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No … I have not seen either of them come around here lately, and they have also missed the last two market days. I know there is already been many asking after them – well, they do grow some of the best tomatoes in the colony. Toryn and his cousin Holn have told me that a lot of people in New Town saw what looked like a very large warp flare in the North-Eastern sky at about that time – they say it was large enough for a full-sized starship. Vian also says that her son saw their shuttle take off again ten days ago, but they had locked their cabin and shelter, so I assume they have gone on a quick mining foray, and will return soon. But I know the Humans had been working on enhancing their shuttle drive – they told me themselves, when I had last visited to collect their levies, so I still think it would have been only that. Personally, I do not think their ship would have come back for them … not after all this time.
Both of them have always said to us that they cannot leave the planet for long anyway, because of the virus, and that was why they were stranded – but as we all know, they are not Vidiian, so I am sceptical. I have often wondered myself if they are, in truth, hiding from someone … or something. Their kind are like that, trust me on it – never letting anyone know the full truth. My own belief was that they had been cast away because of a mutiny on that ship of theirs … yes, that one. Voyager, the same alien warship that passed through our space so many years ago … you might not remember that, since you were only very little back in those days.
Why the mutiny and the stranding? My theory is that they were not as eager to make war as their shipmates … well, you have seen the way she fought when she was helping us out during one of the invasions … so that must say much about Human aggressiveness, if that was true. But he is relatively peaceful in his ways – sometimes I think he would have almost made a good Vidiian. Maybe when she took him as her mate, his gentleness rubbed off on her too much, and her crew then sought a more suitable captain. Yes, didn’t you know? She was their captain, before they were left here. Kathryn Janeway, her name is, and Chakotay is her man. An odd Human custom, their women having two names, while their men have only one.
They are a strange pair, I agree - that is certainly true. Even for members of such a warlike alien people. They do not appear to fear the Phage as much as we do, for a start … but again, they are not our kind, so we do not know how far the disease can even affect them. Do not misunderstand me on that … I believe that they are basically good people, and probably neither of them would harm any of us without a strong reason … but they are still Human, and not like us. Who knows what really goes on in their alien minds? They have always kept to themselves ... except for when they come to us to trade their goods, or handicrafts, or those addictively good Talaxian vegetables that they grow.
Do you also know that they had already been settled here for years before we arrived? Probably not … you came in the third ship, if I remember rightly; the first of the ones with the children. I was here on the very first cruiser, and I saw their settlement with my own eyes as our reconnaissance shuttle flew over. Yes, it was a hard choice for me – settle on a world that one cannot leave, or remain with the rest of civilisation, and almost certainly get the Phage.
I have often thought, though, of how you children felt about it - though of course, you and most of the rest of you are not children anymore. But …when I think of you all being made to leave your families, just because you were still healthy, and because we needed to isolate you to keep you that way. Please … do understand that this was done to save both your lives, and our future. From what I have heard lately, the Phage is now becoming so bad everywhere else that quarantined colonies like ours may be the only chance of survival that we have.
Well … thank you, it is good to know that you at least no longer hold any resentment against us, for making that choice for you. It helps me to feel better about some of the things I took part in putting you all through. And, looking at you, it appears that most of you have done very well for yourselves. I count myself extremely lucky to be one of the few Vidiians that have made it to adulthood without becoming infected; otherwise I would not have been permitted to come here to help make this settlement ready for you. I just hope that, if they do have a serum against this planet’s virus, that they keep it from the public until the time hopefully comes that the Phage is gone. That virus has trapped us on this world … but it is also protecting us too. Most outsiders would be very hesitant to come here because of it.
But some have? Yes, that is true. You probably remember two of the invasions – but there were actually three so far. The first one happened not long after I arrived; it may have even been the year before your ship came. We were still building the first houses and basic civic facilities back then. You would have known about how the aliens helped us to defend ourselves in the other two invasions. They fought with us in the first one as well – that was when the Kazon came, wanting to destroy our colony to prevent our people establishing a stronghold in a part of space they were waiting to conquer. Yes, it was the Kazon that time as well – they know that the Phage could soon bring us Vidiians to extinction, and they want to hurry the process so they could grab for themselves what we leave behind. But fortunately for this colony, we, that Human couple - and the invader’s fear of the virus - were together able to send them running, with few losses on our side.
Oh yes, they are both good fighters – both him as well as her. As I mentioned, Chakotay does appear to be of the quiet type, but you have never seen him in action yet, he can hold his own at his wife’s side. You know that he gave us a lot of good tactical advice that has since helped save both the Home Colony and New Town? Both times, when the Kazon came again, and when those Phage-infected organ raiders tried to harvest us.
Neither of them have yet given us a straight answer on how long their kind live - but even at their age, I would consider them both to be still formidable enough in a fight.
I will never forget the welcoming they gave us just after we landed. Their shuttle landed just out of shooting distance of our shelters while we were still setting them up, with its energy shields on and its weapons powered. The two of them stepped out together in their warship’s uniform, their belts practically rattling with sidearms, and holding their massive phaser rifles ready to fire. No, it was not me who had the job of convincing them that we wished them no harm. Algur, my brother, was in charge of our settlement team at the time, so he was the one who had to step forward to negotiate with them. I stood beside him as his deputy … and I can tell you, that alien woman Janeway looked quite ready to kill all of us if we gave her enough reason to. Algur, rest his soul, did a very fine job of making sure she got no such thing from us.
Actually, when Janeway realised our intentions, she changed her attitude rather quickly … she became almost nice, for a Human. But I could tell that she still did not trust us … and I do not think she ever quite did.
Maybe it was because we were Vidiian, maybe because of other things that happened to them before we came. Or it may also just be a Human trait; friendly and generous on the surface … but always secretly watching, and playing for the greatest advantage. That must surely make for a strange and dangerous civilisation where they come from.
Yes, she still is the leader in many ways – but her man is not one to be fooled with either. Vian almost made that mistake with him, and he certainly was quick to let her know it. Yes, I am glad too that she had the sense after that to take a suitable Vidiian man to father her children instead. As I have often said, we do not know if these Humans have any immunity to the Phage, or the ability to pass it on if one of them had mated with a Vidiian. I doubt whether he would ever willingly stray from his wife. Or she from him … for one thing that can be said about their pairing, it certainly appears to be a very close and devoted one.
Do you know much of their religion? Many of us have observed Chakotay at his prayers and rituals. He has even shared a few of them with some of our people. Perhaps it is the men who are the priests in Human culture, though … I was always curious about that shrine they had under the tree. Both of them have been seen sitting beside it, and sometimes they have been seen placing offerings of flowers on it. Some of us who have seen that claimed they had sometimes even see them weep at the shrine … but if one of them ever saw one of us whilst they were there, they would always get up, and lead us away from it. Always. I don not know if you have ever seen it – they do not like people asking questions about it, so no one really knows yet what significance it holds for them.
You have not seen it? Then I will describe it to you – it is a patch of earth under a tree near their house, paved with grey stones from the river, and a four-spoked wheel of white stone in its centre. There is also a white cross-shaped decoration at the end by the tree-trunk, and flowers are planted around it. No, it is not very big – a monkey would only have had just enough room to lie down on it. They weed it regularly, too.
Just remember … if you ever do get a chance to visit their settlement, do not ever walk on it. Or interfere with anything that is on it. Or go anywhere near it, for that matter. The Humans do not like Vidiians doing that, and they both will make sure that you know how they feel about it if you did.
Offspring? No. A pity, in a way – our species are so very similar physically. I think a union between one of ours and one of theirs would have made for a handsome combination, so long as they did not inherit that ugly low hairline both of them have got. But no, there were only the two of them here when we arrived, and that has been the way ever since. They mentioned once to Algur that they had taken preventives against bringing a child into isolation. If they had been younger when we came, I believe that they might have changed their minds on that … but Humans probably age much like we do, and even when we met them, they already appeared as if they had passed the age of childbearing.
Yes, I too hope they come back and grow some more of those tomatoes for us. They have been away for unusually long this time. I have thought of sending someone over to their settlement … and I also heard more odd news today, from someone who had been over there gathering bulbules, and noticed that their shrine had vanished.
Come to think of it, perhaps someone should take a closer look. If you have time, you can find your brother, and go over there now. Check their shrine, and in both their shelters – the wooden one and the other. Return to me as quickly as you can when you are finished, and tell me what you find … I still think their shuttle could have made that big warp flare, but I want to be sure now. Sure that it was not made by their warship coming back for them … and sure they will be coming back again to plant a crop in time for the season.
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