Day of Honor - Michael Jan Friedman [69]
Yes, he thought. That was it.
And because she had come from his subconscious
mind, she wasn't the Finaea that he knew and loved. Or rather, not just that Finaea. This one was aware of herself as a construct. She knew that she was there for a reason.
And that reason was ... to assure him he had made the right decision? Or to argue against it? There was only one way to find out, he supposed.
"You know of the human captain's proposal," Lumas said.
It felt strange speaking to his daughter of such things-so strange, in fact, he thought about replacing her with the Finaea he remembered. But in the end, he didn't.
"I know of it," she confirmed.
"Then you also know I've decided to reject it."
Finaea regarded him. "You'll destroy Voyager?"
"Only if necessary," he told her. "More than likely, Janeway will give up the Borg first. And even if she doesn't, there's no reason to annihilate the ship-not when we can strip it for its resources."
"I see," said his daughter. "And this is just. After all, the Borg destroyed our homeworld, through no fault of our own."
"Exactly," Lumas replied.
"And you'll take no joy in battering and stripping Voyager, " Finaea went on. "It's not as if you mean the captain and her crew any harm. You're just doing what you have to in order to survive."
"That's right," he responded, relieved that Finaea had the sense to see things his way.
She nodded. "Just like the Borg."
Lumas felt as if he had been dealt a physical blow. He shook his head from side to side. "No," he said.
"Not at all like the Borg. I'm not a coldhearted murderer, Finaea. You know me better than that."
"But you would sooner kill innocent people than let a Borg go free."
"I'm doing it for you!" he told her. "For you! The Borg took my family away and made monsters out of them! If I have a chance to strike back at them, how can I ignore it?"
His daughter looked at him as lovingly as she had ever looked at him in life. "You can ignore it," she said, "because you're not like them. When the Borg took me and mother and Anyelot, they turned us each into one of them. But it'll be a greater tragedy if they turned you into one of them, too."
Lumas's throat hurt. He swallowed hard and fell to his knees at Finaea's feet. Tears streamed down his cheeks-just as they had his last day on the Caatati homeworld.
"They took you away from me," he moaned. "They took you all. And there was nothing I could do about it."
Lumas felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw that his daughter was smiling down at him. "It's all right," she said. "I forgive you, Father." And then again: "I forgive you."
They embraced. And they stayed that way for a long, long time.
As LumAs TOOK HIS PLACE ON THE BRIDGE OF HIS SHIP, every technician there turned to look at him. Sedrek was no exception.
After all, they knew what kind of decision he had to make. What's more, they knew how important it could be to them-and to all Caatati.
On the viewscreen, nothing had changed. Voyager was still surrounded by the force Lumas had assembled.
"Contact Janeway," he said.
One of his technicians worked at his controls for a moment. "I've established a communications link," the man reported.
Lumas nodded. "On screen."
A moment later, Janeway's face appeared. "Hello again. I take it you've had enough time to consider our offer?"
"I have," he confirmed.
The human regarded him. "And?"
"I want to see this matrix of yours. Is it ready?"
"It is," Janeway told him. "And I'll be glad to show it to you." She gave an order to someone off screen, then looked to the Caatati again. "If you lower your shields, we'll beam you over."
Then her image vanished and was replaced by that of her vessel. Sedrek came to stand by Lumas.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked. "What if they open fire once our shields are down? Or try to make a hostage out of you?"
Lumas shook his head. "They won't try eithernot with