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Switched
Chapter 29
When Chakotay rematerialized, he found himself in a small room. The first sight that greeted him was a bed, but as he turned around he saw Kathryn. She was knelt on the floor, a dismantled replicator before her, and was looking up at him.
"Welcome to I don't know where," she said. "I take it you figured my impostor out. What took you so long?"
"Cayla playing marital truancy," he answered. "When I got home yesterday there was a note saying you'd been called to HQ and would not be back for hours. Now...this morning...is the first time I've seen her since." He knelt beside her. "Are you hurt? What happened?"
"I'm fine. But our security system is clearly not. Cayla was able to transport through our shield and transport me out. She came when you were in town and beam dumped me here."
"What's going on? What's she playing at?"
"Didn't she tell you? Well, she gave me a complete synopsis. Apparently Starfleet has a time-ship in a bunker in Arizona and she wants to get her hands on it. She thinks that if she switches us at birth...puts me in her place and her in mine...none of this with Taron will happen. And she's probably right, it won't, but I can't stand by and let her erase all our histories. That is, of course, if this time-ship really exists and I doubt it."
"So she's posing as you because she thinks you'll be allowed access to this ship?"
"Precisely." Kathryn picked up a knife and began to fiddle with the replicator. "She means well, I know that...she wants to protect us all from Taron. But this isn't the answer. I tried to get her to see that but she wouldn't listen. She's convinced that changing our pasts is the only way to protect our futures."
Chakotay looked around the tiny windowless room. "Do you have any idea where we are?"
"Beyond being in a desert, not a clue. But I mean to find out. I'm trying to reset the replicator so I can replicate a tricorder, phaser and whatever else we'll need to get out of this place. My darling twin has allowed us the freedom of this room and the bathroom only. The door to the rest of where ever we are is locked solid. With a tricorder I might be able to hack into the security system and open it. If not, a phaser will burn a whole in it." She held up the knife in her hand. "Cayla's smart, but not smart enough. She disabled the replicator from replicating everything except food, but left me a knife and folk to eat with. It took me a while, but I was able to use the knife to open up the replicator."
"Good thinking."
"After all the playing up mine did on Voyager I'm pretty familiar with the inside of replicators, so it's only a matter of time before I have this baby beat."
Suddenly, a blue transporter beam glowed before them and a yapping Goldy materialized.
"Looks like we have another inmate," Chakotay said.
The animal stopped yapping when he saw Kathryn but started growling instead. "Hey honey," she said, holding out her arm to him. "It's me. Not Miss Hyde."
Goldy recognized her voice and smell now, hurried to her, jumped up on her with a wagging tail, and licked her face joyfully. "Ok, honey," Kathryn laughed. "That's enough. I've got work to do." She pushed the pup away with a kiss and then returned to her task. The dog turned his attention to Chakotay and was glad to be petted.
"I don't know if Cayla's fed him or what," Chakotay said. "Is there running water in the bathroom?"
"Yes. And a stash of food. I replicated reserves, just incase. Nothing for doggies, mind, but there's some ham that will no doubt go down well."
"No doubt," Chakotay agreed.
He then went to make a meal for Goldy and Kathryn continued to try and reset the replicator.
"I guess everyone at HQ really thought she was me," Kathryn said when Chakotay returned. "If she really went there that is. But I don't suppose that's surprising because hardly anyone knows me there." She fiddled with a cylinder. "Things can't have gone quite as Cayla hoped, though, because I get the impression she thought this would be a quick job. But just how she plans on launching or stealing this time-ship is beyond me. If Starfleet have it then it will be kept more secure than ever gold was at Fort Knox."
"Or a transwarp coil inside a Borg cube," Chakotay teased.
"That too," Kathryn smiled, remembering their operation to obtain one.
"Anything I can do to help?"
"No," Kathryn said, closing a flap. "I'm done. This should do the trick. If not, I have a couple more up my sleeve." She tried to get to her feet but groaned in agony. "On second thoughts," she said, holding out her hand to him. "You can help me to my feet. I've been sitting so long they've gone to sleep."
Chakotay helped her up and then Kathryn switched on the replicator. It took a few seconds to power up, but then was operational.
"Now for the test," Kathryn said. "Twice it's failed so let's hope it's third time lucky." She addressed the machine. "Standard tricorder."
The replicator bleeped and then a tricorder materialized.
"Yay," Kathryn smiled. "At last!" She picked up the tricorder in triumph. "Mission accomplished!"
"Well done," Chakotay said.
"You can do the honors and replicate phasers. I'll try and determine our location."
Chakotay did as she said and Kathryn activated the tricorder.
"So much for being in a desert," she said. "According to this reading, we're in space."
Chakotay picked up the newly replicated phasers and turned to her. "Space?"
"In orbit above Mexico." She looked around the room. "Which means we have to be in a spacecraft. My guess is, by the size of this room, a shuttle. Probably Cayla's."
Chakotay handed her a phaser. "I'd say definitely Cayla's."
Kathryn put the phaser into a deep pocket of her denim dungarees. "Which is good news for us as we should easily be able to phaser our way out if need be." She went over to the door's keypad. "But let's hope it doesn't come to that." With nimble fingers she accessed the ship's security system with the tricorder, performed a couple of operations, and then stood back. "As easy as ABC."
When she depressed a button on the keypad, the door slid open. Kathryn boldly ventured into the room beyond and found herself in a small silver cell that had a ladder leading upwards. A quick scan with her tricorder told her it lead to the shuttle's main deck.
"It's quite a big shuttle," Kathryn said as Chakotay joined her. "Very advanced. It has a top speed of warp 5, cloaking technology, and auto-transportation. I guess that's how Cayla's got herself and us about. It sure is amazing how much technology advances in seven years. The living area is quite small, though. There's only one bedroom and a kitchenette. We seem to be in a cargo bay compartment. I guess Cayla converted it at some point into another bedroom." She looked up at the ladder. "This ladder leads to the bridge. I'll get myself up there and see if I can access the main computer. I should then be able to get a lock on Cayla and beam her up here. Maybe between us we'll be able to persuade her to abandon this crazy idea."
"Let's hope so," Chakotay replied.
Kathryn slipped the tricorder into the front pouch of her dungarees and then tested the ladder for security. It was rock solid.
"I'll replicate some clothes and then join you," Chakotay said. He gestured to his night robe. "If Cayla should get the upper hand, I don't fancy materializing in the middle of Bloomington in my nightwear."
"No," Kathryn smiled. "But don't worry, one way or another Cayla will lose this battle."
She then climbed onto the ladder and Chakotay returned to their room.
When Kathryn got to the bridge, she found she was able to access the main computer without any effort as Cayla had not bothered with internal security. No doubt she felt external security was sufficient. Kathryn used the shuttle's transporter history to get Cayla's biosignature and then performed an Earth wide search for her lifesign. The search was unsuccessful. She tried a deeper scan, which took over ten minutes to complete, but that also gave a negative result.
"Any luck getting access?" Chakotay asked when he arrived, now more appropriately dressed in pants and shirt.
"Yes. But not in locating Cayla. That can only mean she's at HQ. Security there prevents any internal scans."
"Or she could be looking for the ship at a Starfleet facility in Arizona. Maybe there's something in her database that will give us a clue as to where exactly she thinks this time-ship is."
"Good idea. I'll check."
Kathryn looked through Cayla's personal files and opened the most recent.
"You're right," she said, looking through the contents. "She's got co-ordinates for the time-ship." Quickly she analyzed the co-ordinates. "But they're not for a bunker in Arizona. They're for Rylan Dock."
"The top-secret research facility in Oregon?"
"Yes. And as they were only imputed last night, she must have found this out yesterday. Which means this time-ship has to exist."
"What should we do? Try to stop her or report her?"
Before Kathryn could answer, the console before her bleeped and flashed.
Chakotay questioned. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure," Kathryn said, working the console to find out. "Ah, Cayla just accessed the transporter system and beamed herself to Rylan Dock."
"Can you get a lock on her?"
"I'm trying, but she's not showing up. Either she's stepped into a security area or has gone inside." She paused. "As to your former question, I think we should try to keep this in the family, so to speak. I don't want Cayla to be charged over this. She's been through enough."
"But will you reach her in time? No doubt she's got an access code for the facility, which you don't have, and once she's in, it might not take her long to get to the time-ship."
"Long enough for me to beam to HQ, access my personal file, and get whatever code she's got. Then I'll beam directly to the facility and hunt her down. Getting inside Rylan doesn't mean she's going to get access to the ship. And if she does, she's still going to have to find a way of launching it. As advanced as this shuttle's transporter system is, it won't transport anything so big." Her fingers flew over the console. "I'm going to beam myself to HQ now. You stay here, just incase Cayla turns up."
"I'll replicate commbadges," Chakotay said, going over to a small replicator. "We'll need to stay in touch."
"Yes. And I might need you to transport me somewhere."
The replicator produced the commbadges on request and Chakotay took one over to Kathryn.
"Dungarees are hardly suitable to traipse around HQ in," Kathryn said, pinning on her badge, "but they'll have to do." She turned back to the console. "All I have to do now is activate transport and..." She stopped in mid-sentence and then her fingers flew over the console again. "I'll have to go home first," she said. "There's a device. Something the Admiral gave me. I've got to get it."
"What device?" Chakotay asked. "What Admiral?"
"Admiral Janeway. My older-self. She gave me a device, said she'd gone to a lot of trouble to get it, said I'd need it. When I asked her when, she said 'Switched'. Maybe I need it to get access to Rylan Dock or to the time-ship."
"But in her future Voyager didn't get home for another sixteen years. None of this happened."
"In 2378 it didn't happen. It might have happened in 2395 or at any time after they got back. The only reason Taron's on to Cayla now is because of me. Because Voyager's home now. If I was in the delta quadrant for another sixteen years then..."
Chakotay finished her sentence. "Taron wouldn't get on to her for another sixteen years."
"Exactly." She finished altering transport and then looked up at her husband. "Transport for home is set. I'll let you know when I've got the device and need a transport to HQ."
"Ok," Chakotay replied. He then looked at her in concern. "Be careful."
"I will," she assured him.
Kathryn then touched a flashing yellow button on the console before her and in seconds was gone.
END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
