Chapter 7
Janeway, Neelix and Harlow landed, quite inelegantly, on their rearends just inside the door.
"Ouff! Neelix puffed.
"Ow!" Janeway and Harlow cried in unison.
A large, tan hand reached down, grasped Janeway by her upper arm and lifted her up.
In the dim light, she looked up to see who had rescued them.
"Chakotay," she gasped. She looked over and saw Ensign Parsons helping Harlow to her feet. Neelix had managed to get up on this own.
"How did you know where we were?"
"We didn't at first. We heard the gunshots, but it took us several tries before we found the closest door. Chakotay paused. "Are you all okay? We were afraid that we would be too late."
Chakotay reached his hands out as if to hold Kathryn, but, at the last moment, dropped them to his sides.
Nodding her head at him, Janeway, still slightly breathless from the rush of adrenaline said, "We're fine, but it was a close call. You got to us just in time. We'll tell you about it later. Right now, I want a report from you."
"Captain, You won't believe the layout here. There's a long corridor that parallels the passageway that you were traveling on. Behind all of the doors we passed, are large rooms, storage rooms, we guess. These rooms are crammed with every imaginable thing. We have been able to fine blankets, clothes, food and even some crude weapons. On the other side of the corridor are more doors. We had just started to look in one of them when we heard the gunshots. We haven't seen anything of Tom and B'Elanna, though. But they most likely headed up."
Neelix' ears had picked up on one of the words his Commander had spoken.
"Food?" Neelix asked. "You have food?"
"Yes, Runarian food. And water, too." Chakotay assured him.
"Well, Commander," Captain Janeway said. "Let's rest here for a few minutes, if you think it's safe, and we can all get something to eat and drink."
"Good idea, Captain. But, I think we ought to move to a different room," Commander Chakotay advised as they heard howling and scratching noises right outside the door they were behind.
"Will it be safe to move, Chakotay?" asked Janeway.
"We haven't seen or heard any sign of the Runarians. I think it will be safe. There is a room a few meters down the hallway that has beds and cushions in it. Very comfy looking. Let's move down there and get a good rest."
At Janeway's agreement, the team carefully opened the inside door, checked up and down the interior corridor, then quickly scrambled down to the room Chakotay recommended.
The room was indeed "comfy", just as the Commander had said. There were platforms lining the walls and each platform had four or five cushions on it. The team settled down on the platforms with a tired sigh. Ensign Parsons and Chakotay opened the sacks they were carrying and distributed food and water to the weary crew. The food was unfamiliar to them. It consisted of strips of dried vegetables and meat. Janeway advised everyone to skip the meat strips and stick to the vegetables. Ensign Parsons took his rations and sat next to Ensign Harlow. She, in low tones and between bites, told him the tale of her adventures. Neelix wolfed down his strips, gulped down his water and then laid back with a contented sigh.
Chakotay brought himself and Janeway food and water then, sitting next to her, they ate their meager repast. When they had finished, he turned to her and whispered, "Are you sure you're okay? Tell me what happened."
Kathryn sighed, "Yes, I'm fine, thanks to you. But it was a close thing." She shuddered.
He reached over and squeezed her arm. Then, very discretely, he took her small hand in his large warm one.
"Tell me about it," he said.
She told him all that had happened and somehow, by the end of the narrative, his arm was around her shoulders and her head was resting on his chest.
Realizing the position they were in, the command team separated and quickly looked around to see if they were being observed. Neelix was fast asleep and snoring softly. Every once in a while, his hands would flutter off of his chest, wave in the air and then settle down again. The Ensigns had barricaded themselves behind a pile of cushions and were completely hidden from sight.
Kathryn and Chakotay looked at each other and chuckled softly.
With an evil grin on his face, Chakotay whispered, "I think this time we will follow their example."
With that said, they piled pillows all around themselves and were soon cuddled together, fast asleep.
Commander Chakotay had set his internal clock to wake him up in one hour and it didn't let him down. He had come to rely on this method of keeping track of time during his days as a Maquis Captain. Sometimes it was the only way they had of telling the passage of time.
Chakotay's eyes snapped opened. His arm that was under Kathryn was asleep. He carefully slid his arm out from under her and flexed his fingers to get the circulation going again. He looked down at his sleeping Captain and couldn't resist placing a kiss on her forehead.
A slow, lop-sided grin appeared on her face. "You missed, Commander." Janeway whispered.
"I guess I'll take another shot at it then," he whispered back. He carefully scooted down next to her on the bed and putting one hand on her cheek, he leaned in and kissed her. What started out as a gentle first kiss, soon turned into something more passionate.
They both pulled back at the same time, realizing where this could lead them. For a minute, they clung together while their hearts and breathing slowed down. Then, they reluctantly separated and sat up.
Neelix sat on the side of his platform, feet dangling off the floor, eating vegetable strips and trying not to notice all the pillow movements going on.
When his Captain and Commander sat up, he started babbling in relief, "Good morning all, if it is morning. Though how we are supposed to know what time it is, is beyond me! Oh, well, at least we're all rested and fed. Things could be worse, a lot worse. And they have been worse, haven't they. Well, well, let's not dwell on the past." His eyes darted around looking for a safe topic to talk about. "I'm sure you'll be please to hear that I have found a sort of bathroom, well a Runarian style bathroom, right behind that small door over there. It is a strange set up but adequate for our needs."
His voice trailed off as pillows came raining down from the platform housing the two Ensigns. After much scrambling around and fierce whispering, Harlow and Parson emerged, disheveled and blushing, from their nest. They stood at attention before their platform.
It was all Kathryn and Chakotay could do not to burst out laughing.
"At ease, Ensigns," Janeway said in a shaky voice. Getting herself under control, she continued. "Here's the plan. We'll take turns using the facility Neelix has been so clever in finding, then we'll eat and drink while we work out a plan on how we are going to proceed." Pointing to Ensign Harlow, she said, "You first, Ensign."
There was not much talking as each crewmember followed Janeway's directives. They were still a little embarrassed and uncomfortable at being in such close and personal confinement. Chakotay and Janeway were no exception to these feelings. They needed to get their command relationship back on track and relegate their personal feelings to a later and more appropriate time.
Some relief from the tension in the atmosphere came when Neelix tried to stuff one of the cushions into a small sack he had found. He presented a comic sight jumping up and down, muttering Talaxian swear words. Folding and shoving the cushion, he finally had success. Looking up in triumph, he noticed the other four team members grinning at him.
"What?" he asked. "Well, laugh all you want. At least I'll be nice and comfy at our next rest stop." He set the sack on the ground and sitting down on it, he wiggled his rump around with a sigh of pleasure.
Janeway and Chakotay then had the team sit in a circle. While they had another meal, Janeway filled them in on the plan she and Commander Chakotay had come up with.
"We still have two goals," she said. "We need to get to the surface so that Voyager can find us, and we need to find Ensign Paris and Lieutenant Torres. Since we haven't run into the Runarians, I don't think that they have been recaptured. However, something must have occurred that kept them from rejoining us and that something must have been important. We have no choice but to follow this inside corridor since the vattors are still prowling the passageways. So.we're going to proceed much as we did before. We'll move upwards, trying the inside doors and keeping as quiet as possible." She pointed to Commander Chakotay. "Commander Chakotay will fill you in on the tactical situation."
In his usual calm voice Chakotay said, "Parson's rifle has five shots. That's still our best weapon. The weapons we found are very primitive. In fact," he said with a chuckle, "I would call them garden tools. We have two "hoes", two "spades" and one "rake." The Captain and Harlow will take the hoes, Neelix will carry the rake and I'll have the two spades. Pack a sack with as many provisions that you can comfortably carry. Sorry, Neelix, but there won't be room in your sack for the cushion."
"Very well, Commander," a disappointed Neelix answered.
"All right, everyone. Pack up and let's go."
Soon everyone was trudging up the passage burdened with sacks and tools, looking for all the world like farmers on the way to the fields.
When Tom Paris, hearing a crash, stepped through the door B'Elanna Torres had just entered, he was unprepared for what he found.
Klingon curses were flying through the air along with cups and bowls and pillows. By the time Tom's eyes adjusted to the light and he had successfully dodged a poorly aimed shoe, he was in time to see B'Elanna coming up off of the floor shedding all sorts of household items. But the strangest sight that met his eyes was five Runarians cowering in a corner of the room.
The tallest one stepped forward, and clasping his three fingered hands together and raising them over his head, he pleaded with Tom, "Please, please don't let it eat my children! They are my world. I will give all I have if you will just kill the beast so that my family can live!
Tom tried to hold in his amusement in the face of the family's very real terror. He said in his most soothing voice, "Calm down, calm down. I'll keep the beast away from your family."
He then looked over at B'Elanna and demanded, "Come here, Beast. Leave this good family alone. I am your master and you must obey me!" By the all-out Death Glare that B'Elanna threw his way, he knew he would pay for it later, but at the moment, he felt it was worth it.
"Tom Paris," she growled. "You are a dead man!"
B'Elanna gritted her teeth and pushed her wild hair off of her face. At the sight of her Klingon forehead ridges, the Runarian family all shrieked and the young ones burst into tears and clung to their parents.
"B'Elanna," hissed Tom. "Come over here and sit down."
Getting herself under control, B'Elanna walked over to Tom and sat down with her back to the family.
Tom walked softly over to the five whimpering Runarians and stooped down in front of them. "She won't hurt you," he reassured them. "She was just upset because she tripped over your. things. Tom voice trailed off as he got a good look at the room that was totally cluttered with household stuff. Shaking himself he continued. "See," he said, pointing to B'Elanna, "she's calmed down now. Her name's B'Elanna, mine is Tom. We want to be your friends." Looking around again, Tom smiled and asked, "Is this your home?"
The family was calming down, now that the threat of instant death appeared to have subsided.
The mother of the family made a disgusted noise in her throat. "Our home!" she spat. "Our home is a palace on the surface. This," she waved her long, three fingered hand around in the air, "is our prison! We are being held here by Rayoun, I will not call him Prime, a greedy and devious man who robbed us of all our possessions and then threw us and all our kind into these bare and dirty cells."
Her husband put his hand on her arm and led her back to sit on a cushioned platform behind them. Her pale hair was waving in agitation as she bent over and scooped up her three children to sit beside her.
"Please forgive my wife's angry words, Beast.uh, Tom. We have suffered much from this humiliation. When Rayoun and his followers rounded us up, we had only enough time to gather up a few of our precious things before we were herded down here. We have been down here for months. We have no idea what is taking place on the surface. The guards who bring us food will tell us nothing."
"Guards?" Tom asked, suddenly leery. "Are there guards down here?"
"Yes, they patrol the corridor and bring us food. Although," he said as if it had just occurred to him, "they have not come around today." He turned to his wife. "Have you heard the guards today, Pourra?"
"No, thank the Reeso, those tokkas have not been here today." She rose up from the bed and crossing over to the door, she threw it open and stuck her head out.
"Afraid to show your faces, you dirty, cowardly tokkas?" she shouted
B'Elanna, who had turned around enough to see what was going on, jumped up with a growl. "Shut that door!" she demanded as she rushed towards the mother.
The smallest child, seeing the beast leaping towards her mother, screamed shrilly and ran towards the open door. Before her mother could stop her, she disappeared up the corridor, shrieking and waving her arms above her head on which the thin, white tuffs of hair were sticking up like exclamation points. All too quickly, the sound of her wailing grew fainter.
"Leelu," howled her mother as she started out the door. Her husband grabbed her arm before she could leave. "Wait," he said. He turned to Tom and B'Elanna. "Please help us get our child back," he begged. "They will feed her to the vattors if they catch her!"
Tom and B'Elanna looked at each other. They knew they had no choice.
"We're with you." Tom assured them.
Pourra and her husband, trailed by their remaining two children took off after Leelu. Tom and B'Elanna right on their heels.
As they started running up the corridor, the doors on both side of the passageway slowly opened and other Runarians looked fearfully out into the corridor.
"What is going on, Neddis?" A tall, dignified male stepped out to ask him.
"Our Leelu has run off, Prime Ferrod. She is a runner, you know," he could not keep the pride from his voice. "We will have to hurry if we are to catch up with her before Rayoun's forces catch her. They will show her no mercy."
Neddis, seeing Ferrod step back hastily, having got a good look at B'Elanna and Tom, continued in a reassuring voice.
"Fear not, Prime. They are not the beasts they appear to be. They have agreed to help us find Leelu." Then raising his voice so that all the Runarians who had come out into the corridor could hear him, he said, "You all can come, too. The guards have disappeared. Now is the time for us to escape. Upward, everyone, upward." And waving his long arms over his head in the same manner as his child, he and his family took off in pursuit.
Casting uncertain looks at the two Starfleet officers, the other Runarians, of which there were now close to two hundred, took off after Neddis and his family, sweeping Tom and B'Elanna along with them.
Captain Janeway walked behind her crew as they made their way up the corridor. She winced as she heard them clanking with each step. She was beginning to wonder if these "weapons" were worth the noise they were making.
So far, they had found only more questions, no answers. All of the doors on the inside corridor were unlocked. Further up the passage, some of them were standing open, household items spilling out into the hallway.
What could this place be, they asked themselves? Could people be living down here? And if they were, where were they now?
They had been walking about half an hour when they came to a gate across the passageway. This, too, was standing open. On each side of the gate were small booths that appeared to be guardhouses. As they slowly passed through the gate, Chakotay stopped and hissed, "Quiet!"
Everyone stopped and looked around. Weapons were quickly brought forward and firmly gripped.
"What is it?" Janeway whispered.
Putting his finger to his lips and then pointing towards the guardhouse on his right, Chakotay quietly moved towards it.
Raising the "spades" in front of him, he commanded, "We're armed. Come out of there peacefully and you won't be harmed!"
They all waited, holding their breath. No one came out.
Tensely, Chakotay moved closer. He started to call out again when, suddenly, they all heard a shuddering sob and a tiny voice said, "Go 'way."
Chakotay glanced back at the others with a puzzled frown. Then, stepping closer to the booth and looking inside, he grinned. Setting his weapons aside, he knelt down on the floor and stuck his head inside the booth.
In a soothing voice he said, "Come on out, sweetheart. We won't hurt you."
Janeway motioned for the others to lower their weapons and back up a step.
The tiny voice asked, "Are you Beasts or are you Toms?"
Chakotay chuckled.
"We're neither beasts nor Toms. I'm Chakotay and this is the Captain." he said pointing to Janeway. "Come on out and meet the rest of your new friends.
A small, pale head, white tuffs of hair waving on top, came slowly out of the booth. Aqua blue eyes looked cautiously up at the group and the tiny mouth opened slightly and said, "I'm hungry."
Pulling his sack around to the front, Chakotay rummaged inside and pulled out some food strips. He set them down in front of the small child.
"Here you are. Eat up. And then maybe you can tell us your name and why you are here all by yourself."
Vegetable strips were sucked into the little mouth at an amazing rate. When they were all gone and a cup of water had been offered and accepted, Chakotay leaned forward and said, "Okay, now how about telling us your name and how you got here."
The child looked up at him and then looked around at the rest of the crew.
"My name is Leelu and I runned away from the beast. Only Tom said it wasn't a beast, it was a Lanna. But the Lanna was going to eat my mother, I think, so I runned away."
She crawled over to Chakotay and climbed into his lap.
"I'm sleepy," she yawned.
Chakotay lifted her onto his lap and made her comfortable. The other team members grinned at the surprised look on his face.
Chakotay looked up at his Captain, but she was grinning, too.
"Go on, Commander," she smirked. "You're doing fine."
"Now, Leelu," the Commander questioned. "Why are you hiding in this booth and where is your mother and Tom and Lanna?"
"I don't know where my mother is. I hope Lanna didn't eat her. I hope Tom made Lanna sit in the corner again. I hope my father and mother find me soon." She ended her little speech with a big yawn and leaned her head into Chakotay's chest.
He felt sorry for the tired little girl but they needed information.
"Leelu, you can sleep in a minute. First tell me why you were hiding in that booth."
Leelu rubbed her cheek against his shirt and murmured, "I heard lots of noise behind me so I hided in the house. Lots and lots of peoples came running past me. They were making so much noise, I got scared."
Her eyes were little slits in her face as she fought to keep them open.
Chakotay sighed and pressed on.
"Leelu, did you see Tom or Lanna among those people running past?"
"Didn't see anyone. I hidded my eyes."
Her voice faded out, her eyes shut and her breathing became soft and regular.
"Does anyone have something to wrap around her?" Chakotay asked.
Ensign Harlow rummaged in her sack and handed him a small towel. Chakotay wrapped it around the sleeping child and lifted her over his shoulder. He stood up and bent over to gather up his weapons.
"Belay that, Commander," Captain Janeway ordered. "Neelix and Parsons, take the Commander's weapons for him. He has his hands full at the moment." Her voice softened as she turned and addressed her First Officer.
"What do you make of this, Commander?"
Chakotay shook his head. "I don't know what to think, Captain. I suppose all of those people could have been living down here. But, why did they leave so suddenly?"
Ensign Parsons cleared his throat and said, "Maybe they were escaping, Captain. See here. This gate has a locking mechanism on it." He went on in a puzzled voice, as he examined the lock carefully. "It doesn't seem to have been forced, though. But.I don't think they would lock themselves in down here, do you?"
"No, Ensign, it doesn't make sense," Janeway mused.
Suddenly, she made up her mind. "Well, I don't think we'll figure this out by standing here. Let's get moving and we can puzzled this out as we go."
Once again the team moved, clinking and clanking, up the passage.
Tom and B'Elanna were moving at a fast clip up the passageway whether they wanted to or not. They were caught in a crush of Runarians, well over 500 in number by now. For a while the two Starfleet officers would be close to each other and then a sudden swirl and surge would push them apart. They couldn't believe the pace these people were setting. For such thin and wispy-looking people, they sure had a lot of speed to them.
Tom, who towered over even the tallest Runarian, saw the gate ahead of them and tried to signal to B'Elanna to grab the gate and hang on. But the press of people was too great. They were both whirled along, through the gate and soon had left it far behind.
Forty-five minutes later they were still being pushed up the corridor. B'Elanna's Klingon stamina was at its limit, while poor Tom was so winded that he was being held upright only by the crush of people around him.
As suddenly as the surge had started, it stopped. Everyone came to a halt together in front of a steep flight of steps leading up to a massive double door. Everyone but Tom and B'Elanna, that is. B'Elanna took four or five steps forward, pushing people out of the way as she tried to stop her forward motion. Tom, with nothing holding him up, collapsed to the floor puffing and gasping for breath.
B'Elanna, as soon as she managed to stop, turned around and scanned the crowd for Tom. Not seeing his tall form standing above the heads of the masses, she lost it. Shoving and growling her way through the throng, she shouted. "Tom! Tom! Where are you?"
The Runarians cowered out of her way, most of them not knowing where this beast had come from or what it was going to do. They began to exclaim and wail, clutching their children to them, causing those in the front of the crowd to turn and look back at them.
Faintly through the noise, B'Elanna heard Tom's voice. "Here, B'Elanna. Over here."
Truly annoyed and frustrated that she couldn't tell where Tom's voice was coming from, she turned and yelled with true Klingon volume, "SHUT UP!"
The noise was cut off as if by a switch. Not a sound could be heard, even from the youngest child.
B'Elanna, hands on hips, surveyed the crowd with satisfaction. From floor level ten meters ahead of her came Tom Paris' voice again. Only this time it was choked with laughter.
"I'm over here, My Klingon Warrior," he snorted.
B'Elanna strode towards him and seeing him sitting on the floor holding his stomach, was instantly filled with concern.
Stooping down next to him she placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Tom, are you all right? What's wrong?" she asked anxiously.
Tom raised his head, tears of laughter streaming down his face.
"You.you amaze me sometimes, Maquis," Tom shook his head in awe. "You just told hundreds of our new allies to "shut up." Neelix will have to give you diplomatic lessons when we get back to the ship."
B'Elanna just glared at him and growled.
"Get up, Paris. We have to figure out what's going on."
With a hand from B'Elanna, Tom came slowly to his feet.
They found themselves all alone and ignored at the back of the crowd.
The Runarians were all facing forward. Their attention was focused on the wide flight of steps that led up to large, wooden double doors. Silently, they waited for their Prime.disposed-Prime, Ferrod, to address them. Prime Ferrod made his way to the top of the stairs and turning to the crowd, raised his arms above his head, he then lowered them to point to Neddis and Pourra and their two children who were standing beside him.
"Citizens," he bellowed, "pity this poor family. Not only has the corrupt and vicious usurper Rayoun stolen their home and holdings, as he has done yours, but he has also stolen their precious third nester and has fed her to the vattors!"
The crowd gasped in horror and Neddis and his family threw their arms over their heads and howled in anger and grief.
When the angry murmuring died down, Ferrod continued. "Good citizens of Runar, this demon cannot be allowed to get away with this. We must stop him and his cohorts and we must stop them now!"
The crowd went wild with cheering. They pumped their three-fingered fists into the air and shouted, "Rayoun must go! Down with the beast Rayoun! Ferrod forever!
Tom, who could see easily over the heads of this small species, whispered to B'Elanna, who couldn't, "If we can just get through those doors, I think we've found the way to the surface." He quickly grabbed her hand and they started weaving their way through the shouting throng.
Tom, at 6 feet 4 inches, was hardly inconspicuous as he and B'Elanna tried to move to the front of the crowd. Prime Ferrod noticed them and, after a quick consultation with Neddis and Pourra, held up his hands for quiet.
At the sudden silence, Tom and B'Elanna stopped moving and tried to nonchalantly blend in with those they were standing with. However, their eyes were quickly drawn to the man on the steps when he addressed them by name.
"Citizens, I see among us our new friends, Tom and Lanna, who have come from far beyond the stars to help us in our hour of need. They have promised to aid us in our fight to regain what has been so cruelly and wrongfully stolen from us and to avenge the death of poor little Leelu. Please welcome and honor our new Allies from the Stars!"
An uncomfortable silence fell on the crowd. The Runarians rolled their eyes at each other and shrugged their thin shoulders. Finally, one group, then another raised their arms over their heads and waving them back and forth, they began to hum in welcome and honor of their new comrades.
B'Elanna and Tom looked at each other aghast as thoughts of Starfleet's highest noninterference rule, the Prime Directive, flashed before them. Worst yet, they could see the look Captain Janeway would give them for getting the away team into this mess.
"Wait!" Tom yelled frantically to Ferrod. "We can't help you. You've made a mistake. We haven't promised anything!!"
B'Elanna looked around at the faces of the crowd around them.faces that were rapidly becoming hostile as Tom's words were quickly passed from one group to another.
"Yet!" she yelled. "We haven't promised anything, yet. We need to sit down together and work out a plan. We're all tired," she continued in a persuasive voice, quite unlike her usual blunt speech. "Let us all rest awhile. It will do us no good to go rushing through those doors, only to be captured again. A good plan is not the work of a moment."
She turned to face the steps.
"Prime Ferrod, ask your good citizens to rest and gather their strength for the fight to come."
"Lanna is right!" Ferrod forceful voice turned all eyes his way. "We must make a plan of attack. We must consider who our friends still are and what resources we have to do battle with."
His voice became soft and soothing, "Lie down, friends. Comfort your children. Think of your homes that you will soon be seeing again." His voice rose. "I would like the head of each family to come up to the steps, and, of course, our allies, Tom and Lanna. The war council is now in session!"
Tom had been looking at B'Elanna with a dumfounded stare ever since she had begun to speak.
As the heads of families started to ascend the steps, B'Elanna looked over at Tom and raised her eyebrows. "Diplomatic lessons, huh?"
She grabbed Tom's hand and half dragged him up the steps.
Neelix was the first to hear it. Although he was in the middle of the pack, he was the only one not talking. The Ensigns Parsons and Harlow were walking ahead of him, talking in low voices. Parsons nodding his head vigorously at what Harlow was saying. The Captain and Commander were walking together a little way behind him. Their voices were even more hushed in deference to the still sleeping Leelu.
At first Neelix didn't realize what he was hearing. He slowed down and listened harder. "There," he thought, " I did hear something!"
Turning, he waved his arms at the two behind him.
"Captain, Captain, I hear something, I really do. I.I think it sounds like.humming?!"
"Humming, Mr. Neelix?" The Captain walked up to him and placed her hand on his arm.
Neelix nodded his head, sending his blond ponytail bobbing up and down. "Yes, yes, Captain. Listen!"
The team stood still and listened. For just a moment, they heard it too, and then it stopped.
"That's curious," Ensign Harlow wondered. "It sounded like hundreds of voices."
"It did, indeed, Ensign." Captain Janeway nodded in agreement.
"Momma?" asked a small voice.
A sleepy little head raised itself from Chakotay's shoulder.
"No, I'm Chakotay, remember?"
"I heard my Mommy singing," insisted Leelu.
"We're trying to find your mother now, Leelu. Would you like to go back to sleep?" asked Captain Janeway.
"No," the little one replied. "But, Kotay can still carry me. Can I have more food, Kotay? I'm hungry."
Laughing, Chakotay reached into his sack and gave his little passenger some more food sticks.
Leelu settled back across Chakotay's shoulder, crunching on her veggie sticks. She seemed to have gotten over all her fears of these "beasts."
Exchanging a grin with her First Officer, Janeway then turned to the rest of her crew and said, "All right, everyone. It seems we're getting closer to finding out about this mystery. From now on, we will be on yellow alert. Move cautiously and keep your eyes and ears opened. We will defend ourselves if necessary, but we will not start a confrontation. Is that clear?" At their nods, she continued. "The first thing we have to do is stop these "weapons" from making so much noise. We're announcing our presence with every step."
Chakotay caught a look from his Captain and took over the instructions.
"Hold your weapons in your hands and away from your body. This way they can't hit together. I'll take back one of the "spades" and." He responded to a frown from Janeway. "I can handle it. And Harlow and Parsons can take off their packs to give themselves more mobility."
A sudden thought struck him.
"Leelu, what are your mommy's and daddy's names? What do other grownups call them?"
Leelu turned around in Chakotay's arms and put her pale little hand against his cheek.
"My Mommy's name is Pourra and Daddy's name is Neddis, but Mommy calls him Neddy."
At the curious looks of the other team members, he grinned and said, "Well, if we need to find them in a crowd, we'll know whom to call."
"Good thinking, Commander." Janeway approved. "Let's move, people."
Walking double-time and silently, or as silently as possible, Voyager's away team moved up the familiar passageway.
Moving quickly, they strained their ears listening for any sounds up ahead.
Janeway thought she heard shouting and looking over at Chakotay, saw his nod of agreement.
The shouting died down, but now a steady murmur and rustling sounds could be heard.
Janeway motioned for her team to slow down and silently they crept around a corner of the passage.
They all stopped in shock. Hundreds and hundreds of Runarians were standing, sitting and lying on the floor of a large auditorium of sorts. At the front of the room the team could see a wide flight of stairs leading up to massive double doors. But, the sight that most took their breath away was the sight of Tom and B'Elanna sitting on the steps surrounded by over a hundred Runarians who were all talking and waving their hands over their heads. Even from this distance, Janeway and Chakotay could see that B'Elanna was reaching her boiling point. Tom had a calming hand on her arm and was talking to her urgently. Just then, an older looking man stood up and asked for silence. He then pointed to Tom and B'Elanna and gestured for them to speak.
The away team was so riveted at the sight of their teammates actions that they failed to realize that they were attracting a good deal of notice themselves.
The Runarians in the back of the crowd were turning to look at this new group. They began to nudge each other and whisper to their neighbors. Soon the murmur of their voices and their movement forward, away from the Voyager crew, drew the attention of the War Council on the steps.
Prime Ferrod leaned sideways as someone whispered urgently in his ear and pointed towards the back of the room. He stood up as tall as he could and looking over the heads of his people, he spotted the five alien newcomers.
Quickly overcoming a nervous flutter in his stomach at the sight of still more strangers, he turned to Tom and B'Elanna and whispered to them, "Do you know those people?"
Tom and B'Elanna stood up and looked where Ferrod was pointing. Tom gave a loud whoop.
"Captain!" he shouted. "Over here. We're over here!"
B'Elanna waved her hand in the air and yelled, "Chakotay!"
From the back of the room they heard Neelix shout, "Tom, B'Elanna! Look, Captain, Commander. It's Tom and B'Elanna! Over here, over here!" He waved both of his arms over his head making the weapons he carried clank loudly together.
Captain Janeway winced at the noise, but couldn't help having a big grin appear on her face as well.
Meanwhile, Leelu's sharp eyes had spotted her family up on the steps and her shrill little voice was added to the ruckus.
"Mommy, Daddy, I found you! She shrieked, bouncing up and down in Chakotay's arms.
Pourra and Neddis and their two older children started yelling as well as they saw their youngest nester in the grasp of the tall, dark alien.
"Leelu, Leelu, don't be afraid. We're coming to rescue you!" Pourra shouted. She started shoving her way through the crowd to reach her little treasure.
The crowd around Janeway and her team were milling around and murmuring to each other. They were confused. Were these new strangers also "Allies from the Stars" or were they beasts out to harm little Leelu?
Things were starting to get out of hand when, from the top of the stairs, B'Elanna, counting on her last success, again roared, "SHUT UP!"
The crowd, as they did last time, became instantly quiet and still. All but Pourra, who shoved her way through the last of the crowd, fearlessly marched up to Chakotay and held out her arms for her child. Chakotay quickly placed Leelu into her mother's eager embrace and stepped back beside his Captain.
Prime Ferrod, who was standing beside B'Elanna, nodded his thanks to her and raised his hands over his head.
"Citizens," he shouted. "Remain calm!" With a quick look over at Tom and B'Elanna, who nodded their heads at him, he continued. "We are grateful to our new allies who have obviously rescued little.Leelu," he added, with a quiet prompt from Neddis, "from the vicious jaws of the merciless vattors!"
Hearing how close her precious child had come to a grisly death, a wail went up from Pourra and she clutched her youngest even more closely to her maternal bosom.
"Please make way for our new friends to come forward and join us in our council." Ferrod instructed. "Welcome them, good citizens."
The Runarians near Janeway and her team stood back and formed an aisle for them to walk down. As the other people saw what was happening, they, too, backed away. In just a few minutes, they had cleared a wide passageway straight to the steps. As if by signal, the crowd raised their arms over their heads and stared humming and swaying back and forth.
Pourra, never being someone shy of public honor, sniffed loudly and lifting Leelu high on her shoulders, lead Voyager's away team up the aisle and to the waiting Prime Ferrod.
Janeway had her team quietly lay down their weapons and follow Pourra up the aisle. She and Chakotay walked together, followed by Neelix and the two ensigns. As she walked, Janeway whispered to Chakotay.
"I'm very curious to hear Tom's and B'Elanna's story. Let's keep quiet until we find out what they have told them about our being here. These people may just be the help we need to get back to Voyager."
"I agree, Captain." Chakotay whispered back.
As they approached the steps, Neelix excitedly called out, "Hoo hoo" to Tom and B'Elanna and started to wave his hand at them. Janeway looked over her shoulder and raised one eyebrow in silent rebuke. Chakotay dropped back, put his arm around the exuberant Talaxian and quietly told him their plan. Neelix nodded in understanding, made the "zip my lips and throw away the key" gesture that Tom had taught him, and gave Chakotay a knowing wink.
"You can count on me, Commander. Not a word," he promised.
The crowd stopped humming as they reached the bottom of the steps. Pourra marched right up. She and Leelu joined Neddis and the other children in a quiet family reunion.
Captain Janeway and her team walked up and stopped two steps below Prime Ferrod, who was listening intently to Tom and B'Elanna. He looked up as Janeway approached him.
"Captain Janeway, allow me to introduce myself. I am Ferrod, the legally elected Prime of Runar." He gave a small bow, his long, white hair falling over his head and tickling her in the face. "It is an honor to have such visitors as you and your brave crew on Runar. You have come in our hour of need. And for this, all good citizens of Runar thank you." He bowed again and Janeway just had time to draw back slightly to avoid another tickle.
"Thank you for your gracious welcome, Prime Ferrod," Janeway said. "May I introduce my crew to you. This is Commander Chakotay, my First Officer, Neelix our Chef, Moral Officer and Ambassador and two of our finest crewmen, Ensign Patricia Harlow and Ensign John Parsons. You have already met Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres and Ensign Tom Paris."
Ferrod bowed his head to each crewman as he or she was introduced. Janeway managed to dodge the flying topknot by stepping down one step to stand beside Chakotay.
When the introductions were over, Janeway turned to Ferrod.
"Prime Ferrod, we must speak together immediately. I believe that we can help each other."
"Of course, Captain," Ferrod answered. He motioned for several Runarians sitting on the steps to move over. "Please be seated. We would like to hear your story. Why are you on Runar and how did you get down into the underground complex?"
Janeway glanced over at Torres and Paris with a look that asked what story they had given. B'Elanna shook her head and Tom shrugged his shoulders to indicate that they had not as yet explained themselves to the Runarians.
So, Janeway told Ferrod and the others a little about Voyager's journey.how they had been hijacked into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker and how they were determined to get home to Earth, although the distance back to the Alpha Quadrant was so great that they might not get home in their lifetime. She told them about Voyager's perpetual need for replacement parts and supplies. How they depended on replenishing them by trading with the friendly races they came across in their travels.
Ferrod and the others exclaimed much on hearing about her crew's travels and adventures. But when Janeway explained how they had been cheated and captured by Rayoun's forces, Ferrod exchanged looks of shock with the other leaders sitting on the steps.
When she told how they had fought off the vattors that were sent to find them, gasps of horror and amazement were heard as her story was passed from one group to another. Telling about finding Leelu and bringing her safely with them elicited a teary hug from both Neddis and Pourra.
When she concluded her story, Ferrod sat a moment in thought. Then he stood up and addressing Janeway and her crew but speaking loudly enough so that the crowds could also hear, he said, "Captain Janeway, we are honored that you have shared your story with us. However, it saddens and angers us that that traitor, thief, murderer and impostor Rayoun has treated you in such a manner. We are horrified by their actions." And, indeed, horror, embarrassment and shock were clearly evident on his face and the faces of those sitting around them.
Ferrod drew in a deep breath and continued. "Captain Janeway, we Runarians are a friendly people. We are a people known for our helpfulness and generosity. We welcome trade with other races and our reputation is one of fairness and customer satisfaction. Please accept our most profound apology for the way you were treated and believe us when we say that we will do everything in our power to right this wrong that has been done to you."
Ferrod was near tears with his sincerity.
Janeway looked at Chakotay and raised one eyebrow. He smiled at her and gave her a small nod of encouragement.
Janeway rose to her feet and addressed Ferrod and the crowd.
"Prime Ferrod and citizens of Runar, we accept your apology. We now realize that the Runarians that we dealt with were not representational of true Runarians. We feel for you in your time of trouble. We are privileged to have met such an honorable and friendly race of people. We have only one wish.and that is to return to our ship. If you can help us do this, we will be eternally grateful." She turned from Prime Ferrod and, with her lopsided smile on her face, looked out on the Runarian people sitting and standing before her.
Slowly her smile faded. She looked down at the steps and licked her lips. Looking back up, the smile was replaced with a serious face. She put her hands on her hips and sighed. "But let me be perfectly clear about this," she said slowly and clearly, "We have a rule in our Federation, a rule so important that we call it our Prime Directive. And this rule will not allow us to interfere in the natural development of a culture. We cannot take sides in your dispute with Rayoun and his factions."
A gasp escaped from the crowd. Prime Ferrod and the citizens around him looked at each other with shock on their faces. The shock was slowly turning to anger when Captain Janeway held up her hand.
"Now, before you feed us to the vattors, hear me out." She glanced over at her crew and locked eyes with Chakotay for a brief moment. He nodded and smiled at her.
She drew in a breath and continued.
"While we cannot use our technology or weapons to help you in your fight against Rayoun, we have our own issues with him. He has taken some of my crew prisoner. He has abused and threatened them. He has endangered their lives. He has plotted to take over my ship." Janeway's voice took on a deep, gravely quality that made some of the Runarians on the steps near her slide back away from her as she slowly said. "I do not take kindly to anyone threatening my crew or ship."
Her voice rose as she talked. "So, we Voyagers have a score to settle with Rayoun and if that happens to place us at your side, well.so be it."
Ferrod was beside himself with relief. Alternately waving his hands over his head and calling out to his citizens to honor and embrace their fellow.not allies.avengers, he soon had the crowd in a frenzy.
Undercover of the uproar, Janeway gathered her crew together and had a short conference. Tom quickly told her what had happened to him and B'Elanna. Janeway filled Tom and B'Elanna on their adventures.
"Now," Janeway continued, "we have to come up with a plan." She beat a fist into the palm of her hand in frustration. " We don't have enough information about what is going on up there. We need to know Voyager's status. Damn! What I wouldn't give for a little information."
TO BE CONTINUED
Janeway, Neelix and Harlow landed, quite inelegantly, on their rearends just inside the door.
"Ouff! Neelix puffed.
"Ow!" Janeway and Harlow cried in unison.
A large, tan hand reached down, grasped Janeway by her upper arm and lifted her up.
In the dim light, she looked up to see who had rescued them.
"Chakotay," she gasped. She looked over and saw Ensign Parsons helping Harlow to her feet. Neelix had managed to get up on this own.
"How did you know where we were?"
"We didn't at first. We heard the gunshots, but it took us several tries before we found the closest door. Chakotay paused. "Are you all okay? We were afraid that we would be too late."
Chakotay reached his hands out as if to hold Kathryn, but, at the last moment, dropped them to his sides.
Nodding her head at him, Janeway, still slightly breathless from the rush of adrenaline said, "We're fine, but it was a close call. You got to us just in time. We'll tell you about it later. Right now, I want a report from you."
"Captain, You won't believe the layout here. There's a long corridor that parallels the passageway that you were traveling on. Behind all of the doors we passed, are large rooms, storage rooms, we guess. These rooms are crammed with every imaginable thing. We have been able to fine blankets, clothes, food and even some crude weapons. On the other side of the corridor are more doors. We had just started to look in one of them when we heard the gunshots. We haven't seen anything of Tom and B'Elanna, though. But they most likely headed up."
Neelix' ears had picked up on one of the words his Commander had spoken.
"Food?" Neelix asked. "You have food?"
"Yes, Runarian food. And water, too." Chakotay assured him.
"Well, Commander," Captain Janeway said. "Let's rest here for a few minutes, if you think it's safe, and we can all get something to eat and drink."
"Good idea, Captain. But, I think we ought to move to a different room," Commander Chakotay advised as they heard howling and scratching noises right outside the door they were behind.
"Will it be safe to move, Chakotay?" asked Janeway.
"We haven't seen or heard any sign of the Runarians. I think it will be safe. There is a room a few meters down the hallway that has beds and cushions in it. Very comfy looking. Let's move down there and get a good rest."
At Janeway's agreement, the team carefully opened the inside door, checked up and down the interior corridor, then quickly scrambled down to the room Chakotay recommended.
The room was indeed "comfy", just as the Commander had said. There were platforms lining the walls and each platform had four or five cushions on it. The team settled down on the platforms with a tired sigh. Ensign Parsons and Chakotay opened the sacks they were carrying and distributed food and water to the weary crew. The food was unfamiliar to them. It consisted of strips of dried vegetables and meat. Janeway advised everyone to skip the meat strips and stick to the vegetables. Ensign Parsons took his rations and sat next to Ensign Harlow. She, in low tones and between bites, told him the tale of her adventures. Neelix wolfed down his strips, gulped down his water and then laid back with a contented sigh.
Chakotay brought himself and Janeway food and water then, sitting next to her, they ate their meager repast. When they had finished, he turned to her and whispered, "Are you sure you're okay? Tell me what happened."
Kathryn sighed, "Yes, I'm fine, thanks to you. But it was a close thing." She shuddered.
He reached over and squeezed her arm. Then, very discretely, he took her small hand in his large warm one.
"Tell me about it," he said.
She told him all that had happened and somehow, by the end of the narrative, his arm was around her shoulders and her head was resting on his chest.
Realizing the position they were in, the command team separated and quickly looked around to see if they were being observed. Neelix was fast asleep and snoring softly. Every once in a while, his hands would flutter off of his chest, wave in the air and then settle down again. The Ensigns had barricaded themselves behind a pile of cushions and were completely hidden from sight.
Kathryn and Chakotay looked at each other and chuckled softly.
With an evil grin on his face, Chakotay whispered, "I think this time we will follow their example."
With that said, they piled pillows all around themselves and were soon cuddled together, fast asleep.
Commander Chakotay had set his internal clock to wake him up in one hour and it didn't let him down. He had come to rely on this method of keeping track of time during his days as a Maquis Captain. Sometimes it was the only way they had of telling the passage of time.
Chakotay's eyes snapped opened. His arm that was under Kathryn was asleep. He carefully slid his arm out from under her and flexed his fingers to get the circulation going again. He looked down at his sleeping Captain and couldn't resist placing a kiss on her forehead.
A slow, lop-sided grin appeared on her face. "You missed, Commander." Janeway whispered.
"I guess I'll take another shot at it then," he whispered back. He carefully scooted down next to her on the bed and putting one hand on her cheek, he leaned in and kissed her. What started out as a gentle first kiss, soon turned into something more passionate.
They both pulled back at the same time, realizing where this could lead them. For a minute, they clung together while their hearts and breathing slowed down. Then, they reluctantly separated and sat up.
Neelix sat on the side of his platform, feet dangling off the floor, eating vegetable strips and trying not to notice all the pillow movements going on.
When his Captain and Commander sat up, he started babbling in relief, "Good morning all, if it is morning. Though how we are supposed to know what time it is, is beyond me! Oh, well, at least we're all rested and fed. Things could be worse, a lot worse. And they have been worse, haven't they. Well, well, let's not dwell on the past." His eyes darted around looking for a safe topic to talk about. "I'm sure you'll be please to hear that I have found a sort of bathroom, well a Runarian style bathroom, right behind that small door over there. It is a strange set up but adequate for our needs."
His voice trailed off as pillows came raining down from the platform housing the two Ensigns. After much scrambling around and fierce whispering, Harlow and Parson emerged, disheveled and blushing, from their nest. They stood at attention before their platform.
It was all Kathryn and Chakotay could do not to burst out laughing.
"At ease, Ensigns," Janeway said in a shaky voice. Getting herself under control, she continued. "Here's the plan. We'll take turns using the facility Neelix has been so clever in finding, then we'll eat and drink while we work out a plan on how we are going to proceed." Pointing to Ensign Harlow, she said, "You first, Ensign."
There was not much talking as each crewmember followed Janeway's directives. They were still a little embarrassed and uncomfortable at being in such close and personal confinement. Chakotay and Janeway were no exception to these feelings. They needed to get their command relationship back on track and relegate their personal feelings to a later and more appropriate time.
Some relief from the tension in the atmosphere came when Neelix tried to stuff one of the cushions into a small sack he had found. He presented a comic sight jumping up and down, muttering Talaxian swear words. Folding and shoving the cushion, he finally had success. Looking up in triumph, he noticed the other four team members grinning at him.
"What?" he asked. "Well, laugh all you want. At least I'll be nice and comfy at our next rest stop." He set the sack on the ground and sitting down on it, he wiggled his rump around with a sigh of pleasure.
Janeway and Chakotay then had the team sit in a circle. While they had another meal, Janeway filled them in on the plan she and Commander Chakotay had come up with.
"We still have two goals," she said. "We need to get to the surface so that Voyager can find us, and we need to find Ensign Paris and Lieutenant Torres. Since we haven't run into the Runarians, I don't think that they have been recaptured. However, something must have occurred that kept them from rejoining us and that something must have been important. We have no choice but to follow this inside corridor since the vattors are still prowling the passageways. So.we're going to proceed much as we did before. We'll move upwards, trying the inside doors and keeping as quiet as possible." She pointed to Commander Chakotay. "Commander Chakotay will fill you in on the tactical situation."
In his usual calm voice Chakotay said, "Parson's rifle has five shots. That's still our best weapon. The weapons we found are very primitive. In fact," he said with a chuckle, "I would call them garden tools. We have two "hoes", two "spades" and one "rake." The Captain and Harlow will take the hoes, Neelix will carry the rake and I'll have the two spades. Pack a sack with as many provisions that you can comfortably carry. Sorry, Neelix, but there won't be room in your sack for the cushion."
"Very well, Commander," a disappointed Neelix answered.
"All right, everyone. Pack up and let's go."
Soon everyone was trudging up the passage burdened with sacks and tools, looking for all the world like farmers on the way to the fields.
When Tom Paris, hearing a crash, stepped through the door B'Elanna Torres had just entered, he was unprepared for what he found.
Klingon curses were flying through the air along with cups and bowls and pillows. By the time Tom's eyes adjusted to the light and he had successfully dodged a poorly aimed shoe, he was in time to see B'Elanna coming up off of the floor shedding all sorts of household items. But the strangest sight that met his eyes was five Runarians cowering in a corner of the room.
The tallest one stepped forward, and clasping his three fingered hands together and raising them over his head, he pleaded with Tom, "Please, please don't let it eat my children! They are my world. I will give all I have if you will just kill the beast so that my family can live!
Tom tried to hold in his amusement in the face of the family's very real terror. He said in his most soothing voice, "Calm down, calm down. I'll keep the beast away from your family."
He then looked over at B'Elanna and demanded, "Come here, Beast. Leave this good family alone. I am your master and you must obey me!" By the all-out Death Glare that B'Elanna threw his way, he knew he would pay for it later, but at the moment, he felt it was worth it.
"Tom Paris," she growled. "You are a dead man!"
B'Elanna gritted her teeth and pushed her wild hair off of her face. At the sight of her Klingon forehead ridges, the Runarian family all shrieked and the young ones burst into tears and clung to their parents.
"B'Elanna," hissed Tom. "Come over here and sit down."
Getting herself under control, B'Elanna walked over to Tom and sat down with her back to the family.
Tom walked softly over to the five whimpering Runarians and stooped down in front of them. "She won't hurt you," he reassured them. "She was just upset because she tripped over your. things. Tom voice trailed off as he got a good look at the room that was totally cluttered with household stuff. Shaking himself he continued. "See," he said, pointing to B'Elanna, "she's calmed down now. Her name's B'Elanna, mine is Tom. We want to be your friends." Looking around again, Tom smiled and asked, "Is this your home?"
The family was calming down, now that the threat of instant death appeared to have subsided.
The mother of the family made a disgusted noise in her throat. "Our home!" she spat. "Our home is a palace on the surface. This," she waved her long, three fingered hand around in the air, "is our prison! We are being held here by Rayoun, I will not call him Prime, a greedy and devious man who robbed us of all our possessions and then threw us and all our kind into these bare and dirty cells."
Her husband put his hand on her arm and led her back to sit on a cushioned platform behind them. Her pale hair was waving in agitation as she bent over and scooped up her three children to sit beside her.
"Please forgive my wife's angry words, Beast.uh, Tom. We have suffered much from this humiliation. When Rayoun and his followers rounded us up, we had only enough time to gather up a few of our precious things before we were herded down here. We have been down here for months. We have no idea what is taking place on the surface. The guards who bring us food will tell us nothing."
"Guards?" Tom asked, suddenly leery. "Are there guards down here?"
"Yes, they patrol the corridor and bring us food. Although," he said as if it had just occurred to him, "they have not come around today." He turned to his wife. "Have you heard the guards today, Pourra?"
"No, thank the Reeso, those tokkas have not been here today." She rose up from the bed and crossing over to the door, she threw it open and stuck her head out.
"Afraid to show your faces, you dirty, cowardly tokkas?" she shouted
B'Elanna, who had turned around enough to see what was going on, jumped up with a growl. "Shut that door!" she demanded as she rushed towards the mother.
The smallest child, seeing the beast leaping towards her mother, screamed shrilly and ran towards the open door. Before her mother could stop her, she disappeared up the corridor, shrieking and waving her arms above her head on which the thin, white tuffs of hair were sticking up like exclamation points. All too quickly, the sound of her wailing grew fainter.
"Leelu," howled her mother as she started out the door. Her husband grabbed her arm before she could leave. "Wait," he said. He turned to Tom and B'Elanna. "Please help us get our child back," he begged. "They will feed her to the vattors if they catch her!"
Tom and B'Elanna looked at each other. They knew they had no choice.
"We're with you." Tom assured them.
Pourra and her husband, trailed by their remaining two children took off after Leelu. Tom and B'Elanna right on their heels.
As they started running up the corridor, the doors on both side of the passageway slowly opened and other Runarians looked fearfully out into the corridor.
"What is going on, Neddis?" A tall, dignified male stepped out to ask him.
"Our Leelu has run off, Prime Ferrod. She is a runner, you know," he could not keep the pride from his voice. "We will have to hurry if we are to catch up with her before Rayoun's forces catch her. They will show her no mercy."
Neddis, seeing Ferrod step back hastily, having got a good look at B'Elanna and Tom, continued in a reassuring voice.
"Fear not, Prime. They are not the beasts they appear to be. They have agreed to help us find Leelu." Then raising his voice so that all the Runarians who had come out into the corridor could hear him, he said, "You all can come, too. The guards have disappeared. Now is the time for us to escape. Upward, everyone, upward." And waving his long arms over his head in the same manner as his child, he and his family took off in pursuit.
Casting uncertain looks at the two Starfleet officers, the other Runarians, of which there were now close to two hundred, took off after Neddis and his family, sweeping Tom and B'Elanna along with them.
Captain Janeway walked behind her crew as they made their way up the corridor. She winced as she heard them clanking with each step. She was beginning to wonder if these "weapons" were worth the noise they were making.
So far, they had found only more questions, no answers. All of the doors on the inside corridor were unlocked. Further up the passage, some of them were standing open, household items spilling out into the hallway.
What could this place be, they asked themselves? Could people be living down here? And if they were, where were they now?
They had been walking about half an hour when they came to a gate across the passageway. This, too, was standing open. On each side of the gate were small booths that appeared to be guardhouses. As they slowly passed through the gate, Chakotay stopped and hissed, "Quiet!"
Everyone stopped and looked around. Weapons were quickly brought forward and firmly gripped.
"What is it?" Janeway whispered.
Putting his finger to his lips and then pointing towards the guardhouse on his right, Chakotay quietly moved towards it.
Raising the "spades" in front of him, he commanded, "We're armed. Come out of there peacefully and you won't be harmed!"
They all waited, holding their breath. No one came out.
Tensely, Chakotay moved closer. He started to call out again when, suddenly, they all heard a shuddering sob and a tiny voice said, "Go 'way."
Chakotay glanced back at the others with a puzzled frown. Then, stepping closer to the booth and looking inside, he grinned. Setting his weapons aside, he knelt down on the floor and stuck his head inside the booth.
In a soothing voice he said, "Come on out, sweetheart. We won't hurt you."
Janeway motioned for the others to lower their weapons and back up a step.
The tiny voice asked, "Are you Beasts or are you Toms?"
Chakotay chuckled.
"We're neither beasts nor Toms. I'm Chakotay and this is the Captain." he said pointing to Janeway. "Come on out and meet the rest of your new friends.
A small, pale head, white tuffs of hair waving on top, came slowly out of the booth. Aqua blue eyes looked cautiously up at the group and the tiny mouth opened slightly and said, "I'm hungry."
Pulling his sack around to the front, Chakotay rummaged inside and pulled out some food strips. He set them down in front of the small child.
"Here you are. Eat up. And then maybe you can tell us your name and why you are here all by yourself."
Vegetable strips were sucked into the little mouth at an amazing rate. When they were all gone and a cup of water had been offered and accepted, Chakotay leaned forward and said, "Okay, now how about telling us your name and how you got here."
The child looked up at him and then looked around at the rest of the crew.
"My name is Leelu and I runned away from the beast. Only Tom said it wasn't a beast, it was a Lanna. But the Lanna was going to eat my mother, I think, so I runned away."
She crawled over to Chakotay and climbed into his lap.
"I'm sleepy," she yawned.
Chakotay lifted her onto his lap and made her comfortable. The other team members grinned at the surprised look on his face.
Chakotay looked up at his Captain, but she was grinning, too.
"Go on, Commander," she smirked. "You're doing fine."
"Now, Leelu," the Commander questioned. "Why are you hiding in this booth and where is your mother and Tom and Lanna?"
"I don't know where my mother is. I hope Lanna didn't eat her. I hope Tom made Lanna sit in the corner again. I hope my father and mother find me soon." She ended her little speech with a big yawn and leaned her head into Chakotay's chest.
He felt sorry for the tired little girl but they needed information.
"Leelu, you can sleep in a minute. First tell me why you were hiding in that booth."
Leelu rubbed her cheek against his shirt and murmured, "I heard lots of noise behind me so I hided in the house. Lots and lots of peoples came running past me. They were making so much noise, I got scared."
Her eyes were little slits in her face as she fought to keep them open.
Chakotay sighed and pressed on.
"Leelu, did you see Tom or Lanna among those people running past?"
"Didn't see anyone. I hidded my eyes."
Her voice faded out, her eyes shut and her breathing became soft and regular.
"Does anyone have something to wrap around her?" Chakotay asked.
Ensign Harlow rummaged in her sack and handed him a small towel. Chakotay wrapped it around the sleeping child and lifted her over his shoulder. He stood up and bent over to gather up his weapons.
"Belay that, Commander," Captain Janeway ordered. "Neelix and Parsons, take the Commander's weapons for him. He has his hands full at the moment." Her voice softened as she turned and addressed her First Officer.
"What do you make of this, Commander?"
Chakotay shook his head. "I don't know what to think, Captain. I suppose all of those people could have been living down here. But, why did they leave so suddenly?"
Ensign Parsons cleared his throat and said, "Maybe they were escaping, Captain. See here. This gate has a locking mechanism on it." He went on in a puzzled voice, as he examined the lock carefully. "It doesn't seem to have been forced, though. But.I don't think they would lock themselves in down here, do you?"
"No, Ensign, it doesn't make sense," Janeway mused.
Suddenly, she made up her mind. "Well, I don't think we'll figure this out by standing here. Let's get moving and we can puzzled this out as we go."
Once again the team moved, clinking and clanking, up the passage.
Tom and B'Elanna were moving at a fast clip up the passageway whether they wanted to or not. They were caught in a crush of Runarians, well over 500 in number by now. For a while the two Starfleet officers would be close to each other and then a sudden swirl and surge would push them apart. They couldn't believe the pace these people were setting. For such thin and wispy-looking people, they sure had a lot of speed to them.
Tom, who towered over even the tallest Runarian, saw the gate ahead of them and tried to signal to B'Elanna to grab the gate and hang on. But the press of people was too great. They were both whirled along, through the gate and soon had left it far behind.
Forty-five minutes later they were still being pushed up the corridor. B'Elanna's Klingon stamina was at its limit, while poor Tom was so winded that he was being held upright only by the crush of people around him.
As suddenly as the surge had started, it stopped. Everyone came to a halt together in front of a steep flight of steps leading up to a massive double door. Everyone but Tom and B'Elanna, that is. B'Elanna took four or five steps forward, pushing people out of the way as she tried to stop her forward motion. Tom, with nothing holding him up, collapsed to the floor puffing and gasping for breath.
B'Elanna, as soon as she managed to stop, turned around and scanned the crowd for Tom. Not seeing his tall form standing above the heads of the masses, she lost it. Shoving and growling her way through the throng, she shouted. "Tom! Tom! Where are you?"
The Runarians cowered out of her way, most of them not knowing where this beast had come from or what it was going to do. They began to exclaim and wail, clutching their children to them, causing those in the front of the crowd to turn and look back at them.
Faintly through the noise, B'Elanna heard Tom's voice. "Here, B'Elanna. Over here."
Truly annoyed and frustrated that she couldn't tell where Tom's voice was coming from, she turned and yelled with true Klingon volume, "SHUT UP!"
The noise was cut off as if by a switch. Not a sound could be heard, even from the youngest child.
B'Elanna, hands on hips, surveyed the crowd with satisfaction. From floor level ten meters ahead of her came Tom Paris' voice again. Only this time it was choked with laughter.
"I'm over here, My Klingon Warrior," he snorted.
B'Elanna strode towards him and seeing him sitting on the floor holding his stomach, was instantly filled with concern.
Stooping down next to him she placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Tom, are you all right? What's wrong?" she asked anxiously.
Tom raised his head, tears of laughter streaming down his face.
"You.you amaze me sometimes, Maquis," Tom shook his head in awe. "You just told hundreds of our new allies to "shut up." Neelix will have to give you diplomatic lessons when we get back to the ship."
B'Elanna just glared at him and growled.
"Get up, Paris. We have to figure out what's going on."
With a hand from B'Elanna, Tom came slowly to his feet.
They found themselves all alone and ignored at the back of the crowd.
The Runarians were all facing forward. Their attention was focused on the wide flight of steps that led up to large, wooden double doors. Silently, they waited for their Prime.disposed-Prime, Ferrod, to address them. Prime Ferrod made his way to the top of the stairs and turning to the crowd, raised his arms above his head, he then lowered them to point to Neddis and Pourra and their two children who were standing beside him.
"Citizens," he bellowed, "pity this poor family. Not only has the corrupt and vicious usurper Rayoun stolen their home and holdings, as he has done yours, but he has also stolen their precious third nester and has fed her to the vattors!"
The crowd gasped in horror and Neddis and his family threw their arms over their heads and howled in anger and grief.
When the angry murmuring died down, Ferrod continued. "Good citizens of Runar, this demon cannot be allowed to get away with this. We must stop him and his cohorts and we must stop them now!"
The crowd went wild with cheering. They pumped their three-fingered fists into the air and shouted, "Rayoun must go! Down with the beast Rayoun! Ferrod forever!
Tom, who could see easily over the heads of this small species, whispered to B'Elanna, who couldn't, "If we can just get through those doors, I think we've found the way to the surface." He quickly grabbed her hand and they started weaving their way through the shouting throng.
Tom, at 6 feet 4 inches, was hardly inconspicuous as he and B'Elanna tried to move to the front of the crowd. Prime Ferrod noticed them and, after a quick consultation with Neddis and Pourra, held up his hands for quiet.
At the sudden silence, Tom and B'Elanna stopped moving and tried to nonchalantly blend in with those they were standing with. However, their eyes were quickly drawn to the man on the steps when he addressed them by name.
"Citizens, I see among us our new friends, Tom and Lanna, who have come from far beyond the stars to help us in our hour of need. They have promised to aid us in our fight to regain what has been so cruelly and wrongfully stolen from us and to avenge the death of poor little Leelu. Please welcome and honor our new Allies from the Stars!"
An uncomfortable silence fell on the crowd. The Runarians rolled their eyes at each other and shrugged their thin shoulders. Finally, one group, then another raised their arms over their heads and waving them back and forth, they began to hum in welcome and honor of their new comrades.
B'Elanna and Tom looked at each other aghast as thoughts of Starfleet's highest noninterference rule, the Prime Directive, flashed before them. Worst yet, they could see the look Captain Janeway would give them for getting the away team into this mess.
"Wait!" Tom yelled frantically to Ferrod. "We can't help you. You've made a mistake. We haven't promised anything!!"
B'Elanna looked around at the faces of the crowd around them.faces that were rapidly becoming hostile as Tom's words were quickly passed from one group to another.
"Yet!" she yelled. "We haven't promised anything, yet. We need to sit down together and work out a plan. We're all tired," she continued in a persuasive voice, quite unlike her usual blunt speech. "Let us all rest awhile. It will do us no good to go rushing through those doors, only to be captured again. A good plan is not the work of a moment."
She turned to face the steps.
"Prime Ferrod, ask your good citizens to rest and gather their strength for the fight to come."
"Lanna is right!" Ferrod forceful voice turned all eyes his way. "We must make a plan of attack. We must consider who our friends still are and what resources we have to do battle with."
His voice became soft and soothing, "Lie down, friends. Comfort your children. Think of your homes that you will soon be seeing again." His voice rose. "I would like the head of each family to come up to the steps, and, of course, our allies, Tom and Lanna. The war council is now in session!"
Tom had been looking at B'Elanna with a dumfounded stare ever since she had begun to speak.
As the heads of families started to ascend the steps, B'Elanna looked over at Tom and raised her eyebrows. "Diplomatic lessons, huh?"
She grabbed Tom's hand and half dragged him up the steps.
Neelix was the first to hear it. Although he was in the middle of the pack, he was the only one not talking. The Ensigns Parsons and Harlow were walking ahead of him, talking in low voices. Parsons nodding his head vigorously at what Harlow was saying. The Captain and Commander were walking together a little way behind him. Their voices were even more hushed in deference to the still sleeping Leelu.
At first Neelix didn't realize what he was hearing. He slowed down and listened harder. "There," he thought, " I did hear something!"
Turning, he waved his arms at the two behind him.
"Captain, Captain, I hear something, I really do. I.I think it sounds like.humming?!"
"Humming, Mr. Neelix?" The Captain walked up to him and placed her hand on his arm.
Neelix nodded his head, sending his blond ponytail bobbing up and down. "Yes, yes, Captain. Listen!"
The team stood still and listened. For just a moment, they heard it too, and then it stopped.
"That's curious," Ensign Harlow wondered. "It sounded like hundreds of voices."
"It did, indeed, Ensign." Captain Janeway nodded in agreement.
"Momma?" asked a small voice.
A sleepy little head raised itself from Chakotay's shoulder.
"No, I'm Chakotay, remember?"
"I heard my Mommy singing," insisted Leelu.
"We're trying to find your mother now, Leelu. Would you like to go back to sleep?" asked Captain Janeway.
"No," the little one replied. "But, Kotay can still carry me. Can I have more food, Kotay? I'm hungry."
Laughing, Chakotay reached into his sack and gave his little passenger some more food sticks.
Leelu settled back across Chakotay's shoulder, crunching on her veggie sticks. She seemed to have gotten over all her fears of these "beasts."
Exchanging a grin with her First Officer, Janeway then turned to the rest of her crew and said, "All right, everyone. It seems we're getting closer to finding out about this mystery. From now on, we will be on yellow alert. Move cautiously and keep your eyes and ears opened. We will defend ourselves if necessary, but we will not start a confrontation. Is that clear?" At their nods, she continued. "The first thing we have to do is stop these "weapons" from making so much noise. We're announcing our presence with every step."
Chakotay caught a look from his Captain and took over the instructions.
"Hold your weapons in your hands and away from your body. This way they can't hit together. I'll take back one of the "spades" and." He responded to a frown from Janeway. "I can handle it. And Harlow and Parsons can take off their packs to give themselves more mobility."
A sudden thought struck him.
"Leelu, what are your mommy's and daddy's names? What do other grownups call them?"
Leelu turned around in Chakotay's arms and put her pale little hand against his cheek.
"My Mommy's name is Pourra and Daddy's name is Neddis, but Mommy calls him Neddy."
At the curious looks of the other team members, he grinned and said, "Well, if we need to find them in a crowd, we'll know whom to call."
"Good thinking, Commander." Janeway approved. "Let's move, people."
Walking double-time and silently, or as silently as possible, Voyager's away team moved up the familiar passageway.
Moving quickly, they strained their ears listening for any sounds up ahead.
Janeway thought she heard shouting and looking over at Chakotay, saw his nod of agreement.
The shouting died down, but now a steady murmur and rustling sounds could be heard.
Janeway motioned for her team to slow down and silently they crept around a corner of the passage.
They all stopped in shock. Hundreds and hundreds of Runarians were standing, sitting and lying on the floor of a large auditorium of sorts. At the front of the room the team could see a wide flight of stairs leading up to massive double doors. But, the sight that most took their breath away was the sight of Tom and B'Elanna sitting on the steps surrounded by over a hundred Runarians who were all talking and waving their hands over their heads. Even from this distance, Janeway and Chakotay could see that B'Elanna was reaching her boiling point. Tom had a calming hand on her arm and was talking to her urgently. Just then, an older looking man stood up and asked for silence. He then pointed to Tom and B'Elanna and gestured for them to speak.
The away team was so riveted at the sight of their teammates actions that they failed to realize that they were attracting a good deal of notice themselves.
The Runarians in the back of the crowd were turning to look at this new group. They began to nudge each other and whisper to their neighbors. Soon the murmur of their voices and their movement forward, away from the Voyager crew, drew the attention of the War Council on the steps.
Prime Ferrod leaned sideways as someone whispered urgently in his ear and pointed towards the back of the room. He stood up as tall as he could and looking over the heads of his people, he spotted the five alien newcomers.
Quickly overcoming a nervous flutter in his stomach at the sight of still more strangers, he turned to Tom and B'Elanna and whispered to them, "Do you know those people?"
Tom and B'Elanna stood up and looked where Ferrod was pointing. Tom gave a loud whoop.
"Captain!" he shouted. "Over here. We're over here!"
B'Elanna waved her hand in the air and yelled, "Chakotay!"
From the back of the room they heard Neelix shout, "Tom, B'Elanna! Look, Captain, Commander. It's Tom and B'Elanna! Over here, over here!" He waved both of his arms over his head making the weapons he carried clank loudly together.
Captain Janeway winced at the noise, but couldn't help having a big grin appear on her face as well.
Meanwhile, Leelu's sharp eyes had spotted her family up on the steps and her shrill little voice was added to the ruckus.
"Mommy, Daddy, I found you! She shrieked, bouncing up and down in Chakotay's arms.
Pourra and Neddis and their two older children started yelling as well as they saw their youngest nester in the grasp of the tall, dark alien.
"Leelu, Leelu, don't be afraid. We're coming to rescue you!" Pourra shouted. She started shoving her way through the crowd to reach her little treasure.
The crowd around Janeway and her team were milling around and murmuring to each other. They were confused. Were these new strangers also "Allies from the Stars" or were they beasts out to harm little Leelu?
Things were starting to get out of hand when, from the top of the stairs, B'Elanna, counting on her last success, again roared, "SHUT UP!"
The crowd, as they did last time, became instantly quiet and still. All but Pourra, who shoved her way through the last of the crowd, fearlessly marched up to Chakotay and held out her arms for her child. Chakotay quickly placed Leelu into her mother's eager embrace and stepped back beside his Captain.
Prime Ferrod, who was standing beside B'Elanna, nodded his thanks to her and raised his hands over his head.
"Citizens," he shouted. "Remain calm!" With a quick look over at Tom and B'Elanna, who nodded their heads at him, he continued. "We are grateful to our new allies who have obviously rescued little.Leelu," he added, with a quiet prompt from Neddis, "from the vicious jaws of the merciless vattors!"
Hearing how close her precious child had come to a grisly death, a wail went up from Pourra and she clutched her youngest even more closely to her maternal bosom.
"Please make way for our new friends to come forward and join us in our council." Ferrod instructed. "Welcome them, good citizens."
The Runarians near Janeway and her team stood back and formed an aisle for them to walk down. As the other people saw what was happening, they, too, backed away. In just a few minutes, they had cleared a wide passageway straight to the steps. As if by signal, the crowd raised their arms over their heads and stared humming and swaying back and forth.
Pourra, never being someone shy of public honor, sniffed loudly and lifting Leelu high on her shoulders, lead Voyager's away team up the aisle and to the waiting Prime Ferrod.
Janeway had her team quietly lay down their weapons and follow Pourra up the aisle. She and Chakotay walked together, followed by Neelix and the two ensigns. As she walked, Janeway whispered to Chakotay.
"I'm very curious to hear Tom's and B'Elanna's story. Let's keep quiet until we find out what they have told them about our being here. These people may just be the help we need to get back to Voyager."
"I agree, Captain." Chakotay whispered back.
As they approached the steps, Neelix excitedly called out, "Hoo hoo" to Tom and B'Elanna and started to wave his hand at them. Janeway looked over her shoulder and raised one eyebrow in silent rebuke. Chakotay dropped back, put his arm around the exuberant Talaxian and quietly told him their plan. Neelix nodded in understanding, made the "zip my lips and throw away the key" gesture that Tom had taught him, and gave Chakotay a knowing wink.
"You can count on me, Commander. Not a word," he promised.
The crowd stopped humming as they reached the bottom of the steps. Pourra marched right up. She and Leelu joined Neddis and the other children in a quiet family reunion.
Captain Janeway and her team walked up and stopped two steps below Prime Ferrod, who was listening intently to Tom and B'Elanna. He looked up as Janeway approached him.
"Captain Janeway, allow me to introduce myself. I am Ferrod, the legally elected Prime of Runar." He gave a small bow, his long, white hair falling over his head and tickling her in the face. "It is an honor to have such visitors as you and your brave crew on Runar. You have come in our hour of need. And for this, all good citizens of Runar thank you." He bowed again and Janeway just had time to draw back slightly to avoid another tickle.
"Thank you for your gracious welcome, Prime Ferrod," Janeway said. "May I introduce my crew to you. This is Commander Chakotay, my First Officer, Neelix our Chef, Moral Officer and Ambassador and two of our finest crewmen, Ensign Patricia Harlow and Ensign John Parsons. You have already met Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres and Ensign Tom Paris."
Ferrod bowed his head to each crewman as he or she was introduced. Janeway managed to dodge the flying topknot by stepping down one step to stand beside Chakotay.
When the introductions were over, Janeway turned to Ferrod.
"Prime Ferrod, we must speak together immediately. I believe that we can help each other."
"Of course, Captain," Ferrod answered. He motioned for several Runarians sitting on the steps to move over. "Please be seated. We would like to hear your story. Why are you on Runar and how did you get down into the underground complex?"
Janeway glanced over at Torres and Paris with a look that asked what story they had given. B'Elanna shook her head and Tom shrugged his shoulders to indicate that they had not as yet explained themselves to the Runarians.
So, Janeway told Ferrod and the others a little about Voyager's journey.how they had been hijacked into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker and how they were determined to get home to Earth, although the distance back to the Alpha Quadrant was so great that they might not get home in their lifetime. She told them about Voyager's perpetual need for replacement parts and supplies. How they depended on replenishing them by trading with the friendly races they came across in their travels.
Ferrod and the others exclaimed much on hearing about her crew's travels and adventures. But when Janeway explained how they had been cheated and captured by Rayoun's forces, Ferrod exchanged looks of shock with the other leaders sitting on the steps.
When she told how they had fought off the vattors that were sent to find them, gasps of horror and amazement were heard as her story was passed from one group to another. Telling about finding Leelu and bringing her safely with them elicited a teary hug from both Neddis and Pourra.
When she concluded her story, Ferrod sat a moment in thought. Then he stood up and addressing Janeway and her crew but speaking loudly enough so that the crowds could also hear, he said, "Captain Janeway, we are honored that you have shared your story with us. However, it saddens and angers us that that traitor, thief, murderer and impostor Rayoun has treated you in such a manner. We are horrified by their actions." And, indeed, horror, embarrassment and shock were clearly evident on his face and the faces of those sitting around them.
Ferrod drew in a deep breath and continued. "Captain Janeway, we Runarians are a friendly people. We are a people known for our helpfulness and generosity. We welcome trade with other races and our reputation is one of fairness and customer satisfaction. Please accept our most profound apology for the way you were treated and believe us when we say that we will do everything in our power to right this wrong that has been done to you."
Ferrod was near tears with his sincerity.
Janeway looked at Chakotay and raised one eyebrow. He smiled at her and gave her a small nod of encouragement.
Janeway rose to her feet and addressed Ferrod and the crowd.
"Prime Ferrod and citizens of Runar, we accept your apology. We now realize that the Runarians that we dealt with were not representational of true Runarians. We feel for you in your time of trouble. We are privileged to have met such an honorable and friendly race of people. We have only one wish.and that is to return to our ship. If you can help us do this, we will be eternally grateful." She turned from Prime Ferrod and, with her lopsided smile on her face, looked out on the Runarian people sitting and standing before her.
Slowly her smile faded. She looked down at the steps and licked her lips. Looking back up, the smile was replaced with a serious face. She put her hands on her hips and sighed. "But let me be perfectly clear about this," she said slowly and clearly, "We have a rule in our Federation, a rule so important that we call it our Prime Directive. And this rule will not allow us to interfere in the natural development of a culture. We cannot take sides in your dispute with Rayoun and his factions."
A gasp escaped from the crowd. Prime Ferrod and the citizens around him looked at each other with shock on their faces. The shock was slowly turning to anger when Captain Janeway held up her hand.
"Now, before you feed us to the vattors, hear me out." She glanced over at her crew and locked eyes with Chakotay for a brief moment. He nodded and smiled at her.
She drew in a breath and continued.
"While we cannot use our technology or weapons to help you in your fight against Rayoun, we have our own issues with him. He has taken some of my crew prisoner. He has abused and threatened them. He has endangered their lives. He has plotted to take over my ship." Janeway's voice took on a deep, gravely quality that made some of the Runarians on the steps near her slide back away from her as she slowly said. "I do not take kindly to anyone threatening my crew or ship."
Her voice rose as she talked. "So, we Voyagers have a score to settle with Rayoun and if that happens to place us at your side, well.so be it."
Ferrod was beside himself with relief. Alternately waving his hands over his head and calling out to his citizens to honor and embrace their fellow.not allies.avengers, he soon had the crowd in a frenzy.
Undercover of the uproar, Janeway gathered her crew together and had a short conference. Tom quickly told her what had happened to him and B'Elanna. Janeway filled Tom and B'Elanna on their adventures.
"Now," Janeway continued, "we have to come up with a plan." She beat a fist into the palm of her hand in frustration. " We don't have enough information about what is going on up there. We need to know Voyager's status. Damn! What I wouldn't give for a little information."
TO BE CONTINUED