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.
Three more days of going over the same information had not yielded any answers. The mysterious access code had them all stumped, although the entire senior staff agreed that it seemed to be more that just a coincidence. If the Vaadwaur didn't know that it was a stardate, then who had given it to them, and why? Someone had suggested that they had transmitted the stardate because they knew about the previous theft of equipment and were bragging that they were doing it as well � but then why include the Greek letters? Not only that, but it seemed unlikely that the Vaadwaur would know about an incident that occurred three years ago and tens of thousands of light-years away.
Then again, this could all be one huge coincidence, thought B'Elanna.
She was sitting in her quarters staring at the computer screen, hoping that something would come to her. Frustrated, she hit the screen with her hand and looked around the desk. Her eyes fell on the commbadge that she had found in the shuttle bay.
Yet another mystery, she thought.
She hadn't yet gotten around to analyzing the commbadge to identify its owner, and no one had yet reported it missing. She looked again at the access code on the screen. Her mind wandered, and she remembered Naomi's comment about the Greek letters.
"The first letter of the Greek alphabet," she exclaimed suddenly, sitting up in her chair. Alpha was the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and omega was the last letter of the Greek alphabet. The access code, though, started with omega and ended with alpha.
"What if it's backwards?" she muttered to herself. "Computer, display the reverse of this sequence."
A new sequence appeared on the screen: Alpha 4 8 3 1 5 Omega.
B'Elanna repeated the numbers to herself a few times before it hit her why they were so familiar.
"The date Voyager got stuck in the Delta quadrant," she whispered with awe.
That had to mean something. The stardate they found reading the sequence forwards could have been dismissed as a coincidence, but this�this was definitely a message. It had even been disguised as a code, being backwards and all. She again noticed the commbadge. Reaching for a tool on her desk, she grabbed the commbadge and flipped the back off. She had noticed the damaged primary circuits before, but now she could see that the backup systems were functional. That explained why they had been able to transport it back, she thought. Removing the top part of the circuitry, she began poking around underneath, looking for the identification chip. Tom had called it "the black box of the commbadge" and although she didn't understand the reference at first � he said it had something to do with twentieth-century aviation � he had explained it and she had agreed that it was an appropriate comparison. The identification chip was designed to be virtually indestructible, and it was intended so that Starfleet could identify otherwise unrecognizable bodies. It was separate from the rest of the commbadge systems, so it hadn't been damaged by whatever had overloaded the primary systems. She took the tool and pressed the appropriate buttons to activate it. She nearly dropped the commbadge when she heard the voice that came out of it.
Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager.
"That's not possible," she gasped. "Computer, confirm the following voice pattern." She activated the chip again and the message was repeated.
Captain Kathryn Janeway, replied the computer.
"Compare with voice print on file."
There is a 99.947 percent match.
B'Elanna's mind was racing now. How had the Vaadwaur gotten a hold of Captain Janeway's commbadge? She had been completely vaporized by the plasma grenade � hadn't she? If her commbadge had somehow survived the explosion�
B'Elanna didn't finish the thought before she jumped to her feet and ran to the door as fast as her advanced pregnancy would allow her.
"Computer, are the holodecks occupied?" she asked.
Holodeck one is occupied by Lieutenant Baxter. Holodeck two is occupied by the EMH.
B'Elanna arrived outside holodeck two and entered. She found herself on a golf course and saw the Doctor teeing off.
"Doctor!" she called and walked quickly over to him. He stopped mid-swing and turned to her.
"Lieutenant. What can I do for you?"
She called up a control panel and began entering commands. "I need the holodeck."
"Can't it wait? I'm in the middle of a game," he protested.
"No, it can't." She saw him open his mouth to protest and stopped him. "Doctor, believe me when I tell you that this is of the utmost importance. Lives could be at stake here. Time is of the essence and I need to run a simulation now."
He was surprised, but gave in. "Very well. If it's that important. Computer, transfer the EMH to sickbay."
Before he was even gone, B'Elanna was punching in commands to the computer.
"Computer, end program."
The golf course disappeared and she was standing in the empty holodeck. "Engage privacy lock. Authorization Torres omega 593." The computer acknowledged and she continued working. She pulled up the sensor and tricorder readings from the away mission six weeks ago.
"Computer, using this sensor data, recreate the setting." The computer worked for a minute before the holodeck shimmered. When she looked around, she found herself in the canyon where they had been ambushed. She shivered involuntarily and continued working.
"Using the holographic templates on file, put the members of the away team in the following positions." She entered into the computer what she could remember about the relative positions of the away team. When she turned around, she could see herself and the rest of the away team as they had been about halfway through the ambush. She and Seven were crouched behind a rock, Ensign Ashmore was taking cover behind some of their equipment, and she could see Nicoletti and Yosa laying not too far off. She walked towards the holograms of Tom and the Captain. They were standing back to back and had their phasers raised, as she had last seen them. She circled them slowly while she thought. If she could come up with a simulation where the Captain survived, she could probably convince Tuvok to go after the Vaadwaur.
"Computer," she said, entering commands on a PADD, "Remove Paris and Janeway and recreate the crater using data from the tricorder readings taken after the attack."
The images of the Captain and Tom faded away and were replaced by the crater caused by the plasma grenade.
"Superimpose the initial positions of Paris and Janeway." Their images appeared, suspended above the shallow crater. "Use the size of the impact crater and the yield of the grenade to extrapolate the point of detonation," she ordered.
Unable to comply.
She frowned. "Explain."
Insufficient data to extrapolate a limited number of possibilities.
That made sense � the computer could come up with a radius from the center of the crater, but not a precise position. She punched more commands on the PADD. "Take into account the positions of the Vaadwaur and probable trajectories."
Analysis complete. Two possibilities found.
To B'Elanna's surprise, two small images of a plasma grenade appeared not on the ground in front of Tom and the Captain, but in the air five meters away from them, suspended in midair. B'Elanna whistled. One of them was between Tom and the northern cliff, and the other image was between the Captain and the western cliff.
"Torres to Seven of Nine."
Go ahead, Lieutenant.
"Are you busy? I could use your help in the holodeck."
Icheb and I are upgrading the sensors in Astrometrics. The upgrade will be complete in seventeen minutes.
"I can wait until you're done. Come to holodeck two when you're finished."
When Seven entered the holodeck twenty minutes later, she was surprised at her surroundings.
"You have recreated the away mission where the Captain was killed."
"I've recreated the away mission where we thought the Captain was killed," said B'Elanna as she walked over to Seven.
"Clarify," said Seven, puzzled.
"Look at this." She pulled the commbadge out of her pocket and flipped the back off.
"The unidentified commbadge from the Vaadwaur attack," guessed Seven.
"It's not unidentified anymore." B'Elanna pulled a small tool out of her other pocket and activated the identification chip.
Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager, said the Captain's voice.
Seven's eyebrow went up. "The Captain's commbadge. You believe she may have survived the ambush."
B'Elanna nodded. "Computer, display the away team in position Torres one." The canyon had been bare, but now the away team appeared as they had when B'Elanna had first started the simulation. "Display the two possible points of detonation for the plasma grenade that were extrapolated."
Seven's eyes widened when she saw where the grenades appeared. "The grenade did not impact on the ground."
"We just assumed that it exploded when it hit the ground, but the crater's not big enough given the yield of the grenades. It looks like somebody, probably the Captain, detonated it in midair."
"To destroy it before it hit the ground," finished Seven. She looked thoughtfully at the simulation and then pointed at the grenade that was suspended above Tom. "However, the extrapolation is flawed. The grenade could not have been thrown from the northern cliff."
"Why not?"
"Because Lieutenant Paris claimed that the explosion came from behind him, knocking him to the ground. He did not see the grenade explode. Also, we found him on the north side of the crater, which would support his claim."
B'Elanna realized that she had a point and deleted the second grenade. "So then we know that it was thrown from the western cliff and where it detonated. But we've still got a problem. Computer, using the point of detonation, extrapolate the effect of the grenade and calculate the final positions of Paris and Janeway if they were standing in their current position when the grenade went off." The figures disappeared and were replaced by the now familiar crater. Tom was now laying in about the same position as when they found him, but there was no sign of the Captain.
"Computer, show the final position of Captain Janeway," asked Seven. She could tell by the look on B'Elanna's face that she already knew the answer.
Unable to comply.
"Elaborate."
Captain Janeway would have been vaporized by the plasma explosion.
"Computer, reset the simulation to the instant of detonation," said B'Elanna. The crater disappeared and was replaced by Captain Janeway and Tom again.
"I've run this at least a dozen times," sighed B'Elanna. "And every time I come to the same conclusion. If the Captain detonated the grenade from this position, she gets vaporized. There has to be something I'm missing," she said, fingering the commbadge.
"Perhaps we have mistaken the Captain's position," suggested Seven.
"No, I don't think so. Tom said that she was right behind him seconds before the explosion." She walked over and stood beside the hologram of the Captain, staring at the plasma grenade in the air above her. She sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, realization dawned as she looked at the menacing form of the grenade suspended in the air in front of her.
"She needed a good shot," she said quietly.
"Lieutenant?"
"She needed to get a good shot to be able to detonate it before it hit the ground. Instinctively, she might have taken a few steps back to get a better shot." She demonstrated, taking two steps back as she lifted up her arm as if to fire.
Seven adjusted the simulation. "Computer, move Janeway one point two meters backwards." The hologram reappeared beside B'Elanna, who now moved over to where Seven stood. "Show the effect of the detonation," ordered Seven.
Once again, Tom and the Captain were replaced by the crater and Tom was laying on the ground. When they didn't see the Captain, B'Elanna sighed.
"Computer, show the final position of Captain Janeway," ordered Seven.
Position shown.
They looked at each other in surprise and then looked around. "The cliff!" exclaimed B'Elanna, and they ran over to the edge of the small cliff that divided the floor of the canyon. The hologram of Captain Janeway was laying about three meters from the base of the cliff.
"Computer, list the probable injuries that Captain Janeway would have sustained," asked Seven.
Second-degree burns, concussion, lacerations, internal bleeding.
"Probability that she would have survived without immediate medical attention?"
Ninety two percent.
They moved down to where she was laying and looked around. "I don't get it," said B'Elanna. "We went all over this area and she wasn't here."
Seven wasn't paying attention as she looked at the small cliff. "This simulation is not accurate � the face of this cliff appeared different. Computer, access geological sensor database in Astrometrics and update this simulation."
The image shimmered and a small cave appeared in the cliff. Their jaws dropped and they stood for a moment in silence before B'Elanna spoke.
"That wasn't there before."
"No," agreed Seven. "but the geological sensors are configured differently from other sensors. They may have picked up what our tricorders and normal sensors were unable to."
"If the Vaadwaur were hiding in there," said B'Elanna, grasping the full implication of their discovery, "They could have grabbed the Captain before we looked down here and we wouldn't have had a clue." She hit her commbadge. "Lieutenant Torres to all senior staff. Report to holodeck two immediately."
* * *
"Fascinating," said Tuvok when they had finished the simulation. "But it is merely speculation. I as much as anyone would like to believe that Captain Janeway is alive, but you have not provided us with any proof convincing enough to warrant a confrontation with the Vaadwaur."
"You don't think this is proof enough?" exclaimed Tom angrily. "If there's even a chance she survived we have to go after her."
"A noble sentiment, Lieutenant. But Captain Janeway would be the first to tell you that it would be illogical to risk the entire ship based on circumstantial evidence."
B'Elanna was about to interject, but Harry got there first. "Yeah, but there's a lot of circumstantial evidence. Not only what B'Elanna and Seven have found, but the attack the other day. It all makes sense if the Vaadwaur had the Captain. Think about it � someone gave them information that was mostly inaccurate, and any good information that they did have wasn't anything that would have put us in danger. Plus there's the stardate � that certainly sounds like something the Captain would think of to get our attention."
"That is a logical explanation of the behavior of the Vaadwaur," conceded Tuvok. "But I would prefer if we had concrete proof � "
B'Elanna interrupted him: "We have proof." All heads turned towards her. "You just didn't give us a chance to get to it." With that, she pulled out her trump card � the commbadge. She quickly flipped the back off and activated the appropriate buttons, and the Captain's voice rang out in the holodeck.
Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager.
"We retrieved this commbadge from the Vaadwaur ship when we transported our equipment back to Voyager. I ran a microscopic analysis and found recent traces of the Captain's DNA on it. How much more proof do you want?"
Tuvok nodded. "Ensign Kim, begin scanning for the warp trail of the ship we encountered that had our stolen equipment. When you locate it, set a course at maximum warp."
"Yes, sir." The entire staff snapped into action and exited the holodeck.
* * *
Commander Takken was pacing back and forth on his bridge. He had been furious when the attack of Voyager had failed after it had seemed to be going so well. The transport and the interferometric technology had worked, but then things had quickly unraveled. They had been unable to access the database, Voyager had severely damaged their vessels and then they had taken back their technology. The High Command automatically assumed that the failure had been his fault, and they were sending one of his superiors to his ship to assess the situation and to decide what to do with the prisoners. He would have liked to have his way with them in the interrogation chamber, but the High Command had told him specifically to leave them alone until High Commander Gaul arrived.
He heard footsteps in the corridor, and two guards came in, followed by Gaul.
"You said that we would get Voyager, Takken."
"We almost had them. If�"
"I don't want to hear excuses. I'm here to take some of your prisoners of your hands. Leave Voyager's second in command here, but Janeway is to be taken to the prison colony on Matura IV. Continue interrogating him, but it is no longer our first priority since they are uncooperative and deceptive. The High Command is currently looking into other potential sources of advanced technology."
"Yes, sir," replied Takken.
"See that Janeway and any other Federations that you still have are on my ship within the hour," he ordered before he turned and left.
* * *
The three prisoners were trying to keep their minds occupied. They tried not to think about how long it had been since Voyager had retrieved the commbadge, and they definitely tried not to think about what Takken would do to them when he finally showed his face. They were taking turns picking something to talk about. For her turn, Kathryn had asked Mark about his daughter.
"She was so excited when we found the wormhole," he was saying. "She wrote a report on you and Voyager for her class on deep-space exploration. When we told her that we might be able to get Voyager home, the first thing she wanted to know was if she could meet you and your crew."
Kathryn laughed. "Well, I certainly hope that she gets the chance."
Mark became sober. "Me too. I just wish I knew what had happened to her�I couldn't sense her when we abandoned ship, but�I can't give up hope completely. I should have left her with her grandparents, but ever since her mother died I've never left her behind on a mission. I wish that I had this time."
They stopped talking when they heard footsteps approaching the cell. They all stiffened and Chakotay grabbed Kathryn's arm protectively. Four guards appeared at the entrance to the cell, but Takken was not with them, and this was unusual. One of the guards deactivated the forcefield and they entered the cell. Two of them grabbed Mark by the arms and dragged him into a standing position.
"What do you want?" he asked, but they remained silent and started to pull them out of the cell. The other two guards moved towards Kathryn and grabbed her as well. One of the guards grabbed her arm where it was broken and twisted it as he dragged her off the bed and she gasped in agony.
"Leave her alone!" yelled Chakotay. He moved to get up but one of the guards holding Mark pointed his weapon at him. "Where are you taking them?"
"The High Command has determined that their usefulness is at an end," said one of the guards ambiguously. They left the cell and reactivated the forcefield. Kathryn had trouble seeing from the searing pain in her arm, but she could hear Chakotay calling after her.
Chakotay walked to the forcefield and watched them drag Kathryn out of sight. "Kathryn!" he yelled, and then she was gone. He walked back to the wall of the cell and sank down in despair.
* * *
Kathryn and Mark were put on a smaller ship, under heavy guard and taken to a planet within a few hours journey using the subspace tunnels. They disembarked on a barren, windswept planet, and were taken towards a small building surrounded by guards.
"New prisoners," said one of their guards.
"More of the weak species," growled one of the sentries derisively. "I hope you don't expect them to survive."
"They are no longer valuable," shrugged another guard.
"Very well�but don't say that I didn't warn you." The sentry went inside and Kathryn and Mark followed him in, still surrounded by guards. Inside, the building was manned by soldiers who didn't seem to be doing more than sitting around. They were led to a small platform surrounded by a railing, and were shoved onto it by their guards. Only the sentry from the door got on the platform with them, but he had a large weapon and they didn't dare try and overpower him. The platform jerked and then slowly descended into the floor. There were no walls on the elevator, so they could see that they were surrounded by solid rock. They descended for a few minutes before the lift began to slow. The guard pressed a few buttons on the lift and cocked his weapon. They descended into a large cavern with a set of metal doors immediately in front of the lift. When the lift stopped, the guard shoved them off the platform, then pressed a button and the doors opened. He grunted to indicate that they should go through them, so they did. The instant that they were clear of the doors, they slammed shut behind them and they looked around their new surroundings. They were in a massive underground cavern with a few lights installed on the walls here and there. It seemed deserted at first, but then Kathryn noticed something over to one side. "Mark!" she hissed, and he looked in the direction he was pointing. A large group of aliens were gathered over to their right, but they didn't seem to have noticed them yet.
"Turei?" he asked, still not familiar with some of the Delta quadrant species.
"Yes � and from my experience I don't think that we want to have a run in with them." She looked around for a place to run or hide, and when she couldn't find one, decided that they should just stick to the shadows and move in the opposite direction.
"I agree," whispered Mark. She looked at him in surprise for a second before he grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," he whispered.
She chuckled and whispered back as they started to move along the wall, "That's all right. It's just that it's been a while since I've been around a real telepath."
"Your helmsman, Stadi," he said, and them stopped himself again. "Sorry. I'll try to stop doing that. I'm not usually this perceptive. It's just that when you're isolated with someone for a long period of time � "
" � it gets easier to read their mind?" she finished.
"Something like that," he grinned. They moved along in the shadows and eventually came to a wall in the rock that they were able to hide behind. They moved around it and sat on the ground.
"So much for our rescue," Kathryn muttered.
"Voyager will still come looking for you," he said. "They'll just find Chakotay instead, and hopefully they'll be able to track us down."
"If anyone can find us, it's my crew," she said proudly. "And if they don't find us, Mark, I know Chakotay will have them look for your crew." She tried not to think about what Chakotay would be going through, not knowing where she was. She could easily imagine what he was feeling right now, because she was feeling something similar. At least she was confident that Voyager would rescue him � a comfort he didn't have. For all he knew they had been killed or taken halfway across the quadrant.
She was interrupted from her train of thought when she noticed Mark get a funny look in his eye and he started looking around suspiciously.
"What is it?" whispered Kathryn.
"I just had the weirdest feeling," he said. "When I was thinking about my crew�like I could feel them nearby."
"Do you think it's possible that they're here? You said that Takken had captured some of your crew with you. Maybe he sent them here as well."
"Maybe�let's look around." They got up and slowly began exploring the area.
* * *
Back on Voyager, Seven, B'Elanna, and Tom were in the Paris quarters devising the rescue operation that they would implement as soon as they intercepted the Vaadwaur ship in a few days. B'Elanna was seated at the desk, while Seven had taken a chair on the opposite side and Tom was sitting on the edge of the desk looking over a PADD.
"It looks like their shields aren't as advanced as ours," Tom said. "If we can't take out their generator from Voyager, I could probably take the Flyer and punch through their shields."
"We should re-examine our data on their shield grids," said Seven, and she rose to leave. "I can access the data in Astrometrics."
"It'll be more efficient if you work here with us," said B'Elanna with a grin. "I'm sure we have another computer terminal around here somewhere. Check the other room."
Seven got up and walked into the adjacent room. She looked around, but did not see a computer terminal at first. There was a storage container sitting on the floor, and when she opened it there was a folded computer terminal sitting on the top. She picked it up and closed the container before she returned to the living area.
"Did you find it?" asked B'Elanna.
"Yes," said Seven, and she sat down and opened it. She frowned when she saw what was on the screen. "There is an active data file. Do you need the results of this analysis?"
"What analysis? I close all the active files when I'm done," replied B'Elanna. She reached across the desk and swiveled the computer around to face her. "This isn't my terminal," she said. "Where did you find it?"
"In a storage container."
"That's the Captain's old terminal," said Tom, but his wife was not listening. She was looking at what was on the screen. "B'Elanna? What is it?"
It took a moment for her to respond. "Something the Captain was working on, it looks like. I wish I'd looked at it before."
"Why?" asked Tom.
"Because it looks like Captain Janeway wasn't the only person that the Vaadwaur grabbed. I can't believe that nobody thought of this before�"
She turned the screen to face them, and Tom and Seven stared at the screen in shock as they realized its significance. Tom was the first one to speak up.
"We'd better get Tuvok."
* * *
Chakotay wasn't sure how long it had been since they took Kathryn. He had been interrogated once, but it had seemed like a half-hearted attempt, and his only response had been to continually ask them where they had taken Kathryn and Mark. His best guess was that it had been about five days, but he couldn't be sure. The silence was starting to get to him � for the past few weeks, there had always been someone to talk to, and the three of them had always been talking when they weren't too exhausted for conversation. Kathryn and Chakotay had told Mark about some of their more interesting adventures over the past six years, and Mark had told them about what had been going on in the Alpha quadrant. Now, there was nothing but silence as Chakotay sat in the cell.
The silence was finally broken after a few minutes when the ship shook violently. He got up and walked to the entrance of his cell, but it was quiet out in the corridor and gave him no indication of what was going on. The ship continued to jolt and shake beneath him for a few minutes, and then panels in the corridors began exploding. Now there was a commotion in the corridor, down around the corner where Mark's old cell was. He heard phaser fire being exchanged, and a Vaadwaur guard backed around the corner before a red bolt of energy struck him in the chest and he fell to the ground.
"This way!" came a familiar voice from around the corner.
"Tom!" yelled Chakotay, and he saw Lieutenant Paris come around the corner, followed closely by Seven of Nine and two security guards that he recognized as Lieutenant Rollins and Lieutenant Ayala.
"Chakotay � good to see you." Tom jogged over to the cell and deactivated the forcefield while the rest of the team secured the area.
"Do you know where Captain Janeway is?" he asked as Chakotay exited the cell.
"No � they took her away a few days ago and I haven't seen her since."
Seven heard him and walked over with her tricorder. "I am not reading any other humans on board the vessel. I do not believe the Captain is here."
"What about Betazoids?" asked Chakotay.
Seven gave him a quizzical look but checked her tricorder nevertheless. "No."
He sighed with relief. He would have liked to rescue Mark, but if he was not on board he was probably still with Kathryn, a thought that gave him some comfort.
On board Voyager, Harry manned Ops while they monitored the progress of the away team. The Vaadwaur ship was trying to escape at impulse, and Voyager was pursuing. He alerted Tuvok when he noticed some alarming readings. "Sir, I'm reading gravimetric distortions directly ahead of the Vaadwaur ship."
Tuvok was about to respond when the away team checked in.
Paris to Voyager.
"Go ahead, Lieutenant."
"We've located Chakotay but the Captain's not here." Tom looked around in disappointment as Tuvok's voice came over the comm.
Acknowledged. Prepare to �
Tuvok was cut off in mid-sentence and when Tom hit his commbadge he got no response.
"Sir, they've entered the subspace tunnel," reported Harry.
"Can you follow them?"
"No. It's already closed behind them and we don't know how to open it. I managed to scan the inside of the tunnel just before it closed so we might be able to figure out what direction they're headed."
"Begin long-range scans for their warp signature."
The now isolated away team looked around nervously. "So, Chakotay, you've been here a while," quipped Tom. "Know how we get out of here?"
"Sorry, I haven't had the grand tour yet."
They armed themselves and fired as Vaadwaur soldiers came down the hallway, but they were outnumbered and cornered and were soon forced to surrender. They were shoved back into Chakotay's cell and the forcefield was activated.
"Some rescue," muttered Ayala. "Sorry, sir."
Chakotay patted him on the back. "At least Voyager knows where we are. They'll find us. Kath � the Captain and I were confident that you would track us down and you did."
The away team spent the next few hours listening to Chakotay as he told them about what had happened to him since the attack on the Flyer, including what Kathryn had told him about her abduction and the encounter with Commander Walker. In turn, he wanted to know exactly how they had figured out that he and Kathryn were alive, and was impressed with their investigative skills.
* * *
A few days later, the ship landed and the five of them were ushered out of the prison and transported off the ship to a barren landscape. They were taken to the same building that Kathryn and Mark had arrived at over a week ago. They were put on the lift, this time with two guards, and were shoved into the main area through the doors as the lift withdrew.
They weren't as fortunate as Kathryn and Mark, because the Turei had heard the elevator descending and surrounded them in front of the main doors as soon as they walked through them. They were unable to understand their captors without the universal translator, but it seemed as though they were arguing about what to do with their new find. One of them leered at Seven and approached her, running a finger along her cheek. She grabbed his forearm and twisted it away from his body, dislocating his shoulder. He walked away yelling and one of his companions hit Seven in the face with a long metal pole, leaving her dazed.
The Turei moved towards the rest of them menacingly, but then a voice from behind their captors yelled out as if sounding an alarm. They heard the sounds of people running and shouting, and the Turei who had surrounded them walked away to see what all the commotion was about. The away team looked at each other in puzzlement, and then they heard a voice from behind them.
"Pushna!" someone whispered urgently. "Pushna lay!"
They all turned around and had to look for a moment before they could see where the voice had come from � a small hole in the rock behind them beside the metal doors that concealed the elevator shaft.
Tom looked at Chakotay. "I hope that's as friendly as it sounds."
"Seems like somebody wants to help us," replied Chakotay, and after a moment's hesitation he motioned for them to move quietly towards the tunnel, trying not to attract attention.
"Pushna lay. Itna kai shonaka," said the voice as they approached the wall. They squirmed through the narrow hole in the wall and found themselves in a stone passageway about the size of a Jeffries tube. When all five of them were in, their rescuer, whose voice revealed her to be female, replaced a cover on the hole and secured it in place. "Pushna. Hunnata grok kansana pora ta lek." Their rescuer made her words clear by motioning for them to follow her through the tunnel.
"What I wouldn't give for a universal translator," muttered Tom as they began crawling along in the tunnel.
"Unata par hashana," said the woman in response, pointing to herself.
"Hashana?" repeated Chakotay. "Is that your name?"
The woman stopped and turned around with an expression of pleasant surprise. "Pora azanti � unata par Hashana. Pora unata?"
Seeing the woman's face for the first time, the Voyager officers immediately recognized her species.
"You're Wysanti," said Tom as they began crawling along the tunnel again.
"Adi. Unata par Hashana, dokassa par Wysanti. Dokassa pora Federation.
Chakotay glanced back at the others. "Did you say Federation?"
"Adi � dokassa pora Federation."
"How could she know that?" asked Tom.
"Perhaps she encountered Voyager when we left Azan, Rebi, and Mezoti on their homeworld," suggested Seven. "Or she may have heard of us."
They continued crawling through the tunnel and reached the end, where Hashana knocked three times on another grate, which was then opened.
"Posha gantrel?" asked a male voice from outside.
"Adi," grunted the woman as she took the proffered hand that came from above. "Dokassa pana Federation."
"What?" A man's head poked inside the tunnel. "Well I'll be damned." He helped Hashana out of the tunnel and stood up. "Pushnata lonar," he told Hashana before turning around and yelling over his shoulder, "Jarel, you'd better get over here." Leaning back in the tunnel, he offered a hand to Seven, who was still dazed from the earlier blow to the head, and he helped her out of the tunnel. When the entire team was out and their eyes had adjusted from the darkness of the tunnel, they could see that they were in a cave similar to the one that they had entered from the lift. The man who had helped them out of the tunnel was tall, blond, and appeared human. He was wearing what might have been a newer Starfleet uniform, but the gray jacket was closer to black now, and the color of the turtleneck underneath might have been blue at one time.
"You're from Voyager," said the man as Chakotay and the others climbed out of the tunnel.
Chakotay glanced at Tom. "Yes�" There was only one possible explanation for the way the man was dressed. "Are you from the Yukon?"
"Lieutenant Nathan Blake," he said, offering his hand. "Our scouts heard the elevator descending, so we faked a raid on the Turei camp to distract them long enough for Hashana to get you all out of there."
A young Bajoran woman wearing the remains of a Starfleet engineering uniform came up behind Lieutenant Blake. When she got close enough to see the new arrivals, she stopped in her tracks.
"Commander Chakotay!"
The away team looked at each other in surprise.
"How�"
She pointed to her left temple with a smile. "I recognized your tattoo."
Chakotay drew in a sharp breath as a thought occurred to him. "Are Commander Walker and Captain Janeway here?"
They were all pleasantly surprised when the young woman nodded. "For about a week now � they should be back from pulling off the raid by now."
She was about to say something else when their Wysanti rescuer came running up, followed by another woman whose distinctive spots running down the side of her face identified her as a Trill. They could now see that. The Trill woman was also in uniform, and she had striking dark hair loosely fastened at her neck that highlighted the dark spots that ran down each side of her face. The spots continued down her neck, where they met the frayed top of a red command turtleneck adorned with two pips.
"Askynta lakal!" said Hashana as the two women approached.
Leiutenant Blake tensed. "How bad?"
"They weren't able to make a clean getaway and Mark's hurt," said the Trill woman.
Tom stepped forward. "I can help," he said. "I have some medical training." The group ran off, following the two women across the cave to where a few people were gathered around a figure on the ground. Before they could see her, the team from Voyager heard their Captain's voice.
"Help me get his jacket off � we've got to get a look at it."
Mark, who was the one sitting on the ground, protested. "Really, Kathryn, it's just a scratch. I'll be fine."
Chakotay and the others were closer now, and they saw Captain Janeway stand up and turn to the Trill woman now beside her. "They noticed them missing before we got away. Did Hashana get back all right?"
The woman smiled and looked over the Captain's shoulder at the people from Voyager standing behind her. "Yes�and she brought some friends of yours."
She hadn't noticed Tom move to Mark's side to help the others, so she was completely shocked when she turned around and saw Chakotay, Seven, and the two security officers standing almost right behind her. Her hair was longer now, and it fell loosely around her bare shoulders. She was wearing her tank top, with her jacket discarded on the floor nearby, and she still sported the mementos of her time on the Vaadwaur ship. Her arms and face were cut and bruised, and her left arm was covered with the burns she got from shoving it through the forcefield. She held her other arm, the broken one, close to her side and still favored it a little.
She was speechless for a moment, but then recovered. "Chakotay!" she said, and rushed over to him. He pulled her to him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Ayala and Rollins looked sideways at each other in surprise � this was completely out of character for the Captain.
They stood like that for a long time, each relieved beyond words to find that the other was all right. Chakotay finally stepped away from her and looked at her carefully. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," she said dismissively with a wave of her hand. She looked at Seven and the others. "It's good to see you, Seven�Ayala, Rollins."
"It's good to see you, too, Captain," replied the ex-drone with just a hint of emotion. The other two men nodded their acknowledgement.
She turned back to Chakotay. "How did you get here?"
Seven answered for him. "We boarded the Vaadwaur ship in an attempt to rescue you and Commander Chakotay, but Voyager was unable to beam us back after we had freed the Commander and we were captured."
"But if we hadn't been caught we wouldn't have found you." The Captain turned around to see Tom Paris coming up behind her with a fond smile on his face.
She introduced them to her companions. "You've already met Hashana and Nathan, I see. This is Lieutenant Talia Oren," she said, indicating the Trill woman beside her, "And Lieutenant Adin Jarel," pointing to the Bajoran woman. There were also eight others from the Yukon � two ensigns, three crewmen, and two civilians. In the prison, they had banded together with the group of Wysanti who were also being held there so they could defend themselves against the Turei.
* * *
Icheb to Commander Tuvok.
"Go ahead."
I believe I may have a lead on the whereabouts of the away team.
"Understood." Tuvok indicated to Ensign Kim to go to Astrometrics.
Icheb pulled up an image of a planet on the view screen. "It's an M-class planet in orbit around a G-type star. Seven showed it to the Vaadwaur when they were on Voyager. It's located approximately thirty light-years from here." He entered commands in the console. "I scanned for the frequency of Seven's cortical implant, and I believe that she is on this planet."
"Can you be sure?" asked Harry.
"No�the signal is very weak. However," he continued, "This planet has an subterranean water supply, so I believe that it is possible that they are being held underground."
"Good work, Icheb. I'll inform Commander Tuvok."
* * *
The Captain drew another circle in the sandy ground with thin metal pole. "And there's a water source over here. That's where we found some of the containers."
Chakotay nodded beside her. "We're going to need some water if we get to the surface." He reached over and took the pole from her hands. "Looks like these tunnels would be the safest."
She nodded her agreement and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as they squatted next to her crude map. Stray tendrils of hair were falling in her face, and although she brushed them back they fell forward again. She was still wearing her tank top, and rested her elbows on her knees as she looked at the diagram.
As she studied the drawings in the sand, he studied her. His eyes ran over the cuts, bruises, and scars on her arms, and he winced, feeling every one of her wounds as much as she could. His eyes moved upward, taking in every detail of her face. He could tell that the last few weeks were taking a toll on her, but she still looked incredibly determined. Despite the situation, he had never felt more drawn to her than he did right now. She was so strong -- that was one of the things he loved about her. She always was at her best when she was under pressure.
He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't know she had noticed him looking at her.
He only realized that she was aware of his scrutiny when she self-consciously ran her fingers through her hair. "I must look awful," she chuckled.
"No. You look beautiful."
She laughed, but stopped immediately when she saw he was serious.
She was saved the trouble of thinking of something to say when Seven, Tom, and Jarel climbed out of the nearby tunnel and came over to join them. They had snuck through the tunnel to inspect the lift and see if they could use it to escape.
"Did you find a way out?" asked the Captain as they joined her.
"I believe so," said Seven. "My Borg implants can be used to short circuit the main doors and give us access to the lift."
"We'll probably have to wait for it to come down," said Jarel. "But we should be able to take them by surprise."
Chakotay was the first one to point out a drawback. "We'll still have to take out all the guards in the building at the top."
"Alanshar?" asked one of the nearby Wysanti who was listening to their conversation.
Chakotay glanced at the Captain. "Do you know what he's saying?"
"I think he wants to understand us. I've only learned a little bit of their language." She paused for a minute to think. "Guards � boranta," she said, pointing upwards.
"Boranta tosh forantash," he repeated. "Utana moy."
"Yes," said the Captain. "Utana moy. We're going to get out of here."
"Pan utana moy tosh pora ta lek kai shonaka tosh."
Janeway frowned. "Shonaka? You mean the tunnels?" she asked, pointing to one of the tunnels they had been using.
The Wysanti shook his head and pointed upwards. "Shonaka tosh. Utana moy."
"What's he saying?" asked Tom.
"I'm not sure," admitted the Captain. "'Shonaka' is the word they use for the tunnels, and 'utana moy' means escape�but I don't see how �"
"Captain, I believe I know what he is referring to," said Seven. "When we were brought down I noticed a ventilation shaft that connected to the tunnel approximately twenty meters down the main shaft. We should be able to stop the lift and use the ventilation shaft to reach the surface."
The Captian smiled at the Wysanti. "Good idea."
"Too bad Seven won't be able to point it out to us," said Tom. The others looked at him in confusion. "I tried to tell Seven this before, but if she uses her assimilation tubules to overload the circuits in the doors, she'll experience the shock too."
"That is irrelevant," said Seven. "I will not be permanently damaged."
The Captain looked at Tom and Jarel with a raised eyebrow. They glanced at each other before responding.
"She's probably right � it doesn't look like there's that much power in the door circuits," said Jarel reluctantly.
"But we can't be sure what the overload might do to her Borg implants," added Tom. "A drone could do it without blinking, but with Seven�it's risky."
"I am willing to take that risk if it allows our escape," insisted Seven.
Captain Janeway considered for a moment before she decided. "All right, Seven. We'll try it � but first I want to be prepared. This planet doesn't seem very hospitable and I want to stock up on supplies before we get out of here."
Fortunately, what the Vaadwaur were using as a prison was actually an old abandoned mining facility - hence the tunnels - and there were piles of abandoned equipment spread around the caverns.
"Tom," continued the Captain, "You, Seven, and Jarel handle the details of getting out of here. Chakotay, you and I will work on any supplies we might need. Mark, you and Talia can help us and get everyone ready to leave. We're getting out of here."
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