Chapter Five
Wide eyed and in utter shock, Tom stumbled backwards. While he hadn't turned around in time to see the cave in, he did manage to see the dust starting to settle. It had all happened so fast. One second he was sure Chakotay and Harry were right behind him and Seven, the next there was a wall of rock between them. By the time he realized it was happening, it was already over. The dust burned his lungs and caused him to cough. Each cough echoed over the walls of the cave. It showed just how large the cave was. Seven theorized it went on for several kilometers at the very least. Tom waved away the dust as it stung his eyes. He doubled over and caught his breath. The dust had little effect on Seven. She also showed little concern for Tom and his current condition. Already, her mind was trying to think of a way out of their current situation. Try as she might to hide it, Seven looked equally shocked. The emotions building up inside of her made it difficult for her to think straight. Thoughts of Chakotay immediately rushed to her mind. She hoped he was alright. It was a startling phenomenon for her to experience. While she was normally concerned with every member of the crew and away team, she'd never felt this way before. She was concerned about Harry, but he was an afterthought. Her main focus was Chakotay and his welfare. Suddenly, she understood why couples weren't allowed to go on away missions together. It clouded their judgement and caused them to focus more on each other than the team as a whole. They needed to focus on all members of the team, not just their significant others.
Seven turned around to face Tom. His coughing had subsided, and the only noise in the cave was the scream of the plasma storm outside. When he stood up, he had a chance to really look around, although it was hard for him to see. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, giving him a better opportunity to look around. The cave was at least ten feet tall and fifteen feet across. The entrance hadn't been that wide; the cave had widened as they progressed back into it. They were in some sort of cavern approximately twenty yards into the cave. While it was roomy, the cave was also confining and smothering. There was no possible way out, at least none that he could see.
"What the hell?" he exclaimed. In an attempt to regain himself, he took several deep breaths. His hands trembled as adrenaline coursed through his body. Tom found that he could barely stand up straight, forcing him to lean against one of the cool, damp walls. "Commander!" His voice bounced off the walls of the cave and echoed towards the back. "Harry!"
"Lieutenant, it would be unwise to yell." Seven's voice sounded surprisingly calm given their current situation. Had Tom been able to see better, he would see that she was equally scared and worried. Worry lines etched across her smooth skin as she contemplated various escape methods. As of right now, none came to mind, which was a sobering thought. She almost always knew how to react and what steps she should take next. The cave in had disoriented her, which, when combined with her concern for Chakotay's well being, made it more difficult for her to think of a plan of action. Despite the realization that she had no idea what to do next, she knew she was Borg, and she would adapt and find a way out of here. They couldn't survive in here forever. For some reason, Tom found Seven's seemingly calm voice comforting. At least one of them had managed to keep a cool head. "Based on my calculations, the barrier is approximately a yard thick. It is impossible for a human to be heard through that much rock, no matter how loud you scream.."
"Clearly you haven't heard my daughter cry," Tom muttered dryly as he rolled his eyes. He was pretty sure Miral kept everyone on the ship awake at night. It was that damned third Klingon lung. "Okay then, what are we going to do?"
"We are going to adapt."
In a less than gentle manner, Chakotay dropped Harry to the ground. The still unconscious ensign crumbled to the ground, but Chakotay barely noticed. His jaw hung open in shock as he took a few steps towards the newly formed barrier. His eyes flitted back and forth over the stones. There had to be some sort of crack or hole somewhere here that he could use to get through to the other side. So far, he didn't see anything. He knew there was a weakness somewhere, and once he found it, he was going to use it to rescue Seven and Tom.
"Seven!" he roared over the scream of the plasma storm outside. "Seven!" It was no use. He could barely hear his own voice over the wind outside. The plasma storm was still going at full force and didn't show signs of stopping any time soon. Once it did, they would be able to get supplies from the shuttle to help them. When calling for Seven didn't work, he tapped his communicator on his chest. "Chakotay to Seven." Nothing. "Commander Chakotay to Seven of Nine. Answer me, that's an order," he hastily snapped. Still nothing. That wasn't like Seven. Always one to follow orders, she would have immediately responded if she had been able to. The thought made him feel sick. Something had to be wrong. He had no way of knowing if she was even alive. Wait, of course she was alive. He couldn't be so pessimistic. Suddenly, it dawned on Chakotay. The atmospheric interference that made it impossible for them to communicate with Voyager also prevented him from communicating with the rest of his away team inside the cave.
As much as it pained him, Chakotay knew he had to banish all the emotions currently swirling through his mind and tend to Harry, who was still unconscious at his feet. He was Commanding Officer and in charge of this away mission; the safety of all members of the away team was his responsibility. Since there wasn't anything he could feasibly do for Tom and Seven right now, but there was something he could do for Harry, that had to take priority. He knelt next to the ensign where he had crumpled to the ground and very gently, he rolled him onto his back. A bruise was starting to form where he had been hit on his temple, but there wasn't any sign of blood. That was a good sign. Chakotay pulled out his tricorder but quickly discovered that the interference from the plasma storm currently made it useless. He would have to use some old school methods to tend to Harry. Chakotay started by lifting both of Harry's eyelids. His eyes flitted back and forth but they didn't register that his commander was hovering above him. It was another good sign, but he was still unconscious. He then checked Harry's pulse. It was strong and steady, indicating that a blow to the head was the only thing wrong with him. As he worked, thoughts of Seven still clouded the back of Chakotay's mind. He tried time and time again to banish her from his thoughts, but it simply didn't work. If only he knew if she was alright, then he would be able to relax a little as he worked.
Satisfied that Harry was going to be fine, Chakotay sat back on his hunches. Unfortunately, all he could do was wait this out, at least until the plasma storm was over and he could get back to the shuttle. This was the worst feeling in the world. There were so many things that he knew needed to get done, but he was stranded, virtually alone while still being so close to his crew, in this cave while the plasma storm screamed outside. He couldn't leave to get the medical supplies from the shuttle, and there was nothing he could do to rescue Seven and Tom. Some First Officer he was. Right now he was completely useless.
Harry felt like someone was striking the inside of his skull repeatedly with a heavy, blunt object. Had he been drinking? It certainly felt like he was hungover. No, he hadn't been drinking, he was on an away mission. Tom might bring out the reckless side in him, but neither of them were that bad, especially with Chakotay and Seven on this mission as well. Groaning, he brought his hand up to his head. As soon as he opened his eyes, light instantly blinded him, forcing him to slam his eyelids closed again. The light only made his head hurt worse, which he hadn't thought possible.
"What the hell happened?" he muttered to no one in particular. In the split second that his eyes had been opened, he hadn't been able to tell if anyone was near him. With his eyes still closed, he tried to prop himself up. The second he tried to sit up, his head started to spin and throb in objection. He immediately regretted it and laid back down with his arm flung carelessly over his eyes to help block out the blinding sun that streamed in from the mouth of the cave roughly fifteen yards away.
"You were hit in the head with debris from the plasma storm," Chakotay replied as he paced anxiously in front of the wall from the cave in. The wind outside had finally stopped. The plasma storm had passed, but he hadn't made it outside yet, although it looked peaceful, as if nothing had happened. He hadn't wanted to leave Harry unattended in the cave when he wasn't sure if he had a concussion or not. Besides, there were far more important things to worry about right now. Pushing aside the pain and dizziness, Harry scrambled to his feet. "Where are Tom and Seven?" Chakotay motioned helplessly towards the rock wall in front of him.
"In there," he replied. Harry had never heard the First Officer sound like this before. He sounded confused and helpless. Harry immediately felt the same way. Usually Chakotay was able to come up with some sort of creative solution to any problems at hand, but if he already felt this way, then Harry had no idea how to feel. It was hard to feel optimistic.
Tom had no way of knowing that Chakotay stood no more than ten feet away from him on the other side of the cave in. Just like the Commander, he was trying to think of a way get out of the cave. There had to be a way out somewhere. Next to him, Seven used her enhanced eyesight to see if there were any weaknesses in the makeshift wall that they could use to their advantage to get out of here.
"Do you see anything?" Tom pressed eagerly.
"Negative," she replied formally. "There appear to be no weaknesses we can use to escape. It is just as solid as the other walls of the cave." He scowled. That wasn't exactly the news he wanted to hear. It was a cave in, there had to be some sort of weakness somewhere.
"Well, we can't stay here forever," he announced as he clapped his hands excitedly. While the prospect of being stranded in a cave definitely wasn't appealing to him, he had to get himself pumped up before he started to feel depressed. "We might as well see if there's another exit somewhere." He began to walk towards the back of the cave. His biggest fear was coming across another wall, forever sealing them in the cave without any hope of escape. There had to be another way out, or at least he hoped there was one.
"That would be a wise decision," Seven agreed as she fell into step next to Tom. he looked amused.
"Wait a minute, did you just give me a compliment?" He smiled slightly, but she didn't return the gesture. As always, she looked unflinchingly serious and professional. So far, none of this appeared to phase her.
"I hardly think so. I simply agreed that your idea is the most logical to get back to Commander Chakotay and Ensign Kim."
"Regardless, you're going to have to lead the way. I can barely see."
"My optical implant is undamaged. I can direct you." Tom nodded. While he couldn't complain that this away mission was boring now, this was hardly what he had in mind. He had hoped for a little bit of excitement such as discovering a new alien race, maybe having to do some sort of fancy maneuvers through a plasma storm as the shuttle took off, but nothing like this. This was a little bit too much excitement, even for him.
Tom and Seven had only been walking for around five minutes when the faint, relaxing sound of trickling water caught both their attention. They exchanged glances, silently agreeing to deviate from their original plan to find an exit to investigate the source, and they pressed forward. No longer were they searching for an escape from the cave but rather the water. Neither of them had had anything to drink since the night before. While neither of them had outwardly complained about it, they were both undeniably thirsty. No more than twenty feet from where they first heard the water they came across an underground stream. Tom immediately leaned over to cup his hands under the water.
"That would not be advisable," Seven commented. "We are unsure if the water is potable." He froze. Neither of them had a tricorder, so there was no way of knowing if the water was safe.
"Well, we can't scan the water for dangerous pathogens," he pointed out. "So what do you suggest we do?"
"We continue searching. With any luck, we will find an exit and a more reliable water source." As much as he hated to admit it, Tom knew Seven was right. Who knew what was swimming in this water? If he got sick, then it would only make matters worse.
"I didn't know Borgs believe in luck," he teased as he began walking once again.
"We don't, but it seemed like the appropriate sentiment given the current situation. Was I incorrect?"
"No, no you weren't," Tom assured with a small laugh. Momentarily he forgot about the fact that he was thirsty and standing only a few feet away from water that he wasn't sure he could drink. Hopefully they would be able to get out of here soon. He could feel himself growing frustrated. For the time being, he would have to push aside all thoughts of thirstiness. He'd been through worse situations in the past, he could survive just a little while longer without water. The only consolation was the fact that it wasn't hot down here, so they didn't have to worry about dehydration, yet. The human body could only last so long without water though, so they would need to find some safe water sooner rather than later.
As Seven lead the way, her vision began to fade. It was gradual at first, so she didn't notice until she realized that she was having trouble seeing the cave around her. She blinked a few times, but her vision was still fading. Particularly, the vision in her left eye was beginning to glitch. The images in front of her slowly faded away before coming back twice as bright, momentarily blinding her, before nearly disappearing altogether once again. The sensation caused her to freeze. Not entirely paying attention, Tom nearly ran her over.
"Oof!" he exclaimed in surprise. His arms shot out to grab her before she could stumble to the ground from the run in. That was enough to zap her vision back to normal for the time being, although she remained rooted to the spot. Tom immediately noticed that something wasn't right with her. "Seven, what's wrong?" he asked. Instinctively, he reached out to take her arm.
"Nothing," she replied stiffly. "We must continue if we are going to find an exit." Tom opened his mouth to press the issue further but ultimate decided against it. He definitely agreed with her. They needed to keep moving if they wanted to get out of where and find out if Harry and Chakotay were safe. Although, he was confused about what had just happened, it wasn't like her at all.
With the storm finally gone and Harry back on his feet, he and Chakotay could finally return to the shuttle to gather supplies and figure out the next steps. Most importantly, they would need to activate a distress call of their own. With any hope, Voyager would hear them and send provisions to get Seven and Tom out of the cave. Given the amount of interference in the atmosphere and the fact that they were barely able to make sense of the original distress call that brought them to this planet, that was highly unlikely. It was the least they could do though. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, Harry couldn't get Chakotay to abandon his vigil in the cave.
"There has to be some way to break down this wall," Chakotay grumbled as he glowered angrily at the obstruction.
"Commander, let's get fresh supplies from the shuttle, then we can work on rescuing Tom and Seven." Harry's voice barely registered. "We'll be of no use to them if we don't have our energy." Even Harry thought that it was a pathetic suggestion, but it was the only thing he could think of. There had to be something more they could do, but they would need supplies from the shuttle to make it happen. "There's probably another entrance to the cave a few kilometers away. That would be our best bet to get to them."
"You're right," Chakotay relented with a sigh. His gaze lingered on the cave in for a few moments as if willing to open it with his mind. It didn't work, not that he expected it to. There had to be some supplies in the shuttle that could help get them out of this situation..
Outside the cave was pure chaos. Once the duo got over the blinding sun that beat down overhead, they were able to look around and really take in the carnage that surrounded them. Plants had been uprooted and thrown all over the place. It looked as if a giant child had made its way through here, ripping up anything it could get its hands on, losing interest and tossing it to the side. There were very few traces of the away team's camp left anywhere. Had they not know that this was where they had been camping, they wouldn't have believed it. All that was left was a sleeping bag torn and snagged on a bush. Part of its stuffing oozed out of a tear like a festering wound. Although it was damaged, it still appeared to be salvageable. Several yards away from the sleeping bag sat a canteen caught on some rocks. Other than that, nobody would ever know that the away team had ever been there. Everything else they'd left behind was gone. Based on the winds last night, Harry figured that their supplies could be dozens of kilometers away at the very least. It would be a useless waste of time to trace it all down; they had far more important things to worry about.
Chakotay kept his eyes glued to the ground in search of any other supplies from their camp. He wanted to save as much as he could to give to whoever had summoned them here, although that was no longer a top priority. There had to be something more than a sleeping bag and an empty canteen around here that they could save and use. Unfortunately, he didn't see anything. This was it, this was all they had left of their small camp from just a few hours earlier. They would have to use some of the supplies on the shuttle designated for whoever sent the distress call for themselves, but they would still have plenty of supplies to help whoever summoned them here.
Once Harry finally got over the scene of destruction in front of him, he was able to focus on the shuttle in the distance. Even from where he stood, he could tell something was wrong. As he approached the craft, a jarring realization washed over him. He felt his anxiety and concern spike at the sight. The rear hatch was wide open, as if someone had just entered the craft without their knowledge.
"Commander," he called over his shoulder. "You better come out here." Obviously frustrated with being interrupted, Chakotay stalked across the desert. He still kept his eyes opened for anything from their camp that they could save, but he wasn't going to hold his breath. They were lucky they still had the sleeping bag and canteen. There were more emergency supplies in the shuttle though. While they weren't as nice as what they had been using, they would have to be enough.
"What?" he snapped as he came to a stop next to Harry. Harry pointed towards the shuttle.
"Something's wrong with the shuttle." In the blink of an eye, Chakotay had his phaser out. Although he was unarmed, Harry followed his lead, and they cautiously approached the craft. As they got closer, they realized that the shuttle wasn't just open, the hatch had been blasted open. This wasn't supposed to happen. The shuttle should be able to withstand the high winds from much stronger than anything a plasma storm could produce. Chakotay hadn't doubted the shuttle's structural integrity when he told the away team to take shelter in the cave, he had been fearful that the shuttle would be blown over in the wind. While clearly that hadn't happened, as the shuttle was still upright, but there was still something wrong with it. It wasn't supposed to happen though. The shuttle should have been relatively fine.
When the pair entered the shuttle, they were once again stunned by what they saw. The place had been ransacked. Every drawer, every compartment was open. Whoever or whatever did this hadn't even bothered to close anything. It was all still open as if they left in a hurry at the risk of being caught.
Now it was Chakotay's turn to ask, "What the hell?" Not only was compartment and drawer open, but everything was gone. Everything not welded down had simply disappeared. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that whoever did this had also attempted to pry several of the panels from the wall as well. While they hadn't been successful, there was no way to know for certain if any damage had been done to the equipment. They would have to carefully analyze each system to see if it was operational. It was another setback on what had been perceived as an easy away mission just a few hours earlier.
Ever the optimist, Harry asked, "Do you think it could have been swept away in the plasma storm?" Once again, he knew how pathetic he sounded, but he hated the thought of someone storming the shuttle and ransacking it, especially since this was where they had originally planned on taking shelter during the storm.
"No, a plasma storm wouldn't have been able to open all these drawers and compartments," Chakotay responded.
"Perhaps an animal did this." Harry simply refused to admit that someone had purposefully broken into their shuttle and stolen everything.
"No, the hatch was blasted off. Someone did this to our shuttle under the cover of the plasma storm." It sounded completely insane. Who in their right mind would brave a plasma storm to steal from their shuttle, especially given the fact that they had come here to provide them with supplies in the first place? It was another mystery about this away mission that they simply couldn't figure out.
While Chakotay kept his phaser out and checked the shuttle for any intruders, Harry pulled out his tricorder. "Scans aren't picking up any lifesigns." The realization caused Chakotay to spin around. That didn't make any sense. Nobody could do any damage like this without leaving some sort of trace behind. They had touched everything, there should be proteins left behind, traces from whatever was used to blast open the hatch, something. It was impossible to leave behind no trace at all.
"What do you mean?" he demanded.
"There should be signs of something, residue from phasers, proteins, something, but there's nothing." It didn't take a genius to figure out that Chakotay was getting testy. This entire situation put him on edge. Harry continued to scan every inch of the shuttle, but his results stayed the same. "I'm sorry, Commander." Once sure they weren't in any danger in the shuttle, Chakotay put away his phaser and began to tap hurriedly on one of the control panels.
"Other than the hatch and their attempts to remove some of the panels, the shuttle appears to be fine," he observed. "None of the gel packs have been touched." It was the only good news they'd heard since getting here.
"So once we rescue Tom and Seven, we can repair the hatch and get out of here," Harry said optimistically. Chakotay shook his head.
"That would require supplies we don't have anymore," he pointed out. Before whoever ransacked the shuttle got their hands on everything, they would have had more than enough supplies to repair the shuttle, but that wasn't the case now. They only had the clothes on tehir back and the handful of supplies they had managed to scrounge up. "We're stranded until Voyager misses us at the rendezvous point and comes back for us." A heavy pit formed in Harry's stomach. He didn't like the sound of that. They weren't scheduled to rendezvous for nearly a week, and it would take Voyager at least another day or two at the very least to realize that they weren't there and to come after them.
Not wanting to feel useless, Harry began to type away at the console in front of him. As Chakotay said, the gel packs were undamaged, and the shuttle could essentially run, if it didn't have a giant hole in the back. The computer beeped excitedly as Harry brought it to life. His fingers move mechanically over the panel as he tried to think of some sort of solution to the problem.
"Commander, what if we use the transporter on board to lock onto Seven and Tom's location? Then we can beam them out of there," Harry suggested. Now that the shock of everything that had happened finally subsided, they were able to think straight and come up with some sort of plan. It was such a simple solution, he had no idea why they hadn't thought of it earlier. Chakotay appeared behind Harry.
"Do it," he ordered. Harry immediately began to type furiously on the screen. It didn't take long for him to realize that something was wrong. Confusion flashed across his face. Chakotay picked up on the change in body language and asked, "What's wrong?"
"The computer can't pick up their signal."
"Are they alive?" the First Officer demanded. The sharp edge to his voice startled Harry. There were very few times that he had actually heard the Commander speak like that, and he wasn't sure how to react to it. His fingers flew over the control panel even faster.
"Inconclusive," Harry replied in a strained voice. "Even if they were alive, we might not be able to lock onto their location. There appears to be interference in the cave, and they're too far underground." He continued to type at the console. "The computer can't even pick up a location on their comm badges." He stopped and turned around. "We'll have to get them out using some other method." Chakotay swore under his breath. With it's lack of supplies, damaged back and inability to lock onto Seven and Tom's locations, this shuttle was nothing more than a useless shell now.
"Search the shuttle and see if there's anything left in terms of supplies and meet me back at the cave. We need to find a way to get them out of there."
"Aye, Commander." Harry watched as Chakotay returned to the cave. Despite how he felt about their current situation, he held his head high with feigned determination and purpose. There was no doubt in Harry's mind that Chakotay was going to do everything in his power to get Tom and Seven out of that cave. Unfortunately, with the realization that their shuttle had been broken into, he knew that they would need rescuing as well. Based on what had happened to the shuttle, there was something out there, and it didn't have the best of intentions.
Try as he might to find something, anything, in the shuttle, Harry simply couldn't. Whoever boarded the shuttle had essentially stripped it of everything. Despite the fact that they came under the guise of the plasma storm, whoever broke into the shuttle been incredibly thorough. Harry was about to give up when a glimmer caught his eye. He crouched down and managed to find a handful of rations that appeared to have been kicked underneath a console and inadvertently left behind. Other than that, everything was all gone. With the newfound rations piled neatly on a seat, Harry decided to take matters into his own hands and recorded his own distress call on the comm system. It was a long shot, but it was the only thing they had right now to give them hope.
"Mayday, mayday. Voyager this is Ensign Harry Kim. We are stranded without supplies. Tom and Seven are stuck in a cave. Mayday, mayday." He ended the message and sent it. Hopefully the interference in the atmosphere would let up just enough to let the message out into space and reach Voyager on its long range scanners. If not, they still had a while before the designated rendezvous and until Voyager realized that something was wrong. With the distress signal sent out, Harry snatched up the rations and returned to Chakotay.
Tom absent mindedly trailed his fingers along the cool, damp wall of the cave as he and Seven continued to explore. Cool air swirled around them. Despite their current situation, the comfortable temperature was a vast improvement from the oppressive heat that they had suffered through the day before. It was the only positive about their current situation. They'd been walking for a while now, Tom had no idea how long, and they hadn't even come close to finding a way out of here. So far, all they encountered was more caves that branched off, revealing that this was far more than just a single cave but instead a complex system that could potentially stretch for kilometers in all directions. Clearly getting out of here wasn't going to be as easy as they originally thought.
"We appear to have taken refuge in the main cave," Seven observed, her voice slicing through the comfortable silence that had settled over them. "There are dozens of off shoots."
"What I wouldn't give for a spool of yarn right now," Tom complained sarcastically.
"I fail to see what good yarn would do. There are far more important supplies that necessary given our current situation." He sighed. He had no idea how Chakotay did it. In the past twenty-four hours he'd already had to explain several things to Seven, which ruined his sarcastic remarks.
Rather than ignore Seven's confusion and let her draw her own conclusions, he explained, "It's an ancient Earth legend. This king used to take children and stick them in a giant maze with a monster who would kill them. One boy managed to find his way out of the maze by unraveling a spool of yarn so he could easily find his way out." Seven stopped walking dead in her tracks once again. Caught up in his little story, Tom nearly ran her over. She really had to stop doing that or else one of them were going to get hurt. "What's wrong?" Afraid something was wrong, he whipped out his phaser.
"I remember that story," she admitted. She sounded astonished. "The monster had the head of a bull and the body of a man, and it was called a...minotaur." A vague memory crept up on her. She remembered her parents reading to her, weaving fantastical tales of days long past to keep her entertained on The Raven. It was a hazy, fleeting memory. As quickly as it appeared in her mind, it was gone, along with the faces of her parents. Seven mentally grasped at the memory, willing it to come back, even for a few seconds longer, but it was gone. Tom stopped to think about what she said. Yes, that sounded familiar. Stories such as that weren't his area of expertise, but that sounded about right to him. Seven shook her head and waved off the comment. They needed to focus, not take a trip down memory lane. It would only serve to distract them. "The story is irrelevant. We do not have any supplies, and it is imperative that we find a way out of here." Given the severity of the situation, she had to keep her mind clear and focus all of her energy on getting them out of here.
Harry felt like he was disappointing Chakotay as he returned to the cave with only half a dozen rations in his arms. Tricorder out, Chakotay stared at the small screen as he carefully scanned the debris from the cave in. There had to be some sort of weakness here, a way to get through the other side or at least communicate with them. As of right now, there wasn't even a way for them to know if Tom and Seven were alright, which was the worst part. Once he knew the status of the rest of the away team, he would be able to relax and think of a way to save them. The tricorder told Chakotay the last thing he wanted to hear. The rocks had formed a solid barrier, there was no way to get past it or even loosen it. They would have to find some other way to rescue them.
Harry unceremoniously dumped the rations he had collected on the ground. With a sharp snap, Chakotay closed his tricorder and turned around. Harry didn't need to ask to know what was bothering him, his expression spoke volumes. It was useless trying to waste their time and energy on getting through to the other side this way.
"I hate to bring more bad news, Commander, but this is all I could find on the shuttle." Chakotay pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a frustrated sigh.
"That's fine," he assured. In no way did he blame Harry for this. He was doing everything he could to make the best of this situation. "We have that fruit Tom and I found yesterday. We'll just have to survive on that until Voyager arrives."
"As long as the plasma storm didn't sweep that away too," Harry muttered bitterly under his breath. It was an oddly pessimistic comment to come from Harry. He was usually the one who found the silver lining in every situation. Chakotay felt just as crestfallen as the ensign, but as senior officer, he had to keep his head up and find a way to lead his away team through this.
Harry hated feeling helpless like this. Usually any suggestions he had came from bouncing ideas back and forth with Tom. They had worked through so many precarious and difficult situations by collaborating and finding a solution together. He highly doubted that Chakotay would be willing to talk through potential ideas. He got the sense that the First Officer was too distracted by his own thoughts to try and work through Harry's ideas as well. Despite that, Harry felt that he had to suggest something. He was just as desperate to rescue Tom and Seven.
"What if we use our phasers to blast the rocks?" he suggested. It was the first idea that came to mind. Chakotay carefully thought over the suggestion. It would be a quick and efficient solution to the problem, but he also had his doubts.
"No," he finally replied. "We have no way to communicate with Tom and Seven. For all we know, they're standing right on the other side of this wall. If we blast it, they could get hurt." The words were painful to him. It was such a simple solution to their problem, and yet, it was one they couldn't use. "We'll have to find some other way to get to them." Harry hadn't expected Chakotay to go with his idea, but he felt just a little bit better having suggested at least something.
"If we can get a message to them somehow, then we could tell them to stand back." He had no idea how to do that, but it was something they could do to help once they finally got in touch with Tom and Seven. Chakotay rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. Right now they were dealing with too many ifs and not enough actual solutions.
"Our best bet would be to find another way into the cave and rescue them that way." It was the quickest and safest course of action for the time being. Harry picked up on the desperation in his voice. Essentially they were on borrowed time. There was no way of knowing if their comrades were injured or in need of any emergency supplies, not that they had much to offer them. The only silver lining was Seven's cool head and the fact that Tom was a trained field medic and incredibly resourceful. They would be able to survive, at least for a little while.
Chakotay knew he couldn't stand here forever and stare at the rock wall in front of him talking about hypothetical rescue plans that wouldn't work. If they were going to rescue Seven and Tom, they were going to need to be far more proactive. He knew Harry was looking to him to take charge and make a command decision pertaining to next steps. He pulled out his tricorder once again.
"Let's see if we can find another entrance to the cave," he announced. "Grab that canteen and put the rations in it. After whatever happened to our shuttle last night, I don't want to leave those behind." As he spoke, Chakotay grabbed the torn sleeping bag and brought it into the cave. He found a small nook to tuck it into for the time being. Hopefully that would be enough to keep it safe from whoever or whatever was out there. If not, they would truly be roughing it for the next few days.
"Yes, Sir." Relieved to finally have some sort of task to complete, Harry immediately leapt into action and shoved the rations into the empty canteen before slinging the strap over his shoulder. He was starting to feel slightly optimistic, although he knew that that was simply relief for having something to do. Once the sleeping bag was carefully stowed away, Chakotay reappeared from inside the cave.
"Keep an eye out for any signs of life," he instructed as he stalked across the former campsite with a newfound sense of purpose. "We know they're out there, and they know where we are. The sooner we find them, the better. Perhaps they know how to get into the cave." Without slowing down his pace, he brushed past Harry and lead the way to find another entrance to the cave. Harry had to scramble to keep up with the First Officer. This was a man on a mission, and he better do his best to keep up so he wasn't left behind.
Harry's tricorder beeped excitedly as he and Chakotay walked along the desert. The canteen slung across his shoulder bounced against his hip painfully as he struggled to keep up with Chakotay. He didn't bother asking him to slow down, he knew it would be an exercise in futility. All he could do was walk faster to keep up with the First Officer's long legs and powerful stride. The hot sun beat down on them unmercifully. It was already early in the morning, and it was nearly thirty degrees Celsius. It was obviously going to be another long, hot day in the sun without any reprieve. The silence was equally as stifling. Someone had to say something to break up the monotony and tension or else Harry felt like he was going to go insane.
"My tricorder is picking up a void approximately seven meters below our feet," he commented. While it wasn't the most fascinating information, it was at least something to break up the stifling silence.
"That's the cave." Chakotay's tone spoke volumes. He didn't want to talk. He was too distracted by his concern for Seven and Tom, but especially Seven. He just needed to know she was alright, then he would be able to focus more on getting them out of here and back to Voyager where this would be little more than a running joke amongst them in a matter of weeks. Oblivious to Chakotay's current mood, Harry continued to spout out his observations from his tricorder.
"That's a good sign. It means we're still walking along the cave. They could be right below our feet." The tricorder beeped, causing Harry to furrow his brows in confusion. He stopped walking. Chakotay continued walking for a few feet until he realized that Harry wasn't behind him. He stopped and turned around.
"What is it?" he inquired.
"There's a shallower void coming up." He continued to analyze the results on his tricorder before continuing, "It looks like a hole of some sort. I can't figure out how large it is, but it could be exactly what we're looking for."
"Where?" Desperation filled Chakotay's voice as thoughts of finding out the status of his away team, particularly Seven, overwhelmed him. Soon, they could potentially be reunited again.
"Approximately fifteen meters that way." That was all Chakotay needed to hear to spin around and jog in the direction Harry pointed. While he knew another entrance to the cave was nearly impossible, they would have seen it by now, a shallower void was a good sign. With any luck, they could use it to get down into the cave and continue exploring.
Chakotay skidded to a stop exactly where Harry had told him to and began to look around. At first, there appeared to be no hole, no void, nothing. Upon closer inspection, however, he finally saw what Harry had been talking about. It was hard to see, as it was covered by brush and debris from the plasma storm. There was no denying what it was though: a small hole that was approximately a square foot. Had Harry not pointed it out with the help of his tricorder, they both would have missed it and kept walking. Chakotay cleared away the brush away to get a better look. The hole went straight down. There was no way of knowing how deep it was, and it was far too small for anyone to climb down. It was a good sign though. It was a start at rescuing Tom and Seven.
Harry crouched down next to Chakotay and continued to scan the hole in the ground for any information that could help them get to Tom and Seven. He read all the results on his tricorder to himself carefully. At first, he felt excited to find this hole, but the results weren't as optimistic as he originally thought.
"The bottom is approximately five and a half meters below the surface," he stated. Even if they could make the hole bigger, there was no way for them to jump down into the cave or lift Tom and Seven out of there. It was far too deep.
"So it's too far to jump," Chakotay muttered bitterly. He couldn't believe this. Just when he thought they were catching a break, there's another snag in the plan.
"That's assuming either of us could fit." Harry meant it to be a joke, but he immediately regretted it. He could see the stress on Chakotay's face. Now wasn't the time to be making comments such as that.
"So what are we going to do?" Only one thought came to mind. Chakotay crouched over and cupped his hands over his mouth.
"Seven!" he bellowed deep into the cave. "Seven!" It certainly wasn't a conventional method, but, then again, Chakotay was hardly a conventional First Officer. With any luck, Seven or Tom would be close enough to hear his voice. They wouldn't be able to get either of them out of here, but they might be able to find out if they were alright.
As Seven and Tom walked along the cave, a strange noise caught her attention. At first, she thought she was hearing things, that the stress of her current situation was causing her to hear things. When the noise didn't subside, she realized that she wasn't hearing things. Wide eyed, her head whipped around as she tried to triangulate the source of the noise.
"Did you hear that?" she demanded. Tom froze. He hadn't heard anything, but he wasn't about to admit it. He knew better than that. Both stood frozen in place with their ears wide open, anxious to hear the noise again.
After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Tom finally admitted, "I don't hear anything." Seven rolled her eyes.
"That is because you won't stop talking," she hissed angrily. She was tempted to put her hand over his mouth to keep him from talking. Rather than do that, she simply held up her hand to signal him to keep quiet. A few more moments passed. Just as Seven was about to admit that she may have been mistaken, they both heard it.
"Seven!" It was Chakotay. Try as she might to suppress her emotions, Seven's eyes lit up. She rushed towards the sound of his voice, ignoring the fact that her vision in her left eye was beginning to fail once again.
Chakotay's voice grew louder as Seven ran ahead of Tom. It was a sure sign that they were headed in the right direction. A few hours in a cave wasn't as bad as it could have been now that Chakotay had rescued them. They would be able to return to the real reason they were here, finding whoever sent out the distress call and helping them before returning to Voyager.
"Chakotay!" she called. Her sensors weren't picking up anything. There should be something here to signal that he was in the cave, but there was no sign of him anywhere. No sign except his voice that is.
"Seven, I'm up here." She skidded to a stop, and her head whipped around wildly as she attempted to figure out what was going on. Chakotay's voice came from this spot, but there was no sign of him anywhere. A few feet in front of her, a single shaft of light streamed down from above. Figuring that it was the only way for him to be above her, she stumbled under the light and looked up. The bright light nearly blinded her, causing her to shield her eyes and turn away for several seconds. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she looked up once again. Sure enough, hovering above her head, was Chakotay.