Ocean Waters

A/N: Sorry for the late release. It a long chapter, over 4500 words, and I got it to my editor late. Hope you guys enjoy!

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A white sandy beach, a crystal blue ocean lazily lapping onto the shore, and a gentle, cool sea breeze blowing across us. With Raven and Echo both laying on my shoulders satisfied, I was in heaven. The plush pillow under my head and the silky sheets that covered us were tempting us to fall asleep, but here, sleep was not a real thing. 

"... You should have seen her. L'Naan carried the bite wound from Seven for three days before she could show it to her," Echo chuckled. 

"Katye didn't force her to heal it, or use 'conventional' means?" Raven asked. 

"She did ask her to, a few times even, but didn't press her when she refused," Echo replied. 

"If Katye really does pull Seven into our bedroom, L'Naan is going to eat her alive," I chuckled. 

"You never know… maybe she would like it. I certainly never complained," Raven retorted, chuckling as well. 

Running my fingers up her naked side and enjoying the feeling, I said, "But, the important thing is that Katye was able to shut down the viculum without any real difficulty, so she should be able to remove the tech from you once you are ready to come back and Echo cracks the hidden code for us to pull you out." 

"I'm getting close, but it's a lot more complicated than dividing my mind. I can't completely sever the connection to the Collective without the Queen simply killing me outright when she can't control me, so I'm trying to build a puppet 'mind' that would allow me to hear her without letting her have true control of me. The danger is that I have to bring down the shields isolating our connection, so if she breaks through the puppet mind, you two are at risk. Thankfully, Susanna can test me safely here. Once I can break her control, I'll be ready to try it for real… of course, I'll wait for you guys to be ready for me," Raven explained with a light smile. 

"I know that you're working hard," I replied, and then kissed her forehead before I continued. "As nice as this place is, I can't wait to have you back. Exploring space isn't quite as fun without you around." 

Susanna appeared on the beach not too far away and said politely, "Sorry to interrupt, but the outside world is calling you, Rebecca." 

"Damn," I grumbled before kissing Raven. "Until our next meeting, my love." 

"I'll see you soon," she replied. 

Echo and Raven let me sit up a moment before I disappeared from the virtual world. Opening my eyes in the real world, the computer repeated Chakotay's message, calling all Senior Officers to the Bridge. I grumbled to myself as I headed out of the cargo bay and to the turbo lift. When it opened, I found Tom and Harry, who were not wearing their typical uniforms. 

"Adventures of Captain Proton?" I asked. 

"Yeah... I was just about to save Harry from the Delaney sisters when we got the call. What were you up to?" Tom replied. 

"Regenerating," I said dryly. 

"That sounds..." Tom's voice died off as he tried to come up with something to say. 

"Unsettling? Boring?" I offered with a smirk. 

While Tom gave a wry smile, Harry asked, "What is it like, if you don't mind me asking?" 

"Basically, it's like sleeping without dreams. My conscious mind shuts down when I step into the alcove while it recharges my implants," I replied with a shrug. 

Before he could ask anything else, the doors opened, and we all walked out onto the Bridge. 

"Sorry to interrupt your fun, gentlemen, but the long-range sensors have picked up something interesting," Janeway said as she followed us around the railing. 

"A concentrated mass of oxygen and hydrogen. Lots of animal and plant life," Chakotay explained. 

"An M-Class planet?" Harry asked. 

"No. That's the interesting part," Janeway replied. 

"We're entering visual range," Tuvok announced. 

"On screen." 

The viewscreen changed from stars to a giant globe of deep blue water that shimmered with a greenish-teal color where the sunlight hit it. It was an ocean the size of a small planetoid with absolutely no land. Obviously, it was an anomaly that the crew, and even all of Starfleet, had never seen before as there was no way for it to form naturally, and it was the start of an episode. 

"What is it?" Harry asked. 

"It's an ocean," Tom and I said in unison. 

"According to these readings, it's bigger than the Atlantic and Pacific combined," Chakotay said. 

"What's holding it together?" Tom asked. 

"Looks like there's some sort of a containment field keeping it from dissipating," Harry responded. 

"Take us in closer, Tom," Janeway instructed, her eyes not leaving the viewscreen. 

Tom had barely set the course when three ships broke through the water and flew to engage us. 

"Are those starships or submarines?" Tom asked with a hint of wonder in his voice. 

"Open a channel," Janeway said, and then waited for the confirmation chime of the computer. "This is Captain Janeway of the Starship Voyager. Please identify yourselves." 

"They are powering weapons," Tuvok stated. 

"Shields... Red Alert," she ordered after they opened fire on us. 

"Shields holding. No damage," Tuvok reported. "Should I return fire?" 

"Not yet," she instructed, holding up a hand. "Voyager to approaching vessels. We have no hostile intentions." 

"They're maintaining their course," Tom said. 

"Target the lead ship and take out their weapons," Janeway directed. 

Tuvok pressed a few buttons on his terminal and replied a moment later, "Direct hit." 

"They're hailing," Harry chimed as the computer alerted him. 

"I guess we got their attention. On screen," Janeway said dryly. 

"I'm Deputy Consul Burkus of the Monean Maritime Sovereignty. You violated our space. Withdraw or we'll resume firing," the amphibious-looking alien threatened. 

"Consul, we could have destroyed your ships, but we didn't. We have no interest in a fight," Janeway replied calmly. 

"Then why are you here?" he asked. 

"Because we are explorers and we're fascinated by your ocean, and we'd like to learn more about it and your people, if you'd be willing." 

"And if we are not?" 

"We'll be disappointed, but we'll leave you alone." 

"Your ship's impressive," he commented. 

"Well, I'd be happy to give you a tour," Janeway offered. 

He hesitated for a moment before nodding his head and agreeing, "I will take you up on that offer." 

"Have your ship transmit the location and number of people, and we will beam you aboard." 

"I will." 

The screen changed back to the ocean world, and she turned to look at me. I smirked and gave her a light nod, answering her unasked question. Glancing at her Ready Room, I knew what she was silently asking and shook my head. There was no danger to this episode, and things would easily be handled without any help from my group. 

Things played out like the episode, after reassuring her on our turbo lift ride to meet the Consul that things should resolve themselves peacefully, but she did make one change by adding me to Tom's crew to dive into the ocean. It was no problem for me, and in fact, I was excited about it. Not only was this an episode that I loved, but the idea of an ocean world was fascinating. 

"Ahoy, Skipper," I said as Tom, Harry, Seven, and Riga, a Monean scientist who was joining us, walked into the Shuttle Bay. 

Seven looked annoyed while Harry seemed amused, but Tom laughed and patted me on the shoulder as he laughed, "Ha! I should have known that you'd be an old salt too!" 

"Not quite, but I did love pirate stories when I was growing up. Are we ready to go?" I asked. 

"All aboard and ready to shove off," he replied with a grin. 

We all headed to the Delta Flyer and stepped onto the ship. Tom, of course, took the conn station and Harry took the operations station, just like his position on the Bridge. Seven sat down at the science station and I coaxed Riga to sit at operations, so that he could see the sensors while I took out a folding chair from my ring as there was no position left for me. Tom took off, and we flew towards the ocean world. 

"Twenty thousand kilometers to the surface," Harry noted. 

"Immersion shielding?" Tom asked. 

"Active," Seven replied. 

"Anchors aweigh," Tom said right before we plunged into the water. 

Our entry created a ripple on the surface, but otherwise, things were quiet. Tom directed us towards the faint glow in the distance, which was their underwater city. We circled the city as we slowly moved down, giving us plenty of time to take in the amazing construction. Most of the structures were pillar-shaped, stretching up and down for hundreds of meters, while the center area would often have wide platforms that stuck out from the building and where their ships could land or connected to other structures with tunnels. 

"Incredible," I breathed with wonder, standing next to Tom as he had the only window in front of him. 

"With everything that you can do, you're still impressed with Mortal creations?" Tom asked with a small smirk. 

"I can't make something like this, Katye and Raven maybe, but I'm impressed everyday by you Mortals... After all, I still have no idea how you snagged B'Elanna," I teased, winning a chuckle from Harry at his friend's expense. 

"Thanks," he retorted dryly, rolling his eyes. 

I patted his shoulder with a smirk and headed for my chair in the back. Riga approached Tom, also wanting to enjoy the view of his home. 

"Those structures, what are they?" Tom asked, pointing out 

"It's our main oxygen refinery and desalination plant," Riga explained. 

"Corrosion resistant alloys, variable-density ballast... an efficient design," Seven stated. 

I gave a short whistle and joked, "High praise from Seven; your people must have some impressive skill." 

"We're very proud of what we've built here." 

"I can see why," Tom replied. 

Sadly, that was the last bit of excitement for the next four hours. I was never good at sitting around and doing nothing, so after the first half hour of nothing happening, I decided to meditate and play with my various Domains. Since we had helped with the creation of the Delta Flyer, the hull was infused with mage-steel and prevented my senses from extending past them unless I infused a lot of mana into the hull, which I did not think was necessary. I just worked on my invisible Domains like Wind and Space, making minor adjustments and practicing fusing the two elements. 

"We're at a depth of five hundred sixty kilometers," Tom noted. 

A soft creaking sound woke me from my trance as I felt the slightest of compression on my Domain. 

"What was that?" Riga asked. 

"The hull contracting," Seven stated. 

"Rerouting additional power to structural integrity," Harry said as he pressed a few buttons. "Nothing to worry about." 

"I'm detecting multiphasic energy discharges, bearing zero-two-one mark six. Range: twelve kilometers. A structure," Seven reported. 

"At this depth?" Riga asked. 

"Adjusting course," Tom announced, tapping a few buttons. "I can't see anything. Give me forward illumination, Harry." 

I stood up and stretched as Riga walked forward and asked, "What is it?" 

"It's generating massive amounts of artificial gravity. Looks like some kind of field reactor," Harry answered. 

"If it's malfunctioning, that would explain the loss of hydro-volume," Riga theorized. 

"Maybe it can be repaired," Tom hoped. "It looks ancient." 

"Well, if these readings are right, it's at least a hundred thousand years old," Harry said. 

"We've no records of any previous inhabitants. Who built it? Where did they go?" Riga questioned. 

"Looks like the reactor is controlled by a core computer. I'll try to upload the database and get some answers." 

"Initiate the interface," Tom instructed. 

"Upload in progress," Seven reported. 

The ship shook and Riga asked with a hint of fear, "What's happening?" 

"We've got a visitor," Tom replied. 

A massive fish, on par with my Dragon form, swam by as Tom tried to get out of its path. 

"What was that?!?" Riga asked with shock. 

"You're the one that lives here. You tell us," Harry retorted. 

"No one's ever been this far down before. We don't know anything about marine life at these depths." 

"You are about to have the opportunity to make a detailed study," Seven remarked as the fish circled around to come at us with its mouth wide open. 

"I'll handle the fish stick. Focus on repairing the reactor and keeping out of the way," I ordered as I summoned my exo-suit. 

"Try not to hurt it if you can," Tom requested. 

"Yeah, yeah, I don't need Greenpeace on my ass, if they still exist," I agreed, before I teleported myself out of the Flyer. 

Immediately, I could feel the water pressure hit me, but it was nothing that my Water Domain could not handle. I shifted into my Dragon form and sent the Flyer in one direction while diverting the giant eel-like creature with two different currents of water. With the immediate crisis resolved, I took notice of my surroundings and found something special. Hiding under one of the arrays, there was an incredibly weak, yet unique form of mana laying on the hull of the reactor; it was a Water Elemental. 

The big fish was also packing a lot of mana and was likely an elemental creature as well, but its aura was not as refined as the one hiding, so I knew its intelligence was limited. Still, it packed a mean punch as it launched a bolt of electricity at me. It was not enough to hurt me, so I had taken the hit arrogantly, but it left my body tingling throughout the rest of the short fight. 

With one of my artificial minds, I reached out to the Water Elemental and asked, [Can you call off your friend? I would rather not kill him. I want to help you; I can sense that something is wrong with you, I promise!] 

[Dragon! Danger! Death!] a childish voice screamed in my mind. 

Resisting the mental sigh, I assured the creature that I meant no harm as I opened the connection to include my emotions which were hard to fake and lie, but the creature did not care. The big fish continued its attack, but I was done playing around. I locked down the fish with my Water mana and moved in close to it while I focused the rest of my extra minds on the Water Elemental. 

[YOU WILL SEND THIS ONE AWAY, OR BOTH OF YOU WILL DIE. FOLLOW MY ORDERS, AND YOU BOTH LIVE!] I threatened, using my aura and mana to compel it to listen to me. 

The poor creature's Will collapsed immediately and, if I was a terrible person, casting a Slave Contract over it would be child's play as it was practically begging to live. I released my hold on the fish, and it swam away as fast as it could. I shifted into my Dusa form to save some mana and Soul Power then swam over to the Water Elemental. 

Conjuring a ball of white light above my shoulder, I could finally see what the creature looked like. A mermaid with crystal blue scales, pale skin, and long teal hair. Sadly, I could see yellow veins all over her body and could sense how sick she was. 

[You poor thing... I will help you; I promise.] I sent to the creature while also reaching out to Echo through our connection. [You need to get Janeway and Katye right now. We have a major problem.] 

One of the many times that I was thankful for our connection as she immediately understood what was happening and got to work. Janeway immediately had the Fae Dragon launch and rush down to the center of the ocean where we were. While I waited for them to arrive, I tried to heal the young mermaid, but the most that I could do was remove her pain while I channeled my mana into her. 

[Why help, Dragon?] the mermaid asked. 

[Because I'm a nice Dragon, and not hungry.] I chuckled warmly. [I like children, so seeing you sick makes me sad. I have a friend coming, and she might be able to help you better than I can.] 

[Your touch is nice.] she beamed with a smile. 

I smirked and ruffled her hair with a glowing hand. Unlike the four hours that it took the Flyer to make it down here, the Fae Dragon made it within an hour with Katye, L'Naan, Filigree, and the Doctor onboard. Katye joined me in the water, also in her Dusa form, and had a special tricorder in her hand that I knew was from our ship. 

[This is my friend. She is a Fairy Queen and a healer. Don't be scared.] I said gently. 

The mermaid beamed at Katye and sent, [You feel smart and kind.] 

My face deadpanned as I knew that this was the difference in our auras. Fairies are loved throughout all elemental creatures for their kindness and protection while Dragons, like the kid said, were dangerous and likely to eat them. 

Katye chuckled and replied, [Thank you. I'm going to scan you. It won't hurt.] She held out the tricorder and tapped a button or two then said through the comm system, "This isn't good. There is a disconnect between the ocean water and the mermaid, but that should be impossible because this ocean should have created her with how young she is." 

"The Monean... they are mining oxygen out of the ocean," I replied with a sigh. 

"And changing the composition of the ocean, of course," she sighed, closing her tricorder. "There are only three options to save her: have the Monean stop the mining operations, form a Soul Pact with one of us, or remove her from this place and recreate a proper ocean for her until we can find another that she can survive in, but the last two will negatively affect this world as she is the manifestation of the giant ocean." 

[Did you get all of that Echo?] I asked. 

[Yes, and I'm relaying it to Janeway right now.] Echo replied. 

"Echo is relaying everything to the captain. Is there anything that we can do for her temporarily? I would rather not force a Soul Pact on her, but I'm not going to leave her to die and the Monean won't stop mining easily; we would have to take some kind of action, like Tom wanted to do." 

[I'm going to cover you with my mana, restricting yours, but you will feel better immediately. This is only a temporary solution, but we have a few ideas that can work permanently though they will take some time. We will take you with us, explain your choices, and let you decide what you want to do.] Katye sent. 

[Okay, I won't resist.] she replied. 

Katye wrapped her in a bubble of Water and manipulated the density and composition. I stopped healing her and, for the first time since I had started, she seemed to still be okay. Katye's mana flared and they both disappeared, but I knew that they had teleported to the Fae Dragon. I followed suit and teleported to our bridge then hailed the Delta Flyer. 

"Hey, Tom, we've got some 'special' matters to handle. If you have any problems before you finish the repairs, launch a beacon and we will rush back," I said. 

"Understood, and thanks for the help," he replied before cutting communication with us. 

"I'm going to check on Katye and the mermaid unless you need anything," I said, looking at L'Naan. 

"I'm fine. We should reach Voyager in forty-five minutes," L'Naan replied. 

"Sounds good. Let us know if you have any problems." 

I walked towards the back of the ship and headed upstairs where Katye and the mermaid were. She was encased in a bubble of sea water and chatting silently with Filigree, based off the mana fluctuations between the two. Sensing my approach, the mermaid looked at me with a bit of apprehension. 

[Nice... Dragon?] 

[Yes, I'm the nice Dragon that you met before.] I replied. 

She smiled excitedly, but it still hurt my heart as I could see the signs of 'poisoning' in her. Filigree got along with the mermaid with ease, to no one's surprise, while Katye, the Doctor, and I went over the various information that Fae had along with the sensor data that could be collected. Unfortunately, by the time that we returned to Voyager, we had no better ideas than the three that Katye offered initially. 

Unlike in the episode, the ocean world's plight had a face and voice to represent the damage that was being done to it. Janeway could not simply ignore the situation with the excuse of the Prime Directive as the young mermaid wanted to stay in her ocean with her 'big brother', the fish that I had fought with casually. Unfortunately, just because Janeway was convinced, that did not mean that the Monean Sovereignty was. 

"...The Council's very grateful for your help, Captain. They've asked me to request the shield and thruster schematics for your Delta Flyer. We're hoping to design a probe that'll allow us to monitor the containment generator," Burkus, the Deputy Consul, said. 

"Lieutenant Torres will give you everything you need," Janeway said. 

"I've also drawn up some designs for an oxygen replication system. It'll allow you to create free oxygen without extricating it from the water. It won't solve your problems overnight, but it's a start," B'Elanna explained. 

"I'm sure it'll be very helpful." 

"Our oxygen extraction levels are still dangerously high," Riga warned. "I'm going to recommend shutting down refineries four, five, and six." 

"We'll take it under advisement. Well... Captain, I wish you a safe journey," Burkus said, standing up. 

"Well, we have a few more suggestions, if you'd like to hear them," Janeway replied. 

Gritting my teeth, I sent a silent message to Echo, who told Katye, in turn, to be ready. I knew the Deputy Consul would act the same way he had in the episode by how he spoke and the underlining emotions I sensed. Nerida, the mermaid, had begged to return to her ocean, even if it meant her death, because she wanted to be with her big brother.

"Please... pass them along to Mister Riga," he said, dismissively. "He'll include them in his report." 

"I'm curious. Who's going to read that report?" Tom asked. 

"It will be given to the subcommittees on life support and agriculture." 

"Excuse me, Consul, I'm not sure you understand the magnitude of the crisis. What you're suggesting could take months," Riga said with some alarm. 

"Thank you, Mister Riga," the Deputy Consul said with obvious annoyance. 

"You should listen to him. If you don't make some serious changes around here soon, that ocean won't be here much longer," Tom defended passionately, getting to his feet. 

"As I said, we understand his concerns." 

"Do you? It seems to me like you're just trying to sidestep the issue and send us on our way," Tom accused. 

"With all due respect, who are you to tell us what to do with our ocean?" 

I could not take it any longer and snapped, "Your ocean? What about the innocent creatures that call the body of water home?!? Do you want to see what your people have been doing to the literal embodiment of your ocean?!?" 

I did not wait for his response, and Katye entered the Briefing room with Nerida at her side. While she looked happy in the artificial environment that Katye conjured around her, the centuries of poisoning could still be seen on her child-like face. Surprisingly, there was a sort of resonance between the Moneans and the mermaid, so I had a slight bit of hope that this could be resolved better than the show had left it. 

"Nerida is a Water Elemental born of your ocean, yet you can see it. If left in your ocean, she will die because of how you are mining the water. It's killing her... Your people came here three hundred years ago? She has to be well over ten thousand years old to have achieved her form, yet you will kill her for your own greed and stubbornness. You're destroying your home just like you're killing her," I accused. 

He hesitated for a few seconds, but his misplaced courage won out and he retorted, "You claim that one creature owns the ocean more than eighty thousand? My people built this city, lived in harmony with the creatures of the ocean for generations, and you think you know what's better for our world than we do? I think that it's best that you be on your way." 

I smiled coldly at him, but did not argue and let them leave the room. Tom was ready to fight, but my quietness was keeping him in check, surprisingly. He believed that I would not let this world die... and, he was right. 

"Captain Janeway, I understand that you are restricted by the Prime Directive, but I am not held to it the same way that you are. Nerida wants to return to her home, and I don't want to stop her, but I'm also not going to let her die," I announced after the Moneans were gone. 

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Janeway asked. 

"Voyager can leave orbit while the Fae Dragon remains behind, cloaked. With our specialties, we'll compromise the oxygen refineries slowly, yet permanently, so that they must rebuild their systems. With a few well-placed commands, they can be shut down safely based off our projections to minimize the risks, but they can't keep mining the ocean. We will also teach Nerida how to manifest her powers, so that she can defend herself, or even the Moneans if they can come to terms with her. In an ocean like that, her power could be absolute if she was not so poisoned by their actions," I explained. 

Janeway sighed and glanced at Tom who was practically pleading for our cause. "Fine, but I except you to catch up with us quickly. Vazukuru or not, you're a part of this family." 

I smiled since I knew that Janeway fully understood and supported my decision. While Voyager left orbit a few hours later, the Fae Dragon remained behind and slipped underwater with no one alerted. With Echo's stealth and Borg implants, she had no difficulties sabotaging their environmental systems over the next week while Katye and I gave the little mermaid a crash course on manipulating mana. She was not ready to send the Monean packing by herself yet, but with a year or so of practice and help from her 'big brother', the overgrown electric eel that wanted to eat the Flyer, she should be able to force them out of her ocean if they started mining the water again. Filigree was sad to leave behind her new friend, but understood that this place was her home.