Chapter 9
2376 - Voyager - Deck 2 - Messhall
Neelix bustled around his kitchen, moving pots and pans around in a huff. A timer went off, and he turned too quickly, knocking over several plates in the process. By the time he'd picked those up and turned back to the stove, his Pleemok soup had overflowed, coated the counter and half of the utensils, and spilled onto the floor.
Neelix finally threw his hands up into the air and collapsed against the wall, looking around at the huge mess that had taken over his kitchen. He sighed. Normally, his personality and duties as ship's morale officer made him a very optimistic and happy person. But today all he could see was Pleemok stew all over his kitchen floor. He watched it drip off the counter.
Plunk. He wondered where Naomi was, and whether she was scared.
Plunk. He had wanted to help security find Naomi, but after their first failed attempt, and dinner soon in coming, he had gone back to the Mess Hall.
Plunk. He was sure that the crew was doing their best, but cooking while his goddaughter was in danger was bothering him more than he wanted to admit.
Plunk. He hated that feeling of uselessness.
Plunk. He wanted to know how the Doctor was doing on a cure. He was worried about Tom and B'Elanna and Harry.
Plunk. His kitchen was a mess.
Plunk. Plomeek soup was on his floor. Food and dirty dishes were everywhere.
Plunk. What would Kes think of him, sitting here feeling sorry for himself?
Neelix froze. Kes. Why had he suddenly thought of her? Kes had left almost three years ago. Kes. He missed her. Determined that Kes would never want him to sit around doing nothing, Neelix got up, and started to clean his kitchen. Down on his knees, getting ready to wipe up soup, he jolted as a thought struck him.
Kes would want him to do something.
Determined, Neelix stood. Naomi was his goddaughter, and he had to do something. Rolling up his sleeves, Neelix strode out of the Mess Hall with one thought in mind. Help Naomi.
Behind him, the Pleemok soup dripped . . .
x
Naomi hit the floor of what was obviously Captain Janeway's living room with an almost undetectable thud. Rhanda immediately helped her up as Rachel crawled into the room and softly closed the hatch behind them. Putting a finger to her lips, Rachel motioned for the other girls to follow her. Naomi obediently fell behind her, concentrating on trying to walk silently, like Tuvok did. Meanwhile, the voices of Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay were becoming louder the closer they got, and it was obvious that they were in the next room.
Rachel stopped just before the doorway to the bedroom, and the girls crowded around behind her. It reminded Naomi ominously of the position they had been in in the corridor. She hoped they wouldn't fall over again. Commander Chakotay didn't seem to be aware of their presence at the moment, and Naomi had a feeling it would be better to keep it that way.
Silently, she crept up next to Rachel and cautiously poked her head into the other room. She almost gasped. Commander Chakotay had Captain Janeway pinned to the wall. Captain Janeway was talking. Naomi tried to listen in to their conversation, but their voices seemed distant as something more interesting caught her eye.
That something was a phaser.
The voices suddenly came back in tune. Commander Chakotay was talking. Naomi looked over at him, a plan forming in her head. If she could just run and grab the phaser . . .
At that moment, Captain Janeway looked up. Her blue eyes locked with Naomi's. Naomi froze half-way around the doorframe. She focused on Captain Janeway's face. Time seemed to slow. Her own heart beat was so loud, she was sure that everyone else could hear it. Janeway's head moved back and forth, ever so slightly, her eyes still boring into Naomi's. It was a very small movement, but Naomi saw it. And she knew what it meant. Captain Janeway didn't want her to go after the phaser.
Time flowed back into the room. Captain Janeway diverted her attention back to Commander Chakotay. Naomi felt a sudden pull on the back of her shirt and tumbled back into Rachel as she was pulled into the other room.
"What do you think you're doing?" Rachel hissed, "Commander Chakotay catching us won't help Captain Janeway!"
That's why the Captain didn't want me to go after the phaser, Naomi thought, she didn't want me to get caught.
The other girls were looking at her. She motioned for them to gather round.
"There's a phaser on the bedside table," Naomi whispered.
Rachel's eyebrows shot up.
"Good work," she said, sounding surprised but pleased.
Naomi nodded, but didn't stop. "Captain Janeway knows we're here."
"What!" Taylor frowned, "But . . ."
"She saw me," Naomi cut in, "But Commander Chakotay didn't. He was facing away from me - he had Captain Janeway pinned against the wall."
"We have to do something," Rachel said.
"Obviously," Taylor answered.
"Guys, I think it's time to get some help," Rachel said softly, "We can't do this by ourselves."
"I can," Taylor growled, balling a fist.
Naomi had a sudden mental image of Commander Chakotay flying through the Captain's living room window. She shook her head, "I think we'd better let Tuvok handle the situation."
"Yeah," Taylor hissed, "And by the time he gets here, Captain Janeway could be -"
"You don't have to finish that sentence," Rachel interrupted, "And you do have a point. But so does Naomi. We're going to need help."
Taylor grumbled and folded her arms across her chest, but didn't object. I wouldn't have mattered if she had.
"You need not worry about that," said a figure, stepping out of the shadows, "You're not going anywhere."
x
Rhanda gasped, staring at the unfamiliar figure. The alien standing in front of them was wearing long blue robes and had silver hair that was longer than hers. But what Rhanda noticed most were his eyes. Matching his robes, they were blue. Dark blue, with a thin silver strip outlining the pupil.
Rhanda watched as Rachel stepped protectively to the front of the group, eyeing the man skeptically. Rhanda tried to understand what Rachel was worried about. The man didn't seem to be any threat to them. But he was looking at Rachel with the same distrust she had shining out of her eyes.
Then the man's head jerked and he was suddenly staring right at Rhanda. She froze. His blue eyes were stunning, and it somehow felt that he was reading her mind. And, she thought, he very well could be.
Their eye contact was suddenly broken as Taylor shoved the man, and he stumbled.
"Taylor!" Rhanda said, shocked.
"Didn't you see what was happening?" she hisses, "You were completely mesmerized by him - he could have used you to do anything for him."
Rhanda opened her mouth to tell Taylor that she knew exactly what was going on, but the alien cut her off.
"It's all right," he said, addressing Rachel, "I won't harm any of you. I was merely checking to see if anyone was occupying her body."
If anything, both Rachel and Taylor looked even more suspicious. "What are you talking about? Who are you?!"
The man bowed his head respectfully. "I apologize. I should have realized that children would never be able to believe me without a reason."
Rhanda felt Taylor bristle beside her and mutter, "There's that 'children' thing again."
Charlie tapped Rachel's arm, but she was too busy talking to the alien to notice. He had made her mad, Rhanda could tell, but Rachel was desperately trying not to yell, her voice low and angry.
"You can't expect anyone to trust you, children or adults, when you appear out of nowhere, especially if you refuse to give your name!"
"Very well," the alien answered, and with no other explanation said, "I am Unami."
Rachel gritted her teeth in annoyance as Charlie tapped her again. "What?!" she snapped, turning to her. Charlie, face solemn, pointed. All the girls turned as one, and froze as they followed Charlie's finger.
Commander Chakotay stood in the doorway, staring at them. Captain Janeway was nowhere in sight. Rhanda felt her gut clench as she realized all the possibilities that suggested. The other girls were obviously thinking the same, because Naomi paled, and Meredith's eyes widened. Rachel had the exact opposite reaction as Meredith, as her eyes narrowed and she spun around to face Unami. Rhanda's own eyes narrowed as she figured out what Rachel must have realized seconds before.
Commander Chakotay had been standing behind them. This meant that Unami had known he was there the entire time. Rhanda and Rachel glanced at each other. Rachel shrugged and shook her head a little. The meaning was clear. He should definitely be made to explain himself, but right now, we have greater problems. They both turned their backs to him. Rhanda backed up as Chakotay started for them, his green eyes flashing. Wait. Green?
Then, suddenly, Rhanda didn't have time to think anymore. She watched as Chakotay tripped and fell face first to the floor in front of them. Everyone looked at Meredith, who was standing a little behind Chakotay, with her foot propped out.
Meredith grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "Ooops!"she mouthed at them. Rhanda grinned as she realized that Meredith had tripped him on purpose. Her amusement faded as quickly as it had come, though, as Chakotay scrambled to his feet and turned around to face Meredith, a murderous expression drawn on his face.
"You. . ." he was too angry to finish his sentence. Jaw working furiously, he started toward Meredith, pulling out the phaser that the girls had seen on the bedside table. Rhanda's heart sank as she realized that what should have been their best hope had just turned into their biggest problem.
x
Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Star Trek or Star Trek. I don't even own any rights to this story because it was written by my friend, pen name Rachel Pierce. It was written about our little Trekkie group, The Sisterhood of Teenage Trekkies. Though there have been changes to respect rights of my friends and myself. I have been given permission to post this story. Thank you and enjoy.