Estranged Relations
Chapter 7: Avoiding War
Voyager had only made it half way through the Neutral Zone when the first volleys of fire were felt. Shinzon asked his tactical officer for a report. This tactical officer was seasoned, Shinzon told himself, but he missed Tuvok's wisdom in situations like these. "Sir, a Reman war bird has just de-cloaked in front of us, and a Romulan war bird is responsible for the volley we just received."
Shinzon tried to not let his panic show to his crew. He had never known the two races to work together, but for an ambush like this to take place, there was no other explanation. He started plotting strategies in his mind and ordered his senior staff to take their places on the bridge.
B'Elanna and Tom were the first to arrive. Shinzon informed them of the situation He talked privately to Tom stating he wanted to be with Kat in case they tried to take her again, and Tom nodded with understanding. Tom assumed control of the bridge. Shinzon mulled over the situation as he headed towards sickbay. He wasn't worried about the Romulans or Remans destroying Voyager and its crew, this was a personal attempt at him, not the Federation.
The Doctor nodded to Shinzon as he entered the sick bay. Kat laid motionless on one of the beds. The Doctor explained to Shinzon that he had sedated Kat upon their arrival back to Voyager. Kat needed rest and was very emotional about her recent adventure on Remus. Shinzon nodded to the Doctor in understanding and asked him about Alura. The Doctor said Alura hadn't left Kat's side since their arrival back, but upon feeling the weapons fire they had received, she had started to worry and kept asking if the force field around Kat was still working. Shinzon looked back at Kat's bed, and noticed Alura in the corner. He didn't know why he hadn't seen her there before, but she looked like someone ready for battle even if awakened from her stupor to a fight. He had never seen her look this way before. He asked the Doctor to allow him access to his little girl, and proceeded through an opening in the force field to be with Kat.
Shinzon looked at Alura and asked her about the circumstances preceding the escape back to Voyager. Alura explained to him how she was Chen's sex slave, and was committed to following his orders. Then she explained how Kat had been taken to taunt Shinzon into starting a war with the Star Empire, and how she had become determined to leave her life behind, reunite him with his daughter and suffer whatever consequences he had for her.
Shinzon was appalled. He told Alura to leave him and his daughter. She could come to see Kat again, but he needed time to thing about how he would deal with her deception. He turned to the Doctor and asked him if Kat could be awakened. The Doctor didn't like the idea, but he granted Shinzon's wishes.
Kat fought against waking up at first. Shinzon kissed his little girls cheeks and forehead as he had when she was little, and her stirrings became more pronounced. She looked up at her father and asked him if they were safely back in Federation space. Shinzon didn't know how to tell her the danger was still very near, but he did. He had decided not to keep things from Kat, she wasn't as little as he wanted her to be, and they needed to be a family now more than ever.
Kat sat up; more awake now and asked her father why he was there in sickbay instead of on the bridge. She told him their only hope was to have him in command right now. She reminded him that the needs of the one could not be seen to before the needs of the many. She told him she would feel safer knowing he was up there instead of hiding with her down in sick bay.
Shinzon smiled at his little girl. He had never noticed how much she was like him. He agreed that he was needed back on the bridge and asked her to call him if she needed anything at all. Kat gazed at her father, unsure of how he would take her next question. She decided the worse thing he could do was to tell her no, so she asked, "Dad, I want to be on the bridge with you."
As they walked onto the bridge the crew turned and nodded assurances to them both. They knew Shinzon wouldn't have brought Kat to the bridge unless he had a purpose for her being there. He asked Tom for a report after making sure Kat had a seat beside him.
"Captain, the warp core is off line, weapons are off line, and we are down to 10% shields." Tom said half heartedly. Shinzon turned to Kat to see how she had taken Tom's news and he saw her standing there as stoic as any of his senior officers.
"Have we been contacted?" Shinzon asked Tom.
"No Sir, the Romulan ship is still behind us, but they are just sitting there. Unfortunately, we are caught in the middle of a war for power, and we are the prize. "
Shinzon thought about what Tom had said, he remembered learning about Earth's duels from the 19th century. He agreed with Tom that they were indeed the prize. He turned to B'Elanna and asked her how soon Engineering could get systems back on line. B'Elanna didn't give Shinzon the answer he wanted, but at least she was realistic with her estimation of two hours. "Do your best Commander, we need to plan an escape before the Romulans and Remans get bored staring at each other. If we can't, we'll have to self destruct, and I don't want to entertain that option."
B'Elanna acknowledged Shinzon and left the bridge for Engineering. Kat turned to her father and whispered to him, "Dad, I have an idea."
Shinzon listened to Kat. He knew her idea was similar to one Kathryn had used while in the Delta Quadrant. He thought about it, and decided the plan could give them the time needed to make repairs. He contacted B'Elanna and said, "Commander Torres, would it be possible to bring the holo-emitters we have on the hull on-line?"
B'Elanna knew at once what Shinzon was going to try. "Yes Sir, we have projection capabilities."
Shinzon then explained Kat's plan to her. He wanted to send the Delta Flyer out with bio-readings of Kat and Alura. He turned to Tom and told him that he would be piloting the Flyer by remote. He knew with B'Elanna and Tom controlling the actions and the readings of the Flyer, the Romulans would follow in pursuit. He hoped it gave them enough time to get systems back and come up with a plan of escape.
As preparations were being made, Shinzon contacted the Reman war bird. He asked them to state their intentions. "Shinzon, we are here to insure your safety. Until you have your systems on line, the Romulan war bird has been told to stand down or be destroyed." Razolon was pretty sure Shinzon had believed his statements. The Reman Viceroy had decided long ago that Shinzon had become soft and too trusting for his own good, now it would prove to be his undoing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kat looked at her father. He seemed to be more relaxed after talking to Razolon. Kat didn't trust the Reman though. Something in his tone of voice reminded her of Chen. She started to tell her father this when the Romulan war bird hailed them.
"Shinzon, I believe you have my pet. Return her, and I shall let you go. I tire of this game we play. If you decide not to comply, I will view this as an act of war and will inform the Federation of your actions." Chen had fury in his voice. Kat could feel her heartbeat quicken as she realized he could mean Alura. Could this pursuit be to recapture Alura and not her? Kat thought about it more and realized she was furious with Alura for putting them all in such danger by escaping.
Shinzon knew of course that Alura was now Chen's objective since he failed to keep Kat in his control. He turned to Kat and saw that the color had drained from her face. He decided Kat had been up too long and decided to escort her back to their quarters for a much needed rest while he tried to deal with Chen and his request.
As soon as Shinzon reached the bridge he contacted B'Elanna to launch the Delta Flyer. B'Elanna answered that the Delta Flyer had launched only moments before his hail. Shinzon asked B'Elanna why she had launched the Flyer so soon. B'Elanna said she didn't. Shinzon then turned to the helmsman and ordered the Flyer to be hailed. The helmsman said, "Sir, our hails are being ignored."
Shinzon turned to look at Tom. Commander Paris was viewing the Flyer's bio-readings and looked up as Shinzon started to ask him for a report. "Sir, Kat and Alura are on board the Flyer. Do you want us to try to transport them back to Voyager?"
Shinzon didn't know what Alura was up to, but he wasn't about to let his little girl endure more pain for him. He had Tom try to bring them back, but the Flyer was out of reach. They tried a tractor beam, but it too failed. All they could do now was wait. If they moved Shinzon was afraid they would be fired upon. Not only that, most of their systems were still off line.