A War For The Death of A Boy

Captain Janeway sat at her desk just inside the doorway to her ready room. There was a single beep as she set down her coffee.

"Come in."

Cyan walked through the doorway and looked at the Starfleet officer. "Captain. May we talk?"

"I think we'd better." Janeway said motioning towards a couch on the upper level of her ready room.

"I'll be brief and to the point. I still need to make sure the rest of the enhancements are done on time before the pursuing Starship arrives." Janeway nodded, leaned back, and motioned for Cyan to continue. "I know all of this dimension and time travel stuff sounds crazy, but I'm sure a woman of your scientific background can appreciate how many things become possible with time."

The Captain laughed. "It's just too bad you didn't come here to take us back to the Alpha Quadrant."

The Queen sighed. "I wish I could Captain, but I can only change the path of useless destruction or that which will interfere with the uniting of that realm, I cannot change the course of a path that must be traveled. This pursuing ship has caused more problems than we had anticipated. They intend to destroy one of the passengers aboard the Raptor, a Queen who will one day help to ignite a war of good and evil throughout most of this galaxy. Her survival is imperative."

"And the boy?" Janeway asked with a bit of a smirk. "You seem disappointed that it will be necessary to save his life."

"I am never disappointed in saving lives Captain, and I suggest you not try my patience. You don't know what I know about this boy, and although you are indeed an amazing woman, I assure you, I am way out of your league."

Janeway raised a hand. "I'm sorry. I should not have implied what I did. Please continue."

"Once the pursuing ship is destroyed, you and the Raptor will be free to resume your course. Myself and the others will be leaving straight away with the help of the others back on my Island." Cyan stood and headed for the door. "I will go and see about the final tests and report back to you when we are done." The Queen paused, "unless you would care to join me?"

Janeway followed Cyan towards the door. "Well, I just happen to be going that way myself. I never could resist a good display of new technology and explanations, I'm a woman of science remember?"

"Of course." Cyan said as she glanced over onto the Captain's bookshelf. She was just about to exit the door when something caught her eye, and breath. She walked slowly towards the object and stared in disbelief. A small rectangular box with an embedded dragon lay alone on the shelf. One eye blazed a brilliant red; a red Cyan had seen many times.

"Where did you get this?" the Queen whispered softly.

"This?" Janeway said, picking the box up and displaying it in her palm. "It's been in my family for years. I come from a long line of scientists so I guess it just kind of got passed down through the generations."

"Why?" Cyan asked a bit confused at the Captain's explanation.

Janeway waved her hand over the lid and it slowly lifted on its hinges. "That's why. Years and years of scientific study and advances have never been able to explain the ability for this lid to open. It also only opens with a wave of my hand. We used to laugh and say it was just a certain family magnetism we Janeway's must have, but I guess none of us ever really came up with a logical answer to why it works."

Cyan smiled as she took the box from Janeway's palm and looked at it knowingly. She gently laid it back on the shelf from where it had come and turned back to the Captain. "It works, because you have come to believe it will work, and that simple faith is what gives everything its possibilities. If you ever lose or give up that faith Kathryn, your own life becomes contained in a box as well, with no way of opening the lid to so many possibilities."

The Captain seemed quite thoughtful for a moment and began to walk again through the doors of her ready room and out onto the bridge. This woman warrior was certainly becoming quite intriguing. She smiled as she told Chakotay he had the bridge while she and their guest went down to Astrometrics to work with Seven. Cyan was a little slower in leaving Janeway's ready room.

"As for the rest of your curiosity Captain." The Queen waved a quick hand over the box, and its lid closed. "I can assure you it is all about family magnetism." Cyan walked off with the unassuming Captain, smiling broadly. There was no longer a shred of doubt in the Queen's mind that this was a woman who she would one day see again.

*******

"You should not be aligning the algorithms that way. Here, stand aside. I will show you." The Barbie Borg gently shoved Saran off to one side. The Queen rolled her eyes as she watched the two interact. 'Who in the world switched jobs with Saran and had sent her to work with the Borg?' This could get ugly. Never had the Queen seen two more opposite individuals in all her life. Then again, she and the daughter of Death seemed to do all right; perhaps this would be no different.

"That's not how to do it Seven. If you'd stop shoving me out of the way, maybe I could finish the job correctly!"

"Kids." Both Janeway and Cyan muttered under their breath simultaneously. They each glanced quickly at each other and began to laugh.

"You grab yours, and I'll get mine." Janeway finally said making her way towards the Astrometrics console.

The Queen pulled Saran off to the side. "Do you have to start trouble now, of all times?"

"But she's a know-it-all Cyan. Every time I try to show her how to do it correctly she shoves me out of the way and says that it's 'illogical'. That my way of doing things is inferior." Saran had to stare at Cyan for several moments before the Queen realized her warrior was looking for some support and confirmation.

"A know-it-all huh?" Hmmmm, imagine that Cyan thought to herself. Maybe not so different after all. "Saran, you both have the knowledge that we need to complete the enhancements. I need you to work on finding a way to communicate what has to be done, but in a way that Seven will understand. Can you please do that for me; just try."

Saran nodded her head somewhat reluctantly. "Fine." She finally said and walked off towards the console resuming her position alongside the Borg. Captain Janeway returned with a little more than a smirk on her own face.

"Seems these two may have trouble learning to play well Cyan."

"I'm sorry Captain. Saran is a good warrior but often times she needs a little guiding hand." Janeway smiled at the Queen. "And you think my Borg doesn't?" Each laughed again as they moved on to Engineering to make sure B'Elanna and Eri had finished switching over the warp core parameters. The Queen was interested to see how Eri was holding up, and how she was doing working with the highly volatile Klignon Chief Engineer.

 *****

Cyan had been pleasantly surprised to find out how well her warriors were fitting in and getting along with the rest of the Voyager crew, especially Eri. She and Lieutenant Torres had really seemed to hit it off and Eri had begged Cyan for a chance to run a Klignon encounter simulation on the holo-deck when everything was over.

"It wouldn't kill us to stay a little longer Aunt Cyan." The girl's eyes pleaded, and the Queen had to admit she wouldn't mind bartering with Janeway a bit for one of those replicaters.

"Fine. We'll spend another day if it's okay with the Captain." Cyan looked at Janeway and the Captain extended an open hand.

"It would be our pleasure." Suddenly the ship rocked and the Captain's comm badge came alive.

"Bridge to the Captain."

"Janeway here. Go ahead."

"Captain, the Raptor is safely located behind us. We have reinforced rear deflectors, but the pursuing military ship is currently less than 3 light years away and has locked on to our coordinates. They are dispersing random spatial charges to draw us out of the moon's orbit."

"Acknowledged. Go to red alert and raise shields. Charge the photon torpedoes and fire at will. Tom, maneuver us around and give the Raptor as much protection as you can."

"Aye Captain."

Janeway motioned for the Queen to join her. "Computer. Prepare for a site to site beam out. Two to the bridge."

The Queen and Janeway disappeared instantaneously and appeared on the bridge. Captain Janeway took her seat and motioned for Cyan to do the same. "Let's see what these enhancements of yours can really do. Tuvok, prepare to fire on my mark. Tom, slow to impulse. Ready. Mark!"

Phaser fire shot from several relays of Voyagers weapons array. "Again!" Janeway commanded.

Suddenly the ship rocked hard. "Shields at 52% and holding Captain."

Another blast. "Shields are down to 23% Captain, and we've lost warp engines."

"Bridge to Engineering. What's going on B'Elanna?"

"That last blast hit the warp core and knocked it off line Captain. Eri and I are trying to reinforce it but we're already leaking anti-matter. If we don't seal the leak soon, we'll have to dump the core."

"Eri." Cyan said. "Have Saran transfer the new warp core diagnostics from Astrometrics that she and Seven have been working on. Tell her to reinitialize them for a warp core breach and send them directly to engineering with the new algorithms. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

The Captain stared at Chakotay and then back at Cyan. "Well, if you have any more suggestions Cyan, please, be my guest; just jump on in there."

"I'm sorry Captain, but it will work. Your warp core will be back on line momentarily. Tinka?"

"I'm here."

"I need the full weapons array back on line immediately. I want you to switch the auxiliary power over to the main deflectors. Use the fusion enhancer that we brought with us as an additional power cell and hyper jump the remaining energy to the matching plasma level."

"It'll take a couple minutes Cyan….."

"You gotta do better than that Tinks, we don't have a couple of minutes. Have Corde do the main power conversion relay while you and Olympia set up the power cell - understood?

"Right." A commotion could be heard as Tinka ordered the remaining enhancements that the Queen had commanded. "StudBoy, you have to realign the power converter schematics before we bring them on line or the energy level is gonna blow every grid inside a 2 light year radius."

"Done." StudBoy finally responded.

"Corde?"

"All set here Tinks."

"All set my Queen. Weapons and shields are at maximum. New photon cannons are engaged and saber-force plasma beams are at full array. Fire at will"

"Captain?"

"Go ahead B'Elanna."

"I don't know how they did it Captain, but the warp core is coming back on line now. They used some kind of power converter to boost almost every energy output on the ship. The way it reads here, Voyager may actually be capable of Warp 10 when this is over."

Janeway smiled and looked at the screen which illuminated the approaching ship. "Engage!"…………………………..

*********

"Hail them." The battle had taken little more than ten minutes after the final enhancements were brought on line to somewhat disable the attacking ship. A face appeared on the large viewing screen in the middle of the bridge. Captain Janeway rose from her chair and advanced on the screen. She smiled cockily and put both hands on the railing. Cyan chuckled quietly. "I love this lady."

"My name is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. Disengage your attack and stand down your weapons."

A painted face of half red and half black hissed back at her. "This is none of your concern Captain. I am here for someone other than you and your crew. You stand down your weapons, give me the Raptor, and I will allow you to live."

Janeway arched and eyebrow and smiled back at Chakotay over her shoulder. She placed one hand on her hip while the other remained on the railing. "Well, it seems we have ourselves a little showdown then don't we? The starship Raptor is under my protection, and unless you stand down immediately, I will be forced to defend them by any means available."

The large screen suddenly went black. Janeway's smile turned slowly to annoyance. "I guess that ends negotiations."

Harry Kim quickly spoke up. "Weapons are charging. They're preparing to fire Captain."

Janeway turned and resumed her seat in the Captain's chair. "Brace for impact."

Voyager rocked as a series of bleeps and noises came from several spots on the bridge. Tuvok looked up from his console. "No damage Captain. Shields are holding."

Janeway looked over at the Queen and sneered sarcastically. "Seems we'll have to go your route after all." She looked back at the main viewing screen. "Target their weapons array and hit 'em with everything we've got."

Voyager rumbled as the crew felt it unload their newest weapons enhancements over and over again on the attacking vessel. "Hold fire!" Janeway finally yelled. A stillness came across the bridge.

"They are retreating Captain."

"Stand down red alert."

"We're being hailed by the Raptor Captain."

"On screen Harry."

The white painted face of a young girl appeared before them. "I am Queen Amadala of the Naboo people. I owe you and your ship a great debt of gratitude Captain."

Janeway rose from her seat and smiled. There was a young blonde haired boy standing near the back of the Queen's helm. He couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 years of age. The Captain looked back over at Cyan who only tilted her head slightly and resumed looking at the screen.

"Well, we had a little help." Janeway finally said.

"Yes I know. I owe them my life. Tell me your Highness, why is it that you found your way to my ship so far from home?"

The Queen rose. She was a bit surprised by Amadala's presence for such a young girl. Cyan also acknowledged the fact that Amadala had recognized her stature and had addressed her as such. It was not difficult to see now how this young leader was going to be capable of changing so much, or why it wouldn't be long before she crossed over.

Cyan bowed slightly, and smiled at the young Queen. "Let me answer you this way. If one day you were afforded the opportunities to alter the course of destiny for the benefit of all mankind; would you not take it?"

The young Queen smiled. "I imagine I would." She stared intensely at Cyan and continued. "I would also imagine that the weight one bares by making those choices are almost unbearable at times."

Cyan looked at the small boy in the background, thought of Davu, and then looked back at the Queen. "Good or bad Amadala, the day of destiny changing choices will always come around." The Amazon Queen looked at the young leader with a touch of sadness in her eyes. "And in that very moment after your choice, things will instantly become clear."

Amadala took a step back. "My day was not to be this one then, but it is rapidly approaching; isn't it Cyan?"

The Amazon Queen said nothing. Amadala continued.

"You have been familiar to me since the first time our eyes met. I will see you and your warriors again….. won't I?" she said knowingly.

"Yes." Was the simple reply from the Amazon, and the screen went black. Cyan turned and left the bridge. She would check on the rest of her team and then she needed to be alone….

***

The remainder of their time of Voyager had been some of the most pleasurable in a long time. Eri had sparred with B'Elanna two or three times that day, begging the Enforcer to join them. Eponie and Cyan had spent many hours with the crew of Voyager and knew they would return here some day soon. Eponie and the ship's holo-Doctor had also spent time discussing the technology advances of the new medical tri-corders the Amazons had seen in the future. The Princess had helped the Doctor make several changes that both felt would help Voyager in their trip home.

Saran and Seven had gotten quite used to playing games of Velocity on the holo-deck and Keda-skot in the dining hall. Corde and Tinka had run all kinds of programs including an astral skydiving program, while StudBoy became consumed in Tom Paris's "Captain Proton" adventures.

Cyan and the Captain had discussed many things but the Queen was well aware that Janeway was less than thrilled about not being told every detail she inquired about.

"Your fighting skills on the holo-deck, the technology, its….. its amazing." Janeway said.

Cyan had spent some time trying to explain about the Island and where their destiny lay.

"And this Island gives you these special powers?" she asked incredulously. "It goes against everything I believe in as a scientist."

"I know." Cyan said with a laugh. "Probably why you are lost in the Delta Quadrant and we go home to some beautiful beachfront property." Janeway rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Okay, okay." Cyan said. "We each have powers that the Island provides us, even more when we are actually on the Island. There are also those of us who are born with certain powers because of our bloodlines. Take Saran and I for example. We are immortal."

Janeway's eyes opened about as wide as they could without popping from her head. "You're members of the Continuum!" she said with some disgust.

"Relax Captain. We are not from the Continuum. They are nothing more than another set of self-proclaimed gods not all that dissimilar to the ones that walk the land of Greece in our time. They are part of the reason that we were given the powers we have to change things. It is not my belief that any immortal should have the powers to manipulate mortals from choosing their own destinies."

"And how do you make sure you're not guilty of doing the very same thing that you say you oppose?"

The Queen thought for a moment. "I guess I know by faith Kathryn. Faith that someone out there, someone present in all the Realms, has given us this destiny and they will lead us through it."

The Captain smiled and shook her head a bit. "That's a pretty big leap of faith for someone to take Cyan, especially a woman of science."

The Queen smiled and patted the Captain's lap. "I would venture a guess that if you really searched yourself, you might just discover it was in your blood all the while." Cyan rose and took the Captain's arm and shook it hard. Janeway drew her in and hugged her.

"I have a feeling Amadala won't be the only one to see you and your warriors again, will she?"

Cyan smiled. "We'll be back Captain, and while we're gone - you may want to work on that faith of yours. You never know, maybe you'll be the one who finally figures out how that box works after all."

******

The portal opened inside of Cargo Bay two where the Amazons said their last good-byes to the Voyager crew. Seven and Janeway stood mesmerized by the time path that had suddenly appeared on their ship. As the last Amazon disappeared, the portal closed leaving no sign that their new friends had even been there at all.

Janeway looked at Seven as the rest of the crew went back to their regular duties. "Would have been fun to go and see this Island of theirs."

"Captain?"

"Come on Seven, don't tell me you're not the least bit curious to see what this Island of theirs is like?" Janeway prodded.

"Our intention is to return Voyager to the Alpha Quadrant, is it not Captain? Your continuous need to explore not only jeopardizes the safety of this crew, but it adds indefinite periods of time onto our journey." Seven exited the Cargo Bay doors leaving Janeway tagging along behind her.

"Well," the Captain finally said. "Who could argue with that kind of good old fashion Borg logic." Janeway smiled and caught up with Seven. It would be a long time before either of them forgot about their time with the Amazons, no matter what Seven said.

****

Cyan sat down in a chair on her Palace balcony and looked out at the waterfall. Her niece sat quietly alongside her.

"Quite a trip huh?" Cyan said, trying to make conversation with the sullen girl.

"Yah." The Queen looked back at the waterfall and spoke very quietly.

"All my life…… all I ever wanted was him."

Eri looked at her Aunt. "What?"

"Shatan. From the moment I saw him, I never wanted another sole." Eri looked away again, the tears in her eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

"Choices define everything in our lives Eri, no matter how much we wish that they didn't. That one choice we both made so long ago changed everything." 

"Don't you think I know that?" Eri cried. "I live with it every day Cyan!"

"We both do Eri, but that's not my point. Somewhere along the line we lost faith in that choice and stopped believing that something good could actually come from it. That's got to stop."

"How?" Eri said between sobs looking over at her Aunt.

"I'm not sure, but I do know this. That same choice brought me here to this Island, and you along with it. And for now, that's enough for me."

Eri leaned her head against Cyan's shoulder as the Queen put her arm around her niece. The crying Amazon looked nothing like the warrior that walked the Island day after day, but instead a little girl who had lived much too long with the absence of hope; they both had. From now on, Cyan thought, that all changes.