Ghost of a Chance (8 page)

“We do not believe our warning phaser beam could have destroyed the shuttle, even though it made contact, as it was not of sufficient strength,” Jonal said.

“The facts would tend to contradict you,” Chakotay countered.

“The planet itself may be responsible for what happened,” said Tassay.

“Why the planet?” Paris asked.

“That is key to what we must talk about,” Mila answered. “You don’t know what you are dealing with here. The Televek themselves have only begun to figure it out.”

“In the meantime, they will power down their weapons once more, provided you will do the same,” Jonal said soothingly, as though the idea was nothing more than a detail. “It is difficult to talk when the prospect of obliteration is only seconds away.”

Chakotay stood considering, noticing how at ease these Drosary seemed to be once more, and then how Tassay was looking at him, concentrating on him, as if hungry for inspiration. Or, Chakotay mused, perhaps there was even more to it than that.

“Understood,” he said. “But you’ll keep in mind that we tried this once before.”

“Again, communication—” “I know,” Chakotay answered Jonal.

Tassay moved still closer to him, smiling now, which somehow seemed to make her entire presence warmer by a few degrees. Some part of him recognized the effect on another level, one he was trying to ignore.

She was not an unattractive woman, but he simply had no time for personal relations at the moment, and he didn’t see where she did, either. But the Drosary were aliens, complete with alien customs and ideals, something one couldn’t lose sight of. It was possible they did not share his own aversion to mixing business with pleasure. Perhaps these Drosary were not only affable but capricious as well.

“We’ll adjourn to the captain’s ready room,” he said, thinking it best.

“I have a lot more questions than answers, and I intend to start changing that ratio.”

“An excellent suggestion,” Jonal agreed.

“You too, Neelix,” Chakotay said, which seemed to please the Talaxian not in the least. He wanted to be with Kes, of course, but right now she didn’t need him as much as Chakotay did.

As the commander turned, he realized that Mila had drifted nearer to Paris and had already engaged him in a separate conversation.

The commander cleared his throat loudly. Paris looked up and instantly caught the meaning of Chakotay’s forbidding glare. The lieutenant stood up and took Mila gently by the arm, then turned her away from the helm station. “We wouldn’t want you accidentally to touch anything,” he said in explanation. “Why don’t you go with the commander?”

“Oh, of course,” Mila said, obviously somewhat embarrassed.

Everyone smiled.

They might all be spies, Chakotay thought. The question was whether or not it mattered. Either way, he intended to find out.

“Are you coming along?” Mila asked Paris.

“He is of more use to me out here,” Chakotay said.

Mila looked remarkably childlike as she tipped her head.

“Please, Commander, I insist. After all, your vessel, like our own, is at station-keeping. Do you not value Paris’s opinions?”

Chakotay didn’t like being squeezed, but then, he didn’t like much of anything that was going on just now. What all this amounted to was another delay, and it wasn’t worth that.

“Very well,” he muttered, allowing the irritation to show in his voice.

B’Elanna Torres stood not a meter from him, squarely between the Drosary and the ready room door with her arms folded in front of her.

She would be the next one the Drosary wanted to come along. That was clear enough. “Is there anyone else you’d like to have join us?” the commander asked.

Mila looked directly at B’Elanna, then looked away. “No, this will be sufficient.”

The look on B’Elanna’s face could have soured Drindorian dragon’s milk.

Chakotay shook his head, then threw up his hands. “Good,” he said, glancing at B’Elanna as he brushed past her. “Someone has to get some work done around here.”

“Commander, it’s all right,” Torres said as the ready room door slid open. “It’s more than all right.”

Chakotay paused and held her gaze for a moment. He had seen her this serious before—an overreaction in most people, but not in her, especially when lives were at stake. Just now he found her mood a comfort. He nodded to her and went inside.

As they gathered in the small, sparsely appointed ready room, Mila managed to get a smile out of Paris, who seemed clearly to be warming up to the beautiful young Drosary, a reaction that Chakotay had to admit was understandable, even under the circumstances. Tassay remained close by Chakotay’s side as he stood in front of Janeway’s desk and leaned back against it. The others settled on the large sofa on one side of the room. Tassay sat on the end nearer the commander.

“Where is your captain?” Jonal asked. “I had hoped to continue our discussion with her as well.”

“She… has been detained a while longer. I have full authority to negotiate.”

Jonal’s expression did not change. “Very well, Commander.”

“My first priority is to rescue the crew of our shuttlecraft,” Chakotay said. “I think we should start there. The Televek apparently thought that in order to warn our people about something down there, it was worth endangering their lives. You were going to tell me what that something was.”

No one said a word at first. Chakotay watched the Drosary for a moment, noting the silent communication that went on almost constantly among them. He sensed an earnestness about them now—a sincerity that seemed to transcend even this most awkward situation. He didn’t trust the Televek, but he felt almost certain these three Drosary could be trusted to a point, that they were not malevolent in any case.

Especially Tassay.

“The surface of Drenar Four is unapproachable,” Jonal said then.

“The Televek have tried. Your people would have failed to land there in any case.”

Chakotay decided it was time to play bold with what facts he had and watch the Drosary’s reactions. “You should know,” he said, “that we have detected a substantial power source hidden several miles beneath the surface of the planet’s main continent. We also think the Televek may already have a ship down there, in the same region. I trust you intend to explain these things as well.”

“Ah; Commander,” Jonal said, gently smiling, “my compliments to your ship and your crew. Perhaps some of your sensor technology would constitute worthy barter after all.”

“Of course we can explain all that,” Tassay reassured the commander.

“Then do,” Chakotay prodded.

Jonal looked as if Chakotay had done him a favor—which was a welcome response, if not precisely what the commander had been expecting

“Very well,” Jonal said. “You see, despite every effort, the Televek have been unable to assist the population below.

Landings and even close orbital passes are impossible due to an advanced planetary defense system. Anyone traveling too near the surface experiences attacks that result in massive systems failures.

If the approach continues, the result is destruction.

The power source you spoke of apparently has something to do with this defense system, so far as the Televek can determine.”

“In fact, the Televek have already lost a ship in just that way,” Mila said further. “The cruiser now in orbit was one of two.

Daket, the commander of the other ship, felt certain that he could remodulate his shields in a manner that would allow safe penetration.

Gantel did not agree. Finally Daket decided to make the attempt. His ship apparently crashed and has since been out of contact.”

“And that’s what your friends were trying to warn our shuttle about?”

Paris asked, incredulous.

Mila put one slender hand on his forearm and nodded. “Truly it is,” she said.

Paris frowned. “They couldn’t just open a channel?”

“Gantel believed there wasn’t time for a discussion,” Tassay replied.

“A warning shot seemed like the best choice.”

“The Televek themselves have never encountered any offensive or defensive system like this one,” Jonal said. “It is intelligent, remarkably fast, and quite powerful. They even believe it may have come from some other part of the galaxy. Your part, perhaps, though you seem unfamiliar with it as well.”

“That is true, at least so far,” Chakotay conceded.

“We have another suggestion,” Tassay said, practically in Chakotay’s ear. He pulled away from her instinctively, putting a slight space between them. For now, at least, he told himself.

“I’m still listening. What do you propose?”

“Applied incentives,” Tassay said happily.

“I heard you mention that before,” Paris said. “What is that all about?”

“Incentives are the lubricant of life,” Mila explained. “They are utterly empowering, when properly exercised—something any Televek can tell you. And,” she added, grinning fondly at Paris, “this holds true for nearly all political, business, and personal negotiations.”

“Simply,” Jonal said, “if Voyager could help the Televek analyze this remarkable defensive system, then disarm it, then both ships could work together to search for your shuttlecraft as well as for the missing Televek cruiser. Joint efforts could then be made to help the people of Drenar Four, as far as is practical.”

“And for this, you would supply us with the repair components we need?”

Chakotay said.

“Without any other exchange of equipment or Starfleet technologies?”

Neelix pressed. “No phaser specs, that sort of thing?”

“Correct.” Jonal seemed quite pleased with himself, as did his lovely companions.

Paris seemed almost as pleased as they were, but Chakotay was trying hard not to get too carried away. “What do the Televek get out of all this?” he asked.

Jonal shrugged, a very human gesture. “They would like to rescue their people just as you would yours, of course, but I will admit, Commander, that they wouldn’t mind acquiring that Drenarian defensive system, or even some small part of it. It has, after all, defied their very best efforts so far.”

“To that end, they might help repair your phasers, in whatever capacity you see fit, of course,” Mila said serenely, “as long as the right salvage terms can be negotiated.”

Paris looked at her. “Just what do you know about our phasers?”

Mila politely feigned a scoff. “The Televek are very good guessers.

Your phasers are not currently powered up, nor were they during the recent shuttle mishap. Therefore, they are likely being repaired, as are so many of your other systems. You needn’t confirm any of this, of course, if you prefer not to.”

“A perceptive bunch, indeed,” Neelix said quietly.

“If that were the case, why would the Televek have such a specific change of heart?” Chakotay asked. He sat still, eyes steady, waiting for the answer.

“Because they are convinced they will need your phasers,” Tassay told him. She was sincere once more, her childish grin nearly gone. “Their hearts have nothing at all to do with it.”

“Ah,” Neelix said. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“You see, Commander,” Jonal said, “they have had some time to consider the problem this situation poses, and they have come up with a plan.

As I understand it, the defensive system’s power levels are gradually dropping, and eventually free access to the surface will be available.

But even if the surface can be reached, the power source and presumably the defense system’s control center are both located in a cavern more than seven kilometers below the planet’s surface. There seems to be no expeditious way of getting to it.”

“There may be tunnels, or possibly a network of caves that lead down to the site,” Paris suggested.

“And if there is not?” Jonal asked. “If the passageways have been sealed or hidden? Time may be short. As you already know, the planet is becoming very unstable.”

“You mentioned a solution,” Chakotay said.

Jonal nodded. “It has occurred to Gantel that if you could show the Televek how to improve their phaser efficiency to your ship’s levels, it might be possible to use them to bore a hole that deep, and in rather good time. Short of that, you could simply use Voyager’s wonderful phasers to do the job, once they are repaired. Assuming they need repairs, of course.”

All three of the Drosary were smiling. Chakotay had to admit it made sense. The transporters might be out for some time, and he wasn’t about to tell the Televek about them. The devil would be in the details, but…

“I’ll run the idea past my chief engineer, see if she thinks it can be done. As it happens, we do find ourselves in need of a replacement component for the phasers, an EPS flow regulator. It is something we can manufacture ourselves, but it will take considerable time and resources. If the Televek happened to have something comparable on hand—” “Aren’t you afraid of letting them in on all your secrets, Commander?” Neelix said, visibly concerned. “The captain said—” “The component is a basic one,” Chakotay said, speaking to everyone. “Very little information would be exchanged.”

“Then you do see this offer as it is intended?” Mila said, hopeful.

“Yes. It would speed things up,” Chakotay agreed. “And as you point out, the planet is unstable. Time is something our survivors may not have much of.” He paused, still uncomfortable about discussing Voyager’s lack of firepower in such a tactically difficult situation.

But this did seem like the only solution right now.

“I think I’m starting to like the idea as well,” Paris said, smiling like the others.

“I’m inclined to think there is another catch somewhere,” Neelix said, though his tone had softened.

“We are hiding nothing, Commander Chakotay,” Tassay said.

“Nothing at all.”

“When will your people be ready to begin working with the Televek?”

Jonal asked.

“My crew is ready now.”

“Wonderful, and I’m sure you’ll come to see this as a sensible decision,” Jonal exclaimed to one and all. “And you must admit, it does sound like a first step toward a possible eventual sharing of more… unfamiliar information, does it not?”