~ The Lightening ~

[Jeanway 0]

As he looked up the sky was swirling in a mass of sparks. Popping and snapping, firing and flashing and falling to the ground for as far as he could see. He walked back to the cellar door and called down to Janeway. "Stay down there, I'm going to look around." Then he closed it and walked out into the well illuminated forest. The concentration of these sparks was obvious so he walked in that direction. Towards the lagoon and the mountain where they had just spent three days in the cave. As he got closer, he reached a clearing which gave him an unobstucted view of the top of the mountain, it was spewing sparks and fire. The mountain was a volcano. He immediately turned around and ran back towards the cabin.

 

When he got there Janeway was standing just outside of the cellar and looking up at the sky. "Come on." He said. "Get the monkeys and whatever we can carry and lets get away from here." Janeway asked. "What is it? What did you see?" Chakotay told her. "It's the mountain Catherine, it's a volcano, and it's going to erupt." Janeway hurried down the ladder followed by Chakotay. He rousted Sam and Delilah. The babies were already awake and whinning. He grabbed Pip and Tag and Janeway guilded the others towards the ladder and got them started going up. Followed by Janeway then Chakotay went last. Once out of the cellar he told Janeway to start walking away from the Mountain. "Go, go now." He said as he ran around grabbing anything in sight that they might need. Blankets, food, the tri-corder, the phasers. Anything he could carry. And the last thing he grabbed and dragged away from the cabin was the skin of the animal that kept them from starving this past winter.

[nik 0]

(Posted with permission from Ambassador Jeanway.)

 

Tuvok and Kim sat the science console staring intently at the viewscreen. For several seconds they sat in silence, until Kim pointed quickly and spoke.

 

“There!” he said. “Did you see that?”

 

“Yes…” Tuvok replied quietly. “A minor perturbation in the dark matter clusters density populating the nebula.”

 

“There it is again!” Kim pointed.

 

Tuvok leaned back and thought silently for several seconds. “If my theory is correct,” he began, “we are being watched.” Kim looked at Tuvok with a furrowed brow. “Continue your observations, Ensign – noting position, time, and fluctuation intensity.”

 

Tuvok turned to the viewscreen. “Computer…” At the familiar chirp of the computer, he spoke. “Initiate library search for optical detection of cloaked vessels by Federation personnel… limit search to onscreen visual detection of optical wavelengths only.”

 

After several seconds, the computer chirped and replied in its characteristic feminine voice. “One result found.”

 

“Specify and overlay on forward viewscreen.” On the field of stars in the forward screen, a small graphic appeared in the lower right corner as green print scrolled down the screen. The image of an historic figure rotated slowly on the screen as the computer spoke.

 

“Kirk… Captain James T. Only known visual detection of cloaked Klingon vessel following Genesis incident near former Regula space station.”

 

Tuvok turned to the rear of the vessel and spoke to Ensign Kim. “I believe that we have doubled the count.” He said wryly. “While such detections have been rendered –“

 

“Captain!” Ensign Kim shouted. “Look!” He pointed to the screen. Tuvok turned quickly as the large vessel uncloaked. Its large triangular shape formed menacingly in front of Voyager as it’s smooth black skin shimmered into view. Its hull was dark and smooth with only a few points of light where small viewports existed. Nearly twice the size of Voyager, it hovered silently only a kilometer off.

 

“I’m not getting any sensor readings beyond mass and displacement.” Kim said. “Captain! I think we’re being scanned. I’m detecting a broad range deep-penetrating multi-phase burst. Wait! I’m detecting a power surge!”

 

“Red alert.” Tuvok said as he took the captain’s chair. The bridge was flooded with dim red lighting. “Evasive maneuvers!” As Paris’ hands flew across his console, the forward screen displayed the image of the dark ship as a beacon of light emanated from it’s surface and shot towards Voyager. Before Voyager could respond, she was shaken by a burst of energy as her shields flared.

 

“Shields at 80%.” Kim announced.

 

“Paris! Maximum speed through the nebula. Get us out of here.” Tuvok said quickly. Seconds later, Voyager pivoted and flew from the black triangle. The ship accelerated instantly and matched her speed.

 

The bridge communicator chirped. “What the hell is going on up there!” Torres demanded. “Whatever just happened nearly drained the entire containment field! Don’t even think about going to –“

 

“Understood Lieutenant.” Tuvok interrupted and squinted at the viewscreen as the front of the black ship began to glow green as with the previous shot.

 

“Captain!” Paris began. “The dark matter pockets are too dense, and she’s handling like a pig. There’s no way we can – “

 

Voyager shook hard with another shot from the alien vessel. Paris’ console erupted in flames and he was flung back to the center of the bridge. Tuvok looked down at him through the thick smoke.

 

“Medic.” He ordered.

 

“Shields at 40%!” Kim announced. “Diverting power to the aft shields.”

 

The EMH shimmered onto the bridge. “Please state the na- AH!” He said as he looked down at Paris. He knelt down and began working. Tapping his communicator, he spoke.

 

“Kes,” He said pleasantly, “Please report to the bridge with a heavy trauma kit.” As he continued working, Voyager rocked hard to starboard. Tuvok looked back at Kim.

 

“That was no shot.” He stated as he looked at Kim.

 

“Correct, sir!” Kim said. “Voyager just grazed a dark matter pocket. Port nacelle is offline! Sir, if we hit one of those head-on, we won’t live to tell about about it!”

 

“Understood! Computer, initiate manual bridge thruster control.” As he spoke a small platform with a control stick rose beside Paris’ still bloody form. It rose to waist level and Tuvok grabbed the control stick. “Ensign Kim,” Tuvok said tersely, “Fire a photon torpedo spread aft.”

 

“Weapons systems offline, sir!” Kim reported. Tuvok gritted his teeth as he stared at the viewscreen. He took a deep breath as Voyager was rocked by another blast of the alien vessel.

 

“Ensign, project a graphic overlay of the dark matter pockets onto the viewscreen.” The view of space was dotted with several bright blue shapes representing the dark matter pockets in the nebula. Tuvok used the control stick to send the ship soaring through the nebula as it weaved its way through the pockets of deadly matter.

 

“Lieutenant Torres,” Tuvok winced as he tried to control the ship, “Can we boost power to the lateral thrusters, I’m having a hard time controlling the vessel.”

 

“Captain!” She said exasperatedly, “I can’t even hold the warp core together! Any more of this, and we won’t need to worry about lateral thrusters!”

 

Tuvok pursed his lips as his eyes sharpened on the viewscreen.

 

“Alien vessel powering weapons!” Kim shouted above the sparks coming from the console behind him. “Captain, we’re losing aft shields! Gel pack nodes 36 through 43 are destroyed, limited life support, if we don’t – oh sh-“

 

The ensign was interrupted as Voyager went into a fast tailspin as it clipped another dark matter pocket. Tuvok was thrown from the control stick and slammed heavily into the starboard bulkhead. Emerald blood oozed from a gash in his forehead as he slid to the floor. As he lost consciousness, his eyes caught the viewscreen. The large triangular ship rotated slightly as a green glow appeared on it’s bow…….

Edited September 20, 2004 by nik

[nik 0]

(Posted with permission from Ambassador Jeanway.)

 

Had he not been trained to observe logic and truth, Tuvok would not have believed that he was awake on the bridge of Voyager. However, the intense pain in his leg told him that he was very much alive. A panel behind him sparked indignantly and a ceiling panel swung wearily behind him. He also noticed that the ceiling seemed a lot closer than usual. He was floating free aboard the bridge. As he tried to pivot in the weightlessness, he glanced over at Kim, his face covered with soot and his shirt torn. Kim was attempting to hold himself to a console. His hand slipped off and he floated free.

 

“Status, Ensign.” Tuvok said hoarsely. From the ceiling, Kim squinted at his console.

 

“Uh… “ he began to rotate as his console rotated outside his field of view. “Minimal life support throughout….. hull breach on decks 22 and 23…. No casualties……” He paused until he rotated so that the console was back in view.

 

“Warp speed offline. Engineering reports coming in….. impulse only….. decks 1 through 10 report a loss of artificial gravity….”

 

“Thank you for that.” Tuvok said wryly at the last comment as he attempted to swim to the captain’s chair. Tapping his com-badge, he spoke. “Tuvok to stores. Please report to the bridge with several pairs of magnetic boots.”

 

Paris floated lifelessly as the doctor “stood” beside him on some imaginary floor. The doctor’s straight form rotated with Paris. Tuvok, unsuccessful in grabbing the captain’s chair as he floated by drifted right through the doctor, who did not react as he stared at him.

 

“What is the condition of Mr. Paris?” he asked.

 

“He is stable, but will require a more stable environment for a full recovery.” The doctor’s reprimand was implicit as he spoke.

 

“Understood. I will have personnel from stores take him to sickbay when they arrive.” In the dim lighting, Tuvok squinted at Kim. “What of the alien vessel?” He asked.

 

Ensign Kim managed to grab his console and pull himself into his seat. Holding onto the console, he read as a report scrolled by.

 

“Uh…. Sir….. it looks like the vessel was destroyed by a small planet….”

 

“A planet?” Tuvok’s eyebrow shot up. “We detected no planet in the nebula.”

 

“This one seemed to be encased in the dark matter pocket that we hit. When we hit the pocket, it disrupted the mass. The ship couldn’t turn in time….”

 

“Onscreen.” Tuvok ordered. He braced himself on the ceiling as he turned to look through the thick cloud hanging over the bridge at the viewscreen.

 

A simulated image of Voyager was displayed as it weaved though the nebula, dodging invisible pockets of dark matter. The large triangular ship matched its every move and its front glowed green as it pivoted behind Voyager. As Voyager swerved hard to one side, a thick cloud of dust was shot up in its wake and Voyager was sent spinning. In the perturbation caused by Voyager, the cloud peeled back and a large rocky body appeared out of nowhere. The triangular ship caught the rock on one of it’s “wings” and it was sent into a tailspin as it vented plasma into space large sparks arced across the surface of the ship as it spun wildly. A spark ignited the venting gas, and the ship was suddenly engulfed in flames. The resulting shock wave caught Voyager and sent it into an end-over-end topple into the blackness of space. Gas from the alien vessel crystallized in the vacuum and a few icy crystals sparkled in the dim light of the nebula.

 

“There were no survivors.” Kim reported.

[Jeanway 0]

Thanks nik, must have been the"VOTH"

[Jeanway 0]

As the sun rises over the trees, they had been making their way now for a while through the forest away from the smouldering volcano. They are following the stream. Looking back they can see the rising plume of smoke. "Keep walking." Chakotay told Janeway. He looked at her face and could see the exhaustion showing. she kept holding her back and telling him she was really hurting. "We can't stop now Catherine. She said she understood and showing amazing fortitute and courage kept walking. Dodging low hanging branches and sometime fallen logs. She neglected to tell him that she felt wet. Her water had broken.

 

The monkeys ran ahead of them leading the way. This appeared to be their territory as they ran up and down the trees, swinging for branches and screaming at each other but always staying close to Janeway and Chakotay. When gradually they began to hear a roaring. It got louder the further they walked. The stream was widening and deepening until it now appeared to be more like a river than a stream. The water rushed and swirled beside them and Janeway called to the monkeys to come down from the trees. If one of them fell in from the overhanging branches they would surely drown. The roaring sound continued to get louder.

Edited September 20, 2004 by Jeanway

[Jeanway 0]

Finally the river seemed to end and a vast canyon was just ahead. The roaring they were hearing finally was revealed as an enormous waterfall. They stood on the edge and looked down to see it's powerful, thundering magnitude below them. Behind them the volcano off in the distance was spewing hot ash and fire into the sky. Some chunks of firey rock landed closer and closer to them as they tried to outrun it. Here, now, there was nowhere to run. Chakotay and Janeway stood on the edge and looked down and then at each other. Then sat on the ground to await their fate, clinging to each other and to the monkeys who sat on their laps and beside them. Janeway layed down, and passed out.

[Jeanway 0]

"She'll be alright Chakotay." Jeanway heard someone say as she was regaining conciousness, her eyes still closed. She knew this voice was that of the E.M.H. on Voyager, but thought she was dreaming. She opened her eyes to find herself laying on a bed in sick-bay. An incubator next to her containing a tiny, motionless body. She looked up at Chakotay in disbelief. "What happened?" She asked him. "The last thing I remember I was laying on the ground next to the river then everything went black." She told him. "Well, Catherine, Voyager appeared in the sky and beamed us aboard. "All of us?" She asked. "Where are the monkeys?" And then in an instant of revelation she realized she had given birth while she was unconcious. She looked over at the tiny infant who was sleeping in the incubator beside her. "What is it a boy or a girl?" She asked. Just then Neelix walked into sick bay holding a small bundle in his arms and placed it in the incubator next to the infant already in there. Janeway looked puzzled. "What are you doing Neelix?" She asked. "Just putting your daughter back where she belongs, next to her brother." He answered. I was showing her around to some of the crew out in the corridor. They are all piling up out there but the Doc here wouldn't let anyone in here until you woke up. Janeway sat up, groaning with each attempt. She leaned over and looked at the two babies who lie sleeping next to each other. "A boy AND a girl??" She exclaimed. "Yep, Catherine we have two children now." Chakotay answered proudly. She layed back down and covered her face with her hands. "My, my, my,my my." Was all she could say.

[Jeanway 0]

"Monkeys on the bridge, monkeys on the bridge." Tuvok said to himself as shook his head. "StarFleet will never believe this." sitting in the Captains chair he taps his com-badge. "Tuvok to Security , come to the bridge immediately." Worf responds. "We're on our way." Moments later the turbo-lift door slides open and Worf and two Security officers enter the bridge. "Mr. Worf, could you escort these, 'things' to the brig?" He asks. "To the brig Sir? Wouldn't the Captain rather have them in her quarters?" Worf asks Tuvok. "The Captain just gave birth and she will still be unable to command the ship and until she is I am in charge here. Now take them to the brig Mr. Worf." Tuvok insisted. The Security team proceded to chase them around the bridge for a few minutes until they were rounded up. Now clinging to them they got back into the turbo-lift and left the bridge.

[fenriz275 0]

After a full 24 hours of sleep and rest Janeway was feeling better. Chakotay decided to bring her breakfast in her quarters. The babies were being tended in sick-bay by the Doctor and a never ending parade of volunteers. Neelix made her a pot of her favorite coffee along with Belgian Waffles, her favorite breakfast. Chakotay brought a tray to her quarters. The door beeped.

"Enter." Janeway said, knowing it could only be Chakotay.

"Good Morning Catherine. How are you feeling?"

She sat up in bed and said."I'll survive, I hope."

They both smiled at each other and he put the tray down on her bed then sat on the edge. He put his hand on hers and looked into her sleepy eyes.

"We have to name the babies, Catherine." He said.

"I'll need some coffee before I can even attempt such a daunting task." She said with a smile.

 

"I had a name in mind if it was a boy." She said "But now we need a girls name too." Chakotay thought for a moment then said to her.

"Catherine, would you have any objections to me naming her after my mother?" Janeway thought for a moment then said.

"I think that would be lovely. What was her name? I don't think you've ever mentioned her before, only your father."

Chakotay said. "Her name was Leedah. What do you think?" He asked.

"I love it." She answered then added.

"I had a name in mind for a boy, my Grandfather's, his name was Ahrohn." Chakokay smiled immediately and said. "I like it."

[Jeanway 0]

 

 

 

~*~ Quand se-ter-mine-t-elle? ~*~