JANEWAY:
I blinked my eyes, trying to get used to the new surroundings. "Where are we?" I asked Seven, as I turned to face the others.
"I am not sure." Seven answered. "I believe that the explosion interrupted the transport beam and altered our course slightly."
"So where are we?" B'Elanna asked.
"I believe that instead of the moon we were planning to land on, we are now on the planet it was orbiting."
I looked around me at the tropical rainforest and took a deep breath of the moist, fragrant air. We stood in a small clearing surrounded by large trees covered in climbing vines. Bushes and flowers took up most of the space on the ground, and the sky was cloudy and overcast. "Well, it shouldn't matter." I said as I reached for my comm. badge, that thankfully the Borg had not taken from me. "Janeway to Voyager."
I was surprised when I got a burst of static. I tried again. "Janeway to Voyager."
When the comm. badge didn't work for a second time, I looked at Seven. She regarded me with a calm expression. "We do not seem to be able to reach Voyager." She said.
"Torres to Voyager." B'Elanna tried, but she too, got a burst of static.
I frowned. This was not good. We had to get a message to Voyager. I thought about the problem for a minute. Maybe if we got out from under all these trees...
"Captain," Jack interrupted my thoughts. "We have a problem."
"You mean, aside from not being able to contact our ship?" B'Elanna asked, slightly surly.
"Yep." Riley said, almost casually. Both Riley and Jack had begun to move forward, their hands reaching for their weapons. "About five or six of them."
I looked around me, trying to see if I could spot what Riley and Jack had seen. I caught a glimpse of movement behind me, but saw only a blurry shape. "What are they?" I asked.
"I don't know." Jack said. "But whatever they are, they're predators, the hunt in packs and right now they're hunting us."
"Hunting us?" Tom repeated.
"Oh, yeah." Riley said.
Then suddenly three large furry shapes launched themselves out of the undergrowth. Instinctively, I threw my arms up to protect my head and ducked down as a furry predator sailed over my head. A couple of gunshots ran out, startling me. I heard a flock of some sort of flying creature launch themselves into the air, screeching, as the echoes rang out. I carefully straightened up and looked about. The three creatures were dead. "Are the others gone?" I asked Jack.
"Yes." He replied. "But I don't know if they're coming back, or if there's anything else out there."
I took a moment to look at the three dead predators. The resembled large mountain cats to a certain extent, except that they were about the size of a pony. Their faces also looked rather elongated, rather like alligators, but smaller. Their fur was a speckled brown and white, and they had a set of protruding teeth. I swallowed when I remembered the feeling of one of them sailing over my head.
Then I shook myself. I had more important things to think about than a few predators. I had to make sure my crew were safe and uninjured. "Is anyone hurt?" I asked.
"No." Seven answered.
"I'm fine." Riley said.
"B'Elanna's not." Tom said.
"Yes I am!" she snarled at him.
Tom just glared at her. "No, you're not."
Riley smiled a small, sad smile and reached into one of her vest's pockets. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"One of them gave me a scratch, that's all." B'Elanna said.
"Well, I'm going to bind it anyway." Riley said, and before B'Elanna could protest, she continued. "Just to try and hide the smell of blood and food as much as we can."
Grudgingly B'Elanna turned and offered her scratched arm to Riley. I frowned when I saw it. It was more that a scratch! The three jagged cuts on her upper arm looked deep and were seeping blood. "Can you take off the top of your uniform?" Riley asked.
"Yes." B'Elanna answered.
It took a while to carefully peel back and remove her jacket and grey undershirt to reveal the singlet underneath. A minute later, Riley had cleaned and bound B'Elanna's arm. "Right." I said.
As Riley had been patching up B'Elanna's arm, I had been carefully studying the environment around us and had noticed that it was growing darker. "I think the first thing we need to do is find some defensible shelter." I said, thinking fast. "It's getting dark, so we don't have much time."
"Maybe I can help you with that." A soft voice said from behind me.
I spun, vaguely aware of Riley and Jack drawing their weapons, and saw two half-starved men wearing torn clothing. They were both Sikarians – humanoids with markings on their foreheads and spotted skin.
"We will not harm you." Said the man who had spoken before.
"You said you could help us with shelter?" I asked.
"Yes. But it is not safe here." The man continued. "I will have to answer your questions later."
A twig snapped somewhere, and he jumped. "Please come with us." He said. "I promise I will explain."
"Why do you want to help us?" Jack asked, but his tone was curious, not accusatory.
"Because it is safer in numbers. You also have weapons."
Jack nodded and looked at me. I could see that he wanted to help these people, but was still slightly suspicious about their motives. I felt a surge of happiness. If Jack had begun to want to help people again then he had found hope. He would be alright.
"Let's go." I said.
* * * The camp was broken and dirty, with a wall of sharpened wooden stakes as the only defence to the outside. The wall had been built around the wreckage of their small ship and shelters had been rigged to sit up against its sides. It seemed that these people were traders who were returning to their main ship after a small successful trading visit, when their small craft had been attacked by the Borg.
They had escaped, but due to all the damaged systems, they had crash landed on the planet. The two we had met, Juus and Wis had been gathering food outside, before being discovered by the cat-like predators. The other male had remained behind to care for the female trader who had been injured in the crash.
As soon as we had entered the camp, Tom and Riley had gone straight to see what they could do to help the female trader. Jack, Seven, B'Elanna and I had taken a tour of the camp. As we did this, I saw how the traders were barely surviving. Jack had had a frown on his face through the whole thing. Before long, Tom exited the largest, ragged tent and walked towards us. He walked up to us, and made sure the traders were out of earshot. "It doesn't look goo, Captain." He said. "She's wounded pretty bad. Riley's doing the best she can, but we need to get her to the Doc as soon as possible."
I nodded. "That's not all." Jack said. "I'm going to need help, but as soon as we can, I suggest we reinforce the wall and add some more defences. Otherwise we might get some unexpected visitors."
"I agree." I said. "Tom, do you need to help Lieutenant-Colonel Riley anymore?"
"Just call me Riley." Riley said, as she walked up. "Everyone else does. And I've done about all I can. I'll keep my eye on her, but I don't need Tom's help anymore."
"Good." I said. "Tom, I want you to take a look at their ship. I want to know if we can get her off the ground. You too, B'Elanna."
"Aye, Cap'n." Tom said.
"I, too, have ideas to improve the defences." Seven added. "I will help Colonel O'Neill."
"I'm going to see what food they have." I said. "We might need to go scavenging in the morning."
"We'll be fine for tonight, even if they only have water." Jack said. "Riley and I have rations. They're not very good, but they're edible."
Riley smiled at that. "Well, theoretically edible anyway."
Jack smiled back. "And they all taste like chicken."
I smiled as I watched the two of them interact. That was twice now that they had smiled. And they were also both showing their emotions a lot more than they used to, but I don't think they noticed it. They was an air of deep sadness about them, but there was a bright spot amongst it all. Hope. They had both found hope, and they weren't so empty anymore.
"I'm sure it won't kill us, even if we do loose a few taste buds." I said, as I looked at the horizon. "But I think we'd better hurry. We have maybe two hours of light left."
Everyone nodded and we split up. Jack and Seven headed for the wall, soon deep in conversation, and I couldn't help feeling that Seven had found some kindred spirits. Both Riley and Jack had lost their humanity to a certain extent, and Seven could understand that – and offer advice. It would be good for her.
Tom and B'Elanna were soon joined at the ship by Wis and were deep in discussion about the condition of the ship. I smiled. If anyone could get that ship off the ground, it would be those two. Tom was one of the best pilots I had ever met, and as any good pilot is, he knew his ship from top to bottom. And B'Elanna...well she could fix engines that I would have sworn couldn't be saved. And in record time.
I looked up at the cloudy sky. 'Hold on Voyager,' I thought. 'We're out here, and we're going to get home.'
I blinked my eyes, trying to get used to the new surroundings. "Where are we?" I asked Seven, as I turned to face the others.
"I am not sure." Seven answered. "I believe that the explosion interrupted the transport beam and altered our course slightly."
"So where are we?" B'Elanna asked.
"I believe that instead of the moon we were planning to land on, we are now on the planet it was orbiting."
I looked around me at the tropical rainforest and took a deep breath of the moist, fragrant air. We stood in a small clearing surrounded by large trees covered in climbing vines. Bushes and flowers took up most of the space on the ground, and the sky was cloudy and overcast. "Well, it shouldn't matter." I said as I reached for my comm. badge, that thankfully the Borg had not taken from me. "Janeway to Voyager."
I was surprised when I got a burst of static. I tried again. "Janeway to Voyager."
When the comm. badge didn't work for a second time, I looked at Seven. She regarded me with a calm expression. "We do not seem to be able to reach Voyager." She said.
"Torres to Voyager." B'Elanna tried, but she too, got a burst of static.
I frowned. This was not good. We had to get a message to Voyager. I thought about the problem for a minute. Maybe if we got out from under all these trees...
"Captain," Jack interrupted my thoughts. "We have a problem."
"You mean, aside from not being able to contact our ship?" B'Elanna asked, slightly surly.
"Yep." Riley said, almost casually. Both Riley and Jack had begun to move forward, their hands reaching for their weapons. "About five or six of them."
I looked around me, trying to see if I could spot what Riley and Jack had seen. I caught a glimpse of movement behind me, but saw only a blurry shape. "What are they?" I asked.
"I don't know." Jack said. "But whatever they are, they're predators, the hunt in packs and right now they're hunting us."
"Hunting us?" Tom repeated.
"Oh, yeah." Riley said.
Then suddenly three large furry shapes launched themselves out of the undergrowth. Instinctively, I threw my arms up to protect my head and ducked down as a furry predator sailed over my head. A couple of gunshots ran out, startling me. I heard a flock of some sort of flying creature launch themselves into the air, screeching, as the echoes rang out. I carefully straightened up and looked about. The three creatures were dead. "Are the others gone?" I asked Jack.
"Yes." He replied. "But I don't know if they're coming back, or if there's anything else out there."
I took a moment to look at the three dead predators. The resembled large mountain cats to a certain extent, except that they were about the size of a pony. Their faces also looked rather elongated, rather like alligators, but smaller. Their fur was a speckled brown and white, and they had a set of protruding teeth. I swallowed when I remembered the feeling of one of them sailing over my head.
Then I shook myself. I had more important things to think about than a few predators. I had to make sure my crew were safe and uninjured. "Is anyone hurt?" I asked.
"No." Seven answered.
"I'm fine." Riley said.
"B'Elanna's not." Tom said.
"Yes I am!" she snarled at him.
Tom just glared at her. "No, you're not."
Riley smiled a small, sad smile and reached into one of her vest's pockets. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"One of them gave me a scratch, that's all." B'Elanna said.
"Well, I'm going to bind it anyway." Riley said, and before B'Elanna could protest, she continued. "Just to try and hide the smell of blood and food as much as we can."
Grudgingly B'Elanna turned and offered her scratched arm to Riley. I frowned when I saw it. It was more that a scratch! The three jagged cuts on her upper arm looked deep and were seeping blood. "Can you take off the top of your uniform?" Riley asked.
"Yes." B'Elanna answered.
It took a while to carefully peel back and remove her jacket and grey undershirt to reveal the singlet underneath. A minute later, Riley had cleaned and bound B'Elanna's arm. "Right." I said.
As Riley had been patching up B'Elanna's arm, I had been carefully studying the environment around us and had noticed that it was growing darker. "I think the first thing we need to do is find some defensible shelter." I said, thinking fast. "It's getting dark, so we don't have much time."
"Maybe I can help you with that." A soft voice said from behind me.
I spun, vaguely aware of Riley and Jack drawing their weapons, and saw two half-starved men wearing torn clothing. They were both Sikarians – humanoids with markings on their foreheads and spotted skin.
"We will not harm you." Said the man who had spoken before.
"You said you could help us with shelter?" I asked.
"Yes. But it is not safe here." The man continued. "I will have to answer your questions later."
A twig snapped somewhere, and he jumped. "Please come with us." He said. "I promise I will explain."
"Why do you want to help us?" Jack asked, but his tone was curious, not accusatory.
"Because it is safer in numbers. You also have weapons."
Jack nodded and looked at me. I could see that he wanted to help these people, but was still slightly suspicious about their motives. I felt a surge of happiness. If Jack had begun to want to help people again then he had found hope. He would be alright.
"Let's go." I said.
* * * The camp was broken and dirty, with a wall of sharpened wooden stakes as the only defence to the outside. The wall had been built around the wreckage of their small ship and shelters had been rigged to sit up against its sides. It seemed that these people were traders who were returning to their main ship after a small successful trading visit, when their small craft had been attacked by the Borg.
They had escaped, but due to all the damaged systems, they had crash landed on the planet. The two we had met, Juus and Wis had been gathering food outside, before being discovered by the cat-like predators. The other male had remained behind to care for the female trader who had been injured in the crash.
As soon as we had entered the camp, Tom and Riley had gone straight to see what they could do to help the female trader. Jack, Seven, B'Elanna and I had taken a tour of the camp. As we did this, I saw how the traders were barely surviving. Jack had had a frown on his face through the whole thing. Before long, Tom exited the largest, ragged tent and walked towards us. He walked up to us, and made sure the traders were out of earshot. "It doesn't look goo, Captain." He said. "She's wounded pretty bad. Riley's doing the best she can, but we need to get her to the Doc as soon as possible."
I nodded. "That's not all." Jack said. "I'm going to need help, but as soon as we can, I suggest we reinforce the wall and add some more defences. Otherwise we might get some unexpected visitors."
"I agree." I said. "Tom, do you need to help Lieutenant-Colonel Riley anymore?"
"Just call me Riley." Riley said, as she walked up. "Everyone else does. And I've done about all I can. I'll keep my eye on her, but I don't need Tom's help anymore."
"Good." I said. "Tom, I want you to take a look at their ship. I want to know if we can get her off the ground. You too, B'Elanna."
"Aye, Cap'n." Tom said.
"I, too, have ideas to improve the defences." Seven added. "I will help Colonel O'Neill."
"I'm going to see what food they have." I said. "We might need to go scavenging in the morning."
"We'll be fine for tonight, even if they only have water." Jack said. "Riley and I have rations. They're not very good, but they're edible."
Riley smiled at that. "Well, theoretically edible anyway."
Jack smiled back. "And they all taste like chicken."
I smiled as I watched the two of them interact. That was twice now that they had smiled. And they were also both showing their emotions a lot more than they used to, but I don't think they noticed it. They was an air of deep sadness about them, but there was a bright spot amongst it all. Hope. They had both found hope, and they weren't so empty anymore.
"I'm sure it won't kill us, even if we do loose a few taste buds." I said, as I looked at the horizon. "But I think we'd better hurry. We have maybe two hours of light left."
Everyone nodded and we split up. Jack and Seven headed for the wall, soon deep in conversation, and I couldn't help feeling that Seven had found some kindred spirits. Both Riley and Jack had lost their humanity to a certain extent, and Seven could understand that – and offer advice. It would be good for her.
Tom and B'Elanna were soon joined at the ship by Wis and were deep in discussion about the condition of the ship. I smiled. If anyone could get that ship off the ground, it would be those two. Tom was one of the best pilots I had ever met, and as any good pilot is, he knew his ship from top to bottom. And B'Elanna...well she could fix engines that I would have sworn couldn't be saved. And in record time.
I looked up at the cloudy sky. 'Hold on Voyager,' I thought. 'We're out here, and we're going to get home.'