Marooned - Christie Golden [39]
She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something terribly wrong, however.
"Captain, what happened?" She swung her legs off the bed and faced her commanding officer.
"Another run-in with the Kazon," replied Janeway grimly. "It was quite the battle. You weren't the only one injured." She indicated with a nod of her head the other beds in sickbay occupied with those who, like Kes, were just now sitting up after receiving treatment.
Everything was just as it should be. Except, somehow, something was simply not right.
"Kazon?" Kes asked. That was one thing that didn't make sense. The door to sickbay hissed open and Paris and Tuvok entered. "I thought we left the Kazon behind a long time ago."
"I heard you'd taken a spill, Kes." Paris's expression was concerned. "You okay.?"
She nodded. "Thanks, Tom. Tuvok, thank you for coming to see me."
"We will resume our lessons as soon as you are ready," the Vulcan replied-his way of expressing his concern, Kes knew.
And still the suspicion lingered, the wrongness of the situation. Janeway hadn't answered her question about the Kazon. Everyone was here that she cared about, and Kes was free to return to the job she loved any time she wanted. And yet "Neelix," she said suddenly. "Where's Neelixt' Surely he would have been here to check up on her if Tuvok, Tom, and the captain had found the time to come all the way from the bridge. They were no longer together, but they were still dear friends, and Kes still loved him, albeit in a different fashion. And she knew he still cared about her.
Janeway glanced over at the doctor. "Do you know what she's talking about?"
"I've no idea," replied the doctor in a tone that indicated that the thought annoyed him. "Kes, who is this-this Neelix you speak of.?"
She stared at them, wide-eyed with disbelief She couldn't have imagined Neelix, the rescue from the Kazon, the lung she had given him when he would have died without it. He was their cook, their morale officer, a friend and advisor to the whole crew! Why were they pretending Neelix didn't And suddenly, with the force of the physical blow she allegedly had suffered, full memory returned to Kes. The violation, the horror of what was being done to her nearly paralyzed her for an instant, and she clutched the biobed hard for balance until she realized that it, too, was false, utterly false, like everything in this room.
She fell to her knees, nauseated, slapping at the helping hands that reached to comfort her. "Aren! I know what you're doing, and it won't work! End this now!"
The figures of the Voyager crewmembers froze, shimmered, and disappeared.
"You have but to speak, my darling, and it is done."
Aren appeared, materializing through a wall, a beneyolent smile on his face. The smile faded. "Kes. You're crying! Whatever for?"
Kes wiped angrily at the tears of disappointment and anger that coursed down her face. "Why?" she asked, softly, still hurting from the brutal deception. "Why did you do that to me? Why are you torturing me like this?"
He rushed toward her, kneeling on the floor. Gentle hands closed about her arms, helping her up. Too stunned to care, Kes let herself be folded into his embrace. Aren stroked her long hair and laid a cheek on top of her head.
"Kes, my dear, dear little bird, I am so sorry! I thought it would make you happy, ease your loneliness, help you get through the transition from your former life to your new life. You've no idea how difficult it was to program. I've had my technicians working on it day and night for days now."
Kes felt utterly drained by the emotional incident, and couldn't seem to dredge up the strength to protest his caresses. His heart-two hearts? She thought she heard an irregular rhythm indicative of a bipulmonary system-thumped against her ear, and he was warm, with a strength to his tall body that Neelix had never possessed.
She hated