“They wouldn’t have been harmed,” O’Donnell offered weakly.
Fife’s face clearly communicated his utter disbelief. When he replied, there was no mistaking the disappointment in his tone. “You are easily the most extraordinary human being I have ever known. You have challenged me every single day we have served together to think through every issue from multiple perspectives. In so doing, you have expanded my understanding of humanity, of the aliens we have encountered, and of myself. I have followed you without question wherever it has pleased you to lead me.
“But you are human. You are capable of making mistakes. For the first time in our acquaintance, your arrogance has blinded you to the reality that your first duty is not to your own savage curiosity, but to those you command. I don’t care that you are willing, anxious in fact, to sacrifice your life on the altar of transcendence. I do care that you believe I will permit you to do so on my watch. Until you have demonstrated to my satisfaction that you are willing to act both rationally and safely in pursuit of the knowledge you seek, I am hereby relieving you from duty and ordering a full psychiatric evaluation. Until then, you are restricted to your quarters, Captain.”
“Atlee?”
“Tell me I’m wrong,” Fife said. “Tell me you wouldn’t do the same were our places reversed.”
O’Donnell wanted to, but he couldn’t.
VESTA
“Bryce tells me that we’re at least a day away from completing repairs to the slipstream drive. He’d like me to lay off the warp drive for the duration as well,” Farkas reported.
Janeway sighed. “Voyager suffered more severe damage. Torres estimates four days before her repairs will be done.”
“I’m afraid there’s more bad news, Admiral. Before we met back up with you and Voyager, we took a little detour at Bryce’s request to pick up the quantum sensor data. He figured you wouldn’t be able to, so…”
“That was very thoughtful of him,” Janeway said.
“According to our readings, the energy field showed no signs of quantum entanglement when it activated. He thinks it was an automated response to the threat our maneuver posed to the star. Even while inert, it clearly has some low-intensity scanning capabilities.”
“It’s not going to let us, or anything else, affect that star as long as it is in range of the field.”
“That’s his conclusion, yes, Admiral,” Farkas said.
“Demeter has yet to check in.”
“Let’s hope that’s a good thing.”
Farkas had stood before Janeway’s desk while making this report. The two women locked eyes, clearly making the same complicated calculations. Janeway crossed to her replicator and ordered a hot cup of coffee. After a fortifying sip she said, “I have a feeling this is the part where you tell me we’ve done all we can to attempt to locate the Galen and that it is time to put this tragedy behind us and resume our primary mission.”
Farkas deserved that. She and Janeway hadn’t spoken privately to discuss anything other than direct orders since Regina had let her mouth run without a filter in the hours following Galen’s loss.
“If you believe that, I’ve done a piss-poor job while serving under your command of showing you who I am,” Farkas replied.
A single eyebrow was raised as the admiral took another swig of her coffee.
“As long as there is a chance the crew of the Galen is alive, they are our primary mission,” Farkas said.
Janeway nodded. “I’m glad we agree about that. But the reality of this situation is that no matter how much we want to find them, it may not be possible, now or ever. It will take the better part of a decade for that star to move beyond the range of the asteroid field that is protecting it. Experimenting directly with the Edrehmaia substance in order to unlock its quantum nature will likely cost more lives and still might not yield the results we require.”
“Isn’t O’Donnell already in the process of doing just that?”
“It’s a limited experiment with multiple safeguards in place. Frankly, it feels like a long shot, but you know how he is.”
“I do,” Farkas replied with a smile.
“And even if it succeeds, having functional translation technology isn’t going to do us much good if we can’t get the Edrehmaia on the other end of a transmission.”
“It does begin to feel like if they don’t want to be found, we might never find them,” Farkas allowed.
“I know our engineering and science departments are already in the process of finding work-arounds and new hypotheses. Given enough time, they might come up with a few alternatives. It’s just…”
Finally, Farkas understood the admiral’s unique position. “How long did it take Starfleet to declare Voyager lost the first time you were out here?”
Janeway smiled bitterly. “Two years.”
“And how much longer did it take for you to prove them wrong?”
“Another fourteen months.”
“It hasn’t been fourteen days yet, Admiral, since we were given good reason to believe that the ship survived.”
“And if there were no other pressing matters on the horizon, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Admiral?”
“I’ve ignored four requests from the Department of Temporal Investigations to return to Krenim space and attempt to establish diplomatic relations,” Janeway admitted. “They’re not going to let me keep that up indefinitely.”
“No, they aren’t,” Farkas agreed. “I know, because one of their directors reached out to me several weeks ago and asked that I do everything in my power to make sure you followed that order. In fact, it was made clear to me that should you refuse, you would be relieved of your command and I would be tasked with completing that mission.”
The eyes that met Farkas’s following this pronouncement were clear blue skies suddenly streaked with storm clouds.
“And how did you respond to the director in question?”
“I told him exactly where he could shove his threats. I don’t like bullies, especially ones who want you to dance to a tune they won’t even allow you to hear,” Farkas replied. “And to be honest, in the absence of a great deal
