Marooned - Christie Golden [3]
"May I be the first to welcome you to Oasis, Captain Janeway."
The captain turned to greet Aren Yashar, the station's administrator. He bowed deeply, and Janeway and her crew members imitated the movement.
Janeway had already conversed with Administrator Yashar via the ship's viewscreen, but she always looked forward to the first personal contact. Much could be negotiated without two parties ever meeting, and often was, of course, but Janeway liked to size up friend and foe alike in person when she could.
Yashar did not disappoint. Tall, elegant, the Rhulani administrator of Space Station Oasis was almost completely human in appearance. Long, blue-black hair fell down his back, elaborately bound with variously colored ribbons. The nails on the ends of his fingers were painted and filed to points. It was only when one looked closely that one noticed that the eyebrows were much thinner and placed higher on the forehead than was common with humans. The most startling difference was also subtle-the Rhulani race, of which Aren was a member, had iridescent webbing between those sharp-nailed fingers. He wore full-length robes of shiny material, and stood straight and tall. Despite the courteous bow, Janeway got the impression that Aren considered her an equal. She liked that.
"Thank you, Administrator Yashar, for inviting US."
He held up a hand in mild protest, the webbing flashing brightly for an instant, then disappearing. "Ah, please. I prefer Aren. Among my people, the use of the second name denotes extreme formality or hostility, neither of which, I hope, will set the tone for our relationship."
Janeway nodded her head slightly. "As you wish, Aren. Allow me to introduce the members of my away team. This is Lieutenant Tom Paris, one of our flight controllers; our Chief Engineer, B'Elanna Torres; Neelix, our chef and morale officer; and Kes, our medical assistant and resident expert on various plants."
Janeway glanced around as her crew exchanged pleasantries with Aren, and her smile faded somewhat. Her initial impression, gleaned from her earlier conversations with Aren, was that this was a space station operating at full capacity. She was wrong.
They had noted three ships already docked at the station prior to Voyager's arrival, and there was the steady hum of voices in the background that indicated a number of beings. Certainly, many individuals of a variety of races made their busy ways along the open area that was, apparently, the merchant's row of the station.
But several stores were closed or in a state of disrepair. Despite the crowds, the place... felt vacant. Janeway could sense her crew's disappointment, a mirror of her own, as they took in the curving white metal walls, the honeycombed ceiling in which were set soft, glowing orbs of light. Too big for the number of people here; too empty for the number of shops with closed doors and covered windows.
"Not what it once was, I'm afraid," said Aren, bringing the captain's attention back to her host. Clearly, he had followed her gaze and seen her reaction. "I apologize. Would that Oasis were the thriving port it has been in the past, but it can be again, Captain, which was why I was so eager for you to visit US."
"Was there some sort of trouble?"
Sorrow and something a touch harder made the administrator frown. "Trouble. Yes, that word will do as well as any other," he said somberly. "Come and walk through the Tradesman's Sector with me and I will tell you what happened. But first," and with a smile and a flourish Aren produced a small, shiny oval from a pocket hidden somewhere in his voluminous robes, "here are the star charts you requested."
Janeway accepted the smooth-crystal? stone?with pleasure. "But Aren, we haven't yet negotiated a trade for this."
"Your presence and that of your crew will be trade enough. You have seen the stores standing empty. Do you not think those merchants who are able to reopen their shops would