Disclaimer: This story is made for entertainment purposes only and not for profit making. The characters and ships of Star Trek Voyager remain the property of Paramount Pictures. I have just borrowed them to fill my spare time, the character Keira Jackson is mine.
A clap of thunder shook the dark, humid air and seconds later a flash of lightning lit up the desolate landscape to reveal a lone figure running through the sodden fields as though they were fleeing for their life. The rain poured heavily down and bounced off what seemed to be a small, airborne shuttle. From one of the small indentations situated at the front of the shuttle, a bright orange light emanated from the within. Suddenly, without warning, the orange light erupted from its opening and shot across the drenched fields towards the fleeing individual. The being felt the heat that the orange ball radiated and veered swiftly to their right, causing the fiery ball of heat to hit the ground. The blast caused the muddy ground to spray high and far, splashing the person's cloak as they continued to run away from the pursuing shuttle.
The dark silhouette of a tree line began to emerge away from the dark region as another bout of thunder and lightning streaked and rumbled across the sky. With new determination the being changed their direction. The long hooded cloak that they were wearing became snagged on the trunk of a fallen tree. As the material became taut, it hurled them backwards, causing them to be dragged through the muddy ground. Their wet fingers slipped as they tried to undo the clasp around the neck. A soft click announced that the task had been completed. Now free of the heavy material, they were able to move more quickly and with greater ease.
Another flash of lightning lit the sky brighter than before and revealed the individual to be a humanoid of human origin. The rain soon drenched the under shirt and waistcoat that they were wearing and the clothes hung to their slim frame. Accompanied with long dark hair the fleeing human was indeed a female, in her late teens. Her head whipped round to locate the shuttle and her eyes grew wide with fear as she saw how close it was. Looking back towards the tree line she tried to move her legs faster but a combination of saturated mud and fatigue made her limbs feel heavier than they actually were. She was within the immediate vicinity of the tree line when the shuttle fired another ball of energy. She threw herself to the ground and felt the ball of energy fly over her flattened body and pound the ground in front of her. The impact caused clumps of mud to fly through the air and the girl covered her head with her hands to prevent injury. The shuttle pursuing her had to swerve in a tight circle to avoid colliding with the tree line; the whine of the engines joined the symphony of the storm as it sounded through the deserted landscape.
Seizing her chance the young woman leapt up to her feet and continued her path to the edge of the forest. Once inside the protection of the trees she continued for several meters before she leant against the bark of one the thicker trunks in order to catch her breath. A sharp pain in her side gave her trouble when she tried to take deep breaths and slow her heart rate. It was thumping loudly; she thought it would give her position away. Cautiously she peered round the tree and looked for the shuttle. It had landed several meters from the tree line and now there were two men disembarking from the shuttle. They were holding something in their hands and they pointed it towards the trees. Two beams of light leapt forward and the men began to sweep them through the trees as they searched for the girl. Moving back so she was hidden from the light, her eyes searched from left to right as she weighed up her options. She could stay and be found or she could run and find somewhere to hide and hope that they wouldn't find her. Not wanting to wait, she drew several deep breaths and pushed herself away from the tree and raced deeper into the thick, overgrown forest. One of the beams of light intercepted her body and the owner alerted their companion to her location. Soon they were in hot pursuit of the young woman.
Her booted feet flew underneath her as she twisted and turned round the trees and bushes as she tried to lose her followers. Bursts of orange light flew through the air and as they struck solid objects, the impact caused sparks to shower down and burn the damp ground. One of the men following the girl had stopped in his pursuit in order to get clear shot. The aim had been perfect and the beam of light struck the girl's thigh, ripping the soft muscle and flesh. Her leg buckled and twisted and she fell heavily to the ground. She grunted at the sudden pain that ran up her leg. She tried to push herself up off the ground to carry on running; however her pursuers had caught up with her, their weapons trained on her chest.
"I wouldn't get up if I were you." One of the men said, the badge on his chest shone as the lightning illuminated the trees and the rain that managed to break through the thick canopy. The young woman gripped the wound on the leg to stem the blood flow with one hand and dragged herself backwards with the other.
"Nice shot Lieutenant." The second said to the first. "Not so fast." He said pressing a booted foot on her injured leg. The pressure caused her to gasp involuntary and she used her other hand to try and remove his foot, but it was to no avail.
"Thank you Commander." The Lieutenant said. He gestured to the girl, "What should we do with her?"
"I think we should leave her here. Self righteous Maquis bitch. The sooner they realise their pathetic attempt to stop the treaty the better. They are nothing more than a thorn in the Federation's side." He pressed down on her leg and the pain caused tears to form on the girl's face.
"Sir, what about Command?" The Lieutenant asked.
"What about it, Lieutenant?" He asked, sounding exasperated as his subordinate began to question him.
"They'll see that we deviated from our flight path and will want to know why."
"Lieutenant Shaw, I'm sure we can come up with some way to alter the shuttle's sensors and computer records. There's no reason for them to know the real reason." The Commander said before removing his foot from her leg and kicked her in the ribs. The girl slumped to one side from the force of the kick and clutched her ribs with her hand. Her breathing became short and laboured. "I hope you burn in hell." He spat before leaving her on the ground her body shuddering from the chill of the rain. The girl lifted her head and watched them leave; darkness began to cling to the edge of her vision slowly engulfing her eyesight completely. Her last thought before the darkness gripped her consciousness was that she hoped someone would find her.