Disclaimer: The Voyager characters are not mine.

Chapter Rating: I'm going to go with T. There's mild torture in here. As mild as torture can be, I suppose.

Note: Again, if you'll only bear with me, you'll understand as the story continues…

Chapter Seven


PartI


What Benzas found upon entering the conference room did not surprise him: Voyager's first officer, looking vaguely ill at ease in his captain's chair. The man seemed transfixed by something on a small screen along the right wall…but even as Benzas's violet eyes moved to follow the line of the commander's gaze, the screen abruptly went dark.

For a moment, the senator remained unsure whether the commander had even noticed his arrival. But then – that was absurd. The young woman in the yellow uniform – Ensign Jenkins – had received her commanding officer's verbal permission to enter.

Benzas hovered awkwardly in the doorway, filling much of the open space with his tall form.

Across the long room, Chakotay kept still only by keeping his fists tightly clenched beneath the table. It had taken every last micron of self-control to switch off the transmission. "Thank you, Ensign," he acknowledged Jenkins politely, if stiffly. "If you'll wait outside, I'll let you know when we're through here."

Ensign Natalie Jenkins was thrilled to be acknowledged by Commander Chakotay himself. She could count – on one hand – the number of occasions she'd been addressed by a senior officer of Voyager- excluding Commander Tuvok, of course. And, as her direct supervisor, he didn't count as far as she was concerned. Though she knew the command team made it a point to greet even the lowliest of crewmen, she usually had the night shift, so her contact with the duo had been automatically limited. "Aye, sir," she responded, barely containing her enthusiasm while moving to take up her post just outside of the entrance.

The commander allowed himself a few sorely needed seconds to bring his emotions under the tight rein of long-practiced control.

He didn't like the man. Mostly, if he was honest with himself, he distrusted Benzas's seeming influence over the captain. Since she'd returned from her three-day expedition with the Oncaveat leader, Voyager's new ally, Chakotay had felt…oddly excluded from her confidence. Too often, he'd asked the computer for her location, only to be informed that she was with Benzas. And, as she hadn't exactly been forthcoming about the nature of this new…friendship…he hadn't felt it was his place to ask her about it. Instead, he'd been left to wonder at the sudden closeness between the two.

Certainly, after all of their harrowing first contacts in the Delta Quadrant, she had become much less trusting…hadn't she? How many times had seemingly friendly new species misled them before? Yet she trusted this man implicitly. Does this have something to do with the bond she mentioned? Chakotay wondered. She hadn't said much about the nature of the "link" or whatever it was, but he had gotten the impression that the experience had been somewhat akin to a mind-meld. He also got the feeling she had deliberately neglected to elaborate on the subject.

True, her report had not been lacking in detail…at least…not specifically. Nothing he could pinpoint, anyway. Janeway and Tuvok had attended the customary Oncaveat gathering, the summit of senators – the Riftga or whatever the softly furred aliens called it. They'd returned in excellent health, according to the doctor. Kathryn had been chosen to facilitate the opening of the threshold into Unani space, the Oncaveats' one remaining safe haven. She would be the first outsider to facilitate in nearly a century, but it had recently become apparent to Benzas, to the Senate Circle, that their movements were becoming more and more restricted. The Jehnz-yin army seemed to be stepping up in their attacks, and the Oncaveat had lost their last three facilitators to Jehnz-yin attacks; the Oncaveats' weapons capability was no match for their enemy. All present had, upon hearing the tale of Kathryn's rescue of the Oncaveat transport vessel from a Jehnz-yin battle cruiser, agreed that Janeway was the best – and safest – choice. Voyager would provide passage for as many Oncaveat as possible, having taken the circle of senators and their most vulnerable followers (mostly children and elderly aliens) to the required coordinates. Only Kathryn would know the exact location, a fact which made it all the more imperative that she be recovered alive. Otherwise, the Oncaveat would have to return to the summit and choose a new facilitator – and each light-year traveled through Jehnz-yin space was a death-gamble for them. Now, for Voyager, too.

Yes, both officers' reports had been thorough. Complete. Still, he hadn't been able to shake the sensation that something else had been determined at the Riftga – something neither Kathryn nor Tuvok had wanted to share with him.

It was imperative, perhaps more so now than ever, that Chakotay not permit his personal feelings to influence either his behavior or his judgment regarding the Oncaveat first senator. Personal feelings, hell, his inner-self mocked, you're looking for someone else to blame for what is ultimately your OWN failure to protect the members of the away team.

"Senator," Chakotay's vocal chords felt dry, scratchy with the strain of bone-chilling fear and helpless rage, "if you would take a seat, please, there's a matter of great urgency to discuss."

Benzas Cori nodded, his somber eyes fixing upon the tormented human with no little sympathy. His expression was one of deep remorse. "I understand, Commander. I take it you are aware of Kathryn's situation by now?"

Chakotay's stomach flip-flopped wildly. Control, long-practiced or otherwise, slipped from his tenuous grasp, deserting him. His shocked jaw fell open. "By now?" he repeated, unconsciously copying his own actions from the recent discussion with the Jehnz-yin general. "You know already? How could you–" Is that really important? Does it matter? Every single second you delay right now is one more second they have her. One more violation they have the time to inflict upon her. "Never mind, it doesn't matter," he cut himself off shortly. "What matters is that we get them back. The Jehnz-yi have the Delta Flyer and, with it, the members of the away team. I'm sure you'll agree–"

"I'm sorry, Commander, but that is incorrect. They have only Kathryn. Your shuttle, along with the young ensign and the Talaxian, is on its way to the rendezvous coordinates as we speak."

For the second time in fewer minutes, Chakotay's heart skipped a beat. Tersely, he clipped, "I don't know what brings you to that particular conclusion, but I can promise you that neither Mister Neelix nor Ensign Kim would ever consider leaving–"

"Not willingly, no." The soft-spoken, funeral-hushed tones of Benzas's words had begun to grate on Chakotay's well-worn nerves as the man interrupted him yet again. "But your Neelix was injured, and Kathryn wanted him returned to Voyager for treatment without argument. She took matters out of their hands and programmed the shuttle for automatic piloting."

It had the unmistakable ring of something she would do. Too, the amber-coated Oncaveat's voice rang with such miserable sincerity…

Attempting to gauge the truth of Cori's words, the first officer stared deeply into the alien's soulful black pupils, searching for any sign of deception. There was none.

Chakotay suddenly had an uneasy feeling that he was about to receive the answers to all of the nagging questions he'd had concerning Benzas's relationship with Kathryn Janeway.

And he didn't think that he was going to like those answers one bit.

"Explain," he demanded simply. "Quickly. She's running out of time."


Part II


"Damn it!" Harry Kim swore, slamming the medical tricorder shut against the useless (to him, anyway) helm console. Unfortunately, as he had not been watching what he was doing, his little finger caught in the edge and was thoroughly pinched. "Damn it!"

The instrument clattered to the Delta Flyer's carpeted deck with soft, muted thuds as Harry swung his smarting right hand back and forth in the cool air of the shuttle.

A tormented groan, shuddering and labored, made the ensign start somewhat guiltily. Did I just wake him? he wondered warily, darting a glance at the swathed and sweaty bundle on the floor.

The roar, thankfully, was not enough to awaken his comatose patient. If I don't get him to Voyager soon, the doctor won't be enough to wake him. He'll be dead.

Sitting there, helplessly taking scan after scan, watching the morbidly rapid progression of internal injuries worsening in his friend was agonizing: gut-wrenching. Harry couldn't remember a time he had felt such anguish. The tears flowed from his dark eyes without even catching his attention anymore.

Watching a friend die in combat – fighting alongside him – was one thing. Seeing him slowly bleed out internally while his organs strained and fought to keep up with his body's most basic life-giving functions…while being able to do nothing to stop the process…

It was hell. Absolute, complete hell.

This was worse than the Hirogen takeover; here, there wasn't even an EMH to tend to Neelix's horrendous wounds. He only got to observe the gradual decline of…

Stop it, Kim. Neelix is going to make it, he's tougher than he looks. Which, he snorted darkly, isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of his odds, is it?

Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why did she have to do this? Why'd she have to go sacrificing herself? If she were here, she could probably address these injuries better than I can.

The responsibility would not rest entirely with him. At the very least, he wouldn't be solely to blame.

It had been a sacrifice. That the captain had taken the time to program in the shuttle's launching sequence and set auto-navigation for the rendezvous site betrayed her intentions. At some point during this ill-fated venture – Harry wasn't sure when, exactly – but at some point, she had made the conscious decision not to make an effort to escape the Jehnz-yi.

She could have done it. She'd made the choice to use precious time – time Neelix hadn't really had – repairing the shuttle's engines. Additionally, who knew how long it had taken to rig the localizer she'd used to send Neelix's pattern through the prison's dampening field? He still wanted to know how she'd managed that. He'd take the time to study the modified communicator later, when they reached the rendezvous coordinates.

Which reminds me… They had to be close. With one last, heart-breaking look at his dying friend, Harry Kim turned resolutely to the communications console. There was nothing more he could do for Neelix. Only time would tell if the little he'd managed would be enough.

He had a sinking suspicion it wouldn't be. Hands shaking, he began to type.


Part III


Kathryn struggled to pull her muddled thoughts together. It was incredibly difficult. Her head hurt, ached beyond belief. She tried to move but found for some reason she could not. Neither arms nor legs would cooperate…was she paralyzed? Had she somehow fallen and injured her back?

No. Decidedly no – she was not paralyzed. If she was, there wouldn't be such a blunt ache along her back muscles each time she inhaled breath. Again she pulled at both arms and legs…to no avail. And, finally, it hit her; she was tied to something.

The captain forced open her eyes and almost vomited with the sudden wave of vertigo that swept over her. Her head was pulled up against her will, and she became aware of a hauntingly familiar voice near her right ear. The specific words, however, continued to elude her…quite possibly due to an incessant ringing resounding in her ears.

Janeway, the grip on her hair sending sharp new pain through the pounding inside of her skull, instinctively tried to pull forward to free herself. A fierce yank and she gave up quickly. She frankly hadn't the strength to put in more effort.

At once a sort of awareness focused her mind enough for her to realize where she was and just whose hand was taking such liberties with her bare skin…

So they stripped me after all, she accepted grimly. To her credit, Kathryn was only vaguely mortified to be so exposed before the general and his minions, for with her memory came also the return of her identity. Her very next concern was for her ship. Immediately, her mind reached out to Benzas Cori to inquire after Voyager's safety, but a sudden sharp pain caused her to abort the attempt just as swiftly.

Before she could do much more than grimace, Xi's hot, wet tongue made contact with her neck, grazing an insistent trail up to the side of her face. To her absolute shock, it burned like hell. She cried out – half disgust, half pain. And could cheerfully have kicked herself for giving Xi the satisfaction.

At the general's smug laughter, Kathryn Janeway opened her sore mouth to tell the Jehnz-yin exactly where to shove his amusement when, again, she was derailed from her intended action by a new distraction.

For some reason, Commander Chakotay's voice was the first to cut through the buzzing in her ears.

Quite clearly, she heard his oh-so-steady inflection snap: "Turn it off, Tuvok. Now!"

Stunned, Janeway's head fell forward, abruptly released from Xi's hold. Swallowing back the second wave of nausea at the sudden motion, her stomach leaped up into her parched throat. "Chakotay," she rasped. What the hell is he doing here? Fear had her heart pounding rapidly within her chest.

Xi's ugly features – somewhat softened by the double vision she was experiencing – loomed before her. He stood mere centimeters from her. "Aw," he mocked, "he cut the transmission. Shame. I was enjoying that. Guess he didn't like the show."

Transmission. Thank God. Sheer relief made her brave. "You still can't find them, can you?" she taunted in return, ignoring the multitude of her injuries (which protested each word). Even the customary Janeway smirk hurt her bruised (and now burned) face. Inwardly, though, she'd already switched into command mode. She would use whatever time she had left to help Voyager complete its mission, any small way possible. She stared the alien down, assessing him. He's proudso arrogant. Maybe I can taunt him into making a few mistakes. It's worth a shot. "You still have your entire fleet tied up with searching for my small ship, don't you? Not bad for a 'lesser species', wouldn't you agree?"

Garan Xi's cold smile was all the warning she was afforded before a harsh backhand swung across the left side of her jaw, snapping her head back. Her tooth caught the inside of her bottom lip with impact, and Kathryn tasted blood.

"Still cocky, aren't you, Janeway?" he hissed low. "Not for very much longer, I promise you."

Jaw smarting, she forced her head to swivel back to face him. The gargoyle-like features were twisted with hatred. Swiftly, the same hand reached down and pulled something from the leather belt of his uniform. The captain caught a brief flash of metal glinting beneath the glaring spotlight before another hand lashed out to squeeze her chin, the force of his grip nearly fusing skin with bone. Xi waved a sickeningly curved blade, tinged with some yellow-green substance, directly in front of her eyes.

"Now then, this will be simple." He pressed it to her ribcage, smiled at her sharp intake of breath. "That's right. If you'll remember from my session with Mister Neelix, that's acid. Stings, no?"

Kathryn bit her already bloody lower lip. "Stings" wasn't strictly the word she thought she'd use. More like "sears", she mused. She held her tongue, waiting for him to continue. Benzas, she thought, eyes watering and further blurring her vision. Now would be a good time to distract me. How much time do I have left?

Xi laid out his terms in simple language, never removing the damaging knife from her side. "I will ask you a question. If you fail to respond, or if your response fails to satisfy me, I will demonstrate my displeasure for you. Clear enough, Janeway?" The clawed fist released her chin, trailed lightly down over her chest and rested there…

I'm here, Kathryn, came the blessed response from her bond-mate. Despite the pain she experienced, a sudden infusion of strength – of resolve – renewed her. A sort of calm reassurance soothed her doubts, and Kathryn thought that perhaps no one save for Chakotay could have had such a balming effect on her so instantly. I'm here. I'll stay with you as long as I can.

Perhaps if the general hadn't been so obvious in his glee, Kathryn might have acknowledged his question. As it was, though she knew full well it was going to cost her, the captain deliberately turned her head away from him to face the wall.

"All right, then. I can see I'm going to have to make this even clearer."

Her last thought was that he sounded positively delighted before the slashing, burning sensation of the blade biting deep into her flesh, tearing easily past skin into muscle, overwhelmed her.

She didn't even hear herself scream.