Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

PROVIDENCE
Part Two

All was blurr...pain... Chakotay sat up slowly and put his hand to his aching head as he tried to make out where he was. Wherever it was, it was cold and dark. The fuzz before his eyes cleared and he saw that he was in a small, dark, stone cell that was illuminated only by a couple of sconces. There was no window. There was only a large black metal door in the wall. Behind him was a dirty looking black mattress, and beside it a bowl of water and a chipped orange cup. Floating on the water were several bugs and a legion crawled on the floor.

Chakotay shivered in the cold and drew himself to the wall, sitting with his back against it. He had thought there could be no worse prison than the one he had been kept in by the Kobali, but this one certainly qualified. As he looked around, taking in every detail, he wondered if this was what all Cardassian prisons were like, wondered if this is where Kathryn and Ella and so many others had been tortured...

Suddenly, the sound of a key in the lock tore across the deafening silence, and the heavy black door opened. As it did so, a male Cardassians entered, carrying a large whip in his hands, and was followed by two more Cardassians dressed in matching brown uniforms.

The man who was clearly the superior, glared at Chakotay. "Get to your feet."

Chakotay reluctantly got to his feet. He wanted to defy the man, but if he did he would only make things worse for himself. He had to try and stay alive. As far as he knew, Arlei had not been taken. She would therefore know that he had been, and would relay that message back home. A rescue party would be sent for him, and he would be reunited with Kathryn and his family. He had always said he would die for them. Now he had to live for them, despite what it cost his pride.

"There's only one thing worse than torture," the man said, stepping forward and pointing the tip of his whip at Chakotay's chest. "And that's watching someone you love being tortured instead."

Chakotay swallowed. Had they caught Arlei after all? Did they believe she was his lover?

The man turned to the door. "Ervika!"

Another Cardassian man entered, but it wasn't Arlei he brought in with him. It was a thin human woman with long black hair that fell beyond her waist. Chakotay could hardly breathe when the woman's eyes looked into his and he recognized her. Rennay. His dear, beloved, sister... She clearly recognized him too and unspeakable joy filled her dark eyes as she looked at him. Chakotay longed to take her in his arms and hold her tight, but he had to stifle the overwhelming emotions he felt. He had to fight them, had to pretend that she was nothing to him...

"Recognize her?"

Chakotay turned to the Cardassian. "Should I?"

The man snapped his whip. "Don't lie to me. She's your sister."

Chakotay met his hard gaze. "Really? Think you know my family better than I?"

"DNA doesn't lie!"

"I only have one living sister. All my other siblings were murdered by your people."

The man leant over Chakotay, his hand against the wall. "You take me for a fool."

"No, I think you take me for one. You just want me to believe she's my sister."

The man drew away from him in frustration and turned to Rennay. "Is this your brother?"

Rennay didn't answer. The man snapped his whip at her. "I said is this your brother?"

Rennay nodded fearfully.

"With you threatening her like that," Chakotay said, "she'd say she's the Borg Queen."

"Tell him," the man cried. "Tell him your name..."

Rennay said nothing.

"Tell him!"

"Rennay," she cried. "Rennay..."

"Rennay's dead," Chakotay answered. "She was murdered by your people."

Anger boiling now, the man grabbed Rennay and got her against the wall. He called to his two servants. "Irlik, Parin..."

The two men stepped forward and pulled Rennay's arms to the side, holding her against the wall by an arm each.

"I'll give you one more chance," the man said. "Is she your sister?"

"No," Chakotay answered. "She's not my sister."

The man bit his lip angrily, and then unleashed his rage on Rennay. He whipped her frantically, tearing the thin fabric of her black clothing until it hung in shreds and seeped with blood. Rennay screamed in agony and Chakotay could only watch in horror. He clenched his fists, fighting the rage, fighting the urge to retaliate...

Breathless, the Cardassian finally stopped and turned to his prisoner. "Still say she's not your sister?"

Chakotay had to struggle to find his voice. "She's not my sister."

Rennay was weeping now and every sob knifed Chakotay's heart, but he had to do this, he had to pretend he didn't know her, otherwise they would only make her suffer more...

The man held up his whip. "I'll go on whipping her until you tell the truth."

Chakotay once again met his cold stare. "Her loss."

There was a long silence, then the man lowered his whip. "I see you have a hard heart. You will not be affected by the torture of others. That means only one thing. We torture you instead."

He turned back to his men. "Take her away."

The men dragged a crying and bleeding Rennay away. When they were gone, the cruel Cardassian turned to his prisoner.

"You will be humbled," he said coldly. "This time tomorrow you'll be begging me for mercy."

With that, he and Ervika left, locking the heavy black metal door behind them.


The silence was suffocating, the cold consuming. How much time had passed since they had brought Rennay to him, Chakotay didn't know. In this cold silent darkness, time seemed suspended.

Rennay.

She had been raped and murdered by the Cardassians, that's what he had been told. Raped and murdered. Not for a moment had he thought she was still alive. If he had known, if he had merely only suspected, he would have searched for her and not stopped until he found her.

The emotion was overpowering, joy, grief, pain... Ten years of being held captive by the Cardassians. He couldn't imagine a worse horror... Perhaps death would have been kinder... But he had seen spirit in her eyes. He had seen the will to live...

A key suddenly turned in the lock and the heavy metal door opened. Chakotay looked up and saw a Cardassian man enter, a black blanket under his arm. He closed the door and threw the blanket to Chakotay.

"I'm going to help you get out of here. Put that over you. It's not much of a disguise, but it'll help conceal you in the shadows if someone comes, but no one ever comes down here at night..."

Chakotay frowned, not understanding. "Why do you want to help me?"

"Don't you recognize me?"

Chakotay shook his head.

"Bokatra. You saved my life..."

Chakotay had to think a moment. "Tokanra?"

The man nodded.

"I appreciate you putting yourself at risk like this for me," Chakotay said, getting to his feet. "But I can't leave without my sister. I can't take the chance that if they find me gone, they'll kill her."

"We'll get her on the way. I know where they're keeping her." He helped Chakotay fix the blanket over him. "They're going to kill you tomorrow. If you don't get out now, you never will." He opened the door and looked outside before venturing into a stone corridor that was dripping with water. "It's clear," he said. "Come."

Chakotay followed Bokatra into the corridor, and the friendly Cardassian took Chakotay's arm and hurried him down the narrow dark passage way. They passed black metal door after black metal door, and followed a winding corridor, turning, turning, turning. At last Bokatra stopped outside one of the doors and put his key into the lock. All the doors evidently had the same lock. The door opened and he pushed Chakotay inside before entering himself.

As soon as Chakotay entered the cell, he saw Rennay lying on a dirty mattress, weeping. Her thin body was still bleeding and she was shivering violently. He hurried over to her and touched her hair as though he was touching something sacred.

"Rennay," he whispered. "My Rennay."

Rennay stirred beneath him and tried to sit up. Chakotay helped her and then held her against him as gently as he could.

"We're getting out of here," he said, "we're getting out."

He gently picked his sister up and Rennay held tight around his neck. Chakotay kissed her and then turned to Bokatra, indicating they were ready. Bokatra pulled the blanket to cover as much of Rennay as was possible, and then, after checking the passage way was clear, held the door open for Chakotay to carry her into the corridor. Bokatra then took the lead, and Chakotay followed him down the increasingly wet tunnel.

After walking for a few minutes, they came to what seemed a dead end.

"There's a stairway," Bokatra said, "through this door."

He opened the last black metal door and ushered Chakotay inside. Something furry brushed against Chakotay's leg and hurried into the shadows. Chakotay looked around. Before him was a black stairway illuminated by dim electric lights that seemed to wind up into oblivion.

"It's an emergency exist," Bokatra explained. "It's never used. No one comes here. But it's the first place they'll look when they find you gone. Make your way up them as quickly as you can. There's a door at the top. I'll meet you there."

Chakotay smiled gratefully. "I really do appreciate this. Thank you."

"You saved my life when you could have killed me. I owe you." He broke away from Chakotay and glanced anxiously into the corridor. "Now go. Every wasted moment is a moment closer to them finding you."

With that he disappeared through the door and Chakotay heard it lock as he left.

When he was gone, Chakotay looked up at the the stairs and wondered just how far it was to the top. It seemed an agonizingly long way...

He looked down at Rennay and spoke gently. "It's a long way up. I'm going to have to put you over my shoulder, okay?"

Rennay nodded. Chakotay lowered her to the ground and then lifted her over his shoulder. When he was certain she was secure, he began to climb the stairs.


Sweat poured down Chakotay's face as he climbed the stairs. Up and up and up. The stairs kept on winding. His body was in agony, but determination kept him going...

At last, at long long last, he saw the top of the stairs and the door that Bokatra had mentioned. He climbed the last few stairs and, just as he was reaching the top, the door opened and Bokatra appeared.

"My shuttle's close by," he said. "But guards are on their way. They patrol these grounds every night. If they see us, that's it, we're all dead. But if they see me walking to my shuttle alone, and a few minutes later see it take off, they'll never suspect I was involved in your escape. Shuttles rarely come and go here, everything must be considered..." He peeped outside. "I can see them approach in the distance. I'm going to have to go now. I'll light up my shuttle when I'm in it and when the guards have passed, make your way to it. I can't transport you. We have a security shield around this place that logs any unauthorized transportation. Stay in the shadows, make sure they don't see you..." He threw Chakotay the key. "Lock the door after you."

With that, he wandered into the darkness.

Chakotay closed the door and listened hard to the footsteps outside that were getting louder. The nearer they got, the louder they echoed around. Then the sound began to fade...they had clearly passed. Chakotay waited a few moments and then opened the door. He looked out into the night. There was no one around. Just as he had said, Bokatra had lit up his shuttle. Chakotay quickly put the key into the lock, turned it, and then hurried as fast as he could with Rennay to the shuttle. The doors were open and he stepped inside. As soon as he was in, Bokatra shut the doors and the shuttle took off.

Chakotay threw Bokatra the key and then gently lay Rennay on the floor. Breathless, he turned to Bokatra. "Where now?"

"The dunes. They'll never look for you there. And it's on my flight path home. If they trace my flight tonight, they'll find no deviance."

"If they search for us, they'll be able to detect us by our lifesigns..."

"Not if you wear a frequency scatterer and set it to 7789.09. Your people won't be able to trace you either, but you can use your commbadge to send a homing signal so they can find you." He turned to Chakotay and threw him two small round badges. "I always keep them in my shuttle, just incase..."

Chakotay smiled. "Thank you." He studied the unfamiliar device and found it opened to reveal a small computer. He looked up at Bokatra. "What was that setting again?"

"7789.09"

Chakotay activated the two devices and set them to that frequency. Then he pinned one to Rennay and to himself.

"I could do with some water," he said. "And a medkit..."

"There's no time," Bokatra answered. "We're almost at the dunes. When I transport you, I'll transport everything you'll need to survive the same time."

Rennay was shivering and Chakotay gently put his hand to her brow and caressed her softly. She closed her eyes at his gentle touch, his tenderness soothing her.

"I'll never forget this," Chakotay said. "Thank you."

"As I said, I owe you." He worked his console. "We're there now. Initializing transport..."

Before Chakotay could answer, he felt the tingle of transportation and dematerialized.

When he rematerialized, he found himself on black sand, a scorching sun glaring down on him. It was clearly day on this part of the planet. Rennay was beside him and several silver containers beside her. Chakotay went over to the containers and began opening them, looking for some water. He was terribly thirsty and knew Rennay had to be too. He opened all the containers looking for water, but found only a replicator. He pulled out the replicator and asked for a 2 litre bottle of water and two cups. The less demands he made of the replicator, the longer it would serve them without power replenishment. It could be months before they were rescued.

He opened the bottle of water and filled a cup to the brim. Rennay was trying to sit up and Chakotay helped her. He then gave her the cup and she gladly drank the refreshing water. When she had finished, he poured a cup full for himself and gulped it down. He then picked up a medkit he had found while looking for water and opened it.

"Your wounds are just flesh wounds," he said to Rennay. "I can heal them with a dermal regenerator, but first I need to wash them."

He reached into the medkit and pulled out a gray plastic sheet that had been folded small. Rennay watched as he opened it up and spread it out across the sand beside her. He then turned back to her.

"Let's lie you down on this."

He held out his arms to her, and Rennay grabbed hold of him as she shuffled onto the sheet. Every movement stung her frail body, but the only indication of pain was the light gasps she made. Chakotay gently lay her down and then used the water in the bottle to wash his hands. He then replicated a bowl of warm water containing antiseptic, a white cloth, and a towel. He dried his hands and then prepared a hypospray that would put Rennay to sleep so he could treat her wounds.

"This will make you sleepy," he said, ""so that I can treat your wounds without hurting you."

When it was done, he put his hand to his sister's cheek.

"Don't be afraid. You're safe with me."

Rennay gave a wan smile and Chakotay saw no fear in her eyes, only trust. Assured that she was comfortable with what was happening, he put the hypospray to her neck, and she slowly drifted into a peaceful sleep.


After successfully treating Rennay, Chakotay put up a small shelter Bokatra had left them. The shelter was a dull black and from the air would look invisible amongst the sand. He didn't want the gleaming containers to jeopardize their safety, so once the shelter was erected, he began to move them inside. Each one was slightly smaller than the other and they fixed inside each other perfectly. They hardly took up any room in the shelter at all. Bokatra had thought of everything.

When all the containers and their contents were inside, Chakotay began to sort out the interior. It was dark inside so he replicated a lamp. Then he replicated two soft mattresses and lay them on the floor. There had been a couple of blankets in the containers, so he put those over the mattresses. Then he replicated a small table, two stools and a fan. It was hot on this part of the planet. They wouldn't need a heater.

Rennay looked around the shelter and smiled happily at what she saw.

"You must be hungry," Chakotay said. "I'll replicate us some soup and bread." Rennay was terribly thin and he had no idea how much or how little she had been fed all these years. He didn't want her to eat more than her body could cope with.

He went over to the replicator and asked for two bowls of vegetable soup with a large plate of sliced bread rolls. When they materialized, he carried them over to the table, and sat on a stool, ready to eat. Rennay joined him and smiled warmly at him before picking up her spoon and tucking into the delicious soup.


Once the sun had gone down, the air had grown colder. It was still not cold enough to need a heater, but the fan was now redundant. Chakotay lay in his makeshift bed and the stillness, the silence, quietened the noise in his mind. He had been awake for more hours than he could count, but despite the exhaustion of his body, he couldn't sleep. Rennay slept close by and he gazed at her silhouetted form in the dimmed light of the lamp. It was truly a gift from the gods to have her here with him like this, but he couldn't help wonder about all she had been through. There were so many questions he wanted answers too, but he knew now was not the time or the place. A lump gathered in his throat as he thought of the talkative affectionate little girl who had followed him around, even when he hadn't wanted her too, and the beautiful young woman who had stolen the heart of almost every man in his tribe, and this silent painfully thin woman she now was. He longed for her to talk to him, just a word...

Then, unexpectedly, she did. Just a word. His name.

"Chakotay..."

He sat up a little. "Yes?"

"Can I... Can I sleep next to you...like when I was little?"

Tears welled in Chakotay's eyes. "Of course."

At that, Rennay got out of her bed and onto her knees. She pushed her mattress next to his and then climbed back into bed. Chakotay lay down and, as he did so, felt Rennay gather close to him. She lay her head on his chest and wrapped her arm tight around his waist. She had often snuggled up to him like this when she was a little girl and was afraid. Chakotay put his arm around her and felt her frail body relax into his embrace.

"I knew you would come for me," Rennay whispered. "I knew one day you would come."

A tear ran down Chakotay's cheek and fell into her long black hair.


The garden was quiet, but Kathryn was glad of the solitude as she sat with Silvie in a comfortable wicker chair. Roxa and Vixi had gone to the beach and Stevie was with his grandparents for the day, so she had her daughter all to herself for the afternoon. Suddenly, Petal began to bark and ran towards the house.

"Looks like we might have a visitor," Kathryn said to Silvie. She got to her feet, Silvie in her arms, and made her way into the house. As she did so, she heard the door bell ring.

"Just as I thought..."

She peeped into the security monitor and saw that it was Justin and Ella. Holding Silvie in one arm, she opened the door with the other.

"Justin, Ella," she smiled. "Come in."

"I hope we're not disturbing you," Justin said.

"Not at all," Kathryn replied. "I was just sitting in the garden with Silvie." She gestured to the living room. "Please, come through..."

"No, we won't stop," Justin said. "We just wanted to give you the good news in person."

Ella held out her left hand to Kathryn and a diamond ring glittered in the light. "We're getting married."

Kathryn smiled happily. "That's wonderful. Congratulations." She kissed Ella's cheek and then Justin's. "I'm so happy for you both."

"We've decided we want to get married right away," Justin said. "We both want a civil union so are going to get married next week in a small registry office in Scotland and stay there for a few days. We just want it to be a private affair, no guests...well, except Heidi and her grandmother, of course."

Ella looked at Kathryn, concern in her eyes. "I hope you're not offended..."

"Of course not," Kathryn replied. "I'm delighted for you both, I really am."


A soft wind had covered the shelter with sand during the night, and Chakotay brushed it away while Rennay sat in the sun plaiting her long hair.

Suddenly, Chakotay felt the tingle of transportation and within seconds found himself on a familiar ship. He looked around and saw Arlei looking back at him. She was standing at the helm and smiled, warmth and relief in her eyes. "Welcome aboard."

Chakotay stepped off the transporter pad, his concern for Rennay making him abrupt. "My sister," he said. "We've got to get my sister..."

Arlei questioned. "Your sister?"

"Frequency 7789.09... at my location..."

Arlei didn't understand what was going on, but didn't doubt the urgency in Chakotay's voice. She turned to the console, tuned into the frequency, and found a human female lifesign.

"Initializing transport."

Chakotay turned to the transport pad and watched as Rennay materialized. She was standing up, a frightened look on her face. When she saw Chakotay, it dissipated a little, but she was still visually trembling. Chakotay went over to her and took her in his arms, holding her gently against him.

"It's alright," he whispered. "We're safe now, we're safe..."

He kissed her hair and then drew away from her to address Arlei.

"There's a shelter and some other things on the surface we need to transport. We can't leave anything behind. It would put the one who helped us in great danger."

Arlei worked the console again and scanned the region where she had found Chakotay and his sister.

"The shelter's too big to transport," she said. "How about I vaporize everything? That will leave no trace."

"Good idea."

Arlei initialized vaporization.

"Vaporization complete," she said.

Chakotay went over to the helm and began to analyze their location. "We're approximately only a week away from the Federation border if we travel towards Talarian space." It would take at least twice that to reach the demilitarized zone and, besides, he wanted Rennay to be examined by the Doctor before he took her back to Trebus. Medical care in his tribe was rather primitive. "Will the cloak hold that long?"

"Affirmative," Arlei replied. "We've enough energy reserves to last four weeks."

Chakotay's fingers worked busily. "At maximum warp, it should then only take us a further two weeks to reach Earth." His fingers worked again. "I've plotted us a course." He got to his feet and put his hand on Arlei's shoulder. "You did well to find us, Arlei. Very well. I didn't think help would come for a long time. I thought we'd have to wait for you to return to the Federation first and let everyone know what had happened."

"Once I'd cloaked my ship, they couldn't detect me," Arlei replied. "I traced your lifesign to one of their ships, but couldn't transport you because of their shield. I followed the ship to this planet, but lost track of you once they'd transported you to the surface. I realized they must have taken you somewhere with high security. With my superior technology, I tried to find that location by performing intense scans of the planet. It took a while, but I did manage to find it, or at least what I believed to be the place as it was the only place on this planet with a shield I couldn't penetrate. It took me hours to break the security code, and when I did, I still couldn't detect your lifesign. I started to get really worried now as I thought they might have killed you, but then sensors detected your lifesign briefly. I tried to get a lock on you, but there was a strong shield interfering with transporters, and I lost your lifesign again before I could. I performed detailed scans of the shuttlecraft I believed you were in, and found there was only one person onboard, a Cardassian. I realized then that either you'd been killed and your body abandoned, or you'd been transported somewhere else. I did more scans, more searches, but couldn't find you. Then it occurred to me to look for a Starfleet homing signal, and that's when I found you."

"Good work," Chakotay smiled. "And it was very brave of you to come looking for me. Thank you."

Arlei smiled warmly and then turned to Rennay. "So, this is your sister?"

"Yes," Chakotay replied "Rennay."

Arlei went over to the woman and held out her hand. "I'm Arlei."

Rennay took her hand and shook it, but said nothing.

Arlei questioned. "What were you doing in this space? Were you taken prisoner too?"

Chakotay answered. "Rennay was taken by the Cardassians when they attacked our homeworld ten years ago."

A saddness filled Arlei's eye as she understood the implication of that. "I'm sorry."

"The Cardassians brought her to me as they wanted to torture me by torturing her."

Arlei swallowed. The Cardassians did indeed appear to be the brutes she had been told they were.

"We managed to escape with the help of a Cardassian I once saved when I was a Maquis. Not all Maquis members were fighting for the freedom of their homeworlds. Many were fighting because they wanted to fight. They had no scruples, no morals. They committed acts of violence against civilians, and I happened to be caught up in one. They bombed a Cardassian city without mercy and then left in a blaze of glory, leaving hundreds dead and injured. I took my crew to the surface and instructed them to help as many civilians as they could. Most wouldn't hear of helping, but a few of us did what we could for as long as we could. I freed several people who were trapped under debris and gave urgent medical attention to others. Bokatra was one of them. I wouldn't have remembered him, but he remembered me."

"One good turn rewarded with another," Arlei smiled. Then she made her way back to the helm. "Now, we'd better get out of here!"

Chakotay couldn't agree more. "I second that!"

Arlei powered up engines, and in seconds they were gone.

END OF PART TWO