Gretchen fought to wake up, shaking violently with everything she had. She felt as if something tore, and terrible pain ripped through her, at the same time she lost her grip, and fell, sagging and inert, back into the memory.
Gretchen rushed forward, grabbing her mother's shoulder and shaking, as if to wake her up.
The woman's torso was cut off at the waist. The eyes were closed and there was a terrible sound as Gretchen lifted the shoulders up, a kind of groan that only the dead make. A sound Gretchen had never heard before.
Gretchen pulled out the medical kit, fumbling with it and dropping it to the floor with a clang as the blood made her hands slippery.
Behind her came another noise, "She's dead," came a woman's even voice, and Gretchen looked up, to find a blonde crewman standing a few feet from her. Behind her on the other side of the bridge Gretchen vaguely took in a tank of some kind.
"No," said Gretchen shrieking, looking back, "We'll get her help. My communicator won't work. Does yours? We have to get her to Sickbay!"
Gretchen turned back, staring at her mother's face helplessly, refusing to process the sight. She heard footsteps behind her, but barely registered them.
Suddenly there were arms around her neck, and she was jerked up, metal pushing into her skull as she tried to twist away.
The horrible, nasty voice from the communicator spoke again, and this time it came from the woman holding a phaser to her head.
"She's dead…." came the voice, "She's dead…..just like my girls, my babies, she's dead….like the trash she is,"
She woman laughed, and reached out a leg to kick Gretchen's mother. The broken body broke more and Gretchen screamed, twisting as hard as she could despite the weapon to her head, "No, no, stop it, stop it!"The girl screamed from the depths of her soul, as Marla Gilmore pulled one hand down and blasted her mother in her waist again.
Gretchen twisted one hand out and grabbed the arm holding the phaser, even as the woman fired two more times. It must have been altered, for the ray was firing like a projectile, burning holes through even the metal underneath her mother.
Gretchen slammed into Marla's arm as hard as she could, and the phaser went flying off the bridge.
Suddenly Gretchen sagged, gasping for air as tingling itchy shockwaves went through her body. Her whole body was stunned, and she felt herself being pulled forward.
Gretchen jerked her body with her whole will, but it did not respond. The medicine controlling the odd alien illness she had contracted was no longer working.
She felt herself being pushed up, and her head was grabbed, she was forced to stare at a tank, a salamander like creature was in it, looking sad and desperate. It made eye contact with Gretchen, but seemed to be too out of it to notice her.
Gretchen recognized it as a member of the Thox, a friendly amphibian species she had met just yesterday, but which had been allied with Voyager for weeks. She struggled to place the individual, but in its wilting, almost decaying state, she could not.
"You're dying," said Marla to her, shaking her body, as Gretchen continued to sag, "You don't have an alien flu, you breathed in poison when you were on that 'field trip' yesterday to Engineering. Poison I set."
Gretchen struggled to understand, transfixed by the voice in her ear. The whisper echoed through her body like a scream, as the strange illness again enhanced her hearing.
"I told your mother," continued the loud hissing voice, "I told her you would die if she didn't kill this stupid creature…..its brain has an antitoxin …..such a small thing to ask, to save her own child…..but she wouldn't do it."
"I wanted her to understand," said Marla's dark voice, shaking her again, "I wanted her to feel like I did, when my girls were dying…..I would've done anything…..anything…..to save them. I thought she would too. I knew she would. If only she felt like me, if I threatened her child she would do it, she would do anything to save you…..she would see how worthless alien lives are, how you must protect your own at all costs, do anything to get home."
"I wanted an apology," continued the voice, now suddenly, unutterably sad, "I wasn't going to kill you…not really…..I just wanted her to admit that she was wrong…..that my girls were worth anything to save."
"But she didn't," hissed the voice again in anger, "That bitch, she didn't even love her own child."
Gretchen howled, and from somewhere came the strength to struggle out of Marla's grip. As she moved she lunged at the woman and they both fell to the floor. She struggled against her, enraged, but then she felt her body seize again, and it ached everywhere as thousands of pinprinks of pain sparked all over. She lay back gasping, struggling to move her lungs even the slightest amount.
"You're just like her," howled the blonde woman above her, eyes crazed, slamming her head into the pavement, "I was going to save you, but it's too late for you, you can just die with her."
Gretchen's eyes closed against her will as she continued to struggle futilely. Another slam against her head.
"She left you out here in the damned Delta Quadrant. Left you out here to die," screamed the voice.
Pain exploded in her brain as her head was slammed a third time.
"She wasn't even upset," said the woman sobbing now, "She didn't even care her only child was dying."
Gretchen gasped painfully as the last air in her lungs expelled like fire. She tried with all her will to jerk away from the deranged woman, but her stunned body would not respond.
She felt strong hands close around her throat.
Mommy, tell her it isn't true! screamed Gretchen silently, Help me!
"Yes, we're in trouble," responded Captain Janeway to the mysterious female voice, wasting no time as it resounded through the Bridge, "We were attacked suddenly. Can you help us?"
"Hold on dearie," came the high pitched reply, "We'll take care of it."
Suddenly the fog cleared on the viewcreen. The ship in front of them was small and very sleek. It was a striking color, resembling Earth mother-of-pearl polished to an almost aggressive shine.
A bubble of sorts seemed to be surrounding the small ship and Voyager. Behind the bubble lurked a much bigger ship, dark and nearly camouflaged against the blackness of space. It had a bumpy appearance and four large spikes jutted out from the head of the ship.
As Voyager's crew watched, the soft and shimmering bubble expanded, breaking the large ship into millions of pieces.
"The four enemy ships have been destroyed Captain," said Harry in relief.
"There, no trouble at all," said the voice again, "Always a pleasure to take those creatures out."
"Thank you for your help," said Janeway diplomatically, "We'd be pleased to meet with you in person and exchange information. We're explorers, perhaps we can be helpful to you."
"Shall we sisters?" said the voice, "They seem to be of a higher race."
There was silence for a moment, but then the first voice spoke again, "We shall take you up on it Captain. We assume you shall be the one to greet us? We are very fond of your voice."
"Of course," said Janeway, "We can beam you over if you like."
"That will be lovely," said the high pitched voice, "We shall meet you in exactly three minutes dear. We are always on time. Good manners are so vital."
The bubble and the ship disappeared.
"Status report," ordered Captain Janeway, frowning deeply, and sinking back into her command chair.
"Damage on all decks Captain," said Tuvok, "Structural damage on Decks 7 and 13. Repair estimates 3-5 days."
"And the crew?" said Janeway, turning anxiously in his direction.
"20 minor injuries, 5 major causalities, no deaths reported."
Thank goodness.
Janeway sighed deeply, "B'Elanna take the lead in seeing to the repairs," she ordered on her combadge, "Tuvok, Chakotay, and I are going to go welcome our saviors."
I don't have time to see her…..thought Janeway to herself as she stood, trying to block out her feelings…..It can wait….I'm sure there's nothing I could do for her anyway….
Don't leave me. Mommy!
Gretchen pushed with all her willpower to force herself out of the hated memory. Something stretched and tore like fabric, a sudden inferno ripping through the chasm where the memory had been.
It burned, and burned.
Then her mind became hazy, as it drifted into total and complete silence.