DISCLAIMER: You all know the drill - Paramount is God. All hail Paramount. They own everything in the Star Trek Universe - I'm just
using my overactive imagination to take their characters where they refuse to go. All in the name of fun, not profit (I wish).
RATING: PG-13 Nothing my momma couldn't read.
<< BACK TO PART XVI : THE ORDERS
Captain Janeway looked at the large contingent of the crew assembled in the shuttle bay. Only a skeleton crew that was running the ship was absent and there were over 130 people gathered in front of her. She had an open comm link, so even those who had to remain at their stations could hear her.
"You've all been briefed on our situation. We've been waiting for this opportunity for almost seven years," she said as she walked among her crew. "Today will be one of the last days we spend in the Delta quadrant. It won't be easy, though. We'll have to spend over a month in a dangerous area of space. I'm sure many of you have heard of the Dominion from loved ones back home. With any luck � and that's something that we've had in abundance these past few years � we won't encounter them�but we have to be prepared for the worst. I have every confidence that we'll prevail, as we always have."
She moved back towards the front of the group where Chakotay and Mark were standing.
"We'll be entering a communications blackout, starting immediately. I'm afraid that means you won't be able to contact your loved ones to tell them we're on our way, but it's a necessary precaution. We can't afford to have the Dominion find out that we're near their space."
The real reason for the blackout was to make sure that the wrong people at Starfleet didn't get wind of her plan, but she wasn't about to tell the crew that.
"Once we're in the Gamma quadrant, we'll no longer be able to use the MIDAS array for communications. We'll be leaving as soon as Lieutenant Torres installs the cloaking device we'll be using. We have a lot to do in the meantime."
She paused and look around at the officers as they watched her. "This is the finest crew I've ever had the privilege of serving with. I know that each and every one of you will give your best effort towards getting us home. Dismissed."
The crew filed out and soon only a few members of the senior staff remained. The Captain nodded at Seven and Chakotay to follow her as she left the shuttle bay. They went to Astrometrics, where they waited a few moments before the daily comlink would be used for what would probably be the last time.
Admiral Blackwell appeared on the screen, flanked by Admiral Hayes and, to her surprise, Admiral Paris. She had expected him to be on Jupiter station, since that was where they had arranged to communicate today, through Tom's sister.
"Admirals," she said hesitantly.
"Captain," said Blackwell. "Are you still in orbit of Kesseret Prime?"
"Yes," she acknowledged.
He frowned, but Hayes and especially Paris did not seem to share his displeasure. "Why?"
"Shore leave," she explained. "My crew's been under quite a bit of stress lately and I think they deserve a break."
"Are they aware of the existence of the wormhole?" asked Blackwell.
"I restricted knowledge of it to my senior staff until we knew if we would be able to use it or not." It wasn't exactly a lie, but it made her uncomfortable nevertheless.
Blackwell seemed satisfied, not noticing that she hadn't answered the question. "When will you be leaving orbit?"
"Most likely within a few days. We're still negotiating for supplies."
"I hope you understand your orders, Captain," said Blackwell menacingly.
"Perfectly. Not to worry, Admiral. We'll be heading for the Alpha quadrant, and we won't be entering Dominion space." She looked at Admiral Paris when she said this, and she saw by the way his eyes widened momentarily that he realized the importance of what she wasn't saying.
"Good," said Blackwell. "There are a few matters I want to discuss over the next few days about some of your confrontations with the Borg."
Right on cue, Seven threw some static into the transmission.
"What's wrong?" asked Hayes.
"Seven?" said the Captain, feigning confusion.
"The gel packs again, Captain," said Seven, sounding bored as though it had happened many times before.
The Captain turned back to the Admirals. "We've been having some problems with the bio-neural circuitry. Our EMH thinks it might be some kind of infection. We've been having trouble with some of the primary systems."
Seven took the hint and distorted the picture once again.
"Is it serious?" asked Hayes.
"Hard to say," offered Chakotay. "The last time we started losing gel packs we were on emergency power for three weeks."
"We're working on the problem," she began, signaling to Seven from her waist where the Admirals couldn't see it. Seven was waiting for the signal and continued distorting the transmission until she cut it completely.
"If they try to contact us again," said Seven, "It will appear as though our communications array is off-line."
"Good work."
* * *
Captain's Log, Stardate 55106.4 Encrypt log entry. Lieutenant Torres has successfully installed the cloaking devices on both Voyager and the Delta Flyer in under two days, and all our tests of the system have been successful. We have an escort of five cloaked Kesseret vessels to lead us through the minefield, and will arrive at the wormhole coordinates shortly.
"Captain, I am detecting weapons fire near the coordinates of the wormhole," announced Tuvok.
The Captain bolted upright in her chair. "Onscreen."
They saw dozens of small vessels swarming around the larger but outnumbered Kesseret ships.
"The Brennin," she muttered.
"General Tamal's vessel is hailing us," Tuvok told her.
"Onscreen."
General Tamal's face appeared on the viewscreen. "Captain, it appears the Brennin are attacking the corridor with a significant force," he said grimly. "I'll transfer the information to detect the mines to your navigational computer. My vessels must go assist the others."
"By all means, General. Can we be of assistance?"
"Not necessary. If you remain cloaked and set a course for the wormhole the Brennin will not see you."
Somebody behind the General yelled at him, and he nodded in acknowledgement before the screen returned to the battle scene.
"I'm detecting the mines," said Tom at the helm. "Setting a course for the wormhole."
The Captain watched the raging battle with concern.
"Any sign we've been spotted, Tuvok?" asked Chakotay.
"None. The Brennin are concentrating their fire on General Tamal's fleet." He frowned as he noticed something else. "A group of Brennin are breaking off their attack."
A group of ten or twelve ships pulled away from the fighting and began firing on what seemed to be an empty part of space. Captain Janeway turned around in her seat to look at Tuvok.
"Are they firing on a cloaked vessel?"
"No," said Tuvok. Before he could elaborate, Harry interrupted him urgently.
"It's the wormhole!" he yelled. "They're trying to collapse it!"
The Captain turned back to the screen. Not again, she thought. We're so close. She didn't even want to consider the possibility that they would not be successful.
"Tom, take us in at full impulse."
"Captain, General Tamal's vessel has taken heavy damage," Tuvok informed her.
"Hail him."
"If we don't make it to the wormhole before it collapses � " began Harry, but a look from the Captain silenced him.
"I'm well aware of that, Mr. Kim. Tuvok?"
"Channel open."
"General, do you need assistance?"
No, he said over the comm, We can deal with the Brennin ourselves. This isn't your fight.
The Captain sighed. "Good luck, General."
The same to you.
She nodded at Tom. "Stay on course for the wormhole, Lieutenant."
"Captain!" yelled Harry. "The threshold's starting to collapse! They're using tricobalt warheads - if they keep firing they'll destroy it!"
Tamal to Captain Janeway.
"Go ahead, General."
Our scientists are recommending we fire at the opening of the corridor to collapse it temporarily. If we don't, the Brennin will destroy it for good. If you're going to use it, I suggest you do so.
"Acknowledged. Tuvok, charge weapons and prepare to decloak."
"Captain?"
"Do it," she ordered. "We're going to take a few of those Brennin out on our way. Reinforce the aft shields � I suspect we'll have one hell of a shock wave on our tail."
Voyager decloaked and was immediately fired upon by some of the Brennin vessels. Tuvok returned fire, destroying two of them.
"Three hundred kilometers to the threshold," announced Tom. "Two hundred�One fifty�One hundred�" The mouth of the wormhole opened in front of them and Voyager neared the threshold.
"All hands brace for impact," ordered the Captain.
"Seventy-five�we're in!" he announced. Voyager was flying through a magnificent blue tunnel that took their breath away. They stopped gawking at it, though, when the bridge shook.
"Just a little turbulence," said Tom. After a few seconds, the bridge shook again when the shock wave caught up with them. The lights on the bridge went out and consoles exploded around them, sending sparks flying in all directions. A haze of smoke was hanging over the bridge as Captain Janeway got up off the floor and looked at the viewscreen.
An unfamiliar star system greeted them.
Captain Janeway rose from her chair and walked over to stand behind Tom.
"Mr. Kim?"
Harry waited a moment before he replied in an excited voice. "Confirmed � we're in the Gamma quadrant. Exactly where Seven predicted we would be."
"Tuvok, engage the cloaking device."
"Cloaking device engaged," he announced.
She took another step closer to Tom, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Set a course for the Bajoran wormhole, warp 8."
"Yes ma'am," he said enthusiastically.
Chakotay noticed immediately that the Captain didn't seem to share Tom's enthusiasm. She seemed contemplative and withdrawn as she moved back to her seat. When she looked at him, he smiled and held out his hand. She took his hand and returned the smile, but it seemed more a reaction than anything else, and she held onto his hand as if drawing strength from it.
* * *
Captain's personal log, Stardate 55132.7 Our first ten days traveling through the Gamma quadrant have been quiet, with no sign of trouble from the Dominion. As much as I'd like it to remain that way, part of me wants something to think about other than my decision to defy Starfleet. I'm beginning to wonder if I acted too rashly � was I merely blinded by my desire to get my crew home? If my actions here start a war, will I be viewed as the Captain who caused the deaths of billions of people just to satisfy her arrogant sense of duty? I can only hope I won't have to find out.
Chakotay rolled over in bed and was surprised at the empty space beside him. Sitting up, he looked around the bedroom but couldn't see Kathryn. He pushed the sheet off him and threw his legs over the edge of the bed. He moved quietly into the living area, and couldn't see her at first. He finally spotted her sitting at the desk, her face illuminated by her computer terminal.
"Isn't it a little late to be working?" he said, padding over to the desk in his bare feet.
She looked up, startled. "I couldn't sleep," she said distractedly.
"This is the third night in a row you've had trouble sleeping," he said, concerned. "I'm worried about you, Kathryn."
She ignored him and turned the computer terminal around. On it was the face of a scaly, horned alien alongside a moving stream of data. "The Jem'Hadar," she said, leaning back in her chair. "Ruthless killing machines genetically engineered by the Founders. They are brutal and absolutely without mercy."
"Let's hope we can avoid them," he said, watching her carefully.
She got up from her desk and walked over to the window, rubbing the back of her neck. She was wearing a peach silk nightgown, and had a matching robe pulled around her. "Let's hope," she said quietly. "But what if we can't?"
He followed her over to the window. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
She turned to face him. "And then what? What if I'm responsible for unleashing that," she said, pointing at the computer terminal, "on the Alpha quadrant? I've been looking at some of Starfleet's data on the war. The Federation wouldn't survive another attack if it came right now."
"Kathryn�"
"What am I doing? We should never have tried this."
"It's not like you to second guess yourself," he said quietly.
She looked back out the window. "My decisions usually don't put billions of people at risk."
"Kathryn, you're looking at the worst case scenario. It's been ten days, and we haven't seen anything on long-range scanners."
She sighed and they stood in silence, her watching the stars streak by out the window and him watching her. After a few minutes, he spoke quietly.
"What exactly are you worried about?"
"All my life, I've adhered to Starfleet principles, Starfleet rules. Now, I'm defying a direct order to satisfy my own agenda."
"I've never known you to be worried about what Starfleet thinks."
"I've never had to worry about it before. I've always had to rely on my own judgment, but now that we're in constant contact Starfleet Command�let's just say it's been on my mind recently." She sighed. "Our first priority is to get home, of course."
"Starfleet has other priorities."
"Yes, they do, and rightly so. That's why Captains are supposed to rely on the judgment of Admirals, and follow orders. I defied a direct order from an Admiral. Never in my entire career have I disobeyed a direct order."
"Sure you have," he said quietly. "You were under orders to arrest me and my crew, but instead you made me your First Officer. Not exactly following orders, was it?"
"That's different," she muttered.
"I don't see how. When we got stranded out here, you took your Starfleet principles and applied them to our situation, adapting as you went along but always sticking to your ideals in the best tradition of Starfleet. Look at us � we've made first contacts, made new allies, explored previously uncharted space�and you've always managed to do that while upholding Starfleet principles."
She shook her head. "That was before we were in contact with home."
"Whether in we're in contact with them or not, we're still alone out here. I admire the fact that you've managed to stick to your principles all these years. Look at what happened to the Equinox crew."
She looked down at the floor. "I violated a direct order," she said firmly. "I could be putting billions of lives at risk."
He thought for a moment. "You know, that's what I thought when I first joined the Maquis. I knew that fighting the Cardassians could start a war, but I also knew they had to be stopped. I was breaking who knows how many treaties and laws � but you said you understood my decision. Just like everyone on board this ship would understand yours if they knew the whole story."
"Are you comparing me to the Maquis?" she said, slightly amused.
"I guess I am. You're defying your superiors for what you believe in. It's not the orders that matter, Kathryn � it's your principles, and you're sticking to yours."
She looked at him in contemplative silence for a long time before she eventually smiled and looked back out the window with a chuckle. "I'm going to get cashiered for this."
He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Kathryn � if they court-martial you for getting your crew home�then maybe your faith in them is misplaced."
"My entire life, all I've ever wanted was a career in Starfleet. I've never really aspired to anything else." She sighed. "We all made a sacrifice seven years ago that took us away from home," she said quietly. "Now I'll have to sacrifice my career to get us back." She looked up at him with a sad smile. "When you win, you lose."
* * *
Captain's Log, Stardate 55204.6 Encrypt log entry. We're well past the halfway point of our journey, and have proceeded so far without a hitch. The crew's spirits are getting higher with each passing day, and even I am beginning to think we might make it this time�and possibly even without causing an intergalactic incident.
Over the next few weeks, the Captain made a point of trying to talk to members of her crew to see how they were doing. It lifted her spirits considerably to hear what each of them were looking forward to when they got back home, and thinking about getting her crew home helped to take her mind of what might be waiting for her there.
They were just over ten days away from the Bajoran wormhole when they saw their first sign of the Dominion. It was late at night, and Chakotay and Kathryn woke up simultaneously when the familiar alarm of a red alert sounded. She was sleeping on his chest with her arms draped over him, and she sat up when she heard the alarm. She saw the red light flashing above her door seconds before her commbadge chirped to life.
Captain Janeway to the bridge, came Tuvok's voice.
Chakotay was instantly awake as well, and they were both out of bed and dressed in a flash. They practically ran out the door and down the hallway to the turbolift. When they arrived on the bridge, it was alive with activity. Normally, only one senior officer would be on duty during the night shift, but they had divided the senior staff up equally, with the Captain and Chakotay taking alpha shift, Mark and Talia taking beta shift, and Tuvok and Harry taking gamma shift.
"Report," she barked as she exited the turbolift.
"I believe we have been detected," Tuvok told her as he headed for his station.
"What?"
"I think we hit some kind of sensor grid," said Harry. "It detected us and overloaded the cloaking device."
She and Chakotay took their chairs. "Anything on long-range sensors?"
"Not yet," said Harry.
"I will attempt to boost the range of the sensors," said Seven as she entered the bridge. "Is it possible that the vessels are cloaked?"
"Not that I'm aware of," said the Captain. "As far as Starfleet's concerned, the Dominion doesn't have cloaking technology."
Seven worked at her console for a few tense minutes before she turned to Harry. "Anything?"
Harry watched his station carefully and was rewarded with a series of beeps. "I'm picking up four ships on long-range sensors."
"I have them as well. They appear to be Jem'Hadar warships," said Tuvok. "They are on an intercept course."
The Captain stiffened. "Janeway to Engineering."
Lieutenant Carey here, ma'am.
"Lieutenant, we need that cloaking device up and running."
We're working on it, but the power grid's completely fused. It could take all night to repair it.
"Well then, we're going to need all the power we can get out of the engines. How long can we sustain maximum warp?"
Twelve, fourteen hours at most. I'll see if I can stretch that out.
"Get on it. Wake Lieutenant Torres up if you have to."
Yes, ma'am.
"I will assist them," said Seven.
The Captain nodded at her and turned to the helm. "Ensign, take us up to maximum warp. Let's see if we can outrun them."
She sat back in her chair and looked at Chakotay beside her. "That bridge you mentioned? It's here."
* * *
"Lieutenant?" asked Captain Janeway for the third time in fifteen minutes.
"Nothing," said Talia, who was covering Ops. "I think we've finally lost them."
She sighed with relief.
Torres to the bridge.
"Go ahead."
I suggest we take it down a notch unless you want to burn out the core. That's about all I can give you for now.
"Good work, Lieutenant."
That was the second time they had been forced to decrease speed � they had been trying to outrun the Jem'Hadar ships for almost twenty-seven hours. The ships had been on their tail the entire time, even after they had engaged the cloaking device about six hours after they had first set off the sensor grid. Although the Jem'Hadar had always stayed near the edge of the range of their sensors, Captain Janeway nevertheless had a sinking feeling they were being tracked.
She sat in her chair and let out a breath that it felt like she had been holding for the past twenty-seven hours.
"Tom," she said, "Take us down to warp 8 but keep an eye out for anything on sensors."
"Yes, ma'am." After he made the change, he swiveled in his chair. "You two should really get some rest. You've been on duty what � twenty-four hours?"
"Twenty-seven, but who's counting?"
"You even sent Tuvok to get some rest, for crying out loud."
"I'll be in my ready room," she said, ignoring Tom and getting up out of her chair.
She entered the room and made her way slowly over to the couch, where she sat down weakly and put her feet up. Laying her head back against the couch, she slowly closed her eyes. The stress of the past twenty-seven hours was finally catching up with her, and she allowed herself to drift off slightly. She wasn't really asleep � she hadn't been really asleep since they had made it through the wormhole. She was always half-awake, waiting for the jarring blow from a torpedo or the siren of a red alert, and by now she was well used to getting a few minutes of sleep while remaining alert.
She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting like that when the alarm sounded for another red alert and a voice came over her commbadge.
Chakotay to Janeway � I think you'd better get out here.
She jumped off the couch and nearly ran to the doors to the bridge. "What is it?" she demanded as she made her way over to her chair.
Chakotay's face was grim. "More ships ahead of us. At least ten."
"Can we avoid them?"
He shook his head. "I think they've detected our cloaking signature. That's probably why they were still able to follow us after we reengaged the cloaking device."
"How long until we intercept them?"
He shrugged. "An hour. Two at most."
She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose before slowly taking her seat. "Beware the Ides of March," she muttered under her breath.
"Kathryn?"
She gave him a sad smile. "Julius Caesar � today's March 15th."
He chuckled and shook his head. "Well, that's looking on the bright side. We've been in worse scrapes than this."
"I know," she said. "And despite the bad omen of the date, I have a good feeling about today."
* * *
"We are closing on their position, Captain," reported Tuvok.
The Captain nodded her acknowledgement. "All hands, this is the Captain. Secure all stations and prepare to engage the enemy." She turned back to Tuvok. "Tuvok, I want you to be ready with the shields the second we drop the cloak, but hold off as long as possible. I don't want to negate the possibility that they're bluffing."
"From what I have learned of the Dominion, Captain," replied the Vulcan, "They do not bluff."
"Let's hope you're wrong."
"They're closing fast," said Tom.
"They're powering weapons," added Harry, the tension apparent in his voice.
"Tom, take us out of warp," ordered the Captain calmly. Chakotay and possibly Tuvok were the only ones who could detect the apprehension in her voice.
"Twenty seconds to intercept," announced Tom.
She held her hand up in Tuvok's direction to tell him to keep them cloaked. As the Dominion ships grew larger on the viewscreen, she was just about to drop her hand when one of the ships fired a torpedo at them. Voyager, being cloaked, had no shields, and the torpedo exploded on the saucer section, causing everyone on the bridge to be tossed around.
"Hull breaches on decks 3 through 5!" yelled Harry over the noise.
"Now, Tuvok!" yelled the Captain, too late. Tuvok decloaked the ship and brought the shields up. "Try hailing them!" she yelled in Harry's direction.
He shook his head. "They're not responding."
"Tom, evasive maneuvers," ordered Chakotay.
"Ready photon torpedoes. Fire at will."
Voyager fired a series of photon torpedoes at the Dominion ships, and although they hit their targets they did not appear to do much damage.
"We have disabled the weapons array of one of their ships," reported Tuvok.
"Captain, I'm reading a massive energy buildup on their lead ship," said Harry urgently.
She turned to the viewscreen, but couldn't see anything unusual until a pulse shot from one of the ships and the bridge shook.
"What the hell was that?"
Mark and Talia were at the Engineering station, and they looked at each other in horror.
"The Breen weapon!" yelled Mark, and he jumped away from the Engineering station and started to run over to Ops.
Before he got there, Harry began to panic at his console and lights began to flicker around the bridge.
"Captain, whatever that thing was, it's draining power from all over the ship! We've lost main power, navigation�"
"Shields and weapons are offline," announced Tuvok.
"Harry, can you get main power back online?"
He shook his head. "I don't know what that thing did. It could take hours to�"
"They are firing," said Tuvok suddenly, interrupting Harry.
A pair of torpedoes flew at Voyager and connected directly with the hull since shields were down. Consoles all over the bridge exploded.
Out of the corner of her eye, the Captain saw Ops go up in a flurry of smoke and sparks and saw Harry go down. She and Chakotay were standing next to each other in front of the railing that separated the command chairs and the helm, and he steadied her with one arm as they tried to regain their balance.
"Get those emergency power cells!" she yelled in Mark's general direction, who was standing behind the command chairs near Ops.
Seven helped him drag one out and over to in front of Harry's console. Seven wired the power cell into the main power grid.
"I believe I can restore emergency power," she said as she worked. "Prepare to raise shields."
After a few tense seconds, she nodded at Tuvok. "Raising shields," announced Tuvok as the ships fired again, but he was too late to prevent the first torpedo from hitting near the bridge.
Captain Janeway thought she heard someone yell at her in warning as an explosion rocked the bridge and consoles exploded, but before she could turn around to see who it was, something hit her, hard, and everything went black.
* * *
Tuvok pulled himself up off the floor and looked around at what was left of the bridge. It was hard to see anything for the smoke, so he couldn't tell if anyone was seriously injured. Checking his station, he was relieved to see that the Jem'Hadar ships had left � for now, anyways. He didn't have time to wonder why they would leave when Voyager was defenseless. They had to take advantage of the Jem'Hadar's retreat while it lasted and leave the area.
He saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and when he looked over he saw Lieutenant Oren limping towards him, her hand on her side.
"Lieutenant, we must try and restore main power," he said, stepping around his station. She nodded and walked over to Ops and started working, glancing at Harry's unmoving form crumpled on the floor. She was only able to work for a few seconds before she looked at him again. She turned back to her console, but then stepped away and grabbed a medkit.
"Lieutenant?" said Tuvok.
"I know we need main power," she said, turning to look at him as she crouched next to Harry. "But won't it be easier to get the ship up and running if we have some help?"
He nodded his acknowledgement as she scanned Harry with a tricorder.
"He's got second and third degree burns to his upper body, but he'll be okay." She looked around the bridge and then got up and walked with the medkit over to the helm, stepping around the large pile of debris near the middle of the bridge. Tom Paris was slumped across his station, but when she felt for a pulse it was strong. Scanning him, she discovered he only had a mild concussion, so she grabbed a hypospray and applied it to his neck. He came to with a groan after a few seconds.
"Come on," she said, taking his arm to help him up, "We need a medic."
He nodded with his hand pressed to his head, and moved away from his station to treat the rest of the injured bridge crew.
Chakotay could hear people moving around and shouting, but it took him a moment to be alert enough to hear what they were saying. It was difficult for him to think straight, but as far as he could tell he was uninjured. He opened his eyes, but couldn't see anything at first � there was something on top of him. He lifted his head up, and tried to push it off him. It was heavy � it felt like a piece of the roof � and he wasn't able to move it very far at first. The debris suddenly gave way, and he saw why when he made out Tom's face on the other side, pulling the large chunk of roof plating off him.
"You all right, Commander?" asked Talia, who appeared beside him and helped to push the debris out of the way.
He nodded. As they cleared more of the debris away, he could see that he had very narrowly missed being pinned under a heavy beam that had fallen from the ceiling. He let out a sharp breath at his narrow escape, but his relief vanished when he remembered that Kathryn had been standing next to him. He turned his head to the side, and the color drained from his face he saw her hand projecting from under the fallen beam. He frantically looked around for any other sign of her, and his eyes fell on her familiar reddish-brown hair. Her head was turned away from him, so he couldn't tell if she was awake, but it looked like her entire upper body was pinned under the beam.
"Kathryn," he said hoarsely, trying to subdue his panic.
Tom followed his gaze and paled when he saw her inert form trapped under the massive beam. He turned around. "Tuvok, we need some help over here!"
The first thing that Kathryn was aware of was a hand on her chin turning her head to the side. She could hear voices, but it sounded like they were very far away. She felt somebody's fingers press into her neck.
"I've got a pulse," said Tom's voice.
"Is she conscious?" That sounded like Chakotay, she thought, but why is he so far away?
"I don't think so," came Tom's voice again. "Captain, can you hear me?"
She realized that she should answer him, but when she tried to nothing happened. The hand on her face was pulled away, and after a few seconds she was able to open her eyes. Everything was blurry, and she thought she could see her officers gathered but they seemed to be very far away. She turned her head a little, but couldn't see anything but gray metal in front of her before her eyes closed again.
"We've got to get this thing off her," she heard Talia say.
"Tuvok, Mark, help me lift it," said Tom.
She heard them grunting and could hear what sounded like metal creaking. She heard a loud crash, and then became aware of the incredible pain in her torso. She groaned, and felt a hand on the side of her face.
"Captain? Can you hear me?" asked Talia.
She groaned again and could hear the beeping of a tricorder.
"She's got internal injuries, a broken rib, a punctured lung, and three ruptured vertebrae," said Tom grimly.
"Go check on Chakotay," said Talia.
Finally getting her eyes open, she saw Talia kneeling beside her. "Report," she said, but it came out as a whisper.
"The Jem'Hadar are gone. We're going to try and get main power up and running before they come back."
The Captain tried to push herself up but gasped as pain shot up her back.
"Don't try to move," said Talia. "You were pinned under one of the beams that fell from the ceiling."
"Chakotay?" she whispered.
Tom came back over and knelt down beside her. "Nothing worse than a bump on the head. This should help control some of the internal bleeding and the pain." She felt the hiss of a hypospray on her neck, and her mind cleared as some of the pain from her injuries dissipated.
She nodded, and grabbed Lieutenant Oren's shoulder in an attempt to pull herself up.
"Captain, that's not a good idea�" began Tom, but when she glared at him he stopped and moved over to help her up. She clenched her teeth to ignore the searing pain from her ruptured vertebrae, and it hurt to breathe.
When she was standing, leaning on Tom and Talia, she looked for Chakotay and saw Tuvok helping to pull him out from under the debris. He was conscious but still looked a little woozy, and he had a nasty looking gash on his head.
"You okay?" she asked when he looked at her. He nodded, but didn't ask her how she was doing because he could see for himself that she was badly injured, having seen her completely pinned under the beam.
Chakotay waved Tuvok off, so he moved over to his station. Tom helped the Captain over to the railing near Ops, but left her when Mark called him over to Seven's unconscious form stretched out on the floor.
"Is she all right?" asked Janeway as Tom knelt down and ran his tricorder over Seven, who had a massive head wound.
He shook his head. "She's got major head trauma � some of her cranial implants are shutting down. She needs to get to Sickbay now."
The Captain turned to Talia beside her. "Have we got transporters?"
Talia moved gingerly over to Ops, clutching her side. Entering a few commands on the console, she shook her head. "That power cell that Mark and Seven got hooked up is keeping the shields up, but that's about it�we've barely got emergency power."
Seven moved slightly with a small groan and her eyes fluttered open. She looked around without moving, then said in a small voice, "I'm injured."
The Captain noticed with a small smile that Seven referred to herself as being injured, not 'damaged' as she usually did. Mark knelt down next to her and tried to reassure her.
"Don't worry, Seven � we'll have transporters up in no time. You know how efficient this crew can be."
She managed a small smile at that. Tom started to get up, but before he did, he put his hand on Mark's shoulder and spoke quietly to him.
"Try to keep her alert and talking to you." Mark nodded, and Tom went to check on Harry, who was still unconscious. Tom didn't want to wake him until he had a chance to treat his burns, and that's what he moved over to do now. While he pulled out a dermal regenerator, the Captain tried to ignore the waves of pain that were intruding on her thoughts and turned to Tuvok at his station as Chakotay came up behind her and put his hand comfortingly on her arm.
"Any sign of the Dominion ships?" she asked, still leaning heavily on the railing.
"Not on short-range sensors," said Tuvok.
"Damage reports?" asked Chakotay.
"Negative � the comm systems are down."
"Somebody needs to get down to Engineering," said Talia. "We might be able to get some of the primary systems up from there."
"I'm sure B'Elanna's already on it," said the Captain. She looked over at Tom, and saw the pained look on his face. She could only imagine how concerned he was about his wife and daughter, and was moved by the pleading look in his eye. When he saw the pity on her face, he realized that he was needed on the bridge, so he took a shaky breath and returned to treating Harry's burns.
"Tom," she said quietly, and he looked up and knew instantly what she was asking.
"I'm almost finished with Harry, and he'll be fine as soon as I wake him up. There's nothing else I can do for the rest of you until I get some more medical equipment."
She nodded. "When you're done with Harry, get down to Engineering and get a status report. On your way back, stop at Sickbay and get whatever equipment you can carry. Tell B'Elanna that shields, weapons, and the comm system are our first priorities. Transporters too, if she can manage it."
"Yes ma'am," he said, the relief visible in his eyes. He gave Harry's face a final pass with the dermal regenerator and returned it to the medkit, grabbing a hypospray. He applied it to Harry's neck and his friend's eyes opened slowly.
"What�" he said groggily.
"Back to work, Harry," said Tom, slapping him on the shoulder as he got up. He nodded his appreciation to the Captain as he made his way over to the jeffries tube and climbed in.
"I'll be back," he said with a grin, and then he was gone.
Harry slowly pulled himself up to his station and worked with Talia to restore power.
"It looks like there's some kind of dampening field around the ship," he said. "If we can find the source we might be able to block it. Talia?"
The Trill woman nodded and started to work, but after a moment shut her eyes and gripped the edge of the station with such force that her knuckles turned white.
Harry noticed that she was in pain, so he gently pushed her aside. "I'll do it. Maybe you should sit down."
She opened her mouth to protest, but quickly thought better of it nodded before leaning against the wall behind Harry with her eyes closed. Harry continued working but without success.
Captain Janeway was trying to think of a solution, but it was hard to think straight when it felt like her spine was being slowly ripped out of her body.
"What if we�" she began to suggest, but another wave of pain came over her and her voice faltered. She started to sway on her feet and her vision blurred, but then she felt Chakotay grab her by the elbows and keep her upright.
"Kathryn?"
She shook her head gently in his direction and took a deep breath, steeling herself against the pain. "Harry, try rerouting what power we have through the main deflector."
He nodded. While they were waiting to see if he would be successful, Tuvok claimed the Captain's attention.
"I am detecting a vessel approaching," he said.
She turned her head towards his station, trying to fight off the darkness that was closing in on her peripheral vision.
"Dominion?" It was getting more difficult for her to talk � the pressure on her chest from her punctured lung was increasing, and it felt like somebody was squeezing her lungs.
"I do not believe so," he said. "But the sensors are barely functioning. It appears to be a smaller vessel than the Jem'Hadar ships."
She tried to think for a moment, but it was getting harder and harder to keep her mind clear.
"Can we hail them?" she asked finally.
"Yes!" exclaimed Harry excitedly as he made a breakthrough at his station. "I can give you an audio comm channel, but I'm not sure how long I can keep it up."
"Do it," she ordered. "This is Captain Janeway of the Starship Voyager � please identify yourselves."
After a tense few seconds, a distorted reply could be heard over the comm.
Good............Voyager. This............lower your shields and.........rescue......aboard.
"Doesn't sound like the Dominion," commented Mark.
"Should I lower the shields, Captain?" asked Tuvok.
The darkness was closing fast from the edge of her vision, and she struggled to think clearly. It was nearly impossible to keep her thoughts focused on anything other than the terrible agony pulsing through her body. She was able to bring herself back to the situation at hand when she heard Mark exclaim quietly.
"Starfleet," he breathed. Louder, he repeated. "It's Starfleet!"
"What?" said the Captain, trying with increasing difficulty to keep her mind grounded.
She vaguely heard Tuvok speak to her again. "Confirmed. The signature is Starfleet."
Wondering if she was hallucinating, she wanted to ask him to repeat it, but her head swam and she was unable to form the words. The pain in her chest was getting worse, and it took a great deal of effort for her to draw a breath to speak. She heard Chakotay ask Tuvok to lower the shields, but she never heard Tuvok's reply. The last thing she was aware of was Chakotay calling her name frantically as she sank down to the ground.
>> ON TO PART XVIII : THE RETURN
<< BACK TO PART XVI: THE ORDERS
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