Elkins, however, did not budge.
“Ensign Vincent,” Elkins asked, “what is the status of the sphere that engulfed the captain?”
“There is a definite change in its atmospheric density, and a slight change in some of the resonance frequencies within,” Vincent reported.
“He’s right,” Url said. “Commander Fife, the resonance of all of the individuals within the sphere has shifted into a new spectrum entirely. We’ve never seen this before.”
Fife couldn’t have cared less, even as the viewscreen before him, still altered to display the frequencies in vibrant colors, showed the clear appearance of dozens of new vivid green points of light.
“The captain’s plan is working, Commander,” Elkins said authoritatively. “And whatever course of action you are now contemplating was not approved by him before he departed. Think about it, son,” Elkins added a little more gently. “We’re on the brink of a whole new day in our relations with this species. Don’t let an itchy trigger finger get in the way of that.”
Fife refused to even glance Elkins’s way. “Chief Elkins, you are relieved,” Fife replied. “You are ordered to your quarters, and if you refuse to obey that order, you will be subject to court-martial.”
Again, Elkins remained rooted to the deck.
“Lieutenant Url, launch the drones and stand by to fire phasers,” Fife ordered.
“Don’t do it,” Elkins pleaded with Url.
Ten seconds of absolute silence passed while Fife waited for Url’s confirmation. Finally Url said, “I’m sorry, Commander, but I cannot follow your order.”
Refusing to relent, Fife rose and moved to Url’s side. “You are relieved,” Fife said. “Stand aside.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that either, sir,” Url replied.
Fife glanced at the faces of his comrades, unable to believe that he was the one they had chosen to betray.
Without hesitating, Fife raised his phaser and pointed it directly at Url, who stepped back involuntarily.
“I understand, but I cannot allow your fear to destroy us all,” Fife said as he quickly tapped the tactical console and released the drones into open space.
As he touched the ship’s phaser controls, activating a preprogrammed onslaught, a leaden weight slammed into the center of Fife’s chest, dropping him to the deck. He never had time to wonder who had stunned him.
Voyager was still thirty seconds from the inner edge of the debris ring when all hell broke loose before them.
As the viewscreen lit up with phaser fire coming from Demeter and directed toward multiple spheres in the area, Chakotay immediately ordered the ship to Red Alert, then asked Harry, “What the hell is going on out there?”
“Demeter has opened fire,” Harry replied.
“That much I can see for myself,” Chakotay said. “B’Kar, can we talk to Demeter yet?”
“Communications are being jammed, Captain,” B’Kar replied.
Chakotay didn’t think. He simply settled on the only appropriate course of action and quickly began issuing orders.
“B’Kar, get a lock on Captain O’Donnell and transport him to sickbay. Tom, get us in the middle of this mess now. Put us between the spheres and their fire. Harry, target Demeter’s phaser banks and disable them immediately.”
Everyone worked in silent efficiency, executing the orders they’d received. As B’Kar and Harry coordinated a quick drop of the shields for O’Donnell’s transport, Chakotay watched dozens of spheres destroyed the moment they were struck by phaser fire. Many scattered, attempting to move out of range, but some failed to respond quickly enough or moved inadvertently into danger.
One notable exception to the chaotic activity was the large sphere that held Captain O’Donnell. It remained absolutely still, and as Chakotay clenched the arms of his chair and watched a new barrage of phaser fire head directly for it, two spheres swooped in from nowhere, taking the impact of the phasers and sacrificing themselves in the process.
“B’Kar!” Chakotay called urgently.
Before the ensign answered, however, Chakotay clearly saw O’Donnell’s form dematerialize.
“We’ve got him, Captain,” B’Kar reported. “He’s in sickbay.”
Finally reaching the fray, Tom maneuvered the ship into position to protect a dozen spheres that were targeted by Demeter, and the ship shuddered as it took the brunt of the phasers. Spheres swarmed all around Voyager and Demeter, clearly disturbed by the events, but obviously unable in the first few seconds to form a cohesive attack strategy.
“Shields holding,” Harry confirmed as he simultaneously fired a surgical phaser spread that impacted Demeter’s phaser banks but left the rest of the ship undamaged.
“Eden to Chakotay,” the captain’s voice came crackling over the comm. “What the hell is going on up there?”
Chakotay needed to give his full concentration to the battle but said briskly, “Patch a visual feed to sickbay so the fleet commander can see for herself.”
• • •
At Chakotay’s words, Eden moved to the nearest display panel and saw how quickly her best laid plans had devolved into utter chaos. It was clear that Demeter had instigated conflict and that Voyager was doing its best to halt it. The only open question was whether or not they would succeed in a timely manner.
“Ensign Gwyn wishes to speak with you, Captain,” Sharak said softly over her shoulder.
I don’t doubt it, Eden thought bitterly. Turning, she faced the Child’s fury registered on Gwyn’s face.
“Why have you broken your word?” Gwyn’s voice, but clearly not Gwyn, asked.
“Please believe me,” Eden said, “we intend no harm. We need to communicate with Demeter so that I can order them to stand down. We are trying to protect you and our agreement.”
Chakotay heard Eden’s interaction over the open comm channel. In the tense silence that followed her response to the Children, Harry said, “I’m picking up three robotic drones on an intercept course—” But that was all he had time to say before a massive explosion rocked Voyager and destroyed several spheres in its vicinity.
Chakotay didn’t have time to give the next logical orders, but thankfully Tom and Harry didn’t need to hear them. Tom moved Voyager into the small space separating one of the remaining drones from a group of spheres as Harry targeted the other, timing his destruction of the drone as far from its targets as possible while Voyager again took the brunt of Demeter’s attack in a jolt that sent Tom careening to the floor. Chakotay barely kept his seat, and Harry was pulling himself up off the deck before the exhaust from a ruptured conduit above had cleared. As he resumed his post, Chakotay heard him mutter, “What the hell was in those drones?”
As the crew collected themselves, Gwyn’s voice came again over the comm. “You may speak with your ship,” she said, “but if hostilities do not cease immediately, you will be destroyed.”
“Understood,” Eden replied. “Thank you.” Chakotay nodded to B’Kar to open a channel, and Eden spoke to Demeter from sickbay, saying, “This is Captain Afsarah Eden, now commanding the Federation fleet. Stand down your attack immediately. Repeat, stand down.”
A young, hesitant voice replied, “This is Lieutenant Url, Demeter’s tactical officer, Captain. Your orders are acknowledged. And, well, it’s good to see you, Voyager.”
“Where is Commander Fife?” Eden demanded.
“The commander has been relieved of duty, Captain,” Url replied. “He was the one who ordered the attack. The rest of us had no choice but to try and stop him.”
“Are your remaining weapons systems secured?” Eden asked.
“Yes, Captain,” Url replied, his voice filled with relief.
“Keep this channel open and await further instructions, Lieutenant,” Eden replied.
“Captain Eden,” Url asked, “we saw Captain O’Donnell transported out of the sphere. Did you …?”
“We have him,” Eden said. “Voyager out.”
Chakotay studied his feed of Harry’s tactical display and finally said, “Stand down Red Alert.” Now that O’Donnell was safely aboard, he truly hoped he could explain what in the name of all that was holy his people had been thinking.
“Tom, bring us alongside Demeter,” Chakotay ordered, as he watched hundreds of spheres that had been dispersed by the battle regroup, surrounding both vessels. He was confident Eden would do her best to explain this unfortunate turn of events. He only hoped her explanation would placate the Children. If it didn’t …
This isn’t over yet, he realized.
Once the battle had ended, Eden was immediately accosted by Captain O’Donnell, sans helmet, but otherwise still wearing the pressure suit that had obviously just barely saved his life. Its surface was blackened, scarred, and pitted. Sharak hovered behind him, scanning the noncompliant O’Donnell as he grabbed Eden by both arms.
“Was the sphere destroyed?” he demanded.
“Many were,” Eden replied, unclear as to the urgency of his request.
“Yes, but I have to know if my sphere survived.”
“We will scan the area, but I’m not sure how we will be able to distinguish any particular—” Eden began, but was interrupted by Gwyn, who stood in the doorway of the suite. The psionic field separated her from the rest of sickbay.
“The vessel you filled with life survived,” she said.
Eden looked quickly to O’Donnell. “You filled with life?” she asked.
“Thank you, Alana,” was O’Donnell’s inexplicable response as he released Eden from his grasp.
Eden moved to stand directly before Gwyn, O’Donnell at her heels. Gwyn’s next words were obviously for him.
“You understood our joy,” Gwyn said.
“I shared it,” O’Donnell replied, smiling in relief. “I wanted to create a new life-form that could coexist with you inside your vessels.”
“Can you provide this new life to all of us?” Gwyn asked.
“Given enough time, absolutely,” O’Donnell replied. “But I have also developed a way to seed the fourth planet of this system with life. With your permission, and your assistance, there might soon be hundreds of new species of life for your people to celebrate.”
Had this offer not been the only thing that would cement the fragile peace Eden had established between the Federation and the Children of the Storm, she might have dressed O’Donnell down for so grossly overstepping his bounds. As it was, she could have kissed him.
“If this was your intent, why did you also attempt to destroy us?” Gwyn asked.
“I didn’t,” O’Donnell replied. “But I obviously failed to instill in my people a clear understanding of my wishes when I was not on board my vessel. I take responsibility for their actions, of course. They were tragic, and the resulting loss of life is very troubling to me, and I assume to Captain Eden.”
“You didn’t order the attack?” Eden asked of O’Donnell.
“Absolutely not. It must have been Fife’s doing. We have disagreed many times over the last few weeks as to how best to proceed. He was in command in my absence and must have taken your arrival as a cue to attempt to escape. I should have left clear instructions when I departed, but your arrival took all of us by surprise, and, to be honest, my mind was elsewhere.”
Eden turned to Gwyn. “We were also taken by surprise and did all we could to protect your people at the risk of our own lives during the attack.”
Finally Gwyn said, “You are complex life-forms. You lack cohesive purpose.”
“Sometimes,” Eden granted her. “But when we are at our best, we act as one. This has truly been a terrible misunderstanding. But I know that the worst of it is now past and that if you are willing to work with us, what we can achieve together for us and for you will be well worth the effort.”
“We met you with deadly force and you responded by giving us two great gifts,” Gwyn replied. “We wish to continue to explore the possibilities you have created for us.”
“As do we,” Eden assured her.
“How do we begin?” Gwyn asked.
Eden turned to O’Donnell, who scratched his head vigorously. “I need to get back to my lab. And to my crew.”
Eden nodded. “If you will give us some time to regroup, we will formulate a plan and present it to you as soon as possible.”
“That is acceptable,” Gwyn replied. “But we have a question for the bringer of life.”
Eden lowered her head to hide her smile as O’Donnell stepped forward.
“My name is Liam,” he said simply.
“Who is Alana?” Gwyn asked.
Eden was surprised to see tears glisten in O’Donnell’s eyes.
“She was my wife,” O’Donnell replied. “She died many years ago.”
A look of consternation wrinkled Gwyn’s brow. “She lives still inside your mind,” she said.
O’Donnell nodded. “She does. I keep her there to make her loss easier to bear. And now, part of her will also live forever inside your people as well.”
“It was good of you to share her with us.”
“The pleasure was mine,” O’Donnell replied softly.
Chapter Twenty-eight
STARDATE 58501.0
U.S.S. VOYAGER
“Computer, begin log entry,” Eden said as she sat alone at her desk at the end of what had been a string of extremely long days.
“It has been almost two weeks since our work with the Children began. We have focused on two priorities: providing hundreds of the Children’s vessels with specimens of Captain O’Donnell’s special hybrid, and dispatching planter drones and personnel to the surface of the fourth planet in areas deemed most hospitable to a wide variety of botanical species, which over the next dozen years should create a new and vibrant ecosystem. With the Children’s permission, we have named this planet Persephone. At every step along the way, the Children have expressed their happiness and gratitude. I can now state unequivocally that our fleet has made our first true friend in the Delta Quadrant.
“Ensigns Lasren and Gwyn have worked tirelessly to enable constant communication between our species and are to be commended for their sacrifices and their excellent work.
“None of this would have been possible without the efforts of Captain O’Donnell, who was, by nature, the best possible person to have met the challenges posed by this first-contact situation, and whose bravery and ingenuity in the face of daunting odds are equally commendable.
“It became clear shortly after we arrived that Captain O’Donnell’s first officer, Commander Atlee Fife, acted both against his captain’s intentions and in a manner completely unbecoming a Starfleet officer. Although I disagree with his decision, Captain O’Donnell requested that disciplinary action against Fife be left to him. In truth, it seemed little enough to do for the man who likely saved countless lives on both sides of this encounter, but I hope that his continuing trust in Commander Fife is not misplaced. I will keep a close eye on him in the future, and should he transgress again, or demonstrate in any way that he is not up to the demands of his post, I will relieve him and see him returned to the Alpha Quadrant at the first opportunity. For now, he remains O’Donnell’s responsibility.
“O’Donnell has assured me that our work here will be completed by today’s end. Prior to regrouping with Achilles, Galen, and Quirinal, we have one more stop to make, and we will be accompanied on this journey by a number of the Children. Although the entire fleet remains shaken and disturbed by the destruction of Planck, it is my sincere hope that the result of this mission will be every bit as successful as our work here over the last two weeks. Once our final journey with the Children is complete, it will be time to begin the process of grieving and mourning those we have lost.”
PERSEPHONE
As Captain O’Donnell traipsed across the soft, newly turned earth of the latest seeded plain on the planet’s surface, he imagined he could smell the life beginning to bloom all around him. He was wearing a pressure
suit, so this was of course, not possible, but he had spent so much time working in the bulky apparatus of late, it had become as comfortable as a second skin.
He carried a few tools in a soft bag slung over his shoulder. As he walked he took in the sight all around him of drones and crewmen tilling soil, planting seeds, and tending delicate new buds. Hovering above many of them were silent spheres, many of whom now glowed with an inner illumination visible through the dense, superhot atmosphere. He had been told this was the result of the joy they now experienced in sharing their habitat with their new “life.” To O’Donnell it almost looked like each of his fields was lit by their own personal sun, and it lifted his heart to think that in years to come, so many would take happiness from the work he had begun here.
It had taken some doing, but with Ensign Lasren’s help, O’Donnell had convinced the Children that despite the pleasure they took in watching the plants and flowers grow, they must not use their abilities to hasten the seedlings’ growth cycles as they had done on Demeter. To do so would damage the plants and likely make it impossible for them to continue to thrive once O’Donnell and his people departed. Once in a while O’Donnell had witnessed enhanced growth, and each time had mentally chided any sphere nearby. Though he was never sure they could understand him, and of course, never heard a response, the specimen usually showed no signs of further interference.
Often as he worked a small area of ground on his own, clusters of spheres would descend as if intent on keeping him company. Sometimes they would follow him about, as if curious, and if he turned on them they would quickly disperse. A few brave vessels had become more constant companions.
He was alone today, however, apart from Commander Fife, who trudged silently beside him. The two men had hardly spoken in the last few weeks. Fife had been paired with several trusted crewmen and had done the same hard labor that had brought everyone else great satisfaction on the fourth planet, but it seemed to O’Donnell had done little to lighten his burdens.
Elkins had been almost apoplectic when he, along with Url, Falto, and Vincent, had briefed O’Donnell about what had transpired on the bridge the day Voyager had arrived. O’Donnell worried that his choice not to relieve Fife of his position or subsequent duties might actually kill the poor man, but he was determined to try and solve the problem, rather than simply passing it along to someone else.
Star Trek: Voyager: Children of the Storm Page 33