Danny Amor's Online Library/Danny Amor's Online Library - Volume 1.iso/html/startrek/incomplete/voyagerstory.p1-2

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Subject: Voyager Story Part I
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Okay, here's a story that I'm starting to write.  I don't know what to call it
yet, but I'm trying to figure something out.  Please e-mail and tell me how you
like it so far and if you can think up a kewl title, tell me.  Thanx.

Christopher Walck
[e-mail]


                                Prolouge

    The captain's ready room stood empty waiting for the owner of it to
come in.  Captain Kathryn Janeway kept it very tidy and neat as every captain
should.  The one thing that stood out about it though was that it really had
the feeling of somewhere that she could go and relax.  She could sit in the
chair and close her eyes and think about things, or she could look up some
tidbit of information.

    The doors parted and Janeway came in, followed by Lt. Paris.  Paris had
the smug face as he usually did when he was on the bridge.  Janeway had always
wondered how Paris had gotten so smug, and she couldn't come up with an answer.
She walked behind her desk and sat down.  "All right, Lieutenant," she said.
"What's your report?"

    Paris sat down across from her and looked at his datapad.  "I've done a
normal scan of the surrounding space, and there are only a few planets that
could support life as we know it.  From what Neelix gave me, for what it's
worth, there are only two civilizations in this area."  Paris smiled.  "One of
them call themselves the Tior, and the other calls themselves the Polit.
Neelix doesn't know much about either of the species.  But they might have a
clue to the way home."

    Janeway nodded.  "Thank you, Lieutenant.  If you'd return to your post,
I'll look over the information that I have and see if we can't come up with
some sort of plan.  We need to find a way home, or at least some clue as how to
get home." Paris got up and walked out onto the bridge leaving Janeway alone.

    Janeway shook her head as she watched Paris leave.  Looking at the
datapad, she noticed that Neelix had said that the Tior looked almost exactly
as humans did.  She smiled.  Ever since Captain Picard had searched for the DNA
program and the hologram that told the races of the Alpha quadrant how everyone
looked the same, the theory of evolution had been turned upside down.

    A signal came from the bridge.  "Captain to the bridge."  Janeway put
the padd down and walked out onto the active bridge of the Voyager.  "Report,"
she said to Chakotay as he got up from the captain's chair.

    Kim, the ops officer, looked at his screen.  "There appears to be a
ship drifting towards us.  It has very little power, life support seems to be
working at minimal.  There appears to be no life aboard, Captain." Janeway
looked at the viewscreen.

    The ship was completely alien to her.  Might as well call the resident
alien to find out who's ship this was.  "Janeway to Neelix.  Report to the
bridge immediately." Janeway smiled.  She always did when Neelix was going to
be coming up to the bridge.

    But this wasn't the time to reminisce.  She had a possibly dangerous
situation here.  "Commander, go to yellow alert."  Tuvok looked at her and
nodded.  Immediately, the panel that was in front of him had a flashing yellow
line across the top.

    The turbolift doors opened and Neelix stepped out.  As soon as he saw
the ship on the screen, he stopped dead in his tracks.  "My my my..." he
muttered under his breath.  Janeway looked to him and smiled.  "I believe you
know who this ship belongs to."

    Neelix nodded.  "I guess I do.  But I haven't seen one of them in
years.  It's a Locasi transport vessel.  I don't understand why it's so far
away from home.  That system is a long way away from here, that to be sure."

    Janeway asked, "Locasi? What do you know about the Locasi?"  Neelix
stepped down and walked to Janeway.  "They're a race of beings who resemble...
hmmm... I believe the word is a cat.  They have four and four legs, and they
walk along the ground.  The last time I was through they're space was.. ah.. I
don't recall actually."

    Janeway shook her head.  "Do you think it would be safe to beam an away
team over to look around?"

    Neelix nodded.  "Of course. I've never heard of anything that the
Locasi could infect people with.  They are one of the most germ-free people
I've ever met."

    Janeway grinned.  Far from how you came on board, she thought.  "Paris,
Kim, Tuvok, you're with me.  Chakotay you have the bridge."

    Chakotay nodded and took the captain's chair again.  Neelix looked at
Janeway and left before the away team got into the turbolift.  Neelix had more
important things to do at the moment.  Like figuring out what was wrong with
Kes.

                *************

    Kes was sitting in sickbay looking at the holographic doctor.  She had
one of the worst headaches she had ever felt.  It might be because she was in
space away from the rest of the Ocompa's, but that would explain the feeling
she had of something about to go terribly wrong.

    The doctor looked at his tricorder as shook his head.  "From the last
time you came in, to this time, your brain... has changed.  It is as though
something is altering the structure of it.  I've never seen anything like it."
At that moment, Neelix walked into sickbay and the doctor turned around.

    "Sorry.  The captain needed to talk to me."  He walked over and stood
on the other side of Kes.  The doctor sighed.  "She talks to you, but no one
talks to me.  I'm just here to be turned on and off.  If I had emotions, I
guess I would be... annoyed."

    Kes smiled.  "Doctor, people ignore other people all the time.  It's
what people do best.  Someone might need attention, or needs to talk, and
instead they turn the other way or change the subject.  People have the habit
of doing it, and you have to learn that."

    The doctor looked at her.  "You're a fascinating young woman.  Anyway,
I'm going to give you some medication for your headache. I don't know what else
to do, and if you see the captain before I do, please tell her I need to talk
to her as soon as possible."

    Kes nodded as she got up.  Neelix kept a watchful eye on her as she
left the sickbay. Neelix turned to the doctor and said, "Emergency Medical
Program off."  The doctor disappeared as though he was never there.  Neelix
looked at Kes and smiled.

    "Darling? Are you all right?"  Neelix asked.  "I know about your
headaches, but are you sure you're ok?"  Kes looked at him and sighed.  "I
think so.  I just have to get some rest."  Neelix smiled and yawned.  "I know
how you feel.  I could use some sleep myself."

    As they walked back to their quarters, Kes couldn't get that feeling
out of her head.  It nagged at her until she was in her room and tried to fall
asleep.

                **************

    Kim, Janeway, Tuvok, and Paris beamed aboard the Locasi vessel and
looked around in amazement.  Neelix had said that they looked like cats, but
the resemblance was amazing.  Janeway shook her head and smiled.  This
certainly puts a dent in the DNA idea, she thought.

    The four of them spread out onto the bridge, or what looked like the
bridge.  There were several consoles along the walls.   Kim walked over to a
couple of them and shook his head.  "Captain? These consoles are not made for
this race.  There are levers and switches all over."

    Janeway smiled.  "Makes you think about the old Constitution class
ships.  I wonder sometimes how people could live back then."

    Paris shook his head.  "That was almost 80 years ago.  You make it
sound like we were in the 20th century."

    Nodding, Janeway replied, "I know, Tom.  But we've made many strides in
80 years and hopefully we'll be here to see the next 80 years."

    Tuvok, meanwhile, walked over to what he thought was the security
station.  Looking over it, he looked at the Captain.  "Captain, there is
something you should see."

    Janeway and the rest of the team walked over to the station.  Tuvok
pointed to two controls.  "There seems to be not enough power to activate this
station.  But I have ascertained that this ship has been dead for the last
decade."

    Janeway frowned.  "Can you make the station active again?"  Paris
looked at the console.  "i should be able to. It'll only take a second."

    Looking around for a cable of some sort, Paris connected it to his
portable lantern that he had brought from Voyager and linked it to the station.
"There you go.  You should have power."

    The lights on the console lit up and Tuvok nodded.  "Thank you
Lieutenant."  He looked at the consol again.  "Captain, something's wrong..."

                **********

    On the bridge of the Voyager Chakotay shook his head.  I know she's the
captain of this ship, but I'd like to take an away team.  She has enough as it
is and I'm here for doing the menial tasks.  He looked at the viewscreen and
sighed.

    The ensign at ops mumbled something under his breath.  "Commander, the
Locasi ship has just raised what appears to be its shields."  Chakotay stood up
and said, "Try to contact the away team."  the ensign nodded and worked.  "I
can't break through the shielding."

    "Transporter Room 1, do you have a lock on the away team?"  Chakotay
shook his head at the reply.  "No sir, I lost it a few moments ago."

    The ensign said, "Commander, there is a build up in the Locasi's ship
power core.  I estimate 10 seconds to ship destruction."

    "Red Alert! Fire phasers.  Let's see if we can knock a hole in that
ship."  Chakotay shook his head as he saw the phaser lash out and see them
bounce off the shields without any effect.

    The ensign counted down, "5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

    The Locasi ship blew up into pieces and the energy that was released
from the explosion shook the Voyager a little.  Chakotay closed his his eyes
and muttered something under his breath.  "Damn..."

                 Chapter I

    Chakotay looked at the screen and shook his head.  "Ensign Taile, begin
a search pattern.  I want to see if there is any life or anything that we can
lock on to."

    Taile nodded and began to work.  Chaoktay sighed.  "Chakotay to Torres.
Did you just see the explosion of the Locasi ship?"  He couldn't believe what
had happened.  The Captain, Lieutenant Paris, Tuvok, and Kim... all dead.
"Torres? Can you hear me?"

    Down in Engineering, Torres closed her eyes.  Of course, she had seen
the explosion.  She also knew that four of her comrades had died there.  "I
did.  And if you're asking me if there's a chance that they could have
survived, my answer is no."

    Chakotay nodded.  "Understood.  Go over the sensor logs and see if you
can pick up anything unusual from them.  I'm calling a staff meeting in an
hour."  A staff meeting, or what's left of the staff, he thought.

    Torres replied, "Aye, Commander."  Chakotay walked off the bridge intot
he ready room to have a moment by himself and to think about what had happened.
He looked around it for a moment and sat down in one of the chairs.  He hadn't
realized that he felt close to Janeway.

    His feelings ran deeper than people knew.  He respected her far greater
than what other Maquis members did.  When she promoted Torres, Chakotay thought
that Janeway was brave for making the decision.  She had tried to make the
Maquis part of the crew and that was one step.

    Shaking his head, he wondered if there was anything that could have
prevented the accident from occurring.  If that was what it was.  Hopefully
Torres could shed some light on the subject.  He got up and looked around once
more.  This was his ready room now, and he had to get used to it.

                **************

    Kes shuddered as she came awake.  She remembered her nightmare clearly
and it scared her.  She hadn't had a nightmare like that in a long time.
Looking at the timepiece next to her bed, she closed her eyes.  I was asleep
for a half an hour.  It felt like ten, she thought.

    Getting up she walked over to a replicator and said, "Milk, warm." She
had tried the drink when she could't sleep before and it had helped her a lot.
Looking around her room, she walked over to the terminal and activated it.  She
had been reading one of the ancient novels from Earth's past, 1984 by Orson
Wells.

    Kes had been fascinated by the novel as soon as she had read the first
chapter.  What little she knew about Earth's history, she could tell that Earth
had almost fallen into the society that was portrayed in the novel.  Kes
couldn't think what would happen if her planet had fallen under that type of
government.

    Closing her eyes, she rubbed her temples. The medicine the doctor had
given her had helped a little, but not as much as she would like.  Taking a sip
from her glass, Kes began to read again.  She almost immediately became
mesmerized by the story and what was involved in it.

    "Chakotay to Kes," a voice said from the bridge.  "I'd like you to come
to a staff meeting in ten minutes."

    Kes sighed.  "Yes, Commander.  I'll be ready."  She shook her head.
Wonderful.  I wonder what they could need me for.  Unless, it had something to
do with her headache, but that probably wasn't the case.

                ************

    Ten minutes later, Chakotay, Kes, Torres, and Neelix were in the main
briefing room.  Kes frowned immediately.  "Commander? Where's the captain? And
Paris? And Kim? And Tuvok for that matter."

    Chakotay frowned.  "I'm sorry to report that Captain Janeway,
Lieutenants Paris and Tuvok, and Ensign Kim were killed on a vessel less than
an hour ago."  A silence filled the room for a few moments as Kes and Neelix
tried to comprehend what had happened.

    "I wanted to tell you this because I thought you should be the first to
know.  The rest of the crew will be notified shortly.  I don't like witholding
the information, but I need to time to figure out what happened.  Torres?"

    Torres nodded.  "The Locasi ship raised its shields approximately 15
seconds before it exploded.  What I think took place was that someone on the
away team tried to get power back to a station or the engine core.  The ship
would have been invaded by a foreign power source and it triggered a
self-destruct mechanism.  That's the only explanation I have."

    Chakotay frowned.  "Is there any unusual readings from the explosion.
Could they have been beamed off the ship?"

    Torres shook her head.  "No sir.  There was nothing unusual, except for
a normal flux with all matter-antimatter explosions of this type."  Torres
didn't like that answer, but it was true.  She had scoured the sensor logs and
could find nothing out of the ordinary.

    Neelix spoke up.  "Commander.  The Locasi are not that type of race.
They are very peaceful and would have invited us for a cup of Harokga if we
talked to them.  I know for a fact that there is no self destruct mechanism on
their ships."

    Chakotay nodded.  "Thank you for the information."  He looked at Kes
with a look of concern.  "Are you all right?" he asked. A look of pain was on
her face.  Kes looked at the commander and shook her head.  "I'm sorry, I've
had this headache for the last couple of days.  If you'll excuse me, I'd like
to go back to sickbay."

    Chakotay smiled.  "Of course. And I have an annoucement to make."  The
four of them walked out onto the bridge and Kes entered the turbolift.  As she
walked down to sickbay, she could hear the commander's voice informing the crew
of the deaths of the away team.  People stopped in the hallways and a silence
gripped the ship.

    Kes soon entered sickbay and turned on the program. He looked at her
and nodded.  "Good afternoon.  What is the problem?"

    Kes sighed.  "This headache.  It's gotten worse."  The doctor raised an
eyebrow. "Really... Well let's see."  He took out a tricorder and scanned her
head.

    Shaking his head, he frowned.  "I don't know.  I have never seen
anything like this.  Of course, if you had..."

    "...beamed your medical records when you came on board," Kes finished.
"I know, but is there anything you can do to help?"

    Nodding the doctor said, "I could run a intensive scan, but I need
Captain Janeway's permission.  It means bringing the scanner back on line."

    Kes frowned.  "Doctor, the Captain is dead." The doctor looked at her.
"She's dead?"

    Kes nodded.  "So were Paris, Kim and Tuvok.  They died in a ship
explosion about an hour ago."

    The doctor shook his head.  "Of course, I'm the last one to know.  The
doctor is always the last one to know."  He turned away from Kes.  "Why is
that? Whenever something happens, I'm the last one to find these things out."

    Kes sighed.  "Because you're not real."  The doctor turned around.
"Not real? Of course I'm... I guess I'm not."

    "That's why people ignore you and turn you off.  It's because to them
you're not real.  YOu have no body, no personality, no soul."  Kes closed her
eyes for a moment before continuing.  "You're a nothing to them."

    The doctor helped Kes to a bed.  "You lie down and I'm going to talk to
whoever is left in charge of this place.  Maybe I can get an answer out of
them.  If I'm the one in charge, I'll at least know what's going on.  Then I
can ignore someone else."

    Kes closed her eyes and fell into unconsciousness.  The pain was just
too great.

                **************

    The planet slowly came towards her.  It was a rather interesting
planet, with the four moons circling around it leisurely.  She remembered this
planet from one of her first dreams that she had experienced before the Locasi
ship had exploded.

    But that wasn't important now.  Kes watched as the planet came closer
and closer to her.  As soon as she was in orbit, she felt a shudder run
throughout her body.  Must have passed through some type of field.  Entering
the atmosphere, she slowly fell to the ground in what seemed to be a city.

    Around her walked Locasi, cat like people who walked on all fours.  She
looked around and smiled.  Captain Janeway was walking towards her.  "Captain!"
she called as she rushed forward.  Janeway completely ignored her.  In fact she
walked right through Kes.  Kes turned around and looked at the Captain.

    Janeway had a look of puzzlement on her face.  Kes wondered what was
going on.  She knew that Janeway had died in the ship explosion.  This must be
a dream in which Kes puts her dead friends into a situation.  To remember what
they looked like, she thought.

    Janeway knelt down next to a stone and picked it up.  Looking at her
tricorder and noting that nothing was out of the ordinary, she put it back
down.  As she tried to stand up, she felt a jar run through her body.  Kes,
only a few meters away, watched as Janeway slowly disappeared, as though a hole
had opened up and swallowed her.

    Kes ran forward but it had been too late.  Janeway had completely
vanished.  As kes closed her eyes, she almost could hear a voice calling for
her.  Calling her to come, to save someone.  But it was too faint, and Kes
didn't understand what was happening.

                ************

    The doctor was bending over the unconscious body and sighed.  "Well, I
guess we'll have to go to plan 37."  Looking at a nurse and smiling, "Please
get me 5cc of Notrailine.  Maybe this will bring her out of it." The nurse
nodded and went to get some.

    The doctor stood straight and smiled.  Chakotay had told him what had
been going on and that there was going to be a memorial service in a couple
hours for the away team.  The doctor could view it from his viewscreen in
sickbay, if someone would keep him on.

    He injected the medicine into Kes and there was an almost immediate
response.  Kes' eyes fluttered open and she took a deep breath.  She blinked a
couple of times because she couldn't see clearly.  The doctor smiled and said,
"Good.  Now take it easy.  I don't want a repeat performance of that."

    Kes looked at the doctor and nodded.  "Doctor.  Is there anyway you
could put me back into REM sleep?  Just for a couple of hours."

    The doctor raised an eyebrow.  "Why would you want to do that?  You
will miss the ceremony for Janeway and the others in a few hours."

    Kes nodded.  "I know.  But I have to find out something.  Something is
very wrong with the deaths of Janeway.  I'm going to try to find out why."

    The doctor sighed.  "I'm against this, but all right.  For once I'm
going to listen to my patients.  Nurse, cortical simulators."

    Kes smiled and closed her eyes.  Time to find out the real reason they
died.

                Chapter II

    Chakotay stood before the crew of the Voyager in the biggest room on
the ship.  He noticed that the crew had very sad faces all around, but a few
faces with a question of who would take command of the vessel now that Janeway
had been killed.

       Neelix stood next to the commander wondering where Kes was.  The doctor
had told him that Kes was sleeping down in sickbay and that she would be up and
soon as she was awake.  He couldn't understand women sometimes.  That's
probably why he found them so fascinating.

    Chakotay saw speaking.  "Comrades, we're here today to mourn the loss
of Captain Kathryn Janeway, Lieutenant Thomas Paris, Lieutenant Tuvok, and
Ensign Harry Kim.  They all died in the line of duty, doing what this crew does
best: exploration.

    "I remember the first time I saw the captain.  It was after we had been
thrown across the galaxy and I thought who was she to take command of the
situation.  As I got to know her, I came to realize that she had something that
made me feel good about being first officer.  She had a fire inside of her that
wouldn't go out.  She would come up with new ideas or solve problems that some
people couldn't dream about solving.

    "I believe that no one can replace Kathryn Janeway.  No one.  But we
must go on without her.  Someone must take command of this ship and I believe
the best choice would be myself.  I know it will be tough adjusting, but we
will have to.  Janeway is gone, now we need to move on."  He stepped aside for
Torres.  She had a few words to speak.

    "Lieutenant Paris and Kim were quite a pair.  Paris was the guy who
always had a smile on his face no matter what the situation.  Of course, when
he got cocky, I would have like to belted him one, but I don't think that would
have been appropriate.  He was brought on this mission as an observer and he
left it a Lieutenant on one of the best ships I have ever served on.

    "He was to me a friend and collogue.  I knew that Paris had been in the
Maquis and I know why he joined.  Those reason told me a lot about the
character behind the man.  He was out looking for an adventure.  An adventure
came knocking at his door unexpectantly when we arrived in this space.  He was
the adventurer in all of us. May he rest in peace.

    "Ensign Kim was the greenest ensign I have ever seen.  I could relate
with him because I was in Starfleet Academy for a couple of years and Kim had
the same teachers that I had.  He had respect for the people above him, more
that anyone could ever see from him on the outside.

    "He was in ways, like a Klingon.  He had the sense of honor.  Honor was
what made him unique.  He believed that even though Paris might try to con
someone, Kim still had the ability to tell Paris that it was wrong and that it
wasn't right.  Paris might have argued about it, but Kim held his ground.
Maybe that's why I admired both of them.  Paris the man with a great smile, and
Kim who had the ability to tell what was right and what was wrong."

    Chakotay nodded and took a breath.  He looked out over the crew and
most of them had their heads bowed.  The emotions that were spread throughout
the room made him wonder how Tuvok would have handled this.  "Tuvok was a
Vulcan, pure and simple.  He held his emotions in check most of the time and
when he did slip, it took him only a moment to recover from it.  He was one of
my best friends while he was a 'Maquis.'

    "He played the role so well.  If he needed to play a Vulcan who had
been cast out by his people, he could do that.  He fooled me completely.  If he
needed to play the hardnosed Vulcan, he did that also.  But I would think as I
look out upon you, he would probably feel the same way you are..."

    Meanwhile, Neelix noticed that Kes had entered the room.  Walking down
to her, he whispered, "Darling, you knew about the ceremony.  why didn't you
show up at the beginning."

    Kes shook her head.  "I need to talk to the commander.  It's very
urgent.  The away team might not be dead."

    Neelix shook his head. "You're wrong.  They're dead and we can't do
anything about it.  If it was in one of your dreams that you saw them alive,
you were probably just wishing they were here."

    Kes shook her head.  "I know they're alive.  Somebody has to believe
me.  If you don't then the commander has to."  She walked up to the front of
the room and whispered something in Chakotay's ears.  He shook her head and
whispered something back.  Then he went back to speaking.

    She walked back to Neelix and shook her head.  "He doesn't believe me.
He said I needed proof instead of a dream I had.  But I know they're alive, at
least I think they are."

        Neelix shook his head. "I know it's going to be hard, but you're going
to have to accept that they're gone."

    Kes nodded but in the back of her mind, the nagging feeling was still
there.  She turned back to Chakotay as he finished speaking.  The crew rose
and stood at attention for a moment. Chakotay dismissed the crew and they filed
out.  Neelix and Kes walked up to Chakotay and nodded.

    "I know it was tough for you to do that Commander, but we need to get
on with what we're trying to do here.  Finding you a way home."  Neelix looked
at Chakotay.  He nodded.  "Yes, now I'm in command.  It's time we head under
way.  Torres, look over the scans one last time while we head to the next
system. I'll be on the bridge."

    With that he walked out, leaving Torres to say something.  "That man
doesn't realize the job he's going to have to do make the Starfleet crew to
have a Maquis captain."  Shaking her head, Torres left to return to
engineering.  Neelix and Kes stood alone looking out into space.

    "They're out there, I know it." Kes whispered so Neelix couldn't hear
it and tell her that she had to let go.


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Subject: Voyager Story: Part II
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This is Part II of an unnamed Voyager Story.  Please e-mail me any comments
that you might have.  Thanx.

Christopher Walck
[e-mail]

                Chapter III

    The following morning, the Voyager left the explosion site and
continued on their way trying to find a way home.  After consulting Neelix,
Captain Chakotay decided to head towards the Mira sector.  There was a
civilization there that Neelix thought could hold a piece to finding their way
back.

    The events of yesterday weighed heavily on everyone's shoulders.
Everyone looked tired and haggered.  His new staff were having troubles getting
used to each other which was normal in this sort of disaster.  Losing Conn,
Security, Ops, and the captain in one away team would hurt anyone.

    "Captain's Log: Supplemental.  I have left the site of the Locasi
vessel against my better judgement.  The away team we must assume is dead and
that we will mourn them in our own ways.  But we must find a way home.  I have
ordered the ship to the Mira sector.  Hopefully, the post warp drive society
might be able to help us get home."

    Chakotay smiled as he saw the pale blue planet come into view.  Just
like Earth, he thought.  He had only seen Earth once, but this planet looked as
though it was Earth's duplicate.  Puffy white clouds covered some of the
atmosphere and the blue oceans could be seen clearly beneath them.

    "Sensor scan, Mr. Long."  The new ops officer nodded and began a scan.
"It is very similar to Earth in atmosphere and water content.  I would say that
this could be Earth away from Earth, as some people would say."  Chakotay
smirked at that comment.

    "Any ships in the area?" he asked.  The ops officer shook his head.
"No, sir.  No ships in the vicinity."

    The security officer spoke up.  "Captain, I have a disturbance on Deck
4.  A fight has broken out between two ensigns and a member of the Maquis.
Security is taking care of it."

    Shaking his head, Chakotay sighed.  "I knew this was going to happen,"
he thought to himself.  "Acknowledged.  Please tighten the security on the
ship until everyone gets used to the idea of me being in command."

    The officer nodded. "Aye, sir."  But he thought to himself, I can't
work under one of your kind, sir.  You're criminals.

            **********************

    Down in sickbay, Kes and the doctor were busy setting up some
equipment.  Kes looked at the doctor and asked, "You sure this is going to
work?"

    The doctor smiled.  "Of course it's going to work.  If you want proof
that you're dreams are actually happening, this is one way you're going to find
out.  REM sleep is one in which this machine can tell the difference between
dreams and visions.  It's one of my latest inventions.  Of course, there is one
drawback..."

    Kes sighed.  "Drawback? What's the drawback?" she asked.  Personally,
she didn't want to know, but she had to ask.

    "It's that, well, the brain my be scrambled beyond repair if this thing
doesn't work.  But not to worry, it should work perfectly.  I hope..."  Kes
shook her head.  If this was the only way she could find out if it was true or
not, she better get on with it.  "Go ahead Doctor.  And don't waste any time."

            ***********************

    Down in Engineering Torres look at the monitor of the explosion again.
There had to be some reason for the explosion she thought.  But every time she
went over it, she couldn't get past the damn shielding that was around the
ship.  It was as though the shield harmonics caused the signals, and the
phasers, to bounce off.

    That's it, she thought.  Checking the phaser frequency that was used
and the sensor scan, she was able to screen out the shields during the
explosion.  The sensor scan cleared almost immediately and Torres couldn't
believe what she saw.

    The four away team members were distorted.  Actually the entire ship
was distorted.  She stood up and hailed the bridge.  "Torres to Chakotay.  I
might have a reason why the ship blew up."

    A few moments later, Chakotay was down in Engineering looking over
Torres shoulders.  He saw that there had been a  distortion field around the
ship since they had orginally scanned it.  "So that's why we couldn't beam them
back.  The distortion field blocked it."

    Torres nodded.  "Exactly.  I also think that the away team wasn't
killed in the explosion.  Two seconds before the ship exploded, four smaller
distortion fields appeared inside the ship.  A second later, the four away team
members were gone and the ship blew up.  They're alive Captain, I just don't
know where they are."

    "I do," Kes said as she entered Engineering holding a datapad.
"Captain, I think you should take a look at this."

                ****************

    In the briefing room, Kes went through the information that had been
gathered from her dream scan.  There was positive proof that it was part dream,
part vision.  Chakotay sat there and stayed quiet the entire time.  Torres went
through her information that she had obtained from the scans.

    "From what I can figure out, the Locasi ship was distored before we
arrived.  How it got that way, I don't know.  But what I can say is that the
ship had been transported to that location."  Torres looked at Chakotay.  He
had a surprised look on his face.

    "Transported?  Are you sure about that?"  Chakotay was beginning to
feel that this reasoning was getting a little hard to swallow.  Neelix nodded.
"It's the only explination.  I was in their system at least 30 years ago.
That's how long it took me to get from their planet to where I met you.  They
had to be transported, because that ship was more advanced then I have ever
seen in my life."

    Torres nodded.  "Exactly.  What I think happened was that when the
away team beamed aboard, they were placed into a normal field by our
transporters.  When the ship began to overload, the distortion, as can be seen
by the monitor, grew to include the away team.  Therefore, the distortion
probably caused a transportation to occur.  Janeway and the rest were caught in
the field and was transported off the ship before it blew up.  They're still
alive, sir.  I'm positive of it."

    Chakotay nodded.  "If they're still alive, where are they?"  Kes sighed
at that question.  "I think they've been transported to the Locasi homeworld.
In my dreams, I see Janeway walking in a group of cat like beings and her
taking sensor readings and then disappearing."

    Neelix frowned.  "One thing Captain.  You won't be able to get to
Locasi using your warp drive.  It would take you a long time to get there, and
personally, I don't want to travel for 30 years to find four crewmembers."

    Chakotay closed his eyes.  "All right, if they're alive, and if they're
at the Locasi homeworld, how do we get there?  Another distortion field?"

    Torres shook her head.  "Not another distortion field.  It would either
tear us apart, or just take a few random crew members.  And then we don't know
if we'll end up at Locasi.  The only thing I can think that would help us is
either a wormhole or some new technology."

    Chakotay sighed.  "So, we need to find a wormhole or technology to save
them.  And if we don't find them, it'll take 40 years to get there.  The
possibility of saving them is getting a little further out of reach.  Don't you
think that this is going to far to get back four people?"

    Torres shook her head.  "No, I don't think so.  These people are our
comrades.  They deserve to be searched for.  I don't care if our primary goal
is to find a way home.  At least we'll be doing something that might help
ourselves get home."

    A look of recognition came over Neelix's face.  "Captain, there is a
race called the Malrieo about five sectors away.  It should take us only a
couple days to get there.  They might be able to help.  They've developed a new
drive which allows a craft to travel great distances in a very short period of
time.  Last I heard, it was still experimental, but by now it should work
fine."

    Chakotay nodded.  "All right. If the captain is alive, it's my duty to
try and find them.  Torres, try and find some way to get us to Locasi.  Neelix,
get me as much information as you can about these Malrieo.  Kes, if anything
else appears in your dreams, please tell me immediately."

    A signal came from the bridge.  "Lieutenant Machor to Captain Chakotay.
Sir, three Starfleet officers have take Maquis hostages on deck 10.  They are
demanding that you turn over control of the vessel to a Starfleet officer and
that the Maquis leave their stations."

    Chakotay sighed.  "Damn.  You have your orders.  Now I have to difuse a
time bomb before it goes off."

    He left the briefing room and walked onto the bridge.  "Status report,"
he said.  Lieutenant Machor reported, "Captain, the kidnappers have given us
four hours for you to step down.  They have implanted a computer virus into the
system that will destroy the entire system if tampered with.  If that fails,
Engineering reports that there is a slow buildup in the engine core.  In
exactly four hours, the ship will be destroyed."

    Torres looked at Chakotay.  "I have to get down to Engineering and see
if I can stop the buildup.  The virus, you have to take care of."  She entered
one of the lifts and exited the bridge.  Kes looked the captain and said, "Sir,
I think I know who can help you with the virus."

            ******************************

    "You want me to do what?" The emergancy medical program paced in
sickbay.  "You want me to disable a computer virus.  My expertise is medicine,
not Engineering."

    Chakotay nodded.  He had come down to Sickbay with Kes to tell him what
they needed of him.  "I know.  But you have access to the computer.  You are a
computer program.  You should be able to disable it from the inside."

    The doctor shook his head.  "There is no way I can do this.  One minute
I'm being completely ignored, and the next I'm asked to saved the ship.  It's
one extreme to the other, Captain. Is there no in between?"

    Kes shook her head.  "Doctor, we need you to do this for us.  You know
what we talked about earlier.  This is your chance to help us.  Make you one of
us.  It'll make people respect you."

    The doctor nodded.  "All right, but I better not be ignored anymore,
got it?"

    Chakotay smiled.  "Got it.  Computer: Turn off Emergency Medical
Program."

    The doctor disappeared to try and figure how to get rid of the virus.


                Chapter IV

    The woman woke with a splitting headache.  She groaned and tried to
clear her head.  Whatever had happened to her, she now knew what it felt like
to be run over by a truck, as the Earth saying used to go.  She opened her eyes
in astonishment.  She had never seen anything like where she was now.

    She was laying on a very soft bed in what could only be described as a
recovery room.  She saw the other members of the away team on other beds.  They
still seemed to be uncoscious.  In between each of the beds, were animals on
four legs who looked like cats.  It must be the Locasi, she thought.

    But how was that possible?  The Locasi world was a half a quadrant
away.  All she could remember was that Paris had activated the console, Tuvok
reported something had gone wrong and then she was knocked out.  She tried to
massage her neck but she was too sore.

    She swung her legs over the bed and sat up.  One of the Locasi came up
to her.  "Good evening.  My name is Roalsa.  Are you feeling any better?"

    Janeway shook her head.  "Other than a massive headache, I seem to be
ok.  Where am I?"

    Roalsa smiled.  "You're on Locasi.  You were transported here by the
distortion field."  Janeway frowned.  "Distortion field?  What distortion
field."

    Roalsa nodded.  "It was what brought you here before the ship
exploded.  Do not worry, all will be explained shortly as soon as the rest of
your comrades awaken.  Until that time, feel free to rest and meditate."  With
that, it walked over to Kim's bed and scanned the unmoving body.

    Janeway looked around.  Well, I was expecting to be dead.  But this
certainly isn't death. She checked herself to see if she still had her combadge
and phaser and tricorder.  Nodding as they were all still there, Janeway
decided to lay back down because she felt a little woosy.

    A couple minutes later, Roalsa came back.  "Madam, the rest of your
friends are awake.  If you would follow me please..."  It walked away from
Janeway and she followed it since there wasn't anything better to do.  Kim and
Tuvok nodded to Janeway while Paris had a look of astonishment on his face.

    "I know how you feel, Lieutenant.  I thought we would be dead, but
instead we find ourselves a half a quadrant away."  Paris nodded.  "Eaxctly,
Captain.  This makes me feel like be Cait back in the Federation.  It's sorta
scary to see all these cats around."

    Behind him, Kim sneezed.  "Especially if you're alergic to them."
Janeway shook her head and looked where their guide was taking them.  They had
walked onto a bridge which spanned most of the city that they were in.  It was
like an arch over the streets and buildings below.  Looking above, Janeway saw
the clear blue sky reach into infinity.

    Roalsa turned off and descended a flight of stairs down into the main
part of the city.  Tuvok almost immediately pulled out a tricorder and Roalsa
nodded.  "Go ahead and scan whatever you like, my friend.  Anything you don't
understand will be explained to you."

    Janeway walked up to Roalsa.  "Where are you taking us?" she asked.
She liked to know where a cat was taking them.  Hopefully not to some sort of
zoo or a pound as she remembered from ancient Earth cartoons.  That thought
brought a smile to her face and she looked back at Paris.

    Paris couldn't get over the number of cats on the planet.  "I wonder if
they date humans," he said to Kim.  Kim sneezed and replied, "I don't care.  I
just want to get out of here."

    Roalsa walked into one of the building and told them to wait there.
Tuvok took a sensor reading and said, "Captain.  I find this most fascinating.
There seems to be a field surronding this planet.  I don't know the composition
of it.  It's as though this planet is inside a temporal distortion."

    Janeway sat down in one of the chairs.  "All right.  I think we can
assume where we are.  Number One: How did we get here?  Number Two: How do we
get back?"

    Paris looked out the window.  "I think we were brought here when I
triggered the power supply.  Something must have happened then which caused us
to be transported here.  We're lucky that it did, otherwise we would all be
dead and floating atoms right now."

    Janeway nodded. Kim meanwhile look at one of the sculpture that was in
the lobby.  "I think what happened was this:  If this planet is inside of a
distortion field like the one that surronded the Locasi ship, the transporter
jsut brought us back to the point of origin.  So we just have to reverse it and
get sent back."

    "That won't be possible my friends."  The voice came from a upright
human that walked down the stairs.  He was wearing white robes and had pale
skin.  He looked at the captain and smiled.  "My name is Litora.  I'm one of
the humans who had been brought here a few years ago."

    Janeway stood up.  "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation
Starship Voyager.  We were examining a ship, when we triggered something that
brought us here.  We'd like to know if that's possible."

    Litora shook his head. "No, it's not possible.  The distortions are
random as we have seen over the years.  One day, one person would be here and
the next day that person would be gone.  It's rather interesting to see you be
transported here."

    Janeway nodded.  "These distortions.  What can you tell us about them?"
She needed to find out as much information as possible and as soon as possible.
She didn't want to be here any longer that she had to.

    The man sighed.  "Not much I'm afraid.  This planet is covered by a
subspace field which allows no ship to leave orbit.  The only way out is
through a distortion and those are random.  I think the best word for the
distortions are gateways."

    "Gateways?" Paris asked.  Litora nodded again.  "They're gateways to
other times and other dimensions.  You enter one, and you might be brought a
block away from where you were, or thrown through time 10,000 years into the
past or put into another universe.  No one has returned from these
distortions."

    Janeway shook her head.  "So you're saying that we're trapped here.
And that these distortions could take us up at any time and take us to anywhere
in the universe?"

    Litora nodded.  "Exactly.  You basically landed on a time bomb.  You
might be here tomorrow, you might not be.  I can't really tell you.  All I can
tell you is that you're going to have to get used to living here."

    Kim sneezed.  "Among these cats? Sorry, but I don't want to be sneezing
the rest of my life."  Litora laughed.  "Don't worry, we have medicine for you
ailment.  You'll be fine in a couple of days, trust me.  In the meantime,
welcome to Locasi.  I hope you enjoy your stay.  If you'll follow Roalsa, she
will take you to your quarters."

    Janeway shruged.  "Thank you. You have been most informative. I hope we
could talk again soon."

    Litora nodded and walked away from the group.  Roalsa walked up the
stairs and took a corridor to the left until they came to four doors at the end
of the hallway.  "These are your living quarters.  Make yourself right at home.
Dinner will be served in two hours in the Marketplace."

    Janeway walked into her room and looked around.  The place looked
rather Spartan in nature.  There was a bed and a table.  There were a couch and
a lamp under the window that looked out into the city.  She walked over to
the window and pulled the drapes open.

    Sunlight flooded the room and Janeway smiled.  "I think I could like it
here," she said softly.  But she had to get back to Voyager.  They would
probably looking for her, if she knew Chakotay right.  Hearing a knock at the
door, she said "Come in."

    Tuvok, Paris, and Kim entered.  Kim went over to the couch and sat
down.  "Captain," he said.  "I think we need to find a way off this planet.  I
don't mind the cats, but living among an entire race of them, might be a little
annoying."

    Janeway nodded.  "Exactly.  I think we need to split up and search the
city. Take sensor readings of everything.  If you run into problems,
communicate with the rest of the group.  We'll be there as soon as we can.  Any
questions?"

    The group shook their heads.  "Good.  Time to get to work gentlemen."

                ***************

    "Captain's Personal Log: Supplemental.  I have been informed by Torres
that the buildup in the engine core can be stopped but only if we shut down the
computer access to the engine core.  If we do that, the virus will affect the
computer systems and we will lose our lives."

    Chakotay stood near where the kidnappers were positioned on Deck 10.
Sighing, he wondered how many other people might think that the Maquis
commander shouldn't be in command of this ship.  He looked down the hall and
saw that one of the kidnappers wwas looking at him.

    "Lieutenant Powell," he said.  "I order you as your commanding officer
to release the hostages immediately.  I will not put you into custody if you
hand them over now and return to your duties.  This is my only offer I am
willing to give to you other than the use of force."

    Powell sneered back at him.  "A criminal, trying to talk?  That's a
good one.  I know you, you're all alike.  You'll put us in the brig and keep us
there.  My demands are simple:  Turn this ship over to Starfleet and you will
be put under arrest till we get home."

    Chakotay shook his head.  "You will not get home without our help.
Captain Janeway put her trust in us.  I think it would be wise if you'd do the
same thing."

    Powell scowled.  "She's dead, and you killed her.  You should have gone
over with the away team.  The first officer's duty is to protect the life of
his captain.  And I do believe that's what it says.  You killed her, and now
you will pay for it."

    "Even if it means destroying the ship?" Chakotay asked with concern.
Powell nodded.  "Even if we blow up the ship.  I will NEVER be a subordinate to
a Maquis commanding officer.  Never.   And to prove it..."

    Powell pulled out his phaser and Chakotay heard it firing.  A scream
pierced the silence and Powell grinned.  "There.  There is one of you fellow
criminals.  Or rather, was."  He rolled a body out into the hallway and went
back inside.

    Chakotay and the security officer rushed forward and picked up the dead
crewmemeber.  "Damn," he said.  "I want you to find a way to get inside.  No
matter what the cost.  We've got only three hours to figure out what to do
before this ship explodes."

    The officer nodded and help Chakotay take the body down to Sickbay.

                ***************

    "Personal Log: Stardate: Unknown.  I have sent the others to examine
this planet to see if there is any way that we can leave without running into a
distortion field.  I personally do not want to be transported half away across
the universe with no way of getting back."

    Janeway looked over the railing at the buildings below.  She had come
up here to get a better view of the city and what a view it was.  The city's
towering buildings made it look like on of the pictures that Janeway had seen
of 20th century New York.  My god, she thought.  It's beautiful.

    She pulled out her tricorder and began to walk.  As she walked she got
blips on her scanner.  They seemed to pop up randomly and every time they
seemed to get closer to her.  She walked into what seemed to be a park and ran
a scan.

    Strange, she thought.  The blips were much more denser here than
anywhere else that she had been to.  She looked around and decided to pick up
a rock.  She bent down and felt a shudder go through her body.  Shaking her
head, she stood up.

    Looking around, she gasped.  She was standing on the sidewalk in New
York City she thought.  She looked down and her uniform had stayed the same.  I
must have been caught in a distortion field, she thought.  She touched her
communicator.  "Janeway to Tuvok.  Can you hear me?" There was no answer.

    Damn, she thought.  Looking around she saw a newspaper stand and walked
over to it.  The guy behind the desk laughed.  "What the hell are you supposed
to be?  It ain't halloween yet."

    Janeway smiled.  "Sorry.  I guess I haven't been in town very long.  I
need to get some new clothes.  Where I come from, this is the latest style."
The guy smirks. "Whatever.  If I didn't know any better, I thought you would be
one of those people who believed in the Master Race."

    "Master Race?" she asked.  The guy looked at her strangely.  "Why the
hell do you think Hitler is taking over Europe? Wherever you came from, you
were definately out of it."

    Janeway picked up a newspaper and was shocked to see the date on the
paper.  "December 5, 1941.  A day before Pearl Harbor."

             *******************