The BLTS Archive - Comes A Pale Rider
by Helmboy (arcpus@yahoo.com)

---

Part of the Canaan Land arc. Follows Balm of Gilead
Contains violence. Contains other trek characters from all treks.

Disclaimer: This universe is Paramount and the Roddenberry's
creation. I borrow it and use it in these stories for
entertainment purposes only.

Feedback: It will be gratefully received and answered.

@April 5, 2009 Helmboy

---
//When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the
fourth living creature say, "Come!" And I saw, and behold a
pale horse, and its rider's name is Death, and Hades
followed him."//

Revelations: 6:7
---

"You look uneasy still," Tom said, sipping his coffee. The
light of space was dimly filtering through the thick windows
of their cabin as they sat together eating silently after
shift. The lights were off and the quiet odd and even
unsettling.

Chakotay shrugged. "It's strange. I felt I was actually with
him, that something had managed to turn time around and
change things. I felt that happiness, the end of the
emptiness and it just lingers. It must have been a dream, a
really vivid dream."

Tom sighed, sitting his cup down. "It's odd isn't it. You
yearn for a father and I do too."

Chakotay glanced up, a flash of the old pain in Tom's eyes
before the expert of the visibly invisible quashed that old
sorrow from view. "I'm sorry, Slim."

"So am I, Chakotay. It just seems slightly amusing that we
both are fatherless sons." He rose and paused, putting down
his dishes and turned, walking toward Chakotay. Leaning
down, he wrapped his arms around the older man, pressing his
face against Chakotay's shoulder for a moment. Chakotay slid
his hands up Tom's arms, returning the heartfelt embrace.
Then Tom straightened again, a slightly shadowed look of his
famed jauntiness on his handsome face. "How about going to
Sandrine's tonight?"

Chakotay grinned and nodded, rising and helping Tom clear
the dishes from dinner.

---
Elsewhere...
---

"Chakotay seemed down today," B'Elanna said, shutting off her
terminal. "I wonder what's on his mind?"

Kathryn looked up from her book, shrugging slightly. "I am
sure it's the children. He never likes his family divided."

"I'm sure it's that," B'Elanna said, feeling slightly
unsettled anyway.

---
On another ship...
---

"What do you suppose will happen when we cross the barrier
and enter the zone again?"

Will Riker shrugged. "The usual I suspect. War, mayhem, the
same old, same old."

Varis shook his head. "I don't think we're supposed to be
here."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I feel something beyond us lurks over there,
something very old and very... unaware of how small and
fragile we are."

"Is this some sort of Trill intuition," Will asked, a half
smile on his handsome face.

Dark eyes turned and met his. "Yes," Varis said softly.

---

The ships waited in a nebula, cloaked in the gas of a long
dead star. They had left their home space several weeks
before and had probed the boundary that separated their own
claimed space and that of others. On one side were the
Federation and the NAWC, the confederations of planets that
had just become their allies. On the other was the big
unknown, the turbulent and violent pathway to the Delta
Quadrant and beyond. They had made a sweeping survey along
the entry point, the break in the violent upsurges of energy
for which the Badlands were so famous. The tracts beyond,
populated by friendly, neutral and aggressive alien worlds
beckoned and they were glad to have allies.

The K'aith were a loyal people, felinoid in bodily
configuration and extremely capable and aggressive in their
own right. Hooking up with the Federation and NAWC was a
good thing since it was clear to the Oracle that there was
something big and sleeping awakening out here. Having the
Child Ship, the Crystal Lady on their side had awakened
fervor in the empire that good was coming, that they would
prevail in any adventure they undertook, there was nothing
that could stand against them now. He agreed.

Glancing around his deck, noting the perfection of his
crew's performance, K'ellen smiled. Nothing could defeat
them and with their new allies on their side, they would
prevail. All was well in the Empire. All was well in his
world.

The glittering silver of the ships reflected the energy of
the nebula, their disguise perfected by their design. The
Enterprise, Voyager and the Lady ship were coming. It was be
a quiet and uneventful sideline, waiting. It would also be
the last one of the new voyage they would enjoy for some
time.

---
Cardassia...
---

He paced back and forth before the window, the weak light of
a cloudy day doing nothing to enhance his mood. The
information he wanted was unavailable and even though they
were scrambling to get it for him and he knew they were, he
was still deeply irritated. He had returned, overturning the
puppet government installed by the foreign occupation and
had asserted his will before the people once again. They had
risen, the younger among them chaffing at the idea that
their people should have anyone else but their own decide
their future. Those who had been unwilling to see the
brilliance of his desires had  been purged from their ranks
unmercifully. He was now in control and would stay that way.

The allies he had gathered along with his experiences with
the Borg had led him to the point where he felt able to
return and take his place as leader of the people. They
would become great again and he would be the spearpoint that
made it happen. Dumar paused as the door opened and a
general came forward, his head tilted downward in deference
to his new master. Pausing before him, the general bowed
slightly and held out a data padd. Damar took it and read it
quickly. Grinning in spite of himself, he turned and looked
at the rain dripping trees beyond the pane of his window.
"Good," he said quietly. "Very good."

---
New Taos, Dorvan V...
---

Andrew turned and washed his hands, having mucked out the
stables and cages of the clinic for the new day. It was
nearly seven in the morning and the kids were at their
Nana's house waiting for the bus to school. Country kids
took a conveyance while city kids walked to the community
school five blocks away. It was close enough for Andrew or
Jesse to have lunch with them everyday if schedules
permitted. Jonah and Sio were always waiting by the
lunchroom door for them. They hadn't known that until one
day they got a hasty com call from the school asking when
they were coming. It appeared that the two children had
expected them to attend lunch everyday and not just on
parent day. Hurrying along, shrugging on their jackets
against the gathering chill of the coming fall, they had
found two very relieved little kids waiting with their
lunches in hand for their parents to come. Since then, it
was their ritual. Andrew smiled at the relief the children
had shown them as they reached their hands out for their
parents. The gesture had warmed them and they had discussed
it that very night.

"I was about to bawl like a baby when I saw them there,"
Jesse said, pulling back the covers.

Andrew nodded, closing the bathroom door. He walked to the
bed and sat on the edge for a moment. "You know, I always
had a great family. I remember the expression my dads got on
their faces, the satisfaction and surety of our regard for
them being so clear. I wondered once in a while what that
felt like and now I know.

We're a family, Jesse." He lay back and pulled the covers
up, reaching out and taking Jesse's hand into his own. "It's
nice."

Jesse smiled. "It sure is," he replied, squeezing Andrew's
hand tightly.

---

The sun was beating down, late summer making clear its
dominion. Andrew walked into the surgery and saw Jesse
checking on the animals that had stayed over following
surgery. "Done?" he asked.

Jesse turned and grinned. "Done."

He tossed his padd on the desk nearby and turned, walking
with Andrew out the door and into the waiting room. They
exited together and walked hand-in-hand to the Blue Corn
Café where they ate breakfast during the week. The military
were greatly in evidence in town, a result of a build up
from other tumultuous events past. There were military at
the café and they had taken their usual sidewalk table.
Frowning slightly, Jesse stepped over the gear bags of two
marine captains and continued inside, pausing and catching
the waving arm of their usual party. Andrew walked through
the crowded room and led the way to a collection of tables
pushed together where friends and family waited.

"Hi," Cheyenne said, moving slightly to allow Andrew to
pass.

Jesse followed and they sat together, wedged in between
their cousin Jake, Layla's and Rainey's son and their Uncle
Nayib and Grandma Miriam. Across the table sat Kolopak and
Tim, Geno next to him. Chakotay and Cochise rounded out that
end. On the other side was Robby, Sage and Hero, Sapphie
tending to their order. As they started their own decisions,
Uncle Bey, Aunt Ro and Charon entered, hollering across the
room their greeting. A flurry of re-arranging occurred and
everyone settled.

Gregor Ayala's mother and father, owners of the café,
snickered. "Are you through or are there more?"

"There could be more," Nayib said, his expression comically
serious. "You never know."

"You never know," the elder Ayala said, watching as his son
and his spouse entered the café. "I think I am going to have
to expand," he said with a chuckle.

---
Voyager...
---

The journey was uneventful as they flew onward toward the
Dead Zone. The Enterprise was zooming beside them, an
awesome glowing construction as lethal as any ever devised.
Beyond both of them, gliding with an incomprehensible and
unknowable grace was the child ship. Kathryn shook her head
as she thought about the lovely creature with tendrils of
silver energy. The physics of it still mystified her,
leaving her to wonder how a living thing could shape
utilitarian quarters for aliens to live within her form and
prevent space from intruding. Completely energy in format
and form, anything could then be shaped somehow. Their SIMS
deck and replicator technology surely was of a style with
the general physics of the Lady ship.

Maybe.

Probably.

Kathryn sighed. "The only thing I dislike worse than not
knowing the physics that animates the crystal ship is the idea
of time warps and parallel dimensions and the like."

Chakotay chuckled, glancing at her sidelong. "You and me
both, sister."

She chuckled and sighed, grinning at him with deep fondness.
"You have the con, *brother*."

He grinned, his dimples deepening as he watched her small
figure rise and walk to her office. Turning his gaze back to
the screen before him, he pondered the lingering affect of
the dream he had had a day ago. His father was alive, his
mother was happy and he had reconciled his grief about both.
Only it was a dream, he sighed. Just a dream.

---
New Taos, that same evening...
---

"We don't know yet. I'm afraid it could be very bad if it's
true," Bey said.

It was silent around the table, even the smaller children
pausing to look at the worried expressions on the adults.
Sage, putting down his glass, stared at his uncle. "You
don't think there will be war again?"

Bey smiled and sat up straighter. "No. I don't think so. We
have always beaten the Cardassians and I don't see how they
can rise up and challenge us again."

Sage nodded, glancing at the suddenly calm and relaxed
adults sitting around him. "You're lying."

Miriam smirked in spite of herself. "Would we lie to you?"
she asked her grandson.

"Yes," Sage replied picking up his fork. "But that's ok.
We're used to it."

A chuckle of relief circled the table and Bey reached out
and patted Sage's shoulder. "Don't worry. We have it
covered."

Sage paused, fork halfway to his mouth and grinned. "Where
have I heard that before?"

Bey laughed in spite of himself.

"I'm tired," Tom said, leaning back after a moment. "I have
to go out to the ridge again. We're excavating a mineral
deposit there and checking it for viability for a number of
things that we need locally. If we could find some of the
minerals that the military and the ship builders need on
Tersis II, then it would save a ton of time and a lot of
expense shipping it in."

"You aren't going to tear up that country are you?" Chakotay
asked frowning. "That's pristine, almost sacred space."

"We aren't. The military wants some minerals for a small
plant they're going to be building on the Arrow River Flats
to make components for weapons they're testing. Apparently
we have a goodly supply of some of the minerals they need,"
Tom said.

"They can import them. Having a military build up is bad
enough for a lot of the people here, especially the elders.
Digging up the land and ruining habitat is not going to go
over well,"

Cheyenne said, fixing a stern eye on her uncle Nayib.

Nayib shifted in his seat and nodded. "It won't be reckless
I assure you. I have already had the clan mothers on me and
a lot of the lodges."

"Good," Cheyenne said smiling. "Then I won't worry."

"You will," Robby said, smiling at his older sister with a
twinkle. "You always do. It's your nature."

A chuckle rounded the table once more.

---
On a faraway plane of existence, in a rarified level of
consciousness ...
---

They stood together, a combination of wisdom and power
unmatched by nearly any other sentient form in the universe.
The stars overhead seemed to dim in proximity to them,
fading, seemingly eclipsed. Two old men standing on a
sloping hillside before a winding river communed together
without words. The river was silver and shimmered even more
with their presence. It undulated and then disappeared,
becoming another of them, old, wise and silent. They stood
together for a moment and then a whisper of a sigh echoed
about them.

"She is not following the path," he thought, reaching the
others' minds without effort.

"She is not," the others agreed.

"She is meddling in the affairs of others," the first
replied.

"She is."

It was silent a moment and then the oldest, older than time,
older than sentient thought smiled slightly. "She is not...
is she."

They stood together a moment and then they shimmered, two
large brilliant orbs forming. They drifted off together,
moving away on their own. The other form stood thinking a
moment and then shifted, slowly reforming itself into the
shimmering river, the one in the Middle Ground where his
kind gathered. He would wait for her and he knew she would
come. Then he would see what this unconventional and unique
member of their kind was trying to do with her wayward
actions. He would see if she would overcome the paradox he
had also faced in his beginning when he tried to defy time
and consequences. He relished the contest as he relaxed into
his new form, his thoughts bent toward the crystal lady and
the conundrums that she was flying into with her most
beloved charges.

---
At the rendezvous
---

They arrived in the nebula, their usual rendezvous point
with hails made. A meeting of the principals on Enterprise
commenced and they gathered to catch up and finalize plans.
The K'aith were effusive in their greetings to their
compatriots, especially to the Anirri and to Tom. Old
loyalties were their lifeblood and to the guardians of the
Lady Ship, they had only the most intense expression of
camaraderie. All of the species of this slice of space of
which the Anirri were also a part had the same religious and
pious reaction to the crystal lady and her kind. They were
connected in legend and belief and it had helped the K'aith
to do something they almost never did, ally themselves with
others.

Jean Luc Picard greeted everyone and ran through the
informal plans made before returning to their own respective
empires. They would approach Raynor-si once again, sorting
through the chaos of the power structure there as they
sought an accord, which would end the over-the-boarder
sorties by piratical space marauders and allow trade and
exploration. They turned to the K'aith for whatever
information they could provide about the situation as it now
stood.

K'elen shook his head. "Information is hard to come by.
There are new alliances forming among many of the
subjugated. They enjoy their freedom and want to keep it. I
believe they will fall in line with us if we can demonstrate
that we are strong enough to stand against the Cardassians
and the Bacalor."

"They have returned already?" Riker asked, frowning
slightly. Tom watched him, concentrating on the idea that he
and Chakotay were once together. It never computed in his
mind. He sighed internally and gave his attention to K'elen
once more.

"They are said to be only a few days, perhaps a week away
from appearing on the edge of our scanning range. We have
made contacts in most of the empires and they are very
nervous. They are afraid of the retributions that will come
when their former masters return."

"We can bolster them then," Janeway interjected. "That could
work in our favor."

K'elen nodded.  "We have made overtures. It all depends upon
whether or not several rumors are true."

"Rumors?" Tom asked, glancing at K'elen.

"It is said that there are new powers moving unseen in this
area, making and breaking compacts, changing the rules."

"Which rules, K'elen?" Janeway asked, slightly uneasy.

"The rules of physics, the way things are supposed to be
against what they are finding," K'elen replied, his own
unease readily apparent. "The rifts are back with enormous
violence and there is no reasonable explanation as to why.
They are less and less predictable. We spent our waiting
period working out a schedule of times for predicting the
eruptions of the fissures and it is too random for normal
safety measures. That is unlike the way they were before. We
had figured out their patterns and avoided their radiation.
Now it's not possible. And they say ghosts travel the
fissures, coming and going between different dimensions,
leaving havoc in their wake."

"Ghosts?" Picard asked, frowning slightly. "What do you mean
by that?"

K'elen was silent a moment as he gathered his thoughts.
"There are species of beings that have always been here, yet
they haven't."

"The Cardo," Tom ventured.

K'elen nodded. "The Cardo. There are others too, some from
old legends that many of us thought were just that. They
live in the energy and some beyond it but they all know how
to use it and some of them are new and others feel decidedly
unfriendly. They seem indifferent to us. Ships flee from
them and some of them have disappeared. It's as if they
never existed."

It was silent a moment and then Picard cleared his throat.
"They haven't chosen a side then. They are not part of the
power struggle in the Dead Zone perhaps."

K'elen shook his head. "It cannot be assured, Captain
Picard. No one knows. It's just intensely more dangerous and
unpredictable than it was before. We are going into an
unknown situation. The species that live here are trying to
find a way to live inoffensively. But they know that the
enemy comes and it will upset any attempts by them or anyone
else to be unprovocative."

"What about Raynor-si? Has the situation there changed?"
Chakotay asked, remembering the firefight that led them to
Jonah and Sio.

"We are sure that the structure there is still in place and
that the puppet is still in charge. However, the Bacalor are
coming and I am not sure he will survive their onslaught. He
did play both ends against the middle because he is still
alive and in charge of the port. That cannot endear him to
the warlords who are coming. They say that the reptile … the
Cardassian, he has Borg technology and know-how. It is said
that he was one of them until their end."

It was silent a moment as the memory of Damar and his army
ending in Borg territory flooded back. "We know," Picard
said softly, drumming his fingers against the conference
table. "We remember."

---
New Taos
---

She gathered her gear and turned, staring amusedly at her
brothers. "I'll be back when I can and if you need me, call
me."

"Yes, *mother*," Tim said, leaning against a doorjamb as he
watched her gather her things together. "You better hurry.
The shuttle won't wait even for you, your highness."

She smirked and picked up her case, moving toward the door
as Geno and Tim carried the rest of her gear. She kissed
Robby and Hero goodbye, hugged and kissed Sapphie and
continued out to the ground vehicle.

"Hold down the fort, Sapph," Tim said, moving out the door.
"We'll be right back."

"I'm not a baby you know," Sapphie replied grinning. They
piled in and left in a swirl of shouted goodbyes. Turning,
she smiled.

"Well, let's eat what we want for lunch before the jailers
get back."

Three identical grins greeted that grand notion and they
turned and re-entered the house. The screen door slammed and
the trickle of water in the fountain next to the ivy soothed
the leadened heat of the mid-afternoon.

---
Elsewhere …
---

"NANA!"

"WHAT?"

"I'M STUCK!"

Maria rounded the corner of the barn seeking her grandson
and stopped, laughing aloud. "You sure are!"

She clambered up onto the hay bales and pulled on Sage's
belt, hauling him out of the hole into which he found
himself. He sat down on the hay, a kitten in each hand.
Holding them up, Maria's prized tabby mousers, he smiled. "I
found them."

"The hard way," Maria said, pulling sprigs of hay from
Sage's hair. "You did good. How many are there?"

"Two more in the nest."

"I'll hold your belt and you fetch them up for me. Mama
Kitty will be pleased to have a better and drier nest on the
tool box."

She took the two kittens and settled them into her apron
pockets, carefully reaching up and grabbing Sage's belt in
her hands. "Go, baby. I got ya!"

Sage leaned in and with great care pulled two more tabby
kittens from the deep hole. The mother cat, mewling and
nervous touched them with her nose as they emerged, checking
and feeling relieved that they were safe. "They are just a
little wet from the dew down there."

"We can dry them," Maria said, taking them into her hands
gently. "Go fetch me a dry towel from the harness room,
baby."

Sage clambered down and ran to comply as Maria watched him
fondly. The grandchildren had decided amongst themselves
that their Nana needed at least one of them with her at all
times since things had taken a turn for the worse in
Cardassia. No one had forgotten the last time Cardassia had
devolved and the chaos and death that had unleashed. The
country cousins all came to her house to wait for the school
bus each day since their parents were in space and one of
them always made a reason to stay overnight when they came
home. The others would ask about chores and do them, then
walk home down the undulating country road to their own
house. It warmed her heart.

Sage returned, handing her the towel. Taking three kittens
into his lap, he watched as his grandmother expertly dried
off the squealing infant in her hands. "Did Papa have
kittens when he was a kid?"

"Lots of kittens and cats, lots of dogs and horses. We had a
big country life growing up here. Your papa had to go to
space to find himself.  When he did, he came home again.
That's the way it was supposed to be."

"I like it here. I like the family and fishin'. Going riding
with my cousins and the pow-wows, that's fun. I like being
here with you, Nana."

She looked at him, at his dark eyes fixing on the kittens in
his lap and remembered a lot of younger days when Chakotay
was that child. "I love having you here with me, baby. I
love you."

Sage looked up at her and grinned, nodding. "I love you
too," he said, taking the kitten from her and handing her a
new one.

---
Nearing the Dead Zone from the Bacalor Empire
---

They slid through the darkness silently, running lights few
and ostentation to a minimum. They looked like what they
were, lethal ships of war moving through the emptiness of
space like sharks. Their journey thus far had been
uneventful. They had skipped a number of formerly enslaved
species as they made their way toward the junction in the
chaos through which all had to pass if they wanted to enter
or leave the Dead Zone. They would collect what was owed
them from the craven empires they once had subjugated once
they were sure they had nailed down the lynch pin,
Raynor-si.

The treachery of the local leadership had to handled swiftly
and brutally. He himself would take control. There were
masses of riches to exploit and he would be sure his clan
would get their share. If they failed, they would become
extinct, another failed family succumbing to death in a long
trail of brutal consequences to failed achievements. The
Emperor would have no mercy. He would have no chance of his
son marrying the Emperor's daughter and hijacking his House,
a House that had come to a crisis over the failure of a son
to carry on the family's claims. He had his own son, a
ruthless and devoted scion. When he put him on the throne,
their clan would prosper. It was the way of his people,
their special genius and he sat tensely tapping his fingers
on the arm of his command chair as his flotilla made their
way towards the raging energy of the Dead Zone.

---
Voyager
---

The conference broke up and all returned to their own ships.
Before they could go forward with their plans, they had to
incorporate K'aith data on the energy flows and make sure
that they had themselves as full an understanding of the
changing situation as they could. Being able to retreat was
almost as important as going forward safely. Tom sat at the
conn, one eye absently watching the steady stream of data
flowing through his console to the navigation computer when
he felt coldness next to his cheek. Turning his head he
looked around, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

Harry Kim was working with Tuvok, their heads nearly
touching as they stood together over the main computer input
point for the alien data and for Enterprise's contribution.
Nothing was strange there. Chakotay was reading the input as
well, his head down and Kathryn was at Engineering with
B'Elanna engrossed in conversation. He shrugged and turned
back watching numbers flowing on the console faster than his
eye could follow and felt it again. Glancing up, he noticed
a flash of a misty white substance. It was there and then it
was gone. For a moment, he pondered what might be the source
and then rose, signaling for someone to take his place. At
that point, he turned and walked to Chakotay.

Tapping Chakotay's knee, smirking in spite of himself as the
older man jerked to attention, Tom nodded toward Chakotay's
office, turning and leaving with long strides walking across
the ship and up the ramp toward the senior officers' rooms.
Chakotay rose and followed, nodding to Kathryn as he passed
her and entered his office, pausing at the tension Tom
demonstrated.

"What's up?"

Tom paused and looked at Chakotay, his expression
conflicted. "I thought I saw something on the bridge just
now. Before I saw it, I felt coldness on my cheek."

Chakotay nodded. "What did you see?"

"A white mist," Tom replied. "It was there, filmy and wispy
and then it was gone."

Chakotay nodded and moved to the door, exiting and walking
to where Tuvok and Harry stood. Tom followed and listened as
Chakotay called for a complete scan of the ship for any
anomalies that might exist. For a tense moment, there was
nothing and then Tuvok glanced up, his dark eyes serious. "I
find nothing out of the ordinary, Commander."

Janeway had joined them. "I want a scan running full time
and make it a full spectrum. Anything that might be
wandering around out here thinking it will hitch a ride with
us I want to know about," Chakotay said. Janeway nodded in
agreement, a worried look on her face.

Tom sighed, a flash of the old bullshit rising in him. They
didn't doubt him for a moment and every once in a while the
novelty of it rose in him. They were an old team and very
veteran. Trusting each other was simply part of their DNA
now. They turned and walked back to their stations again and
sat, this time a bit more wary than before.

---
Enterprise
---

Bethl finished his dinner, stuffing the detritus down the
recycle chute and walked to the door of the mess hall.
Pausing, feeling a tension on his mind, he turned and looked
around. A sensation of cold air touched his psyche,
emanating out of a darkness that he could feel and nearly
touch. It happened for the briefest of seconds and then was
gone just as quickly. He swallowed hard and turned around,
staring at the room filled with crew eating and socializing
together off duty. A sentient force had touched him and from
where it had come, he had no idea. He just knew it was
incomprehensibly old and worst of all, felt dangerous. With
instant resolve, he turned and walked to the lift and the
Bridge beyond.

---

The trip through the surging streams of plasma and energy
was as harrowing as ever. The news that they were back and
not mathematically predictable had taxed the nerves and
skill of all the pilots of the small flotilla that arched
and wound its way toward the oasis of calm that surrounded
Raynor-si. They were on their own now, completely cut off
from the Federation and even the Aniiri home world. They
would have to be their own diplomats, business mogul and
warrior now.

The break from turmoil into tranquility was abrupt and they
sat blinking as the screen adjusted itself to the changing
of light from space around them. Picard sat quietly, his
thoughts centered on the ordeal ahead. He had no illusions
that it would be an easy meeting with whoever had risen to
the top of the open world of Raynor-si. Cosimo had been
killed and the structure of the planet overturned. Many were
the planets that had been set free from servitude. Ketch, if
he was still there, would be less than receptive to their
reappearance.

As he sat thinking about the meeting to come, he felt
electricity in the air, an oddity that set his teeth on
edge. He looked about himself and saw that others felt it.
Glancing toward the lift, he thought for a moment that he
had seen a white mist floating in the air. Rising slowly, he
watched as it coalesced and then abruptly disappear. Turning
to Riker, he paused, feeling something tugging at his mind.

Data, sensing the disquiet of the crew turned and watched
Picard and Riker, the two of them standing together
searching around themselves as if they were looking for
something they had dropped. "Captain?" he asked.

Picard turned toward Data. "Commander, scan the ship for
intruders."

Data turned, his fingers flying over the console. "Negative,
Captain."

Picard paused. "Commander Bethl, report to the Bridge."

"On my way," the intercom echoed and in a bare few moments,
the Betazoid was on the Bridge, his face a picture of worry.

"Captain, did you feel it too?" he asked.

Picard nodded. "It was an electrical sensation, like icy
fingers on your spine."

Bethl nodded. "I only got a flash of what it might be. I
felt an astounding age."

"Like an old being?" Riker asked.

"Yes," Bethl replied.

"Picard to Janeway."

"Janeway here, Captain." Her worried expression  filled the
screen. "I assume you felt something odd just now."

"I also saw a white film near the lift."

Janeway glanced sideways a moment and then turned her
worried eyes on Picard. "Tom Paris saw it too. But it
doesn't register on our sensors."

"Nor ours. Have you contacted the Aniiri and the K'aith?"
Picard asked.

"Not yet," she said turning and speaking off screen. Then
she turned and they waited. She leaned of screen again and
turned back to Picard, a puzzled expression on her face.
"The Aniiri say they neither saw nor felt anything. The
K'aith had the same experiences as you and I."

Picard nodded. "I suggest that we proceed with the idea that
we may  need to go to battle stations. I would like to link
our sensors with  yours so that we can reach the higher and
lower registers as well as  scan farther out."

Janeway nodded and the screen went back to stars once more.
Data  looked up and turned toward Picard. "They are linked
with our net,  Captain."

Picard nodded. "Make sure you keep your eyes open, Mr. Data.
I don't like this one bit." Data nodded and turned, mulling
over the notion of keeping his eyes  open when they always
were. Perhaps a colloquialism he considered in  some small
part of his matrix as the rest of him went through the
business of protecting the ship.

---

They arrived in orbit around the reddish planet that was
Raynor-si. It was an open world, that is, it wasn't the
property of any one species and open to the affairs and
recreation of all. That was its original designation.
However, over the years it had become something else.
Various violent and powerful species had taken over the one
place in the entire sector that was consistently habitable
and made it their own personal fiefdom.

Since they had arrived in their first visit and upset the
apple cart, the situation there had become a great unknown.
It was clear that many of the formerly subjugated species in
the planetary systems nearby had decided to stand on their
own and were gearing up for combat with the Bacolar, who
were at last notice on their way back.

It was important for them to sort out the situation and beat
out some agreements before the Bacolar arrived so that they
had at least a toehold in the arrangements for this sector
of space. It was an immensely profitable area and trading
was brisk in all manner of things. It was also a decent
portal through which to travel if one wanted to explore the
Delta Quandrant and they wanted to do that.

Voyager's logs had opened up the possibility of alliances
and opportunities for the Federation and NAWC that were now
in the long-range plans of both entities. They just had to
find out how safe and how difficult it would be to pursue
such goals in the turmoil of the current situation.

It was also important to impress on the species here that
raiding over the boundaries of the Dead Zone and attacking
the settlements and colonies of the Rim would not be in
their best interests. The specter of war hung over all of
them and they hoped that the lure of riches would overcome
the natural belligerency of some of the more war-like
creatures they would find.

They gathered in the shuttle bay, Tom and Chakotay among
them and after a gear check, entered the vehicle. Settling
down in their familiar spots, Tom received the all clear
from Tuvok. Without a sound, the shuttle rose and slipped
free of the ship to rendezvous with the others in space.

Forming a squadron, shuttles from the Aniiri Lady ship, the
K'aith, Enterprise and Voyager slipped into the atmosphere,
the darkness of space giving way to the familiar orange sky
of Raynor-si. The dust storms of the summer season were well
underway and the electricity in the air arced across the
bow of their ships. Settling down, they cut their engines
and gathered on the cracked tarmac of the visiting ships
terminal of the main spaceport planet side.

Tom breathed deeply, the acrid smell faintly familiar. There
were places on Dorvan V during the dry season that had the
same dessicate smell. He checked his phaser and turned,
moving to his place in the group as they gathered to begin
the long and dangerous walk toward the town.

---

The smell of burnt material still clung in the air and they
could still see scorch marks on the earth from the last time
they had come. Even rain hadn't softened or erased the
glassy black streaks of fire that had blasted back and forth
and all around them in the retreat from the city. The crunch
of gravel and the soft tread of sand were the only sounds as
they cautiously walked forward toward the large building
where they had last met together.

Tom and Chakotay, walking near to each other with phasers
drawn were grim and alert, followed by the rest of their
party. Kathryn Janeway and Jean Luc Picard were
side-by-side, phasers drawn, eyes scanning both right and
left. Behind them, arrayed across the street and covering
their flank, the rest of the party including the K'aith
followed.

No one could be seen, no welcoming party, no warring party.
They could hear the sounds of life beyond the narrow
confines of the street and the number of vessels at the
landing port indicated that both enemies and allies were
already here. A sound of a door slamming jolted them and
they paused slightly, gazing around intently before moving
forward again.

"This is not good," Kathryn commented, her eyes  sweeping
the tops of the buildings that lined both sides of the
street. "No one is here. No one is …"

---
Raynor-si
---

The street was drifting in sand. Storms from the desert,
thought Tom, glancing around himself. The dry season was
upon them according to the charts he had reviewed and it
would last a while. It crunched under his feet, the reddish
tone of it due to high concentrations of iron and reddish
clay in the soil of this desiccated place. Enough geology he
thought, clearing his mind and returning to the matter at
hand. The street was deserted, the welcoming committee
absent. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
Pausing, he looked at the others who were ready and moving
in his direction.

Picard and Worf, Chakotay, Janeway and Captain Tan were
armed, their weapons in hand, muzzles pointing to the
ground. Tom squeezed the phaser in his own hand, the
solidity of it comforting. He was getting old he considered,
this sort of thing less thrilling than it used to be. They
caught up with him and all waited, looking around themselves
as the others in their party, security people and techs
formed a circle around them looking high and low.

"No one is out to greet us. I feel hurt," Kathryn said
sardonically, her sarcasm apparent. "Perhaps we should go
and register our discontent over their lack of manners."

Picard nodded. "I recognize Bacalor shuttles."

"And others that I remember seeing before but I don't know
who they belong to," Tom said, nodding. "It could be any
number of the others who are from around here."

"No Cardassian models I see," Chakotay added.

"No," Kathryn added. She turned and squinted at the sun,
barely visible through the dusty sky. "I guess we better go
and re-introduce ourselves again." She turned to a security
officer scanning the surrounding area. "Anything?"

"No, Captain," they replied. "Nothing that is out of the
ordinary. There are people in buildings all around us but
nothing that seems red zone."

She nodded and glanced at Tan and Picard. "Gentlemen and
Ladies?" she said, stepping forward.

They all followed, forming a heavily alert, heavily guarded
wedge. They walked up the long street, passing buildings
that were under reconstruction since their last visit. They
caught glimpses of faces but they pulled back into the
shadows and there was no pretense that there wasn't extreme
danger to their progress. Janeway tapped her badge.

"B'Elanna here."

"You are ready to move if anyone says so?"

"Yes," B'Elanna's tense voice replied.

"Good," Janeway said.

They reached the intersection that was on the corner of the
side street that led to the wadi. Memories of the events
where so many had hidden during their first experience on
Raynor-si, the one that had freed the slaves flooded their
minds. Half a street block away was the headquarters of
Ketch and before him Cosimo. They waited, the heat of the
sun-blasted atmosphere collecting on their brows. When it
seemed that no one would come, the door opened and the huge
figure of Ketch stepped out. He stood a moment or two
regarding the force arrayed before him and then stepped into
the street, walking toward them, stopping just short of
their group. He looked as grim and malevolent as ever. "You
came back."

"You doubted that we would?" Picard said.

"No," Ketch said. "I don't expect sensible behavior from the
likes of you."

Bethl considered the creature before him, a guarded and
extremely violent alien from a culture where the weak were
routinely killed to make room for those with the intestinal
fortitude to be ruthless enough to be useful to their
society. There was no pity in this one, perhaps they were
not capable of it and he tuned into Ketch as best he could.
All around the big alien was a strange static electricity,
like the kind of ionized air one got around a volcanic
eruption. Menace was everywhere and Bethl knew others lurked
behind, in front of and beside them, hidden and waiting. It
was unnerving and he struggled to keep the swirling tidal
pool of everyone's emotions out of his thinking.

"We wish to talk," Janeway said. "We wish to negotiate-"

"Negotiate what?" Ketch asked, moving toward the far side of
the street. "What do you have that we could possibly want?"

"Everything," Chakotay replied, watching as two other
Bacalor stepped out of the building and entered the street.
"Your pirates raid our space."

"They aren't my pirates. My people aren't interested in your
space," Ketch said again, continuing onward toward the
sidewalk on the other side. He paused and turned, looking at
them dispassionately. "We have our own thing." He stiffened
for a moment and looked around as if searching for
something. Then without a word, he turned and walked with
deliberation toward the building that was his headquarters,
entering it quickly. They paused, glancing one to another,
surprised by his behavior.

At that moment, the door to a nearby building opened and a
tall figure appeared. Dressed in white flowing robes with
head covered, it reminded Tom of a Halloween ghost. He
blinked and paused, glancing over at Chakotay. They were
farther ahead than the others were and no one was moving,
just the ghostly figure. A keening sound began to rise in
volume, a soft sweet sound of loss and sorrow and they stood
transfixed by it, as if the sound had a siren's effect upon
them.

Picard sighed, a vision of his mother entering his mind, of
summer days in the vineyard as the swaying gossamer creature
came closer. For a moment, he closed his eyes and then it
was clear, the intentions of the creature revealed. He
opened his eyes and glanced around quickly, seeing that all
of the party had paused, lost in some internal revery.

A surge of fear and adrenaline hit him and he turned,
shoving people on both sides of him. They stumbled and
jolted back to the moment, seeing the danger as clearly as
Picard. Turning, a shout erupting from her throat, Kathryn
Janeway lurched forward, pushing those behind her backwards,
Picard at her side doing likewise. Behind them, responding
too slowly, the figure reached Tom and Chakotay just as
everyone flung themselves to the ground.

The sound of energy released was concussive and they found
themselves flying like leaves in a brisk breeze. Lights
splintered before their eyes and the dull whump of a blast
ended the possibility of hearing more as they tumbled
through the dirt and sand. Landing with a thud against a
security officer, Kathryn Janeway hoisted herself up to a
sitting position, blinking away blood and sand to stare at a
black hole where Tom and Chakotay had stood. She stared at
it dumbly, unaware that the transporter had begun to
deconstruct her from the horror of the moment.

Seconds later, sitting on the transporter platform, holding
her shrapnel-mottled hand, she glanced around. Tom and
Chakotay weren't there. They were gone. She closed her eyes
and lay back into oblivion.

---

They were silent, the stars behind them seemingly stilled in
mid sparkle. They were standing on a hillside under the
oddly unmoving universal sky as they stared into the silver
waters of a pool that spread out over a green landscape
broken here and there with a small clump of flowers and
bushes. They stared without comment, without emotional
reaction and watched, well aware of the uniqueness of the
actions unfolding before them. It had never happened before,
such willfulness. It had never come to their attention such
determination among the youngest of their kind that the
natural order would be insufficient. It was to this one,
this remarkable and formidable soul to give them pause in a
lifetime that had seemingly seen all that is, was and ever
would be.

"This is outside the pattern of their existence," the lesser
of the two commented. His thoughts, like butterflies
flocking in morning sunshine reached his companion, someone
of such great antiquity that natural law didn't appear to
have any affect upon their actions. They stood silently
together a moment or two and then the soft whispering murmur
of his ancient greatness determined their course. "Let us see
what she can do …"

The other, mulling over this possibility with an unexpected
burst of interest, nodded. "As you wish, my Lord."

Far away, pulling on the sacred threads that only her kind
could see woven throughout the universe, the ties that bound
all things together, she worked out her desires. Bound by
determination and love, she did her best to make the music
in her head real.

---

The sound of a door slamming brought him out of his revery.
He blinked and looked at his hands, noting the padd that he
held in his hands. Where was his phaser, he thought. He had
a phaser a moment ago. Glancing to each side, he saw
familiar people intent on studying and listening to someone
lecturing before them. He was in class. He was in class at
the Academy. With a start, he stood up, dropping the padd
and drawing attention from everyone in the room. His
instructor, irritation plain on his face turned toward him.
"Mr. Paris, what seems to be the matter?"

Tom looked at him and for the briefest of seconds it felt
the way it was supposed to be. Then he turned and hurried
toward the door and out into the hall. Pausing as he
struggled to clear his mind, he looked around. Star Fleet
Academy. Class. Where was Voyager? Where was Chakotay? Where
was Raynor-si? He gasped, oblivious to the stares he was
drawing and then he turned, rushing down the hallway to the
doors and the street beyond.

---

He stood in the street, blinking with surprise and
grogginess. The phaser that had been in his hand was gone.
He was surrounded by people intent on their own tasks, not
noticing the dazed man in their midst at all. He looked down
at himself and noticed a uniform but not the correct one. It
was his old Star Fleet uniform. It was the older one he had
worn before the war. It was impossible he thought and
turning, he moved to the bench nearby to sit and think.

The sun beat down as he sat, uncertain what to do as the fog
in his mind slowly lifted. He didn't notice anyone sit down
beside him until that person took hold of his hand. Looking
up, he felt a relief flood him that was hard to contain.
"Tom," he said softly.

Tom, looking teenaged and wearing a cadet uniform, squeezed
Chakotay's hand. "Chakotay, I found you."

Chakotay glanced around. "This was the day I was assigned to
a star ship as a first officer."

"This is nearing the day I fucked up flying," Tom said,
swallowing hard. "What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," Chakotay said rising. "I don't … we better
find out," he said, turning and pulling Tom along with him.

---

to be continued in Revolutionary Road