Chapter Text
"Well, dinner was delicious, as always." Commander Chakotay took the last sip of his drink and looked across the table at his captain.
"Liar." Kathryn grinned at him over the rim of her glass.
"Hey, it's not your fault, it's your replicator," he grinned back, "But maybe you shouldn't have called it a 'glorified toaster' a couple of months ago."
She sighed, "Yes, who would've thought replicators held grudges. My coffees haven't been the same since, either."
"Well, you know, we have been having way too many dinners in your quarters lately."
Kathryn gave him a puzzled look, but Chakotay smiled, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's high time for me to cook for you."
Kathryn pretended to look thoughtful for a moment, "As long as you don't have to take a Delta Flyer to scour the 'countryside' for supplies. Our shuttle inventory is getting low." Laughing, she dodged the napkin flying at her. "But I accept the invitation. Where, when and what?"
"Tomorrow, my quarters, and....it's a surprise."
Kathryn raised her eyebrows, "Oh, I don't know if I should be delighted or worried. How about a hint at least?"
Chakotay shook his head slightly, dimples flashing, "It's an old family recipe. I haven't prepared it in eons, but I think I can still piece it together." He rose and prepared to leave.
Kathryn followed him to the door. "Now I'm definitely worried. Hope you remember where you put your cookbook."
Chakotay was still grinning. "It's all right here." He tapped his left temple.
"You are hiding secret recipes in your tattoo?"
They both chuckled as the door swung open. Chakotay stepped into the deserted corridor and turned to face her. "Good night, Captain."
"Good night, Commander."
Yet he hesitated, his gaze lingering on her. Kathryn looked deep into his onyx eyes for a moment, but then she did what she always did: retreat.
After the door hissed shut she put her forehead against the wall. Another missed opportunity! What's wrong with you? she chided herself. You know he would stay if you only let him.
Against her will her mind switched to the dream she'd had last night, in which Chakotay had definitely stayed in her quarters after dinner. As a matter of fact, he had stayed for breakfast. And what happened in between those two mealtimes had been more delicious than she dared to admit to herself in a waking state.
Oh, she had liked that dream. Too much.
She knew that he loved her. He had all but told her so during their fateful six-week isolation on a beautiful, nameless planet. And despite the speech about 'defining some parameters' she had given him in response, her feelings for him had changed as well.
What if we had stayed on New Earth...? she thought again, as she had many times.
But they hadn't, and since their return to Voyager a year and a half ago she had been wrestling with the feelings that were churning within her for this man. During the day Captain Janeway managed to keep her emotions stowed away, but in the privacy of her quarters, Kathryn was lonely. And dreaming...of Chakotay.
She went back to the table and sat in the chair he had just occupied. His essence still seemed to linger here.
Well, dinner is on for tomorrow. Maybe, just maybe....
ON THE BRIDGE...
"Mr. Tuvok, how much longer until we reach that planetoid cluster?"
"Maintaining our current speed, approximately twenty hours, Captain."
"Mr. Kim, any indications yet as to whether there are any M-class planets there?"
"We are still out of sensor range of the cluster, Captain, but according to my calculations we should be able to begin scanning in about nine hours."
"Well, I guess we'll just sit back and enjoy the scenery until then. Maintain course and speed, Mr. Paris."
"Aye, Captain."
Captain Janeway shifted in her chair, leaned slightly to the left and lowered her voice, "Commander, does dinner tonight include Leola root?"
"No, and knowing how you feel about Leola root, I would have left it out even if my mother's recipe had called for it."
"You're too kind."
They grinned at each other. She had been throwing seemingly casual questions about the surprise dinner at him all day. He was starting to believe that she really looked forward to tonight. He felt the dying ember of hope glimmer in him again.
Maybe, just maybe...
"Captain, I am picking up a strange reading here." Ensign Kim's voice came from the console behind the command chairs.
Janeway turned her head. "Elaborate, Mr. Kim."
Harry hesitated, "It seems to be a distress signal of some kind. No, wait, make that... four signals..." he fell silent, fingers flying over the panel.
The command team exchanged a startled look.
Suddenly Harry jerked up his head, eyes wide. "Captain, they are four completely different signals, but one of them is a Federation code."
Kathryn literally flew out of her chair and took the two steps towards the ensign's station in one leap to look over his shoulder while he tried to extract more readings out of his display.
"Can you verify the authenticity of this code, Harry?" she breathed, trying not to get too excited.
"Yes, ma'am, it's an older, civilian code, but definitely of Federation origin."
"Visual or audio, Ensign?" came Chakotay's voice.
All eyes on the bridge were now on Harry Kim, who was not aware of it, for his attention was completely focused on the data flow in front of him. "Actually, it's neither, Commander; just a standard 'SOS' signal with a set of coordinates."
"Captain," Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, who had quietly moved from his console to assume a position to Harry's right, spoke up, "Ensign Kim is correct; however, I must point out that the other three signals are encrypted in Romulan, Kazon and Cardassian codes."
Captain Janeway stared incredulously at her security chief for a moment before she spoke. "Mr. Kim, I want a full analysis of all four codes and a calculation on those coordinates. All other senior officers to my ready room."
BRAINSTORMING...
Kathryn Janeway looked over her assembled team. "All right, people, first shock is over, what do we make of this?"
Lieutenant Tom Paris drummed his fingers on the conference table, "OK, without even touching on the Federation signal for now: I could comprehend a Kazon transmission, this being their home quadrant, but Romulan and Cardassian?"
Commander Chakotay was tugging on his earlobe, "The Romulans have been trying to stabilize wormholes for years. Maybe they've finally found a way and one of their ships somehow got stuck in the Delta Quadrant. That still doesn't explain the Cardassian code, though."
"Nor the Kazon signal," B'Elanna Torres added, "They are not exactly known for their hospitality towards other races. I don't see them allying themselves with the Cardassians or the Romulans, even if they somehow made it all the way over here."
The door hissed open and ensign Kim strode into the conference room. Seeing the expectant looks on everyone's faces, he came straight to the point.
"Captain, all four signals have been authenticated. The Romulan and Cardassian encryptions are military, albeit several years old, and I have cross-referenced the Kazon code with several other stored Kazon transmissions in the computer and it matched a standard distress signal from the Hobai sect. As for the Federation signal..." he shrugged, "no news there; standard civilian freighter code, approximately six years old. No other information. Sorry."
He handed Janeway a PADD with his report.
She studied it for a moment. "And all of those signals originated in the same location?"
The ensign nodded. "Yes ma'am, approximately four light years from here, bearing two-point five-three mark six."
"Means we could be there in a couple of hours at max speed." Tom remarked.
The captain sighed and looked over her crew, "Frankly, I am as puzzled about this as you are, not to mention pretty darn skeptical about this strange signal combination. But that doesn't change anything about the fact that we have received those transmissions and we are obligated to respond. But we will proceed with caution. I'll be damned if we fly right into their path of fire."
Janeway rose and tugged at her uniform jacket. "Mr. Tuvok, I want a full check on our weapons systems, make sure everything's 'well oiled'. Mr. Kim, you will begin continuous long-rang sensor sweeps until we have reached those coordinates. Anything unusual, report to me at once. Mr. Paris, take us there."
She looked into the round of her senior staff. "Dismissed."
WARY...
Seven hours later, Voyager arrived at the distress signals' transmitted coordinates.
From their command chairs, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay scrutinized the small M-class planet filling the bridge's viewscreen. A marble pattern of green, blue and white colors ran across the three continents of its surface and a small moon orbited it. Under normal circumstances Kathryn would have delighted in exploring this pretty planet, but since they had come into orbit, an uneasy feeling had crept upon her and she had not been able to shake it. It sat in her stomach like curdled milk.
The steady sounds of chirps and beeps behind her told her that Harry was hard at work scanning the planet. All through the flight the long-range sensors had not detected any traces of Romulan, Cardassian or Kazon presence in the area.
"Anything to report yet, Mr. Kim?" she asked.
"Standard M-class planet, Captain. Breathable oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere. Most of the surface seems to be composed of mountain ranges and heavily wooded areas. There is quite a bit of seismic interference, but I detect several dozen species of birds and animals. No humanoid or any other life signs, though."
Suddenly a slightly louder series of beeps sounded from Harry's console and the ensign's voice took on a more urgent tone, "Scans have detected a large concentration of tritanium and silicone carbide on the surface." He looked up, "It's the wreckage of a ship, Captain."
Kathryn cast a quick look at her first officer, but Chakotay's face was unreadable as he turned towards her, "Even though the scan shows no life forms, that doesn't mean that there could not be any survivors down there. There might be caves in those mountains that our sensors can't penetrate."
She nodded, "Let's hail the ship, Ensign."
Harry carried out the order. "No response, Captain, but there is no way to confirm that anyone even received the hail. Communications down there are probably non-functional."
Still looking at Chakotay, Kathryn exclaimed, "All right, straight to part two, then. Commander, assemble an Away Team to investigate the ship and to seek out possible survivors. In the meantime, we'll keep on scanning the planet for any other clues."
Chakotay nodded briskly, already rising from his chair. "Mr. Paris, Mr. Tuvok, you're with me." Striding towards the turbolift he hit his combadge.
"Bridge to engineering. Torres, meet us in Transporter room one for an Away Mission."
Just before the doors of the turbolift closed an inexplicable feeling made Captain Janeway turn towards her Away Team and the last thing she saw before the doors hissed shut was Chakotay smiling at her.
PLANETSIDE...
The Away Team materialized in one of the few areas where the seismic interference was low enough for a safe transport; a clearing in the forest about three hundred meters away from the wrecked vessel. Looking around, Chakotay was struck at just how green their surroundings were. The ground was blanketed in mossy grass that reached halfway up the trunks of every tree in sight. The trees themselves were massive, their leaf-covered branches interconnecting with each other, thus forming a dense canopy through which they could barely see the grey skies above. Huge ferns grew between their trunks, mingling with smaller shrubs and bushes of tangled, thorny vines. The whole forest shone in at least a dozen shades of green. A cool breeze caressed Chakotay's cheek, scented with the aroma of decaying leaves. From high above he heard the unfamiliar cries and squawks of several unseen species of birds.
The five other members of the Away Team all had their tricorders out, busily scanning the area in all directions.
"Commander, I am getting conflicting readings here." remarked Lieutenant Ayala almost immediately.
"Same here." B'Elanna affirmed, "It's all this seismic interference around us."
"Reduce your tricorder range to a shorter distance. That should give us more accurate readings at least for our immediate area." Chakotay looked towards the direction of the wreck, "We'll fan out. Ayala, Paris, see if you can find any signs of survivors in the area; tracks, campfire residues, anything. Mr. Tuvok, Ensign Wu, same search, just in the opposite direction. B'Elanna, let's check out the ship." He moved off.
The ship had come down right into the midst of the forest, and the trees had obstructed most of their view so far, but as they got closer, more and more of the craft became visible. When they had closed the distance to about fifty meters, the trees suddenly gave way and they stopped in their tracks, utterly surprised at the sight before them:
They were looking at a Romulan Warbird.
"What the..." B'Elanna reached for her phaser, instantly alarmed.
Chakotay stepped in front of her, phaser in one hand, tricorder in the other, the look of surprise and alarm on his face matching hers. He took a long look around before he lowered his eyes to the tricorder's readings.
"It's no use; these readings don't make any sense," He shook his head in frustration. "We'll have to get inside."
B'Elanna's eyes traveled over the large, elegant ship while she kept pace with Chakotay. The engineer in her automatically took in the unnatural angle on which the ship sat, the badly damaged hull, and the plasma turbines that looked ready to fall out of their mounts if she only blew on them.
"It's a D'eridex-class ship. Probably not one of the largest models, but still an impressive size, at that." she remarked. "The pilot who crashed this baby could put you to shame, Chakotay," she grinned with a side glance at her commander.
Chakotay shot her what he hoped was a formidable death glare, but inwardly he grinned at her jest. Over the years, B'Elanna had had to fix more of his crashed shuttles than he cared to remember.
Cautiously they circled the starboard side of the vessel and almost stumbled over the emergency exit door lying in the grass. It had been blown out of its frame. To the right of the door the Romulan Empire's triangular insignia with its spread wings was still visible, though badly scratched. But no signs of phaser burns anywhere so far.
So what made it crash? Chakotay craned his neck trying to look inside, but the interior was too murky to make out any details. With a shrug he heaved himself upwards and entered the Warbird. Then he extended a hand to B'Elanna.
They found themselves in a narrow corridor. Now Torres led the way and after a few feet they stepped through another doorless frame and onto the bridge of the vessel.
There was not much left for them to see. Not because the dim light that came through the viewscreen barely illuminated the room, but the entire area had been stripped down to the bare walls. Not a single computer console had been left behind. Bare wires hung from the ceiling and snaked along the floor. Torres looked around in astonishment.
"Thorough." she mumbled.
Her tricorder beeped and she traced the readings to what had looked like a crumbled, abandoned piece of tarp lying in a corner. She lifted the cloth and a rectangular box was revealed, roughly the size of a small replicator. On its small console, an orange and green light flashed alternately. "Well, we've found the source of the signals," she remarked wryly.
Suddenly Chakotay sensed more than saw movement behind them. He whirled around, but before he could aim his phaser he saw a bright energy beam shooting out of the shadows of the opposite corner. It struck B'Elanna directly in the chest and with a cry she was flung backwards against the bulkhead. He had no time to even call her name before he was hit by the second discharge and the darkness claimed him even before the pain set in.
ENEMY TERRITORY...
He awoke on the cold stone floor of a spacious cavern. Thankfully, the first thing Chakotay saw was B'Elanna next to him, her lips drawn back in an angry snarl while she propped herself up on her elbow. He shook his head to clear his vision, ignoring the burning pain in his chest from the phaser stun, and followed her gaze. It fell on a tall, stern-looking Cardassian, who was looking down at them, wearing a tattered array of various military uniforms, part Cardassian, part Kazon. His hand rested on top of a large command console in the center of the room. Beside him on the console lay both of their phasers, tricorders, and combadges. The Cardassian was smiling, but that smile never reached his cold eyes, which were fixed on them as Chakotay helped B'Elanna to her feet.
"Starfleet, I see? It's been a long time since I had the pleasure of such distinguished company. As a matter of fact, I have never had it here." He came closer.
"I believe first meetings warrant an introduction. I am Gul Preldoc, leader of this quaint little community. Thank you for responding to our distress signal and rushing to our rescue."
His smug facial expression, however, contradicted the sincerity of his words. He turned to Chakotay, waiting.
"Commander Chakotay, Lieutenant Torres of the Federation Starship Voyager. And, yes, we did receive your signal. We came here to offer our help, so why were we stunned, why the hostility?" Chakotay gestured towards the six heavily armed guards positioned throughout the chamber.
Preldoc shrugged, "Just our normal security measures. Let's just say that there are certain 'entities' by which we don't wish to be rescued, or even located. Therefore we cannot risk the location of our compound being disclosed. To anyone."
"Our scans didn't reveal any other life forms on this planet." B'Elanna noted.
Preldoc ignored her. Instead he changed the subject.
"Pretty little planet, don't you think? Our friends, the Kazon, directed us here after we forged an alliance with them."
When neither Chakotay nor Torres responded, he continued, "I must say, I was more than a little surprised when our scans indicated a Federation Starship approaching. I am curious: how did you get to this quadrant?"
"We were just as surprised when we received your signals," Chakotay countered, "How did you get here?"
The humorless smile on Preldoc's face disappeared as he stared at Chakotay for a long moment. "I can't really explain it," he said quietly and his eyes took on a faraway look, "one moment we were in the Beta quadrant, and then..."Abruptly, his gaze refocused and the mask was back in place. He strode back to the command console and picked up a tricorder, running his fingers over it.
"You see, we really don't need 'rescuing'. This place has so far proven much safer for us than anywhere in the Beta Quadrant. However, we are in need of quite a few things you undoubtedly carry on board your vessel and I would highly appreciate it if you could deliver a message along with a list of supplies needed to your captain."
Preldoc snapped his fingers and an aide came around the command console and handed him a PADD.
"I'm sure you will find our requisitions quite modest." With a smirk he stepped closer towards Chakotay and Torres, but to the Commander's surprise he handed the PADD to B'Elanna, addressing her directly for the first time, "My guards will transport you back to the Warbird. You should be back on board your vessel soon."
Preldoc motioned to two of his guards who took B'Elanna's arm. Chakotay turned to leave with her, but suddenly he found himself looking into the barrels of two phaser guns aimed directly at him. B'Elanna shot Chakotay a worried glance, and Preldoc stepped in front of the commander, facing him. "Only the Lieutenant, I'm afraid, Commander. You see, I believe that it would emphasize to your captain the need for a speedy delivery of our requested items if you were to be our guest up until then."
He turned to Torres, "Good day, Lieutenant."
And B'Elanna was whisked away by the guards.
When Preloc turned his head, he found Chakotay staring at him,
"What do you really want?"
The Cardassian chuckled, "Straight to the point. My, Commander, I'm merely taking precautions to ensure the survival of my crew in times of need. Which is every time a ship arrives here to answer our distress call."
"Like a spider in its web," remarked Chakotay sarcastically.
Preldoc stepped so close to the commander that Chakotay could smell the odor of his unwashed clothes, "You don't like Cardassians, do you?"
Chakotay decided to tell the truth, "You're damn right. Especially not one in possession of a Romulan Warbird. Care to explain how you acquired it?"
The sneer came back to Preldoc's face and without taking his eyes off Chakotay he called to his aide, "Borval, please take the Commander to our guest quarters."
The addressed aide waved his phaser rifle in the direction of the door and reluctantly Chakotay let himself be led out of the large room and down a dimly lit corridor. It actually looked more like a tunnel to him. Where are we? Underground? he wondered.
Halfway down the hallway they stopped in front of a door made of half steel, half Plexiglas set into the stone wall. The guard tapped a command into the console nearby, the door swung open and Chakotay was unceremoniously shoved inside. It was a small, windowless room entirely devoid of any furnishings. A single fluorescent light fixture on the ceiling weakly illuminated the blank walls. With a hiss the door closed and Chakotay was alone. He gave the tiny room a quick look-over, but there wasn't much to look at. His head was spinning with a hundred unanswered questions and after a moment he did what he normally would do when he had to think clearly. He sat down cross-legged on the floor and tried to meditate.
KATHRYN...
"Replicators, power generators, tricorders, phaser rifles, half a dozen shuttles, the warp core....? This is preposterous!"
Captain Janeway slammed the PADD containing the list down onto her desk.
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres stopped her furious pacing at the sound of her captain's angry voice. Only minutes ago she and the rest of the Away Team had beamed back on board.
After Commander Tuvok had not been able to reach them over the comlink, the rest of the Away Team had come looking for them. They had found and searched the Warbird as well, and when Tuvok's tricorder indicated traces of phaser fire residue, they had alerted the Captain.
But not a minute later B'Elanna had materialized on the bridge of the Romulan vessel, a PADD in hand, highly agitated but unable to tell them where she had been beamed from. She had hastily relayed the events of the past hour to them, then stormed off to search the perimeters for any sign of the Cardassian compound; a frenzied, but fruitless search.
Now, back on Voyager, Captain Janeway had been listening quietly to the young chief engineer's report, liberally peppered with Klingon courses. She let them slide, the concern for her first officer overshadowing the impulse to remind the worked-up Klingon about Starfleet reporting protocols.
When B'Elanna had finished, the two women looked at each other and she saw the deep lines of worry etched into her captain's face before Janeway wordlessly turned to the PADD with the requisition list again.
"Captain, what's our plan of action?" Torres asked, eager to do something, anything.
Good question. How do you find someone if you don't know where to look? Janeway thought.
She circled around her desk and faced her chief engineer. "I am not in the habit of bargaining for my crew members." There was a determined look in her eyes as she handed B'Elanna back the PADD, "But we are going to find him."
B'Elanna shook her head with a miserable look on her face, "This is the second time we ran into a trap following a Federation distress signal. And the first time we lost Chakotay, too!"
Janeway vividly remembered the first time. The traitorous Seska and her Kazon lover had tricked them with a fake Federation signal, then boarded the ship and stole a transporter module. When they made their escape they had left Voyager crippled, with a Kazon shuttle partially embedded in its hull. Chakotay had taken the whole incident very personally, decided to play Lone Ranger and gone after them on his own.
Kathryn put a reassuring hand on Torres' shoulder, "But we did get him back, didn't we? And we will get him back this time as well."
The young Klingon avoided her Captain's eyes to mask the uncertainty on her face, "I guess I'll...go reprogram the sensors. See if we can circumvent those electromagnetic interferences from the surface somehow. Maybe we'll come up with something that way."
Janeway nodded wordlessly, looking after her trusted crewmember as B'Elanna made her way out of the ready room.
Kathryn hoped she had sounded more certain than she felt.
It was true that Chakotay had been in precarious and dangerous situations before; he knew how to handle himself. But alone with a band of who knows how many Cardassians? Fear squeezed her heart with an icy grip.
Chakotay, please be all right.
QUESTIONS...
Footsteps in the corridor. Chakotay raised his head when they halted in front of his cell door. Through the Plexiglas he could see three armed guards and he rose from his spot on the floor to face them. The door swung open and two of the guards approached him while the other kept his weapon aimed at him. Chakotay had a bad premonition as the guards swiftly yanked his arms onto his back and shackled him with steel wrist restraints before hauling him out of the cell.
They took him back to the same command room. Gul Preldoc was again standing by the large console, conferring with his aide. They ignored him, and with the guards holding onto his arms Chakotay could do nothing but wait silently. His gaze fell onto two more Cardassians standing a few feet off to Preldoc's side and his blood ran cold when he recognized the blue-glowing sticks they were carrying in their hands: Electro batons. A preferred Cardassian torture instrument.
Preldoc turned from his aide to him. "Ah, Commander, nice to see you again." When he approached Chakotay the two soldiers with their batons flanked him.
"Why do I have the feeling that you are not going to ask me to join you for dinner?" Chakotay asked, staring Preldoc in the face.
The Cardassian smirked, "If it is food you want, I would be happy to oblige you after you've answered a few small questions of mine."
Chakotay's eyes narrowed, "The list's a fake. This was never about anything on there."
The cords over Preldoc's eyes moved up in an amused expression. "Humans - ever so direct. You are not fooled lightly, I see. But yes, you are quite right. You see, Commander, we have been stranded on this forsaken planet for years now, and I vowed to get off this cursed place by any means necessary. Thankfully we were able to scavenge most of our technology from the wreckage of our ship and after scanning Voyager I have come to the conclusion that your vessel is by far the most inviting we have been able to attract so far with our signal. So I have chosen it to be the ship that will take us away from here."
"But that's exactly why we came here; to help you get off this planet," Chakotay exclaimed.
Preldoc guffawed, "I'm not asking to be a passenger on your ship, Commander, I mean to take it. You see, I like to travel comfortably and that means being on the bridge rather than the brig."
Chakotay stared into the Cardassian's eyes and the old, familiar feelings of hatred welled up in him again. "There is no way you will take Voyager, Preldoc."
"Oh, but there is. Which brings me back to my original questions, Commander. See, in order to disable Voyager's defense systems and shields for my boarding party I need its command codes, and who better to provide me with them then their first officer?"
Now the Cardassian smiled genuinely as the two soldiers on either side of him stepped forward and raised their batons.
THE REAL PRELDOC...
"Tuvok to Captain Janeway."
Without opening her eyes or lifting her forehead from the cool surface of the viewport, Janeway replied, "What is it Tuvok?" How long had she been standing here?
"Captain, there is some information you should be aware of," he informed her in his direct, expressionless manner. "It concerns the leader of the Cardassian crew."
"Bring it on."
A moment later the door to her ready room hissed open and Tuvok entered, PADD in hand.
He came straight to the point.
"During Lieutenant Torres' report while on the surface, Gul Preldoc's name sounded vaguely familiar to me, so I cross-referenced his name in Starfleet's Security Databank and these are the results."
He handed her the PADD. Janeway accepted it, but barely glanced at it. "Fill me in, Tuvok."
He nodded and continued, "Gul Preldoc's name is mentioned several times in connection with various crimes such as treason, piracy, weapons smuggling and multiple murders. He is being sought by Starfleet, the Cardassian Obsidian Order and the Romulan Tal Shiar. The last incident connected with his name occurred approximately six months before our encounter with the Caretaker. A Romulan Warbird had been reported missing in the Denarius system, a small group of planets on the outskirts of the Romulan Empire. According to the Tal Shiar's security reports, the warbird had been on patrol when it failed to transmit a scheduled report. When the search party arrived at the warbird's last known coordinates, they found forty-two of the forty-five crew members floating in space."
He stopped when he saw the Captain's stricken expression. But she waved for him to continue, "Let me guess. Enter Gul Preldoc."
He nodded, "Apparently Preldoc had somehow managed to bribe three Romulan centurions to manipulate and disable the vessel's defensive systems long enough for his team of Cardassian outlaws to board the ship, dispose of the crew, and take off. The warbird's residue warp trail led into the general direction of the Badlands, but neither the Outlaws' vessel nor the Romulan ship was ever recovered."
Janeway looked out of her viewport onto the planet looming below her. "Until now."
Abruptly she turned and came around her desk to face her security chief.
"But how did they end up here?" she wondered out aloud.
Tuvok evenly returned her gaze, "One logical assumption would be that, being that they were evidentially headed towards the Badlands, they were subjected to the same form of abduction by the Caretaker than we were."
"And in a Warbird..."Kathryn took a deep breath as the realization struck her, "That would also explain why we weren't able to detect any life signs on the surface. They have found themselves the best possible hiding spot: An undetectable Romulan cloak."
INTERROGATION...
Preldoc was frustrated. "Enough!" he yelled.
The two guards stopped in mid-swing and released their grips on their prisoner. Chakotay sank to his knees, barely conscious. So far they had achieved nothing. Preldoc shot a disgusted look at the gasping figure on the floor. The Human had proven to be more tenacious than he had anticipated. He had begun the interrogation in the traditional Cardassian manner, with his guards applying electro baton shots while he had calmly repeated his questions to the commander. But Chakotay had stayed silent. Preldoc was not a patient man, and after a while he had ordered his lackeys to use their fists as they pleased. But after almost an hour, Chakotay, although bruised and bloody, had yet to reveal any information.
Preldoc had to admit grudgingly that this was the longest a Human had ever withstood any of his interrogations. But this only made him angrier and he stood in front of Chakotay and hissed down on him: "What you are doing is foolish, Commander. I will get those codes, it's only a matter of time, for I do have other means at my disposal. You are only making this harder on yourself."
Chakotay's reply was to spit a streak of blood on the floor directly in front of Preldoc's boots. Then he looked up, black eyes shrouded in pain, but still defiant, "You've got the wrong guy, Cardassian, because the only thing I'm gonna tell you is to rot in hell!"
Preldoc held his stare, nodding slowly. "Very well, have it your way." He turned and motioned for his aide.
"Bring me a Hypospray of the Serum. It's time to speed things up. Oh, and a recording PADD." He shot Chakotay another look. "I think I'll send his captain another message. We don't want them getting suspicious on us, do we?"
THE MESSAGE...
"Captain, I'm reading a signal coming from the transport site on the planet." Ensign Kim reported.
Janeway turned her head. "What is it?"
"Seems to be some sort of a message signal."
"Scan."
Kim touched his console several times. "Actually, it's emitted from some sort of messaging device." Kim looked up, "Being that they don't have any hailing technology, that might be their way of sending us a letter."
Janeway thought for a moment. "Beam it up."
Moments later a plain-looking message PADD materialized onto the bridge. Janeway held it for a moment before turning it over to Harry.
"On screen, Mr. Kim."
A Cardassian face appeared on the bridge's view screen.
"To the captain of the Federation Starship Voyager. I am Gul Preldoc, leader of the Cardassian outpost of Dan-Gul. By now you have undoubtedly received my humble request for provisions and other assorted devices we so desperately need down here. But I am perturbed that you have thus far not conceded to my requests. Maybe it's taking you a while to get everything together, but in the meantime I thought I should send you a little incentive that will help you hasten things along a bit."
The screen widened and showed the Cardassian kneeling down to reach for something. Kathryn's hand flew to her mouth and she let out a gasp when she recognized Chakotay. The Cardassian grabbed a fistful of the commander's hair and yanked his head back. An involuntary moan escaped through Chakotay's clenched teeth. Kathryn's eyes filled with tears. Chakotay's face was bruised almost beyond recognition, his eyes were nearly swollen shut and he was bleeding freely from his nose and lips as well as numerous cuts all over his face. He tried to turn away from the monitor, but the Cardassian had a tight grip on his hair.
"You have two hours, Captain. I don't think your first officer will make it much longer than that."
The screen went blank and the bridge of Voyager was deadly silent. Everyone was stunned and shocked by what they had just seen. Slowly the captain rose from her chair and, very deliberately, walked towards her ready room. "You have the bridge, Mr. Tuvok," she hoarsely addressed the Vulcan, and the angry fire that now burned in those blue eyes was so intense that even he was taken aback for a second.
As the doors closed behind her, Kathryn let out the sob she had been holding in. The tears spilled over her eyes and she clenched her hands into fists to keep them from shaking.
Oh God, Chakotay!
Kathryn paced the entire length of her ready room, trying to digest the images she had just seen. It wasn't working. Before her mental eye she saw him on the bridge, heading towards the turbolift, saw him turning around, smiling at her, just a few hours ago. But then the view changed. A beaten face, bloody, in pain. A grinning Cardassian.
Preldoc! She came to a stop in front of her large viewport and brought her fist up to the glass. You will pay for what you've done to him, you bastard. You're a dead man!
"Whoa, what am I thinking?" she said aloud, surprised at her own rage, "I should be focusing on how to get Chakotay out of there, not planning some revenge agenda."
She hugged herself, her mind working furiously.
Three years ago I didn't even know your name. Today I can't imagine a day without you
The sentence popped into her head without warning and it was so true that in that instant, looking out her viewport, Kathryn vowed to tell Chakotay those exact words when he was safely back on Voyager. If he
No, no 'If'. Only 'When'. There simply was no other possibility than 'When'.
A headache was beginning to pound at her temples and she ran her shaking hands through her hair. She needed a plan to get her man back. A good one. A fast one.
THE PLAN...
"Senior officers to my ready room!"
Tom, Harry, Tuvok and B'Elanna jumped from their stations and were gathered around their captain within moments. Janeway had gotten her composure back, but her hands were still shaking slightly as she turned to them, "Wherever he is, we are getting him out of there. Now! B'Elanna, have you gotten anywhere with the scans yet?"
Torres shook her head, frustration on her face. "No, I simply can't find a power source that might indicate a cloaked compound. There's just not enough information about Romulan cloaks in our databanks to determine even a general frequency on which to scan."
"Then we have only one other alternative. Infiltration."
Tuvok raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a suggestion as to how that might be achieved, Captain?"
Janeway nodded and turned towards Torres again. "You said that there were mostly Cardassians in the compound?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Then we need a Cardassian as our infiltrator."
"Captain, we do not have any..."
"I know." Janeway held up a hand, "But I have an idea..."
THE DOCTOR'S PART...
"Those animals!" the Doctor was just as shocked as the rest of the bridge crew had been after he had viewed the recorded message on the PADD. He turned to Janeway.
"Captain, the commander needs immediate medical attention and...."
"I know that, Doctor, but we have only an hour left to comply with their demands and so far we haven't been able to determine the location of the compound."
Kathryn stopped for a moment before she continued, her voice quieter now, worried. "And even if we adhere to their demands and send them every damn thing that's on that list, including the warp core, I just don't believe they would simply hand over the commander, thank us for the wares and be gone. There's got to be more. Some hidden agenda, I just feel it."
Janeway looked up into the Doctor's face. "We need to move fast, and the only way to get into their place seems to be walking right through the front door."
"...which we unfortunately can't find due to the cloak." The Doctor finished the sentence for her.
Janeway smiled a hard smile, "Not if they show us the way."
The Doctor's expression suddenly cleared, "You mean..."
"Look, we have no time for lengthy masquerades, you have Cardassian anatomy stored in your program bank, Torres is already replicating some of their clothing for you and you can be off within minutes..."
"Captain, you do not need to convince me. I'll do my best to blend in down there."
"Thank you. I knew I could count on you. We are getting some of the requested power generators and replicators ready and we'll beam you down piggyback at the same time. That way they won't be able to trace multiple transport signals. We might have to deposit you into a tree, though. Don't want them seeing you, in case the drop-off area is being watched."
The Doctor grimaced, "Just don't dump me onto the highest Redwood you can find."
Kathryn's mouth formed into a lopsided smile before she continued. "The back-up team will provide cover for you and Chakotay once you get him out of the compound. Mr. Kim will be
continuously scanning the surface and will beam us all out as soon as you've cleared the cloak. How you are going to do that is up to you, though."
The Doctor nodded, his face determined. "I'll make it happen."
Just then the doors to sickbay opened and B'Elanna strode in, carrying a folded cloth in her arms which she handed to the Doctor. "This is as close as I could replicate their duds. And here," she handed the Doctor a small rectangular device, hardly larger than his palm.
"I have modified the signal strength of these communicators. The waves now only carry about two hundred, maybe two hundred and fifty meters, but it should be strong enough to get through the interferences down there. So now we can at least stay in contact."
"Let's hope you are right." the Doctor answered as he took the garment and the communicator. "Now, if you ladies would excuse me, I have a makeover to tackle."
RESISTANCE...
"Round Two, Commander." Preldoc wore his smirk again as his aide handed him a hypodermic injector. The guards had hoisted Chakotay into a chair. The commander was breathing hard. They had broken his nose pretty early in the interrogation process and since then he had been trying to inhale as much air as possible in between their blows.
Out of his half-swollen eyes Chakotay watched Preldoc adjust the efficiency level of the serum. He forced himself to relax. He was pretty sure he knew what kind of drug he was about to receive and he didn't have much time. He needed help.
He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply through his split lips. Spirit guide, please, his mind yelled, I beg you to come to my aid. Don't let them cloud my mind. Hear me, father!
I cannot fail Kathryn. Give me strength. Please!
And then he felt the cold metal of the injector on his neck.
SEARCH AND RESCUE...
Vertigo. That was the first sensation he felt after his holographic structure re-materialized onto a branch of what he felt had to be the tallest tree on this planet. He clutched the massive trunk, trying not to look down.
"I'm a Hologram, I'm not supposed to be dizzy," he mumbled, "Note to myself: Adjust vertical sensation awareness upon return to Voyager."
He slowly let go of the tree trunk and retrieved a palm-sized pair of binoculars from his belt pouch. His hands felt awkward in their Cardassian disguise, the thin, blue-grey cords over his fingers making it hard for him to curl them around the field glasses as he brought them to his eyes and scanned his surroundings. Less than fifty feet from his position, several small crates had materialized on the ground; a partial delivery of the items from Preldoc's list, transported to his stipulated coordinates. The Doctor hoped that some of the Cardassian's men were nearby, watching the transport site.
He didn't have to wait long. After only a couple of minutes, three armed Cardassians and a Kazon emerged from the cover of the dense foliage below and cautiously approached the crates. The Doctor shrunk back behind the cover of the tree trunk as the three figures below studied the area with their own binoculars before they hoisted the crates onto each other's backs and disappeared back into the underbrush from which they had emerged.
The Doctor produced another palm-size device from his pouch and tapped a command. The small viewscreen came to life and a pulsing red dot appeared. With a satisfied nod he tapped his combadge, "Doctor to Captain Janeway. The packages were just picked up and the homing device is working, but I don't know how long the signal will hold in this interference."
"On our way," came the captain's answer and only seconds later, four figures materialized under his tree together with a second set of crates. From his vantage point it took the Doctor a moment to recognize the Captain, Tuvok, B'Elanna, and Lieutenant Ayala, for they were clad in Starfleet-issued green and brown Combat Camouflage uniforms. The Doctor could not remember ever seeing Janeway wearing this seldom-used attire, but he saw the logic behind it, as this mission relied on stealth while they traced the renegades back to their covert location. Janeway looked up and motioned the Doctor down with a wave of her hand. Her hair was tucked under a cap of the same colors and in her arm she cradled a phaser rifle, equally camouflaged in matte green and brown tints. Once on solid ground the Doctor handed her the homing transmitter and silently they moved off at a brisk pace, following the steadily pulsing signal.