Chapter 10
2376 - Voyager - In-between deck 4 and 5 - Jeffries Tube
Captain Janeway crawled through the Jeffries Tubes, fully aware that she was leaving Naomi Wildman and the other girls to fend for themselves against an armed and dangerous alien.
He had knocked her out, and by the time she had come to, the alien (she refused to think of him as Chakotay) had found the girls. Knowing that there was nothing in her quarters that she could use to stop him, and since she had already tried and failed to reason with him, Janeway quickly resorted to a more practical solution.
Janeway found a hatch and quickly got out of the Jeffries tube, slamming it closed behind her. She sprinted down the corridor.
Going to the bridge would have been acceptable, but they didn't have the material she needed. Besides, Tuvok was sure to have everything under control there. Sickbay was the better option. The Doctor was there, and if she was lucky, perhaps he had found a cure and she would also have the assistance of Torres, Kim and Paris. It was an unlikely happening, but still a possibility. Maybe . . .
Her thoughts were cut off mid-sentence as she rounded a corner at top speed as crashed into something coming from the opposite direction. Before she could blink, she was on the ground, looking into the very surprised face of Neelix.
"Captain!" Neelix exclaimed, also on the floor, "Oh, Captain, I am so sorry. I was in such a hurry - I didn't see you!"
Janeway couldn't help smiling, "Don't worry about it, Neelix. I'm in a rush, too. In fact, why don't you come with me to sickbay?"
Neelix frowned, "But Captain, I can assure you, I'm not sick. Why, the Doctor just recently gave me a hypospray for . . ."
Janeway cut him off, "I understand that you're not sick, Neelix, but the girls are in danger, and I'm going to Sickbay to help them."
As she said these words, she was reminded of the levity of the situation, and she began strolling down the corridor, Neelix walking very quickly to keep up. Neelix luckily controlled his usual rambling to two small words that she knew very well.
"Yes, ma'am!"
It was crunch time.
x
The bridge was extremely quiet. The usual sounds of padds and consoles in use were still there, of course, but other than that, the bridge was extremely quiet. There was no casual teasing or conversation. Tom and Harry's usual banter and jokes were gone, along with the low murmur of conversation that could usually be heard from the command chairs. No one chuckled, no one smiled. It was almost . . . Vulcan.
Tuvok took some time to enjoy the unusual silence, but presently, he noticed that he was the only one doing so. In fact, most of the bridge crew was going about their duties with worried or restless looks on their faces. They wanted to know what was happening; to be where the action was.
Although several people were scrutinizing internal sensors, watching for any sign or hint of trouble, Engineering still couldn't bring up the COM System. Of course, they didn't have B'Elanna, and it was a lower priority at the moment. Mostly everybody was working on Captain Janeway's plan. But the delay was still causing some inconveniences. Such as now.
Tuvok needed to bring up the bridge morale. The bridge crew could not stand being uniformed, especially in matters concerning their own ship. And the COM system was down. But mostly, if morale on the bridge was to improve, or become more emotional, then it would not do to have a Vulcan looking over their shoulders. So Tuvok handed the bridge over to the next in rank, and headed down to deck 5, to bring news of those in sickbay.
x
Rachel froze as Chakotay advanced upon Meredith. She wanted to stop him, strike him, but making any sudden moves would surely get Meredith killed.
A hissing noise filled the silence, and it seemed to Rachel that her mind was playing tricks on her, for the room seemed almost foggy, and Chakotay's green eyes were all that she could clearly see. The moment seemed to last forever, and at first she thought that time had frozen with her. Then the status-quo was broken, and Rachel thought that it hadn't lasted nearly long enough.
Chakotay fired the phaser. "Meredith!" a voice yelled. It took a few seconds for Rachel to realize that the voice was hers. And that Meredith herself had screamed another name.
"CHARLIE!"
For Charlie had jumped in front of Meredith to receive the impact of the blow. And she fell.
Rhanda gasped, her hands immediately covering her mouth. Taylor looked shocked and then furious. Naomi looked scared. Meredith had knelt next to Charlie and was coughing. Rachel started towards Charlie. Meredith's coughing worsened. Rachel thought nothing of it at first - Charlie was occupying her whole mind at the moment. But then the phaser dropped from Chakotay's hand and clattered to the floor. Rachel turned, surprised, as his hands went to his throat and he also dropped to his knees, coughing.
Rachel watched on in horror as Taylor, Rhanda, and Naomi also started struggling to breath. And as a tingling began in her own throat, she figured it out. The hissing sound, the fog, the peculiar smell, the coughing. It all clicked into place.
The room had been gassed.
"Everyone out!" she shouted, a hacking cough emerging with the words, "Get out of the room. Now!"
The other girls stumbled for the nearest exit as Rachel reached Meredith and Charlie. Rachel and Meredith each flung one of Charlie's arms over their shoulders and started toward the door. Taylor reached them and took over Meredith's place, as Meredith moved ahead with Rhanda and Naomi.
Chakotay was behind them, also struggling for the door. Rachel felt her vision begin to blur and her step to stumble. Her body felt heavier than normal, especially with Charlie's added weight across her shoulder. The door was so near though. So near.
Naomi and Rhanda reached it first. In her oxygen deprived state, Rhanda stretched out her hand to take the doorknob, only to realize that there wasn't one. Of course, all doors slid open; all doors were controlled by the computer. So, weakly, she leaned into the door and pushed into it, as if she could make it swing open. Naomi was a bit more sensible, as she tried to ask the computer to open the door, but before she could finish the first couple of words, the gas took effect on her small body, and she fell.
Rachel couldn't speak; she was too busy coughing, so it was Taylor who accessed the computer voice controls.
"Computer," she said, one hand over her mouth as she tried not to breathe in the gas, "Open the door."
Meredith fell and the computer answered, "Unable to comply." Rhanda started hitting the door.
Taylor pushed past everyone and put her fingers into the crack between the double doors, trying to pull the door open. Rhanda gave the door one last kick, and collapsed. Taylor strained, her finger turning slightly red. Rachel's legs started shaking, Charlie's full weight now on her shoulders.
Rachel stumbled and dropped Charlie as she was shoved aside. Chakotay stepped over Rhanda, Meredith and Naomi to slam into the door and, finding it not moved at all, also dug his finger into the door crack. Taylor glanced at him but kept pulling. Her thoughts were clear - obviously she had decided that getting her friends out of the room was more important than beating up the guy.
As Rachel felt her consciousness dripping away, two thoughts suddenly revealed themselves to her. The first was that Taylor and Chakotay were not going to open the door. No matter how weak the gas had made them, the door should have opened by now, and that it hadn't meant that it was locked - probably by whoever had let the gas into the room.
The second was that Unami was gone. He had been gone since the gas had entered the room, maybe even before then. She didn't like admitting it, but she would feel much better if he had been lying on the floor.
Rachel closed her eyes as their hope grew smaller and smaller, and her body grew too tired to struggle any longer. But she opened her eyes to see her friends. And the last thing she saw was Taylor, as she also fell. Then the world and the room, along with all her troubles and all her hopes, dissolved into darkness.
x
Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Star Trek or Star Trek: Voyager. I don't even own any rights to this story because it was written by my friend, pen name Rachel Pierce. It was written about our little Trekkie group, The Sisterhood of Teenage Trekkies. Though there have been changes to respect rights of my friends and myself. I have been given permission to post this story. Thank you and enjoy. Please review.