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THE CARDASSIAN MASK
The Cardassian Mask
A Star Trek: Voyager Novel
written and illustrated by
L. R. Bowen
LRBowen@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/lrbowen/lrbowen.htm
PART TWO: SESKA
CHAPTER SEVEN
THERE WAS A HARD, COLD SURFACE under his cheek. Under his whole body.
He shivered, and a painful tingle crackled through him, as if the entire
area of his skin had fallen asleep. Some sort of sound escaped him, but
he couldn't hear it. So cold--
Then it was heat, burning pain in his extremities, his hands
clenching involuntarily and trembling. He thought he was groaning,
because his chest and stomach ached dully with movement.
Were his eyes open or not? Dark, with hot points of red dancing
across his vision, or his mind's vision. Something lying over his legs.
Startling clarity--a voice in his ear.
"The marked one is waking."
"Call the alien," replied another.
His eyes were closed after all, so he opened them. Grey. Dim. A
wall coming into focus.
A bright white light snapped on. Chakotay squeezed his eyes shut
again.
"Turn him over," said a woman.
Hard hands grabbed his shoulders and heaved him upright to a
sitting position. He squinted into the painful brightness, barely making
out the silhouette of slender limbs and long light hair trailing over the
shoulders.
"Hello, Chakotay. How nice to see you again," said Seska in a
laughing voice. "You're looking well, considering. I see the bitch hasn't
worn you out yet."
"What...?" he managed.
"Where's your sense of humor, Commander? Oh, sorry. Stun beams
don't enhance that quality in anyone. How's Harry?"
She stirred the inert figure at Chakotay's side with her foot.
Rutskoi was rolling upright on her own.
"He's wounded. He needs medical attention," said Chakotay. "Let
him go, at least."
"Poor Harry. That's not my fault; these smelly thugs wanted to kill
you all. It took a lot of persuading to get out there with a stunner before
they fried you to a crisp. Seems they don't like taking captives."
"No? I suppose that's a specialty of the Obsidian Order," Chakotay
said, and found her eyes.
"Ah, that's my Chakotay," said Seska. "B'Elanna may not
appreciate your twisted jokes, but I'm rather fond of them, myself."
"Yourself? Which one do you mean?"
"Exactly. Good example."
Kim began to groan. Chakotay saw with horror that the young
man's upper back and part of his scalp were scorched down to the skin,
which was burned red and brown.
"Don't you have a medic?" he asked. "He's going to be screaming
in a minute unless he gets something for the pain."
"Oh, I suppose that could be annoying," Seska said. She raised her
gloved hand to her hip and snapped open a small case. "Give him a shot
of this--he'll be in bliss for hours. These ugly bastards use it for fun."
She tossed Chakotay a vial and a grooved needle in a sheath.
"What is it?" he asked suspiciously, catching.
"How should I know? An opiate of some kind, judging from the
effect. I didn't specialize in poisons. Just dip the needle in and then
puncture his skin with it."
Chakotay looked at the apparatus with disgust. Kazon recreational
drugs? Kim moaned louder and rolled onto his side. His bloodshot eyes
opened, blinked, registered Seska's presence.
"Commander? Why--auughh..."
Seska pursed her lips. "You're the one who warned me he would
need something for the pain. If you're not going to use it, I suppose I
could just stun him again--" She slipped an ugly little weapon out of
her sleeve.
Chakotay caught her wrist. Immediately a Kazon grunted, and
several of the huge bushy-headed men converged on him.
"Oh, stop that," said Seska. "If I need your help, I'll ask for it." She
broke his grip with a snakelike twist and concealed her stunner.
"Chakotay--take my advice." She reached in her jacket and touched a
stud on a small box. "There--I won't be translated for them now. These
gentlemen are itching to see the color of your insides. Don't give them
too many excuses. They don't care too much for me--they just want
whatever they can get out of the arrangement. But they hate your guts.
They saw you standing beside the bitch, and for her sake, they'd like to
send you back in little bleeding pieces."
Kim was panting hard, trying to conceal the tears running down
his cheeks. Chakotay grimaced and dipped the needle into the vial,
shaking off all but a tiny drop of the substance, and pricked Kim's neck
near the burn. The drug took immediate effect, the tortured face
relaxing into smoothness as a glazed, dreamy look invaded the young
man's eyes. Rutskoi started to speak, but subsided with a groan and put
her hands over her ears, her face covered with blood from her nose and
her broken eardrums, the effect of the concussion grenades. Seska
smirked and took the apparatus from Chakotay.
"My, he looks a lot happier than you do. Cheer up. This could be
your lucky day." She turned away from his narrow-eyed stare, turned
on her translator again and snapped at the Kazon. "Is the ship ready to
go? Put them on it, and let's get out of here. Voyager's phasers can't cut
through to us, but a photon or two on that hatch won't make us very
happy." Seska whipped away down the corridor. Several Kazon--she
was right, they did smell--hauled Chakotay to his feet and pushed him
along after her. Kim had to be dragged, and Rutskoi staggered under
prods from a weapon.
The corridor took a turn and ended in a huge double door.
Chakotay noted that all the metal of the structure had a bronzy cast--
whether that was an inherent quality or some form of rust or oxidation
he could not tell. Moisture streaked the walls in spots, and heavy dust
lay in the corners. Two Kazon pushed the doors aside by hand.
Apparently the mechanism was broken.
A small, fast-looking ship resembling the Kazon fighters he had
battled around the Caretaker's array sat in the dark hangar.
"Move it!" barked Seska. "Where's the pilot? Tell him to get his
grimy ass on the bridge."
Chakotay realized that the Kazon men--eight of them visible--
followed her orders slowly and grudgingly. She strode up the boarding
ramp, boot-heels clicking on the corrugated metal, then turned to look
at him. Her long legs were encased in some heavy half-matte covering
that fit her like a second skin, but she wore a loose charcoal-colored
jacket, belted, that enveloped her upper body and hips. The effect was
vaguely like a Cardassian uniform, and Chakotay fought his inclination
to snarl.
Seska caught his expression and held his gaze for a moment,
cocking her head to the side and compressing her wide mouth into a
fleeting smile. Chakotay tried to see the Cardassian bones under the
Bajoran flesh. That's all false, he reminded himself. Everything you see is
false. But something familiar shone out in the hazel eyes, something
from within, through the mask.
"Step on board, Chakotay," she said. "We're all in this together
now." She unknowingly echoed Janeway, who had wondered how
anyone could betray his or her shipmates--
Seska did not believe she was a traitor. Her words on being
discovered, the harsh words she had spat at the captain, at him--she
had given a replicator to the Kazon because she knew Voyager needed
strong allies. All along, possibly even now, she had worked to help the
homeward journey as she saw fit. Chakotay realized that his suspicions
must be true, that she must have conspired with or pressured Torres to
install and conduct the disastrous test of the Sikarian space-folder. No
one had confided in him. Obviously Seska had already regarded him as
under Janeway's thumb.
And now? In her power, or that of the Kazon. What was she
planning to do with her prizes? He walked up the ramp towards her,
Kim and Rutskoi following with the group of huge, growling men.
"Put them in the lockup," she said. "Not him. Come with me,
Chakotay." He looked with concern at the two wounded officers, still
his responsibility. Kim was in dreamland, but Rutskoi managed a tight
smile. "I promise they won't get eaten for lunch, Commander. You're the
one whose safety is in question, anyway." She raised her brows and
cocked her head again, smiling to show her white teeth. "Come on."
He swallowed his mistrust and followed her.
HIS STONE WAS GONE. The little pouch he had worn on a cord under
his shirt had been taken from him. Seska, or the Kazon? He didn't feel
like inquiring just now.
The little bridge had some similarities to that of his lost ship, that
had ended its days as a missile to bring down a huge Kazon-Ogla
cruiser. How many had he killed in that battle? These men were Kazon-
Nistrim, but they were all the same species, and shared resentment at
Voyager's presence in their space. Janeway had humiliated their leaders,
and he was her officer. Even before he had become that, he had
defended Voyager with everything he had, and at great cost to her
enemies. Chakotay realized the degree of the hatred they must bear
towards him. He had felt that same look, the one the pilot turned on
him, on his own face when dealing with a Cardassian Gul.
"Sit there," said Seska. "Turn to the viewscreen, and hold that
pose. Good."
"Now," she continued, taking the tactical station, "Are the engines
warmed up? The hangar doors are ready to go."
"Yes," replied the pilot, and allowed himself one more venomous
look at Chakotay before concentrating on his task. Chakotay watched
the ignition sequence carefully; fairly straightforward. Strange how the
basics of starship engineering could change so little at such a distance
from familiar places. Take a basic humanoid, put him in a tin can, watch
him fly.
Dim starlight broke in from above as an irising opening rapidly
expanded. When it had grown to a size sufficient to accommodate the
ship, the engines roared with a burst of yellow flame that lit up the
whole cavern. Shuddering, the ship leaped into the night sky. Chakotay
caught a glimpse of small lights in the forest as the pilot banked, and
then they were in the stratosphere.
"High orbit," said Seska to the pilot. She rose and made her way
along the consoles to where Chakotay sat.
"Shouldn't be long now," she said. Lights blinked on the panel, and
she slid in front of him and poised one finger over a switch. "Keep your
eyes front, and don't say a word," she hissed over her shoulder.
"Remember, I've got two of yours in the lockup." Chakotay let his face
settle into stoniness. She hit the switch.
Janeway's voice. Hard with anger. "Ensign Seska. You can't get
away, you know. I think you would prefer to be tried fairly--"
"To be locked up for seventy-five years, you mean? I have a better
idea." Seska moved aside to reveal Chakotay. He looked up at the
screen and into his captain's eyes.
For a moment, Janeway's beauty shone through the hard shell. She
gasped, then ordered with a low growl, "You will release my officers at
once. Transporter room--"
"Do that, and watch him die," said Seska, with the snub of
Chakotay's own phaser against his temple. The two women snarled at
each other into the viewscreens. "I have Kim and Rutskoi as well. I
think you want to talk to me."
Janeway flicked her eyes to him. He nodded in confirmation. She
wheeled; motioned to someone to cut the channel. In a moment, she was
back, Tuvok visible behind her.
"Talk, then," she snapped.
"All right. Condition one. Power down those phasers, and tell
B'Elanna to dump that tractor beam she's readying."
Janeway's eyes narrowed. She made a quick nod to the side.
"That's better. Condition two. After this conversation is over, I'm
going to move to the opposite orbit position--the entire planet between
us. If I see even Voyager's nose peeking over the horizon without my
say-so, I space a hostage. Understood?"
The captain looked at Chakotay, still quietly sitting with the
weapon pressing into his tattoo. He felt like throwing up, his stomach
and bowels contracting, a terrible taste in his mouth, but breathed
evenly and gently, willing calm. He had seen Seska kill before. She had
an arm over his shoulders and her breasts pushing against his upper
back, and he had no doubt she would vaporize his skull and cerebrum if
she saw fit. Just a cloud of fine pink mist as his body slumped forward
in her embrace.
Janeway's face. He concentrated on her wonderful eyes, and
drowned his fear in them. Trust her. She's a Starfleet captain. One Obsidian
Order operative, and a squad of grunting Kazon goons? Not a chance. He felt
a faint smile on his lips.
"Understood," replied Janeway. Chakotay knew that look. He
didn't have half the slyness of which she was capable. Honest and open
to a fault, probably his main fault. Never cultivated a suspicion if he
could help it. That line could head his obituary.
"I'm glad you understand so well. Now here's my shopping list:
Replicator. Transporter console circuitry. Four photon torpedoes.
Copies of all the programming and data in Voyager's computer banks.
Package that all up, and I'll tell you where to deliver it."
"I'll deliver it to--" Janeway flared. It was a calculated outburst.
"In exchange for what?"
"All my hostages, of course." Seska rolled her eyes.
"Ensign," said Janeway, "I think you should know that we have
two of your Kazon crew in the brig. I propose an exchange--"
"You can shove them in the waste reclamation system for all I care.
I've told you the sort of currency I'm dealing in. Everything I
mentioned, and you let me leave the system and join up with my dear
friends again, too. Details later. Decide in an hour." Seska cut the
transmission.
"She's looking well, too. The situation must be agreeing with both
of you." She faced him and tucked the phaser into her jacket. "Don't
look so green. It wasn't you I was going to space."
"She'll never give you all that for us."
"I think she will." Seska smiled, lifted her small chin and took a
deep breath. "The bitch likes you pretty well, I see. How long did it take
her to get her claws on you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Innocent boy, huh? She's wanted your big sweet ass for quite a
while. And I don't think she's the type to wait too long for what she
wants." Her eyes narrowed. "Why, I even thought--that's why you
turned me down that day, wasn't it?" Seska's voice was becoming shrill.
"Screwing the captain. What a sweet deal for you. No wonder you lost
all your nerve. She's got your balls in her pocket--"
"Stop it!" he nearly shouted at her, anger and pain overcoming
fear. "I won't listen to another second of your accusations. I've never
touched her--" He knew his face had betrayed him when the memory
of Janeway's kisses flashed like a weapon's bolt across his brain.
"Oh, you've done something, haven't you?" Sharp and triumphant,
her ploy having unmasked a fact he would never have willingly told
her. He shouldn't have forgotten what a good actor she was. "What was
it? Don't tell me--" Chakotay fought to get his expression under control.
He rose and turned away, shaking. Never again, not even if he lived
through this. He thought the burning in his chest would consume him.
"Incredible," Seska murmured. "Slapped you down? Not the
impression I had from her just now. Good old Starfleet discipline, I
suppose. She is their senior officer in the quadrant--has to uphold the
honor of the entire blasted Federation." She folded her arms and stared
at him. "A Cardassian commander wouldn't bother with ridiculous
scruples like that, you know. She--or he--would sleep with you to
ensure your loyalty, if you wanted it. Whatever it takes. That's why
we'll destroy the Federation when the next war comes. No self-imposed
ball and chain. And if you had done what I and all the Maquis expected
you to do, and taken command of Voyager immediately, we wouldn't
even be having this discussion--we'd be home."
"And in a Cardassian prison camp, if you had your way." He tried
to see flaring grey scales on her slim neck. Seska regarded him levelly,
her eyes showing that odd quality again.
They wouldn't have had to change the eyes. She stepped forward,
took his face in her hands, kissed him. He jerked away violently,
gasping in distaste and at the shock of older memory. Seska was left
grasping empty air, her hair fallen over her forehead.
"Bastard," she whispered.
"I thought you said you couldn't imagine how you ever--loved
me," he spat, and wiped his lips with his hand. Seska's face trembled,
and then hardened again, his compunction at the theatrical gesture as
brief as her vulnerability. Another damn trick on his sympathies--
"Maybe my imagination is running away with me." She brushed
back her hair, her face pale, her eyes a little wild. The Kazon pilot stared
at them, and she glanced over Chakotay's shoulder, then drew the
phaser, took him by the elbow and propelled him into the corridor.
They took a few steps before she halted. He stopped, knowing she had
the weapon at his back, and waited, listening to her breathe. The snub of
the phaser touched his back, and he straightened up with a fiercely
suppressed gasp. The phaser drew a line across his side, over his arm,
nudged his ribs as Seska moved around and into his line of sight. It
came to rest directly under his breastbone, and he looked into her eyes.
"How could you want that bitch, and turn me away?" Seska hissed.
"I've been with you so long. I'm a better cook than she is. I gave you my
body--"
"The one the Order surgeons gave you?" He glanced down at her
grey jacket, so like the uniform he had hated. "So that you could
infiltrate my group, sell us all to prison camps and torture? What could
that have meant to you?"
"Cardassian women don't make love lightly, Chakotay. I would
never have turned you in. I thought I could persuade you--"
"To betray my own people?" he said, choking on the thought. "You
didn't know me well enough to love me."
"You betrayed the Federation to join the Maquis."
"The Federation sold my home for a false peace!" he roared. "I told
their government I didn't owe them any loyalty, and they cut me loose.
You can't be a traitor to something to which you don't claim allegiance."
The phaser dug into his stomach. So kill me now, he thought. I won't give
you any claim on me--
"And do you claim allegiance to her?" Seska said, and bared her
teeth.
He would have shouted Yes, he would have poured out his heart
and guts to her, he would have died gladly for his captain--
And Kim, and Rutskoi? he suddenly recalled. Will they die gladly for
your blunders? Chakotay broke the gaze and looked down at the phaser.
Honest and open? Maybe you should learn something from that smart,
cunning woman whose abilities you so admire. Janeway had sent an agent
after him as well. She had her ironclad principles, but she didn't shrink
at deception in a larger cause. Be an old friend like he had asked Torres
to be, for a little while...
"No," he said. "She represents the Federation here."
"Now, we're getting somewhere," replied Seska.
SHE LED THE WAY AFT to the crew quarters and the lockup. Kim was
still smiling beatifically, slumped on the floor of the cell. Rutskoi sat on
the cot, holding her head in her hands. Most of the blood had dried and
flaked off by now.
"Time for a choice, Chakotay. Do I put you in here, or in my
quarters?" The scowling guard moved aside when she gestured.
"Having trouble deciding? Let's see if we can help you along," she
purred, and dropped the force field with a small cylindrical key.
Rutskoi looked up dully. Probably deaf from the eardrum rupture.
Kim's wounds smelled like roast meat.
"Can't you do something to treat them?" Chakotay asked.
"If all goes well, they'll be back on Voyager in a few hours," she
replied, entering the cell. "That snippy hologram can patch them up as
good as new. Kazon medicine isn't anything to write home about."
Seska squatted down by Kim. "Hello, Harry. I'm your friend, you
know."
"'Lo, Seska," he mumbled. "You haven't been round for a while."
"No, I haven't been, but I missed you. Did you miss me?"
"'Course I did. Yer a lotta fun."
"Why, thank you, Harry. I'm glad you think so. I'm sorry I didn't
get better, um, acquainted with you, sweetie. I was looking in the wrong
direction, I guess..."
"Didja still wanna go on that holodeck ride?"
"Why, sure, Harry. That did sound nice, and I was sorry to miss it.
Wasn't my fault, really. Can I make it up to you?" She ran the tip of her
tongue over her lips.
Chakotay felt a frisson of loathing shiver up his spine. "Leave him
alone." The drug apparently made Kim susceptible to suggestion.
"Jealous? Why? You just made it quite clear you don't want this for
yourself. Maybe Harry would appreciate it more. And I'm sick of
looking at these ugly, hairy, stinking Kazon." She slanted her toothy
smile at him, and arched her dark brows coquettishly. Her hands
stroked Kim's uniform over his chest and stomach, and he smiled, his
glazed eyes not registering anyone but her. "Can I ask you something,
Harry?"
"Sure, what?"
"How'd you know where to find me?"
"Kim, don't talk to her. She's no friend of yours."
"Of course I am. Hmm?"
"Oh, gosh..." Kim's brow furrowed in concentration. "Commander
Chakotay picked you up in the holorecording he made for the captain--"
"That he made for the captain?" Seska's voice was a quiet purr.
"Yeah. It's so pretty here. Gee, you'd like that recording. It's gotta
lake and they took a, um, a canoe to see the wadderfalls...she was
having a really good time, it looked like. I think you'd like it a lot."
"Oh, I like a lot of things Chakotay does," said Seska, and turned to
look at him. Appraisal, the quick process of thought, and a powerful
undertone of anger, almost a sense of, unbelievably, betrayal. She
leaned over and kissed Kim tenderly, then looked up at Chakotay under
her brows. Seska was trying to provoke him, obviously, and he
wouldn't give her the satisfaction. He crossed his arms and pretended
to a stoicism he did not feel.
"Stop that. He's drugged, and I'll--"
"You'll what? Harry likes it, don't you, Harry?" she cooed, biting
the young man's ear and flicking her tongue along his smooth cheek.
Her hands slid lower on his body.
"You're awful nice to me, Seska," Kim droned. "Didn't know you
liked me that much."
"Why, of course I like you. I thought you were just the cutest thing
the moment I saw you. Black hair, broad shoulders," she glanced up at
Chakotay-- "those sweet curved lips and trusting manner..."
Jealous? She was working pretty hard at that-- Let her think it
was succeeding. Let her think he still wanted--
"Stop it," he said through his teeth. "Get your hands off him."
"I told you you might regret passing up an available mate. Had
your sights a little higher, perhaps? Good strategy. Nice idea. Too bad it
didn't work."
Gods, she thought he had meant to work his way into intimacy
with Janeway for his own purposes? Only what she had done to him
herself. "Guess my heart wasn't in it," he managed. Seska smiled.
"Oh, and Harry--how were the scanners configured? That base has
better shielding than anything I've ever seen." She slid her hand down
to his crotch and squeezed. Rutskoi started up, but stopped when Seska
twisted and displayed a weapon. She dropped back on the bunk and
stared at at Chakotay, obviously not understanding the conversation or
the point of Seska's actions. Kim began to recite a list of technical
specifications Chakotay only half understood, and he watched her
grope at the young man while she listened and nodded, keeping her
eyes on Chakotay. She began to inch down the fastening of Kim's
uniform, grinning. Rutskoi kept staring at him.
"Stop that, dammit. Kim, don't tell her--"
"Pay no attention to him. He's having regrets. What frequency in
the low infrared was that, Harry?"
How the hell could he pull this off? He had to try, no matter how
the thought ripped at his guts. He had made love to this woman, and he
had never been able to forget that fact, whether he had remembered it
with warmth or bitter humiliation, except for a few minutes in another's
arms. That solace was closed to him forever. Seska nodded and smiled
at Kim, and ruffled his hair while her left hand stroked and tickled
along his groin, teasingly, more as a display than anything else. Rutskoi
was fuming, her expression nauseated. Kim finished his recitation and
beamed happily at Seska.
"Thank you so much, Harry. Go to sleep now, precious." Kim
relaxed and closed his eyes. "Good stuff, that Kazon drug," Seska
grinned. She stood with a long graceful uncoiling of her body and
tossed her hair back. Chakotay ground his teeth. Seska left Kim as he
was and returned to the cell door where Chakotay stood. Her hands slid
up his chest and around his neck, her long nails stroking just above his
uniform collar. She was tall, taller than Janeway, and her lips came
within centimeters of his when she levered his head down by digging
her nails into the back of his neck. Chakotay did not move, either
backwards or forwards.
Rutskoi was looking alternately at Chakotay and Seska, her
expression unchanged for either. He tried to explain with his eyes, but
she turned to the wall and hunched over.
"Coming?" Seska said archly. "Or do I throw you in with your
little Starfleet buddies?"
His fists clenched in impotent fury. Am I a prisoner, or a
collaborator? Do I join a woman who stands for everything I despise,
because she holds the upper hand? Do I take the opportunity to gain
advantage for the future, to hold true to my real loyalties in the end?
If once, why not again?
"I'm coming," he said.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"I CAN'T GIVE HER even a single particle of dust from this ship." Janeway
felt the warmth drain from her face as she pronounced the words that
might spell the death warrant of the three hostages.
Kim, that innocent boy on his first mission. Rutskoi, a good solid
crewmember who didn't deserve such a reward for years of meritorious
service.
Chakotay...
He was her first officer. A valuable member of the team. A man
utterly worthy of trust, into whose charge her ship and crew would fall
if anything were to happen to her. She knew he would take good care of
them--if he ever got the chance.
And no other reason that you want him to return to you can have any
influence on your decision...
"Captain, you have to get them back. It doesn't matter what she's
demanding. Give her anything, and we'll get it back later," pleaded
B'Elanna Torres, leaning over the conference table. "I know her,
Captain. She will kill them if we don't cooperate. She was one of the
most ruthless fighters in our Maquis cell. She doesn't stop at anything to
achieve her goals."
"Did she even kill Cardassians?" asked Janeway softly.
"She once slit the throat of an Obsidian Order operative we caught
before Chakotay could stop her," said Torres. "I only realized why a
little while ago--she must have been afraid he might blow her cover."
Tuvok quirked an eyebrow upwards. "I must concur with
Lieutenant Torres. I did not witness the incident in question, but it is
consistent with the psychological profile I compiled while observing the
cell's operations."
"Observing, huh?" muttered Torres. She darted a glance at the
Vulcan.
"Do you compare my actions within your group with those of
Ensign Seska, Lieutenant?"
"There's some basis for comparison there," she replied, reluctantly
but with a growl that made Janeway glance sharply at her. Tuvok said
nothing.
"Gentlemen," said Janeway into the crystallizing tension. "We are
not here to debate the relative morality of undercover operations. I
called this conference to find a solution to the immediate problem: how
to get our people back without compromising the Prime Directive and
putting powerful weapons technology into the hands of the Kazon-
Nistrim."
"Can't we attack her?" suggested Tom Paris. "If we put together a
small group and transported on board--"
"Too risky," said Janeway with a wave of the hand. "We'd have to
deactivate their shields first, and that would give them plenty of time to
kill the hostages. You saw Seska with that phaser against Chakotay's
head."
"Yeah, but...would she really do that? I thought she was one of the
Big C's old girlfriends."
"You should know better than to ask a question like that, Paris,"
sneered Torres. "Old girlfriends are the worst kind."
"None of mine ever wanted to kill me," he snapped back.
"Don't be so sure about that," she said.
"Gentlemen," said Janeway, with an edge in her voice.
Paris gulped and nodded.
"I'm sorry, Captain," said Torres after a moment. "It's
just...Chakotay...and Harry..." Her voice trailed off.
"I know, B'Elanna. We're all...concerned about their welfare.
Suggestions?"
Torres bowed her head, and Paris cracked his knuckles, jumping at
the sudden sound into the silence. Tuvok cleared his throat.
"Ensign Seska has not yet specified the arrangements she wishes to
make for the delivery of the ransom. She is due to contact us for our
decision in thirty-six minutes. If we simply refuse to pay, she may kill a
hostage to convince us to reconsider. An outright refusal would
therefore be unwise."
"Yes, Tuvok. My thoughts exactly. We have to play along with her
until our people are out of danger. B'Elanna--get together all the items
Seska mentioned, and put them in carrying cases."
"Aye, Captain--but--"
"Yes?"
"That anti-transport field she used during the fight on the
surface--it was a pretty sophisticated one, but I think I know how to
counter it in case she uses it again. If I could take some people--"
"As many as you need," Janeway nodded. "Get on it right away."
When Torres had left, she turned to Tuvok. "What do you think? Is
Seska playing straight herself? Do you think she'll just hand over her
captives and fly away?"
"To bring so many valuable technologies to the Kazon might give
her some prestige in their society. She went to them with nothing but
her knowledge of Alpha Quadrant inventions and her engineering
skills, which, if truth be told, are significantly inferior to those of
Lieutenant Torres. These attributes would be of some use to the Kazon,
but she may feel that her position is precarious. I believe she will
logically be seeking some way to consolidate her power, to place herself
above threat and the favor of one Maje or another."
"Yes, Tuvok, that makes a lot of sense. But what could she do to
consolidate power?"
"She may have no intention of handing over her acquisitions, but
instead to use them to seize control of a group of Kazon and act as Maje
or warlord."
"But she'd need a bigger ship--"
"Maybe First Maje Culluh is going to get a little surprise when his
Cardassian friend gets back," grinned Paris.
Janeway returned the smile, grimly. Seska and Culluh, a match
made in a diseased imagination. What a pair those two devious vipers
must make.
"Security to Lieutenant Tuvok," buzzed Tuvok's com badge.
"Excuse me, Captain," he said, and tapped it. "Proceed."
"Sir--this is Peters. I'm in Sickbay. The Kazon prisoners...the
doctor just pronounced them dead."
"Indeed," said Tuvok. "May I presume they committed suicide?"
"That's right. We searched them, but we'd have had to shave them
to get through their hair. One of them had a poisoned needle. I'm sorry,
Lieutenant."
"There is no need for apology, Crewman." Tuvok looked at
Janeway, and she lowered her head to her hand and took a deep breath.
"It's all right, Peters," she replied. "It's not your fault. What did
they fear more than death...?" She shook her head in disbelief. "At least
we weren't counting on them as a way to get our own back, the poor
devils. Have the doctor put the bodies in stasis. Perhaps we can return
them to their people eventually."
"Aye, Captain."
The silence in the briefing room hurt Janeway's ears, and when she
spoke, her voice seemed harsh to her.
"Well, until we get a communication from Seska, all we can do is
find ways to counter the devices we know she has. Let's get back to
work."
"Wait a minute--how is she going to call us if she's on the other
side of the planet where we can't observe her?" asked Paris.
"She has placed a communications relay buoy between us," replied
Tuvok.
"Hey...maybe we could use that to tap into her systems--"
"I already thought of that," said Janeway. "It's not activated at the
moment; she'll notice if I try to turn it on. And after that threat, I don't
want to do anything to make her think we're sneaking up on her. The
ball's in her court. Gentlemen--dismissed."
AFTER SUPERVISING THE PACKING of the ransom items, Janeway
headed down to Engineering to check on Torres and Carey.
"I think she used an EMP generator to create an ionized radiation
field. It makes transporter lock impossible. I can use an ion-damping
beam to disperse it, but she would be expecting that, and probably has
measures to deflect anything of the sort," said Torres, sorting through
parts in a locker.
"So what's your idea, B'Elanna?" asked Janeway.
"Pattern boosters, with an enhanced lock signal. If we use those in
conjunction with the ion-damping beam, we can cut through the
interference and beam out the hostages--and the ransom."
Janeway frowned and shook her head slightly. "That would do it--
but pattern boosters would be difficult to conceal. We can't let her know
about them until we're actually energizing."
"Yes," said Torres, with a smile at Carey. "Lieutenant--punch up
that design we worked out."
Carey's fingers flew over a console, calling up glowing green lines
that spiraled and converged into a wire-frame image.
"A miniaturized booster--" breathed Janeway. "But where can you
fit the enhanced lock--"
"See, the flared bipolar couplings on the upper end--"
"Perfect," said Janeway, beaming. "Well done, you two. How soon
can you build a set?"
"We'll have them ready in an hour."
"What would I do without you, Torres?" She clapped Torres on the
shoulder.
Carey smiled a little ruefully.
"WE ARE BEING HAILED, Captain," said the young ensign at Ops.
Janeway glanced up from her monitor, on which she had been
drumming nervously for the past five minutes.
"It is now eight minutes, four seconds past the time that was set,"
said Tuvok.
"Enough time for us to start to worry, but not enough to confirm
our worries," muttered Janeway. "Open a channel." She rose to face the
viewscreen. The small bridge again, but only the Cardassian this time.
"Hello, Captain," said Seska. "Had enough time to think about it?"
"Yes, Ensign, we have. I want to offer you one more opportunity to
give up your prisoners and turn yourself over. I promise you'll be fairly
treated."
Seska smiled a mirthless, toothy snarl. "As fairly as you treated all
of us when you destroyed the Array? As fairly as you deprived us of
any chance to get home? I'll depend on your fairness, bitch, the day I see
my family again and greet them with my own face. You've locked me in
this skin for the rest of my life."
The big hazel eyes met the narrowed blue ones, and Janeway was
startled to feel a trickle of pity starting in her thoughts. Trapped inside
one's own devices...
Then the wide mouth snarled again, and Seska hissed, "Take a
shuttle. Hold Voyager in geosynchronous orbit on the equator, directly
opposite the base. Bring the items I mentioned to the entrance your
unfortunate party discovered, and wait for me. Be there in an hour. If I
see anyone besides you and Tuvok, I'll deliver my prisoners in pieces,
courtesy of my Kazon friends. Clear?"
"You want me to deliver the ransom myself?" A Red Alert began
to flash in Janeway's mind.
"That's right, Captain. None other. I've got a few words to say to
you that really need to be delivered in person. That's all you need to
know." The screen abruptly showed the planet's surface again.
"Damn! Sorry, Captain, she didn't keep the buoy active long
enough," said the ensign at Ops.
"That's all right, Ensign," said Janeway, still staring at the screen.
"I didn't expect much new information from a probe through it anyway.
We already know what kind of ship she has, and how many people are
on board. As for what she's planning--we'd have to be telepaths to
know that." She thought of Stadi again.
THE SHUTTLE BAY echoed with the soft thumps of antigrav loading
units. Torres handed Janeway a grooved cylinder, about the size of two
small clenched fists held together.
"One of the boosters is in the container with the transporter
circuitry. Tuvok has one, and you have the third, Captain. Press that
flange to activate it. You'll have to move to create a triangle enclosing
the hostages before you can energize. If you time it right, we could even
get Seska."
"Let's hope that we time it right, then, Lieutenant," said Janeway.
She tucked the booster into her field jacket and stepped into the
shuttlecraft where Tuvok waited. "And the ion-damping beam will
activate in the shuttle when the boosters are turned on, and then the
transporter?"
"Yes, Captain. I whipped up a trigger relay."
"You're a fast worker, B'Elanna."
"Try practicing with four Cardassian patrol vessels coming at you
with all batteries blazing, and the shields failing." Torres smiled, and
Janeway returned it.
"That's what we used to call 'the school of hard knocks'." She
inspected the machinery a moment longer, then turning, she put a hand
on the young woman's shoulder. "B'Elanna--Seska was a friend of
yours, I know. If it's at all possible--we'll try to bring her back alive."
"Captain--"
"Yes, Lieutenant?"
"Don't risk anything on my account. The person I thought was my
friend never really existed." The Klingon ridges on Torres' forehead
were sharp and prominent in the harsh light of the shuttle bay. "Bring
back Chakotay, and Harry, and Rutskoi. As for her--all I want to see is
her head, Captain." Torres spun and walked quickly away.
Janeway looked after her with concern, and wondered: if Seska
was one of the most ruthless fighters, who was the most ruthless?
"Captain," said Tuvok as she moved forward to the pilot's seat, "I
must reiterate my concern about these arrangements. The danger to you
is very great."
"Yes, Mr. Tuvok. I'm aware of that. But...I don't think I have much
choice. She didn't leave any space for negotiations, intentionally. And
anyway..." Her voice died to a whisper.
"Captain?" asked Tuvok.
"I listened to two crewmen die, as I thought. And I was here on the
ship, and could do nothing to help them. I--" Janeway closed her eyes,
and a tear slid out under the lashes. Vulcans disliked public show of
emotion, but Tuvok would understand. "My people. All of them,
however they came to Voyager. This is my responsibility. I have to do
everything I can to bring them home." She meant the hostages to the
ship, the entire crew to the Alpha Quadrant. "I won't shirk that charge. I
cannot give it up to anyone as long as I live. Not to anyone." She opened
her eyes again and smiled into the ceiling above her, her lips parted, her
tears brimming. "There are some things only the captain can do."
Tuvok did not speak for a moment, and when he did, his voice was
very quiet.
"I would suggest that we get under way."
"You're right as always, Mr. Tuvok," said Janeway, and gave the
order to open the shuttle bay doors.
"WHERE IS HE, Ensign?" Janeway's voice rang out like a bronze bell
in the forest clearing. "What have you done with my first officer?"
"I haven't done anything to damage him, if that's what you mean. I
just thought it would be better to leave him on my ship." Seska grinned
sideways, flanked by four huge Kazon.
"The ransom for all the hostages, you said. What kind of bargain is
this?"
"But these are all my hostages," Seska said with an air of honest
innocence, gesturing to the blindfolded Kim and Rutskoi.
"Where--is--Commander--Chakotay?" Janeway repeated with icy
anger.
"I told you. He's on my ship. Specifically, in my quarters. And,"
Seska laughed, "he went there of his own free will. He's not a hostage,
he's an ally."
Janeway's hand went to her phaser, but she controlled her fury
with an effort. "You're lying. I demand to speak to him."
"Indeed," said Tuvok. "I, too, find that difficult to believe." He
glanced at Janeway.
"What do you know about him, Vulcan? Neither of you has
worked with him for more than a few months. I've been with him for
years. I know all about him, because it was my business to find out.
Federation espionage is nothing compared to us. You didn't even know
I was a Cardassian agent. And I know every square centimeter of
Chakotay."
She looked at Janeway and repeated, "Every square centimeter."
Her expression was feral, possessive, triumphant.
Janeway gritted her teeth in revulsion at the thought of Seska's
hands measuring their way over his body. But she knew they had; he
had admitted as much to her. Would Chakotay have allowed her to
revive some dormant feeling still within him? He had resisted her
attempts while they were on Voyager together. Why would he have
acquiesced now?
The cradle of his hands, the press of his lips to hers, the warmth
like sunlight that had filled her mind and enveloped her body...
And the cool gap between them. The height of the pedestal on
which her rank and her own decision placed her. No room beside her
for anyone.
"I don't believe you," said Janeway. She walked a little distance to
the side to break the rigid standoff. The containers of ransom items and
the photons with their antigrav carriers stood behind her and Tuvok.
They had left the shuttle in the forest and taken the cargo out to the
clearing by hand.
"I don't care," hissed Seska. "The items I specified, for my
hostages." She pushed Kim hard and he fell forward onto the ground,
sprawling in front of the Kazon.
Tuvok met Janeway's eye briefly and stooped to help Kim up.
Seska's hand flashed inside her jacket, and he halted where he was. The
hideous burns on the young ensign's back made Janeway want to gag,
and she wondered why he wasn't howling in pain. Rutskoi stood
drooping, bloodstains visible on her shirt.
Kim was within the triangle now. The containers at the apex,
Tuvok at an opposite point, and she herself drawing the line out to the
right. Janeway imagined an elastic cord stretched between the corners.
Rutskoi would be in the area with only two forward strides, and Seska
stood just outside the edge. Tuvok moved forward slightly, but Seska
sensed that she was being outflanked and inched back, leaving Rutskoi
in front of her.
Was she suspicious? Of course she was; she'd be a fool not to be.
But she didn't know of what to be suspicious, not yet. They would have
to make a move soon before she put two and two together. Chakotay's
absence was a surprise and a horrible disadvantage, but the other
hostages were wounded and must be rescued.
What was up Seska's sleeve? Janeway knew Chakotay had a long
history with the woman, but to betray Voyager for a Cardassian
infiltrator? Not in a thousand years. Perhaps he was playing along for
now, leading her to believe he had defected, but how far would he carry
such a deception? How far could he? Dissembling and trickery of that
kind, face to face, seemed so foreign to him. He would feign damage to
draw in the enemy, or mask himself to move unchallenged, but to speak
lies outright and smile in a face he hated?
The pattern boosters had to be activated just before beam-out. The
one in the carrying case was already on, since the signal would not read
as anything unusual for transporter circuitry. But Tuvok and Janeway
had to turn theirs on simultaneously to create the triangular field of
influence.
She made the prearranged signal, a tap on the lips, and walked
deliberately along the group of Kazon as if in thought. Not too far--the
miniature boosters had a limited range. Tuvok matched her movement
a moment later.
Seska whirled from one to the other, clearly confused. Janeway
pressed a hand to the loose front of her field jacket and said low,
"Now." She saw Tuvok activate his booster as well.
A crackle of static electricity stirred the hair on her neck. Time
slowed to a crawl.
Seska's face mutated into a scream of rage. The Kazon began to
scatter towards them, moving out of the boundaries of the triangle as
Seska gestured. Rutskoi stood alone within it, blind and oblivious. Kim
sat near the containers. Tuvok whipped his phaser out and began to
lower it--
Something hit Janeway in the stomach, a blur of grey so forceful
she lost her wind and was carried to the ground. Fabric ripped, and the
scene began to dissolve into dancing sparkles as the shuttlecraft's
transporter energized. Half-solid, Seska grappled with her, sweeping
the booster out of her jacket and away. The triangle collapsed to one-
third its former area.
The sparkles faltered and faded in front of Janeway's eyes as the
figures of Tuvok, Kim and Rutskoi, and the containers dissolved into
shards of energy. The pattern booster vanished with them as she gasped
painfully to fill her lungs. Seska sat atop her, one hand twisted in her
hair, pushing her face into the dirt. The other hand contracted around
her throat until her vision turned red. With an agonizing effort, Janeway
locked a wrestling hold on Seska's arm and shoulder, flipped her on her
back, and drew her phaser. A Kazon wrenched it out of her grasp, and
she felt a small hard object in her ribs.
Seska smiled, genuinely this time.
A monster hand slapped consciousness away. |
