Evolution - The Preserver Saga, Part Three

[thew40]

Hey everyone, just here with part three of the saga. I would highly recommend you reads parts One and Two first, as this is obviously a larger saga.
Before we dive into Part Three, here's the second interlude.

Disclaimer: Star Trek is the property of Paramount/CBS. This story was written for non-profit and for entertainment purposes only.

INTERLUDE TWO: THE KEEPER

Emily Farrah's eyes slowly opened, taking in the spiral as it shifted around her. She saw the Klingons, Remans, and the Romulans in their glass capsules, moving down beneath the floor. It took her a moment to realize she was actually moving upwards.

She arrived in a chamber with various computer banks displayed around the lift. A soft light from the walls bathed the room.

"Who's there?" she questioned, seeing something moving from the deep shadows. "I'm a Starfleet officer and I demand to know - "

The Hand of the Keeper stepped out before her. He looked just the same as he had when she first encountered him a few hours ago. The Hand led her out of the chamber and back into the Keeper's lair.

Greetings, human. I have finished my task and now understand the deep connection we share.

"Where is the Kelvin? The Enterprise?"

They left. They were in danger.

"What about me?"

I need you. Listen, please, to the story of my people and the truth about humanity.

"I have some questions first," Emily responded. "First of all, how long was I out? What is that back there? How am I going to get home? What is the nature of this place?"

The Keeper's orb flashed brightly. All shall be revealed. Listen now and understand where we must begin.

Emily watched a chair materialized behind her. She sat down and stared at the orb as it flashed. She could sense her mind in hers, showing her brief memories of a civilization long gone.

My people were once the only humanoids in the galaxy. However, we explored the cosmos as much your do now. We visited many worlds where life was still in its earliest stages - single-celled organisms.

At the time, some members of my people felt the need to seed these races with genetic blueprints, so that we could eventually join with other humanoids. Other members disagreed with this action.

As we began to evolve, this fundamental divide between these groups became tense. Though there were those that would not engage in conflict, there were others that would.

The one side - my side - despised the idea of manipulating evolution. We are what you know as the Preservers. As conflict cotinued between both sides, we changed the course of our technology. The technology of our rivals and former brothers - who we knew as the Evolutionaries - remained the same.

On the homeworld, the final battle took place. As our species had evolved to a point where we partially existed beyond the use of our bodies, the battle was devestating. It was the source of what the survivors would call the Great Cataclysm.

Our people were lost and brought to the edge of extinction. The Great Cataclysm spread throughout the galaxy, as all our minds were linked. I survived, as did a vessel containing members of the Evolutionaries, and three others. The vessel was destroyed many many years ago, but the three others were Sargon, Henoch, and Thallasa.

Sargon, Henoch, and Thallasa gave me a final command before they lost contact with me. Preseve the races that were manipulated. Save them.

Emily leaned forward in her chair. The Keeper had gone silent and after a few minutes, she spoke.

"And then what happened?"

END INTERLUDE TWO

 

[thew40]

Note: This is actually a pretty short one. I didn’t outline like I have the previous two and the story ended up a lot shorter, which is good, because it doesn’t come as puffed up or inflated.

Second, the framing portion of this story takes place somewhere around the novel “Star Trek Voyager: Full Circle,” which itself takes place post-“Star Trek: Destiny.” Those that haven’t read them and don’t care, basically all you need to know is that the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans have barely escaped destruction at the hands of the Borg. Janeway is dead and reports indicate that B’Ellana and Miral are too. Distraught, Chakotay resigns his commission. However, he’s asked to take part in one last mission.

The Voyager sections take place shortly after the episode “Prophecy,” which is 2377.

The Enterprise section takes place not long after “The Xindi,” which is 2153.

STAR TREK: VOYAGER/ENTERPRISE​

"EVOLUTION"​

The Preserver Saga - Part Three
​

THE STRANGER

The stranger came to the village in the early morning hours. As with most strangers, the tribesmen were uncertain and questioned him heavily. He claimed to be a scout for another tribe seeking to settle near here. This was not unheard of, though it was certainly rare. The elders allowed the man to stay.

The man – his name was Chakotay – spent two days in the area, looking for a place for his people to live. He wanted to know so much about the tribe, wanted to know about their culture and their history. Chakotay was welcomed with open arms. After another day spending with the elders and learning all he could, Chakotay asked for a small hut that he could take part in a spirit walk.

When the elders asked him about this – out of curiosity – Chakotay explained that he had lost loved ones recently and through speaking and sharing with this new tribe, he felt at peace and wished to express that peacefulness to the spirit world.

They left him his peace in a hut at the edge of the water, away from the rest of the village. Chakotay drew a CHAH-mooz-ee on the ground and began his journey. It was not to the spirit world. It was to the past. Further back his mind went, deep into the past, to the journey that brought him here.

***

Chakotay had resigned his commission, but the times were hard for the Federation. He was asked – as one last assignment – to meet with the tribal council on Dorvan 5 in the hopes of asking them to relocate to Amerind. It wasn’t looking likely, as Amerind was still so behind what had been accomplished on Dorvan 5. But he took the mission in the hopes of shredding himself of the anchor of grief that he wore.

Kathryn Janeway, B’Elanna Torres, Miral Paris . . . all killed by the Borg during their invasion of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Beyond that, the fleet that he had been leading the stop the Borg when they crossed through the Azure Nebula had been completely wiped out, putting his ability to command to shame.

His career was over, some of his closest friends were dead, and there seemed to be nothing for him except his heritage. And he didn’t seem to have a full grasp on that right now.
Chakotay stared for hours in the heat at the CHAH-mooz-ee and saw the path he had taken to get here. And he walked back along that path, as though his mind wanted nothing more than explore something that was bigger than himself.

That, of course, was another draw to this final assignment.


MARS TO EARTH: TEN DAYS AGO

There was something unsettling about the shuttlecraft as it careened towards Earth. Chakotay, sitting in rear of the old Type-One, was beginning to get a little worried about the rattling sound behind him. He leaned forward a little.


“Excuse me, Ensign - ”


“It’s, uh, cadet, actually.”


Chakotay blinked. They sent a cadet to get me? Really? He leaned back. “Sorry. Cadet?”


“Yes, Captain?”


“I’m not a Captain anymore,” Chakotay replied.


“Sorry sir.”


“Why are you apologizing if I just told you I’m not a Captain?”


“Sir?”


“I’m not your superior officer, son.”


The cadet shifted uncomfortably. “With all due respect, sir, commission or not, you’re still a superior officer.”


Chakotay cracked a rare smile. “What year are you?”


“Three, sir.”


“And you’re wearing a Starfleet uniform with ensign pips?”


“I’m due for a formal promotion tomorrow. They wanted me in uniform before hand.”


“They’re rushing you out?”


“These are difficult times, sir.”


Chakotay’s humor soured and grimed. He stiffened up as they entered the atmosphere. Something very loud started rattling.


“Cadet?”


“Yes, sir?’


“How old is this shuttlecraft?”


“I don’t know sir. I believe it was just pulled out of storage, due to be broken down until, well . . .”


“Resources dropped?”


“Yes sir. Like I said – ”


“These are difficult times.”


“Yes sir.”



They landed at the Akron-Canton Regional Spaceport in Ohio, where Chakotay was then escorted about twenty minutes north to Tallmadge, Ohio, where Starfleet Storage Facility 26633 was located. It was obviously something constructed in the late 20th/early 21st century, possibly around the time Chakotay traveled back to stop Henry Starling. It held up well, though, and was now one of Starfleet’s storage facilities for one of the countless discoveries.


“Captain Chakotay?” asked a young brunette in a civilian style Starfleet uniform. “I’m Alexandra Ford. We received your orders. If you’ll follow me, please.”


Chakotay thanked the young lady and they took hover cart passed rows of metal doors until they reached a building at the edge of the property. Chakotay gazed back at the thick collection of trees beyond the fence and saw a deer or two. He smiled a little, realizing that Alexandra probably didn’t even know they were there.


Alexandra led him into the building, down another corridor to one singular door amongst many others. She pressed a few keys on her PADD and the door rolled up, revealing shelves. She reached in and pulled out a box.


“This contains the device in question,” she told him and has him sign for it.


He took the box and eventually transported to Starfleet Command. There was another reason he was chosen for this mission and it related to something else on Amerind. The Preservers. The item he now held may just be the key to entering the Obelisk on Amerind.


The Obelisk that linked to another journey . . . this one much longer and much further away . . .

 

[Mistral]

Interesting to see where you go with our Indian friend.

 

[thew40]

THE DELTA QUADRANT: THREE YEARS AGO (2377)

The fury of a Klingon woman was to be feared. The fury of a pregnant Klingon woman was to be avoided altogether. B’Ellana Torres rose from her workstation, sweating and frustrated, teeth clenched. She arched her aching back, ready for the day to be over and for Tom to massage her swollen feet.


And then Engineering went completely dark.


Every station, console, monitor, and light went out. The crew let out a collective gasp as the only light source that remained was the swiftly dimming warp core. “What the hell just happened?” she barked, not receiving any responses. “Ashmore, Dell! Get to work on the EPS grid, find out why we’ve lost complete power! Jor, I want to know what is still on-line. We obviously have some power or we’d be floating right now. Nicoletti, Vorik, try and run a manual diagnostic on warp core.” A swift kick from the baby girl inside her pushed B’Ellana just a little further. “Let’s get to work!”

***

Tuvok pried the doors to the ready room open, allowing Captain Janeway to exit onto the bridge. “Report,” she ordered, striding towards the center of the bridge.


“Looks like a total loss of power, Captain,” Chakotay responded. “Every systems except life support is down. Weapons, shields, navigation, propulsion, sensors, communications . . .”


“Did we detect anything or anyone before these systems went down?”


“No ma’am,” Kim said from his station.


She turned to crewman Mendez, who was manning the engineering station on the bridge. “Engineering?”


“Nothing out of the ordinary was reported before the power loss.”


“What the hell happened?”


Lights slowly began to flicker on, followed by systems. Panels came to life and monitors activated across the starship. Janeway spun back to Mendez, who quickly worked the controls, trying to get a bead on what was going down in Engineering and make sure that everything was still stable after the power loss.


“Bridge to Engineering,” Janeway said, tapping her badge.


“Torres here, I’m not sure what happened. I’ve got diagnostics running as we speak. But I don’t think we’re back up and running yet. Weapon systems are still down.”


Janeway glanced back to Tuvok, who nodded in agreement.


“Captain,” Kim interrupted, “we have five vessels in position around us.”


“On screen,” Chakotay ordered.


The vessels appeared, each one around Voyager offensively. She looked back to Kim, who confirmed the race. “Voth, Captain,” he reported.


“Hail them.”


“That won’t be necessary, Captain Janeway,” said a voice from directly behind them. Three armed Voth stood between tactical and ops, their weapons armed and ready to fire. “Your ship is our property now.”


“The hell it is!” Janeway shouted.


A Voth promptly shot her, the captain’s form tumbling back onto the floor like a sack of meat. Chakotay dodged a shot from another Voth and sprang over the rail. His feet collided with one as Tuvok took action against the Voth that shot the captain.


The third fired at the in-coming Paris, but didn’t see Kim coming at him from behind. Not that it did much good.


“STOP!” shouted a voice from the screen. All parties looked to the screen, seeing a Voth in Engineering holding a weapon at Torres. She herself was being restrained by two other Voth. “This revolt ends now. If it does not, then I will fire my weapon.”


Chakotay’s eyes darted to Tuvok, who slowly put down his victim’s weapon and stepped away. Chakotay did the same.


“Commander Chakotay,” said the one with the weapon to Torres’ head, “take your captain to the medical bay, then return to the bridge immediately. We have much to discuss.”

 

[RobertScorpio]

hey...i like this....Just read all three segments and I like the pacing and the writing for the characters..keep it up!!!

Rob

 

[Mistral]

Wow, you actually made Voyager exciting! Miraculous work!

 

[thew40]

Chakotay arrived on the bridge after seeing Janeway escorted to sick bay. Five Voth stood in the center of the room, three of them the same that were there when he left. The other was the one that had been in Engineering and the last one was new.


“Your ship belongs to us now,” said the leader, the new one.


“On whose authority?”


“Mine. You will come with me.”


“I’m not leaving my ship.”


“Our ship. And it was not a request.”


Chakotay dematerialized . . . disappearing from the bridge and reappearing on one of the Voth ships. He stood in a circular chamber, dimly lit and with various devices around. A Voth he recognized was standing nearby, smiling. Years ago, Forra Gegen spied on Voyager in the hopes of understanding just why it was their two species were related. Gegen had to eventually drop his theories of distant origin and did so to save Voyager. His beliefs that the Voth originated from Earth were stricken down.


“What is this?” Chakotay demanded. “Why am I here?”


“Great news, Commander! Evidence! Evidence!”


Chakotay gazed at him for a moment. “What do you mean?”


“The Circle of Science discovered irrefutable evidence that my people came from your world!”


Chakotay squinted. “What? How?”


“There was a discovery. A species that is completely alien to a world. The DNA of these creatures are devolved humans! Following your flight path, you journeyed to this world!”


“Slow down, slow down,” Chakotay told him. “One step at a time.”


Gegen pulled out a container. Chakotay understood instantly.

***

“It’s funny. What could be one of the biggest discoveries humanity could make about itself and you’re not even near Earth.”


Kathryn Janeway’s eyes snapped open. The lights in sickbay were muted, casting darkness over much of the room. There was a man at the end of bed. Q. He smiled broadly at her, his big ol’ ‘I know a secret and I’m not going to tell you about it’ smile.


“Feeling better?”


“Q, what the hell are you doing here?”


“Me? I’m just stopping by. The Dino-brains are vaguely entertaining, but you’ll like them.”


“The Voth,” Janeway said, rubbing her stomach where she was shot. It still ached, despite what the Doctor had done to help with it. “What do they want?”


“Reform. And the truth, I imagine. It’s not everyday you and your crew stand as key evidence for a species origins. It’s very interesting.”


“They’ve made a discovery, haven’t they? Something has turned them around.”


“Exactly. But I’m not about to connect the dots.”


Janeway laughed a little. “Have you ever?”


Q produced a PADD for her. “Here are the dots in question, though.”


She took it and looked it over. “The Delphic Expanse. Warp ten. Stardate 46731.5. The USS Kelvin.” She looked back up at him. “That’s only four dots.”


“Shouldn’t be too hard to figure out then, should it?”


He snapped his fingers.


Janeway snapped awake, in sickbay with the Doctor leaning over her. The lights were fully on. She wondered if it was a dream, but it didn’t take long for to know that it wasn’t. It was something else, but what that was, she didn’t know. Some kind of message from Q, obviously.


“Doctor?”


“You need to rest, Captain. You were stunned, but the beam burned you badly. I’ve repaired most of the damage, but you need to take it easy.”


“Like hell,” she grunted, ignoring the pain in her abdomen.


She slid off the bed, finding the PADD at the end of it. She grabbed it and marched out of sickbay, the Doctor calling after her.


----------


Q . . . giver of dots.

 

[thew40]

Captain Janeway arrived on the bridge in short order, finding two Voth waiting for her. The leader – Guthan – snarled at her arrival. “What exactly is happening here?” she demanded.


The words had just left her mouth when Chakotay and Gegen appeared on the bridge. Gegen took one look at the state of things and made a loud screeching sound at Guthan. Guthan hissed something in return and motioned towards Janeway.


“Forgive him,” Gegen begged. “As I explained during our last encounter, my species has trouble with primates. I would like to explain myself.”


“Please do,” Janeway responded curtly.


“The Circle of Science uncovered an alien species – a type of reptile – that appears to be the offspring of two devolved humans. This evidence of devolution can be found due to a - ”


“When you and Mr. Paris went to Warp Ten a few years ago,” Chakotay cut in, “apparently, it wasn’t exactly Warp Ten but instead a sort of . . . time warp that caused you both to devolve.”


Janeway nodded. “So you found these offspring?”


“Yes. They’ve changed everything for us. A new minister was put in place. Doctrine is being re-interpreted. There are still members of the old order that are resistant, but . . . eyes are open now.”


“We seek more evidence,” snarled Guthan.


Janeway nodded. “Give us some time,” she told them. “We’ll start looking in our database.”


Guthan stepped forward aggressively. “Until then, this ship is property of the Voth.”


Janeway looked to Chakotay, who in turn looked to Gegen. “It was the only way I could continue the work.”


The captain stepped down to her chair, feeling a headache coming on. “Okay . . . let’s have the Doctor start running some tests on our genome. I’ll have Ensign Kim start following up on some leads.”


“Leads, Captain?” Chakotay questioned.


Janeway’s expression told him ‘later.’

***

Janeway gave Kim the PADD Q had given her, not sure what it was going to reveal. He started with the stardate. Obviously, Stardate 46731.5 brought up numerous results – but the biggest of which was that involving the Enterprise and the Klingons, Romulans, and Cardassians. There had been some sort chase which eventually lead to the theory that an ancient humanoid race seeded the galaxy.


Noting that, he moved on. The USS Kelvin. This was harder. He searched through the databank, glancing over log entries and mission summaries until he discovered a link. The Kelvin twice encountered technology that was similar to that which the Enterprise NX-01 found in the Delphic Expanse. This technology was also the same used by a race called the Preservers.


And there it was, right in front of him. The Preservers. They took the dinosaurs from Earth, placed them in the Delta Quadrant, and let them evolve. But why? And what did that have to do with the race of ancient humanoids?


The technology that the Enterprise NX-01 encountered was a ship. An enormous ship. Was this was the Preservers used to transport the dinosaurs in? But how could it have lasted for so long?


“Computer, display all relevant information on the Enterprise NX-01 event currently accessed.”


“Working.”


As soon as it opened, Ensign Kim went to work.


---------------


I finished the whole series tonight. w00t! Expect regular up-dates.

 

[fleetcaptain]

This has gotten more interesting since the last 2. Can't wait to see what happens and if the Voth can let humans be the way they are.

 

[thew40]

THE DELPHIC EXPANSE: 2153

“Captain Archer to the bridge.”


Archer stepped out of the situation room. Six weeks into the Delphic Expanse and only one lead to the Xindi. And it was a bust – their homeworld nothing more than a field of debris. He hoped that Hoshi’s call to the bridge was going to be important – some sort of overheard transmission or decrypted message or something.


He arrived on the bridge and T’Pol rose from his chair, moving over to the science station. “We’ve detected a vessel. They’ve assumed an intercept course. The propulsion configuration is similar to that of the ‘wisp’ vessel.”


“Is it the same ship?”


“According to my scans, there are substantial differences. The technology appears different. I am recording everything I can about it.”


“Sir, they’re moving at warp eight!” Mayweather exclaimed.


“Easy Travis. Hoshi, opening hailing frequencies.”


At his command, she went to work at her controls. “I’m not getting a clear response, but it does look like they’re trying to match up with universal translator. Channel is open.”


Archer nodded and leaned forward in his chair. “This is Captain Jonathan Archer of the Earth ship Enterprise. We are on a mission of exploration.”


Silence. Archer glanced at Hoshi.


“We are currently searching for a species known as the Xindi.”


A voice came clearly through their speakers. “XINDI. EARTH.” It was a monotone voice, almost certainly not from a humanoid.


“Yes. We are humans.”


“HUMANS.”


There was no response after this. “They closed the channel, Captain.”


The ship suddenly arrived next to the Enterprise, easily five times its size.


“We are being scanned,” T’Pol announced. “I’m reading life-signs aboard the vessel, but they are very faint.”


“We’re being hailed again, sir,” Hoshi stated.


“Go ahead.”


“COME. DOCK. OPEN YOUR DOORS. INFORMATION. XINDI. HUMANS. EARTH. XINDI.”


“They’re moving next to us, sir,” Travis reported. “Looks like they’re extending an airlock arm.”


Archer stood up. “Let’s go out and meet them then.”

***

“I don’t like this, cap,” Tucker told the captain as they walked through the corridors. “We don’t know who could be in there. Didn’t T’Pol say it like that vessel with the wisps?”


“She did, but this one doesn’t feel like that. And we’re getting desperate.”


Two MACOs in EV suits stood with Archer and T’Pol at the airlock. Archer himself was handed a helmet. “The airlock is secure,” T’Pol reported.


“We’ll be back soon, hopefully with information about the Xindi.”


Trip Tucker sighed and shook his head. “Just watch yourselves over there.”


Archer issued his old friend a small smile. “Don’t worry so much.”


The four left Enterprise, crossed the airlock bridge and reached the vessel within minutes. It was dark save for only a few dim lights running along the floor. Flashing lights on the ceiling and walls led them down a long, curving corridor.


Finally, the away team arrived in a large round room with smooth service. A few panels sprang to life when they entered.


“XINDI. WORLD.”


A map of the galaxy appeared around them. They were swimming in it. The debris of the Xindi homeworld appeared at the coordinates projected.


“DESTROYED. EXTINCT.”


“Do you know where they are?”


Silence.


“Where are the Xindi now? They attacked Earth.”


Again, silence.


The galactic map faded away from them. A small device materialized on the ground. T’Pol lifted it up and scanned it.


“An interface. I believe they want to exchange information.”


“What do you want?”


“EARTH. HUMANS. KNOWLEDGE.”


Archer nodded. “Show them where Earth is.”


“Are you sure that’s wise?”


“Yes. Maybe they’ll tell us more if we give them more.”


T’Pol placed the interface onto her scanner and input Earth’s galactic coordinates.


“KNOW EARTH. KNOW HUMANS.”


“And what about the Xindi?” questioned Archer.


The scanner displayed the coordinates of the homeworld, which was still debris. Archer glanced to T’Pol. “This is a waste.”


“LEAVE NOW. FINISHED INFORMATION. NO NEW INFORMATION. LEAVE NOW, CLOSE DOOR, PART WAYS.”


“What is your mission?” asked Archer as they started back the way they came.


“PRESERVATION.”


----------


Archer and co. will show again. I swear it!

 

[Mistral]

Preservation. Cool. No new information? BS-now it knows that Humans are star-faring. That should be new. Preservers "up to something" IMO.

 

[thew40]

BS-now it knows that Humans are star-faring. That should be new.

You're on to something.

 

[thew40]

USS VOYAGER: 2377

Ensign Kim stood up from his chair. It was obvious now. The Preservers had used that ship to keep some of the Xindi alive – maybe even the Avians. It was only logical that they would have done the same with the dinosaurs – and with the genetic seeding the ancient humanoids did, then of course the dinosaurs would have been preserved. Just like the Native Americans and (most likely) the Xindi-Avians.


Seven of Nine entered the astrometrics lab then, where Harry had been doing his research.


“Ensign,” she greeted. “Have you made a break-through?”


“Yes, actually. Seven, have you ever heard of the Preservers?”


Seven paused for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, though not much. The Borg’s concentration was not history. They were an ancient race obsessed with maintaining dying species. The Preservers themselves are extinct, but they were active until at least last century, mostly working post-humusly through robot ships and other devices.”


“I’m starting to think that the Voth may be a direct result of the Preservers actions.”


Seven considered it. “A reasonable deduction.”


“Thanks,” Kim responded, smiling genuinely at her.


He walked out of the lab and headed for the bridge.


He didn’t make it there.

***

“Look honey, it’s your long-lost half-sister!”


B’Ellana could have given Tom a black eye for that. Tom held the lizard up to her belly, the two foot long beast sticking it’s tongue out experimentally. Tom saw the look on his wife’s face and immediately retracted the creature and placed it back in the small cage erected on the bio-bed.


“Actually, I thought you’d like to know very little of your genetic material is present in this creature,” the Doctor said then, stepping over.


“Well that’s a relief,” Tom said, glancing at the captain, who stared evenly at the lizard.


“I’m not feeling very maternal over it,” she declared, walking over to it.


“It shares none of your characteristics, so it works out,” the Doctor added.


“So how does this happen? What went wrong with the Warp Ten to make us devolve when we thought we were evolving?” asked Tom.


B’Elanna placed her hands against the small of her back, trying to work out a knot that appeared there. “We don’t know. I’ve had to bring up a lot that old data, but I don’t know if I’d be able to make heads or tails of it.”


Janeway shook her head. “It’s a low priority now. The concept of Warp Ten has been abandoned for us since then and I think it’s time we bury that threshold for good now. That being said . . .”


“These creatures are the key to linking the Voth and humanity, Captain,” the Doctor stated. “Both species evolved from this, though there are some minute differences.”


“How so?”


The Doctor was about to speak when the doors suddenly opened and Chakotay arrived, holding Kim up.


“Doctor!” Chakotay


The Doctor pulled out his tricorder and directed him to a biobed.


“Who did this?” questioned Janeway.


“I did,” said Guthan from the door. “He had heresy in hands.”


“What are you talking about?” Janeway demanded, the others forming around her defensively, with Tom trying to push in front of his wife.


“We just received word from the City-Ship. The Circle of Science’s discoveries have been proven false. The great revisions of Doctrine have been stricken. Most my ships are headed back. I have my orders to destroy the Voyager and its primate inhabitants.”


Janeway looked to Chakotay, then back to Guthan. “We were expecting that. In fact . . . we’ve been expecting you. For quite some time. You caught us by surprise, so I have to give you credit for that - ”


“Shut your mouth, primate, and prepare for the honor of being killed by a superior species.”


“Now that we’re enemies again . . . well . . . computer: 65 Million BC.”


A force field suddenly appeared around Guthan. The computer’s sensors read any and all Voth aboard the ship and placed a force field around them. Sensors – having been improved thanks to Seven of Nine – even registered those Voth out of phase and captured them. Security teams swept into position, phasers trained on the captured Voth.


In addition, all external communications systems were cut, disallowing the Voth ship to access Voyager’s systems again.


Guthan, obviously caught by surprise, glared at the captain. Chakotay and Tom produced phasers and trained them on him just in case.


Janeway smirked. “Gotcha.”


“This is madness!” Guthan shouted. “My ship will know that we’ve been captured!”


“Janeway to Tuvok and Seven of Nine . . . begin phase two.”


External communications opened up. The Voth ship – as all but Guthan and Gegen’s had left – attempted once again to access Voyager’s systems and shut them down. Before they had a chance to, they were met with a booby-trap. A virus created by Tuvok and Seven relayed every command back to the ship. It was dead in space within seconds.


Janeway, hands behind her back, circled the encased Guthan. “Your fellow vessels are out of range. Your ship is disabled. Your invasion force is captured. I will return them to your ship and you will turn tail back home. You will tell them that Voyager and Gegen are no longer a concern.”


“What I tell them will be of none of your business,” snarled Guthan. “If you were truly of any relation of mine, you would kill here and now.”


“I’m tempted,” Janeway replied. “But we aren’t the meat-eaters you certainly are. Janeway to Tuvok, commence phase three.”


A drizzle of energy came across Guthan and he vanished from sight, appearing on his dead-in-space vessel.


“Bridge,” Janeway ordered of her crew.


-------


Captain Janeway. Badass.

 

[Mistral]

Odd that they changed their minds....

 

[thew40]

Seven hours later, Voyager and Gegen’s vessel soared through a nearby nebula. According to Gegen, the nebula would obscure other Voth ships from finding their warp trails.


“I’m not surprised by this . . . but I did not think it would come so quickly.” Gegen sighed. “My sources are telling me that the movement was swiftly overruled after several days of rioting in the colonies. Now, as far as Guthan’s concerned, we’re both dead anyways. He won’t go back to the City-Ship and admit defeat.” He rubbed the sides of his head. “My own team won’t be accepted back now. We’re exiles.”


“Where will you go now?” asked Chakotay.


Gegen gave him the hint of a smile. “In pursuit of the truth,” he answered. “As always. I believe that there is a way for Doctrine and the distant origin theory to coincide. I will find that connection.”


Chakotay glanced at Janeway, who handed over a PADD. “This contains the data regarding a race called the Preservers. We have reason to believe they may be linked to your people’s evolution and place. You are also granted custody of the lizard offspring.”


Gegen took the PADD, glanced at it, and nodded deeply. “I thank you with all that I am.”


Janeway smiled a little. “And I thank you. If it wasn’t for your help in giving us - ”


“Don’t thank me for that,” Gegen cut in. “It was a betrayal of my people. Despite the betrayal they pulled on me . . .”


“In some way,” Chakotay told Gegen, “we’re your people too.”


Gegen smiled a little. “Eyes open, Chakotay.” Then looking at the entire crew gathered around the table. “Eyes open.”


AMERIND: 2381

In the middle of the night, Chakotay stood up from his position, his journey into the past now propelling him forward. Carrying with him a small sack, he snuck out of the hut and walked to the obelisk, where it was that Kirk and the others arrived and departed so many years.


He pulled out the device, being the interface recovered in the Delphic Expanse. He connected it with his tricorder and access the door panel to the obelisk. It opened and allowed him to enter. Lights faded on upon his arrival.


He began to press a few more commands into the tricorder, which promptly a computer panel directly in front of him to activate. The tricorder was set for vocal commands.


“Download all information regarding Earth,” Chakotay ordered. The tricorder and the interface sent to the information back computer. Within moments, the tricorder indicated that the information was now loaded. Chakotay stood in the presence of the great alien machine, not sure what else he wanted to ask. Was there anything?


“What is the purpose of this mission to take races from other worlds?”


“Preservation,” the tricorder told him.

***

Chakotay had returned to the hut not long after this. In the morning, he stepped out and embraced the day. The sky was brilliant blue and the sun was golden in the sky. He thought briefly of the sky-spirits who had claimed to have visited Earth around the same time as the Preservers took members of these tribes to Amerind. Were they connected to this? What of the Briori back on New Earth? Or the Skagarans? Apollo?


Chakotay shed himself of these thoughts and looked to his tricorder, which now contained all the information the Preservers had about Earth. He sighed as he stared it, his hope for peace diminishing. He had decided that some secrets were best left unrevealed and some mysteries left unsolved.


Before Chakotay could learn about it, he needed to learn about himself and figure out where he was going next.


“Have you decided where your people will live?” asked one of the elders later that day.


“I do not know,” Chakotay answered honestly. “I think they may end up staying where they are.”


The elder smiled at him. “Then bless them.” He stepped towards Chakotay. “And may you find the peace that you need, my friend. May you find the strength to go forth.”


Chakotay gave the elder a smile. “It will take some time,” Chakotay told him, “but I think I’m on my way.”


TO BE CONTINUED . . .
COMING SOON: “THE PRESERVER SAGA, PART FOUR – CONVERGENCE”


NEXT: Why exactly did Q help Janeway? Why was Emily Farrah "preserved" with the Klingons, Romulans, and Remans? What is the fate of Gegen and the rest of the Voth? Who at Starfleet Command is pulling some serious strings? And just what exactly was that life-form? Check out "CONVERGENCE" for all those answers and more!

 

[Mistral]

I'll check out pt 4 as soon as you get to it. BTW, you have some missing words in the last bit. "ago" is one. Also, the sentence "Before Chakotay could learn about it..." is kind of vague-what does it refer to?