Echoes of A Tragedy

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Disclaimer: They belong to Paramount, but I don’t think they want them anymore. So it’s up to us, the loyal and the faithful, to keep the legend alive.

The events in this story strongly resemble what happened on September 11th in New York City.

Thanks go to Iris for hosting my stories and to Heather Briles for her suggestions.

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The mess hall was dark and quiet, but at 0200 hours Kathryn Janeway didn’t expect to find anything else. Totally exhausted, but unable to sleep she found herself walking the decks of her ship familiarizing herself once again with every nook and cranny. The night shift crew was accustomed to her wandering the halls at all hours, and they warmly greeted her as she passed. But as usual she ended her journey in the mess hall where she would sit with coffee cup in hand and watch the stars pass by.

She had left Chakotay sleeping in her bed. They’d been a couple for about four months although they never announced it to the crew. Chakotay hadn’t permanently moved into her quarters yet and still kept most of his clothes and personal items in his own quarters, although they both realized it was only a matter of time. They didn’t have to announce it; everyone knew and all were happy for both of them. Often Kathryn would just wake Chakotay and talk her problems out with him, but today he’d worked a double shift and was exhausted himself. Besides, she did some of her best thinking and worrying as she walked, so this had become her habit.

Tonight’s foray was inspired by the latest supply reports from both Neelix in the mess hall and B’Elanna Torres, Chief Engineer. Once again Voyager was running dangerously low on food, metals and minerals, all of which were needed to keep the crew healthy and the ship functioning. Sighing deeply, Kathryn wondered if once, just once, finding what they needed could be easy. She was so tired of always having to fight or bargain for the supplies they needed and this constant worry was wearing her down emotionally. The negotiations she had to endure the last time they obtained food still left her feeling beaten and battered, and invariably when negotiations were going to be difficult, they always insisted on her being the one to conduct them. The weight always rested on her shoulders, and her shoulders were so very tired.

Realizing that her coffee cup was empty, she rose and asked the replicator for another cup, which it quickly produced. “Why me? Why am I always the one who has to worry about getting supplies when there are no Federation starbases anywhere around?” she asked the air around her as she picked up her cup and walked back to her chair in front of the viewport. “I’m so tired,” she murmured. “Of all the captains in Starfleet, why me?”

“Because you’re the best,” was warmly spoken by a very masculine voice standing in the shadows by the doorway. Chakotay stepped forward into the dim light cast by the passing stars and moved to sit in the chair beside Kathryn. “There isn’t anyone I’d rather be stuck 70,000 light years from home with than you,” he smiled.

Thinking she was alone in the messhall, Kathryn jumped when she heard the voice answer her question and some of her coffee splashed onto her hand. “Ouch!” she exclaimed as she sat her cup on the table beside her and sat back down in her chair. “I didn’t hear you come in. You startled me.”

“Sorry. When I reached out in my sleep your side of the bed was empty, so I came looking for you. You were so engrossed in your thoughts you must not have heard the doors,” Chakotay smiled as he reached for her burnt hand. Gently rubbing his thumb over the reddening area he wiped away the coffee and examined her hand. “This will be OK, just a little tender. I see you’re having another sleepless night. Care to share your concerns?”

“Oh, nothing but the usual. We’re low on food, we’re out of galacite, we’re almost out of beryllium and if we don’t replenish our supplies soon, we might be dead in space. B’Elanna is screaming for metals and Neelix needs fresh food to feed the crew. Where do I find it Chakotay? How do I keep going when I’m so tired of constantly having to worry about these things? If I have to sit through another negotiation like the last one, I’ll probably crack up. I’m so tired. When does it end?” she cried as two solitary tears slipped gently down her cheek.

“Let me help,” he smiled at her as he pulled her up from her chair and led her to a bench set against the viewport. After seating himself Chakotay gently guided Kathryn onto the seat beside him and pulled her back to lean against his shoulder. After wiping the tears away with his thumb, he put his arms around her and hugged her gently trying to encourage her to relax. After only a minute Kathryn turned her head into his shoulder and cried softly, releasing the fear and frustration that had been building since she read the reports.

It felt good to be held, and there was nobody in the world she’d rather be held by than Chakotay. She was so glad he was now part of her life, but they were taking things very slow just to insure that nothing would ever damage their friendship or working relationship.

Chakotay sat holding her and slowly rocked his body back and forth trying to soothe his captain, lover and best friend. Finally the quiet sobs diminished and he felt her finally relax. In just a few more minutes the sound of her soft even breathing told him that she had fallen asleep in his arms. Smiling as his lips brushed softly over her auburn hair in a quick kiss, he adjusted his position so he could be comfortable as he sat holding her. Enjoying every minute of having her in his arms, he prepared to wait for her to wake up, or for the first sounds of the ship waking to start a new day. He knew she would be all right in the morning. They’d been down this road before and he alone knew how heavy her burden really was and how she had to fight to keep depression at bay when it seemed that her best efforts just weren’t enough. He was very grateful that she was finally letting him ease her pain.

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The Doctor hummed softly as he moved around sickbay tending to his experiments and occasionally checking on Ensign Parsons who was recovering from a nasty bout of the flu. He planned to release the ensign when he woke in the morning because the monitors on the biobed assured him that Parsons already made a full and complete recovery. The Doctor’s only concern was if anyone else was going to come down with the flu, so he was whiling away the time formulating a medication to cure the disease if it reared its ugly head again.

The swishing of the doors alerted him that more company had arrived, so he hurried to find out who his latest visitor was and why they were coming to sickbay at 0100.

“Seven,” he exclaimed as the former Borg approached him. “Are you feeling OK? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I am just coming off duty as I had a later shift today. My ocular implant seems to need adjusting so I dropped by here on my way to regenerate.”

“Doctor, I require your assistance,” Seven announced in her oh-so-demanding way as the Doctor quickly made the necessary adjustment to her implant. “I have been asked to participate in Talent Night and am not sure how I can contribute to this endeavor. Mr. Neelix assures me that I could sing a song for everyone, but I am unsure what type of music everyone would like and in what manner I can perform. Please give me your thoughts on this matter.”

The Doctor thought about this for a minute as he put his tools away and then replied. “Seven, no matter what type of music you choose, you won’t please everyone. Some people like one type of music while others like a different type. Why don’t you and I sing a duet? I’ve composed a nice little aria that would do well with two voices. We could give a premier performance on Talent Night.”

“Acceptable,” Seven stated in her matter-of-fact way. “I believe it would be prudent for us to rehearse this piece as soon as possible since Talent Night is only two weeks away. How about tonight at 1800 hours in holodeck 2?”

“I’ll meet you there,” the Doctor smiled as Seven turned and left sickbay as abruptly as she entered.

The Doctor continued to hum as he returned to his experiments. He was eagerly anticipating spending time with Seven tonight and having her sing his newest composition.

In addition, it was time for the crew’s semi-annual checkups and he knew he would have to carefully plan his strategy to get the Captain to sickbay for her checkup. Many of the crew were reluctant to come for their checkups, but she was the worst of all. She avoided her checkups like people used to avoid the plague back when there were plagues on Earth, and it took careful planning on his part, often with Chakotay, Tuvok, and Tom Paris’ help, to get her there. What would it be this time? Hmmmm……….the possibilities were intriguing.

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Less than two weeks later Voyager was in orbit of the planet Reha, a bustling L-class planet heavily populated by cautious but friendly people. Contact had been made and Voyager was welcomed by the people inhabiting the northern continent of the planet.

Seven discovered the planet on long-range sensors and it had taken them over a week to get there. Voyager’s warp drive was badly in need of repair and B’Elanna couldn’t fix it without galacite. Fortunately Reha had abundant supplies of this and almost all of the other metals and minerals she needed. They were a warp-capable society that had all but abandoned their quest to search the stars. When Seven imparted this information to Janeway, she wondered why.

Captain Janeway prepared to beam down to the planet to meet with their equivalent of a trade commissioner, and she wondered how pompous this person would be. After the last planet they traded with that involved four very long days of nodding and sickening formality before the people would even consider looking at her list of needed items, she wasn’t really looking forward to the encounter. Accompanied by Commander Chakotay, Lt. B’Elanna Torres, one security guard and Neelix, they beamed to the planet.

They materialized in an isolated part of a municipal park located near the center of a very large city. Looking around at their surroundings, the away team saw that the city was clean and very nicely built. Buildings of varying sizes and heights surrounded the peaceful park and fluffy light blue clouds populated the soft pink sky. The primary sun of this solar system was larger and hotter than Earth’s sun, but the composition of the atmosphere filtered out most of the heat and radiation so the climate was very comfortable. The air was slightly richer in oxygen, carbon dioxide and helium than they were used to, but the Doctor determined it was safe for them to breathe.

It only took a couple of minutes before the away team was approached by a group of three official looking individuals. The tallest of the individuals introduced himself as Haar Tra, Trade Commissioner for the Northern Alliance of the planet Reha. He quickly introduced Bel Gros and Ala Dora as his assistants. These people were very unique in that they had three legs, walked upright, had two arms and silky white hair. Their skin was varying shades of light blue, but all of their hair was pure white. The third leg acted more as a support, being located behind the other two legs, and Kathryn noticed them leaning back onto this third leg when they were standing still.

“Please accompany us to the meeting hall,” Haar Tra said after introductions were completed. “We’re anxious to hear the story of the lost ship Voyager and learn more about your home. We’re a very curious people.”

“We’d be delighted to tell you about Voyager and about Earth,” Kathryn replied while she inwardly cringed thinking this was going to be another long negotiation. But she and her team followed their hosts to one of the larger buildings surrounding the park.

Haar Tra described the various styles of architecture displayed by each building they passed, and he also told them about some of the lovely trees that lined the walkways. It seems the trees, which were somewhat similar to palm trees on Earth except they had blue leaves and yellow trunks, were brought from the Southern Alliance before the war that separated the people of the planet.

“It was a sad time in our history,” Haar Tra explained, “when our people fought against each other. Sometimes it was brother against brother, father against son, but both sides believed they were right. The war has been over for almost fifty years, but we still have some factions that want to continue the fight. These terrorist groups use cowardly means to make their points, invariably killing innocent people with their acts. We’ve tried hunting them down and eliminating their facilities, but like bad weeds they spring up again in some other place. They actually have facilities to train people to commit these crimes. If it weren’t for these terrorist groups, peace would reign on this planet.

“What are these groups unhappy about?” Kathryn Janeway asked.

“They want things to go back to the old way and suppress the Zinta people or eliminate them altogether. The Zintas were the original inhabitants of the southern hemisphere and the Rehans of the northern hemisphere. Gradually over the centuries the Rehans took over the Zinta land, mostly by force. The Zinta people are deeply religious and worship the sky, the land and all that grows there. The Rehans progressed at a much faster rate than the Zintas and wanted the Zinta lands for expansion, so we forced the Zintas to live in small groups scattered throughout both hemispheres where they worked as servants or in menial jobs, never getting ahead in life. Eventually the people of the northern hemisphere concluded that if the Zintas were educated they could learn to do anything they wanted, so we more or less ‘set them free’ and gave them a piece of land which stretches between the continents that is theirs to own and govern. It was the right thing to do.”

“We offered them training and help so they could own and run businesses or work for us, whichever they chose. We’ve also integrated the Zintas into our society and now you can hardly tell the difference between us, although they still hold steadfast to their religious beliefs. In addition to their own country, several of them hold positions of power in our government and that’s what mostly has the terrorists upset. The southern hemisphere wanted to keep the Zintas the way they were, without a country of their own and without any status, and were willing to fight to prevent us from helping them gain equality. Eventually the northern hemisphere won the battle, but there are still those fighting to return them to their bondage.”

“But that’s almost like slavery,” Kathryn exclaimed. “My world once had slavery but we long ago progressed beyond that point.”

“Yes, but there will unfortunately always be some that want to use others for their own ends. I only wish we could get through to them,” Haar Tra finished. “The terrorist attacks have been infrequent in recent years so we’ve relaxed our defenses somewhat. But come, the rest of my committee awaits our arrival. Let’s see if we can get you what you need.”

Within four hours the negotiations were concluded, much to Kathryn Janeway’s satisfaction. “That was easier than I thought it would be,” she whispered to Chakotay as they prepared to leave the conference room. “We got almost everything we needed and their price was fair and reasonable.”

“I’m glad this was easier than the last time,” he replied as he grabbed two drinks from the tray being passed around and handed one to Kathryn. “Maybe now you’ll be able to sleep tonight.”

“Ahhh, Captain – Commander,” Haar Tra cried as he approached the pair. “Would you care for a tour of our city? We have some unusual architecture that we’re especially proud of, as well as state-of-the-art medical facilities, art galleries and progressive schools. If you’d like, you can bring your crew down for some rest and relaxation before continuing on your way. We’d be very happy to have your crew visit us.”

“Thank you Haar,” Kathryn responded. “I’d love to visit your city and see your accomplishments. Perhaps the Commander and I could do this tomorrow morning. As far as my crew taking shore leave, I’ll have to check with my chief engineer to see how long repairs will take. I’ll get back to you on that, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, just let me know. How about if I meet you in the park tomorrow morning and I’ll personally give you the grand tour?” Haar smiled.

“Agreed.”

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Talent night had been scheduled for the following evening, but due to the fact that her crew would be starting shore leave the day after tomorrow and after checking with Neelix that all was ready, Kathryn rescheduled talent night for that very night.

Neelix and his crew worked hard to get the holodeck set up and the food prepared for the social gathering afterward. Some of their newly acquired food samples were integrated into the menu for the evening, and Neelix was very anxious to see if the crew would appreciate his culinary efforts.

Chakotay arrived at Kathryn’s quarters at precisely 1900 hours to escort her to the event. When he lifted his hand to ring her chime, he noticed a small folded note taped right above the button and his name was printed on the paper. Pulling the paper from the wall he opened it and read its message. It was in Kathryn’s neat handwriting and stated: ‘Chakotay, I forgot something I had to talk to Neelix about so I’ll meet you on the holodeck. Save me a seat and I’ll join you as soon as possible. Kathryn’

He was disappointed that she went without him, but he stuffed the note into his pocket and proceeded to the holodeck. When he entered he saw no sign of Kathryn, but Tom Paris was there and with a suspiciously knowing smile guided him to a seat in the front row. Tuvok was already seated with only one empty chair between them. This obviously was for Kathryn.

The stage was set and the seats were full when the lights started to dim indicating that the show was about to start. Chakotay was starting to wonder where Kathryn was. Just as he was about to rise to go backstage to look for her, some introductory music started and the stage curtains parted revealing Kathryn Janeway dressed in flamboyant clothing with her hair pulled back from her face held up in hair combs that matched her outfit. Neelix quickly stepped from behind the curtain to introduce her, only saying that she would be performing a very old, but lively dance for the audience.

Chakotay stared in awe because she looked so lovely in the brightly colored tiered dress. As the music picked up she smiled down at him and started to dance to the beat. It was a flamenco dance filled with intricate and rapid steps. She glided lightly across the whole stage tapping her feet to the beat of the rapid music, twirling the fans she held in her hands and capturing the attention of the audience with the energy in her body’s motions and the swirling of the colors of her skirt and fans. At times the colors were merely a blur as she tapped and glided to the music. Chakotay and the rest of the crew were so caught up in the beat of the music that they all found themselves clapping along. When the song finally ended with a rapid series of taps and she stood posed with her back arched and one hand holding a fan high above her head and the other folded across her chest, the audience went wild.

Kathryn finally stood up straight, bowed to the audience and gave Chakotay a sly smile. With a final wave she walked off the stage and the audience finally settled to wait for Neelix to announce the next act.

Ten minutes later, dressed in black slacks and a soft white turtleneck sweater, Kathryn silently slid into her seat as Harry Kim was playing a lively song on his clarinet. Buoyed up by Kathryn’s dance, the audience was really getting into the mood of the evening and everyone was enjoying the music immensely. Chakotay smiled at Kathryn and leaned over to whisper into her ear, “That was wonderful, and you look lovely tonight, but why didn’t you tell me?”

Kathryn blushed as she leaned toward him and whispered, “Thank you and I wanted it to be a surprise.”

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

The Doctor hummed as he prepared his sickbay for the first patient of the day. Semi-annual exams started today and his first patient was due in fifteen minutes. His plan was to start on the lower decks and work up from there, thus allowing himself more time to formulate his plans to get his most difficult patients in for their exams. Of course the worst was the Captain, but there were others as well and he knew who they were.

The swishing of the sickbay doors drew his attention, and he was pleasantly surprised to see Seven walk through the doors. He included her in the first group since her cargo bay was located on one of the lowest decks and he knew she would not give him a hard time about her exam.

“Seven, how are you this morning?” he smiled as he indicated the nearest biobed for her to sit upon. “I thought our duet went extremely well last night and the audience seemed to really like it.”

Seven perched herself on the indicated bed and nodded to the Doctor. “Yes, it went rather well, although I did wonder where you got those costumes. Your aria was well written and I especially liked the second movement. Maybe we can do this again sometime.”

“Of course,” he beamed as he started to scan her. “And the costumes represented the period of history the aria was written for. I don’t know why you’re complaining because you had that beautiful gown to wear while I had to dress as a court jester in tights and a hat that jingled. It was rather embarrassing when the audience laughed at me, but once we started singing they forgot all about the costume and concentrated on the music. I’m so glad.”

“Yes Doctor, but that gown weighed precisely 36.76 pounds. It was all I could do to stand upright and support the weight of the dress for the length of the aria. And that tall pointed hat with the veils kept sliding over my eyes. It was most annoying. Perhaps the next time you could write for a different period of time when the clothing would be easier to wear and we would not require headpieces. My shoulders hurt today and my neck is stiff from trying to balance that hat. I will not wear that costume again,” she firmly stated.

“Very well,” the Doctor sighed as he prepared a hypo, “I’ll give you something to relax your muscles. You’re in good health and your exam is completed. You may go.”

The next patient was waiting.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

The sun was shining brightly as Kathryn, Chakotay and one security guard, Ensign Tom McGee, materialized in the park. Haar Tra was waiting for them and was eager to show off his city. Quickly ushering them into a waiting hovercar he proceeded to have the driver take them around and point out areas of interest. The driver would hover at each attraction to give them a few minutes to look around, and in several instances he landed the car so Haar could give them a more intimate tour.

At one stop they had a delicious meal served to them of locally grown fruits, vegetables and dishes native to the planet. As they sat in the restaurant along with Haar and the driver Kathryn inquired as to the status of the trade deal.

“Your supplies are being gathered as we speak,” Haar announced. “Your chief engineer is very particular about what she will accept, but I am happy she is pleased with the quality of our goods. Your Mr. Neelix is scanning all the food to be sure it is compatible with your physiology and only one item has been rejected. On the other hand, the computer chips you are providing us are first rate and we are very happy with them. The medical supplies will be of tremendous help and the star charts are accurate beyond anything we’ve ever dreamed. Hopefully someday we’ll be back in space exploring on our own. When you look at the charts and see just what’s out there it makes you want to reach out.”

Kathryn smiled, very happy with the deal herself. “You’ve been most gracious Haar, and your world is lovely. Once the supplies are loaded I would be willing to let my crew enjoy the shore leave you offered. I’m sure they would enjoy your beautiful city as much as Chakotay, Ensign McGee and I are enjoying it.”

Haar smiled, very pleased himself because he was very proud of all his people had accomplished. He genuinely liked Kathryn, Chakotay and even Ensign McGee who spoke with what Kathryn described as an ‘Irish lilt’. The sound was very pleasing to his ears.

The hovercar pulled up to the front of one of the tallest buildings in the city, and Haar indicated that the away team should get out and accompany him. The building was fifteen stories high and the architecture was stunning.

“This is our government building and we are very proud of it,” Haar explained as he led the way inside. He proceeded to guide them to the immense lower levels where hovercars were parked amid beautifully landscaped park areas for people to relax and bring their lunches to. There were benches and gazebos, flowers, grass and shrubs, all lighted by soft hidden lamps. If one didn’t know they were underground, they could easily imagine they were on the surface. There were even birds and butterflies flitting around.

“Lovely,” Kathryn breathed and Chakotay had to agree.

The first floor contained meeting rooms, stores and restaurants where food could be purchased and eaten, or taken to the benches in the lower level park areas. The smells coming from the restaurants were wonderful. The immense foyer was breathtakingly lovely and filled with fresh and unusual flowers.

The second level of the building contained a garden area, shops and courtrooms where cases were tried. The courtrooms were majestic and the shops intriguing. The third level of the building contained a large gym, an auditorium for large meetings or public functions, several offices and a daycare for the children of the people working in the building or in one of the surrounding buildings. There were about thirty children all under the age of six, and Chakotay immediately noticed that they had only two legs.

Haar noticed where Chakotay’s attention was drawn and quickly explained, “Our children are born with only two legs, just like you, but once they enter puberty they grow their third leg, which is mainly for support. We don’t use that leg to walk. When we age our balance becomes affected and the older we get the harder it is for us to stand on only two legs. Hence the third leg is used for balance as well as to rest upon when we stand.”

Kathryn noticed that the children had varying colors to their hair, all within the pastel range and all very lovely, whereas all the adults had white hair. “Does your hair color change also during puberty?” she asked.

“No, it changes just before puberty. That’s how we know when a child is ready to complete his or her growth cycle. It’s a shame in a way because see how lovely their hair is now?” Haar sighed. But nobody wants to color their hair once it turns because white hair is a sign of adulthood.

Five small children of varying ages approached the adults, their curiosity getting the better of them. One small girl with light green hair reached out her hand to touch Kathryn’s leg. Kathryn gave her a minute to feel the material of her uniform pants, then she bent down and held out her hand to the young girl. The child quickly placed her hand in Kathryn’s, and the other children immediately gathered around holding out their hands as well. Chakotay and McGee also knelt down and before long most of the children who were old enough to walk had approached them.

Haar beamed at the children’s teachers and introduced his guests to them. Before long the teachers were asking questions which Kathryn was only too happy to answer. Many of the children had cuddled up to the Voyager crew, who were sitting on the floor by now holding the children in their laps. Everyone was enjoying himself or herself.

Finally Haar interrupted them stating that he had to check in with his office on the ninth floor, and once he returned they would proceed up to the government offices so the Voyager crew could meet some of his colleagues. Haar smiled as he left the room hoping that all the aliens they ever met could be as nice as the Voyager people.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Harry Kim was routinely scanning the planet when he noticed a blip on his screen that didn’t fit the parameters of anything he’d previously scanned. Double-checking his readouts, he suspected that some kind of warhead was encased in the small ship flying fast and low over the city, and that warhead contained something that blocked their ability to scan it.

“Commander, I’ve identified a small ship approaching the city that appears to contain an armed missile, but I can’t get a clear scan,” Harry reported to Tuvok. “I don’t know if it’s part of a defense system, but it’s the only one of its kind I’ve detected. I’m downloading the information to your console right now. ”

Tuvok pulled up the information and analyzed their attempts to scan the small ship. He immediately tapped his combadge as he continued his efforts. “Tuvok to Janeway, please respond.”

“Janeway here,” came her immediate response.

“Captain, we’re detecting a small ship that appears to be armed with some type of missile headed directly toward the city. We can’t ascertain its purpose because something in the missile interferes with our scans, but we believe that the missile is armed and ready for detonation. We can’t project its target, but I believe we should disarm it before it explodes. It’s directly over the city now.”

“Do it,” she ordered, “and beam the three of us up immediately.”

“Aye Captain,” he responded as he targeted the ship’s propulsion system with his phasers. But he was too late because just as the phaser beam was ready to impact the small ship to disable it, the ship suddenly dived into the top floors of the building the landing party was visiting.

“Beam the landing party up,” he quickly ordered Harry Kim, but Kim couldn’t get a lock on the party because of the resulting explosion.

“I can’t get a lock!” he cried as he tried again and again. “I can’t get them! There was something in that warhead that prevents us from getting a stable lock.” Harry was almost in tears as he continued to attempt to find something to lock onto.

Quickly moving to assist, Tuvok ran his fingers over Harry’s console, but he, too, could get no lock.

“Mr. Paris, you’re in charge, I’m beaming to the surface to assist. Lt. Ayala, Mr. Kim, you’re with me. Have the Doctor, Vorick, Seven, Lt. Carter and six security officers meet us in the transporter room two in three minutes.” Tuvok, Ayala and Harry practically ran from the bridge while Tom issued the orders for the others to report immediately to the transporter room.

Within seven minutes they were all standing on the surface of the planet looking unbelievably at the tall building that appeared on the verge of collapse. The top floors were gone, and the uppermost exposed floors engulfed in flames. People were jumping from the upper levels to escape the fire, but it was too far and they were dead as they hit the ground.

“Oh my God!” Harry vocalized what the others were feeling.

“Mr. Kim, pull yourself together and scan for the Captain and her party,” Tuvok ordered in a loud voice to be heard over the din of the fire, rescue vehicles and shouting of the rescue workers. “Seven, Ayala, Vorick go around to the north side of the building and scan there as well. Report back to me if you find anything.”

Seven immediately set off with her tricorder already functioning, and Harry took several deep breaths to control his emotions as he started scanning the building. Dust was very thick by this time and flaming pieces of the building were raining down onto the people below as they fled for their lives. People were pouring out of the building, all sporting injuries of some kind and many horribly burned. One woman came screaming from the debris, her clothes and hair on fire. Rescue workers arriving on the scene quickly pushed her to the ground and rolled her back and forth, but the Doctor knew without looking that she had no hope of surviving.

“Permission to assist,” the Doctor asked of Tuvok as they tried to find a spot that was safe for the moment.

“Not until we locate our people,” Tuvok answered. “I need to keep us together because I fear that building is about to collapse.”

“Seven to Tuvok,” came over his combadge and he quickly replied. “What have you found?”

“I have located the Captain, Commander and Ensign McGee on the third floor at the north side of the building. They are trapped, but I believe they are alive. I can’t tell their condition because some element in the dust is interfering with my scans. Shall I try to enter the building to assist?”

“Stay where you are, we’ll join you immediately,” Tuvok responded as he signaled his group and they headed toward Seven.

“Just as they reached her location they heard a series of explosions coming from the top of the building, which by now consisted of only ten stories. People began screaming and running for cover, and as they watched in horror the building slowly collapsed into itself.

“Run for cover!” Tuvok screamed as he herded his group toward a nearby building. As they ran, a cloud of debris and shockwaves fast approached them and they dived into the store’s open doorway. “Get to the back and get down NOW!” Tuvok screamed as he pushed the door shut. “Get away from the windows or you’ll be sucked out”

Everyone ran for the back of the store and huddled together on the floor with their arms over their heads. Others were huddled there as well, and they all moved as close to each other as possible. Outside they could see debris flying down the street at unbelievable speed and the sound of the shockwave was deafening. It was a living hell, and this continued for several minutes before the worst of the wave passed. The building shook and the windows were all sucked out, adding to the debris flying away from the disaster. The Voyager crew continued to huddle on the floor, one of the youngest crewmembers whimpering in abstract fear.

After what seemed like a lifetime, but in reality was about twenty minutes, Tuvok raised his head to assess the situation. The scene outside the building was one from hell. The street was littered with dust, debris, smashed hovercars, and the bodies of those who didn’t get to the safety of a building. Fear clutched at his insides – fear for his friends and for those who had been in the targeted building. Of course he’d never admit this fear to anyone, but he felt it just the same.

“It’s safe to get up now,” Tuvok announced to the group. Quickly tapping his combadge he tried to contact Voyager, but there was no response. “There’s too much interference, but once the dust settles we should be able to reach them. There was some element in that warhead that’s interfering with our electronic systems, perhaps a mutated thoran particle. In the meantime, let’s get back to the building and look for our people.” He didn’t think they could possibly have survived this, but he had to know for sure.

Once Tuvok was sure that everyone was all right, he herded them out of the store and into the mouth of hell.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

The sound of an explosion alerted Kathryn Janeway to danger, and her reaction was swift and sure. Having been engaged in war, disaster and tragedy at different times in her career she instinctively knew what to do and what was about to happen.

“We’re under attack,” she shouted to the teachers as they looked about in panic. The children were clinging to them, frightened and crying, and she didn’t know what to tell them. The building was shaking and the sounds of explosions above them was deafening. “Chakotay!” she shouted as she reached for his hand, “we have to get these children out of here!” Chakotay reached back and squeezed her hand.

As she reached out to grab the little girl with mint green hair, the building again shook and debris started to rain down on them. One of the teachers started to scream and ran away in sheer panic, not stopping to help anyone. He disappeared quickly, but Kathryn gathered the other teachers together and took charge. “Get the children together. We’ll leave by the stairs at the end of the hall.”

Before they could gather the children, the building shook even more and debris started falling both inside and outside of the building. Kathryn looked up in horror as the ceiling beams started falling on them, and even as she watched a beam fell onto two of the teachers and several children they were trying to help toward the door. They were instantly buried under a pile of metal and concrete with almost no hope of survival.

“Kathryn, come on!!” Chakotay screamed as she noticed him headed for the door, his arms full of small children with some older ones following behind. McGee was headed there too grabbing several small kids as he moved. Only one teacher still appeared to be with them and she had children with her as well. Quickly grabbing the littlest ones around her, Kathryn herded the rest toward the door. The dust was thick and she could hardly see or breathe, but she instinctively knew where to go. Her eyes were watering and the sound from the collapsing building was horrible, but she pushed onward.

As they headed for the stairs the building groaned and then a terrible roar arise along with clouds of dust and debris. “The building’s collapsing!” she shouted. “GO!!”

It happened so quickly she never felt it coming. The ceiling came down on all of them. One of the last things Kathryn remembered was the child she was holding in her right arm screaming and then her world was going black. Pain erupted in her head as something struck it, the weight pushing her down to the floor. As she lost her grip on consciousness she heard a painful cry that she recognized as Chakotay’s voice calling, “KATHRRYNNNNNNNN.”

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Dust and debris were still settling as Tuvok’s team made its way back to the destroyed building. Several times officials stopped them, but all help was welcome and they were allowed to continue.

“Let’s head back to the north side of the building,” Tuvok ordered as he led the way. “That is the last location we had for our people so we’ll start there.” The others followed numbly.

All of the south side of the building was completely leveled, with only a portion of the east and north sides still partially standing. Tuvok estimated that portions of eight stories were still there, but even that was in danger of collapsing.

Once they arrived at the north side, they quickly joined the ranks of officials trying to pull people from the rubble. The Doctor was quickly pressed into service and a triage station was set up for him to work in. More doctors quickly joined him as they tried to save the lives of the victims of this vicious attack. Help kept arriving from the surrounding city, and all were pressed into service moving the debris trying to free the trapped victims.

Tuvok, Seven and Harry worked together trying to scan the debris for signs of their crewmembers. There was still too much dust and they were thankful for the filters they were given to wear over their noses and mouths. There was so much dust on them that nobody could tell that their uniforms, skin or hair were different colors. They couldn’t get any accurate scans through the dust and were still unable to identify the element that was interfering with their tricorders and transporters. It was something built into that warhead and their best guess was a mutated thoran particle.

“Voyager to Tuvok,” came across the din of the rescue efforts. Realizing that they could once again communicate with Voyager, Tuvok quickly tapped his combadge.

“Tuvok here.”

“What’s happening?” Tom Paris asked, worry intensifying his voice. “Have you found the Captain and Commander?”

“Negative, but I would appreciate you scanning the building directly in front of me. They were in that building when it collapsed and we have been unable to locate them. Our tricorders won’t work accurately in all this dust and there’s too much debris to move before we can get to their previous location,” Tuvok reported.

“We’re on it and I’ll contact you immediately if we find anything. Do you want more help?” Tom asked.

“I’ll let you know as soon as I feel it’s safe. Meanwhile organize rescue teams and have them collect medical supplies from sickbay. Contact the Doctor and see what he wants you to bring. I’ll see if there’s any way we can transport some of the debris away from this site. Tuvok out.”

Turning back to the others, he ordered them to continue aiding the rescue workers while he went in search of whoever was in charge of this effort. Maybe, just maybe, Voyager could assist from orbit.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Soft whimpering permeated her senses and helped her get a finger hold on consciousness. Slowly she worked her way back to awareness, realizing that she hurt all over and had no idea what had just happened. As she reached for the light she heard moaning close by. Who was that and why were they moaning? It was a vaguely familiar voice, and suddenly a name came to mind. “Chakotay,” she whispered as she snapped back to consciousness and all her memories came flooding back. “Chakotay, she whispered a little louder hoping he could hear her. Her mouth was filled with dust and her eyes didn’t want to open, but she forced them open anyhow. Breathing was difficult with all the dust in the air.

“Kathryn?” was whispered back to her. “Kathryn, are you all right?”

“Chakotay, thank God you’re alive. I seem to be trapped. Where are you?” Her voice was getting stronger as she spit the dust out of her mouth. Something small and soft was wiggling under her and she tried to lift herself off of it. That’s when she realized where the whimpering was coming from.

Pain knifed through her left arm as she pushed against the debris trapping her in a small hole. The more she moved, the more she hurt and it didn’t take long to realize that she had some pretty serious injuries. But she had to move, there were children depending on her to get them out of here. If only her head would stop throbbing.

The beam lying across her back started to move and she heard Chakotay ordering her to stay still. It took several minutes for him to leverage it off of her, but she was finally able to move into a sitting position. Looking around she was appalled at the devastation surrounding them but was thankful when Chakotay carefully lowered himself to sit beside her. He looked awful, bleeding from cuts too numerous to catalog, and covered from head to foot in fine dust. She imagined she looked the same and the trickle of blood sliding down the side of her head only confirmed that fact.

“My ankle is sprained, and from the looks of it your arm is broken. We were saved by the extra support in the stairwell, but many of the children and McGee are dead. We have about fourteen children still alive, many of them too small or too injured to walk. Ren Aba, the teacher who stayed with us, is still alive and relatively uninjured, but we can’t find a way out of this hole. We’re going to have to wait for rescue. Maybe Voyager will find us and beam us out of here,” Chakotay wished out loud.

“Unlikely, at least not for some time,” Kathryn winced as she tried to move into a more comfortable position while cradling her broken left arm. If the transporter could get a lock they’d have beamed us out by now, but they probably can’t find us with all this dust in the air. Once it settles down they’ll get a lock, but that could take hours. And Chakotay, we may not have hours. I can hear the building settling and the beams that are protecting us now will kill us if they collapse under the weight on them. We have to try to find some kind of tunnel or some way to get either up or down. Maybe if we could get down into the lower levels there might be a way out through the parking garage.”

The sounds of someone crawling through the debris announced the arrival of Ren Aba, the teacher, and she had seven of the children with her.

“Children!” Kathryn exclaimed as she moved over to where she had been lying when she came to. Pushing aside some light debris with her right hand, she found three of the children she had been carrying out of the building. One little boy was obviously dead, a heavy brick resting on his head, but two little girls were still alive. With Chakotay’s help she pulled them out of the small hole they were lying in and they both checked the children for injuries. They were frozen with fear, but relatively uninjured having been protected by Kathryn’s body when the ceiling fell. With a quiet sob, the little girl with the mint green hair wrapped her arms around Kathryn while the other child climbed into her lap. As the child leaned against her ribs, she felt a stab of pain and was unable to stifle her gasp.

“Kathryn?” Chakotay asked.

“Cracked ribs most likely,” she replied. “I hurt so much it’s hard to tell what’s wrong, but we have to get out of here Chakotay.”

“Agreed,” he said as he stood on his good leg and hopped to get a better view of their situation. “Stay with the kids,” he ordered as he hobbled off to see if he could find an escape route. The building continued to groan.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Tuvok finally was able to locate this planet’s equivalent of a chief of police and offered his services and that of Voyager. The officials were still assessing the damage and were trying to figure out how to get to those trapped in the building without collapsing the rest of the building down onto them. Tuvok explained that Voyager could scan the building from orbit and then transport the debris away from the building to help rescue survivors. And there were survivors, they could hear the screams of those trapped even above the din of the rescue equipment and vehicles.

Permission was gladly given and Voyager’s sensors were now able to scan the topmost levels of debris to determine if any victims were still alive. Those still alive were transported to the Doctor’s triage station, the dead were beamed to a holding area, and the debris was then moved into the open park area, well away from the collapsed building. B’Elanna was manning the transporter herself, not willing to let anyone less qualified have the controls. She could manage to get a lock through the interference but only where the dust was almost settled. Her friend and her Captain were trapped in that building and she wasn’t about to let mistakes happen.

Working carefully, but frantically, she continued to move debris and rescue victims, constantly on the lookout for her own people. But Seven informed her they were on the third floor at the time of the collapse, and after three hours she was only down to the fifth level. The whole process was very slow and exacting because the slightest miscalculation could cause the building to collapse even further. She couldn’t allow that to happen, especially as there were rescue workers trying to rescue victims to consider as well. If only they could figure out what was interfering with their scans, maybe they could compensate. It had to be an element they’d never encountered before.

B’Elanna wiped the sweat off her brow and continued to work.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

“Kathryn, there’s a small tunnel at the lower end of the stairwell and I think if we clear some of the debris we can get into the tunnel and then maybe down into the lower levels. I only cleared a tiny area to peep into, but it looks like we just might get through,” Chakotay stated with hope in his voice.

The building continued to groan and occasionally shake, but their small pocket was still holding and Kathryn didn’t know for how long. She was hurting and dizzy, but she forced her mind to concentrate on what Chakotay was saying, and it did make sense.

“Help me up and let’s get busy,” she said as she offered her right hand to him. As he pulled her to her feet, the pain shot up through her body causing her to groan and feel lightheaded.

“Kathryn?” Chakotay asked with worry in his voice.

“Give me a minute, I’m just dizzy,” she returned as she forced her legs to hold her upright and leaned against his warm body. Ren Aba also rose to help, turning to comfort the children and tell them to sit still. With Chakotay on one side and Ren on the other, Kathryn let them help her over to the area they had to clear. Unzipping her uniform jacket, she lifted her useless left arm into the opening to give it support and to keep it from dangling as she worked.

In less than twenty minutes they almost had the opening large enough to crawl through. About twelve steps further down they could see that a beam was protecting the steps below and keeping them relatively clear of debris. If they could only get down that far, they just might make it out unless the building collapsed further before they could get there. Kathryn quietly offered up a prayer that they could get the children out before the building collapsed.

Chakotay worked carefully alongside Ren, and Kathryn did what she could with her one functioning arm. Her insides hurt terribly, but she wasn’t about to complain since time was of the essence. She watched Chakotay closely and was sure he had more injuries than he was admitting to, but now was not the time to worry about that. If the building came down before they were out, they were dead anyway.

The building groaned again, louder this time, and Kathryn was really worried. “We don’t have much time. How much longer?”

“Almost there,” Chakotay grunted as he moved another heavy beam with Ren’s help. They were almost unrecognizable under their layers of dust and blood, but they continued on relentlessly. Kathryn moved another few concrete blocks and then heard Chakotay say, “One more beam.”

“Thank God,” she thought as she leaned against the wall.

As Chakotay and Ren started to push on the beam, dust and debris started falling onto them and into the passage they’d created.

“Stop!” she yelled as she realized that if they moved this beam the whole thing would collapse onto them. “You can’t move that beam without supporting the ceiling.”

“We can’t get into the stairwell unless we do,” Chakotay observed as he studied the situation. “The smallest children might get in, but they’re too young to get out by themselves, and the larger children and we would still be trapped.” Looking around frantically Chakotay spied a piece of metal tall enough to push under the ceiling to support it if he moved the beam. The only problem was that it was only a piece of metal about 4 inches in diameter, and without help it wouldn’t stay in place.

“Kathryn, gather the children and Ren. I’m going to shove this pole under the ceiling to support it while we push the beam out of the way. You and Ren take the children and crawl into the stairway. I’ll hold it for as long as I can to give you as much time as possible. Go!” he cried as he began to lift the pole into place to support the ceiling.

“No Chakotay. I’ll hold the pole. I have a useless arm and other injuries, and there are too many children who can’t walk. I can only carry one, and maybe one can hold onto my back, but you could carry four or five and Ren three. The others are able to walk. If I go some of the children will have to stay here and they’ll die. If you go they’ll all have a chance to live. I won’t sacrifice the lives of children for my life, and I know you won’t either. Think Chakotay, they’re just children,” she pleaded.

She saw the extreme pain in his eyes, and he saw it reflected in hers as well. She didn’t want to die here on this alien world, a victim of some crazy terrorist group, but she wouldn’t let innocent children die in her place. “Please Chakotay,” she whispered as tears coursed down her dusty cheeks. “At least my death will have meaning.”

Tears started to run down his cheeks as well, and he slowly nodded. “I love you, Kathryn,” he whispered into her ear.

“I love you too, and even if I die here today I’ll never leave you,” she cried back. “But you have to go, we don’t have much time.”

Chakotay knew she was right so he yelled to Ren to gather the children near the beam, which she did. Carefully pushing the metal pipe into place Chakotay pushed it up against the ceiling until the weight was more on the pole than on the beam. Dust and dirt rained down on them, but he kept pushing. He then had Ren roll a piece of concrete up against the pole to help support the pole if Kathryn should slip just a little. It wouldn’t help much, but it might give her a few extra seconds and a little help. After making it as secure as possible he helped her into the position against the pole where she would have the best leverage. Kathryn then pushed with all her weight onto the pipe. Chakotay quickly moved the beam out of the way and all the weight of the ceiling was now on Kathryn’s pole, which she struggled to hold in place. Knowing time was short, Chakotay placed a quick tearful kiss onto her lips and gathered four small children into his arms. A fifth child put his arms around Chakotay’s neck and hung onto his back as he rose to leave. “I love you,” he cried as he followed Ren and the children still able to walk into the stairwell.

Kathryn watched them pick their way down, wishing them to hurry. She knew she would die when the building collapsed, and it was going to collapse, but she didn’t want her death to be in vain. “I love you Chakotay,” she whispered over and over as the tears coursed down her dusty cheeks and fell into the dust at her feet. In only a few minutes they were out of sight, hopefully on their way to safety, and she was left alone.

Struggling to hold the pole upright she felt her strength giving out, but knowing that they needed every minute they could get, she forced her shaking muscles to continue pushing the pole into its proper position, but the pole was trying to force her to let go. The pole was shaking in time to her legs and arm, and small pieces of the ceiling were coming down onto her. The building was groaning again and Kathryn knew it was going to give.

She figured that about ten minutes had passed when the building trembled again, and she realized she didn’t have the strength to hold onto the pole anymore. She felt her vision blurring and knew she’d reached her limit. Letting go of the pole she took two quick steps and dived into the stairwell as the ceiling collapsed on top of her. She felt herself falling and bumping over the debris and down into the stairwell. She tumbled head over heel and felt her broken arm smashed beneath her. She screamed as debris followed her down the stairs, and then her head impacted something and her world went black.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Chakotay, Ren and the children had made it to the lower levels, finding only minor debris blocking their paths. Once into the parking area, they found that the damage on this level was bad, but not total, and they were able to work their way to where Ren believed the entrance to the lower garages was located.

As they moved toward a patch of light, Chakotay heard rumbling from above and knew that the building was coming down. ‘Kathryn!!’ he thought as he continued to cry. ‘Oh Kathryn!!’ He knew there was no way she could have escaped and his heart broke.

As the tears coursed down his dusty cheeks he became even more determined to survive, just for Kathryn. He would save himself and these children. He would even take command of Voyager and get her crew home – all in her name and her honor. But once he accomplished these tasks, he knew he would join her so they could be together forever. “I love you, Kathryn,” he whispered yet again.

Seeing a cloud of dust and debris coming down the stairwell they had exited only a few minutes before, Chakotay stumbled forward toward the patch of daylight. With Ren following close behind and herding the small group of children who were able to walk, they picked their way over fallen debris and around large chunks of cement that had fallen in their path. The patch of daylight was getting closer every moment.

Rounding a large chunk of concrete, Chakotay looked up and saw people working to remove rubble at the opening to the garage. They were getting close, and Ren started shouting for help. Chakotay and the children joined her and before long the rescue workers were hurrying toward them. It seemed to take forever, but finally they met and the workers quickly relieved Chakotay and Ren of their precious burdens. Chakotay’s arms were so tired he was glad to give the children into the care of the workers. Then he and Ren were being helped from the rubble as well and were finally helped out into the sunshine. Once they were clear of the building Chakotay felt his knees start to tremble, and before he realized what was happening he was being placed on a stretcher. Turning his head for one last look at the devastation, he said a silent prayer for the soul of Kathryn Janeway, who was still trapped inside. With a final sigh he gave into the blackness that was determined to claim his consciousness.

The sound of voices was trying its best to penetrate the cloud of blackness that seemed to be in control of his mind. “Chakotay……Commander Chakotay,” a familiar voice called to him. Chakotay,….. yes that was his name, but who was calling. The voice was familiar.

“Commander, please wake up,” encouraged him to make another effort to open his eyes, so he gathered his strength and channeled it into a great effort to lift those very heavy eyelids. Struggling as hard as he was able, he finally accomplished the seemingly impossible and looked into the face of Voyager’s EMH.

“Welcome back,” the Doctor beamed as he stepped back to run a scan. “You’re going to be all right, just lay there and rest. I’ve healed your leg, which suffered a hairline crack, your broken ankle and your other injuries. You took quite a beating but in a few hours you’ll be as good as new. Sore, but healed.”

Chakotay tried to speak, but his voice came out as a croak. “The children, and Ren?” he asked. The Doctor leaned over with a glass of water and bendable straw that he pushed between Chakotay’s lips. “Drink,” he ordered and Chakotay obeyed. “The woman with you and the children you brought out are all being treated for their injuries and will all be fine. Some of the children have been united with their parents, and I’m sure some of them will never be. But you saved their lives.”

At that point Commander Tuvok leaned into Chakotay’s line of sight and asked the question he had been dreading. “Where is Captain Janeway?”

The tears welled up before he could control them and coursed through the dust still coating his cheeks. “She’s dead, she died saving our lives,” he finally managed to whisper. “Someone had to stay behind to hold up the ceiling so we could get into the stairwell and make our escape. Her arm was broken and she could only carry one child, whereas I could carry four so she ordered me to save the children. I tried…….Oh God I tried…….to talk her out of it, but there was no other way. Had she not stayed behind we all would have died, and Kathryn would never have been able to live with herself if even one child had died so she could live.” Chakotay started sobbing as he felt again the intense pain of his loss, and the Doctor quickly administered a hypostray.

Before the sedative could take effect, Chakotay grabbed the front of Tuvok’s uniform pulling him close. “Tuvok, I want you to recover her body. Please Tuvok, I don’t want to leave her here. She’s on the third floor at the staircase at the northern end of the building. Promise me Tuvok, bring her out of there,” he pleaded.

“I will try my best,” Tuvok promised as he watched Chakotay finally succumb to the sedative.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

B’Elanna Torres had been working non-stop for ten hours transporting debris to an area of the park well away from the collapsed building. She also kept up a continuous search for survivors, which she beamed directly to the Doctor’s triage area, and the dead were sent to a morgue located in another area of the park. It was exacting work because she didn’t want to cause more of the building to collapse as she cleared the debris. She was tired, but no way was she letting anyone else do this because their scans weren’t totally accurate and much of the time she was working on instinct only. Her best friend and her Captain were still trapped in there, not to mention McGee who had been in the Maquis with her.

“Tuvok to Torres,” came through her combadge and she immediately tapped it to respond.

“Torres here.”

“Lieutenant, we have found Commander Chakotay and he is alive. The Doctor has him at the triage area treating his injuries, but he will fully recover in a few hours. The Captain is feared dead and is still trapped on the third floor by the northern staircase in the building. Would you please focus your efforts in that area and continue to scan for her bio signs. Ensign McGee was last seen on the third floor as well, they were all in the day care area when the building was hit. Let me know if you find anything, and please let me know when you have cleared enough of the debris to beam me and a rescue team into the area.”

“Acknowledged,” Torres replied as she re-focused her scanners. Chakotay was alive, but……oh God!!……the Captain was dead. How must he feel? Everyone knew they were in love with each other; and everyone believed they weren’t able to consummate their love because of damned protocols, but they were moving closer all the time. She knew he’d be devastated so she was determined to find Kathryn for him.

Three hours later she had the debris cleared down to the third floor and the dust was pretty well settled on that level. Scanning and transporting functions worked well when the dust didn’t interfere. Once this crisis was past, B’Elanna planned to bring some of that dust aboard to determine what element was causing all of these problems. It was most likely something found only on this planet.

B’Elanna worked carefully and diligently so no more of the building would come crashing down until they found their Captain and McGee. She moved to the scanners to try again and was suddenly rewarded with success.

“Torres to Tuvok, I’ve found someone.” After a few more seconds she had more information. “It’s McGee and he’s dead. He’s on the third floor and the dust has settled enough that I can get a transporter lock. Shall I beam him to the morgue or return his body to Voyager?”

Tuvok responded almost immediately. “Beam Ensign McGee to sickbay. We’ll take care of his body when we return. Have you found any sign of the Captain?” Torres could have sworn she heard signs of anxiety in his voice.“Not yet, but I’m working on it. I’ll let you know when……..WAIT!! I’ve found her. Her bio sign is located in the stairwell between the first and second floors. There’s lots of dust and debris in that area but I’ll start beaming what I can reach through the dust away immediately.” Torres set to work with a passion, beaming more of the third floor into the debris area. They could only wait and pray.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

“Commander, Lt. Torres found Captain Janeway in the stairwell between levels one and two, and I plan to take a team into the building to recover her body. She can’t beam her out because there’s too much dust in the stairwell and she can’t get a transporter lock. I require the assistance of the Doctor, Mr. Kim, Lt. Ayala and Seven, but I was wondering if you would like to accompany us as well.”

Chakotay looked up from his bed at Tuvok, who was standing over him. “Try to keep me away,” he growled as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. The Doctor was there immediately, medical case in hand.

“Take it slowly Commander,” he offered as he held out his hand to assist Chakotay to his feet. Before he realized what was happening, the Doctor pressed a hypospray to his neck and injected its contents. “That should help you with any pain or stiffness you might still feel.”

“Nothing will help with the pain,” Chakotay stated sadly, “but thank you.” He looked up as Seven and Harry Kim approached and all stood together waiting for B’Elanna’s signal.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Torres was finally satisfied that she could safely beam her friends into the building. She removed the entire third floor by the northern stairway, as well as part of the second floor, and the dust had settled on the top of the debris. McGee’s body had been beamed to sickbay, twelve dead children and two of their teachers had been beamed to the morgue, and she was now ready to transport Voyager’s team to the Captain’s location.

“I can get you close, but there’s still debris covering her body,” Torres reported. “I’ll set you down at the top of the steps on the second level, and you’ll have to work your way from there. I’ve left the stairs and part of the floor surrounding it intact so you should be safe. There’s still too much dust in the stairwell to get a lock on the Captain, so you’ll have to bring her to the second floor so I can beam you back to sickbay.”

“Acknowledged,” Tuvok replied.

“Good luck,” Torres responded. She knew this was going to be difficult for all of them.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

They materialized amid the rubble at the top of the stairway Chakotay had so recently fled down, and Tuvok quickly scanned the immediate area to be sure it would safely hold them. Torres had been precise, they were exactly where they expected to be, and Tuvok was satisfied they would be safe for now. They looked around in horror still not believing that anyone could willingly cause such destruction and loss of life.

All members of the team, with the exception of the Doctor, were wearing filters over their noses and mouths that enabled them to breathe more easily.

“The day care was over there,” Chakotay pointed as he turned away from what once was and headed for the stairs. “This was such a beautiful building.”

Tuvok, Ayala and Seven quickly joined him in moving debris out of the way while the Doctor and Harry kept scanning for Kathryn’s bio signs. They moved quickly, but carefully, not wanting to bring any more debris crashing down onto their Captain, for even though the area was relatively stable the building was still coming down around them. Their only salvation was that thanks to Torres there was only open air above the second floor by now.

“There, against that wall on the landing,” Harry pointed as he studied his tricorder. “The dust is still thick in the stairwell so I can’t get clear readings, but it’s her all right. She’s on the landing halfway between the first and second floors.”

Their efforts increased and Harry now joined them in pulling the debris from the area and throwing it up onto what was left of the second story floor. Chakotay was becoming frantic with the need to reach Kathryn, and the others were feeling his need as well. As Harry and Tuvok lifted a large piece of ceiling from the area, Chakotay spied a pale dusty hand peeking out from under another piece of ceiling.

“She’s here,” Chakotay shouted as he and the Doctor lifted more pieces off her and passed them to the others. Before long Kathryn’s upper body was exposed lying face down in the dust, and Chakotay dropped to the floor beside her as the others continued to move debris. The tears started coming as he knelt beside her and lifted her limp hand to his heart. His other hand moved to brush some of the dust from her hair, and his heart broke even more as the sunlight caught some of her hair’s red highlights even through the dust. The air was filled with it, but even so the sunlight beamed through.

In a few minutes more Kathryn’s body was clear except for a large metal beam that was lying over her legs. The end of the beam embedded itself into the wall and thus the full weight didn’t come directly down on Kathryn, but enough did so that its weight was trapping her beneath it. There was a lot of blood so they knew it had cut into her legs. Chakotay continued to hold her hand as the others prepared to prop up one end of the beam so they could leverage it off of her.

Torres couldn’t use the transporters to beam the metal away because with all the dust the transporter lock wasn’t accurate enough, and they didn’t want to risk beaming the metal and part of Kathryn’s legs. So Ayala and Tuvok strained to lift one edge of the beam while Seven and Harry slid supports under it. The Doctor stepped back to be out of everyone’s way while they worked.

“Oh Kathryn………why Kathryn? Chakotay cried as he continued to hold her limp hand to his heart. He was heartbroken and he knew that half of his soul lay here in the dust, dead and broken. His only connection was the warm hand he held so passionately to his heart as he cried.

Wait a minute……….warm hand? Chakotay felt again and quickly moved his hand to her neck. It, too, was warm. Wasn’t a dead body supposed to be cold? And a person who had been dead for hours should be stiff. Right?

“DOCTOR!!!!” Chakotay suddenly screamed and everyone jumped at his explosion. “DOCTOR, COME QUICKLY, I THINK SHE’S ALIVE!!!” Chakotay was frantic as the Doctor practically dove to Kathryn’s side with his tricorder in hand and slipped a breathing mask over her face.

Quickly scanning her dust-covered body he slowly raised his head as a smile broke across his features. “She did it again. She cheated death and YES – SHE’S ALIVE!” he cried. “But she’s badly hurt and we have to get her to sickbay immediately.

“Doctor to Torres,” he shouted into his combadge. “The Captain is alive and we need you to transport us to sickbay immediately.”

Torres was frantically working her consoles, but there was no way she was going to get a stable lock through all that dust.

“You have to get her to the second floor before I can get a lock. There’s too much interference from the dust and nothing I do can boost the transporter beam that much. Can you move her?”

The Doctor continued to scan and then made his decision. “We have to move her, but she has broken bones and internal injuries. Tuvok, get a large piece of the ceiling material – large enough to lay her on. Chakotay, Ayala, Harry – we’re all going to lift her together trying to keep her body straight as we place her on the board. Be especially careful of her legs. Then we’re going to carry the board up the stairs so we can beam up.”

Tuvok had the piece of material in less than a minute, and the five men carefully and gently lifted their Captain from the dust and debris and laid her face down on the board. Within minutes they were kneeling beside the board on the second floor calling for beam-out. Torres willingly and quickly obliged.

They materialized on the floor of sickbay with Kathryn still lying face down, and the others kneeling beside her. The board had been left in the ruins.

“Let’s put her in the surgical bay,” the Doctor ordered as once again the five men gently lifted their Captain and moved her carefully to the surgical bed. Once she was deposited on the bed the Doctor, Tuvok and Chakotay turned her onto her back so the Doctor could take inventory of her injuries. When Chakotay saw the blood covering the side of her head and the angle of her arm and legs, the tears started again to flow down his cheeks.

“Doctor to Lt. Paris, please transport immediately to sickbay.” Tom Paris, who had been treating injured victims on the surface of the planet, appeared within minutes and was astonished when he discovered why he was there.

“Captain?” he asked as shock covered his face. “She’s alive? Yessssssssss!!!!”

“Yes,” the Doctor copied. “You and the Commander step into the sonic cleaner and then get back here and help me clean her up. I have to perform surgery to repair her broken bones and internal injuries. Seven, hand me the portable sonic cleaner.” The Doctor quickly erected a privacy shield around the surgical bed.

As Seven reached for the instrument she suddenly felt something she wasn’t used to feeling – emotions. She felt fear for her Captain, pity for the other victims, shock at what happened, and anger at those who did this to them. These feelings caught her by surprise for she had only had her Borg emotion chip deactivated two weeks ago, but this was the first crisis she’d encountered since that time. Once the crisis started she was too busy to feel anything, but now that she had a few minutes away from the activity on the planet, these emotions were starting to reveal themselves. Quickly suppressing her feelings, Seven handed the cleaner to the Doctor. She would have to talk to him about these feelings once the crisis was over.

Within minutes Chakotay and Tom were back by the bed helping the Doctor remove the torn and tattered uniform from Kathryn’s body and replacing it with a blue surgical gown. The Doctor and Seven removed all of the blood, dust and dirt with the sonic cleaner, and Kathryn was now ready for surgery. Seven struggled to suppress her emotions as she gently brushed her fingers against Kathryn’s cheek and moved away from the bed.

“Mr. Kim, Lt. Ayala, please check with Lt. Torres to see if she needs any help. Seven, you can pass the word to the crew that we’ve found the Captain alive,” Chakotay stated as he moved away from Kathryn’s side.

“Wait in my office,” the Doctor ordered Chakotay and Tuvok who still remained in sickbay after the others left to follow orders. “You’re in the way here and right now time is of the essence.”

“Doctor?” came Chakotay’s anguished unasked question.

Taking sympathy on the big man standing so helpless before him, the Doctor moved forward to place his hand on Chakotay’s arm. “I don’t know, it’s touch and go, but with any luck she’s going to make it. She’s a fighter and I’m a skilled doctor.”

Tuvok gently took Chakotay by the arm and moved him toward the Doctor’s office. Just then the sickbay doors burst open and a yellow and black blur came charging through. B’Elanna was out of breath from running, but she just had to know.

“Tell me she’s alive,” she almost threatened as she threw herself at Chakotay. “Please tell me she’s alive.”

Distracted by B’Elanna, Chakotay could only smile weakly. “She’s alive, but it’s touch and go. The Doctor is about to perform surgery. We’ll know as soon as he’s done.”

“Harry and Seven have taken over the transporters and Ayala is headed back to the surface. I’ll stay here for now,” Torres announced in her ‘and don’t try to talk me out of it’ tone of voice.

They moved into the Doctor’s office to wait. Chakotay was glad for the company. If he had to wait all alone he just knew he’d go crazy.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Three hours later Tom Paris entered the Doctor’s office with a smile on his face. “We think she’s going to make it,” he announced. “Her injuries were severe, but the Doctor fixed everything. It may take a while until she’s as good as new, especially her legs that were crushed by the beam, but she should recover. We almost lost her a couple of times, but she fought and won.”

Chakotay felt the cloud of depression lift from his shoulders and he jumped to his feet. “Tom, thank you,” he cried as he grabbed the startled medic into a huge hug. “Thank you,” he murmured again. “Can I go to her?”

“The Doctor is settling her into a bio bed right now and he’ll be in to talk to you shortly. I’m sure he’ll let you stay for a while once he’s done.”

“Hey Flyboy,” B’Elanna smiled as she pulled her husband into a bear hug. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear

“It really wasn’t me,” Tom explained, “but I did help. The Doctor was amazing. He fixed things that I didn’t think we could fix. He was determined that we wouldn’t lose her and no matter how annoying he can be, he really is a skilled Doctor. My respect for him just went up a notch, but please don’t anyone tell him. He’d be insufferable if he knew.”

Everyone just laughed feeling the release of the tension that held them in its grip for so long.

“Your secret is safe with us,” Tuvok deadpanned and everyone laughed again.

“Thank you all for staying with me,” Chakotay hesitantly offered. “I know I’ve been a mess, but it really means a lot that you were willing to give your support to me.”

“Awww, don’t get all mushy on us now,” B’Elanna teased. “She’s going to be all right and so are you. Come on Tuvok, let’s see what trouble Harry and Seven have gotten into while I’ve been gone. You can check on the progress of the rescue efforts.”

Quickly pressing another kiss onto Tom’s cheek, B’Elanna headed back to engineering with Tuvok right on her heels. There was still a lot of work to do.

Chakotay watched from the office as the Doctor activated the monitors above Kathryn’s head and once again checked her readings. Glancing toward his office he noticed Chakotay’s intense stare, so he motioned him to Kathryn’s bed as he pulled up a chair and indicated that he sit.

“You can stay for one hour, and one hour only. She won’t be waking up anytime soon and you’re still recovering from your own injuries. I want you to report to your quarters, eat, take a shower and climb into bed for at least twelve hours. I’ll be monitoring you from here because you’re still my patient. After you’ve rested you can return to check on the Captain,” the Doctor ordered as he quickly ran his tricorder over Chakotay.

“And no sneaking back during the night. I’ll keep myself active and the computer will also alert me of any changes, however minor they might be.” Knowing what was coming next, the Doctor headed it off at the pass. “I promise to notify you if there are any changes or if by some miracle she wakes up. But I assure you, it will most likely be several days before that happens. Her body needs time to heal and I intend to see that she gets that time.”

“Agreed,” Chakotay stated as he reached for Kathryn’s hand. He was just so glad she was alive that he was willing to agree to anything.

The Doctor then headed to his office to write his reports and to check with his triage teams on the surface of the planet.

Chakotay rose from his chair and took a good look at Kathryn. She looked so pale and peaceful lying there and he raised her hand to brush his lips across it. “Oh Kathryn, my heart can’t take anymore of this. I thought I lost you today and I realized that my life would be so empty without you.” Tears once again formed and slid down his cheeks, tears of fear, realization and joy. The fear was that this could happen again and he realized that he really didn’t want to live his life without her. And the joy was in his love for her and the fact that she was still here with him.

As he gently rubbed his hand against her cheek, he saw the bruises and cuts which the Doctor hadn’t gotten time to heal. The deep gash on the side of her head was healing, but there hadn’t been time to clean all the blood out of her hair. Chakotay knew that in twelve hours when he was allowed back to sickbay the Doctor would have taken care of all of this, but for now they were reminders of the day. He knew his sleep would be filled with nightmares.

Chakotay stood by Kathryn’s bedside for the full hour, never letting go of her hand and drinking in the sight of her alive and breathing. The up and down movement of her chest attested to the fact that Kathryn was still alive, and he drew comfort from this. He felt his soul healing as he watched. At the end of his hour the Doctor approached him with a hypospray in his hand. Thinking it was for Kathryn, he stepped back to allow the Doctor to approach the bed.

“This one’s for you,” the Doctor quipped as he quickly injected the contents of the hypospray into Chakotay’s neck. “You should sleep like a baby and not dream. Unfortunately I can’t sedate you every night and the nightmares will eventually come for both you and the Captain, but maybe by then you’ll be able to comfort each other to lessen their impact. Now go, eat, shower and then bed, and remember that I’ll be checking on you. See you in not less than twelve hours.”

Chakotay reluctantly turned and left sickbay.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

After grabbing a bite to eat, Tuvok, Ayala and Tom Paris returned to the planet to continue helping with the rescue efforts. Harry, Seven and B’Elanna had done wonders while they were gone and the building was now reduced to merely one level, and even that was fast disappearing into the transporter beam. Tuvok had checked B’Elanna’s records before they beamed down, and noticed that the death toll presently stood at over 850 people, twenty-two of them children. He remembered the children Chakotay had carried from the building, thought quickly of his own children safe back on Vulcan, then took a moment to grieve for the young lives that had been lost.

He couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to kill innocent adults, let alone innocent and helpless children from a day care. How sick were these people?

They beamed down near the triage area and Tom was immediately approached by one of the local medics. “We have someone who has been asking to speak with someone from your ship. He’s in bad condition so will you come with me?”

Tom was surprised, who would be asking to speak to him? Motioning Tuvok to follow, Tom replied, “Lead on.”

The medic led them through the rubble to a large tent that had been erected in the park, well away from the devastation. They walked through rows and rows of cots, all holding the injured that were pulled from the building. There had to be at least 500 cots with medical people doing their best to cope with the sheer numbers. Many of the people were moaning, some seemed to be missing limbs and all were bloody, dusty and lucky to be alive.

The medic led them to a bed close to the back of the tent where a doctor was checking on a male patient. The man had bottles hanging on holders beside his bed and several tubes were dripping medication into his arms. The man was obviously very seriously injured and his eyes were closed. Tom immediately noticed that two of his three legs were gone, and the other missing below the knee. It was hard to imagine this man surviving, but then none of them knew how resilient they were.

“Haar,” the medic whispered as he gently shook the man’s shoulder. “Haar, the Voyager people are here to see you.” Slowly the man opened his pain-filled eyes and tried to focus on Tom.

“Voyager?” he croaked as he tried to use his voice.

“I’m Lt. Tom Paris from Voyager. Why are you asking for me?”

“I’m Haar Tra and I was escorting your people through the city. Your people were in the day care when the building was hit. Have you found them?” Asking these questions seemed to take all of his energy and his eyes closed as he waited for an answer.

“Yes, we found them,” Tom replied. “Commander Chakotay is recovering nicely from his injuries. The Captain was found barely alive and we’re still not sure if she’ll survive, and Ensign McGee is dead. They managed to save twelve of the children and one of the teachers. I’m so sorry, but the other teachers and twenty-two children were killed.”

A tear escaped from the side of Haar’s eye as he absorbed the information Tom had given him. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “Your Captain was so gracious and beautiful and all of your people were so nice. The children took to them immediately, and that is very unusual for our children since they’re generally very shy. I’m sorry they got caught up in our little conflict.” Haar’s eyes closed again and the medic stepped forward and injected him with some medication.

“He needs to rest. I’m not sure if he knows about his legs yet, but when he finds out he will most likely try to kill himself,” the medic reported. “Haar Tra is one of our most powerful leaders and a good man, but he’s always been athletic and grains his strength from being out and among his people. Without his legs he will be unable to function as he did before.”

Tom felt great pity for this man and only wished there was something he could do for him. The Captain had mentioned how nice the officials were during the negotiations, and this planet had given them so much in the way of supplies.

Turning to the medic he asked, “Have you found his amputated legs or are they still in the rubble?” An idea was forming, but he had to discuss this with the Doctor. He and the medic moved away from the bed to discuss options.

Knowing that there was nothing more for him to do here, Tuvok left to return to the rescue effort.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Seven of Nine, former Borg drone who should have no emotional feelings about this situation, was working alongside Lt. Ayala, but she was dismayed to find that she did have feelings. She worked hard to suppress them as they worked sorting through ground-level debris looking for bodies, body parts or survivors. Hope for finding any more survivors had dwindled and the rescue teams had been working for over 24 hours straight. Lifesigns were almost impossible to scan for since the dust was still so thick in some areas. B’Elanna had to beam debris from areas where the dust already settled, and if it got stirred up again, she had to move to a different area.

Together she and Ayala hefted a large piece of ceiling material and slid it out of their way. Beneath the debris lay yet another body, this time a woman and Seven felt a rush of anger directed toward those who did this. After carefully scanning the woman and determining that she was dead, they picked her up moved her to a vehicle waiting to transport the dead to the morgue. As they laid the woman on the bed of the vehicle, Seven found tears sliding down her cheeks. Why was she crying? Her Borg implant would have kept her from feeling such sadness, but now that it was deactivated, she found the feelings to be very strong. She didn’t like them.

Moving back to the area they just left, Seven and Ayala began moving more debris. They worked for over an hour and had cleared a portion of what had been a restaurant on the ground level of the building.

“Assist me with this piece of ceiling,” Seven ordered as she prepared to heft another chunk out of their way.

Ayala stepped up to the piece of debris and grabbed his end. Together they carried it to the pile they were accumulating for B’Elanna’s transporter. They returned to their previous position and started clearing the smaller pieces of debris.

Ayala spied the hand before Seven did, and quickly moved to lift more debris off the small body. Realizing that Ayala had found yet another victim, Seven moved to assist him. When the last piece of debris was removed, they were shocked to see three small children lying there. The children were small, maybe three or four years old, and Seven suddenly felt herself wanting to throw up. Intense feelings washed over her – pity, rage, guilt and sadness, all feelings she was unaccustomed to. Tears formed in her eyes and started sliding down her cheeks as she knelt beside the children and softly stroked the dusty light blue hair of the little boy lying on the top of the pile. He was dead and Ayala gently picked him up and walked away to place him on the truck. The little girl lying partially under the boy was dead as well, her soft yellow hair matted with copper colored blood.

Seven just stared at the child, unable to move or reach to pick her up. Her emotions were overwhelming. She didn’t understand the feelings assaulting her senses, but she knew she didn’t like them. Ayala appeared beside her and reached for the child, again gently lifting her to move her to the truck. “Are you all right?” he asked because Seven seemed to be in shock.

“I’m fine,” she replied as she clamped down on her feelings and directed her attention to the last child lying there. It was a little boy with mint green hair and he appeared to be the youngest of the three. Seven reached her hand to lay it on the child’s back, but as her hand rested on him she felt him move.

“Lieutenant!” she practically screamed. “This child is still alive.” Quickly flipping open her tricorder she scanned the child and confirmed the fact that he was alive. The tricorder also indicated that he was suffering only minor injuries that would be easily treated. Seven reached down and lifted the child into her arms, holding him close as she wept.

Ayala heard Seven’s cry and quickly deposited the dead girl onto the truck. Returning to Seven he noticed the tears streaming down her face and saw the compassion in her eyes as she looked at the boy in her arms. “Seven?” he asked not sure of what he was seeing.

“We have to take him back to Voyager so the Doctor can treat him,” she stated as she struggled to control her emotions. “He’s not seriously injured, but I want our Doctor to check him.”

Ayala asked no more questions. Moving away from the building, they contacted Torres and asked for a beam out.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

He woke in her bed feeling rested, but when he went to move, his sore muscles reminded him to take it easy. Lying back onto the pillow he looked up as yesterday’s memories flooded his mind. Dark feelings of sadness gradually gave way to joy as his mind fastened onto the fact that Kathryn was alive and should recover from her injuries. Just lying in her bed made him feel closer to her. “Kathryn,” he whispered and it felt good once again to say her name. Whereas yesterday her name brought overwhelming pain and sadness, today it brought hope and joy.

After checking with the computer as to the time, Chakotay swung his legs onto the floor and slowly stood up. He still had almost an hour before the Doctor would allow him back into sickbay, but he figured a shower, breakfast and a quick check on the situation’s status would fill that time.

Upon entering Engineering Chakotay was surprised to see Harry Kim manning the transporter controls. “Where’s B’Elanna?” he asked.

“Tom came back from the planet about six hours ago and carried her out of here to get some food and rest. She’d been here for almost 24 hours straight and refused to leave until Tom took matters into his own hands. I hope he survives.”

“Well I haven’t been informed of any murders aboard the ship, so I assume he’s still alive. How about you?” Chakotay asked.

“I’ve been here about eight hours and am due to be relieved within the hour. I’m fine Commander, how about you and the Captain. I haven’t heard anything from the Doctor.”

“I’ll be allowed back into sickbay in 25 minutes, then I’ll know about the Captain. As for me, I’m just a little stiff and sore but otherwise fine. What’s our status?”

Harry spent the next ten minutes filling Chakotay in on recent events, including Seven beaming back to Voyager carrying a young boy for the Doctor to treat. “She looked so haunted and sad,” Harry pondered as he recalled the transport. “I’ve never seen Seven look so sad.”

“I think this is getting to all of us,” Chakotay responded as he prepared to head for sickbay.

“Commander, would you please contact me as soon as you find out about the Captain. I’d really like to know how she is before I go off duty,” Harry pleaded.

“I’ll let you know.”

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Chakotay entered sickbay ten minutes early and hoped the Doctor wouldn’t make an issue of it. He just couldn’t wait any longer to see Kathryn and find out how she was doing.

As he walked through the doors he was surprised to see Seven sitting on one of the sickbay beds holding a small child who appeared to be sleeping. She looked so content sitting there and he wondered what brought about this show of emotion. After all, the Borg didn’t feel emotion, did they?

“Seven, who’s that?” Chakotay inquired as he moved to check on Kathryn. She had been moved to a more secluded area at the back of sickbay where she would have more privacy. The Doctor was in his office and started to rise at Chakotay’s entrance.

“I found him in the rubble of the building. The authorities are checking to see if they can determine who he is and if his parents are still alive. The two children found with him were dead. He was not seriously injured, but when he woke up he was afraid so I promised to hold him while he slept.” Seven looked down at the small child in her arms then looked up and smiled at Chakotay. “He will not let go of my arm.”

Chakotay thought Seven didn’t mind that at all, but he wondered where all this emotion was coming from.

Turning his attention to the woman lying so still on the biobed, he approached and laid his hand beside her cheek. “Good morning, Kathryn, are you going to sleep all day?”

“She most certainly will,” the Doctor’s aerobic voice interrupted as he approached Chakotay, “and most likely tomorrow and the day after. She needs time to heal and the only way to keep this woman still is to keep her sedated. You know how she is – she’d want to immediately go back to the planet to help. And quite frankly, right now that would probably kill her so I’m keeping her here.”

“Agreed,” Chakotay stated as he looked again at Kathryn. “How is she?”

“Healing nicely, but it will take time,” the Doctor reported. “Her internal injuries and concussion will still need at least two days, but it’s her legs I’m worried about. The wall kept the full weight of that beam off of her or she wouldn’t have any legs, but even so it did considerable damage. One leg was almost severed and both were seriously crushed. I’ll have to regenerate her bones daily for the next week, but I believe I can rebuild them back to their original state. Until then I have to keep her legs immobilized until the bones are regenerated. Then she’ll need therapy, which I’m sure she’ll hate, but it’s necessary and will take another two weeks. After that, if we all survive her being off duty for so long, things should return to normal for her.”

“Thanks Doc,” Chakotay responded as he hit his combadge remembering his promise. “Chakotay to Kim. The Captain is expected to recover, but will be out of commission for the next three weeks. She’s still sleeping and can have no visitors, but you can inform the crew that the Doctor expects her to make a fully recovery.”

“Kim to Chakotay. Thanks.”

Chakotay settled himself in the chair the Doctor provided, content to sit and watch Kathryn breathe and Seven rock the child in her arms. He still couldn’t believe it was Seven he was seeing holding the child.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Tom Paris continued to treat victims of the tragedy while keeping an eye on Haar Tra. The man’s condition was deteriorating and he knew something had to be done soon. The only hospital in the city was filled to overflowing so the victims in the triage area were kept there and the doctors came to them when they could.

“Ayala to Paris. We’ve found one leg that’s a match for the DNA sequence you programmed into this tricorder. What do you want us to do with it?”

“What shape is it in?” Tom asked as he tapped his combadge.

“The severed end is, of course, severed, but generally it’s not in bad shape,” Ayala reported.

“Give me five minutes then contact the Doctor on Voyager. I want that limb beamed to sickbay, and I’ll have its owner beamed there presently. And Ayala,…….thanks.”

Tom immediately contacted the Doctor for permission to return to Voyager with Haar. Chakotay heard Tom’s conversation with the Doctor and wholeheartedly supported Tom’s request to give special attention to Haar.

“He treated us so well and practically gave us some of those supplies,” Chakotay pleaded Haar’s case with the Doctor. “He’s also a high-ranking official. We owe him this much and I’d like to repay a part of the debt we owe for his kindness. I’m sure Kathryn,…….ummm, I mean Captain Janeway would agree.”

“Even though in a situation like this we’re not supposed to play favorites, of course I’ll help,” the Doctor replied as he finished his latest scan of Kathryn and moved to the surgical bay to prepare it for his newest patient. Chakotay marveled at how quickly the Doctor had everything ready then ordered the patient and Tom Paris beamed directly there. Shortly after the transport ended, the severed limb was also beamed to sickbay and the Doctor began his work.

Chakotay turned his attention to Kathryn, who was lying there so pale and still, and started talking to her just in case she could hear. He held her hand and occasionally stroked her face or touched her hair, trying to reach her and plead for her to return to them. He also admitted to himself that he also did it just to reassure himself that she was still here.

Two hours passed quickly and Chakotay then realized that the Doctor and Tom were finished with Haar’s surgery. Taking a moment to satisfy his curiosity, he approached the surgical bay asking for a report.

“I’ve performed another brilliant miracle,” the Doctor beamed as he gave his report to the Commander. “I’ve re-attached his third leg which was found in the rubble. Unfortunately neither of his other legs were found, so I’ve replicated and attached prosthetics which will serve him even better than his original legs. If he’s willing to accept this solution and learn to use the new legs, he should be just fine. Nobody will ever be able to tell the difference unless he tells them or they scan him.”

“Good work Doctor. Now we can only pray he accepts them,” Chakotay replied. After giving Haar another glance, he returned to keep his vigil beside Kathryn.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

“Tuvok to Commander Chakotay.”

“Go ahead Tuvok.”

“With the help of the local authorities we’ve managed to identify the group responsible for this attack. From the wreckage of the small ship that slammed into the building we’ve recovered enough of the body of the pilot to get a positive ID. He’s a member of the terrorist group Etah from the country of Bostula on the southern continent. Apparently Bostula is the location of several sites where these terrorists are trained and taught to hate the people of the northern continent because of their beliefs about the Zinta people. This radical group has been responsible for other attacks in the past, but never anything of this magnitude.”

“The authorities have already authorized a counter-attack on these training camps. They seem to know where they are located and have deployed ground troops and attack missiles. I tried to talk them out of this, but revenge seems to be the driving force of this decision, as well as trying to keep this situation from escalating. I offered the services of Voyager to try to negotiate a solution between the factions, but nobody seems interested in negotiation. What action would you like me to take?”

“There’s nothing we can do for the moment,” Chakotay responded. “Continue to help with the rescue effort. One of the leaders of these people is here in sickbay, and once he regains consciousness I’ll offer our services to try to negotiate a peaceful solution. Until then we must follow the Prime Directive and not interfere. I’ll keep you posted”

“Aye Sir, Tuvok Out.”

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Three days later the wreckage had finally been cleared away, the wounded rescued and the bodies removed from the rubble. The final toll was 835 dead, 424 wounded with some still in critical condition. The city was still in shock over this unprovoked attack, but retaliation was swift and attacks were still being waged against the terrorist camps. No further attacks had been launched against the northern continent, but the ground forces sent to the southern continent had met up with some resistance. The battle continued.

As Chakotay arrived in sickbay after his forced-by-the-Doctor eight-hour rest, he noticed the Doctor hovering over Haar.

“Good morning Haar,” he greeted as he moved to stand beside Haar’s bed. “How are you doing?”

“I’m going to try walking today, and if all goes well I can return home tomorrow,” Haar replied with a smile. “These legs the Doctor fashioned for me should do a better job than my own and I am just thankful to have my third leg,” he smiled as he patted the re-attached limb. “How are you doing? Are your injuries all healed?”

“I’m still a little stiff and sore, but otherwise all healed. Thank you for asking. It’s the Captain I’m worried about. When do you think she’ll wake up?” Chakotay asked the Doctor.

“Actually, I think it will be sometime in the next few hours,” the Doctor responded with a smile. I discontinued the sedatives last night and I think her injuries are healed enough that I can bring her back to consciousness. But she can’t walk yet, her legs aren’t done regenerating and then she needs therapy. Knowing her, this is going to be a challenge just to keep her down. But I expect you to help me here Commander. She might threaten to decompile my program when the going gets tough.”

“Agreed,” Chakotay smiled as he hurried to where his Captain lay. Finally he’d get to see those lovely blue eyes look at him again and he’d know in his heart that she was all right.

Tom Paris reported to sickbay shortly after Chakotay took up his vigil beside Kathryn, and immediately he and the Doctor helped Haar try out his new legs. They’d been working on and off for two hours, giving Haar time to rest between sessions, and Haar was doing wonderfully. His legs were working just as they were supposed to and his third leg even responded to his commands. Haar was one very happy man, all things considered.

During one of Haar’s rest periods Neelix appeared with lunch for all of them and they enjoyed Haar’s happy mood as they ate. Haar told them stories about the Zinta and how they’d progressed over the past fifty years. Chakotay was very impressed, especially since the Zinta were able to maintain their native culture while still adapting to Rehan culture. Knowing that he would be able to return to his home the following day gave Haar the strength and attitude he needed to continue his exercises.

“You know, my wife was Zinta,” Haar surprised them by saying. “She died in a terrorist explosion at a shopping mall over five years ago, but she was the best thing that ever happened to me. She taught me the Zinta beliefs, and you know I believe in them. They respect all life and are thankful for the land, sea and air. Their devotion to family is complete and I really miss that now that she’s gone but I know I’ll be with her again someday. The other Zinta in my city give me support, but I still miss my wife. I only wish we’d been able to have children.”

Haar’s story moved everyone in sickbay, even the holographic Doctor.

Chakotay continued to watch and encourage Haar’s walking progress from Kathryn’s bedside, so he almost missed the slight movement of the fingers of her hand that he’d been holding almost constantly. Suddenly he realized what was happening.

“Doctor, she’s waking up,” he called excitedly as he started stroking her cheek and encouraging her. “Kathryn, wake up. Come on Honey and open those beautiful eyes. You’re safe on Voyager and you’re going to be OK. Wake up, please.”

“Give her time,” the Doctor advised as he started scanning Kathryn. “She’s almost back to us.”

“Kathryn, wake up,” Chakotay continued to plead as her eyelids started to move.

Kathryn felt like she was swimming against a very strong current and she was tired, but there was a light in the distance pulling her towards it. Then she heard a familiar voice, which gave her strength to continue to fight against the current. She finally reached the light and tried to open her eyes to see where she was, but her eyelids felt too heavy and they didn’t want to open. Gathering what little strength she had, she tried again and finally managed to get one eye open a crack, but she couldn’t see anything. She still heard Chakotay’s voice calling to her so she tried yet again and was rewarded with the blurry sight of him bending over her stroking her cheek.

“Welcome back,” he smiled as he noticed her eyes trying to focus and figure out what was happening. “You’re in sickbay and you’re going to be OK. You gave us quite a scare.”

As her vision cleared, she could see the pain and concern in his eyes, but she couldn’t remember what she did that gave him such a scare. Fatigue washed over her in waves as she struggled to keep her eyes open and then sit up.

“Ahhhh, you’re back with us,” the Doctor interrupted as he stepped into her line of vision gently pressing her back down on the bed. “Lie still, you’re not strong enough yet to sit up. You need rest and you’ve been unconsciousness for four days. I’ve healed all your injuries except for your legs, which were broken and need a few more days to regenerate. I have your legs immobilized so don’t try to move them, but you’ll soon be as good as new thanks to my superior medical skills.”

“Thanks,” she managed to softly whisper as her eyes started to close, but the warm feeling surrounding her hand made her open her eyes again to look at Chakotay. She was starting to remember what happened and a sudden thought jumped into her head.

“You’re OK? And the children?” was all she could manage to get out.

“I’m fine and thanks to you we managed to save all of the children who were with us. Now you rest and we’ll talk more about it when you wake up.” Chakotay continued to stroke her cheek as her eyes lost their battle to stay open. This time when she fell into the blackness it was a soft, comforting feeling.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

The next time Kathryn fought her way to consciousness it was easier. As awareness sharpened she realized that she was clean, not breathing dust, and that almost her whole body hurt. Not the sharp searing pain of debris falling on her, but the ache of damage in the process of healing.

As her eyes opened and took in her surroundings, she realized that she was in sickbay lying on one of the biobeds farthest away from the surgical bay. She slowly turned her head trying to discover what had her right hand trapped by her side and found the dark head of her first officer laying on it. It appeared he was sound asleep sitting on a chair by her bedside.

“Cha…y,” she croaked, as her mouth was dry and her voice unused for a few days. “Chak…ay,” she tried again and managed to get most of the word out. When he didn’t stir she moved her left arm to try to reach his head. It hurt and then she remembered how it was broken in the building. Pushing past the discomfort she managed to softly stroke his hair. In an instant his eyes were open and deep brown eyes were smiling at her.

“Hi,” he offered as the smile reached his face and his dimples appeared. “It’s good to have you back with us again. How do you feel?”

“Water?” she asked and was immediately offered a glass of water with a bendable straw. Chakotay gently lifted her up a little bit and held the glass as she drank.

After drinking slowly for a minute she turned her eyes to his and answered. “I hurt, and I’m glad to be back here, but how…….? I thought I was going to die in that building.”

“I did too,” he said and the pain of that admission showed in his eyes and on his face as he gently laid her back down. “You must have managed to somehow get into the stairwell before the ceiling came down on you, and the beams formed a pocket in the stairwell that gave you some protection. Oh Kathryn,….. I thought I lost you. You don’t know how much it hurt to walk away and leave you there to die alone.” Two tears coursed their way down his cheeks as he held her right hand to his heart.

“You don’t know how hard it was to send you away, even to save your life. I didn’t want to stay there alone; I wanted to be with you. But there were children involved and I wouldn’t save my life at the cost of theirs. I hope you understand.” Tears ran down her cheeks as well.

The clearing of a throat interrupted them as the Doctor stepped up to Kathryn’s bed, medical tricorder in hand. “Excuse me, but I need to check you Captain.”

As Chakotay rose to move away, Kathryn refused to release his hand. “Please stay,” she whispered, and he gladly moved back to her side.

The Doctor ran his tricorder over her whole body, pausing only to check the readings on the tricorder and on the display by her bed. Once he finished he lowered the blanket that was covering her from the waist down and checked her legs.

Kathryn painfully struggled to rise into a sitting position to see what the Doctor was doing, and Chakotay quickly steadied then held her. She was able to see the regenerators strapped to each leg and wondered just how bad they really were. They looked awful. Black and blue just didn’t begin to describe their color, and there was still evidence of deep lacerations on both legs. She tried to move one of her legs and was rewarded with a sharp stab of pain that caused her to gasp.

“Please stay still and don’t try to move your legs,” the Doctor admonished as he finished adjusting one of the units. “Your legs were crushed and I’m trying to regenerate your bones. I have them immobilized until the regeneration is complete so I can protect the fragile bones as they heal. It will take several days and then you’ll need therapy, but given time and work you should be as good as new. Of course, that’s provided you follow your friendly doctor’s advice and stay still.”

“How long must I stay here, Doctor?” Kathryn asked already knowing what the answer would be. “I’d be much more comfortable in my quarters.”

“No way can you take care of yourself in your present condition and you must stay here so I can work on your legs. You’ll probably be here at least a week and then you’ll have to return twice a day for therapy, but we’ll see how you progress,” the Doctor stated. “Of course, then there’s your annual physical which we haven’t been able to squeeze into our busy schedules,” he sarcastically quipped, but Chakotay could see the smile underlying the remark. That damn Doctor was enjoying this every bit as much as Kathryn enjoyed avoiding the physical.

“I’ll make time for the physical, sooner or later,” Kathryn replied. “But right now I’d prefer it to be later.”

“Agreed, we want you in fine physical condition,” the Doctor returned. “Now rest, and that’s Doctor’s orders.

With a deep sigh and Chakotay’s help Kathryn lay back down on the bed.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

It was mid-morning when Haar, Chakotay, Tuvok and several local authorities were meeting in Voyager’s conference room to discuss the attack and its ramifications. Tuvok had returned the night before to report that thanks to Voyager’s transporters, a six-month cleanup time had been reduced to four days. The area where the unlucky building stood had been cleared down to the underground levels, which remained relatively intact. The dead that were recovered had been returned to their families and the wounded were being treated.

“We must address the root of this problem before we can expect to achieve peace,” Tuvok reported.

Chakotay preferred to spend more of his time aboard Voyager seeing to repairs and restocking, while Tuvok spent more time on the planet overseeing the cleanup and rescue efforts. All of them realized that the real reason Chakotay wanted to remain on board was to be near Kathryn, but he did spend his shifts between the ready room, engineering and the cargo bays.

“Do you know who is the leader of this terrorist organization and why he hates the Zinta people so much?” Tuvok questioned as their discussions progressed. “It’s only logical that there must be a reason why they hate the Zintas and we must discover what it will take to stop the hatred and allow your people to live in peace.”

One of the local officials finally spoke up. “His name is Nedual Neb. He’s a very wealthy individual and his family own large portions of land in the southern hemisphere. They have always used the Zinta people as their slaves, and this supplied them with cheap labor. I understand that they abused their Zintas as well, so there were strong hard feelings between the family members and the Zinta. When the Zintas were freed this forced Nedual’s family to have to pay them fairly or hire other workers, all of which cut into their profits in a big way. So in a rage they started attacking and murdering any Zinta people who remained on or stumbled onto their land. Finally a large group of Zintas banded together and attacked the family’s main home, killing two of Nedual’s brothers, his father, his wife, and two of his sons. To this day he’s been driven by hate and vows to keep fighting until every Zinta is either eliminated or returned to slavery.”

“Unfortunately he has the wealth to finance these camps to train terrorists, and he has a charismatic personality so people are drawn to him and believe what he says. He has a large following, although more than 92% of the people of the southern hemisphere are not members of his groups. Many who are not members of his group still believe what he says but do not act on it. We must be careful that we do not attack them by mistake. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell where a person’s allegiance lies, but all members of his factions carry a small tattoo on the back of their left shoulder. Man or woman – the tattoo is the same and it is the sign that they belong to his organization,” the official concluded.

Haar concurred and added, “I truly believe if we can capture Nedual and his small band of personal confidents that we can end this reign of terror. It will not be easy and it will take time because the people he’s influenced will be against us, but most of them are not actual terrorists but supporters of the cause he represents. Without Nedual’s influence and financial backing, the terrorists will not be able to function.”

“We have amassed troops from the northern hemisphere, as well as troops from our allies in the southern hemisphere to flush out and bring to justice Nedual and his group. They are advancing on his strongholds as we speak. Once we’ve captured them we could use your help with the trials and negotiations.”

“We will be glad to offer our services for negotiating,” Chakotay responded, “but our Prime Directive forbids us from interfering with your troop movements or trials.”

Haar raised himself to his feet, once again an example by his demeanor. “We understand and will be in contact with you. I thank you for all you have done for us.” He then left to return to the planet, accompanied by the other officials.

*****

Chakotay entered sickbay to find Kathryn sitting on her bed arguing with the Doctor, and this made him smile. Things were getting back to normal.

“Chakotay, please tell the Doctor that I’m fit to return to my quarters. I can’t stand being confined here any longer. It’s already been a week and I promise I’ll behave.”

“Commander, she’s not ready to leave here because I know our lovely Captain better than she knows herself. She still has two more days of regeneration treatments, then two weeks of therapy. I released her from the immobilization unit because her bones are healing nicely. I’ve forbid her to put weight on her legs, and what do I find when my back is turned? I find our intrepid Captain trying to slide off the bed – that’s what I found,” the Doctor was getting himself worked up but Chakotay suspected he secretly enjoyed ranting about the Captain. It was part of the game.

One thing Chakotay knew for a fact was that the Doctor hadn’t given Kathryn her semi-annual physical yet even though he had her here for the past week. He suspected that both of them enjoyed the game of outwitting the other too much to let it be this easy. It was all he could do to keep the smile off his face.

“When will she be ready to return to her quarters?” Chakotay asked as he tried to keep the peace. “She looks better to me.”

“Better, yes – recovered, no. It’s only been six days since we got her out of the wreckage and I’m not done with her legs. I need another two days to regenerate, and I know my Captain. She’ll be walking on them before five minutes is up and reading reports even sooner. I also know B’Elanna Torres well enough to know she’ll sneak reports to the Captain no matter where she is. Why I caught her just yesterday afternoon trying to sneak an engineering report in here, so I sent her packing. And how many other department heads will she coerce into bringing reports to her quarters?” the Doctor continued.

“No, she stays here for two more days so I can keep an eye on her.” The Doctor then left the other shoe fall. “Besides, I haven’t done her semi-annual physical yet and I have to get her well enough for it.”

Chakotay knew that was only an excuse, but there was an element of truth to what the Doctor said. Kathryn would try to walk, and without a doubt she’d try to read reports. But as far as the physical – healed or not he could do it at any time. Chakotay smiled as he realized that the Doctor was fanning the flames.

“Doctor, I promise,” Kathryn cajoled as she realized that Chakotay wasn’t going to back her. “How about tomorrow if I promise to come for my physical as soon as possible.”

“We’ll see,” the Doctor grumbled but Chakotay could see him smile as he turned to leave them alone.

“You could have given me some support here,” Kathryn grumbled to Chakotay once they were alone. She leaned back against the bed and folded her arms as she glared. “He’s driving me crazy with his opera and he knows it, and if he thinks he’s doing my physical now he’d better think again. Even though I can’t walk, I have other ways of making his life miserable. I just want some peace and quiet. Is that too much to ask?”

“Let’s see what tomorrow brings. Now, how are you feeling besides feisty?”

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

It took another three days before they captured Nedual Neb and his advisors. Tuvok was advised immediately, but before he was able to get in touch with Haar word came through that Nedual was dead as well as all but two of his core group of cohorts. The two surviving members of his advisory council were being held in a local prison. Tuvok didn’t want to know how Nedual died or where the bodies were, but he did arrange a meeting between himself, Chakotay, Haar, the terrorist leaders and several government officials for the following day.

The meeting convened in the conference room of the temporary government building that would house all the government offices until a new building could be erected. In addition to themselves, Haar and his group, there were also four representatives of the southern hemisphere one of whom was Zinta, and one of whom was the leader of the country where the terrorists lived and worked.

Introductions were formally made and then the group got down to business.

“We would like to help you stabilize relations between the people of your planet, and since that is what you want also, we should be able to help define and hopefully resolve your disputes,” Chakotay started as he addressed the assembly. “I have studied the Zinta beliefs and have come to some conclusions which might be of interest to all of you.”

“The Zintas worship the air, the sun, the land and all that grows upon it, where as the Rehans have moved away from this and now worship the one true God of all. Zinta beliefs parallel those of my people, and even though when I was young I tried to forget those beliefs, they are part of who and what I am today. My Captain and all the rest of this crew have different beliefs and each has his or her own god or philosophies that govern how they live their lives. But we’ve learned to live together within the confinements of this ship and we’ve learned to respect each other’s beliefs.”

“Captain Janeway took the first step when she let me introduce her to her animal guide, which is one way in which my people govern their lives. It was an enlightening experience and she’s expanded her knowledge of not only the ways of my people, but of all the people who serve under her. She has been greatly enriched by this, and I believe she’s a better person for her tolerance and understanding. I know our people respect this in her and would do anything, including giving up their lives, for her. She’s also become adept at several Vulcan medication techniques that she learned from her Vulcan crewmembers, and she can also recite Bajoan and Bolian scripture. Several times she’s used what she learned from these philosophies to save our ship and crew because there seems to be a moral to each of their stories. ”

“I’ve learned much from the different species we’ve encountered by listening to their philosophies and beliefs. At first I was reluctant to get involved with all this learning, but as our Captain dragged me into the process I found that I had strength and peace I never dreamed of just by opening my mind and heart to these philosophies. This doesn’t mean I’ve given up my beliefs, but rather I have enriched them and now they mean more to me than I ever thought possible.”

“If you would like I could ask other members of the crew to tell you how they feel, but I firmly believe that if you just give each other a chance to understand, that you would surely be able to attain the peace you seek.”

“Failing that, I suggest you respect the country that was given to the Zinta people after your war. Your world is large and there should be room for everyone. There are less than 200,000 Zinta people left on your world so they need a place where they can practice their beliefs and not offend others. If given a chance, their culture would surely enrich your own.”

Haar then took the floor and told the gathering about his wife, about her kindness and love. He told them how he felt when she was killed, and about all the support he received from the Rehans as well as the Zinta.

“My wife wanted nothing more than to live peacefully and be part of our society. But she refused to abandon who and what she was, so she combined our two cultures. Other than the facial features of the Zinta people being somewhat different than ours, there really aren’t that many physical differences. As most of you know, my wife was highly respected in both societies, partly because she was my wife, but mostly because she was such a good person and people looked beyond her facial features to see the person within. I was very proud of her and loved her very much.”

“The Zinta people do not deserve to be slaves, and they certainly don’t deserve to be killed because they believe differently than us. And we of the northern continent aren’t monsters because we want to treat them like equals. Just because our society developed technology first doesn’t mean the Zintas can’t adapt and contribute meaningfully. We just need to give them the chance. Many have already proven themselves, including Brotran who is first deputy of Listia of the southern hemisphere.” Haar indicated a tall pale man whose facial features were different than those of the other Rehans, and Brotan then stood to address the group.

The discussions went on for five hours, and at the end of that time arrangements were made to continue the following day. Weary, but encouraged by the attitudes displayed toward the end of the day, Tuvok and Chakotay beamed back to Voyager.

“Do you think they’ll work it out?” Chakotay asked of Tuvok as they stepped off the transporter pad.

“Only time will tell, but at least we’ve given them a place to start. There’s little more we can do at this point,” Tuvok replied. “I wish them well.”

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

“Doctor to Chakotay,” greeted him as he stepped into the turbolift. “Please report to sickbay.”

“On my way,” Chakotay responded as he wondered just what trouble Kathryn was in now.

The doors to sickbay opened at his approach, and he was surprised to see Kathryn, fully dressed in casual clothing, standing beside her biobed leaning against it. “Hi Chakotay,” she greeted as he came to an abrupt stop and just stared at her. She looked great.

“The Doctor says I can return to my own quarters if you’ll stay with me. I had my first therapy session earlier today and did well, so I promised to listen to his instructions if I can get out of here. He agreed, but I secretly think he’ll be glad to be rid of me, although I do have to report back twice a day for therapy. I’ll need your help,” she rather sheepishly said.

“That’s right Commander. Listen carefully. No unnecessary walking unless someone is with her for support, no sneaking up to the bridge or down to engineering, and definitely no crawling through the Jeffries tubes. No reports and no meetings with either Voyager personnel or dignitaries from the planet. I want her to get lots of rest, eat something other than coffee, and I’ve given her some simple exercises to do while sitting or lying on her bed. Her legs are only up to short trips, like to the bathroom or living room for short periods of time. If she doesn’t listen, it’s back to sickbay. Do you understand?” the Doctor was speaking to Chakotay but the message was definitely for Kathryn. “And I expect you here at 0900 hours next Tuesday for your semi-annual physical.”

Only her dark look alerted Chakotay to the fact that this was a new one to her. Apparently the Doctor was getting in his physical plugs while he still could, and Kathryn was currently in no position to argue.

The Doctor snorted and continued. “And as far as doing well with her therapy? If you consider that I’ve been threatened with reprogramming, decompilation and mutilation I guess you could call that doing well. In fact she can barely walk, it’s painful which I understand because her legs have been almost totally rebuilt and she’s almost like a toddler having to teach her legs how to work again. They’re weak and need strengthening, which I intend to help her accomplish so it’s a fair race when I pursue her for her physical.”

Chakotay looked sharply at the Doctor after his last statement, and managed to see the ghost of a smile cross his features as he turned toward his office. Ahhhhhhh……he thought. The chase is on.

Chakotay moved to Kathryn’s side and she leaned against him and started to take a few slow, tentative steps. He could tell it was still painful, but Kathryn would rather die than let the Doctor see this.

“Are you ready, Chakotay? Let’s go,” she suggested when he nodded his head.

“Just a minute Captain,” the Doctor interrupted with that annoyed look on his face that she had come to hate. “It’s too far for you to walk from here to your quarters and you know it, so you have two options. Either I can beam you there or the Commander can carry you. Your choice.”

“Beam us, Doctor.” The Captain was back.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

The negotiations were going well between the planetary leaders. Haar communicated daily with Tuvok and Chakotay since the leaders were now negotiating on their own. For the first four days the Voyager team had been present to mediate, but the leaders were past needing their constant help. Haar’s aid, Bel Gros, was proving to be adept at mediating settlements and paving the way between the parties, and to prove some of his points he even brought survivors of the tragedy to talk to the group.

It had been initially requested that Kathryn Janeway be allowed to speak to the group about her experience, but the Doctor strictly forbid it because she wasn’t recovered enough to be transported to the planet for the meetings. Tuvok and Chakotay agreed, especially since they knew that mentally she hadn’t dealt with what happened. Such a traumatic experience wasn’t something you just forgot and moved on with. Chakotay fully realized that he hadn’t dealt with it yet himself, but once things settled down and Kathryn was better he hoped they could deal with it together.

Yes, she had nightmares in sickbay, but the Doctor was always there to help. He’d had some himself once the Doctor stopped giving him sleeping aids, but he managed to push his feeling aside by focusing on Kathryn and the situation on the planet. Most nights he was so exhausted he just fell into bed and slept, but he knew the night was coming when he would have to face his own demons.

Fortunately for the negotiators, there were plenty of victims willing to speak, including Haar himself who suffered terribly. He was fast becoming a symbol of what was possible for their race. Here was a man who not only loved the Zinta, but married one and lived a good and peaceful life, yet he was Rehan through and through in his beliefs. And his Zinta wife was respected and well-liked by the people she served up until her tragic death. Haar’s injuries in the tragedy were severe, yet he managed to overcome them and still maintain his position as a leader, serving on behalf of his president to the best of his abilities.

Chakotay felt sure that one day he would become the ultimate leader of one of the southern continent countries. He could see the presidents of two southern hemisphere countries trying to court him away from his home to work with them. Maybe this was a good idea because he certainly had strong feelings for peace.

Every day the negotiation news was more encouraging. Certainly there were setbacks, but progress was being made. Plans were being made to rebuild the building destroyed in the attack as a joint venture between all the countries of both hemispheres, and a memorial was being created in the adjoining park to honor those who died that fateful day.

Chakotay wondered what fellow humans would think if they ever reached this far out into space and stood on the soil of this planet reading the dedication plaque that contained the names of one human who died here, as well as two who were injured. Haar also planned to have Voyager’s contributions memorialized on the plaque even though Chakotay tried to convince him that it wasn’t really necessary.

Nedual’s terrorist group was dealt what everyone hoped was a fatal blow. All their training camps and most of Nedual’s assets were also believed destroyed or confiscated. Small pockets probably still existed here and there, but without support and financing they would be unable to mount any kind of offensive. Everyone hoped they heard the last from them.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Kathryn Janeway was sweating, and she didn’t like to sweat. And the Doctor’s ‘keep moving’ that he offered constantly wasn’t helping her mood one bit. After all, she was trying her best and moving as fast as her healing legs would carry her.

“I am moving,” she growled, “and if you’re not careful I’m going to move to that computer over there and decompile your program. One more note of opera and I take out your vocal subroutines. One more ‘keep moving’ and I’ll take out your mouth and replace it with a coffee cup.”

“Captain!” the Doctor exclaimed, “I’m only trying to help you. After all, if you ever want to walk normally you have to complete the therapy.”

“Yes, but walking for five miles around sickbay doesn’t constitute therapy. It’s more like torture. And that machine you’re using on my legs hurts. I’m not training to run a marathon."

“No, but you are teaching your legs how to walk again. It takes time, but you’re not walking five miles. Just pretend you’re running away from me while I’m trying to do your physical,” he offered with a smile hidden behind his hand. “After all, you’re the only crewmember other than B’Elanna that I actually have to catch, and you’re the only one I have to restrain until it’s over. At least once I’ve caught B’Elanna she doesn’t keep trying to escape. I actually have time right now for your physical if you like.”

“Try it and you’re a dead hologram,” she growled as she forced her legs to keep moving. The Doctor only smiled.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Seven sat on a seat in the mess hall holding the small boy she rescued from the rubble of the building. He seemed to be fully recovered from his experience, and at 3 years of age he was enjoying himself just sitting with her playing with the toys she replicated for him. The boy had stayed with Seven since his rescue, and the child didn’t like to let her out of his sight. If Chakotay could guess, he’d guess that Seven didn’t want him out of her sight either and this concerned him because just an hour ago they had located his parents.

Seven looked up at his approach and smiled. “He’s adjusting well and has fully recovered from his injury. His name is Danni and he’s 3 years old.” Seven looked at her young charge with tenderness and then looked back up at Chakotay.

“You’ve found his parents, haven’t you?” she softly inquired. It was so hard for her to vocalize this because she so much wanted to keep this small child with her. She didn’t understand why, but she wanted to keep him so badly.

“Yes, they were both severely injured and now have recovered from the injuries they received in the blast. They’ll be coming for him shortly. Please accompany him to the conference room and I’ll have his parents brought there when they arrive.”

“Aye sir,” she whispered and Chakotay could see tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Seven, you’ve done a wonderful job with him. I can see that you don’t want to let him go, but what I don’t understand is why.”

With tears forming in her eyes Seven replied. “Several weeks ago I had the Doctor deactivate my Borg emotion suppressor in an attempt to more fully embrace my humanity. I had no idea how overwhelming human emotions are, and I believe I’ve formed an emotional attachment to Danni. I wanted to recapture some of the feelings I experienced when I was with Axim in Unimatrix Zero, possibly with someone on this ship or when we got back to Earth. I have little hope of ever seeing Axim again so I must move forward with my life. I cannot do this among humans if I don’t feel emotions, but I’m not sure it’s worth it. I do not enjoy feeling like this.”

“Oh Seven, it’s worth it. It makes us who we are. Don’t diminish your feelings for Danni by wishing them away because it hurts to say goodby. Cherish the time you had getting to know him and you can always hold him close in your thoughts and in your heart. Emotions will make you a better and more complete person. I know it hurts now, but you still have Icheb who looks up to you for guidance and Naomi who is your friend. Everyone on this ship is your friend, if you’ll let them in. Captain Janeway cares deeply for you, B’Elanna treats you more like a sister than anything because she’s always fighting with you, and the Doctor is in love with you. Neelix would bend over backwards just to please you, and God only knows about Harry but I think he loves you too. Don’t discount any of this or you diminish those people who offer their friendship and love to you,” Chakotay pleaded.

“I will consider what you’ve said,” Seven responded as she gathered up Danni and his toys to report to the conference room.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Once his shift was over, Chakotay returned to his quarters, took a shower and left to check on Kathryn. He’d been gone for almost 3 hours, and she was asleep when he left. He hoped she would still be asleep because her body had a long way to go to heal and the Doctor had ordered plenty of rest. He used his override code to let himself in and was unprepared for the sight that greeted him.

“Kathryn?” he asked as he saw her sitting on the sofa talking to Tuvok. She was dressed in her uniform pants and t-shirt, along with those damned high heeled boots which the Doctor forbid her to wear just yet. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“Hi Chakotay, and I’m glad to see you too,” she quipped as she gave him ‘the look’. “Tuvok was just giving me an update on the progress of the negotiations and it seems that peace is within reach. It also seems that Voyager is almost repaired and well stocked. You’ve both done such a good job.”

“And you’re supposed to be in bed,” he replied unphased by her smooth attempt to change the subject.

Tuvok got the hint and rose to leave. “I’ll be on the bridge if you need me Commander,” he said as he walked toward the door. “Good day Captain, I’m glad you’re up and about.”

“Up and about? In those heels?” Before she realized what was happening Chakotay scooped her into his arms and carried her into her bedroom. After depositing her on the bed he promptly removed her boots and replaced them with flat slippers. He took a moment to realize that the bed was neatly made before he scooped her up again and carried her back to her favorite chair.

“Now sit while I make us some supper,” he ordered, but a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth. Kathryn Janeway was one stubborn woman and that’s definitely what kept the whole ship going.

Dinner was delicious and Kathryn actually ate almost a full helping. After discussing his day and briefly going over what was happening in other parts of the ship, Chakotay told Kathryn about Seven and Danni.

“Seven was so upset when she had to turn the child over to his parents, and Danni didn’t know who to run to. She took good care of him while he was here and his leaving really tore her apart. She has a lot to learn about emotions and this whole thing is hitting her hard. Maybe you should talk to her. After all, she listens to you when she won’t listen to anyone else.”

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow right after therapy,” Kathryn agreed and she immediately paged Seven to set up the time.

They sat and talked for another two hours before Chakotay finally said, “OK, bath and then bed. You’ve been up enough for one day and you have to face the Doctor tomorrow. After all, it’s Tuesday and don’t you have an appointment for your physical at 0900 hours?”

“We’ll see,” she smiled as she held out her arms for him to carry her to the bathroom. Within the hour she was fast asleep in his arms as they cuddled together in her bed.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

The nightmares came for both of them on a regular basis. Kathryn relived having to send Chakotay away while she stayed behind to die, and Chakotay dreamed about hearing the building collapse while he was in the garage. Sometimes the faces of the dead children or McGee would come to her and Kathryn would wake screaming and trembling. Chakotay would soothe her until she settled. Chakotay would scream her name in his sleep envisioning the building coming down and crushing her, and Kathryn would have to gently wake him to assure him she was alive and well. Only time could heal the wounds, but at least they were there for each other. The Doctor was satisfied.

~~~~ a Y a ~~~~

Two weeks later Kathryn’s therapy was complete and the Doctor released her to return to duty the following day. Voyager was again headed toward the Alpha Quadrant and Seven finally appeared to accepted Danni’s departure. Instead of Danni, she focused her attention on Icheb and Naomi who were very glad to have her company. Almost every evening found them in the mess hall playing games, and more often than not Neelix, Harry Kim and/or the Doctor joined them. Seven was definitely forming closer attachments, but these were enjoyable and she was learning to deal with her emotions. Her talks with Kathryn Janeway helped immensely, and Seven even looked forward to these sessions.

Kathryn’s semi-annual physical still had not happened because every time the Doctor fit her into a time slot, she either disappeared completely or was involved in a meeting. The Doctor knew she wasn’t in important meetings since if it was senior staff he would be involved, but he played the game as usual. Three times he beamed only her combadge to sickbay with no captain attached, and once he locked the sickbay doors while she was visiting a sick crewman only to find she had anticipated his actions and pre-programmed the computer to beam her out at a designated time. After that he was even more determined.

Chakotay and the rest of the crew realized what was happening mostly because of the Doctor’s constant complaints, but they were highly amused at the creative ways she avoided those appointments. Kathryn knew it was only a matter of time, and even though she hated physicals with a passion she accepted that it was required for everyone, including the captain. But her reputation would suffer if she made it too easy, and she enjoyed the game as much as everyone else. The betting pool was in full swing.

“You’re bad,” Chakotay admonished as she climbed out of a Jeffries tube after repairing a relay for B’Elanna. The tube was in one of the science labs. She offered to do it because it was time for her physical – again – and she just wasn’t in the mood to go. “You know the Doctor is waiting,” he chuckled.

“I know, and I’ll go soon,” she smiled just as Seven walked up to them. “How about dinner in the holodeck tonight? I have time saved and since I’m not ready for velocity just yet I thought we might take a nice sail on Lake George.” Chakotay’s smile was his answer.

“Captain, Commander,” Seven inclined her head. “I’m glad you’re fully recovered,” she told the Captain. “And I want to thank you for all the time you spent with me talking about emotions. The Doctor invited me to go on a ‘date’ with him and I have accepted. This encounter will take place tomorrow at 1800 hours in holodeck 2. I wonder what he has planned for a first date.”

“It doesn’t matter as long as you enjoy yourself,” Janeway smiled as she studied Seven and marveled at how far she had come since she was severed from the collective.

Seven slowly reached out her hand and gently touched the back of Janeway’s left shoulder as if she were offering thanks with just a touch. “The Doctor asked me to remind you that you’re late for your appointment.”

“I know, and I’ll go soon,” Kathryn quipped, “but right now I’m busy.”

Chakotay didn’t see the device on Kathryn’s shoulder until she began to dematerialize. “What the………..,” he said as he suddenly realized what was happening. He dove for the door and was through before it was fully open. In seconds he was in a dead run for sickbay, which was on the same deck.

The doors swished open as he dove through just in time to see Kathryn materialize on a biobed with an astonished expression on her face. The Doctor was standing beside and bed, and before the materialization was complete he had the diagnostic arch moving into place over Kathryn’s body.

As Chakotay skidded to a halt beside her bed, he noticed the Doctor’s demonic smile as he happily quipped…….”Gottcha.”

The End

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