In our middle act, the Voyager crew attempt to help the Xadavians out of their predicament by manufacturing a vaccine for the disease created by the invading Gavvari. However, when one of the Xadavians is mysteriously killed after providing a blood sample to the Doctor, Janeway launches an investigation.
Need to catch up? Click here to read Part One.
“Star Trek: Voyager – Q Meets Girl” – Part II
Phil Giunta
Chapter Three
She knew her homecoming would not be complete until she visited this room. So much wisdom had been gained here, so much maturity.
“Is this where you lived?” her young suitor asked, his curious gaze soaking in the foreign surroundings.
“It’s where I learned about life,” Kes replied cryptically. “From someone who himself was only beginning to live.
“Computer,” she called out. “Activate Emergency Medical Hologram.”
To their left, a distorted column of projected light quickly coalesced into the familiar stature of her former mentor.
“Please state the nature of the medi—oh, my.”
Voyager’s chief medical officer, a computer generated hologram who prided himself on his nearly flawless knowledge of every advancement in medical science throughout the galaxy for the past three centuries, found himself unable to conjure a single thought in reaction to the sight before him.
So he simply gaped.
“Was he normally this eloquent?” The young man asked with an innocent expression that belied the tinge of sarcasm.
The doctor grimaced. “You’ll pardon me if I don’t believe my eyes.”
“Believe them,” Kes assured him with a bright smile.
“In that case, it’s wonderful to see you again. When did you arrive? Does anyone else know you’re here?”
“You, too, not long ago, and yes,” Kes answered respectively. “I arrived on the bridge in fact.”
The chief medical officer raised an eyebrow. “I’d have almost given my mobile emitter to have seen that. This is incredible. I had often wondered if we’d ever meet again. I have so many questions for you, I’m not sure where to begin.”
“How about with the first one?” the boy interjected, drawing the physician’s scrutiny.
“Who’s the peanut gallery?”
“Oh, yes, this is a… friend.” Kes held up a hand to indicate her companion. “He’s Q.”
“You don’t resemble the Q we’ve encountered before.”
“I am their offspring,” the youth informed him.
“Ah, son of Q,” the doctor quipped. “How comforting. I’m getting the impression that this is not entirely a social visit.”
“It was actually sheer chance,” Kes said. “We just happened to be in the same place at the same time.”
“Small galaxy.”
“Bridge to Sickbay.” The voice of Captain Janeway beckoned from the intercom.
“Sickbay here.”
“Doctor, please report to the conference room in ten minutes.”
“On my way,” he acknowledged before turning to Kes. “I hope you won’t mind indulging my curiosity in the turbolift.”
“I can get us there much faster.” Q raised his hand.
“No!” Kes cupped her fingers over his. “Remember the warning.”
Reluctantly, and not without some effort from Kes, he lowered his arm. As the two exited Sickbay ahead of him, the doctor filed away the incident in that block of computer memory allocated to his program and added it to his growing list of questions.
***
“Germ warfare.”
In the conference room a short time later, Janeway summarized in two words the horror story that Targus had just imparted to Voyager’s senior staff.
“Those not killed during the war have been left to perish slowly in its aftermath,” the former governor explained. “Even the fittest are finding survival next to impossible.
“The situation is much more precarious than contaminated water, however. Xadavia has become overrun by off-world terrorists. At first, their visits were infrequent and swift, mostly scavenger hunts. As word of our plight spread throughout the sector, they struck with greater audacity. Our numbers were decimated even further as defenseless people were slain for what meager food or possessions they managed to scrape together for themselves or their families.
“The attacks continued into last winter, one of the most hostile in Xadavia’s recorded history and also when the Gavvar arrived, offering assistance. It wasn’t long before they drove off every other aggressor, promptly earning a desperate population’s explicit trust.
“I’m afraid I was not entirely forthcoming earlier when I told you there was no vaccine for the epidemic caused by this aquatic germ. The Gavvar have since developed one.”
“Then your people are on their way to recovery?” Janeway inferred, trying to ascertain just where in this predicament her assistance was needed.
“More have died under Gavvar leadership than all of the terrorists’ attacks combined!” Targus exclaimed. “For us, their offer of assistance was hardly an auspicious one. When they claimed to have discovered a vaccine, it filled us with so much hope. It wasn’t long after when we realized just how cunning and calculated their invasion was.
“The only way for us to obtain the vaccine is through daily auctions held at the capital, the same way we obtain food, medicine, clothing and other supplies.”
“How do you bid if you have nothing to pay with?” Chakotay inquired.
“We are the payment,” Targus explained, noting the exchange of puzzled expressions around the table. “Many of us perform manual labor for the Gavvar. Winning bids are usually from those who offer to work longer hours or volunteer for the most dangerous tasks.”
“That’s bordering on slavery,” the captain frowned.
“Don’t think we didn’t realize that,” Targus assured her. “But our survival was first priority. As the Gavvar revealed their true colors, suspicion and dissent began to breed through the populace. We’ve also uncovered evidence indicating that the Gavvar sold the germ to the three most powerful military blocs on Xadavia at the height of the war, only to wait while our own infighting debilitated our population and defenses.
“Furthermore, the complete formula for the vaccine is unknown by anyone except the Gavvar. Our doctors began analyzing the vials obtained at auction until the Gavvar discovered their efforts. They immediately had all medical personnel in our communities imprisoned or murdered.
“You can see now the reasons for my skepticism toward your offer. In essence, Captain, we are a dying race.”
Come on now, Kathryn! They were a dying race, no one would have missed them!
Janeway suppressed a shiver as she expelled from her thoughts the cold, unfeeling statement of earlier. Then, her eyes lit up with inspiration. “Can you provide us with one or two of those vials?”
“That will be costly, but considering the long term benefits, it can be arranged.”
Janeway turned to the doctor. “The minute we get them, I want you start researching.”
“Certainly,” he nodded. “However, I’ll also need a blood sample from someone currently infected.”
“There are several cases in my own community,” Targus volunteered. “Although I doubt I’d be able to smuggle any of them aboard your vessel.”
Janeway smiled. “We make house calls.”
***
Pulling the collar of his tattered gray coat closer about his neck, the doctor cast a concerned glance over his shoulder to be sure that his omnipotent companions were keeping pace.
In the transporter room earlier, the duo erupted into an argument over the need to alter their appearance so as to be inconspicuous on the planet’s surface. Kes brought their bickering to an abrupt end as once more, she curtailed Q’s attempt to use his powers for that purpose. Instead, the doctor took the standard route of replicating the appropriate clothing.
Still, he would have to question Kes as to this mysterious warning that had been imposed upon them. He made a mental note to speak with her as soon as they returned to Voyager before such episodes began to affect their mission.
The doctor returned his attention to Targus as the politician led them through a lonely street to a dilapidated two-story hovel. Once all were inside, he closed the door with an exaggerated sigh of relief.
“Governor Targus, did something happen?”
The question came from a tall young woman, her stature enhanced by her emaciated frame. It was clear that she had once been exceptionally beautiful before the telltale signs of poverty and oppression set upon her and the world she lived in.
“No, all is well,” he assured her. “We passed Gavvari no less then seven times along the way. I thought we were going be stopped on at least two occasions.”
“Something must have them riled,” the woman surmised, her gaze settling on the newcomers. The doctor could not determine whether her expression carried curiosity or trepidation.
“How are you feeling this morning?” Targus inquired while activating the door’s crude locks.
“I’ve sharp pains in my lower back and stomach, but then I just finished a thirteen hour shift at Yajera. One more like that and they promised me a vial of brychlidoride.”
Targus grimaced at that before motioning to theVoyager trio. “Kimeve, these visitors have agreed to help us find our own cure. They’re from a ship much more advanced than even the Gavvar.”
“I see,” the woman said simply, though it was obvious by her tone that something about the situation disturbed her.
Targus clasped her shoulders. “I’ll explain it all to you later, but we haven’t much time. As of yet, the Gavvar have no inkling of their presence here and I’d like that to remain so for as long as possible.
“I’ve brought them to you because their doctor requires a blood sample before he can begin his research. I was hoping you’d be inclined to provide that.”
Caught off-guard, Kimeve merely shrugged wearily. “I… suppose.”
***
“I apologize for the brusqueness of the request. All of this subterfuge and secrecy leaves little opportunity for proper introductions,” the doctor said as pressed the hyposyringe into Kimeve’s arm. “My ship, the Voyager, was passing through this system when Targus contacted us.”
“No doubt pleading and begging for help,” the Xadavian grumbled as her blood filled the small vial.
“Actually, he tried to get rid of us. It was my captain who volunteered our aid.”
“What are you getting out of it?” she asked bitingly.
“Nothing.”
Kimeve snickered and the doctor glanced up as he stowed his equipment into the med-kit. “I hope this is fatigue talking and you’re not normally this cynical.”
The woman allowed herself a slight hint of a smile. “I would like nothing more than to take you at face value but you’ll pardon me if I’m not entirely convinced of your open goodwill. It was Targus who played diplomat to the Gavvar when they showed up and look where we are now.”
The chief medical officer sighed. “I don’t expect that anything I say here and now will earn your immediate trust. So I guess you’ll just have to judge by our actions. In the meantime, I was hoping you might bear with me a moment longer while I take one more thing. With your permission, of course.”
Suspicious, Kimeve leaned away from the physician as he produced a black and gray rectangular device nearly as large as his med-kit. A crescent shaped handle spanned the modest height along one side while a small silver lens protruded from the front. Beside it, two black buttons were set into the object’s metallic surface one below the other.
“This is a holo-camera,” he explained. “I originally created it to capture two-dimensional images, or pictures, of my fellow crewmembers for reasons purely nostalgic. Since then, I’ve modified it to project three-dimensional holographic images of the subjects, including all internal biological systems including skeletal, respiratory and so on. It’s become an invaluable diagnostic tool.”
“And you want to take a picture of me,” Kimeve deduced. By now, her discomfort with the doctor seemed to all but dissipate as she peered at his invention in awe. “If only our hospitals had such technology, not to mention our schools.”
“Are you a medical student?”
She nodded. “Until the Gavvar took control of all medical facilities on Xadavia. With our doctors gone, the sick and injured are being treated by people like me. You must have an incredible sickbay aboard your ship.”
“I’ll ask Captain Janeway for permission to give you a tour in return for your assistance, and for tolerating me so patiently.”
Kimeve laughed sincerely and shook her head. Not at all, honestly I’ve enjoyed your company, Doctor… I’m sorry, I don’t believe you ever told me your name.”
“I haven’t officially decided on one yet.”
Taken aback by his response, Kimeve was unprepared for the flash of the holo-camera, which promptly transferred her image, bemused expression intact, into its memory.
***
In Sickbay three hours later, the Doctor, Kes and the young Q stared down at their second failed attempt at devising a possible antibiotic. It was not that they had been unable to kill the germ. Remarkably, that obstacle had been defeated on their first attempt. However, the traumatic side effects caused by the experimental drugs posed a greater challenge. Using computer modeling with the holo-image of Kimeve, the Doctor was able to test each remedy and record any adverse effects. After which, he would simply reset the hologram to its initial condition and try again.
“Do we know when that brychlidoride sample is going to get here?” Kes inquired.
“I haven’t heard—”
As if on cue, the sickbay doors suddenly slid aside. Flanked by two of members of his security staff, Tuvok entered briskly. As usual, the expression on his face was impenetrable.
“The captain wishes to see you in her ready room.”
The doctor frowned. “I’m in the middle of critical research right now. Can she possibly come down here?”
“Those are her orders,” the Vulcan insisted calmly.
“I have nothing yet to report.”
“Now, Doctor.”
Agitated, the CMO slowly made his way toward the doors led by Tuvok and followed closely by the guards. “I’d at least like to know what this is about!”
Chapter Four
“Murder.”
Captain Janeway, datapadd in hand, paced slowly back and forth between her ready room desk and her bewildered chief medical officer.
“It appears that the woman from whom you took the blood sample died of cardiac arrest not an hour after you returned toVoyager. According to Targus, her body was discovered at a local clinic where she worked. An autopsy was performed by a team of senior medical students there.”
She thrust the datapadd at the doctor. “They discovered massive quantities of a foreign compound in her blood that they believe induced the heart attack.”
“Cordrazine?” the doctor was incredulous. “They suspect it came from me?”
Janeway’s expression softened. “I don’t believe it for a minute, Doctor, but I have to understand their perspective. One of their citizens is dead after having contact with us. They want answers and frankly, so do I. Tuvok and Seven have been assigned to investigate the matter. You’ll have to turn over any equipment you used on the planet to them.”
“You have my full cooperation, of course.”
The captain nodded quickly as if to dismiss any notion to the contrary. “Until this matter is resolved, though, I am restricting you to the ship. That goes for Kes and the Q as well.”
“I’ll explain the matter to them,” the doctor volunteered.
“Very well,” Janeway sighed. “That’ll be all, Doctor. Dismissed.”
With a curt nod, the physician started toward the doors before halting abruptly. Hesitantly, he turned back to face the captain.
“Something else, Doctor?”
“This is completely unrelated,” he began. “And I’m not entirely certain that it’s even cause for concern, but I’ve been observing some odd behavior in Kes and her companion.”
He proceeded to recount the incidents in both Sickbay and the transporter room before launching into a barrage of questions that indicated just how uninformed he was about the pair. Janeway held up a hand to cut him off. She explained Kes’s association with the Continuum and the restrictions that Q had placed upon them when they volunteered to assist the Xadavians.
Though the doctor found it hard to believe that Kes had joined the Q, he nevertheless grasped her position more clearly now.
Leaving the ready room, he crossed the short distance to the turbolift while the heuristic computer that was his mind wondered just how he was going to manage two omnipotently frustrated children.
***
Seven of Nine passed her tricorder over the contents of the med-kit while behind her, Kes and the doctor once more reset the hologram of Kimeve as a result of their fifth unsuccessful attempt at creating a completely effective vaccine.
Standing on the opposite side of the counter from Seven, the young Q watched as she closed her tricorder and tapped her comm badge. Unnoticed by her, his eyes seemed to fix on that general spot for a few extra seconds.
“Seven of Nine to Tuvok.”
“Tuvok here.”
“I have finished my scan of the doctor’s med-kit. All instruments have been accounted for and none contain any trace of cordrazine.”
“Understood,” the Vulcan replied. “I will forward your report to the captain. Tuvok out.”
“You are the one who was a Borg,” young Q said.
“That is correct.” Seven carefully placed the equipment back into the med-kit.
He pointed to her face and hands. “I noticed you still have some of your Borg, er… parts.”
“They are Borg enhancements,” she corrected. “They cannot be removed else I would cease to function.”
“Oh,” the boy acknowledged. “Are those the only areas of your body that were enhanced?”
The sound of a medical tricorder crashing to the floor interrupted their conversation. The two glanced over to the biobed where the doctor’s frustration was evident. Retrieving the fallen device, he instructed Kes to take a break while he researched alone in his office. It was becoming evident that the repeated failures were taking their toll on his programming.
“Seven,” Kes began as she approached. “I didn’t get to tell you how good it is to see that you’re still with Voyager. I take it that you decided to part ways with the Borg?”
“I have found my life here as an individual… stimulating. However, at the moment I must return to my regeneration chamber in the cargo bay.”
“I’ll walk with you.”
Together, the two women departed Sickbay and made their way down the corridor trailed closely by Kes’ young suitor.
“I am curious,” Seven spoke up. “You are now a lifeform of pure energy. Surely you must consider your existence to be perfect.”
“No existence is as perfect as it may appear from the outside,” Kes grinned, shooting a peripheral glance at their follower who frowned but remained silent.
“Explain,” Seven requested.
“Words can’t describe it. You can only know through experience. Take your own for example. The Borg claim that they’re the most perfect sentients in the galaxy.”
“They are on a constant quest to attain ultimate perfection,” Seven concurred as the trio stepped into the turbolift.
“If that’s the case,” Kes questioned. “Then tell me why you are still here?”
Seven of Nine found herself unable to reply.
“Deck seven,” Kes told the turbolift.
***
Stepping out of the sonic shower, Janeway pulled on a gray tank top and black shorts before stepping barefoot to the replicator for a steaming cup of hot cocoa. Taking a sip, she closed her eyes for a moment and settled into her couch with a twentieth century mystery novel that she had more than once intended to get through as soon as time permitted.
The door chime chirped.
Rolling her eyes, she tossed the book atop a nearby table. “Yes?”
The doors parted to permit her chief of security.
“Tuvok, what can I do for you?”
“I did not wish to interrupt,” he began. “But your orders were to inform you immediately upon the conclusion of our investigation.”
“Absolutely. What have you found out?”
“Seven of Nine discovered no evidence of tampering with the doctor’s medical equipment nor did she find any trace of cordrazine. When I interviewed Targus, he informed me that there were several more Gavvar patrols than normal on the streets at the time the doctor beamed down but none of them accosted the governor or the away team.”
“Conclusions?” Janeway prodded.
“I do not believe the cordrazine entered the victim’s bloodstream until after the doctor returned to Voyager.”
“You think it happened at the clinic.”
“That is the most likely scenario,” Tuvok agreed. “I also find it unusual that the Gavvar have not yet contacted us. If they are as powerful and advanced as Targus would have us believe, certainly they have been alerted to our presence by now.”
“Maybe they were waiting for us to make the first move,” the captain speculated. “When we didn’t, they killed Kimeve to force our hand.”
Tuvok remained silent as his commanding officer rose from her seat and stared out into the cold darkness of space. “Perhaps it’s time we had a conversation with the Gavvari leader.”
***
“Captain, I’m not so confident that this is a good idea,” Targus pleaded from the main viewscreen on the bridge. “If the Gavvari Naestron finds out that I’ve been covertly working with you he will have me executed!”
“Governor, Kimeve’s murder was a message. The Gavvar already know we’re here.”
Targus swallowed hard. “If this is in defense of your doctor, I’m sure he’s innocent but—”
“You’re damn right he is,” Janeway snarled. “And if you want you’re people to remain in oppression we’ll continue on our way right now, or you can take my offer and arrange an audience with the Naestron. With us behind you, Governor, the playing field becomes much more level.”
Targus took a deep breath. “You ask much of a tired old man, Captain, but I’ll do my best.”
“That’s good enough for me. Speaking of which, have you been able to procure a vial of brychlidoride for us?”
“The next auction is in six hours, I hope to be able to claim everything that was supposed to go to Kimeve since she was in my charge, but I can’t guarantee anything.”
“Understood. Keep us informed. Voyager out.”
***
With a disgusted sigh, the doctor switched off the display of his desktop terminal and stared at his reflection on the dark screen. The expression of misery on his face unsettled him so that he shifted his gaze toward the empty biobed across from his office.
Suddenly, an idea struck him and he activated his terminal once more. Ten minutes later, he stepped out from behind his desk and hurried out of Sickbay.
***
“Computer, activate holodeck program Nirvana.”
The ubiquitous grid covering the four walls faded as a world of intense color and beauty materialized around the lone figure. Overhead, pastel clouds floated through a spring green sky that spanned for what may as well have been an eternity. Its vastness was matched only by the majestic hills and valleys of light blue grass and exotic, alien wildflowers that surrounded the doctor in every direction.
“Computer, activate program Kimeve One-A.”
Beside him, the holographic image of Kimeve appeared. The woman spun around in obvious surprise, her mind trying to wrap itself around this strange and wondrous vista.
“Doctor…” she breathed. “Where exactly are we?”
“I said I’d give you a tour of the ship,” the doctor waved a hand at the landscape. “This is the holodeck. I won’t bore you with the technical aspects of it, but what you’re seeing is a projection based on a computer program that I created.”
“A massive hologram,” she concluded.
“Essentially.”
Kimeve nodded as she leaned down and ran her hand through the soft blades of grass “It’s convincing, I’ll say that much for it, but would you mind telling me how I got here? The last thing I remember, you were taking a blood sample from me.”
“Uh, yes, well, you… fainted shortly after I was finished.”
Kimeve chuckled. “Doctor, I’m a medical student. Do you really think I’d pass out at the sight of blood?”
“I believe illness combined with your fatigue from being overworked is what did it,” the doctor said, his story gaining momentum. “I beamed you aboard Voyager so I could treat you in our Sickbay. When you started feeling better, I brought you here. At least for a little while, I wanted to show you a world untouched by war and disease.”
Kimeve smiled, clearly touched by his gesture. “Do all of your patients get this kind of therapy?”
“Only when I think they need to release their stress.”
She took the doctor’s hand in hers. “And you? When do you take the time to release yours?”
***
“Commander.” Harry Kim looked up from his console, his expression uncertain. “We’re receiving a message from the surface.”
“Governor Targus?” Chakotay asked.
The ensign shook his head. “I don’t think so, different frequency and it’s audio only.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“—Voyager,” a low, gravelly voice whispered eerily from the bridge speakers. “The Gavvar knew of your arrival before you did. We have been monitoring your every move.”
The Naestron, Chakotay presumed. He pointed at Kim. “Get the captain up here now.”
“Your impudent attempts at undermining our authority over this planet will not go unpunished. The singular death was but a mere sign of our intent.”
“Why don’t you show yourself?” Chakotay demanded.
“You do not have the privilege of an audience with me,” the voice hissed. “I would advise you to leave this system immediately. If any more of your infiltrators are discovered on the planet, we will release an airborne virus that will annihilate the entire Xadavian population in a matter of days. Unless you want their blood on your conscience, heed my words…”