Unworthy - Kirsten Beyer [111]
“I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that this is one way in which our species have always been more alike than my people would ever willingly acknowledge.”
“Are you still reading your Shaw?” Chakotay asked.
“It’s been a while,” Valerie admitted.
“‘The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends upon the unreasonable man.’”
Valerie paused.
“Progress, eh?”
“In its absence, it’s often hard to see the point of existence, isn’t it?”
Valerie nodded.
Eden had watched their exchange with her heart in her throat. She wanted to add her pleas to Chakotay’s, but knew that if he could not reach Valerie, no one could.
Moments later, Willem’s form was released from the tractor beam and disappeared in a cascade of glowing molecules.
“Despite my better judgment, I have transported him aboard my ship,” Valerie said. “Delightful as it has been to see you again, Chakotay, we can’t make a habit of this. My people are still a long way away from trusting yours. Perhaps he will bring us evidence that our fears are groundless. That alone would justify his return to us and would definitely count as progress. In the meantime, I caution you not to trouble us further. If we are to meet again, it must be by our doing. Do you understand?”
“I do. And I am most grateful for your choices here today. Be well,” Chakotay said, smiling wistfully.
The mingled sadness and regret clear on her face matched his as she terminated the connection. After a few moments, her ship reversed course and headed back into the rift, which sealed itself behind her in a blinding white flash.
For the first time in what felt like hours, Eden could once again breathe. Turning to Chakotay, her eyes glistening, she said, “Thank you.”
“My pleasure, Captain,” he replied.
“Captain,” Lasren’s voice said, cutting through the tension suspended around them, “the Hawking is approaching our position at high warp, along with several Indign vessels.”
Eden turned abruptly toward him.
“How soon will they arrive?”
“Three minutes, Captain.”
Eden glanced at Chakotay and gestured toward the empty seat to her right. “Take a seat,” she said. “It looks like we’re not out of the woods yet, and I could use your help.”
Chakotay inclined his head in obvious surprise, and did as she requested as Paris failed to hide a smirk, moving to take his chair at her left.
Eden lowered herself between them and in a cool, commanding voice said, “Mister Kim, do we have time to retrieve our shuttle?”
“The shuttle’s gone, Captain.”
“Barclay, where are you?” Commander Glenn’s voice called.
At the moment he was reconstructing transporter logs, trying to figure out where Meegan had gone. He was certain that wasn’t the answer Glenn wanted to hear.
“I’ll be with you in just a moment, Captain,” Reg replied, too focused to remember to be nervous.
“Reg,” the Doctor hissed. “What did the Indign do to Meegan? How did they alter her appearance?”
Just a few more seconds, Reg thought, as the data recompiled itself before his eyes.
“Reg?”
“There it is,” he said, breathing a triumphant sigh of relief.
His next step was to open a comm channel to Voyager’s bridge.
“Galen to Lieutenant Kim.”
“Go ahead,” Kim’s strained voice replied.
“Several minutes ago Meegan transported directly to one of Voyager’s shuttles. Lock down your shuttlebay and send a security team to intercept her.”
Kim replied, “All our remaining shuttles are empty, Reg. One launched a few minutes ago .”
“Well, go after it!” Reg shouted.
“It’s gone, Reg. We have a warp trail but we’re about to intercept the Hawking and about twenty Indign vessels. We’re not going anywhere right now.”
Reg’s mind whirred. “Did you record any passive scans of the shuttle once it left Voyager ?”
“I’m sure we did.”
“ Forward them to me at once,” Reg replied.
“Transmitting now.”
“All hands,