Chapter 9 added on 25 Feb 2001
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: R
Another blast impacted on Voyager, sending most of the crew on the bridge flying around. Several consoles exploded, but fortunately nobody got hurt badly.
"Mr Paris, evasive maneuvers," Janeway said, steadying herself as yet another blast hit the already mangled ship. "Return fire."
"Shields down to 42%," Tuvok reported.
Chakotay looked at the reports on his console. "Captain, they don't answer any of our requests for communication, if they keep up this attack we won't survive another few minutes."
"Chakotay send messages in every way you can think of stating we did NOT attack the A'Scine vessel that we found adrift in space, because it seems to me they think we did something to their other vessel," Janeway ordered.
BOOM
"Shields down to 20%."
"Captain, some of the A'Scine beamed down to the ship that's adrift in space," Harry Kim reported
"Away team to Captain Janeway," a young Ensign's voice sounded over the comm system. "we see several A'Scine moving around the ship, but they seem to ignore us..."
"Try to find a safe spot, and hold a stand there, we will try to beam you up as soon as possible, Janeway out."
BOOM
"Shields are weakening, we got life support failing on decks 11 12 and 13, damage reports coming in from all decks," Tuvok reported.
"Tom, can we go on warp yet?"
"Negative Captain," Tom said, his hands flying over the console in a furious pace.
"Janeway to Engineering."
"Torres here Captain."
"B'Elanna we need those warp engines online now."
"I'm trying, but they won't cooperate with me today."
"Trying is not good enough."
"Give me a few seconds."
Janeway looked at viewscreen, at a A'Scine vessel that was at least twice the size of Voyager, and much more advanced then they were. "We might not have those few seconds."
Then as suddenly as the attack had started, it stopped. "Captain, their hailing us.." Tuvok said.
"That be about damn time," Janeway muttered, "on screen."
"Kami Asai intogen feri, yammai. Intogen we bei gen ontos insai kellin makai," a member of the A'Scine said.
"Looks like the translator doesn't work still," Janeway mumbled looking at Chakotay. "I'm sorry, we can not understand you. I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager, we found your vessel a few days ago, adrift in space, and decided to go aboard to find out what happened, we never ment any harm."
"Captain, their locking onto the bridge, it seems as they want to beam somebody aboard.." Harry said.
Janeway looked at Chakotay for advice. "I don't know, but they must have stopped their attacks for some reason?" Chakotay said.
"Drop shields, be prepared for anything suspicious, but try to appear non-threatening," Janeway ordered.
A few seconds later a totally in black substance covered A'Scine materialized a few feet away from Captain Janeway. The A'Scine, who appeard to be male, cocked his head a bit, looking around the bridge, his eyes narrowed to sliths. "Sai yappa?" he asked.
"I wonder if he can understand us?" Tom said looking at the Alien in awe.
The male A'Scine walked over to Tom Paris his console. "Yennai wahi, lemma kitai," he said typing in a long string of commands.
"What is he doing?" Tom asked.
"It appears as if he's recalibrating the translator," Tuvok reported.
"That we was," the A'Scine said, almost as if he was singing.
"Much better," Janeway said smiling. "Welcome aboard Voyager...uhhm I guess I didn't get your name?"
"Sadi D'ena," the A'Scine said. Then all of a sudden the black substance that had covered his body withdrew back from where it had come. Revealing a rainbow colored skin that had the whole bridge crew gaping openly.
"Black skin be for protection, we know we not have to fear not much of you...we drop black skin," Sadi said.
"Why did you attack us...or stop for that matter," Janeway wondered, looking at Sadi's skin that had the widest spectrum of colors Kathryn had ever seen.
"We thought we were in danger. We think that light ship attacked our other vessel, we wrong, we apologize," The A'Scine male said, his head bowing slightly. "We find dead bodies in messhall, we know Windigo be cause, we know light ship not responsible, we will compensate for light ship damage."
"Windigo.." Chakotay frowned.
"Commander?" Janeway asked.
"There's a legend among my people...speaking of the Windigo. They are a apparition of our worst and deepest fears, in most of the cases that was canibalism. The legend speaks of a phantom-like beings that prey on the weak."
"Canibalism.." Janeway frowned. "Sadi D'Ena, we have reason to believe one of your kind is still on the damaged ship. Also we hold a female in the Brig, she attacked one of our crew."
The A'Scine male seemed to frown, as much as that was possible without having brows. His liquid blue eyes became grey for a second as he contemplated something. "We will take female if Captain not mind much? We take care of our own."
"Well I guess I wouldn't mind much..even though she has harmed one of our crew, I don't think we can hold her responsible for that, because she was under influence of a virus. But now that she's cured.."
"Captain cured female?" Sadi interupted Janeway. "Windigo not allowed to be cured."
Kathryn frowned. "I didn't, our Doctor found the virus and cured the female."
"Windigo not be virus. Windigo be shame among our people. Shame only on the impure, therefor not be cureable," Sadi explained his voice slightly shaken.
"Well I don't believe the process is reversible," the Captain explained, "uhm maybe it's for the best if you take a look at her first?"
"Yes, we be wanting to see female, we be wanting to talk to her," Said D'Ena said. "We be also wanting to know more about your lightship, and get some of our engineers to repair damage we be done to lightship, we be wanting to help, to remove shame."
"I think that can be arranged," Janeway said, as she walked off the bridge, the A'Scine male following her closely. "Commander you have the bridge."
~~~~~~~~~~~
As they arrived at the brig, Janeway noticed that Sadi was observing the other member of his species behind the forcefield, he almost seemed to be afraid to get any closer.
"We be wanting to transport her over to our ship, we be taking care of her there," Sadi said, still keeping a safe distance away from the cell in which the female A'Scine was lying on the floor.
Janeway frowned again, she wondered what the rush was, and wondered why Sadi seemed so scared of the female, even though she would not be able to get out of her cell. "I thought you wanted to talk to her first?"
"We be not knowing what to talk about. We be wanting to take shame away from lightship, we be knowing what to do next. She be dishonor to our race."
"Dishonor?"
"Yes, she be dishonor."
"Why doesn't she speak," Janeway looked inside the cell, and saw two liquid blue eys looking right back at her.
"She be knowing, she be marked. She be knowing what her destiny will be. We be disgraced by her presence."
Janeway took a step closer to the cell. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the federation starship Voyager. You were about the only survivor on a ship that was adrift in space. I want to know if you can tell me what has happened."
There was no returning answer however, only a low hiss, but then the figure in the cell, stood up and took in the other member of her race standing just a few feet away, on the other side of the forcefield.
"Can you at least give me your name? It's hard to talk somebody and now knowing their name," Janeway tried.
But the figure did not respond.
"We be knowing why she be not talking," Sadi said, still keeping a safe distance away of the female. "We be wanting to take her with us now, we be taking care of her. We be not wanting to burden the lighship crew with her dishonor."
"Why such a hurry to get back to your ship? What are you planning to do to her, once she's back?" Janeway asked.
"That be not of lightship Captain's concern. She be member of A'Scine, she be judged by law of A'Scine."
Kathryn didn't like this at all. Some instinct that had never failed her before, told her something was wrong. She really did not know much about the A'Scine and their culture and laws, and until she did know more about that, she refused to let their prisoner go. Janeway first wanted to know what would happen to the female A'Scine if she returned to her own kind. However, she didn't want to appear uncooperating or unfriendly, she just had to figure out a way to buy some time.
"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, Sadi, but I believe our Doctor wants to perform a few more tests on the female, before we hand her over. Also she did attack one of our crew," Janeway argued.
"We be not happy with Captain's decision, but we do understand Captain's position. We will allow Doctor of lightship to do research, but we wanting to have female in 4 uncoloured hours."
"4 Uncoloured hours?" Janeway asked.
"Uncoloured be thee."
"Okay, but our race is more commonly known as Human," Janeway explained slightly humored by the name the A'Scine had given to them.
"Uncoloured name be Human, we be understanding. We be contacting spaceship now, we be having our enginers helping to repair lightvessel."
Janeway asumed the lightvessel in question was Voyager. She didn't want to miss the opportunity to learn more of the A'Scine or their techonologies so she gave permission quickly to have some of the A'Scine engineers beamed aboard her ship, to help with the repairs on Voyager.
She was about to walk out of the brig again, when she suddenly heard a loud scream coming from behind her. Spinning on her heels she looked at the prisoner, who was bouncing off the walls screaming: "Noooo, STOP them, Nooooo."
Just as Kathryn was about to ask what to stop, another explosion that rocked Voyager answered her unspoken question.
End of Chapter 9
To be continued....