The Escape Read Free

with a few abandoned ships? And no one has touched these ships?" Neelix shrugged. "Who can tell if anyone has been near them? There are more ships than you can count. Believe me, a few parts won't be missed." "We do not steal," Chakotay said. The firmness in his voice made Neelix shrink a little.
    He frowned as if considering, then grinned.
    "Once you see the place I doubt you would call it stealing. More like salvaging." "Under your definition of salvage?" Paris asked. "Or ours?" This time Neelix ignored him. Neelix fixed his catlike gaze on Janeway. She, at least, wanted to see the station.
    "To what race did this base belong?" Tuvok asked. "I don't know," Neelix said, "but they've been gone for centuries." Ilivok templed his fingers and tapped them against his lips.
    "If it's such a good place to salvage," he asked slowly, "why haven't you gone back there?" Neelix pulled Kes closer. She watched him in her calm, intent way. When it looked like he wasn't going to answer, she nodded at him to continue.
    He tilted his head, raised his bushy eyebrows, and shrugged again. "Honestly, I-was He sighed and dipped his head so that they couldn't see his expression.
    "I think the station's haunted." Paris snorted and sat back in his chair as if he had expected something like that all along. Tuvok didn't move, but Janeway could sense his sudden dismissal of the plan.
    Only B'Elanna still looked interested. "But there are a lot of old ships." Neelix brought his head up. "Yes." "Abandoned ships." "Yes.
    "Captain," B'Elanna said. "If we-was But Neelix interrupted her. "Captain, if there aren't 13 more ships abandoned on Alcawell than you would care to count, you can leave me behind with the ghosts." "And me too," Kes said softly.
    "Thank you, my love," Neelix said, squeezing her hand. He turned to the others.
    "Isn't she remarkable?" Janeway made a decision. They couldn't afford to overlook any opportunity. "I think we should see Alcawell for ourselves. What say you, Mr.
    Tuvok?" "I would agree, Captain." Janeway glanced at her first officer.
    Chakotay nodded in agreement. Satisfied, Janeway stood. "Neelix, give Lieutenant Paris the coordinates for Alcawell.
    B'Elanna, I would like to get there quickly but without further damaging the warp engines-. What do you recommend?" "Warp one," B'Elanna said.
    Janeway turned to Paris and nodded. "Get us under way, mister." Paris slid his chair back and motioned for Neelix to follow him onto the bridge.
    As they left Janeway faced her remaining officers. "Salvage or not, we need the parts. At this point we're in no position to be proud." Then she smiled as she stood. "Besides, who's afraid of a few ghosts?" CAPTAIN JANEWAY SAT AT HER DESK IN THE READY ROOM, going over reports on a padd. At times, she wished that she could jettison the busy work associated with the captaincy. But for each bit of routine that she dispensed with, a bit of home went with it. She had already made decisions that would never have been made in the Alpha Quadrant.
    Occasionally she glanced at the long windows showing a view of the stars. Sometimes she wished the positions were familiar. Sometimes she was pleased they were not.
    "Captain." Ensign Kim's voice broke her concentration. "We are over the Station." "Excellent, Ensign," she said.
    But he didn't wait for her comto finish. "And I think you need to take a look at this." She smiled at the tone of fascination and awe in Harry Kim's voice. Perhaps there was something to Neelix's wild claims. She hoped so.
    Voyager had limped to Alcawell and Janeway had worried that she was using the last of their power for a wild chase after nothing.
    She placed the padd on her desk and stood, brushing her hair with the heel of one hand, making certain not a strand was out of place. Then she left the ready room and stepped onto the bridge.
    Paris sat immobile at conn, Chakotay was sitting on the edge of the captain's chair, and Tuvok stood at his station in tactical. All stared, transfixed,