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.
Late that night when most of the crew was asleep, B'Elanna made her way into the mess hall and began rooting around in the kitchen for something to eat. She had mentioned to Neelix that she was plagued by late-night cravings, so the Talaxian had given her free reign of the kitchen so that she could conserve her replicator rations. "After all," he had said with a grin, "You are eating for two now." She found a bowl of what Neelix had claimed was a fruit salad that was left over from lunch and piled some on a plate. Moving towards the main eating area, she was surprised to discover that she was not alone � Captain Janeway was sitting on one of the couches near the window. Her back was against the arm of the couch, and her legs were stretched out along its length. She was drinking coffee and had a PADD on her lap, but she was ignoring it as she stared out the window.
"A little late to be reading reports isn't it, Captain?"
The Captain turned around, surprised. She had been engrossed in her own thoughts and had not noticed anyone enter the mess hall. "B'Elanna! What time is it?"
"0300."
"A little late to be up and around yourself," she said, pulling her legs underneath her to make room on the couch for B'Elanna.
B'Elanna smiled as she sat down and showed the plate. "Midnight snack. I've been getting cravings at the weirdest times, so Neelix told me to help myself to the leftovers."
She took a bite and made a face at the sour taste of the fruit.
"On second thought, though, I'll pass this time." She put the plate aside.
B'Elanna mentioned the memorial service, and they talked about it for a few minutes before there was a lull in the conversation. Noticing again the PADD in the Captain's lap, she pointed to it.
"Catching up on personnel reports?"
"No, just thinking," she replied softly. "I was reading Chakotay's message that he left for me."
"Let me guess," said B'Elanna with a smile. "He told you to sleep more, eat more, and lay off the coffee. I can see that you're following it to the letter."
"I'm sure he left something of that sort for the Doctor," she replied with a small smile. "But�not in mine," she added softly. She ran her fingers over the screen, gently tracing the words. B'Elanna regretted her insensitive comment and was about to apologize when Captain Janeway continued.
"Would you like to see it?"
She looked at the Captain with her mouth open for a few seconds before she was able to overcome her surprise and stammer out a response. "Captain, I couldn't�I didn't mean to pry. That's not something�I mean, that's really personal."
"No, it's not�Well, it is personal, but I've scrolled down past the part where�" She paused and tried to think - what had he really told her in his message? On the surface, it had been nothing more than a farewell message from a close friend, but between the lines...there had been so much more. When she had first read it, she had been immediately struck by the emotional undercurrent of his words. She knew that he had told her he loved her, but looking at the message she could never pinpoint how or where he said it. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to share the first part of the message with anybody. The end of the message though, didn't have the same kind of hidden meaning, and she had no objection to B'Elanna reading it.
"There's nothing here that I wouldn't be willing to share. As a matter of fact, I'd be happy for you to read it since you two were so close."
B'Elanna took the PADD reluctantly and began to read the last part of the message that was on the PADD.
"� I want you to know that serving under you these past few years has been the most rewarding experience of my life.
My only other regret is that I won't be with you for the rest of your journey and to be there when you get this crew home � and I know you will get them home, Kathryn. You're too stubborn not to.
Remember that you are not alone � your Angry Warrior will always be with you.
Chakotay."
"That's beautiful, Captain. But what does he mean about an 'Angry Warrior'?"
"He means himself," she replied with a smile at the memory.
"I don't understand�Chakotay was a very peaceful man. I don't picture him as angry at all."
"It has to do with a story he told me when we were on New Ear�when we were quarantined on that planet a few years ago." She considered sharing the memory with B'Elanna, but changed her mind when she looked over the half-klingon's shoulder and saw a groggy Tom Paris stumble into the mess hall.
"Remind me to tell it to you sometime."
B'Elanna was disappointed � she had thought for a minute that the Captain had been going to open up to her, but then something had changed her mind. Neither she nor Chakotay had ever talked about their time on that planet, so it was unusual that she had even mentioned it. But she had not only mentioned it, she had seemed willing to talk about it. That was a good sign, but she had still clammed up.
Her disappointment soon evaporated, though, because she understood why when the Captain leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "Don't look now, but I think your husband's about to come and drag you back to your quarters."
Despite her warning to the contrary, B'Elanna looked back over her shoulder and saw Tom walking towards them with an annoyed look on his face.
"There you are," he said. "I woke up and couldn't find you. What are you doing up at this hour? You need your rest � your shift starts in four hours." Turning to the Captain, he added, "With all due respect, Captain, you're a terrible influence."
The Captain threw up her hands in mock surrender. "Then I'll try to set a better example. I have a shift in the morning, too, so I really should get back to my quarters."
B'Elanna glared at Tom in frustration as the Captain got up to leave. He was usually very perceptive, but he was being incredibly dense right now. Couldn't he see that he was interrupting? Must be the time of night. She might actually be getting the Captain to open up by now if he hadn't barged in.
"Good night," muttered Tom, still groggy.
"Good night, Captain," added B'Elanna.
Captain Janeway started for the door, but she turned around and spoke to B'Elanna again.
"B'Elanna�Why don't you drop by my quarters sometime when you're off duty and we could finish our conversation. And that's just a invitation � not an order, Lieutenant."
"I'd like that, Captain." B'Elanna smiled at the Captain as she left the mess hall. Maybe there was a chance of getting through to her, after all.
* * *
Chakotay groaned as he regained consciousness, laying on his back on the floor of his cell. It took him a moment before the fog in his brain cleared and he remembered why he was not in his quarters on Voyager.
The Delta Flyer.
The Vaadwaur.
He tried to sit up and felt a sharp pain in his side. Laying back on the floor with a gasp, he tried to recall what had happened. It felt like he had a couple of cracked ribs � how had that happened? Then he remembered the blows to the side and the fist that had come flying at his head, during the latest in a series of brutal interrogations. They had 'interrogated' him a number of times already, but only in the last few sessions had they even told him what they wanted � Voyager's command codes. He had tried to tell them that they were useless, that Janeway would have changed them in the event of a command change, but they hadn't wanted to listen. They had only a limited understanding of how Voyager's computer worked, so they were too ignorant to know that he was telling the truth and they were too stubborn to admit they were ignorant. They were smart enough, though, to ask him why he refused to give them the command codes if they were useless. Chakotay had merely been silent at that question. He couldn't tell them the codes because there was always the remote possibility that Captain Janeway wouldn't completely erase the old ones, and they could still be used to harm the ship. He would not take that chance, however slim, and refused to give his codes to the Vaadwaur.
Sliding along on his back, he made it to the edge of the cell and pushed himself into a sitting position against the wall. He clenched his jaw and tried to ignore the stabbing pain from his injured ribs. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, or even how long he had been here. It could have been days or weeks since the attack on the Delta Flyer. He reached up to his face and felt the swollen lump on his forehead. He could tell by the dried blood on his face that he had been out for at least a few hours, but there was no way to tell. They purposely fed him on an erratic schedule, and interrogated him at seemingly random intervals.
The lights in the corridor came on suddenly, causing him to shut his eyes in pain. When he opened them, there were three Vaadwaur standing at the entrance to his cell. The one in charge, Takken, spoke first.
"I'm afraid our last session was unfortunately cut short. Shall we pick up where we left off, or are you going to cooperate this time?"
"I already told you, Takken, those codes are useless."
"I don't believe you. If they were useless there would be no reason for you to keep them from us."
Takken motioned for the two guards who flanked him to grab Chakotay, and they dragged him into a standing position by his arms.
"You have two choices, Commander. You can give me Voyager's command codes and join your crew on a hospitable planet somewhere equipped with supplies�" He stopped pacing and moved closer to Chakotay until their faces were a foot apart. "Or we can take Voyager by force, which would result in�unfortunate consequences for your crew. It's your choice. I would hate to see your crew suffer the repercussions of a bad decision on your part."
Chakotay looked back at him defiantly. "I don't believe you. If you could take Voyager by force, you'd have done it already." He saw an expression of uneasiness and surprise flash across Takken's face, so he knew that he was close to the truth. "Captain Janeway's got you outgunned and you know it. You're no match for Voyager, so you have to try and get it by deceit and coercion." Takken was becoming agitated now, as were the guards holding him, so he went in for the kill. "I thought the Vaadwaur were a race of warriors. I guess I was misinformed."
Takken stepped back and appraised his prisoner. He managed to regain his composure before he responded.
"The Vaadwaur are a race of warriors. However, our�circumstances have forced us to adjust our tactics for the time being. Once we have Voyager and its technology, we will be able to take back what was once ours and the Vaadwaur Imperium will be reborn. You're making this unnecessarily difficult, Commander. We will get Voyager, and when we do, you will regret that you did not cooperate sooner."
Chakotay gritted his teeth to ignore the pain in his side long enough to speak again.
"You're the one who's going to be sorry, Takken. When Captain Janeway catches up with you, she'll make you wish that you were back in stasis for another 900 years."
Takken frowned. "I doubt we will have to deal with your Captain. If our plan had failed Voyager would have come looking for you long ago. You've been here for weeks already � Voyager's probably a hundred light-years away by now." With that, he motioned for the guards to bring Chakotay out of the cell.
Chakotay had no way of knowing as he was dragged away that Takken was lying through his teeth � it had only been ten days since the attack on the Delta Flyer.
* * *
After seven hours of trying to improve the efficiency of the warp core, B'Elanna finally decided to call it quits. She was finding it increasingly difficult to refrain from attacking her subordinates, and they were getting jumpy just from being around her. She could tell that they were all still upset about Chakotay's death, which didn't help their problem-solving efforts. Leaving Vorik in charge, she left engineering and entered the turbolift.
"Deck four," she ordered. The warp core efficiency hadn't been this low in years. It was funny how the ship often reflected the crew � morale hadn't been this low in years, either. She hadn't seen it this bad since they had left Chakotay and Captain Janeway behind when they were infected with that virus. That train of thought reminded her of her conversation with the Captain in the mess hall a few days ago. She had been prepared to take the Captain up on her offer to drop by at the first opportunity, but every time that she had been off duty the past few days, it was either late at night or the Captain was on the bridge.
"Computer, halt turbolift," she ordered. "Locate Captain Janeway."
Captain Janeway is in her quarters.
"No time like the present," she muttered. She wondered momentarily whether to change out of her uniform, but then realized that it was getting late, so she decided not to waste time by going to her quarters.
"Deck three," she ordered.
She walked down the corridor towards the Captain's quarters, and stopped at the door for a minute before tentatively pressing the door chime. The doors whooshed open, and she stepped in. The Captain was sitting in a large comfortable chair with her uniform jacket and her boots off and her feet up on an ottoman. She had a blanket around her legs and a large hardcover book in her lap. She sat up in her chair when her chief engineer entered.
"B'Elanna! What can I do for you?"
"Actually, I was on my way back to my quarters when I remembered what you said in the mess hall the other night, so I thought that I would just stop by and talk, if it's not a bad time."
"Not at all. Come in, sit down." She pulled the blanket off her legs, put her book on the footstool, and motioned to the adjacent couch. "Can I get you something to drink? Tea, perhaps?"
"Tea would be great," she said as she sat down on the couch. The Captain walked over to the replicator and ordered two cups of tea. As she made her way toward the couch with the mugs, B'Elanna picked up the book laying on the ottoman.
"The Odyssey? A little heavy to relax with, isn't it?"
She smiled as she handed B'Elanna the tea and sat down beside her on the couch. "I wasn't in the mood for something 'light' and this caught my eye on the shelf." She sipped her tea and looked wistfully at the book. "As a matter of fact, it was a birthday present�from Chakotay. He wrote on the inside," she said as she reached over and opened to the first page.
B'Elanna read Chakotay's flowing handwriting aloud with interest. "'Kathryn � May our journey be infinitely safer and shorter, but may the end of the road be the same. Chakotay.'" She looked at the Captain with a puzzled look on her face. "I don't remember the story exactly, but doesn't the main character wander abandoned and alone for over twenty years? Hardly an inspiring story for him to point out to you."
"Maybe not from that perspective," she conceded. "But the point is that he survived years of hardships and finally made it home to his loved ones."
B'Elanna put the book down and turned to face the Captain. "That reminds me�you said that you were going to tell me about the story Chakotay told you once�the Angry Warrior story. Unless you'd rather not talk about it," she added hastily.
"No, I don't mind."
"Good, because I love hearing his legends."
The Captain took a sip of her tea and settled back into the couch before beginning. "I'm not sure if I can remember it all, but here goes�It's a story about an angry warrior, a man who lived in conflict with his tribe. He couldn't find peace even with the help of his spirit guide, and struggled with his discontent for many years. The only satisfaction he got came when he was in battle. This made him a hero among his tribe, but he still longed for inner peace. One day he and his war party were captured by another tribe, led by a woman warrior. She called on him to join her, because her tribe could not defend itself from all its enemies alone. The woman warrior was brave and beautiful, and very wise. The angry warrior swore to himself that he would stay by her side, doing whatever he could to make her burden lighter. From that day on, her needs would come first. And in that way, the warrior began to know the true meaning of peace." She stopped and took a sip of her tea to conceal the tears that threatened to escape and tried to compose herself.
B'Elanna remained silent for a moment. She could see that the Captain was on the verge of tears, so she let her pull herself together before she said anything. When it appeared that she was more composed, B'Elanna addressed her.
"That's a beautiful story," she said finally. "I never heard that one � I shouldn't be surprised, though. He always had one up his sleeve for every occasion. He used to use them to get me to calm down when I was ready to lose my temper. I'm surprised he didn't use that one on me when I came on board Voyager." She could tell that there was something more to the story, but she let it pass for now since the Captain was so obviously upset.
"You'll have to tell me some of them sometime. I'd enjoy hearing them�although some of them I may know already. Chakotay often told me legends when we were on that planet." She had finished her tea, and got up to get another cup.
That's the closest I've ever come to telling anyone, she thought. It had felt good, though, to share the story that meant so much to her. She realized that it would have felt even better if B'Elanna could appreciate the meaning as well, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to open up that far. If she told anyone on board, it would probably be B'Elanna, she mused. She had been very close to Chakotay, and probably knew or suspected what his feelings for her had been.
She punched the command into the replicator. "Would you like more tea, B'Elanna?"
"No thank you, Captain."
She walked back towards the couch with her tea in hand. "You know, B'Elanna, I've been thinking�if we're going to make these little chats a habit, maybe you should call me Kathryn."
B'Elanna looked at the Captain in surprise for a few seconds before she smiled. "You'll have to give me a few days on that one, Captain."
The Captain reacted immediately. The color drained from her face and she froze with her mug halfway to her mouth. Her eyes became moist as they filled with tears that she struggled to keep back. Alarmed, B'Elanna leaned over and put her hand on the Captain's arm.
"I'm sorry � did I say something wrong? I didn't mean to upset you." B'Elanna took the tea mug from her Captain's shaking hand as she tried to figure out what had distressed her.
Captain Janeway tried to reassure her companion. "It's not your fault, B'Elanna, it's just�" She paused, then decided to tell her why she was so agitated. In a shaky voice, she explained her distress: "It's just that those are the exact words Chakotay used the first time I asked him to call me Kathryn."
B'Elanna melted at this information. "I had no idea," she said quietly. She could count on one hand the number of times that she had heard Chakotay use the Captain's first name � at least in the presence of others. There had often been speculation among the crew, mainly Tom, herself, and Harry, on whether or not he called her Kathryn in private. The consensus was that he did, and it had obviously been correct.
She wondered whether to leave, but instead decided to press on. It would probably be good for the Captain to talk about it.
"When was that?" she asked.
"The first day that we were stranded on the planet."
"Oh?" B'Elanna smiled � she could imagine that Chakotay had been just as surprised and pleased as she had been a few seconds ago. "How long did it take him to get up the nerve to do it?"
She chuckled. "About a week. He finally did it when I thanked him for building me a bathtub."
"He made you a bathtub?" B'Elanna said incredulously.
"I mentioned that I thought we were roughing it since we didn't have a bathtub, so he went out and built one. It was wonderful, actually. Once," she laughed, "I was taking a bath when I heard a sound in the woods and called to him. He came out, but it was only a monkey. So we were just standing there and all I was wearing was a towel."
B'Elanna laughed as well. "That must have been�awkward."
"A little�but that's something I got used to a lot. We got along well, but every now and then there would be a really awkward moment. I guess it was unavoidable." She took a sip of her tea and made herself more comfortable on the couch. "That legend came out of an awkward moment�we had been there about six weeks when a plasma storm hit and destroyed most of our equipment. I had a sore neck from moving all the debris off the shelter, and Chakotay offered to give me a massage. We didn't last half a minute before the�intimacy�of the situation hit us. Being the coward that I was, I ran off to bed. It was starting to occur to me that we were going to be there a long time, and I didn't want to think about the�personal implications of that. A while later, I came back out and wanted to 'define parameters.'" She smiled at the memory. "Instead, he told me that legend."
"It wasn't really a legend, was it," said B'Elanna. "That sounded a lot like the two of you."
"No, it wasn't, and I called him on it. He said that calling it a legend made it easier to tell me�how he felt." She surprised herself with the last statement. She had finally admitted to someone that Chakotay had had feelings for her. The release was so great that she finally lost control and started crying in front of her chief engineer. B'Elanna overcame her surprise momentarily and comforted the Captain.
"I was such a coward," she whispered. "I kept pushing him away, used protocol to keep a wall between us�and now it's too late. I can never tell him how much he meant to me."
"He knew," replied B'Elanna softly. "He knew."
She put her arms around the Captain, and they comforted each other in silence before the Captain spoke in a whisper.
"What I wouldn't give to tell him."
* * *
Captain's personal log, Stardate 54728.7 It seems like longer, but it's only been a month since I lost my friend and first officer. The crew has been very supportive, B'Elanna in particular. She stops by my quarters frequently now, and I've been to hers a few times. I've come to look forward to our chats, but I still feel alone and isolated. It's times like this I wish that we had a counselor on board � but that was another burden that Chakotay took upon himself.
Alone in her ready room, Captain Janeway stared out at the stars streaking by. She felt detached somehow, like she was adrift on the open sea. No, she thought, that wasn't an accurate analogy. She felt like she was lost in a crowd of people, but nobody could see or hear her, no matter what she did or how loud she screamed. Sometimes it felt like there were too many people around her, but she still felt inexplicably isolated, even abandoned. It was like something heavy pressing down on her, and she couldn't get out from under it. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat, and she didn't feel like herself at all. When she was on duty, she managed to push this feeling to the back of her mind (as long as she pretended not to notice that it was Tuvok and not Chakotay in the chair beside her on the bridge), but the worst part of her day was when she returned to her quarters. She had never realized how much she looked forward to Chakotay's unannounced visits until they weren't possible anymore. For almost a year now, he had been in the habit of dropping by her quarters more frequently late at night when they were both off duty. They talked about the crew, their lives, their homes, ship's business (when he would let her bring it up), or anything that was on their minds. Well, almost anything. She had always carefully avoided any discussion of their feelings for each other, but she had often had the impression that it was on his mind. He had respected her wishes, though, and had never brought it up.
"Are you sorry I showed up?"
"Not for a second."
She closed her eyes. She didn't know what had made her think of that conversation on the bridge a few weeks ago after the crew's rescue from Quarra. It was moments like this that she regretted�she had felt at the time that she could have said so much more�about the days before her memory returned � getting to know him all over again without having to deal with Starfleet, the Maquis, being stuck in the Delta Quadrant�but as usual, she had let it pass.
The chime to her ready room sounded and the doors opened to admit Tuvok. He walked over to the couch where she was seated and handed her a report. B'Elanna had finally fixed the problem with the warp core, but it had left their energy stores at dangerously low levels. Seven had located a planet with a deposit of dilithium, and they had set a course for it.
"We should reach the planet within twelve hours, Captain." She nodded as she skimmed the report he had given her � it was Seven's analysis of the planet.
"Dilithium, gallicite�I was hoping we would find a planet with more that we need, but I guess we'll have to make due with what we can find."
"Lieutenant Torres estimates from the sensor readings that it will take approximately six hours to mine the necessary components."
"Then I guess we've got our work cut out for us."
Tuvok's eyebrow went up. "'Us', Captain?"
"I'll be leading the away team."
Tuvok's surprise turned into a disapproving frown. "Captain, I do not believe that is wise. You should not be joining unsecured away missions, especially since we have already lost one of our commanding officers."
"I don't care, Tuvok. It's just a mining expedition in an uninhabited system. I haven't been off the ship since�" She was about to say 'since Chakotay died' but thought better of it. "Since we were on Quarra, and I hardly think that counts as shore leave. I really need to get some fresh air."
"Very well, Captain," he said, resigned. When the Captain was like this, she was impervious to logic, so he decided to let her go planetside. She probably could use a change of scenery.
* * *
Later that day, Captain Janeway leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose. It took a minute for the tears welling up behind her eyes to subside, but in the end they did. She stood up and walked over to the windows. This had been the worst day yet without her First Officer, but she was at a loss to explain why. Her shift had been uneventful, and everything was status quo, but something had made her notice Chakotay's absence more than usual. Sitting next to his empty chair on the bridge, eating lunch alone, sitting in her ready room for a good half hour after her shift was over without him coming in to tell her to call it a day � all day she had felt empty and alone, more even than usual. Maybe it was because it was exactly four weeks ago today since the attack on the Delta Flyer, or maybe it was because she had finally stopped expecting him to walk into her ready room or join her for a meal at any time. Whatever it was, she hadn't felt this miserable and isolated since the day he died. She blinked back another onslaught of tears and composed herself.
Leaving the ready room, she entered the bridge and addressed Tuvok.
"You have the bridge, Tuvok. Notify me when we're in orbit of the planet." She crossed the bridge to the turbolift hastily, trying to keep her barely concealed distress from the crew. As soon as the turbolift doors closed, she gave it the order for deck three and then leaned against the wall, silently praying that she wouldn't run into anyone before she reached the privacy of her quarters. With some difficulty, she managed to appear composed as she traversed the corridor to her door, and quickly entered before she saw anyone. She let out a deep breath as the doors shut.
"Computer, engage privacy lock," she said quietly.
She took off her jacket and took a few steps into her living area, not bothering to turn the lights on. Unfortunately, the first object that caught her attention in the darkened quarters was her copy of The Odyssey that Chakotay had given her last year. Blinking back tears, she picked it up and sank into her favorite chair. Running her fingers along the cover, she flipped it open and looked at her name in his flowing handwriting. Unable to contain her pent up emotions any longer, she was overcome with heaving sobs, and curled up in the chair with his gift clutched to her chest.
* * *
Captain Janeway found herself walking through the deserted corridors of Voyager. She had the sense that she was looking for something or someone, but she didn't know what. Footsteps were coming from somewhere ahead of her, but she couldn't see past the bend in the corridor. "Hello?" she called out, moving in the direction of the sound.
She caught sight of a flash of black and red moving around the next bend of the passageway. Walking faster, she saw it again before it once more moved out of range. It was ahead of her when she turned the next corner, and she could tell that it was a man in a command uniform. She followed him around twists and turns, but he was always just ahead of her, rounding the next corner. When she finally reached a long stretch of passageway, he was stopped a few meters in front of her. He turned to his left and looked over his shoulder at her. There was no mistaking a face that she knew almost as well as her own.
"Chakotay!" she yelled, closing the distance between them, but he moved into the passageway ahead of him.
She turned the corner to follow him, but collided with Lieutenant Torres. She could see Chakotay moving farther away, and tried to push B'Elanna out of the way to follow him. Before she made it around her, B'Elanna grabbed her by her upper arms to hold her in place.
"They had what they were looking for," she said.
Ignoring her in her haste to follow Chakotay, the Captain released B'Elanna's hold on her and ran down the corridor. She could no longer see Chakotay, but Tom Paris stepped out of a doorway on her right and addressed her.
"They got what they wanted," he said.
"Who?" asked the Captain impatiently. When she got no answer, she continued down the corridor. She hadn't gone more than a few meters when she was stopped by Tuvok standing along the side of the passageway.
"The answer to your question," he told her.
Frustrated and confused, she asked him, "What question?" He was silent, and she would have asked him again, but she saw Chakotay exit a door up ahead and walk down the corridor away from her.
"Chakotay!" she yelled, chasing after him. She came to an intersection and was confronted by three of her crewmembers. Harry, Seven and the Doctor were each standing in one of the three passageways before her, but there was no sign of Chakotay.
"They had what they came for," said Harry on her left.
"I don't understand," she told him.
"They had what they wanted," said the Doctor in the path ahead of her.
"What are you talking about?"
"The answer to your question," said Seven.
She was tired of talking in riddles. "Where's Chakotay?" she snapped. "I saw him here � I don't know where he went."
"The answer to your question." Neelix's voice came from behind her. She turned around and saw that he was pointing to a large set of doors beside him that she hadn't noticed before. She pushed past him, opened the doors, and walked into Shuttle Bay 2. The battered Delta Flyer was in front if her, and Harry was repairing the edge of the hull breach in the front section. When she walked in, he stopped what he was doing and came over to her.
"They had what they wanted," he said.
"Who?" she asked in frustration. "Where's Chakotay?"
Neelix spoke from behind her and she spun around to face him. "They had what they wanted."
"Stop talking in circles! What are you talking about?"
She heard Tom's voice and when she turned back around he was standing next to Harry.
"The answer to your question," he told her.
"What question? I don't know what you mean."
Now the Doctor was behind her, standing next to Neelix. "She's confused," he said sadly, shaking his head.
Seven of Nine was beside him. Sounding disappointed, she added, "She does not understand."
"I don't care if I understand � I just want to find Chakotay."
Tuvok was on her left now, on the other side of Neelix. "That is most illogical," he said. Before she could respond, B'Elanna spoke up on the opposite side of the circle that had now formed around the Captain.
"You're not listening!" she seethed. "They had what they wanted."
Captain Janeway was surrounded now and began to panic as they closed in on her.
She gasped and woke up with a start in a cold sweat. She sat upright and discovered that she was still in her chair in her quarters. I must have fallen asleep, she realized. She tried to shake off the nightmare as her heart continued to race, and got out of the chair.
"Computer, one cup of coffee, black."
She retrieved the drink and walked towards the windows, trying to remember her dream. She had been chasing something�no; she had been looking for someone�Chakotay. All the weight of her emotions from the day came crashing down on her again. She tried to shake it off and took a refreshing sip of coffee, cupping her hands around the mug to absorb the heat. She turned away from the window when the phrase came to her in a flash.
They had what they wanted.
"The answer to your question," she whispered. She tried to forget it at first, but her gut told her that this was more that just a dream, so instead she tried to think of what question it referred to. What had been on her mind lately? Morale problems, personnel difficulties, trying to replace Tuvok as chief of security, the energy shortage. All these things came to mind, but none of them made sense. She rubbed her temple absentmindedly and walked around the room. She had not turned on the lights and was still not fully awake, and she walked into a small bookshelf, knocking a number of books on the floor.
"Great," she muttered and leaned down to pick them up. She replaced a few of them on the shelf, but one that had fallen open caught her attention and she picked it up. She was about to close it and put it back on the shelf when her eye was drawn to a particular passage in the middle of the page.
Make me to see't ; or, at least, so prove it,She closed the book and looked at the cover. It was a volume of Shakespeare that she had had since high school, and the book had opened to a section of Othello. She had a nagging feeling that the passage she had noticed was important or familiar, but she couldn't put a finger on it. She put the book back on the shelf, picked up her coffee, and walked across the room. It felt like she was trying to put a puzzle together, with all the pieces in front of her but no idea what it was supposed to look like.
That the probation bear no hinge or loop
To hang a doubt on; or woe upon thy life!
* * *
After three hours of searching the sensor logs, she was almost ready to give up. She had gone through all the sensor readings from the attack up to a few seconds before the hull breach. She was satisfied that the Vaadwaur had not hacked into the Delta Flyer computer. She had also checked the equipment inventory to see if anything was missing, but everything except what little was in the section of the hull breach was accounted for. She started to get up for her sixth cup of coffee of the night when a reading caught her attention. At first glance it seemed like some kind of weapons signature, but when she examined it closer it didn't match the signature of the other weapons fire from during the attack.
"Computer, isolate reading from grid 3 at time index 223.4 and magnify."
Sure enough, it was different � definitely not from the weapons fire. "Identify."
Insufficient sensor data.
"Run a full spectral analysis and cross-reference with Voyager's sensor records. Indicate any possible matches."
Analysis in progress.
She got up slowly and stretched. This would probably take a while. "Estimated time to completion."
Approximately three hours, forty minutes.
She left the computer to process her request and went to her bedroom to catch a few hours sleep before the analysis was complete. She was planning on joining the away team when they arrived at the planet, and if she didn't look rested Tuvok probably wouldn't let her off the ship.
* * *
The chirping of her commbadge roused the Captain from sleep three and a half hours later.
Bridge to Captain Janeway, came Tuvok's disembodied voice.
She rolled over slowly. She was still in uniform, minus her jacket, and she was laying on top of her bed with a small blanket over her legs. Reaching over to the table beside her bed she picked up her commbadge.
"Go ahead, Tuvok."
We are in orbit of the planet.
"Acknowledged. Tell the away team to meet me in transporter room two."
Understood.
She walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. The face that greeted her looked vaguely familiar, but she didn't remember looking so tired. She splashed some water on her face and walked back to the living area. She grabbed her jacket off the back of a chair, and looked at the screen of her computer terminal. Analysis in progress, said the screen. It would probably be finished within a few minutes, but the away mission took priority so she put on her jacket, grabbed her commbadge, and walked out the door. She was unable to hear her computer when about ten seconds after the door closed behind her, her terminal beeped.
Analysis complete. Probable match found.
On the top half of the screen was the signature she had been analyzing, but on the bottom half there was something new. A similar signature was displayed, and the matching portions were highlighted, with the words "97% MATCH" superimposed on it. To the left, this signature was identified: Stardate 53167 � Vaadwaur transporter signature.
* * *
The away team materialized on the planet. It consisted of the Captain, Seven, Lieutenants Paris and Torres, and three other crewmembers.
Captain Janeway looked around at their surroundings. They were standing in the middle of a sparse rocky area in what resembled the deserts of southwestern North America. There was a mountain range to the north, and to the south a wall of rocky cliffs close to their position. Ahead and behind them, the desert stretched out endlessly.
"B'Elanna � the main dilithium deposit?"
"Over that way, Captain. Looks like it's in a canyon beyond those cliffs to the south."
The away team moved in that direction and soon reached the area. At first, it had appeared to be a wall of solid rock but as they moved closer they could see an opening in the rock about five meters across that led into a small canyon. While B'Elanna and her team prepared the mining equipment, the Captain surveyed the area. They were in a long, narrow canyon, boxed in on three sides. In front of them, the south side of the canyon was bordered by a narrow gorge, not very deep but still dangerous due to the sharp, jagged rocks along the bottom. To their right was a narrow cliff about ten meters high, and the canyon was open-ended on the left to the east. Behind them to the north, where they had entered the canyon, was another long cliff also about ten meters in height, and it continued as far as they could see. The floor of the canyon was not flat, and a little ways down the canyon, towards the eastern open end, the ground dropped off suddenly before flattening out again, creating a small cliff a few meters in height.
"Nicoletti, you and Yosa set up over there," ordered B'Elanna, pointing to the lower cliff to the east.
"Yes, sir," replied Nicoletti, gathering up her equipment.
The Captain continued her survey of the area, but was interrupted a few moments later by B'Elanna.
"Captain � would you mind taking a look at this?"
The Captain walked over to where Seven and B'Elanna were consulting their tricorders while Tom and Ensign Ashmore worked with more of the mining equipment.
"What is it?"
"We're having trouble localizing the dilithium, which shouldn't be a problem at this range."
"The readings appear to be erratic," added Seven.
Pulling out her own tricorder, the Captain examined the readings herself. "You're right � that is unusual." She looked around uneasily. "Try scanning for trace amounts of trilithium. That should help you localize the deposit."
Seven frowned as she did exactly that. "I'm not detecting any trilithium at all."
"That's impossible," said B'Elanna. "I've never seen a natural dilithium source that's pure�until now, it seems," she added as she took her own readings.
"You're right � that is impossible," said the Captain. "Any natural dilithium deposit would have trace amounts of trilithium. Unless there's no dilithium here at all..."
"Intuition, Captain?" queried Seven.
"You could say that," she said as she looked around warily, then hit her commbadge. "Janeway to Voyager."
There was no answer.
Tom tried his commbadge. "Away team to Voyager, please respond."
When silence greeted him, they pulled out their phasers.
On Voyager, Tuvok responded to the Captain's call. "Tuvok here, Captain." After a few seconds, they heard Tom's voice over the comm.
Away team to Voyager, please respond.
Tuvok answered again. "Go ahead." When there was no answer, he turned around to face Harry at Ops. "Ensign?"
Harry examined his controls. "I don't know�it looks like there's some sort of interference just below the atmosphere. The signals from the surface are making it through, but our signals are being reflected. They can't hear us."
"Why was it not detected before?"
"It wasn't there before. If it had been, they wouldn't have been able to beam down."
"Can you get a transporter lock on them?"
"No � the beam will be reflected just like our comm signals, but if I could get a shuttle under the interference, I could use its transporter."
"Tell Ensign Baytart to prepare a shuttle," ordered Tuvok.
"But, sir, I could do it," Harry insisted.
"You are needed on the bridge, Mr. Kim. Ensign Baytart is perfectly capable of piloting a shuttle, and I need you to watch for any sign of trouble on the surface. Do you have sensors?"
"It's kind of disrupted, but yes, I've got them on sensors."
"Inform me if you see anything unusual."
"Aye, sir."
The Captain turned around in the direction that Nicoletti and Yosa were carrying their equipment, but saw that they were out of hearing range.
"Janeway to Nicoletti," she said, trying her commbadge. She sighed with relief when she heard the Lieutenant's voice over the comm.
Yes, Captain?
"Arm yourselves and report back to our position immediately."
Yes, ma'am. Is there something wrong?
"Not yet. Janeway out."
"Ensign," she began, addressing Ashmore, "Start packing up that mining equipment. I think we � " She was interrupted when a piece of equipment exploded beside her from a phaser blast.
"Take cover!" she yelled.
She and Tom were standing next to each other and crouched behind the same rock in front of the small cliff and a couple of meters from the edge of the gorge. B'Elanna and Seven had taken cover near the edge of the gorge farther towards the entrance, and Ensign Ashmore was crouched behind a piece of mining equipment.
Captain Janeway darted her eyes around, trying to find the source of the phaser fire.
"Where the hell did that come from?" she whispered to Tom.
"I don't know, but my guess would be up there." He pointed to the cliffs to the west.
"Agreed."
Movement behind a rock on the cliff ahead of her that Tom had indicated caught her attention. She nudged Tom and pointed to it. He nodded, seeing it as well, and then pointed to B'Elanna and Seven, who were beside the gorge and less protected from that cliff than they were.
"Seven!" said the Captain quietly, but loud enough to catch the attention of the ex-Borg's sensitive hearing. When Seven turned around to look at her, she pointed to where she had seen the flash of movement. Seven nodded her understanding and whispered to B'Elanna. The Captain was about to warn Nicoletti and Yosa over the comm when another shot was fired from the cliff, striking a rock near her position.
Able to see their attackers now, the Captain and Tom fired at them. A Vaadwaur stepped out from behind a rock and shot back, and soon more Vaadwaur appeared on the cliff and fired at the away team. They tried to return fire, but were in a difficult position defensively and it was hard to keep cover and fire at the same time.
On board Voyager, Harry's console beeped at him. "Commander, I'm reading weapons fire from the surface."
"Can you determine the status of the away team?"
"It looks like they're all still there. Sensors are cutting in and out, but I'm still picking up seven distinct signals."
"Keep me informed, Ensign."
One of the Vaadwaur shots hit the rock that protected the Captain and Tom, causing it to explode in front of them. Some of the debris caught them in the face, and they were both bleeding from multiple cuts. They were now virtually unprotected from the onslaught of phaser fire which was now coming from both in front of them where it had begun on the western cliff, and now also from the cliff to the north where more Vaadwaur had appeared. The pile of mining equipment exploded in a massive fireball, sending debris flying everywhere.
"That was no phaser blast!" exclaimed Tom.
"They've got some kind of plasma grenades!" shouted the Captain to warn the rest of the away team.
She could hear Nicoletti and Yosa scrambling up the short path behind them, and she turned around to face them.
"We're under attack!" she yelled over the phaser fire. "Stay back!"
Her warning came too late, as the two officers had already gained the higher ground and were moving for cover just as another plasma grenade was thrown from the cliffs in their direction. It hit the ground near the rock formation they were trying to reach, sending both officers flying towards the wall of the canyon. Janeway didn't have time to worry if they were alive or not, because she and Tom were taking the brunt of the attack since they were the only ones who were unprotected. They were standing now, nearly back to back, with the Captain firing at the narrow western cliff where the firing had started and Tom firing at the northern cliff opposite the gorge.
She was trying to fire, duck, and strategize at the same time when she saw a plasma grenade flying directly at her and Tom from the western cliff. Taking two steps back, she lifted her phaser and fired at it in midair, detonating it before it hit the ground in front of her.
The blast caught Tom in the back. He was thrown forward, and he felt like someone had set fire to the left side of his face before he slipped into unconsciousness.
The explosion knocked the Captain backwards off her feet, and she seemed to fly through the air forever before she hit the ground on the lower area where Nicoletti and Yosa had been deployed. The last thing she remembered was her head hitting the ground with a thud before darkness enveloped her.
<< ON TO PART III: THE PRISONERS
TABLE OF CONTENTS xxxxxx HOMExxxxxxxxxxxx AUTHOR'S NOTES