Chapter 14
Tom Paris sat crouched in one of the many ducts of the ventilation system, trying to determine his whereabouts. He had crawled like a man possessed for what seemed an eternity. Several times he had heard voices and followed them, but each time they had turned out to be the voices of the dreaded Cardassians. Not knowing where he was going, he crawled on and on through the labyrinth of narrow tunnels, his heart beating ever faster and little droplets of perspiration collecting on his forehead while he tried to concentrate on the task at hand, rather than on his ever more pressing feelings of claustrophobia. He had suffered from a fear of tight places for as long as he could remember, but right now was not the time to panic and give into it. Too many people depended on him...
Tom had only been a member of the Maquis for one week, and he had never set eyes on this base before. He concluded that Chakotay and his cell had moved here some time after his arrest. Tom's chances of finding Tuvok, Bendera and the rest of the crew were pretty low, to say the least. But he was not about to give up. The fate of over a hundred people depended on him, and he could not let them down. He would give it his best shot. Thomas Eugene Paris was not going to disappoint anyone this time, least of all himself.
Holding his breath in order to hear better, he pressed his ear against the cold metal wall of the shaft and listened carefully for any sounds that might lead him to the others. At first he heard nothing. Then there was a small thumping sound, as if someone or something was moving through the crawlways. He decided to follow that sound, periodically stopping to press his ear against the wall again, listening for any sounds that might lead him to Tuvok and the others. He was definitely getting closer to the source of the thumping.
Then it stopped, only to be replaced by something else. A low hum. Tom kept tracking it until the humming metamorphosed into a more familiar sound -- hushed voices. Several people were whispering somewhere, not far from him. Quietly he crawled towards the voices, careful not to make any noise, in case these voices once again belonged to the enemy. A few minutes later he turned a corner, and was greeted by the sight of a large group of people clad in Starfleet uniforms -- Tuvok's and Bendera's group. Relieved, he called out in a hushed voice,
"Tuvok, Bendera! It's me, Tom Paris!" Everyone turned in surprise.
"Why did you leave your group, Mr. Paris?" the Vulcan security officer asked, both eyebrows raised.
"The others got caught. We have to go back to help them!"
Without warning Bendera hurled himself at Paris.
"You bastard! You deserted them!"
Several Starfleet officers pulled the quarreling twosome apart.
"I didn't desert them, you fool!"
Tom spat when he had caught his breath, rubbing at his bloody nose.
"It's Seska! She turned up with a bunch of Spoonheads. We ran right into her trap. She's in league with the Cardassians. She's probably the cause of this whole mess!"
"WHAT?"
Bendera could not believe what he was hearing. Seska? A Cardassian spy? Impossible! She used to get so much satisfaction out of blowing the Spoonheads to pieces. Then again, she used to feel the same way about attacking Federation ships... With a jolt he remembered their strange meeting in the tunnels, when everyone had been looking for the Starfleet captain. Seska had been taking one of the small tunnels that led nowhere near where Captain Janeway could possibly had made it by that time. He had found it a little odd then but had shrugged it off, not thinking too much of it. Now that he thought about it, that tunnel had only one destination -- the main power generator. The shields! She must have deactivated their defense systems from there... shields, weapons, you name it. That was why B'Elanna and her team had not been able to find the source of the problem. Damn! If only he had been able to see it then...
"Okay, Paris. I'm going with you to get them out of there."
But Tom's mind was temporarily distracted by the view in front of him. In awe his gaze was fixed at the panel at the end of the tunnel.
"Voyager! You've made it!" he exhaled.
"Yeah, well, lets make sure the others make it, too!" Bendera added.
"Mr. Bendera, may I remind you that you are in possession of the only combadge in this group? I think you should leave it with us. We need to find a way to get aboard the ship, and every piece of technology could be of help."
There was not much Bendera could do with the combadge anyway, so he relinquished it to Tuvok.
"I must tell you that I don't think it is wise of you to try and free the others in this relentless fashion. Your chances of success are minimal. I would suggest you wait, until we have found a way to board Voyager. We might be able to beam the hostages aboard."
Kurt Bendera shook his head.
"It maybe too late, then. We have to try and get them out of there now. The Cardassians won't hang around here for long. We'll be lucky if they haven't killed everyone already. We can't delay this."
Bendera explained. Tuvok nodded in agreement.
"Good luck to you both!"
"Thanks." they both replied in unison.
"We'll need it!" Tom mumbled quietly. He knew only too well that they were embarking on a suicide mission.
Kathryn hid in the shadows of yet another tunnel. She had made it to the passageway that led to the brig. She could see the entrance. Only a few more meters, and she would be there. Once again she checked the readings on her tricorder. The Starfleet combadge signal was still flashing brightly. However, the lifesigns of the person it was attached to were getting weaker. Her heart skipped a beat. What had they done to him? She could not afford to ponder on these kinds of questions right now. She needed to concentrate on her rescue mission. The forcefield on the cell was still active. She would have to deactivate it somehow. That might prove to be problem... Lets cross that bridge when we get to it, she thought. An eerie silence had descended on the Maquis base. She had not heard a sound since the Cardassians had captured Chakotay. She presumed they were looking for her, and she had expected them to be everywhere, yet she had not seen a single Cardassian since the incident at the panel. A gut feeling told her that something was very wrong here. Nevertheless she continued on her mission to free Chakotay. He had sacrificed himself for her safety. She owed him the same.
Kathryn took a deep breath and peeked into both directions of the passageway that would lead her to Chakotay. It was deserted. She pressed herself tightly against the wall and crept along the rock face. Approaching the entrance to the brig, she became aware of a shuffling sound. On closer inspection she realized that what she was hearing must be a guard, pacing up and down in front of the cells. Now, there was a problem! She had no weapons, and Cardassians were known to be formidable opponents in hand-to-hand combat.
She took a look around herself. There had to be something she could use as a weapon... Finally she picked up one of the chunks of rock that had fallen to the ground during the initial attack on the base. The rock was heavy enough to knock out a Cardassian, but light enough for her to lift it over her head, so she could get a good angle on the guard's skull. Then she tiptoed the last few meters to the brig and peeked around the corner. There he was, at the far end of the corridor, in front of the cells, his back turned to her. She would have to wait for him to come back to her end. Kathryn pressed herself tightly against the rock face of the passageway, right next to the entrance of the brig. She heard the Cardassian's dragging footsteps approach, the shuffle getting louder and louder, the closer he came. Her heart was beating wildly as she focused her entire concentration on the sound of his dragging feet. When she heard the unmistakable crunch of debris under his heavy boots, as he turned on his heels to pace back into the other direction, she jumped out from behind the wall and brought the rock full force down onto his skull. The Cardassian yelped and turned in surprise, but did not fall. He was at least two feet taller than Kathryn, and a snarl of anger erupted from his throat as he took in who had struck him. Then, just as she thought he was going to launch himself at her, his eyes glazed over and he tumbled to the ground. Blood from a nasty gash on his head flowed freely onto the ground . Kathryn bent down to run her tricorder over the body. He was dead...
Still no sound to be heard. Something was definitely wrong. Janeway looked around herself. The brig seemed deserted, yet she had read Chakotay's lifesigns here. She would have expected him to call out to her by now. Surely he must have heard the Cardassian guard collapse. She moved to take a closer look at the prison.
Kathryn gasped as she discovered the body of the Maquis captain stretched out on the cold, moist ground of one of the cells. His face was badly bruised, swollen and crusted with dried blood.
She called out to him repeatedly, but got no response. He was unconscious. The forcefield was active. She looked around for the mechanism to turn it off, found it and deactivated the energy barrier. Kathryn entered the cell, and knelt on the floor next to the Maquis captain. He was still breathing, and she could feel his pulse as she touched a hand to his neck. But he did not look good. He had been cruelly beaten. Scanning him with the tricorder, she found that he had suffered a mild concussion, five broken ribs and a broken arm, not to mention multiple bruising and lacerations. There was no way she could carry him out of here. He was simply too heavy. She would have to find a way to wake him.
"Chakotay..."
She gently stroked a hand over his cold cheek and forehead.
"Chakotay, please, wake up!"
He moaned softly.
"Oh Chakotay, what have they done to you?" she whispered, appalled at the way the Cardassians had treated him. He opened his eyes and blinked at her through swollen, discolored eyelids.
"Oh, thank heavens, Chakotay! We have to get out of here. I can't carry you. Do you think you can walk if I steady you?"
Chakotay blinked again.
"Kathryn?" he rasped.
"Yes, I'm going to get you out of here. Now come on, try to sit up!"
He tried and winced as his broken ribs stabbed the very organs they were meant to protect.
"Kathryn, you shouldn't be here..." he began to protest.
But she was determined, trying to steady him and helping him up.
"Hush, don't talk. Try to concentrate on getting out of here!" she whispered back.
The sudden sound of distant voices and fast approaching footsteps startled her.
"Come on! We don't have much time! Someone's coming!"
"Go, Kathryn! I can't make it!"
"No, I won't leave you here..."
She could not simply leave him there after he had sacrificed himself for her safety. He certainly had not always behaved like a gentleman in her presence, but he did not deserve to suffer like this. Not after all he had done for her. She tried to help him up, attempting to support the bulk of his body with her own slight form, but there was just no way that it was going to work. Gravity was against them. Then the voices came closer and footsteps entered the brig. Kathryn froze. Time had just run out -- for both of them. Maybe if she did not move, kept entirely still, they would not notice her... It was a long shot, but it was the only option left to her. Seska entered the brig.
"What the hell..."
Surprised she looked down at the dead Cardassian guard. Seska spun around and stared straight into Chakotay's cell. Her face lit up in a lecherous smile.
"Oh my! This is just too good to be true! Captain Kathryn Janeway locks herself in the enemy's jail... Camet will be so please with me!"
Kathryn looked on in horror as Seska smirked and tapped her Cardassian combadge, all the while keeping a phaser rifle trained on her.
"Seska to Camet."
"What is it now, Seska?"
"I've got something for you in the brig, Camet. I think you'll be very pleased with me this time! It's about 5'5'' tall and has long auburn hair..."
"You've found her! I'll be there in a minute! Camet out!"
"Put the others into the cells!" Seska ordered the Cardassian guards at her side.
"You'll pay for this, Seska, if it's the last thing I do!"
B'Elanna yelled as she was shoved into the neighboring cell. She had only recently returned to consciousness after receiving a nasty blow to the head, courtesy of one of the Cardassian guards.
"I don't think you'll have the opportunity, my friend." Seska sneered.
Outwardly composed, Kathryn was frantic. Chakotay had lost consciousness again, and she was trapped. Seska had reactivated the forcefield to Chakotay's cell. There was no way either of them would make it out of here now. Chakotay looked terrible. He urgently required medical attention, but she was pretty sure he was not going to get it any time soon. She caressed his face again, cradling his head in her lap. He had felt so cold only minutes before. Now he was burning up...
"Oh, isn't it touching!" a raspy baritone voice boomed into the cell.
Kathryn's head shot up. There he stood. Gul Camet in all his gruesome glory -- a sardonic smile distorting his cartilaginous features, black hair greased back, sharp yellow teeth showing against the sickly pale gray of his skin. A shiver went down her spine as the memory of his foul breath returned unbidden. He looked even larger and more horrifying than she had remembered him. Kathryn swallowed hard.
"Gul Camet." she forced out through clenched teeth.
"Kathryn Janeway! What a pleasure to see you again, my dear. I have been waiting a long time for this moment."
"I wish I could say the same..." she mumbled, more to herself than to Camet.
"So, I see you've been getting rather friendly with your Maquis captor. I hope you'll be just as nice to your new Cardassian one..."
"Go to hell, Camet!" she fumed.
"Oh, you first, my dear! You first! Seska, lower the forcefield on this cell!"
"Camet, you're in breach of the Federation - Cardassian Treaty of 2370..." "Oh, now come on, Kathryn. You know as well as I do that I don't give a damn about that petty piece of diplomatic drool."
The forcefield zapped out of existence, and Camet entered the cell. Kathryn's blood was pounding in her ears. This could not be happening... He grabbed her roughly and pulled her away from Chakotay, whose head landed on the ground with a thump that made Kathryn wince in sympathy. Then Camet touched his combadge. "Camet to the Tokar Zebok! Two to beam up straight to my quarters!"
The green-yellow beam of the Cardassian transporter enfolded her, and she felt an unfamiliar tingling sensation, different from that caused by Federation transporters.
The interior of Camet's quarters slowly took shape before her. The bulkheads were made from some kind of steel gray and brown metallic compound. Angled arches gave the place a distinctly Cardassian ambience. The lights had been dimmed, or maybe that was all the light there was. She could not tell. As they adjusted to the dimness, Kathryn's eyes were magnetically drawn to an object in the center of the room. A black table, forged from some kind of metal, loomed there. Straps of black leather were attached to the edges. From the far end of the table hung several tools. Kathryn shuddered. Torture instruments. Right in the middle of the table lay a tiny flat and round object, made from a polymer that mimicked the appearance of skin -- the implant the Cardassians inserted into their prisoners in order to cause unbearable pain, without causing too much physical damage. The thing they had used on Owen Paris all those years ago. The tool that had almost robbed the Admiral of his sanity. Again Gul Camet's words from so long ago unbiddenly repeated themselves time and again in her mind...
"Power. Control. The satisfaction of completely breaking another being."
Kathryn could not take her eyes off the obsidian table and its horrifying accessories. Her fascination with it did not escape her captor.
"You like it, my dear? I designed it especially for you. You're going to spend a lot of time with it." he mocked.
Kathryn deliberately tore her eyes from the object of her terror and looked Camet straight in the eye.
"You'll never get away with this, Camet! If you carry through your little fantasy, your own people will see to it that you get stripped of all your ranks, if not worse!"
"Oh, Kathryn, you're so wonderfully naive! Who do you think sent me here? You don't really believe that the Cardassian Empire needs the Federation as an ally? I thought the dashing Maquis captain down there might have opened your eyes by now. Enabran Tain has ordered me to take the base and dispose of everyone, including the Starfleet crew of the U.S.S. Voyager. How I do it is up to me. So, you see, I'm just following orders."
The demonic grin he gave her almost made her retch. But she knew what she had to do. Stall for time, as much time as possible, and try to find a way to get out of here...
"And how exactly do you intend to kill everyone?" she probed.
"Ah, always the inquisitive one! I like that about you. But to answer your question, my dear, I'm going to blow up the asteroid. I hope you've had ample time to say good-bye to your friends. I understand you care a great deal about your crew. And you and Chakotay seemed to be getting along pretty well down there. I would almost call it fair payback for my son's death. But I suppose the useless fool deserved it.... Now, why don't we get comfortable over there?"
Camet pointed towards a large bed, covered in various precious bedspreads and cushions made form pure silk and damask.
"No, thanks. I'm quite comfortable where I am." Kathryn hissed.
Camet's grotesque features darkened.
"That wasn't a question, Kathryn! Now move! Or we can skip the hospitalities and get right to the point, if you prefer that!"
He shot a glance in the direction of the torture table to stress his point.
"You will tell me anything I ask, you will betray your mother, your father, your friends, and beg to betray others if I will just stop hurting you. That would be just before you went insane..."
Camet had not spoken a word, yet Kathryn could still hear his voice as if he were saying it right now. Thirteen years, and she could still remember every last syllable.
Stall for time, Kathryn... she thought.
Chakotay woke as soft fingers caressed his bruised face. A glass of water was put to his lips, and he drank eagerly.
"Well, it's about time, Chakotay! I've been sitting here for an eternity. Oh, it's a shame about you. Such an impressive specimen for a human. You should never have scorned me, Chakotay. That was a big mistake. I was happy to let them have only tiny snippets of information, until you dumped me for that pathetic human woman -- Janeway. Now, look at what you've done!"
She gestured dramatically around them with her arms.
"Everything destroyed and your crew in the hands of the Cardassians. That really wasn't wise of you, my love." she purred.
Chakotay's head shot up to look at the source of the voice that he thought he recognized. It couldn't be....
"Seska?"
"Yes, Chakotay, it's me. I've been working with Camet all this time. Oh, if you could see the look on your face, it's truly priceless! I've so anticipated this moment! To finally see you at our mercy!"
"Kathryn..." he murmured.
"Oh, that was wonderful. I can't believe you missed it. She came to rescue you. She was still in your cell, trying to get you out, when I discovered her. I think Camet will be rewarding me very generously. You should have seen his face when he first saw her. I'm sure she's having a marvelous time with him right now. He took her to the ship -- his quarters to be precise."
Her eyes shown with cruel delight as she told him about Janeway's fate.
"You never suspected me, did you? You really had no idea! You actually believed all that bullshit about my family having been killed by the Cardassians, didn't you? Well, prepare yourself for another shock, my darling! My family is Cardassian! I am Cardassian! I've been genetically altered by the Obsidian Order to appear Bajoran, but believe me, under this stupid wrinkled nose and this sickeningly smooth skin there's Cardassian blood flowing through these veins!"
Seska snickered.
"You really are a picture, Chakotay! It almost makes me wish I hadn't sent the guard away. I would have loved to share this with someone of my own kind!"
He had stared at her incredulously throughout her speech. But now reality was beginning to sink in. She had betrayed him, had deceived them all. And he had trusted her. Fool!, he thought as untamed fury rose form the pit of his stomach. He was going to make her pay for what she had done to them. Seska had risen and turned to leave the cell, when the wrath within him caused an adrenalin rush that was strong enough to allow him to launch his battered body at her, all pain suddenly gone numb.
Seska had been taken utterly by surprise. He hurled her onto the ground and threw himself on top of her. She managed to turn and face him, but she could not push his bulky weight of her.
"You'll pay for this!" he hissed.
Then he closed his hands around her neck and pressed as hard as he could. He felt something break under his fingers, and her face went purple as she gulped for breath. She tried to scream, but her words had no sound. Chakotay watched untouched us the flame of her life was slowly extinguished by his unforgiving fists. He did not feel a thing. Usually his general respect for all life left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth after the killing of an enemy. This time it was different. The bitter taste had already been present, and now cold-blooded revenge was beginning to sweeten it.
He did not care about the consequences of killing a member of the Obsidian Order, whilst being one of their prisoners. They were going to kill him anyway, and this was worth every little bit of extra torture they might inflict on him out of vengeance.
Kathryn...
If only he had managed to stay awake and get out of the cell with her. They probably would have made it out of the brig before Seska's arrival. As it was he had himself to blame for her capture. If only she had listened to him when he had asked her to leave him behind. But she had refused to do that. Now Camet had her. He did not even want to imagine what that butcher was doing to her right now. Tears began to well in his swollen eyes.
Oh Kathryn...
Kathryn swallowed hard and followed the gul's lead. He sat down in front of her on the bed and looked her up and down as if he were undressing her with his eyes.
"Maybe we should find you something more comfortable to wear..."
Camet got up again and walked to a dark corner of the room, rummaging around for something. He returned with garments that she knew only to well. Her peach robe and a matching negligee. The robe she had left in Chakotay's quarters, but the negligee? She had discarded hers somewhere in the tunnels when she had changed into the dress. Camet must have replicated this one. Why was she so surprised? She knew exactly what was on the agenda. First he was going to amuse himself with her, and then he would slowly kill her with his beloved toys. He had explained the proceedings to her thirteen years ago. Yet, she still had a hard time coming to terms with them.
"Here! Put that on!"
He shoved the silky nightwear into her hands.
"What's in it for me?" she asked slyly, attempting to distract him with conversation. Keep him talking, she thought. It had worked the first time she had been in his custody, so it might just work again. Although she needed a miracle to get her out of this one...
She did not expect him to react the way he did. Camet's eyes darkened. Suddenly he threw her onto the bed, immobilizing her with the mass of his large body, and pushing the air out of her lungs. She could not breathe. Yet somehow she could still smell his rotten breath, as it caressed her face in a repugnant embrace. Kathryn felt her bile rise.
"You'll get to live a little longer, my dear! Don't ever provoke me again!"
Camet's door chime sounded. With a maniacal howl he violently pushed himself off the bed . For a few seconds she thought he was going to strike her. But he stood and straightened his scaly black and silver uniform. The sound of the straightening fabric gave Kathryn the creeps. The scaly Cardassian uniforms lend their wearers a distinctly reptilian appearance. Together with a Cardassians cartilaginous looks, they melded into a grueling picture, giving the illusion of being a natural extension of their owners.
"Come!" Camet roared.
The door slid open to expose a Cardassian soldier. He moved two steps into the room, then halted.
"Sir, Enabran Tain wants to speak to you. Shall I put him through to your quarters?"
Camet threw a quick glance in Kathryn's direction.
"No, I'll take it on the bridge. I'll be there in a moment, Dunar!"
Dunar turned on his heels and left the room. Camet faced Kathryn, pointed at the silky garments in her hands and barked,
"I'll expect you to be wearing that when I return!"