CYCLOPS

A Voyager VS 7.5 Adventure

By Penny A. Proctor

[PREVIOUSLY ON VS 7.5: The Federation has responded to a request from the Vidiians to bring stability to that sector of space by forming a task force of three ships - Voyager II, commanded by Capt. Kathryn Janeway; Odyssey, commanded by Capt. Geordi La Forge; and the colony ship Pioneer, commanded by Capt. Joshua Merves. The ships are equipped with transwarp drive and are prepared for a one year mission that includes helping the Vidiians and Ocampans establish a colony on New Earth and making contact with the Briori and the 37s. Captain Janeway married her former first officer, now retired from Starfleet, at the ceremony dedicating Voyager II, but he (as well as Tuvok's wife T'Pel) is one of the civilian scientists participating in the mission.]

PROLOGUE - In the Beta Quadrant

It had no name. It had no past, no future. It had a Purpose, and nothing else.

It had no sense of time. A minute and a century were the same to it. The Purpose was timeless and eternal.

It had no electronics, no chips, no circuitry. No data banks. It was a marvel of engineering, a fusion of organics with metallurgy, with a dash of genetic programming. If it had realized this, it would have been proud. But it had no sense of self. It existed to fulfill the Purpose, and that was all. That was enough.

It did not think, exactly, at least not in the sense of forming structured ideas and concepts. It did not guess or speculate, as it had sufficient memory to learn from its experiences and sufficient sensory input to evaluate its targets. The Purpose and that was sufficient to propel it onward.

Onward. Seek out new worlds, new civilizations.

Keaynn Warp Ship Seeker Ten

A small ship, scarcely more than a tube of metal with two engines extending aft, dropped out of warp at the fringe of the planetary system and its pilot let out a shout of triumph. "Wheee-ah!" he yelled, not caring that there was no one to hear him. Some moments demanded celebration, even a solitary one. "We did it! It worked!"

Wonder washed over him as he, Distor Stann, became the first of his people to have this view of the Keaynn system; before now, many of his predecessors and colleagues had seen the outbound vista as they tested the faster-than-light engines but he was the first to actually make it back. He took in the sight of Dresto, the icy planetoid that marked the system's outermost reach and then looked inward to the other planets - airless Dontal, stormy Palto, and poisonous Karrew. Then he found it, the object of his search, a shining hemisphere of blue and green and white in the light of the star. Keaynn. Home.

Remembering his duties, Stann thumbed the communications system and lifted the microphone in his dominant upper right hand. "This is Seeker Ten calling Keaynnin Base. I'm back."

He returned the microphone to its slot, knowing at least ten *doradorcals* would pass before his message reached its target. "That's something we're going to have to work on," he said aloud. He'd gotten into the habit of talking to himself during this mission, just so he could hear something besides the hum of the engines. "We can't be traipsing all over the galaxy if we don't have decent communications."

Then he grinned. Traipsing around the galaxy. Yes, they could do that now. Finally, after nearly a century of research and testing and failure, the key was in their hands. The Keaynnin could look beyond their own crowded planet. Anything - everything! - was possible now: they could find suitable planets for colonization that wouldn't require years of terraforming; they could build space stations and develop trade and supply routes between the colonies and Keaynn; they could save themselves from extinction.

A glint of light caught his attention and his grin faded. Something seemed to appear out of the sun's corona, an optical illusion but startling nonetheless. Something huge and white and unimaginable. "What is *that*?" he asked.

It glided forward and then angled, and his eyes widened in shock. The thing was a giant elongated cone, gleaming white against the blackness of space. Ignoring his shaking hand, he checked to make certain the external cameras were recording. If the Base missed it, no one would ever believe him.

Then he opened the microphone attain. "Keaynnin Base! This is Stann - Seeker Ten! Do you see it? What is it?"

There was no response, of course. The message wouldn't reach them for ten *doradorcals*.

He watched in fascination as the great cone moved forward. Fascination changed to horror as he realized it was moving with a purpose - it was heading for Keaynn.

The thing slowed abruptly, the wide end of its cone facing the blue and green planet. Then, slowly, the tip of the cone began to rise, curling above the main body of the cone itself and then straightening to a ninety-degree angle.

The tip suddenly inflated to a spherical shape that glowed pale green. Then, without warning, a visible beam of green light erupted from it, aimed directly at the planet. It tracked swiftly across the planet's surface.

Stann grabbed the microphone. "Base! What's happening?"

As suddenly as the beam of light had appeared, it stopped. Stann swallowed hard, and force himself to breathe. Whatever had been done, it was over.

And then wide, flat front of the cone came alive. Its mouth split into an iris that retracted, revealing a teeming whirlpool of orange and yellow energy. The speed of the vortex increased, until the center seemed to be a ball of flame. The ball began to expand, forming a bubble pushing outward, trying to escape the confines of the cone ...

...until it burst, and a flare - a beam - a giant shaft of flame spewed out and drilled directly into the planet's largest continent. Stann watched, unable to move, as chunks of land and bedrock large enough to be seen at this distance were thrown into Keaynn's atmosphere.

He saw fault lines spreading across the continent, and then the adjoining southern continent, and then he saw nothing, because the explosion of light blinded him, despite the protective coating on his view screen. He threw an arm across his eyes, but it was too late.

When he could see again, the cone was still there.

Keaynn wasn't.

The blue and green planet, home to five billion people, was simply gone. In its place, he saw only chunks of rock and debris, drifting in all directions. The cone's maw was dark red now, a deep crimson. And it was sucking in the debris as if it were a household vacuum extractor.

His console signaled an incoming message. Without looking down, Stann touched the "receive" toggle. "Welcome home, Seeker Ten." He recognized the baritone voice of Milok Tone, the Mission Director. He'd known Milok since their first year at University. "You did it. We've got a party waiting for you. But before you leave that position, take a look in the general direction of the sun. Our satellites are reporting something odd."

The message, sent ten *doradorcals* earlier, ended. The cabin suddenly seemed more silent than ever.

Stann watched the cone suck in the last bit of dust that had been his home. The iris on the opening closed, and the tail lowered until the monstrosity was again in a completely horizontal plane. It began gliding forward again, but when it was pointed at Kerrew the tip of the cone again rose and assumed a ninety-degree angle. Then the tip puffed out and issued the same pale green beam to the planet's surface. This time, though, when the green light was cut off, the maw did not open. Instead, the tail retracted and the cone began to glide toward Palto.

For the first time since the explosion, Stann became capable of thought. The thing had passed up Kerrew but who knew what would happen next - and it was heading in his general direction. Heart racing, he fired up his faster-than-light engines and turned Seeker Ten around. As soon as he could, he engaged the engines and watched the stars become a blur.

He didn't know where he was going; as far as ten days of fuel would take him, he supposed. He just knew he had to run.

The Priests and Elders had always assured the Keaynnins they were unique, that there was no other intelligent life in the universe. For the first time in his life, Distor Stann prayed that the Priests and the Elders were very, very wrong.

ACT ONE

USS Voyager II - Captain's Quarters

The dream began, as dreams often do, in the middle of its story, and yet it made perfect sense. Kathryn was seated at a formal banquet table, wearing her dress uniform - the red uniform that she had worn throughout eight years in the Delta Quadrant, not the unflattering white Starfleet adopted during her absence. The elaborate flatware glittered gold and silver under the lights of the multiple chandeliers. She had never seen so many forks and knives and wondered what she was supposed to do with all of them.

She wasn't the only one confused by the settings. Across the long, narrow table Chakotay caught her eye and smiled ruefully. He, too was in his red dress uniform, which was a little odd since he was no longer in Starfleet. On the other hand, she had always thought he looked particularly good in that uniform.

"Captain Janeway," a voice beside her said, and she turned to her left. A Vidiian smiled at her broadly. "So good of you to come. And all this way, too."

"The Federation felt your message was important," she replied.

"And what would you like for dinner?" Another Vidiian, now seated next to Chakotay, asked.

This surprised her; formal dinners such as this usually had a fixed menu. "Are there choices?"

"Oh, yes," the Vidiian next to her assured here. "There are always choices."

"For instance," the Vidiian beside Chakotay said, "I believe I'll start with some liver." He picked up a fork and knife from the table, and without hesitation, plunged them into Chakotay's abdomen.

Chakotay half rose in shock, then collapsed to his chair as the Vidiaan pulled out the entire liver. "Perfect," the Vidiian said.

As Chakotay stared dully at her, Kathryn jumped to her feet but then was unable to move. All she could do was shout, "No! You can't do that!"

"Of course they can." Kes spoke calmly from Kathryn's right. "It's what Vidiians do. I thought you understood that."

"I'm partial to kidney myself," said the Vidiian on Kathryn's left.

"Coming right up." With a flourish, the Vidiaan across the table plunged a fresh knife and fork in Chakotay and yanked them out, a kidney speared on the tines.

"Oh, dear," Denara Pel said, suddenly appearing on the other side of Chakotay. "I'm sorry, Captain, I really hadn't planned on this."

Ambassador Diaza put a hand on her shoulder, his antennae drooping toward her sympathetically. "There's no need to apologize," he told her. "It's hardly your fault, Dr. Pel. Everyone knows that Starfleet can't manage a decent first contact."

"Ambassador, don't you see what's happening?" Kathryn asked, aghast.

"I have eyes." He shrugged. "But the first rule of diplomacy is never to insult your host." Then he smiled at the Vidiian who was still hovering next to Chakotay's still body. "Could I try the spareribs?"

With a supreme effort, Kathryn willed herself awake before the Vidiian plunged the knife into Chakotay again. Even so, the dream had been so vivid that she had to lay still for a few moments for her mind to fully transition back to reality. She was in her own bed, on Voyager II, and Chakotay was lying beside her. For a few seconds she listened to him breathe, just to assure herself that he wasn't hurt. Then she rolled out of bed and quietly went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face.

Her heart was still pounding, and she took a deep breath. True, she had some misgivings about this mission to the Vidiians, but until now she hadn't realized how deep they ran. And the worst part was, there was almost no way she could convince Ambassador Diaza that they needed to approach the assignment with as much skepticism as hope. He was convinced she had bungled First Contact with the Vidiians a decade ago. As if it were possible to bungle a First Contact that began with the other party stealing the lungs from one of her crew and then raiding her ship for more!

Well, dealing with diplomats - even Federation diplomats - was a time-honored burden of Starfleet commanders. Even the redoubtable Spock, who later became an ambassador himself, had written of his frustration with the bureaucratic mind. She would just have to find a way to gain Diaza's respect, if not his trust. Perhaps Daeja would have some suggestions after spending more time with him. Kathryn resolved to call her friend on the Pioneer in the morning.

As she reached for a towel, she noticed the light reflect off the simple wedding band on her finger. It was new enough to bring a smile to her face and remind her that she was, more or less, on her honeymoon. The convoy's current destination was Deep Space 10, located on the Federation's most extreme border with the Romulans. There, they would pick up the remaining colonists, run final tests of the transwarp engines, and finally begin the mission to the Delta Quadrant in earnest. The ten-day journey was intended to let the crews get accustomed to working together and work out any bugs in the newly christened ships.

As far as Kathryn was concerned, it was also her chance to get accustomed to being married while in command. Even though she and Chakotay had been virtually inseparable since his pardon, things were different now. They needed to adjust to new rhythms and flows in their life on shipboard. And while she had no doubts about the strength of their bond, she also knew - only too well - there would be times when the dictates of command would conflict with her personal life. They had a laid a good foundation, but she had no intention of taking the relationship for granted.

"No time like the present," she said softly as she replaced the towel, and then she grinned at herself in the mirror. She was wide-awake now, and she had a feeling that Chakotay wouldn't mind too much if she woke him as well. At least, not for something as important as their honeymoon.