Sailor Trek: Voyager
Bill Harris
"Remember this guideline: the captain is always right." - Tuvok
Chapter 6 -- Back to the Delta Quadrant!
Artemis slowly opened his eyes, and watched Luna pacing. His own
sense of annoyance grew with turn she made. "Luna, will you stop that?
You're going to wear a rut in the ground a mile deep... And that'll get
Raye really miffed at you."
"I don't care," the black cat retorted hotly. She stopped, only to
turn and begin another round of pacing. "They've been gone for hours
without any word. What could've happened to them?!"
"Stop worrying, Luna. I'm sure they're fine," Artemis replied
without much conviction. "And no doubt that whatever they're up to,
they're probably not as bored as we are."
Sailor Moon yawned. "Geez, don't those three ever get tired?"
"It doesn't look like it," Venus answered, stifling a yawn herself.
"But I can't imagine Seven ever getting tired. Borg can probably go on
like that for hours."
"Days," Mars corrected her. "And Harry is probably a lot like Amy
when he gets his nose into a problem -- just keeps digging at it until
he comes up with the solution."
The other two nodded as they watched Harry Kim, Seven of Nine and
Mercury continue to work together in Voyager's Astrometrics lab. They
had come here shortly after meeting with Captain Janeway in the mess hall,
as the Captain had been most anxious to put together a means of blocking
the aliens teleporting abilities. But they had very little to do
themselves, other than watch them work. Even the holodecks were out of
the question, as they had been shut down to conserve power until repairs
were complete to all systems. Jupiter was the lucky one, Mars mused.
She at least was being kept busy in the mess hall. Janeway had felt that
her working there would be good for the crew's morale. Thinking of
Voyager's captain sparked another thought in Raye's head and she
muttered, "I still can't figure it."
"Huh?" Sailor Moon gave her an odd look. "What'd you say, Mars?"
Mars shook herself. "I was just thinking about Captain Janeway,
and how odd it was she just woke up like that."
"Tell me about it," Venus put in. "I think that was the most
surprised I'd seen Amy get in quite a while."
"Yeah." Sailor Moon glanced over at Mars. "Are you sure..."
"I know what I sensed, Serena," Mars snapped. Anyone else
listening would have assumed Mars was being harsh to Sailor Moon. But
the Scouts, and Sailor Moon in particular, knew that Mars was simply
expressing her own frustration at the current situation "I know there
was another intelligence inside her head when I saw her in the ready
room. And it wasn't there when she showed up in the mess hall."
"Maybe it just left?" Venus suggested lamely.
Mars shook her head. "Doesn't fit with classic cases possessions.
Beings like that don't just leave, they have to be driven out. Or
somehow be convinced to leave." She frowned. "But that doesn't matter
right now. What does matter is getting over to their universe and
getting Tuxedo Mask out of whatever cell those Negacreeps have thrown
him in."
Neelix peered carefully around the corner. Just as Tuvok has said,
there was only one guard at this room. As to what was inside... well,
there was only one way to find out.
The small group had been making their way through Metallah's
fortress, carefully exploring the layout. Thus far they had yet to find
any of their equipment or gain further information, but on the plus side
they had eluded capture as well. Of course, every now and then they had
to confront a few Negarans but they had quickly developed a few routines
to handle them. One of which Neelix now put into play.
Trying to appear nonchalant, he strolled around the corner. The
guard noticed him instantly and crouched into a defensive position.
"Excuse me, but would you happen to know the way to the kitchen?"
Not understanding Neelix and not really caring, the guard chose to
reply with actions and not words. Neelix moved quickly to one side to
avoid the incoming energy blast. "Well if you're going to be nasty about
it, I'll just find it on my own." With that, the Talaxian darted back
around the corner, avoiding another blast. Predictably the Negaran moved
quickly to follow Neelix... and ran face first right into Tuxedo Mask's
cane. The guard went flying into the nearby wall and fell unmoving to
the ground.
Chakotay nodded. "Good work, you two."
"Anytime," the tuxedo clad warrior answered.
"Glad to be of service, Commander," Neelix added while Chakotay and
Tuvok grabbed the guard and dragged towards the door he had been guarding.
Tuxedo Mask got there ahead of them and took a moment to listen, then
slowly opened it and peered inside. Satisfied the room beyond was
unoccupied, he nodded to the two officers and they moved the unconscious
Negaran inside.
"This looks like a lab of some sort," he said.
Tuvok concurred with this after he had a moment to observe the room
for himself. "Agreed." He took a step over to a table that had several
very familiar looking pieces of equipment on it. Picking up one of the
phasers he said, "I believe Mr. Paris would say 'we hit the jackpot' at
this point."
"So how are we doing?" Janeway asked, noting to herself Astrometrics
was more crowded than it had ever been with all of the Sailor Scouts and
the remainder of Voyager's senior staff present. Being that it was bigger
than the normal briefing room, it made sense to her to hold their overall
strategy session here.
"I think we've got it, Captain," Harry answered, looking rather
pleased with himself.
Seven looked at Harry askance before putting in, "We have made
sufficient progress."
"Well, I'm glad your both in agreement," the captain noted drily.
"So what have you three come up with?"
Harry tapped on a control, bringing up a graphic on a nearby screen.
"From the sensor logs and Mercury's scans, we've determined that the
aliens transit through subspace when they teleport. So what we've come
up with is using the main deflector dish to generate a modulated subspace
pulse that will prevent them from materializing on Voyager."
"Ensign Kim is exaggerating the effectiveness of the plan," Seven
said. "Our simulations show that will block eighty five percent of the
teleports onto the ship. Some of the aliens will get through."
"Maybe they will, but you can rest assured that they won't be able
to do much," the Doctor told her. He turned to Janeway. "Based on the
autopsy I conducted, I determined that the aliens are capable of storing
several minutes of oxygen. Combined with their chitinous skin, this makes
them able to operate in a vacuum for extended periods. What I've done is
lace our standard anti-intruder gases with a compound that will cause the
anestazine to be absorbed through the skin, thus rendering our unwanted
guests unconscious."
"Sounds good. Excellent work, everyone. Now the only question to
answer is, how do we get back to the Delta Quadrant?" Janeway turned and
faced her chief engineer. "We triggered the transition accidently, but
the Enterprises were able to traverse the flux under their own power. Can
we do the same?"
"We could," B'Elanna responded in a very uncertain tone, "but I
wouldn't recommend it. When we crossed over the last time, it crippled
the ship. Even doing so in a controlled way like the Enterprise would
drain a significant portion of main power. And considering that we'll
be materializing over hostile territory, that's not something I think
you want to do. It would render the countermeasures we've developed
ineffective."
"Then do you have any other suggestions?" the captain asked.
B'Elanna hesitated momentarily, but before she could indicate a
negative answer, Mercury spoke up. "I think Sailor Moon could open it
up for you."
The blonde seemed stunned for a moment. "Me?"
Mercury nodded. "Yes. You can use the Silver Crystal to open the
rift through the quantum flux. Voyager should then be able to traverse
it without any degradation to their power systems."
"What about you and your friends?" Janeway asked, indicating the
other Scouts and by extension, Tuxedo Mask. "I don't want to leave you
stranded in the Delta Quadrant."
"I wouldn't worry," the blue haired Scout responded. "I think we
can use the Sailor Teleport to get back. As a worse case scenario,
Voyager could bring us back, then return to the Delta Quadrant."
"Good," Janeway said. "Then it looks like we're ready."
"Um, excuse me," Sailor Moon said hesitantly. "But ready for
what?"
"To go back to the Delta Quadrant," she replied. "And get our
people out of danger." Around the room there were several nods of
approval, and more than one vocal ones from the Scouts.
"You realize Captain, that the aliens will most likely attack the
ship the moment we return," Seven said.
Mars glowered at the Borg. "One in every crowd," she muttered.
"No doubt they will," Janeway agreed. "Which is why Voyager isn't
going to linger around. Instead, the ship will make for orbit and once
there will go to warp. But before that happens, we'll launch a shuttle
bearing a rescue team. They'll land on the planet, infiltrate the aliens
headquarters and break our people out. After that, they'll take care of
the Negaforce."
"Launching a shuttle like that is going to be a tricky maneuver,
Captain," Paris pointed out.
"I know, Tom. And while I may be a fair pilot, that's why you'll
be accompanying me on this mission."
Paris frowned. "You? Then who...?"
"Ensign Kim will be in command of Voyager until our return," Janeway
said, interrupting him.
"Me?!?" Harry exclaimed.
"Him?!?" Mars said equally forceful. Venus gave her a quick elbow in
the stomach, prompting her to glare at the blonde instead.
"With all due respect, Captain, why are you coming along with the
away team?" Tom asked, ignoring the minor glaring contest. "Shouldn't
you remain on the bridge?"
Janeway shook her head. "Not this time, Tom. My place is with the
rescue team." She held up a hand to forestall further objection. "The
decision's made, Tom. I'm going on this mission, and since you're our
best pilot, that means you are as well. Prepare the Shepard for launch."
When Tom didn't move right away she added, "That's an order, Lieutenant."
"Aye, Captain," the helmsman said reluctantly and exited the room.
Janeway took a step towards Ensign Kim, an expression of sympathy
on her face. "I'm sorry to put you in this position, Harry, but you've
done alright in the big chair before. I think you can handle it again."
Harry understood what Janeway was saying and that she was trying to
bolster his confidence; but he couldn't help but feel nervous at the
prospect. "I'll try not to let you down, Captain."
For their part, the Scouts could only exchange uncertain looks. It
was apparent to them that the crew thought it was a bad idea for Janeway
to leave the ship when so many of the senior officers were absent. But
it equally apparent that Janeway was adamant on going along for reasons
that only she knew. They could only hope the she knew what she was doing.
Tom was just finishing up the preflight checklist of the Shepard
when he sensed someone seating themselves in the copilot's chair.
Looking up, he saw that it was B'Elanna. "Are the accommodations for
our passengers all set?"
"We've got the extra seats installed," she replied, then glance
briefly at the pilot's console. "Did the shuttle pass preflight?"
"Yep," he said, nodding. "Everything checks out A-OK."
"It had better," she said, a mock edge in her voice. "We just
finished working on it last week."
Tom couldn't help but grin. "Getting a bit sensitive about our
work, are we?"
"Sensitive, hell," she retorted. "I'm just getting sick of having
to rebuild the things after you pilots abuse them."
"Don't worry," Tom assured her, choosing not to press the issue.
"This one will hold together."
"If it doesn't, it won't be because of the engines. I just ran a
level three diagnostic on them." She turned upon hearing someone enter
the shuttle. Seeing it was Janeway, she got up. "I better go." She
placed a hand on his arm, prompting him to look at her. "Good luck, Tom."
There wasn't much need for words between them, but still he said,
"Thanks. I'll see you when I get back."
B'Elanna started her way to the door, but froze in midstride when
she saw Venus standing there. But after only a half second delay, she
continued on, stopping in front of the blonde Sailor Scout. "Look, I..."
Venus interrupted her. "He means a lot to you," she said,
indicating Paris. "I saw the way you two were talking with each other."
B'Elanna took a backward glance, then faced her again. "Yes, he
does. It... took me a long time to admit it to myself, and even longer
to tell him. But yes, I love him."
Venus smiled. "I knew it! " she said, estactic. "But it was bound
to happen, given how long you've got to get home."
"Bound to happen?" B'Elanna asked.
"Well... not you two in general, just couples forming in general,"
she replied hastily. "You and Tom, Harry and Seven..." Her voice
trailed off. "I'll have to make sure he knows how she feels before we
have to part company."
B'Elanna could almost feel her jaw dropping. "Make sure *Harry*
knows?!?" As far as she knew, the attraction was strictly one way...
Harry's. It fact, she was positive that Seven had no feelings toward
Harry in that or any other regard.
But it seemed that Venus thought otherwise. "Yep. But don't worry,
just leave it all to me," she replied happily, before starting to make
her way to her own seat.
B'Elanna grabbed her arm, halting her progress. "Look, about what I
said to you in Engineering..."
"Forget it," she replied, smiling broadly and continuing on to her
seat. "That's water over the bridge."
As Jupiter stepped inside, it struck her that the interior of the
shuttle was not all that different from the Galileo. Of course, the
Shepard was much more modern looking than a shuttlecraft from Captain
Kirk's era.
It also seemed to be uncomfortably close to that of an airplane for
her taste.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to put aside her apprehensions. Too
much was riding on the success of this for her to be paralyzed by old fears.
Mars settled in her seat behind Paris, wondering once again why
Starfleet crew didn't have seatbelts on their seats. She took a glance
at Janeway, who was talking to the others on her way to her own seat in
the copilot's position. On the surface she couldn't sense anything
unusual about the captain of Voyager, but her own instincts told her
that something was up.
Whatever it was, she just hoped that they didn't end up regretting
coming to this ship.
Mercury sat down in her own seat, toward the rear of the shuttle
cabin. A casual observer would simply have seen her focus her attention
on her palmtop, but in reality she was thinking about something the Doctor
had told her just before boarding. "I hope you won't be needing this
information," the hologram had told her, "but given the double EEG pattern
you and Lt. Paris detected from the Captain earlier, it's possible that
some external entity has an influence over her. If you think that she is
not acting in the best interest of the ship or crew, you should inform
the ranking officer immediately."
"But I don't have any formal training in those areas," she objected.
"How will I know if she is not acting on her own volition?"
"Use your own judgement, and report that to the senior officer
around," the Doctor had advised her. "It will be up to them on whether or
not to relieve the Captain of command."
Sailor Moon tried to relax in her seat, just opposite of Mars and
right behind where Captain Janeway was to sit in the copilot's chair.
She found it hard to do, as anxious as she was to go an rescue Darien,
but a glance to her left at Mars helped settle her. A look at the Sailor
Scout of the red planet helped settle her nerves and reinforce her resolve.
They would get Darien back and destroy whatever remained of the Negaforce,
once and for all.
Janeway took a glance at the shuttle system readouts she took her
seat. "We've got the modified phasers stored aboard for our missing
crew," she noted as she sat down, satisfied at what she saw. Even so
she still asked the pilot,"So how are we doing, Tom?"
"All systems go, Captain. We're ready when you give the word."
"Then consider the word given. Janeway to bridge."
"Kim here."
"We're all set down here, Mr. Kim. Put Voyager in position to make
the crossover."
"Understood, Captain," Harry said. Glancing to his right,
"B'Elanna, stand by to engage ascent sequence."
"Acknowledged," the half Klingon officer replied. "Rigging systems
for atmospheric maneuvering."
Harry turned to the tactical station. "Sound Code Blue."
Graves nodded and triggered the shipwide intercom. "All personnel,
go to Blue Alert and report to Code Blue stations." All around the
bridge the alert lights started flashing blue.
"Atmospheric thrusters on stand by," Seven reported from the
Operations station. "Inertial dampeners are at maximum."
"All decks report Code Blue, sir," Graves said.
"Helm, take us up," Harry ordered. On screen, they could see the
polar ice field begin to recede as the ship gained altitude.
"Retracting landing struts," the helm officer reported. "Our
altitude is holding steady at one kilometer. We're in position to
initiate dimensional transfer."
"Good," Harry replied. But before he could proceed any further, a
sensor alarm started to sound.
"Two aircraft are approaching," Seven said after checking the
readouts.
"Identification?"
It was a moment before the Borg could reply. "Computer identifies
them as US Navy F-14 fighters. Range is eighty five kilometers and
closing."
"Great," Harry muttered. It was bad enough that Voyager had been
photographed during their brief visit to their own Earth's twentieth
century. Who knew what would happen if those planes got an up close and
personal look at the ship here. "We better get out of her before they
can get a good look at us. Shields up."
Janeway swiveled her seat around. "I hate to have to rush you,
Sailor Moon, but as you can see..." She gestured helplessly at the
sensor panel.
"Gotcha," Sailor Moon replied. "Don't worry, Captain, I'll have us
out of here in a jiffy!"
"We should be able to get a look at them," the weapons officer of
the lead F-14 said.
"About time," the pilot replied. Both he and his wingman had been
flying in a training mission over Alaska when they had been diverted to
this target, first reported by a reconnaissance satellite overflying the
Arctic. It had taken them many hours and two meeting with tanker aircraft
to refuel in midair.
But finally they were in position to get a look at the target,
which their radar showed to be airborne now. Activating the F-14's inbuilt
TV system, he trained it on the target. "What the hell is that?" he
said, getting a good look at Voyager.
"I don't know," his back seater replied, "but the radar signal from
it is getting all fuzzy. They must have some form of stealth system."
"Get on the horn back to base. Let them know we have visual
contact and -- whoa!" The pilot instinctively shielded his eyes as
the monitor flared brilliantly. A moment later it cleared and he was
able to look at it again. "What the...?"
"You see anything?" the back-seater asked. "It's not showing up on
radar anymore."
"I could've sworn there was something there a second ago," the pilot
said, "but now..." He moved the nose about, trying to relocate the
mystery object, but the sky around them was clear. "Nothing could've
moved that fast."
"Hey, I don't track mirages," the weapons officer retorted,
sounding mildly offended.
The pilot shrugged. "Well, it's not there anymore. We'll just mark
it down as another UFO."
A universe away, a similar burst of light briefly illuminated the
skies over Negara and then faded to reveal an Intrepid class starship.
Voyager was once again above the Delta Quadrant planet.
"We have completed the transition successfully," Seven announced.
"So far we appear to be unnoticed..." The deck trembled slightly under
their feet. "Correction: we *have* been noticed," she noted.
"I think we all figured that out," B'Elanna replied rather testily.
"Have they got ahold of us?" Harry asked her.
The engineer took a moment to examine her readouts. "No. The warp
field the engines are generating is deflecting over ninety percent of
the beam. We're clear to maneuver."
"Then let's get the hell out of here. Helm, take us up. Best
speed."
Outside, the noise from Voyager's thrusters increased dramatically
as the ship began gaining altitude. In moments it had entered the upper
reaches of the atmosphere, allowing the ship to engage it's impulse
engines. "We have reached launch altitude," Seven reported as the ship
now gained height dramatically. "Shuttle bay doors are open and the
Shepard reports ready to lift off."
Harry nodded. "Shuttle Shepard: You're clear to launch." He turned
to Ensign Graves. "Let's give them some cover. Set main phasers to wide
field dispersal pattern and open fire."
"Yes, sir." Complying with the order, she triggered a burst from
nearly all of Voyager's phaser banks. The wide field energy discharge
severely ionized the atmosphere in their area, creating a large
distortion. Simultaneously, the shuttle leapt from the bay and started
to descend rapidly.
In the maze of tunnels beneath the citadel, Tuxedo Mask came to a
abrupt halt. Chakotay managed to stop himself just before colliding with
him. "What's wrong?" he asked, watching the other gaze at the ceiling.
"She's here," he replied in a distant voice.
"Who?" Chakotay asked again. Then in a flash of insight he guessed,
"Do you mean Sailor Moon?"
Tuxedo Mask blinked, seemingly coming back to reality. "Yes,
Commander. She's here, in this universe."
"If Sailor Moon has crossed over to our universe, the logical
assumption is that Voyager has returned with her," Tuvok opined.
If so, there was an easy way to confirm that, Chakotay reasoned
to himself. "Chakotay to Voyager," the first officer said, tapping his
comm badge. However, no response was forthcoming. "The signal must be
blocked by the structure down here. Let's get to the surface."
"The Shepard has entered the troposphere. Our own altitude is four
hundred forty seven point two kilometers," Seven reported. "We are clear
to go to warp."
"Good," Harry said, nodding. "It looks like everything's going
according to plan. Helm, plot a course to a point a half light year
outside the system and engage at warp eight. Seven, launch the relay
probe."
"Yes sir."
Outside, the warp nacelles elevated to their flight configuration
and Voyager accelerated to supralight speeds. But just before it entered
warp, Seven was able to deploy a small probe into a high orbit to serve
as a communications relay.
Sailor Moon gulped, looking out the window as the planet surface
below rushed up towards them. Despite the inertial dampeners, she could
almost feel the shuttle freefall downward. Tom had said they would get
down to just above the planet surface quickly so they could approach
unseen, but still... "Do you mind slowing down a little? I think I
left my stomach back in orbit."
Tom grinned. "Don't worry about it. Everything's under control.
Just sit back and enjoy the ride." Even as he said this, he eased their
rate of descent and brought the shuttle onto a more level flight path.
There were several sighs of relief from behind him.
Which promptly stopped when an alarm sounded from the sensors.
"Tom, we have three large energy bolts on an intercept course."
"That's not good, right?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Definitely not," Mercury stated. "It means we're under attack."
"I was afraid you were going to say that."
Janeway wasn't paying any attention to the banter behind her.
"Shields are up, and I'm arming weapons."
"Everyone hang on back there," Tom said. "Evasive maneuvers!"
Tuxedo Mask stiffened suddenly. They had emerged from the fortress
not long ago, and had been makning their way through the dense and dark
forest surrounding it. "No!"
"What is it?" Chakotay asked. "What's wrong?"
"She's in danger," he replied, looking skyward. "Grave danger."
He continued looking skyward for a second or two before taking off on a
dead run.
Chakotay didn't hesitate, "Tuvok, Neelix: find the others and home
in on my comm badge." Not waiting for a reply, he started off into the
forest after Tuxedo Mask.
"Well, Mr. Vulcan, I guess it's just the two of us," Neelix observed
as the other two moved off into the darkness. Deciding against making
any reply, Tuvok led the Talaxian off to locate the other Voyager crewmen
on Negara.
Paris worked the helm, twisting the shuttle about is a desperate bid
to elude the onrushing bolts. It seemed he was successful, as the three
energy bolts passed close by. "So far, so good."
"Not really," Mercury warned. Her attention was fixed on her
computer. "Those energy bolts are altering their course. They must be
homing in on the shuttle."
"Oh, great," Mars snapped. "I thought the idea was to land without
them detecting us."
Tom shrugged. "Nobody's perfect."
"Can you stay ahead of them, Tom?" Janeway asked.
"One way to find out. Hang on!" Tom said as he shifted the
shuttle's course sharply to port, putting a tremendous strain on the
inertial dampeners. The resulting g-forces tried to fling them all to
the right side of the shuttle, triggering several gasps of shock from
the passengers and one outright shriek of terror from Sailor Moon.
From the outside they could all hear the groan from the engine nacelles
as the atmospheric pressures threatened to tear them free from their
housings. But this time the evasive maneuver didn't work, for the
homing missiles turned with the Shepard and slammed into it's shields.
"We're hit!" Janeway exclaimed somewhat unnecessarily as the
shuttle rocked violently. Several control panels exploded into a shower
of sparks and those inside felt the deck start to pitch downward at a
sharper angle. The captain took a look at the main diagnostic panel to
her right, most of the indicators on it glowing a bright red. Not a
good sign. "We're on emergency reserve power. Just about all major
systems are offline, along with a good many emergency systems."
Tom desperately worked the controls, but as yet there wasn't any
response from any of them. "I've got no thruster controls."
The ground was looming closer in the window as the shuttle careened
downward. "We're gonna crash!" yelled Sailor Moon.
Tuvok looked up from his tricorder. According to the readings, the
other Voyager crewmembers should be nearby but he was unable to see them.
"Mr. Lambert." The was a rustling in the undergrowth nearby, and Lambert stepped out into the open. Tuvok nodded in approval. "Excellent
camouflage, Mr. Lambert."
"Thank you, Commander," the former Maquis answered, smiling broadly.
"What's up?"
"We have reason to believe that a rescue party has been dispatched
from Voyager," Tuvok answered. "We --" A flare above them interrupted
him, and they all cast their gaze in that direction. In the darkened
sky they could see what could only be a Starfleet shuttlecraft on a
rapid descent, trailing fire and debris as it did so. "It would appear
that the rescue party may need rescuing themselves," Tuvok noted drily.
"It's going to come down not far from here," Neelix observed.
"Indeed," the Vulcan concurred. "Alert the others, Mr. Lambert.
We must make haste to that location."
Metallah watched as the shuttle continued to fall until it fell out
of view. "So much for their rescue team," she gloated. Dismissing the
image with a wave of her hand, she turned to her elite guard leader.
"Find the wreckage. If by chance there are any survivors... kill them."
Keeping up with someone as nimble as Tuxedo Mask was proving nearly
impossible for Chakotay. Only the density of the local plantlife was
keeping his speed down to the point where the first officer could almost
keep pace. Fortunately though, Tuxedo Mask stopped before Chakotay could
become too winded to stay with him. Leaning heavily back against a tree
to catch his breath, "Why did... you stop?"
Tuxedo Mask didn't reply vocally, but instead pointed skyward.
Chakotay looked in that direction and saw the rapidly descending shuttle.
With nothing else to do, the two of them watched it descend until it
passed behind a ridgeline. Chakotay could guess what was going through
the other man's mind, for it was going through a part of his as well.
"I'm sure Tom Paris was at the helm of that shuttle. If anyone can get
them down in one piece, he can."
"I've got to get there," Tuxedo Mask replied tersely. He started to
move forward, but Chakotay put a restraining hand on his shoulder first.
"We will," he assured him. "But let's take it a little slower, OK?
You might be capable of a ten thousand meter dash, but I'm not. Besides,
it's not as if they can't take care of themselves. And there is such a
thing as safety in numbers."
After taking a moment to think this over, Tuxedo Mask nodded and the
two of them set off at a much more reasonable pace.
Next time: "The Face of the Enemy"
Note: the shuttle 'Shepard' is named for US Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr.,
who passed away on 7/21/98.
Bill Harris
"Remember this guideline: the captain is always right." - Tuvok
Chapter 6 -- Back to the Delta Quadrant!
Artemis slowly opened his eyes, and watched Luna pacing. His own
sense of annoyance grew with turn she made. "Luna, will you stop that?
You're going to wear a rut in the ground a mile deep... And that'll get
Raye really miffed at you."
"I don't care," the black cat retorted hotly. She stopped, only to
turn and begin another round of pacing. "They've been gone for hours
without any word. What could've happened to them?!"
"Stop worrying, Luna. I'm sure they're fine," Artemis replied
without much conviction. "And no doubt that whatever they're up to,
they're probably not as bored as we are."
Sailor Moon yawned. "Geez, don't those three ever get tired?"
"It doesn't look like it," Venus answered, stifling a yawn herself.
"But I can't imagine Seven ever getting tired. Borg can probably go on
like that for hours."
"Days," Mars corrected her. "And Harry is probably a lot like Amy
when he gets his nose into a problem -- just keeps digging at it until
he comes up with the solution."
The other two nodded as they watched Harry Kim, Seven of Nine and
Mercury continue to work together in Voyager's Astrometrics lab. They
had come here shortly after meeting with Captain Janeway in the mess hall,
as the Captain had been most anxious to put together a means of blocking
the aliens teleporting abilities. But they had very little to do
themselves, other than watch them work. Even the holodecks were out of
the question, as they had been shut down to conserve power until repairs
were complete to all systems. Jupiter was the lucky one, Mars mused.
She at least was being kept busy in the mess hall. Janeway had felt that
her working there would be good for the crew's morale. Thinking of
Voyager's captain sparked another thought in Raye's head and she
muttered, "I still can't figure it."
"Huh?" Sailor Moon gave her an odd look. "What'd you say, Mars?"
Mars shook herself. "I was just thinking about Captain Janeway,
and how odd it was she just woke up like that."
"Tell me about it," Venus put in. "I think that was the most
surprised I'd seen Amy get in quite a while."
"Yeah." Sailor Moon glanced over at Mars. "Are you sure..."
"I know what I sensed, Serena," Mars snapped. Anyone else
listening would have assumed Mars was being harsh to Sailor Moon. But
the Scouts, and Sailor Moon in particular, knew that Mars was simply
expressing her own frustration at the current situation "I know there
was another intelligence inside her head when I saw her in the ready
room. And it wasn't there when she showed up in the mess hall."
"Maybe it just left?" Venus suggested lamely.
Mars shook her head. "Doesn't fit with classic cases possessions.
Beings like that don't just leave, they have to be driven out. Or
somehow be convinced to leave." She frowned. "But that doesn't matter
right now. What does matter is getting over to their universe and
getting Tuxedo Mask out of whatever cell those Negacreeps have thrown
him in."
Neelix peered carefully around the corner. Just as Tuvok has said,
there was only one guard at this room. As to what was inside... well,
there was only one way to find out.
The small group had been making their way through Metallah's
fortress, carefully exploring the layout. Thus far they had yet to find
any of their equipment or gain further information, but on the plus side
they had eluded capture as well. Of course, every now and then they had
to confront a few Negarans but they had quickly developed a few routines
to handle them. One of which Neelix now put into play.
Trying to appear nonchalant, he strolled around the corner. The
guard noticed him instantly and crouched into a defensive position.
"Excuse me, but would you happen to know the way to the kitchen?"
Not understanding Neelix and not really caring, the guard chose to
reply with actions and not words. Neelix moved quickly to one side to
avoid the incoming energy blast. "Well if you're going to be nasty about
it, I'll just find it on my own." With that, the Talaxian darted back
around the corner, avoiding another blast. Predictably the Negaran moved
quickly to follow Neelix... and ran face first right into Tuxedo Mask's
cane. The guard went flying into the nearby wall and fell unmoving to
the ground.
Chakotay nodded. "Good work, you two."
"Anytime," the tuxedo clad warrior answered.
"Glad to be of service, Commander," Neelix added while Chakotay and
Tuvok grabbed the guard and dragged towards the door he had been guarding.
Tuxedo Mask got there ahead of them and took a moment to listen, then
slowly opened it and peered inside. Satisfied the room beyond was
unoccupied, he nodded to the two officers and they moved the unconscious
Negaran inside.
"This looks like a lab of some sort," he said.
Tuvok concurred with this after he had a moment to observe the room
for himself. "Agreed." He took a step over to a table that had several
very familiar looking pieces of equipment on it. Picking up one of the
phasers he said, "I believe Mr. Paris would say 'we hit the jackpot' at
this point."
"So how are we doing?" Janeway asked, noting to herself Astrometrics
was more crowded than it had ever been with all of the Sailor Scouts and
the remainder of Voyager's senior staff present. Being that it was bigger
than the normal briefing room, it made sense to her to hold their overall
strategy session here.
"I think we've got it, Captain," Harry answered, looking rather
pleased with himself.
Seven looked at Harry askance before putting in, "We have made
sufficient progress."
"Well, I'm glad your both in agreement," the captain noted drily.
"So what have you three come up with?"
Harry tapped on a control, bringing up a graphic on a nearby screen.
"From the sensor logs and Mercury's scans, we've determined that the
aliens transit through subspace when they teleport. So what we've come
up with is using the main deflector dish to generate a modulated subspace
pulse that will prevent them from materializing on Voyager."
"Ensign Kim is exaggerating the effectiveness of the plan," Seven
said. "Our simulations show that will block eighty five percent of the
teleports onto the ship. Some of the aliens will get through."
"Maybe they will, but you can rest assured that they won't be able
to do much," the Doctor told her. He turned to Janeway. "Based on the
autopsy I conducted, I determined that the aliens are capable of storing
several minutes of oxygen. Combined with their chitinous skin, this makes
them able to operate in a vacuum for extended periods. What I've done is
lace our standard anti-intruder gases with a compound that will cause the
anestazine to be absorbed through the skin, thus rendering our unwanted
guests unconscious."
"Sounds good. Excellent work, everyone. Now the only question to
answer is, how do we get back to the Delta Quadrant?" Janeway turned and
faced her chief engineer. "We triggered the transition accidently, but
the Enterprises were able to traverse the flux under their own power. Can
we do the same?"
"We could," B'Elanna responded in a very uncertain tone, "but I
wouldn't recommend it. When we crossed over the last time, it crippled
the ship. Even doing so in a controlled way like the Enterprise would
drain a significant portion of main power. And considering that we'll
be materializing over hostile territory, that's not something I think
you want to do. It would render the countermeasures we've developed
ineffective."
"Then do you have any other suggestions?" the captain asked.
B'Elanna hesitated momentarily, but before she could indicate a
negative answer, Mercury spoke up. "I think Sailor Moon could open it
up for you."
The blonde seemed stunned for a moment. "Me?"
Mercury nodded. "Yes. You can use the Silver Crystal to open the
rift through the quantum flux. Voyager should then be able to traverse
it without any degradation to their power systems."
"What about you and your friends?" Janeway asked, indicating the
other Scouts and by extension, Tuxedo Mask. "I don't want to leave you
stranded in the Delta Quadrant."
"I wouldn't worry," the blue haired Scout responded. "I think we
can use the Sailor Teleport to get back. As a worse case scenario,
Voyager could bring us back, then return to the Delta Quadrant."
"Good," Janeway said. "Then it looks like we're ready."
"Um, excuse me," Sailor Moon said hesitantly. "But ready for
what?"
"To go back to the Delta Quadrant," she replied. "And get our
people out of danger." Around the room there were several nods of
approval, and more than one vocal ones from the Scouts.
"You realize Captain, that the aliens will most likely attack the
ship the moment we return," Seven said.
Mars glowered at the Borg. "One in every crowd," she muttered.
"No doubt they will," Janeway agreed. "Which is why Voyager isn't
going to linger around. Instead, the ship will make for orbit and once
there will go to warp. But before that happens, we'll launch a shuttle
bearing a rescue team. They'll land on the planet, infiltrate the aliens
headquarters and break our people out. After that, they'll take care of
the Negaforce."
"Launching a shuttle like that is going to be a tricky maneuver,
Captain," Paris pointed out.
"I know, Tom. And while I may be a fair pilot, that's why you'll
be accompanying me on this mission."
Paris frowned. "You? Then who...?"
"Ensign Kim will be in command of Voyager until our return," Janeway
said, interrupting him.
"Me?!?" Harry exclaimed.
"Him?!?" Mars said equally forceful. Venus gave her a quick elbow in
the stomach, prompting her to glare at the blonde instead.
"With all due respect, Captain, why are you coming along with the
away team?" Tom asked, ignoring the minor glaring contest. "Shouldn't
you remain on the bridge?"
Janeway shook her head. "Not this time, Tom. My place is with the
rescue team." She held up a hand to forestall further objection. "The
decision's made, Tom. I'm going on this mission, and since you're our
best pilot, that means you are as well. Prepare the Shepard for launch."
When Tom didn't move right away she added, "That's an order, Lieutenant."
"Aye, Captain," the helmsman said reluctantly and exited the room.
Janeway took a step towards Ensign Kim, an expression of sympathy
on her face. "I'm sorry to put you in this position, Harry, but you've
done alright in the big chair before. I think you can handle it again."
Harry understood what Janeway was saying and that she was trying to
bolster his confidence; but he couldn't help but feel nervous at the
prospect. "I'll try not to let you down, Captain."
For their part, the Scouts could only exchange uncertain looks. It
was apparent to them that the crew thought it was a bad idea for Janeway
to leave the ship when so many of the senior officers were absent. But
it equally apparent that Janeway was adamant on going along for reasons
that only she knew. They could only hope the she knew what she was doing.
Tom was just finishing up the preflight checklist of the Shepard
when he sensed someone seating themselves in the copilot's chair.
Looking up, he saw that it was B'Elanna. "Are the accommodations for
our passengers all set?"
"We've got the extra seats installed," she replied, then glance
briefly at the pilot's console. "Did the shuttle pass preflight?"
"Yep," he said, nodding. "Everything checks out A-OK."
"It had better," she said, a mock edge in her voice. "We just
finished working on it last week."
Tom couldn't help but grin. "Getting a bit sensitive about our
work, are we?"
"Sensitive, hell," she retorted. "I'm just getting sick of having
to rebuild the things after you pilots abuse them."
"Don't worry," Tom assured her, choosing not to press the issue.
"This one will hold together."
"If it doesn't, it won't be because of the engines. I just ran a
level three diagnostic on them." She turned upon hearing someone enter
the shuttle. Seeing it was Janeway, she got up. "I better go." She
placed a hand on his arm, prompting him to look at her. "Good luck, Tom."
There wasn't much need for words between them, but still he said,
"Thanks. I'll see you when I get back."
B'Elanna started her way to the door, but froze in midstride when
she saw Venus standing there. But after only a half second delay, she
continued on, stopping in front of the blonde Sailor Scout. "Look, I..."
Venus interrupted her. "He means a lot to you," she said,
indicating Paris. "I saw the way you two were talking with each other."
B'Elanna took a backward glance, then faced her again. "Yes, he
does. It... took me a long time to admit it to myself, and even longer
to tell him. But yes, I love him."
Venus smiled. "I knew it! " she said, estactic. "But it was bound
to happen, given how long you've got to get home."
"Bound to happen?" B'Elanna asked.
"Well... not you two in general, just couples forming in general,"
she replied hastily. "You and Tom, Harry and Seven..." Her voice
trailed off. "I'll have to make sure he knows how she feels before we
have to part company."
B'Elanna could almost feel her jaw dropping. "Make sure *Harry*
knows?!?" As far as she knew, the attraction was strictly one way...
Harry's. It fact, she was positive that Seven had no feelings toward
Harry in that or any other regard.
But it seemed that Venus thought otherwise. "Yep. But don't worry,
just leave it all to me," she replied happily, before starting to make
her way to her own seat.
B'Elanna grabbed her arm, halting her progress. "Look, about what I
said to you in Engineering..."
"Forget it," she replied, smiling broadly and continuing on to her
seat. "That's water over the bridge."
As Jupiter stepped inside, it struck her that the interior of the
shuttle was not all that different from the Galileo. Of course, the
Shepard was much more modern looking than a shuttlecraft from Captain
Kirk's era.
It also seemed to be uncomfortably close to that of an airplane for
her taste.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to put aside her apprehensions. Too
much was riding on the success of this for her to be paralyzed by old fears.
Mars settled in her seat behind Paris, wondering once again why
Starfleet crew didn't have seatbelts on their seats. She took a glance
at Janeway, who was talking to the others on her way to her own seat in
the copilot's position. On the surface she couldn't sense anything
unusual about the captain of Voyager, but her own instincts told her
that something was up.
Whatever it was, she just hoped that they didn't end up regretting
coming to this ship.
Mercury sat down in her own seat, toward the rear of the shuttle
cabin. A casual observer would simply have seen her focus her attention
on her palmtop, but in reality she was thinking about something the Doctor
had told her just before boarding. "I hope you won't be needing this
information," the hologram had told her, "but given the double EEG pattern
you and Lt. Paris detected from the Captain earlier, it's possible that
some external entity has an influence over her. If you think that she is
not acting in the best interest of the ship or crew, you should inform
the ranking officer immediately."
"But I don't have any formal training in those areas," she objected.
"How will I know if she is not acting on her own volition?"
"Use your own judgement, and report that to the senior officer
around," the Doctor had advised her. "It will be up to them on whether or
not to relieve the Captain of command."
Sailor Moon tried to relax in her seat, just opposite of Mars and
right behind where Captain Janeway was to sit in the copilot's chair.
She found it hard to do, as anxious as she was to go an rescue Darien,
but a glance to her left at Mars helped settle her. A look at the Sailor
Scout of the red planet helped settle her nerves and reinforce her resolve.
They would get Darien back and destroy whatever remained of the Negaforce,
once and for all.
Janeway took a glance at the shuttle system readouts she took her
seat. "We've got the modified phasers stored aboard for our missing
crew," she noted as she sat down, satisfied at what she saw. Even so
she still asked the pilot,"So how are we doing, Tom?"
"All systems go, Captain. We're ready when you give the word."
"Then consider the word given. Janeway to bridge."
"Kim here."
"We're all set down here, Mr. Kim. Put Voyager in position to make
the crossover."
"Understood, Captain," Harry said. Glancing to his right,
"B'Elanna, stand by to engage ascent sequence."
"Acknowledged," the half Klingon officer replied. "Rigging systems
for atmospheric maneuvering."
Harry turned to the tactical station. "Sound Code Blue."
Graves nodded and triggered the shipwide intercom. "All personnel,
go to Blue Alert and report to Code Blue stations." All around the
bridge the alert lights started flashing blue.
"Atmospheric thrusters on stand by," Seven reported from the
Operations station. "Inertial dampeners are at maximum."
"All decks report Code Blue, sir," Graves said.
"Helm, take us up," Harry ordered. On screen, they could see the
polar ice field begin to recede as the ship gained altitude.
"Retracting landing struts," the helm officer reported. "Our
altitude is holding steady at one kilometer. We're in position to
initiate dimensional transfer."
"Good," Harry replied. But before he could proceed any further, a
sensor alarm started to sound.
"Two aircraft are approaching," Seven said after checking the
readouts.
"Identification?"
It was a moment before the Borg could reply. "Computer identifies
them as US Navy F-14 fighters. Range is eighty five kilometers and
closing."
"Great," Harry muttered. It was bad enough that Voyager had been
photographed during their brief visit to their own Earth's twentieth
century. Who knew what would happen if those planes got an up close and
personal look at the ship here. "We better get out of her before they
can get a good look at us. Shields up."
Janeway swiveled her seat around. "I hate to have to rush you,
Sailor Moon, but as you can see..." She gestured helplessly at the
sensor panel.
"Gotcha," Sailor Moon replied. "Don't worry, Captain, I'll have us
out of here in a jiffy!"
"We should be able to get a look at them," the weapons officer of
the lead F-14 said.
"About time," the pilot replied. Both he and his wingman had been
flying in a training mission over Alaska when they had been diverted to
this target, first reported by a reconnaissance satellite overflying the
Arctic. It had taken them many hours and two meeting with tanker aircraft
to refuel in midair.
But finally they were in position to get a look at the target,
which their radar showed to be airborne now. Activating the F-14's inbuilt
TV system, he trained it on the target. "What the hell is that?" he
said, getting a good look at Voyager.
"I don't know," his back seater replied, "but the radar signal from
it is getting all fuzzy. They must have some form of stealth system."
"Get on the horn back to base. Let them know we have visual
contact and -- whoa!" The pilot instinctively shielded his eyes as
the monitor flared brilliantly. A moment later it cleared and he was
able to look at it again. "What the...?"
"You see anything?" the back-seater asked. "It's not showing up on
radar anymore."
"I could've sworn there was something there a second ago," the pilot
said, "but now..." He moved the nose about, trying to relocate the
mystery object, but the sky around them was clear. "Nothing could've
moved that fast."
"Hey, I don't track mirages," the weapons officer retorted,
sounding mildly offended.
The pilot shrugged. "Well, it's not there anymore. We'll just mark
it down as another UFO."
A universe away, a similar burst of light briefly illuminated the
skies over Negara and then faded to reveal an Intrepid class starship.
Voyager was once again above the Delta Quadrant planet.
"We have completed the transition successfully," Seven announced.
"So far we appear to be unnoticed..." The deck trembled slightly under
their feet. "Correction: we *have* been noticed," she noted.
"I think we all figured that out," B'Elanna replied rather testily.
"Have they got ahold of us?" Harry asked her.
The engineer took a moment to examine her readouts. "No. The warp
field the engines are generating is deflecting over ninety percent of
the beam. We're clear to maneuver."
"Then let's get the hell out of here. Helm, take us up. Best
speed."
Outside, the noise from Voyager's thrusters increased dramatically
as the ship began gaining altitude. In moments it had entered the upper
reaches of the atmosphere, allowing the ship to engage it's impulse
engines. "We have reached launch altitude," Seven reported as the ship
now gained height dramatically. "Shuttle bay doors are open and the
Shepard reports ready to lift off."
Harry nodded. "Shuttle Shepard: You're clear to launch." He turned
to Ensign Graves. "Let's give them some cover. Set main phasers to wide
field dispersal pattern and open fire."
"Yes, sir." Complying with the order, she triggered a burst from
nearly all of Voyager's phaser banks. The wide field energy discharge
severely ionized the atmosphere in their area, creating a large
distortion. Simultaneously, the shuttle leapt from the bay and started
to descend rapidly.
In the maze of tunnels beneath the citadel, Tuxedo Mask came to a
abrupt halt. Chakotay managed to stop himself just before colliding with
him. "What's wrong?" he asked, watching the other gaze at the ceiling.
"She's here," he replied in a distant voice.
"Who?" Chakotay asked again. Then in a flash of insight he guessed,
"Do you mean Sailor Moon?"
Tuxedo Mask blinked, seemingly coming back to reality. "Yes,
Commander. She's here, in this universe."
"If Sailor Moon has crossed over to our universe, the logical
assumption is that Voyager has returned with her," Tuvok opined.
If so, there was an easy way to confirm that, Chakotay reasoned
to himself. "Chakotay to Voyager," the first officer said, tapping his
comm badge. However, no response was forthcoming. "The signal must be
blocked by the structure down here. Let's get to the surface."
"The Shepard has entered the troposphere. Our own altitude is four
hundred forty seven point two kilometers," Seven reported. "We are clear
to go to warp."
"Good," Harry said, nodding. "It looks like everything's going
according to plan. Helm, plot a course to a point a half light year
outside the system and engage at warp eight. Seven, launch the relay
probe."
"Yes sir."
Outside, the warp nacelles elevated to their flight configuration
and Voyager accelerated to supralight speeds. But just before it entered
warp, Seven was able to deploy a small probe into a high orbit to serve
as a communications relay.
Sailor Moon gulped, looking out the window as the planet surface
below rushed up towards them. Despite the inertial dampeners, she could
almost feel the shuttle freefall downward. Tom had said they would get
down to just above the planet surface quickly so they could approach
unseen, but still... "Do you mind slowing down a little? I think I
left my stomach back in orbit."
Tom grinned. "Don't worry about it. Everything's under control.
Just sit back and enjoy the ride." Even as he said this, he eased their
rate of descent and brought the shuttle onto a more level flight path.
There were several sighs of relief from behind him.
Which promptly stopped when an alarm sounded from the sensors.
"Tom, we have three large energy bolts on an intercept course."
"That's not good, right?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Definitely not," Mercury stated. "It means we're under attack."
"I was afraid you were going to say that."
Janeway wasn't paying any attention to the banter behind her.
"Shields are up, and I'm arming weapons."
"Everyone hang on back there," Tom said. "Evasive maneuvers!"
Tuxedo Mask stiffened suddenly. They had emerged from the fortress
not long ago, and had been makning their way through the dense and dark
forest surrounding it. "No!"
"What is it?" Chakotay asked. "What's wrong?"
"She's in danger," he replied, looking skyward. "Grave danger."
He continued looking skyward for a second or two before taking off on a
dead run.
Chakotay didn't hesitate, "Tuvok, Neelix: find the others and home
in on my comm badge." Not waiting for a reply, he started off into the
forest after Tuxedo Mask.
"Well, Mr. Vulcan, I guess it's just the two of us," Neelix observed
as the other two moved off into the darkness. Deciding against making
any reply, Tuvok led the Talaxian off to locate the other Voyager crewmen
on Negara.
Paris worked the helm, twisting the shuttle about is a desperate bid
to elude the onrushing bolts. It seemed he was successful, as the three
energy bolts passed close by. "So far, so good."
"Not really," Mercury warned. Her attention was fixed on her
computer. "Those energy bolts are altering their course. They must be
homing in on the shuttle."
"Oh, great," Mars snapped. "I thought the idea was to land without
them detecting us."
Tom shrugged. "Nobody's perfect."
"Can you stay ahead of them, Tom?" Janeway asked.
"One way to find out. Hang on!" Tom said as he shifted the
shuttle's course sharply to port, putting a tremendous strain on the
inertial dampeners. The resulting g-forces tried to fling them all to
the right side of the shuttle, triggering several gasps of shock from
the passengers and one outright shriek of terror from Sailor Moon.
From the outside they could all hear the groan from the engine nacelles
as the atmospheric pressures threatened to tear them free from their
housings. But this time the evasive maneuver didn't work, for the
homing missiles turned with the Shepard and slammed into it's shields.
"We're hit!" Janeway exclaimed somewhat unnecessarily as the
shuttle rocked violently. Several control panels exploded into a shower
of sparks and those inside felt the deck start to pitch downward at a
sharper angle. The captain took a look at the main diagnostic panel to
her right, most of the indicators on it glowing a bright red. Not a
good sign. "We're on emergency reserve power. Just about all major
systems are offline, along with a good many emergency systems."
Tom desperately worked the controls, but as yet there wasn't any
response from any of them. "I've got no thruster controls."
The ground was looming closer in the window as the shuttle careened
downward. "We're gonna crash!" yelled Sailor Moon.
Tuvok looked up from his tricorder. According to the readings, the
other Voyager crewmembers should be nearby but he was unable to see them.
"Mr. Lambert." The was a rustling in the undergrowth nearby, and Lambert stepped out into the open. Tuvok nodded in approval. "Excellent
camouflage, Mr. Lambert."
"Thank you, Commander," the former Maquis answered, smiling broadly.
"What's up?"
"We have reason to believe that a rescue party has been dispatched
from Voyager," Tuvok answered. "We --" A flare above them interrupted
him, and they all cast their gaze in that direction. In the darkened
sky they could see what could only be a Starfleet shuttlecraft on a
rapid descent, trailing fire and debris as it did so. "It would appear
that the rescue party may need rescuing themselves," Tuvok noted drily.
"It's going to come down not far from here," Neelix observed.
"Indeed," the Vulcan concurred. "Alert the others, Mr. Lambert.
We must make haste to that location."
Metallah watched as the shuttle continued to fall until it fell out
of view. "So much for their rescue team," she gloated. Dismissing the
image with a wave of her hand, she turned to her elite guard leader.
"Find the wreckage. If by chance there are any survivors... kill them."
Keeping up with someone as nimble as Tuxedo Mask was proving nearly
impossible for Chakotay. Only the density of the local plantlife was
keeping his speed down to the point where the first officer could almost
keep pace. Fortunately though, Tuxedo Mask stopped before Chakotay could
become too winded to stay with him. Leaning heavily back against a tree
to catch his breath, "Why did... you stop?"
Tuxedo Mask didn't reply vocally, but instead pointed skyward.
Chakotay looked in that direction and saw the rapidly descending shuttle.
With nothing else to do, the two of them watched it descend until it
passed behind a ridgeline. Chakotay could guess what was going through
the other man's mind, for it was going through a part of his as well.
"I'm sure Tom Paris was at the helm of that shuttle. If anyone can get
them down in one piece, he can."
"I've got to get there," Tuxedo Mask replied tersely. He started to
move forward, but Chakotay put a restraining hand on his shoulder first.
"We will," he assured him. "But let's take it a little slower, OK?
You might be capable of a ten thousand meter dash, but I'm not. Besides,
it's not as if they can't take care of themselves. And there is such a
thing as safety in numbers."
After taking a moment to think this over, Tuxedo Mask nodded and the
two of them set off at a much more reasonable pace.
Next time: "The Face of the Enemy"
Note: the shuttle 'Shepard' is named for US Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr.,
who passed away on 7/21/98.