"The Bottom"
by Ardelle
~Dedicated to the same people as always...and all those who have to live
life on the bottom~
Part Three:  Street Warriors

        Chopper stroked the heavy gun in his hands, between loving and
hating the weapon.  He wasn't the sort to fight...but what other choice
was there?
        *There are other choices,* he told himself.  There were many out
there who lived like the other rebels, but chose not to fight.  Fighting
would only get them killed, and they were having a hard enough time
avoiding that in the first place.  He knew how easy it would be to live
like that.  But things would never change.  Chopper would steal and cheat
his whole life and die and nothing would have been accomplished.  He
hated that.  That's why he started the rebellion.  Some one had to try
and change things.  It might as well be him.
        Careful not to flash his gun around, Chopper made his way through
the afternoon crowd to the meeting place.  It was an abandoned warehouse
near the jail's main entrance...perfect.
        "Hello Greaser, Fingers, Zelan, Pei, Elwoan, Praniff, Flint,
B'Elanna," he said with a smile as he entered.  "Where's Wires?"
        "Haven't seen him," everyone replied in some way or another.
        "Maybe he forgot," Fingers, a Zelm boy Chopper's age suggested.
        "Maybe he got scared and decided not to show," suggested Flint.
        "That's our Flint," said the aged Shazani, Pei.  "Always lookin'
on the bright side."
        "Maybe he'll show up later," said Chopper, ending the
conversation.  "Never the less, we need to move on.  As you know, today
is the day we attack.  I am grateful that all of you have decided to back
me on this.  Whether or not we succeed, we will leave our marks on Telane
and inspire more rebellion!  The tyranny must end!"
        "The tyranny must end!" the other rebels shouted.  "The tyranny
must end!"
        *The tyranny will surely end,* thought B'Elanna.  *Tom, I'm
coming!*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I have made up for my days of powerlessness."
-- Alanis Morisette, "One"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        Everything went right as planned.  They shot down the guards at
the door and kept the crowd back as Greaser, Fingers' twin sister, picked
the lock.  It was the only way to get in, as shooting it would
immediately sound an alarm.  The rebels made sure none of the crowd
escaped to warn the authorities.  Chopper decided to speak to the uneasy
crowd.
        "I suppose your wondering why we're doing this."
        There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd.
        "When I was young, I lived just like any of you.  No cares, no
worries...I even attended the daily sacrifices.  But then something
happened.  My aunt, the only living soul to take care of me, was accused
of thievery.  She didn't do it.  All evidence pointed otherwise.  But no
one cared.  They needed another person to sacrifice, so they killed her. 
Being related to a criminal made me one too, so I had no choice but to
take to the streets.  This is a cruel injustice..."
        B'Elanna listened intently when something moving caught her eye. 
A small Zelm boy, carrying a black machine about the size of a tricorder,
made his way _into_ the crowd, past Pei's watchful eyes.
        "Wires!" she called to him in a stage whisper.  "What are you
doing here?"
        The boy was startled by the recognition and turned away. 
B'Elanna took his arm firmly.  "Where were you?" she demanded, still
whispering.
        "Let go of me," he muttered, struggling in her grip.
        "Not until you tell me," replied B'Elanna, sensing danger.
        "LET GO OF ME!" he yelled.  He punched some sort of code into the
black machine.  Five seconds later, a dozen armed Telanians flooded the
area.  The rebels of course tried to shoot them.  Their weapons
malfunctioned.  They wouldn't shoot.
        "DAMN!" all of the rebels cried, almost at once.  They were
easily gathered and tied up.
        "Why'd ya do it, Wires?" Fingers called to the boy.  "Why,
brother?"
        B'Elanna hadn't realized Fingers, Greaser, and Wires were all
related.  It made her incredibly disgusted at the boy.  "Why did you do
it you lousy #@**^%#!*@#...?!"  B'Elanna called him a long string of
obscenities too colorful for a boy his age.  Wires looked like he might
cry.  But he didn't say anything.
        "It makes perfect sense to me," Flint whispered, "The little
boy's young and impressionable.  The officials were probably nice to him.
 He's starving to death, by the stars!"
        "Oh, shut up!" Chopper told her.  Flint made no reply but started
struggling with her bonds.  She wiggled her bony hand into her pocket and
found her switchblade, cutting the cords binding her hands with a snap. 
One of the guards, a young Delnr, looked at her.
        "What was that?"
        "Nothing," Flint said in a heartbroken voice.  Tears formed in
her eyes and she began to sob shamelessly.  B'Elanna knew it was all
acting, she'd seen Flint use the trick more than a few times to get a
scam.  She fell forward, dust sticking to the tearstains.  As the
troopers all gathered around, she slid the knife to B'Elanna and kicked
the gun out of the Delnr's hands.  B'Elanna came free and slid the knife
to Chopper.  She attacked the troopers with the rage of an animal...or
rather, the rage of a really pissed of half-Klingon.  Fingers somehow
managed to lift the weapons disabler, and all of the guns except one were
disabled.
        In the chaos, a wise Shazani grabbed Wires, holding the gun to
his head.  She had avoided the field transmitted by the disabler, which
had now been destroyed in combat.
        "Stop this or I'll kill the boy!"
        Wires burst into tears.  All of the others stopped their attack. 
Somehow the switchblade had found itself back into Flint's hand and she
cut through the most tender part of the Shazani's tentacle, the part
holding the gun.  Her eyes had become but black slits and her lips drew
back from her bad teeth, making her look like a beast. As the gun dropped
to the ground it fired, hitting Wires in the side.  He screamed.  Not
even noticing Flint thrust the knife into the Shazani's many faceted
eyes, right through to their nerve center.  It was only after the Shazani
let out a final, mournful howl that she realized what had happened.  The
Shazani's blue-black blood was all over her hands.  Wires and the Shazani
lay dead at her feet.
        Flint's expression reminded B'Elanna of Naomi Wildman when she
was very little.  She had knocked down an entire pot of Neelix's prized
leola root stew.  Her face seemed to say, "I did something wrong, didn't
I?" though she was really too young to understand.  Flint seemed shocked
and frightened by what she had just done.  Her mouth was agape but no
sound came out.  She just stood there shaking.  Everyone was frozen.
        Chopper walked up to her, putting a comforting arm around her. 
Under any normal circumstance she would have pushed it away with a sharp
word, but instead she turned around and hugged him, weeping sincerely and
bitterly.  This was so out of character that several of the rebels
gasped.  Fingers and B'Elanna began tying up the remaining guards, then
slowly and solemnly followed Chopper and Flint home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's gettin' kinda _dangerous_ out there."
-- James L.(age sixteen) from "Wild in the Streets" by Elliot Currie for
the Lost Angeles Times Magazine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        Harry, Tom, Chakotay, Tuvok, and Seven met again.
        "Was there any news on that commotion outside the prison?"
Chakotay asked Seven.  Their cell was too far from the door to hear, but
there had been many (probably exaggerated) rumors about it.
        "I overheard some guards talking about it," said Harry.  "It
sounds like a bunch of street kids, pickpockets and the like, got
together a small army and attacked.  They were caught, though.  The
youngest one told on them and was killed in the struggle."
        "I can do better than that," said Tom, searching through his
dirty uniform's pockets.  "Look what I got."  He handed Chakotay a clunky
data padd.  "I managed to grab this from one of the guards when he was
feeding us."
        "Good work, Tom."
        "It happens to be a report.   I can't read it, though."
        "I may be able to comprehend it," said Tuvok, taking the data
padd.  "The Telanian form of writing is not unlike primitive Vulcan."
        "What would we do without you, Tuvok?" Tom mused, just slightly
joking.
        "I do not wish to contemplate such misfortune," Tuvok replied,
reading it.
        "It reads:  General Report to Sections Red, Gold, Green,
Violet--"
        "Skip that!" Tom said eagerly.  "Read what it says about the
revolt!"
        "'A street gang of eight attacked the guards at the doors of the
prison today at noon.  The guards were immediately killed in the
struggle.  Thanks to a young Zelm, their attack was anticipated and the
rebels were immediately apprehended.  The gang included four teenage Zelm
of about the same age, including a male who appeared to be their leader. 
Also among them were two Shazani, one in its second stage, another in its
fifth.  There were also two Delnr, both full grown females.  One was
apparently an off-worlder, her coloring matching a Zelm's but hair a
brown color with strange ridges on her forehead."
        "B'Elanna!" Tom almost yelled.  "She's alive!"
        Tuvok continued reading in a manner that reminded Tom of his
grade eight galactic history teacher.
        "Their weapons were removed directly, and they were prepared to
be taken to the prison.  However, one of them still held a small blade,
and managed to get free.  In a matter of moments they had all freed
themselves and one of them had disabled all of the guns except for one,
which avoided the field.  Some one destroyed the disabler so it was no
longer a threat.  The Shazani guard who had that gun took the young
informant hostage, threatening to shoot him if they did not halt this
behavior.  They complied.  Then one of the Zelm teenagers, a girl,
brutally attacked the Shazani with a dagger.  She cut off the quadla of
the Shazani, causing her to drop the gun.  The gun fired and shot the
informant.  The Zelm girl knifed the Shazani to death.
        The shock of this was enough for the hooligans to tie up the
remaining troops and leave them.  However, they were followed back to
their meeting place.
        We cannot allow this to happen again.  If you see any one
suspicious shoot them on the spot.  Our gods will understand.'"
        Tom let out a low whistle.
        "At least we know they're out there fighting for us," Chakotay
said.
        "But for how long?" no one said, but everyone thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We try to hustle them, try to bustle them, try to cuss them
the cops want someone to bust down on Orleans Avenue
another day, another dollar, another war, another tower
went up where the homeless had their homes....
who will save your soul when it comes to the flowers now
who will save your soul after all the lies that you told, boy
who will save your soul if you won't save your own...
some are walking, some are talking, some are stalking their kill
you got social security, but it doesn't pay your bills
there are addictions to feed and there are mouths to pay
so you bargain with the Devil, say you're OK for today
-- Jewel, "Who Will Save Your Soul?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        For the next few weeks Flint was drawn and ornery as ever.
        "It was just something I had to do," she'd say,  "I'm not sorry
for it at all."
        But everyone knew she was.  Very sorry.  B'Elanna had taken
notice to how uneasily she slept.  Flint had always been an uneasy
sleeper, she got bad dreams.  Now, B'Elanna imagined, they were
positively horrifying.
        The worst part was, no one had any idea what to do now.  A few
wanted to scatter, but they were also afraid that they could be singled
out and caught.  They'd been hiding in their cellar hideout since the
revolt.  Luckily there was plenty of food, but everyone was really
getting hungry for some air.  Bored one afternoon, B'Elanna fiddled with
her comm badge, now useless.
        "What's that for?" asked Chopper, sidling up to her.  He had no
qualms about feelings or curiosity, like Flint.
        "It was used to contact my ship," she replied.  "It's called a
comm badge."
        "Fascinating.  Do you have any idea what became of your ship?"
        "No.  I suppose the other Telanians took it after they kidnapped
the crew."
        "Hm.  You miss them."
        "Of course I miss them.  But don't think that I ever regretted a
moment with you guys.  You saved my life, all of you.  Especially Flint. 
If it wasn't for her, I would have been caught on the first day."  She
smiled in Flint's direction, and Flint looked away.
        "Don't act like I'm doing you some kind of favor," she said. 
"I've heard you talk about your Tom.  If I hadn't come along and messed
with you, you'd be with him now.  All I've succeeded in doing is getting
you dragged into something that'll get you killed sooner rather than
later."
        "If we get caught," Chopper said softly.
        "Be realistic, Chopper," said Flint.  "What are we gonna do? 
Eventually they're gonna find us.  There's only so many places in this
city to hide.  We just violated a major law.  That's a bad thing,
Chopper, a very bad thing."
        The other rebels murmured their agreements.
        "How dare you steal our hopes!" Chopper cried.  "We can
accomplish whatever we want if we apply ourselves.  There's always a
way!"
        "A way, maybe, but what if it's not one we want to take?  Maybe
we're putting too much on the line!  Maybe we should just scatter like
Pei said and be done with it!"
        "By the stars, Flint," Chopper said coldly.
        "What?" she replied hotly.  "What did I do now?"
        "You were aptly named, Flint.  Hard and sharp, always ready to
start something.  And like stone, very cold.  You can't see anything good
in anything, can you Flint?  You don't have a heart.  All you see is a
cruel, unloosing world.  It's not like that at all, it's not!"
        "It's not if you're born in the right spot and raised in the
right spot.  All the things you've said are right.  Maybe it makes me a
horrible person, but unlike many, I have survived.  Looking for what will
go wrong helps you avoid it.  And now I see there is no way to go right. 
Not this time.  I followed your silly plans of rebellion and look where
it got us!  It's made me a damn murderer!"
        "I've loved you ever since I met you.  I thought there might be a
way to get through to you....I can't believe I..."
        "You can't what?" Flint asked.  "You can't believe you were so
foolish?  Because you are!  The world is cruel and wicked.  The world is
an ugly bitch.  There is nothing you can do about it except face it. 
Sometimes she can get dressed up right pretty but it don't mean nothing'.
 I'm sick of this!  I'm through!"  A portrait of rage, Flint climbed out
of the cellar, slamming the door behind her.
        "Chopper, I have an idea," B'Elanna said.  "There's a holographic
doctor aboard--"
        Chopper stared blankly at the door.
        A shot rang outside their hideout, and the normal street noise
was suddenly interrupted by a very loud silence.
        Chopper gulped.
        B'Elanna suddenly felt very sick inside.

disclaimer:  voyager is not mine, the quotes are not mine, the story is. 
capiesh?