Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Voyager crew. The Minatians, however, belong to me.

Rating: PG, sure.

JetC factor: About a 5; it's not too bad.

Dedication: To my mother, who supports my writing habit.

Resurrection
Chapter 4

Naomi sat on a bin in cargo bay one, looking around hesitantly. She didn't know who the aliens were that had taken over the ship, but she was afraid that if they saw her moving, they would get her. She saw her mother, Samantha, talking to another crewman who was claustrophobic. Naomi needed to talk to someone.

Getting up slowly, the young child ran to hide behind a pile of boxes. She looked around the corners, making sure that no one had seen her. The rest of the crew was too busy to notice one little girl playing hide-and-seek around some boxes. When she was certain that she had gone unnoticed, she darted a little farther across the floor to where some of the senior officers were sitting.

Seven of Nine was staring at a panel on the wall just beyond the force field. Naomi walked up
quietly, smiling at Tom Paris when he gave her a questioning look. Seven didn't notice her six-year-old observer.

"Seven, what are you doing?"

The Borg woman's body tensed and she snapped her head around in the direction of the voice.
Seeing it was just Naomi, Seven's body relaxed, but the frown remained on her face.

"Naomi Wildman, you startled me. Make your presence known before you begin speaking to
someone."

"I'm sorry, Seven," Naomi apologized, staring down at the floor. "I just wanted to know why you
were staring at the wall."

Seven looked around her, trying to gauge the distance of the Minatian guards. Putting an arm
around Naomi's small shoulders, Seven pulled the young child close to her.

"I am trying to find a way to get to the panel so that we may access controls for the rest of the ship."

Naomi's brow furrowed, pushing the ridges on her forehead closer together. "You're trying to
escape? But I thought Tuvok said…"

"Lieutenant Tuvok is not acting very logically," Seven said even more quietly.

Naomi nodded even if she didn't really understand. "Can I help?" she asked genuinely.

Seven shook her head. "I'm afraid that you cannot. Go back to your mother, Naomi. I will tell you when I require your assistance."

Naomi frowned but made her way back across the cargo bay floor.

Janeway was curled up on her bed, reading a book she'd had replicated to help her unwind.
Holonovels were good, but sometimes she needed to use her imagination. Breakfast at Tiffany's was an Earth classic that she had never been able to get over.

The words sat on the page, not keeping the captain's attention the way they so often did. Instead,
her mind floated towards the Sickbay. Chakotay's upper brain functions were slowly coming back to him, but he had yet to regain consciousness. The Doctor still didn't know what was going on with the commander's brain. But each day, even if there was no progress, Janeway kept hope that he would recover. She tried to pass on this hope to the crew, especially the Maquis members. Even after five years, some of them still believed that without Chakotay's presence they would be ill represented on the ship.

Her door beeped and she sighed. "Enter."

It opened and Tuvok walked in. Janeway smiled at her chief of security and set down her book.

"What can I do for you, Tuvok?"

"Captain, I do not wish to overstep my bounds, but I have something to discuss with you regarding who will be taking over Commander Chakotay's position."

Janeway was startled. It was not like Tuvok to inquire about this sort of thing. "Why do you ask,
Tuvok?"

"Captain, Commander Chakotay has been in his coma for four months now. Under the
circumstances, someone should be appointed to the position of First Officer. Logically, should anything happen to you, someone would be needed to take over."

Janeway smiled a bit. "And do you have anyone in mind who could logically fill this position?"

"No, Captain. I felt that you should make that decision."

Janeway's smile widened a bit. "Lieutenant Tuvok, under the circumstances, I will appoint you as
acting First Officer of this ship until such time as Commander Chakotay regains health."

"Very good, Captain," Tuvok stated.

"If that's all, Lieutenant, then you are dismissed."

Tuvok nodded and left her room.

Janeway sighed. She hoped this was only a temporary reassignment.

The chair was cold against Janeway's bare arms. She tried to move, but the restraints would not let her breathe without tightening. She felt like she was being given an unfriendly hug by a boa constrictor.

The room was small. It barely had enough space in it for the chair she was strapped to. Somehow, the Minatians had managed to fit several machines and a tray full of surgical instruments in there as well. The odd decorum did not make the room seem any smaller, but she knew there couldn't be more than ten paces from one corner to the other.

The machines were what frightened Janeway the most. One consisted of a single grey pole with a
long arm that tapered off to a needle. Another had the same single pole but it branched off into two arms that held paddles. The rest of the machines were complicated and ornate; Janeway couldn't even begin to guess at their function.

The single door finally opened and Klantio walked in. He was now garbed in a loose black robe with a fur belt around his waist. His grin could only be described as evil and Janeway felt her stomach begin to knot.

"And now, Captain Janeway, I have some questions for you to answer," Klantio said, the grin still sitting on his face. He began to move towards her slowly and as he passed the paddle-machine, it turned itself on, the two arms coming to hover over Janeway's head.

She closed her eyes and hoped to whatever was out there that she didn't die…

Minutes, hours or days later, Janeway was thrown roughly into the cell the Minatians had set aside for her. The floor was just as unyielding to her weight this time as it had been the first time she had made contact with it. She waited until Juntero had left before she sat up slowly. Her arm was sore, badly bruised, and the rest of her body was stiff. They had been relentless. The questions…all those questions…she shook her head. No, she would not think of that. She would plan a way to get out and back to her ship.

The cell next to her was still empty. She had not seen Commander Chakotay in what felt like
forever, but what could have only been two days. Klantio had come to see her during one of the…sessions, but he had not answered questions about her first officer. She touched her face gingerly. Klantio enjoyed hitting her, and the assaults usually came when she asked about her first officer. She prayed to Chakotay's gods that he was all right.

She heard movement in the hall outside her cell and forced herself to stand and look out the door.

Two of the guards were carrying a third form between them, dragging its feet across the floor. They walked past her cell and stopped at the next one for a moment.

"Chakotay." She breathed more than said his name. But the two guards moved on, continuing to
drag the form away.

She sighed. No, that had not been her friend. They would not let her see him so soon, not until
someone had broken. She had not, she doubted Chakotay would…

The crew. Janeway mentally kicked herself. She had forgotten about her crew. They were all on
Voyager, huddled in cargo bay one. Had they told the Minatians what they wanted to know? Had the Minatians beat them when they didn't like the answers? How was young Naomi holding up under the pressure? Had Seven gotten killed for being disobedient?

Some captain you are, Kathryn. You'd forgotten about your crew. Focusing on your own problems and the problems of Chakotay. The rest of the crew is just as important.

Something rang hollow in that last statement but Janeway only continued to mentally reprimand
herself for being irresponsible. And then she began to plot a way to free herself and find Chakotay.

Chakotay lay very still, listening to the voices around him. They were muffled, but clearly angry.
Klantio was arguing with someone, most likely about Voyager's first officer. He had barely been touched since the captain and he had been separated. They had beaten him once or twice when he had overstepped the bounds a prisoner should stand in, but they had asked him no questions.

What are they doing to you, Kathryn? he asked the spirits. Why had they chosen to leave him alone? What did they have planned?

The voices around him became less muffled and then Klantio entered the room. Chakotay did not
understand why he was being held in such posh accommodations. He had a bed, a couch, and a refresher-all the comforts of home. What were the Minatians up to?

"Where are we going?" Chakotay asked when Klantio grabbed his arm, forcing him to sit up.

The Minatian gave no answer as he dragged the Native American out of his "cell." Two other guards met up with them and took Chakotay from their leader's hands. Chakotay did not fight them, although he was more than a little terrified as to where this was leading.

They walked through what seemed to be miles of corridor. Just as they turned one corner,
something hit Chakotay hard on the back of his head. He was out for only a few seconds, and then he felt the guards dragging him across the floor. Rather than get hit again, he lay limp in their arms as they moved. He saw something out of the corner of his eye. Starfleet red, he thought. Kathryn…

The guards paused for a moment outside of a cell. Were they moving him? He opened an eye to
look back from where he had just been. He could just barely make out a frame in the dim lighting. The captain. The guards began to move again and Chakotay continued to lie limp in their arms.

Eventually, they reached their destination. Chakotay was thrown onto a hard, cold sheet of metal.

He opened his eyes gradually, and almost jumped when he saw Klantio's face mere centimeters from his own.

"The commander is awake," the alien stated flatly. Another alien, very dissimilar to Klantio, stood on the other side of Chakotay. Although he had the same smooth, hairless face, he was much rounder and shorter than the Minatian war-leader. His skin was pocked with scars and freckles and his nose was longer than Klantio's. "See what he has to say."

Klantio left and the remaining Minatian, who Chakotay assumed was the doctor, observed the
human for a moment. He walked away from the bed even as he began talking.

"Good morning, Commander Chakotay," he said, almost cheerfully. "I am Doctor Rinyht. I asked specifically that you remain undamaged."

"What do you want from me?" Chakotay asked, trying to sit up but finding he could not.

Rinyht chuckled. "Do not try and move, Commander. You have been restrained with binders at
your ankles and wrists; you aren't going anywhere." He chuckled again. "What do I want from you? I want what Klantio wants-information about your home world."

"I assure you that Captain Janeway has told him everything he needs to know."

"Your Captain has constructed a fantastical tale about tetryon beams and Alpha Quadrants. We
want the truth, Commander, not stories for children."

"That is the truth," the commander said. "Why would she put up with whatever you're doing to her if it wasn't the truth?"

"Your captain is a strong woman; it will take us a little while longer to break her."

Of course she's strong; she is Captain Kathryn Janeway. Starfleet does not produce weaklings for captains.

"I will only tell you what she has; you won't get any new information out of me."

"Oh, I think I will," Rinyht said as he approached the bed again. In his hands he carried a long
needle. "This, Commander, will get me that new information."

"A truth serum?" the Maquis man asked.

"Oh, nothing so primitive. This will give me access to your memories. You will get a dose of this
until I have learned what I need to. Settle in, Commander; this might take awhile."

Chakotay tried not to cringe as the needle pierced his skin.