Disclaimer: Paramount owns the universe and all the regular characters, I just play here.
2. Stranded.
Two days later Voyager was in orbit around an M-class planet. Sensors had shown lots of native vegetation, some of which might well be a good addition to their food supplies. As Chakotay got ready to call a team together, Janeway shot him a look. He returned her gaze and sighed.
"Mr. Kim, come with me please. Chakotay to Leena, report to transporter room one, please."
As he got on the turbolift, he caught the Captain giving him a quick encouraging nod. *Why does it make me feel worse instead of better?* he thought as the turbolift took off toward the transporter room. He did not have much time to think about it, as they arrived at the transporter room.
Leena came from the other side of the corridor, clipping her tricorder on her belt as she walked.
Chakotay, Kim and Leena stepped onto the platform.
"Energize," Chakotay said, and they felt the transporter take a hold of them.
A moment later they were on the planet surface. Before they had fully materialised they knew something was wrong. The planet they had orbitted had been uninhabited, showing lush vegetation. The planet they had just landed on, however, was definitely inhabited. Not far from them buildings rose, and they could see a road running toward the city.
They immediately grabbed their tricorders. A ground vehicle sped along the road, not stopping or showing any sign the driver had noticed them.
Chakotay hit his combadge. "Chakotay to Voyager." Nothing.
Kim and Leena tried theirs, as was procedure in such cases, but neither really expected an answer. Nor did their tricorders give them any sign of Voyager in orbit.
"Where are we?" Kim voiced the question they all had.
"I don't know." Chakotay looked around. "It is a class M planet. Were there any inhabited class M planets close to the system we were orbiting?"
"No, sir. No class M anywhere except for the one we intended to beam down to. And there just is no way we could have missed a civilisation like this one," Kim said.
"Then where are we?" Chakotay wondered.
Leena looked up from her tricorder. "Commander? I think we might be on the right planet after all. These plants are the ones we beamed down to collect, or at least, these readings are quite close to what the ship's sensors gathered on them. I would say that we are in the right place, but in the wrong time."
Kim made a few adjustments on his tricorder. "Leena is correct, sir. Tricorder readings are showing a rapidly dissipating ion concentration. My best guess is that there was a small time rupture, and we were beamed right through it."
"Is there any chance either we or Voyager could open it up again?" Chakotay asked.
"Negative, sir," Leena replied. "The remaining ions react with the elements in the atmosphere, eliminating any possibility of another rupture on this spot for days to come."
"We will try to gather as much information as we can, and work it out later," Chakotay said. He knew that if the signs were fading, they had to get the readings before it all dissipated. They scanned the area for several minutes until everything had levelled out.
Kim shivered. It was cold here, much colder than the ship's sensors had shown for the time they had intended to beam down to. Chakotay noticed. He was cold, too. He looked around. If the weather confirmed to the same patterns as on most M class planets, it would get much colder at night.
"We can not stay out here. It will get cold tonight. We'll go to the city and see about finding some shelter." He looked them over. "I'm afraid we will not be able to pass for anything but aliens, whatever they look like on this planet."
He did not like to expose themselves to an alien culture, but he saw no other choice. They did not carry any supplies, as they had not expected to be on the planet for any length of time.
"Still, if at all possible, we won't give any details about where we came from," he added.
Kim and Leena nodded, and they started to walk toward the town. They reached the closest buildings after only about a fifteen minute's walk, but as this looked like a residential area, they kept going.
The people looked humanoid, with ridges that were somewhat similar to the Kazon, but still different enough to distinguish, even from a distance. Even though they saw no other aliens, few people looked twice at them.
They walked on toward the city center. Here there were shops, cafe's and other businesses. As they passed a bar, Chakotay decided to go in. They were all shivering, and they needed to get out of the cold to discuss where to go.
As they entered and looked around. Chakotay cursed. "Damn. They still use money."
So much for a warm drink. In the back, a group of people was playing a game not unlike pool, although the table was triangular, with five pockets spaced along the sides. One of the men sank three green balls in succession, followed by a bright yellow one, and several of the spectators cheered. Some coin changed hands.
"Perhaps that could get us some money." Kim suggested, but Chakotay shook his head. He'd watched the man play, too, and knew he didn't stand a chance.
"I could never match that. Perhaps the Captain could, but I can't win from that guy. Besides, we'd need something to start with."
As they stood looking around, the bartender watched them uncertainly. "Are you going to watch, or are you going to order something?" he finally asked.
Chakotay approached the bar. "We are not well known in these parts. Is there any place we can find shelter for the night?"
The bartender looked them over again. "You don't look like the street people. Lost your money, or did you get robbed?"
"We got stranded here, we hadn't intended to stay long," Chakotay answered. It was always best to stay as close to the truth as possible.
"There's the town shelter a couple of streets over. But you really don't want to go there, with all the street people. If you've been robbed you should try the police station. It's right over on the other side of the street, about a velna further up town."
With that, a few of the pool players came over to the bar, and the bartender excused himself to take their orders. Chakotay thanked him, and they went back outside.
Although they had no idea what a velna was, they found the police station a little less than a kilometer from the bar. They went in.
The officer at the front desk was quite friendly as he, too, looked at their clothes and decided they did not look like the 'street people' the bartender had mentioned. Still, he was of little real help.
"I am sorry to hear you got stranded. The best thing to get money would be to get a job, if you can find one. The shop owners at the Promenade sometimes take people on to run errands or unload their supplies. If you have any money at all, you can go to the shelter. They charge only 2 bac a night, and they serve a warm meal for one more," the officer told them.
"I'm afraid we don't have any money on us," Chakotay said. "Is there any way we can borrow some, we could pay back in a few days."
The officer shook his head. "With the number of street people, no one will lend you any." He looked at their thin uniforms. "You can try to get credit at the shelter. Tell Lady Roon that officer Fanio sent you."
That was all they got from the police station. They thanked the police officer, and walked to the shelter, asking for Lady Roon.
The lanky man who had opened the door called her. "Lady Roon! Folks to see ye!"
A big woman emerged from the back.
"Whatdoyewan?" she grumbled.
"We are looking for shelter for the night," Chakotay explained. "Officer Fanio sent us."
Her expression softened somewhat as she heard the name.
"We have no money, but he said you might give us credit," Chakotay continued.
Lady Roon shook her head. "I'm sorry. If Fanio sent you I'd help you any other time, but with this weather we are packed with people who pay up front. We might have to sent people away as is." She looked at their uniforms. "Still, you've got to get off the streets. You should try the Promenade, doing odd jobs for the store owners."
"The Promenade?" Kim asked. That was the same thing officer Fabio had mentioned.
"It's the covered shopping mall in the center of town. It'll be warmer there, although you can't stay there over night."
They got directions from Lady Roon, and went on.