Ghost of a Chance (6 page)

A passionate people, Janeway thought, not at all certain she liked the idea, though she found it harder to object to Jonal’s apparent fascination with her.

“We understand your concerns,” Jonal assured her. “We would be happy to answer all of your questions, and then we hope you will answer some of ours. The Televek can supply your people with almost anything they might need to get you up and running again, I am sure. And you may have a great deal to bargain with. At the same time, your ship and your technologies are new to them and, frankly, quite fascinating.”

“Our technologies,” Janeway repeated.

At that Jonal seemed to stop in spite of himself. “Of course,” he went on, as he glanced about the room. “I’m sure you can understand. After all, your vessel is unique in the Televek’s experience. It is along those lines that they are most interested in what you intend to offer them.”

Janeway had been waiting for this. They seemed a sincere and malleable bunch, these Drosary, but she had the distinct impression she was about to haggle with a polished salesman, perhaps a team of them. She didn’t have a great deal of experience in that field, but nearly all negotiations, like first contacts, were based on a number of common principles, and she had read more than one period novel that dealt with the subject.

The best approach to such a dilemma was to carry very little currency in any one pocket—but to bring plenty of pockets.

“We can offer you certain medical techniques and technologies that I’m sure you would find most valuable,” Janeway said.

“We have excellent medical science,” Mila responded, a flat statement of fact.

“We can also arrange to let you download most of the contents of our library,” Janeway continued, smiling broadly for emphasis, “which is filled with texts and data from hundreds of peoples in our own part of the galaxy, peoples you have never encountered.

Some of our greatest works of literature and—” “We find it hard enough to keep up with the many cultures and politics in our own quadrant, Captain,” Jonal said. “I hesitate to mention the size of my current reading list. But I will make a note of this. Certainly there is a measure of value there.

What else?”

“What else?” Chakotay asked, mildly indignant.

“As I indicated to Gantel,” Janeway said more sternly, “we are also willing to do whatever we can to help you render aid to the people on the planet below, as that is your stated mission here.

The medical and library data are being offered as an added consideration.”

“Yes, of course,” Jonal said quite agreeably, though he seemed less than enthusiastic. Then he looked at Janeway as though he had known her for a very long time, as if they had shared, or were about to share, some profound secret together, some defining knowledge. “May we make yet another suggestion?”

Janeway leaned back. “Please do.”

“The Televek deal frequently in weapons, Captain, that is no secret, and to be blunt, yours are quite impressive. To be more precise, my employers would be most interested in learning how you’ve managed to get your phasers to operate at such incredibly high power levels, all while maintaining such extraordinary accuracy. Also, their sensors indicate that your warp drive nacelles are not fixed, but are—” “No,” Janeway said, a flat statement of her own. A troubled voice was calling to her from the back of her mind, one she had been listening to since her days at the Academy. She purposely took her eyes off the Drosary, especially Jonal, and focused instead on the relief sculpture of Voyager that hung on the wall.

The euphoria that had begun to dominate the meeting seemed to have ebbed slightly, and her inner voice was growing louder.

“Under no circumstances will we give Federation weapons technologies to the Televek, or to anyone else. That is simply out of the question.”

“We are sorry to hear that, Captain,” Mila replied, looking at her two companions. They seemed to reach a silent accord of some kind, almost as if they could communicate without speech.

Janeway didn’t think they were telepathic, but she found herself wishing Kes were here. The Ocampa had demonstrated some mild telepathic tendencies; she would likely be the best judge of these new visitors in that regard. Still, that wouldn’t change the facts.

We’re running out of pockets, Janeway thought, still avoiding Jonal’s bright green eyes. Voyager’s variable geometry folding wing nacelle configuration, which tended to minimize the negative effects of warp fields on the subspace continuum and on habitable worlds, was no doubt a curiosity to the aliens. In fact, their own ships appeared to operate on a more primitive reactor technology. She might agree to discuss that, at least. In a pinch.

She said as much.

“My dearest Captain,” Jonal replied, as if greatly saddened, and perhaps a bit ill as well. “I will certainly convey all of this, I promise you, and in the best possible light, but I do not think these… these preferred arrangements you mention will be enough. I know our patrons are particularly interested in phaser performance. I understand your concerns, but the Televek already possess phaser technology, after all. It is simply an area in which you seem to have made some rather significant improvements.”

“Our sensor scans indicate you have two warp-powered payload-type weapons trained on the Televek cruiser,” Mila said, tipping her head, letting a thick mane of long white hair drape itself across one dark-skinned shoulder, yet keeping her eyes on Paris the whole time.

“The Televek might be interested in discussing those. I know they are curious as to why these weapons remain armed even though the Televek have powered down all their weapons.”

“They’re photon torpedoes,” Paris explained, gazing back at Mila.

“They’re very efficient, too.”

“Captain to Ensign Rollins,” Janeway said, tapping her badge.

“Secure photon torpedoes. Maintain yellow alert.” She looked at Mila as the Drosary glanced in her direction. The two women smiled politely at each other.

“Ah, of course,” Tassay said, finally speaking again. “This is encouraging. The Televek have weapons of that type as well, and of comparable strength, I believe, but they use a pulse generator. A comparison to your systems would likely be of minor interest, but perhaps some equity could be found there.”

“I’d say that is also unlikely,” Chakotay responded, glancing candidly at the captain, and she knew that, like her, he was not totally convinced of anything yet.

“Please try to be reasonable,” Jonal said, clearly addressing Janeway.

“It is in your own best interest, after all, to cooperate as fully as possible.”

Janeway sat considering her visitors a moment, particularly Jonal, who seemed as pleasant and straightforward as any diplomat in the captain’s memory. And utterly attentive toward her, she noted. And they were right, of course. But so was she.

It was the Televek she was ultimately dealing with, after all, not these people. How could she know that something painted here in black and white would not turn gray once it got over there?

How could she even trust these three Drosary, no matter how reasonable a choice that seemed to be?

Still, her own options were quite limited, while theirs were not.

She was clearly the one under pressure to compromise. But not just yet. She still had a vest pocket remaining…

“Will you excuse us while we talk this over,” Janeway said, not really making it a question. “Perhaps you would like to discuss it as well.

I need to evaluate our protocols, among other things.”

“Of course,” Tassay said graciously.

“I’m not certain how long our discussion will take. You are welcome to stay aboard, of course. We will try to make you comfortable, and then see if we can reach some sort of agreement.”

“Entirely understandable, Captain,” Jonal said, showing Janeway a smile full of fellowship. Mila and Tassay joined him in a genial nod.

“Thank you,” Janeway said. She signaled the two security officers standing near the door, and they gently escorted the aliens out.

“Wait a few minutes—as long as you can—then bring them back in,” she told Chakotay when they were alone. “Keep them talking until I get back. You have the cone, and you have full authority to make a deal if you can persuade them on our original terms, but I have a feeling nothing like that will happen. Despite their overtures, these Drosary, or our friends the Televek, or whoever it is we’re dealing with, don’t seem terribly interested in anything other than their own terms.”

“Can I ask where you are going?” the first officer asked, clearly perplexed.

“The more I try, the harder it is to get all of this to fit together.

If the Televek are involved in some kind of rescue operation, they don’t seem very eager to get it under way; I’ve seen no evidence to indicate it has begun. And when I brought it up, the Drosary virtually ignored the topic.”

“They do seem to present a one-track agenda,” B’Elanna said, speaking for the first time since the meeting had begun. “I don’t think I’d like the idea of them probing around in our weapons and propulsion systems, even if I was standing right there. And I would be, no matter what. I don’t know what this feeling is based on, but something about them gives me the creeps.” She looked around the table, apparently searching for confirmation.

“I didn’t notice anything quite like that,” Chakotay said.

“I definitely didn’t,” Paris said.

B’Elanna only frowned at this.

“It’s not the Televek’s style, all this sharing, I assure you,” Neelix said, finally giving B’Elanna what she wanted. “If you ask me, they’re up to something. You are right not to trust them, Captain. The stories I’ve heard are enough to make your skin crawl. Why, I once had a very profitable agreement arranged with some Idsepians, not fifty light-years from here, until it turned out they were also having a rather nasty argument with the Tethoeen, who occupied a neighboring solar system, and before I could get my assets—” “Thank you, Mr. Neelix,” Janeway interrupted. “I do appreciate your input. And I quite agree, at least in principle. We can’t afford to trust them implicitly, even if we’d like to. We don’t know enough, and there is too much at stake.”

“Agreed,” Chakotay said.

Janeway felt a dull pang of exasperation, something that had haunted her since Voyager’s nearly fatal encounter with the brown dwarf—a niggling feeling that things were only getting worse.

Being on the losing end of any situation was something Janeway could not abide, even in the best of circumstances, and these were anything but. She took a deep breath; she was determined not to let anything else go wrong.

“I have to know what’s going on down there on Drenar Four,” she said.

“Since our sensors can’t tell me, and since the Televek don’t seem interested in discussing it, I’m going to have a quiet look around for myself.”

“I’ll go with you,” Chakotay offered immediately.

Janeway shook her head. “No. I need you here. Mr. Tuvok, you’re with me.”

“Captain,” Chakotay said. “I—” “Don’t worry,” Janeway told him, “at least not any more than you have to.” Her first officer nodded wordlessly. She bade the others goodbye, and then the Vulcan followed her out.

They walked in silence most of the way, until they had nearly reached their destination.

“What is it you expect to find?” Tuvok asked as they entered the shuttle bay. Harry Kim stood waiting beside the open hatch of one of Voyager’s two main shuttlecraft.

“I don’t know,” she told Tuvok. “People. Volcanoes.

Earthquakes, perhaps. Other than that, nothing, I hope. Though I’m beginning to doubt it.”

“Ready to launch, Captain,” Kim reported as Janeway acknowledged him.

“Excellent, Mr. Kim.” The three of them boarded the shuttle and secured the hatch, then waited for the bay door to open. At the sound of the all-clear, Kim increased the small craft’s power levels while Janeway guided them through the opening, into space.

***

“Bring our visitors back in,” Chakotay said, touching his comm badge.

He thought it would serve no purpose to keep the Drosary waiting around indefinitely, and in truth he felt eager to continue, to try. The two security officers reappeared once more in the briefing room, flanking the three envoys. Once everyone was seated again, Chakotay explained that the captain was conducting her reviews and hoped to rejoin them shortly. He tried to pick up where they had left off.

“I thought we might talk a little more about sensor technologies,” he said. “I believe we have a slight advantage in that area.”

The three advocates regarded one another with mildly enlightened expressions. “Perhaps,” Tassay finally said, glancing admiringly at Chakotay.

“We would have to determine whether there is any real benefit for the Televek,” Jonal said. “But I do see the sensors as a step in the right direction. We are not talking about the sale of empires here, only token exchanges. You needn’t be afraid of us, or of the Televek, Commander. They know what they’re doing. You must tell this to your captain, help me convince her.”

Chakotay couldn’t help grinning. “I’m afraid I won’t be much help there.”

“Commander to the bridge!” the voice of Lieutenant Rollins shouted over the intercom.

“Chakotay here. What is it?”

“Commander, the Televek have fired on the shuttle,” Rollins answered.

Paris was already up and heading out the door as Chakotay sprang to his feet. “What’s their status?”

“The shuttle has taken a direct hit. We’ve lost contact.

They’re descending out of control.”

“The three of you will remain here,” the commander told the Drosary.

“See to it,” he ordered the guards, who quickly raised their hand phasers and trained them on the three aliens.

“But, Commander,” Jonal said, despondent, “I assure you, this is—” “Not now,” Chakotay said, moving past them.

“Wait, Chakotay, please,” Tassay said, reaching for him. “You must let us—” “No!” Chakotay replied coldly, avoiding her hand. He vanished into the hall at a jog.

***

Kim’s shout of warning came at the same instant the energy beam flashed from the Televek cruiser. The shuttle rocked, then began to spin. As the cabin lights went out, the flash and sizzle of burning systems illuminated the darkness. Then the red emergency lighting brought grim clarity to Kim’s eyes once more. Janeway and Tuvok scrambled up from the deck and dragged themselves into position over part of the shuttle’s main console. The spin continued. Kim felt the fear fill his chest, a tightness that threatened to steal his breath. He forced his lungs full of air several times and tried to work past the fright.