In a Single Heartbeat
Disclaimer – See Chapter One.
Chapter Six – B'Elanna
B'Elanna awoke to someone tugging on her shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes to see a young boy staring down at her. Who is he? How did he get aboard the shuttle?
"Please, you must wake up. The guards are returning." The boy pulled the blanket off of B'Elanna. He waved a phaser around. "They will scavenge the ship. We must hide."
Trying to stand brought renewed pain to B'Elanna's back as she remembered the crash, coming to, and realizing that Tom and Chakotay weren't on the shuttle. The boy had appeared and told her that some guards had taken the men away. She shook her head to clear it and rummaged for a medkit in the debris on the floor of the shuttle.
"Now. We must hide now," the boy moved toward the hatch. He turned around and motioned to B'Elanna. "Come, they are on the far side of the clearing. If we run to the woods, we can hide." He moved back and took her arm.
"I'm coming. Just let me grab another phaser." B'Elanna noted that the boy still clutched hers in his hand. I'll have to trust him. After all, he did stay with me last night.
They climbed out of the hatch and B'Elanna nearly cried out from the sharp pain in her back when her feet touched the ground. She wondered if it was broken or just badly bruised from the crash. They ran for the woods without looking back. Once in the shelter of the trees, she looked back to the shuttle. Several tall men in black uniforms approached the shuttle with weapons drawn. "Who are they?" she gasped. "Do you know where they took the two men who were with me?"
"They are the Goroth guards. They take the men to work the mines. My grandfather can tell you more," he glanced at the shuttle then turned back to the trees. "Come, our camp is a short walk from here." He began to move away from her.
"Please wait," B'Elanna said as she dug into the medkit. Finding a hypospray, she quickly loaded it with Hydrocortilene and pressed it against her neck. She waited a few moments until she felt the pain recede, then straightening her back; she shouldered the medkit and followed the boy deeper into the woods.
* * * * *
Chakotay pitched another piece of ore into the bin and wiped the dust from his face. He glanced at Tom who was uncharacteristically quiet. The younger man had been working steadily and had filled two of the bins with ore.
"You two are not Helmar," the sudden voice at his side startled Chakotay. He turned to see one of the other men staring at him. "You are an offworlder, are you not?" the man questioned.
Chakotay looked up to see the others had stopped work to hear his answer. "Yes, we are from another place." He glanced back to see that Tom continued to work. That's odd. Usually Paris would be the first to jump into a conversation. "Are you Helmar?" he asked.
The others moved slowly toward Chakotay. "Yes," the first man answered. We were captured after our ship was brought down onto Goron. I am called Lonten."
"I am Chakotay and my friend is Tom," Chakotay indicated the lieutenant.
"You
are military?" the man asked, reaching toward Chakotay's uniform.
"No, we are from a starship a long way from home."
A sudden noise from the entrance caused the men to quickly resume their work. Two of the guards entered the cavern. One of them was carrying a large bucket similar to the one that morning. He also carried several tall flasks tied together with long cords. The other had a flat basket in one hand, his rifle pointed at the men in the other. They set the items down and stood back. "You will eat and return to work," the older looking guard announced. He slowly walked around glancing into the bins. "I see we will have food left over tonight, since these bins are not filling up." He sneered at the men and turned to leave. "You have five more hours until our return." The two left and the men moved toward the food. They found water in the flasks and passed them among themselves, leaving one for Chakotay and Tom.
Chakotay opened the flat basket and saw what looked like chunks of some sort of bread. Once again, the bucket contained a hot broth with a simple wooden ladle. No bowls this time. He let the Helmar go to the food first as he moved to Tom. The lieutenant was leaning against the bin, his head down, his arms crossed tightly on his chest, and he was shivering slightly. His face was pale with his right eye almost swollen shut. He didn't appear to hear Chakotay approach. "Tom, you need to eat something. You've been working pretty steadily now for several hours."
Tom raised his head but didn't look at Chakotay. "B'Elanna can't take the cold. It's her Klingon blood." His words were somewhat slurred.
Chakotay touched Tom's arm. "Tom, are you alright?"
"Huh?" Tom straightened and turned to Chakotay. "Yeah, just a little tired." He slumped back against the bin.
Chakotay went to the bucket and ladled out some broth. He picked up the remaining flask and brought them both to Tom. "Here, take some of this. At least it will warm you up." He held the ladle out to Tom.
Tom slowly raised his head, glanced at the ladle and turned away. "I'm not really hungry." He moved back to the wall. "I'll …get back to work now. We n..need to fill these bins."
Chakotay gently took Tom by the arm and moved him toward one of the overturned bins. "Sit down, you need to rest." He sat next to him and took a good look at the younger man. Tom's hands were bleeding from several small cuts that occurred when he grasped the rock trying to break off the ore. Chakotay noticed that his hands were also bleeding. The right side of Tom's face was bruised, his eyes were not clearly focused, and he continued to shiver. "I'm no medic, but I think you've got one hell of a concussion. How do you feel?"
"My head hurts and I'm cold." Tom mumbled.
Lonten approached the two crewmen. "Your friend is ill?" he asked.
Chakotay turned to see the others gathered around. "Yes, he hit his head when we crashed and then the guard hit him with the rifle. I believe he has a concussion." When they looked confused, he continued. "His skull may have been cracked and there could be swelling in his brain. He needs medical care."
"He won't be getting it from the Goroth, but we could help." He squatted next to Tom. "You rest now. We'll fill the bins for you." He gently placed his hand on Tom's shoulder.
"No, I have to do my sh..share." Tom started to stand but was pushed back down onto the bin.
"Son, I'm old enough to be your father and on my world we respect our elders' advice," he gave Chakotay a smile and continued. "Now, you rest while we get back to work. You really should drink some of the broth and the water. It's not good to get dehydrated with all of this dust – it gets into your lungs." He moved away and the others resumed their work.
Tom leaned back against the wall and looked up at Chakotay. "Maybe he's right. I'll just close my eyes for awhile."
"Not before you have some of this before it gets cold." Chakotay handed the ladle to Tom who drank the liquid, then closed his eyes. "I'll leave the water with you," Chakotay said as he leaned the flask against the bin. He returned the ladle to the bucket, took a drink and grabbed a piece of bread before heading back to work.
* * * * *
A small clearing with several wooden huts, appeared in the woods and the boy led B'Elanna into it. "Grandfather!" he called out. "We have a visitor. She's an offworlder."
An older man with pale skin and light green hair stepped out from behind a large tree. He moved quickly toward the boy and B'Elanna noted that he had the same large gray eyes. "Retrill!" he clasped the boy to him. "You have returned safely. We had thought that the guards took you to the mines." He continued to hold the boy while he looked up at B'Elanna. He was about four inches shorter than she was with his back stooped from age. "Please excuse my manners." He indicated a short log in front of the largest hut. "Come sit and tell me how you came to be with my grandson."
B'Elanna allowed herself to be led to the log and winced in pain as she sat down. Several older women came toward the hut and sat down on the ground to listen to her. "I am from far from here and my companions were abducted by these guards you speak of. Could you take me to the mines?"
Retrill shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry but we do not know where the mines are. The guards always come at night and take the men and boys by transport." He motioned one of the women forward. "You look to be injured. We do have a healer in camp. Unfortunately, our doctor was also abducted."
The woman moved to sit next to B'Elanna and produced a small scanner. "You have several sprained muscles in your back and one of the bones, here," she touched B'Elanna's spine just under her the edge of her jacket, "appears to have a crack."
B'Elanna let out a small gasp when the woman touched her back. "I have an osteoregenerator in that bag." She pointed to the medkit. "I could show you how to use it."
The woman smiled at B'Elanna. "My dear, I was the doctor's first assistant. I have experience with medical equipment." She frowned and glanced away. When she turned back, she spoke in a faint whisper. "We do not have access to such supplies and have watched many of our people suffer needlessly." She stood and held out her hand. "Come, we will go to my hut. I will treat your injuries."
B'Elanna stood up slowly and walked to one of the smaller huts on the far side of the clearing. "Thank you. I never meant to insult your abilities." She looked around. "It just seems that you don't have many conveniences here."
"We did before the Goroth came," the woman pulled aside a rough curtain and ushered B'Elanna into the hut.
tbc…