Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures

PROVIDENCE

CHAPTER 11

Sitting side by side on the The Liberty's bridge, the ship at orange alert, Kathryn and Chakotay carefully studied the space ahead as Operation Crab commenced.

"So far there's no sign of her," Chakotay said, talking about Lockwood. "Maybe she's not monitoring this passage after all."

"She is," Kathryn replied. "We're just not close enough to detect her. This passage is very narrow. To give herself the best advantage she's no doubt parked at the entrance. That way, if we do battle, she can retreat into open space."

"Would she need that advantage if she still has back up?"

"She won't have back up. The other crews will have gone by now."

"Even if they're part of her fleet?"

"Does she have a fleet?"

"No."

"Then, by now, she's a solo fish. One our crab will eat."

Suddenly, a voice called to Kathryn. Seska's voice.

"Excuse me, sister," she cried, strolling onto the bridge, "that's my seat!"

Chakotay got to his feet. "Not today, Seska. Today, Kathryn is my second in command."

Seska scoffed. "Your second in command? A Starfleet stiff? Or is that the deal? A stiffy at your command?"

"I won't have you talk to me that way!"

"I'll talk to you how I like! And what I don't like I'll shout about. Because she's taking you for a mug, Chakotay! A mug of that disgusting black stuff she drinks! You're just too gullible to see it."

Chakotay turned to a muscular man at a console behind him. "Teddison, remove Seska from the bridge."

But as soon as the man stepped forward, Seska pulled out her phaser. "Don't you dare lay your hands on me!"

At the threat, the man refrained.

"And don't you dare, Chakotay," she went on, "have me removed like some villain! I'm not the danger here, she is...that Starfleet trash beside you! Because think about it, Chakotay! She's in league with Lockwood!"

Hazel, sitting at a console, spoke. "In league with Lockwood? Are you out of your mind? The woman tried to kill her!"

"Out of my mind?" Seska replied. "On, no! But Chakotay's out of his! Out of his mind and senses! Of course she's in league with Lockwood. Use your brains! Lockwood's an infiltrator, a Starfleet officer pretending to be Maquis! It's been rumored for months! She and Janeway have taken advantage of an opportunity and are working together! Working together to trap us! Why else would Janeway want us to fly right into Lockwood's path? For the bitch to capture us, that's what!"

At these words, Kathryn saw Chakotay's defenses weaken. Weaken as doubt and suspicion set in. Seska had her finger on the pulse, he had told her that, and while her methods left a lot to be desired, she was right more times than she was wrong. Her instincts he trusted. And he was clearly wondering whether to trust them now. But Seska was talking a lot of rubbish and he needed to be told so.

"That's nonsense," Kathryn said, getting to her feet. "Lockwood is as much a Maquis as I am Starfleet! She only has one agenda with us...our destruction!"

"Yes, our destruction," Seska retorted, "but not yours. When we're dead, or behind bars, you and she will party!"

Jozelle, a Native American woman with long red hair, spoke from the shadows. "I'm with Seska. Lockwood's not one of us. Maquis don't fight Maquis."

"You're right," Hazel cried. "Lockwood's not one of us. We're Maquis with principles, she's Maquis with none. But that doesn't mean she's Starfleet. Like hell she is! And I, for one, will fight those Maquis that give us a bad name unto death!"

"So will I," Seska argued, "but I'm not dying for Janeway! Not for Starfleet scum!" She addressed Chakotay. "So, do yourself a favor and turn this ship around! Dump Janeway and her cabbage colleague and turn this ship around!"

Kathryn's hands went to her hips. "My cabbage colleague has a name. It's Jeff. As for you not wanting to die for me, the feeling's mutual. I don't want to die for you either. In fact, I refuse to die for you. So, put away that weapon and let us all get back to the task at hand. If you don't, and this mission fails, you'll be dying for your sake!"

Seska was momentarily subdued, the outburst taking her by surprise, but she was soon shouting again. "Don't listen to her, Chakotay! She's just playing us! All of us! She and Lockwood are a team!"

"If you really believe that," Chakotay asked, "why wait until now to tell me?"

"Because Janeway has you so far up the pants there was no point in me saying anything earlier! Better to let her think her plan was working. No time then for Plan B!"

"There's only one plan," Kathryn said calmly, "and that's to get past Lockwood."

"I don't believe you! And neither should you, Chakotay! So, do it! Turn this ship around and dump her!"

"No," Chakotay cried, taking out his phaser and aiming it at Seska. "Kathryn's on our side and I trust her! Now, put away your weapon or I'll be forced to use mine!"

"On me? You wouldn't."

"Believe me, I will."

Seeing the fierce determination in Chakotay's eyes, Seska knew she had lost the battle.

"Very well," she sighed, lowering her phaser. "You win, this time. But if she kills us all, or lands us all in jail, don't blame me."

"If she kills us all, or lands us all in jail, I won't get the chance. Now, give me your phaser and get to engineering!"

"Give you my phaser? With her onboard? Are you kidding?"

"Not in the least." He held out his hand. "And I won't ask twice."

Seething at the humiliation, but playing along, Seska threw him the phaser.

"I see all our fates hang on what bulges between your legs," she said. "But I'm warning you, Chakotay. If we come to blows I hold you accountable! And I'll be revenged, I swear I will!"

With that she stormed out of the bridge, pushing a young woman out of the way as she went. Chakotay watched her, his face taut and tired, and Kathryn's heart went out to him. He was a fine leader, brave and fair, but Seska constantly undermined his authority. She needed putting in her place, that was for sure, but who could do it? Maybe no one. The woman was domineering, ruthless and willful, and would be a menace on any ship.

"Ok," Chakotay said to his crew when Seska was gone, "drama over. Get back to work!"

As the crew settled, Chakotay sat again, as did Kathryn. But he was tense, still a little suspicious, and on guard. Wanting to reassure him, Kathryn leant over and put her hand on his arm.

"This isn't a voyage of the damned," she whispered. "I'm on the level, I promise."

Chakotay looked up at her, searching her soul, and then gave a wan smile. "I believe you." He then held out Seska's phaser. "Take this. No one on the bridge should be unarmed."

Kathryn smiled, took the weapon gratefully, and fastened it to her waist. "Thank you."

Suddenly, a siren screamed.

"Teddison," Chakotay cried, "what is it?"

"I don't know," he answered, scrambling to his station. "But...wait...Lockwood appeared on sensors five minutes ago."

"Her position?"

"At the mouth of the passage."

"Is she alone?"

"Affirmative. But she's...That's it...the alarm...an unauthorized transmission. Someone onboard's talking to Lockwood!"

At that, Chakotay shot to his feet. "Seska, damn her! Get a lock on her and hold her in transporter suspension!"

Teddison did his best but was unsuccessful. "I can't, Sir. She's put a forcefield around her co-ordinates."

"Then disable communications...quickly..."

"I can't," he answered. "I'm locked out. Our shields are down too..."

Then the bridge was plunged into absolute darkness. Kathryn heard Chakotay shout at Teddison and then...

And then she felt the familiar tingle of transportation.

And then...

And then she was somewhere else.

Standing before Lockwood.

The dangerous woman was wearing a red catsuit and was flanked by two tall men.

"Well, well," she said, "we meet again. What a delight."

Kathryn's stomach knotted but, with great determination, she didn't let her fear show. Instead, she met Lockwood's steely gaze with iron.

"The question is, whose?"

"Why, mine of course," Lockwood laughed. "And Chakotay's." She began to circle, just like before. "You didn't really think he'd risk life and limb for you, did you? A Starfleet Officer? An enemy? Oh no! He may have played the gallant hero in rescuing you, but even heroes make sacrifices for the greater good. And giving you to me is for the greater good. Let's just call it a fair exchange. Safe passage in return for you."

So that was why Seska had contacted Lockwood, to make a bargain. But Seska's doing was not Chakotay's.

"Seska doesn't speak for Chakotay," Kathryn declared.

Lockwood laughed. "Seska always speaks for Chakotay! So there's no escape this time, Kathryn. You're mine and I'm not going to let you go!"

"So you think," Kathryn replied. "But you're forgetting one thing."

"And what's that?"

With a quick flick of the wrist, Kathryn reached for her phaser, stunned the two flanking men, and shot Lockwood's phaser out of her hand as the woman reached for it.

"That I was the best shot on the Al Batani!" She then pointed her phaser at Lockwood. "Return me to Chakotay's ship or I'll kill you."

Lockwood flinched, then swallowed. "You wouldn't dare."

"I'll give you ten seconds. One, two, three..."

"Ok! Ok!" Lockwood cried. "I'll return you!" She hit her commbadge. "Lockwood to Daryn. Send Janeway back to the ship. Now!"

"Y...Yes, Ma'am," the man stuttered.

Seconds later, a red transporter beam engulfed Kathryn and she was back on Chakotay's ship. There was chaos on the bridge, which was now dimly lit, and Chakotay was yelling at Seska, who was held captive between Teddison and another Maquis. But when Chakotay saw Kathryn, he calmed.

"Kathryn," he said, "but how?"

"Let's just say," she smiled, "that a phaser in the right hand works wonders."

Chakotay smiled back, his relief visible, and then he addressed Hazel. "Do we have shields?"

"Negative."

"Then cloak us...now..."

Hazel did as she was told and the cloak came online. Chakotay then turned back to Seska.

"Looks like your stunt backfired. But pull another like that and you're off this ship, understand?"

"I'm off this ship anyway!" she cried. "There's no way I'm staying with her onboard!"

"You're staying. At least until you've restored our shields."

"To hell with them! I'm with Lockwood now!"

Hazel spoke. "Don't be stupid, Seska. You thought you were helping, Chakotay knows that, truly he does, but you're putting us all in danger now. Restore our shields. Please."

"Well," Seska sighed, "at least someone appreciates me! But if you want me to restore shields, Chakotay, you're going to have to apologize. Only then will I consider it."

"If that's what it takes," he said, "I apologize. And I appreciate that you were trying to help. But you go too far, Seska. You cross the line!"

"Someone's got to around here! But seeing as you're sorry, and there's no harm done...at least not on this ship...I'll restore shields."

"Thank you. Teddison, Jarvon, release her."

The two men hesitated. "Are you sure that's wise, Sir?"

"I trust her," Chakotay replied. "She won't endanger us further."

"That's right," Seska said. "I've learnt my lesson. Now, if you please..."

The men let her go, reluctantly, and Seska made her way to a console. Chakotay followed, and watched over her shoulder as she restored shields. When they were up, communications too, full light returned to the bridge.

"Thank you," Chakotay said. "Now, sit down and stay where I can see you."

Seska did so, knowing she had pushed Chakotay far enough for one day, and said nothing as he returned to Kathryn. When he reached her, he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Did they hurt you?"

"They didn't get a chance," Kathryn smiled. "Now, is crab still on the menu?"

"That depends," Chakotay said, looking Seska's way, "on how much Lockwood knows."

"I'm betting nothing," Kathryn replied. "Seska's too smart to show our ace card. Isn't that right, Seska?"

"You hope," Seska scowled.

Chakotay stepped forward. "Did you tell her, Seska? Does she know of our plan?"

"Not from me."

Chakotay breathed a sigh of relief. "Then yes, Kathryn, crab's still on the menu."

Seska spoke. "And here was me thinking you were vegetarian!"

Chakotay turned to Teddison. "Teddison, escort Seska to her quarters and keep her there under guard."

"Oh, there's no need for that," Seska said, "I'll behave."

"Yes, you will. In your quarters. Teddison..."

At this second order, the man grabbed Seska, secured her hands behind her back, and dragged her away. As they left, Chakotay hit his commbadge.

"Chakotay to B'Elanna."

The half Klingon answered instantly. "Go ahead."

"Is the cloak holding up?"

"As expected, Sir."

"How many minutes left?"

"Another two, Sir."

"How long until we can cloak again?"

"Anything from five to ten minutes."

"Thank you, Chakotay out." He then turned to Kathryn. "What do you think? We fly on as planned, risking a battle with Lockwood, or do the crab now?"

"We fly on. She knows we've cloaked and will know we can't sustain the cloak for long. She'll predict our path, is no doubt doing so already, and it's to our advantage to play along. When we come out of the cloak, and are right where she expects us to be, it'll give her a false sense of security. When we cloak again, closer to her this time, she'll get into position to intercept us. But when we cloak for the second time we'll..."

"Do the crab and outfly her," Chakotay finished.

"Exactly," Kathryn smiled.

A bleep sounded and Avalon, the crew's pilot, spoke. "The cloak has failed."

"Acknowledged," Chakotay replied. "Maintain course."

As the ship flew on, Kathryn sat down and studied the console before her. "Lockwood's twitching," she said. "Any moment now she'll advance."

Chakotay hit his commabdge. "Chakotay to B'Elanna, we need the cloak as soon as possible."

"Just another three minutes, Sir," B'Elanna told him.

Avalon spoke. "We don't have three minutes. Our shields are failing and we're almost within Lockwood's firing range."

"Almost is irrelevant," Kathryn declared. "Maintain course."

Avalon did so, the minutes passing slowly, and then B'Elanna spoke over the comm as a bleep sounded. "The cloak's online now. How long it will hold, I don't know, Seska's interference compromised our systems, but we have at least five minutes."

"That will do," Kathryn said. "Chakotay, we should be at red alert. Avalon, prepare for the crab."

Chakotay immediately put the ship at red alert, plunging the bridge into semi darkness, and Avalon got ready to jump the ship to warp. At the moment, while flying fast, they were just cruising.

"Avalon," Kathryn said, "on my mark. One, two...now!"

At the order, Avalon took the ship to maximum warp and then, with a sudden sharp turn, veered off the safe road and into the danger zone. The ship shook violently, lights flashing and consoles smoking, and several crew members, including Kathryn, were hurled to the floor. Getting up, unhurt, Kathryn made her way over to Avalon and stood behind him, steadying herself on his chair.

"We're losing structural integrity," Hazel cried. "The ship's coming apart!"

"Drop to warp five," Kathryn said to Avalon, "but maintain course."

Avalon did what he was told and the turbulence eased a little as the ship lost speed.

"We're stabilizing," Hazel cried. "We're stable."

The ship plowed on through the chaos, everyone holding their breath and counting the minutes, and then, after ten, the cloak failed.

"We've lost the cloak," B'Elanna said over the comm, "and I don't think it'll be back online any time soon. It's completely blown out."

"That's ok, B'Elanna," Kathryn answered. "I doubt we'll need it. We're only a few minutes from open space and there's no sign of Lockwood following. But hell, I'd love to be a fly on her wall right now!"

"Me too! I bet she's going crazy! But we're not out of the woods yet. I'm struggling to maintain warp in these conditions."

"Just do what you can, we're almost there."

"Understood, B'Elanna out."

For the next few minutes, no one spoke a word on the bridge, they just looked at the viewscreen and willed the ship to reach open space. The open space of the Badlands. They could see it ahead, a still shore beyond a wild ocean, and it was getting closer by the second.

And then they were in it.

Flying through calm.

Safe.

"We made it!" Hazel cried. "I knew we would! Thank you, Kathryn!"

"Don't thank me," Kathryn smiled. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have needed to escape in the first place!"

"Don't be so sure of that," Chakotay said. "Lockwood likes to pick a fight." He hit his commbadge. "Chakotay to B'Elanna. We're out of the deadzone. Warp status?"

"Compromised, but we have a maximum speed of warp four."

"Should be enough for us to stay ahead of Lockwood. Her maximum speed is only warp six."

Avalon spoke. "I'm detecting a fleet of Maquis ships ten light years away. Shall I set a course for them?"

"That depends," Chakotay said, "on whether they're our friends our Lockwood's."

"They're ours, I think...I'm sure one is Wasprie's."

"Then set a course...unless there's a Starfleet ship nearby. If so, head for it."

"There's no Starfleet ship, Sir, not that I can see."

"Then we'll head for the fleet...should get Lockwood off our tail." He then approached Kathryn. "It shouldn't be long now before we encounter a Starfleet ship. A few days at most."

From her console, Jozelle spoke. "The sooner the better, then things can get back to normal around here."

"Normal?" Hazel exclaimed, "what's that?"

"No Feddy's onboard, for one," Jozelle retorted.

"Well, I've enjoyed having Kathryn stay," Hazel replied, "and I'll miss her."

The words stung Kathryn's eyes. So did Chakotay's next words.

"You were amazing today, Kathryn. Just like I knew you would be."

Kathryn looked up at him and smiled. "So were you. But I'm in no hurry to leave. We have unfinished business, remember?"

She meant their game of chess, which Chakotay remembered only too well, but as much as he hated the thought of parting with her, the sooner she was on a Starfleet ship, the safer she would be.

"I remember," he said. "But you're in danger, Kathryn. This space is more occupied than we thought. To kill a Starfleet Officer, some Maquis will stop at nothing."

"I'm not afraid."

"No," he smiled. "I don't think you are. But it will make me feel better if we make a start on our unfinished business tonight."

"After dinner?"

"After dinner."

Kathryn smiled. "Then it's a date."

Their eyes locked, time and place forgotten, but then Hazel's words broke their connection. "Chakotay, shall I cancel red alert?"

Chakotay turned to her, almost reluctantly. "Not yet. Just in case Lockwood surprises us. We need to be on guard, just for a few more hours." He then hit his commbage. "Teddison, bring Seska to my office."

"Right away, Sir," he answered.

Chakotay then turned back to Kathryn and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll leave you in charge. Any problems, alert me."

"I will," she promised.

Chakotay smiled, squeezed her shoulder, and then, all too soon, was gone.

END OF CHAPTER 11