In a Single Heartbeat
Disclaimer – See Chapter One.
Chapter Seven – New Arrivals
Chakotay tossed another chunk of ore into the bin next to him and glanced back to check on Tom. The younger man was not there and Chakotay looked around the cavern. He heard the soft murmur of Tom's voice from the other side and saw that he was sitting on an overturned bin with a small mallet in his hand. One of the younger Helmar handed him a large segment of rock and Tom proceeded to break off the pieces of ore and toss them into the bin between the two men.
Chakotay continued with the section of wall he was working on until the bin before him was full. He then moved to Tom's side. "How are you doing, Paris?" he asked, noting that Tom was leaning against the wall of the cavern.
Tom glanced up at Chakotay and gave him a slight smile. "Better than this morning." He indicated the young man at his side. "Bromar, here and I worked out a system. He breaks off the larger pieces of rock and I extract the ore. It's kind of like an assembly line." Tom's words were still slightly slurred and his right eye was now completely closed. He shrugged his shoulders and tossed a bit of ore into the bin. "Besides, I get sort of dizzy when I stand up. This way I'm still doing my share."
Chakotay noted that the bin was only about half full of ore. Taking a closer look at Bromar, he realized that the youngster was probably barely in his teens and frail looking. Leave it to Paris to find the weakest one here and befriend him. "Let me help you two. I just finished the other bin." He moved next to Bromar and swung his mallet at an overhanging bit of the wall.
A piercing whistle sounded and the Goroth guards suddenly appeared at the entrance to the cavern. They moved swiftly, pointing their rifles at the men working. "The ten hours are through. We will inspect your progress," the leader announced. He stalked around the room counting the number of full bins. Coming to stand in front of Bromar, he sneered as he looked into his bin. "It would appear that there are only nine full bins. This one will not eat tonight," he pointed to Bromar with his rifle and turned to leave.
"Stop!" Tom stood up and approached the guard. "That bin is mine. He already filled his and was helping me." Tom pointed to bin he had filled earlier. "That one is his. He gets to eat tonight."
Bromar shook his head but Tom put out his hand to stop him from speaking.
The guard glared at Tom, glanced down at Bromar with a knowing look and then gestured to his men. "The young one eats." He pointed to Tom. "Take this one to his hut."
One of the men grabbed Tom's arm and pulled him from the cavern. The others slowly followed and were marched back to the encampment. One of the Helmar started a fire and once again a hot broth with chunks of dark bread was passed out to the men.
Chakotay tried to palm a piece of bread to bring back to Tom but one of the guards spotted him. "You eat here. No food is to go back to the huts." He threw the bread into the fire and walked away laughing with the other guards.
Chakotay entered the small hut to find Tom asleep on his cot. He crawled under the thin blanket and closed his eyes. B'Elanna I hope that you are alright and found a way to contact Voyager.
Several hours later, Chakotay heard the door of the hut close. He looked at the other cot and it was empty. He stood, wrapping the blanket around himself and went outside. He could hear retching from the far side of the hut and walked around to find Tom wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
Tom looked up when he heard Chakotay approach. "I guess that stuff from lunch really didn't agree with me." He tried to joke but Chakotay could see the slight sheen of sweat on Tom's pale face although he was shivering in the cold air.
Chakotay took his blanket and draped it across Tom's shoulders. "Come back inside and lie down." He led Tom back into the hut and helped him to sit on the cot. "You need medical attention but I don't think those guards will do anything."
There was a slight tap at the door and Chakotay opened it cautiously. Bromar stood in the doorway glancing quickly to see if the guards were outside. "Please, I have something for Tom," he whispered. "I don't think the guards have seen me."
Chakotay moved aside and Bromar entered moving to Tom's cot. "We saw you trying to sneak some bread, and when the guards were laughing amongst themselves, Lonten and I were able to hide some in our shirts." He took two small pieces of the bread out of his shirt and held them out to Tom. "Lonten said you must eat something. You offered yourself to help me."
Tom took the bread and bit off a small piece. "Thank you. You should get back before the guards check the huts."
Bromar nodded and left the hut. Tom finished one piece of bread and tucked the second into his own shirt before lying back down on the cot. Suddenly they heard the rumble of a ground transport and the guards shouting. Chakotay opened the door a crack and peered out. "It appears that we have some new arrivals." He moved back to sit on his cot.
The sharp sounds of rifle fire erupted and then the door was yanked open by one of the guards. "Outside, now!" he demanded. Chakotay helped Tom to stand and they moved to the fire circle. The others were standing around while the guards checked the huts. Next to a large ground transport a small group of new prisoners shivered in the cold night air.
# # #
The night sky burst into bright reds and orange and B'Elanna felt Tom's hand fall away from her arm as he pitched forward onto the hard packed dirt of the path. She screamed and dropped to his side. Slowly turning him over, her hands reached out to his jacket, now covered in blood. His eyes were wide open and unseeing and blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.
B'Elanna awoke with a gasp as she broke free of the recurring nightmare. Her breathing slowed as she looked around at her surroundings. It was a wooden hut with a small window over the cot she was on. Although she was covered with a rough blanket, she still shivered from the cold. Slowly, she recalled the shuttle crash and finding out that Tom and Chakotay had been taken away by Goroth guards. Where was the boy from the shuttle? What did the old man call him? Retrill. She shook her head as she slowly sat up, her muscles stiff from the cold. That's the name of the man who sent the message we received on the shuttle.
The door opened and the woman from the night before entered carrying a small pottery jug. "Good, you're awake. I've brought you some water." She placed the jug on a small bench next to the cot, sat down next to B'Elanna and pulled the blanket away. She took the small scanner from her pocket and passed it over B'Elanna's back. "The bones are healing, but you will still have some pain."
B'Elanna reached for the jug. She winced as she felt the muscles in her back spasm. "Thank you. You did a good job with the osteoregenerator. You make a good doctor's assistant." She took a long drink of the water and leaned back against the wall of the hut.
The woman looked away, but not before B'Elanna saw the flash of pain on her face. "I have had years of practice. The doctor is my husband," the woman whispered.
"He was taken away three days ago. Only the old ones are left with the women and children."
"I'm so sorry," B'Elanna replied as she reached out and touched the woman's arm. "My husband was also taken along with a good friend. We were trying to answer a distress call and suddenly our ship was filled with a high-pitched squeal. We must have passed out and the shuttle crashed."
"My uncle sent the distress call. We were also brought here against our will. We have been here for two of our planet's full cycles. We too had our ship brought down by the Goroth. They have the means to send a signal that disrupts the flight controls of the ships. The sound is quite painful when they lock onto the ship with a tractor beam. When we awoke, the younger men were gone. My husband was found behind one of the storage bins that had fallen in the cargo hold. That is why he was not taken right away."
The door suddenly opened and the young boy who brought B'Elanna to the clearing appeared. "My grandfather would like to speak to you. He has received news of the mines," he said as he grabbed B'Elanna's hand. "Come, one of the men has escaped from the Goroth."
B'Elanna and the woman stood and followed the boy into the small clearing. A thin man in dust laden clothes sat before a small fire. Retrill stood before him and smiled when he saw B'Elanna approaching. "Takell, has come from the mines, he has news for us all."
B'Elanna saw the doors on the other huts open and the remaining Helmar joined them in the clearing. She noted that there were three other elderly men, seven women and four children with the boy, Retrill, the eldest.
Takell, after taking a long drink of water began to tell them of his experiences. "I was with the first group taken to this new mine. There were seven of us plus two off-worlders."
B'Elanna leaned forward when she heard Takell speak of off-worlders. "Please, did they wear uniforms like mine? she asked.
Takell glanced at the woman before him in her black and gold uniform. He could see the pain and anxiety in her face. "Yes, they said there was a woman on their ship with them. The tall one with the light hair was very worried about her."
"That's my husband, Tom. Is he badly injured? And, Chakotay; I was told that he was bleeding when they were taken."
"Tom is not well. Chakotay told us that he suffered a head injury from the crash and the Goroth guard who struck him with a rifle. He still tried to work in the mine and offered himself for one of our boys, so the child would get food last night." Takell glanced at the woman who appeared at his side. "I believe I saw Dolon coming off the transport. There was much confusion and I saw the chance to run. I can lead you back to the camp, but we would need others with weapons to take the guards." Takell slumped on the log, the exhaustion plain on his face.
"Enough for now," the elder Retrill announced. "Takell must rest and eat." He directed the doctor's wife to tend to Takell and the others scattered to their morning chores.
B'Elanna stared after Takell as he moved to one of the huts. Tom, please hang on. I've got to find a way to contact Voyager and get you and Chakotay out of there. She shivered as she recalled her nightmare. Why do I keep seeing Tom shot?
tbc…
1950 words