Redemption
Chapter 13
Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me.
A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.
The doors to the turbolift slid shut and Janeway leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. Noting that the lift hadn't moved, she realized she had not given the computer any command. She straightened up. "Shuttle bay one." She spoke towards the control panel.
"Sickbay to the Captain." The voice of the EMH came over the comm system.
"Yes, Doctor." Janeway replied tiredly.
"Lieutenant Tuvok relayed the message from Ensign Kim to sickbay. I believe Kes will need more than the regulation medkit due to the severity of the injury suffered by Lieutenant Paris. I have included several hyposprays of Hydrocortilene for both Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant Paris as well as some Tri-ox compound. I would also like to have a portable respirator beamed to the shuttle bay in the event that the paralysis reaches Lieutenant Paris's respiratory system."
"Yes, yes, Doctor. Those sound like appropriate additions to the medkit." Janeway answered as the lift doors slid open. "Have the transporter operator beam the respirator to the console near shuttle number three. Janeway out." She moved down the corridor towards the shuttle bay. "Thank you, Tuvok, once again." She whispered to herself acknowledging his logical course of action.
"Captain, there is one more item." The EMH interrupted her thoughts.
"Yes, Doctor?" She sighed heavily as she moved through the doors into the shuttle bay.
"When you land, if it is possible to capture one of the creatures that bit Lieutenant Paris, it could help in the diagnosis and treatment of his paralysis." She could almost see the smug look on his face as he made his request.
"We will certainly try, Doctor. Janeway out." She moved towards the shuttle as the sparkling blue lights indicated a transport in progress. The respirator appeared on the console and Janeway moved to pick it up. Just then, she noticed the shuttle bay doors slide open. B'Elanna and a short, dark haired crewman entered. "You must be Crewman Hamilton. I understand from Lieutenant Torres that you have experience flying through ion storms."
"Yes, Captain. I've flown through many of them in the Badlands." Hamilton answered with some pride evident in his response. Unlike others from the Liberty he did not resent the captain and her actions stranding them all in the Delta Quadrant. He had no family to return to and would likely face a long prison sentence for his time in the Maquis. "Should I begin the pre-flight check, Captain?"
"Yes, I would like to get underway as soon as we have signs of the Kazon shuttle on the surface." Janeway turned to B'Elanna. "Lieutenant, I'll need you at navigation to find us the closest landing place." Noting the concern on B'Elanna's face, Janeway gave her a small smile. "Don't worry; Commander Chakotay is pretty resourceful as is Lieutenant Ayala. Even Ensign Kim, although still rather green, has a good head on his shoulders. They'll be alright."
Kes had entered the shuttle bay while the captain had been talking to B'Elanna. "Hello, Captain, I have the expanded medkit. The doctor also included several bottles of water and hyposprays of a nutritional supplement." She indicated the heavy case she carried.
"Good, let's get underway." Janeway lifted the respirator and carried it into the shuttle. After setting it down, she took her seat at the co-pilot's station. "Captain to the bridge. Mr. Tuvok, any sign of the Kazon shuttle?"
"We, have some vague readings distorted by the ion storms approximately 30 kilometers south of the crash site of Voyager's shuttle. I have sent the coordinates to the pilot's console. Tuvok out."
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Are we cleared for take off?" Janeway asked as the rest of the rescue team took their seats.
"Yes, Captain, opening the shuttle bay doors now." Tuvok's calm voice came through loudly in the silence of the shuttle. They were each deep in thought of the mission ahead of them. It was dangerous taking another shuttle with a less experienced pilot through the ion storms but they couldn't abandon four members of the crew.
* * * * *
"Kim, help me sit him up." Ayala's voice roused Chakotay from his restless sleep. Swinging his legs over the side of the bunk and pushing himself up to sit, he winced, as he once again felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. Slumping forward on the bunk, he cradled his head in his hands as a wave of dizziness came over him. He heard the fear in Tom's voice, in his quiet thanks to Ayala. The young pilot would not last much longer if Voyager didn't find them soon. Glancing over to the other bunk, Chakotay could see Harry helping to support Tom against the bulkhead. Tom's face was deathly pale in the low light of the shuttle and Chakotay could see him struggling to breathe.
Standing slowly, Chakotay made his way over to the bunk. He crouched down at Ayala's side and reached for the open medkit on the floor. "Where's the last hypo?"
"No, Commander. You need it." Tom whispered; took a shallow breath and continued. "You need to be thinking clearly to get us out of here." He sank back against Harry and closed his eyes.
"He's right, Cap." Ayala stated as he dialed in a pain killer for Chakotay and held it towards the commander's neck.
Chakotay waved his hand away and, taking the tricorder, he scanned Tom. "Paris, your heart is racing. If I give you a mild sedative, will it interfere with your breathing?"
Tom slowly opened his eyes and looked back at Chakotay. "I'm not sure, but I don't really want to take a chance. You take the hypo."
Ayala once again raised the hypo to Chakotay's neck and released the drug into his system. Relief flooded Chakotay's face as the medicine entered his bloodstream. He stood and walked to the communication's console. "Any response from Voyager?" He turned to Ayala.
"No, Cap, but the ion storms have been pretty fierce through the night." Ayala looked out the viewport then glanced back at Chakotay. "The winds have died down considerably, maybe we'll hear from someone soon."
"Gregor, you need to get some rest. I'll stand watch for now." He waved off Ayala's protest. "I won't do anything too active, Lieutenant; I'll just sit and watch you sleep." Chakotay gave Ayala a slight grin and sat down at the pilot's seat at the front of the shuttle.
"Aye, sir. Going to sleep now, Sir." Ayala grinned back and lay down on the bunk.
* * * * *
The shuttle passed over the coordinates relayed from Voyager. "Captain, I'm picking up a Kazon signature 30 degrees to port." B'Elanna stated as her fingers flew over her console, sending the coordinates to the pilot's station.
"Any life signs, Lieutenant?" Janeway asked; the concern for her missing crew could be heard in her voice.
"Yes, Captain, four humans, one quite weak." B'Elanna replied.
As they neared the surface, B'Elanna spotted the Kazon shuttle in the distance. The front of it was crushed as it lay tilted quite sharply on its right side. B'Elanna found a level spot close to the other shuttle for Hamilton to land and stood quickly as they touched down. She was down the ramp as soon as the hatch opened and headed for the Kazon shuttle, barely acknowledging the Captain's warning to have her phaser out.
The rescue team had landed to the right side of the Kazon shuttle and were not seen by the away team. A loud thumping brought Ayala out of his light sleep as Chakotay began to stand up slowly from the pilot's seat. "Chakotay, Ayala, open up. It's me B'Elanna." They could hear her voice faintly from outside the hatch.
Ayala moved to the manual controls and lowered the hatch. B'Elanna, Captain Janeway and Kes walked swiftly up the ramp. Kes went immediately to Tom's side and began to scan him with the medical tricorder. His eyes remained closed and his breathing labored. "He's going into respiratory distress. I need the respirator beamed over here, quickly please." She looked to the captain as she spoke. When Janeway nodded her approval, Kes returned to scanning Tom. Taking a hypospray out of the medkit, she held it up to Tom's neck and released the medication. "I've given you some Tri-ox compound to help with your breathing." She told him as his eyes opened momentarily. Taking a bottle of water out of the case, she held it up to his mouth. "Lieutenant, you need to try and drink something."
Tom opened his eyes and gazed at Kes, in confusion. Harry took the bottle from her and again offered it to Tom. "Hey, Paris, you'd turn down a drink from a beautiful woman? You're worse off than I thought." He held the bottle to Tom's mouth and the pilot took several sips before leaning his head back against the bulkhead and closing his eyes.
B'Elanna had immediately headed for Chakotay to be sure he was alright. He quietly reassured her, as he stood up unsteadily from the pilot's seat. Ayala appeared at his side and motioned him back down.
Janeway called for Hamilton to transport the respirator to the Kazon shuttle and it appeared near the rear of the shuttle next to the bunks.
Kes had moved to Chakotay and scanned him. "Commander you have a severe concussion along with some occipital lobe swelling. I am giving you some Hydrocortilene which will relieve the pain and some of the swelling until you can be seen by the doctor. She gave him the hypospray then moved to Ayala and Kim, scanning them each in turn. "You are all dehydrated and suffering from the aftereffects of hypothermia." She stated, as she handed out bottles of water and injected them all with the nutritional supplements.
Janeway had questioned Ayala while Kes examined Chakotay. She relayed the doctor's request to find one of the creatures that bit Tom. Chakotay agreed and told Ayala and Harry to go out to try and find one of the creatures. Janeway gave them each more powerful phasers with orders to heavily stun the creature and have Hamilton transport it into a containment field on the shuttle.
"Hey, Starfleet." B'Elanna called out to Harry as he started down the ramp. As he turned, she tossed him her commbadge. "We don't want you two to get lost." She gave him a small smile.
"Thanks, Maquis." He answered as he put the badge on his jacket. He returned her smile, and then continued down the ramp.
B'Elanna, after a quick survey of the shuttle's systems, approached Tom's bunk. The pilot was slumped against the bulkhead with his eyes closed and she could hear his labored breathing. "Hey, Paris." She said softly as she sat down beside him. Picking up a bottle of water, she tore off a piece of the worn blanket and soaked it with water. Leaning forward, B'Elanna gently wiped the sweat from Tom's face.
"That feels nice." A whisper so soft, B'Elanna had to lean closer to hear him.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, suddenly aware that she was actually concerned about him. She remembered their time on the Liberty and how he had treated her with the respect that few of the Maquis crewman had.
"I've been better." He answered softly. Tom's eyes opened and he tried to smile but began to gasp for air.
"Kes! Paris needs you." B'Elanna turned to the slight girl standing near Chakotay.
Kes immediately grabbed the respirator and looked to the captain. "Captain, I need Tom flat on his back."
Janeway and B'Elanna swiftly lowered Tom down on the bunk. Kes placed the respirator over his chest and adjusted it according to his readings. His breathing slowed and the panicked look left his face as his lungs filled with oxygen. He was still struggling to breathe, and Kes took a hypospray from the medkit. "Tom, I'm going to give you some Improvoline. It will help calm you down so you stop fighting the respirator." She stated as she pressed the hypo against his neck. As the medication entered his system, he gave her a relieved look and closed his eyes.
"Captain, the ion storms are picking up again. I suggest we try to leave as soon as possible." Hamilton's voice came over Janeway's commbadge.
to be continued….