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 EIGHT: THE PRICE OF VICTORY
"You said the other magnetic seals were still functioning?"
The Captain's double looked up from the panel she was working on. "It looks like it."
"Those seals alone aren't enough to get the lift moving…but is there enough power to spread to the seal that's not working?"
Her eyes lit up as she instantly grasped his train of thought. "If we diverted power from the other seals to the one with the fused matrix…"
"None of them would be at full power, but it might be enough to get the lift moving again."
She moved to a panel on the railing of the lift and entered a series of commands on the console, then took a deep breath and hit the button.
The lift slowly began moving up towards the top of the shaft.
Chakotay sighed with relief, but she looked towards the surface warily.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"Bucar mtarrak jalor cimtar il." The corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. "It's a Mallorian phrase. 'Beyond every hurdle lays another.'"
"I've always thought of you as an optimist," he said, eyeing her with curiosity.
"Five years ago…yes, I guess you could say I was an optimist. Or at least, I liked to ignore risks. But now…experience has taught me otherwise." She looked up the shaft again as the platform continued to mount. "Who knows what we'll find at the top."
*
Lieutenant Ayala kept his head down as he dragged the injured Ensign Parsons to cover.
"What's going on?" Harry yelled over the weapons fire.
"I think it's the Mallorians!" Lieutenant Rollins yelled back.
"They came up from behind!" clarified Ayala.
Ayala, Parsons, and Rollins were on one side of the corridor, while Tom, Harry, and Crewman Dalby were on the other. They were being fired on by unseen assailants positioned farther down the passageway.
Tom ducked as one of the shots hit the fallen beam that he was crouched behind.
"How far to the shaft?"
Harry checked his tricorder. "Only fifty meters or so."
"Can you walk?" Rollins asked Ensign Parsons.
The young man nodded. "It's just my shoulder."
Tom motioned to Ayala to help him lay down cover fire. Poking their heads above the debris that they were concealed behind, they fired repeatedly at the Mallorians while Harry led the three security officers down the corridor towards the shaft that led to the tunnels. Tom and Ayala followed after a few seconds, continuing to fire at the Mallorians to keep them at bay.
*
The elder Janeway sighed with relief when she could finally see light at the end of the tunnel above them. It only took a few seconds for the pinpoint of light to grow larger, and soon she could see the edge of the shaft.
She felt Chakotay rest his hand on the small of her back, and she looked over her shoulder with a smile.
Her smile faded as the lift approached the surface and they could hear the sounds of weapons fire and shouting.
The lift reached the end of the shaft before they even had a chance to wonder what was going on. There was still dust and smoke hanging in the air, and it was hard to see anything except the occasional beam from the phaser fire being exchanged.
Chakotay pushed her down to the ground as one of the phaser shots struck the wall behind them.
"Chakotay!"
He looked up to see Tom and Harry approaching them as the other security officers laid down cover fire.
"What's going on?"
Tom ducked as another shot came close above their heads. "The Mallorians are attacking us. They think we were responsible for the core…" He trailed off suddenly as he noticed for the first time that there were three people on the lift.
"I'll explain later," said Chakotay.
Tom raised an eyebrow, but then frowned as he noticed that the Captain wasn't moving. "Is she..."
"No, but we need to get her to Sickbay."
Tom nodded and ducked as the Mallorian phaser fire came close to them again. "Paris to Voyager."
Go ahead, said Tuvok.
"We've found…" He glanced at the Captain's double, who couldn't seem to pull her eyes away from his face. "…them. Can you get a transporter lock on us?"
Negative. You must move farther away from the radiation.
"We'll try. Paris out." He turned to Chakotay. "We're going to have to get past the Mallorians."
"Is there another way out?"
Harry checked the schematics on his tricorder. "That way," he said, pointing in the opposite direction from the corridor where the Mallorians were positioned.
Chakotay started to pick up the Captain, but Tom noticed his wounded shoulder and held him back. "I'll carry her."
He picked up her limp form and the away team started to back away from the Mallorians towards the other corridor. The security team continued firing to keep the Mallorians at bay, and they made it to the passageway and moved along it quickly.
"I don't think they're following us, sir," said Ayala over his shoulder.
Harry had his tricorder out in front of him. "We should be able to get a transporter lock soon. We're almost past the critical radiation level."
They rounded a corner and came to an intersection of four different corridors. Chakotay turned around to ask Harry which direction would be the shortest route away from the center of the radiation, but froze when he saw a group of Mallorian guards approaching them from the passageway to their right.
"Take cover!" he yelled, pulling his phaser out of its holster.
The security officers followed his lead and drew their phasers on the approaching Mallorians despite being clearly outnumbered.
"Chakotay to Voyager."
Go ahead, Commander.
"Can you get a lock on us now?"
B'Elanna responded instead of Tuvok, and he could hear the anxiety in her voice. I'm working on it, Chakotay.
He sighed heavily and tilted his head towards Tom without taking his eyes off the Mallorians. "Tom, get the Captain back to Voyager."
Tom frowned. "What about the rest of you?"
"We'll stay here and see if we can work things out with the Mallor--"
"Throw down your weapons!" threatened a voice from behind them.
They turned around to see another group of heavily armed Mallorians approaching them from the corridor opposite the guards already in position. They were now outnumbered at least three to one by the looks of it, with a group on either side of them. They knew the guards they had left behind would soon be following them as well, so that left only avenue of escape.
Chakotay caught Tom's eye and jerked his head toward the passageway that was still free, but as soon as Tom started to move the Mallorians reacted.
"Stay where you are!" yelled one of them, stepping forward with his weapon raised.
"Lower your weapons!" shouted another.
Chakotay wavered, hesitant to surrender but unwilling to let the conflict escalate. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked to see the Captain's double slowly stepping around him. He frowned. "Kathryn -- "
She ignored him and pushed herself to the front of the group, facing one of the Mallorian leaders. "Let them go," she said firmly.
"There are some people who want to speak to them. Very important people who no longer have a tachyon reactor."
She took another step away from the group. "I'm the one you want. They have nothing to do with this."
Chakotay reacted instantly. "Kathryn!" he hissed.
She turned her head to the side, staring at the ground beside her feet. "Get everyone back to Voyager."
"Don't do this," he pleaded. Despite his first impression of the Mallorians as a passive, civilized people, he was beginning to see that they had a ruthless and vindictive undercurrent to their personalities. He knew she would not be safe if he left her at their mercy.
"I don't belong on Voyager anymore," she said softly. "I want you to make sure everyone gets back safely."
"I can't leave you here."
She finally raised her eyes from the ground and looked at him for a long time before she spoke. "That's an order, Commander."
"Surrender or we will open fire!" yelled one of the Mallorians, desperation creeping into his voice.
Her expression became more urgent. "If you don't get everyone back to Voyager the past five years will all have been for nothing," she whispered. "Don't let that happen."
"B'Elanna will be able to get us out of here," he argued.
She glanced at the Mallorians as they inched closer, then on a sudden impulse reached up and removed a pendant that was hanging around her neck. She took his hand and quickly pressed it into his palm, then closed his fingers over it.
"So I would always have you near me," she said quietly.
"This is your last warning!" yelled one of the Mallorians again, nearly screaming.
She backed away from him, not breaking eye contact until she turned to face the Mallorians.
"Throw down your weapons!" one of them yelled.
She stared back coldly, a strange mirror to the tension and anger in the Mallorians whose weapons were pointed at her. "Let them go."
Torres to Chakotay. I've got a lock on you. Preparing to energize.
"They're going to escape!" yelled one of the guards.
One of the Mallorians across from the Captain's double raised his weapon higher so that it was level with her chest. "Tell your ship to stand down."
Before she had a chance to reply, the transporter activated.
The Mallorian pulled the trigger, and the discharge from his weapon hit her squarely in the chest. The force of the blast made her take a step back, then she began to fall as they dematerialized.
Chakotay caught her limp form as the away team reappeared in Sickbay. He barely had time to be thankful that B'Elanna had had the presence of mind to beam them there directly before he saw the sickening scorched area on her chest.
The Doctor approached the group immediately and saw the Captain in Tom's arms first. He directed him to the surgical bay, and Tom carried her over and left her in the Doctor's care while he returned to Chakotay and the elder Janeway.
Chakotay gently laid the Captain's double on the floor as she gasped for breath. "Kathryn? Can you hear me?"
She looked around, a serene smile on her face. "Voyager," she whispered.
"That's right," he said, resting his hand along the side of her face.
Tom's face clouded over as he scanned her. He put his hand on Chakotay's shoulder, and when he looked up Tom shook his head slowly.
His eyes widened in horror and he looked back at the woman laying on the ground.
"It's so good…to be back," she said softly. Her peaceful expression faded suddenly. "The Captain?"
He glanced over his shoulder at the bustle of activity around her in the surgical bay before he turned back to her. "I'm sure she'll be fine."
"Then it wasn't…for nothing," she whispered, short of breath. Her eyelids fluttered closed.
He shook her shoulder. "Kathryn! Stay with me!"
Her eyes slowly opened again after a few seconds, but her gaze seemed clouded over and unfocused. She looked around aimlessly until her eyes met his face. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
He panicked, seeing her slipping away before his eyes. He reached down and took her hand, pressing it to his chest as if he would be able to keep her alive from the contact. "Kathryn!"
Her eyes closed. Her head rolled limply to the side and she was motionless.
Still clutching her hand to his chest, he closed his eyes as the emotions washed over him. He sank down to the floor, unwilling to leave her. He reached over and slowly closed her eyes with his fingertips, then traced his hand over the scar on her cheek.
"There was too much damage from the disruptor blast," Tom said softly. "There was nothing we could have done."
Chakotay nodded and his eyes were drawn to the surgical bay.
"She's going to be fine," Tom assured him, following his gaze and reading his thoughts.
He didn't answer and looked back at the motionless form next to him. Tom gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder, then rose and moved back to the surgical bay to assist the Doctor.
As he sat there, Chakotay felt something in his hand and remembered the pendant she had given him right before she was shot. He had unconsciously kept his fist clenched around it, and the pendant and the soft piece of material that held it had made an imprint in his hand. He slowly lifted it up and examined it.
It was a soft polished stone, about three centimeters square, soft blue with subtle streaks of darker colors running through it. It had lines carved in its surface, obviously done by hand. The lines were extremely delicate and the pattern appeared quite detailed…and it seemed very familiar. He was sure he recognized it.
It took him a few seconds to realize that he had it upside down, and his eyes widened as he righted it and the familiar design immediately fell into place.
It was his tattoo.
