FULL CIRCLE
by Avalon (avalon99@telusplanet.net)
http://members.dencity.com/avalon_online
J/C, PG-13, 6/9
FULL CIRCLE VI
Chakotay awoke in the transporter room on Voyager. He was half-suspended between B'Elanna and Paris, their arms supporting his weight. He blinked and shook his head, wincing as the pain hit him. And then memory returned. The earthquake...and Kathryn.
He twisted free of their grip, turning to see the Doctor leaning over the unconscious form of Captain Janeway. Even as his heart lurched once, painfully, the hologram was shouting: "I said beam us to sickbay!"
"Sorry Sir. The transporters just went offline." The Ensign behind the console was working feverishly. B'Elanna darted forward.
"Here, let me." Unceremoniously, she shoved him aside.
"There's no time." The Doctor flung the words at them, gathered the unconscious woman in his arms, and headed for the exit.
Follow them. Chakotay took a step forward...then stumbled as the ship rocked violently beneath him.
"Commander Chakotay to the Bridge." The voice echoed over the comlink as another tremor tossed the starship.
Chakotay hesitated for a heartbeat, staring after the rapidly disappearing Doctor and Janeway. Then he turned to Paris, who had moved up beside him. "Go with them. And let me know what...what..."
"I will," Paris only had time to say, and then the Commander was gone.
* * *
Chakotay sprinted down the corridor at top speed, which wasn't terribly fast given the fact that the ship was shaking beneath him like a leaf in a hurricane. Plus he seemed to have twisted his knee at some point in the cavern. Nevertheless, he made it to the Bridge in record time.
"Report!" He barked as he limped onto the Bridge, pulling himself into the nearest chair -- it was Janeway's but he had no time to dwell on that -- as another shockwave hit them.
Tuvok was clinging to his console with all his Vulcan strength while trying to adjust the ship's sensors one-handed. He had to shout to make himself heard. "I believe they are the same energy waves we encountered before but of much greater magnitude. We must be almost at their source."
"Then get us out of here." Chakotay clung grimly to the sides of the chair as the ship continued to rock.
"Not possible. Ship's engines are offline. Shields are buckling...Engineering is attempting to compensate..."
Chakotay's jaw tightened. "On screen. I want to see what's out there."
"I'm trying, Sir." Ensign Kim spoke through gritted teeth. "But it's... There!"
An image materialized on the viewscreen...and a stunned silence descended.
Energy waves were lashing at the ship as before, but they weren't what had silenced the crew. Rather, it was the immense stream of light and energy coming from the surface of Anari, streaming toward a point in space near the first moon...
...where a wormhole was slowly opening.
* * *
Chakotay and the others caught their breaths...and in that instant, both the energy waves and the stream of light from the surface stopped abruptly. The wormhole remained unchanged for a few moments longer then it too winked out. The edges of space around it, however, continued to shimmer.
Chakotay wasn't sure how many more surprises he could take today. A wormhole. Here. He swallowed. Hastily, he tried to put his thoughts back into some sort of order.
"Commander." It was Harry, his voice hushed. "The readings...that is..." He made another effort. "The wormhole is still there, Sir. And it appears to be stable."
Another, deeper silence fell. Chakotay leaned forward. "Are you certain?"
"Yes, Sir." The Ensign's voice was more assured now. "At least...this end appears to be completely stable. And old. Sensors indicate it's probably been here for several thousand years. At least."
With an effort Chakotay dragged his gaze from the viewscreen. "What about the energy waves?"
Tuvok replied. "They seem to be emanating from the wormhole itself. And, given the buildup of power inside it, I believe they will reappear, with ever-increasing force."
"When?" For a moment, Chakotay wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. The ship wouldn't be able to take much more of this pounding.
"I would estimate between thirty and forty minutes. Perhaps less. And, unfortunately, we cannot move to a safe distance. Warp and Impulse engines are offline, weapon systems are not functioning, and the transporters are still down. Shields have fallen to forty percent."
The Commander grimaced. "We've got to get the engines and nav systems online before the next wave hits. Chakotay to Engineering..."
Another voice over the ship's communicator interrupted him. The Doctor.
"Commander Chakotay -- If you're finished tossing the ship around up there will you please come to sickbay?"
Cold fear washed over him. "The Captain...?" For a moment, his mouth ran dry and fear clawed at him. Was she...?
"It will be simpler if you just come." The comlink went dead.
In an instant he was on his feet, his injured leg forgotten. "Tuvok -- You have the Bridge. I'll be in sickbay. Let me know immediately if anything changes. And send Engineering whatever help they need. I'll be back as soon as...as soon as I can."
The Vulcan nodded, already away. Around him, the crewmembers flung themselves into various tasks despite the cold sense of dread that now hung over the Bridge. Chakotay hesitated no longer. Ignoring the pain in his leg, he left the Bridge.
* * *
He shouldn't be doing this, he told himself as he exited the turbolift and hurried down the corridor toward sickbay. The ship was in a state of emergency -- his place was on the Bridge. In the absence of the Captain, the First Officer's duty was clear...
No. Enough of duty. For this one moment he could set duty aside. The ship was in no immediate danger...and he had to know... If she...
He couldn't even think it. His mind couldn't even begin to cope with the possibility...that she might be dead. He shuddered and increased his pace.
* * *
By the time Chakotay entered sickbay, he was sick with dread. Unconsciously he braced himself against the news that...
...that she was alive. His heart seemed to stop altogether for an instant, before staggering back into erratic motion. She was alive.
She was sitting on the edge of a biobed as the Doctor ran a tricorder over her, Paris hovering nearby. She was pale and bruised, her uniform torn...but she was alive!
Chakotay started to move toward her, his spirit soaring. And then his steps slowed. And stopped altogether. The cave...Eidolon. Apprehension replaced the joy. Her body lived. But did she?
He must have made a sound for she turned to him...and her eyes lit. She said one word only -- his name -- and then she reached a hand toward him.
It was enough. This time Chakotay trusted his instincts...and they were telling him that she was Kathryn Janeway. Without hesitation, he took the final few steps to her side, brushing past the Doctor as if he didn't exist and ignoring Paris. "Kathryn." The name was torn from his throat. Without thinking about what he was doing, he pulled her into a desperate embrace, both arms going tightly around her, trying to reassure himself that she was real. Alive. Here. "Kathryn," he whispered again into her hair.
Janeway didn't pull away. If anything, she pulled him closer, her own arms encircling him and her heart beating against his. She was trembling violently, Chakotay realized dimly. He shifted his grip and reached one hand up to caress her hair.
"I'm still me." Her words stumbled over each other. "I'm not Eidolon. He's gone. He was never here. I..." Undercurrents of fear laced her words. Fear that he wouldn't believe her...
"I know. I believe you." Chakotay broke the embrace enough that he could tilt her face up and meet her eyes. "I believe you, Kathryn."
She inhaled sharply, a myriad of emotions going through her. Doubt, worry, apprehension, and finally relief flickered across her face. And then some of the tearing tension left her and she slumped bonelessly in his arms, her forehead leaning forward to touch his shoulder.
"I didn't think you would," she breathed, her eyes closing, "After what happened..."
He ran one hand over the back of her head, smoothing the hair that had come loose from its ponytail. "You told me to trust my instincts. You were right."
She smiled. He couldn't see it but somehow knew that she was smiling. He bent his head...
...And a voice said acerbically: "If you are quite finished with my patient, Commander Chakotay, may I please have her back now?"
Chakotay abruptly released Janeway, who leaned back against the bed. Damn. He had forgotten the Doctor and Paris... Realizing how much he had just revealed, he turned to the Lieutenant...who was slowly turning an alarming shade of purple. He must have been holding his breath through the entire scene. "Lieutenant..." Chakotay said sharply. Paris exhaled sharply, took a rapid gulp of air...and dissolved into a fit of coughing.
"Yes, Sir?" he managed to croak.
"You can return to the Bridge now," the Commander managed to say evenly. Paris nodded, spun around, and bolted from the room. The door slid shut behind him.
Janeway twitched slightly. Chakotay glanced down at her -- a faint smile was curling at her lips. Relief shot through him. If she was feeling well enough to see the humour in the situation...
"Are you aware that you've been injured, Commander?" The Doctor interrupted his musings.
Actually, he was. Uncomfortably aware. His knee seemed to have stiffened up completely, so much so that movement was becoming difficult...not to mention excruciating. He ignored it. There were more important things to worry about after all...
Janeway's smile wavered and she frowned, her gaze going to his leg. "Are you...?" she started to say.
"It's nothing," he replied hastily. "Are you all right?"
"She should be dead." The Doctor said flatly.
Chakotay blinked. "Excuse me?"
The hologram turned to Janeway. "Your neutrinos reached a critical level about twenty minutes ago," he told her, "And your brain's chemical patterns have been altered in such a way that even if you weren't dead, you should be in agony...or a coma." He peered more closely at her. "How do you feel?"
"Well, I'm not in agony or a coma...but I have felt better." She gave him a wan smile. "The headache is still there."
"Doctor, just what is going on?" Chakotay asked impatiently.
The Doctor's frown deepened. "I wish I knew. Something is obviously keeping her alive but I don't know what. I can only guess that it's somehow related to what happened in the cave."
Chakotay looked down at her. "So what did happen?"
She paused. "This...could be a long story. But first -- what's happening to the ship?"
Succinctly he told her. A shadow crossed her eyes as he mentioned the wormhole, but no surprise -- which only added to the questions already chasing each other through his mind. What was going on? What had happened in the Guardian's cave? And how was Eidolon involved? He frowned worriedly. They had more than enough questions. Iit was time for answers.
* * *
Janeway took a deep breath, brushed a stray lock of hair back with a
hand that shook slightly...then began to speak.
"I'm sorry for pulling a phaser on you in the cave, Chakotay.
I...wasn't quite myself." She quickly answered the question that
flickered through his eyes. "No, I wasn't taken over again.
Not like before. But I...I suppose you could say I was overwhelmed
by memories. Eidolon's memories."
Chakotay leaned against a nearby bed, taking the strain from his injured leg, but saying nothing to interrupt. The Doctor, likewise, listened quietly.
"I know what's been happening to me," Janeway continued. "Well...most of it, anyway. Somehow, my...exposure...to the Guardian...has made things clearer. It's starting to make sense."
"What is?"
"Well, first -- Eidolon really is dead." She didn't miss the quick look of relief that crossed his face. "The Guardian destroyed him three weeks ago. But somehow...I'm not sure how...his memories were left behind. Not all of them of course, but...the important ones. And, over the past few weeks, they've been slowly moving from my subconscious mind to my conscious one."
"The visions." It wasn't a question.
She nodded. "Yes. I've been...reliving...events from Eidolon's life. It's as if he were trying to tell me something, even though he's dead. And then, when we were in the cave and I was...linked...with the Guardian, I realized what it was."
"Go on."
"I realized...that we were wrong about what happened. Wrong about...a great many things." She leaned forward, staring intensely into her First Officer's eyes. "Chakotay -- it's not what we thought."
He frowned and shook his head, not understanding. Janeway took a deep breath and forged onward. "I believe Eidolon was trying to do more than just go home. I think he knew about these energy waves, knew what would happen if they escaped from the wormhole. And...I think he was trying to prevent it from happening."
Chakotay couldn't keep the disbelief from his voice. "Are you saying that the...entity...who stole my body, kidnapped you, sabotaged the ship, and nearly killed us both -- was really trying to do something good?" His voice rose.
Janeway met his gaze. "Yes," she said simply.
TO BE CONTINUED