Chapter 15

U.S.S. Voyager, 07:30 hours

Aboard the Federation starship Voyager systems were beginning to shut down one by one, an automatic response to prevent unnecessary consumption of energy. The ship's internal sensors recognized that no one was aboard. Life support was terminated, lights went to minimum illumination, the warp core was shut down. There was only one part of the ship that still functioned at full capacity...

Voyager's monotonous female computer voice resounded eerily through the empty ship.

"Initiating 18 hour delay backup EMH field test program."

The holographic image of Voyager's only medical staff sparkled into existence for the very first time since the start of the mission.

"What is the nature of the medical emergency?" he asked stoically.

When no answer seemed to be forthcoming his stoical features came to life. The first emotions the holographic doctor was to express were those of surprise and annoyance. Frowning, he looked around himself. He was in sickbay, as was to be expected. But there was no one there. After indulging in a slightly overdone exasperated sigh, he asked,

"Computer, this is the EMH. Why was I activated?"

"Standard EMH field test protocol states that in case of neglect for more than eighteen hours the computer is to initiate the EMH field test. The EMH has not been activated since the start of this mission, 18 hours, 2 minutes, 53 seconds ago."

"Oh, this is typical! They forgot about me!"

He huffed a little more and then went over to the comm system.

"Sickbay to Bridge!" he said almost cheerfully.

There was no answer.

"Sickbay to Captain Janeway!" he stated, now a trifle annoyed.

Still nothing. The EMH rolled his holographic eyes.

"Computer, locate the captain!"

"Captain Janeway is not aboard Voyager!"

"Alright, Sickbay to Engineering!"

Silence.

The hologram was now showing obvious signs of confusion, but above all irritation. After another exasperated sigh he announced,

"This is sickbay to any crew member! ... Computer, is the comm system malfunctioning?"

"Negative."

"Then why can't I reach anyone?"

"There is no one aboard the ship!"

"What? Then where is everyone?"

"Please restate your question."

"Where is the crew?"

"The crew left the ship approximately 12 hours ago."

"All of them?"

"Affirmative."

The EMH began to pace his domain impatiently, rubbing his chin, apparently submerged in deep thought. Finally he asked,

"Computer, where are we?"

"We are inside a class K asteroid, orbiting the planet Panora II, Moriya System, Badlands, Sector 21504."

"Aha, so we've gone for a little stroll inside an asteroid with no breathable atmosphere. That sounds like fun! Are they out of their minds?" he asked, his voice tinted with more than a little sarcasm.

"Please restate the question."

"Oh, shut up! I wasn't talking to you..."

Maquis Brig, 07:45 hours

The cells were full once again. Most of the Maquis crew sat squatted on the floor of the brig. Some of them were engaging in hushed conversation, but most of them had given into their feelings of exhaustion and fear, and had begun to doze. Chakotay sat brooding. He did not really have anyone to talk to, since he was the only occupant of his cell, except for the strangled body of his ex-lover, Seska. He did not even see her anymore. Time and again his thoughts drifted back to Kathryn... he blamed himself for her capture. She could have escaped if she had not come back to rescue him. She would never have been in danger in the first place if he and his cell had left Voyager and her crew alone in the first place... if he had not trusted Seska... How could he not have seen it? Seska was a traitor, and he had never suspected it. Now Kathryn was suffering, probably dying, if not dead already, and it was all his fault...

A scraping sound from somewhere above him drew Chakotay out of the doom and gloom of his dark thoughts. He looked for the source of the sound and his eyes zoomed in on a ventilation panel in the ceiling of the corridor, outside the cells. Seconds later the panel crashed noisily onto the stony floor. Bendera and Paris emerged from the small opening. Jumping down he three meters difference between the ceiling and the ground the two men rescue mission landed right in front of Chakotay's cell, only to be shocked by the sight of the Maquis captain's ex-lovers dead body. Her face was still blue and purple rings lined her neck. Both men recognized immediately what had happened here.

"I couldn't have done it better myself..." Bendera hissed.

"You've gotta do something about your taste in women, Chakotay!" Paris quipped, but sobered as Chakotay's eyes met his.

The Maquis captain was in no mood for jokes. Paris would never forget those eyes, so hollow and haunted.

Only then both Kurt and Tom took in Chakotay's battered appearance.

"Oh hell, what have those bastards done to you? Lets get you out of here before they come back!"

Bendera deactivated the force fields and everyone got out of their cells.

"Where's Captain Janeway?" Kurt asked as he searched the brig.

The last thing he remembered was that Chakotay had apparently found her in one of the tunnels. He had expected to find her with him, or at least in the brig.

Chakotay eyes took on a pleading look.

"Camet's got her...We've got to get her out of there, Kurt!"

Bendera eyed his friend in disbelieve.

"Chakotay, that's not going to be possible. We'll be lucky if we get you out of here. We'll see what we can do about helping her when we get to Voyager."

"No! It may be to late by that time. He's taken her to his ship. The man is obsessed with her."

Bendera was beginning to think that the stress of the past few hours had gotten to his captain. Why would Camet be obsessed with Captain Janeway? It did not make any sense. As far as he could tell, the only one who seemed to be obsessed with her was Chakotay...

"Chakotay, we have to get you out of here first. There's nothing we can do about Janeway now! It'll have to wait!"

Chakotay gathered all his strength and hauled himself up, grabbing Kurt by the shoulders and staring him straight into the eyes.

"Bendera, you don't get it, do you? Camet didn't come here for us! He came here to get Kathryn. They've got an old score to settle. He's been trying to get his hands on her for thirteen years. We've got to help her!"

For a brief moment Bendera questioned his captain's sanity, but then understanding began to dawn on him. If what Chakotay said was true, then it was unlikely they were going to get her out of Camet's claws alive. He looked at his captain and noticed more than common concern in his eyes.

"You really care about her, don't you?"

Chakotay nodded.

"Yes, I do. She's a remarkable woman. She came to get me out of here. Seska discovered her and locked her into the cell. Then she called Camet."

Kurt took another look at the suffocated body in Chakotay's cell. He could only imagine how much hate Chakotay harbored for her.

"Let's get you out of here first. We can't do anything from here. We'll have to wait until we get to Voyager."

Chakotay agreed reluctantly. He knew that it may very well be too late for a rescue attempt by the time they got to the vessel, but there was nothing else they could do.

A few meters away B'Elanna stared at Tom.

"Paris, I thought you..."

"You thought I'd run off and deserted you, coward that I am." he finished for her.

"I guess I was wrong. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

He gave her faint smile, and their eyes locked for the briefest of moments.

"Hey, I need someone to help me with Chakotay!" Bendera shouted.

Paris went back to him and helped him drag the Maquis captain out of the cell.  The other Maquis had all been released from their cells and stood waiting in the corridor.

"Alright, lets try this again! Follow us, everyone!"

At that very moment the thunder of a heavy booted Cardassian patrol could be heard. Everyone's heart stopped. They would never make it now. They were doomed.

The Cardassian's entered the brig, surprised to find their captives outside their cells. They trained their disruptors on them and were about to herd them back into the cells when one of them discovered the dead body of Seska in Chakotay's cell.

"Hey, that guy killed Seska!" he yelled, pointing at the badly battered Maquis captain.

Two guards got a hold of him, and a third one was just about to deliver a nasty blow to his stomach when a familiar blue sparkle suddenly surrounded them all.

The Cardassians were left flabbergasted and staring into plain air where their captives had been before.

Ventilation Shaft, 07:45 hours

Tuvok, Kim, Stadi and Carey were discussing the possibilities of how to get to Voyager. The ship was surrounded by Cardassian guards. Tuvok was surprised they had not boarded the vessel yet. He would have thought that securing Voyager was their top priority. Maybe Camet was otherwise occupied. Now that they knew that Seska was a Cardassian spy it was not entirely unlikely that Camet knew Kathryn Janeway was in the base. And if he did, then that would certainly explain why Camet seemed to be too preoccupied to send a boarding party aboard the ship. As it was, the fact that the Cardassians had not boarded Voyager yet, was pretty much the only point to the Starfleet crew's advantage. They had to act quickly if they did not want to loose the only point in their favor.

They could not afford to have their presence detected. The Cardassian guards were heavily armed, and the crew did not even have a single handphaser at their disposal. The odds were stacked highly against them. Voyager was only meters away from them, yet seemed entirely out of reach. There had to be a way to get aboard.

Suddenly the combadge that Bendera had left behind came to life.

Stunned, everyone was mesmerized by the tiny transmitter on Tuvok's uniform. He raised an eyebrow, than answered the hail.

"Yes?"

"Well, hello there! This is the Emergency Medical Holographic Program. May I ask who I finally have the pleasure of speaking to?"

Tuvok frowned at the arrogance of the voice that was coming over his combadge. The others were speechless.

"This is Lieutenant Tuvok, Chief of Security and Tactical Officer of the U.S.S. Voyager. May I ask how you were able to contact us?"

"Indeed, you may! As you may or may not be aware of, this mission was going to be a test ride for my program. I have been monitoring the crew since we left DS9. I must complain about the lack of interest in my program. No one has activated me since the start of the mission. I'm eager to hear what Captain Janeway will enter into the official EMH test log, since there hasn't been a test. Just as well the computer was programmed to activate me after 18 hours. I'll be sure to lodge a complaint in my official log. And may I ask what you're all doing off the ship? As I understand it's against Starfleet procedure to desert the ship during a mission. There should at least be a skeletal crew aboard!"

The aloof attitude of this particular babbling holo-program was proving to be a challenge for even the legendary Vulcan patience. Tuvok was not going to be lectured by the holographic illusion of a man.

"We were kidnapped by the Maquis. We are currently on our way back to the ship, but Voyager is surrounded by Cardassian soldiers." Tuvok interrupted.

"So why don't you come aboard? They are our allies after all." the hologram intervened.

"That, as it turns out, was a misconception."

"I see. In that case I shall deactivate myself."

"No, you must help us. We have no weapons, and we cannot get aboard without your assistance."

"Lieutenant, Starfleet Security Protocol 28, Subsection D states clearly, that in the event of hostile Alien takeover, the EMH is to deactivate and wait for rescue."

"I'm afraid you don't have that luxury. As you have already mentioned, the ship needs a crew, and you're it. We require your assistance."

"What? Have you lost your mind? I'm a doctor, not a commando!"

"Doctor, you said you monitored the crew all this time. Exactly what did you monitor?"

"Oh well, lifesigns, the usual. Then I got a little bored because no one was activating me as they were supposed to! So I checked around the ships systems. My program has communication links with all key areas of the ship. So I passed my time in cybernetic slumber by eavesdropping a little. I was beginning to think that this crew had nothing to say."

"Can you tie your program into the transporter controls and beam us aboard?"

There was a short period of silence. Apparently the only way of silencing the EMH was to give him something to think about., Tuvok made a mental note of it.

"Hmm... I can try to access my program's direct link to the main computer core. From there I may be able to initiate a transport. But I have no idea how to do that. I've been programmed with the medical knowledge of 47 physicians and two thousand medial references, but I'm not a transporter beam!"

The EMH actually sounded slighted.

"Doctor, as I recall you were also programmed with contingency options and adaptive programs. Consider this to be your field test. Adapt! Consult the transporter manual. As the only medical staff upon a starship you must be able to initiate an emergency transport of a patient. Try to lock onto my combadge and beam me aboard!"

There was another short stretch of silence before the indignant EMH answered.

"Well, this is great! First you treat me as if I don't exist, then you expect me to get you all out of this mess you got yourselves into, and on top of that you're trying to demote me to a transporter... Well, far be it from me to turn down an opportunity to become a hero. I'll see what I can do. Stand by!"

The doctor sighed exaggeratedly and began to look into the problem.

In the ventilation shaft the Starfleet crew held their breath. They were relying on the ingenuity of a holographic program. How weird was this mission going to get? Was there really any hope left for them? Were they clutching at straws?

A few minutes later, much to the relief of everyone, Tuvok's combadge chirped again.

"EMH to Lieutenant Tuvok."

"Tuvok here."

"I have studied the transporter manual and discovered a way to link my program to the transporter controls. Prepare to have your molecules scattered all over the place and then put together again!"

Obviously the doctor did not appreciate the foundations of transporter technology...

Tuvok did not bat an eyelid.

"Understood. Energize!"

The crew looked on as Tuvok disappeared in the blue tingle of Voyager's transporter beam.

The Vulcan appeared in Sickbay only to be greeted by a hyperactive EMH, who vigorously began to shake his hand.

"Ah, Lieutenant! I'm so glad to finally meet you in person. So, do I get a medal for this, or something? I hope the captain will enter this into the EMH field test log."

Tuvok had heard enough. He snatched his hand away. There was too much to do. No time for idle banter.

"Computer, deactivate EMH."

There was a short expression of protest on the doctor's face, then he disappeared.

Presently Tuvok sprinted to transporter room one, activating all essential ship systems via the computer on his way there. Then he proceeded to beam the remaining crewmembers out of the ventilation shaft. The procedure was slow. Only a maximum of 5 people could be transported safely at a time. When all the senior officers were back onboard, he delegated the transporter task to Lieutenant Rollins, giving orders to beam everyone who was not Cardassian out of the base and aboard Voyager.

It was easy enough. The remaining Maquis crew members and Tom Paris had been beamed out of the brig, now using transporter room 2 as well. Then all there was left in the base was a bunch of Cardassians. The Maquis were taken to Cargo Bay 2 and a security detail was issued there. All casualties, including Chakotay, were taken to sickbay.

Despite all their efforts one person was still missing. Captain Janeway was nowhere to be found. To discuss this matter Tuvok gathered the senior officers in the briefing room.

Carey, Kim and Stadi sat expectantly around the table, waiting for Tuvok to speak. The Vulcan remained standing.

"We have a problem. The captain is still missing..."

Tuvok was interrupted by yet another hail from the EMH.

"Ah, Lieutenant! How nice to hear your voice again."

"Doctor, we are rather busy here. Is this important?"

"I certainly think it is. The Maquis leader, Chakotay, wishes to speak to you about Captain Janeway. He says she's being held captive on one of the Cardassian ships."

Tuvok raised an eyebrow, and if Kim had not known better he would have thought that the Vulcan had actually been surprised.

"Understood. I'll be right there."