Chapter 3

Kathryn paced the length of the briefing room aboard Voyager, her hands on her hips. She felt like she was crawling out of her skin with helplessness as she listened to admirals Patterson, Paris and a few others speculate about who might be behind the attack and why. The virtual meeting had been going on for over an hour now and Kathryn had long given up trying to sit still. She was going crazy with the need to do something, anything besides just standing here, listening to her peers speculate aimlessly.

Even though she knew that typically her place as an admiral was to oversee things from the ship, it had been Kathryn's intention to go down with the rescue teams as soon as she'd alerted Starfleet Command of the situation and requested backup. However her peers and superiors had had another mission in mind for her; she would better serve everyone, they pointed out a little too calmly for Kathryn's nerves, by assuming her appointed diplomatic role and reaching out to her contacts on Maradibaya instead. The year before, when Kathryn and Chakotay had participated in an archaeology mission there, they had gotten caught in the crossfire between Lyat'ib's reformers and a group of dissidents who had called themselves Restorationists. It was with this in mind that Admiral Hayes suggested that Kathryn look into whether or not this attack might have originated from the Maradib extremists. It was a perfectly reasonable hypothesis and thing to do, so despite the now constant knot twisting her stomach, Kathryn had reluctantly agreed to remain on board for the time being. She had reached out to her Maradib contacts right away and was now waiting for their arrival, only half-participating in the admirals' conversation while she waited. She was much too distracted to fully engage or pay close attention, knowing full well that her sense of duty to Starfleet was the only thing keeping her on Voyager right now. And that thread was hair thin.

Not long after the explosion had occurred, the communications officer had started detecting distress beacons and combadge signals from the surface – all requesting assistance. One of them in particular had caught the officer's ear and he'd transferred the transmission to Kathryn right away when he had recognized it. Interference had kept Kathryn from catching every word, but her knees had almost buckled in relief when she'd recognized Chakotay's voice as the author of the streamed commentary. Kathryn, if you're listening to this. Know that I'm alright. Focus on finding the others. No one's answered my communications, so I don't know if Harry and Seven are okay. I'm still searching for Lyat'ib and Prime Minister Kumara."

It was an immense relief to know that he'd survived the initial blast, but his transmission had stopped rather abruptly, and it drove her nuts not to be able to make sure that he was still alright. For some reason Voyager wasn't yet able to make the communications go both ways: they could receive signals, but not respond. Transporters and sensors were still down as well – and they would remain so until the interference from the explosion dissipated, or they found ways to boost signals and sensors. B'Elanna was already working on this, but her engineering crew was spread thin, as most of them had volunteered to go to the planet and help with the search and rescue.

In fact, about half of the Voyager contingent had already taken shuttles down to the surface, including Tom and the Doctor, and they sent regular reports on their progress, which Captain Peres forwarded to Kathryn to keep her in the loop. For instance they had learned from Tom and the Doctor that only Dråkin-Mati had been affected, and not the other settlements.

So far.

There had been no more sign of the cloaked vessel Voyager's sensors had picked up, but it nagged at Kathryn, not knowing who was responsible, or whether or not they might decide to strike again. Hopefully B'Elanna's work on the sensors would kill two birds with one stone and allow them to detect any abnormal ship activity in orbit, while also allowing the sensors to detect what was happening on the surface. So luckily if the ship that had attacked them returned, they would be able to detect its presence before it caused any more damage. Kathryn dimly considered helping B'Elanna with those tasks – at least she'd be doing something other than waiting.

"…Yes, the Klingon have cloaking technology, but I don't see what possible motive they might have to sabotage the summit. It is about the internal politics of the Gianfar system – the Klingon, or even the Romulans for that matter, wouldn't care about such a local event. It has no real impact on interstellar diplomacy," Admiral Paris was saying when the briefing doors opened and Ayala poked his head inside.

"Admiral Janeway, forgive the interruption – we were able to establish two-way communication with Seven of Nine. Captain Peres thought you might want to hear what she has to say."

At last! Kathryn didn't waste a second before excusing herself, and followed Ayala onto the bridge. Seven's face was up on the viewscreen and though the transmission wasn't perfectly clear, the signal was much improved from earlier attempts. Seven appeared somewhat rattled but otherwise uninjured. She looked to be in a building overlooking the main square in Kop, which was filled with residents and officials organizing volunteers and supplies to go to Dråkin-Mati. A dark cloud of smoke hovered in the distance in that direction. Kathryn's yearning to be there returned in full force.

Of their own volition, her eyes scanned the background crowd for Chakotay's black hair and familiar silhouette, even though she knew, rationally, that he wouldn't be there.

She couldn't remember ever feeling this kind of fear before – not for anyone in her crew, not when she'd been captain. Of course she had feared for her officers' lives more times than she could count, but she couldn't recall ever feeling this all-consuming anguish, clutching her insides. The ache of it was almost paralyzing – and it had, in fact, paralyzed her at first. She hadn't fully realized until that moment on the bridge just how much closer this last year with Chakotay had entangled them together, in a way she had never quite experienced before or could never have imagined. He continued to be her best friend, her moral compass, her confidant, but he had also become so much more over the last year; he was her family, her lover. Her partner, in every sense of the word. He made her feel joy, he made her feel loved, he made her whole. The words she had uttered to him long ago – about not being able to imagine a day without him – had never been so true as they were now. Even if they still occasionally butted heads (about silly things, usually), even if they spent weeks apart sometimes, that connection between them not only remained, but seemed to grow stronger each time they overcame an obstacle or a long absence.

So he had to be fine. There was simply no other alternative.

"Communications are still problematic on the surface and between settlements," Seven was saying, bringing Kathryn back to the moment. "So I have not heard back from Lieutenant. Kim yet. I was able to boost the signal to establish a two-way communication with Voyager, but interference from the explosion makes it difficult to coordinate our efforts on the ground – and as you no doubt know by now, it also prevents the use of transporters."

B'Elanna nodded from her spot at her Engineering station. Kathryn hadn't noticed her until then. "I'm already working on boosting transporter and communication signals from here, but it might take a while. I'm stretched a little thin at the moment."

Captain Peres went on. "How does it look down there?"

Seven looked around her. "Chaotic. The residents fear a second attack, but they also fear for their neighbors. Some blame the attack on the Maradib and the summit." Peres exchanged a look with Kathryn at that, but there was no time to linger on the thought as Seven went on. "Most able-bodied residents already left for Dråkin-Mati to help with the search and rescue. I am too far from the zone of impact to give a proper report on the damage. I will attempt to clear the signal further so that you can also make contact with Lieutenant Kim or Chakotay directly."

"That would be of great help," Captain Peres nodded. "You're the only one we've been able to reach so far."

"I'm certain it's only a matter of interference," Seven said as her eyes strayed to Kathryn, as if she meant to be reassuring. And not a matter of being unable or in no condition to respond, she seemed to leave unsaid.

"Seven, you were working on the shield, weren't you?" Kathryn asked. "Was it enabled when the weapon struck?" If it hadn't been on… The chance of finding survivors would be slim to none. She swallowed with difficulty.

"Yes, the shield was in place and 85% effective." There was a collective release of breath on the bridge at this news. "In fact, my preliminary analysis of sensory data from the time of the explosion indicates that the single energy power surge from the weapon launched from orbit drained its power within seconds. The shield itself would have absorbed most of the explosion, radiation and the kinetic energy. But even here, the ground shook. I believe it was the kinetic energy of the combined energy released by the weapon and the shield collapsing that created such a powerful shockwave."

Kathryn nodded gravely, but she couldn't help a swell of gratitude for Seven. If she hadn't volunteered this morning… "Starfleet is sending reinforcements as we speak," she said. "They should be here within the hour. We'll let you get back to work. Be careful."

Seven nodded before she terminated the transmission. Kathryn was about a hair away from declaring that she was going down there – to hell with everything else – when her combadge came to life. "Admiral Janeway, your guests from Maradibaya have arrived."

Kathryn exchanged a nod with Captain Peres. "Let me know if you hear anything else," she said, though by the look on Sara's face, she knew exactly what it was she was really asking. Then she spun her heels and hurried to the shuttle bay. She couldn't stop a swell of relief when the Maradib guests came into view and she recognized a familiar face . "Tibeya!" Somehow seeing the resourceful young woman here, now, looking eager and serious and ready to help felt like the unexpected arrival of the cavalry. "Thank you for coming on such short notice!"

Tibeya gave Kathryn an hurried version of the high-status Maradib greeting, which Kathryn returned to the best of her ability before her young Maradib friend introduced the other members from her party as 'Preceptors.' Most of them looked familiar to Kathryn – they had been present during the public forums and negotiations she had overseen.

"I appreciate you coming all this way during these troubling times." Kathryn invited them to walk with her.

"I understand your desire to find those responsible for this terrible act, and we will do what we can to help you," Tibeya said after Kathryn had briefed them, "but you must know that we are here with a mission of our own. In light of what has happened, the Respectable members of the High Council have sent the Preceptors to represent them in your future discussion of the summit," Tibeya explained as she indicated the other members of her group. "I myself was sent to retrieve Respectable Councilor Lyat'ib and return him to Maradibaya. You mentioned he was on the surface at the time of the attack?"

"That's right. He was touring one of the settlements along with the members of his delegation, Prime Minister Kumara, and Chakotay. They're still unaccounted for, though we know that Chakotay survived the initial explosion."

Tibeya's expression turned sympathetic at that and she placed a comforting hand on Kathryn's upper arm, her black eyes earnest. "I will take a shuttle to the surface directly, and bring you news myself. We have also brought several artificial gravity generators, in the hopes that they will hasten the searching and rescuing process."

Kathryn felt a rush of gratitude flow through her chest. The Maradib possessed telepathic abilities – mindwalking, as they called it – which allowed them to read each other's thoughts. In the absence of reliable sensor data, that gift would be extremely useful in locating Lyat'ib and the other Maradib – if they were still alive. And by extension, Chakotay as well, since he must have been with them at the time of the explosion. And with those generators…! She inclined her head to Tibeya in gratitude. "If you see Chakotay and he's well enough, please tell him to send word when he can. We might not be able to respond, but tell him we'd still like to hear from him."

With a nod to her and her companions, Tibeya turned on her heels and left the way she'd come. Kathryn faced the stern-faced Preceptors. "This way please. We have much to discuss."

oooOooo

When Chakotay followed Harry out into the open at last, Emani clinging to his neck as if her life depended on it, his stomach dropped in shock at the amount of devastation the shockwave had caused to the settlement. The entire block of houses, the market place, the tall fruit trees that had lined the streets, had been razed to the ground – all of the buildings that Prime Minister Kumara had been so proud to show them earlier… in piles of rubbish. Even the sturdy new Maradib alloys hadn't been enough to help the structures resist the shock from the force field collapsing. The good news was that there were now dozens of people milling around, searching for survivors, helping the wounded, triaging, including many Gianfarian first responders from the other settlements, as well as some Starfleet uniforms. Chakotay recognized several officers from Voyager, and his throat constricted with emotion, moved to see some many of them already at work. The ship was still up there, then, safe and sound. He scanned the crowd for Kathryn, even though he knew the chances of her being down here were slim. Given her rank, she would be managing and organizing and delegating from Voyager – as it should be. Part of him was relieved that she wouldn't be putting herself in danger by coming here, even while another part ached not to have her near. His hand went to the book he'd gotten for her in his satchel, as if the weight of it grounded him, connected him to her. The feel of the book also reminded him about the interrupted conversation with Lyat'ib, which renewed his sense of urgency to find the Maradib leader and the Gianfarian prime minister. But first, he had to find somewhere safe for the girl.

While Harry hurried to seek medical help for Travid, Chakotay spotted Tom, the Doctor and other Voyager crewmembers setting up the triaging area and organizing supplies and volunteers, so Chakotay quickly made his way there, waving the Doctor over and greeting him with a solemn nod. Chakotay sat Emani down on a crate and the Doctor quickly administered the both of them with anti-radiation treatment. While the Doctor scanned Emani with a medical tricorder and took care of the scrapes on her arms, she just stared at him curiously, wide-eyed, still as a statue. Meanwhile, Chakotay and Tom grabbed each other's forearms in greeting, their relief to find the other safe passing in a glance between them. Then Tom updated him on what he knew, reassuring him (with a rather knowing look) that everyone on Voyager was fine. As he listened, Chakotay started going through the food supplies until he found granola bars and dried fruit for Emani, then handed them to her. It would have to do until they got access to replicators or more substantial food. The Doctor tsked at Chakotay when he shifted his focus on him and assessed his injured shoulder. Without warning and with surprising strength, the Doctor yanked on his arm and his shoulder seemed to fall into place.

Chakotay yelped in surprise and pain. "A little warning next time, please, Doc?" He raised his hand to touch his shoulder while he rotated it slowly. It did feel much better, though. It couldn't have been fully dislocated because Chakotay had been able to use it, but clearly something had been out of place.

"You're welcome," the Doctor replied wryly while he administered him with some pain relief, for which Chakotay was grateful. "Now you make sure not to put any more strain on that shoulder, Command- I mean Chakotay," the Doctor said. Someone called for medical assistance, so the EMH hurried to finish his assessment of Chakotay's health status. "You seem to have hit your head and I notice some residual damage to your eardrums, but your injuries aren't life-threatening, so I'm afraid they'll have to wait. The hearing should return on its own, but let me know if it persists." Chakotay gave him a grateful nod before the Doctor moved on to his incoming patients.

Now that both he and Emani had been checked out, Chakotay returned his attention to the young girl. He needed to go back and help with the search and rescue, but this wasn't something a child should see, especially considering – the thought suddenly sprang through his mind – if and how he might find her parents. He didn't dare ask her about them, lest he frightened her more than she already was. He frowned in a mix of amusement and exasperation when he noticed her concentrating on picking out the raisins out of the granola bar with her tiny fingers and tossing them aside disdainfully. Shaking his head with a bemused frown, he handed her a canteen of water, making sure that she drank from it. "Emani, this is my friend Tom. He's going to take care of you, okay? I need to go help these people, like I helped you." He glanced at Tom who gave him a reassuring nod. "You'll be safe here," he told her with a hand on her small shoulder. Satisfied, Chakotay turned to leave, standing-

"No!"

Chakotay blinked in surprise at the strength of her objection, the resolute pout on her face, the fierce displeasure in her eyes. Tom gave a stunned snort, patting his shoulder, as if to say 'good luck with this one,' before returning to his work. "No?" Chakotay repeated, half-annoyed half-amused, bending over with his hands on his knees to be at eye-level with her.

Her face contorted into a determined expression, her eyes shining bright with unshed tears. "I want to go with you. I can help! I can sing and pick up the rocks, like before."

Something in his chest squeezed at her words and the catch in her voice. He watched her for a moment, the keen dark eyes that weren't so different from his own, the dirty, tear-stained little face and the flowing brown hair turned ashy with soot and dirt. After a moment of considering his options, he sighed, relenting. If staying with him for now – at least until he found a better alternative – gave her a sense of security amid an otherwise traumatic experience, then it might help her accept everything that had happened in the long run. "Alright. But you have to stay close to me and do as I say, okay? It might be dangerous out there."

She nodded quickly, her eyes going wide.

"You'll be my assistant," Chakotay added as he lifted her with hands under her arm pits to help her down from the crate. He grabbed a couple of water canteens and a handful of granola bars (ones without raisins) and threw them into his bag, then he grabbed a medical kit and a wrist flashlight from the crates, which he gave to her. "Your job is to carry this. It's very important that you don't lose it!"

She nodded again and her grip tightened around the flashlight.

Chakotay's lips twitched. "Good."

She tugged on the hem of his shirt.

"What?"

"I really need to go to the bathroom."

Chakotay blinked.

"Right."

He wiped a hand over his face and looked around. Not seeing any signs for lavatories, he gestured for Emani to follow him and approached Tom again. "Restrooms?" He asked him in a low voice.

Tom struggled to bite back a grin as he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

"Better wipe that smirk off, Paris," Chakotay said under his breath, "this will be you in a couple of years." Before they set out though, Chakotay earnestly whispered to Tom to keep an eye out for the girl's parents, in case they came looking for her.

As they left, he felt a small hand shyly touch his palm, then snake around his fingers. Chakotay's lips curved of their own volition as he folded the small hand more securely into his own and looked down, finding Emani smiling up at him.

oooOooo

"What are you doing now?" Devin asked as he knelt next to Seven and Vorik. The young man had volunteered to find water and sustenance for them, so he now held a container with various food items, which he presented to them. Vorik paused to take a water canteen and so did Seven. Though the building was cooler than the temperature outdoors, it was still hot enough to make Seven feel the beginning of dehydration.

Seven tossed Devin a glance. "Rebooting the receptors on the communications network. We need to establish more reliable communications with the other settlements. Hand me the micro-optic drill."

Devin frowned as he complied. "Hey, can I ask… That girl, Maddy, said you were Borg, and I couldn't help but notice those," he added with a vague gesture to her implants. "So… does that mean you actually are Borg?"

Seven frowned even as she kept her focus on her task. Even before Voyager had returned to the Alpha Quadrant, Seven had been the recipient of suspicious glares and disdainful glances, but it had only grown worse since Voyager had returned home. The Borg had caused great physical and emotional damage in this quadrant, and Seven found herself paying for it every time she set foot on Earth or on a world once touched by the Borg. She was growing tired of it. Accompanying this feeling was a new sense of urgency to do something about it. To do something to help rectify the situation. And help others in her situation, like she had helped Icheb. And like Janeway had helped her.

Luckily Devin didn't seem frightened or disdainful, simply… curious. She appreciated his open-mindedness. "I was Borg. Years ago. I have since then recovered my humanity." She returned her attention to her task. "Try it now, Ensign."

Under Vorik's ministrations, the console and panels shut down with a hum, then started again. Seven scanned the panel with her tricorder, slowly nodding to herself, pleased with the preliminary results.

"Did it work?" Devin asked as he edged closer curiously to look at her tricorder.

"I intend to find out." Seven pressed her combadge. "Seven of Nine to Lieutenant Kim. Lieutenant Kim, if you can hear this, please respond."

A moment later her combadge crackled to life. "Kim here. I hear you loud and clear, Seven! Good work on fixing communications. This is going to be incredibly helpful over here."

"It's a relief to know it worked." After updating him with their new abilities to communicate with Voyager – which Kim and others should now be able to do as well – Lieutenant Kim proceeded to tell her of the progress in the search and rescue, including how he had discovered Chakotay, alive and well. This was good news. They ended the communication by requesting mutual updates over the next several hours.

Now that the communication problem was resolved, Seven suggested to Vorik that they return to analyze the force field data. They had been interrupted before, but it was still as important to understand why it had been malfunctioning in the first place, and what had caused it to drain so rapidly when it by that weapon. It was also imperative that they bring the shield back up – there was no evidence that the attackers would return, but they had to be ready for that eventuality.

The square was mostly empty now that most people had been organized to help, or had returned home. Still carrying the container of food, Devin followed them as they navigated the way down from the communications center and returned to the structure housing all of the shield controls.

"I don't know what's going to happen to the colony if Prime Minister Kumara didn't survive the blast," Devin commented at some point, to no one in particular, it seemed.

"Why would he not? My friend Chakotay survived. There is a good chance that he will as well."

"Of course, I'm just saying… He's been facing a lot of resistance from the settlements recently. You saw those anti-summit signs. It started last year, when we had to evacuate, but it's only grown worse since then. People say he's going to lose the next elections. Well, if he survived, that is."

"Fascinating," Vorik said as he started scanning the power consoles.

"I beg to differ," Seven muttered wryly, making the Vulcan look up from his tricorder.

"No, I mean this… Look. I do not know why I did not notice it before." He stepped aside so that Seven could look at the data.

"What? What is it?" Devin asked as he approached.

Seven exhaled through her nose. "Evidence of tampering. Someone intentionally programmed the shield to malfunction. This not only confirms that your colony was attacked, but it also indicates that the act was premeditated. Someone with access to this building and these controls caused it to malfunction. I must share this information with Admiral Janeway."

oooOooo

A/N: It was pointed out to me that there's another J/C fic with the same title, I wasn't aware, so I apologize for any confusion. For now I'll leave the title as is because I'm rather fond of it, but I might change it in the future if another title comes to mind.

More in a couple of days!