Episode One - Crazy Old Man

Chapter 7
Realignment of Position

Chakotay had a bad feeling about this. It was why he was here, on the planet, with Worf, Tuvok, Geissler, and Thomas. He had personally put them all here—maybe even the Valjean—and he wasn't sure if he could help at this point, but he had to try. It had never been personal, and certainly not to Tuvok. It was only business.

And right now, there was only business.

Even though it was unmistakably a cavern, it was spacious and brightly lit. Chakotay had never seen a cave system quite like this one. At this point, he had to believe the story that the subterranean city was artificially created.

"This way." Kes waved them on, and started walking faster.

Tuvok, Chakotay, Worf, Thomas, and Miss Geissler were all taller than she was—most of them very much so. Even Neelix didn't have to put much effort into keeping up with her short but rapid stride.

As they walked past the rows of raised garden beds under artificial lights, Tuvok listened to the steady thump from the Caretaker's energy packets overhead. "The pulses from the array continue to accelerate," he said after addressing his tricorder briefly. "The intervals between them have decreased another point-eight seconds."

Everyone nodded, probably because there was little to say in response. The Caretaker felt he was approaching death, and they were running out of time. Chakotay had suggested he was the closest thing they had to a diplomat on board with his anthropology background. Perhaps he could discern more about the Ocampa from the way they lived and help them find their people faster, since Kes had not been back underground with her people in a month.

Tuvok had been agreeable to that line of reasoning: it didn't seem likely to him that Kes knew where their people were being held.

From across the open area, an older Ocampa male smiled broadly and called out. "Kes!"

"Hello, Daggin!" Kes ran to him, and they grasped arms.

"We thought we'd never see you again. How did you get back?"

Kes looked back at the four of them, her gaze staying longer on Tuvok than any of the others. "These people rescued me from the Kazon. I'm trying to help them find their crewmen. Does anyone know where the aliens are kept? The ones the Caretaker sends here?"

Daggin watched them with what seemed to be distrust for a moment, and then addressed Kes. "I think they're at the central clinic."

Tuvok looked at Kes. "Can you take us there?"

Kes suddenly looked up at another man standing at the entrance to another tunnel in the cave system. She frowned, her hands grasping fists. "They can't speak telepathically, Toscat," she said. "Please talk aloud."

"I didn't mean to be rude." The older man, Toscat, approached calmly. "But you should not be here. We cannot interfere with the Caretaker's wishes."

"We can," Worf said.

Toscat sighed. "You don't understand."

"That's right," Kes snapped. "They don't understand. They have no way of knowing that the Ocampa have been dependent on the Caretaker for so long, we can't even think for ourselves any more. They don't understand we once had full command of our minds' abilities."

Chakotay glanced at Tuvok, who looked interested at that. Of course. Chakotay wondered if these people were like Betazoids, in their heads right now…? It was all he could do to not react viscerally to the idea, and he recovered. Definitively.

Still, Toscat seemed extremely upset. "You defied the Caretaker by going to the surface, Kes. Learn from the experience. Follow the path he has set for us."

"I have learned," Kes said, and backed away. "I've seen the sunlight; I can't believe our Caretaker would forbid us to open our eyes and see the sky." She looked back at the rest of them, determination in her bright eyes. "We'll find your people without their help."

With that, she stalked away. The Ocampa, even Toscat, didn't seem to know what to do with Kes's defiance and simply watched while they walked toward the city.

Chakotay watched the wide-eyed Ocampans observe them go through their city without any questions and no resistance at all, despite the fact that they obviously didn't belong there. Their highly-saturated colors and black stood out in the throng of tunics of natural colors—only Neelix in his mangy coat blended in, though not in style. After several minutes of watching, Chakotay decided Kes was right. All of them were waiting for someone else to do something about the intruders.

"I can't help but feel like we walked into the middle of a conversation there," Chakotay said, catching up to walk next to Kes.

"In some ways, you did," Kes agreed, and smiled a bit apologetically. "We have been guessing with no context for hundreds of generations what the Caretaker wants us to do. I'm done guessing."

This civilization's development did seem to be stunted for all the advancements they possessed. He wasn't sure they had the ability to go to space, much less travel at faster-than-light speeds. It seemed the Caretaker had realized his mistake…

Just as Chakotay was about to point that out, the pulses stopped. The silence was prominent beyond the sound of the river through the city lapping at the edges of the canal.

Every Ocampa they could see on the boulevard ceased their business, turning their eyes to the ceiling. Even Kes became concerned, glancing first toward the Caretaker before looking at the rest of them.

Worf tapped his combadge. "Away team to Defiant," he said, and waited to receive an answer. "Report."

Mister Paris waited a moment, and reported, "It's not firing pulses anymore."

"Yeah, Paris, no kidding," Chakotay snapped.

"It looks like it's realigning its position," Paris went on.

Worf waited for several seconds until it was clear there wouldn't be more updates at the moment. "Keep me informed of any further development." He tapped his combadge and looked at Kes. "Where is the clinic?" He directed that question at Kes, who seemed startled to have been addressed.

Seeming to startle at being addressed in the new silence, Kes pointed at nearby stairs and quickened her pace. Neelix practically ran after her, with the rest of them following. The Ocampa gave them no resistance whatsoever. When Kes went through the enormous double doors of a large, white building, they followed. She spoke to what looked like a receptionist.

Worf approached Tuvok from the side when it seemed that Kes was not going to be successful. "Lieutenant," he said. "I will search the surrounding area with Miss Geissler. Remain with Mister Chakotay, Riker, and Neelix."

Tuvok nodded. "Yes, sir."

Worf motioned to Miss Geissler and went back outside with her.

Chakotay looked to Tuvok. "I've got this gut-feeling—we're about to run out of time."

Tuvok looked at the bright ceiling. "Regardless of the sensations you perceive in your digestive system, it does seem as if the Caretaker is preparing to take some decisive action."

Neelix shook his head, distinctly unhappy. "As far as I know, the array has always been sending energy packets to the Ocampa. I don't understand why he would just stop suddenly."

"Looks like the Ocampa agree." Chakotay watched the awed and anxious Ocampa around them, murmuring and whispering. "Having a hard time interpreting his wishes at the moment."

Tuvok nodded, and Kes returned to them. "They haven't been here for hours, but they were here."

"If they were trying to get to the surface, where would they go?" Tuvok asked.

She shrugged. "One of the ancient tunnels. That's the way I went…" She turned, looking around them as if searching for something. Perhaps the specific tunnel she used.

Tuvok was quiet for several seconds, looking at the doors into the hos. "We may wish to determine why they were being held at a hospital."

"Good idea." Chakotay nodded to Kes. "Why don't we stay behind to figure that out while Kes and the others go looking for them. Maybe split up if there's more than one possible tunnel. We'll meet up with them when we're done here."

Before Tuvok could respond the ground beneath them shook, and Chakotay tapped his combadge again. "Paris?"

Paris's response was prompt: "The array is firing some kind of weapon at the surface. Looks like it's sealing the energy conduits."

"Okay, thanks." Chakotay looked to Tuvok.

"He is sealing the conduits to protect the Ocampa from their enemies," Tuvok said, as if there was some question about that.

"Which means he's dying."

Tuvok nodded, slowly, considering. "It seems your gut-feeling has managed to align with reality."

#

Julian wasn't sure if he was sweating because the caverns were hot, or because he was sick, or some other reason. The metal stairs shook with their collective steps, and Julian couldn't help the pangs of empathy from the pain he could hear in everyone's gasping and wheezing as they climbed the stairs.

Except for Marius. Marius didn't seem that affected by the difficulty, or possibly used to it.

Harry sat down on the stairs just ahead of Julian, panting with pain. Julian was most of the way there, himself. B'Elanna stood another five steps up on the metal staircase leading up the tunnel to the surface.

"Come on," she said, leaning on one of the steps in front of her. "Don't let it beat you, Starfleet."

Marius looked down on the rest of them from nearly two additional flights up. He seemed to have become impatient with the slow slog behind Julian about twenty minutes ago. Still wasn't talking much.

"I'm sorry." Ensign Kim rested his head on his wrists.

With a sigh, Julian looked up to Marius and wondered if any of them had the strength in them to carry any of the rest of them. Julian had been able to hold Marius only long enough to let him down to the ground—that was hours ago.

To his surprise, B'Elanna spoke up. "All right," she said with a nod, leaning back against the railing behind her. "It's alright. We'll rest a minute."

Kim sighed. "Maybe I'd do better if I had a little Klingon blood in me."

Torres looked down at him. "Trust me, it's more trouble than it's worth."

They sat quietly, resting, except for Marius who paced irritably on the small landing.

"You know, I spent my whole life getting ready for Starfleet," Kim said with a morbid chuckle. "And on my very first mission, I'm going to die."

"Oh, this is nothing," Julian said with a smile he thought might be helpful, and immediately wondered if that was true. Or if that was especially helpful.

B'Elanna shook her head. "We're not finished yet. I know a few things old Sneezy didn't teach in his survival course."

Julian frowned, and Kim finally looked up at her. "Sneezy?" Kim asked.

"Commander Zakarian, remember?" B'Elanna laughed. "He must've been allergic to everything."

Kim turned attentive, and Julian was more than happy to let him ask the question he was sure they both had. Marius, of course, seemed completely uninterested with the interrogation. "You went to the Academy?" Kim asked.

"Made it into the second year before we, uh… we mutually agreed that it wasn't the place for me," B'Elanna said, and smiled almost like she was embarrassed.

"You know, I never really liked Zakarian," Ensign Kim offered.

With a small smile, B'Elanna stood up and descended the five or so steps between them to offer her hand to him. Harry looked at her hand for a long second, then up at her. Took it.

B'Elanna nodded to Julian. "You okay, Doc?"

Julian waved her off, nodded, and pressed up off the floor. They made it only a few steps before the floor shook with what had to be weapons fire. Harry fell to the stairs in front of him, and Marius more glided down to crouch on his toes.

"What the hell's going on?" B'Elanna snapped, having grabbed the railing beside her.

"The entity on the array must have changed tactics," Marius said.

"Either way, we have to hurry." Julian held onto the railing as he ascended, pulling Harry up beside him as he continued to climb. His legs and lungs felt as if they were on fire, but that was only an inducement to keep going: the fire would never stop if he collapsed here.

Marius and B'Elanna climbed ahead, shouting down about an opening as Julian thought he heard another voice beneath them. A voice he recognized.

"Doctor Bashir!"

It was Commander Worf, his voice possibly the most welcome thing Julian had ever heard in his life. He laughed and looked down the stairs behind and below them. "Here, Commander! We're up here!"

It was entirely unclear whether the commander had heard him. After all, Worf sounded distant, and his diaphragm looked like it might have been one of the strongest in Starfleet. After a few seconds, Commander Worf called again, "We are coming to you, Doctor!"

"Fine! That's fine!" Julian laughed as much from relief as exhaustion as he shook Harry's arm beside him. "Hear that, Harry?"

The kid nodded, smiled, still leaning heavily on the railing on his other side.

"Not gonna die after all, Starfleet," B'Elanna called from above.

Or perhaps they spoke too soon. Another blast shook the shaft and the stairs they were on. "Keep climbing!" Julian pushed Harry up ahead of him, glancing down once to see if he could make out Worf in the distance, yet.

Julian shouldn't have been surprised when both Worf and Riker caught up with them. Another security officer from the Defiant covered their exit even though there didn't seem to be any danger that could be settled with a phaser. Two other aliens, one an Ocampa, were also with them.

"Are we happy to see you!" Julian sighed.

"B'Elanna!" Riker called up with a grin. "Thought you were dead!"

"Sorry to disappoint!"

Worf tapped his combadge. "Worf to Defiant, six to beam up."

"Sir, we can't get a lock on you." Julian almost broke into tears to hear Jadzia's voice. "The weapons fire from the array has irradiated the planet's crust. The transport sensors can't find you through the security barrier and radiation."

Worf sighed, obviously annoyed, and then nodded at his security officer. "Stand by, Defiant. We will notify you when we reach the surface."

"Aye, sir."

Riker looked at Worf. "Chakotay and Tuvok are still down there."

Worf nodded, and seemed to consider their options. "We must go ahead and attempt to find a breach in the barrier. They were only a few minutes behind us."

Riker eyed Worf for a long moment, and an unspoken conversation Julian couldn't figure out seemed to happen between their eyes. "I don't like Chakotay's odds if something… weird happens. I'm going back for them."

Worf huffed. "Chakotay is a traitor, and we have injured crew."

"Tuvok's a spy, and I'm sure you're strong enough to carry all four of them."

Julian didn't need to hear anymore, since it obviously wasn't relevant at this exact point. "Gentlemen! I don't know if you've noticed, but it seems like this place is about to come down around our ears, anyway."

With a sigh and long glare at Worf, Riker seemed to make his decision. "Alright, let's get the hell out of here."

#

Tuvok followed Chakotay up the metal staircase. Perhaps fifteen minutes ago, Tuvok had told Worf and Riker get the others to safety—he and Chakotay would catch up with them. That was obviously the best choice. The weapons fire from the array seemed to be approaching their location, leading Tuvok to wonder somewhat idly how many conduits there were to be sealed. It was, strictly speaking, irrelevant to his current position. Knowing they had little time was unlikely to make any increase in speed Chakotay could manage matter.

"Go ahead, Tuvok," Chakotay hesitated on one of the landings, gesturing ahead. "It's illogical that both of us get stuck down here."

Tuvok stared. "That is true. However, in the event that you were unable to return, I would likely be the subject of speculation that I had arranged for your apparent demise."

Chakotay's laugh was more a wheeze. "Since when do Vulcans care about rumors?"

"Such perceptions have measurable effects." Then, with a sigh, Tuvok stopped and turned to face him more directly. "Also, I estimate I have been the cause of enough pain for you for today."

With a pause, a gulp, Chakotay plodded up three more steps. "That doesn't sound very logical," he said, and Tuvok didn't want to admit Chakotay was absolutely correct. "And keep in mind that if you wait for me, that only increases the chance we get stuck together. No offence, but I'd rather be here without you than with you."

Tuvok wondered if that was true, but climbed the stairs anyway. "We are in an extremely precarious situation," he said, "as it doesn't seem unlikely the Caretaker's array will be destroyed before we can devise a way to return to the Alpha Quadrant."

"You don't have to tell me that." Chakotay took a breath and continued to plod up the stairs.

"Do you believe Commander Worf will be a suitable captain?" Tuvok asked, and glanced back. "You were observing him as a command reference for his transfer."

"Obviously. Absolutely. Someday." Chakotay continued to climb the stairs one at a time, more slowly than Tuvok wished he would. "He's smart. Tactically-minded. He knows the rules inside and out. There's a very specific type of crewmember that will have his respect immediately."

Tuvok sensed he would have continued, but didn't for some reason. "However?" he pressed.

"Someday's not today." Chakotay paused, gasped, and then kept climbing. "The types of people that don't respect him immediately? He doesn't respect them either."

Tuvok nodded. "I had similar misgivings."

"But it doesn't matter." Chakotay continued to climb the stairs, picking up momentum as he went. Still, he spoke. Possibly to distract himself, though it was obviously difficult. "It doesn't matter because you don't have a lot of choice. It's him or Dax, and I don't think Dax has ever commanded a starship in five lifetimes. Or… or however many."

"You, however, have command experience."

Chakotay chuckled, though Tuvok couldn't see what was all that funny. "I have classroom experience. I teach cadets. And, besides." Chakotay looked up at Tuvok with a grim grin. "I'm a traitor, remember?"

"You may have functionally renounced your Starfleet rank and position, but your experience and ability to command a crew approximately half of which would likely be Maquis is of more practical importance." Even as he spoke, Tuvok wasn't sure he believed that. He was, however, not opposed to setting aside ethicality in favor of survival.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Tuvok paused while Chakotay climbed several steps ahead to look up. The stairs disappeared into an opening in a rock wall. Before he could tell Chakotay the probably-welcome news that they had climbed three kilometers in commendable time—for a Human—the world around shook with explosive force.

The ground dropped out beneath him, and Chakotay fell away. Tuvok scrambled to catch the railing as he landed and slipped down the tilted grate beneath him—his head coming in violent contact with one of the bars on his way down. He found purchase on the railing and held on, watching the landing drop and sway until it finally leveled to a twenty-one-degree incline, falling off into the three-kilometer drop they'd just ascended.

He heard Chakotay suppress a scream between clenched teeth.

"Commander?" Tuvok called, pulling himself up to peer up to the landing Chakotay now laid on. He could hardly see from this vantage.

"I'm not Starfleet anymore, Tuvok," Chakotay said. "Just call me Chakotay."

Tuvok wedged his foot into the corner of the walkway, on one of the railing bars, and forced himself to stand. The walkway creaked, and he saw the bolts bend. "To what end?"

"It doesn't matter." Chakotay groaned. "My leg is broken. I can't move."

Tuvok didn't acknowledge that for as long as it took him to scramble up from his own precarious position onto the walkway beside Chakotay. One glance at his leg and he agreed a break was the obvious reason for its current position.

"That is inconvenient."

"I swear to god, if you touch me…" Chakotay paused, glaring at him, and Tuvok nearly stepped back except that would have been disastrous. "Even if you're all trapped here, Worf'll be a fine captain and Dax's experience will make her a fine first officer if you aren't available for some reason. Go. Get out of here before this whole place comes down."

Tuvok eyed Chakotay. "If anyone else were available to help you, I would defer to your comfort. However, I have no intention of leaving you here."

"And I have no intention of… of…" He leaned back against the floor and gasped. He shook his head, and averted his eyes to look into the dark cave beneath them. "Just get out of here!"

With a sigh, Tuvok stooped beside him. "You have renounced your association with Starfleet. You have no basis on which to order me."

Despite Chakotay's gasped scream when Tuvok pulled him up, Tuvok kept moving. He was, of course, well within Tuvok's ability to carry; however, the shaking ground and flickering lights of the tunnel did make the situation less than ideal. He could feel blood dripping down to his neck, stopping only because he'd slung Chakotay's arm there.

"So you're carrying me out of here on the basis of pure logic, right?" Chakotay asked after a few steps, between obvious attempts to ignore the pain in his leg.

"If you would find that reason suitable," Tuvok answered, and decided not to explain. Explain that, while saving Chakotay was the logical choice, it was also the morally upright one—and he needed one of those right now. Tuvok couldn't respect himself if he didn't.