PART
TEN
"It's
alright, Commander. You're needed on the bridge. We'll secure the little
ones," Marla Gilmore assured him.
Chakotay
knew the wisdom of Marla's words. Kathryn just dropped two almighty clangers and
left him hanging. He was stewing inside, dying to get hold of Kathryn somewhere
they could be completely alone and demand she explain her words. Two things rang
like the peal of bells from a bell tower. Kathryn thinking he didn't love her?
And what was it she wanted to say about Seven and the accident?
"Commander?"
Marla's
voice drove through his skull, it felt like to him, and he was brought to the
present. Carina held out her arms to him. Leaning forward, he kissed her.
"Sweetie,
Marla and Samantha and Jenny and Noah are going to take care of you, okay?"
"Mommy..."
"Don't
worry, honey, Mommy will soon be here..." he promised.
Carina
had tears in her eyes. Chakotay sighed. He had to harden his heart this time.
Miral kept herself busy with a PADD. Naomi had also come in to assist in taking
care of the children. Owen Junior and Jamie Hamilton were nattering away and the
littlest inmate, six month old Eleana who belonged to Noah and Susan Nicoletti
were quickly secured in their seats.
"Everything's
okay here, Commander. I hope there'll not be too much moving and shaking,"
Noah said soberly. They had had some disturbance before and they'd always kept
all the children in the nursery where they were safe and several crew remained
to look after them.
"I
hope so too. I'll be in later, Noah."
Noah
nodded and Chakotay left the nursery to the sound of Carina still sobbing after
him. On the bridge, Kathryn was waiting for him as he seated himself next to
her. There was no sign that she had been so distressed earlier or that she had
responded so passionately to his kiss. She appeared cool, unfazed, though the
way her fingers tapped on the armrest of her chair was evidence that trouble
loomed ahead. There was no time now to press her for answers.
"The
children?" she asked softly, not looking at him.
"They're
all secured. Status?"
"They're
closing in. We're in hailing range."
"Captain.
They're powering up their weapons," Tuvok said in an even, unruffled voice.
"Harry,
open a hail to the lead vessel!"
The
next moment the face of a lizard-like alien appeared on the viewscreen. He
looked Cardassian, Chakotay thought. And, he looked belligerent.
"You
are in Grenorian space," the alien lisped.
"We
are aware of that, Commandant. But we were given to understand that the
Albemarle have secured a truce with your people to allow safe passage for any
vessel - "
"We
do not recognise your vessel as belonging to these sectors," came the bark
from the alien.
"We
have an agreement with the Albemarlians that we would be guaranteed safe passage
through this sector, Commandant."
"And
you do not listen!"
"Kathryn,
now is the time - "
"Shields
up!"
"Kathryn!"
Chakotay whispered urgently as he saw the alien's hand go up, obviously a signal
to the unseen members on his bridge. He shook his head and turned to look at
Tuvok. The Security Chief nodded and raised a hand. "Kathryn...we have only
eight photon torpedoes left - "
"Which
we hopefully won't have to use," she replied.
"Be
prepared, Captain of the starship Voyager, to suffer the consequence."
"Tom,
evasive maneuver Omega 3!"
The
ship keeled sharply as Tom anticipated the enemy fire.
"Tom!"
"Harry,
send a signal to the Albemarle," Chakotay ordered as he moved swiftly to
Harry's station.
"Aye,
Sir!"
The
first salvo hit Voyager's starboard side and Tom pulled the vessel swift and
hard to port.
"We're
sitting duck's, Captain!" Tom cried out as he was flung from his chair but
instantly resumed his position at the conn.
"Shields
down 80%. Hull breach on deck 11."
"Tuvok!
Fire a photon torpedo, on my mark."
"Aye,
Captain."
There
were two more jolts of the vessel that threw Kathryn off her feet.
"Now!"
Chakotay's
reaction was swift as he helped Kathryn up. He watched as the torpedo sped
towards the lead vessel. The next moment a ball of fire lit up the dark expanse
as the vessel exploded. But the four supporting vessels of the
small fleet returned fire.
"You'll
not get the better of us. Fire!"
"Captain!"
The
next moment as the photon torpedo was released, Voyager's bridge was rocked by a
direct hit.
Chakotay
was thrown off his feet, stunned momentarily as a piece of the bulkhead rammed
his back and pinned him to the floor. When he look up drunkenly, it was in time
to see Kathryn landing with a thud, then lying still.
"Kathryn!"
He crawled to her while Tom was back at the conn, pulling Voyager hard to
starboard. Kathryn lay deathly still, blood oozing from a wound to her head.
"Kathryn..." Then Voyager rocked as another salvo hit her full on.
Chakotay
hit his commbadge.
"Bridge
to the Doctor. Beam Captain Janeway to sickbay. She's been injured."
The
minute Kathryn was gone, Chakotay staggered to his feet and looked at the
viewscreen. Three enemy vessels were still facing off, but there was a sudden
lull. Turning to Tuvok, the Security Officer nodded.
"Five
Albemarle vessels have arrived, Commander."
"And
not a moment too soon," Tom said, relief clear in his voice. "We would
have been toast."
After
a tense minute during which Chakotay surmised that the Albemarle communicated
with the Grenori, they watched in
silence as the Grenorian vessels retreated.
"Report!"
Chakotay kept his eyes on the viewscreen.
"So
far, hull breaches only to decks 11, 13 and 15. No fatalities, but seven crew
injured, Commander.
Also,
all is well in the nursery."
"Thank
you, Tuvok."
"Commander,
we're being hailed."
"On
screen."
The
face of the lead vessel's commander appeared, looking friendly. Chakotay
breathed a sigh of relief.
"Captain
Marok, we thank you for responding to our call so speedily."
"I
am only sorry that you have suffered damage - "
"We
have our repair teams on it. Do not worry," Chakotay replied. But inside he
was seething with worry about Kathryn."
"Captain
Janeway?"
"She
is in our medical bay. She's suffered some injury."
"Please
convey to her our apology. We shall follow Voyager until your vessel is out of
Grenorian space."
"Thank
you, Marok."
The
next moment Marok's face was replaced by the black expanse.
"Commander?"
Tom's face looked concerned. "Captain Janeway took a very heavy blow."
"I
know," Chakotay sighed. "Tuvok, you have the bridge."
Chakotay
shivered violently the moment he was within the confines of the turbolift on the
way to sickbay. Kathryn's body was deathly still in the moment he had time to
look at her. He cursed under his breath and rammed his fist into the bulkhead.
As if on cue the turbolift doors opened and Chakotay practically ran down the
corridor to the sickbay.
He was
breathing heavily when he stepped inside, seeing the doctor at the farthest end
where the main biobed was situated. Most of the other injured were treated
already and were on their way out. Only Kathryn...
"Doc,
how is she?" he asked, rushing to the bed. The dome was up and Kathryn's
face, exposed, looked pale.
"I've
fixed the broken bones, Commander."
"She
looks like death. Is there something you're not telling me?
Chakotay
froze when the doctor looked up from the monitor. The hologram's face was grave.
"Commander,
there's not much more I can do for her. She has sustained head injuries."
Chakotay
remembered Kathryn's head banging against the bulkhead before she landed.
"And?"
he asked, trying not to lose his cool.
"The
measures I've tried are insufficient for her to attain consciousness. It may be
a few hours, or days - "
"When
she wakes up?"
"She'll
be fine then. But for now, nothing
is certain. I'll monitor her progress every minute for the next few
days..."
Chakotay
didn't hear the EMH. Instead, he had taken a chair and sat down next to the bed,
his hand touching Kathryn's forehead gently.
"Oh,
Kathryn..." he whispered. "This can't be happening to me again. Not
now..."
Kathryn
didn't move. When the EMH stood next to him, he hardly noticed the touch on his
shoulder.
"I
am sorry, Commander. There is hope. The Captain is alive..."
The
doctor moved away again. Chakotay touched Kathryn's cheek, too pale still, with
no movement under the closed eyelids that might have indicated she was about to
come out of her unconscious state. What was she going to tell him? How could she
think that he didn't love her? He shook his head. It was difficult after Seven
died, he admitted. He could not recall the good moments they had in their short
marriage. They produced a beautiful baby, but throughout Seven's pregnancy he
had been more an observer than an expectant father, still unable to let go of
his past, of the life on New Earth he had with Kathryn. It always came back to
her.
But
Seven died, he grieved. His grieving was over. When Carina began to establish
herself for good in his heart and his life, there was only one woman he could
ever hope to share the precious and wonderful experience of raising the child.
Now
Kathryn, after eighteen months of caring for their daughter, believed that he
didn't love her. Truth was, he didn't stop loving her. What he felt, what they
had before, all his good memories of Kathryn, had simply been taken out of the
chest tucked away in a corner of his heart and opened again.
Truth
was, he thought Kathryn hated him; Kathryn didn't love him and her rules of
marriage rose like Colossus between them. It closed him off and shut him out of
becoming something meaningful for her again. He knew his relationship with Seven
must have hurt her, but she had borne that so well, had hidden it so well, it
was easy to believe nothing existed between them. Kathryn showered all her
affection on the child and was always at pains to keep him at a distance.
The
kiss was inevitable; Kathryn wanted it as much as he did. It burned him up, the
way she responded. Then she left him hanging.
"She'll
not wake now, Commander. There's a little sprite in the nursery demanding her
parent's attention." The Doctor's words brought him to the reality.
Chakotay nodded, the bleakness stretching before him. He touched Kathryn's
forehead.
"You've
got to live, Kathryn. We have a daughter and we need you...." he whispered.
***
"See,
Carina? Mommy is sleeping," Chakotay assured the child as he held her to
plant a kiss on Kathryn's cheek.
"Wakey,
Mommy..." Carina ordered, her cheeks still tear stained. He had gone to
fetch her from the nursery and now, he hoped that Carina's voice might trigger
her mother to open her eyes.
"Come,
wake up, Kathryn," he implored softly.
"Mommy
sleeping," Carina repeated, her tears about to roll again..
He
turned to the crewman who had been waiting patiently.
"Carina,
honey, Noah is going to look after you and Owen in the nursery."
"Mommy..."
He
held the child to Noah and quickly, Noah's deep voice was enough to calm Carina.
Chakotay sighed with relief, glad that Carina could be assured her mother was
still only sleeping. He had to be on duty soon, but Kathryn's words throbbed
with maddening regularity in his mind. It would follow him to the bridge, to
their quarters, every step he took in any direction.
"Please,
Kathryn...wake up..."
"She'll
not do that, Commander," came the doctor's voice. "In fact..."
Chakotay's
ears pricked at the changed tone of the doctor's voice. It sounded grave like
earlier, but then there had been a hopeful air to it. Now, there was a hollow
ring to it.
"What
is it, Doctor? My wife - "
"There's
something retarding her progress to the light, Commander. She does not appear to
want to wake up."
"But
you said - "
"I
know. Now, given the latest test results, I am of the opinion that there are
some things she does not wish to remember."
He
couldn't think of anything, other than what she mentioned about Seven and the
accident. But that was over eighteen months ago. What could be so painful that
Kathryn didn't want to wake up? He sighed again.
"I
guess we'll have to wait, then..."
"I'll
do my best, Commander." But Chakotay, giving the unconscious Kathryn a
quick kiss on the lips, headed for the sickbay doors. "Commander! Where are
you going?"
Chakotay
didn't reply. He had suddenly thought of something. Whatever it was that kept
Kathryn in her comatose state, had to do with Seven.
The only person on Voyager who could throw any light on the matter, was
Tuvok.
He
remembered vaguely a period he was too distraught too take in any solace from
anyone, that Janeway said, "Tuvok is
conducting a full investigation..."
Why
didn't he ever follow it up?
************
End Part ten