"Mom!"
Naomi emerged from the gateway straight into a full sprint. Before her was quite possibly the most welcome sight she had ever seen. The dull, dirty cave from which her journey began was now filled with Starfleet-uniformed officers and equipment.
"Naomi!" Samantha cried, she stooped low and opened her arms. The girl ran to her and the others breathed a sigh of relief. "Baby, is it really you?" Samantha asked in awe, pulling away to examine her child. Tom Paris moved in to scan the girl for injuries then quickly gave her mother a reassuring nod.
Naomi broke free of her mother's grasp and quickly turned to Captain Janeway. The girl realized she arrived just in time, as the Captain was obviously preparing to enter the portal momentarily.
"Captain, we have to go back!" the girl demanded. She grabbed Janeway by the arm and started to pull.
"Naomi, wait." Janeway said calmly. "Where's Commander Chakotay?"
"He's in the future. I mean, he's through one of those chroniton gateways. We have to find the right one and go back."
"You're not going anywhere," Samantha interjected with a mother's protective tone.
Naomi ignored her and summoned the most composed voice she could, though it didn't last long. "Captain, if you don't let me take you back, I mean, forward….I mean. He's going to die!"
Janeway swallowed back the lump of fear that was rising in her throat. "Stay calm Naomi, tell me what you know."
"No! We have to go now! Aren't you listening to me? He's dying!" she repeated with a frantic shout.
"Okay, okay. Please Naomi, try to stay calm. You said we have to get to Chakotay, how exactly do we do that?"
Naomi shoved her tricorder into the Captain's hands. "We have to find the gateway that matches this signature," she said pointing to an indicator on the display. "We go through it, and I can lead you to where I left the Commander. Then, we have to go back to the gateway that matches this signature," and she pointed to another indicator. "But that's easy, I already know where it is."
"Get me a medkit," Janeway ordered to no one in particular, and one was placed in her hand.
"Naomi, I'll go after the Commander, but I need you to wait here with your mother."
Naomi shook her head fiercely. "No. You won't be able to find him without me. Not in time. Please, Captain Janeway, I have to go with you. He saved my life a dozen times. I have to help him."
Janeway looked to Samantha. The mother regarded her newly-returned daughter, saw the panic and determination in her eyes, and then she nodded her head. After all he had clearly done to keep her daughter safe, she owed the Commander this much.
"The gateway should be to the north, follow me," Naomi said, taking the tricorder back from the Captain. "You're going to have to stay close to me and hold my hand when we go through."
"Wait, Naomi, you said Chakotay is injured. Can he walk?"
Naomi shook her head. "No. He's unconscious."
"Then I'm going to need more help, I can't carry or drag him," Janeway looked to Tuvok who began to sidle up to them.
"I don't know how many people can go through at once," Naomi said, and she retrieved the stone of the necklace from under her shirt. "I don't know if it matters, but I only have one marble."
"Marble?" Janeway asked, the pieces falling together, then she tapped her commbadge. "Janeway to the Doctor, transport to my location immediately."
Within moments the Doctor appeared. "No time to explain I'm afraid," she said, turning him by the arm. She pushed a button on his mobile emitter and with a few disappearing words of protest he returned to his emitter. Janeway gripped the unit in the palm of her hand.
"Lead on," she directed Naomi.
It took longer than Naomi had hoped to find the gateway that would return her to Chakotay's location. It was indeed to the north of the cave and in the middle of the new-growth, brush-filled forest. The tricorder beeped wildly and Naomi stopped short. She took the Captain's hand. "Stay close," Naomi ordered.
A disorienting wave of nausea hit the Captain. The next thing she heard was Naomi's voice. "You get used to it after a while. Come on."
Janeway looked to the ground beneath her feet. Cobblestone roads and citizens of a race she'd never seen before were all around. Where did all of these people come from? she wondered. "Keep your head down," Naomi advised softly.
Naomi deftly wove in and out of the bodies, crossed the street and went down a busy side street. She led the Captain down a set of stairs to the underground railway. Janeway had so many questions but couldn't spare the time to ask them as the girl pulled her along. At the bottom of the tunnel steps, the pair were met with the incandescent glow of gas-lit candelabras.
"He's this way," Naomi said, and she took them down another set of corridors. The atmosphere was dank and so heavy with moisture that Janeway felt as if she could wring the water out of the air with her hands. By this time - and since there were no more people around to witness - Janeway had her tricorder out in front and was scanning for human lifesigns. She was relieved to find one, although it was extremely weak, straight ahead.
"We have to walk quickly on the rails," Naomi told her, running down the center lane with Janeway on her heels.
"Chakotay!" Naomi shouted as she pulled the Captain to the side of the tunnel. Her flashlight illuminated the nook where she had left the Commander. Janeway inhaled with a gasp at the sight of him and put her arm back to keep Naomi from getting too close.
She quickly activated the Doctor and knelt down beside her first officer. Chakotay was unconscious - blood caked on his clothes and he was so pale. His breath was labored, uneven and very shallow.
The Doctor took the medkit and began his assessment. A few hypospray hisses and tricorder beeps and a "we need to get him back to the ship immediately" were heard by Janeway's ears but she could barely process them.
Janeway smoothed a hand across Chaktoay's clammy forehead. "How do we get back?" she asked suddenly, turning to Naomi.
"It's not far," the girl replied. "Is he going to make it?"
The Doctor's face was grim. "We need to go quickly."
Janeway and the Doctor moved in tandem to each take one side of his body. Together, they dragged him from the swampy corner. Janeway groaned under the dead-weight.
"This way," Naomi ordered, leading them down the tunnel, weaving on the broken concrete. In the distance she could hear a rumbling. "There's a train coming, we have to hurry," Naomi urged.
The two crutches picked up their pace. Naomi's flashlight illuminated the tracks in front and her tricorder began to ping. "Just a little further," she confirmed. Then, she stopped short.
"It's right here," she said, waving the tricorder. "Chakotay has a marble," Naomi said. "Stay with him and you'll get through."
"Wait, Naomi," Janeway said suddenly. "Just in case, come over here and hold onto the Doctor's hand.
Naomi did as she was told. The rumbling of the oncoming train grew closer and Janeway realized if this didn't work, they were all going to be spread out like jam on toast. "Now," she ordered.
They all moved as one.
