The White Room Part 01

The first warning that the crew of the Voyager received was a sudden high-pitched whine piercing the silence of the early morning hours. Kathryn Janeway awoke from a dream in which she was trying to reach Seven of Nine's hand as the former Borg slipped down a steep mountainside. "Computer report." She barked putting her hands over her ears.

The computer didn't respond, and she quickly climbed out from between the soft satin sheets of her bed. She grabbed for her robe and wrapped it around herself, grimacing against the noise that was assaulting her senses. It wasn't *very* loud, but it was very annoying. Kathryn crossed the large main room of her quarters to her computer console and pushed a few buttons. Nothing happened, and she pushed a few more. "Come on." She muttered under her breath.

As suddenly as it had begun the noise stopped, and Kathryn heaved a sigh of relief. "Computer report." She barked again.

Still the computer didn't respond to her command. "What the hell is going on?" She asked, of no one in particular.

She crossed to the replicator. "Coffee black." She said, wiping one hand across her face.

The replicator didn't respond. "Damn. The whole system must be down." She said, and went back into the bedroom.

She grabbed her clothes and dressed quickly, determined to identify the source of the problem as soon as possible. Before she could leave her Quarters the doors were forced open, and Tuvok pushed his way in. "Captain, are you ok?" He asked, holding the doors open for her to exit the room.

"Yes Tuvok, what the hell is going on?" She asked, buttoning her jacket as they walked quickly along the corridor.

"All the ship's non essential systems are down. Communications, propulsion, weapons, replicators, turbo lifts. The only things functioning are the environmental systems." Tuvok reported as they walked.

Janeway heaved a sigh. "What happened? Were we hit?" She asked.

"No Captain." Tuvok replied without elaborating further.

"No turbo lifts, how do we get to the Bridge?" Janeway asked, knowing the answer to her question as she asked it.

"This way." Tuvok said, pointing towards the open door of a Jeffrey's tube.

Twenty minutes later they were on the Bridge, and Kathryn took her seat. "Do we have visual?" She asked.

"I am working on it." Harry replied and Janeway looked across the bridge at his station.

Seven of Nine pushed through the doors and entered the Bridge. Her hair was in disarray and she had smudges of dirt on her face. "Seven?" Kathryn said, turning to greet her Astrometrics Officer.

"Captain." Seven replied, looking around her cautiously.

No one commented on her appearance. "Are you ok?" The Captain asked carefully.

"I am fine. I am not used to moving through the Jeffrey's tubes." Seven said in explanation, and adjusted her hair.

Harry smiled and looked away quickly. "Yes, I know what you mean." Janeway said, turning away again and focusing her attention on her computer console.

Chakotay pushed his way through the half open doors. "Captain." He said, he was out of breath and looked as though he had been dragged through the same hedge as Seven of Nine.

Seven looked at him, blushed and looked away quickly. Kathryn felt a twinge of annoyance in her chest, and she dismissed the feeling. "Chakotay are you ok?" She asked.

"Yes thank you. I am not used to the Jeffrey's tubes." He said, taking his place at her side.

Harry grinned again, and looked from Chakotay to Seven and back. Kathryn glared at him. "Mr. Kim get back to your work, we have to get the communications systems working at the least." She barked, and turned to Tuvok.

"Captain, we have sensors and visual." Harry said suddenly, and they all turned to face the screen.

As the screen flickered into life the computer bleeped and crackled, then in a stutter announced that it was functioning. "Computer, perform a level ten diagnostic." Janeway barked, then turned her attention to the screen again.

The computer bleeped and crackled for a few seconds, and then a stronger, more familiar bleep sounded. "Diagnostic complete, repairs complete, backups restored." It said.

There was nothing on the screen but the same view that Harry had been staring at most of the night, until the computer had shut down. They were looking at star systems and space debris, but there were no ships, no nearby planets and no anomalies, nothing that could explain what had affected their systems. "Engineering to the Bridge." B'Elanna Torres voice rang out.

"Janeway here, B'Elanna report." Kathryn said.

"The warp core is ok, I can give you impulse engines now, and warp engines in about five minutes." The chief engineer reported.

"Captain we are being hailed." Harry said sounding slightly bemused.

Janeway turned to face him. "By whom?" She asked, and shook her head.

"On screen." She commanded, and quickly smoothed her hand over her hair.

The screen was filled with brilliant white light, and everyone shielded their eyes until the brilliance dimmed a few seconds later. Then a large face appeared out of the mist of whiteness. The woman hailing them was, to put it mildly, stunning. Her long blonde hair fell in gentle waves around her oval face, and her long eye lashes batted gently as she gazed back at them. Everyone on the Bridge who witnessed her appearance on the screen felt a strange compulsion to move towards her, and only Janeway's voice broke the silence. "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. Who are you?" She asked, her voice was noticeably softer than her crew was used to, but no one seemed to notice.

"Well hello Captain Kathryn Janeway." The woman said, and she smiled.

Her face broke into a radiant smile of friendship, and the crew of the Voyager found themselves smiling in response. "I see you are having some technical difficulties." The woman said after a few moments pause.

Kathryn nodded dumbly, and wondered what it was that was so compelling about this woman's appearance. "I would like to offer you assistance." The woman continued, apparently unaware of the effect that she was having on the human members of the Voyager crew.

Tuvok was unaffected by her radiance, and was continuing to monitor the sensor readings. "Well thank you, that would be wonderful, we accept your offer of assistance." Janeway said, returning the woman's smile.

"Captain, I must warn you against such a hasty response." Tuvok warned.

The woman turned her gaze to the tall Vulcan and studied him briefly. "I see you have males in your presence." She said softly.

"Yes, half my crew is male." Janeway replied, momentarily suspicious.

"That is very interesting." The woman said, and the screen suddenly went blank.

"Well." Chakotay said, looking around him and feeling very much as though he had just woken up.

"Tuvok report?" Janeway said, adjusting her sitting position as she felt vaguely uncomfortable.

"The transmission originated on a small Class M planet about 25 light years from here. I can detect no ships in the vicinity. And I do not recognize the signature of the transmission." Tuvok reported.

Janeway turned to Seven. "Do you know of this species?" She asked.

Seven shook her head. She was feeling very self-conscious, and she couldn't explain to herself why. But for the first time in her life, she was conscious of her body, and of the tightness of the suit that she wore. "No Captain, I have never seen this species before." She stated, not daring to look around her.

The ship suddenly lurched to one side and the hull groaned. "Report." Janeway barked, righting herself in the chair.

"We are in a tractor beam Captain." Harry Kim called.

"Break us out of it." Janeway replied.

"That will not be possible." Tuvok said quickly.

"What is the source of the tractor beam?" Janeway asked, frantically trying to get information from her computer console.

"Unknown." Tuvok stated simply.

The screen flickered into life again and the same woman smiled back at them. "We will bring your ship to our planet, and you may recuperate for a while, while repairs are made." She said, smiling.

"Break off your tractor beam." Janeway stated, her mouth set in a grim line.

The woman smiled again, her eyes twinkled, and Janeway found herself thinking that she had never seen eyes of such a deep blue. "Now Captain, please, settle back and enjoy the ride, we mean you no harm." The woman said, still smiling.

Kathryn looked at Chakotay, an expression of annoyance on her face. "Forgive me for being skeptical. But you haven't even identified yourself." She said, trying to retain control of her temper, yet at the same time feeling unconcerned.

The woman smiled and nodded. "You are right. I am Queen Eleanora of Sapphoria. We are a peaceful and loving people, our existence is dedicated to emotional and physical peace and pleasure. Please, relax and in a few moments you will experience our hospitality." She said, and Janeway simply stared back at her.

The ship suddenly came to a halt, and a hissing sound filled the air. Then a woman materialized on the bridge near where Seven stood. She was tall and slender, her long blonde hair reached down to the middle of her back, and was shining with a brilliance that was memorable. Her long white robes seemed to shimmer with a diffuse white light, and her whole being glowed with peace and happiness. She smiled and her blue eyes twinkled. "Please do not be scared, my name is Jodoria. I am here to welcome you to Sapphoria, and to take you to meet Queen Eleanora." She said, extending one hand towards Kathryn Janeway.

Tuvok, the only person not affected by the presence of the woman, stared at his station, he could see that they had been brought 25 light years in just a few seconds, and he wanted to know how that had happened.