Disclaimer: Sadly we do not own any of the Voyager characters, ships, plots or universe. They belong to Paramount.
Summary: After a year of being home, Voyager's scattered crew gathers together for one last battle~ but it's not the jolly reunion one might expect… Janeway, Chakotay, Tuvok, Tom, B'Elanna, Harry, Seven, Celes…and some new characters. Enjoy!
Past Re-Visited
By Erin and Rebecca
Chapter 24:
Back in Battle
The prisoners were finding answers to more than a few questions that had been bothering Tuvok in the past few days…one of which was the surprising fact that they hadn't been there for days at all. If he weren't a Vulcan, he would have been furious when he learned that the P'Tals had stimulated their brains and altered their perceptions…essentially tricking them into thinking more time had passed than actually had. This accomplished two things: sped up their sick experiments and convinced them both that they'd been starving. And to make matters worse, Tuvok had no idea how to reverse it. They'd only been on the planet for about 28 hours…but it felt like weeks.
Luckily, leftover meals combined with the knowledge of what the P'Tals had done to him had mobilized Chakotay and the two worked quickly without detection. "Tuvok," Chakotay called, his eyes still on the screen in front of him. Tuvok crossed the room as Chakotay revealed a set of schematics that seemed to detail the layout of the base they were underneath. "Look here," he pointed out a specific juncture. "This leads to the upper levels. We could use that to access this main shuttle bay. Steal a ship, make for the nearest non-hostile colony."
Tuvok looked behind him. We will need more weapons. The banks in the guards' phasers are down to 13% efficiency."
Chakotay crossed his arms, thinking. "What if we backtracked. Made our way back through the cell blocks where we know the guards' positions."
Tuvok nodded, "I suggest moving through the south corridor. It's narrow. The guards will not be able to hide so easily."
"Agreed," he took a deep breath and walked to the table, retrieving his stolen rifle. "Let's go."
The comrades made their way down the tunnels almost a hundred yards without incident. But the combination of their altered mental status and sheer stress caused even Tuvok to error. They took a wrong turn.
"Hey!" came an angry grunt as Chakotay rounded a curve and straight into the end of a new guard's gun. But he acted quickly. Tuvok hadn't yet turned the corner. Chakotay shot his arms in the air in surrender as the guard advanced. The pompous P'Tal smirked as he sauntered to his captive, and then before he knew what had happened, Chakotay dropped to the floor and Tuvok emerged, firing point blank. Their enemy fell to the ground with a heavy thud as Chakotay rose and brushed himself off. "Good work," he said.
But Tuvok didn't answer. His eyes were glued to the cell the P'Tal had been guarding. "Tuvok?" Chakotay asked and then he turned following the Vulcan's gaze…and then he gasped."
A man was lying spread-eagle on the floor of the cell, the same crude force field surrounding him. He was covered in dirt and dried blood but Chakotay would know that wild fiery orange hair anywhere. He took a cautious step forward, almost afraid of what he already knew. On the floor lay a man Chakotay hadn't seen in over a year. Not since he left Voyager to stay with his race. They had assumed he would live at peace there, content with his own people. But there he was staring back at them with black eyes…The P'Tals had captured Neelix.
Annika cried out as she was thrown to the floor. One more violent shake and she wasn't sure how much longer this already crippled ship could last.
"Kyle! Divert more power to the engines!" she shouted. Completely confident in the boy's unprecedented talents, in the short time they'd had together Annika had come to understand that Kyle Tilden was the most resourceful and capable youth she'd ever met and that included Icheb. And now…trapped in the middle of a nearly hopeless battle with a rogue mercenary ship on their tail, she felt very fortunate to have him at ops.
They'd spent over 6 hours inside the polar nebula running dozens of scans in the process to be sure the coast was clear. When she'd finally convinced Kyle that it was best to keep moving so that they could leave Borg space, they moved out of the Nebula and set course for a nearby M class planet Annika recalled was just beyond that zone and would provide more protection than the Nebula. The journey went well and without incident. In fact, they were nearly 40 minutes from entering orbit when a hostile trading ship that refused to accept hails had opened fire. She and Kyle had been struggling ever since to evade them. "Shields are down to 40%!"
Annika huffed, "We can't take another hit," more to herself than to Kyle. But of this, Kyle was well aware.
"We're two minutes from the planet. If we can hold on that long-"
They shook again, sending sparks up at Kyle's station. For a moment, Annika assumed that he was just startled. But when he remained silent, Annika sprang to his side in a panic.
"Kyle!" she shouted. He was cut across the forehead and knocked unconscious but he was still alive. The ship shook once more and Annika felt something begin to seep into her…failure. There was no hope. She was going to die. She'd been assimilated as a child, rescued as an adult, re-introduced to humanity and allowed a second chance to rebuild a life…only to be destroyed by this parasite of a vessel that the Athena could've disabled in seconds…and now Kyle would perish as well.
A tear trailed down her cheek and she recalled the last time she had cried…the moment Chakotay had left. His face and others flashed before her eyes as she scooped up Kyle from the floor and clutched him to her breast. The malfunctioning computer sputtered a final warning and she closed her eyes.
"Barclay to Janeway."
"Go ahead Reg."
"Captain, with minimal staff, I've been able to keep this mission from the team. But that shift is nearly over. It's now or never."
"Understood Lieutenant. Enter the coordinates in to the array and begin the launch sequence."
"Yes Ma'am…good luck."
"Thank you Reg…for everything. Doctor, lay in a course to match the array. Warp 6."
The Doctor, armed with his mobile emitter confirmed the orders. "Course laid in Captain."
Janeway gripped the arm rests on her old chair and took a deep breath. "Engage."
It happened as fast as she remembered it. Transport to the Delta Quadrant was instantaneous. They were back.
"Captain," the Doctor cried, "We're receiving a distress signal. Some sort of salvage ship under attack. 70 kilometers."
"On screen," Janeway answered, her Captain's instincts taking precedence over her resolve not to be distracted from her personal mission. Like it or not, she was still Starfleet. And someone was in distress.
She watched as the battle was waged on the viewscreen. "Hail them," she sprang forward in disbelief. The little ship looked as if it had nearly split in two.
"No response. Captain, sensors indicate a warp core breach is eminent."
"Can you get a lock on the crew?"
"Affirmative. Two…human life signs."
Kathryn didn't hesitate. "Beam them out of there!" She had scarcely said it when the space before her lit up like a fire ball…and the little ship was gone, its attacker already retreating as if it had just finished squashing a bug. "Do you have them?"
The Doctor spun around in his chair and grinned his old self-assuring grin, "We have them."
Janeway gave a definitive nod. "Good. Head down to transporter room 3 and initiate an introduction."
"Yes Captain." The Doctor left quickly and Janeway took over the helm. She immediately ran all the diagnostics Reg had set for her and established the coaxial link between them and the array. So far, the lifeline was in tact and she was about to begin a series of long range scans when the Doctor's voice sounded through the comm system. "Doctor to Janeway." He sounded both elated and confused.
"Go ahead."
"Our guests are safe. One is badly injured so I'm taking him to sickbay."
"Very good Doctor-"
"And Captain…the other is Annika."
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