Chapter Text
“ Inspector Kashyk! I didn't think that I would ever see you again! I cannot say that I'm as happy about this unexpected reunion as you are! What's going on here?”
The captain of Voyager stared at the Devore with a surprised expression on her face, but she'd seen and experienced too many 'impossible' things to let her surprise and confusion paralyze her for too long. So she just put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin up, thinking that the Devore who'd betrayed her trust so much might at least be able to give her some answers to her urgent questions about what was going on here. She glared back at him and waited silently for him to explain himself to her, ignoring the tiny flutter of excitement tingling in her stomach at his sight. She might secretly have fantasized about meeting the fascinating Devore again, but surely not under such circumstances and to her own conditions when she would be in control of their reunion and its surroundings.
Kashyk looked a little bit disappointed about her reaction, and he let out a sigh and slowly walked closer to her when it became clear that Kathryn wouldn't reach out to him to offer a peace treaty or at least a temporary truce on her own.
“I must admit that I'd hoped for another reaction and a little bit more excitement – as I have indeed been nursing the slight hope that we would meet again one day, my dear Kathryn,” he drawled, causing her frown to deepen.
“We didn't exactly part on good terms, as you surely remember, Inspector, so I would appreciate the more formal way between us. I'm Captain Janeway for you, not your 'dear Kathryn'. You lost the right to call me by my first name when you decided to play your games with the Voyager and lie to me.”
“I didn't play any games, Kathr... Captain Janeway. I would do anything to protect my people and the interests of the Devore – just like you'd do for Voyager and your crew. I thought that you of all people would understand that,” Kashyk defended himself, sounding disappointed as well as resigned and accepting to her demand of some distance between them, and Kathryn inclined her head in acknowledgment.
“I do, Inspector Kashyk. But hunting innocent refugees to bring them to captivity in some kind of detention camps is not the Federation way of handling things.”
“They were telepaths, Captain.” he objected with a sigh as though this was an excuse for what he'd tried to do, which it didn't the least – and never would, not in her view on things.
“They were innocent refugees who couldn't do any harm to your people, Inspector.” Janeway therefore just countered sternly in return.
They glared at each other from across the clearing, neither of them willing to back away and show understanding for the justifications the other one had had for their behavior and actions during their short time of acquaintance.
It was Kashyk who finally admitted defeat, sighing again and raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I didn't understand what you were trying to make me see back then, Captain. Things have changed though, and I do now.”
Kathryn snorted. “And to prove your sudden insight to me you kidnapped me and brought me here to apologize? You have a strange way of showing that you were wrong and I was right.”
Kashyk smiled sadly. “I wish it were only that, and I understand your anger, Captain Janeway. It wasn't me who brought you here, by the way – as I don't have the knowledge and technology to do that – but I was the one asking the Keeper to do that because I hoped that you'd be willing to help me – help us – when you'd hear my story. Our intentions and targets might have been in opposition to each other during our first encounter, but you are probably the one knowing best what it means to lead your people and do anything that's necessary to protect them from any possible harm, and you're actually the only one in this galaxy I can ask for help because your willingness to help us would be entirely selfless and not contain any personal gains or pursuits. Please, it's really important, and I don't ask you to do that for any selfish reasons of my own.”
“I'm not sure that I understand what you're talking about, Inspector Kashyk,” Kathryn said, feeling intrigued against her will, but she was far from just showing any willingness to cooperate and help the Devore in whatever he needed help for.
“No, of course you don't. But you will, soon – if you'll come with me to meet the Keeper.”
“The Keeper?” Kathryn's head was spinning, and she was sick with worry about her crew, but there was nothing she could do at the moment to get back to her and Voyager – not without the help of this mysterious Keeper most likely.
“The Keeper of this world. She will tell you everything you'll need to know to help us, after I've told you my story. You look as if you could do with something to eat and to drink at first, so would you please come with me and listen to me before you decide to rip my head from my shoulders for the kidnapping?” Kashyk's attempt to brighten her mood with a joke was lost on Janeway, but she nodded her head, sensing that she didn't have any other option left if she wanted to get back to the Voyager anyway.
“Alright, Inspector, I seem to have no other choice in this matter at the moment, so I'm willing to negotiate a truce with you for the time being. I'm willing to hear you out, but I can't promise you that I will help you. The security of Voyager and bringing my people back home safely is my only concern, even more after your first betrayal.”
“I understand that, Kathryn, thank you. A truce between us will it be then, even though I'm still hoping that you will forgive me one day and make peace with me,” Kashyk said with a bow, and she felt too tired to remind him of his lapse and insist on being addressed with her rank and her surname. “We'll have to wait and see, I guess. I'm still angry with you, and I don't trust you, but I will come with you and talk to the Keeper before I'll make any final decision. Lead the way, then,” was all she said, and the relief crossing Kashyk's features was genuine and didn't seem to be another attempt to deceive her this time.
The Devore gestured to the small path at the other side of the clearing, and Kathryn followed him quietly when he walked past her and made his way to the dark line of tall trees, asking herself what she'd gotten into again this time.
The Delta Quadrant was full of surprises, and not all of them were good ones, but Kathryn would take them as they came along her way and not rest until she'd have brought her ship and her crew back home, and not even Kashyk or anybody else would keep her from doing so, no matter how hard overcoming all these obstacles would be.
*~*~*
Their walk was quiet after their first argument on this strange world, and it didn't last for more than half an hour or so before they reached the edge of a settlement.
Kathryn looked around curiously, her deep fascination for new worlds and alien species breaking through her worries again and making her look around with greatest interest and attention. She couldn't help it, but the explorer and scientist in her always reacted to the unknown, the secrets of this universe just waiting to be revealed and calling out to her, a pull she could never ignore and even harder resist, no matter how much she tried.
The street leading deeper into the village was quiet and deserted at this time of the night, small cottages and houses with neat white walls and beautiful gardens lining both sides of the road. Kashyk stopped before a two-storied house at the end of the street, bigger than the other ones and standing on its own with an enclosed yard in front of it.
“Will we meet the Keeper here?” Kathryn asked when they reached the front door, but Kashyk shook his head. “No, the Keeper is waiting for you elsewhere. This house is the home of the mayor of this village, he and his wife were so kind to offer me their hospitality when I stranded here on Devora.”
“Devora? I thought your home world is called Devorus. You're speaking in riddles, Kashyk,” Kathryn stated, and the Devore turned around to smile at her before he knocked at the wooden door. “I will tell you everything. I'm sure that Radyok's wife Larinya has already prepared a late dinner for us.”
The door opened after a minute or so, an older male Devore dressed in a long and loosely fitting beige tunic with brown trousers underneath crossed his hands before his chest and inclined his head in a greeting bow. His black hair was starting to gray, and his dark eyes spoke of kindness and wisdom.
“Kashyk, you're back! And you must be Captain Kathryn Janeway from the Voyager! Kashyk has been speaking of you a lot, so please come in, it would be our greatest pleasure to have you as our guest! I'm Radyok, the mayor of this village.”
Kathryn was still angry with Kashyk, but Radyok was friendly and not responsible for her kidnapping, and maybe he would be able to give her some answers, so she smiled at him and mirrored his greeting. “It's a pleasure to meet you Mayor Radyok. You're right, I'm Kathryn Janeway, Captain of the Federation Starship Voyager. Thank you for your warm welcome, I'd be pleased to accept your kind offer.”
She ignored Kashyk as she followed Radyok into the house and through a hallway until they reached something that apparently served as a dining and living room. Tall book shelves occupied the entire wall left to the entrance, reaching from the floor up to the ceiling, leather-bound books arranged on the shelves in neat orders. A glass front with a door led into a garden opposite the door where they'd come in, and a large wooden table was taking up the center of the room, four comfortably looking chairs offering seats for Kathryn, Kashyk, Radyok himself and his wife. The table was set up with precious porcelain and Kathryn's rumbling stomach and the dry feeling in her mouth reminded her that she hadn't drunk and eaten since her quickly grabbed lunch when she'd still been on board Voyager.
“Please have a seat, Lady Kathryn,” Radyok beckoned her to sit down and rest, pulling the chair for her with a smile. “My wife Larinya will be here in a minute with dinner. She's a wonderful cook.”
Kathryn sat down at the table and thanked her friendly host, when she suddenly froze in place and looked back and forth between the two Devore. “How come that you can understand me and that I can understand you, Radyok? My translator wasn't there any longer when I woke up in that cave.”
Kashyk nodded his head, he looked as if he'd been expecting her question. “I've been able to learn your language when I enjoyed your hospitality on board Voyager as you surely remember, Kathryn. But at the moment you're not speaking in your own language. The mother tongue the Devore are still sharing with the Devorians has been transferred into your brain during your transport.”
“You've been in my head, Kashyk?!” Kathryn attempted to rise to her feet again, but Kashyk made a calming gesture. “No one was in your head, Kathryn. It was part of the technology the Keeper used for your transport. I was the one taking your uniform and your comm badge, that's true, but it was necessary as I can assure you.”
Kathryn scowled at him, but she preferred not to address the fact that Kashyk had undressed her down to her underwear. “I want my communicator back,” was all she said, and Kashyk inclined his head in acknowledgment.
“You will get it back before your return to Voyager, I promise you.”
Radyok had watched them, and he interrupted her with an apologetic smile when she wanted to protest. “Please, Lady Kathryn, hear Kashyk out before you judge us. He wouldn't have done what he did if our world wasn't in danger.” He went silent when the door opened again, and a female Devore, probably his wife Larinya, came in, carrying a large tray with bowls and carafes.
“Please, let me help you, my dear.” Radyok went over to her to take the tray and put it onto the table. “Lady Kathryn, this is my wife Larinya. Larinya, this is Captain Kathryn Janeway, Kashyk's precious lady who will hopefully safe us.”
Larinya was a beautiful woman with ageless features and a kind smile, her long blond hair starting to become gray at the sides too, but her skin was still smooth and ceaseless. Kathryn noticed that the ridges Radyok and Larinya had - and which served as characteristically facial features of the Devore race - were less sharp and prominent than Kashyk's ridges, but it was yet evident to Kathryn that they shared the same origin with Kashyk and were still closely related.
Kathryn stood up to greet Radyok's wife, and she liked the beautiful Devorian right at first sight. “I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Larinya. And thank you for your invitation to let me be your guest,” she said, and the mayor's wife crossed her hands before her breast and bowed her head. “The pleasure is all mine, Lady Kathryn. Kashyk has spoken highly of you, it's as if I already knew you. Please sit down and enjoy the dinner I prepared for you. You must be hungry and thirsty, and it will be easier for you to listen to what Kashyk wants to tell you when you're feeling less tired and confused.”
“Kathryn – or Captain Janeway will do just fine, there's no need to call me 'Lady Kathryn',” Janeway objected, but Radyok shook his head and bowed again.
“Of course you are Lady Kathryn to us. You're the kind, wise and strong leader of your people like Kashyk assured us, and you have our greatest respect. Larinya's stew is the best stew on Devora, so please enjoy your meal, Lady Kathryn.” Radyok served her a generous portion of the deliciously smelling stew, and Kathryn accepted gratefully the glass with flavored water Larinya handed to her after she'd sat down to her left. Kashyk had taken the chair opposite her, watching her quietly while Radyok and his wife did their best to make their guest feel comfortable.
Janeway resigned herself to being treated like a Medieval noble woman with a sigh and took her cutlery with a smile to taste her late dinner, grateful that she got the chance to refill her energy storage and revive her spirits to some point.
“Hmm, your stew is truly delicious and wonderful, Laryina, thank you,” she praised her host after the first bites, dabbing her lips with her napkin. “Please excuse my rudeness though, but I'm deeply concerned about my crew and their well-being, so I'd be grateful if you answered some of my questions. The sooner I can return to my ship, the better for all of us.”
“They shall all be answered when you have eaten, Kathryn. You'll need your strength for what you'll have to do to get back to Voyager afterwards, believe me,” Kashyk gave back, lifting his glass to his lips and holding her gaze. “But I'm sure that Radyok and Larinya will be happy to tell you more about their beautiful home world in the meantime, isn't that so, Radyok?”
“Oh yes, indeed.” the mayor put his cutlery down and cleared his throat. “I can sense the scientist in you, Lady Kathryn. You might be the captain of a proud starship, but you're so much more than that, and your mind is sharp and craving to learn more about the universe and how it works, right?”
“You're right with that, Radyok,” the captain of the Voyager admitted, “so you call yourself Devorians and not Devore, if I understood that correctly?”
“Indeed. We call our world Devora, while our brothers and sisters – as well as our own ancestors – once called their home planet Devore Prime before they left this system to search for a new place to live. You can still see that we've once been closely related, but their departure has been many centuries ago, and most of them – and some of us – have forgotten about the others and our history. There are only a few left on Devora who still remember all of what happened in the past, and who are still able to read the ancient scripts about the terrible war that tore our worlds apart and almost destroyed Devore Prime.”
“I see.” Kathryn was pretty sure that she didn't understand anything, but she hoped that it would encourage her host to go on with his story. She couldn't deny that she was deeply fascinated by what he'd told her so far, and it seemed that she wouldn't be able to return to her beloved Voyager before she hadn't at least tried to help the Devorians by whatever they needed her help for, so she could just as well listen to Radyok and Kashyk and decide what she wanted to do after knowing what was going on here.
“So you are one of the few who still remember the old stories, then, Radyok?” she continued, and the mayor nodded his head.
“Yes, I am. The mayor of each village will be taught the ancient script when the time has come to succeed the old one, and we have to study those scripts before we are allowed to rule and guide our people with wisdom and care. It's most crucial that something like this terrible war will never happen again, and we have lived in peace together ever since our ancestors decided not to use the technology again that led to this war. Our brothers and sisters from Devore Prime chose another way though, that's why they left this system and wished to make a new start without the burden of their mental skills.”
Radyok and Kashyk exchanged a meaningful look, and Kathryn frowned when she noticed their silent communication.
“Mental skills? What do you mean with that?” she demanded, and Kashyk turned to her with a melancholic smile.
“He means telepathy, Kathryn. The first Devore have once been a highly gifted telepathic species. That's why we have been tracking down other telepaths down for so long. Because we've once been like them, and because our mental skills have almost led to our extinction.”
Kathryn felt her mouth drop open, and all she could do for a moment was staring at him in stunned silence.