Chapter 6 "Never Giving Up"
Captain Kathryn Janeway
It should have been a simple mission to find out why the planet sent a signal out for help. Lieutenant Tuvok and two others should have beamed straight on the coordinates that O'Brien locked into the computer, and they should have materialized onto the M class planet quickly. Instead, we lost all contact with them.
"Janeway to Tuvok, do you read?" I inquired helplessly.
The idea of giving up was not an option, in my opinion, and Tuvok would say it was illogical behavior. He was the first officer on my first command and an invaluable team member. I came to depend on him for advice and to give me the truth whether I wanted to hear it.
"Captain, it's no use. Wherever they are, their communicators are not working," the former Maquis Captain Chakotay declared, walking into my ready room. I trusted him almost as much as I trusted Tuvok, although I did not know him as long or as well as the Vulcan.
Although Chakotay was right, I couldn't give up now or ever. It wasn't acceptable to lose three crew members and a bridge officer without reason, especially when one was a personal friend of mine, Tuvok.
"I know you take these things personally, Captain, but try not to," he urged, taking a seat in front of my desk.
"Good advice," I agreed, taking a sip of my Earl Gray tea and enjoying the delicious taste of the hot liquid.
"Any speculation on what occurred?"
"I'm afraid not, Captain. There are no life signs on the planet, but we are reluctant to send another team down there," Chakotay gravely answered.
"Yes, I don't think that's a good idea either," I frustratedly concluded.
"Kim and B'lanna are looking for anomalies in the area, but there aren't any so far," Chakotay admitted. We had been combing the planet and the area for over twelve hours without any clues.
However, I wasn't going to stop until I found my crewmen.