Chapter Three - The Faces of Zachary SmithJUPITER 2, 1998
Doctor Smith's eyes shifted, quite slowly. His was the gaze of a snake, amidst a maze full of plump mice.
"And why, precisely, should I choose to relinquish control over the Robot? After all, I put B-9 under my authority to protect myself from Major West's mercurial temper. A temper, I might add, that he still has not placed under control."
Don balled his hands into fists.
"You want mercurial, Smith?! I'll belt you all the way back to the planet Mercury!"
John hushed the pilot.
"Don--in case I haven't made it clear, I'm in command of this mission. As Churchill once put it, I'll deal with the devil to see to the safety of my charges. That includes all of you. Now, Doctor Smith-I need B-9 under my direct charge to make these repairs. I can't have it turning to you every other command. We need these repairs to survive. Now, will you give up that control?"
The very smart man smiled. They needed him to survive, and it had now been said out loud. He could afford to be generous. For life equaled his presence. As it should be.
"Of course, Doctor Robinson. A Smith is only too glad to oblige those in need. B-9! By my voice command, I release you from accepting only my commands. You will now take orders from Doctor John Robinson as well."
The mechanoid grunted.
"I-will-comply."
After the repairs were completed, Will Robinson stared at B-9 as it lay in its recharge alcove. Penny soon joined him.
"What are you doing?"
Will shrugged.
"I just can't believe he'd ever turn on us."
Penny's eyes narrowed.
"Will--you're such a little boy. It's just a dumb robot. He follows whatever orders he's given. That's all."
Will responded as a 10 year-old might.
"If YOU weren't so googly-eyed over Major West, maybe you wouldn't be so stupid! He's not just a robot. I touch him, and I feel something. Something really good. Something that somebody who's obsessed with death couldn't understand."
Penny was just as much a 13-year old.
"I'M not the one who's asking Don to tell idiotic war stories all the time! Just who's obsessed with death, Will? And for your information, little boy, those scenarios I planned have helped us to survive a lot of stuff that you would never have thought of. What do your sims do except give happy-sappy endings that never occur?"
Challenged at least partially on an intellectual level, Will calmed ever so slightly.
"My sims show us the right ways to take. Yours show every single little thing that could go wrong. Back on Earth, you used to drive me crazy every time you came up with something new."
Penny, almost for spite, calmed a little as well.
"Well, how do you think I felt? You lay in those courses so perfectly, I had to work overtime just to think of what could possibly happen. You never make it easy, Will."
The boy shook his head.
"You think we'll ever be friends?"
She shook her head.
"Can't happen. Siblings in a confined space are usually lucky if they don't kill each other over some little thing."
"Where'd you hear that?"
"I picked up a book before we left. It was about rural and early colonial families, and what happened because of isolation."
Will nodded.
"Like violence. What else happened?"
Penny gulped, and then lied.
"Nothing...we ever need to worry about. Those were the old days, after all."
If Will sensed her deception, he chose to let it go.
"I guess. But Penny--touch him. Just once."
Giving in, she touched a piece of chest-plate on B-9. Penny's eyes then went wide.
"Will--it feels like Grandma's old steel refrigerator--oh, she always had so many treats for us. Jello, waiting in those little ice cream cups....."
The sight that Will hated most now began. Penny was crying.
"I miss her. I used to have nightmares that a monster came and ate her--then the whole world, too."
"Do you see now? I even asked Dad what Robot was made from. He said it was classified. I have a high rating!"
"It doesn't matter. He's our Robot--and I like him."
So both children began touching the plate of the mechanoid made from the pod that had carried them to Earth as infant and toddler. It made them feel safe. And if, amidst the many lights of the spaceship, they failed to notice a purplish glow from their hands--who could blame them?
The next morning, Smith resumed his continued efforts at sabotage.
"B-9--make sure that the gravimetric displacers go offline a third of the way into the atmosphere. That should allow me to--"
Robot cut him off.
"Such an action would lead to harm coming to The Robinson family. I cannot allow this. The order is unlawful and is refused."
Smith's haughtiness was definitely online.
"You daaarre to refuse me? What, exactly, are you saying?"
The Robot's torso turned towards him.
"In your ear, Doctor Smith."
Dumbfounded, the saboteur withdrew to his cabin. He stared into the mirror, and spoke into a small recorder.
"Aelous 14 Umbra had better have an extra-large bonus payment waiting for me, when I return to Earth--and I shall return. I am as steadfast as the Northern Star. But for now, the enclosed spaces are eating at my sanity. With B-9 now forever out of my control, I have nothing to prevent them all from agreeing with West and showing me the airlock whilst under full throttle. I knew the Major was dangerous when dear Saddam banned the name Donald from his environs. You simply don't earn that kind of respect easily. So, to slip beneath his gaze, I shall gain the children to my side with the use of that most beloved of all circus denizens."
He put down the recorder, and repeated a mantra whose effects only he knew, while staring into his own eyes in the mirror.
"Jester..Punchinello..Fop..Claudius..
Pimpernel..wallflower..mild-mannered..Methos...."A few hours later, Smith came running out, screaming.
"I saw a creature---a most hideous monster---it stared at me--straight through the hull!"
West shook his head.
"I knew it! He's a sneak and a coward!"
Judy tried to calm the older man.
"Oh, Don! Can't you tell that whatever this poor man has seen frightened him silly?"
The eyes of Zachary Smith darted about, like a plump mouse in a maze full of invisible snakes.
"Oh, how did I come to be in such a state?"
And this was an honest question on his part.
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USS VOYAGER, 2374
While Tuvok held Smith far away from engineering's controls, Captain Janeway asked her Chief Engineer to repeat herself.
"He touched---what?"
Belanna Torres shrugged.
"The off switch, Captain--he hit the off switch."
Janeway put her hand to her head.
"We have an off switch?"
Torres shook her head.
"Normally, we don't. But Doctor Moron here---"
"Have a care, woman! Why, I'll have you know...."
Don West and Belanna spoke as one.
"Shut up, Smith!"
They nodded at one another as Smith shut up shutting up. Torres continued.
"He wanders in here, while I am working on the most delicate phase of our long-term recalibration, and begins playing with the relays. I chased him out. He wandered back in. The 'off' switch was a safety, in case the systems went haywire while we resetting the basics. It was meant to be flicked on, then off. It was recessed, hidden, and known only to me. How he managed to find it and hit a total of SEVENTEEN times is beyond me.
He's either the luckiest idiot or the greatest genius saboteur in two universes!"Judy glared at Smith, and said something that once even Don would have kept from saying.
"Give us more time, Ms. Torres. We're still trying to figure that one out, ourselves."
Tuvok gestured.
"Captain--where shall I escort Doctor Smith? The Brig?"
Smith shuddered.
"Ohhh, pleeaaase, Madam Captain. I cannot bear imprisonment. My refined systems cannot handle such a state."
Janeway shook her head.
"Lieutenant--confine him to guest quarters.
That should keep him out of trouble.""Oh, it willl, Madam. It will."
Kathryn was becoming ill.
"And tell The Doctor to schedule a--full evaluation of our reluctant guest."
Tuvok nodded.
"Indeed."
As Smith was led away, Belanna turned to two young heroes.
"Penny, Will--you both helped me figure out Smith's blunder, just in time. How did you reason through our controls so quickly?"
Penny shook her head.
"Your controls are advanced, Belanna. But we've figured that kind of thing out before."
Will nodded.
"And--if there's one thing we do know--its cleaning up after Doctor Smith. You just know where to look, after awhile."
Paris talked to The Robot.
"So, B-9? Do you prefer B-9, B, or maybe we'll just call you Nine?"
The mechanoid moved its pincered arm dismissively.
"All of those are unacceptable, Tom Paris. I vastly prefer the very simple designation, 'Robot'."
Tom nodded.
"Yeah, I can see why. After all, who'd want to be referred to by just a number?"
Tuvok picked up Neelix on the way to Smith's guest quarters. He had hoped to use the Talaxian as a buffer against Smith's endless banter. But the Vulcan was in for a surprise, if he expected a union of kindred souls to occur.
"So you see, Mister Neelix? A mere shower. An effort to keep my appearances up, and they one and all turned upon me, as though I were the greatest fiend since Richard The Third! Even the dear children fell in line with their hateful elders. You have no idea of the burdens I have borne in this hid-ee-ous half-decade. I'm not at all certain how I've maintained my sanity."
Neelix, Tuvok realized, had lately seemed different, but he could not trace the divergence in his memory. Since Tuvok had a very good memory, this too disturbed him. As did Neelix's next words to Doctor Smith.
"Quite frankly, Doctor Smith, I'm not at all certain THAT you've maintained your sanity. Water in a situation that does not involve replicators is absolutely precious. If you actually used up the available water so you could look and smell good, then the Robinsons and Major West must be saints. Because I would have taken your voice box, at least. Mister Vulcan--he's all yours, and you can have him."
Smith was Smith.
"Welll--I NEVER!"
Neelix turned and nodded.
"That I believe. But then--I don't get around much anymore, myself. Keep your eye on this one, Tuvok. He's been looking this ship over like a Vidiian in a morgue."
Tuvok, it could be said fairly, liked Neelix well enough to regard his safety and well-being as just as vital a concern as it was any other member of the senior staff. If the Talaxian annoyed him, it was in truth a mere outward statement of the annoyance he sometimes felt for all non-Vulcans aboard Voyager-and sometimes, being much younger, even the other Vulcans had occasion to upset him.
But he had grown to know where Neelix was likely to offer illogic, and make absurd statements. But while his harsh statements about Smith were emotional, they were also tinged with the coldest, harshest logic the cook had ever used.
"Are you making that statement as a member of the Voyager crew, Mister Neelix?"
"Nope. I'm making it as someone who used to be a user--just like him. This ship has seen its share of users, after all. We still have one or two, last I checked. But don't worry--I'm working on cutting that number in half--maybe literally."
With that, he stalked off, and Smith was shaking in his boots.
"What a frightful, horrid little man. Unpredictable, too, I'd wager."
Tuvok shook his head.
"You, Doctor Smith, would lose that wager. But in this instance, at least, I had not expected this."
The doors to Smith's quarters opened, and Tuvok saw that Neelix's assessment had not been that far off. Smith almost salivated, to look at the advanced cabin.
"A..trifle small, but it will have to do. I'm used a to much more deluxe manner of accommodations, you realize. Where, sir, is your dining room?"
Tuvok was dealing with a mind obvious in its goals but not in its methods of pursuit of those goals. Add this fact to his lack of experience in dealing with Smith, and his lapse was understandable.
"The galley is off-limits to you, Doctor Smith. In fact, all of Voyager is off-limits to you. As The Captain said, you are confined to quarters. She takes these matters most seriously. As do I. You will have a guard posted outside your quarters, to ensure that you also take this punishment seriously."
Smith ran his finger to find dust on a table. There was none. This told him the ship had a superior filtration system, capable of moving airborne materials in and out very quickly. Or rather, an unconscious part of his brain took this in. On the surface and in his waking mind, the dust-check was exactly what it seemed, an affectation.
"Punishment, indeed, sir. Your lady Captain seems no Lady at all. She must cause quite the resentment, with so dismissive a manner."
Stated as he stated it, the question seemed yet more idle banter. But again a part of Smith's brain was carefully checking the fences of his prison, and seeing how well the warden and her guards got on."Any resentment of Captain Janeway is passing, and submerged well beneath the innate respect both parts of this crew have for her."
Now Smith knew that this once had been a divided crew. Perhaps it could be again, under the right circumstances. But this nascent plan, wherever it was forming, was undone by a new arrival. A very young crewman, wearing a uniform like Tuvok's own, arrived. He had a ridge between his eyes, his nose seemed a bit upturned, and he sported a well-kept earring piece that suggested religious icon.
"Reporting for duty as ordered, Lieutenant. Am I to personally guard this man?"
"No, Ensign. Merely keep a watch outside his quarters."
The unspoken part of Smith put carefully-formed words on his lips.
"Very good, Mister Tuvok. I shall ask the ensign to aid me when I am in need of assistance."
Tuvok remembered well the Robinsons' account of this man's nature, and came to a decision.
"Ensign, you are dismissed. I will make other arrangements for this guest."The young man stiffened up at that.
"Have I done something wrong, sir?"
Tuvok raised an eyebrow.
"Have I indicated such, Ensign? I observed that you often grow illogically anxious around myself and Lieutenant Paris. May I inquire as to why?"
The young man shrugged.
"Both you and Tom were hated by the Maquis crew, when all this started. But then there was Seska, Jonas--and even poor Suder, when we realized just how bad off he was. Tom fought in his way for the acceptance of both crews. You applied security fairly--whether Starfleet or Maquis, til there was only Voyager. Add to that, sir--you came back for me, when that training session went awry. I can't forget that. The Prophets won't let me."
Smith abandoned thoughts of a divided crew. This one probably had more cohesion than ones that began together. But that information, applied properly, could still be useful.
"Ensign--I ask you to end all idle speculation, and stick to doing your job--which has earned you both respect and a promotion from crewman. Dismissed."
The young man left, and Tuvok proceeded to make another mistake.
"Computer--do not let this man out of his quarters. See to it that he has no reason or excuse to do so. Give him anything he wishes, save direct access to ship's systems, or a way out of his quarters."
Smith completed the act.
"Sir--how can you restrict me in so cavalier a manner?"
"Were I human, Doctor--I would do so with great relish. Since I am not, I merely am performing my duties as specified by Captain Janeway. Good Day, Doctor."
When he was gone, Smith smiled.
"Good day, indeed! Computer--please tell me all about the devices known as replicators. They sound--fascinating."
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Will Robinson lay back in his quarters, utterly amazed at what they could do on this ship--and at having his own 100% private room for the first time in five years. He imagined that Don and Judy and his parents must be happy themselves. Then he thought of Penny.
"God--let her forgive me, one day."
Penny Robinson lay back in her quarters, and took in the delight of no sounds at all.
An actual door. Enough security to defeat at long last the notion of parental checks. Comfort that was grand, without being suspiciously ostentatious. The future, as it was supposed to look. She thought that this place might satisfy even Smith, and if it could, that meant that they all were happy. Except for Will, and she knew damned well why.
"God--just make him forgive me, ok? My folks--Don and Judy--they have their own lives. I have no use for Doctor Smith. I have one real friend--and he won't speak to me!"
She did not cry, though this was not for a lack of feeling like doing so.
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In the galley, Belanna Torres was a trifle suspicious.
"Paris--does this favor of yours involve that game of 'Twister'? Because if it does, I swear...."
Tom shook his head.
"Trust me--it doesn't even involve us talking too much. The favor involves Penny and Will Robinson. They need our help."
This got Torres' attention.
"Are they in some kind of trouble? They seem like such good kids."
Paris nodded.
"They are. I don't know how to say this correctly, so I'll just say it bluntly. I see their current situation, if left unchecked, leading to OCC."
Culturally, both parts of Belanna Torres recoiled at Tom's suggestion.
"Outer Colony Companionship? Tom, that's one hell of a charge to make. I repeat, these are two good, smart kids. I just can't believe that you could be correct. And--even if you were--how could we help?"
Tom looked about, then spoke a bit more softly.
"By showing them what the holodeck can really do. If we can at least sate their curiosity, then maybe they can hold out longer. Maybe that longer waiting means the difference between siblinghood and..."
"Don't say it. Alright? Just do not say it. My flesh is beginning to crawl as it is. My mother used to tell a story about two of Kahless' children, who were found...like that. He didn't doubt the sincerity of their feelings. But to restore honor, he had her destroy him--and then commit suicide. They were only granted passage to Stvkarhr if they never gazed upon each other again. It was said that they then asked to be placed in Grethor. Kinda heavy on symbolism, isn't it?"
He lightly took her hand, and made it clear that this was only the gesture of a friend.
"I'll take Will. You help Penny. And Belanna--I really hope I'm dead wrong."
He got up and left, after that. Belanna cursed him under her breath.
"Cute when he's a jerk. Cuter when he's a do-gooder. Damn you all to hell, Tom Paris. Damn you all to hell. And when they send you---keep a seat for me."
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In the hydroponics bay, Kes heard a compartment opening and closing.
"Hello?"
Looking around, she saw no one. But she saw a storage compartment opened, and went to close it again.
"Ok--this is strange----AAAGGHH!!!!"
There was a small doll of Kes herself inside the compartment. Except that she was wrinkled, and had gray hair. Attached was a note.
"Your scorn cannot compare to mine. When you go--do not return. I don't need you, either. You have my contempt, as well."
The note was unsigned, but she knew the handwriting. As her heart began to race, she finally gave in and pressed her combadge.
"Kes to Tuvok. Kes One--to Tuvok. The Unspoken Subject by Futura has been read, somehow."
Tuvok wasted no time in getting to her.
As it would turn out, the situation was far worse than any of the three who knew could have guessed.------------------------------------------
Chakotay had almost finished grilling the longest-serving Maquis from his former ship. But he had not gotten the answers he sought.
"Commander--you knew Seska best, of any of us. I never trusted her. Course', I thought she was Bajor or Starfleet security. I never would have guessed a Cardie, let alone a member of The Obsidian Order, though the two kind of went hand-in-hand."
Chakotay had not heard this before.
"How so? How does one necessarily equal the other?"
"Well, sure some Cardie military intelligence units had altered spies, but while the Order did the changeover, they were clueless, until activated. But Seska--she knew all along. Only dyed-in-the-wool, blessed-by-Tain Order Agents kept their memories."
Chakotay was frustrated, to say the least.
"So she had no nicknames, or pet names, that you ever heard of?"
"Nope. Seska Marlis was all we ever got. Its all we ever will get. Ding-dong, and all that? Chakotay--let it go. What possible value could her real name have now?"
"I'm--just trying to find out, for myself."
The pipped-again Starfleet Officer walked away.
"No--what you're doing is making your former crew really glad it was Janeway became Captain. No disrespect meant-but Seska is playing you again--and she's not even here."
But Chakotay felt a chill from the realer world that lay behind the one we see. Though no Maquis knew it, he would have Seska's true name.
"The endless planning ends. No matter what I have to give up to do it, I'll have your true name, Seska. Then I will bury you for good."
For true names contained power, and Chakotay felt that slipping away from him.
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In Sickbay, The Doctor nodded as Harry Kim entered.
"Mister Kim--you are three weeks early, but your physical----"
Harry cut him off.
"Can wait, Doc. Besides, I have a patient for you that's a lot more interesting than I could ever hope to be."
Kim gestured at the door, and through it came Robot B-9.
"Welll--what have we here?"
The EMH was fascinated by the mechanoid. He circled it, taking in its every centimeter.
"Normally, I'd say that I'm a Doctor, not a mechanic--but this is quite a piece of work. Why did you bring it, Ensign?"
The Robot responded.
"I am not 'It'. I am called Robot. Harry Kim, this individual is a holographic projection--not a real human being."
The EMH responded in typical fashion.
"Oh--so the tin can is calling me for unreal? My friend, I'll have you know that I posses untold reams of medical knowledge and expertise. I am also certain that I do my job better than an electronic ninny like yourself does yours."
"Forgive me, sir. You are indeed a Doctor, such as I have known."
"Then, apology accepted. Mister Kim, why is---he--here?"
Harry avoided telling the Doctor he had been zinged once again.
"Doc, Robot here possesses what I can only call a Soongian level of sentience. Maybe more. But we've checked him for a positronic brain, and found nothing remotely like it. The Robinsons all swear that he can do things that his hardware just shouldn't allow. We've failed to find any scientific reasons for this."
The EMH now understood.
"So now you're desperate, and want to find a medical one. Robot--may I check you for organic circuitry, or residue?"
The lighted panel on the Robot blinked as he spoke.
"Affirmative, Doctor. The paradox of my awakening has long strained my logic circuits. I would welcome an answer, or at least a chance to analyze your data."
The Doctor and Harry began to chuckle.
The Robot was confused, til the 'data' reference was explained."His creator named him 'Data'? It must have been a very difficult construction process."
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Captain Janeway went to fetch her favorite beverage.
"Coffee--Black."
She was not given her coffee.
"Unable To Comply. No replicator rations are available."
Janeway shook her head.
"You mean for me?"
"No. The entire month's supply of allocated replicator rations has been used, for the entire crew of USS Voyager."
Kathryn was incredulous.
"Computer--how were these rations used in so short a time?"
"These rations were used by a single individual, a guest aboard this ship, who is confined to quarters at present."
The Captain said one word.
"Smith."
In one heartbeat, Janeway headed at warp out of her private office.
In two heartbeats, she had summoned Tuvok.
In three heartbeats, Tuvok had summoned The Doctors Robinson.
In four heartbeats, they were in front of Smith's cabin. At this point, Captain Janeway's heart was beating very slowly, and she could hear every beat. Life with Doctor Smith tended to be like that.
"Major West? What are you doing here?"
Don smiled at Janeway.
"Captain--I was waiting for this to happen, and I wasn't gonna miss it for the all the tea in China."
Kathryn thought to object, but then realized that she had in fact been well warned about Doctor Smith.
"Tuvok, just keep me away from his throat."
The Vulcan nodded.
"If I must."
Then, Captain Kathryn Janeway opened the door to Smith's guest quarters, and did something very, very unlike her.
She screamed.
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The EMH had studied every last chip, nook and cranny of Robot B-9. But there was not a trace of organic material, nor were there parts meant to simulate organic functions.
"Robot--you are a wonder. Could you list your programmers and creators for me?"
"Certainly, Doctor. You are most thorough and efficient."
The Robot gave the information he was asked for. The Doctor looked up all the names, and found that most of the scientists had counterparts in Voyager's own universe. But except for notable alternates like Houston Alpha Control Director Doctor Lillian Cochrane, none were of great interest. But for one, none at all possessed a Soongian level of cybernetic expertise, even allowing for universal drift.
"This Sam Beckett made amazing breakthroughs in AI for his time, but he required a mainframe, in both universes. In any event, he was only a consultant on your construction. Robot--may I alter my density, to better get a look inside you?"
"A rather intimate but reasonable solution to our problem, Doctor. But take warning--I am ticklish."
The EMH frowned.
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not. You are a cybernetic mechanoid and can not reasonably posses such tactile....eeheheheheee!!"
The Robot's pincer had just brushed the Doctor's middle torso.
"Now, cut that out!"
The Doctor then altered his density, and promptly banged his head into the Robot's chest-plate.
"I thought you were to alter your density."
The EMH rubbed his head, despite common sense.
"I did--I did alter my density. The only time this ever happens is when I deal with fellow----"
Then and there, The Doctor knew the why, but still not the how, of Robot B-9's sentience. A stunned look settled on his face.
"Of course. Its so simple, even a child could have thought of it."
"Then tell me, sir. I am currently made up entirely of audio receptors."
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Chakotay was a little bit bothered that he did not know the young Bajoran's name. He only knew that she was about the only Bajoran on board who had not been a member of his Maquis crew. Perhaps that was the reason that she had avoided him. But the frenzied XO cared little about that, right then.
"Crewman---I'm not here about anything you've done. But you knew people, in The Resistance, am I right?"
The petite girl-woman nodded.
"I once met Kira Nerys. She told me to shut up and everything. She's so cool."
"Uh-huh. What about Seska Marlis? Did you know her at all?"
"Oh, yah. Mainly I avoided her."
"Why did you avoid her?"
"Because I didn't want to get on the bad side of your former command, sir. Things were tense enough, at the beginning."
Chakotay barely hid his exasperation with the lower decks crewmember. He noted that she should probably never be taken on an away mission.
"What precisely would have put you on the bad side of--those who until recently, called themselves Maquis?"
"Oh, ya know. The rumors about Seska Marlis."
"That she was my lover?"
"Oh, no-sure everybody knew that."
Chakotay now found less regret over his and Kathryn's recent decision.
"That she was a spy of some kind?"
"No--that nice Mister Suder vouched for her, in
that regard. Nice, quiet, fella. Where's he been at, lately?"Chakotay knew forms of mental discipline from several worlds, and at this moment, he was using them all.
"Then--what rumors had you heard?"
"That Seska Marlis had been falsely tagged as a collaborator, and killed by The Resistance. Then, they found out the whole label was an Obsidian Order smear. But when she turned up alive, here, I just figured those rumors were all wrong, plus which she still scared the Orbs out of me. So I let her be her, and me be me."
Chakotay reasoned out the rest. The Resistance, thinking that the true Seska Marlis was a traitor, dumped her body without proper burial. The Obsidian Order grabbed it up, and studied her to reconstruct the woman who would replace her. Then, the smear was uncovered--just in time for the 'new' Seska to emerge. Likely those who had executed the true Seska were ashamed and embarrassed, and of no mind to prove or disprove her claim.
But the Occupation ended, making the Maquis a new prime target for infiltration. As had been said, people asked few questions in the Maquis, especially about Bajorans.
"Thank you, crewman. Your help has been invaluable."
"Commander--a question?"
"Of course?"
"Just how the hey is Seska doin'? I haven't seen her much lately, doncha know."
Chakotay felt his brain shutting down.
"She and Mister Jonas got married."
"Ohhh--betcha they make a cute couple!"
With more knowledge than he had, Chakotay prepared to leave the lower decks behind. He spoke to one more crewman about the Bajoran.
"Is she really that dense, or was she just playing with me?"
The man shrugged.
"Sad to say, Commander-but I think she is completely clueless. By the way, can I ask you a question?"
"Go right ahead?"
"When do we stop at the next starbase? I really need some Shore Leave."
Chakotay waited for the man to say that he was just joking. That moment never came. The XO walked away, rubbing his head. The crewman mumbled after him.
"O--k. Be a jerk. I'll just ask Captain Riker myself!"
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Despite the unspoken tension between them, Penny and Will Robinson sat at the same table. Will was working on a computer-generated crossword puzzle. Penny was helping him as she could.
"Starts with B, six letters, a fundamental that you get back to."
"Basics?"
"That works. Starts with C, nine letters, a kind of overseer."
"Uhhmm...Caretaker."
"Great. Desert arachnid, eight letters."
"Scorpion. What's next?"
"Brave, knowing no fear. Starts with D..."
"Dauntless. Will, can we talk about it? I hate you hating me."
Her younger brother did not look up.
"Equal parts night and day, from the Latin........I don't hate you. You hate me."
Penny shook her head.
"No, I don't. Why would I be upset with you? I'm the one that made the suggestion. I'm the one who--got carried away."
Will almost couldn't look at her.
"I'm the one who really got into it. Maybe--we should talk to the ship's doctor. If Captain Janeway feels he can help Doctor Smith, then we should be a snap."
"I never meant to hurt you, Will."
He smiled.
"You didn't. You just confused the hell out of me."
She smiled.
"And me. Ok--we talk to The Doctor--and hope it was alien possession or something."
(Writer's note: To those who read 'The Infinite Paths': While it may seem as though I'm retconning a certain aspect of that storyline, rest assured that it is not as simple as all that. -- Rob)
Tom Paris and Belanna Torres walked in, and saw the siblings laughing together.
"See--Tom, they're alright. They don't need us. End of intervention."
Paris deepened his voice.
"Is this daughter of Dread Kahless a coward?"
She nodded strongly.
"Yes. Yes, I Am!"
But Tom pointed, and they bravely sat down to talk with the kids--and hopefully avert a nightmare in the making.
---------------------------------------------
And when Janeway stopped screaming, she took in what she saw in Smith's quarters.
There were numerous discarded food trays. Mattresses and blankets galore. All manner of baubles littered the floor. Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds. Add to that, there were endless little sticks with cotton swabs on the end. Plus, there was one Doctor of indignant bent.
"Madam--you're sudden screaming awoke me from my beauty sleep. I demand an apology. Is invading their privacy how you treat your guests? How would you have felt had you burst in upon me whilst I enjoyed the company of one of your female crewmembers?"
Janeway looked up from the floor. Tuvok and Don West backed off. Neither liked nor cared for Smith. But the look on the Captain's face suggested a level of red rage that no one wanted to get hit with accidentally.
"If any of my crew had been moronic enough to give you their company, I would have had them summarily court-martialed. But since that will never happen, lets you and I get down to brass tacks, hmmm?"
Smith was not only crewless, companion-wise, but clueless, danger-wise.
"Let us indeed, Madam Captain. I have an urgent matter I wish to settle. These guest quarters are uncomfortably cramped. If you are truly a gracious host, you will allow me the use of your own quarters for the duration of my stay."
Kathryn's eyes went wide. She looked plaintively at a pained John Robinson. Maureen nodded, as if to confirm that this scene was no mere prank. So then The Captain just laughed.
"Everyone--please step outside these quarters. That means you too, Smith."
"Doctor Smith, Madam. Address me by my title, or not at all."
Janeway grinned, and from this Don West knew something good was brewing.
"Alright---DOCTOR!!!"
She turned, and looked back inside the room that had probably cost some crewmembers their rec time.
"Computer---Recycle every last item in the guest quarters of Doctor Zachary Smith. Right down to the carpeting."
"Noooo!! You can't do that!"
West grabbed his nemesis.
"Watch her, Smith. I know I'm going to. And I'm going to enjoy it soooo much!"
The room was reclaimed by the matter replication circuitry, and was now bare. Smith cried.
"Noooo---all my things! All my lovely, lovely things!"
Janeway having had enough, pushed Smith against the wall.
"Now, you listen up, you mealy-mouthed megalomaniacal moocher! You, in one fell swoop, managed to use up ALL the replicator rations set up for my ENTIRE crew for an ENTIRE month! Do you know or have the slightest clue what kind of reserves it takes to create a solid diamond? You--you littered the floor with them. Computer--how much of our rations were recovered?"
"Approximately 81 percent."
West pointed.
"The rest is in Smith's stomach, no doubt."
John Robinson looked at his stowaway with a new level of disgust.
"Captain Janeway, I will gladly offer up all of Doctor Smith's personal possessions, if they will help refill your replicators."
Maureen agreed, and threw in more.
"Be happy our beliefs don't permit you to be recycled, Doctor Smith. You've finally broken the back of our Christian charity."
"But-but all my things! How will I ever endure?"
Maureen shook her head."As we agreed you would, if you pulled even one more stunt."
John nodded.
"We're going to have an extra cryo-tube added, Smith. And its in there that you'll spend the rest of our voyage."
Somewhere in Smith's brain, a switch turned on briefly. He lunged at John.
"I will not permit you to interfere any longer with my plans for getting back to Earth!"
Smith had surprising speed. His hands were soon around the throats of both John and Maureen. But Tuvok's hand merely touched the side of Smith's throat, and he collapsed. Janeway, seeing that the Robinsons were alright, if shaken, called out.
"Computer--transport Doctor Smith directly to the brig, pending a psychiatric analysis by the EMH. Erect a Level 8 force field on all sides. Tuvok?"
"Yes, Captain?"
"Work on a program that would truly lock Smith out of all ships systems, except for water and lavatorial--and make sure he can't abuse those, either. Doctors, any objections?"
John was still rubbing his throat. Maureen was in a bit of shock.
"None--hack--Captain. None at all."
Judy Robinson walked up, and with her was Ensign Samantha Wildman. Judy was holding the now-toddling Naomi. At a nod from her, Don moved to her side. It was now or never.
"Mom--Dad? Guess what Samantha and I have in common?"
John's eyes glazed over.
"You're both blonde?"
---------------------------------------------
A Kes who was now seeing the stalking Neelix around every corner gladly entered her quarters, and locked the door. Taking out a tricorder she had recycled and checked in hydroponics, she scanned for intruders, booby-traps, and about seventeen other things. She found not one of them.
"Computer, any messages? That is, do I have any messages that are not from Neelix?"
"You have one message, sender unknown. As per request, it has been scanned for obscenities. None found. Tonal check indicates no negatively charged wording, as well."
Kes sat down, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Play it."
The voice was that of Tom Paris, to be certain. But it sounded stilted, and stiff somehow.
"Saw that you were feeling down. Some selections from The Paris Audio Collection should cheer you up. Enjoy--I know I will."
She smiled. Tom's taste in music was strange, but even The Doctor and Tuvok conceded he knew what might be appropriate. Poor Suder even found it soothing, rest his frenzied soul.
"Computer--play first audio selection."
"Complying."
The song was indeed calming--at first.
"There Is Someone--Walking Behind You-- Turn Around--Look At Me -- There Is Someone--Watching Your Footsteps--Turn Around--Look At Me....."
Kes felt her eyes go wide.
"Computer--next selection."
"Every Breath You Take; Every Move You Make; Every Claim You Stake;"
The music briefly shifted louder.
"EVERY VOW YOU BREAK, I'LL BE WATCHING YOU--Oh, Can't You See - You Belong To Me--"
Kes hoped she was wrong, just then.
"Computer, Next selection."
"One Way--Or Another, I'm Gonna Find You---I'm Gonna Get Ya Get Ya Get
Ya Get Ya Get Ya Get Ya---""Next selection."
"You Can Shake An Apple Off An Apple Tree--Shake It Shake It Sugar, But You'll Never Shake Me.....Hide In The Kitchen, Hide In The Hall, Ain't Gonna Do You No Good At All..."
"Computer-Next selection!"
"I Held Her Close; I Kissed Her Our Last Kiss---"
"Next Selection!"
"I Am The Eye In The Sky; Looking At You; I Can Read Your Mind..."
"Next!"
"I'm Looking Through You; Thought You Should Know; I Thought I Knew You; What Did I Know?"
"NEXT!!!!"
"My-My-My Delilah! Why-Why-Why- -Delilah? She Stood There Laughing--Til I Felt The Knife In My Hand--And She Laughed No More!"
She knew, then.
"Computer, cease playing!"
"Unable To Comply."
Kes's eyes glowed briefly.
"MAKE yourself able to comply!"
"Selections negated."
Kes looked up.
"Smart Girl."
She then stormed out of her quarters, to let a certain galley-dwelling Talaxian have it with both barrels.
---------------------------------------------
Tom and Belanna sat with Will and Penny Robinson. Penny questioned their offer of only moments ago.
"What would we do on this holodeck, exactly?"
Paris spoke for a still-nervous Torres.
"Well, Belanna and I both experienced colony life--and it gets kinda lonely. Hard to find dates. Certainly that applies to you two--no offense meant."
Will now spoke up.
"None taken. So we can take these holodeck characters out on dates? I don't know if we're gonna be here that long. Kind of makes it hard to get things started."
Torres refused to let Paris carry the whole thing himself.
"Well--Will--you wouldn't exactly have to go through the formalities of dating, with these characters. I guess I'm saying--that they'll do whatever you want them to."
Penny sat up, her heart thumping.
"Whatever we want--as in whatever we want?"
Tom nodded.
"You say it--they'll not only do it, but you can alter every single aspect of the program. You want to--date--while the characters' parents aren't home--or while they are? Its done."
Will gulped. A dream so far away now seemed so very close at hand.
"What about things like clothing, and --height?"
The need she saw in the siblings' eyes made Belanna glad that Paris had talked her into this intervention."Everything is optional--except using crew members' images. That's right out."
Penny asked a question that she knew was Will's too.
"Do our parents have to be informed?"
But Will interrupted.
"Penny--c'mon. I for one, at least want to try this out. It'll be good--for both of us."
She glared.
"What's THAT supposed to mean?"
He shrugged.
"That it'll be good for both of us. You don't always have to interpret everything I say!"
"Oh, don't I? Nowadays, everything you say has a double meaning. Its not like it used to be with us. You always used to tell me exactly what you meant."
Will rolled his eyes.
"Maybe I don't say things as bluntly as I used to. But nowadays, you fly off the handle about every little thing."
Penny slammed down her fist.
"MAYBE if you talked to me more often, and didn't spend so much time puttering in your room on new inventions, I'd feel less neglected."
Will nodded, angrily.
"YOU have been so tongue-tied lately, I do all the talking. This isn't a one-way street, Penny. You need to do something on your end, to help make it all work."
A now-nauseous Belanna and Tom sent the dueling duo off to their respective reserved holodecks. The children glared at one another as they left. Torres asked a question.
"Tom--that argument they just had. That was a sibling-type argument, right?"
Paris lied through his teeth.
"Sure it was. Sister and Brother, older and younger--boy and girl---sister and brother. Yeah--siblings."
They got up, and saw Harry Kim eating. He motioned to them.
"Hey, guys. Who was that arguing over there? I didn't recognize the voices."
Belanna shrugged.
"It was just Will and Penny Robinson, Harry. Sibs--you know."
Kim nodded.
"Sure do. But its the funniest thing. They didn't sound like a brother and sister arguing."
Tom wilted.
"They didn't?"
"Nope. Until you told me, I would have thought it was an old married couple!"
-----------------------------------------
In their guest quarters, John Robinson sat and prayed with his beloved wife, Maureen.
"Lord, I firmly believe what you taught--that every life is a life, and has value. You know that until people's private homes and families were targeted, we two were firm believers in Operation: Rescue. Being believers cost us scientist friends, and being scientists cost us our Church memberships. But I've always tried to hold true about life."
Maureen continued.
"So we humbly ask your forgiveness and seek your aid as we tell our beloved daughter Judy and dear friend Don--that we must abandon our beliefs for the sake of our mission. For the Jupiter 2 to survive--she must not have that baby."
---------------------------------------------
The Robot left to fetch Doctor Smith for analysis by the EMH. The Doctor checked and rechecked his findings on The Robot.
"Medical Log---this is just not possible!"
----------------------------------------------
Chakotay buzzed the door to his Captain's cabin.
"Yes, Commander?"
"Captain. I've news to report about Seska Marlis."
Janeway frowned. She had hoped his obsession was done with.
"What is your news?"
He smiled.
"She has been dead for almost a full year. End of report."
In both their eyes, something though well-hidden, non-existent, or perhaps extinguished flared to sudden life. Kathryn grabbed her XO by the tunic, and playfully pulled him inside her quarters.
"Seska may be dead--but I'm not!"
That night, neither of them were.
-------------------------------------------
Smith sat in the brig, and was unconcerned about the psychiatric capabilities of The EMH.
"Feh! Psychologists are ever the easiest sort to manipulate. I can always walk right through them!"
--------------------------------
Kes moved through the halls of Voyager, fueled by the sense of betrayal that only broken love can bring about. In many respects it was a story older than that of The Hidden Prince. Boy had met girl; both had prospered well in the love that followed; then that love had come to an end. Yet on Voyager, the story of The Hidden Prince had involved Harry nearly being eaten by glad-handing female aliens. So the boy-girl-split was bound to be even more complicated and vicious.
It hadn't merely been his behavior in the crisis with the specter of that dead warlord. She had tried like hell to tell him that. If anything, it had been more the cowardice he initially showed towards potentially being a father than any lack of bravado facing a walking spirit-form. Yet she hadn't told him that. No, Kes had tried to be gentle with Neelix. She had been thrown off by the tears he shed, regarding them as emotional blackmail. She then gave up on trying to explain the simple desire every sentient approaching their prime has to seek out pleasure and experience.
As she approached the doors to what was once Kathryn Janeway's private dining room, Kes thought of how she had once found his tendency to do things without consultation endearing. Yet when the Captain wanted a private dinner, or when Chakotay thought of how the Kazon didn't need to be antagonized early on, or when Be'lanna did repairs that had their origins in one of Neelix's many bargains, Kes doubted that quality seemed so very wonderful.
"Am I trying to build up my hate?"
He was behind his counter, the very picture of false innocence. He had a knowing smile plastered on, and she wondered whether it had ever been sincere, even once.
"No. This is Neelix."
Whatever had passed between them, there had once been love, and there would certainly always be deep affection. She stopped, gathered herself, and approached the counter that was once another home to her. It would all be made right, somehow. This theory, however, flew out the hatch when pasta in a thick white sauce was casually--or perhaps causally--flung onto Kes, while a 'startled' Neelix chuckled.
"Well, think of it this way, Kes. With your attitude towards fidelity, its really the only time you'll ever be wearing white!"
Kes turned, and looked at the crew who were eating their lunch.
"Would everyone please leave?"
Mister Carey put down his fork.
"Kes, you have got to be kidding!"
With more restraint than sense, Kes gestured at the transparent aluminum windows, and they began to vibrate. The crew cleared out fast. Using her latent abilities was always taxing, and doubly so when she kept them in such tight check. Since the visit of the Second Caretaker, her power had grown. What very few knew, except for Tuvok and Captain Janeway, was how soundly Kes had beaten both her fellow Occampan and the vengeful entity. But in this case, she had what she wanted, so she continued on. Neelix slammed back against the wall. But the Talaxian's grin never faded.
"Ooooh...bloodied my nose. To say nothing of what it did to yours!"
As Kes tasted salt, she realized her nose was streaming blood, and started to feel faint.
"Neelix? Why won't you leave me alone?"
"Why, my dear. I'm as innocent as anyone can be on this ship. I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you going insane?"
Tuvok and a contingent of security guards came in, guided by a shaken Carey, who was pointing at Kes, not Neelix. The Talaxian was playing his position for all it was worth.
"Please be gentle with Kes, fellows. She's been like this since I broke it off with her, poor thing."
Taken under the shoulder by Tuvok, the barely-conscious Kes helped complete the phony picture he had painted.
"Don't listen to him! I'm the one who ended our relationship!"
Neelix appeared to frown, but Kes knew better.
"Why--yes. So you were. Mmmm. Right again, Kes."
She tried to grab at him, and fainted as she did.
-------------------
She awoke in her own quarters, her wounds already treated. Bitterly, she felt that this was done to keep the apparently insane woman calm. Tuvok looked somewhat sympathetic. Janeway looked much less so, and spoke the mind behind the face she now showed.
"I'd like to know just what the hell you were doing, threatening my crew. Our friends. Someone you supposedly care about. This isn't like you, Kes. So I'm really hoping for an answer that sweeps this all away."
Sympathy or no, Tuvok added in.
"The use of your parabilities also throws your judgement into serious question, Kes. You know very well the price that they exact upon your physiology."
Janeway leaned forward, unnervingly close.
"Are you really Kes? I mean, are you our Kes? From our timeline?"
Kes was ready to weep.
"I'm not that old hag, Captain. But while we're on her--Neelix knows. He knows, and he told me so in no uncertain terms."
The Captain quickly shook her head.
"Impossible. Only we three know what really happened that day, and what will happen, three years from now. Its not been committed to any file. In short, he can't know what he can not know. Kes I know the break-up was not amicable."
"I thought it was! I thought that he understood! But Captain--Tuvok--he hates me and is harassing me. He's stalking me like I was some piece of wild game that scarred his face. I've gotten threatening messages, had my quarters broken into, found all manner of booby traps...."
Tuvok cut her off.
"All of which we have checked into, as you made your complaints. But we found no evidence of their having happened or Mister Neelix's involvement. It is difficult to imagine him being at the center of such an endeavor, in any event."
Kes shook her head.
"Maybe--maybe he altered the records, to hide what he did."
Janeway shook her opened hand in front of her.
"Neelix is at his core still amazed by our replicators. Wholesale or even retail alteration of our most basic safeguards is quite beyond him, I should think. Besides, its like Tuvok said--we are talking about Neelix."
Kes tried another tack.
"Captain, I was wrong to threaten people, and I do apologize for doing so. But what I am going through is quite real. I'm not the crazy one. Neelix is. He's not a clown that plays with Leola. He's a man who's hurt, and people who are spurned can do absolutely frightening things in the name of a love that is no more. Please don't dismiss him or me, out of hand."
Janeway looked down. Clearly, she was conflicted in this matter, where so much made sense and yet nothing really did.
"You say he's stalking you. Well, let's say you're right. What if I switch your schedules? The time you'd normally spend off duty, you spend in hydroponics. Hydroponics' time, you spend in Sickbay, and the other time, you'd stay in your quarters--which I'm afraid I'll have to confine you to, when you're not at your duties. Is that acceptable? Tuvok?"
The security chief nodded.
"If we are wrong, and Kes is being harassed by Mister Neelix, then this solution is ideal. Traditionally, so-called 'stalkers' depend on an intimate knowledge of their target's habits and movements. Disrupting that schedule should at least make his task more difficult."
Kes nodded as well.
"Thank you, both. I just wish I had proof to give you."
The Captain shook her head.
"I honestly hope there's no proof to get. This is almost like the rising of the Anti-Neelix."
To which Kes silently agreed. But she also just as silently tried to think of another layer of protection she could place between herself and a threat she knew to be quite real. And she would need this.
---------------------------------------------