Title: Kiss of the Spider People
Series: Star Trek: Voyager
Author: Singing Violin
Rating: T
Summary: Janeway gets into some hot water with some hostile aliens. Set shortly after "Coda."
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. The characters and universe belong to Paramount, not me.
Author's notes: Thank you to my loyal readers and reviewers. Hopefully this will be done RSN!
Feedback: Always appreciated, except from those who use it with the intention of being dishonest or hurtful.
Archiving: Anywhere, though please let me know so I can visit.

Chapter 12: Escape

Kathryn was cold. So cold … colder than she'd been since Tau Ceti Prime. The cold permeated her skin, bored through her bones, and settled in her core … just like it had then. This wasn't just physical cold; it was a loneliness that froze her very soul. Being a captain was isolating enough in normal circumstances, but when stranded light years away from friends and family without even a chance to let them know she was alive, the cold was nearly unbearable.

Most of the time, she tried not to think about it. But now, cramped into a freezing alien escape pod, with nobody even aware of her plan – it was safer this way; she'd dismissed B'Elanna and told her she'd be working on the device herself – it was difficult to keep her mind from wandering into the vacuum, a vacuum much like the one just centimeters from her skin, from which she was shielded only by the thinnest of walls. She wondered how long someone was expected to last in one of these things; it couldn't be long, not without water, rations, or heat – none of which she even saw a place for within its confines.

After a few minutes that seemed like an eternity, she neared the edge of the alien vessel's shield and inputted a command into her tricorder, which was interfaced with the pod's controls. If she weren't too busy trying not to shiver so much as to mistype the commands, she would have been proud of herself for figuring out how to use the two machines together to disrupt a small area of the force field, to poke a hole just large enough for her to squeeze through.

She held her breath as the tiny capsule passed through the puncture, seemingly undetected. So far, so good. Then, she inputted another command into her tricorder, and felt the familiar jolt of a tractor beam's pull. Moments later, she found herself in the aliens' shuttle bay, where she could finally get out and stretch her legs … that is, if the braces and her own wasted muscles would hold up.

She pressed the release to open the door. As light streamed into her eyes, she found herself looking directly into the face of a large-eyed arthropod.

He was proud of himself for detecting the intrusion and intercepting the alien before it could infiltrate his ship. Although the sensors had not detected the pod itself, nor the life form inside of it, he had noticed the unauthorized opening of an airlock, and had immediately gone to investigate. When he saw that a pod had docked, he was convinced it was not empty, and his suspicion had just been confirmed.

His Queen would be proud. As he looked into the alien's stunned features – wondering, briefly, how he knew that it was stunned – perhaps because it was motionless, for the moment – he took a moment to imagine savoring its sweet flesh. As a reward for his loyal service, he fully expected a large piece of that flesh to be his, and his alone.

Just then, the alien began to move – oddly, stiltedly. He noticed it had metal surrounding most of its body and wondered whether this was in fact a kind of armor – but, if so, it was clearly inefficient, as it made its wearer slow and awkward. He poised to capture the alien: She would want it alive, if possible, so that it could be interrogated before the slaughter.

It was not difficult. The alien oddly allowed him to drag it away, burdened down by its heavy armor. It seemed to barely be able to move on its own. He wondered whether the metal exoskeleton was, perhaps, intended to be used in a zero-gravity environment. Did these aliens typically fight directly in space?

He wanted to ask it questions, but that was Her job. As he neared the passageway leading to Her chamber, he was taken by surprise by a sudden movement by his captive. Before he could react, he knew no more.

Not aboard Voyager? Where the heck could she have gone? Chakotay paced for a moment, fueled by fury. If … when he found her, he was going to give her a piece of his mind. Right now, he was in command, and she was insubordinate. For a moment, he considered that perhaps she had merely disabled her communicator, but Voyager would be able to locate its captain from her life signs, even if her communicator were missing. Unless, of course, she were hidden by the cloaking device they were attempting – as far as he knew, still unsuccessfully – to fit for Voyager. But why would she hide herself from her own ship's sensors? Unless she were planning to go somewhere ... somewhere she didn't want to be detected.

Suddenly he had a feeling where she might be ... but how was that possible? What was she planning to accomplish? He needed answers, and he needed them now.

Damnit, she'll never forgive me for this, but I have no time to be discreet. He ran to the nearest console and inputted the command for the loudspeaker. An alarm bell rang once to signal the importance of his announcement. "This is Commander Chakotay speaking. The captain's gone missing. If anyone has seen her recently, please contact me directly now." With that, he cut the link and waited.

On the bridge, several members of the crew exchanged surprised glances. She's alive? Or did he mean that her body had been stolen?

Janeway couldn't believe her good fortune that, unaware of her own inability to exit the cramped pod, the alien had unwittingly aided in her escape. She allowed it to half-drag, half-carry her for quite some time: to be honest, she didn't have much of a choice, as she had a feeling the braces would only be able to carry her so far, and it wasn't going to be far enough. And, in another stroke of tremendous serendipity, the alien took her almost directly past the engine room, if this ship were configured similarly to the last one she'd disabled. Judging by the identical shield modulation frequencies, the outward appearance, and the location of the shuttle bay, she suspected this ship was a twin of the other. Unfortunately, that meant that it would likely defeat Voyager handily in battle … unless she was successful once again. At least this time she was no longer ill, but she was weak enough so that she needed to be careful not to lose consciousness, and subsequently her life, and the lives of her entire crew.

Taking her opportunity, she surprised her captor by pulling out her phaser – the alien had neglected to disarm her, perhaps because it figured if she'd had a weapon, she'd have used it earlier, when she first saw its face from inside the pod. The phaser was set on maximum stun, and she hoped it would be effective without permanently disabling or killing him. They'd done enough harm to this race, and she didn't wish to make herself any more trouble than necessary: even if they were able to successfully escape a second time, who knew what allies of these people they would encounter on their long journey home.

With that, she trudged the remaining distance to the control room. She anticipated the guards at its entrance and, peeking around the corner, stunned them before they could catch sight of her. She then entered the room and began to work.

B'Elanna was roused from fresh slumber by the sound of an alarm. Angry and exhausted, she barely understood the commander's words, but realized quickly that it was she with whom he wanted to speak immediately. Sighing, she tapped her communicator.

"Torres to Chakotay," she ordered. As he answered, she attempted unsuccessfully to stifle a rather large yawn.

"I saw the captain about half an hour ago," she admitted. "She told me she had the project under control and that I ought to take a rest ... which I was just doing."

Chakotay bit his tongue. As with Neelix, he planned to reprimand the chief engineer at a later date. For now, the captain's safety was paramount. "Do you have any idea how she got off the ship?"

Now B'Elanna was wide awake. "Off the ship?" she echoed, astonished. "What do you mean off the ship?"

Chakotay sighed. "Did she have access to the alien's escape pod?" he asked.

"Of course," B'Elanna answered quickly. "That was where the cloaking device was. Maybe she's just testing it, and she hasn't left the ship after all, but her life signs are masked."

"Okay," conceded Chakotay, "Fine, let's go with that. Where is the pod?"

"It's in the cargo bay," she responded, "right where we left it." Then, with a quaver in her voice, "Isn't it?"

Chakotay was already heading towards the aforementioned destination. "We shall see."

Moments later, they had their answer. Like the captain, the escape pod was nowhere to be seen.

The captain manipulated the controls as quickly as she could, noting the slowness of her fingers, but aided by having performed the same procedure not too long ago. The controls were, indeed, identical to the ones on the other ship. She hoped that, like on the other ship, there was no backup system that would take over once this one was disabled. This species' philosophy seemed to be opposite to that of Klingons: redundancy was deemed unnecessary and wasteful. She wondered if, after losing control of two of their flagships, they might change that philosophy. However, without the leaked information from the alien traitor, even she would not have been able to disable their system, even with access to the control room – not without causing an explosion that would destroy the ship and everything in it – including herself.

She had nearly finished when she heard the sound of creatures approaching, and knew she was caught. Her sluggish fingers were able to complete the task just as she was recaptured. She reached for her communicator to order a transport, but this one was quicker than the last, intercepting her arm with one limb and confiscating the pin with another. Knowing it would be ineffective but having to at least try, she used her other arm to reach for her phaser, which was similarly snatched before she could touch it. Resigning herself to her fate, she allowed herself once again to be carried away.

She was brought into an ornate chamber she surmised must belong to the leader of this species. In the center of the room, surrounded by several guards, was an alien who was inexplicably regal, both in its stature and its demeanor.

Even as she anticipated her own demise, Kathryn Janeway realized she was looking at one of the most beautiful creatures she had ever beheld. And when that creature began to ask her questions, she had to fight her instinct to reply fully and honestly. Something about … her? … made Kathryn want to kneel and obey fully.

As she was questioned, two of the guards prodded around her, attempting to remove the braces allowing her to stand. They succeeded almost immediately, and Janeway collapsed awkwardly onto the floor.

"Get up," she was ordered, but as she attempted to comply, her vision darkened and she collapsed anew.

Chakotay was hardly surprised when he received notification that the alien ship was hailing Voyager. Of course they would want the prisoner they'd been promised. As he made his way to the bridge, he contemplated how he was going to explain that prisoner's death, and hoped against all hope that was all they were calling about.

When he arrived on the bridge, he braced himself for the worst before ordering, "On screen."

The alien appeared – and this one was different than the others, but he could not pinpoint how. All he knew is that it commanded respect.

"There has been an … incident," he admitted. "The prisoner we promised you has been killed."

The alien made a strange motion, twittering its antennae. "Understood," it answered. "I would have done the same, had I captured one of yours who could not be trusted. I expect you will return the body, just as we will return yours."

Chakotay's heart leapt into his throat for what seemed like the hundredth time since they'd entered the aliens' space. "Ours?" he croaked, knowing to whom it referred, but not wanting to admit the truth of the situation until it was undeniable.

"Indeed," answered the alien confidently. Then, it motioned to its guards, who lifted the limp body of Captain Janeway into view. The commander closed his eyes for a moment against the offending vision, steeling himself for a difficult negotiation.

While he was composing himself, he thought he heard his name whispered, and turned towards the noise in order to keep it under control. The one who had spoken was Harry Kim, and urgency shone in his face.

Chakotay turned back towards the viewscreen. "Please wait a moment while we discuss the situation amongst ourselves," he bade the aliens, hoping Harry would have good news. Then he cut the connection.

"Their shields are down!" Harry exclaimed once the screen went blank. "Do you want me to beam the captain aboard?"

The commander was about to give the order to do so – wishing Harry would have just taken initiative and done it without even asking – but then he remembered that the aliens did not know about transporter technology and they should not risk demonstrating it if not absolutely necessary. If the captain was already dead, it wasn't worth it just to retrieve her corpse when they were being offered the body in trade.

Then the ensign added something that changed his mind. "She's alive, and as far as I can tell, their weapons are out."

Chakotay gulped, quickly devising a plan. It was definitely worth the risk if the captain's life was still salvageable. "Okay, I'll reinitiate the link. As soon as you are able, I want you to beam her directly to Sickbay, but simultaneously beam our prisoner into her place." He turned towards the helm. "Then, Lieutenant, I want you to get us out of here, maximum warp."

"Aye, Sir," answered two voices simultaneously.

She was angry, very angry, and somebody was going to pay. How could her most trusted assistant have failed to mention that their prisoner had disabled their ship before being captured?

This was obviously how the last Queen had been defeated. She would take steps to make sure it did not happen again. Even now, the ship was under repair, and while the brain of the tinkerer had been unreadable, at least his flesh – what little there was of it – had not been wasted. She wondered why the aliens had bothered returning the tinkerer's body at all, given that they seemed able to retrieve their crew member without trouble. Was it possible the exchange was necessary, some sort of equal mass transfer? Or did they not realize that he was unreadable, and hoped his mind would exonerate them? Or perhaps, were they guilty, but hoped the return of the body, which they knew provided no definitive information, would make it look like they were innocent?

The only evidence that the aliens did not intentionally destroy the other ship was the fact that they had made no attempt to destroy her own, even though they had left it completely vulnerable.

This enigma would have to be contemplated. But first, there would be an execution, and then a feast to celebrate the repairs, once they were complete.

Next time, they would be prepared. No alien had ever escaped their space before, and no alien ever would again.