There was a pause as if accessing. “The Supreme Arbitrator has granted permission for your ship to stay in orbit until the Board of House Min-Tutopa is returned to the planet.”
“I intend to make arrangements to do so immediately.”
“The patrol will wait to escort you back to the Hub.” The dispassionate tone continued, “I am authorized to inform you that your ship inflicted damages to the Hub in the amount of 46.000 and incurred fines totaling 164.500. In addition, I am authorized to search your ship for Prisoner 07119.”
Janeway gestured for Tuvok to cut the line, as Paris glanced back at her puzzled expression. “They’re talking about me,” he said.
“I shouldn’t have told Tala I had authorization to beam into the Hub.”
Janeway looked down at him. “I understand you’ve been treated rather harshly. Perhaps you’ve been punished enough.”
Paris nodded slowly. “I can’t believe I risked Harry’s life as well as mine. It won’t happen again, Captain.”
Chakotay cleared his throat. “Captain, there’s also a matter of our departure from the Hub. It was rather…”
“Spectacular,” Kim put into the pause.
“Abrupt,” Chakotay corrected. “The Cartel has been demanding information about our transporter technology, and Paris was about to undergo some sort of chemical interrogation when we.. liberated him. So we decided to go all the way, and come liberate you and Torres, too.”
Paris thought the look on Janeway’s face was almost worth the awful experience. “I leave you alone for two days…” She was shaking her head, as she glanced around at the bridge crew, but the warmth in her voice betrayed her appreciation for the risks they’d taken to rescue her.
“We’re being hailed, Captain,” Kim interrupted. “From the planet.”
Fee was polite enough to appear on the viewscreen. “Captain Janeway?
I’ve informed the Cartel that your ship is a welcome guest at our planet.”
“Thank you,” Janeway said somewhat dryly.
“I believe we have something that belongs to you.” The larger-than-life image of Fee graciously smiled. “Agent Andross is supervising the removal of your computer from our network. It will be delivered to you when we pick up our Board Members.”
“That would be acceptable,” Janeway replied, as coolly as if that didn’t solve their biggest problem. Paris heard sighs of relief from both Torres and Kim. He knew he should be glad, but there was a sinking feeling in his stomach.
As if sensing his uneasiness, Janeway stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. “There is something else,” the captain told Fee.
“The Cartel is demanding the return of my crew member, Tom Paris.”
“I wish I could help you, Captain, but I’m don’t believe there’s anything I can do. That is a Cartel matter, and even an Arbitrator’s powers only extend so far.”
“Yet you offered to arrange for his release if we helped you,” Janeway protested. “I have to admit, it was not our intention for you to be chosen, however I ask that you honor your offer.”
Fee seemed truly puzzled. “Captain, I don’t recall speaking to you about this matter.”
“Oh, yeah?” Torres pushed away from the engineering station, striding forward. “I was there, remember? You told us you would help Tom if we fixed the processor.”
Fee slowly shook her head at the young woman. “I’m sorry, but I’ve never spoken to you before. I did meet both of you at the tournament, but I only exchanged a few words with your captain before Andross called you away.”
“It was in the tower,” Janeway reminded her. “After Andross seized control.”
“I’ve been trapped in the Seat along with everyone else since that time.”
“You said it was by special transmission,” Torres insisted.
Paris told himself that he wasn’t being paranoid—he knew what had happened. “It was a simulation,” he blurted out. “It wasn’t real.”
“Is that possible?” Janeway immediately asked Fee. “Could we have talked to a simulation of you?”
Fee tightened her lips. “It’s quite possible Andross was using my matrix to try to convince you to help him. It’s exactly the sort of thing he would do.”
“That man,” Janeway started, her voice lowering with distaste, “has lied to us from the very beginning.”
“Agent Andross is a superior negotiator. I did not approve of his unorthodox efforts to help me obtain the post of Supreme Arbitrator, and I pleaded with him during his occupation of the tower to return control to the Board.”
“Then you’ll approve of this even less,” Janeway told her.
“Andross was directly responsible for the theft of our processor.”
“Andross has informed me that he purchased your processor,” Fee said reasonably. “Now we are returning it without charge to you.
I believe that covers the extent of our responsibility.”
“Not quite.” Janeway nodded to Chakotay, who explained, “When we analyzed the manifest data from the Cartel computer, we were able to trace a number of thefts directly to Andross. He received the merchandise, and his office supplied both ships and fuel for the so-called salvage crews.”
Fee frowned. “Salvage is not illegal—” “What do you call luring us into a trap?” Janeway asked. “Then rendering us unconscious so our processor could be removed?”
“I did not authorize Andross to do this.”
“Nevertheless, as his superior, you are responsible for his actions.
Andross hired the Kapon to trick us into letting them on board.”
Janeway almost had to laugh. “We thought we were buying star charts of wormhole locations.”
“We never even got the star charts,” Paris muttered. He was surprised when Fee acted as if that was the most horrific thing she’d heard so far.
“Your contract was not honored?” Fee asked.
“No,” Janeway said.
“Do you have a record?”
Everyone looked to Tuvok, who assured them, “There is a complete log of the negotiations.”
Fee was breathing faster.
Janeway’s tone wasn’t even threatening. “I’m sure an agent for House Min-Tutopa shouldn’t be engaging in information fraud.”
“No,” Fee bit off. “I would not like this information to be given to the Cartel.”
“I’m sure your influence will stretch far enough to protect him…”
Janeway mused.
Fee swallowed. “I will authorize the payment of your crew member’s bond from the House treasury. It’s bound to be enormous—” “And the fines and damages to the Hub,” Chakotay added. “Don’t forget those.”
“No, we can’t forget that.” Janeway patted Paris’s shoulder, smiling up at Fee. “Please take care of it immediately. We’d like this settled before we start sending shuttles back and forth—don’t you agree?”
Fee tightened her lips. “I will contact you shortly.”
Janeway was starting to turn away when Paris spoke up. “Captain, there’s one other thing.” He wasn’t sure if Tracer or anything else had been real, but he had to make amends where he could.
“There’s a Tutopan janitor who works on the Hub—Tracer. She got mixed up in all this, but it wasn’t her fault. I’d appreciate it if Fee could pay her bond as well.”
“Her?” Janeway asked, raising one brow.
“That was a woman?” Kim muttered in disbelief.
“I took advantage of her when she was inebriated, using her access to get into the computer.” Paris appealed directly to Fee, self-consciously aware that everyone was listening. But maybe it wouldn’t hurt for a guy like him to learn something from Harry’s empathy. “It’s not fair that she’s being punished,” he said in a stronger voice. “She was caught up in your rebellion too, only she’s got no one to help her.”
“Apparently, she has your support.” Fee looked from him to Janeway, her irritation quite suddenly gone. “I’m reminded of why I sought the position of Supreme Arbitrator—to keep the Cartel from crushing us into a faceless, nameless mass,” Paris leaned forward. “So you’ll help her?”
“I’ll make sure Tracer is released from the custody of the Cartel.”
Fee thoughtfully considered the bridge crew. “You are an unusual people in your degree of concern for the individual.
I only hope my people can learn to be the same….”
“We have a word for that sort of concern,” Janeway told the Tutopan.
“It’s considered compassion.”
“It is a gift,” Fee told them.
After the processor was welded back into the computer monitor room, Janeway accompanied Torres and Kim to sickbay to hear the prognosis on the neural gel packs.
First Janeway thanked Zimmerman for his hard work. “I understand you provided the stimulant solution which enabled Voyager’s sensors to locate us.”
The doctor modestly lowered his head, but Janeway noticed that he slyly checked Torres’s reaction. “I was merely doing my duty.”
It only took a moment before Torres added, “Thanks.” The effort in her voice made it clear she was acknowledging her mistaken judgment of the doctor.
Kim handed Zimmerman a tricorder. “The added chemicals have been cleansed from the bionutrient of the main core.”
“I see,” the doctor said, examining the readings. “We should be able to bring the main processor back on-line once the junction nodes are reconnected.”
Chakotay came into sickbay. “I wouldn’t like to tax Min-Tutopa’s hospitality much longer.” At Janeway’s questioning look, he added, “The doctor requested that I come down.”
Zimmerman set the tricorder aside, clasping his hands in front of him.
“I wanted to inform you of my findings.”
His demeanor was so serious that Janeway couldn’t understand why Kes was smiling in complete delight.
“Is there a problem?”
“Not exactly,” the doctor said. “The damaged tissue has apparently regenerated, and the computer should return to normal functioning once the processor is operational.”
Janeway hid her relief, knowing there was something else in the wings.
“Then what is it?”
“The protein which was added to the bionutrient to aid in regeneration has had some unforeseen side effects.”
Kes was shaking her head. “You make it sound like a tragedy, when it’s the most wonderful thing that could happen.”
“What is it?” Chakotay asked, obviously intrigued by their behavior.
The doctor fastened his gaze somewhere near the ceiling. “I believe the computer network system is developing.”
“Developing?” Janeway asked. “What do you mean?”
Kes answered for him. “It’s growing, in exactly the same way an organism matures after inception.”
“Neural cells have detached within the tissue masses of the core,” the doctor explained, “and are coming together to form neural crest cells.
We’ve found evidence that they are slowly migrating within the gel packs, and are instigating formation in the main subprocessors as well.
It is the first stage toward complete physiological integration.
Janeway wasn’t sure she understood. “It sounds as if you’re saying the computer is alive.”
It was Kim who answered. “As far as we can tell, the entire ship acts as a unified organism.”
Chakotay drew in his breath. “Astounding.”
“What will these neural crests do to the computer system?”
Janeway asked, preferring to consider the practicalities first.
“It may increase efficiency as the systems become more interrelated,” Kim told her.
Kes added, “It may also eventually lead to sentience.”
“Sentience?” Janeway repeated. “You mean my ship could become self-aware?”
She knew the doctor was particularly sensitive about this issue.
“Legally and psychologically, individuals are self-aware when they are capable of reasoning, generalizations, discovering new meanings, and learning from past experience. The neural gel packs were designed to perform all these functions.”
“And now, the brain of the ship may be evolving,” Kes said simply.
Janeway felt slightly stunned. “And if it is, we’re helping it by providing more protein?”
“Yes. If it is evolving.” The doctor seemed unduly anxious about that idea. He picked up the tricorder as proof of his diagnosis. “However, the development has currently been halted by the removal of the additional protein from the bionutrient.”
Janeway took in Chakotay’s surprise, and even Torres didn’t have a snide comment to make. Kim was watching her anxiously.
Kes said what everyone must have been thinking. “Shouldn’t we continue to add the protein if the computer needs it to develop?”
“Do we want it to develop?” Kim asked in return.
“It seems we have an obligation to continue what we’ve started,” Janeway told them. “Good work, Doctor. I want you and Kim to keep an eye on the effects the added protein have on our computer system. Let me know if there are any further developments.”
The doctor nodded, finally reflecting the enthusiasm in her eyes.
“I thought you’d be concerned.”
“Like any captain, I’m duty-bound to help my ship develop its full potential.”
“Even if it interferes with returning to the Alpha Quadrant?” he seemed compelled to ask.
“Doctor, we’re in the business of discovering new life-forms.
I’m pleased to find one right under our noses, and I prefer to believe that this will help us get home rather than hinder us.”
He seemed relieved. “I was afraid you would withhold the protein once you knew what it could do.”
Janeway laughed out loud. “If I tried to fight the entire universe, we wouldn’t get very far, now would we? I prefer to work with whatever presents itself.” She smiled at Torres in particular. “I don’t intend to impose my will on any sentient being. We’ll get home, and we’ll do it by working together—the crew and the ship.”
Chakotay added quietly, “After all, we were big enough to handle the Cartel.”