Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures

Switched

Chapter 44

THE NEXT MORNING

Now fully conscious and sitting up in bed eating a large breakfast of scambled eggs, fried tomatoes, waffles, crumpets and melon, Chakotay waited for Kathryn to arrive. He had woken up from his ordeal with only a slight headache and even that was fading thanks to a dose of medicine given by a kind nurse. What exactly had happened to him he didn't know. The last thing he remembered was waiting for Admiral Dawson outside Rylan Dock. But when the nurse told him he'd been attacked and subjected to memory probing and erasure, he figured that he'd been captured by Taron. No doubt Taron had tried to find out from him where Cayla was. Chakotay felt confident, however, that even if Taron had got the information he desired, that information was useless to him. Rylan Dock was one of the most secure facilities in the Federation. There was no way Taron would be able to get as much as a hair from Cayla's head so long as she remained within its walls. And within its walls he believed her to be as he knew nothing about the abduction. The nurse didn't know either, or anyone else in the facility, as Dawson was keeping all knowledge of it, and the rescue mission, to himself for the moment. All Chakotay had been told was that Voyager's former EMH was presently unavailable and he was being treated by renowned physician Dr Levitt.

Suddenly, the doors opened and Chakotay looked up. He hoped to see Kathryn come in, but instead his eyes fell on a pale faced, heavy eyed, Admiral Dawson.

"Admiral," Chakotay smiled. "We meet at last."

The Admiral did not return his smile, he just walked grimly over to the bed.

"What is it?" Chakotay asked anxiously, interpreting all too well the ominous look on his face. "Is it Kathryn?"

"I'm afraid so," Dawson replied.

Tears flooded Chakotay's eyes. "She's not...Please tell me she's not..." He couldn't say the word.

"I don't know," Dawson answered sincerely.

"How can you not know?" Chakotay asked. "What's going on?"

Uncomfortably, the Admiral sat in a chair beside the bed. "You were not the only one abducted yesterday," he began. "Just before you were returned, the Captain's twin was also abducted. A successful transport trace was carried out by Lieutenant Torres, and as the police could not do anything for 24 hours, the Captain, Detective Vic Elliot and your Doctor decided to take the Delta Flyer and search for her themselves. They believed a man called Taron had abducted her and that her life was in imminent danger. And it seems they were right...about Taron being responsible...but what started out as a simple rescue mission seems to have turned into something else." He paused. "Headline news this morning is that a few hours ago much wanted drug-lord Taron self-destructed his ship when he was surrounded by police ships and asked to surrender. What exactly happened is as yet unclear, but the explosion wasn't a regular one. It seems to have generated some kind of wormhole that sucked in all ships within a million mile radius. None of the police-ships at the scene have returned and I've heard nothing from the Captain. The chances are the Delta Flyer was amongst the vessels pulled in. There's a lot of speculation going on about whether the sucked in ships will have survived, some are of the opinion they will have, but the general consensus is that they will not have." Tears filled his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

For a long while Chakotay said nothing, just tried to absorb this terrible news, then he spoke. "I'm not going to think the worst," he said. "When Voyager went missing, everyone wrote Kathryn and the crew off for dead, but the whole time they were out there trying to get home. And there's every chance Kathryn's out there now, trying to get home. I won't give up on her. I'll never give up on her." He pushed his tray to the foot of the bed and got to his feet. "In fact, I'm going to head out there myself and start looking."

The Admiral seized him. "You'll do no such thing. Not only are you recovering from a serious head injury, but the site of the explosion is currently zoned off. No unauthorized vessels are permitted inside."

"Then I'll get authorization. I can't lie around here doing nothing when Kathryn might need me."

"You'll stay here, Commander, even if I have to confine you. I understand that you want to help, but even if you were well enough to do so, do you really think it would be wise? The Captain told me that Taron is a dangerous man with dangerous friends and that I should tell no one, except you, where she had gone. Further more, she told me not to tell anyone even if she never came back. She said she didn't want Taron, or his friends, to find out that she had gone in search of her twin, that if they did find out, it could be very dangerous for her family. She made me promise I wouldn't tell and I gave her my word. And when I give my word, I keep it, no matter how tough things get. But if you head out there looking for her, Taron's friends might learn she was involved. Granted, most of them probably went up with the ship, but a number are probably still alive. And if they think the Captain had something to do with Taron's death, who knows what that will mean if she does come back alive."

"I hear what you're saying, and I appreciate your loyalty, but I can't do nothing. If I take a ship with a cloak, no one will know I'm looking."

"In which case you might as well go out there waving a red-flag. Cloaks are no more reliable now than they were seven years ago. Is that what you want? To make a terrible situation worse? Because if you head out there, I guarantee you that's what you'll do."

Unable to flaw the argument, despite the outcry of his heart, Chakotay had no choice but to concede. "You're right," he said. "I just...it just kills me when Kathryn is in danger and there's nothing I can do but wait."

"I know," Dawson sympathized. "My wife is in Starfleet too and I've been through it many times. But if Kathryn is out there somewhere, trying to get home, then the best thing we can do to help her...and the others...is just to wait."

END OF CHAPTER 44