Chapter 16: Hidden Intentions
It hadn't taken long for the sleeping aliens' incident to end and as the weeks passed, it slowly became easier for the crew to fall back into their old sleeping patterns, all except the Captain. She was now twelve months pregnant so sleep wasn't easily accomplished every night. She thought that after a year she'd be used to it – she was wrong. Sleep was infrequent and her coffee intake was limited – she was finding it hard.
Their journey had taken an initial unexpected turn for the better at the discovery of the Hirogen Relay Station Network. After sending the Doctor to Alpha Quadrant and finally informing Starfleet and their families of their situation, the crew found themselves on a welcomed high. You're no longer alone.
Letters from home followed, letters all the crew – minus a select few – had the pleasure of receiving. The Captain's had been bittersweet. She was glad to hear Mark had moved on – it eased her own guilt of doing the same. She no longer felt as though there was anything holding her back from loving Chakotay. The little voice inside her head expressing those fears had finally surrendered.
Chakotay's letter had been another story, a story she was sure she didn't know the full details of. She was aware the Maquis were gone, a blow which had shook her First Officer a lot more than he cared to show. He'd struggled how to explain the loss to the others on-board once part of the organisation. It hurt her deeply. They were not felons who'd received their justice which Starfleet would once upon a time have taught her to think, they were simply friends who'd been lost and now being mourned by those whom, if not stranded, would also have shared the same fate.
They hadn't stayed long at Neelix's gathering, despite the Talaxian's sheer insistence of staying and letting themselves enjoy the party. It was the Captain's ruse of having a terrible backache which led them to be given permission to leave. In fact, after her little performance of nearly breaking down in fear of letting down her crew, Neelix had almost escorted them back personally to ensure she didn't push herself. Any other time she'd have felt bad, but not that day. Chakotay needed some time to come to terms with things away from the crew's prying eye and she was going to make sure he got it. He'd done a wonderful job of taking care for her over the past twelve months, it was only fair she took a turn doing the same.
His escape over the following weeks had been his self-appointed project for the impending arrival. For days, he buried himself inside the empty room adjacent to their bedroom and worked away. No-one other than him could enter. It was forbidden.
The Captain couldn't lie, she'd been desperate to take a look. She'd actually reached the point where she'd planned out exactly how to do it without his knowledge. In fact, she was sure her plan would work if put into practice. However, she couldn't do that to him. She wouldn't.
The smile on his lips that morning had been enough for her to understand without him saying a word – he was finished. It was for that reason she found herself being led into the baby's room later that afternoon, his hands covering her eyes. She had wanted to object when he said it, she'd rather have simply just walked in. However, then she had seen the look on his face, the gleam in his eye. After a few weeks of emotional hell, he was beginning to get his sparkle back. Her Chakotay was coming back to her. She didn't have the heart to refuse him.
She could feel him smiling against her shoulder as they slowly walked forward.
"Chakotay." she moaned.
Laughing as she once again stumbled over her own feet, mostly as the steps she was taking were so small, Chakotay pressed a small kiss to the side of her neck.
"Almost there." he reassured her.
Within moments, he removed his hands from her face. "Open your eyes."
Complying, her smile soon grew when she saw the transformation. Before the space had been rather dull and bland – not anymore. The wooden crib was directly opposite the door with the mobile of the Earth's Solar System from B'Elanna hanging directly above it. The white teddy bear blanket from Neelix was folded neatly inside the crib with teddy from Seven sat on top. Cute.
The Captain let her head fall back onto Chakotay's shoulder as she continued to look over the room. The toys they'd received from crew members were in a wooden box handmade by the Commander. The only thing missing was a panel on the top, the panel Chakotay intended for the baby's name to be engraved on before being inserted onto the box.
"Oh, Chakotay." she whispered, looking up to see a model of Voyager and its shuttlecrafts dangling from the ceiling, "It's beautiful."
"I'm glad you like it." he smiled, wrapping his arms around her before kissing her neck.
She gasped when his teeth lightly grazed over her skin and it didn't take her more than a second to expose her neck furthermore. She loved what he could do to her.
"Tuvok to Janeway."
The Captain felt her eyes roll. "Unbelievable." she muttered, allowing Chakotay to pull away before tapping her comm. badge, "Yes, Tuvok?"
"We are being hailed by an approaching vessel."
Sighing, the Captain nodded to herself before looking back at the Commander. Perhaps one day they wouldn't be interrupted.
"We're on our way. Janeway out."
=/\=
Captain's Log. Stardate 51529.8
We've spent the last two days orbiting Harrell XI after meeting a Mr. Hudersona, a well-respected trader in the area. Along with a well-needed shore leave for the crew, he's offered us the opportunity to participate in several trades of weapons and technology. I look forward to see what we can obtain.
End Log
"Here you are, Captain." the Commander stood before her desk in the ready room and handed her a PADD.
With a belated smile, she skimmed down the list. She had to admit, it all looked rather impressive but she wasn't sure she had to will to look through it all in depth. The list was far too long. Not only that, their duty shifts were due to end in less than fifteen minutes and she was rather looking forward to the holodeck program Chakotay had promised her earlier that morning. She couldn't concentrate on something which reading was going to take longer than triple that time.
"He's requesting permission to beam up tomorrow and go through it all." the Commander explained, taking a seat on the chair opposite her.
The Captain nodded and put down the PADD. "Very well." she agreed, shifting slightly in her chair and rubbing the top of her swollen stomach, "Permission granted."
It didn't take long for the Commander to notice her slight discomfort.
"Are you alright?"
She met his eye. "I think so." her smile was weak.
He watched her shift in her seat again. "Is the baby kicking?" he asked curiously.
"No. Definitely not." her answer was much more confident than her last one, "Kicking feels like I've got butterflies in there, it tickles." she glanced down at her bump, "This is more like a… burning sensation."
The Commander nodded in acknowledgement.
"Maybe you should let the Doctor take a look." he suggested.
Her silence halted that particular suggestion.
"Or maybe not."
The Captain sighed as an attempt to hide her smirk. She'd been in far worse discomfort for it to have that much of an effect on her. In fact, she felt far more uncomfortable sat on the Bridge the next morning listening to Mr Hudersona's ten-minute presentation.
"The metronomic laser: a dynamic cannon able to knock out shields on any vessel at an incredible range of 300,000 kilometres; Multi-dimensional shield enhancers: able to enhance shields to 4000% above normal…" the alien continued to list.
The Captain couldn't work him out. Partnered with an almost snob-like smirk and proud posture, the male alien was coming across as far too full of himself. However, most traders the Captain had had the pleasuring of meeting shared his traits. It was clearly an expected job requirement. The only noticeable difference about the particular tradesman stood in the middle of the Bridge and any others she'd met was that he was much more talkative. He clearly liked the sound of his own voice.
"I thought this was meant to be a ten-minute presentation." she was close enough to the Commander for him to hear her whisper.
Ever so slightly, she saw him shrug in response. It made her smirk a little. At least he appeared to be as bored as she felt. Then again, so did every other crew member on the Bridge.
Out of all of the crew she'd been discretely watching, the Captain had especially enjoyed watching Tom try very hard to listen. It was clear he'd had enough almost an hour ago when the damned thing had started. It was almost childlike. During his bouts of intense boredom, she had seen him spin around on his chair, play with his thumbs, even look between crew members and emphasising Hudersona's words with his hands. Although, even the fun of that had worn off after a while. Now he was fighting his dropping eyelids. She'd actually lost count of how many times he'd jolted himself awake after his body had dropped a little too much.
It took another good ten minutes before the Captain finally gave in. His voice seemed to be drilling into her skull and she honestly believed she'd go mad if she didn't stop him. Enough was enough.
"Thank you, Mr Hudersona!" she suddenly cried, laughing it off as she pushed herself up out of her chair, "I think we've heard enough."
"So, you'll be conducting business…?" the alien asked eagerly.
The Captain laughed slightly, looking between her officers. She couldn't remember half the things he's mentioned. It appeared only the important ones had stuck.
She turned back to the alien. "Tomorrow," she emphasised, "Mr. Tuvok and Seven of Nine will join you on the surface to take a look at your multi-dimensional shield enhancers…"
"Excellent choice."
"I'm sure the Doctor will like to take a look at your medical equipment," she continued, attempting to ignore the alien nodding continuously, "And I'm sure Mr. Neelix will be interested in obtaining some of your food supplies."
Mr. Hudersona nodded again.
"But like I said, tomorrow."
"I'll sort it all out, Captain." the alien promised, "And, if I may, what might I expect in return?"
The Captain sighed. Payment.
"Is there anything of particular interest, Mr. Hudersona?" she enquired. He'd done his research to benefit them, surely he'd done the same for himself.
I know exactly what I want.
Apparently thinking intensely for a moment, Mr. Hudersona soon nodded.
"I'm rather intrigued by the Borg temporal sensors you have access to in your Astrometrics Lab."
The Captain smiled sympathetically. "Well, you could have a look but they'd be impossible to obtain." she confessed, "They were modified for our ship. I'm afraid they won't work for you."
Mr. Hudersona looked positive. "I like a challenge."
The Captain shook her head. "Mr Hudersona, I'm sorry. They'll really be no use to you."
"Of course, Captain." he understood, "Maybe some of your isolinear processing chips instead."
The Captain felt her forehead create. "That's it?" she wondered aloud, "That's all you want?"
No.
"Yes." he replied, "Ten chips would improve my sensors by 9.6%, twenty chips by 19.2%, 100 chips would improve them by 96.1%."
The Captain smiled slightly. "You've certainly done your homework." she raised her eyebrow pointedly, "120 chips."
"150." he bargained.
"130." All hints of her smile dropped, a classic poker face. "That's my final offer, Mr. Hudersona."
It took a moment but then the alien nodded. "I'm glad negotiation is part of your vocabulary, Captain." he smiled, "I'll be in contact tomorrow morning."
"Understood." the Captain agreed, "Mr. Tuvok, please show our guest to the Transporter Room."
"Aye, Captain."
=/\=
Seven entered the Captain's ready room with the typical grace and neutral expression she tended to exhibit. Perfect posture, fair face. She was so close to being human yet so far.
"Captain. Mr Hudersona has offered to remain on-board to assist with the modifications to the Engineering systems for the integration of the new shield enhancers."
The Captain nodded slowly, having taking her moment to understand Seven's report. She was simply too tired. Roll on the last half an hour of her shift.
"Understood."
Seven nodded briefly. "Shall I tell him you approve?"
The Captain couldn't help but notice Seven's hesitance about the alien in question. For someone who usually didn't care about anything other than orders, procedures and perfection, she seemed bothered by something. Perhaps that wasn't the best word to describe it but it was all she could come up with. Suffice to say, it was strange. It wasn't typical behaviour of the Seven she knew.
She nodded softly. "Yes."
Seven acknowledged the Captain's response, now awaiting her dismissal. It didn't follow.
"Seven, what's wrong?" the Captain found herself asking.
The ex-drone simply frowned. "Nothing, Captain."
The Captain wasn't buying it. She may have still been learning about Seven, learning how to read her, but she knew this was different. Seven never showed hesitance, never showed uncertainty. While she may have felt it, she never allowed herself to display it. It would have been a sign of unforgiveable weakness in the former drone's eye.
"Seven…?" the Captain probed lightly.
The younger woman sighed quietly. "It's nothing, Captain." she assured her.
She still wasn't buying it but there was only so much she could do. Even as Captain, she had limits.
"If you're sure… Goodnight, Seven."
Seven simply nodded her head once. "Goodnight."
The Captain watched her leave, her mind spinning. Call it intuition but she was sure Seven was hiding something from her. She had no hard evidence, nothing that would convince anyone else of her beliefs, just her gut, and it was rare for her gut to be wrong.
Captain Janeway's mind wasn't the only one spinning that night. Down on the planet the ship was orbiting, a young woman's mind was spinning too. She kept telling herself not to overthink it, that the payment alone was worth what she was about to do. After all, her reason for agreeing to the task was payment-orientated. It would save her family from losing their home and livelihood. They'd finally be safe. If only it didn't go against her ethical standards, then maybe she would sleep better that night.
"Hedrina!"
His voice startled her, his tone dangerous. He'd always had quite a temper.
"Is the preparation complete?"
She shuddered before turning, just in time to meet his eye as he stepped into the observatory area.
"Yes, sir."
He stepped closer to her, his eyes scrutinising her feeble posture. He couldn't have her getting cold feet. It was only mere hours before they were due to begin.
"Are you still worrying about her?" his tone was harsh.
"Sir, she could be violent…"
"She'll be restrained!" he rolled his eyes, his sudden increase in volume making her body tense, "Have you forgot the itinerary I went through this morning?"
Her head was dropped. "No, sir. It's just…"
"Need I remind you, Hedrina, that if you don't do this, you'll be out on the streets." his hand came up to her chin and lifted it, the follow smirk making her tremble, "And the streets are a dangerous place for a young woman like you."
He moved away from her, slowly walking through the dim area to a console on the opposite side of the room.
"You'd be lucky to last a day without being picked up and expected to use that sensual little body of yours." his words made her shudder, "I expect you'd be an expert with a week or two."
He turned back to face her, his smirk easing. "Stop worrying, Hedrina. It'll be easier than you think." he assured her. "Once we've have the baby, I'll let her go and give you what I promised. Your little brothers will never go hungry again."
Hedrina still didn't like the plan. There were so many things that could go wrong.
"She may come back to look for it." she pointed out, "The baby."
He rolled his eyes. "She won't remember it!" he shouted, emphasising his words with his hands as he approached her, "Do you not understand anything about the procedure?!"
The young woman's head dropped. "I'm sorry, sir."
He felt a little sympathy towards her. "Everything's going according to plan." he assured her, "Voyager's crew are on shore leave. I convinced Minister Telveki to offer them an extension – I know they'll accept." he sighed softly, "Tomorrow, we'll have her, Hedrina, and the day after that, we'll have that baby. You needn't worry."
Hedrina simply nodded. Trying to ignore her fears was proving to be difficult.
"Go and get some sleep." he ordered, "We have a tight schedule to stick to and I need you at your best."
Sighing, the young woman nodded.
"Yes, sir."