Chapter Eleven

It was nearly nightfall when Kathryn finally admitted that they were going to be spending another night in the forest. She mentioned this to Chakotay, who suggested that they start examining the areas just off the road as they continued down it to look for anything that might serve as shelter. He knew that they wouldn't find another spot as suitable as the cave, but he hoped that there would be something he could build onto rather than having to construct a sort of lean-to from scratch. It had been raining for hours now, and the two of them were soaked through. It was going to be hard enough to stay warm through the night, especially since it was so wet that they would not likely find anything dry enough to burn.

In the twilight, it was getting harder and harder to see one another, so they made sure to meet back in the road every few minutes so as to not get lost. It was during one of those meetings that they heard another distant mechanical rumble. Dim flickers of light began to appear on the trees that marked the corner they had just come past, dancing as the vehicle bumped along over the terrain. Knowing that they would be hard to spot in their dark uniforms, Kathryn debated the merits of staying in the middle of the road where they could be seen versus the chance of being run down by something moving at high speed.

The ground vehicle was moving at a fairly fast speed, but the long, straight stretch of road after they turned the curve allowed them to spot the Starfleet officers in their way. As it slowed its approach, Kathryn could see that it was some sort of truck, with three soldiers riding standing up in the back, disruptor rifles at the ready. It halted a few metres away from them, and there was an eerie pause before another armed pair exited the cab at the front. One aimed his weapon at the captain and commander, wordlessly holding them in place, while the other scanned the skies above.

With no sign of any trailing maladaks, a third Frela, the tallest of them all, exited the vehicle with some sort of scanning device in his hand. He came up between the two guards, waving it at the unfamiliar figures before him. Checking his readings, he questioned, "Are you from Voyager?"

Chakotay, who had stepped in front of Kathryn when the vehicle came into sight, glanced back at her. "Yes. I'm Captain Janeway."

The soldier suddenly broke into a smile, and gestured for those with arms to lower them. "We have orders from President Sach to find you."

A vocal outburst came from the back of the truck, and in the dusk, they saw one of the guards there turn and hit whoever it was with the butt of his rifle. There was laughter from the other guards, including the man she was speaking to. "Who's "President Sach?" she asked, her body heavy with dread.

Now, the grin on the man's face was unmistakable. "There has been a change in government since you disappeared." He snapped a few orders to his guards, one of whom trotted back to the truck to retrieve a pair of blankets. Seeing the distrust in her eyes, he added, "The president has been in contact with your ship. She's passed along a message from a Lieutenant Tuvok, I believe. He said that he would 'have coffee waiting for you', whatever that means."

The two humans had been standing with such tension that the relief of that simple statement threatened to topple them. The guards were telling the truth, and they were about to go home. "I'm very glad to hear it," she said, a smile gracing her own face. "It's been a long time."

The soldier with the blankets gave one to each of them, and the head man, who introduced himself as Mitz, then led them back to the truck. Just before climbing into the back of the cab, Kathryn froze. There were a number of other Frela in the open box at the back, hands chained to bars that ran over their heads, and one of them looked a lot like a bloodied version of Tia Sal. His eyes locked onto hers for just a moment before he turned away. Feeling Chakotay's hand on her back, she then climbed up inside the cab and slid over to make room for him.

The guards offered them a hot drink named choula as they started off again, then Mitz brought them up to date as they made their way back toward the capital. It turned out that Tia and Kitra's people, the Pillicks, were actually from Cosamia, and their invasion of Frela was what had started the war. They finally conquered the Shornea and established their government, but through a series of intelligence snafus, the Pillicks wrongfully believed that the resistance movement had been crushed when it had actually gone further underground in order to regroup.

The murder of Tremenka Detal had been only the beginning as the resistance made its last-ditch efforts, and their offensive claimed a large number of Pillick officials. The former ambassador had been killed in a firefight within the presidential palace, taken down by Tia's personal guards as she and Kosnee went after her escaping husband. The new Shornea government had sent sympathetic military groups out after the overthrown officials, and by the sound of it, Tia Sal's vehicle was the one that nearly ran down Janeway and Chakotay earlier that day.

Kathryn reached over and laid a hand over Chakotay's when the guards spoke of the Shornea resistance, wondering how he felt about it. He listened quietly, but laced her fingers with his to let her know he appreciated her support.

"What will happen to Tia Sal?" she asked after the Mitz confirmed that it was indeed the deposed president in the back of the truck.

The lead soldier turned deadly serious. "If he's lucky, he'll die in prison. But I don't believe he will ever be that lucky."