STAR TREK - VOY - 04 - Violations

Star Trek - Voy - 004 - Violations

By: Susan Wright

PROLOGUE

"I think we're big enough to handle the Cartel," Captain Janeway told Commander Chakotay.

From his post at Ops, Harry Kim could see her smile, and he was beginning to recognize that expression

on her face. She wants to march us in there, bold as brass. Kim had to admire her audacity, even as she

confronted the doubts of her first officer.

Everyone on the bridge was watching, except for Paris, who was sitting at the conn, acting as if he didn't

notice them arguing right behind his shoulder.

"May I respectfully remind the captain," Chakotay continued, his voice taking on a warning edge that

carried through the hush.

"You're used to evaluating situations as a Starfleet officer, whereas in this case, guerrilla tactics would be

more to our advantage."

"Are you forgetting that we are Starfleet officers?" Janeway asked.

"Not at all. However, I am basing this suggestion on my experience with the Maquis." Chakotay leaned

closer, adding something that was too low for Kim to hear. Bursting with curiosity, he reminded himself

to ask Paris later if he'd been able to overhear what the commander had said.

"Come to my ready room," Janeway ordered. "Tuvok, you have the bridge."

As the door slid shut behind them, Kim slowly let out his breath.

He hated it when the captain and Chakotay disagreed; he trusted them both implicitly, yet in this case,

one of them had to be wrong.

The rest of the bridge crew seemed uneasy, as well, just as they had been ever since Voyager was drawn

off course by a plasma storm that stretched across several sectors. It had taken weeks to get around it,

bringing them within range of the Tutopa binary system--home of the legendary Hub. The Hub was on

every star map and cartography survey they'd encountered on this side of the galaxy, and according to

Neelix, it was "the information center" of the Delta Quadrant.

"Sensors indicate another vessel proceeding along this vector," Kim announced, noting the trajectory of

the ship.

Tuvok confirmed the reading, as Paris grinned back at Kim.

"That's the fourth ship to pass by since we've been here," Paris said.

"This Hub must be some hopping place."

"Seems to be," Kim agreed, cautiously checking Tuvok's reaction.

He was usually fairly strict about maintaining bridge protocol.

Since this was Kim's first mission, he wasn't sure if all security chiefs were the same way or if it was

because Tuvok was a Vulcan.

"Well, the Hub sounds like an ideal spot for some R and R," Paris added. "If we were in Federation

space, I'd be due for shore leave right about now--" "Lieutenant," Tuvok interrupted. "You are employing

faulty logic. If we were in Federation space, you would not be assigned to this vessel. You would

currently be serving your sentence in the New Zealand penal settlement."

An odd expression passed over Paris's face, reminding Kim of the first time Paris had breezily admitted

lying about his pilot error that killed three fellow officers. When Paris had added that a fit of hallucinatory

remorse had prompted him to confess, getting him cashiered out of Starfleet, Kim had nearly gotten up

and left him sitting there alone. He was almost more outraged by the pilot's devil-may-care attitude than

the deed itself, but he had stayed because of that strange smile. Staring into his soup, Paris had reminded

him of Reggy, a guy he'd known in school who was always causing some kind of trouble. But once, when

Reggy had made one of the younger girls cry by soaking her jumper with a stasis bubble full of water, he

had looked exactly the same way as Paris did now--trying to smile because he couldn't back down now

in front of everyone, while his eyes turned hollow as the little girl gazed up at him, her hands spread wide,

innocent and hurting, wondering why anyone would do this to her....

"For shame, Tuvok," Paris drawled over his shoulder at the security chief. "Eavesdropping on our

conversation. Is that the sort of behavior you consider logical?"

Tuvok's hands didn't stop moving over the Tactical control panel, preparing the ship's defensive systems

in case they entered the Tutopa system. "I cannot help hearing you, Lieutenant Paris, when you chose to

broadcast your opinion to the entire bridge. I would suggest you refrain from doing so in the future."

There was a moment's silence as the rest of the crew pretended to be busy with their work. But their

words hung in the air, making Kim feel even worse. He hated it when anyone argued, especially when

they were hanging on the edge of a system that was reportedly one of the most powerful in the quadrant.

Paris never seemed to know when to give up.

He grumbled something inaudible about, "Seeing nothing but the inside of this ship--" The door to the

ready room opened, cutting him off, as Captain Janeway and Chakotay emerged. Janeway nodded to

Tuvok, officially taking command of the bridge.

"We're going to be discreet," the captain announced with a wry glance at Chakotay, acknowledging that

she'd been convinced by his advice.

"Plot a course for the secondary system of Tutopa."

Paris sighed, but he didn't hesitate to comply. "Course laid in."

Janeway noticed his reaction, just as she seemed to notice everything that happened. "Mr. Paris, we are

attempting to acquire information about worm-holes--we are not venturing into Cartel space so you can

dive into the local gin joint." She glanced at Chakotay. "Where is Neelix, by the way?"

Chakotay was perfectly calm, despite the tension. "Apparently, he's been having trouble with one of his

boilers. He should be here shortly."

"Tutopa secondary system within sensor range," Kim said, concentrating on his readings. "No class-M

planets, but I'm reading at least forty ships and stationary platforms in the area."

"We need Neelix," Janeway commented.

Chakotay tapped his communicator. "Bridge to Neelix. Report at once--" The turbolift opened before

Chakotay could finish, and Neelix bustled in. His wispy hair was flying and his arms were waving,

seeming to fill up more space than his compact body warranted.

"Sorry I'm late, folks! Kes needed me."

"Glad you could join us."

His toady little face hardly flinched at her dry remark. He smacked his hands together, rubbing them

briskly. "So what's on the menu today?"

The captain was obviously in no mood for jokes. "We're entering the secondary system of Tutopa."

That got his attention. "Are you sure you want to do this? I've never even been to Tutopa, in spite of the

opportunities there."

"Why not?"

Neelix companionably hooked an arm over the back of the captain's chair, leaning in much closer to

Janeway than Kim would have ever dared. "Let's just say that Tutopans tend to acquire vessels.

Not that they're aggressive, mind you, but people usually leave only after they're working for one of the

Houses or the Cartel, the conglomerate that runs the Hub and serves as the joint security force for the

Houses."

"That is why we're avoiding the Hub." Janeway shifted away slightly.

"Is there anyone we can negotiate with in the secondary system?"

Neelix's eyes lit up. "You know, you could probably get anything you wanted in exchange for that

`beaming' trick of yours."

"We cannot trade technology," Janeway told him. "That would break the Prime Directive."

"Ah, yes, that prime-thingy again." Neelix gave her a serious look.

"It would be much easier, you know, if you could see yourself around that rule every once in a while. It

certainly seems to get in the way."

Janeway made a sharp gesture with her hand. "I've tried to explain this to you before, Neelix. We simply

can't hand over advanced technology that could cause a shift in the natural development of a culture. I'm

sure there must be other ways."

"Oh, there's always other ways," Neelix quickly agreed. "It all depends on what you want to pay."

Chakotay considered the screen where the binary stars of Tutopa were growing larger as they

approached. "What is the Tutopan form of payment?"

"That's the odd thing," Neelix told them, leaning forward again.

"It's one reason why I never much bothered with the place. The Houses mostly deal in

information--blueprints, technology, formulas, things like that. They play with stakes much higher than my

reach, let me tell you."

"We don't intend to deal with the Houses or the Cartel," Janeway repeated patiently. "We're trying to

keep a low profile."

"You don't have to go to the Hub, the Houses have adjuncts in the secondary system--" Neelix broke off

at her expression, holding his hands up. "But you're right, Captain. There are other ways that won't

attract as much attention... such as certain fringe elements who, shall we say, deal on the dark side of the

moons."

"The dark side?" Janeway repeated dubiously.

Paris tossed over his shoulder, "Sounds like he's talking about the black market."

"Are these fringe elements engaging in illegal activities?"

Janeway asked Neelix.

"The only law in Tutopa is the Cartel." Neelix shrugged as if that said everything. "Darksiders are fair

game for the Enforcer patrols, but I doubt they'll bother with us. Their ships are maybe a quarter the size

of yours." Neelix quickly corrected himself: "Ours."

"Where do we find these `darksiders'?" Chakotay asked.

Neelix opened his eyes wide. "I told you, I've never been in this system before."

At the front console, Paris let out a snort. "Some native guide you are...."

Tuvok's brows drew together, the only sign of displeasure he usually allowed himself. Kim figured he was

itching to reprimand Paris.

"Do you have something to say, Lieutenant?" Janeway demanded, much more sharply than Kim had

expected.

Paris checked his navigation display, as if his mind was occupied by more important matters. "If you ask

me," he said. "This place looks like the Sassaniwan Cross--that binary system between Ferengi and

Cordovian space. It's a hot trading spot, and they've got a healthy black market going in the secondary

system, mainly in the asteroid belts."

"Don't tell me you've had experience with the Sassaniwan black market?"

Janeway asked Paris.

"Enough to know what I'm talking about."

Janeway looked from Chakotay to Tuvok. "What do you think?"

"I am reading an asteroid belt in the secondary system," the Vulcan informed her. "However, this is not

the Sassaniwan Cross," Paris groaned, dropping all pretense of disinterest. "We wouldn't need to worry

about finding wormholes if this was the Sassaniwan Cross--right, Tuvok? We'd already be in the Alpha

Quadrant, safe and sound."

"I am simply reminding the captain of the unknowns," Tuvok replied.

"However, in theory, it has been established that individuals who are desperate enough to endure

conditions commonly found among asteroid belts are indeed more likely to operate outside the normal

channels of society."

Paris didn't seem sure how to react to that. "It sounds like you're agreeing with me."

"He is," Kim murmured, too low for anyone to hear.

"He is," Janeway told Paris. "Lieutenant, set a course for the asteroid belt. Let's see if we can find a way

home."

Chapter 1

Janeway tilted back in her chair, gazing at the ceiling of her ready room.

Chakotay was right.

What a way to begin the morning, but for the past few days that thought had kept returning and intruding

on her work--Vovager didn't have Starfleet to back them up anymore. Intellectually, she was very aware

of the fact that they were a negligible force here in the Delta Quadrant, yet for some reason, a feeling of

vulnerability had hit hard with Chakotay's quiet reminder on the bridge.

The lights flashed as Chakotay's voice came over the channel.

"Yellow alert. Captain to the bridge."

"On my way," she acknowledged, hoping it wouldn't be another false alarm. Despite of the days of

fruitless negotiations, she was determined to see this through--if there were any wormholes within a

thousand light-years, the Tutopans would know about it.

On the viewscreen, a bulbous freighter was slowly coming into sensor range. On the other side, the curve

of the asteroid belt was spangled by millions of tiny flashes as dust and rocks turned and shifted,

reflecting the light of the suns. Janeway had always thought asteroid belts were pretty, but that was until

she was forced to sit next to one for four solid days with hardly a break in the monotony. But Chakotay

was right....

"Maintain course and speed," she ordered. "Let's see if they're serious about talking to us."

Janeway settled back in her seat, studying the screen. The rounded dorsal and front hydrogen scoop

were similar in design to the other dozen or so ships they'd encountered in the secondary system, but this

vessel looked particularly battered. Her eyes narrowed at the distorted bulkheads in the starboard hull,

as she recognized the signs of a partial vacuum decompression.

Paris was shaking his head. "You couldn't pay me to fly that thing."

Janeway found many things to appreciate in her pilot's unique point of view, so she usually chose to

ignore the fact that most of his comments were unsolicited. "Is she coming this way?"

"Their tractory would appear to bring them along-side," Tuvok replied.

"Very good."

"Shall I open a hailing frequency?" Ensign Kim asked.

"No, let's not scare this one off."

Kim subsided, frowning. When Janeway checked the Ops readout on her monitor, she saw that he had

suspended all ongoing science projects in order to have maximum power ready to be routed to engines

and weapons systems. A little extreme, under the circumstances. Janeway tried to suppress a surge of

sympathy for the young ensign--this was hard enough on everyone, but it had been Kim's first posting, his

first mission, that tore him away from everything he ever knew. No wonder he was nervous. But he was

also a Starfleet officer, and as Mark would have pointed out, with that infuriating grin of his, "Don't you

think your concern is edging slightly into the maternal, my dear Kate?"

Janeway banished the thought of her distant lover, sternly bringing her thoughts back to the present. "Is

something wrong, Mr. Kim?"

"Not exactly..." The young man sneaked a quick look, making sure she was open to hearing more. "It's

just that I don't understand why so many ships act like they're approaching, then suddenly veer off. Even

some of the ones that do finally hail us."

"They're testing us," Chakotay said, philosophically enough.

"And word's getting around," Paris added. "Most people are smart enough to keep away if they don't

have what we want. I mean, who needs to go looking for trouble? And we look like trouble--we could

smash most of these vessels with hardly a ripple in our power grid."

Janeway didn't mind letting Paris reassure the ensign, while she was busy examining the welding seams

that puckered the side of the freighter. It was barely as large as one of Voyager's warp nacelles.

"Report, Tuvok."

"The freighter is heavily shielded, as is usual among the Tutopan craft. However, their weapons systems

are minimal."

Janeway considered the freighter. "That may be true, but I think it's capable of making some speed. Their

ramscoop looks as if it has a double compression chamber."

"I've seen one like that before," Chakotay agreed. "On an Orion courier--all legs with minimum cargo

space. For fast delivery..."

"At least it isn't trying to scan us," Paris put in.

The freighter came to a stop and held position at thirty thousand kilometers.

"Hail them," Janeway ordered. Impatiently, she waited as Tuvok made the necessary adjustments in their

communication frequencies.

Apparently, no two Tutopan vessels used the same bandwidth.

"We have an audio channel only," Tuvok informed her. Janeway couldn't tell--despite their years of

working together--whether the security chief was as irritated as she was by their paranoid refusal to

return a visual transmission.

"This is Captain Janeway of the Starship Voyager," she identified herself, leaving out her usual references

to Starfleet and the Federation.

"Voyager, this is the Kapon." The voice from the freighter echoed flatly through their speakers. "We

understand you are looking for a particular piece of information."

"Yes, I'm attempting to locate coordinates for wormholes."

Janeway stood up, tilting her head in order to catch every nuance. The other Tutopans had also spoken

with the same droning inflection, in the same middle register--practically indecipherable as far as

emotional content was concerned. "Do you know of any wormholes in the area?"

"What is your credit?" was the reply.

Janeway stopped short--usually she was quizzed on exactly why she was looking for wormholes, not

asked how much she could pay.

"We would give you, in exchange," she offered, "verified, accurate star charts of the other side of the

galaxy, areas you call the Simari Cluster and the Trian Nebula."

"Star charts. Scientific curiosities," the voice said dispassionately.

"Valueless."

"Not necessarily," Janeway quickly countered. "Plotting system motion and radiation disbursion rates is

easier with verified points of reference. With these charts, and yours from your own sector, one can

triangulate any system in the galaxy--an invaluable tool for navigation. It's also one that nobody else

has...."

There was a long pause, as Janeway hardly moved. The senior officers had agreed that star charts were

simply an aid to technology already in use, and that to share such information would not violate the Prime

Directive.

"This is confidential information?" the voice from the Kapon finally asked.

"Absolutely." Maybe she was getting better at their sort of negotiating. "Other than ourselves, only you

would possess these charts."

"Then this would be information of acceptable value," the voice from the Kapon agreed.

"Good," Janeway said briskly, ignoring her rising excitement in order to close the deal. "We can transmit

the cartography--" "You would transmit sensitive information over an open channel?" the voice

interrupted. "The value would be lost if it is intercepted."

"We have methods by which we can secure a channel. It will insure that no one can tap the transmission."

"I do not believe your methods could be superior to our own."

Janeway crossed her arms, nodding to Tuvok. The Vulcan thought about it briefly, then condensed the

information into basic principles that didn't violate security procedures. "Our encryption protocols are

handled by our main computer.

Faster-than-light processors, augmented by bioneural circuitry, rotate and update the encryption

algorithms randomly. In addition, we are capable of emitting a rapid transmission burst."

The Kapon didn't answer right away, as if they were considering the offer. Janeway held her breath, until

the voice finally said, "Unacceptable. No channel of communication can be completely secured."

Tuvok tilted his head as if he was inclined to agree with that, but Janeway didn't want to hear about it.

She wondered if Tutopans enjoyed making things difficult.

"What do you suggest?" Janeway asked, hoping she sounded patient.

"A message capsule?"

"We prefer a direct exchange."

"You mean in person? You don't expect us to go to the Hub?" she asked.

"That will not be necessary. I see your ship maintains shuttlebays."

"You want me to shuttle the information to your ship?" Janeway wasn't sure she liked that.

"No, we could not take that risk. It is possible this is a ruse by the Cartel."

Janeway took a calming breath, trying to be reasonable. "Well, if we are the Cartel, aren't you already in

a lot of trouble?"

"You will not be allowed to board our ship," the voice repeated.

"We will come to you."

Janeway stopped pacing. "What makes you think we'll agree to that?"

"You require wormhole locations. We are the only ones who can supply this information."

"Why should I believe you?"

"That is unimportant. If you wish to purchase the wormhole information, you must cooperate with us."

Janeway clasped her hands behind her back, making them wait for her answer as she made a slow circuit

around the bridge. Without a word being said, Tuvok's stiff stance indicated that he objected. Chakotay

didn't seem pleased with the proposal, either. Janeway tended to agree with both of them--allowing

unknown entities on board her ship was not something she preferred to do, and yet... there had been no

signs of threat from any of the Tutopans thus far. Even Neelix said they weren't known for being

aggressive people.

"You drive a hard bargain," she finally agreed.

"We can't afford to make a mistake." The voice from the Kapon could have been interpreted as sad.

"Especially when it comes to the Cartel."

* * * Tuvok had insisted that Janeway wait in the observation lounge, so she watched from the window

overlooking the shuttlebay as the security team performed a sensor sweep of the yacht from the Kapon.

Both the yacht and the four crew members had been thoroughly scanned by their ship's sensors before

being allowed into the shuttlebay, but Tuvok apparently wasn't taking any chances.

The Tutopans didn't take offense at Tuvok's caution, but they did seem edgy, with their tall, slender

bodies in constant motion as they fidgeted and nervously glanced around. It wasn't the sort of behavior

Janeway had expected from their toneless voices. She was less surprised by their flattened faces and

delicate features, which gave them a remarkable physical similarity.

Their most distinguishing attribute was the hair clasps of various, shiny colors that gathered their receding,

colorless hair into a fluffy bundle at the neck. From the brief orders, Janeway decided the Tutopan with

the sunburst clasp was the leader.

"Nice ship," Janeway commented, knowing that Chakotay was watching from the bridge.

"Wouldn't Torres love to get her hands on that little number?"

Chakotay answered.

Janeway nodded, pursing her lips. "Perhaps there's good reason these people are wary. Still, you have to

wonder, what is a yacht like that doing in the hold of a run-down freighter?"

Down on the shuttlebay floor, Tuvok and his security team moved away from the yacht. Turning to the

observation window, he tapped his comm badge. "Captain, all is secure."

"Very good, Mr. Tuvok. Please escort our guests to the lounge."

Janeway raised her hand to her chin, watching Tuvok and the Tutopans cross the shuttlebay. As the

doors slid open, she took one breath and knew something was wrong.

"Chak--" she started to say, but her throat choked closed on her warning as her muscles seized in a

wrenching spasm.

* * * On the bridge, Chakotay had been growing more uncomfortable as he observed Tuvok's

examination of the Tutopans. Something told him that these people were not to be trusted. Since there

was nothing he could specifically point to, he wondered if he was merely feeling an instinctual distrust of

the unknown. Still, his hand was moving to the comm panel to signal the captain, when suddenly Tuvok

and the security team started jerking and falling like stiffened dolls.

Chakotay hit the emergency override. "Red alert! Close down--" was all he managed to get out. His eyes

widened, filled with the sight of the Kapon crew members leaving the shuttlebay, as he pitched forward,

his body wrested from his control.

* * * In sickbay, Kes stood straight up, her blue eyes staring straight ahead.

"Kes?" the doctor asked. "Is something wrong?"

With a choking sound, Kes jerked back, her body convulsing.

The doctor's decision tracks were already working on the problem, and he had a medical tricorder in his

hand before the patient was unconscious. Dilation of the arteries, accelerated heartbeat, and relaxation of

the bronchioles. As the readings flowed by on the screen, correlating with his symptoms-decryption

program, one of his subroutines noted the distressingly loud sound such a small humanoid could make

when it hit the floor.

A compilation of the data indicated that the convulsions were not systemic but induced by an outside

agent, triggering Decision Track 10.

"Medical alert!" he announced.

Even as he scanned the ship's internal environmental readouts, he reached for a hypospray of condrazine

for Kes. It wasn't that she was more important than any other patient, but he flagged a reminder to create

a Priority Subroutine that would insure Kes was tended immediately whenever she was injured. After all,

she was the only mobile medical technician the ship had.

"Captain Janeway, this is Dr. Zimmerman," said calmly. "I have detected a large quantity isoprenaline in

the ship's atmosphere."

The hypo injected the neural-stimulator into Kes's neck. There was no response from the captain.

Decision Track 2112, a recent innovation, performed an emergency medical override, directly accessing

the main computer and ordering atmospheric isolation of the areas infested with the isoprenaline. The

subprocessors accepted the emergency medical override and directed all power toward cleansing the

ship's atmosphere.

The doctor initiated an analysis of the toxin in Kes's system in the medical database, and requested an

antidote to be processed immediately. He was returning to Kes, noting her flushed skin and rapid pulse,

when his awareness was abruptly terminated.

Chapter 2

Red Alert klaxons seemed to draw Janeway back to consciousness, giving her a path to follow out of the

confused tangle of dreamlike images.

When her eyes finally opened, she still wasn't sure she was awake.

Aside from the red flashing, the lights were dimmed, as if the ship was running on emergency power.

STAR TREK - VOY - 04 - Violations

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