Disclaimer: I don't own
any of the Voyager crew. The Minatians, however, belong to
me.
Rating: PG, sure.
Dedication: To everyone who believes in
JetC--we will always find our truth in fanfiction.
Resurrection
Chapter
10
"Sickbay to the captain."
Janeway sighed. "Doctor, this had
better be very important." Smoke from the console to her
left
was getting in her eyes.
"It is, Captain. My holomatrix is starting to degrade because of all the weapons fire on this section of the ship. Any more shots like the ones we've been receiving, and you'll all have to hope Mr. Paris has been paying attention."
"We'll do what we can, Doctor. If you feel that you're going to go off-line, transfer yourself to the holodeck until this is over. One of the other science officers will have to be used in your place."
"Understood, Captain."
Janeway tapped her combadge. "B'Elanna, tell me everything is set."
"We're all set here, Captain. The theta radiation is in torpedo bay one."
"And the modifications to the deflector?" she asked hopefully.
"Done, Captain."
Janeway smiled.
"Good. Here's the plan. On my mark Harry, send out those ion
waves. After the
third wave B'Elanna, you're going to jettison the
theta radiation. Tom, you'll move us as far away as we can be and
still have Seven be able to hit the tube with a tachyon beam. We only
get one shot at this, ladies and gentlemen. Are we ready?"
A
chorus of "aye ma'ams" filled her ears and she smiled. She
looked out her view screen and
watched as the Minatian ships
swarmed around them, pulling in so close that their engine wakes were
shaking the ship. A collective breath was held on the Bridge as the
lead ship got so close they could see inside its view
ports.
"Engage."
Harry pressed a button on
his console. The ship lurched and a blue oval came floating
from
underneath the ship. Three of the five closest ships stopped
where they were. Another wave was sent out a split second later, and
another followed in its course, knocking out twenty-seven more
ships.
"B'Elanna, now!"
"Theta radiation away."
"Tom, get us out of here."
Tom
pressed a button and the whole ship lurched again as it started to
move backwards. Seven's
eyes were alternately focused on the view
screen and her console. Finally, she spoke.
"Stop us, Ensign Paris. As soon as I fire, you may move us backwards again."
The ship stopped and everyone heard the beep that
Seven's console made as she released the
tachyon beam. Tom's right
hand fell hard on one part of his console and the ship began to move
backwards again.
The crew watched as the blue tachyon beam
made its way towards the tube of theta radiation.
When they
connected, a red ball began to expand in all directions, devouring
any ship that got in its way. Tom moved the ship back even farther,
but they still felt Voyager shudder from the explosion.
"Report," Janeway asked quietly.
Seven didn't respond right away.
"Shields down to seventy-five percent, minor hull breaches
on
decks three, seven and ten."
"And the Minatians?"
Seven smiled. "Ninety percent of their ships are disabled or obliterated."
Janeway turned to Harry. "Hail the Councilor. Maybe he'll be a little more cooperative this time."
Janeway
shook her head slowly, completely disbelieving. She was back on
Voyager, in Sickbay.
There were no Minatian soldiers surrounding
her, no metal bars to confine her. Instead, she saw biobeds and her
first officer. The off-white walls of her ship's Sickbay were more
beautiful than her Da Vinci could ever had created at that moment.
Even though outside she heard the scrambling of a crew under attack,
she finally felt she could relax.
"Computer, activate…"
"He's off-line, Captain." Tom strode into the room, almost smiling, but very serious. "You'll have to deal with my mortal hands for now."
Janeway swung her legs off the biobed and padded across to where Chakotay lay. Tom approached her with a medical tricorder and she shooed him away with her rough, grime covered hand. "I'm fine, Tom. But Chakotay…he needs serious medical attention. Where's B'Elanna? We need the Doctor."
Tom nodded as he began to scan Chakotay with the cylindrical metal tricorder. "Labored breathing, minimal brain activity…" He snapped the tricorder closed and then walked to the side of the bed, activating the bio-clamps. "This'll keep him breathing until we have the Doctor back." Tom then turned to a still-fretting Janeway. "Captain, let me scan you."
She
waved her hand at him again. "The ship is going to be under
attack any minute, Tom. I can
wait."
"Captain on the Bridge."
Janeway brushed a dirty strand of hair
out of her eyes and threw a weary smile over to her left
where her
young ops officer stood. "Thank you, Ensign Kim. It's good to be
back. What's our status?"
The half-Klingon woman from the
other side of the Bridge made her answer light despite the
situation.
"They're shooting at us; we're shooting at them."
"Are
we doing more damage to them then they are to us?" Janeway
leaned heavily on the back of
Tom's chair. She wanted this to be
over so she could get some sleep.
"The damage exchange
has been even, Captain," Tuvok's logical voice informed her.
Janeway
examined her security officer carefully. It had been a
long time since she had seen him, and the only indication of the
lapse was the beard he had started to grow during his confinement.
There were no bags under his eyes; his body did not appear thinner or
less fit.
"Well, we need to change those odds, now don't we? A week's worth of replicator rations to anyone who has a plan," Janeway said, her tone only partially humorous.
"While I will not need the extra rations, I do believe I have an idea, Captain," Tuvok said over the beeping of his console.
"Well,
let's hear it, Tuvok." Janeway walked up the short flight of
stairs to Tuvok's station stiffly
and peered over his shoulder,
leaning partially on him and partially on her ship.
"Ensign
Kim's tactic for freeing you has weakened both the shields and
structural integrity of that
section. Several short bursts from
the deflector should disable their ship."
Janeway grinned. "Let's do it." Walking toward her seat briskly, she patted the armrest of her first officer's chair as she sat in her own. Once this part was over, she knew she'd be spending a lot of time in Sickbay.
"The deflector's ready, Captain," B'Elanna said, startling everyone with the speed of her adjustment.
"Fire."
Three blue ovals of
energy appeared from underneath the ship. The Bridge crew held
their
collective breath as first one, then the second and finally
the third oval of energy reached the enemy ship. The Minatian vessel
shuddered and then a ball of orange light filled the view
screen.
The Bridge was silent.
Janeway spoke first. She
turned around slowly in her chair, looking over her right shoulder at
her
chief of security. "Tuvok, we were looking to disable
their ship, not destroy it. What the hell happened?"
Tuvok looked down at his console. "I am not certain, Captain."
"I believe I have a plausible explanation," Seven of Nine said from above. It never ceased to amaze Voyager's captain how monotone Seven could sound in the most extreme of circumstances. Janeway turned so she was looking over her left shoulder at the Borg woman.
"The ship has taken heavy damage recently. It is possible that the deflector's targeting scanners are malfunctioning. We may have inadvertently hit one of their primary systems."
Janeway's face shifted slowly as her quirky grin of approval appeared. "Well, until we get a better explanation from our imminent ship-wide diagnostic, I'll accept that." The captain looked out over her Bridge crew. "So, how have you been?
The Doctor stood over Chakotay, hypospray in hand. His holographic eyes only partially mirrored the concern in the eyes of the petite captain across from him. Her callused hands were resting on the shoulder and chest of her first officer, trying to comfort him, or perhaps herself. She gave him a gentle squeeze and then nodded at the Doctor.
Lowering his hand to Chakotay's neck, the Doctor injected the Minatian's cure into the commander's blood stream. He looked up at Janeway, nodded silently and walked away. He went over to the console across from the biobed and smiled.
"His systems are returning to normal, Captain. It's slow-going, but progress is being made."
She
spoke to him without looking at him. "Thank you, Doctor. I'll
alert you if something goes
wrong."
The Doctor nodded again and walked into his office. Janeway could hear him humming softly, but she didn't recognize the tune.
She watched
Chakotay relentlessly. She was looking for any sign that he was
regaining
consciousness-a cheek muscle twitching, his eyes moving
behind their lids. But all she saw was the rhythmic moving of his
chest.
She stroked his shoulder lightly and then moved two of her fingers up to touch his now-clear tattoo.
She felt the skin underneath her finger tips move and then something warm covering the hand on his chest.
She smiled and squeezed back.
A few moments later, Chakotay opened his brown yes, blinking slowly and then cocking his head to the right so he could see the captain.
"Welcome back," she said, swallowing hard against the emotion welling up in her throat.
Chakotay smiled slowly. "It's good to be able to see you again," he said hoarsely and then he cleared his throat. He seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Did we win?"
Janeway allowed herself a grin. "We sure did."
