Illyrina

Illyrina/Interference

Christina
Summer 1996

All the usual disclaimers apply. The characters may belong to Paramount, but what they do between episodes, during the summer, and in my rather dangerous mind are my concern. This is, after all, my alternate universe.

Materials and Methods & Shadows in the Dark

ILLYRINA

1.5 weeks after SHADOWS IN THE DARK

Janeway stood up and walked past Tuvok's and Harry's stations for the third time in ten minutes.

Tom turned back to his console. They were about to enter orbit around an uninhabited class M planet in a couple of minutes. He adjusted their speed, and made some last minute adjustments in their heading. He smiled to himself. Life on board Voyager since the near fiasco at Hafflidia was very routine. Nothing needed repairing, no one had tried to blast them out of existence, and there had been no near disasters. Very dull, but still a relief; and offered him the opportunity to observe those he worked with--a favorite pastime.

"Captain, preparing to enter a standard orbit." Tom announced as he pushed some controls.

"Very good, Mr. Paris." She hovered at Harry's station, looking at some of the data being gathered by the ship's sensors. "Commander, have your away-team prepare to beam down." She didn't glance up.

As she continued on her walk around the bridge, Harry returned to his console and watched her a second, shook his head and returned to studying the incoming data.

Commander Chakotay also watched her as she continued walking. It was becoming obvious that the bridge crew was wondering what was going on. But he didn't have time to reflect on that now. He nodded toward Mr. Tuvok and contacted the other away-team members, requesting their presence in Transporter room 1. He and Tuvok left the bridge.

"Captain, I'm detecting life signs. Very weak, but humanoid." Harry adjusted some of the controls.

Janeway turned. "How many?"

"Just one, Captain."

She tapped her comm-badge. "Bridge to Chakotay." Without waiting for a response she continued. "We've detected the presence of one humanoid."

His voice answered. "Very good, Captain. We'll investigate."

Was it her imagination or had his intonation changed on the word Captain. She started to smile, but noticing that a number of the crew were watching her, returned to her chair and looked at her console.

Tom had to smile. Keeping his eyes on his console to hide his grin, it was all he could do not to laugh. 'Protocol be damned,' he thought. 'Here we are 70 years from home and she is worried about protocol.' At least that was his interpretation of the events of the past week and a half.

#

#

The planet was a fairly typical Class M planet. The atmosphere was a little higher in carbon dioxide than humans were used to, but that was probably related to the fact that the planet's oceans only covered fifty-five percent of the surface.

The away team beamed down. Neelix was ecstatic, the planet had a rich bio-diversity--or as he thought, a lot of things to collect for the kitchen. Tuvok considered the bio-diversity angle.

The away team walked the 100 meters or so to where the humanoid had been detected. There was a small-single-person-ship, beside which the humanoid, a young woman, lay unconscious.

Tuvok scanned her with his tricorder. "She's alive, but her lungs are badly damaged."

Chakotay nodded. "Chakotay to sick bay--prepare for emergency transport." After a few more instructions, the young woman was beamed to sick-bay.

#

#

The Doc went over the data collected from the bioscans of the patient. "She has a massive parasite infection in her lungs. The only similar disease I've found is oddly from Earth."

Kes had been hovering by the patient. "Doc, she is waking up."

The patient blinked and she looked around--fear building in her green-eyes. "Where am I?" she asked weakly between severe coughing.

"Lie still, my name is Kes, and we're trying to help you." Kes tried to calm the woman before she lapsed back into unconsciousness.

The Doc started another series of tests, when the Captain walked in.

"How is she?"

"Not good. I would be most interested in finding out where she picked up the parasite. She was infected several weeks ago."

"You don't think she picked it up on the planet, then?"

"No I don't. Apparently she has only been on the planet several days. Ahh." He found what he was looking for on the scans. "The parasites are dead or dying, but have caused a severe immunological reaction in her lungs. As soon as we understand her physiology better, we'll begin treatment."

Janeway looked at the screen, to study the data.

#

#

Back on the planet, the away-team members had finished gathering plant samples for analysis. Having learned the hard way, the plants were beamed up separately. Chakotay and his team waited impatiently for Neelix who had wandered off again.

When he returned up he was practically dancing. "See what I found." He opened his bag to reveal two pair of some sort of fowl. They cackled and started to flap about.

"You planning on eating them or raising them?" Chakotay asked.

"Raising them, imagine fresh eggs and meat."

"And smell," the commander muttered. "Chakotay to transporter room, away team ready to beam up."

#

#

The Doc looked at Kes as he finished the procedure. "That should do it. For the moment. I've removed part of her left lung; as soon as we know if we can induce pulmonary-tissue-regeneration, we'll repair the rest of her lungs." He placed the tissue in Glutaraldehyde for future study.

#

#

Tom Paris looked about the dining room, then looked at the *meal* Neelix had prepared, closed his eyes and served himself. 'Thank god for replicator rations,' he thought. He turned and looked over the diners again. Seeing Harry sitting in the back, he wandered over.

"Evening Harry."

"Tom. That greenish-blue stuff isn't too bad, but be careful with the yellow."

"Unfortunately we must eat. Is it my imagination, or is this place quiet tonight?" Tom asked between mouthfuls.

"B'Elanna said the same thing earlier."

"My taste buds are must be going, the greenish-blue stuff is all right." His eyes widened as he took a taste of the yellow. He grabbed his glass of water and drank most of it.

"I said be careful."

Between gulps of water, Tom replied, "I was expecting leola root, not pepper." His eyes were still watering. "Is this something new? We might be able to use it as a weapon." Tom left for a few seconds and returned with a pitcher of water. "So, Harry what's your opinion?"

"I agree, way to hot."

Tom laughed, "Not the yellow stuff, what's happening on the bridge?"

Harry grinned. "I wouldn't know Tom, but you seem to. Is there anything on this ship you don't know about?"

"Probably--but I don't know what."

#

#

Kes sat by the patient through the night. Neelix had stopped by several times, worried about her. It was very early the next morning, before the patient stirred.

Kes smiled at the patient, as her eyes opened.

"Where am I? What happened?" she looked confused.

"You're on board Voyager, apparently you crashed your ship on the planet we're orbiting. You picked up a parasite somewhere that damaged your lungs. We've repaired them."

"Kes, isn't it?" The patient started to remember things from the few times she'd been conscious.

"Yes. You're going to be fine."

"I remember trying to fix my ship and not feeling well. I must be leaving." She struggled to sit up.

The Doc put a hand on her shoulder. "Not so fast. I need to make sure the pulmonary-tissue-regeneration is successful. And I'm afraid your ship is non repairable."

"Oh. But I must leave." She laid down, obviously very dizzy.

"You're going to be dizzy until more tissue has been regenerated. Lie still." He read the data off the bio-scans. "The regeneration is progressing." He turned to acknowledge the captain as she walked in.

"How is she Doc?"

"She'll make a complete recovery. She's conscious."

Janeway made her way to the side of the bed. "Hello, I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager."

"I'm Illyrina of...I've heard of this ship. Just before I left, reports from Hafflidia. Captain, you really need better information on our region. My ship?"

"We had someone look over it. We can't repair it."

Illyrina grimaced and thought for a second. "Captain, I would be willing to provide you with information on the Qua-tar territories in exchange for passage."

The Doc had returned, he didn't want his patient talking so much.

"Captain, she needs to rest." In that tone that allowed for no argument--even from the Captain of the ship.

"Very well. Illyrina, we'll talk later."

The Doc administered a hypospray, and Illyrina fell back to sleep.

"Captain, she should be sufficiently recovered by this evening to talk."

"Very good Doc. Kes." Janeway looked at the strange dark-haired young woman, who left her with the feeling that she had been talking with an admiral.

#

#

On the bridge, the crew was quiet. Paris was running a magnetic deviation alignment on the navigational array. After over 2.5 years, he and most of the crew had learned to recognize when the Captain, or for that matter, the Commander entered a room, without looking. She didn't greet anybody, which was unusual. He turned to look. She had sat in her chair and was apparently lost in thought.

"Everything OK Captain?"

"Everything's fine, Lieutenant." She didn't want to continue the conversation.

"Yea, right," he muttered to himself--a little louder than he thought--because as he turned back to his console she frowned.

"I'll be in my ready room. You have the bridge Mr. Paris."

#

#

She sat down at her desk and stretched her neck to try to relieve the ache in her shoulders. She needed a neck-rub. She smiled at the memory of the first neck-rub her First Officer had given her. It hadn't lasted long--but she had forgotten about the pain in her shoulders. Her frown returned. Maybe she should have insisted on setting parameters. But after almost a year, it was a little--no, way too late.

Her comm-badge chirped. "Transporter room 1 to Janeway. The last of the away-teams have beamed back."

"Very good. Janeway to Paris."

"Paris here, Captain?"

"Please have the senior officers report in half an hour to the briefing room."

"Yes, ma'm."

Ten minutes later she walked across to the briefing room. She was usually early, it gave her a chance to finishing preparing the topic for the briefing. Today she wasn't the first one.

Chakotay stood there. "Captain."

She blushed and stood just in front of the closed door. "Commander. How did the mission go?"

"Fine. We need to talk," he changed the subject.

"Commander, this is hardly the time or place," she stammered.

"Considering how hard it's been to say more than a sentence to you this past week...You can't leave--it will only increase the speculation." She had started to turn around.

"I have a briefing to prepare for..." She vainly tried to keep her wits about her; and keep her emotions under control.

Chakotay watched her carefully. He didn't want to push her to far--not with a meeting in a few minutes. "Let me know when and where. Here's my report. I may be late for the briefing--We managed to find the only poisonous plants on the planet."

For the first time Janeway noticed he had a rash on his hands.

Tom Paris entered and looked at both his commanding officers, then gave his message. "Commander, the Doc is looking for you. It seems your entire away-team has developed a rash. He wants you in sick-bay."

"I'm on my way. Captain."

The Captain sat down and started to read. The usual stuff, they'd have to identify the poisonous plant so the next teams could avoid it.

When Tom realized she had forgotten about him, he left and returned to his seat. The meeting would begin in ten minutes, plenty of time for him to finish the magnetic deviation alignment.

#

#

Chakotay walked into sick-bay. There were still two of his away team there--Kes was finishing treating them.

"Commander, ah yes, that makes one-hundred percent of your team. Congratulations it must be some sort of record."

The Doc's sarcasm could be hard to take.

The Doc spoke as he continued treatment. "Fortunately the rash responds quickly to treatment. It's very similar to the rash caused by the genus Rhus found on earth; Rhodalger from the Klingon home world; and ..."

"Doc, just treat it." He noticed the young woman they rescued the other day. "How's she doing?" Indicating Illyrina.

"She's going to make a complete recovery. And so will you. When you have a chance, I would like to talk to you about identifying the plant. Commander, *before* the next away-team beams down."

"Now would be fine." It also gave him an excuse to talk to the Captain later.

"Let me check on my patients, I'll be right with you."

Modern medicine was remarkable. The rash was already starting to vanish.

The Commander walked over to Illyrina. "I'm Commander Chakotay, how you doing?"

"Fine, thank-you." She sat up. "Your doctor is remarkable. I see you met the Sariopanus bush too." He looked puzzled. "The rash."

The Doc joined them, he checked her bioscan, and smiled. "Pulmonary-tissue-regeneration is almost complete. You're going to make a complete recovery." He turned to the Commander. "About this plant, I suggest we..."

Illyrina cut in, "Doc, it has small yellow flowers, with smooth oval leaves. I'll show it to you tomorrow."

"You're familiar with the plant?" Doc asked.

"Extremely. It's a weed found on many planets in the Qua-tar territories."

#

#

Illyrina followed Kes down the halls of Voyager, until they reached Kes' quarters.

Illyrina turned to Kes. "Thanks for letting me stay in your quarters, are you sure it won't be any problem?"

Kes blushed. "Actually, no. I'm not here that much." She showed Illyrina how to key in her entry code and the door slid open.

Illyrina looked around the small room; simple, efficient, and comfortable. "Kes, do you like being on Voyager?" she asked as she sat in a chair.

"Yes, it's great. The people, the travel, the excitement. I've made some great friends on this ship."

"Tell me more about the people."

"What specifically?"

"I don't know. They are just different from what I'm used to. Not too many in this sector would have bothered rescuing me--just scavenged my ship and left."

"That's horrible."

Illyrina grimaced. "No, that's ten years of civil war. This area has been unstable for a decade, ever since..." She paused. "That instability is affecting the unaligned systems. Like what happened to you on Hafflidia."

Kes watched her guest closely, Illyrina was starting to drift away. "Illyrina, dinner isn't for a couple of hours. Why don't you get some sleep--I've got to get back to work."

"I must apologize--I didn't realize."

#

#

Kes entered her hydroponics garden. The Captain, B'Elanna, and Neelix were in a corner having an animated discussion. Kes joined them.

"But Captain, think of being able to have fresh meat and eggs. Both are good sources of protein." Neelix was chirping away about his birds.

"There are a number of logistical problems. The aviary would need to be on a separate air filtration and waste disposal systems. Ours are not designed for the higher concentrations of uric acid. Do you even know what they eat?" The Captain responded.

"Seeds. The four I brought back have been thriving on grain mixed with ground leola root. Just look at them."

The four birds did seem quite content as they wandered about the temporary pen Neelix had built.

"How many would you need?" she asked. Neelix had this knack for winning most debates.

"I figure maybe a hundred." This caused the other three to look at him astonished.

"A hundred." B'Elanna muttered. "Captain, I don't know if we can handle that. The estimates I came up with were for fewer fowl."

"Fifty, Neelix--strictly experimental. They'll each need to have a complete bio-hazard scan. We don't need to bring any interesting diseases aboard." The Captain turned to Kes. "Can you give up space for fifty of these fowl?"

Kes nodded. "The other garden has a lot of space."

"B'Elanna?"

"I'll have the plans for the modifications to you tomorrow at the morning briefing."

"Good. Neelix." Janeway glared at him. "If one bird finds it way on to the rest of the ship, they're all dinner."

"Yes, Captain."

Kes watched B'Elanna and the Captain leave. "Neelix, are you crazy? Fifty? These four have been bad enough. And they are not doing fine."

"Ah, don't worry sweetie, it'll work. I just need to adjust their diet a little." Neelix was ever the optimist. "In fact, I'll do a segment for my show about our new enterprise." He kissed her quickly. "I've got to start dinner--see you later." Leaving Kes to stare at those birds.

#

#

Kathryn Janeway was reluctant to answer the chime, but finally did after the second time.

"Commander?"

"Captain, I thought I'd see if I missed anything important."

"The briefing. No. I hear Illyrina has identified the plant."

"Yes, we'll beam down early to gather the data and reprogram the tricorders to recognize it before sending the other teams down."

"Very good." They stood several seconds gazing at each other.

He stepped forward, took her in his arms, their lips met briefly before she pulled away.

"What's wrong?" he asked her quietly as she stepped away from him and moved to her window.

"Nothing is wrong--unless you count the fact that we're considering thoroughly complicating our lives. My god, what would the crew say?"

He had to smile at that. "Kathryn..." He didn't get to finish as she continued her tirade.

"And can we continue to work together in a *professional* manner?"

"Like now?" He asked slightly sarcastically and regretted it as she turned to face him, her eyes showing her displeasure. "You've been trying to avoid speaking directly to me for over a week. Kathryn, the entire bridge crew, if not the entire ship has noticed."

She remained silent. There was more--could she still command him if they became...

Chakotay sensed her concerns, "Kathryn, no matter what happens you're still Captain." He waited several seconds; watching her and waiting for her to say something. When she didn't, he excused himself and left. He had to smile though. It was the first time she had acknowledged she had even *contemplated* furthering their relationship.

Kathryn heard her door slide open and then close as he left. She meditated while staring at the planet and the stars.

He was so persistent. He had patiently been waiting for her to realize what he had been aware of ever since their stay on New Earth. No, even before then he had been waiting.

What would the crew think? Tom Paris obviously thought it was great. She had observed him watching. She was pretty sure Tuvok had noticed too. In fact, the entire bridge crew must have noticed by now. She smiled and shook her head. Well if nothing else, they were providing their crew with some enjoyment.

Command structure. That thought caused her to frown again. Would it survive if, or was it when, their relationship moved on. The command structure on Voyager was already different from what she had been used to. The whole bloody situation was different from what she was used to.

She had started the journey home determined that Voyager would be a positive representative of the Federation. But the Kazon had done a good job damaging Voyager's reputation in their sector of the quadrant. The Kazon and the Vidiians were past history, thank heavens. They were in a new sector. A new chance.

Her door chimes startled her out of her meditation.

"Enter." She greeted the newcomer. "Illyrina."

"Captain," she responded. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Not at all. How can I help you?"

"Captain Janeway, I need to talk with you." The Captain nodded.

Illyrina looked uncomfortable. "About my offer to help you in exchange for transport. After talking with Kes, I feel guilty about that. If you help me, you risk becoming involved in our Civil War."

Janeway looked surprised. "How?"

Illyrina took a deep breath. "Ten years ago when my father died, my uncle became the Quatarin--our ruler, he stole my throne. For ten years now we've been at war. I think that is what impresses me most about you, your crew and your ship. All this military technology, and yet your Federation has such a strong belief in peace."

"We've tried to maintain that belief--it hasn't been easy."

"Kes has told me about some of your adventures and of your goal to get home. I'm tired of the bloodshed. Too many friends have died. Too many on both sides. Kes told me you don't get involved in local disputes. But I'd like to ask you to be a neutral third party."

"She's right--our Prime Directive was created to keep us from interfering in a culture's development. But we can listen to requests for assistance."

Illyrina smiled, slightly. "Both sides have tried many times to end the fighting. My uncle has become paranoid over the years and we've had no luck. The biggest problem is where to hold the initial meetings. There are no neutral sites anymore."

"Voyager?"

"Yes, if you would be willing. The military technology would impress both sides and you have no interests in which side *wins*. Our homeworld is a couple of weeks travel from here. You will pass it on your way."

"You'd like us to contact your uncle and make the proposal?"

"Yes, I have all the information on how to contact me, and some of the protocols you will need to know." She handed Janeway a data padd. "Please."

#

#

On the bridge, Tom Paris was enjoying himself. The extended away team missions gave him a chance to be in command. He smiled as he thought of his family back home--something he rarely did. They wouldn't believe it, but he wished he could tell them anyway.

"Tom," Harry began. "I'm detecting five ships coming out of warp at the edge of the system." Well so much for nothing happening.

Tom looked up. "Yellow alert. Initiate emergency transport of the away-teams." He tapped his comm-badge. "Bridge to Janeway."

"Janeway here."

"Captain, we've detected five ships approaching."

"I'll be right there."

"Harry?"

"Transport almost complete."

"When transport is complete bring shields to maximum. Hail them."

"Yes sir."

The Captain and Illyrina entered the bridge.

"Report."

Paris responded. "Captain, five ships on the edge of this system, they have not answered our hail."

"The last of the away teams have returned." Harry added.

"Very good. Try hailing them again."

This time the hail was answered.

"This is Admiral Tallyranth of the Quatarina."

"I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager." She was going to continue, but Illyrina put a hand on her shoulder.

"Captain, it's my ship," she whispered quietly. "Admiral Tallyranth." She spoke to the image.

"My liege. What..."

"Admiral, these people saved my life. I will transport over in half an hour."

"Very well, my liege." The screen went back to showing the fleet. The crew looked at Illyrina.

"Captain, it's been a privilege to have been allowed to see your ship. I look forward to our next visit."

"I'll let you know what happens. Illyrina--Good luck."

"Thank-you Captain. May your journey be quiet and may you find what you seek."

"Harry, have transporter one stand by and stand down from yellow alert. Mr. Paris, please notify the senior staff there will be a meeting in forty five minutes."

Both officers responded in the affirmative.


INTERFERENCE

Taking place 2 weeks after ILLYRINA

Day 1

Chakotay looked at the two disheveled crewmen. "Do you have any explanation for what happened?" The two had been fighting at Sandrine's.

"No sir," they both replied.

"Except for when you are on duty, and meals, you are both confined to your quarters *alone* for the next week."

He watched them leave the ready room. The taller one was Maquis and the other Star Fleet. According to the witnesses that was what the fight had been about. He had thought the two crews were pretty much united. He turned and looked at Janeway. She looked disappointed too. "Captain?"

She just shook her head. He stood and left her to her thoughts.

She watched him leave, and turned to her console.

"Captain's log stardate 50354. Ensigns Kafka and Lundbjorg have been disciplined for fighting in the holodeck. I worry that the crew differences aren't as resolved as we thought.

"Neelix's Quatarian fowl have so far not been a problem. The fresh eggs are a welcome change at breakfast."

A rather disjointed log, she thought. Maybe she'd redo it later.

A few minutes later, her comm-badge chirped.

"Captain, we're picking up a distress signal, it's just out of sensor range." Ensign Kim's voice said.

"Very good. Lieutenant Paris, change our heading to intercept, at warp 8."

"Yes Ma'm. Time to arrival 1 hour and forty-five minutes."

Janeway thought about contacting Chakotay--who had already interrupted his off day with handling the fight--but decided against it.

She looked at the pile of reports on her desk and decided to spend an hour and a half going over them. Engine updates, supplies, crew schedules, and a dozen other similar things. Sighing, she sat back and started to read.

#

#

An hour and half later, she returned to the bridge and sat in her chair. "Report, Harry."

"The distress signal is from a small ship of unknown type. It looks like they had to dump their warp coil. The crew is still alive--there are five on board."

"Hail them."

"No response, Captain. Trying alternate frequencies." He worked diligently for several minutes. "Captain, audio only."

She nodded. "This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. May we be of assistance?"

A male voice replied. "This is Commander Aleronti of the Tolerimachin ship Staertle. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated."

"Do you have maneuverability capability?"

"Some."

"We'll lock on with our tractor beam and bring you into our shuttle bay." She turned to Paris. "Prepare shuttle bay five for non manual approach. Mr. Tuvok have a security team meet them." She then notified Kes to meet the security team.

"Shuttle bay depressurized, doors open. Initiating tractor beam approach, now."

"Commander Aleronti, this is Captain Janeway. "We're bringing you into our ship." She watched the view screen as the little ship was swallowed by Voyager. "Good job Tom. Mr. Tuvok, you have the bridge. I'll be at shuttle bay 5."

#

#

At shuttle bay 5, the security team helped the Staertle crew off and Kes checked them over. The most serious injury was a broken arm. He was assisted to sick bay. The rest were escorted to the dining hall for the first real meal they'd had in days.

Janeway conversed with Commander Aleronti as she walked with them to the dining hall.

"Captain, I need to contact my superiors. We're several days overdue."

"We can arrange that. If you would come with me to the bridge."

"We would appreciate that. Thank-you Captain."

The small ship's arrival by now had spread throughout Voyager and Commander Chakotay arrived on the bridge the same time as the Captain and her guest. Janeway introduced them.

Chakotay couldn't decide whether to be upset with her for not informing him what was happening, or smile at the fact she was still obviously trying to avoid him. He tried to keep his face neutral.

Tom watched them with curiosity--his shift was over and he was waiting for Harry. The alien bore a superficial resemblance to the Kazon, except that the hair did not resemble a Dirarian Fungus. He hoped that was as far as the resemblance went.

Harry tapped him on the shoulder. "You ready?"

"Sure, dinner and then Sandrines."

Janeway moved away from the two commanders and watched as Aleronti contacted his homeworld. It was a brief audio communication. After arranging quarters for their guests, she too took advantage of the end of her shift and disappeared into her cabin for a quite meal and a chance to finish reading reports.

#

#

Tom, Harry, and B'Elanna found themselves facing another of Neelix's culinary treasures. After serving themselves, they found an empty table.

Tom tried to smile, one of the entree's was yellow. In the past weeks yellow had become a warning color--Neelix had discovered peppers--he was leery of trying it. Bravely he took a very small bite.

Harry laughed. "Didn't you hear. Neelix was ordered to cut back on the pepper."

"Not enough." He gulped some water. "B'Elanna, is there any way to increase replicator rations."

"Besides cutting back on warp, shields, weapons, life support. No. I've checked. And will probably look at it again after tonight. Do you have any extra rations, Tom?"

He looked sheepish, "No, I lost them last night in a pool game."

"The Captain decided to play?" B'Elanna asked.

"No, but I think she's been giving lessons. Hogan beat me."

#

#

Kes rang the chimes at the Captain's door. She had been meaning to talk to her earlier, but kept postponing it. The door slid opened; the captain looked up from her book, she had given up an hour ago on the reports.

"Kes, how may I help you?" She put her book down.

"Good evening. Captain..."

"Yes?"

Kes hesitated. "Captain. You've been very liberal about relationships onboard Voyager. *As long as it doesn't interfere with ship operations.* Well there is one that is starting to interfere."

Janeway looked up, she hadn't heard. "Oh."

Kes took a deep breath, now for the hard part. "It's actually fairly complicated. For a while, their friendship has been evolving into something more, but in the past month, for some reason, the mood has changed between them. It's become very stiff and formal."

Is it affecting their ability to work together?"

"A little. But that's not the problem. It's how some of the crew perceive the change. A few have seen it to mean something it doesn't." There was a long pause, as Kes watched the Captain realize who she was referring to.

"Some of the crew see it as a Star Fleet, Maquis disagreement?"

Kes nodded her head.

The captain didn't respond. She walked over to her window and looked out.

"Captain..." But Kathryn Janeway was lost in thought, her head leaning against the window.

Day 2

Alpha shift began quietly. Tom was early, he'd discovered it was a good way to observe people. Commander Chakotay entered next followed closely by Tuvok and Harry. The Captain arrived five minutes later.

Tom chuckled as he watched the two of them ignore each other--or rather try to. Eventually the Captain went to her ready room--ostensibly to finish the monthly reports. Tom noticed the bridge was quieter than normal. For three hours. But as the ship entered the Tolerimachin system activity picked up. It was an active system, they made contact with a large number of ships. Tom became convinced it was the busiest system he had ever seen--and that included those back in the Alpha Quadrant.

Harry and Tuvok were also busy with something, Tom noted.

"Commander," Tuvok said. "There is a lot of communication activity in this area. Analysis indicates that we are the subject of these communications."

Chakotay looked at him, puzzled. "Explain."

"Commander, we are on the local news."

"What?" This was a surprise. The entire bridge crew looked at Tuvok and Harry. Chakotay tapped his comm-badge. "Captain, we've arrived in the Tolerimachin system."

Janeway responded and a few seconds later returned to the bridge. "Report."

"Captain, we are the subject of the evening news." This statement caused her to turn and look at the Commander.

Before she could respond, Harry interrupted. "Captain we're being hailed.

"On screen." She stood. "This is Captain..."

"Captain, I'm with the Tolerimachin News services, we'd like to ask you a few questions."

Janeway turned to Harry, "Cut transmission. Harry, contact the system government."

She noticed Chakotay was trying not to laugh--actually several of the bridge crew were in the same state. "Mr. Tuvok, all press briefings will be handled by Commander Chakotay." She smiled wickedly at her First Officer.

Tom smothered a laugh.

"Captain, we've made contact with the Tolerimachin Government." She nodded and the image of the system president was on the screen.

"I'm Captain Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. We would like to return five of your citizens and their ship."

"Ah, Captain Janeway, I'm President Nierotin. Welcome to the Tolerimachin System. I have made the necessary arrangements for your ship to orbit our fair and wondrous planet. I have also arranged a reception for you and our returning citizens here at my home. Would that be agreeable?"

"Yes, Mr. President. We will be in orbit in an hour. We'll contact you then." The image disappeared. She sighed and sat down.

#

#

Captain Janeway, Tuvok, and the five Tolerimachins beamed to the President's home. She turned to Tuvok when she saw that the Press was here too. "This is going to be a fast reception."

"Yes, Captain."

The President approached, he was even bigger in person.

"Captain Janeway, I must thank you for the great service you have offered us today. Our people are grateful for the rescue of our crew. We would like to offer you and your crew a chance to enjoy our beautiful planet." The Tolerimachin President smiled, just like most politicians and continued. "I've arranged for information about several favorite tourist spots to be sent to your ship. Personally I would recommend the Mirastat Islands-- a tropical paradise."

"Mr. President, we would be delighted to accept. We'll let you know more. Thank-you."

Day 3

Before sending the shore-leave parties to the islands, Janeway sent an away team to meet with the Mirastat Governor and take a tour of the largest island--Ergal. She was uncomfortable about the whole situation, and she wanted to make sure everybody had the information necessary to stay out of trouble.

#

#

The away team beamed down to the Island Governor's home. It was a tropical paradise, warm breezes, blue skies, a strange smell...

"Sulfur." Tuvok said.

Before anyone else could comment, they were greeted by the Island Governor.

"Ms Governor, thank-you for receiving us. I'm Commander Chakotay, this is Lieutenant Tuvok, and this is Kes."

"Welcome to the Mirastat Islands, Commander. Your Captain said she wanted to gather more information, before sending the crew. Very commendable. Shall we go to my study."

The governor had prepared for this visit. She had several maps, guide books, and other sources of information. Chakotay and Tuvok studied the maps while Kes looked out the window--at the spectacular view of the island and the distant mountains.

There was a small tremor, the hanging lamp started to sway.

"Are earthquakes frequent?" Tuvok asked calmly.

"We have our share. Nothing to worry about. Our buildings are built to the highest standards. I've arranged for you to be given a tour of Ergal Island. My administrative assistant will act as your tour guide."

"We were also hoping for information on customs and laws. We'd like to prevent any problems," Chakotay remarked.

"Your guide will be able to inform you of anything you want to know. If you would follow me."

The Governor introduced them to their tour guide, Mr. Relea, who escorted them to his land shuttle.

"Welcome to Ergal City, capital of Mirastat Islands. Population of sixty five thousand."

Chakotay groaned. How could Tuvok sit there and look like he was paying attention. He let his mind wander. He really doubted that Kathryn would agree to accompany him--in fact he wondered if she was even planning on taking shore leave. He came out of his reverie--Kes was smiling at him. He turned to watch the scenery and tried to concentrate on the *speech*.

They spent an hour touring the capital. Mr. Relea had shown them the beaches, the zoo, a botanical garden, several restaurants.

"I suggest we go to Ranquo, our second largest city--population thirty thousand--it's a short trip. The scenery is very picturesque. Ranquo is located near one of our major tourist sites. Our citizens seem fascinated by an active volcano, they've been coming for months to watch the mountain."

Well that explained the sulfur, Chakotay thought.

"How serious is the threat?" Tuvok asked.

"None at all. Our government scientists have assured us that the mountain is perfectly safe. We'll be passing within a few kilometers. See that plume of smoke." The guide pointed ahead. "I've visited the mountain seven times. It's fascinating."

The trip was short, but by the time they reached Ranquo, Chakotay had decided to lose their escort. He had a lot of questions, and Mr. Relea either didn't know the answers or was not willing to answer them.

Mr. Relea seemed quite happy to let them explore the town on their own.

The first thing they noticed was the fine layer of ash everywhere and the ubiquitous smell of sulfur. The residents seemed to be cheerfully ignoring the ash and smell as they continued with their daily lives. They passed a market and Kes stopped to examine the produce. She also asked the vendors some questions.

"The people are unconcerned about the volcano. Except for the earthquakes and the ash, they ignore it. They believe what their government says about it being safe." she reported upon returning.

"There's something about spending even a eight hour vacation with an active volcano--even a *safe* one." Chakotay looked around. "I suggest we pick another site." He was about to contact Voyager, when a young woman approached the group.

"Excuse me, you're the visitors aren't you? You have a large ship in orbit."

"Yes we do..." Chakotay answered.

She smiled. "We would like you to help us leave the island."

#

#

Janeway sat in her ready room, the first of the shore leave parties would be leaving soon. The description of the Mirastat Islands--Ergal Island in particular--had certainly sounded pleasant. She just didn't like the president--she felt he was using her and the ship. But as a Star Fleet Officer she had had to learn to hide personal dislikes.

The chimes rang. "Enter."

"Captain, my department has been examining Ergal Island," Lieutenant Thomas, the Geology chief, said. "It's volcanic, and our data suggests that there will be a Level One eruption soon."

Janeway looked up. "We weren't told about this. How serious?"

"Very. The mountain has had several earthquakes over magnitude 5.3 in the last three hours. Captain. They've not evacuated any of the surrounding area."

She frowned and tapped her comm-badge. "Lieutenant Paris contact the Mirastat Governor again--send the signal to my ready room." She motioned for the lieutenant to stay.

"Captain Janeway. We are looking forward to your crew's stay here," the governor's languid voice filled the room.

"Ms Governor, my geology department chief has just told me that Ergal Island is about to have a major eruption."

"You mean our little volcano. Captain, there is no cause for alarm, it's been sputtering for several months now."

"Never the less, I would be willing to offer our assistance in evacuating the inhabitants."

"Captain, that is not necessary. Our government scientists have assured us there is no cause for alarm. Our citizens are quite safe, and should the problem become serious we do have evacuation procedures in place. Our citizens are used to this sort of thing and are anxious to remain in their homes--especially with the planetary elections in 4 days."

"Governor, I cannot endanger my crew, I'm afraid I will not be allowing them to beam down."

"If you insist. I assure you there is no danger."

"As you say. Janeway out," she turned the signal off.

"They're fools," the lieutenant muttered.

"Do you have any idea how long?"

"Anytime in the next forty-eight hours."

She tapped her comm-badge. "Lieutenant Paris have all personnel on the planet's surface transported back to the ship now. And shore leave is canceled, for the moment. I'll inform the crew. And have the senior staff report to the briefing room in 15 minutes." She turned to Lieutenant Thomas, "I'd like you to attend too."

She could hear the grumbling now. But the crew would also recognize the danger.

#

#

As the young woman, Miantar Roblin, finished her story, the away-team was informed that they were to return to the ship. Miantar returned with them.

#

#

The senior staff gathered in the briefing room. Janeway could see the looks of disappointment and curiosity at who their guest was.

"Lieutenant Thomas from Geology has informed me that the volcano on Ergal is active and dangerous--despite the government's assurances to the contrary. For that reason I have decided to cancel shore leave to Ergal. I will see if other arrangements can be made. Miantar Roblin--" She indicated the young woman. "--has requested our help in evacuating about one thousand residents of Ranquo."

Tom was running some numbers through his head. "Captain, we can do it in...three trips. It won't take us long to take them to the mainland. The bottleneck will be the transporters. And considering the amount of ash the away team brought back with them, I don't recommend landing Voyager."

"How much time do we have?" B'Elanna asked Thomas.

"At most forty-eight hours." He looked at some data on the computer.

"Ms Roblin, we'd better send you back so you can prepare everybody. How long will you need?" Janeway asked.

"Tomorrow morning. With all the poisonous serpents about, we don't dare travel at night. There is a large field--we'll gather there." She indicated on the computer where that was. "Until tomorrow, Captain. Thank-you."

After Roblin and Thomas left, Janeway looked around the room. "It seems there was a lot we weren't told. Add to that list poisonous snakes. B'Elanna can you have all the transporters on line by tomorrow morning--0600 hours?"

"Yes Captain. Even with all working, it will take us about forty minutes to transport 300 people aboard."

"Tuvok and Harry have a plan to efficiently move 300 people on and off Voyager to me in three hours. Dismissed."

She returned to her ready room and again contacted the Island Governor.

"Captain Janeway, have you changed your mind?"

"No, we have been asked to help move some of the residents of Ranquo off the island."

The governor didn't respond immediately. "There are always those who panic at little things. While I again assure you it isn't necessary, if they would rather leave.

"Ranquo is perfectly safe. In fact I will be there tomorrow evening for a political rally. I will notify President Nierotin of your decision." Again she paused.

Janeway started to speak, when the governor continued. "Captain, good luck on your journey. Governor Orontar out."

Day 4

It was early in the morning when Janeway awoke. Her chronometer said zero four thirty, her alarm was set to go off in a half an hour. She lay there a second, then decided to just get up. After showering and dressing she sat at her desk and pulled up the geology reports. Unless the volcano was unlike anything found in the alpha quadrant...There had been eleven quakes of a magnitude 5 or greater during the night. "How could anybody ignore the significance of this data," she muttered angrily. She sipped her coffee and pulled up the ship's status reports. All the transporters were on line. Now if they only had enough time.

She looked at the plans created by Harry and Tuvok. Tuvok had planned for the evacuation of three thousand people. That was typical for him to overplan--she figured the numbers would be closer to 1500. They had managed to come up with a system for moving the refugees to and from the transporters. The efficiency would depend upon the panic level of their guests.

#

#

The bridge was quiet when she arrived. Harry was at the science station talking to Lieutenant Thomas. She stopped. "Is there a problem, gentlemen?"

"No Captain, just checking on the activity." Harry returned to his station. He would monitor the transporters from here, coordinating the evacuation and work out any difficulties.

"The volcano?"

Lieutenant Thomas pointed to the data. "The magma is pretty close to the surface." Even after centuries of research, when one knew nothing about the history of a volcano, predicting an eruption was still based upon educated guess work. "My original estimate was too optimistic. I don't think we have ten hours before it blows."

"Ten hours." That was cutting it too close. She walked over to B'Elanna. "Can we transport four hundred?"

The Lieutenant didn't answer right away, she pulled up some data, and looked at it. "Captain, we would be exceeding safe occupancy levels--but we'd be well within weight limits. I'll modify our evacuation plans accordingly."

"Very good. Harry, we'll be evacuating four hundred at a time."

"Yes, Captain." He too started to adjust his calculations.

The evacuation was about to begin. She sat in her chair and managed to smile at her first officer--the smile started as 'an I hope this works smile,' but then he smiled back.

"Tuvok to Voyager." The Vulcan's voice came from the planet below.

"Janeway here."

"Captain, we have the beacons in place." Tuvok and four security officers had beamed down to the field an hour ago. They were there to set up beacons and crowd control. "I suggest we start transporting the first arrivals."

"Very good. Mr. Tuvok, we have modified our plans, we will be evacuating four hundred at a time."

"Yes, Captain. Ms Roblin informs me, that because of the increased seismic activity, she expects two thousand. I'll let you know when we are ready."

"Very good. Janeway out."

The first group took an hour to beam aboard. Kes and a couple of quickly recruited "medics" went from group to group to make sure they were all right and to calm nerves. It only took 20 minutes for Voyager to reach the mainland and the site chosen for the refugees to be 'left-off.' And only 45 minutes to transport the refugees to the surface.

Janeway walked among the first group of refugees, remembering the last time--some years earlier--when she had been involved in the evacuation of Orontium three. There was the same look of shock on their faces--a look not easily forgotten. Someone had called it a 'zombie' look. People who had also had to leave everything behind. The irony was not lost on her.

Each trip went faster. On the second trip it only took 37 minutes to transport everybody aboard. They returned for the third pick-up.

But the volcano had other plans. At precisely 1130 hours, the first major eruption occurred. There was a large plume of ash and because of the increased ionization in the air, Voyager had to wait several hours before continuing with her mission. Every so often they could communicate with the security team. The wind was blowing most of the ash to the other side of the island. Besides some very terrified Tolerimachins, they were OK.

Finally at 1600 hours they were able to resume. There were four snake bite victims taken to sick bay, and another four on the next trip. They were quickly treated. Voyager made a total of five trips before darkness came to the island. After retrieving the security team, Voyager reassumed a standard orbit. The volcano erupted twice during the night. Each time sending a plume of ash high into the sky.

Because of these eruptions, Miantar Roblin was convinced, and the senior staff agreed that there would probably be more Tolerimachins wishing to leave in the morning.

Day 5

At 0300 hours Janeway was rudely awakened by the incessant chirping of her comm-badge. "What is it?" she grumbled.

"Captain, the Tolerimachin fleet has positioned itself between Voyager and the planet's surface." That woke her up. She dressed and made her way to the bridge.

"Have they tried to contact us?"

"No, Captain. But they are armed," the young lieutenant remarked.

She looked at the data--Voyager could make short work of them, but that wasn't her purpose. What was theirs?

"Hail them."

"They're not responding."

"Yellow alert--wake the senior staff."

#

#

The staff met to discuss this new crisis--or was it. The Tolerimachin fleet would not answer their hail so Voyager had no way of knowing why they were there. Several suggestions were made, ranging from the fleet was there to help with the evacuations to preventing them. Janeway contacted Miantar on the mainland and informed her: Miantar was convinced that the fleet was there to prevent the refugees from leaving. Her reasoning was even less coherent. The government didn't want the people to leave because of the upcoming election.

At 0600 hours, Voyager found out the fleet's intentions. When they approached the planet to start evacuations, the fleet moved to intercept them.

The fleet commander opened communications. "Captain Janeway, Governor Orontar sent us to prevent the illegal removal of our citizens. We want you to resume your standard orbit."

Not wishing to have a confrontation, Janeway ordered Voyager back into a standard orbit and tried several times to hail the System President. Those hails were not returned either.

After a couple hours she started to wander around the bridge. The third time she passed the science station, Lieutenant Thomas stopped her. He just pointed at the console. She pushed a few buttons and the view screen showed the city of Ranquo.

The crew sat in stunned silence staring at the view on screen, the once thriving city of Ranquo shrouded in a dark cloud.

Janeway turned away and said very quietly, "Scan for survivors." She struggled to keep the furor and anguish out of her voice.

"Captain, there aren't any. I show the initial volcanic cloud exceeded 755 Celsius." Harry was concentrating on the data, trying to forget that it involved so many individuals.

"Captain, we're being hailed." Tuvok's voice was expressionless.

"Who?"

"President Nierotin."

She moved behind her chair, grasping the back. Her face was icy calm and so was her voice. "On screen." She looked up. "Mr. President."

"Captain Janeway." His voice was normal. "It is a tragic loss. But I must thank you for rescuing those you did."

For a brief moment her anger flared, then she found her icy shell again. "Mr. President, we could have rescued more, if *your* governor had not sent *your* fleet to prevent us from continuing our mission."

"Captain Janeway, the governor was acting without orders. She died in Ranquo too."

"Mr. President..." She couldn't finish. She signaled Tuvok to cut transmission. She gripped her chair tighter. as she very quietly, almost to herself she whispered, "Thirty thousand. You let thirty thousand die because of an election." She stood there staring at the empty screen.

Chakotay watched her, and in a subdued voice ordered, "Lieutenant Paris, set a course to the Qua-tar homeworld and get us out of here, warp 8."


Stellar Storms

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