give them, but these… all three are being held in the hospital. They tried to kill one another, so they've been incarcerated." He frowned. "Take them. They're yours."
Evek turned to Talarn. "Three?" Talarn shrugged, and Evek brushed past Toscet, giving the Ocampan elder the cold shoulder. "Come with me," he said to his companions, striding into the facility.
Kim and Torres sat in silence, facing in opposite directions. B'Elanna stared angrily at the door that prevented their departure, while Harry sat and contemplated his short, but eventful, Starfleet career. Neither was in the mood to talk.
B'Elanna stood suddenly when there was a scuffle outside the door. She readied herself to charge at whoever came through so she could attempt to escape. The door shuddered once, a metallic twang echoing through their sparse quarters. Then again. On the third clang, it swung open, slamming against the adjacent wall with a smash.
B'Elanna's eyes widened in shock. Then her face contorted into a snarl and she charged forward, throwing herself towards the opening and the man standing in it. Harry turned around as a phaser blast struck the Klingon full in the chest, knocking her backwards onto the floor. She lay, motionless.
Harry stared at the Cardassian in the doorway. "Was that really necessary?" he asked angrily, standing to face the other man.
Gul Evek pointed the phaser at him. "Be silent or I will stun you as well," he said.
Harry walked forwards. He glanced down at B'Elanna, then kneeled beside her and lifted her up to carry her out of the hospital. Evek watched, emotionless. Then he turned and gestured to his comrades. Talarn walked forward and hoisted his arm around B'Elanna as well, and together he and Harry carried her forwards.
Next to Evek, Talek laughed. "Serves her right," he said under his breath. "She never let me get a word in edgewise." Evek glanced at him, sideways, an appraising and lordly look that Talek didn't notice. In the corner of his eye, Evek saw Kes and Elrem watching all that had happened with a cross of horror and shock.
Doctor Parmak removed a small medical device and scanned each of the three former captives. "Something has tried to take their DNA and integrate it into your bodily systems," he said. "I have no idea what they were trying to accomplish, all they managed to do was produce these odd lesions." He nodded to Evek. "They should be easily treatable. Given enough time they could have been fatal, but I can remove the affected areas without difficulty." He pulled out a hypospray and injected each of them. "That should slow the effects."
Suddenly, there was a small quake that shook the facility. Dust settled from the ceiling. Evek's eyes narrowed. "Evek to Vetar, report."
"Sir, the Array has stopped firing energy pulses at the surface and is now firing some kind of plasma charge. It appears to be trying to seal the entrances to the underground caverns permanently."
Evek glanced at Kes. "Are you coming with us?" he asked. Kes glanced at Elrem, and then threw her arms around the older man.
"I have to go, uncle. You understand."
Elrem smiled. "I know, Kes. You would never have been happy here. Go and find your place among the stars." The embrace lasted for a few seconds, but a second blast shook the complex and Elrem released her. "You should go, now, while you still can."
Kes looked at Evek. "I'm ready," she said.
Evek nodded. "Evek to Vetar, transport us out of here while you still can," he said. Pulling their party into a small circle, each of them vanished in beams of shimmering red and orange light.
On the transporter pad, Talarn released B'Elanna's limp body. She swooned towards the ground and Harry struggled to keep her upright. The stun blast was beginning to wear off, he could tell, and he glanced up towards Gul Evek. Evek eyed them both, then turned to Talarn. "Put them in one of the empty crew quarters until further notice. We need to decide what we're going to do with them," he said. He glanced at Kes. "Kes, you can accompany Doctor Parmak for now. He'll keep an eye on you." Kes glanced uneasily at Harry and B'Elanna, but nodded and followed Parmak.
Harry's head swung around as Kes and the Doctor departed. "Wait a second, you're not going to give us back to Captain Janeway?" Evek's head turned marginally, glancing at Kim.
"I don't know yet," he said. "There are other things that need to be discussed in the meantime." The look on Kim's face was one of shock.
"But…"
Evek gestured to Talarn, who grasped Harry's arm. Talek came in and took B'Elanna from Harry, then the two Cardassians led their prisoners out of the bridge. By the time they had reached empty quarters, B'Elanna was nearing full consciousness and beginning to actively struggle against Talek. Talarn opened the room and ushered Harry inside while Talek simply tossed B'Elanna's prone body down onto the floor. With a thud she struck the ground, and that was enough to bring her back to full awareness.
Talek leaned over her prone body, a phaser pointed at her chest. "Tell me, Klingon, would you really have killed me if you got the chance?" he sneered.
B'Elanna's foggy vision and senses cleared and she sat up, staring defiantly down the barrel of Talek's phaser. "Do you really need to ask?" she growled.
"No, I suppose not," Talek said. He leaned forward slightly, careful not to get too close. "What do you think I'm going to do to you, now that I'm the one in control?" he whispered.
B'Elanna growled. "You torture men, rape women, and murder children," she snarled. "But you'll never get close enough to me to try it." B'Elanna's slightly sharpened teeth shone through her mouth.
"Well," Talek said. "You're not a man, so I won't torture you. And you're definitely not a child." He waved the phaser. "We'll just have to see about the last one."
Harry fell into a neat combat pose that he'd learned at the academy during basic training. Talek glanced at him and laughed aloud. "What are you going to do, human? Hit me with your fists before I can shoot you with the phaser? Even if you did strike me, I'm a soldier. You're just a scientist." He emphasized the last word mockingly.
Harry grinned boldly. "Maybe so, but I bet I can distract you long enough for her to tear out your throat," he said, nodding his head towards B'Elanna. She had risen onto the balls of her feet, the stun blast long forgotten.
Talarn leaned in closer to Talek. "Gul Evek wanted to speak with you, sir," he said. Talek didn't acknowledge him, but waved the phaser between the two captives.
"Duty calls," he said. "Don't get comfortable." Then Talek turned and walked out of the room. Talarn retreated with his phaser still covering Harry and B'Elanna, and then behind them the door slammed shut.
B'Elanna turned to Harry. "Thanks, Starfleet," she said grudgingly. Harry turned and nodded his acknowledgement. They regarded one another, suddenly not seeing the enemy. B'Elanna wandered over to the food replicator. "Come on, let's figure out a way out of this dump," she said. Harry's grin returned, not the bold one from when he'd confronted Talek, but a genuine smile. "I would never have expected you to stand up to the Cardie like that, Starfleet. I owe you one," B'Elanna admitted as the two started poking around the room.
Harry grimaced. "I was a bit surprised at my actions myself," he admitted. "Talek was right, I am a scientist, not a soldier."
B'Elanna continued fiddling with the replicator. "You graduated from the academy, Starfleet. That means you're both, because while the academy teaches you how to be a scientist, it also teaches you how to do what is right – most of the time, anyway." She sighed. "Maybe that's why I didn't make it through."
Harry glanced over at her. "You were at the academy?" he asked, surprised. B'Elanna was silent for a second, and then she nodded. Harry laughed slightly. "Tell me, Maquis, who'd youhave for survival training? You're definitely better at it than I am."
B'Elanna was silent, engrossed in the replicator. Harry finally shrugged and went back to searching the room. The Cardassians taught me most of what I know, Starfleet, she thought. But she restrained the comment – Harry was only trying to be friendly. She thought back to her academy days. "Commander Zakarian," she said finally.
Harry laughed. "Old Sneezy must have saved all his tricks for you," he said. "I don't know half the moves you know."
Talek walked into the bridge. It was in better shape than it had been earlier – more of the consoles were lit. The ship had shields again, and the weapons had more power. The impulse drive was working once again, although pushing it past its limits, normally something that would just annoy the engineering staff, could very well cause a core breach. But, most importantly, the warp drive was still inoperable.
He faced Evek while Talarn slipped in behind one of the bridge consoles. "Gul Evek," he said in a salutary manner.
Evek eyed him. "I'm not very happy with you at this moment, Glinn," he said. "When I gave you free reign to try to get the attention of our captors on the Array, I did not mean blow up the simulation. You could easily have gotten us all killed with your presumption."
Talek didn't flinch. "Sometimes, in order to get where you want to go you must take risks, sir. There did not appear to be another option and our mission orders stated that they were of the highest priority."
Evek nodded slowly. "Yes, I know. That is what we need to discuss." He tapped the console. "Voyager hasn't returned yet, but when they do Captain Janeway will undoubtedly have recovered the Maquis crew, including the two individuals we have been ordered to retrieve." A frown crossed Evek's face. "I still don't quite understand our orders – Chakotay is a fine captain for the Maquis, but not really that dangerous, and Seska would be a meaningless prize – however, it seems we have no choice in the matter." He leaned back into his chair. "How do you suggest we proceed, Glinn?"
"Our main priority is to find a way back to Cardassia with the prisoners we require to finish our mission," Talek said. "We should demand that Janeway turn over the two prisoners we require. If she refuses, we have two prisoners who we could offer in trade."
Evek nodded slowly. "Starfleet would not be pleased we held one of their officers hostage, but Janeway is under orders to turn Chakotay and Seska over to us whether she wants to or not. Mr. Kim and the Maquis would make reasonable incentives." Evek tapped his upper lip. "All right. Our options seem limited. Put is in an orbit around the Array while we await Janeway's return and begin scanning it to try to find out how it brought us here and how we could get back." As Talek moved away to perform his orders, Evek's eyes followed him. There's something not right about him. Ever since this mission began, he's been behaving strangely. Why is he so insistent on carrying out a mission that has little to no tactical and strategic importance for Cardassia? Why is he so willing to provoke the Federation? As Talek sat in his chair, Evek's eyes wandered away from him. Perhaps there will be the opportunity to find out soon enough.