Uninspired Voyages
A Star Trek: Voyager fanfiction by Andrew J. Talon
DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan based work of prose. Star Trek: Voyager, Deep Space Nine, The Next Generation et al are the property of CBS Television, Para creation of Gene Roddenberry. Please support the official release.
Kes had recovered from her injuries, enough to get back to duty. Given the hits they were taking, they needed every crewmember they could get on duty. And so she'd gone to Main Engineering, to stand by as their medic. Though the Doctor had insisted she sit and conserve her strength as much as possible.
The chairs weren't very comfortable though, so Kes stayed on her feet. She already felt tired... But she kept going. She could feel the tension and the fear of the crew around her. She did her best to keep them all calm: Smiling, bringing food and drink, and staying out of their way.
The ship was shaking and groaning around them, like Voyager was a great beast straining herself. Kes couldn't help resting a hand against the bulkheads, as though to comfort the great starship.
Intellectually, she knew the ship had no will of her own... But maybe it was for her just as much as for the ship.
B'Elanna was barking orders continuously from in front of the warp core, directing her engineers everywhere. The warp core thrummed and hummed, glowing brightly. The coolant tanks buzzed, as they recycled the coolant as quickly as possible.
Then... She felt something strange. A new mind: Large, powerful, and familiar in its iciness and hard, sharp angles. She gasped softly... Just as blue electrical energy began to arc across the consoles. A coolant line burst, flooding main engineering with white vapor.
"COOLANT LEAK! COOLANT LEAK, EVERYONE OUT!" B'Elanna shouted. The engineers fled, running right out through the double doors. Kes made to leave too... But one mind's thoughts hit her with their intensity.
About time... Almost there...
Kes turned and looked around as the engineers fled behind her. She saw a figure standing on the second level at a console, furiously tapping at controls. Kes grit her teeth and ran, climbing up a ladder to the second level. The closer she got, the more his thoughts rang out in her mind. She leaped up and her landing on the deck startled him. He gaped at her, and Kes narrowed her eyes.
"Jonas!" She cried. He pulled a plasma torch and held it up threateningly.
"Stay back!" He shouted.
"You're going to get us all killed!" Kes cried, "please, don't do this! I know you want to get home but-"
"But nothing!" Jonas snarled, "Seska's got an Iconian Gateway! It's the only way home! If I have to sacrifice all of you to get home, I'll do it!"
"Jonas, please," Kes tried, "the compartment is flooding. We're all going to die-"
"Better than being stuck here!" Jonas roared. He advanced on her, and she fell back onto her butt as the ship shook. Jonas grabbed onto a railing desperately, keeping himself from falling. He shot an angry sneer at her, and charged.
His anger... His selfishness... His hatred... Kes took it into herself, locked her eyes on him, raised her hand-
"AHHHHH!"
Kes made Jonas fly, sending him over the railing and falling to the lower deck. She felt his neck snap, she felt his pain and panic... And she felt him fade away. She shuddered, and pulled herself telepathically away.
Kes staggered over to the console. She didn't know what Jonas had done specifically, but the strange Iconian object on the console probably wasn't helping. She seized hold of it, and energy raced up her arms. She shrieked in pain, but kept pulling, pulling, pulling...!
It came free, and she let it fall to the deck. Kes breathed hard. She was injured, she knew. Her body was exhausted. She needed to heal...
She leaned against the console. She focused on the thoughts she had caught from Jonas in his last moments... What he had done... It was too complicated... How could she...?
"Defaults restored," the computer's voice rang out, and the gushing coolant ceased. Kes sensed other people entering-She felt B'Elanna's concerned mind, heard her approach. Felt her at her side.
"Kes? Kes, you okay?" B'Elanna asked.
"I'm... F-Fine," Kes managed. She smiled up at B'Elanna. "I... Had to save our home... Didn't I...?"
The half-Klingon engineer gave her a quick smile. She then hit her commbadge.
"B'Elanna to bridge! Jonas is down! Systems restored!"
Larxeena gripped onto the armrests of her chair as Voyager shook from yet another phaser blast. The Talaxian fighters were trying to screen the fleet's command ship, as heavier Haakonian Dreadnoughts and the Trager tried to maintain fleet cohesion by fighting back. But the Kazon fleet was now on both sides-Having turned the attempted splitting maneuver of their fleet into a trap.
"Good work B'Elanna!" Janeway called, in response to Main Engineering's call, "give me everything you've got!" She turned to Tal Celes, who was working hard to maintain their communications. "Tal? Have you patched the fleet in?"
"I-I'm trying," Tal cried, her eyes wide, "Harry was almost finished-I just have to fix a few more things-"
"Incoming torpedoes!" Tuvok warned.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Janeway ordered. Chakotay's fingers danced on the helm, and Voyager rolled like a great sea beast. She dove, and the artificial gravity strained to keep everyone upright. Janeway held onto the railing tightly, as Larxeena wished for seatbelts.
What race didn't use seatbelts?!
"I've almost got it!" Tal called out. Janeway turned.
"The moment you've got it, open the channel-"
"Torpedo is detonating!" Tuvok warned. The deck jumped, and Captain Janeway was tossed over the railing. She slammed hard into the deck, her face and shoulder taking the brunt. Mari, the Ocampan medic who had been tending Harry, managed to run over and check over her. Chakotay grit his teeth, concerned with the ship but clearly torn between his duties.
Neelix took over tending to Harry, looking desperate and afraid. Larxeena swallowed. She knew the feeling. The dread, the helplessness...
They were all going to die. There was no one who could take charge now.
No one... Except...
"Mister Harren!" She called out to the science officer, "is there a way to jam the Iconian control over the Kazon fleet?"
Harren groaned, and looked at his readings.
"Maybe-A big enough energy disruption between the fleet and the planet? Like, geez... A few hundred photon torpedoes going off-?"
"Miss Celes! Patch me in to the fleet!" Larxeena called. Tal's jaw dropped. She looked at Tuvok in confused, but the Vulcan just gave a slight nod.
"Ah, ch-channel open, Ma'am-Madam President-!"
"This is President Larxeena! All ships, fire your photon torpedoes! Guide them behind the enemy fleet, and to detonate at full burst between it and the planet!" Larxeena called.
"Are you sure, Madame President?" The Haakonian Admiral asked. "They'll shoot down many of-"
"After that, prepare a second salvo to strike the closer fleet! We have to break out!" Larxeena called back. "Do it or we all die!"
"But Madame President-" A Talaxian commander asked.
Larxeena knew her commander couldn't see her, but she stood up and glared anyway.
"Am I the President or not?" Larxeena demanded.
"Do as she says!" Mabus called. "Ready, Madame President!"
"As are we," Gul Bartatt called.
"Ready!" Vethren replied.
"As are we," Tuvok spoke.
"FIRE!" Larxeena called out, the injured Janeway in the corner of her eye.
Hundreds of torpedoes erupted from the beseiged Allied fleet, streaking out for the Kazon vessels. With machine-like efficiency, they maneuvered to evade or intercept the projectiles with phaser fire. Hundreds of the missiles were destroyed, blasted into useless dust. But over half of them flew through the gaps and right for the planet. Only now did the intelligence controlling the Kazon fleet believe they had discerned their enemy's intentions, and numerous Raiders flew back to try and intercept them...
Only to be consumed as every torpedo went up. Larxeena looked away from the brightness of the energy blasts, before the viewscreen compensated by filtering it out. Tuvok looked to his sensors, and nodded.
"The Kazon formations are disrupted," he said.
"Second salvo, FIRE!" Larxeena shouted.
Another wave of torpedoes issued forth. Two, three, four Kazon carriers exploded, the backlash causing one Trabe carrier to go up with it. The Kazon formation suffered further, and the Lillehammer's squadron got to work trying to scatter it further.
Then hundreds of Kazon ships warped up and around the collapsing Kazon fleet, immediately reinforcing them. Their formations were crisp and perfect, the same intelligence in full control. Larxeena held onto a railing tightly as more blue phaser blasts struck Voyager directly.
"What happened?!" Larxeena called.
"The other Kazon fleet executed a precision warp jump," Tuvok reported.
"Only half of them," Tal warned, "half of the others tore themselves apart-They weren't' designed for that kind of precision!"
"Still outnumber us," Chakotay grunted.
"Shields at 30 percent!" Warned Tal.
Larxeena glared at the Kazon fleet ahead of them. They'd gotten so close...
She saw Mari help Janeway up to her feet. The captain had a medical gizmo on her forehead, and a stern expression on her face. Larxeena set her jaw.
"Captain," Tuvok spoke, "I am detecting multiple warp signatures entering the system."
"More Kazon?" Janeway asked grimly. Larxeena shut her eyes, unable to look at anyone.
I did this... I caused all of this...
She felt a hand over hers. She opened her eyes and looked into Janeway's. The captain shook her head, a grim smile on her face.
Larxeena looked down at the hand, and then back into Janeway's face. She nodded, her face composed. She had her center.
Even at the end... She would not break.
"No," said Tuvok, "multiple unknown signatures..." He looked up, "and one Starfleet."
"Starfleet?!" Janeway asked in disbelief. The lead Kazon carrier ahead was struck by long range phaser and torpedo fire. Two Haakonian dreadnoughts joined the fire, as did the Trager, and the carrier went up in a massive explosion.
"Neelix? Larxeena? Who are they?" Janeway asked. Neelix looked at a console, and his jaw dropped.
"The Krowtonans! They're xenophobes-They hate everyone-Why are they here?!"
"The lead ship is hailing us," Tal called.
"Onscreen!" Janeway ordered.
A human man in a red Starfleet uniform appeared. He gave a wry smirk.
"This is Captain Ransom of the USS Equinox-Do you require assistance?"
Janeway allowed herself a little grin. It was savage and beautiful, much like the captain herself.
"Very much so!" Janeway said, "welcome to the fight, Captain!"
A wild hope filled Larxeena's chest. She smiled alongside the captain.
Faith, it seems, could be rewarded... Albeit not in the way she expected.
The Iconian drones were, in a word, annoying. Shepherd blocked their shots with his shield, while Sousek whirled about, flinging his blades at them. The drones were smashed, and sliced. Sousek then dashed ahead, swinging his blade at another drone to slice it in half. Shepherd threw Electric Nightmare at yet another drone that had tried to sneak behind them, and recalled it back with a flick of his wrist.
"This is getting irritating," Shepherd commented. He coughed, and held his ribs. Sousek snorted, whipping Shining Blood to stab into another attack drone. He swung it into a few of the others, smashing them into a nearby wall. Shepherd knelt, taking as deep of breaths as he could.
"You giving up so soon, Shepherd?!" Sousek snorted.
"Haa... Nah, just wanted you to catch up, old timer," Shepherd smirked. He got up and resumed their trek, deeper into the bowels of the geothermal plant.
They got down another level, and came upon a forcefield. Sousek growled.
"Obvious," he grumbled, as lava flowed past them. He looked over at the human, "You have a trick to getting past this thing?"
"No, that would have been one of the other guys," Shepherd groaned, "I'm not a tech guy. I break shit."
Sousek stared. "So... Your plan for getting past this is...?"
"Break something."
"I could have come up with that!" Sousek growled.
"Yeah, but I said it better," Shepherd quipped. Sousek sighed and whacked the back of his head with the hilt of Shining Blood. "OW! HEY!"
Feet clanked on the metal of the steps behind them. Both warriors turned, their weapons ready. General Roxas, carrying a polearm, walked down almost casually.
"General Roxas?!" Shepherd asked, "I wondered where you were!"
"It seemed the logical place to go, after the fleet arrived," Sousek stated. Sousek sneered.
"And so you're on our side? Just like that?"
Roxas held up a tricorder-like device.
"I have a means of dropping the forcefield," Roxas stated, "I did not entirely trust Seska, not even when she showed me this place's powerplant. As a gesture of 'good will.'"
Shepherd sighed heavily.
"What do you want?" He grumbled. Roxas shook his head.
"What I have always wanted-The chance to protect my people," he said. He held the tricorder up to a wall panel, and the forcefield vanished. "Shall we?"
Sousek scowled deeply, pointing Shining Blood at the tall Talaxian.
"You first," he sneered.
Roxas nodded almost wryly.
"Naturally," he stated, walking forward, unbent and unbowed. Shepherd and Sousek followed, glaring at his back.
"How long were you watching us struggle against drones, anyway?" Shepherd asked.
"Long enough," Roxas stated dryly.
"Ur-Reskash-thek!" Sousek cursed, unfortunately in a way that didn't register via the Universal Translator.
"You said it," Shepherd grumbled.
More drones appeared. Roxas held up his tricorder.
"Don't worry, I will take care of-!"
Shepherd dashed in front of Roxas, Electric Nightmare's shield materializing just before a blast of blue lightning would have taken the general's head off. The general quickly brought his polearm up, firing a plasma blast and piercing the drone. It exploded, its fellows scattering as they also opened fire.
"Thanks! That really helped!" Shepherd snarked, fighting more defensively while Sousek and Roxas attacked from range. Roxas fired plasma bolts with pinpoint precision, while Sousek threw his blades and struck down the drones. Shepherd was thankful to be playing defense, though. His broken ribs were acting up pretty badly.
They fought their way to a large, heavily reinforced set of double blast doors. Roxas tossed his tricorder to Shepherd, who pressed it up against the door panel. The doors slowly opened, creaking with the proof of age and rumbling from disuse. Shepherd moved away from the doors, his forcefield extending to offer some suitable protection for the other two.
"GO!"
Sousek and Roxas ran in, and Shepherd backed in. He pressed the device against the door panel, and the blast doors slowly shut. Roxas turned and scowled.
"What are you doing?!"
"We don't want those things chasing us, do we?!" Shepherd demanded. "My shield's almost dead!"
"Then we'll be dead!" Roxas insisted. Sousek shook his head, grimly.
"That's the plan," he stated, "to die."
"That's your plan?!" Roxas demanded.
"If we don't have any better plans? Yeah, die to save the galaxy," Shepherd stated, his voice cheery but his eyes deadly serious. He limped over to a large platform suspended above flowing lava. Numerous devices were all over the grated metal platforms, including a large control panel. Shepherd made it to the control panel, which was blinking with lots of lights. Sousek and Roxas gathered around him, as Shepherd held up the Talaxian tricorder. He shook his head.
"Well... If we shut off the power to the Gateway, we should shut off Seska's access to everything," Shepherd said.
"And we do that how? Preferably in a way that doesn't lead to us dying?" Roxas deadpanned.
"You keep bringing that up-What kind of warrior are you?" Sousek huffed.
"The kind who wishes to repent of his actions to his people while alive!" Roxas retorted.
"Oh, now you care about your people?" Sousek sniffed.
"You're one to talk!" Roxas sputtered.
"Will you two idiots shut up?!" Shepherd groaned, "I'm trying to figure out how to shut this thing off! Christ!"
The two older warriors glared, as Shepherd flipped through the data on the alien device. He looked over at Sousek.
"Okay... Okay... I think... If we just fuse those... Things," Shepherd said, pointing over at some large cylinders on their sides at the four corners of the platform, "we can trigger a meltdown."
"Which will kill us," Roxas emphasized. Shepherd nodded.
"Eeeyup. But unfortunately, someone didn't cooperate with us and tell us HOW TO SHUT THIS FUCKING THING OFF WITHOUT DYING, DID HE?!" Shepherd roared. He held his ribs, as Roxas glared.
"I did it for my people-!"
"FUCK OFF! YOU DID IT FOR YOURSELF! And now your options are let Seska destroy your world, OR DIE TO SAVE IT!" Shepherd shouted, making the Talaxian general back up at the intensity. Shepherd gritted his teeth, holding his side. He shook his head, looking back down at the control panel.
"Look... You think I wanna die? Of course I fucking don't! I've got a life back on the other side of the galaxy! A wife! I want to see her more than anything else in the universe!"
Shepherd scowled at the Iconian icons, seeing and comprehending nothing. He gripped the edges, taking deep breaths. Fuck. He was tired. He was more tired than he'd ever been in his life.
"But I won't Seska take over the fucking galaxy," he said, "and unless either of you has a better idea? The only plan we have is die. It sucks. But we've got about a minute, at best, to come up with something new."
"Correction," boomed Seska's voice, as a hologram of her scowling appeared overhead, "you have no time."
Shepherd groaned.
"Fuck, I hate being wrong..."
Seska stared down at the three warriors, looking contemplative. She shook her head at last, her hair swaying from the motion. Her projection was vaguely blue, a harsh counterpoint to the bright red and orange of their molten surroundings.
"You treated me with kindness, Shepherd," she said, "and you're quite the fighter. So it only seems fair I should give you a chance to join me, willingly."
Shepherd stared up at her in utter disbelief, holding his side. Roxas looked at him in worry, while Sousek laughed in contempt.
"You're floundering!" Sousek snarked, "you're desperate! Do you really think anyone would believe you, after all your betrayals?! Let alone him?!"
Out of the center of the platform rose two large mechanical pillars, crackling with blue energy. Electronics hummed like an alien symphony, before an Iconian Gateway appeared.
Shepherd's breath caught in his lungs, just as he was about to issue a retort to power mad Cardassian.
It was... A medical facility. Cardassian, by the architecture, but with Federation equipment here and there. A Bajoran woman laid on a biobed, and the doctor tending her...
"Arul," he murmured softly. She was as beautiful as ever, her hair long and lustrous. She wore a blue doctor's coat over her uniform. She turned towards the viewpoint of the Iconian Gateway... Shepherd sucked in a painful breath. He saw the curve of her belly.
"She carries your child," Seska crooned, "even now, she waits for you. Believes you are alive. I can reunite you two. I can make you a family. All I need from you? Is your help, Shepherd. I can't take over the galaxy. But we can make it a better place, together. For you and your family..."
"Don't listen to her, lad," Roxas murmured, "don't believe her!"
Shepherd froze. Just a moment.
But it was all Seska needed to blast all three warriors with her blue lightning, sending them all over the platform. Shepherd slammed into a railing and wheezed, holding his side in pain. Roxas barely held onto the railing on the other side to keep from going over the edge, while Sousek groaned as he held his bloodied arm. Seska laughed mockingly, her form becoming more distinct as she floated above them.
"Even you have your weakness, little human," she cackled. "Your parents would be so disappointed!"
Shepherd groaned. He looked up at the Iconian portal. There was Arul, still going about her business. Unknowing of Shepherd's failure. His fate.
He shut his eyes tightly.
Damnit...!
"You Starfleeters never learn!"
Seska laughed, "even now, I've driven your elite team out of the base entirely! What can you possibly do now?!"
The moment Seska vanished from the control room, leaving dozens of Iconian drones to attack the Hazard Team, Tom made his decision.
"MUNROE! CHELL! GET ME A PROBE!" Tom shouted. Munroe nodded and darted forward. Biessman covered him, slamming another clip of rounds into his rifle and firing with a loud, angry mechanical buzz into the Iconian defenses. Munroe threw a photon grenade at one, hovering low to the ground. This grenade though, was special.
It erupted in a bright flash, which everyone looked away from (save some unfortunate Kazon, who yelped), before the probe fell to the floor. Chell scurried up along with Munroe, the human firing on the Iconian defenses while Chell quickly analyzed the device with his tricorder.
"Chell, come on, come on...!" Munroe hissed.
"Hang on, hang on, hang on...!" Chell nodded, and slapped a small, stamp-sized device onto the drone-An Iconian tag they had captured on Talax.
"GOT IT!" Chell cheered.
The drone vanished into an Iconian portal. Munroe looked up and over at Paris.
"DONE SIR!"
"PULL BACK!" Tom shouted, firing several photon grenades into the large open room. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
The Hazard Team and a few Kazon survivors fled with them, Biessman and Munroe firing back to keep the drones at bay. They turned the corner and were several meters away before all the grenades went off, making the Iconian structure shudder. Dust fell from above, collected over millions of years. Paris shook his head, and looked over at Chell.
"Tracker working?" Paris asked.
"Y-Yes, it's going over the subspace frequency Harren gave me," Chell said, checking his tricorder. He looked up with a grin.
"We got it! I can map out the structure!"
"And?" Biessman asked, impatient.
"It's a geothermal plant, just like the last one," Chell reported, frowning deeply, "geez I wish we had a geologist with us... But... Based on the resonance..." He nodded. "Yeah! We can hit it!"
"GO!" Tom ordered. They ran, just as a few more Iconian probes flew up the hallway. Tom led the group, sprinting as the rest of the Hazard Team fired back to cover their escape. They hit orange sunlight minutes later, and raced over the sandy dunes surrounding the Iconian ruins.
Up ahead was the Thunderbird, its shields up to protect it from Iconian probe blasts. Tom grimaced deeply.
"Damn... Chell? Can you send the targeting data?" Paris asked.
Chell nodded.
"Y-Yes! Just give me a moment!"
Tom slapped his commbadge.
"Paris to Thunderbird, prepare to fire phasers. Follow the targeting information exactly!"
"Confirmed, sir!" Pablo Baytart cried, the co-pilot on this mission. Chell worked fast, tapping on his tricorder. He fired a laser pulse from the device, beaming the information directly to the Thunderbird. A tense few seconds passed... Before the Thunderbird fired its ventral phaser array.
It drilled through the sand, stirring up molten sand and dirt as the phaser drilled. Down, down it went, further and further, the array firing multiple times. Over and over it whined, loud and hot in the desert planet's air.
Then, with the final few blasts... The ground began to rumble and shake. Ancient Iconian pillars shook, and began to topple like dead trees to a lumberjack's saw. The Iconian probes themselves began to sputter and shake, as though the energy feeding them had been cut off.
Which, of course, it had been.
"What the hell is happening?!" Biessman shouted. Chell gave the older, taller Maquis a wry grin.
"Geothermal plants, no matter how advanced, are very delicate things," the Bolian explained, "and it turns out that the Iconians built this one on a supervolcano caldera. One that's been overdue for an eruption. The magma chamber is going nuts, the stabilizers they used to keep it calm are shot-"
"And we just delivered the final blow to make it pop its top?" Biessman asked. Chell nodded.
"Oh yeah."
Biessman's eyes widened.
"So... We should get off this planet now, right?"
"ASAP, yeah," Chell said.
Paris looked over at the Kazon refugees. There were a few women mixed in. All looked terrified. Tom sighed.
"If you don't wanna be fried, get onto the ship, NOW!" Paris roared. The Kazon obeyed, rushing for the ship in a panicked horde. Biessman sneered.
"We really gonna take them with us, sir?"
"I'm not in the mood to leave them to fry right now, Biessman... Though I understand why you are," Tom added in a murmured. Biessman shook his head.
"And the El-Tee?"
Everyone looked at Chell. The Bolian engineer grimaced.
"We-We can't wait too long... But if the power systems are failing, so are the jammers! So we can beam him out! If he's, uh, still alive," he amended.
"Let's get going then!" Tom shouted, racing for the Thunderbird with his men.
Seska stopped laughing. Her eyes widened, as the entire facility began to shake and roll. Shepherd groaned, holding onto the railing, as Roxas and Sousek slowly got to their feet on the other side.
"What... What is happening...?! NO! NO! THEY COULDN'T!" Seska screamed. Shepherd managed a little laugh, as the Cardassian woman sneered down at him.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" She roared, as lava began to drip from the ceiling like rain drops.
"Ahhh... Wouldn't you like to know?" Shepherd wheezed. In truth, he had no idea what was happening. He had his suspicions though.
And it pissed Seska off, which was even better.
Seska summoned a blade of energy, and dove like an avenging angel. Her eyes burned in mad rage, as she swung to slice Shepherd in half.
THUNK!
"URK!"
Seska fell to the steel floor, stumbling. She looked down at her stomach-The point of Shining Blood stuck out, gleaming with her own blood. She looked up, just in time to see Shepherd stand, and hold up his sword shakily.
"You should have taken my offer," Shepherd panted. He made to swing, but the ground jumped, and he and Seska fell to the deck. Roxas and Sousek tried to make their way over, but a huge girder fell and swung in front of them. Roxas and Sousek dove out of the way, landing on the catwalk leading to the central platform.
The girder swung, screeching metal deafening all of them, before it dropped. Roxas shoved Sousek out of the way, and screamed as the metal smashed him flat. He, his section of the catwalk, and the girder fell into the boiling lava below. Sousek barely got up to his feet, breathing hard as the temperature shot up-The environmental controls were clearly failing.
Even so, he was already trying to tug Shining Blood back to him.
"LAD! GRAB THE BITCH! I'LL PULL YOU OVER!" Sousek bellowed. "LAD!"
Shepherd struggled to his feet, and gingerly helped Seska up to hers. She was breathing slower now, as she bled heavily. Even now though, Shepherd was careful with her.
"COME ON! COME ON!" Sousek bellowed. Another girder fell, and Sousek's eyes widened. He threw himself out of the way, the massive girder smashing the rest of the catwalk.
"SOUSEK!" Shepherd screamed. The burly Kazon climbed, almost frantically, up the sagging catwalk. He got up to the top, and threw himself up to the blast doors. But he could only cling desperately with one hand, while the other held onto the monofilament to his sword. He grit his teeth, holding tightly, unwilling to abandon his hold on either.
Shepherd grit his teeth. He tried to get Seska to take another step forward, but the woman fell down. Shepherd went with her, his incredible stamina finally calling it quits.
At the worst possible time, Shepherd thought, breathing hard.
"Can't you... Teleport us out?" Shepherd wheezed. "You don't wanna die... Any more than we do...!"
Seska coughed up blood.
"N-No... I've been... Locked out," she murmured. "Like... Someone noticed... Noticed me... In the system..."
She looked over at Shepherd, eyes wide. Tears were at the corners of them, as her face paled.
"Did you mean it...? Would you have protected me...?" Seska whispered. Shepherd nodded slowly.
"If you hadn't been a bitch? Yeah... Yeah, I would have," he said. "A society like Cardassia doesn't inspire trust... But you made your own bed, Seska. Sorry, but..."
Seska almost laughed. Tears fell from her eyes.
"Tell Chakotay... I..." Seska trailed off, and went still. Shepherd watched her pass, and closed his own eyes.
He didn't feel angry with her, really. Just... Sad. Sad and empty.
She doesn't deserve it, but... Someone... Give her some peace, please, Shepherd thought. He then mustered up the last of his energy, and rolled over to stare at the still active portal.
It was the most power hungry thing in this system-Probably designed to stay open as long as possible. Shepherd tried to crawl towards it, inching slowly. Arul was still in view, talking with some doctor about something. Even through her Vulcan stoicism, he saw the warmth in her eyes, the kindness in her face. He reached out, to try and touch it, imagine he was touching her.
His hand brushed up against something. He looked down. It was Roxas' tricorder-A little roughed up, but still intact. He allowed himself a grin.
"Figures," he mumbled.
He pulled it up to his face, and, even as the floor rumbled and the place got hotter, he searched through for a recording function.
He found it, and took as deep a breath as he dared.
"Arul... It's me, Shepherd. Voyager wasn't destroyed-We're lost. On the other side of the galaxy. Delta Quadrant. We found an Iconian gateway... And destroyed it, so you don't have to worry. We found the Lillehammer and the Trager too-We're all together. We've found some friends, made some enemies..." He wheezed. "I-I don't have much time... I wanted to see you. I got to. One last time... I've faced my death so many times, and every time, I-I thought of you."
He managed a wry chuckle, despite the energy it took.
"I dreamed of reuniting... Of having a family together... So much... I wanted to do... You made me want them. Because you were the most important person to me... What I'm trying to say is, I love you. I love you, our baby... My parents, my sister... Even Wesley, that dork... I love you all. And... And I wish I could have been with you again. Tell Manny it's not his fault... It's not your fault. It's just... How the universe works sometimes. I love you... Live long and... All that..."
His eyes locked on Arul, he planted a kiss on the dirty tricorder.
"Goodbye."
He ended the recording, took a deep breath. He ignored the pain, as best he could. He threw the tricorder, as hard as he could, right at the portal.
It fizzled and vanished away, as the lava began to rise fast. Shepherd fell back, darkness taking him... Just before the sparkle and tingle of a transporter beam enveloped him and Sousek.
Janeway managed to get back to her command chair, though Mari was still tending her. Larxeena was still on her feet, holding onto the railing. The Kazon ships were still firing on them, and even the Krowtonans and their badly needed firepower had begun to be driven back. Chakotay had sent Voyager into a dizzying set of rolls, as Tuvok had returned fire with all their phasers.
"The Krowtonan ships are being driven back!" Harry shouted from Ops. Tal was supporting him, as he took control of his station again. "Incoming torpedoes!"
"Maintain evasive!" Janeway gritted out. Voyager dove like a falcon, and swooped up. Two torpedoes flew by her... The third struck her right on her forward shields. The blast rocked the vessel, and Larxeena nearly fell. Neelix was able to grab onto her, holding her as the ship shook violently.
"Damage report!" Janeway shouted.
"Shields are gone!" Harry yelled. "Kazon ships are locking on-!"
Larxeena looked to Neelix. He opened his mouth, still holding her.
"Larxeena, I..."
The ship stopped rocking. On the viewscreen, the blue phaser blasts of the Kazon fleet ceased. The entire universe seemed to hold its breath, and Janeway fought past her splitting headache to get up. Mari stayed right by her side, still anxious.
"Mister Kim?" Janeway stated, "what the hell just happened?"
"The Kazon fleet just... Stopped firing," Harry reported. "The jamming field is gone! I can get a clear scan of the surface-" He stopped short. "Oh no..."
"What?" Janeway demanded.
"The Iconian base was apparently built over a supervolcano," Harren reported from the science station, looking pale, "and it's erupting."
"Onscreen!" Janeway barked.
The view switched to that of the planet's dry, dusty surface. The section of the planet they were looking at bulged upwards, hundreds of square kilometers of earth being thrust up... Before it exploded into a gigantic cloud of pyroclastic rock.
"No," Janeway murmured, "the Thunderbird?"
No sensor scan had ever taken so long... But it wasn't needed.
The Thunderbird burst from the gigantic eruption, riding the wavefront, dramatically escaping from the huge eruption. Harry let out a sigh of relief, Chakotay smirked, and Neelix let out a happy laugh. Even Janeway allowed herself to look relieved. Larxeena watched her carefully, and smiled.
"The Thunderbird is sending out a signal to the Kazon fleet," Harry reported.
"Put it on!" Janeway ordered. The screen shifted, and a tall, scarred Kazon with an eyepatch appeared. He was standing behind a dirty looking Tom Paris and a clean (and nervous) Pablo Baytart, both in the pilot seats of the Thunderbird. A host of dirty Kazon and Starfleet crew were behind them. Janeway hid a grimace-She couldn't see Shepherd.
"I repeat, I, Maje Sousek of the Kazon-Nistrim, order all ships to cease fire!" Sousek shouted. "Seska is dead! Cullah is dead! There is no reason for us to fight!"
He grimaced a bit. Janeway saw Chakotay's back stiffen, but he stayed at the helm.
"To the allied fleet... We call for a cease fire. The reason for our fight is gone-The Iconian gateway is destroyed," he called. "It has cost us many lives-I will not sacrifice any further Kazon on behalf of this madness! I ask that you do the same!"
"Open a channel to the fleet, and to Sousek," Janeway ordered.
"Channel open," reported Tuvok.
"Cease fire! All ships, cease fire," Janeway called. "Maje Sousek, we accept and-"
"Captain," Harry warned, "the Trabe vessels are moving forward!"
"What?!" Janeway demanded. "Get me Mabus!"
"No need, Captain," Mabus said smoothly, appeared in another window on the viewscreen, "we reject this ceasefire! We finally have the means to wipe out one whole sect of the Kazon, and we're not going to pass it up!"
Larxeena grit her teeth. Janeway kept her calm, sucking in a deep breath through her nostrils.
"The threat is neutralized, they've agreed to cease fire," Janeway stated, "your personal desire for revenge is the last thing we need!"
"Revenge?" Mabus scoffed. "This is practicality! The Kazon know nothing but betrayal and bloodshed! They're animals! The only way to deal with them is to put them down like the dogs they are!"
Sousek sneered.
"Had you not enslaved us, you would not have necessitated us overthrowing you," he retorted, "but it's so convenient for slavers to rewrite history to portray themselves as the victims!"
Mabus turned pale in rage.
"Why you-!"
"ENOUGH!"
All eyes turned to the slight form of Larxeena. She stepped forward, eyes full of fire.
"We have just suffered hundreds of deaths, on both sides!" She roared, "and you want more bloodshed?!"
"You cannot speak to me of-" Mabus tried, but Larxeena cut him off with a furious glare.
"Mabus! What do you want more? Revenge, or a home for your people?" She demanded. "Is killing a few more Kazon worth depriving your people of the sky and the earth you need? What's it to be, hm?"
Mabus wavered.
"But-!"
"Larxeena to fleet, target your weapons on the Trabe vessels," Larxeena ordered. Neelix's eyes bulged out of his head. Tuvok glanced at the captain. She gave him a nod.
"Weapons locked, Madame President," Tuvok stated. "Other ships report the same-Including the Krowtonan."
Larxeena stared Mabus down. The Trabe leader grit his teeth.
"You wouldn't fire... Not now-!"
"Maje Sousek," Larxeena stated, "if the Trabe fire on you, we will accept you as part of the Alliance instead."
Sousek nodded back.
"Accepted... Madame President."
Larxeena maintained her stony glare on Mabus. The Trabe leader let out a long sigh.
"... We... Accept, Madame President," he said. His window vanished as he ended the call.
Larxeena nodded slowly. Neelix was still at her side, staring at her in amazement.
"The Trabe vessels have powered down their weapons," Kim reported, sounding rather relieved.
"Power ours down too," Janeway ordered.
Sousek smirked, but Larxeena shot him a glare.
"And you!" Larxeena stated, and Sousek stood up straight, "what happened to General Roxas? And Shepherd?"
Sousek froze, then spoke slowly.
"General Roxas died... Saving my life, and Shepherd's," he said, "without his sacrifice, Seska would have continued to expand her control of the Iconian technology. She would have become a threat to all... I owe him a debt."
He nodded to Larxeena.
"In recognition of this... And our weakened state... We humbly ask to join your Alliance," he said. "After all... Seska told us someone else was in the Iconian network. The threat, it seems, is not over."
"Tom?" Janeway asked. Paris shook his head.
"Shepherd can't confirm right now, he's in stasis," he said. He glanced at Sousek. "But... Chell confirmed the Iconian systems had interference towards the end-before we took out the power. So yeah... We might still be in big trouble."
"Then get here as fast as you can!" Janeway ordered. She looked to Larxeena, then back to the Maje. "Maje Sousek. We have a lot to talk about, it seems."
"Yes Captain, so it seems," Sousek agreed. "See you soon. If you would, Paris?"
The channel closed. Larxeena sagged, breathing hard as she leaned against the railing. Neelix was at her side.
"Are you all right?" He asked. Larxeena managed a nod, and stood back up.
"I'm all right... Neelix," she said softly. She looked to the captain. "If I could impose on you a bit more, Captain?"
"By all means," Janeway said, allowing her smile to look proud.
"Are you all right?"
Shepherd looked up from the sight of the beach, waves rolling in and crashing on the hot sand. He was sitting on a towel under an umbrella, in his favorite pair of swim trunks. He smiled at the sight of Arul, wearing a heart attack inducing white bikini. She sat down in his lap, and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Well, I'm talking to a projection of my wife so... Probably not."
She leaned in against him, sighing softly.
"We didn't make it formal."
"I know... I was going to," Shepherd replied, "when I got back..." He sighed, the sound full of regret. He scowled out at the sea, feeling so tired.
"You know my parents had a fairy tale romance. Maybe that's why I started to resent them. Now I have a mental hospital fairy tale romance. American Magee's Shepherd."
"Did you not like our romance?" Arul asked. Shepherd stared at her in disbelief.
"I love you Arul. You know this. I... I would do anything to get back to you! Almost anything..." He sighed and rubbed his face with one hand, the other groping Arul's firm bottom. "Maybe I should have just gone through with it."
"Abandon your shipmates?" She asked.
"Maybe I just wanted to be selfish. Maybe I just wanted to think of you... You should be the most important thing in my life. And I... I couldn't just abandon them for you."
She put a hand on the side of his face, staring into his eyes.
"Yet you didn't. Why?"
"Because... Because I could never face you again if I'd done that. You'd be disappointed in me. You'd still love me but... But your respect is something I want just as much."
Arul very rarely smiled. Her Vulcan sect, the Neo-Syrranites, were less "stiff" than many other Vulcan interpretations of Surak's teachings, but they were still very much in favor of tight control over their emotions.
Which made the smiles she shared with him all the more beautiful, and precious. Even now, it still took his breath away.
"You have arrived at the proper conclusion. Why you did it," she said.
Shepherd winced.
"Yeah but it sure as hell doesn't make me feel much better."
Arul reached over and took his hand. She placed it on her stomach.
"You know we will wait for you. Forever, if need be."
Shepherd smirked.
"That's not very logical."
Arul's smile grew, just a hair.
"Logic is what works."
"Shepherd?"
Shepherd groaned and opened his eyes. He was greeted by the bright flash of a miniature flashlight. It took him a few seconds to clear his vision, and he soon saw the EMH over him. The Doctor looked at him almost wryly.
"Do you know where you are?" He asked.
"Well... I'm either in sickbay, or in hell," Shepherd deadpanned.
"Now now, Mister Shepherd, it could easily be both," the EMH snarked right back. He looked over his shoulder, as Captain Janeway walked towards the biobed. Blue privacy partitions had been put up between the beds in the sickbay, enough to block out sight and sound. That said, it was clear the place was packed judging from the soft murmuring and the Ocampan nurses running about. Even Kes was up, though she looked pretty badly bruised. She paused to shoot Shepherd a beatific smile, before she headed off to tend to someone else.
"Is he well enough to talk?" Janeway asked. The Doctor nodded.
"I daresay he'd be near death before he ever stopped talking," he replied. The EMH vanished, reappearing in a flash by another patient. Janeway walked up to Shepherd's side, almost smiling. Shepherd sighed heavily as she sat down next to him.
"Maybe I should move your office to sickbay," Janeway mused, "make it easier on you."
"Yeah," Shepherd sighed, "probably."
"So," Janeway began, "what happened?"
Shepherd slowly, calmly reiterated everything he could remember. Janeway only stopped him from time to time for clarification here and there, to ask a few more questions. She also added some context to things, to help him understand better.
He paused for a bit when he got to the geothermal plant... But pressed on, talking about everything that happened.
When he was finished, he looked down at his hands. Janeway frowned.
"Sounds like you may have alerted Starfleet about what happened to us," she said, "so why are you so down?"
Shepherd glanced at her briefly, then returned his gaze to his hands.
"Captain..." Shepherd trailed off. He wasn't able to look her in the eyes. "I... I did freeze up. For the first time in..."
He let out a bitter laugh.
"You know... I've been through so much, I thought that... That's just how it was. I'd survive, a little crazier. A little more twisted. But still get the job done. Like my parents. But here I..." He trembled a bit.
"I love her so much... I wanted so badly to just accept the deal," he whispered. "That feeling that I was... Invincible? Maybe? It just..."
Janeway reached up and pushed his chin up. Her eyes were compassionate.
"Feeling like you're invincible is a good way to not only get yourself killed, but everyone else too," she said gently. "Trust me. I know the feeling. Now, you can either accept that you have weak points like that... And learn from it... Or keep going until you or someone else dies."
Shepherd was silent and still, almost Vulcan in his stoicism.
"Your record has had you needing to make it, to push yourself through and think that if you're just determined or prepared enough, you'll always save the day," Janeway continued, "but that's how an intelligence agent thinks. When you're part of a crew? You have to know when to take the shot, and when to let it go. You did plenty to ensure Seska was stopped... So don't beat yourself up over failing here. It was..."
She smiled ruefully.
"... human."
He slowly nodded.
"Yes ma'am," he said.
Janeway snorted.
"Besides... Maje Sousek is spinning the tale that you and he fought through a hundred Iconians to defeat Seska. It's bad form to contradict an ally when they're making you look good."
Shepherd laughed.
"Sounds about right..."
"Um..."
Both looked up. Larxeena stood there, looking awkward. She cleared her throat.
"May I join you?" She asked.
Janeway glanced at Shepherd, but he shrugged. The captain nodded.
"Of course, Madame President," she said. Larxeena walked to Shepherd's other side, and sat down. She took a deep breath.
"I... I wanted to ask... Was Maje Sousek correct?" She asked. Shepherd blinked. "About Roxas," she clarified.
Shepherd sighed quietly, and nodded.
"Yeah," he said, "I hate to admit it, but... He did help us. Helped to save the quadrant. Hell, maybe the entire galaxy." He shook his head. "He was still a bastard, but... He did his duty. And Maje Sousek will honor that, given all he did for me."
Larxeena smiled softly.
"I see," she murmured. "And you're certain that Seska said an outside force cut her off from the Iconian database?"
"Positive," Shepherd said quietly. Larxeena looked down, suddenly appearing the awkward young lady who had first come aboard.
"In truth, Captain, Lieutenant," she spoke, "I think this... Delta Alliance? I think it's the best thing that ever happened to my people," she said, "I think it's something that could make life better for... For everyone. Roxas dreamed of a reborn Talaxian Empire but... That was never going to work."
"This Alliance might not work either," Janeway pointed out, "it's still very fragile."
Larxeena looked up at Janeway.
"Do... Do you think I can't do it?" Larxeena asked, worried.
Janeway gave the younger woman a warm smile.
"I didn't say that," she said. "You took command in several trying circumstances. You kept your head. I think you're more capable than you think you are."
"And Roxas, well," Shepherd added, "despite what he said... I know he admired you."
Larxeena huffed.
"Admiration is the furthest thing from understanding," she stated, sounding bitter. She sighed. "But it... Makes things a bit easier. I was... I was going to lie that he died a hero, try to keep the government together."
"Lies are part and parcel of politics," Janeway observed. Larxeena nodded.
"Yes... But that one... Would have killed my soul," she admitted. "He was the only one there for me, when my family was wiped out. His betrayal hurts but his death..."
She trailed off, fighting back tears. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose.
"... It hurts more than I thought it would," she admitted. She shook her head. "But I think... I can continue on."
She gave Shepherd's hand a squeeze.
"Thank you, Ser Shepherd," she said gently.
"'Ser'?" Shepherd questioned. Larxeena beamed.
"Well! For your services, I have decided to make you a knight of Talax," she said cheerfully.
Janeway smirked.
"Brave Ser Shepherd, indeed," she chuckled. Shepherd groaned, and covered his face.
"That's not going to get old any time soon," he mumbled.
Neelix stopped in the middle of sickbay. Larxeena looked up at him. He stared back. Larxeena slowly rose.
"If you'll excuse me," she murmured, "I have one more thing to do..."
Larxeena led Neelix to the unused Counselor's office, away from the hustle and bustle of the packed sickbay. She could feel Kes' eyes on her, but she did her best to ignore it. She turned to Neelix, as the doors slid shut. Neelix worried his hands.
"... Larxeena," he said, "about your-your marriage proposal..." He winced. "I know this isn't what you wanted to hear but-"
Larxeena held up a hand, and Neelix stopped. Larxeena sighed softly.
"Nee-Nee... Neelix," she said, "I've... I've had to do a lot of thinking. The General... He did so much of my job for me. It let me daydream. It let me... Live in the past. And... And it's clear that I can't do that anymore."
Neelix was silent. Larxeena summoned up her courage.
"So... I mean... It's clear you don't love me," she spoke quietly. Neelix winced... But slowly nodded.
"Not... Not how you want me to," he admitted. Larxeena nodded back.
"... I think we have both changed too much for those... Childhood dreams," she admitted.
"Yes," Neelix whispered.
Larxeena reached out, and squeezed Neelix's hand.
"But, I think we can make room for... For new dreams," she softly said, "don't you?"
Neelix looked at her curiously.
"What kind of dream did you have in mind?"
Larxeena finally smiled, genuinely.
"The dream your friends shared... Of peace, and prosperity, for free peoples," she said warmly. "Will you help me realize it?"
Neelix grinned back.
"Of course, Larxeena... What are friends for?"
Larxeena laughed, even as a tear slipped down her cheek. It still hurt, so much... And yet, Neelix's hug and laughter kept her heart light. Light enough to endure.
Maybe that's all she had ever wanted. Maybe that's all she had ever needed.
The final conclusion of this arc is up next! Thanks for reading!