“Devil’s advocate?” she asked.
Chakotay’s eyes narrowed as he clearly struggled to comprehend why she would bother.
“Even if Bryce and Icheb are right and this was an advanced transport of some kind, we still don’t know that the ship survived the process.”
“Ensign Gwyn seems to think they did.”
“Doctor Sal and Counselor Cambridge have not yet completed their evaluation of Gwyn.”
“Kathryn, if there is even the slightest hope that they are alive, we have to make the attempt.”
“Fine. Do you know where they are?”
“Not yet, but Voyager is already running long-range scans. If you would release the data to Vesta and Demeter, the search would go a lot quicker.”
“I’m not ready to raise everyone’s hopes just yet,” Janeway countered. “I want to hear Sal’s report first. And let’s say they are within scanning range. What if the ship that took them is also in range? They knocked us out without breaking a sweat.”
“We’ll fight them.”
“We’ll lose.”
“You don’t know that.”
She didn’t. But she also couldn’t help but think of Farkas’s recent words, questioning her ability to accurately calculate risk. Her heart was with Chakotay, ready to rush headlong into whatever danger might exist, damn the odds, and find her people. Her head was another matter.
“Right now, I have no idea how to prevent it and neither do you,” Janeway said. “I’m not risking more lives until I know we are ready to face them and for that, we need a lot more information.”
“We’re already analyzing their first attack against us.”
“We only learned they were transported because Bryce and Icheb decided to scan for theoretical particles,” Janeway insisted bitterly. “That’s the tip of the iceberg of the things we don’t know about the Edrehmaia. I understand why, Chakotay, but you’re not thinking this through clearly.”
“I’m not leaving them behind,” he insisted.
“Neither. Am. I.”
Chakotay knew a Janeway-shaped immovable force and he seemed to realize that he was standing right in front of one. “There might be another way,” he suggested.
“I’m listening.”
“We could try activating DK-1116 again. They might come back.”
Janeway considered the notion. It seemed just this side of impossible, but then, most of their missions started in that general territory.
“I don’t think we’ve got another thousand years to wait while that system recharges. More important, I want to know how to talk to them before we provoke them in any way.”
“Lasren is already on it. He has broken down the photonic emissions the vessel displayed before it disabled us and is working on a new translation matrix.”
“Good. Keep at it.”
“Any other hurdles you want to throw in front of us?”
“Please don’t pretend that I’m just giving you a hard time about nothing, Chakotay.”
“We’re talking about thirty-four lives that could be in desperate straits right now. Who knows how much time they have left?” Chakotay demanded.
“Thirty-three,” Janeway corrected him.
Doubt flickered across his face. “Forgive me, but I was also counting the baby, Harry and Nancy’s child.”
Janeway felt herself flushing. She knew about the baby, of course, but her awareness of its existence was still so new, she wasn’t yet accustomed to counting it among their potential losses.
“Listen to me,” she said, taking his hands in hers. “I promise you that the moment we have a solid lead to follow, we will set course, and if they are still alive, we will find them.”
Chakotay nodded but his eyes still registered wariness.
“I need you to trust me,” she continued. “I need you at my side, not at cross purposes. These Edrehmaia, whatever they are, fill me with the same gut-level terror that used to be reserved for the Borg. And right now, I don’t begin to know how to answer the thousand questions we have about them, what they want, what they’re capable of, and why they chose to do this. Get me those answers, please,” she said firmly.
Chakotay lifted a hand to caress her cheek. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“You never have to apologize to me for wanting to protect our people,” she said gently. “But my guess is that we’re only going to get one shot at this. It has to be our best.”
“Agreed,” Chakotay said.
“Lasren is working the communications angle. I’ve had a request from Commander O’Donnell to return to the surface and investigate a cavern that might still be intact. He wants Seven and Patel to join him.”
“Why does he want to do that?”
She shrugged. “If it’s anything like the first…” She trailed off.
“I’ll adjust their duty assignments accordingly and issue their new orders right away,” Chakotay said.
“Can we maintain a transporter lock on them the entire time? No more seat-of-our-pants rescue operations if we can help it,” the admiral requested.
“I will personally see to their security. I’d also consider sending Vesta out to do some scans of the asteroid field. Something out there adjusted the telemetry of that star and I’d really like to know more about it.”
“Then we have the beginnings of a plan,” she said.
“I’ll keep you posted,” Chakotay said.
She lifted her face to his and kissed him lightly. “Back to work.”
Doctor El’nor Sal stood over Ensign Gwyn. Counselor Cambridge was seated nearby, swinging his gangly legs from the edge of the biobed and clearly wondering what previous mistakes in his life had led him to this moment. Much as she resented his presence, Sal also enjoyed the torment this assignment was obviously causing. Life was short. One needed to find amusements wherever possible, and for now, this would have to suffice.
“Well, Ensign,” Sal began as she set aside the padd containing the results of her scans, “I am happy to report that your physical examinations all fall within normal limits. Your cortisol levels are a little high, but stress will do that to you and, for now, the readings aren’t cause for concern.”
Gwyn sat up. “What
