Confrontation
"Mezoti? Voyager to Mezoti, do you read me?" the Doctor's face filled Mezoti's vision as she opened her eyes. "Ah. I see you're awake which is good. I've had Naomi bugging me for the last two hours" he added as Naomi jumped up onto the bed Mezoti had slept on. She still wore the medical garb and Naomi held two trays of waffles.
"Here, I thought you might like this" she said as the girl passed over one of the trays.
"Thank you" Mezoti said and started to eat the waffles and cream.
"You'll be glad to know that you can leave here anytime you want" the Doctor said to Naomi.
"Doctor? What is the condition of the bridge?" Naomi asked.
"Well there are some burned out sections of wall. It was mostly smoke then fire that occurred. If I might be so bold to suggest that when you next want to be determined, do it when you are not in danger?" the Doctor said with mock seriousness on his face.
"I'll try not to, Doctor" Naomi grinned at him. "We'll need to borrow your mobile emitter for a while so we can get holographic member of the crew to help with repairs" she said thinking hard.
"I've already loaned it to Azan and Rebi. They are currently on Deck 5 with a holographic B'Lanna Torres. She is attempting to fix the secondary computer processors" he replied.
"I'm going to clear up the bridge after I get a sonic shower" Naomi said and after thanking her holographic friend, her and Mezoti left the Sickbay and headed for Naomi's quarters. Naomi had a quick shower and changed into a plain jumpsuit. She waited Mezoti had one as well after Naomi insisted she really needed one after they both had the smell of burning on their skin. They went to a supply room where various items where stored on a deck by deck basis, and grabbed some spare parts. They knew that they couldn't fix anything that much, but they could make a start and have the holographic B'Lanna finish the work. The two worked hard and soon got dirty from all the smoke and grime off the walls of the bridge. It took four long and tiring hours to get the walls clean and they set about attempting to fix a few of the broken consoles. Naomi was hoping she didn't have to take Voyager on another trip or for that matter a fight with the things the way they stood.
"Azan to Naomi Wildman" came a voice over the intercom system.
"Naomi here, what's up?".
"We have finished repairs on the secondary computer processors. How we may we be of assistance"
"Give the Doctor his emitter back, then join Mezoti and me on the bridge. We need to fix the bridge controls as fast as possible so we can at least move the ship if we have to" Naomi said thinking where the twins could be best be doing.
"Acknowledged, Azan out" and the channel was closed.
"Naomi? I have managed to restore the Operations station enough for some systems to be regained" Mezoti said from the back of the bridge.
"Great, can we scan the space around the ship?" Naomi asked but Mezoti shook her head to say no.
"I have only been able to get internal sensors, secondary power and fire suppression back online" she said poking a few buttons.
"So there could be an enemy ship outside and we wouldn't know about it, would we?" and Mezoti shook her head. The turbolift doors opened and out came Azan and Rebi who both held a toolkit each. "Great you're here. I want you two to get to Operations and help Mezoti try and get external sensors online. Concentrate on getting short range back first, then get long range sensors back online" Naomi ordered and her friends nodded and huddled together and began to talk in low whispers.
"Doctor to Naomi Wildman"
"Naomi here, what can I help you with?" she asked.
"I just wondered if you needed me for the moment. If you didn't, I was going to go down to Engineering and monitor things from there"
"That's a good idea. See if you can find out if you can restore any broken systems" the temporary commander of Voyager said.
"Right, I'll be getting along. Doctor, out" and the channel was closed. Naomi began to wonder about what sort of shape the ship was in.
"Computer, damage report in full" she ordered sitting down in Captain Janeway's chair because she knew it would be a long list.
'Photon Torpedo launchers are offline. Sensors are offline. Forward Phaser down to 10 percent power. Aft Phasers are offline. Forward Shields are at 25 percent. Port shields are offline. Starboard shields are offline. Aft shields are offline'
"Computer, status of the hull" Naomi said thankful the damage wasn't too bad.
'Hull breach on Deck 13. Forcefields are online and holding'
"Computer, what is the status of Shuttle Bay One?" Naomi asked suddenly thinking of a plan to get sensors.
'Shuttle Bay One has sustained no damage'
"Azan? You and Mezoti keep working up here, Rebi, you're with me" and Rebi joined her in the turbolift.
"Where are we going?" Rebi asked.
"We're going to get into a shuttle and use its sensors to scan around the ship for us. I need you to set up a link so that we can monitor the telemetry from the bridge. It's not going to be pretty, but it'll have to do and I hope it's going to be enough" Naomi said as the pair left the turbolift and entered the shuttle bay across the corridor. She ran up to the Delta Flyer and raced to the cockpit. She jumped into the pilot's seat and began to scan the space around Voyager. To her relief she found nothing anywhere near them.
"Beginning sensor link to the bridge" Rebi reported.
"Great! That's good news" Naomi tapped her communicator. "Azan and Mezoti can you us in my quarters?" and she didn't bother to hear the others replies as her and Rebi left the Delta Flyer and returned to Naomi's quarters. The other two where waiting outside when they arrived. After they had got inside and sat round on the chairs and the sofa, Naomi decided to tell her friends what she had decided on.
"We've got a lot of the damage fixed and I've made a decision about what we are going to do. I'm going to go after the ships that took my mom and the rest of the crew" she said.
"If you have already decided on what you are going to do, what did you want to talk to us for?" Rebi asked curiously.
"I wanted to say that this time we will not be trying to disable the ships. I'm afraid that we are going to have to destroy them. It's not something I want to do, but Captain Janeway will understand. It will cause more damage and that you might get injured" Naomi explained.
"We understand that, Naomi. What does it mean for us?" Azan asked.
"I wanted to say that if anyone of you wanted to leave, then you can take a shuttle and wait for me to return" Naomi said. She was concerned for the safety of her friends and she didn't want them to get injured.
"Well I've made a decision" Mezoti said quietly.
"Whats that?" Naomi asked looking at her.
"I want to help you save your mother and the crew; they are like a family to me and I have to help" Mezoti said quietly.
"Well, it'll be nice to have some company" Naomi said brightly "What about you two?" she asked the twins.
"We know that our family has gone and so we feel like Mezoti. We want to help you whatever will happen" Azan said and Rebi nodded his agreement.
"You'd really want to help me?" Naomi asked as she felt tears in her eyes.
"We're friends right? Well friends help each over when they need help" Mezoti said, her face lighting up in a smile that caught on with the two boys.
"Thanks" Naomi said.
"Doctor to Naomi Wildman" the Doctor was calling Naomi for some reason.
"Naomi here, what's the problem Doctor?" she asked.
"I wanted you to know that we have short range sensors back online. There are no ships nearby or in the next system. The hull breach on Deck 13 was due to a faulty sensor which I've fixed" the Doctor sounded quite pleased with himself.
"That's great news! Now we can search for my mom again" Naomi said as she jumped around her quarters for joy.
"If that's all, I'm going back to sickbay. When we find the crew, I expect to receive people, Doctor out" and the Doctor cut the channel. Naomi decided to waste no time and to get going as soon as possible. They spent the energy transporting to the bridge and taking the stations they last had, Voyager started to move once more as Naomi engaged the impulse engines and headed out the system once again. She followed the trail that the short range sensors could pick up. She used the link with the Delta Flyer as long range sensors so they could tell if any ships approached them and also to see if the trail ended.
"I have brought the Torpedo launchers back online, Naomi" Azan said.
"How did you do it?" she asked amazed at the Azan's quick work.
"The command pathways from tactical to the launchers had been disabled. I re-routed them through other systems and we now have full torpedo ability" he said with a hint of pride in his voice.
"I wouldn't tell Tuvok if I was you" Naomi grinned.
"Why is that?" Azan asked.
"Because he'll draft you into the Security section" she answered.
"With respect to Mr Tuvok, I do not wish to go into his section. I was hopin…….."
"Naomi, I'm picking up those ships again" Mezoti cried out from tactical, interrupting Azan.
"Where are they?" Naomi asked her voice hardening.
"Directly in our flight path. I read a total of four ships. Two are the bigger ships, one is one of those we fought previously and the forth is the command ship" Mezoti answered.
"Rebi, cut all power except to those areas that are need right now. Better keep your Cargo Bay active as well. Send all the power to the phasers and shields. Mezoti, bring shields online, and phasers to bear. Lock and load torpedoes and target each ship with one. Double the strength of the forward shields. Azan, hail the command ship" Naomi was hoping for the best as she watched her untrained crew of her friends comply with her orders.
"Channel open" Azan said.
"This is Commander Naomi Wildman of the U.S.S. Voyager. You are holding members of our crew on your ship. Surrender them now or suffer the penalties. We have studied your weapons and tactics and can now face you on an equal footing. We await your reply" Naomi was more determined as she faced the ships this time. She hoped that she would be able to do something.
"This is Quaager Alliance vessel Dominance. It is you who should do the surrendering. Yo can not possibly survive a fight with the four most powerful ships in our fleet. You will be killed if you try" a male voice said. The voice boomed across the bridge. "Perhaps if you surrender, I may let you live" the voice mocked.
"We are not afraid to defend ourselves and to rescue our crew" Naomi said.
"Do not be stupid, Commander. There is no chance you could defeat all of our vessels at the same time. If you give us your ship, we will give you your lives. We will give you and your crew what you need to survive and we will put you on the nearest planet" the voice was clearly mocking Naomi. Did he somehow know that Voyager was being controlled by four children and one hologram? She wasn't sure about it, but the other person sure sounded confident. "What is your answer? IF YOU DON'T REPLY, WE WILL KILL YOU" the man was shouting. Naomi turned from the helm and looked at Mezoti, Azan and Rebi in turn. Her eyes asked the same unasked question to each friend and they took no more then a moment to think and then each nodded a silent yes to the question. Naomi whispered a thanks to her friends and then turned back and started to tap buttons as she started to put together what she was going to do. "What is your reply Voyager?" the voice asked.
"Our reply is: NEVER! Azan, just cut the channel. I want to say that it is an honour to be with you as friends" Naomi said as the ship rocked with blows from the Quaager ships. "Mezoti, target the nearest ship and return fire. Rebi, contact the Doctor and tell him we are fighting. Azan, keep the Delta Flyer's sensors on the command ship. Those ships are so closed to us we don't need the long range sensors. Use Voyager's short range sensors to track the ships" and the ship rocked to one side as the fight began in earnest. Naomi brought the ship around and kept the bow facing the nearest ships as Mezoti fired phasers at multiple points on the other ships shields. Naomi twisted and turned the ship through different positions as she attempted to keep the bow pointing at the enemy. The enemy kept running around Voyager and kept taking pot shots, but it was nothing that Naomi or Mezoti could do anything about. Sparks flew as one ship launched what appeared to be a type of torpedo at Voyager which hit the shields near the front of the saucer.
"Our forward shields are down to 85 percent power. We are suffering hull damage on decks 7 and 8" Mezoti reported without being asked.
"Status of the Quaager ships?" Naomi asked.
"I have identified which ship is called Dominance. It is the larger of the two cruisers and it has sustained light damage to its hull" Mezoti said after checking her console's displays.
"Azan does it have my mom and the crew onboard?" Naomi asked.
"Negative. The only ship which has them, is the command ship which is to starboard of us" the boy reported.
"Rebi divert all the power you can find and divert it to forward phasers and shields. Mezoti, hit the Dominance with everything we have. Target their warp drive and fire with both Phasers and torpedoes. Use the phasers to cut a hole for the torpedoes in the shields" Naomi said as she rolled to avoid hitting one of the ships.
"Targeted"
"Fire!" Naomi shouted over the noise of the alarms on the bridge. She looked at the viewscreen and saw as Mezoti fired the phasers to cut weak spots in the Dominance's shields. A few seconds later bright red balls appeared on the screen and hit a spot at the back of the ship and the Dominance stopped firing, and in fact began to drift.
"Direct hit" Mezoti reported.
"Naomi? I'm reading a massive energy build up in their engines. I believe they are going to have a breach of their warp core" Azan said calmly but Naomi paled.
"I'll get us away from them" she said and spun the ship away and engaged at full impulse. She had just got a safe distance away when the Dominance tore itself apart in a ball of fire and explosions.
"I'm not reading any survivors" Azan said quietly. He looked at Naomi who was looking at the wreckage. "There was nothing you could do. You gave them the chance to surrender, but they didn't. Captain Janeway would understand" he added.
"I know that" Naomi said, "but it doesn't make it easier". The ship rocked as more shots found their mark as the other three ships tried to avenge the death of their sister ship.
"Forward shields are down to 50 percent" Mezoti said.
"Rebi? I want you to take the aft torpedo launcher offline and divert its power to the forward shields" Naomi tapped her comm badge. "Naomi Wildman to the Doctor".
"Doctor here. I assume that we have engaged the ships. What was that shock wave just now?" the Doctor asked.
"One of the ships suffered a core breach" Naomi said.
"Oh" was the Doctors simple reply.
"Doctor, our shields are down to half power. We are going to have to shut down the power to the sickbay holographic projectors. Can you go onto your emitter?" Naomi asked.
"I've been monitoring the ships damage control and when I saw the shields at 85 percent, I went on my mobile emitter. Just give me a few moments… there! You can shut off the power now" he said. Naomi thanked the Doctor and closed the link.
"Naomi? I have boosted the forward shields back up to 75 percent. I can not do anymore" Mezoti said.
"That's as good as we are going to get. Target all forward phasers on remaining cruiser and fire as they come to bear. Reload all forward torpedo bays and prepare to fire on my mark" Naomi was twisting the ship and rolling it around to port. She levelled out and aimed straight at the remaining cruiser putting Voyager on a ramming course for it. Just before they hit, Naomi pulled the ship up and told Mezoti to fire all the weapons she could.
"Firing" Mezoti said as both phasers and torpedoes lanced out and hit the cruiser. Its shields flared then died as they failed and Mezoti sent two torpedoes into its hull at the rear of the ship. The two torpedoes hit the hull in a blaze of light and fire.
"Naomi, the other ship is having a core breach. It is almost identical to the first cruiser's status just before it blew up. I believe it is a type of self destruct which they have engaged" Azan said from Operations.
"Lower shields and transport the survivors to the Brig and Cargo Bay 1. I don't want any more to die" Naomi said as she watched Azan and Mezoti obey her orders. Naomi moved Voyager away from the ship so they would get caught in the backwash.
"Shields are down" Mezoti said.
"Beginning transport" Azan said almost instantly. At the same time, there was a bright light on the viewscreen which filled the bridge with light and casting shadows from the scars from their first battle with the Quaager. Sparks flew and the ship rolled as they caught the backwash. Mezoti screamed as she was covered in a shower of sparks from the consoles at tactical. Rebi abandoned his station, leaving the computer to take care of things, and ran the distance to give assistance to Mezoti.
'Warning! Hull Breach on Decks 4 and 5. Forcefields are in place' the computer reported.
"Great!" Naomi said and swore in her father's language. Samantha had taken great care to block all the curse words from her daughter's research when Naomi used the computer, but living with Tom Paris, Harry Kim and Tal Ceres had given Naomi the gift of getting what she wanted.
"We have got a lot of damage to the ships systems" Azan reported.
"Whats broken?" Naomi asked as she dodged one of the remaining two ships. She had given up using the computers evasive manoeuvres and was just making them up as she went along.
"We have taken damage to the forward phaser array and lost one of the forward torpedo launchers. Forward shields are down to 31 percent and we have suffered a hull breach on Decks 4 and 5. We have suffered damage to the Impulse drive and Warp Drive is offline. I don't think anything else is broken though" Azan said.
"There is something else broken" Naomi said holding up a small stick of metal. "I've broken the seat tilt control" she said. "What about that ship? How many did we save?" she asked.
"I saved forty nine, out of one hundred fifty" Azan said. He had saved almost one third of the crew, but somehow he seemed upset by it.
"Well, at least we saved some of them" Naomi remarked. "Make sure the forcefields are in place and holding. I don't want them to get somewhere vital and sabotage the ship" she ordered.
"Naomi? I have scanned the command ship. It was caught by the back wash from the Warp Core breach and has sustained damage to its systems as well. Shields are at 75 percent and it has a hull breach on what appears to be a shuttle bay. Your mother and crew are still alive" Azan said when he saw the colour drain from Naomi's face. It slowly returned as he watched. "However, it is still more then capable of fighting us. In our currant condition, we would be no match for them. They are leaving the area…. They have entered Warp." he said with regret in his voice.
"Do we have any phasers left?" she asked.
"We have the port forward phaser array still online and I have control of the remaining torpedo launcher. I can target either of the two ships at your command" Mezoti said.
"Can we still scan the Warp trail?" Naomi asked and Azan nodded. "Right target the smaller ship and fire the remaining phaser at it. Disable its shields and weapons systems but leave its engines alone. It's crew might not get rescued" she said.
"Targeting the ships shields and weapons" Mezoti said to the nearly silent bridge.
"Fire" said Naomi simply as she kept moving Voyager to keep the good phaser emitter always at the other ship. Eventually, the ship's shield flared as it died and in a few moments, the other ship vanished as it jumped into Warp and escaped in the same direction of the other, bigger command ship.
"Scanning… There are no other ships nearby" Azan said as he scanned the space around them.
"Good. Stand down all weapons and shields" Naomi stood up from the helm where she had been. She checked the chronometer and saw that she had been sat there for several hours. She felt a little dizzy and grabbed hold of the helm chair.
"Are you feeling well?" asked Mezoti.
"Yeah, just a little tired. We all could do with some sleep by the looks of it. I'll have the Doctor take a look at those in the brig and the cargo bay that need medical treatment, and then have him come up here and watch the bridge" Naomi said and she led the group into the turbolift and down to sickbay. The Doctor agreed that they all needed some deserved rest.
"I will take care of the prisoners while you have your sleep. Actually, where will you be sleeping?" he asked.
"Well I thought they could sleep in my quarters. We can wait here while you see to those people we rescued, and then while there you can get me four sleeping bags from the ships stores" Naomi said "That should confuse them" she added.
"That's a good idea Naomi. It might be better if you four don't get seen by them or else they will know that Voyager is being controlled by children and not by a trained crew. Actually to confuse them even more, I will change my appearance everyday" the Doctor was sounding quite pleased with himself.
"That sounds good. Is the sickbay replicator online?" Naomi asked.
"Yes, it came on with the rest of the systems" the Doctor said picking up various items that he might need for the people they had rescued. "I wonder what we will give them to eat" he mused.
"I didn't think about that" Naomi exclaimed.
"What about feeding them some ration bars? They should provide what the people need until we can figure something else out for them to eat" Mezoti said.
"That should do it" said the Doctor and he went out of sickbay leaving the children to wait for his return.
"I'm glad we can still pick up the trail of that command ship" Naomi said as she swung onto the nearest biobed. "I wonder what my mom and the crew thought of the battle. I should have concentrated on getting that command ship's shields down and then we could have beamed the crew over" she said.
"Naomi, your mother and the crew know that you are trying to save them and so they wont give up hope" Azan said. He wasn't sure how to comfort Naomi and he decided to leave that in the hands of Mezoti
"I got your sleeping bags" said the Doctor as he came through the doors of sickbay carrying four silver bundles.
"How where the people we took off the ship?" Mezoti asked.
"They didn't need my help much. There were a few cuts and bruises, and the dozen or so broken limbs, but apart from that they mostly suffered concussion. I've treated them all and given them the ration bars which they seem to like. Not the friendliest people, I might add" he said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean Doctor?" Naomi asked.
"They seemed to be upset they had lost their ship. Their manners where very rude and the language they used…" he took one look at the children who were tired from all the fighting. Naomi looked as if she had not rested since she had left sickbay after the last battle. "Can I suggest that you all go and get some sleep? I will try and make a start on the repairs, an idea of what we will need first would be a good idea so I can prioritise on the repairs" he added.
"We need the shields back working and also the phasers returned to full strength. Can you keeping scanning for the remaining ships? I want to know the minute you can detect anything" Naomi said.
"I'll to keep that in mind" the Doctor promised. After a few more things for the Doctor to know and understand, the four children left sickbay and returned to Naomi's quarters. Azan and Rebi moved the coffee table out of the way, while Naomi and Mezoti moved the sofa and put it against the wall. They unrolled the sleeping bags and placed them onto the floor in the middle of the room. Naomi and Mezoti went into the Naomi's room to change into sleepwear while the boys went into the bathroom to get into theirs. When they had finished, they all came out and Mezoti ordered four mugs of hot chocolate from the replicator.
"It will help us to sleep" she explained and Naomi accepted hers gratefully.
"I hope we can get enough stuff fixed for us to try and save my mom" Naomi said as she finished her mug in one go.
"The Doctor is most efficient in whatever he does. I am certain he can fix several of the ships systems himself, or at least begin repairs" Mezoti said.
"I hope you're right" Naomi said as she zipped up her sleeping bag tight, but she was still cold. "Do you three mind if I turn up the temperature in here?" she asked.
"No" came a chorus of three voices as the three ex-borg children zipped up their sleeping bags.
"Computer, decrease lighting to minimal settings and increase the temperature by two degrees" Naomi ordered and the lighting went down and the warmth increased after a few more moments. "Goodnight" she said to her friends and she got the replies back. Naomi didn't hear them because she had finally given up the fight against tiredness.
A/N:
Well I hope you like the latest chapter! So Voyager has sustained major damage and the kids (Naomi at least) are tired. Chapter 4 will contain the repairs to the ship as well as the final confrontation and fight. There is going to be a twist in the tale, but let's see what happens.