In a Single Heartbeat
Disclaimer – See Chapter One.
Chapter Fifteen – Rescue?
"D..did you hear that?" Bromar stammered. "The tunnel's collapsing." He struggled to stand; panic evident in his voice as the sound of rocks crashing to the ground echoed in the mine.
Chakotay reached for the younger man's arm, wincing when his leg brushed against a rock on the floor of the cavern. "No. It sounded like an explosion. Someone's trying to open up the entrance."
"Get in the tunnel, now," Tom directed one of the men. "Start clearing out the rocks." He stumbled toward Chakotay, coughing from the dust pouring out of the tunnel. Leaning against the wall, Tom looked down at the men sprawled in front of him. "Looks like the cavalry has arrived, Commander." A faint smile belied the exhaustion on his face. "B'Elanna must've gotten through to Voyager." He glanced at Bromar. "We'll be out of here soon." He turned back, walked to the tunnel, to take his turn digging out the debris.
Chakotay sank back against the wall, closing his eyes against the pain. Thank the spirits, B'Elanna's alive.
Bromar moved to Tom's side and grabbed a pickaxe. "I'm going to help," a determined look in his eyes.
Tom grinned slightly and motioned the youngster into the tunnel. "I'm right behind you."
# # #
Tuvok motioned Lieutenant Rollins and Ensign Lang to circle around the huts and attack the Goroth from the left side. "Doctor, stay with Ensign Molina. Ensigns Swinn and Ashmore, you move to the right and keep your phasers on heavy stun." The two moved off and Tuvok aimed at the tallest of the soldiers.
B'Elanna crouched behind one of the solid bins coated in ore dust. She raised her head, fired at the nearest man, and watched him fall to the ground. His companion leveled his rifle and a burst of red and orange lit up the air around her as a sharp whine assaulted her ears. Cadmilite dust rose from the bin when the projectile slammed into the metal mere inches from her face. Her vision blurred from the dust burning her eyes, B'Elanna shivered in fear as she heard the man approaching the bin.
Sensing someone behind her, B'Elanna whirled around to see the doctor striding forward, Ensign Molina's phaser rifle clutched in his hands. He aimed the rifle at the taller Goroth and fired just as the soldier reached the bin. "Got him," the doctor smiled down at B'Elanna, reached for her hand and helped her to her feet. "I believe he's the last one." They looked around and noted the seven soldiers scattered around the encampment.
"Ensign Ashmore, assist the doctor in getting Molina back into the shuttle and see if you can get through to Voyager," Tuvok ordered. "Lieutenant Rollins and Ensign Lang, secure the Goroth." He moved toward the mine entrance. "I believe we have a short time before the transport arrives to clear the tunnel."
# # #
Tom emerged from the tunnel pulling his jacket after him; it was filled with dust and small rocks. The men had taken off their outer coats and were using them as tarps to clear the fallen rocks from the mine entrance. Bromar staggered out with a large rock in his arms. He stumbled and fell, dropping the rock on the cave floor. "I t..tell you, I heard r..rifle fire. The Goroth are out there," he stammered. "They've come back for the ore, and will probably kill us since we'll be unfit for mining." He shivered in the cold air. Night was descending on the planet's surface and the temperature was dropping rapidly.
"They wouldn't waste the explosives to regain this mine," Tom stated. "The ore's almost depleted in here. They'd just move on to another cave system. Besides, if we're all in here, who were they shooting at?"
Lonten approached the two men. "Tom is right my son," he placed his hand on Bromar's shoulder. "The soldiers would be shooting at rescuers." He turned to Tom. "Perhaps, your wife was able to contact your ship."
Tom nodded. "It has to be B'Elanna, and we have to help from in here." He headed back into the tunnel with Bromar and Lonten following.
# # #
Rollins and Ashmore cleared away one of the larger boulders from the mine entrance. "Sir, I can hear voices on the other side. They're alive," he shouted to Tuvok as he backed out of the tunnel. The others rushed forward with renewed energy and pulled more of the debris from the entrance.
"Commander Chakotay, Lieutenant Paris, are you all right?" Tuvok asked when he reached the remaining wall of rock."
"Tuvok. Boy am I glad to hear your voice," Tom responded. "Is B'Elanna with you? Is she okay?"
"I'm here, Tom," B'Elanna answered with relief evident in her voice. "I'm fine. How are you and Chakotay?"
"The Commander's injured; a broken leg. We've several Helmar with injuries. The air is getting very thin in here, if you could speed things up it would be appreciated."
B'Elanna smiled as she heard Tom's request. He still had his sense of humor, so he mustn't be hurt too badly.
"We are moving as expeditiously as possible, Lieutnant," Tuvok replied. "Please move everyone away from the wall, so we can use our phasers to blast an opening."
"Yes, Sir," Tom replied. "Give us a few minutes."
Tom, Lonten, and Bromar crawled back out of the tunnel and helped to shield the wounded when the Voyager crew blasted through the rocks.
B'Elanna ran in to Tom's side and gently caressed his face. "I was so worried about you," she whispered. "One of the men got back to the encampment and told us that you had been injured."
"I'll be okay after a session with the doc," Tom said as he hugged his wife to him. "We didn't know what had happened to you. I was scared that they'd hurt you or left you for dead in the cold." He coughed slightly as the dust rose in the cavern when the rest of the rescue crew moved inside.
"Let's get these men outside and into the shuttle," the doctor ordered. He moved to Chakotay and scanned him. "You have a badly broken leg, Commander as well as a punctured right lung." He moved to Tom's side and held out his medical tricorder. "You, Mr. Paris, have once again sustained a head injury." He shook his head and snapped the tricorder shut. "One of these days, that hard head of yours will not protect you." He motioned Ensigns Ashmore and Lang to assist Chakotay out of the mine, and gently grabbed Tom's arm. "Let's get you all back to sickbay."
# # #
"I gave you an order, General," the tall Goroth senator snapped. "You are to return any of the Helmar that your men have imprisoned to their homeworld. We have been offered assistance from the captain of Voyager. We will not be keeping any prisoners, is that understood?"
"Yes, Sir," the general replied, reaching forward and closing the connection. "You heard the Senator," he turned to the other officers. "Send out the orders immediately." The men filed out of the command center.
# # #
When the Helmar and Voyager crewmembers stumbled out of the mine, they noticed another shuttle landing a short distance away. Tuvok motioned the Helmar to the first shuttle while the doctor and Voyager crewmen assisted Chakotay and Tom to the closer shuttle.
Suddenly, weapon's fire rang out as the Goroth transport entered the clearing. Soldiers jumped off the transport, rifles in hand.
B'Elanna climbed into the shuttle and reached out for Chakotay's hand. Tuvok helped him scramble on board and turned back for Tom when the sky exploded in bright reds and orange. Tom pitched forward and would have fallen if Tuvok had not grabbed his arm. Rollins fired his phaser rifle and the soldiers near the transport fell. He reached out and helped Tuvok pull Tom into the shuttle. Tuvok climbed inside and pulled the hatch closed.
B'Elanna slowly turned Tom 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. Placing her palm on his still warm chest she couldn't feel a heartbeat. . "Noo!!" She cried out in agony. "It's my dream. It's coming true"
tbc..
Author's note: Sorry this chapter took so long to finish and upload. Sometimes real life just gets in the way of fanfiction. Hope you enjoy this – it's almost finished. Please read and review.
Thanks, CatC