DISCLAIMER: You all know the drill - Paramount is God.  All hail Paramount.  They own everything in the Star Trek Universe - I'm just using my overactive imagination to take their characters where they refuse to go.  All in the name of fun, not profit (I wish).

CAUSALITY

CHAPTER THREE: MARGIN OF ERROR

The elder Janeway examined the doubting look on her younger counterpart's face.  "I know, you don't believe me."

She merely raised an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid we don't have time for me to convince you, Captain.  You'll just have to take our word for it."

She looked back at Tom.  "Do you remember the first time we met, at the Federation Penal Colony in New Zealand?" 

He smirked, seeing through her ploy.  "Of course…except it wasn't the first time we met.  When I was twelve, the Al-Batani docked at Utopia Planitia for an overhaul and we met when my mother took me and my sisters to visit my father.  You were in his office when I showed up."

"We don't have time for this," snapped the elder Janeway.  "The reactor is going to go critical in a matter of minutes."

Her eyes widened as one piece of the puzzle fell into place.  "You enhanced the sensors."

"I thought if the Mallorians detected the overload they might be able to stop it before Voyager arrived."

"They detected it all right.  They sent out a distress signal."

"I know.  That wasn't the idea."  She turned to Tom.  "See if you can boost the containment field and buy us some time."

He nodded and started towards the catwalk, but she called him back.  "Not that one, you might be seen."  She jerked her head towards the shadowy corridors behind them.  "Use that panel we rigged up last week."

"Kathryn, why don't we just -- "

"Now, Tom," she said, an edge to her voice.

He nodded in submission and stepped past the Captain.  She watched him work over her shoulder before turning back to her double.  "Kathryn?"

"It seemed pointless to maintain the command structure after we were stranded here."  Her expression softened.  "We really don't have time to waste…but in the hope that we're going to be successful, Captain, can I give you a quick piece of advice?"

She raised an eyebrow.  "That depends on the advice."

Her counterpart thought for a moment.  "In a way, you're getting a second chance.  I've had plenty of time to think.  Plenty of time for regrets."  She looked over the Captain's shoulder at Tom as he worked.  "Get to know the crew.  I've become closer to Tom than I ever thought I could, and I'm glad for it."  She closed her eyes.  "After…after we realized that we weren't going to be rescued…we were both devastated.  Tom more so, I think.  Or maybe he just wasn't as good as hiding it as I was.  He lost his wife and everyone he cared about.  And his only chance of ever seeing them again…well, let's just say it would have been a little awkward at best.  He was never the same, but somehow he still managed to help me deal with…everything.  I think he would have left a long time ago if it weren't for me.  He couldn't stand it, just waiting here.  If I'd told him he could leave he might have, but I needed him here to pull this off."  She opened her eyes again and looked at the Captain.  "If this works, though, that will all be erased.  Get to know him, Captain, and the rest of the crew."

"I --"

"And don't tell me you know them already," she said, cutting her off.  The anger in her expression evaporated.  "If you knew what it was like to be without them, you'd remove some of those barriers you've spent so many years building."

"Kathryn?" said Tom quietly, approaching them.  "You'll have to come look at the containment field yourself.  There's some kind of phase variance." 

She nodded.  "I'll take care of it."  She started to move away, but stopped when she passed Tom.  "Bring her up to speed, would you?"

He nodded, and moved over to stand opposite the Captain.

"Just out of curiosity," he said, showing a glimmer of his former sense of humor, "Did you bring me this time?"

She shook her head with a small smile.  "No.  Just B'Elanna and a team of engineers."

The emotion on his face was obvious at the mention of her name.  "Yeah, I…I saw her.  From the catwalk."  He swallowed to try and get rid of the lump in his throat.  "She looks good."

She reached over and rested her hand on his arm.  "I'm sorry, Tom.  But we'll make sure this doesn't happen again.  I'm sure it must have been terrible for you."

He nodded, but then looked at her with sympathy.  "It was hard on you…I mean, on her, too.  She just wouldn't let it show."

"She didn't lose a wife," she said softly.

Tom shrugged.  "That doesn't mean she didn't…"  He stopped himself and cleared his throat.

She frowned.  "What?"

He raised his eyes from the floor and looked her in the eye.  "Just because she…you…have managed to hide it from everyone for so long doesn't mean it's not there."

"What are you talking about?"

"Chakotay," he said simply.

Her demeanor became icy.  "I beg your pardon?"

"You might be able to fool your Tom Paris…but in my timeline I've spent five years with you."  He sighed.  "When we were first stranded here, she was in denial.  We both were.  After a while, it started to sink in that we weren't going to be rescued.  One night, I woke up and I could hear her crying herself to sleep.  I didn't do anything at first…but eventually I confronted her.  We talked for hours.  She told me about…everything.  I had no idea the kind of baggage you've been carrying around all these years, Kath…Captain.  It killed her, being separated from Chakotay and the crew.  The only thing that got her through it was knowing that she had a chance to prevent it, to give you a second chance."

She shifted uncomfortably.  "She wanted you to bring me up to speed?"

"Unless she manages to get the containment field to hold, there's going to be a chronoton surge in the reactor that will cause a tachyon cascade.  You have to shut down the reactor or get everyone out before the cascade begins."

She nodded.  "Understood."  She stepped away and started back towards the catwalk, but turned back when Tom called after her.

"Captain?"

"Yes?"

He smiled.  "Good luck."

She stared at him in silence, then moved towards the ladder and began climbing down to the main level.  As soon as she reached the ground floor, she walked quickly over to B'Elanna.

"We have to get everyone out of here."

"You didn't make any progress with the containment field?"

She shook her head.  "This reactor's going to go critical no matter what we do with it."

At that instant, alarms went off all over the room and smoke began pouring out of one of the nearby vents.

Taman burst into the room.   "What's going on?"

"I don't know, sir!" yelled one of the engineers on the second level.

"Well, find out!" he bellowed.

The Captain turned to Seven.  "Shut the core down!"

Taman stepped forward.  "No!"

Janeway blocked his path.  "We don't have a choice.  Seven," she ordered over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off Taman.  "Shut it down."

Seven entered a series of commands into the console in front of her, but it just beeped.  "It's not working!"

B'Elanna moved over to one of the nearby consoles.  "There's a massive chronoton surge building in one of the reactors!"

One of the alien engineers turned around and yelled at them as more alarms went off.  "The containment field is destabilizing!"

"We can stop it!" yelled Taman.

"It's too late," said the Captain firmly, still standing in front of him.

"I didn't keep this reactor running for five years to let it go now!"

"The radiation level will be critical in under three minutes," said Seven.

Taman stared down the smaller Captain for a few seconds before he reluctantly turned around.  "Everybody out!  Now!"

He started towards the door, but turned around.  "That means you, as well, Captain."

She nodded, taking one last reading from the sensor panel near the reactor.  "We're right behind you."

Working at a console on the other side of the room, Seven looked over her shoulder at the Captain.  "I'm detecting a tachyon cascade!"

B'Elanna sprinted over to a panel immediately in front of the reactor core.  "I'll try and --"

She was cut off when the room exploded in a flash of light.

*

Joe Carey stumbled against the wall when the explosion rocked the power facility.  He leaned over to help Ensign Ashmore to his feet.

"What the hell was that?" asked Tabor beside them.

"I hope it's not what I think it was," said Carey, immediately starting back towards the room that held the main reactor.

Voyager to away team, please respond.

By the urgency in Commander Chakotay's voice, Carey guessed that something had gone wrong.  "Carey here."

What's going on down there?  We detected some kind of subspace distortion.

"I wish I knew, sir.  We just felt one hell of a tremor down here."

We can't contact the Captain, B'Elanna, or Seven.

"I'm on my way to the main reactor," said Carey as he rounded a corner.  His face clouded over when he saw the blown out doors of the main core and the smoke that was pouring out.  The threesome quickened their pace and sprinted through the doors.

Carey covered his mouth with his arm, coughing from the smoke.  He saw the chief engineer, Taman, sprawled on the floor.  He knelt down and felt for a pulse.  It was weak, but there.  Seven of Nine was near him, slumped against the wall.  He moved over and knelt in front of her, scanning her with a tricorder.  Some of her Borg implants appeared to have been damaged, but her vital signs were stable.

"Sir!"

Carey stood up and moved over to Ashmore and Tabor, who were helping another Mallorian engineer to sit up who had not been as close to the reactor.

Carey knelt in front of the man.  "Have you seen our Captain?"

The man nodded, coughing.  "Over…there," he wheezed, pointing.  "In front…"  His voice trailed off as his gaze followed his arm and he looked at the empty floor next to the reactor.  "I…I don't understand.  They were right there."

*

Chakotay paced back and forth impatiently on the bridge.  It seemed like an eternity since he had spoken to Lieutenant Carey.  Passing in front of the helm, he noticed Tom trying to stay concentrated on his station, and he reached over to pat him lightly on the shoulder.

"Any sign of them?" he asked Harry.

Harry shook his head. "The radiation's still too high.  Sensors can't penetrate it."

Carey to Commander Chakotay.

He sighed with relief.  "Go ahead, Lieutenant.  Have you found them?"

We've located Seven.  She's injured.  The Captain and Lieutenant Torres…they're gone.

He locked eyes with Tom.  "They're what?"

*

Carey slowly walked around the debris surrounding the reactor core.  "One of the Mallorians says the Captain and Lieutenant Torres were standing right next to the reactor when the explosion happened, but there's no sign of them."

Keep checking.  I'm on my way.

*    *    *

Chakotay followed Ensign Kim and Lieutenant Carey as they continued scanning the reactor core.

"I've got something," said Harry, standing near the panel where B'Elanna had been working.

Chakotay looked over Harry's shoulder.  "What is it?"

"It looks like a residual subspace fracture."

"Caused by the tachyon cascade?" he asked.

Carey stepped forward, taking his own scans.  "One of the engineers said there was a chronoton surge.  If the core breach was large enough, it could have penetrated subspace."

Chakotay frowned.  "So what happened to them?"

"I'm not sure," said Harry dejectedly.

"How do we get them back?"

The look on Harry's face told him the answer before the words came out of his mouth.  "We can't," he said softly.  "There's no way to determine where they are...if they're even alive."

*    *    *

The Captain could sense a bright light above her, but it felt like her brain was moving in slow motion and she had trouble thinking clearly.  When she tried to open her eyes, a burning pain shot across her face, pulling her out of her sluggish state.

"Try not to move," said a gentle female voice.

Despite the warning, she tried once more to open her eyes.  She was successful, but as soon as her eyes were open she became disoriented and dizzy.  She could hear alarms going off around her, and she slowly turned her head in the direction of the noise.  There were voices yelling urgently, but they sounded like distorted echoes to her ears and she couldn't make out what they were saying.

She was trying to figure out what was going on…but she was so tired.  She just wanted to go back to sleep.  When she tried to move her head again, the burning pain on her face returned and she gasped.

The pain served to keep her alert, and she tried to focus on the source of the noise beside her.  She squinted, and could make out a group of people moving around a still form on a bed.  The alarms she was hearing appeared to be coming from instruments that were attached to the person in the bed.  As she watched, the alarms changed from a fluctuating frequency to a steady tone.

She could feel her concentration starting to slip away, and she fought to stay grounded.  In the few seconds she was able to retain her focus, she recognized the motionless form on the bed.

It was B'Elanna.