Two Sides
Chapter 3
"Have you been able to contact assistance?" Janeway's
head jerked up at the sound of Tuvok's voice. They had
spoken very little since they first realized their predicament.
To pass the time, Janeway had begun fiddling with her
combadge while Tuvok meditated. "No, the comm unit is
completely dead." Tuvok noticed her wince at that last word,
but made no comment. Despite the illogic of emotion, he was
worried about the Captain. The blow to her head was serious.
Already, there had been lapses in her speech, as well as
periods of dizziness and nausea.
Shifting his body, Tuvok slid closer to the Captain. "If you will
permit me, I can clear away some of the pain with a light mind
meld." Janeway shook her head, instantly regretting the
motion. "I can't allow that. I know the strain you're under just
to control your own pain, much less mine. I refuse to add to
that." Janeway forced herself straighter, stilling further
argument with the force of her gesture. "As soon as Chakotay
gets things under control, he'll send someone for us. It's only
a matter of time." Tuvok didn't need to add that Chakotay
may very well be dead. He could see the possibility reflecting
clearly in her eyes. Yet, human superstition kept her from
speaking the thought aloud. And Tuvok knew better than to
shatter her small hope of salvation. "Just a matter of time."
She repeated softly.
"Vorik, I need those couplings two minutes ago!" The Vulcan
showed no sign of impatience as he handed B'Elanna the
requested equipment, yet the engineer still managed to detect
an unexpected hurry in his normally restrain walk. It would have
pleased her immeasurably if they weren't in the midst of hell at the moment.
"Hurry, the power levels are starting to fluctuate again! If this
gets much worse we'll be stuck here until every star in this
system goes nova!" Rushing to fill her demands, the
engineering crew practically ran from one disaster to the next,
just barely managing to contain the mobile catastrophe that
seemed to move from one console to the next. B'Ellana
promised herself that if they survived, she'd personally
replicate medals of valor for each and every one of her crew.
Not for averting disaster, but for holding up under her
blistering commands. "Dammit, Silverson, I told you before..."
"Harry, how's it look?" The young man brushed several errant
strands of black hair from his eyes as he answered. "All
clear so far. Whatever it was seems to have been left far
behind." Chakotay couldn't afford to relax. "Keep your eyes
open. Another hit could leave us dead in the water." Spock
turned from his station to face the Commander. "I believe I
have achieved partial restoration of the communications
system." Chakotay whirled to face the Vulcan. "How... never
mind. Harry, try to contact engineering. I'll see if I can raise
the Captain."
Labored breathing. It was the only sound in her ears. An
unsettling warmth filled the room where she and Tuvok lie.
The engineer in her analyzed why. Life support must be down
in this section. That explained the difficulty in drawing a full
breath. She estimated they had enough left for about ten,
maybe fifteen minutes. At least the pain in her head had
diminished a little. A fit of coughing shook her frame. The air
was beginning to taste stale. Dust was no longer being
filtered away by the ventilation ducts.
Janeway tried to sit up, but was suddenly struck with vertigo,
even with that tiny movement. Fighting against it, she pulled
herself closer to Tuvok. The Vulcan had lain silent for far too
long. Janeway placed a hand on his shoulder. Just a little
longer, then Chakotay would find them...
A sudden chirp snapped her awake. "Chakotay to Captain
Janeway, please respond." Kathryn fumbled as she slapped
weakly at her chest, missing the badge in her first attempt,
then hitting it squarely. "Chakotay... good to hear... from you."
Chakotay noticed the labored speech. "We're sending a
rescue team to free you, just hold on." Kathryn nodded to the
air, forgetting almost immediately that he had called. All that
remained was the encroaching darkness. "Captain, are you
there, Captain? Captain?"
"Hurry, we have to get them out! They can't be without oxygen
for much longer!" Working with phasers, lifts, and bare hands,
the crewmen frantically rushed to save the trapped victims.
Kirk heaved right alongside Chakotay, with Spock to the other
side. He felt as though he related to the Commander. There
was a strength to the man, a steadiness. He possessed the
same fire for command that had placed Kirk on the bridge of
his own ship. Unfortunately, if they didn't reach the Captain
and her tactical officer in time, Chakotay would be in command
far sooner than he may have liked. "Here, help me lift this
strut!" With Spock and Kirk's assistance, they managed to
lever the heavy beam aside, revealing a small opening that
was just large enough to squeeze through. "I'll go first, you
follow me, then Commander Spock." Chakotay slapped his
badge. "Doctor, I need you at transporter room two
immediately!" Then, turning, he crawled through the opening.
In minutes, Kirk and Spock were also at his side.
The three men were unable to keep from coughing in the
dust filled room. On the floor lie the Captain and Tuvok.
Both had been severely injured. Their chests had stopped
moving. Seconds after their arrival, the Doctor appeared.
Quickly, he injected each of them with stimulants, frowning
when they seemed to have no effect. "We have to get them
out of here, now!" Having determined that the transporter
system was completely offline, the Captain and Tuvok had
to be dragged back through the opening. Chakotay felt sick
at the thought of what their handing was doing to the two
victims, but knew it was the only way to save them. Hopefully
the Doctor could repair whatever damage they caused.
Once free of the room, Tuvok and Janeway were placed on
a pair of antigrav units and rushed to sickbay, the Doctor
jogging alongside the whole way attempting to resuscitate
them.
As soon as the doors slid open, the Doctor took command.
"I'll work on the Captain while you try to save Tuvok!" Nodding
sharply, McCoy went to work. Feeling helpless, Chakotay and
Kirk stood out of the way. Spock stood near McCoy, in case
he was needed. He wasn't a surgeon, but he was a Vulcan,
just as Tuvok was. There were things he could do that a
human could not. "His heart is beating, but he still isn't
breathing on his own..." McCoy barely noticed the people
around him. He was immersed in saving a life. The rest of the
world didn't matter. Behind him, Spock could hear Captain
Janeway begin coughing. A good sign. He felt Chakotay's
tension drop a notch. However, Tuvok was still on almost full
life support. Leaving the Captain to recover, the holographic
Doctor joined McCoy in working over the Vulcan. Soon, the
two heads were bent together over the too still form,
murmured sentences overlapping one another as the worked
feverishly over their patient.
Knowing there was little they could give in the way of help,
Kirk and Chakotay left sickbay. At the Doctor's request,
Spock remained behind... just in case.
Kirk looked up as Spock entered the bridge. Janeway stood
to her feet, in command of her ship despite doctor's orders.
"How is he?" Spock stepped up to the science station along
with Seven of Nine. "Commander Tuvok will be fine." Janeway
breathed out in relief, then turned immediately back to her
crew. "Harry, how are communications coming?" Kim
answered without glancing up. "Almost there Captain,
another fifteen minutes." Janeway smiled slightly. "Let's see if
we can do it in ten."
As the Captain approached him, Kirk stood to his feet.
"I want to thank you for your help. Your actions saved a
lot of lives." Kirk smiled warmly. "It comes with the uniform."
Behind them, Spock cleared his throat. "Captains, I believe
we have discovered the source of the explosion."
"As you can see here, there were a series of explosive
devices situated about the ship in key areas. However,
they were not designed to destroy the ship, but merely
disable it." Chakotay leaned forward. "How many are there?"
Seven of Nine highlighted certain areas with a metal tipped
finger. "So far we have discovered twelve locations where the
devices were detonated. It is likely there are others which
have not been detected yet." Spock glanced at the captain.
"Four of the devices were placed in the transporter rooms.
They were timed to explode just before you mounted the
transporter platform." Janeway looked more closely at the
highlighted areas.
"Harry?" Kim glanced up from his station. "Communications
back on line Captain." Janeway tapped at her combadge.
"Bridge to Engineering." There was a slight crackle of static,
then B'Elanna's voice filtered through. "Engineering here, it's
good to hear your voice Captain." Janeway approached her
command chair, but didn't sit down. "How is everyone down
there?" Janeway winced as she heard something crash in
the background. "Carey! Sorry Captain. We're fine, just a
few bruises here and there."
"B'Elanna, I want you to be on the alert. Someone has littered
the ship with explosive devices. We can't be certain yet if
we've found them all." B'Elanna's voice gave no hint of any
fear as she answered. "We'll keep our eyes open,
B'Elanna out."
Chapter 3
"Have you been able to contact assistance?" Janeway's
head jerked up at the sound of Tuvok's voice. They had
spoken very little since they first realized their predicament.
To pass the time, Janeway had begun fiddling with her
combadge while Tuvok meditated. "No, the comm unit is
completely dead." Tuvok noticed her wince at that last word,
but made no comment. Despite the illogic of emotion, he was
worried about the Captain. The blow to her head was serious.
Already, there had been lapses in her speech, as well as
periods of dizziness and nausea.
Shifting his body, Tuvok slid closer to the Captain. "If you will
permit me, I can clear away some of the pain with a light mind
meld." Janeway shook her head, instantly regretting the
motion. "I can't allow that. I know the strain you're under just
to control your own pain, much less mine. I refuse to add to
that." Janeway forced herself straighter, stilling further
argument with the force of her gesture. "As soon as Chakotay
gets things under control, he'll send someone for us. It's only
a matter of time." Tuvok didn't need to add that Chakotay
may very well be dead. He could see the possibility reflecting
clearly in her eyes. Yet, human superstition kept her from
speaking the thought aloud. And Tuvok knew better than to
shatter her small hope of salvation. "Just a matter of time."
She repeated softly.
"Vorik, I need those couplings two minutes ago!" The Vulcan
showed no sign of impatience as he handed B'Elanna the
requested equipment, yet the engineer still managed to detect
an unexpected hurry in his normally restrain walk. It would have
pleased her immeasurably if they weren't in the midst of hell at the moment.
"Hurry, the power levels are starting to fluctuate again! If this
gets much worse we'll be stuck here until every star in this
system goes nova!" Rushing to fill her demands, the
engineering crew practically ran from one disaster to the next,
just barely managing to contain the mobile catastrophe that
seemed to move from one console to the next. B'Ellana
promised herself that if they survived, she'd personally
replicate medals of valor for each and every one of her crew.
Not for averting disaster, but for holding up under her
blistering commands. "Dammit, Silverson, I told you before..."
"Harry, how's it look?" The young man brushed several errant
strands of black hair from his eyes as he answered. "All
clear so far. Whatever it was seems to have been left far
behind." Chakotay couldn't afford to relax. "Keep your eyes
open. Another hit could leave us dead in the water." Spock
turned from his station to face the Commander. "I believe I
have achieved partial restoration of the communications
system." Chakotay whirled to face the Vulcan. "How... never
mind. Harry, try to contact engineering. I'll see if I can raise
the Captain."
Labored breathing. It was the only sound in her ears. An
unsettling warmth filled the room where she and Tuvok lie.
The engineer in her analyzed why. Life support must be down
in this section. That explained the difficulty in drawing a full
breath. She estimated they had enough left for about ten,
maybe fifteen minutes. At least the pain in her head had
diminished a little. A fit of coughing shook her frame. The air
was beginning to taste stale. Dust was no longer being
filtered away by the ventilation ducts.
Janeway tried to sit up, but was suddenly struck with vertigo,
even with that tiny movement. Fighting against it, she pulled
herself closer to Tuvok. The Vulcan had lain silent for far too
long. Janeway placed a hand on his shoulder. Just a little
longer, then Chakotay would find them...
A sudden chirp snapped her awake. "Chakotay to Captain
Janeway, please respond." Kathryn fumbled as she slapped
weakly at her chest, missing the badge in her first attempt,
then hitting it squarely. "Chakotay... good to hear... from you."
Chakotay noticed the labored speech. "We're sending a
rescue team to free you, just hold on." Kathryn nodded to the
air, forgetting almost immediately that he had called. All that
remained was the encroaching darkness. "Captain, are you
there, Captain? Captain?"
"Hurry, we have to get them out! They can't be without oxygen
for much longer!" Working with phasers, lifts, and bare hands,
the crewmen frantically rushed to save the trapped victims.
Kirk heaved right alongside Chakotay, with Spock to the other
side. He felt as though he related to the Commander. There
was a strength to the man, a steadiness. He possessed the
same fire for command that had placed Kirk on the bridge of
his own ship. Unfortunately, if they didn't reach the Captain
and her tactical officer in time, Chakotay would be in command
far sooner than he may have liked. "Here, help me lift this
strut!" With Spock and Kirk's assistance, they managed to
lever the heavy beam aside, revealing a small opening that
was just large enough to squeeze through. "I'll go first, you
follow me, then Commander Spock." Chakotay slapped his
badge. "Doctor, I need you at transporter room two
immediately!" Then, turning, he crawled through the opening.
In minutes, Kirk and Spock were also at his side.
The three men were unable to keep from coughing in the
dust filled room. On the floor lie the Captain and Tuvok.
Both had been severely injured. Their chests had stopped
moving. Seconds after their arrival, the Doctor appeared.
Quickly, he injected each of them with stimulants, frowning
when they seemed to have no effect. "We have to get them
out of here, now!" Having determined that the transporter
system was completely offline, the Captain and Tuvok had
to be dragged back through the opening. Chakotay felt sick
at the thought of what their handing was doing to the two
victims, but knew it was the only way to save them. Hopefully
the Doctor could repair whatever damage they caused.
Once free of the room, Tuvok and Janeway were placed on
a pair of antigrav units and rushed to sickbay, the Doctor
jogging alongside the whole way attempting to resuscitate
them.
As soon as the doors slid open, the Doctor took command.
"I'll work on the Captain while you try to save Tuvok!" Nodding
sharply, McCoy went to work. Feeling helpless, Chakotay and
Kirk stood out of the way. Spock stood near McCoy, in case
he was needed. He wasn't a surgeon, but he was a Vulcan,
just as Tuvok was. There were things he could do that a
human could not. "His heart is beating, but he still isn't
breathing on his own..." McCoy barely noticed the people
around him. He was immersed in saving a life. The rest of the
world didn't matter. Behind him, Spock could hear Captain
Janeway begin coughing. A good sign. He felt Chakotay's
tension drop a notch. However, Tuvok was still on almost full
life support. Leaving the Captain to recover, the holographic
Doctor joined McCoy in working over the Vulcan. Soon, the
two heads were bent together over the too still form,
murmured sentences overlapping one another as the worked
feverishly over their patient.
Knowing there was little they could give in the way of help,
Kirk and Chakotay left sickbay. At the Doctor's request,
Spock remained behind... just in case.
Kirk looked up as Spock entered the bridge. Janeway stood
to her feet, in command of her ship despite doctor's orders.
"How is he?" Spock stepped up to the science station along
with Seven of Nine. "Commander Tuvok will be fine." Janeway
breathed out in relief, then turned immediately back to her
crew. "Harry, how are communications coming?" Kim
answered without glancing up. "Almost there Captain,
another fifteen minutes." Janeway smiled slightly. "Let's see if
we can do it in ten."
As the Captain approached him, Kirk stood to his feet.
"I want to thank you for your help. Your actions saved a
lot of lives." Kirk smiled warmly. "It comes with the uniform."
Behind them, Spock cleared his throat. "Captains, I believe
we have discovered the source of the explosion."
"As you can see here, there were a series of explosive
devices situated about the ship in key areas. However,
they were not designed to destroy the ship, but merely
disable it." Chakotay leaned forward. "How many are there?"
Seven of Nine highlighted certain areas with a metal tipped
finger. "So far we have discovered twelve locations where the
devices were detonated. It is likely there are others which
have not been detected yet." Spock glanced at the captain.
"Four of the devices were placed in the transporter rooms.
They were timed to explode just before you mounted the
transporter platform." Janeway looked more closely at the
highlighted areas.
"Harry?" Kim glanced up from his station. "Communications
back on line Captain." Janeway tapped at her combadge.
"Bridge to Engineering." There was a slight crackle of static,
then B'Elanna's voice filtered through. "Engineering here, it's
good to hear your voice Captain." Janeway approached her
command chair, but didn't sit down. "How is everyone down
there?" Janeway winced as she heard something crash in
the background. "Carey! Sorry Captain. We're fine, just a
few bruises here and there."
"B'Elanna, I want you to be on the alert. Someone has littered
the ship with explosive devices. We can't be certain yet if
we've found them all." B'Elanna's voice gave no hint of any
fear as she answered. "We'll keep our eyes open,
B'Elanna out."