Day 80
Kathryn crawled out of bed and ordered a replicated coffee. Checking the time, she dressed and decided to take the coffee with her. She and B'Elanna met in Engineering regularly at 1900 hours.
When she entered engineering, B'Elanna spun around to greet her. "I can't wait for you to see this!"
"What? We've got a problem you're actually excited about?" Kathryn asked.
B'Elanna beamed. "Over here." Her fingers ran expertly across the panel and the schematic for the Naka defense system appeared.
Kathryn pondered the design. "Some kind of planetary defense system, I presume?"
"Exactly. But this planetary defense system is small enough to adapt to Voyager, and we can have it. We just need figure out how to integrate it into our systems
"You are going to equip Voyager with a planetary defense system?"
"It's our home isn't it? Why not give ourselves a new first line of defense?"
Janeway pursed her lips and considered its advantages. "And the Mawasi are just going to give it to us?"
B'Elanna shrugged. "Or Chakotay has earned it. I suppose it depends on how you look at it. Our crew has put in a lot of time tending to Mawasi interests."
"I supposed he has." Kathryn muttered and then changed the subject. "It's compact enough. Highly maneuverable." She nodded. "Ingenious design. I imagine flying one of these would be quite the experience."
"Here." B'Elanna tapped the console. "You need to see the pilot's suit. Check out the bat-wing design. Tom would just die for this."
"He hasn't seen it?"
"Not yet. I know it's a vital defense system, but it kind of feels like a special surprise for Tom."
Kathryn was about to enquire about their relationship when she heard someone clear his throat.
Tom came through the entrance. "Did I hear someone mention my name?"
"Hey!" B'Elanna tapped the console and the lights went out. "It's a surprise."
"Yes, it is. I mean ... I'm surprised that you want to surprise me and…" He furrowed his brow. "I'm sure I'll be surprised by whatever it is."
"So, what are you doing here?"
Tom fidgeted. "I was hoping to catch you at the end of your shift. I owe you an apology or two."
Kathryn discretely called up the schematic on a console farther from the lieutenants, where she continued to study the design.
Tom reached out and put a hand on B'Elanna's shoulder. "Look, I know I've been a jerk. I've been distant, moody-"
"Tom." B'Elanna cut him off. "The Doctor has been keeping me informed. I understand. It's been hard on all of us."
He cupped her chin with his hand. "I wanted to be there for you. But pulling away from you now because I wasn't there then is no way to handle it. I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted."
"What? Just like that? Don't you want to throw me against the wall first?"
"Oh, I did." B'Elanna's eyes flashed as she recalled her previous fury. "But, like I said, the Doctor has been keeping me posted. He's explained the diagnosis, and your progress with your treatments. I'm sorry, too. I didn't understand."
"B'Elanna, I need to know… is there still a chance for us?"
She looked over her shoulder to make sure that Kathryn was sufficiently preoccupied and then reached up to kiss him. She ended the kiss with a love bite that shocked him a little, and aroused him a lot. "You better believe it, flyboy."
Tom was about to wrap his arms around her waist when she pulled away and took his hand. "Come, I want you to take a look at this."
"Now?" Tom feigned a boyish pout. "What? The bat-wing thing?"
"You're going to love it. Captain Proton won't hold a candle to the rush you are going to feel in this."
Tom watched as the display screen illustrated the Naka operation.
"It rides like a crotch rocket." Tom commented.
"Excuse me?" B'Elanna laughed.
Kathryn looked up from her calculations and walked over to join them at their console. Both women waited on Tom to explain his latest expression.
"A crotch rocket." Tom repeated himself with great satisfaction. "It's the slang name for a type of twentieth century motorcycle. See, the rider sat in a similar position to the pilot in this jet. These were racing bikes with high speeds exceeding 200 km per hour, but this…" Tom pointed at the Naka jet. "This is a real…"
"Crotch rocket." B'Elanna finished the sentence with him.
"Exactly." He grinned.
"A little crude but an apt description."
"A perfect description."
Kathryn interjected, "I can't fathom giving the order: 'All hands to battle stations. Pilots man your crotch rockets."
They all laughed.
Tom "Well maybe not, but I can't wait to take one of these babies out for a spin."
B'Elanna replied, "You'll need to learn on the simulations first. It's too bad our holodecks are down. The Mawasi simulators are very poor compared to what we could create on the holodeck."
Tom and Kathryn shared a knowing glance.
B'Elanna looked at them both. "What?"
Kathryn's husky reply was to the point. "If you've got any bioneural gel packs to spare then the holodecks can be fixed tonight."
"Seriously?"
Tom looked a little sheepish.
"That's where you've been, isn't it? On the holodeck?"
He shrugged. "Come have a look."
Tuvok and Chakotay were briskly escorted out of the delegations with the Nihydron. With two escorts on each side, Chakotay grimaced and pushed back against the aggressive guards.
"What was that all about?" he muttered to Tuvok.
"I am uncertain, sir."
The Nihydron guards rounded a corner to a shuttle docking bay.
"Wait. I demand to know where you are you taking us?" Chakotay spoke to the man who appeared to be in charge.
"We are returning you to the Mawasi. Immediately."
"I need to contact my crew."
The guard did little to suppress his disdain as he took Chakotay down a short corridor. "Here." He opened the door and shoved Chakotay in.
Chakotay found a data entry pad for a comm. panel on the wall. He entered the correct coordinates to contact Harry and Seven, but seemed to get no results. Chakotay pounded the alien comm. panel on the wall and cursed it
Seven of Nine sat at the communications station on the Mawasi ship and frowned at the picture before her. The static cleared and the screen displayed Commander Chakotay's uniformed buttocks. Her eyebrow raised and she waited for the commander. He muttered curses and pounded on the wall. Her amusement gave way to concern.
"Commander? Are you in distress?"
"Seven?" He looked around. It took him a minute before he saw the viewscreen and crouched down to peer into it.
"Are you in distress?" she repeated her question.
He exhaled loudly. "No, but we are receiving immediate transportation back to Mawasi space. You don't need to come get us."
"The negotiations did not go well?"
"You could say that. This may be the only communication they grant me before throw us out of here. Let Voyager know we're on our way home."
"Aye, sir."
"Have you tracked anymore escape pods, Seven?"
"Indeed. We've found four escape pods and crew. All are in good health. We are tracking the warp signature of a Baxial class shuttle."
"You think it may be Neelix's ship?"
"It is highly unlikely that there is another shuttle class Talaxian in this region of space."
"Ayala was piloting that when we evacuated. Be careful, Seven they'll be on the defensive."
"Understood."
The door behind Chakotay opened and their communication was cut off.
The guard grabbed Chakotay by the arm. "Your transport vessel has arrived."
Chakotay was taken to where Tuvok was waiting. The remainders of the Mawasi delegates had been rounded up and were also awaiting transport.
When Tom, B'Elanna, and Kathryn arrived on the holodeck the poker crew was working hard on the repairs.
B'Elanna stood at the door and took in the odd environment. Drinks and refreshments sat on the table. The makeshift ambiance had all the touches of Tom Paris. The few workers, with the exception of Neelix, were obviously somewhat inebriated but hard at work all the same. She took note of who they were and understood why they had been so sloppy for her on their dayshifts. Tom poured himself and Kathryn a drink and at that moment the scene appeared entirely too surreal. This hideaway did seem very "Tom Paris," but Captain Kathryn Janeway casually working and drinking with an inebriated crew? What had they come to?
"Can I get you a glass?" Tom poured a glass and held it out to B'Elanna.
B'Elanna glanced at a couple of people who were looking over their shoulder at her. Funny, she felt like the one out of place in this odd picture.
"Sure." She shrugged and walked in casually.
The crew relaxed as she took the drink.
"I've got my surprises, too. We're nearly done." Tom grinned.
Neelix came over to greet B'Elanna. He patted Tom on the back and spoke to B'Elanna. "Just think of it! You'll be relaxing at my Talaxian resort tonight."
Behind them Carey snorted and nudged Susan with his elbow. "That's if B'Elanna will let him."
"Yeah, no offense, Neelix, but that was never a huge favorite with B'Elanna." Tom wrapped an arm around her waist. "I'm thinking of coming up with something fresh. Something very Alpha Quadrant."
"Oh?"
"We're doing Sandrine's, aren't we?" Carey asked.
"Sandrine's has my favourite table in the galaxy, but I was thinking of something more interstellar. A place that'd appeal to the whole crew, more Risa style."
"I love Risa. I can't wait." Susan replied.
"Well, B'Elanna, can we have those gel packs?" Kathryn asked.
"Um, sure." B'Elanna looked around the room and whistled. "Good job everybody. Tom, help me get them."
Kathryn worked along with the nightshift on the holodeck while Tom and B'Elanna took suspiciously far too long to get back. There was enough work to do, so their absence was more entertaining to the crew than anything else. It was nearly 0430 when all the gel packs were finally installed.
Kathryn pulled her head out of the last panel when Neelix said, "Hey, everybody I have an idea!"
"What's that, Neelix?" she asked.
"It's early enough for breakfast. Come on and I'll cook everyone up some blueberry waffles."
Carey, Tom, and Susan all expressed their pleasure at the idea and even Kathryn was tempted.
"Blueberries?" Kathryn stood up. "Real blueberries?"
"Yes, Captain. Come on and you'll see. They are blue and they are berries, and they taste much better than the replicated version." Neelix grinned at B'Elanna because she knew where they came from.
Kathryn hesitated.
Tom announced, "Everybody who comes gets to be in on the next holoprogram I create."
"Come on, Captain." B'Elanna nudged her. "We can't leave Tom to his own devices."
Seven turned to Harry. "We are no longer needed to transport Chakotay's delegation to Mawasi prime."
Harry stood behind Seven with his hands on his hips."Good. We can continue our pursuit of Ayala."
Seven tried contacting Voyager. "As we fly deeper into the center of this system, the solar flares are jamming our long range communications. I cannot contact Voyager. We should reverse course to where I can get a signal."
"Negative. Let's give her a call when we have a little more to report."
Seven raised an eyebrow. "The safety of four of Voyager's crew, including our youngest, and Chakotay's change of schedule, is sufficient reason to report."
"Perhaps, but not reason enough to risk losing Ayala."
"It is safe to presume they've been hiding in this region of space for months."
The smallish viewscreen on the transport vessel crackled with solar activity.
"Look." Harry pointed to an object rapidly gaining in size in the upper left corner of the screen. "Is it them?"
Seven tried to scan the object, but at its rapid intercept course the scan was unnecessary.
The Baxial shuttle was clearly coming towards them in an attack formation.
A female voice crackled over the communication system. "Mawasi transport vessel. State your identity and purpose."
The Baxial shuttle flew in a continuous rollover diveshot and fired a single shot. The Mawasi ship shook badly but the shot made its target and only disabled the weapons array.
Harry clung to the conn and hollered back, "Hickman? Ensign Hickman! This is Harry Kim of the Starship Voyager. Please break off your attack. We are here to find you."
In the middle of Harry's plea, the Baxial shuttle pulled out of its dive.
"Establishing visual communications." Seven reported.
On the viewscreen, a dozen members of Voyager's crew appeared before them. They wore a barely identifiable Starfleet uniform, tattered, and combined with some local clothing.
Ayala stood in front of them. "Hi, Harry. It's good to finally see a friendly face. Sorry about your weapons system but you know what its like."
Harry's mouth opened and closed again. He glanced sideways at Seven. "Uh. Sure." He finally shrugged.
Ayala continued, "Where's Voyager? Hey, you got a fair bit a room on the vessel don't you? We sure are crowded here." He grinned proudly. "So far we've picked up crew from ten escape pods."
"Voyager in undergoing repairs in space dock on Mawasi Prime. Our mission is to retrieve our crew. We have accommodations and plenty of rations. We can transport you over as soon as you are ready." Harry hesitated and then added, "Oh and Ayala, please come over unarmed."
The crew aboard the Baxial chuckled and Ayala respond, "Yeah, sure thing."
The viewscreen returned to normal space.
Seven spoke to Harry. "I think there is an earth adage that applies here."
"Oh?"
"Properly adapted I think it would be, 'You can take the man out of the Maquis'…"
Harry grinned and ended the saying, "But you can't take the Maquis out of the man."
"Indeed."
Harry stretched out his arms. "I, for one, am glad he's on our side."
After dropping a few tools off in engineering, B'Elanna arrived in the mess hall behind everyone else. When the door opened, she smirked at the sight of Tom and Joe rummaging through food supplies, much to Neelix's irritation. Kathryn was sitting at a table with her back to B'Elanna and Susan was facing towards the door.
B'Elanna was about to join them when Neelix over lit the gas element. Flames flew up so that they could hardly see Neelix through the burst. Kathryn shot out of her chair and made a loud gasp. When the flames quickly subsided, Kathryn steadied herself with the table.
B'Elanna froze mid step just staring. Startled by the change in her captain, she was unsure how to help.
"Captain," Susan's voice broke the tension. She reached for Kathryn's arm. "Captain, it's okay."
Kathryn stirred at Susan's touch and looked her way.
"You can sit down. The fire startled you."
Kathryn sank back in her chair.
"It's okay, Captain. I've the same kind of reaction to things sometimes."
Kathryn pressed a hand against her temple. "Thank you, Susan, but call me Kathryn. In case you haven't noticed, I'm no longer in command of anything."
B'Elanna winced and took a quiet step back.
"I… I don't know if I can do that, ma'am," Susan stuttered.
Kathryn rolled her eyes. "Try." Her tone was sharp.
Susan stammered, "Kathryn. I… I was saying…" She stopped and looked directly at her former commanding officer then blurted out the rest. "The fire. It reminded you of something, didn't it? Something bad from the Krenim attacks. I know what that's like. They were testing the red and yellow alerts last week and I threw up every time. I felt like an idiot and didn't want anyone to know. But every time they sounded I could see… I could see..." She shuddered. "Never mind. It's just that one simple thing could bring back such vivid memories of it all. Is that what happened to you just now?"
As Susan was speaking Tom swaggered over to them, and sat down next to Kathryn. He put a supportive arm over her shoulder.
The physical tension was apparent in Kathryn's face and neck. She nervously clutched the table with one hand. "Yes. We were hiding in a nebula. Never before had any space ship felt like a piece of tin separating me from quick and instant death in space. There was a fire aboard Voyager, and I had to dive into the middle of it, or the few of us left would've quickly froze in space."
Tears fell from Susan's eyes as she squeezed Kathryn's hand. B'Elanna swallowed hard, but she didn't move until she was nudged by Joe Carey who was trying to get past her and out the door.
Susan inquired, "You dove into a fire? That's how you got those burns isn't it?"
Kathryn nodded and cleared her throat to answer. "I always thought we'd pull through. Even when we evacuated Voyager I figured… I hoped we'd recover everyone, but at that moment, it was all too hard. It was too much. Then I knew I failed."
Tom squeezed Kathryn's shoulder and B'Elanna finally walked around the table to join them. Sitting down beside Susan, she paid careful attention to her captain. Kathryn seemed different. Ghostlike, as if part of her was gone, or somehow numb to the rest of them.
Kathryn spoke, but almost not to anyone in particular. "I made it through the fire. I was alive, somehow. So, I couldn't give up. I still have people to find, but I failed them. Failed them."
Tom's hung his head low.
Susan's voice was strong. "Look at me."
Kathryn made eye contact with the younger woman.
Swelling with emotion, Susan replied, "You did a good job. You did a damned good job."
Kathryn took a deep breath and looked at B'Elanna and Tom for the first time. She fidgeted and looked away.
Neelix served blueberry waffles and tried to add a gentle cheeriness to the room, but they all ate quietly.
Kathryn rose before finishing half her plate. "Thank you."
She rested a hand on Tom's shoulder and extended her other to Neelix, squeezing his hand she added, "The waffles were delicious."
Nodding to Susan, "And the company has been comforting, but my head is killing me."
Tom rose from the table. "You come by sickbay if it is bothering you too long."
Kathryn paused at the door and spoke gently. "Tom, it's been too long already."
"Then I'll see you later today or I'll come get you."
Kathryn frowned.
"We really can help you."
"You are helping, Tom."
The door closed behind her.
B'Elanna let out a deep breath. "You have been helping her. I didn't see it at the beginning of this night, but I can see it now."
