The Secret Of Angalaria
by Gine
Chapter 5 Just in time
Two days had passed since the alien ship had kidnapped the shuttle with the two Angalarian children, Naomi, B'Elanna and the captain.
The destruction of Talaris had left Voyager without engines and they had started repairs on the propulsion systems immediately. The damage to the core had been greater than expected and Joe Carey estimated at least 30 hours before Voyager would be impulse and warp capable again.
As soon as all the Angalarians were safely settled on Voyager, Chakotay ordered a briefing with Samantha Wildman, Namara, Araman and all senior officers. When Araman spoke, they finally learned who had attacked them and why.
23 years ago, a unique natural phenomenon had befallen the third planet of the Angalarian system. The higher atmosphere of the planet had been hit by a series of dark matter particles, comparable with a large meteorite shower. When the particles hit the radioactive gases of the rings surrounding the planet, it caused a nuclear fission and the chain reaction that followed created a short rift in the time-space continuum. It only lasted a few seconds, but a ship with 28 Angalarians disappeared in the accident. They had been studying the spectral colours of the rings when the phenomenon appeared and their ship was pulled through the opening to the other side of space.
Four months later a small ship from Welora, a world of peaceful traders, sent a distress call in Angalarian codes directed at the entry of the polara. To the happiness of their families, 22 of the lost had found a secure way back. But they brought terrible news home. Their ship had encountered the Samarians, a violent race known for its persevering hunt for Angalaria's secret. With a defenceless, drifting vessel they had had no chance to escape. Six Angalarian lost their lives in the prison on Samara Prime. The rest escaped with the help of a Welorian transport ship that secretly smuggled food into the detention centre. Araman and Namara had been among the survivors. The ship that had destroyed Talaris was Samarian without question and it was here to find the polara at any cost.
Everyone in the room knew the consequences of this information. Samantha was close to tears, Tom's face registered deep shock and Chakotay had a dangerous expression in his eyes, eyes which had turned from warm brown to burning black. But Voyager's crew was well trained. Their first priority had to be the rescue mission. They couldn't waste time dwelling on the danger that the children, Belanna and the captain were facing.
Tom and Harry took the Delta Flyer to follow the Samarian ship while Voyager was brought back to peak condition in record time. 28 hours later both ships rendezvoused at the border of the nebula, where the flyer had lost the trail of the Samarians. They knew the alien vessel would play dead in the water and hide in the nebula to avoid being detected, but Seven and Harry came up with a plan to send three modified probes in different vectors within the nebula to scan for fluctuations in the particle density. That took more time than they had hoped, but 6 hours later they had located the exact position of the hiding vessel.
Careful not to alarm the other ship, Voyager entered the nebula and slowly manoeuvred closer. At regular intervals Tuvok scanned for Starfleet signatures, but the intense radiation of the nebular gases seemed to disperse every signal in a wide range. They had almost reached the Samarian ship when the emergency codes from four different commbadges activated the comm-system. Two belonged to B'Elanna and Naomi; the others had a standard Starfleet signature. They decoded B'Elanna's short message and adapted the hailing frequencies to avoid detection.
Tension was written on the faces of the bridge crew while Tuvok tried to make contact. For a few seconds there was only static, but finally B'Elanna's voice came over the comm. Tom's eyes closed in relief.
"It's about time, guys." Although they all smirked at B'Elanna's remark, Tom immediately sensed the distress in the whispered words. Something was definitively not right. He turned around and looked at Chakotay. He appeared to be calm and in full control of the situation, but his eyes reflected Tom's concern and something else, something that Tom had never seen so unguarded in Chakotay's eyes before. Fear.
"Are you alright, B'Elanna?"
"The children are with me. We're not hurt." B'Elanna paused, searching for the right words. "Chakotay, they've taken the captain again. The last time we saw her, she was far from fine."
"Can we beam them out safely, Tuvok?" Chakotay was already on his way to the tactical station. He could read the answer in Tuvok's reserved gestures, even before the Vulcan had said a word.
"We can transport Lieutenant Torres and the children without raising attention, but I can't get a lock on the captain. I can read neither her signature nor her life-signs. Our sensors can't penetrate the shielding of a larger area close to where Lieutenant Torres is."
B'Elanna had heard Tuvok's report and now her Klingon temper was reaching the limits of her restraint. She had stood back long enough without taking action, and it was eating her alive to know that at this moment her captain was going through hell for their safety, unable to defend herself.
Her voice was no longer a whisper. It now sounded strong and impatient. "Beam the children out and send a rescue team. I'm waiting here." She knew what would follow and added before anyone could order her to stand back again. "I won't leave the captain behind."
Tom sprung up from the con; his eyes searched Chakotay's in a silent plea. B'Elanna's last words spoke volumes to him. He could only begin to imagine how hard it must have been for her.
Chakotay knew what Kathryn Janeway expected of him. In a crisis like this his place as First Officer was on Voyager's bridge, as the leader of the crew. As long as the captain was in the hands of the Samarians, he didn't have the luxury of following his first instincts, of allowing the powerful, darker side of his nature to emerge and go after her himself. He nodded at Tom and ordered Tuvok and Ayala to assemble a security team.
When he spoke to B'Elanna again, Harry was already preparing the beam out of the children.
"You've got company, B'Elanna. Be careful."
Five minutes later Chakotay witnessed a tearful reunion in the transporter room. Samantha Wildman was hugging Naomi tightly; afraid she would disappear if she would let her go, while Namara and Araman enclosed Nalea and Brana in their arms. Golden light flooded the small room, the relief about the children's save return visibly radiating from the Angalarians.
But the stress and the emotional trauma the children had been through was clearly written on their pale faces. Naomi's small body was tightly wrapped in a grey turtleneck, four shinny pips revealing its former owner. Red-rimmed eyes looked exhausted and sad, silently questioning the adults before them as to why this had happened. Everybody knew at this moment that no logical explanation would console the wounded souls of the children. They could just take them into their arms, whisper soothing words and give much needed safety and love. They would need time to heal.
B'Elanna wasn't even five minutes alone before the familiar blue of the transporter beam filled the cell a second time and the rescue team arrived. She was in Tom's arms before she knew it. He embraced her tightly and then leaned back to look into the face of his wife. Turbulent brown eyes met concerned blue. Only the sound of a medical tricorder broke the silence.
"I'm fine, Tom. We don't have time for this now. We have to find the captain." Belanna was uncomfortable under his gaze. She'd had to keep in control too long. Her patience was wearing thin and she looked expectantly at Tuvok. "I hope you brought my emergency backpack."
Without raising an eyebrow, he handed it to her and from that moment on, everybody concentrated fully on the final mission. While Tuvok noiselessly disabled the door-lock, B'Elanna adjusted a special scanner to warn them of guards, but apparently the deck was clear. The Samarian vessel had a crew complement of 43; at least in the parts of the ship the sensors could penetrate. Most of them were on the higher decks. The shielded area that Tuvok had located earlier was only one hallway down. It led to a double gate that was protected by a high energy force field. They knew that if they disabled it now, they would risk not only detection but the life of the captain as well. The element of surprise would be their greatest advantage if they found her under guard.
B'Elanna was feverishly working on the power-generator to bypass the system without raising attention. It had to appear online when she disabled the field. She used a tricorder to send false data and finally the barrier collapsed.
The tricorder still got no clear readings from inside of the detention centre they found behind the gate. Something was scattering the signals leaving them no alternative but to search every room. Three hallways led in different directions so they decided to divide into teams of two. Dalby went with Tuvok, Jefferson with Ayala and Tom with B'Elanna.
The corridor was dark and silent. The air was pregnant with an ugly smell and seemed to cool down with every step that B'Elanna and Tom made further down the hallway. When they reached the door at its end, the changing tricorder readings indicated that they had found the second shield generator. It was hidden under a panel close to the door and protected by another force field. Again a bypass was quickly attached to the wall and seconds later the sensors of the tricorder finally showed two almost merged life-signs in the room behind the wall. One signal was strong and alien, the other much fainter and clearly human. Before Tom could hold her back, B'Elanna ripped the door open.
Never in her life would she forget the horrendous sight that she had to face when her eyes adjusted to the contrast between dark and light. Her pale skinned captain was tied to a large cross, while one of Salox's dark gloved hands roamed her uncovered body that strained in painful convulsions against the unyielding metal. She couldn't see the captain's face; Salox was holding her head, his mouth pressed to her blue lips.
His hands dropped in surprise at the sudden noise behind him and he turned around quickly.
"You…"
He never had the time to finish his sentence before the stunning phaser beam sent him to the floor.
Tom stood in the doorway staring in shock at the cross and than at B'Elanna. Her arm dropped and the phaser clattered to the floor. The noise when it impacted with the floor shocked them both out of their petrifaction. Tom picked up the weapon and B'Elanna quickly searched her bag for a cutting tool.
The captain had not moved an inch. Her head was down; strands of sweaty hair covered her eyes.
"Captain?" B'Elanna carefully reached for her. Kathryn's head shot up and for a second her blue eyes reflected an unimaginable vulnerability and pain.
Afraid to hurt her, B'Elanna didn't dare touch her more than she had to while Tom sliced through the tight straps on her wrists and ankles. The skin was rubbed raw, the wounds open, blood oozing from them and slowly trickling down Kathryn's arms and feet, leaving scarlet rivulets in the sheen of perspiration that covered her much too pale skin. No other signs were visible of the horrible pain that Salox had inflicted on her.
The captain stood shivering. Her legs unsteady, she leaned heavily against the cross. Strong arms helped her to find her balance. B'Elanna removed the jacket that the captain had given her earlier and very carefully put it around her shoulders. During it all, Kathryn had not spoken a single word and B'Elanna wondered if she even recognized them.
The phaser fire had alerted the Samarian guards and it was only a question of seconds now before they came for them, but Tom had already contacted the other teams and Voyager, and without any further command, Harry initiated the transport in record time. When the guards stormed the detention centre, all they saw was the last blue particle of light that dematerialised in the darkness.
B'Elanna and Tom materialised in sickbay, the captain between them. They helped her to the nearest biobed, but she refused to lie down. She moved out of their protecting arms slowly, and nobody dared to touch her again. Her eyes were focused on the console closest to her.
The Doctor was examining Naomi, Nalea and Brana on the other side of the room and looked up. The smile that he had for the children disappeared and his eyes grew serious when he took in the condition of the captain. He grabbed another tricorder, but never reached her. She turned away so suddenly that neither B'Elanna nor Tom could stop her. Her shaking hands raced over the touch-screen and before anyone had the chance to examine her, the captain had beamed herself to her quarters.
to be continued