Chapter 22: The Dangerous Devlins
Running down the oddly busy corridors in order to catch up with his friend, Tom Paris must have collided with a least half a dozen crew members on his way. The number of apologies he'd uttered were far too many to count.
"Harry, wait up!" he called. He'd never appreciated how fast the younger man could be at times.
The man in question slowed which gave Tom time to catch up.
"How's Seven today?" he asked, trying to disguise his deep breathing. He seriously needed to get back in shape. He hadn't been to the on-board gym in far too long.
Harry shrugged his shoulders but his smile was certainly evident.
"I'm not sure yet." Harry answered, beginning to walk again, "I'm on the way to see her now."
Tom nodded, not really listening fully.
"And how's the baby?" he asked with noticeably more interest. It was the newest crew member on-board whom he really wanted to know about.
Laughing slightly, Harry felt his already broad smile increase in size. "He's fine."
Nodding again, Tom sighed rather deeply. He always knew it would be a short catch up, he was due on the Bridge in less than five minutes.
"Good." he sighed, "I've got to go now." he complained lightly, "See you later."
Harry didn't have time to even say anything before Tom took the next turn and broke into a sprint to reach the still open turbolift at the end of the corridor. He was clearly running late. It was this that made Harry simply laugh to himself before continuing on his way to the Cargo Bay.
Upon arriving at his destination, his eyes soon fell upon Seven who was vigorously configuring some sort of Starfleet issue, electronic cot which had been modified with Borg technology. It took her a while to notice someone had entered the room but when she did, she stopped momentarily and looked up at him.
Harry approached quietly knowing the baby would more than likely be sleeping nearby.
"Morning." he greeted softly.
Seven straightened her back fully, a frown slowly taking over her brow.
"Morning?" she asked in a slight state of confusion, "What time is it?"
Harry did his best to supress a chuckle. "0500." he replied, "Don't tell me you've been working on this all night?"
Seven sighed, silently answering his question before smirking slightly.
"Okay, I won't tell you."
Again, Harry had to supress a chuckle. It was amazing just how much more comfortable she become in his presence.
"So, where is he?" he asked after a moment.
Seven smiled, signalling towards the small cot behind the nearest console.
"Over there." she answered, "He's asleep."
Harry nodded to acknowledge her answer before making his way over to the sleeping baby. Peeking over, he found himself grinning upon seeing the little boy wrapped in a dark silver teddy bear blanket, the little teddy bear from the Captain protective placed by his side. It had taken him a while after his birth to realise that he was in fact his son too. Seven and his son.
Harry turned back to the mother of his child.
"He needs a name." he piped up.
Seven immediately stopped modifying the cot and looked up, soon nodding in agreement.
"I have noticed an increase in interest among the crew to discover his name."
Harry smirked over at her softly. "Well, we better get thinking then."
=/\=
Kathryn Janeway's Personal Log. Stardate 51691.4
The past several days hasn't been easy. Yesterday, the Doctor had to yet again desensitise the nerve running down the back of my left leg before my daughter made it ignite. Just her reminding me whose boss, I suppose.
I never appreciated how difficult it was to carry a child. Frankly, I don't see how people do this more than once. At only twelve and a half months, I've still got just under half a year to go. I don't think it's going to get any easier. I just hope the Doctor doesn't push it with all these recommendations – I'm getting sick of his lectures. Also, if Chakotay dares take another cup of coffee from me, it may be the last thing he ever does.
End Log
As usual, when the command team arrived on the Bridge that morning, everyone was attending to their business. The Captain was rather glad they had all overcome the expectation of standing to attention when she arrived, something drilled into them as cadets during their time at the Academy. It may have been Starfleet expectations but she certainly didn't play by those rules.
As the pair headed down to their seats, a junior officer came over to the Commander and handed him a PADD. He accepted it with a soft smile and nod of the head while the Captain sat down and glanced towards the view screen displaying the tunnel of space her ship was currently warping through.
"Report." she ordered lightly.
Lt. Paris, who had been discussing the overnight propulsion report with the night helmsman, quickly finished up before sliding his chair over to the centre of the console.
"Ship's cruising along at Warp 7," he reported, "And we're approaching a large star system that we'll reach in about four hours." he read the data on his monitor, "The system has at least two M-Class planets, possibly more. I can't see anything else until we get closer."
The Captain smiled softly and nodded before turning to look up at Commander Tuvok.
"Weapons and shields are operating normally." he reported.
The Captain nodded once again before looking over at Ensign Kim. She awaited his report for a few moments but all she received was silence. Clearly, he was too lost in whatever he was doing on his PADD to realise she was waiting for him to answer.
"Ensign Kim?"
Jumping rather sharply at the Captain's voice, Harry soon noticed all the Bridge crew members staring up at him. Feeling himself gasp, he swiftly slammed the PADD down on his console before looking down at the monitors.
"Sorry, Captain." he apologised, "All systems are operating within normal parameters, and there's nothing new on sensors barring a large star system we'll reach in about four hours. There appears to be two M-Class…"
"I've already said that, Harry." Tom piped up, trying his best to hide his amusement in his voice.
It alone made both the Captain and Commander smile.
Looking back down at his console, Ensign Kim tried to conceal the reddening of his cheeks.
The Captain turned back to look at the view screen.
"Good book?" she asked aloud.
She could almost sense Harry's weak smile. "It's… not exactly a book."
"Oh?" Tom smirked, spinning around on his chair to look over at him.
He folded his arms across his chest and raised his eyebrow suspiciously.
"I'm intrigued now." he confessed.
Harry shook his head, not bringing his eyes away from the PADD for more than a few seconds.
"Baby names." he explained.
The Commander's smile grew as he glanced towards the Captain before continuing to read the data coming through on the screen between their seats.
"Finally." he muttered.
The Captain giggled softly before she eventually found the motivation to begin reading one of four reports she hadn't got around to the day before. It looked as though she was going to have an interesting morning.
=/\=
The Captain felt as though she wanted to scream – it was so damn frustrating arguing a point against people who were adamant they were right.
"How many more times have I got to say it?!" she cried, her hands flying up as she spoke, "Draya won! I should know, I was there!"
The Commander put his hands up.
"So was I!" he argued lightly, a small smile gracing his lips. She was cute when she was frustrated.
The Captain rolled her eyes, her next argument lost by Mr Paris piping up.
"And me." he held his hand up to emphasise the point, "17th June, 2364. The match had been postponed for four days due to freak atmospheric storms covering the English capital."
"I know." the Captain stated matter-of-factly. Hadn't just made it clear she had been there?
The Commander was noticeably smirking when she turned back to face him. It infuriated her. She knew she wasn't one to back down easily even when wrong but this time, she knew she was right.
"Draya hit the ball so close to the line that Renn thought it was out." her hands emphasised her point, "But the umpire called it in, she got the point and won the match!"
"Well, I think you've got your wires crossed because that was in 2365, not '64." the Commander told her.
"No, it wasn't." she felt as though she wanted to bang the two men's heads together, "2364 was the only year I managed to get a ticket to actually go, and I saw Draya win the match!" she sighed, "I even remember watching the final the next year back home and seeing Renn win for the first time."
Now it was the Commander's turn to roll his eyes. "Renn's first win was '64."
The Captain felt her eyebrow rise pointedly. She may have been struggling with physical discomfort for the past few minds but her memory was better than ever.
Tom, sat with his back to the helm and his arms folded across his chest, sighed softly.
"Hate to say it, Captain, but he is right."
It appeared as though she were fighting a losing battle.
She huffed and shook her head, turning to look between the two officers.
"You two both need your heads examining." she stated honestly, "I know Draya won."
"In what year?" the Commander shot with a smirk.
The Captain turned and shot an almost menacing look at her soon to be ex-lover if he kept it up. She knew he'd only said that to try and get her to say what he thought was the right answer.
"2364." she stipulated dangerously.
The Commander began to laugh, shaking his head slowly.
"Well, I think you got the two women mixed up, because Draya hit the ball a millimetre over the line and the match point went to Renn."
As the historical sporting debate continued, Seven entered the Bridge. It was clear she was walking into the potential beginning of World War 4.
The Captain sighed exasperatedly. "How could I get the two women mixed up?" her voice was beginning to strain, "Alexis Draya's human, Renn was a Bolian. It's pretty hard not to distinguish who's who!"
"Well, it looks like you did." the Commander said with a slight smirk.
Seven walked down to the Captain and handed her a PADD, smiling to herself as she observed the said woman stuck in her predicament.
The Captain accepted it but didn't bother reading more than the first word. She couldn't concentrate on a report, she was much more interested in proving her point.
"Draya won!" she cried yet again. She wasn't giving up when she knew she was right.
The Commander rolled his eyes, his smile remaining in place. "No, she didn't."
Seven found herself frowning. Alexis Draya. She'd encountered that name before.
"Draya?" she repeated slowly, "The human tennis player?"
The Captain faced the younger woman and nodded.
"Yes. The winner of the Wimbledon Tennis Final, 2364." she drew the date out, staring between her two opponents as she did so.
The Commander shook his head to himself. He must have been a fool to engage in an argument with Kathryn Janeway. He should have known she'd never back down.
"Why don't we settle this once and for all?" he suggested, impulsively looking up, "Computer, who won the Wimbledon Tennis Final in the year 2364?"
The majority of the crew members were silent, awaiting the computer's response. Even Commander Tuvok was interested to know who would be victorious from the heated debate the Bridge had been subjected to – Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant Paris or the formidable Captain Kathryn Janeway?
"The winner was Alexis Draya."
Harry's eyes widened at the outcome while the Captain's smirk began to grow ever so slightly. Two of his colleagues had just taken on the Captain and been taken down singlehandedly by the woman in question – it certainly was going to be a moment he remembered for a long time. He also couldn't help but wonder how much the Commander was going to pay later that night.
The Captain didn't say a word to her First Officer and Helmsman, her look said it all. They'd both been smart enough not to argue any further and while the Commander just met her eye and sighed, his eyes admitting his defeat and accepting his inevitably I told you so, Lt. Paris turned back to the helm. One to the Captain, zero to himself and the Commander.
It took a moment before the Captain looked up towards Seven. It was time to get back to work.
"Yes, Seven?"
"Captain, we are approaching Devlin space."
The Captain raised her eyebrow and glanced down at the earlier-received PADD.
"Devlin?" She hadn't heard that particular name before.
"They're a rather savage and xenophobic humanoid race who've been at war with a neighbouring species for decades." Seven informed her, "We should attempt to avoid them at all costs."
The Captain nodded lightly, not really hearing Seven's words. She was more focused on the data on the PADD. Something had caught her eye and she didn't like it.
"It's over 160 light-years wide!" her eyes widened as she spoke
The Commander felt his eyebrows fly up into his hairline. "What is? Their space?"
He leant over to peek at the PADD. She was right, it was.
"That would take at least two months for us to get through." he looked up at Seven as he spoke.
She nodded at his correct analogy.
"And more to the point, almost sixteen months to get around it." the Captain voiced.
Again, Seven nodded. "I recommend going around it." she told them, "If we are caught trespassing in their space, they will not be lenient."
The Captain sighed. She wasn't prepared to tell the crew their already ridiculously long journey was just about to get even longer.
"Could we try diplomacy?" she asked.
Seven shook her head lightly. "I would not recommend it."
Sighing once again, considering all the options as quickly as possible, the Captain turned her head to look over at Lt. Paris. She wasn't willing to make that call without at least trying.
"Continue course, Lieutenant." she ordered.
"Aye, Captain."
=/\=
First Contact with any new race was always slightly nerve-wracking but the Captain never usually felt uneasy afterwards. Unfortunately, after making first contact with the Devlins, she did.
The brief communiqué with the aliens had certainly confirmed what Seven had said – they were xenophobic. While they hadn't straight off denied the ship passage, their hesitance to even talk to her was evident. It appeared that ever since their war with the neighbouring species known as the Vickers had started, they didn't like to allow non-Devlin ships across their borders.
"Captain." Tuvok's voice broke through the silence which seemed to have flooded the Bridge, "We are being hailed by an approaching warship."
The crew all looked to watch it approach on the viewscreen.
"It's armed to the teeth." Tom noted aloud.
The Captain could agree with that particular statement. It did look rather menacing and it certainly had enough weapons launchers on its aft section alone. Voyager would clearly be outgunned in a firefight.
"On screen."
As soon as the words left the Captain's mouth, an image of a male Devlin appeared on the screen. With deep concrete grey skin and two raised black ridges either side of his eyes which covered his temples, he did look rather unnerving. It was almost as if he were made of stone.
"I am Maddox of the Devlin Military Fourth Order." he explained abruptly in a cold, monotone voice, "Congratulations, USS Voyager. You have been granted passage through our space by High Command." he blinked once, "You will stay on the outskirts of our space and you will not attempt to assist the Vickers in any way. If you do, it will be seen as a declaration of war against us. Do you understand these conditions?"
The Captain simply nodded. "Completely."
Again, he blinked. "My navigator is transmitting the course you will follow now." Maddox continued, "Any deviation will also be seen as an act of war."
As abruptly as the transmission began, it ended, leaving all the officers experience a feeling of apprehension they were unsure how to deal with. There had been no hint of any emotion from the alien other than hate.
"Friendly bunch." commented Lt. Paris, attempting to ease the tension in the only way he knew how too.
"Something' s wrong, Captain." Seven declared quietly, her eyes glued to the warship which was slowly turning away from the vessel.
The Captain turned to face her. "What do you mean?"
Seven could only shake her head. "I cannot explain." she sighed, "He was far too… nice."
Sighing deeply, the Captain once again looked at the ship that was slowly disappearing off the screen. Seven's declaration only increased the tension already swarming her body. She had an uneasy feeling about this but the alternative also didn't appeal to her.
"I've got the course." Lt. Paris piped up, reading the transmission on his console, "At Warp 9, we should be through their space in nine weeks, three days."
Janeway soon found herself biting her lip, only actually realising when the bead of iron ran down onto her tongue. She still had one last chance to play it safe, one last chance to leave behind the aliens giving her an uneasy feeling and go the long way around. The only thing putting her off that idea was the crew – would they appreciate another year and a half added onto their journey?
"Set a course, Tom." she ordered, "Maximum warp."
=/\=
The ship had made it 12 hours into Devlin space with no problems of any kind. Despite this, the Captain couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right about her earlier choice. Never before on their entire journey home had a region of space felt so dangerous to travel though, and they'd been though a lot of dangerous territories.
The Bridge crew were alarmingly silent as the ship tunnelled through the unknown sector. No one dared to even breathe above a whisper. The tension was high and the flashing of the red alert klaxons only added to it. As the time passed, it was clear the Captain wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable travelling in that region of space.
It was the sound of Ensign Kim's console suddenly yelling at him which gave the crew a welcomed distraction.
"We're being approached by a Devlin ship." he reported, "It's small, no bigger than a shuttlecraft."
"They are hailing us." Commander Tuvok added.
Looking towards the viewscreen in sync with the other officers, the Captain nodded.
"On screen."
The face of a male Devlin soon appeared on and unlike Maddox, he certainly displayed emotions. In fact, he seemed to displaying a multitude of emotions. Concern. Guilt. Fear.
"Captain Janeway?" he asked in an almost desperate tone.
The Captain nodded. "This is Janeway."
"I must board your ship immediately! It's a matter of urgency!"
The Captain found her brow dropping before she looked over at the Commander. The alien certainly sounded genuine but she'd have been lying if she'd have said she wasn't sceptical.
"I'll take it under consideration," she turned back to face the viewscreen, "but first…"
"There's no time!" he cried, interrupting her, "Your ship is in terrible danger, Captain! Please, let me help you!"
The Captain's frown intensified. She wasn't sure she liked the sound of what he was saying.
"What kind of danger?" she questioned.
"I can't discuss this over subspace. Please. Allow me on-board."
"I'm sorry but I'm going to need more information before I allow you to…"
"Oh, you are so frustrating!" he snapped before hitting a few buttons off-screen and looking away from her, "Computer, initiate self-destruct."
Watching the ship suddenly begin overload its own systems, the Captain's eyes widened in horror. Was this man insane?!
"What the hell are you doing?!" she cried.
The channel ended suddenly as the systems on the alien's vessel began to destroy themselves.
"Transporter Room 3!" her cry opened a channel, "Get him out of there, now!"