DISCLAIMER: See Teaser.
ACT 3
Ressik, 1384 by Earth's calendar
In the twelve years since Ressik's symbolic tree had first been planted, Kattan's drought had continued to worsen. In the town square, the citizen whose turn it was to tend the tree was watering it sparingly from a hand-held pot.
In the courtyard of Janeway and Alain's home, what had once been an abundantly blossoming flower garden was now a rock garden. A blond little six-year-old dressed in her special-occasion best played happily among the rocks. Through the open entry door, the sound of a tender lullaby being played on a flute floated outside into the early afternoon sunshine.
An visibly older Janeway stood on the upper level just behind the archway in the main room of the home, playing the sweet lullaby to the infant son cradled and gently rocked in Alain's arms. The three were surrounded by family and friends, gathered to watch this ritual ceremony.
As the lullaby continued to float out into the courtyard, six year old Meribor came running partway into the room, before stopping to watch. She swung her arms and shifted restlessly from one foot to another until Alain spoke to her softly.
"Meribor, this is your brother's naming ceremony; now don't fidget."
The little girl dutifully complied, and stood quietly until the lullaby ended. Janeway turned to smile at Alain, and then addressed the guests.
"We name this child for a dear friend who died last year, but who will now live on through his namesake."
Alain looked at the baby and said, "We name you - Batai. In his honor."
Janeway now turned her full attention to the guests and said, "He's starting life in the warmth of friends. Thank you." She motioned to a long table in front of her, laden with food and drink to celebrate the happy occasion. "Please, help yourselves to something to eat," she said.
As the audience of guests went to the table to enjoy the fare, quiet music began to play. The happy parents stepped down from the upper level to one side of the main room, where a family friend took baby Batai from Alain, while another congratulated Janeway on her new son. Meribor stood with them for a moment until her mother shooed her off to visit with their guests, leaving Janeway momentarily alone with her husband.
"It seems like just yesterday that we had Meribor's naming ceremony," Alain said.
"I remember," Janeway said. "I was so nervous I thought I might drop her." She smiled at the sight of her daughter playing with one of the adults across the room and said, "Now look at her – a little lady."
Alain snorted a laugh and relaxed back against the wall. He said, "She's no lady, tromping though the hills with you all day, digging those soil samples you insist on collecting. No, she's her mother's daughter."
Janeway smiled, and then grew a bit pensive. Alain noticed her change of mood and asked, "What is it?"
Janeway smiled ruefully and then made an admission. "I'd thought about having children someday, but always felt I didn't need them to make my life complete. Now I can't imagine a day without Meribor or Batai."
Alain gave her a warm smile and stroked her arm. He moved to embrace her, his face reflecting his silent, joyous knowledge of what she was feeling. He had just taken her into his arms for a long moment when he felt Janeway stiffen against him and moan in pain. Alain drew back and saw the surprised grimace on his wife's face. Janeway moaned again, took a deep, shuddering breath, and clutched her left arm.
"Kamina!" Alain cried out in alarm.
Janeway began to gasp for air. She sank to her knees and then to the floor, finally rolling onto her back.
"Get the Doctor – hurry!" Alain shouted. He leaned over his wife, gently stroking her face to comfort her.
*****
Voyager, 2372
Bridge
Chakotay stood well back to allow the Doctor to work on his still unconscious Captain. Kim and Tuvok were at their stations, continuing to monitor the probe. The Doctor was bent over Janeway, frantically trying to revive her, with Kes and Paris at his side. Janeway was gasping for air.
"Her respiratory system is in spasm. Pulse is irregular and weakening. I'm losing her," said the EMH.
Kes read the instruments and said, "I'm getting massive somatophysical failure."
"Two cc's delactovine," ordered the EMH.
Paris loaded a hypospray and handed it to him. The Doctor quickly administered the injection, but Janeway continued to gasp for air.
"Kim, get that beam back," Chakotay ordered.
"There are severe fluctuations in the isocortex," said Kes, as Janeway began to convulse. "Synaptic responses are failing."
"Begin full cardiac induction," ordered the Doctor. Paris placed one of the instruments Kes had brought from Sickbay onto Janeway's chest and activated it, but with no result.
Kes continued to monitor readings as Paris assisted the Doctor with the Captain. "Blood pressure is dropping rapidly… seventy over twenty…"
"Kim, you have to re-establish that beam," snapped the EMH.
"I'm trying, Doctor."
"Losing response in the isocortex," Kes reported.
"Cortical stimulators." Paris affixed a set to either side of Janeway's head at the temples. "Start at ten percent," the EMH ordered.
"Doctor, the beam is fully restored," said Kim.
The Bridge crew waited anxiously for the cortical stimulators to have an effect. Finally, relief crossed Kes' face as she reported, "Blood pressure up to ninety over forty… and rising."
"Isocortical functions are stabilizing," said the Doctor. "Vital signs approaching normal levels." The Doctor continued to study his monitor and finally removed the cortical stimulators from Janeway.
Chakotay sagged against one of the command chairs, emotionally spent. The rest of the Bridge crew let out the collective breath they had been holding.
*****
Ressik, 1396 by Earth's calendar
Meribor, now a lovely, intelligent girl of 18, knelt in the courtyard of her home, while using a portable core sample-extraction machine. She was waiting for the device to measure the chemical content of the soil sample she had just taken.
"Meribor? Janeway called from inside the house.
The girl turned around and looked up with a radiant grin, reminiscent of her mother's. "Happy day, mother," she answered.
Janeway came into the courtyard from the house. The intervening twelve years since Batai's naming day had been kind to her. She was physically fit and healthy in appearance, despite being in her mid-sixties.
She leaned over her daughter's shoulder to see the test results and said with a wry smile, "Hey! That's my hobby. Find your own."
"You're the one who taught me," said Meribor. "Don't complain if you turned me into a scientist."
Janeway came over to her daughter and sat on a low wall next to her. "And what has the scientist been up to today?"
"Analyzing soil samples," Meribor answered. She gestured toward her readings and said, "There aren't any anaerobic bacteria. The soil is dead." She looked up at her mother with a grave expression on her face and asked, "This isn't just a long drought, is it?"
When Janeway didn't answer her, Meribor continued. "I have entries in my log that go back 10 years. You have data that precedes that by 15 years. You've reached the same conclusion, I know you have."
Janeway regarded her as a loving mother who would rather protect her daughter from the awareness of dire things. She answered tersely, "I haven't reached any conclusion. A good scientist doesn't function by conjecture."
Meribor was unfazed by the sharp tone in her mother's voice. "A good scientist functions by hypothesizing and then proving or disproving that hypothesis. That's what I did."
Janeway looked at her a moment longer and then asked, "Tell me, why don't you spend more time with that young fellow, Dannick?"
"You are changing the subject."
"No, I'm not. I'm just hypothesizing that he's in love with you."
Meribor refused to have her conclusions turned aside. "You've taught me to pursue the truth," she said, "no matter how painful it might be. It's too late to back off from that." She rose, collected her instruments, and continued. "I've analyzed the rings in old trees. I've examined the rock strata to correlate evidence of climatic changes over the centuries." She looked at Janeway with anguish. "Mother, this planet is dying."
Janeway sighed and shook her head before saying, "Perhaps I should have filled your head with trivial concerns – games and toys and clothes." She smiled gently at her daughter.
"I don't think you mean that."
"No, I don't," Janeway answered, "but it just saddens me to see you with the knowledge of things you can't change."
"It's no more a burden than you bear," said Meribor.
"But I'm not eighteen, with my life ahead of me."
Meribor considered her mother's words thoughtfully for a moment and then asked, "Mother? I think I should marry Dannick sooner rather than later, don't you?"
"I can only say…" A memory from Janeway's life before Ressik stirred just below consciousness. She hesitated for a moment, as though trying to remember a long-ago conversation. "Live now. Seize the time, Meribor. Make 'now' the most precious time. 'Now' will never come again."
"I love you, mother."
Meribor put her arm around her mother's waist, and Janeway reciprocated with an arm around her daughter's shoulders as they walked into the house.
*****
Voyager, 2372
Bridge
The Doctor, Tom Paris, and Kes continued to work over Janeway's unconscious form. Chakotay paced the deck, watching from behind them. Torres was at her engineering station, monitoring readouts; while Kim and Tuvok were at their posts, keeping an eye on the alien probe.
The Doctor finally stood and walked over to Chakotay to report, "Her vital signs are holding. They've been stable ever since the beam was restored." He sighed and said, "I don't know what more to do for her." Chakotay took a few steps toward the viewscreen, staring at the artifact in frustration.
Torres looked up from her console. "Chakotay, we've started to receive telemetry from the probe we launched."
"Go ahead."
"We've charted the radiation trail for over one light year," said Torres, reading off her console.
"Any way to extrapolate an origin?" Chakotay asked.
"Comparing these readings to star charts from Neelix's navigational database, I'd say it looks like a star system in the Silarian sector – Kataan."
"Kataan. Neelix has never mentioned it. Kim?"
"Apparently, it's an unmapped system of six planets," said Kim. "Neelix's star charts are a little vague in that region."
"Any of them inhabited?" asked the First Officer.
"Not any longer, sir," answered Kim. "The star went nova. All life in this system was destroyed approximately one thousand years ago."
Chakotay's eyes returned to the viewscreen again, his expression perplexed.
