“Dropping out of warp, sir,” Jarata’s voice echoed through the tense silence. In a heartbeat, the crew, their senses heightened, braced themselves for the unknown that lay ahead. 

“Engage full power to shields and weapons,” Thaustin commanded, his voice echoing through the bridge. 

Hearing his first officer’s cautious tone, McCallister could sense the tension in the air. The Vidiian, a species known for their aggression and relentless pursuit of organ harvesting, were not to be taken lightly. “Begin sensor sweeps to locate that life sign,” McCallister instructed Kazlaf, his voice steady but his mind racing with possibilities. 

“I’ve got it, sir, almost two hundred meters away from the main debris field,” Kazlaf reported. “As I said earlier, it’s within a one-person escape pod. Life signs are faint. I’m not sure how much longer I can survive without medical treatment.”

Understanding the seriousness of what Kazlaf had shared with him, McCallister tapped his combadge and opened a channel to Sickbay. “Doctor Uknare, are you ready?”

“We are, captain. Security measures are in place, and our E-M-H is online behind the quarantine field,” replied Uknare, her voice steady and calm.

“Get a lock on the survivor, beam them to sickbay,” McCallister ordered. He rose from his chair and headed towards where T’Penni sat at the engineering station. “Can we determine what happened here, Lieutenant?”

“I am detecting alloys belonging not just to the Vidiian but to another race. I’m just running a comparative scan to determine who. In the meantime, based on what remains, it is easy for me to determine that this Vidiian ship rammed the other vessel before its warp core breached,” T’Penni summarised. “Unfortunately, the destruction wave destroyed the other escape pods. Whoever our survivor is was lucky not to have met the same fate.”

“Any chance of us being able to pull out anything that can help us determine what happened? Are there any surviving computer terminals or data cores?” Thaustin asked. 

“Unfortunately, commander, I am not detecting anything that would be useful yet,” T’Penni answered flatly. Her console then beeped at her, indicating it had finished running its comparative scan. “Sir, the other vessel was a Kazon warship.”

“Kazon?” McCallister echoed as he turned back to look at the others on the bridge. “Belire, are you detecting any other Kazon ships nearby?”

Kazlaf shook her head. “Nothing on long-range sensors.”

“Captain,” Jarata spoke up. “I’m detecting a faint ion trail leading away from this area. I think these two ships were locked in a running battle.”

“Let’s see it, Rubon,” McCallister ordered as he moved to stand in front of the helm and ops stations. “Put it up on the main viewer.”

Seconds later, a sensor overlay of the area showed the two distinct trails moving away from their current location. It was obviously from the two broken crafts that sat before them. 

“Can we detect where they came from?” McCallister asked, intrigued to see if they could figure out how a Kazon and Vidiian ship got this far away from their territories. 

Jarata said it would take him a few moments to trace the passage the two ships had taken. 

In the meantime, Thaustin had moved from his seat to McCallister’s side. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking, sir?”

“Depends,” McCallister said, turning to his Number One. “Do we want to trace their footsteps and work out how they got here, or do we want to carry on and avoid a confrontation with two of the species that Voyager had to battle with almost daily in their first couple of years in the Delta Quadrant?”

Thaustin had shared similar thoughts to McCallister. Knowing his first officer was considering the same options as him, McCallister was impressed when Thaustin turned to Ethav and started to find answers to determine how much danger they would be in. 

“Ethav, can you determine how old those ships are from the debris field?” Thaustin inquired. 

“I believe so, sir; a quantum scan should help,” replied the Andorian at ops.

“Then do it,” Thaustin told him sternly. 

Crossing his arms against his chest, McCallister considered his options further. “We need to know more answers,” He said to Thaustin. “Take over here; I’m heading down to meet with our guest and to see if they can tell us more.”

Thaustin nodded in acknowledgement.

“Let me know when we’ve worked out where they came from and just how old those ships are,” McCallister told his right-hand man as he made his way across the bridge and into the turbolift. 

Entering sickbay, McCallister was surprised by what he had found. Instead of seeing the ship’s EMH behind the quarantine area they had put up around the surgical bay, he found Doctor Uknare and Counsellor Oron talking to a woman who was sat up straight on the edge of the surgical bed. 

Standing by the doorway, along with other armed security personnel, Lonar observed from a distance. 

“Natima, what’s going on?” McCallister asked his chief security and tactical officer. 

“Our Vidiian friend is Phage-free, sir,” Lonar replied. “The EMH checked them thoroughly, and instead of dealing with that, Doctor Uknare treated them for their injuries. Counsellor Oron has been speaking to them, too.”

McCallister nodded as he walked over to the other side of the room. The Vidiian woman didn’t appear like most Vidiians on the ship’s official records. She didn’t seem to have had other’s skins placed on top of hers or scars crossing against her face. McCallister was prepared to have met something that would give most children a nightmare; instead, it was completely different.

“Ah, captain, this is Mala; she is the chief engineer of the Vidiian ship, the Gereth,” spoke Oron. The Brikar appeared to be in a relaxed state, which helped McCallister feel calmer. 

“Welcome aboard, I’m Captain Horatio McCallister,” McCallister said as he approached the surgical bay.

“Thank you for rescuing me, captain,” Mala said sweetly as Uknare continued to treat her.

“You’re welcome,” McCallister replied diplomatically before asking his doctor for an update. “How is she, doctor?”

“A few bruises, bumps and cuts here and there, but nothing significant,” Uknare reported.

Impressed to hear that, McCallister took a breath before speaking. “And no signs of the Phage?” 

“None at all, sir,” Uknare confirmed with an impressed look. “She has never been infected with it.”

Before he could ask Mala to clarify that point, Mala spoke up. “I’m assuming you’ve encountered my people before?”

“One of our ships did, almost three decades ago,” McCallister replied.

“Voyager,” Mala stated.

“Voyager,” McCallister confirmed. “I take it you’ve heard of it?”

“Heard of it?” Mala said with a slight snortly. “The legend of Voyager is well known among my people. The ship from the other side of the galaxy that would evade capture on many occasions. The only ship that contained the possible cure to the Phage.”

“Cure?” Oron asked.

“Yes, one of its crewmembers possessed a type of DNA immune to the Phage,” Mala responded.

“Klingon DNA,” Uknare stated. “Voyager’s chief engineer was half-Klingon, and it appeared that Klingon DNA had a natural immunity.”

“You can see why it became a legend among my people,” Mala said, looking back at McCallister.

“Indeed,” McCallister agreed, “But we are far from your territory.”

“We are,” Mala confirmed. She took a breath after Uknare finished her final treatment. “Captain, I know my people aren’t trustworthy, but what I share with you is the truth. My people are still dying from the Phage. Though a cure was found, it didn’t work for our entire population, and in some areas of our territory, the Phage mutated and became more aggressive. The price for the cure was too high. Only some were free, while others continued to suffer. Where I come from, my home is one of the final colonies where those who have not been infected reside.”

“That sounds like quite the sanctuary,” Oron remarked.

“It is, and its location is only known by a few,” Mala stated. “Those who reside there are some of the finest in our society. It is a paradise for those lucky not to be infected; it is also a place where our most advanced technology is developed, and the work for the cure continues.”

“Let me guess, it’s nearby, and the Kazon found it,” McCallister asked. 

“You make it sound like that outcome was predictable,” Mala remarked. 

McCallister shrugged before answering. “It’s logical to what we know right now. Your ship was destroyed when it rammed that Kazon ship. That’s a desperate and bold attempt to stop the Kazon. If the Kazon haven’t improved their technology in the last few decades, then finding out about your colony would make one, if not all of their sects, powerful.” McCallister paused as he continued his deduction. “Furthermore, we know that in the past, the Vidiian harvested organs from the Kazon, which I would guess may have increased when the Phage mutated. They are the nearest stock of organ donors, so that it would cause more tension between your people.”

“Yes, that’s exactly right,” Mela said, impressed at McCallister’s assumptions.

“The question remains,” Uknare started. “How did you end out this far from Vidiian space?”

Mela took a breath. “I’m not sure if I can tell you.”

“We have no hostile intention with you and your people,” Oron stated.

“Unless you try to harvest from us,” McCallister added.

“Well, there’s that,” Oron agreed.

For a moment, nothing was said between them all. McCallister looked at Mela. “So, Mela, we could drop you off home and continue on our way, or you could tell us how you got out this far, and we might help you with that Kazon issue.”

“I’m not sure if I can speak for me people,” Mala responded. 

Realising he was pushing her too much, McCallister nodded. “Very well. We will make you as comfortable as possible while you recover. In the meantime, if you change your mind, then please let Doctor Uknare and Counsellor Oron know.” 

“Thank you, captain,” Mala said. 

McCallister looked at both his officers, telling them to make her feel at home where she was before he left sickbay. He stopped at Lonar and told her he didn’t want Mala leaving sickbay and her sights for now.

“Tell me we have something,” McCallister insisted as he stepped off the turbolift onto the bridge.

Standing up from the centre chair, Thaustin nodded. “We do,” He pointed to Ethav and Jarata before him. “Gentlemen, care to share the news?”

Both men nodded as they turned around in their chairs to face their superior officers. Ethav spoke up first. “Sir, our quantum scans show that both ships were over thirty years old. The Kazon one was almost fifty. However, the Vidiian one had improved systems that were only a year or two old.”

“And the other news?” McCallister asked Jarata.

“We know where they came from,” Jarata replied before touching his console and showing their previous known location. “A star system with several gas giants, including one M-class moon orbiting the largest.”

“And that’s not all we’ve found, sir,” Kazlaf added from science. “We’re detecting high neutrino emissions accompanied by an intermittent graviton flux.”

“A wormhole?” McCallister guessed.

Kazlaf nodded. “It’s a possibility.”

Hearing that news made McCallister smile. Could they have just discovered where this Vidiian paradise was located and how they had ended up this far from their space? Also, was this how the Kazon made their way here? Without thinking twice, he turned to Jarata. “Rubon set a course for that system and engage at warp seven.”

“Aye, captain,” Jarata said immediately.

Thaustin turned to him. “Are you sure about this, sir?”

“I think so, and we may have just found our ticket out of here,” McCallister said confidently. “We may need to speak to our guest a bit more, but with some persuasion, I think we could be home sooner than we thought.”