Not knowing at all what to expect around the corner, the pair moved slowly and silently onwards. Janeway's thoughts were not on what they might meet ahead of them, but with her crew. Were they all right? Had the Kazon found the ship? Was there anything they could do for Harry? Or the renegade woman, Torres? And how in Heaven's Name were they supposed to get home again?
They came upon an ancient door that stood halfway open. Beyond it was a room filled with a mage's artifacts. Shelves lined every wall and every shelf was full of books. Tables covered with exotic artifacts stood haphazardly throughout the room and from the ceiling hung all kinds of herbs, plants and more instruments. Near the fireplace stood an old man, hunched over in deep thought. The pair shared a look, then stepped deeper inside.
"[Are you the one the Ocampa call the Caretaker?]" asked Janeway. The old man ignored her, still shuffling around the room. He spoke, but as if to empty air.
"[Caretaker… they called me that once. They were young…]"
Janeway shot another glance at Tuvok, who gave a Vulcan version of a shrug, mostly using a facial expression.
"[I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation sailing ship Voyager,]" she said, hoping one introduction might prompt another. No such luck.
"[Sailing vessel containing various specimens of strange tribes… very far… only two samples…]" he mumbled.
"[Caretaker, sir, we need you to send us home.]"
"[Home is an impossible dream, a forgotten place. The mission must be completed at all costs. No time.]" He walked in front of them as he said this, picking up a piece of paper. She took his arm and pulled him around to face her. "[What mission? Why is it so important?]"
He paused, then gently touched her arm in wonder. "[So you are here. Not another hallucination. Which would make you my first visitors in almost a century.]"
"[What mission? Why is there no time left?]" she demanded. He grinned in an almost delusional way and leaned away from her.
"[What mission, she says. What mission indeed. What have I been doing, am doing now? Too much, too much to explain. No time.]"
She grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to look her in the face.
"[I'm not going to sit here and listen to you babble in riddles,]" she said. "[Tell me what I want to know or I'm going to use force to get it out.]"
He giggled unnervingly, then focused on her. "[Well, aren't you contentious for a half-evolved barbarian? Let me see now, let me see…]"
"[How do I explain the mission I've been on for so long I can't remember doing anything else?]" He gave a flick of his wrist and a chair came sliding up. Sinking down into it, he spoke with more confidence and lucidity than he'd shown so far.
"[I came across this tiny island lifetimes ago, when I was young and strong. The Ocampa lived on the surface then, under constant attack from the Kazon. I thought I could help them – would you have done any different? – and I tried a new spell I had invented. I only wanted to stunt the growth of the Kazon food supply – now the whole island is cursed. Food will never grow here again. It was my fault. How do you live with that? That knowledge? I ruined this place. In my guilt, I created the underground city for the Ocampa and I've been watching over them ever since. Childlike, elfish people. To them, who had never seen such magic, I was some sort of demi-god. They don't live very long, you know? Only nine years, at most. Can you believe that? To them, I arrived a thousand generations ago. They've come to rely on me completely. But even I don't live forever. I need a replacement.]"
Janeway's eyes went wide. "[We're not going to be your successors.]"
"[Oh please. No one can do what I do. You could never handle it. Too much to do, to watch, to maintain. No, no, you couldn't do it. I need a replacement, one that can act and think and react exactly like me.]"
"[You've been trying to build a Construct?]"
He nodded. "[As you understand it, yes. But not one made of ether. Ether will eventually fail and dissipate. But a 'Construct' made of life force can maintain itself.]"
Comprehension flooded her. "[That's what you've been doing to our people – taking their life force for yourself!]" Cold fury followed swiftly. "[They're dying for your experiment, against their will!]"
"[And in vain!]" he shouted, flinging a beaker to the floor. It smashed and smoked as its contents evaporated. "[It's not working! Nothing I've tried is making any kind of difference. And now I'm out of time. What am I supposed to do now?]"
"[Out of time – you keep saying that. What's about to change?]"
"[I'm dying. I've been getting weaker for weeks. You wonder how the Kazon explosives are making a difference in the superstructure of this tower? It's a part of me. The weaker I get, the more effective the explosions are and the more they damage me. Don't try to work it out – you don't understand it.]"
"[How much time do you have left?]" asked Tuvok.
"[I'm not going to see the sunset.]"
Janeway's blood ran ice cold. She grabbed him by the shoulders and stared directly into his eyes. "[If you die, how the hell are we supposed to get home?]"
His expression turned to one of such utter anguish that she actually felt a twinge of sorrow for him. He let out a shuddering sigh that was almost a sob.
"[I've destroyed so much trying to fix my mistake… you, your people, the Ocampa – oh, Spirits, the Ocampa!]" He lapsed into a fit of sobbing and muttering.
Feeling a certain discomfort at the old man crying over his life, Janeway asked him gently, "[Have you considered letting the Ocampa take care of themselves?]"
He scoffed. "[They're children!]"
"[Children have to grow up. In fact, we would never have found our way up here without the help of a brave Ocampa girl.]"
He looked at her with new eyes. "[Is that so? All this time taking care of them and I never bothered to find out what they were really like.]"
As if to underscore her point, Kes suddenly appeared at the door, followed by Neelix, Paris, Kim, Chakotay and Torres. The latter four looked pale, but determined.
"Captain, the Kazon are in the tower," said Paris. "It won't take them long to find these stairs."
"Seal the door – try to buy us some time," she said. Paris nodded and shoved the door shut. The others moved to help him push one of the bookcases in front of it. Janeway motioned Kes over to where she was standing.
"[This is Kes,]" the captain explained. "[She never met us before today, but already she has helped us locate and rescue our people from the underground city.]"
"[You are an Ocampa?]" the Caretaker asked.
Kes smiled. "[Yes. Don't you know us? Aren't you the Caretaker?]"
"[I am. But you look different than the Ocampa I met so long ago. You must be the first one of your kind to look on me in nearly a hundred years. What do you think?]"
She flicked a sideways glance at Neelix and shrugged.
"[I'll admit you aren't what I expected. But I'm glad to have seen you. You must be very smart, with all these books and instruments that you use. Is there a way for you to visit the city? Can you teach us what you know? They are good and want to know you.]"
"[Your people locked us back in our cell when we asked them why they didn't think for themselves!]" snarled Torres, shoulder against the bookshelf.
"[Not all Ocampa are that closed-minded,]" said Kes, frowning. She turned back to the Caretaker. "[Many of the elders have been ruling as they liked, saying what they did was your will. But there are still some who will listen.]"
"[Kes is one of them,]" Janeway said to the Caretaker. "[She spoke out against her village leader in front of all the people, rebuking him for being so stubborn.]"
"[There are others like me,]" Kes said. "[They'll listen to whatever you say; I know they will.]"
The Caretaker listened to all this intently. Then he seemed to reach a decision.
"[Maybe there's something I can do after all…]" He moved over to a large spell book and began leafing through it.
"[I'm going to send them all the knowledge they need to survive as a people. They'll have to discover how to use it for themselves.]"
"[Why not come down and teach us? We've been hoping to see you for many years.]"
He shook his head. "[It's too late for me. My time is over. You could teach them.]"
"[No, my place is on the surface, with Neelix,]" she said. "[They'll just have to learn it all on their own.]" Janeway noticed that Kes didn't mention her recent banishment. The Caretaker placed a trembling hand on her shoulder, clearly proud of the people he never really knew, despite his position as their protectorate.
"[And us?]" asked Janeway, making sure he didn't forget they were still there.
His face was the picture of regret. "[I owe you more than I could ever hope to repay, but I can't send you back to where you were.]" He tore a spell from another book, scribbled something on it and handed it to her. "[This will reverse the Life Drain on your crewmen. Long Ears, can you Scry?]"
"[Yes,]" said Tuvok, coming over. The Caretaker handed him a mirror. "[Contact your ship. No doubt the Kazon are on their way to capture it. Tell them to depart immediately.]"
"[What?]" asked Janeway.
"[Don't worry.]" He held what looked like a ball of shimmering light and threw it at the wall. Something crackled and light shone from between the stones. "[This is a portal that will take you directly to your ship.]"
Tuvok held up the mirror, asking for confirmation to scry. "[Do it,]" said Janeway.
He began to concentrate as the group moved away from the barricaded door. In the silence, they heard the shouting of the Kazon in the stairway.
"[Here, take these,]" said the Caretaker, taking something out of a drawer. He held out a dagger each for Torres and Kim. Torres' had a set of wicked-looking teeth on its spine, while Kim's seemed to resemble a knife from a Federation tribe.
"[They're in no condition to fight,]" said Chakotay.
"[They may have to – you all may have to fight your way out of this tower.]" He turned to Janeway. "[I've made a lot of mistakes in my arrogance. I guess I should have listened to specimens – you people – whoever you are. And the Ocampa-]" he looked at Kes – "[I certainly should have listened to them. I should have done many things…]" Something exploded behind the barricade, shaking the whole room. The Caretaker winced in pain and fell against the chair. His breathing became shallow and ragged.
"[Now I have to ask something I have no right to ask of you,]" he said to Janeway in a pained voice. "[My great spell book – you must not let the Kazon get it, at any cost.]" He looked at the torch in her hand, which she had nearly forgotten. "[Your Dragon Fire can destroy it.]"
"[But we could use it!]"
"[Use it, take it, destroy it – but don't let the Kazon get it!]"
Tuvok laid down the mirror on the desk and inspected the Caretaker's spellbook.
"[I have instructed Lieutenant Rollins to sail immediately,]" he said. "[Captain, these spells are extremely complicated and written in a language I do not recognize. We will not be able to cast the spell in time.]"
"[Fine, we'll take it with us and use it once we're out of danger,]" she said. They all watched as Tuvok tried and failed to lift the book from the table. The spine was bolted to the stand it rested on with a massive pin. The lock that held the pin in place was just as big.
"[Where's the key for that lock?]" asked Kes.
"[I destroyed it,]" said the Caretaker. "[You will have to pick it.]"
Tuvok studied the lock for a moment, but didn't seem to see a way to open it. He made a valiant attempt to rip the pages out, but with no success.
"[Why aren't the pages coming out?]" asked Chakotay.
"[They're sealed with binding runes. I never bothered to research the counter-spell,]" said the Caretaker. Another explosion shook the room, making the bookshelf by the door rattle. The Caretaker winced and fell to the floor.
"[What are you talking about?]" shouted Torres over the sound of falling books. "[Didn't you write the book?]"
"[No. It was never mine. I only used it.]" He gave a painful grunt and doubled over.
"[Could you teach us how to use it?]" asked Janeway. "[The way you taught the Ocampa?]"
He shook his head, almost trembling with pain. Now they could hear muffled voices just beyond the door.
"[No, there's no time left.]"
She looked over at her crew and the allies they had gained and compassion for all of them flooded her. Her fear and desperation for them grew; she tried to make him understand again. "[Unless you help us-]"
He grabbed her shoulder and something connected them for just a moment. A thousand years of misery stabbed through her like a spear a mile long and disappeared in the same moment. She gasped in pain.
"[I'm sorry. I can't,]" he said, staring almost into her soul. "[Protect the Ocampa from the Kazon. Promise me you won't let them get the book.]"
She hesitated, thinking only of her crew and her home.
He has no right to ask this of us! Seafleet regulations state that we can't be involved in these kinds of conflicts!
He shook her shoulder, bringing her back.
"[Kathryn, promise me!]"
She hesitated again, but this time remembering the oaths she took as a Seafleet officer to render aid to those who asked for it.
We never asked to be involved. But we are.
We are.
Everyone stared at her, waiting for her to make the next move.
"[Please!]" rasped the Caretaker, painfully digging his fingers into her shoulder. She made eye contact with him and managed to catch a glimpse of the man the Caretaker must have been a thousand generations ago, when he had first come to protect the Ocampa. He understood what it was to protect a society and its ideals, just as she did. Her duty was clear.
"[I will,]" she whispered, nodding at him.
He relaxed and released her shoulder. She thought for a second he was going to smile at her, but he lapsed into regret again.
"[I'm sorry to ask it of you, but I wouldn't have dared if I weren't so desperate… or if I hadn't thought you could do it.]"
This time, the explosion seemed to make the tower tremble on its foundation. The Caretaker let go of her shoulder and fell back onto the floor. The air in the room became tight and heavy, then it weighed nothing as the light left his eyes.
Ink, black as storm clouds, came pouring out off all the books and papers in the room, gathering in puddles on the floor. The plants died too, becoming dry and brittle, then crumbling to dust. Beakers and bottles boiled until only chalky residue remained. Metal and brass instruments instantly fell to rusty disrepair, including the lock on the spellbook.
Kim picked up one of the books. "All the pages are blank. Incredible."
"Captain!" shouted Paris. "The spell book wasn't destroyed!"
He was right. The book was dusted with a layer of dead plants, but otherwise intact. Tuvok immediately began working the lock free.
"Now we know why he wanted us to get rid of it," said Chakotay. "He knew it wouldn't die with him."
"[So what do we do?]" asked Neelix.
An angry shout from behind the blocked door caught their attention. Something heavy thudded against it, then – silence.
"That's it?" said Torres. "Nearly an hour of attacks and now they stop?"
"It can't be that easy," said Paris. Janeway turned to Tuvok, only to see him staring intently at the door, wide eyed. She knew that look. He could hear something.
"Lieutenant?"
"[Take cover!]" he shouted. They threw themselves behind overturned tables and chairs just as the door and bookcase exploded outwards. Rocks and splinters rained down on them, filling the air with dust and smoke. Before it had cleared, Janeway peered over the edge of the table to see no less than twelve pirates standing in what had once been the doorway.
"[Where is the sorcerer?]" shouted Jabin. The pirates looked around for a moment, then spotted the body on the floor. Jabin seemed to swell with anger as he took in the situation and the other pirates whispered to each other.
"[Kes, can you understand them?]" asked Janeway, already guessing at what they were saying. Kes listened, frowning.
"[I don't think they like what we did. They think we killed him.]"
"Oh great," said Paris. "This'll end well."
"[Listen to me,]" said Janeway, rising. "[He was already dying. We didn't kill him.]"
"[That sorcerer cursed us, made the Ocampa his favorite pets and forgot about us!]" said Jabin, breathing fast. "[We came here to take back our lives. But you've ruined everything!]"
"[It's not our fault!]" said Chakotay, climbing to his feet. "[When he died, everything died with him. Even if we hadn't come, there still would have been nothing left to take.]"
"[That book's still intact,]" said a different pirate. "[We'll take that.]"
"[I don't think so,]" said Janeway, hand tightening around her sword.
"[You're not going to stop us.]" Jabin stepped into the room. The captain drew her sword.
"[Don't move.]" Without taking her eyes off him, she muttered something to Tuvok. He nodded, standing up, followed by the rest of the crew. Jabin and the other pirates drew their own weapons, crowding the threshold. The tension humming in the room made the air almost too tight to breathe.
Then Jabin screamed a battle cry and all hell broke loose.