Liberty For Wolves: Finale
“There are very strict rules regarding the treatment of prisoners.” The EMH pressed a hypo to B'Elanna’s throat. “The Federation – “
“Is far away and of no importance.” The Alpha held up a transparent case filled with a number of tiny devices. “You will put these in their brains.”
“I most certainly will not!” The Doctor peered at the devices. “I don’t know what those things are, but I’m not about to put one in someone’s head.”
“Bring in one of the lesser prey.” The Alpha ordered. He knew the Doctor wasn’t flesh and blood and couldn’t be forced physically. He could, however, be coerced by other means.
The Doctor turned his back on the Alpha and began running the osteo-regenerator over B'Elanna’s skull. “Implanting things in people’s brains? Cretins.”
He glanced over his shoulder as the Sickbay doors opened and a hunter came in, pushing Lieutenant Thomas in front of him.
“I’m not putting one of those in his brain.” The Doctor said. “So you can just – “
Forcing Lieutenant Thomas to his knees, the Alpha plunged his knife blade through the top of his skull. The dead body fell at the Doctor’s feet.
“My God – you – what kind of – “ The Doctor stared at the body.
“I will kill as many of the lesser prey as it will take.” He held up the bloody knife.
“No.”
“There is a small one – useless as prey.”
“I won’t.” The EMH said firmly.
“Get the small one.” The Alpha ordered.
One of the hunters nodded and went out into the corridor, returning almost immediately carrying a very frightened Naomi.
“Useless as prey.” Grabbing a handful of blonde hair, the Alpha pulled her half out of the hunter’s arms. “Too small for a good hunt.”
“Leave her alone! What – what will this device do?” The Doctor asked desperately. “I can’t just experiment on the crew!”
The Alpha raised the knife to Naomi’s throat, blood dripping from it to stain the front of her pink jumper. Tears ran down her cheeks silently, her blue eyes wide with terror. “She has no value to me.”
“All right! All right!” the Doctor held his hands out pleadingly. “She’s only a child!”
“You will put one of these into their brains.” He held the case out to the Doctor once again. “You will start with one of the lesser prey.”
Another crewman was brought in. The Doctor couldn’t look him in the eye as he was forced to lie down on the bio bed.
“I’m sorry.” Pressing a hypo spray to the man’s throat, the EMH sent up a prayer to whoever might be watching over a hologram and his ship.
They were still sitting and making plans for escape, discarding them as useless almost immediately, when the Alpha and his escort returned.
Chakotay slid Kathryn off of his lap and stood up. “We’re not giving you the codes.”
The two hunters shut down the force field and stepped inside the cell. Chakotay waited until one of them reached for him. Using the hunter’s weight against him, he dropped and pitched the Hirogen against the bulkhead. Before Chakotay could turn to the other one, the hunter had swung his rifle butt against the back of Chakotay’s head.
Kathryn had gotten to her feet, aware that she couldn’t possibly overpower the Alpha. “Do whatever you want. I’m not giving you the codes.”
“Bring her.” He turned and walked away.
One of the hunters grabbed her arms and bound them behind her back. As he shoved her out of the cell, Kathryn looked back at Chakotay’s still form. She hadn’t told him she loved him. Now the chance was gone.
Her dignity kept her from asking where they were taking her. Dignity and fear. In the turbolift, the Alpha ordered it to Sickbay.
Dignity didn’t keep her knees from wobbling or her insides from shaking as she considered the possibilities of what a trip to Sickbay could mean. Healing the aches and pains he’d inflicted probably wasn’t on his list.
The doors to Sickbay slid open and Kathryn was pushed toward one of the bio beds.
“Captain! What happened?” The Doctor rushed over to her. “Where is your uniform?”
“It’s a long story.”
“You’re nothing more than a bunch of animals!” Helping the captain up on to the bed, he frowned at the readings. “Cracked ribs – hairline skull fracture – “
“No wonder my head hurts.” She closed her eyes.
“You’ve – “ He turned on the Alpha. “Sexual assault? Is there nothing beneath you?”
“She will be a fine breeder.” The Alpha said
dispassionately. “Put in the implant.”
”What?” Kathryn’s eyes opened. “What are you doing?”
The Alpha looked at her for a moment and decided to give her the courtesy one would give to worthy prey. “I am going to use your ship to bring my people together as a race. We have scattered far in the hunt and are beginning to die out.”
“How will using Voyager help your people?” The thought of her crew being used to breed a new generation of Hirogen hunters made her skin crawl.
“The holograms will allow us to hunt in different places – without leaving the sector – thus will my people come together once more.” He nodded, pleased with his plan. “Your crew will provide the necessary prey for the simulations.”
“We’ll help you to bring your people back together. It’s not necessary to kill us.” She tried to sit up the but the arms of the bio bed were extended, holding her down. “Let my crew go, and we’ll work on a solution together.”
“You are a smart and cunning race – but still only prey. We do not negotiate with prey.” Shaking his head, he motioned to the Doctor. “Put in the implant.”
“No!” Again, she struggled to sit up, reaching toward the controls. “Doctor, I order – “
The Doctor shoved the hypo against her neck. “I’m sorry, Captain.” Once Kathryn was unconscious, the Doctor began healing her injuries.
“That is not necessary.” The Alpha objected. “Put in the implant.”
“My first duty is to heal – the captain has serious injuries that must be attended to.”
It was true that she would need to be in top form to be worthy of the hunt. The Alpha nodded. “Heal her – quickly.”
“I won’t rush the work – sloppy healing is not in my programming.”
The Alpha watched the hologram as he moved down over the reproductive organs. “Is she impregnated?”
“Of course she’s not! She’s – “ The Doctor snapped his mouth shut and finished healing the minor tears and bruising in the area. “Of course not.”
“Is she barren?” That would be disappointing.
“Barren? No.”
“Then she can bear me a warrior.”
As he turned to look at the Alpha, it occurred to the Doctor that the Hirogen might not know about contraceptives. It was unlikely a warrior race would use them. “I doubt that you would be compatible.”
“If she carries eggs, then we are compatible.”
Unfortunately, he didn’t know enough about Hirogen physiology to debate the statement. Instead, the Doctor returned to healing Kathryn’s injuries.
The Sickbay doors slid open and the Second walked in. “I have been searching their holodeck programs – there are many hunting scenarios. Mongol hordes, three world wars, many civil wars.”
The Alpha turned to him. “These wars are recorded?”
“There are scenarios for them.” The Second nodded. “They have had many wars with other species – Klingons, Romulans, and most recently Cardassians. This is only the human history. There are other races as well with similar recorded histories.”
“Excellent. We will run hunting scenarios through this history of theirs.”
“Their holograms – “ The Second pointed at the Doctor. “He is not real – not prey.”
“No, he is not. But the holograms can make other things – hunting grounds – real. We can use the Voyager crew as prey – over and over.”
“There are not enough of the devices.”
“I believe with their technology, we can make more.” The Alpha looked thoughtful. “We will hunt them again and again. And our people will once more be plentiful.”
“But there will be no trophies!” The Second protested.
“The trophies will be in bringing our kind back to full strength.” He watched as the Doctor lifted one of the implants out of the case. “Once, we ruled entire sectors of space. Then the hunt became too important and our society fell apart, and we allowed inferior races – prey – to rule our worlds while the hunt ranged farther and farther afield.”
The Second nodded obediently. He had his own thoughts on how to use this new technology, but he kept them to himself. For now he was not in enough of a position of strength to become the Alpha. But soon, the opportunity would present itself.
“We will turn this entire ship into a floating hunting ground.”
“We do not know their – technology.” He spat the word out as if it were foul in his mouth.
“We will keep a few of them as technicians.” The Alpha had realized even before they boarded Voyager that the technology was beyond his people's ability to comprehend. For now. “Their database will tell us who is best suited.”
“And if they betray us? Try to free the others?”
“They are prey.” He snorted. “Are you afraid of prey?”
“Never!”
“Then you worry for nothing.” The Alpha pointed to the Doctor. “He works here – but not outside of this room. We must find out why.”
The Second went to the computer terminal at the main workstation. He had found that general information was available. Many things he’d tried to access were locked down, but a great many other things were obviously considered harmless information.
“There are holo emitters required for holograms to function.” He looked up. “We will have to make more. They are installed only in the holodeck and this Sickbay.”
“Their softness in treating our injured warrior proves to be their undoing.” The Alpha watched the Doctor as he worked. “Had they killed him as we would have done – this hologram technology would remain unknown to us.”
Switching off the surgical tool he was using, the Doctor laid it aside. “Our softness has enriched us as a people. Long after your species has died out – the Federation and its people will live on.”
“Wake her.” The Alpha ignored the Doctor’s words. He was not real and therefore his opinion mattered even less than that of prey. Picking up one of the control devices for the implants, he adjusted the settings.
Kathryn blinked and looked around groggily. “What happened?”
“Just relax, Captain.” The EMH laid a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.
“What is your name?” The Alpha asked.
“Captain Kathryn Janeway.”
“Who am I?”
A smile curved her lips. “Chakotay.”
“Give me the command codes.”
Obediently, Kathryn recited the command codes. The Alpha turned to the Second. After a moment, the hunter nodded. The codes worked and the ship was no longer locked down.
The Alpha turned back to her and made another adjustment to the controller. “What is your name?”
“I am prey.”
He smiled. “Excellent.”
Liberty for wolves
is death to the lambs.
Isaiah Berlin
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