~ The Lightening ~

[Jeanway 0]

Back in camp Janeway was preparing her specimen containers and packing them up in her knap-sack. Intruments for cutting, scaping and digging and some food and water was included. She headed out in the opposite direction into the forest, towards the clearing where she usually meets up with Sam and his little family.

 

A good half hours walk away from camp Janeway came upon the clearing where she found Sam waiting for her. She offered him a bit of food and they sat together there on the large rock as they always did. He chattering away and she pretending to understand everything he was telling her. "Well Sam my boy." She said to him as she climbed down off the rock. "I've got things to do and things to find, I've got to go now." Sam looked at her with the same sort of expression she had seen on Chakotay's face at breakfast. She laughed and walked into the forest. Sam just sat there and watched her leave.

Edited August 28, 2004 by Jeanway

[Jeanway 0]

Chakotay now had reached the base of the mountain. He stopped to have a last drink of water before he began his climb. As he bent over the stream he caught sight of vibrating ripples on the surface of the water. This part of the stream was well away from the cascade from the lagoon and was usually very still. He stood up and watched for a moment, then it stopped. Thinking this must have something to do with the other strange occurances that happened a few weeks back. He just dismissed it and continued up the side of the mountain.

 

It was close to mid-day, perhaps a little after when Chakotay reached the summit. He walked about the area to decide where he was to lay down his blanket, remove his clothing and begin his quest. He chose a spot near a tree which would provide him with some shade and a bit of protection if it should rain. He sat down cross-legged on his blanket and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on his bare skin, closed his eyes and tried to make his mind blank. He had begun.

[Jeanway 0]

Janeway now a good two kilometers from camp was busy collecting specimens. She stopped for a while and sat next to the same stream Chakotay had drank from earlier at least four kilometers away from her. When floating on the slow, gently moving current she noticed something odd on the surface of the water. A small patch of cloth from Chakotay's blanket he had taken with him. "How'd that get here?" She said outloud. She reached over the water and plucked it out and looked at it. It had appeared to be ripped, just a small corner. She deduced he must have caught it on something while he was near the stream and the wind blew it in there. She put it in her pocket. Again the water began to vibrate and ripple in front of her. She remembered this same feeling from the night before and started to feel uneasy. She took out her tri-corder and took some readings. The vibrations had ceased by now so nothing abnormal showed on it. She looked around and saw nothing unusual so she continued collecting, this time reversing her direction and heading back towards camp.

[Jeanway 0]

As Janeway walked through the forest an eerie feeling over took her. A feeling like she knew she was being watched, not followed but watched. She stopped frequently to dig up plants or cut out a piece of bark from a tree. And as she crouched down she would look around and up into the trees. She observed the plants moving eventhough there was no wind. This made her believe that she wasn't alone here. Yet, the green bushes from the ground also seemed to be growing up the trees and mingled in with the branches. She had a critical eye and could see the differences in the shades of green and the types of foliage. And she also observed small stones clinging to the trunks of trees. Since this planets gravity was comperable to that on Earth this indeed seemed strange. She spoke outloud. "Sam, Sam are you here?" Nothing. She thought maybe Sam was following her. She proceded on her way back to camp.

 

Not feeling at all fatigued even though she had been walking most of the day she decided to go for a swim in the lagoon. She returned to camp to eat then go to the Waterfall. There would still be a few hours of light so she walked to the lagoon. Being alone here now for the first time she didn't hurry to undress and get into the water, she took her time. Lazily she floated in the water near the bank. Looking up at the sky. She missed Chakotay and looked up to the top of the mountain frequently, knowing he was up there. As the sun began to go down behind the trees she decided it was time to return to camp. She dressed and looked up at the top of the mountain one more time. A cloud of smoke was eminating from the top, it was Chakotay's fire.

Edited August 28, 2004 by Jeanway

[Jeanway 0]

The second day of Chakotay's Vision Quest finds him stretched out on his blanket as the sun comes up. He being on the mountain top above the lagoon his view of the sun alligns directly with the tree tops, and reaching his closed eyes prys them open. The sound of a large bird circling over him draws his attention upward. He rolls onto his back and watches as it's massive out-stretched wings spiral over him. Is this his Spirit Guide? Or is this real? Had been visited in his previous Vision Quest by the Civit-cat and not his White She-Wolf, he wondered. He had never seen such a bird before here on this planet. It was too early in his quest for this to happen. It must be real. The bird flys away. Chakotay sits up and looks towards the sun.

Edited August 29, 2004 by Jeanway

[Jeanway 0]

Jeanway awakes feeling fatigued. The unusual heaviness in her limbs makes it difficult for her to get up off of her cot. She looks around her module and sees many of her things on the ground. Not remembering hearing anything during the night she wonders again how this happened. Her door was secured and showed no sign of being opened or tampered with. She hauls herself up with much difficulty and tries to do some stretching exercises thinking perhaps she did too much yesterday and was just cramping up with muscle knots. She made herself coffee and went outside to sit in the sun.

 

After eating some breakfast and drinking alot of water she begins to feel normal again. Looking around camp she notices the tops of hers and Chakotay's modules seem to be flattend down. Not holding their usual shape. And once again she feels a vibration under her feet. The ground was moving. There was no mistake about this. Taking readings from her tri-corder it tells her there is some tectonic activity going on. It stops and she watches as the modules shapes return to normal. She wishes Chakotay was here and not up on the top of the mountain. "Well, he'll be back tomorrow." She says to herself.

Edited August 29, 2004 by Jeanway

[Jeanway 0]

After completing her experiments and recording all the data for the day Janeway decides she'd like to go to the lagoon for a swim. It had been an unusually warm day. Just as she is leaving camp, who shows up but Sam and his family. "Hi Sam." Janeway said to him as he jumped into her arms. The girls tried to climb up her legs as Mama watched. "OH, let me see what I have here for you." As she tried to go into her module holding Sam and dragging one baby on each foot. Janeway laughed. She found some little bits of leftover lunch from her plate and divided it up amongst the four monkeys. Screaming and chasing each other around the girls ran right over their Mama who then chased them. Sam held tightly onto Janeway and watched. "You want to go for a swim with me?" She asked Sam. He looked into her eyes as if he understood but he didn't answer. Janeway put him on the ground and started walking, he followed her. The Mama and the girls followed.

 

Now at the lagoon Janeway undressed down to her underwear. For some reason she felt embarrassed in front of Sam. "Let's go." She said to him as she held out her hand to him. He took it and they walked into the water. She splashed him. He began to scream. As did the babies and the Mama who sat on the bank. Making such a fuss and racket that even Chakotay heard them and he lay up on the mountain peering down on them, smiling.

 

Suddenly a crack of thunder shook the ground followed by a series of lightening bolts. It had clouded up quickly as they swam and played in the water so Janeway hadn't noticed. A bolt of lightening hit the tree under which Chakotay had laid his blanket and fell right on top of it. Luckily he was a few meters away from it watching Janeway and the monkeys down below. He turned his head to see what had just happened behind him. And saw the tree laying right where he would have been. He could have died there, crushed. Chakotay took this as a sign and abandoned his attempt at Vision Quest and began walking back down the mountain.

Edited August 30, 2004 by Jeanway

[Jeanway 0]

Rushing out of the water and grabbing her clothes Janeway ran down the path back to camp. Not knowing Chakotay was on his way back too. The rain was falling in heavy sheets, she tried stopping once and again to put on her shirt and pants. She just carried her shoes. As she got back to camp the wind was blowing furiously and tearing at the modules. The table and chairs that were set out between them had been blown somewhere out of sight. She tried to secure one of the tethers to the stake in the ground that had blown lose from her module and once she did that she went inside and secured the door. The module shook and quivered in the heavy gusts of wind. Janeway was feeling uneasy again thinking Chakotay was up on the mountain unprotected. She paced and wrung her hands. These plasma storms were ferocious and usually they had some sort of warning but both being away from camp and their mobile sensors they had none this time. As the storm raged on Janeway grew more and more nervous. She actually had thoughts of leaving camp again and going up the mountain. He had told her he would leave signs along his route but she was sure the storm erased them all by now. There was nothing for her to do now but wait out the storm, alone in her module.

 

The wind seemed to be getting more violent and the rain heavier as well as the lightening strikes all around the camp. Luckily they hadn't hit the camp yet. This by far was the worst storm since they arrived here nearly threee months before. She grew more and more anxious. Not only about her own fate but that of Chakotay, out there alone and unprotected.

Edited August 30, 2004 by Jeanway

[Jeanway 0]

Janeway paced and paced. Occasionally she would open her door up just to see what was happening outside. Only to fight with the wind and rain to secure it again. She worried about Sam and his family who took off back into the forest once the lightening stuck in a barrage of thunder. What if she was struck and Chakotay came back to find her dead? What if Chakotay were up there injured or dead right now?? She worked herself up into such a state that she bagan to cry. Something the Captain of a StarShip never does. Until finally it dawned on her. All the missed opportunities she had to tell him her true feelings for him. All she could think about was his smile and his voice. And how he said her name, Catherine. And of all the battles they had been through together. But this time the battle was upon her. She was defenseless now. Her fate was unsure. There was nothing she could do but wait, wait it out. She dropped to her knees in the middle of her module and began to pray out loud. When suddenly over her own voice she heard " Catherine? Catherine? Where are you?" It was Chakotay, he had made it back through the storm. His only thought was of Catherine. She opened the door, he stood there half naked and soaked. His hair clung to his head, dripping. She pulled him into her module by the hand and they fell together in tight embrace and a very long kiss. That night they weathered the storm together.

[Jeanway 0]

The plasma storm raged through the night and they got no sleep. Until finally around dawn the sky cleared, the wind and rain stopped and they fell asleep. They slept for hours in the silence. The only sounds were those of the birds in the nearby trees. By the time they woke up the sun was straight over head. Chakotay woke first and got up and left Janeway's module. He went to his own and found two of the tethers had been ripped from the ground and entire inside of his module was flooded and everything was wet. He began bringing his clothes and books and other personal possesions outside to dry in the sunlight. He looked for the table and chairs and found them halfway up a tree about 10 meters from camp. He brought them back and began cleaning the mud off of them. As Janeway came out of her module she looked around and scratched her head. "What a mess." She said. " Tell me about it." He replied. They both laughed. Chakotay then said. "Guess I picked the wrong time for my Vision Quest." Janeway replied. "I'll say." And again they laughed. "Well, I'm starved, I'd better get us something to eat." She told him. " Yea, what a night." He said. And Janeway gave him such a look. He realized what he had just said then tried to explain. " Catherine, I meant the storm." He said pleadingly. "OH, I know what you meant, don't be silly. We're both adults here and we do have orders from the doctor, remember?" Again they laughed.

Edited August 30, 2004 by Jeanway

[Jeanway 0]

There had been no damage to the inside of Janeway's module. All the food stores were in tact so she made them something to eat. Some berries and she boiled some roots and some greens. She made coffee, lots of coffee.

 

Chakotay had the table and chairs all set up again and clean and dry from the sunshine. She brought the food out and they sat down. The meal was a pleasant experience for both of them. A drastic contrast from the past 12 hours. They ate and made small talk. Janeway felt a strange uneasiness that she couldn't identify in her own mind. But one thing she was sure of, she wasn't going to let things progress any further than they already had. While in Chakotay's mind he was dreaming of a future with Catherine. He couldn't understand her sudden coldness towards him during the meal. He just dismissed it as fatigue on her part.

Edited August 30, 2004 by Jeanway

[Jeanway 0]

Chakotay dismissed the idea of another attempt at Vision Quest. Instead he busied himself a new project. Neither of them knowing exactly how long they were going to be stranded here on New Earth, they decided the building of a more substantial dwelling would be the best way to occupy their time. Also not knowing what the colder seasons were like they wanted to make all necessary preparations for the worst. Another suggestion Janeway had for him which would also keep him busy was detour of the stream to a location closer to camp. "Well, since we are building anyway Catherine, did you condsider we move the camp closer to the stream?" Chakotay asked her when she brought it up. "Well, actually, no I hadn't" She answered. "But now that you mention it, that might be a good idea." She replied.

 

With all these new, weather related plans in the offing, they both had to work very hard physically and by nightfall for the next two months they were both so exhausted the thoughts of their romantic entaglement were set aside.

[Jeanway 0]

The following days consisted of Janeway's scouting the surrounding areas for a new camp site. Chakotay felled trees, skinned off the bark and shaped then into planks with his phaser. Janeway would interrupt him on occasion to accompany her to new possible sites. He told her whichever site she chose would be alright with him. The closer to the stream yet still in some sort of a naturally occuring clearing. That would mean less clearing the area and less hard physical work for them both. Finally the new site was chosen and the building began. Something Chakotay had wished for now for quite a while, a new home for Catherine and himself.

[Jeanway 0]

Chakotay often thought of the night of the last plasma storm and how they spent it together in her module. He never spoke of it again, and neither did she. The hard physical labour they were both engaged in now took all their energy. Janeway was beginning to feel the effects, or so she thought. As the weeks went by, the new camp was nearly finished. They spent most of their time on the new dwelling. It was a log cabin, of course. Three rooms. A great room in the center where the kitchen was located. And on either end a were their bedrooms. Chakotay honored her decision to have separate bedrooms.

 

In the great room Chakotay built a fireplace with stones he collected over the past month. He fashioned the doors and windows from the wood as well as the wooden hinges and pegs he whittled in the evenings with Janeway's help. He made shelves for the kitchen. Janeway marvelled at his skills. The table and chairs were in front of the fireplace. And once a fire was blazing and the meals were on the table it was quite comfortable. All together it took them another two months to get everything moved from the old site and to settle into their new home together.

Edited August 30, 2004 by Jeanway

[Jeanway 0]

During this transition Janeway began to feel, not quite herself on many mornings. She would go off into the forest by herself and return after a few hours, not looking well. Chakotay would always ask her if she was alright and she would always pass it off casually to him as her eating something that didn't agree with her.

 

Being settled now with little to occupy themselves outside the cabin they began to spend more time together. The weather was changing. The days were becoming shorter and the nights and mornings were briskly cold. The mid-days were usually warm and that's when they made their way to the lagoon for baths. Since they were so much closer now to the stream and Chakotay had dug a trench leading almost to the cabin's front door. The usual trip for water stores were no longer necessary. Chakotay would go out on short hunting trips for small animals, eggs and birds. Janeway would still collect her specimens and forage for roots and greens in the forest. She still conducted her experiments and continued taking their daily blood samples to track the progress of the virus.

[Jeanway 0]

"How are our levels doing Catherine? You haven't mentioned them in weeks, is something wrong?" Chakotay asked her one evening as they ate in front of the fire. "Well, no, they aren't good. They seem to be on the rise again." She told him. He put his cup of tea down and sat up straight and looked at her across the table. "And how long has this been going on?" He asked her. " For a couple of weeks now." She answered. "Do you think this is why you haven't been feeling well this past month?" He asked her. She fell silent. He looked at her waiting for her answer. She cleared her throat, hesitated then answered. "Yes, that must be the reason." Then she quickly got up and retired to her room without another word. Chakotay sat there and watched her close her bedroom door behind her. Then he got up, cleared the table from the meal and retired to his room.

[Jeanway 0]

The next morning Janeway was up and out of the cabin before Chakotay was awake. She opened the door to find it had snowed during the night and the forest was blanketed in a coating of white. It was beautiful. She could see small footprints around the cabin in the snow and knew that Sam and his little brood had located the new camp, she was glad. She hadn't seen them in months now and she was hoping they would eventually show up. She made her usual trek off into the forest to clear her head and well, be sick in seclusion. This was becoming a regular part of her day now. She still hid her suspicions from Chakotay but it wouldn't be long before what was wrong would be obvious to him.

[Jeanway 0]

The weeks passed. Food was becoming more and more difficult to find for Janeway. Chakotay continued to hunt with his bow and arrow, and sometimes he would resort to a phaser kill. That was mostly for birds though. Out one day, snow was falling softly, he walked through the forest alone hunting. Janeway felt the need to nap now in the afternoons. Even with the scarcity of food Janeway's appetite was decreasing and yet she was gaining weight. She was trying to keep her secret for as long as possible from Chakotay. She has become adept at the art of camoflage. Wearing extra layers of clothing. Always carrying something in front of herself when he was around. And sleeping. Going to bed long before him and rising and leaving the cabin before he awoke, and napping in the afternoons. This routine was wearing her down and affecting her mood, so when they were together they either argued or gave each other the silent treatment. This behaviour of hers was affecting him as well. He couldn't understand how things had gone so wrong without him even noticing.

[Jeanway 0]

One day as they were eating their mid-day meal together in front of the fire, the tri-corder chirped. "Captain?" Tuvok's voice came over it. Janeway jumped up from the table, forgetting her camoflage, holding a blanket up around herself, and Chakotay got his first glimps of her enlarged abdomin. He choked on his food. Then her watched her run for the tri-corder which she left in her bedroom. "Yes, Tuvok, I'm here." She said as she held it up to her mouth. " Captain,. How are you and the Commander doing there?" She looked over at Chakotay who sat there with a stunned look on his face. "We're doing just fine, Tuvok. When do you think your repairs will be completed? We'd really like to get back to Voyager sometime in this century you know. We've been here now for eight months." She said. "I'm well aware of how long you've been down there Captain but we've run into trouble a few times since we last spoke. I don't want to go into details right now but I do believe we are seeing an end to our difficulties and barring any new problems we should be able to get you two off of that planet and back on Voyager sometime in the next four weeks." Janeway looked over at Chakotay. "Four weeks." She said to him wit a big smile as she held up her hand, her thumb folded in her palm. After eight months here another month sounded wonderful. She wanted off so badly while Chakotay was hoping it would take longer.

[Jeanway 0]

"Tuvok, I need to speak with the doctor." She said. As she walked into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

 

Janeway stayed in her bedroom for a few minutes. Chakotay now understanding what was going on anxiously waited for her to be finished and come back out. Janeway knew he saw her without something in front of her and he saw. She spoke with the doctor about her condition and he assured her that even if she wasn't back on board by delivery, the doctor and Chakotay would get her through it."But I haven't told him yet." She said "WHAT?" The doctor said. "How could he not know, aren't you two together there all the time?" Jeanway hesitated then said. " It's sort of complicated, I don't want to go into it right now." She told him. "Well." He said disapproveingly. "Your the Captain." The transmission ended. Jeanway paced in her room. Until finally, she mustered up her courage to face this situation straight on, she opened the door.

[Jeanway 0]

Chakotay stood up and walked over to her. "Why have you been hiding this from me Catherine?" She looked up into his eyes. "I love you Chakotay but I'm not IN love with you. What happened between us will never happen again." She told him quietly. " I needed time to figure this out. A way to tell you as not to hurt you. I think of you more like a brother than a lover." Chakotay stood there in shock. All his hope for their future all came crashing down on him. He knew it was useless to debate this with her. He put on his jacket and walked out the door. "Where are you going?" She asked him. "For a walk." He answered. "I need to be alone for a while."

[Jeanway 0]

It was snowing. The flakes hung in the air. Chakotay stood in a clearing near the steam, his heart was aching. At the very moment he found out he was going to be a father, the woman of his dreams said good-bye.

[fenriz275 0]

~~~back on Voyager~~~

 

 

...Voyager is racing for the dark matter nebula at best possible speed. Still suffering from damage suffered at it's last encounter with the Vidiians the ship is limited to a top speed of warp 7.5. Lt Torres has managed to coax the engines into giving a little more with her usual 'gentle' touch. The Vidiians are closing and will be in weapon's range several million kilometers before Voyager and her crew can reach the safety of the nebula...

 

"Ensign Kim?" Tuvok asked. "How long until the Vidiians are in weapons range?" Harry Kim checked the readings on his screen. He hoped that by some act of good fortune Voyagers pursuers had given up the chase, he wasn't surprised to see they hadn't.

"Approximately 2 hours 43 minutes." He answered.

"Bridge to Engineering." Tuvok commed.

"Engineering here. I don't suppose I could talk you into slowing down?" Belanna spoke over the com.

"I'm afraid I cannot. In fact I need you to increase our speed if that is at all possible Lt." Tuvok replied.

 

Everyone on the bridge could hear the whine of the warp reactor as Lt Torres and her team did their best to keep it online while at the same time pushing it well beyond it's limits, especially while it was desperately in need of major repairs. "That's not recommended Commander. If we push the engines any harder we could lose warp capability completely."

Tuvok paused for just a second before he replied. "We have no other choice Lt. We must get to that nebula ahead of the Vidiians."

"Understood. Torres out."

"Lt Paris. Increase our speed to warp 8.1" As a Vulcan Tuvok found little interest in games of chance but right now he had no choice but to make a gamble. He hoped the crew of Voyager didn't have pay as a result.

[fenriz275 0]

Several of the plasma injectors on Voyager's warp core had been damaged in their 'rendezvous' with the Vidiian ship some days earlier. Under normal circumstances they could have been replaced while the ship was underway at the cost of a reduced warp speed. That was now a luxury that Voyager didn't have. To stay ahead of her enemies the crew had been pushing the remaining injectors beyond their limits. It was only a matter of time before they stopped functioning at all. Four million kilometers from the outer edge of the nebula the Voyager lost warp capability.

 

"Torres to the Bridge. That's it. We have one injector that's barely hanging on. If we don't drop out of warp we could lose containment. If it goes we won't have any warning."

"Very well. Lt Paris bring the ship out of warp and maintain course for the nebula. Divert all available power to the weapons and shields." Tuvok commanded. Voyager dropped back into normal space with a flash. Seconds later the three Vidiian ships entered normal space.

 

The first volley of torpedoes from the Vidiians were hastily fired and they narrowly missed Voyager. The crew of Voyager wasn't as impatient. "Ensign Kim. Target the lead Vidiian vessel's engines. Lock phasers and ready a full spread of torpedoes." Tuvok ordered.

"Target locked."

Tuvok touched the controls on the command chair. The Vidiian ship that was now locked appeared on the main view screen. It was the same one that had offered Voyager a cure for the virus and it had now put itself directly between Voyager and the nebula.

"Fire."

 

The phasers lanced out from Voyager and struck the other ships shields a nanosecond later the photon torpedoes slammed into the same spot. The last one in the spread punched through the hole now in the Vidiian ship's shields and exploded. The vessel rocked and a large hole was now blown in it's hull.

"They're moving away. They've suffered heavy damage." Ensign Kim reported.

"Maintain course." Tuvok ordered.

The two remaining Vidiian ship's chased after Voyager, hammering away at her shields as she made her way towards the nebula.

[fenriz275 0]

~~~The Nebula~~~

 

[fenriz275 0]

Torpedos impacted on Voyager's shields. Systems on the ship began to fail. ODN conduits overloaded and exploded while the crew fought fires all over the ship

Smoke filled the bridge. Tuvok resisted the urge to cough, he looked at the readouts on the command chair but all they displayed were static.

"Report"

"Our shields are down to 20 percent. We have hull breaches on decks 4, 6, and 9. We're also venting plasma." Harry Kim reported just as weapons fire from the Vidiian ships rocked Voyager again. The station behind Harry Kim exploded and knocked him to the deck. A crewmen knelt over him.

"Take him to sickbay." Tuvok ordered. The crewman helped Harry Kim to the turbolift.

"That last shot knocked out our shields. They're coming around for another pass." Tom Paris said.

"Prepare to repel boarders." Tuvok ordered.

 

As the Vidiian ships closed in on Voyager for the kill a massive black triangular ship, four times the size of Voyager, decloaked in between them and their target. Their weapons shot out at the newcomer but were absorbed by it's powerful shields. They started to move away from this new ship and back towards Voyager when a swarm of tiny ships, smaller than shuttlepods emerged from several bays that opened on a second triangular ship that was tucked into formation with the larger one. They buzzed around the Vidiian ships as their weapons stung at the larger vessels. Within moments both of them were dead in space. On board Voyager the bridge was silent as they watched this unfold. Tom Paris recovered first. "I don't recognize that design but I'm reading a Federation signature from that ship."

"Hail them." Tuvok said.

On the viewscreen a woman appeared. "Hello Commander. I am Admiral Jeanway of the USS Elusive, Starfleet Security. Do you require further assistance?"

Edited September 1, 2004 by fenriz275

[fenriz275 0]

Tuvok said to Admiral Jeanway "Where did you come from? You didn't show up on our sensors?" Admiral Jeanway answered.

"We came from the future. We saw your little problem here and wanted to help, actually we are on patrol right now, between missions." she answered. "We patrol the timelines."

At that Jeanway was met with a raised eyebrow that only a Vulcan could pull off.

"If you patrol the timelines I don't suppose you could give us a few hints?" Tom Paris asked. "Just to make the trip home a little easier?"

Captain Fenriz of the HT 01 stood next to the Admiral on the viewscreen. He asked Tuvok how he liked the "Evaiders" little dance on the Vidiians.

"They were most effective. Lt Paris does have a point. Is there any way you could assist us without altering the timeline?" Tuvok asked.

"In the Prime Directive we are not allowed to interfere with such things. Since you would have escaped the Vidiians assault anyway but with great difficulty and loss of crew I had to make a judgement call. As for helping you get back to the Alpha Quadrant, we just don't have THAT particular capability. Sorry, I wish we did." Admiral Jeanway answered. A silence hung in the air for a few moments.

"I see. Then we will have to continue with our present course of action. Lt Paris take us into the nebula."

[fenriz275 0]

As Voyager entered the nebula the Elusive shimmered out of existence. Once inside the nebula Voyager's sensors were severely limited. While Belanna and her team went to work repairing the warp core Voyager spent the time exploring the nebula as best as they could.

"Commander?" Harry Kim said. Harry had been monitoring all subspace channels for any kind of communications. "I'm picking up some kind of a signal. It's very faint."

"Can you enhance the signal." Tuvok replied.

"I'll try." Harry spent several minutes working at his station. "There."

The signal was a beacon of some kind, intended for ships in the nebula follow to whatever was at it's source. Tuvok decided to investigate. Whoever was sending the signal might be able to assist in repairs.

 

Voyager followed the signal. They emerged from a dense part of the nebula into a large pocket of empty space deep inside. At the center of the pocket was a large space station of some kind. Docked at the station and holding position around it were dozens of ships from different species. Most of them were unknown to Voyager. Tuvok called Neelix to the bridge. Neelix was able to identify some of them. Malon, Qomar, Ledosian, Entharan, the others were unknown to even him. "From what our scans can tell the station appears to be a patched together from all kinds of different materials. There's no uniformity to it's design." Harry Kim reported.

"It's most likely a smugglers base or something else 'unofficial.' " Tom added.

"Nonetheless, they may be able to assist us." Tuvok said. "Hail them."

 

The face that appeared on the viewscreen was an unfamiliar species. She identified herself as Alus. "I am the administrator of this station. What do you want?" She asked abruptly. The alien had pale skin and large silver eyes that held your attention. Her voice was soft but had a hard edge to it, and a hint of impatience.

"Greetings. I am Commander Tuvok of the Federation Starship Voyager." Tuvok began.

"Good for you. Now what do you want Toovik?"

"It's Tuvok, Ma'am. We are in need of repairs and supplies."

"There will be someone on the station that can help you. We run a free enterprise zone here. I take a fee for providing this station as a base for various merchants to do business from. I'll need to see a complete account of all the transactions you want to make before you go to access your fee. One other thing, no weapons. If anyone from your ship beams over with a weapon, they'll be thrown out of the nearest airlock."

"Understood." Tuvok agreed.

[fenriz275 0]

Having made a complete inventory of what Voyager needed Neelix and Tom Paris beamed over to the station. On a PADD he carried Neelix had organized the list by must have, could use, and would be nice. Tom came with him to make sure Neelix's enthusiasm for a good deal didn't end up with him returning with a cargo hold's worth of Kazon whiskey. Tom was also eager to stretch his legs.

 

"I think we should try to find someone who's willing to part with some plasma injectors first." Neelix said as he glanced at his PADD. They had beamed into a small transporter room. There was a bored looking attendant in the room who nodded in their direction as a way of greeting.

"Could you tell me where I might find someone who sells starship parts?" Neelix asked him. Another nod was all they received as a reply. Exiting the room they stood in a long wide corridor that was teeming with people. Merchants in booths of various kinds lined both sides of the corridor. Occasionally there was a break in between them that led to another corridor or to the doorway of a bar or shop. Tom whistled while Neelix smiled. On Voyager he may be just a morale officer but here he felt like he was finally in his element.

 

"How in the world are we going to find our way in this mess?" Tom said. The pair of them were trying to make their way down the corridor while being jostled by the throng. A cacophony of voices filled the air. Neelix spotted what appeared to be an information kiosk and they pushed their way through to it. Neelix touched a panel and the kiosk's screen lit up.

"Yes. I'd like a map of this station please." He asked.

In response the panel chirped and displayed a map on the screen. Neelix downloaded it to his PADD. Armed with directions they went off in search of the plasma injectors.

Edited September 1, 2004 by fenriz275

[Jeanway 0]

Back on "New Earth" Chakotay is now aware of Janeway's condition. He feels foolish that he had let her hide it from him for so long. He feels that he may still be able to win her over and in time she will fall in love with him. He spends more time in the cabin with her. Waits on her hand and foot. Caters to her every need. Especially on those long, cold winter nights when her back hurts, he insists on giving her a backrub.

 

On this one particular evening, he is doing just that. He talks to her about when he was a child and how he used to rub his mothers feet when she was carrying his younger brother and sister. Janeway felt closer to him when he spoke of family. She missed hers so much.

 

"Catherine?" He asks her. "Yes, what is it?" She says sleepily. "You do want me to be in the child's life don't you?"

Edited September 3, 2004 by Jeanway