~ Prologue ~
Kathryn Janeway tugged on her white dress, trying to get it to lie straight. The flowing material gracefully pooled around her feet, yet a single piece refused to conform. Sighing, Kathryn tried once more, and finally gave up, pinning her com badge over her heart. She turned around and, without looking back on the blackened, war torn room, walked out of her quarters of seven years on Voyager for the last time.
~ Kathryn ~
Captain Kathryn Janeway stepped onto the crates – a makeshift podium – and waited for the crowd in front of her to grow silent. Surrounded by the trees, her former crew looked like something out of a movie, everyone clad in soft hued clothes like her own, so un-Starfleet. The mass of people quieted down, looking expectantly on their leader with sad faces. Just beyond the clearing of trees, Janeway could see the top of Voyager's hull, holes punctured in it and the left nacelle looking as if it were about to fall off. The sight nearly brought tears to her eyes, but she kept them at bay for now.
"It has been determined that as of right now, Voyager is beyond our repair. We are without the supplies, and there are no signs of any resources near here. The Plak'han have taken us down, for now. This planet is not in their territory, so we should be able to make due here. Over fifty of our family died in this attack. While we will grieve for them, our primary goal is to build some shelters using whatever is left of Voyager's hull, but our secondary mission is to catch up on our lives, on the seven years you have missed in life. I know you all have loved ones waiting for you in the Alpha Quadrant – I do too – but I can't do anything about it. So, please, try to enjoy yourselves." Her voice sounded hollow to herself, and she could feel a single tear drop onto her cheek. As to not embarrass herself and further, the former captain of Voyager stepped down.
The ninety-eight people seemed to whip into a whirlwind of activity, everyone confused as to where to go, what to do. Tuvok was quieting them down, giving instructions, as Kathryn took off at a run towards the woods.
"Hull breach on deck 12!" Chakotay's strong voice carried over the mayhem of the bridge.
"Shields are failing, Captain." Tuvok called.
"Shields are down! Plak'han are boarding us on decks 11, 6, and 2!" said Harry Kim.
"Tuvok, Chakotay! Assemble three security teams. Commander, take deck 11, Tuvok, deck 6, and I'll have deck 2." Janeway gave her top officers a steely look, letting them know that she could take care of herself.
Janeway crashed through the woods, around the clearing, snagging her dress on branches, leaving it behind.
Wandering around deck 2, with Lt. Raver, Lt. Bensin, and Ensign Beswell all behind her, compression rifles armed. They turned a corner, only to see three Plak'han there.
They scuttled about on six legs, and had the upper body of a humanoid, almost like the centaurs from childhood tales. They towered over the humans by at least a meter, some of them having to bend down to fit in the corridor. Shining insect armor covered them from head to foot. The three gleaming compound eyes focused on the ground in front of them. Their two arms carried large weapons.
Another tear fell from Kathryn's eye, coursing down her face into her mouth, were the saltiness tasted bitter. She blinked back the others. The sound of her racing through the woods had gotten heavier, louder.
Noah Lessing and Marla Gilmore were bent on the ground in front of the Plak'han, quivering with fear. Before the Captain could do anything, the foremost Plak'han pulled out a blade, eyes gleaming with the kill.
Now the tears were running freely.
He raised the knife, slashing it across both crewmen. Janeway let out a gasp, finally raising her weapon and firing two shots, while the people behind her helped to take them down. She rushed forward to see Noah and Marla with gaping wounds, blood pouring forth like a sacrifice.
She finally had circumvented the clearing, and was now in the looming shadow of Voyager, the hull splintered, the nacelles broken, her spirit gone…