MAQUIS
Act 8 - Scene 1
"Return fire," snapped Chakotay.
B'Elanna looked at him as though he'd suddenly grown horns.
"Chakotay, you're not listening, we're running out of power, I will have to reroute power from life support next."
"I will not have, 'killed by the Kazon' as my epitaph," he said trying to be funny.
B'Elanna and Chakotay started to giggle, they had been in worse plights but this was ridiculous. They laughed even harder because everyone was staring at them as though they'd gone insane.
Kathryn was operating the long range scanner, wishing she had the same range she had on Voyager. She braced herself as they were hit again by the Kazon. Apparently they hadn't forgiven them for blowing up the Caretaker's array.
Then Kathryn spotted something interesting on the scanner,
"Chakotay there is a dark matter nebula behind an uninhabited planet in this system."
B'Elanna looked a bit puzzled , then it clicked, "Of course the
electromagnetic radiation will confuse their scanners."
"Ayala, set a course for the Nebula at the highest warp we can coax out of this rust bucket."
Scene 2
The shift finished after they were safely hidden in the nebula, Chakotay made a point of congratulating Kathryn on her quick thinking and asked if she would like to have a drink with him.
"I'm sorry Chakotay, I promised to meet Ann in the Cargo bay for some hand to hand combat practice, Ayala is coming to help out, I'll have to take a rain check."
"Another time maybe," he smiled trying not to be ungracious.
Instead he went to the mess to get some food. B'Elanna was there eating her dinner. She pushed it aside with a look of disgust.
"I'll shoot Bendara if he ever cooks anything again, that is disgusting."
Chakotay threw her a packet of battle rations in a foil packet.
"At least this will give you the nutrients you need for the day."
She threw it back to him, "Suddenly I'm not hungry, why are you in here moping?"
"Ayala is practicing his unarmed combat with Kathryn and Ann in the cargo bay."
"Well that's great, Ann could use some training, I didn't think Ayala was that rusty"
"He's not!" Chakotay said pointedly.
"Oh, it's like that, if you like her why don't you tell her?"
"That would be taking advantage of a female member of my crew."
"Chakotay, you're not in Starfleet now. The women on this ship are quite capable of rejecting male attention if they're not interested. My rejection would probably involve weapons but that's my Klingon side coming out."
"I'll take that under advisement, you should advertise your services as an agony aunt, you're wasted as an engineer."
She hit him playfully on the arm, "If you've decided Kathryn Janeway is the one, go and get her ."
Carlson raced into the Mess, "Chakotay, you're needed, Chell is trying to kill Gerron and I need help to separate them."
"Tell them to behave like adults and I'll join you soon to discipline them."
"You don't understand Chakotay, Gerron is unconscious and there is blood everywhere, I think he's killed him."
Scene 3
Chakotay started to run after Carlson, closely followed by Ayala, who had just been informed. When they reached the incident Chell was sitting on top of Gerron, shouting at him,
"I told you to leave me alone, you never listen, now look where it's gotten you - you'll listen next time!"
Chakotay knelt down by Gerron to check whether he was still alive . It took the combined efforts of Carlson and Ayala to pull Chell off him so he could receive medical help. When they carried Gerron into sickbay, the Doctor was scathing.
"All of you are barbarians, look at him, if you hadn't stopped the fight when you did this young man would be dead."
"Will he survive Doc?" asked Carlson, who was the only one brave enough to enquire.
"He will stand a better chance if all of you clear out and let me work," muttered the Doctor.
Chakotay ordered Chell to clean up his mess then he would be escorted to the brig, where he would remain until he completed his enquiries. Next he returned to the mess to speak to Carlson to find out what had happened.
"I honestly don't know, one minute Gerron was winding up Chell the way he usually does, all of a sudden Chell launches himself at him. If that's not enough, he tries to kill him by punching him in the face and bashing his head off the floor."
"Chell is normally so placid and easygoing, this is totally out of character," commented Chakotay .
"I was shocked, I know Chell talks incessantly and can be irritating but I would have sworn that he hadn't got a violent bone in his body."
"I'll let him cool off in the Brig for a couple of days, after that he can spend some of his R&R in sickbay helping the Doctor for a couple of months."
Scene 4
There was a strange atmosphere on the Val Jean that evening, everyone was on edge. Chakotay decided to stop at the first inhabited planet when the Kazon gave up, to let the crew get off the ship and enjoy some R&R on terra firma.
Seska had finished her shift and headed straight to the sonic shower to use the last of her shampoo and gel. After some food she was undecided about whether to read a magazine or find B'Elanna for a gossip. She headed for the mess to search for some edible food. Bendera had done some cooking the night before which she quickly rejected after a small taste. After ransacking the kitchen she settled for battle rations. Bendera came in and sat down at the table. He looked really anxious and kept fidgeting. Seska tried to find out what was wrong with him but quickly wished she hadn't.
She attempted some small talk, "I heard there was a fight earlier, I can't believe Chell tried to cave Gerron's head in."
"The little bastard had it coming, he's always winding people up, I told him that sooner or later he was going to take things too far."
"It was an over reaction nearly beating him to death, where is he now?" asked Seska.
"Chakotay's got him in the brig cooling his heels, I heard he's going to make him work in sickbay as a punishment."
"I'd prefer to be flushed out of an airlock than spend time with that holographic freak." Seska wasn't shy about letting people know how she felt about them.
"Would you like to go out for a drink sometime when we stop for some R&R?"
Seska laughed so hard that she nearly pulled a muscle, "You can't be serious , why would I possibly want to go out with you?"
"You didn't have any problems going out with Chakotay, why not me?"
"I'm not attracted to you and you have nothing that I want, now run along and bother someone else before I teach you some manners."
Bendera stood behind her and lifted her from the chair with a knife pressed against her throat.
"Don't move, I don't want to hurt you, I just want you to be nice to me."
Seska was scared, which wasn't an emotion she was used to, she tried to relax and keep her voice calm.
"You caught me at a bad time, of course I want to go out with you. We'll have a drink tomorrow night in my room."
Bendera may have been agitated but he wasn't stupid. "You're only saying that because you want me to go."
He took her hands and tied them behind her back so she couldn't escape.
Seska spoke clearly and concisely, "Think very carefully about this, you can't take it back and if you harm me in any way, I will kill you"
Bendera loved her courage and feistiness, they were two of her most attractive qualities. He forced her back against the wall and tried to kiss her but Seska was having none of it.
"Stay still!" he shouted. He was so frustrated that he smacked her across the mouth. She waited until her mouth filled up with blood, then spat it at him.
This angered him so much that he decided to take what he wanted, he started by ripping her tunic off, Seska tried to stop him but couldn't do anything damaging because he had secured her hands above her head. He ripped her blouse and was just about to remove the last items of clothing, when he was distracted.
"Bendera, have you lost your mind, what are you doing?" shouted Kathryn taking careful aim at him with her phaser.
He turned around at her blinking and appeared to be totally confused. Bendera saw Seska and her state of undress and groaned, sinking to the floor.
"I don't remember anything about the last couple of hours," he tried to help Seska to cover herself but she shrank away from him,
Kathryn removed her jacket and passed it to Seska,who needed medical treatment but she didn't want to leave Bendera on his own so she turned her phaser down to its lowest setting and stunned him. After picking up the knife he dropped, she cut the restraints on Seska wrists.
"Do you want to go to sickbay or your bunk?" asked Kathryn.
Seska couldn't afford to show weakness even in this situation.
"I'm not badly hurt, just my clothes and my pride, thank you."
Kathryn knew that was all the gratitude the young woman had to give. On their way back to Seska's bunk they passed Chakotay. Kathryn gestured to him that she needed a word. When she finished telling him about Seska and Bendera, he continued with his own report of the fight between Gerron and Chell.
Scene 5
Chakotay was stunned by the outbreak of sudden random violence on the ship.
"What's going on, two of the least aggressive men have lost their minds at the same time, that isn't a coincidence."
Kathryn added, "I think we should scan the ship for anomalies and the nebula, then ask the Doctor to give the whole crew a full medical with brain scans. When I spoke to Bendera, he said that he couldn't remember anything before his attack."
Ayala interrupted them with the news that there was a problem with the weekly poker game, Yosa,O'Donnell, Jonas and Doyle had started a fight because they suspected each other of cheating. After Ayala and Chakotay had defused that situation, they joined Kathryn for an impromptu meeting.
"I think we should confine the crew to their bunks until we discover the cause of this erratic behaviour. suggested Kathryn.
"I agree, Ayala could you pass on my order to the crew and make a spot inspection to ensure everyone is where they should be, I'll go to sick bay with Kathryn to consult with the Doctor.
Scene 6
Ayala was fuming because he wanted to stay with Kathryn. Chakotay was abusing his position as captain to further his relationship with her. He poked his head around the door of all the rooms he had to check until he noticed that Tabor's bunk had two occupants and they were definitely enjoying a closer relationship.
"Jor, I suggest you finish what you started then head back to your bunk before the Captain discovers that you're disobeying his order."
He smiled to himself as he carried out the rest of his inspection, that was a novel way to occupy yourself during a lock down. The last room he had to inspect was shared by B'Elanna and Mariah Henley so he wasn't expecting any trouble. When he poked his head around the door the first thing he saw was B'Elanna tied to a chair. She was struggling hard to get away. Then he heard the voice of Mariah Henley who was holding one of B'Elanna's knives to her throat.
"You should really learn some manners, it doesn't cost you anything to say please or thank you, I don't like rude, pushy people and you are one of the worst offenders, so I am going to cut out your tongue which has the added benefit that I don't have to listen to you again."
Mariah didn't seem stressed or agitated, the fact that she was so calm was chilling. She went through the room chatting happily about finding a way to secure B'Elanna's head, to make it easier to cut out her tongue. In an instant she fell to the floor in a heap. Ayala rushed in to untie B'Elanna, who was in a murderous mood.
"I'll kill the bitch," she said reaching for her bat'leth.
"B'Elanna, there's something wrong with her, help me to get her to the Doctor."
"If we were on a Klingon ship I would have been expected to kill her!"
When Ayala and B'Elanna carried Henley into sickbay, the Doctor had to move a less injured patient back to his bunk.
The Doctor asked Kathryn, "Do you think this is another one Captain?"
"Yes Doctor and could I remind you that Chakotay is Captain"
The Doctor asked them to vacate his space and to return in an hour when he might have some news.
Scene 7
They all walked to the mess to wait for the Doctor's findings. Kathryn made some coffee then sat at the table to discuss solutions to their problems.
Chakotay started the ball rolling, "All this craziness started when we entered the nebula perhaps it's altering our atmospheric conditions."
"Wouldn't the filters have dealt with the problem," suggested Kathryn."
Ayala wanted to grab some more time with Kathryn, "I think we should wait for the Doctor's results before we decide what to do,"
"Ayala could you do another patrol please?" asked Chakotay.
Chakotay smiled as Ayala stormed out, there had to be some perks being Captain.
"Would you like a real drink, I've got some real whiskey in my office?"
""That would be perfect, shouldn't we wait for Ayala?"
Chakotay lied, "Ayala doesn't drink, he'd be offended if we offered him one."
He stood up and waited for her to go first. Chakotay fetched his whiskey and shot glasses from a cupboard and poured two generous measures.
"Let's make a toast, to friendship!"
"Good Health and happiness!" responded Kathryn.
"I am really sorry that we haven't had the chance to get to know each other better, everything has been so hectic recently" apologised Chakotay.
Kathryn sympathised with him,"I understand completely about the workload of a captain, especially in these challenging circumstances."
He took her breath away when he smiled, he had the sexiest smile she had ever seen.
"I wondered whether you would consider going on a date with me?" asked Chakotay nervously,
Kathryn weighed up the pros and cons quickly.
"Yes I'd love to but I think we'd better sort the crew out first"
"He leaned over and kissed her on the mouth, he'd been dreaming about doing that ever since they first met."
They separated when they heard loud clapping,
Ayala was furious, "You low life bastard , you could have any woman on the ship but you had to go for the one I want."
Chakotay went to calm him down but ended up meeting a perfect right hook, which knocked him flat on his ass.
"That is the only free one you get, next time I will retaliate."
Kathryn rolled her eyes at the ridiculously high levels of testosterone in the room.
"Gentlemen, may I remind you that we have a crisis on our hands and these pathetic displays of jealousy are not helpful."
Scene 8
The Doctor's voice was a welcome relief from the tension
"Captain Janeway, I think I've found the cause of our problems."
"We'll be with you shortly Doctor."
She glared at both men and returned to sickbay, they followed her at a respectful distance.
"Doctor, report please," ordered Kathryn
"Well, I completed the physicals, without finding a single thing wrong. I looked at the brain scans and that is when my alarm bells started to ring."
He hung up two scans and pointed to be a particular area where they were different. This is Mr Bendera's brain scan from three weeks ago , this was the scan I carried out when he was carried to sickbay. The signal is bio-neural, I believe another brainwave has been superimposed on top of his own to enable an alien entity to take control of his body temporarily.
"Why, what was the entity looking for?" asked Chakotay.
"When I treated Gerron, the bio-neural energy in his brain was low. My theory is that the alien entities use the energy to sustain them."
Kathryn wished that they had the sophisticated scanners that were standard issue on Starfleet vessels.
"As we were attacked inside the nebula, it stands to reason that these entities can only survive here, we'll have to fly out at maximum warp to detach the entities and confuse the Kazon ship if it's still out there." suggested Ayala.
Nobody could think of a better plan so they went with Ayala's logical reasoning.
Scene 9
Chakotay ordered everyone they needed to their posts and kept the remainder of the crew confined to their bunks.
B'Elanna spoke to her engine as though it was a person, "I know you're old and tired but I need everything you've got to get rid of these nasty pests." she still remembered Mariah talking about cutting her tongue out.
"Are you ready B'Elanna?" asked Chakotay.
"Ready as we'll ever be!"
The Val Jean went to maximum warp and shot out of the nebula, leaving the aliens behind. Unfortunately the Kazon were still there, Chakotay used one of his precious torpedoes and fired it straight at their ship. He was lucky because it was a direct hit and destroyed them.
After the incident in the nebula, Chakotay ordered the Doctor to give every member of the crew a brain scan to make sure there were no traces of the aliens left. When he completed his task there was an anomaly, Chakotay and Ayala hadn't been affected by the alien presence!