Star Trek Liberty
By Kyizi
Episode 2: Caretaker, Part 2
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Disclaimer: Some of these characters do not belong to me, and neither does the universe in which this story is created. The story line that this fic will take and the new characters, however, do belong to me, so please, if you wish to use them, contact me and ask first.
Please note that some of this comes directly from the transcripts and that those parts do not belong to me.
Rating: If you can watch Voyager, then you can read this.
Category: AU
Distribution: Please email if you want it, I'll likely say yes.
Feedback: Always :)
Email address: kyizi@hotmail.com
Notes/Summary: Although this episode will continue introducing you to the characters that will be a part of this universe, it is in this episode that the world becomes AU, therefore, I will be using the main character POV's as well.
Sources: See Episode 1 (Mainly Delta Blues for Jim's wonderful episode reviews!)
ERROR! Okay, we all make mistakes! I found a bit of an error in Ep 1. Chakotay wishes for a Betazoid to read Tuvok, well I forgot about Suder! Altered line to read, he wished for a Betazoid he could trust. (
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Kerris sighed and ran a hand through her hair, closing her aching eyes as she did so. Today had been one hell of a mess and she was not prepared for round two. Her hand still ached a little, although Thomas insisted that she was making it up. It wasn't her fault he was a lousy physician, maybe if he'd actually finished med school her hand would be fully operational by now.
She groaned and placed her head against the wall. She knew she was taking out her frustrations on Christopher and her only saving grace was that this time she was doing it inside her own head instead of yelling at him. It was bad enough when B'Elanna did it, even worse when he had them both at it.
Standing up straight, she dropped her padd on the ground and sat down next to it, sliding her back down the wall. B'Elanna was missing. Usually that thought send pleasant little shivers down her spine, she occasionally wished she could chant, "Ding, dong the bitch is dead," and then she'd catch herself and feel instant remorse. It wasn't as if she hated the.no she hated her. At least she had the honesty to admit it. The two had never got along and she wasn't about to start pretending otherwise now. She did however hope that they found her and could get the hell out of the Delta Quadrant. Because, regardless of her feelings towards the woman, she was an amazing engineer, and with the situation they were in, she was what they needed.
"Been a hell of a day, huh?"
Smiling, she turned to look up at Antonio. "Oh, yeah,"
He gave a little chuckle and sat down beside her. "We're approaching the debris field. Voyager's scanning the area and so are we but we're keeping in constant contact. There's an open comm. link, I've set it up to broadcast through the whole ship."
Kerris nodded and laid her head back against the wall. "Chakotay still over there?"
"Are you going to beat me up if I say yes?"
"I still can't believe you left him with that traitor,"
"Which one, Tom or Tuvok?" he asked with a smile.
"Both," she sighed and turned to face him. "I might never have met Tom but I know he betrayed us, he betrayed the Maquis as a whole. And Tuvok? Well, I tried to warn everyone and now the Captain is over there with them both. So, yes I'm angry.but not at you, at him. He should be taking more precautions."
"Chakotay dances to the beat of his own drum, Nye. You should know that by now. There was no way I could've talked him into letting me stay, or."
"I didn't want you to stay! It's bad enough that he's over there, never mind you as well."
"Aw, shucks, I think I'm touched," Antonio said mockingly, placing a hand to his heart dramatically.
"If you don't watch out, you'll be more than touched, you'll be black and blue."
He laughed and leaned his shoulder against hers. "I know what you mean, Nye, and I don't like it either. But there was no way I was talking him out of it. He's over there and all we can do is hope that he'll bring B'Elanna back safe and sound. And if he needs us, we're here for him." With that Antonio stood up and offered her a hand.
"I know," Kerris sighed, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She smiled, shaking her head as Antonio winked at her and headed out the door, taking a moment before turning back to her work. Things would work out.they had to.
~~~~~~~
Chakotay sighed and rubbed his eyes, trying to forget that he hadn't slept in over two days, their 'missing time' not withstanding. As he headed for the bridge, he tried to ignore the fact that there were three security officers with him. He knew that, were the situation reversed, and Captain Janeway were on his ship, he would be taking the same precautions. Actually if she were on his ship, he had the feeling that he'd have to protect her more than anything.
Thinking of his ship, he prayed it was still in one piece when he got back. Seska was more than a little annoyed when he'd refused to allow her to accompany him, and he knew that Kerris was likely to have a few words to say to him regarding Tuvok, he wasn't looking forward to seeing either woman too soon. The ship was already quite badly damaged and he knew that B'Elanna would be pissed if it were any worse when she returned. And she would return, he'd make sure of it.
He stepped into the turbo lift with more than a little trepidation. The last time he had been in one, there had been a power cut and he had had to fend of Seska's advances for over two hours. He missed being with her; that much he was sure of, but at the same time, he knew it was for the best that he had called it off. She had been using their relationship to get what she wanted with the others on the ship, it was causing even more problems within the group and he was not about to let that happen. The only thing that kept them all together was their belief in the Maquis, but it was a fine strand that stopped a lot of them from killing each other at most times, and the way Seska had been acting, she was about to find that strand broken with more than one of the crew.
There was a slight hiss as the doors opened before him and he nodded briskly to the man at the security panel. He walked towards the Captain's chair noting that his three 'friends' had remained at the turbo lift doors.
"Ah, Mr. Chakotay,"
"Please, Chakotay is fine,"
The Captain nodded with a slight smile. "Were the parts suitable? Did you get everything you needed?"
"Yes, on both accounts, thank you. I've transported them over to the Liberty, Kerris and my engineers should have made a start on things by now."
"Good," Janeway smiled. "We've made contact with a ship, someone who thinks he may know where Ensign Kim and Torres are. Tuvok has shown him to quarters, he should be checking on him right about now."
"What does he think he knows?" Chakotay asked, feeling the need to sit, but somewhat reluctant to do so.
Janeway seemed to note his thoughts and indicated the seat next to her. "Apparently we're not the first ships pulled here. It seems that someone known as the Caretaker has been bringing people here for a couple of months now. He kidnaps a few members of the crew and leaves them with a race called the Ocampa, who live on the fifth planet of the system."
"What happens to them?"
Janeway shook her head, "He doesn't seem to know, but we're on route for the fifth planet at the moment. The Liberty is right beside us."
Chakotay smiled, glad that he hadn't had to ask and glad that Janeway wanted to reassure him that they were in this together.for the moment at least. But he didn't want to think of that just now. His only priority was B'Elanna. He was going to get her back.
~~~~~~~
B'Elanna groaned and rubbed her head for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. Things weren't going according to plan.not that she had one. So far all they had accomplished was to discover that they were underground, well, Starfleet had discovered it. She eyed the young man suspiciously for a moment and turned back to look at her surroundings. She wasn't sure she trusted the young Ensign, a few days ago he'd have been happy to hand her over the authorities, but as it was she was stuck with him as her only 'friend',
Noticing that they were still being gawked at, B'Elanna tried to refrain from growling. She didn't like being the centre of attention, but she liked being on display even less. Turning to their guide she watched as some form of replicator dispensed food for them and frowned.
"Does the Caretaker provide your meals as well?"
"Yes," the man replied, "the Caretaker designed and built this city for us after the Warming began. The food processors provide nutritional supplements every 4.1 intervals." He smiled at her, "It's not the more exotic stuff the young folks crave these days, but it keeps you healthy."
She exchanged a small look with Starfleet as they followed the man into a larger area. Looking up, she could see the sky, but she had to wonder if it was real or not. If it looked so great, then why the hell would they be living underground, why would the Caretaker want them to if he were so damn.caring?
B'Elanna allowed her thoughts to wander, still listening to what was being said around her. She had to wonder how Chakotay was planning on finding her; he would be trying to find her, of that she had no doubt. She almost smiled at the thought, but refrained from doing so. Unless Kerris and Seska talked him out of it. She shook away those thoughts, as much as she hated Kerris, she knew the state if the ship, there was no way they were getting home any time soon without her help. It wasn't conceit, but for as much as they disliked each other, she and Kerris worked amazingly well together. They'd have the ship up and running in no time.if only they'd hurry up and find her. Maybe they could even save Starfleet here and earn themselves a reprieve.well it was a nice thought.
The conversation again caught her attention. They weren't the only ones that had been brought here? She opened her mouth to ask where they were and how they'd escaped this hole in the ground when the man continued. No one had survived. That wasn't exactly a comforting thought. She stared down at her plate for a moment before turning to the young Ensign. He had a steely determination on his face and she nodded at him. They'd get out of this or they'd die trying.hopefully the former.
~~~~~~~
Celes read her padd.again. It didn't matter how many times she looked at the data; it simply wasn't possible. The frequency of the wave, the formation, the way it moved, nothing seemed to make sense. Or, at least, it didn't make sense to her. Nothing seemed to make sense to her. She still found it hard to believe that she had even passed the Academy.okay, she almost hadn't.
She rubbed her eyes and started again. She was supposed to be an analyst but no matter how long she stared at it, she couldn't analyse any of it. It was her friends that had kept her afloat at the Academy, and she'd been thrilled when she and Billy had both been assigned to Voyager, perhaps he would have been able to stop her from looking like the fraud she felt like. If she had been good at anything she wouldn't have been there, but as it was she felt like a complete failure. Voyager was stuck at the back end of the Universe and she had nothing that could help her get them home.
The door opened and she raised her head, awkwardly standing up as Ensign Wildman entered the room. She smiled nervously at the woman, wondering why she was being inspected; surely she couldn't have done anything wrong already.
"At ease before you sprain something, Crewman." Ensign Wildman laughed.
Celes smiled a little, feeling utterly embarrassed and picked her padd from the floor where it had fallen. "Can I help you?"
"I'm just looking for something, don't mind me. I'm sure I must've lost it in here." Ensign Wildman began to search in the ground, making sure not to knock anything over.
"Is it a bracelet?"
"Yes! Have you seen it?" Ensign Wildman stood up, smacking her head on the worktop, knocking over Celes coffee. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay," Celes pulled two of the padd's out of the spillage, squealing as they sparked and shocked her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, here let me look at it."
"No, it's okay," Celes stepped away, keeping her hand curled up against her chest. "I'm fine. It was my fault for leaving the cup on the ledge next to them anyway," she laughed a little feebly and used her other hand to point at a drawer. "Your bracelet is in there."
Ensign Wildman frowned before retrieving the bracelet, turning it over in her hands before putting it on. "My husband gave me it before we left Deep Space Nine," she explained before stepping towards Celes again. "Are you sure you wont let me look at it?"
"I'm fine, honestly," Celes walked to her desk again, refusing to look Ensign Wildman in the eyes.
"If you're sure," Wildman walked to the door, turning before she left. "I want you to at least promise me that you'll go to sick bay and let the EMH look at it if it's still hurting later on."
Celes nodded and Wildman left. Looking down at her hand, she forced herself not to cry. She had already successfully managed to embarrass herself in front of one crewmember, the last thing she needed was for someone else to come in and find her in tears. Celes took a deep breath and stretched out her hand, turning back to her padd. Making sure it was not covered in coffee, she picked it up with her good hand and forced herself to read, she still hadn't figured anything out and now her hand was stinging. She sighed, her only hope that things wouldn't get any worse.
~~~~~~~
Janeway headed for the transporter, glancing sidelong at Chakotay. He was a little on the edgy side, and she had to wonder what it was about the conversation he had just had that had made him seem so uptight.
"Everything all right on board your ship?" she asked, hoping she didn't come across as interfering.
He smiled a little at her. "Just a few differences of opinion, nothing I can't handle."
She nodded her head. "They don't trust me." She stated.
He inclined his head, not answering either way and she left it at that. Given the circumstances, she couldn't really expect anything different, it was to be expected. Voyager had chased the Maquis into the Badlands and that was that. It was her mission to take them in so that they could be charged, she couldn't really expect them to roll out the red carpet for her now that they had no choice but to work together.
Reaching the transporter bay, she noted that Neelix and Tuvok were already there and indicated to the transporter pods as Lt. Paris entered behind them. She turned to Ensign Forbes and checked that the water was ready to be transported on request before the five of them were transported to the planet's surface.
It was as barren as the scans had said, but seeing it made it all the more real. That anyone had to survive this was disheartening, but she knew better than anyone that survival instincts were stronger than anyone could comprehend until they had experienced it for themselves. It was the same survival that ensured that she would find Ensign Kim and B'Elanna Torres; they were going to survive and she was going to get them home, whatever it took.
~~~~~~~
Tom scrunched up his eyes as the bright sunlight blurred his vision. Glancing around, he wasn't so sure he liked the look of the Ocampan home world, and if the people that were currently glaring at him were the Ocampans, he wasn't so sure he liked the look of them either.
As Neelix approached the men - at least he assumed they were men, he had no idea what a good looking Ocampan female looked like - he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Neelix was walking towards the small camp and he resisted the urge to grab tap his badge and ask Voyager to beam him the hell out of there.
The men, he now knew were Kazon-Olga, had spotted Neelix's approach. This wasn't going to go well, he had been in enough situations gone wrong to be able to spot the problems before they arose. And they were definitely about to arise.
"Destroy them!"
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he glanced sidelong at Captain Janeway, wondering what the woman would make of the situation. He'd overheard a lot of talk amongst the crew - overheard being the operative word; apart from Harry, no one was really all that interested in speaking to him - about the woman, and along with his own assessment, he was pretty sure she was strong headed. Janeway was watching the scene unravel before them, so he shifted his gaze to follow hers.
He tapped his comm. and asked Ensign Forbes to send down the water, the wide-eyed, almost ravenous look in the Kazon-Olga's eyes not escaping his notice. These weren't people he wanted to mess with. He knew that from experience. He'd been in with the 'wrong' type for long enough to be able to spot them, and Harry was down here on this world with them. He had promised himself that he was going to make sure that Harry survived this. Not just because it would give him someone to talk to, but also because he wanted to repay the younger man's kindness.not something that he'd had the chance to do as of late.
He listened as their new acquaintances explained that the Ocampa lived underground, a system of tunnels the only way in or out, but no one could use them safely. Frowning he spotted a beautiful young woman step out of the hut behind Neelix. She was badly beaten and Tom wondered if he had just found out what a good looking Ocampan female looked like. Whatever was going on, he had a bad feeling that things were about to get worse.
~~~~~~~
Dylan groaned as Tiera's fingers continued to drum on the edge of the consol. She'd spent the last hour working with both the Liberty and Voyager's sensor data. She was compiling a map reaching out as far as the ships could sense, hoping that they could use it to their advantage if they were actually stuck here. He hoped they weren't.
He slumped down in his chair, intent on taking a five-minute break. He was fed up looking at the screens that insisted on telling him all of the things that were broken or destroyed. Kerris, Tonio, Seska and the other were making headway on most of them and there was no mistaking that the list had grown considerably shorter, especially since Voyager had supplied them with parts. However, the fact that Kerris and Seska had been at each other's throats ever since, really wasn't helping the progress of the repairs.
"Hey, Rei, take a look at this."
Opening his eyes, he glared at Tiera, hoping that she might go away, but she simply stared at him expectantly and he could help but be reminded of his old school teacher. The look didn't inspire confidence that he was in her good books so he slid over beside her.
"What's the problem?"
"Is it just me or are there strange reading being emitted from the array?"
"I think we established this earlier, Naïve," at her look he smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I guess we're all a little tired. What did you find?"
"Well, there's a pulse being sent to the planet, right?"
"Right," he frowned, wondering why she was reiterating what both ships had already confirmed.
"Well, with the information that Chakotay relayed a few moments ago, it's a pretty good guess to say that the signal might be getting sent to the Ocampa, underground. And we're assuming that that's where B'Elanna and this Starfleet Ensign are."
"Right.I still have no idea where you're going with this. Does that make me stupid?"
She laughed. "No, just tired. What I'm getting at is, if the Caretaker has a signal that can reach the Ocampa, then what if."
"We piggybacked our own message onto it and that way we could reach Lana!"
"Bingo," she smiled at him. "Think you can do it, Mr. Mastermind?"
Rei smiled and winked. "I'm not nicknamed Wiz for nothing."
Tiera frowned. "You're not nicknamed Wiz."
"Yeah, well," he blushed a little. "It still sounded good."
~~~~~~~
Harry sighed, rolling his stiff neck and glanced at B'Elanna Torres. The woman was still filled with animosity towards him it seemed, but there were times when she would recognise when that they needed to work together. She was a puzzle, a beautiful, half Klingon puzzle, but a puzzle none the less. He couldn't figure out why she seemed so on edge. She seemed to be losing faith.
"Look. I'm sure Captain Janeway is doing everything she can to find us," he said, almost groaning at his own words. Way to sound like a complete suck up, Harry.
As if sensing his thoughts, the woman scoffed. "What makes you think any of them are still alive?"
Harry frowned as she hissed, her neck giving her obvious pain. "Should I call for some help?" he asked and instantly regretted it. A soft voice behind them made him jump, he hadn't realised there was anyone there. The girl's presence put B'Elanna on instant attack and Harry felt sorry for the young Ocampan, but he certainly wasn't about to intervene, he'd seen enough of the Maquis wrath to do him a lifetime.
Harry listened and talked to the young girl, his hopes rising with the information she was giving them and also because Torres seemed to be perking up at her words as well. There were tunnels; all they needed was the help to use them. They'd need tools and provisions; Harry's mind was working a mile a minute, they had to escape, there was no other chance for them.
"Please," he asked the girl. "It's our only chance."
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if weighing up the option of getting caught. As much as she seemed to disagree with the elders, as much as she knew she was very much a part of this renegade group, she also feared the Elders.
"Listen, I know you're unsure, but this is our lives. If we escape we have a chance of living, everyone else that's been sent down here by the Caretaker has died. My ship can heal us, I know it can, but we can't get to it without your help.please?"
He glanced at the woman, but she still made no reply. Turning his gaze a little, he exchanged a glance with B'Elanna. They needed this girl's help and they both knew it, there was only one problem. Would she help them?
~~~~~~~
"Damn it!"
Tiera frowned as Dylan hit the consol again. He'd been trying for the last half hour to attach a message for B'Elanna to the signal from the array, but with no success. Actually, she corrected herself, he was completely successful in attaching the message, the problem was that the signal was nothing to do with communication and he was having no success in finding a way to alert B'Elanna that they were trying to contact her.
"Hey, calm down, man, we can hear you in engineering."
They both turned as Christopher entered the room. She smiled at him and he grinned, walking towards them and sitting on the consol between them. "Still no luck with the signal?"
"No, I can't find a damn thing! There's no way to let her know what we're doing." Dylan sighed and Tiera exchanged a look with Christopher, but he shrugged. No one could think of anything.
"Well.maybe we're going about this the wrong way."
"What are you thinking, Naïve?"
She smiled and winked, "You wanted a Wiz, maybe we need to think like Lana."
"How?"
She smiled at Christopher. "Okay, she's an engineer, everything she thinks about is on this ship.who would you say thinks most like her? Whether they get along or not, who would you say could think along the same lines as her?"
Dylan and Christopher nodded. "Kerris."
Tiera smiled and raised her eyebrows. "Exactly," she said. She tapped a button on the consol. "Kerris, would you come to the bridge?"
"I'm busy!"
Tiera rolled her eyes. "I don't care, we need you up here, and if you want B'Elanna back to give you a hand, then I think you should get up here."
"Do I want her back? No. Do I want her help? Yes."
"Can't have one without the other, Nye." Antonio's voice floated about in the background.
Kerris' sigh echoed through the bridge. "I'll be right there."
"Get off my console."
Tiera resisted the urge to groan aloud as Christopher moved from Mikelo's console. She really hated that man. She moved her seat over and gestured for Christopher to sit but he waved off.
"If Kerris is on her way up to help, I'd best get back down to engineering. We need all the work we can get done out of the way before we end up floating in space. And God only knows what that woman's done down there, anyway. She's a pilot not an engineer."
"Kerris is coming back up here? Great." Mikelo said with mock enthusiasm as Christopher left the room, walking backwards as he exchanged a look with both her and Dylan. It was no secret that the three weren't particularly fond Mikelo, and he didn't bother hiding his dislike of them either.
"Oomph! Watch where you're going, Thomas."
"Ah, the cavalry has arrived." Dylan said smiling at the half Bajoran as she entered the room. She was currently glaring at Christopher's retreating back, so she wasn't really paying attention to the current occupants of the room.
"What do you want?"
"Charming," Dylan muttered and turned around in his chair, tapping at a few buttons before continuing. "We're trying to attach a signal that B'Elanna will recognise onto the."
".signal from the array. I know this, why am I needed?"
"Well," Tiera intervened. As much fun as it was to watch Dylan get more and more frustrated with the woman - and Mikelo was having obvious fun watching it - she just wanted to get moving on it. "The signal isn't a communications signal. It's some kind of energy pulse, as if it's a supply of some kind. What we need is a way to get B'Elanna's attention."
Kerris rolled her eyes and reached over Dylan's shoulder, quickly tapping a few buttons before turning to Tiera. "Get me access to her personal music files."
"What?" Tiera asked, ignoring the rude manner in which the statement was spoken - she was more than used to it.
"Just do it."
Tiera shook her head and did as Kerris asked, sending the information to Dylan's console before continuing to watch the engineer. Kerris frowned for a moment before shaking her head, as realisation seemed to hit. She pressed a few more buttons and then stood back, a small smile on her face.
"There," she said and nodded her head before turning and leaving the room.
After a few moments of silence, Dylan frowned and turned to Tiera. "What did she just do?"
"I have no idea," she tapped at her console. "But whatever it was, it just made a jumpstart on the increase of the pulses. They're point-eight seconds apart now."
"I thought they were increasing anyway?" Mikelo said, forgetting that he hated the two.
"They were," Tiera nodded. "But whatever she's done helped them along a little. Lets just hope Voyager doesn't suspect we had something to do with it."
"Why?" Mikelo scoffed. "They're after us anyway, what difference will it make if we all blow up a little sooner than expected?"
"We don't know that the pulses will cause an explosion." Dylan said, still trying to analyse what Kerris had done, but the commands made no sense to him.
Tiera nodded her agreement. "Besides, we don't know what's going to happen here. We may end up needing Voyager's help." At this there was a loud laugh at the door and they all turned to see Seska leaning against the frame.
"You don't know what's going to happen here, Seska. As much as you hate Starfleet, you know we might need them."
"Then may the Prophets help us all,"
~~~~~~~
B'Elanna took a deep breath. The climb seemed never-ending as they tried to make their way to the surface. Her neck was really beginning to get sore again, despite what the Ocampan had given her, but she wasn't about to admit that to Starfleet. When he'd suggested they rest - or rather had sat down and refused to move any further, she'd protested, but she couldn't help but be grateful for the small respite it had given her pain-wise.
She found herself conversing easily with the young man, but she wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing. They were in this together for the moment, but he was a rookie. This was his first mission and he was trying to make a good impression on a gung ho Captain, there was no way she trusted him not to turn her in the moment he got the chance. She wasn't sure whether his loyalties lay with his own naiveté and ideals, or with Starfleet's rulebook. And until she was, her suspicion stood.
"Listen," she said, her ears picking up on something that had been annoying her for the last ten minutes or so. "They're getting faster."
"Yeah,"
They started to move again, and B'Elanna tried to keep her mind on where she was going, but all she could hear were the pulses, they were steady, but there was something underneath them. A small sound, static or something, but she couldn't make it out; it sounded so familiar to her.brushing aside her thoughts, she continued the climb. If no one was coming for them, then they were going to have to get out themselves.
~~~~~~~
"They've stopped,"
Mikelo's voice caught her attention and Tiera blinked her eyes open. She'd been taking a few minutes rest but she was now fully alert.
"What happened?" she asked, running her fingers over the controls.
"Gee, why don't I just go ask the nice little man with the banjo, I'm sure he'll tell us."
"Why don't you ask him if he left your anal probe in? 'Cause someone's sure as hell got something up his ass,"
Tiera tried not to snigger, but Dylan's snort of laughter caught her off guard and she did. She turned as Kerris entered the room, sending the woman a nod of praise for her comeback. She'd known the woman for along time and she knew as well as anyone that you didn't want to be on the other side of an argument with her, but listening to her telling Mikelo what they all thought of him was enough entertainment to last a week.
"Is there anything on the sensors?" she asked, glaring at Mikelo until he relinquished the pilot's console for her. The man muttered a few choice words before moving to the back of the room, before finally opting to just leave.
"Nothing. They just stopped. Wait, the array's moving."
"What's it doing?" Dylan asked, looking at the view screen.
"Hey guys, what's going on up there?" Antonio's voice came over the comm.
"I have no idea," Tiera said slowly. "But I have a bad feeling that we're about to find out."
~~~~~~~
End Part
Okay, I've decided to post this in 2 parts, like I did with Part 1 of Caretaker. I have written all of the episode, so don't worry! I'll post the second part soon. When Episode 2 is up and posted, I'm hoping there'll be enough interest that some of you will want to write future episodes. If anyone's interested in writing, sharing ideas etc. then I've started a Yahoo! Group
To join the Liberty Yahoo! Group, you can subscribe at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/star_trek_liberty
I'll also post a character list at the end of this episode, and later, will update the files section in my group so that you can learn more about the new characters.
Feedback is a wonderful gift, please give generously :)
By Kyizi
Episode 2: Caretaker, Part 2
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Disclaimer: Some of these characters do not belong to me, and neither does the universe in which this story is created. The story line that this fic will take and the new characters, however, do belong to me, so please, if you wish to use them, contact me and ask first.
Please note that some of this comes directly from the transcripts and that those parts do not belong to me.
Rating: If you can watch Voyager, then you can read this.
Category: AU
Distribution: Please email if you want it, I'll likely say yes.
Feedback: Always :)
Email address: kyizi@hotmail.com
Notes/Summary: Although this episode will continue introducing you to the characters that will be a part of this universe, it is in this episode that the world becomes AU, therefore, I will be using the main character POV's as well.
Sources: See Episode 1 (Mainly Delta Blues for Jim's wonderful episode reviews!)
ERROR! Okay, we all make mistakes! I found a bit of an error in Ep 1. Chakotay wishes for a Betazoid to read Tuvok, well I forgot about Suder! Altered line to read, he wished for a Betazoid he could trust. (
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kerris sighed and ran a hand through her hair, closing her aching eyes as she did so. Today had been one hell of a mess and she was not prepared for round two. Her hand still ached a little, although Thomas insisted that she was making it up. It wasn't her fault he was a lousy physician, maybe if he'd actually finished med school her hand would be fully operational by now.
She groaned and placed her head against the wall. She knew she was taking out her frustrations on Christopher and her only saving grace was that this time she was doing it inside her own head instead of yelling at him. It was bad enough when B'Elanna did it, even worse when he had them both at it.
Standing up straight, she dropped her padd on the ground and sat down next to it, sliding her back down the wall. B'Elanna was missing. Usually that thought send pleasant little shivers down her spine, she occasionally wished she could chant, "Ding, dong the bitch is dead," and then she'd catch herself and feel instant remorse. It wasn't as if she hated the.no she hated her. At least she had the honesty to admit it. The two had never got along and she wasn't about to start pretending otherwise now. She did however hope that they found her and could get the hell out of the Delta Quadrant. Because, regardless of her feelings towards the woman, she was an amazing engineer, and with the situation they were in, she was what they needed.
"Been a hell of a day, huh?"
Smiling, she turned to look up at Antonio. "Oh, yeah,"
He gave a little chuckle and sat down beside her. "We're approaching the debris field. Voyager's scanning the area and so are we but we're keeping in constant contact. There's an open comm. link, I've set it up to broadcast through the whole ship."
Kerris nodded and laid her head back against the wall. "Chakotay still over there?"
"Are you going to beat me up if I say yes?"
"I still can't believe you left him with that traitor,"
"Which one, Tom or Tuvok?" he asked with a smile.
"Both," she sighed and turned to face him. "I might never have met Tom but I know he betrayed us, he betrayed the Maquis as a whole. And Tuvok? Well, I tried to warn everyone and now the Captain is over there with them both. So, yes I'm angry.but not at you, at him. He should be taking more precautions."
"Chakotay dances to the beat of his own drum, Nye. You should know that by now. There was no way I could've talked him into letting me stay, or."
"I didn't want you to stay! It's bad enough that he's over there, never mind you as well."
"Aw, shucks, I think I'm touched," Antonio said mockingly, placing a hand to his heart dramatically.
"If you don't watch out, you'll be more than touched, you'll be black and blue."
He laughed and leaned his shoulder against hers. "I know what you mean, Nye, and I don't like it either. But there was no way I was talking him out of it. He's over there and all we can do is hope that he'll bring B'Elanna back safe and sound. And if he needs us, we're here for him." With that Antonio stood up and offered her a hand.
"I know," Kerris sighed, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She smiled, shaking her head as Antonio winked at her and headed out the door, taking a moment before turning back to her work. Things would work out.they had to.
~~~~~~~
Chakotay sighed and rubbed his eyes, trying to forget that he hadn't slept in over two days, their 'missing time' not withstanding. As he headed for the bridge, he tried to ignore the fact that there were three security officers with him. He knew that, were the situation reversed, and Captain Janeway were on his ship, he would be taking the same precautions. Actually if she were on his ship, he had the feeling that he'd have to protect her more than anything.
Thinking of his ship, he prayed it was still in one piece when he got back. Seska was more than a little annoyed when he'd refused to allow her to accompany him, and he knew that Kerris was likely to have a few words to say to him regarding Tuvok, he wasn't looking forward to seeing either woman too soon. The ship was already quite badly damaged and he knew that B'Elanna would be pissed if it were any worse when she returned. And she would return, he'd make sure of it.
He stepped into the turbo lift with more than a little trepidation. The last time he had been in one, there had been a power cut and he had had to fend of Seska's advances for over two hours. He missed being with her; that much he was sure of, but at the same time, he knew it was for the best that he had called it off. She had been using their relationship to get what she wanted with the others on the ship, it was causing even more problems within the group and he was not about to let that happen. The only thing that kept them all together was their belief in the Maquis, but it was a fine strand that stopped a lot of them from killing each other at most times, and the way Seska had been acting, she was about to find that strand broken with more than one of the crew.
There was a slight hiss as the doors opened before him and he nodded briskly to the man at the security panel. He walked towards the Captain's chair noting that his three 'friends' had remained at the turbo lift doors.
"Ah, Mr. Chakotay,"
"Please, Chakotay is fine,"
The Captain nodded with a slight smile. "Were the parts suitable? Did you get everything you needed?"
"Yes, on both accounts, thank you. I've transported them over to the Liberty, Kerris and my engineers should have made a start on things by now."
"Good," Janeway smiled. "We've made contact with a ship, someone who thinks he may know where Ensign Kim and Torres are. Tuvok has shown him to quarters, he should be checking on him right about now."
"What does he think he knows?" Chakotay asked, feeling the need to sit, but somewhat reluctant to do so.
Janeway seemed to note his thoughts and indicated the seat next to her. "Apparently we're not the first ships pulled here. It seems that someone known as the Caretaker has been bringing people here for a couple of months now. He kidnaps a few members of the crew and leaves them with a race called the Ocampa, who live on the fifth planet of the system."
"What happens to them?"
Janeway shook her head, "He doesn't seem to know, but we're on route for the fifth planet at the moment. The Liberty is right beside us."
Chakotay smiled, glad that he hadn't had to ask and glad that Janeway wanted to reassure him that they were in this together.for the moment at least. But he didn't want to think of that just now. His only priority was B'Elanna. He was going to get her back.
~~~~~~~
B'Elanna groaned and rubbed her head for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. Things weren't going according to plan.not that she had one. So far all they had accomplished was to discover that they were underground, well, Starfleet had discovered it. She eyed the young man suspiciously for a moment and turned back to look at her surroundings. She wasn't sure she trusted the young Ensign, a few days ago he'd have been happy to hand her over the authorities, but as it was she was stuck with him as her only 'friend',
Noticing that they were still being gawked at, B'Elanna tried to refrain from growling. She didn't like being the centre of attention, but she liked being on display even less. Turning to their guide she watched as some form of replicator dispensed food for them and frowned.
"Does the Caretaker provide your meals as well?"
"Yes," the man replied, "the Caretaker designed and built this city for us after the Warming began. The food processors provide nutritional supplements every 4.1 intervals." He smiled at her, "It's not the more exotic stuff the young folks crave these days, but it keeps you healthy."
She exchanged a small look with Starfleet as they followed the man into a larger area. Looking up, she could see the sky, but she had to wonder if it was real or not. If it looked so great, then why the hell would they be living underground, why would the Caretaker want them to if he were so damn.caring?
B'Elanna allowed her thoughts to wander, still listening to what was being said around her. She had to wonder how Chakotay was planning on finding her; he would be trying to find her, of that she had no doubt. She almost smiled at the thought, but refrained from doing so. Unless Kerris and Seska talked him out of it. She shook away those thoughts, as much as she hated Kerris, she knew the state if the ship, there was no way they were getting home any time soon without her help. It wasn't conceit, but for as much as they disliked each other, she and Kerris worked amazingly well together. They'd have the ship up and running in no time.if only they'd hurry up and find her. Maybe they could even save Starfleet here and earn themselves a reprieve.well it was a nice thought.
The conversation again caught her attention. They weren't the only ones that had been brought here? She opened her mouth to ask where they were and how they'd escaped this hole in the ground when the man continued. No one had survived. That wasn't exactly a comforting thought. She stared down at her plate for a moment before turning to the young Ensign. He had a steely determination on his face and she nodded at him. They'd get out of this or they'd die trying.hopefully the former.
~~~~~~~
Celes read her padd.again. It didn't matter how many times she looked at the data; it simply wasn't possible. The frequency of the wave, the formation, the way it moved, nothing seemed to make sense. Or, at least, it didn't make sense to her. Nothing seemed to make sense to her. She still found it hard to believe that she had even passed the Academy.okay, she almost hadn't.
She rubbed her eyes and started again. She was supposed to be an analyst but no matter how long she stared at it, she couldn't analyse any of it. It was her friends that had kept her afloat at the Academy, and she'd been thrilled when she and Billy had both been assigned to Voyager, perhaps he would have been able to stop her from looking like the fraud she felt like. If she had been good at anything she wouldn't have been there, but as it was she felt like a complete failure. Voyager was stuck at the back end of the Universe and she had nothing that could help her get them home.
The door opened and she raised her head, awkwardly standing up as Ensign Wildman entered the room. She smiled nervously at the woman, wondering why she was being inspected; surely she couldn't have done anything wrong already.
"At ease before you sprain something, Crewman." Ensign Wildman laughed.
Celes smiled a little, feeling utterly embarrassed and picked her padd from the floor where it had fallen. "Can I help you?"
"I'm just looking for something, don't mind me. I'm sure I must've lost it in here." Ensign Wildman began to search in the ground, making sure not to knock anything over.
"Is it a bracelet?"
"Yes! Have you seen it?" Ensign Wildman stood up, smacking her head on the worktop, knocking over Celes coffee. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay," Celes pulled two of the padd's out of the spillage, squealing as they sparked and shocked her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, here let me look at it."
"No, it's okay," Celes stepped away, keeping her hand curled up against her chest. "I'm fine. It was my fault for leaving the cup on the ledge next to them anyway," she laughed a little feebly and used her other hand to point at a drawer. "Your bracelet is in there."
Ensign Wildman frowned before retrieving the bracelet, turning it over in her hands before putting it on. "My husband gave me it before we left Deep Space Nine," she explained before stepping towards Celes again. "Are you sure you wont let me look at it?"
"I'm fine, honestly," Celes walked to her desk again, refusing to look Ensign Wildman in the eyes.
"If you're sure," Wildman walked to the door, turning before she left. "I want you to at least promise me that you'll go to sick bay and let the EMH look at it if it's still hurting later on."
Celes nodded and Wildman left. Looking down at her hand, she forced herself not to cry. She had already successfully managed to embarrass herself in front of one crewmember, the last thing she needed was for someone else to come in and find her in tears. Celes took a deep breath and stretched out her hand, turning back to her padd. Making sure it was not covered in coffee, she picked it up with her good hand and forced herself to read, she still hadn't figured anything out and now her hand was stinging. She sighed, her only hope that things wouldn't get any worse.
~~~~~~~
Janeway headed for the transporter, glancing sidelong at Chakotay. He was a little on the edgy side, and she had to wonder what it was about the conversation he had just had that had made him seem so uptight.
"Everything all right on board your ship?" she asked, hoping she didn't come across as interfering.
He smiled a little at her. "Just a few differences of opinion, nothing I can't handle."
She nodded her head. "They don't trust me." She stated.
He inclined his head, not answering either way and she left it at that. Given the circumstances, she couldn't really expect anything different, it was to be expected. Voyager had chased the Maquis into the Badlands and that was that. It was her mission to take them in so that they could be charged, she couldn't really expect them to roll out the red carpet for her now that they had no choice but to work together.
Reaching the transporter bay, she noted that Neelix and Tuvok were already there and indicated to the transporter pods as Lt. Paris entered behind them. She turned to Ensign Forbes and checked that the water was ready to be transported on request before the five of them were transported to the planet's surface.
It was as barren as the scans had said, but seeing it made it all the more real. That anyone had to survive this was disheartening, but she knew better than anyone that survival instincts were stronger than anyone could comprehend until they had experienced it for themselves. It was the same survival that ensured that she would find Ensign Kim and B'Elanna Torres; they were going to survive and she was going to get them home, whatever it took.
~~~~~~~
Tom scrunched up his eyes as the bright sunlight blurred his vision. Glancing around, he wasn't so sure he liked the look of the Ocampan home world, and if the people that were currently glaring at him were the Ocampans, he wasn't so sure he liked the look of them either.
As Neelix approached the men - at least he assumed they were men, he had no idea what a good looking Ocampan female looked like - he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Neelix was walking towards the small camp and he resisted the urge to grab tap his badge and ask Voyager to beam him the hell out of there.
The men, he now knew were Kazon-Olga, had spotted Neelix's approach. This wasn't going to go well, he had been in enough situations gone wrong to be able to spot the problems before they arose. And they were definitely about to arise.
"Destroy them!"
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he glanced sidelong at Captain Janeway, wondering what the woman would make of the situation. He'd overheard a lot of talk amongst the crew - overheard being the operative word; apart from Harry, no one was really all that interested in speaking to him - about the woman, and along with his own assessment, he was pretty sure she was strong headed. Janeway was watching the scene unravel before them, so he shifted his gaze to follow hers.
He tapped his comm. and asked Ensign Forbes to send down the water, the wide-eyed, almost ravenous look in the Kazon-Olga's eyes not escaping his notice. These weren't people he wanted to mess with. He knew that from experience. He'd been in with the 'wrong' type for long enough to be able to spot them, and Harry was down here on this world with them. He had promised himself that he was going to make sure that Harry survived this. Not just because it would give him someone to talk to, but also because he wanted to repay the younger man's kindness.not something that he'd had the chance to do as of late.
He listened as their new acquaintances explained that the Ocampa lived underground, a system of tunnels the only way in or out, but no one could use them safely. Frowning he spotted a beautiful young woman step out of the hut behind Neelix. She was badly beaten and Tom wondered if he had just found out what a good looking Ocampan female looked like. Whatever was going on, he had a bad feeling that things were about to get worse.
~~~~~~~
Dylan groaned as Tiera's fingers continued to drum on the edge of the consol. She'd spent the last hour working with both the Liberty and Voyager's sensor data. She was compiling a map reaching out as far as the ships could sense, hoping that they could use it to their advantage if they were actually stuck here. He hoped they weren't.
He slumped down in his chair, intent on taking a five-minute break. He was fed up looking at the screens that insisted on telling him all of the things that were broken or destroyed. Kerris, Tonio, Seska and the other were making headway on most of them and there was no mistaking that the list had grown considerably shorter, especially since Voyager had supplied them with parts. However, the fact that Kerris and Seska had been at each other's throats ever since, really wasn't helping the progress of the repairs.
"Hey, Rei, take a look at this."
Opening his eyes, he glared at Tiera, hoping that she might go away, but she simply stared at him expectantly and he could help but be reminded of his old school teacher. The look didn't inspire confidence that he was in her good books so he slid over beside her.
"What's the problem?"
"Is it just me or are there strange reading being emitted from the array?"
"I think we established this earlier, Naïve," at her look he smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I guess we're all a little tired. What did you find?"
"Well, there's a pulse being sent to the planet, right?"
"Right," he frowned, wondering why she was reiterating what both ships had already confirmed.
"Well, with the information that Chakotay relayed a few moments ago, it's a pretty good guess to say that the signal might be getting sent to the Ocampa, underground. And we're assuming that that's where B'Elanna and this Starfleet Ensign are."
"Right.I still have no idea where you're going with this. Does that make me stupid?"
She laughed. "No, just tired. What I'm getting at is, if the Caretaker has a signal that can reach the Ocampa, then what if."
"We piggybacked our own message onto it and that way we could reach Lana!"
"Bingo," she smiled at him. "Think you can do it, Mr. Mastermind?"
Rei smiled and winked. "I'm not nicknamed Wiz for nothing."
Tiera frowned. "You're not nicknamed Wiz."
"Yeah, well," he blushed a little. "It still sounded good."
~~~~~~~
Harry sighed, rolling his stiff neck and glanced at B'Elanna Torres. The woman was still filled with animosity towards him it seemed, but there were times when she would recognise when that they needed to work together. She was a puzzle, a beautiful, half Klingon puzzle, but a puzzle none the less. He couldn't figure out why she seemed so on edge. She seemed to be losing faith.
"Look. I'm sure Captain Janeway is doing everything she can to find us," he said, almost groaning at his own words. Way to sound like a complete suck up, Harry.
As if sensing his thoughts, the woman scoffed. "What makes you think any of them are still alive?"
Harry frowned as she hissed, her neck giving her obvious pain. "Should I call for some help?" he asked and instantly regretted it. A soft voice behind them made him jump, he hadn't realised there was anyone there. The girl's presence put B'Elanna on instant attack and Harry felt sorry for the young Ocampan, but he certainly wasn't about to intervene, he'd seen enough of the Maquis wrath to do him a lifetime.
Harry listened and talked to the young girl, his hopes rising with the information she was giving them and also because Torres seemed to be perking up at her words as well. There were tunnels; all they needed was the help to use them. They'd need tools and provisions; Harry's mind was working a mile a minute, they had to escape, there was no other chance for them.
"Please," he asked the girl. "It's our only chance."
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if weighing up the option of getting caught. As much as she seemed to disagree with the elders, as much as she knew she was very much a part of this renegade group, she also feared the Elders.
"Listen, I know you're unsure, but this is our lives. If we escape we have a chance of living, everyone else that's been sent down here by the Caretaker has died. My ship can heal us, I know it can, but we can't get to it without your help.please?"
He glanced at the woman, but she still made no reply. Turning his gaze a little, he exchanged a glance with B'Elanna. They needed this girl's help and they both knew it, there was only one problem. Would she help them?
~~~~~~~
"Damn it!"
Tiera frowned as Dylan hit the consol again. He'd been trying for the last half hour to attach a message for B'Elanna to the signal from the array, but with no success. Actually, she corrected herself, he was completely successful in attaching the message, the problem was that the signal was nothing to do with communication and he was having no success in finding a way to alert B'Elanna that they were trying to contact her.
"Hey, calm down, man, we can hear you in engineering."
They both turned as Christopher entered the room. She smiled at him and he grinned, walking towards them and sitting on the consol between them. "Still no luck with the signal?"
"No, I can't find a damn thing! There's no way to let her know what we're doing." Dylan sighed and Tiera exchanged a look with Christopher, but he shrugged. No one could think of anything.
"Well.maybe we're going about this the wrong way."
"What are you thinking, Naïve?"
She smiled and winked, "You wanted a Wiz, maybe we need to think like Lana."
"How?"
She smiled at Christopher. "Okay, she's an engineer, everything she thinks about is on this ship.who would you say thinks most like her? Whether they get along or not, who would you say could think along the same lines as her?"
Dylan and Christopher nodded. "Kerris."
Tiera smiled and raised her eyebrows. "Exactly," she said. She tapped a button on the consol. "Kerris, would you come to the bridge?"
"I'm busy!"
Tiera rolled her eyes. "I don't care, we need you up here, and if you want B'Elanna back to give you a hand, then I think you should get up here."
"Do I want her back? No. Do I want her help? Yes."
"Can't have one without the other, Nye." Antonio's voice floated about in the background.
Kerris' sigh echoed through the bridge. "I'll be right there."
"Get off my console."
Tiera resisted the urge to groan aloud as Christopher moved from Mikelo's console. She really hated that man. She moved her seat over and gestured for Christopher to sit but he waved off.
"If Kerris is on her way up to help, I'd best get back down to engineering. We need all the work we can get done out of the way before we end up floating in space. And God only knows what that woman's done down there, anyway. She's a pilot not an engineer."
"Kerris is coming back up here? Great." Mikelo said with mock enthusiasm as Christopher left the room, walking backwards as he exchanged a look with both her and Dylan. It was no secret that the three weren't particularly fond Mikelo, and he didn't bother hiding his dislike of them either.
"Oomph! Watch where you're going, Thomas."
"Ah, the cavalry has arrived." Dylan said smiling at the half Bajoran as she entered the room. She was currently glaring at Christopher's retreating back, so she wasn't really paying attention to the current occupants of the room.
"What do you want?"
"Charming," Dylan muttered and turned around in his chair, tapping at a few buttons before continuing. "We're trying to attach a signal that B'Elanna will recognise onto the."
".signal from the array. I know this, why am I needed?"
"Well," Tiera intervened. As much fun as it was to watch Dylan get more and more frustrated with the woman - and Mikelo was having obvious fun watching it - she just wanted to get moving on it. "The signal isn't a communications signal. It's some kind of energy pulse, as if it's a supply of some kind. What we need is a way to get B'Elanna's attention."
Kerris rolled her eyes and reached over Dylan's shoulder, quickly tapping a few buttons before turning to Tiera. "Get me access to her personal music files."
"What?" Tiera asked, ignoring the rude manner in which the statement was spoken - she was more than used to it.
"Just do it."
Tiera shook her head and did as Kerris asked, sending the information to Dylan's console before continuing to watch the engineer. Kerris frowned for a moment before shaking her head, as realisation seemed to hit. She pressed a few more buttons and then stood back, a small smile on her face.
"There," she said and nodded her head before turning and leaving the room.
After a few moments of silence, Dylan frowned and turned to Tiera. "What did she just do?"
"I have no idea," she tapped at her console. "But whatever it was, it just made a jumpstart on the increase of the pulses. They're point-eight seconds apart now."
"I thought they were increasing anyway?" Mikelo said, forgetting that he hated the two.
"They were," Tiera nodded. "But whatever she's done helped them along a little. Lets just hope Voyager doesn't suspect we had something to do with it."
"Why?" Mikelo scoffed. "They're after us anyway, what difference will it make if we all blow up a little sooner than expected?"
"We don't know that the pulses will cause an explosion." Dylan said, still trying to analyse what Kerris had done, but the commands made no sense to him.
Tiera nodded her agreement. "Besides, we don't know what's going to happen here. We may end up needing Voyager's help." At this there was a loud laugh at the door and they all turned to see Seska leaning against the frame.
"You don't know what's going to happen here, Seska. As much as you hate Starfleet, you know we might need them."
"Then may the Prophets help us all,"
~~~~~~~
B'Elanna took a deep breath. The climb seemed never-ending as they tried to make their way to the surface. Her neck was really beginning to get sore again, despite what the Ocampan had given her, but she wasn't about to admit that to Starfleet. When he'd suggested they rest - or rather had sat down and refused to move any further, she'd protested, but she couldn't help but be grateful for the small respite it had given her pain-wise.
She found herself conversing easily with the young man, but she wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing. They were in this together for the moment, but he was a rookie. This was his first mission and he was trying to make a good impression on a gung ho Captain, there was no way she trusted him not to turn her in the moment he got the chance. She wasn't sure whether his loyalties lay with his own naiveté and ideals, or with Starfleet's rulebook. And until she was, her suspicion stood.
"Listen," she said, her ears picking up on something that had been annoying her for the last ten minutes or so. "They're getting faster."
"Yeah,"
They started to move again, and B'Elanna tried to keep her mind on where she was going, but all she could hear were the pulses, they were steady, but there was something underneath them. A small sound, static or something, but she couldn't make it out; it sounded so familiar to her.brushing aside her thoughts, she continued the climb. If no one was coming for them, then they were going to have to get out themselves.
~~~~~~~
"They've stopped,"
Mikelo's voice caught her attention and Tiera blinked her eyes open. She'd been taking a few minutes rest but she was now fully alert.
"What happened?" she asked, running her fingers over the controls.
"Gee, why don't I just go ask the nice little man with the banjo, I'm sure he'll tell us."
"Why don't you ask him if he left your anal probe in? 'Cause someone's sure as hell got something up his ass,"
Tiera tried not to snigger, but Dylan's snort of laughter caught her off guard and she did. She turned as Kerris entered the room, sending the woman a nod of praise for her comeback. She'd known the woman for along time and she knew as well as anyone that you didn't want to be on the other side of an argument with her, but listening to her telling Mikelo what they all thought of him was enough entertainment to last a week.
"Is there anything on the sensors?" she asked, glaring at Mikelo until he relinquished the pilot's console for her. The man muttered a few choice words before moving to the back of the room, before finally opting to just leave.
"Nothing. They just stopped. Wait, the array's moving."
"What's it doing?" Dylan asked, looking at the view screen.
"Hey guys, what's going on up there?" Antonio's voice came over the comm.
"I have no idea," Tiera said slowly. "But I have a bad feeling that we're about to find out."
~~~~~~~
End Part
Okay, I've decided to post this in 2 parts, like I did with Part 1 of Caretaker. I have written all of the episode, so don't worry! I'll post the second part soon. When Episode 2 is up and posted, I'm hoping there'll be enough interest that some of you will want to write future episodes. If anyone's interested in writing, sharing ideas etc. then I've started a Yahoo! Group
To join the Liberty Yahoo! Group, you can subscribe at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/star_trek_liberty
I'll also post a character list at the end of this episode, and later, will update the files section in my group so that you can learn more about the new characters.
Feedback is a wonderful gift, please give generously :)