章節 59: Mind Over... (part 1)
Only my group retained the memories from the event which instantly fixed the minor problem between Janeway and myself, but my group knew about the 'future Chaos Storm', so I had to tell them about Tori's prediction. It certainly was not a fun conversation to have, even if it was a needed one, since they would have the most chance to stop me. We had around another five years before the Voyager would reach the Alpha Quadrant, so if we left then, we would have a little under twenty years in another world which brought up another slew of questions and debates.
We needed something where Katye and I could be challenged, but also where Raven, Echo, and possibly L'Naan and Seven would not be overwhelmed by the sheer strength of our opponents. At this point, the only ideas that we have for our 'next life' were different video games that we had played in Eden. While there was a lot to choose between, the Fae Dragon conveniently had our old library of games, and we could play them within the Mental Plane, maximizing our time to try different ones.
Aside from researching options for our future, the past two weeks had been quiet, thankfully. A minor trade mission, an interesting nebula to explore, and a lot of flying through space. The Voyager series had always seemed more exciting to me than the others because there was something new around every corner, but the reality of Voyager was that there were a lot of boring shifts and downtime. Today, however, was not one of those days.
"Working on your holo-program again?" Chakotay asked as he sat down in the Captain's Chair.
"If you had told me ten years ago that I'd find calculating out the physics of various impacts relaxing, I would have called you crazy, and that was after fighting in my first war," I replied with a chuckle.
"I guess we all have our own interests," he retorted, smirking.
Most of the usual faces of the Bridge crew were off duty, like Janeway, Tom, and Harry. Nothing had been planned for the day other than flying, so they were not needed, but unexpected things were part of life on the Starship Voyager. The console at Operations started beeping and the crewman behind it tapped a few buttons.
"Commander Chakotay, we are receiving a distress call," he said. "It appears to be an automated message."
"Location?" Chakotay asked.
"Coordinates 018-mark-271 off our present course," the ensign at the Conn Station replied.
"Alter course," he instructed, and then tapped his badge, "All Senior Officers to the Bridge. Sick Bay, prepare for possible wounded."
I was polite enough to move out of Chakotay's seat since his page would also have called Janeway. He smirked and shook his head because, as he often reminded me when we worked together, my rank was higher than his and I should be the First Officer. I always retorted that he was just trying to pass off his duties onto me, and that I had enough to do with my personal training.
B'Elanna was the first to arrive, in her uniform since she had been on duty. Janeway was also in her uniform when she arrived, but Tom and Harry were in casual clothes. Everyone took their positions and, in another few minutes, the disabled ship was on the viewscreen.
"Captain, sensor readings indicate that radiation inside the alien vessel is rising to toxic levels. The life signs of the passengers are growing weaker," Tuvok stated.
"Their warp core is heavily damaged. It's leaking dry plasma and gamma radiation. It could blow at any time," B'Elanna added.
"Can we beam the passengers out through all that radiation?" Chakotay asked.
"Not from here," Harry replied. "We' have to get within five thousand kilometers."
"At that range, we'll be at risk if their engine core explodes," Tuvok warned.
"Lieutenant, take us into range," Janeway instructed with no hesitation.
"Aye, Captain. Closing to within five thousand kilometers," Tom replied.
"I'm diverting more power to the targeting scanners, trying to get a pattern lock. There's still too much interference."
"A little closer, Tom."
"Captain, I'm reading an energy buildup in the reaction chamber," B'Elanna announced.
"Mister Kim?" Janeway asked.
"I've got a lock. Initiating transport," Harry said.
"They're losing antimatter containment!" B'Elanna alerted.
"Shields up. Move us away."
"Aye, Captain," Tom replied, pressing a few buttons on his console.
He only moved us a little away before the other ship exploded. The shockwave shook the Voyager, but the lights did not even dim, so I doubted that there was much damage, if any.
"All major systems are undamaged," Tuvok announced, confirming my belief.
"I've got them, Captain. All three passengers are in Sick Bay," Harry said with a smile.
"I'm impressed," Janeway responded.
"Captain, I'd like permission to head to Sick Bay, and see if they need any help," I requested.
"Granted," she replied with a nod of her head.
I stood up and walked around to the turbo lift. Taking it down to Deck Five, it was just a couple of steps to get to Sick Bay, but it seemed that I was too late. Katye and Filigree were looking down at the body of a man on the main bio-bed while Kes held onto a woman who was crying over his body. The Doctor was at the main console, and Danara was treating a third patient who seemed unconscious.
Looking at the woman, my suspicions were confirmed that this was an episode. The way things played out on the Bridge had already raised a red flag in my mind as it all reeked of television melodrama. I could not remember the details of this one, though I knew Kes was the central star of this episode and the woman next to her would be tied to the main events.
{Something happened to Kes when the man died. Her aura fluctuated and has slowly been changing since then.} Katye sent telepathically.
{It's an episode, but I can't remember the details other than Kes and the woman are tied together. Ignore it as much as you can, and we'll see how things play out. Kes's journey is one of the most dangerous ones to mess with, since we need her to send the Voyager across Borg Space.} I responded.
{Alright.} she replied.
The Doctor noticed that I had entered and sighed as he walked over to me. He was becoming more and more human every day since his program was mostly intact after the degradation scare. Danara was certainly another major reason why he was becoming more real as their relationship was still progressing.
"His injuries were too great. Even if you had been here, I doubt that you could have saved him," he said quietly as he approached me.
"It happens, sadly," I replied. "Do you need help with the other two?"
"Their injuries are not as severe. We should be able to handle everything from here," he said.
I looked over at Kes and the woman, who had still not acknowledged my presence, then nodded before walking back out. Standing around Sick Bay would only draw more attention towards me, so I bowed out as quickly as I could. My instincts were warning me to stay away from Kes to ensure that things would not become too complicated, or this matter could become as bad as everything that had happened with Starling.
I returned to the Bridge and gave a general report to Janeway. There was not much to do after saving the people in Sick Bay, so Tom and Harry were released to enjoy the rest of their day off, though Janeway decided to head for her Ready Room. Thankfully, the rest of the day was quiet, which gave me time to try and remember more details about this episode. While I had a few more ideas of what would happen by the time that I returned to our little ship, it was far from a clear picture.
"So, how was Kes at the end of your shift?" I asked as I walked upstairs to find Katye and Echo in the kitchen.
"I'm not sure. She left early to show Nori and Adin to the quarters that they were assigned. Her aura was still changing, and I would predict that whatever was causing it should have control of her by now," Katye replied.
"Will Kes be okay?" Filigree asked as she flew over and landed on my shoulder.
"She should be, but the more we interfere, the more complicated things get in the future. Kes is much stronger than even she knows," I assured the small pixie.
"Do you have a better idea of what is going on then?" Katye asked.
"Not the whole story, but I'm pretty sure that we are going to have to fight Kes with her mental powers. I vaguely remember a scene with Kes and Tuvok where he brought her to the surface, above the entity inhabiting her, before she blasted him into a wall with her telekinesis."
"That's all?" Echo asked.
"It's been over fourteen years since I last watched the show and I've nearly died a few times, so I'm sure brain damage is to blame," I retorted dryly.
"It's good that you admit it," Echo teased with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes and sat down next to her on the 'safe' side of the counter. Echo poured me a small glass of Spirit Wine and slid it over to me. I downed it all with a single gulp and grimaced with disappointment as I placed the cup back down on the counter.
"I told you last night that we'd finished the last of your stock. Replicated is the best we have until you want to make a new batch," Echo chuckled.
"Add that to my to-do list for tomorrow," I said since it was my day off tomorrow.
"Back to the matter, what do you want to do about Kes?" Katye reminded.
"As much as I hate to say it, we need to let things play out like they did in the episode. This could likely be traumatizing for her, but this is also the chance for her to overcome the restraints that she has subconsciously placed on herself. Her strength should be on par with Echo and Raven after that connection to the Ocampa on the space station, and you know it. Both of our past selves sealed away their strength to give us a chance at this new life we have together, so Kes's subconscious could have done the same thing, which is why she became the Jean Grey of this series," I replied.
"You need to stop spending so much time with those Marvel characters; they're warping your mind," Katye chided with a light smile.
"So says the DC child," I teased.
"Do you think things will play out like the episode?" Echo asked, trying to pull the conversation back to important matters.
"It's hard to tell. I'm even debating asking for time off to ensure that I don't get drawn into everything. Not only does Janeway want to ask me about any unusual situation, but my rank as Captain means that I should be there for every First Contact."
"Well, if we are going to let things play out, then asking for time off would be wise, probably for both of us. Kes can roughly sense our strength, so if the entity can use Kes's power, she will be wary of us," Katye suggested.
"Alright, I'll talk with Janeway in the morning. It shouldn't be too much to request a few days off for intensive training," I replied.
Katye nodded and turned her attention back to the meal that she was preparing while Echo and I had a few more drinks. Raven showed up half an hour later, and we filled her in on what was happening. After a delicious meal, we retired to our nightly training within the Mental Plane.
As I had guessed, Janeway agreed to give Katye and I the next three days off when I talked with her. I used my time to make a few new bottles of Spirit Wine and work on my little garden inside the ship, though Katye used her time to actually train. The first two days were quiet, but I was called to Janeway's Ready Room on the third.
"Sorry to cut your training session short, but I could really use your help and insight. Kes, along with the two Ilari, killed Ensign Martin and the Ilari representative before stealing a shuttle and disappearing from our sensors after jumping to warp," Janeway explained as I walked into the room.
"Kes?" I asked with fake surprise.
Janeway sighed with disappointment, "I guess that means you had no idea of this happening then."
"No," I lied. "But I can't imagine Kes doing anything like that. It's simply not in her character to kill someone."
"I know. I contacted the Ilarians and their Autarch believes that he may have an explanation, so he is sending his son to help figure out what happened. I'd like for you to accompany me to meet him," she said.
"Of course, Captain," I replied.
"Bridge to Janeway. The Ilarians are ready for us to beam up Demmas," Chakotay said through the comm system.
"Understood. Rebecca and I will head there now," Janeway replied as she stood up.
The two of us walked out of the room and headed for the turbo lift. It was a short walk to the transporter room, and Demmas was materializing on the pad as we walked in. He was in his early twenties with reddish-brown hair and a slim, muscular frame. Janeway welcomed him onboard, and introduced me as well, before we led him up to the Briefing Room where Chakotay, Tuvok, Neelix, and the Doctor were already seated. There was a quick round of introductions before the conversation got started and we explained how we rescued Nori and Adin.
"... I'm sure they really wanted to kill my father. He's the one they invited up to your ship. Nori and Adin are known to be political extremists," Demmas remarked as he paced around the room.
"How could Kes be involved?" Janeway asked.
"I may be able to explain that. You mentioned that she was with the third patient when he died?" Demmas asked.
"That's right. Why?" the Doctor replied.
"I believe your crew member has been inhabited by the consciousness of a very dangerous man named Tieran."
"Who is that, and what does he want with Kes?" Neelix asked.
"Oh, I know exactly what he wants, to overthrow my family's government and to reinstate himself as the Autarch."
"He has held the title before?" Tuvok asked.
"Tieran ruled Ilari over two centuries ago. He was a war hero, a brilliant military leader. He brought security and stability during a difficult time in our history. But in peacetime... he began to treat his own subjects as enemies. He became convinced that everyone was a potential traitor."
"At some point, your people must have rebelled," Chakotay commented.
"They did, led by one of my ancestors. They laid siege to the Imperial Hall for over a year, and the city around it was burned to the ground, but Tieran was finally defeated."
"And yet, you believe that he, or at least his consciousness, has survived," Tuvok remarked.
"During his reign, he became obsessed with his own mortality. He spent most of his time, and Ilari's resources, searching for way to overcome death. Somehow, he's discovered a way to transfer his own mind into someone else's body as he's done with Kes."
"So, he's been controlling her," Neelix said with a hint of relief.
"Yes. Completely."
"But she... he knew things about Kes's life. He acted enough like Kes to fool us all. The real Kes must still be in there somewhere," Neelix remarked, hope in his voice.
"Tieran may have access to her memories and her feelings, but the Kes you know... is lost," Demmas said, not mincing his words. "I'm very sorry."
"I'm not prepared to accept that yet," Janeway said, standing up and walking towards the Doctor who was standing to the side. "Examine the body of the man who died. We need more information about how the transfer works if we want to get Kes back."
"That's certainly worth exploring, Captain, but our priority must be to stop Tieran by force if necessary. Voyager is a powerful ship," Demmas remarked with a slight smile.
"You may be considering force, but my only intention is to rescue Kes and remove Tieran's consciousness. That should serve both our interests," Janeway said, looking him in the eyes.
"You don't understand what's at stake here, Captain. You must help me to defend my people," Demmas replied with determination.
"Bridge to the Captain," Tom's voice said over the intercom.
"Go ahead," she responded.
"We've located the missing shuttle," he said.
"On my way. Let's hope that we can put an end to this right now," Janeway remarked, and led Demmas towards the Bridge.
{Tuvok, are you responsible for the locks on Kes's strength, or is it her own subconscious?} I sent telepathically.
Tuvok looked at me for a moment, slight surprise in his eyes, then replied silently, {I am unaware of any locks on her telepathic abilities.}
{Damn, a subconscious lock means that Tieran won't be restrained like Kes usually is... This could be a lot more dangerous than Janeway or Demmas know. We need to tell the Captain as soon as we can without alerting Demmas.}
I stood up and walked with Tuvok back onto the Bridge.
"They entered orbit, then dropped their shields and cut their engines," Tom said as we all entered the room.
"There's a residual trace of transporter activity. It looks like four people beamed from the shuttle to the surface," Harry explained as Janeway and Demmas approached his console.
"They're in the main chamber of the Imperial Hall," Demmas said with a sober tone.
"Lock onto those patterns and beam them back to Voyager," Janeway ordered.
"I can't. Some kind of interference has gone up around the whole structure," Harry replied.
"He's after my family. My father and brother are down there," Demmas said grimly.
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