=/\=
When Icheb entered his suite, he felt a little bereft. That morning he'd said good-bye to Farys and Austin. His suitemates were scheduled to go on their field study placements this summer. Farys and Austin were both spending short vacations with their families before going to their assignments. Verit was leaving for hers at a space station near Vulcan. She would take her vacation after her field placement had ended. Since Icheb had been credited with this course because of his year and a half of service on Voyager, Icheb would be alone in the suite until the beginning of September.
He was afraid he'd missed Verit, too, but when he heard a muffled Vulcan phrase that she would never have uttered if she'd known he was in the suite, he made a show of calling out to her, "Hey, are you still here, Verit?"
"Yes," she shouted back.
Icheb tossed the PADD he was carrying on the table. When he reached the vestibule outside her room, he knocked to let her know he was there. She called out for him to enter.
On the rare occasions that Icheb had been able to glance inside Verit's room, he'd been impressed by how immaculately clean and well-organized it was. Not today. Several storage crates and a regulation duffel bag were stacked in the center of the room. Heaps of clothing were jumbled on top of her bunk. Her desk was littered with PADDs and paper books she'd taken down from the shelving above it. The drawers and doors of her storage wall gaped open, with the objects she'd pulled out of them sitting on the floor. Some items related to others were in piles, suggesting she'd made an effort to organize her things, but clearly, the job was beginning to overwhelm her.
"Verit, you don't have to pack everything, you know. We've all been assigned to the same rooms for the fall session."
She looked askance at him, with her hair poking up from behind her ears in an uncharacteristic manner. As she straightened her back and assumed a more erect posture, she slipped her hands over her head in a futile attempt to flatten the errant strands. "I am aware we are all scheduled to occupy this suite, but my presence may not be . . . assured"
Icheb took a step backward. "You're not thinking of withdrawing from the Academy, are you?"
"I do not plan to withdraw, no. However, there are certain imperatives involved for members of my race, of which you are not aware. If these conditions arise, I may not be able to return to the Academy for the fall semester. In that case, this room may be reassigned."
"I hope those . . . conditions . . . won't arise then. Yet. I mean . . . well, I hope you'll be back . . . when scheduled."
The more Icheb stumbled over his words, the harder Verit stared at him. When he paused awkwardly, not knowing what else, or even if, he should continue speaking, she sighed visibly and stated, "There were Vulcans serving with you on Voyager. Obviously."
"You know my first tutor was Commander Tuvok. And I worked in Engineering with Ensign Vorik. There was a female named Ensign Terrin, and, well, you realize that Voyager was traveling through the Delta Quadrant for seven years, so . . . "
"And it was, if I recall what you've said on multiple occasions, a 'small ship.'"
"It was. I know of at least two cases during the ship's journey. One was diagnosed after I became Commander Tuvok's student. Tom Paris told me Tuvok had Tarkalean Flu, but I wasn't satisfied with that explanation. I couldn't see how he could've been exposed to that illness, so I researched his symptoms and discovered . . . more than I'd expected to find." He stopped then, unsure of what more he could say, but then added simply, "I know you don't like to talk about this."
Clearing a couple of PADDs from her desk chair, Verit pointed to it, indicating that Icheb should take that seat, while she moved enough of her clothing from one corner of her bunk to make room for herself. "I don't know why I continue speaking in vague terms about such things around you, Icheb. You are well informed about my culture. Many are curious, but only the perceptive few who have spent significant time with Vulcans, as you did on Voyager, are as familiar with our customs as you, and you are circumspect about sensitive subjects. I find that is rare for a human."
Icheb arched his eyebrow and smiled slightly. "Perhaps that is because I'm not human."
Her eyebrow flicked upward, displaying that slight sign of amusement she permitted herself. "Of course. I stand corrected. Perhaps that is why we get along so well. Both of us are outsiders on this world, even though your adoptive mother is human . . . and Borg. As you were Borg, to a degree at least - if my recollections of what you told us about yourself on your first day here are accurate. If my next question makes you uncomfortable in any way, feel free to refuse to respond, but are the Brunali similar to humans in personality?"
Icheb stopped to ponder her question for a long moment. He could not say he was upset by the question, but it wasn't an easy one for him to answer. He finally decided the appropriate response was exactly that. "I've asked myself the same thing many times, Verit. I have few memories of my life on Brunal. What I do remember is tainted by the way my parents treated me. From the little I observed then, however, I would say they act more like humans than they do Vulcans . . . or Klingons. But there's so much variation between individual members of any given race, comparing two different species is difficult. I don't know if I've ever completely forgiven my parents for what they did to me, yet I've benefitted from it in ways they never anticipated. I realize I'm better off here, on Earth, than I ever would have been on my native planet."
He paused, shaking his head in confusion. "I don't know, Verit. Am I making any sense at all?"
"You are, Icheb. While my question was well-meant, it was impertinent, even rude. Please forgive me."
"There's nothing to forgive. I'm still trying to understand all that's happened to me. I may never be able to." After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Icheb asked her, "Is there anything I can do to help you pack? Perhaps we can set certain things aside, to keep in storage, so if the time for your marriage to be fulfilled arrives and delays your return to the Academy, we can ship them to you. Or you can pick them up whenever you do return."
She nodded. "Both are logical suggestions. I find I've collected many material objects which are not essential to my daily life, although I'm not yet prepared to part with them permanently. Placing them in storage here would be advisable. I know I will return to the Academy at some point, even if it is not in the fall. I welcome any assistance you are willing to provide me. My transport is scheduled to leave Earth orbit at 2130 hours."
At her direction, he placed most of her PADDs and books in one of the storage crates, earmarked for storage on Earth, while others were placed in the same duffel bag with her uniforms, boots, and personal items. She planned to bring these with her on her field placement. Icheb also took the time to carefully fit her meditation lamp and its supply of oil inside the metal case designed to transport it safely from one location to another. Verit packed most of her casual clothing, along with many other items, in luggage to be sent ahead to her family's home on Vulcan. A couple of crates were filled with objects she'd collected during her stay on Earth, including interesting specimens and testing equipment which she would not need this summer. The laboratory to which she'd been assigned would be fully equipped. Icheb offered to store those in the upper level storage cabinets in his room, since several of his were still empty.
In a very short time, with the exception of a few objects resting on her desk, the chamber again looked like Verit's room, perfectly neat and organized.
Pointing to the desk, Icheb said, "Verit, you haven't told me what to do with these two PADDs."
"One of those PADDs is not mine. Don't you recognize it?"
He smiled as he picked up the PADD he'd lent her for her research project. "I'd forgotten all about that. Was it helpful?"
"Very. Your records of the Hirogen and Norcadi genomes were especially useful." She picked up the other PADD and slipped it inside her duffel. After she'd tucked it away, however, her gaze did not return to him immediately. This was strange behavior for her. Verit was always forthright in the way she interacted with her companions.
"Is something wrong, Verit?"
She opened her mouth as if to speak, closed it again, and only then made eye contact with him. "I appreciate the fact you trusted me with that PADD, but I'm not sure you meant to lend that one to me."
Puzzled, Icheb consulted the content listing. It contained the data he meant to share with her. Then he looked further down the list and noticed the files identified only by stardates. Opening one of them, he realized exactly which experiments these files documented. After closing that one, he opened another, and there it was: his final formula for the serum, the one he'd followed on that momentous day he'd prepared three hyposprays, the second destined for himself, which he'd delivered to Captain Janeway. As he stared at the formula, a stray thought struck him. He'd never asked the captain what she'd done with the two extra hypos, which turned out to be unnecessary. She might have administered one of them to herself, "just in case." He wouldn't be surprised if she had.
He looked up and saw Verit examining him closely. He smiled slightly, unconsciously mimicking one of Captain Janeway's frequent expressions. "You're right. I probably shouldn't have shared this particular one without checking all of its contents. I'm not sorry you know. I'm sure you do, or you wouldn't be looking at me like that right now."
Verit looked away, with her own mouth pursed as if she was trying to suppress the very inappropriate expression - for a Vulcan - of a smile. She was in full command of her mouth when she met his eyes again. "It's a formula for a serum based upon a specific genome. Yours. I compared it with the sample you gave me that day. It isn't exactly the same though, is it?"
"No. It's one I 'doctored up' to introduce 'order into chaos' when the Borg assimilated the person carrying it. I told you what my parents did. They made changes to my genome to turn me into a Brunali 'Typhoid Mary.' The drones who captured me placed me inside a maturation chamber. I was turned partially into a Borg before the chamber malfunctioned. I have no idea exactly how much time passed before the mechanism failed and ejected me onto the floor of our cube. It may have been weeks. Judging by the smell I detected from the dead drones throughout the cube, they had been dead for some time. Decomposition was well-advanced."
"I've heard rumors that you helped create a weapon to bring Voyager home. Is this the weapon?"
"Yes. I experimented and found a way to make the pathogen it creates more virulent. We needed it to act more quickly if Voyager was to be protected."
"You didn't give this serum to yourself. I compared it to the sample I took from you the day I borrowed this. I saw microgenetic alterations on the third and seventeenth chromosomes within the retrovirus you used for the delivery system. They're not the same as in the sample's."
"Correct. Those were the changes I made on my own, so the pathogen would create the chaos effect more quickly. My parents also made a change on my thirteenth chromosome, but you couldn't detect it without having another Brunali sample. I didn't have to modify that one."
"So someone else delivered the pathogen to the Borg?"
Icheb nodded in the affirmative.
"I've also heard a rumor about a temporal incident. Did one occur? If so, was this how Voyager could travel through the Borg transwarp conduits safely?"
After a short pause, he replied, "Yes - to all of your questions."
"That's not according to established protocols. While the principles of temporal mechanics have been identified, no one in the Federation is authorized to use them."
"Perhaps not, but it does happen. Lieutenant Paris believes we were allowed to do this by the Federation Temporal Police despite the protocols. We still don't know why."
"Federation Temporal Police? There is no such entity."
"There will be."
She stared at him. "So I take it this temporal incident involved someone who traveled from the future to our time?"
"Obviously. That person was the 'Sacrificial Lamb" who delivered the pathogen to the Borg."
"And time was changed. Voyager came home earlier than it had in another timeline, but the person responsible is no longer part of this one. No longer alive. That is what you meant by saying the 'Sacrificial Lamb?'"
"This person had reasons to disregard the restrictions on time travel. One of them was that in that other timeline, I never sat with you in a suite like this. I never attended the Academy in person. We could never have become friends after that Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant."
"I see. You died before that happened."
"My counterpart did," he corrected.
She glanced down at the PADD, which he still held in his hand. The file documenting his serum was still running on the screen. She nodded towards the PADD. "This modified genome was not included in my project. I thought it best not to refer to it in any way."
"Thank you. I'd prefer that Farys and Austin don't learn about it, either. They may hear rumors about time traveling, but the incident can remain a secret as long as no one officially confirms it happened. I believe that part may never be openly acknowledged."
"Icheb, when you told us your story on the first day you moved here, you concealed this."
"I did not. My story simply ended before my experiments began. Our guests were due to arrive. I was not for me to tell anyone else about what happened."
"A lie by omission is still a lie."
"Ah, but I didn't omit anything. Stories have an end point. The questions you had for me about what I remembered about my early life were answered, were they not?"
"You are splitting hairs, Icheb. However, I agree this subject is a delicate one. I'm pleased you trust me with the facts."
"It would be pointless to lie to you. You saw the evidence. You possess enough knowledge to know exactly what it means."
"True," she said. She reached down, picked up her packed duffel bag, and carried it into their main living room. Icheb followed with one of the storage crates he'd promised to store in his chamber. Within minutes, the room was devoid of any visual evidence that Verit had ever resided there. The one reminder was a faint whiff of the oil she used in her meditation lamp. Icheb hoped it would linger throughout the summer, to remind him of his friend.
Once all of Verit's luggage had been transferred into the living area, Verit referred once more to the events Icheb had finally revealed. "This person who sacrificed herself. I take it she was . . . very high up on the roster of Voyager . . . in both timestreams?"
"It is not for me to confirm nor deny," Icheb said, very aware that she'd correctly identified the gender of the Sacrificial Lamb.
Verit nodded gravely, acknowledging his prevarication, but all she said was, "Then I must look forward to the day when your role is acknowledged by officials authorized to reveal it, whether the Borg's destruction proves to be complete and permanent, or only offers a temporary respite from their depredations against the individuals of the galaxy. Although the person who sacrificed herself may never be openly identified, I will honor her memory nonetheless."
"As do I," he replied. Icheb had to admire the subtlety of Verit's response. She'd clearly figured out who that person was. Verit made a logical deduction; and logic, as Icheb well knew, was as fundamental a concept for Vulcans as efficiency was to the Borg.
And, to his immense relief, Vulcans were also justly renowned for their ability to keep a secret.
=/\=