Capítulo 9: Time and Again: Part Two
Chapter Nine: Time and Again: Part Two.
Captain Kathryn Janeway's POV
-----
Tom and I quickly entered the clothing store. Tom confidently held his head high as we walked over to the front counter. The few customers inside the store itself gave us confused looks of tried not to look at us as they fiddled with the fabric in their hands.
"We would like some clothing please." Tom snapped. The worker looked up towards us with a raised eyebrow.
"Um, of course. What style would you like? We have several of a new line were, we have-"
"The style in the window front." I said.
He looked past us to the window front.
"That will be twenty kalodas., ma'am."
"Maybe you would be willing to trade." Tom suggested as he leaned towards the worker. The worker awkwardly chuckled.
"What kind of trade exactly?" He asked. Tom smiled and unzipped his uniform jacket. He slipped it off and handed it to the worker.
"Do you see what fine fabric that is? Can't get it anywhere else."
The worker's eyes widened as he ran his hand across the fabric.
-----
Lieutenant Bini Filters POV
(Ten minutes after they watched the meeting.)
I gestured Micheal, Sarah and Mollie to stay back as I entered the transporter room alone. Lieutenant Carey was manning the console. Running his tricorder over it. He looked up and gave me a small smile as he flipped it shut.
"Good afternoon, Lieutenant. I thought you would be asleep by now. You were on the night and day shift yesterday and today." He greeted. I shrugged as I walked over to the console and stood beside him.
"I had trouble sleeping. You know."
"Did Micheal and Sarah wake you up?"
"How did you-"
"Know? Simple, they follow you everywhere when the Captain isn't nearby. She is missing so of course they are going to come to you for some help-Why are you here, Lieutenant?" He asked. He took a step away from me. Great, he was suspicious now. Then again I am "Maquis."
"Sorry, about this, Carey." I apologized as I took a step towards him. He took another step back.
"Sorry about what-"
I snapped forward and gave him a Vulcan neck pinch. Something I had been practising for years. His eyes shot wide open as he looked at me, then he was unconscious and slumped forward. I quickly caught him and lead him to sit against the nearest wall.
I felt a small ping of guilt as I stood up again and reached the console. I shoved his tricorder back into his engineering kit. I was lucky enough to get here before he started the diagnostic. I resetted the transporter. I tapped my combadge.
"Filters to Micheal. Ready."
I quickly closed it as Micheal and Sarah ran in, Mollie willingly following. They stumbled onto the transporter padd and looked towards me with excited/nervous energy.
"Are you guys sure about this? You realize your mother is going to be very angry with us when we get back." I explained. Micheal placed his hands on his hips and glared at me as the Captain would.
"Do it." He barked.
"Yes, sir." I replied with a salute, they both giggled. My hands flew across the console. Carefully entering the coordinates of where Tom and the Captain were last. My vision faded away to reappear to the destruction on the planet's surface.
-----
Chakotay's POV
I sat in the Commander's chair. I may be acting Captain but that doesn't mean I want to be. I don't know why but...I don't like the idea of being Voyager's Captain. I think Kathryn is the only one who could truly fit that role- When did I start referring to her as Kathryn in my mind?
"Commander, there is transport to the planet's surface in progress." Tuvok said in his stone-cold Vulcan tone. I snapped out of my thoughts and shot up from my chair. Looking over to security.
"Transport?! Well, stop it!" I barked. Tuvok nodded and pressed his fingers against his console. He looked up again.
"They are already on the surface."
"Computer, who just transported to the surface?" I asked.
"Lieutenant Bini Filters, Micheal and Sarah Janeway. Mollie."
Harry shifted uncomfortably. His eyes darted across the room. He wasn't even surprised at this.
"Have something to add, ensign?" I growled. He gulped in air and nodded from his station.
"With all due respect sir. Micheal did say he was going to protect the Captain. I can't say I am surprised this happened." He replied. I gritted my teeth together.
"Noted. Tuvok get them back now!"
"I am unable to, sir. They are not on the surface anymore. I believe they have fallen through a subspace fracture like Lieutenant Paris and The Captain." He reported. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.
-----
Lieutenant Bini Filters POV
I pulled out my tricorder and waved it around the area. Micheal and Sarah kept close to me as Micheal held onto Mollie's collar.
"I don't like it here." Sarah muttered.
"I am sure it will change soon."
The scene suddenly changed to a plaza. A bright sunny plaza. No one seemed to notice us yet. I took a couple of steps backward. I assume since we have not returned to the other version of this planet yet. I looked down to see that we were wearing the same clothes as any of the citizens there. How...I don't know.
(AN: I don't know either but I didn't want to write another scene about them fitting in.)
I attempted to act normal by gesturing them to follow me as we crossed through the plaza and stopped at clothing in the front window. They looked like...Starfleet uniforms...wait. WAIT.
"Why does that look like Mommy and Tom's uniforms?" Micheal chirped beside me.
"Because it is! They must be here somewhere!" I snapped. I looked at the plaza again. I didn't see them-
"There! There!" Micheal shouted and out to the plaza, Sarah started to follow her brother before I grabbed her and held onto Mollie's collar. Sarah struggled against my grip on her arm.
"Let me go! I want to see Mommy!" She begged.
"Sarah! Sarah, cut it out. First off, your brother just ran off, without telling us where he was going so even if I did let you go, there is no way you would find him. That might not even be your mother he thinks he saw. It is safer here. Trust me."
She hesitantly nodded and stopped struggling. I let go of her and handed Mollie to her.
"Now, come on. If it was your mother, she might have a plan. We just have to let her play it out and watch her from a distance. Alright?"
"Okey."
"Good."
I held her hand as we walked through the plaza. Suddenly a guard appeared to walk towards us. He held out his hand for us to stop. He smiled at us as he reached us.
(AN: It is the guard from before.)
"Hello there. Are your parents nearby little girls?"
"Um, what?" I replied.
"I assume you two aren't related. You look nothing alike." He said towards me. His eyes narrowed towards Sarah and Mollie. I pulled her a little closer to me. "I think I have seen someone like you before though."
Sarah's eyes brightened up.
"Ah, sir. Is there a problem?" I snapped. He straightened up and looked down at me again.
"Well, as you know, someone under the age of the twentyth cylcle can not wonder the streets without a member of family. The member can be the same age as the other but-"
"That law is...important. Yes, my sister and I were just heading home. See, not breaking the law."
"You don't look related."
"Are you doubting me and my family!? Now I feel personally attacked. I am want to report you, sir. What is your name?"
"Nevermind. I see everything is fine here." He hastily said and almost ran off. Leaving me with a sense of victory. Sarah glared at me for a moment, then shook her head and started to walk again.
-----
Tom Paris's POV
"We can assume that Voyager will be looking for a way to reach us. I'll set my comm. badge to emit a subspace beacon. If they get close, maybe they'll pick it up." The Captain suggested as she pushed her long wavy autumn hair out of her face and reattached her combadge to her chest.
"Maybe there's some way that-"
"Don't even think about it, Tom. The Prime Directive is clear. We cannot allow our presence to alter this planet's natural course of events."
"Even if the natural course of events is annihilation?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"My father used to talk at length to us about the Prime Directive, once a year, like a holiday sermon."
"He considered it the guiding principle of space exploration."
"To be honest, I tuned out most of his sermons years ago."
"Well, tune back into this one, because I agree with him. You have no idea what the consequences might be once you involve yourself."
"The consequences would have to be better than mass destruction." I snapped.
"You're not to warn these people. That's an order." She replied. I rolled my eyes and looked forward. I noticed the young boy from earlier was staring at us from behind a nearby column. Janeway yanked my arm to follow her in the opposite direction of the child.
"Oh, god. Come on." She muttered. The boy jumped to attention and ran ahead of us. In one swift move, he jumped in front of us. Causing us to stop right in our tracks.
"I know you're lying." he stated.
"Young man, we're here on a business trip and we have a lot of work to do." Janeway insisted.
"The officer told me you came here on the continental transport."
"That's right, we're from Kalto Province."
"Yeah? Well I just talked to the transport attendant, He told me four people came today from Kalto. Two of them were a lot older than you and they had a child with them."
"Well the attendant was wrong. That was us."
"So, where's the child?" he smugly asked.
"Mommy!" A voice called out. I looked towards the Captain, she went pale. Probably praying that it wasn't who we both thought it was. Micheal.
We spun around to see little Micheal Janeway running towards us. She knelt as he came closer.
"Micheal?"
He jumped into Janeway's arms. She gave him a tight hug and picked him up as tears spilled from his cheeks. The boy glared at Micheal suspiciously.
"There he is. Told you we weren't lying."
"Liars." He muttered and ran off again. Janeway placed Micheal down again and held him by his shoulders.
"Micheal? What are you doing here? You were on Voyager!"
"Chakotay didn't protect you! He lied. Chakotay is a liar. Sarah and I woke up Bini. She helped us. She is our sister now. She likes us and cares. She is here with Sarah and Mollie. Somewhere. I don't know where. I ran off to find you." Micheal explained. The Captain got more and more confused.
"What? Bini isn't your sister."
"Yes, she is! I say so. Yes, she is." He snapped.
"I am not going to argue about this with you right now. Bini, Sarah and Mollie are here?"
"Yes. I don't know where though. Sorry, Mommy."
"It's fine. We need to concentrate on how to get out of here for now. We will make sure to find your sister and Bini on the way. Mollie is probably still with them." The Captain explained. I drifted away to a nearby plasma energy conduit running along the side of a building.
"The same subspace fractures that brought us here might still be around. If they were caused by a polaric explosion? Is there any way we could use polaric energy to get us back?"
"If we had access to a polaric ion generator, we could modify a tricorder to emit a polaric field. At the very least it might help us scan for a fracture."
"I wonder where these conduits get their power?"
---Twenty minutes later---
We approached one of the power plants. A crowd was getting pushed away from the front gate with the guards using physical violence. The Captain told Micheal to stay back. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the little boy from earlier, still following us, hiding behind a bush behind Micheal as we got closer to the group.
"This is a lawful demonstration."
"We have a right to be here."
The protests shouted as the guards got more violent. People started to either fight back or retreat from the area as we weaved our way through.
"Under normal circumstances, I'd say we should come back tomorrow." I joked.
One of the guards' fire rounds into the air to disperse the crowd. Friends help the injured limp away. One over-enthusiastic guard hit Janeway in the face, knocking her down, I hit him back swiftly. Knocking him to the ground. One of the fleeing protesters helped the Captain up. Micheal ran up to his mother as I followed them away. The young boy was still watching us.
-----
Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres's POV
Chakotay would not stop muttering to himself as we walked towards engineering. I almost wanted to break his damn nose.
"WHAT? What is it, for crying out loud!?" I yelled.
"I am worried. Harry was right. I should have seen this coming. Those kids are-"
"You are not fun around when you feel guilty. You know that right?"
"I don't care. They were my responsibility."
"Just be happy I found a solution to our little hiccup, old man." I snapped back with a light punch to his arm. We entered into engineering. The projector was already set up with Harry at the controls and Tuvok standing beside it.
Chakotay got into position as I stood beside him. I nodded towards him to begin. He entered in command as the projector turned on. Emitting a green beam which caused a mini worm-hole to appear a few meters away.
"This device uses the same polaric energy that destroyed the planet." I explained.
"At intense levels, it can open a subspace fracture." Harry finished.
"Wide enough for the Captain, Paris and the rest to get through?" Chakotay asked.
"If we can locate them, this is capable of bringing them back."
"The logical place to begin would be at the same location they disappeared." Tuvok commented. The device suddenly fizzed and the beam flickered away. Closing the mini-wormhole.
"The only problem is, at the necessary intensity, the polaric generator will burn itself out after thirty seconds at best." Harry said.
"Can't we re-initialize the generator and start again?"
"Not at the same location. Once we make an attempt at any given location, the damage to subspace will make a second attempt impossible." I explained.
"How do we prevent one of us getting trapped in a fracture?"
"We've modified our tricorders to detect the fractures, and all of us will be wearing one of these." I said as I took out an armband with a mini box full of technology and wires on it from a nearby cargo box.
"It puts out an anti-polaric field. It should repel the fractures when they get within three metres."
"Nice work." Chakotay said. I felt a blush rise to my cheeks, I turned away from him and looked at Harry. He was smirking at me. That doesn't help! The engineering doors slide open. I looked over. A small part of me hoped it was Bini, coming in for her shift. I will admit I kinda missed her sarcastic comments as I worked and her endless comebacks to pointless arguments with Seska just because they hated each other.
Instead of Bini, that annoying Talaxian Neelix and the Ocampan Kes walked in.
"Ah, Commander. Will you be going back to the planet surface?" Neelix asked.
"We're getting ready to leave right now." Chakotay replied.
"I have to go with you." Kes blurted out.
"There's nothing down there you want to see, Kes." Chakotay insisted.
"That's what I told her." Neelix pitched in. They both ignored Neelix.
"I've already seen it. I have to go."
"How-Explain. Follow me." He said. The three of them left engineering while Kes explain whatever she meant by that. I sighed and placed the armband down. Harry leaned over to me with the biggest grin in his life.
"I didn't know you had a crush on the Commander, Maquis." He whispered. I growled and punched him hard in the arm. Causing him to yelp and jump backwards.
"Shut up, Starfleet." I growled and stormed off to the second level of engineering as Harry nursed a bruised arm as he walked out of engineering.
-----
Lieutenant Bini Filters POV
Sarah tugged on my sleeve again as Mollie sniffed the street for signs that her other owners were nearby as I followed the Captain's homing signal from her combadge on my tricorder as I did my best to hide it from the civilians.
"Are we near Mommy yet?" Sarah asked again.
"No. The answer is the same as it was five minutes ago. She is moving." I replied as I attempted to keep my anger in check as we walked through the streets. Suddenly, Sarah took off running with Mollie.
"Sarah! Sarah, get back here!" I snapped and blocked her path. She desperately pointed beyond me struggling to breathe and talk at the same time. I knelt and put a hand on her shoulder as my other one was used to restraint Mollie as she started to bark. I quickly brought my other hand away from Sarah as she calmed down and used it to silence Mollie. Who finally got the message after a minute.
"Mommy. *Deep breathe.* Mommy, I saw Mommy, Micheal and Tom being lead into that building by two people." She explained. She pointed towards the building next to us. We carefully walked just below one of the windows. I picked Sarah up to help her see through the window better with me. Mollie's tongue was hanging out as she went on her hind legs and scratched at the wall. Probably sensing her owners nearby.
Through the window, we saw two men. One sat at a desk, examining a tricorder and phaser before placing it on the desk again next to two other tricorders and a phaser. Tom was helping the Captain down on a stairwell, next to a very concerned Micheal.
Sarah and I gasped as we watched Tom press a rag against the Captain's forehead. He pulled it away to reveal a pretty bad gash with some blood trickling down her head. Micheal rested his head aginst the Captain's shoulder and hugged her in fear as the other guy had a gun held behind his back.
The first man (From the desk.) walked around his desk and stood in front of him. The Captain pulled Micheal closer with a protective arm across his back to his shoulder. He held himself closer to his mother as Tom kept dabbing the cloth against her injury and wiped the blood away.
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. A kid had moved to the other window, peeking in also. I put Sarah down. She quickly ran over to the boy and demanded what he was doing. She wasn't very far, I suppose it was fine.
I didn't hear what the boy replied with but whatever it was it convinced Sarah to look through the window with him. Mollie just sat on the ground with a whimper. I looked back to my side of the house again. Peeking through the window for more info.
-----
Captain Kathryn Janeway's POV
An older man, the one that helped me get up earlier stood in front of us as Micheal held a death grip on me and Tom dabbed a wat rag against my throbbing head.
"We're sorry to involve you in this. Pe'Nar Makull. My colleague, Ny Terla." He introduced.
"You just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time." Terla said. With clear distaste for us.
"I was just thinking the very same thing." Tom said.
"What were you doing there. With a child none the less." Terla demanded.
"We're from Kalto Province. We were hoping to tour your power facility, compare it to our own." I said. Stick to the story. Just stick to the story.
"I've never seen a Kalton with your colour hair." Terla pointed out.
"Well, now you have."
"My friend thinks you were sent by the government to infiltrate us." Makull said as he motioned his head towards his friend.
"Infiltrate? You were there when she got this." Tom snapped.
"Mommy wouldn't do that. She is honest." Micheal called out.
"She is your mother. Very irresponsible."
"Something irresponsible is going to happen if you don't shut it." Tom muttered.
"Besides perhaps you were told to put on a good show for us." Terla continued.
"We don't even know why someone would want to infiltrate you." Tom snapped back.
"That's hard to believe. Even in Kalto there are protests against polaric energy."
"We're not spies." I said.
"When was the last time you were in a power plant?"
"Not since we left home."
"You weren't in that plant yesterday?"
"We were just getting there when we stumbled into you."
"We know you're not telling the truth. We have safety monitors to measure polaric energy. When you were brought here, they registered five times the normal readings."
"To register levels this high you were either inside that plant yesterday, or at the site of a polaric disaster worse than any in the history of this planet."
Oh no.
-----
Lieutenant Torres POV
We were back on the planet's surface in the broken plaza where Tom and the Captain were last seen, and where the computer says the five misfits beamed down and screwed up. Chakotay stood with Kes as Tuvok and I made sure the armbands were working (+ The machine.)
"What is it?" Chakotay asked.
"It's as though I can sense the people who were here," Kes replied as she ran her fingers down a damaged wall.
"I know. It's like walking through a graveyard."
"No, it's more than that. I almost feel as if I could touch the people who were here." Kes corrected. Chakotay awkwardly left her as he made his way towards us, followed by Kes a few seconds later.
"What have you found?" He asked us.
"The scanners are not showing any subspace fractures in the area now." Tuvok replied.
"That probably indicates the subspace damage is beginning to dissipate. If that's true, it's going to be harder to locate Tom and the Captain." I added.
"Commander, I'm picking up a signal from a comm. badge." Harry called out from a few meters ahead.
"The subspace beacon?"
"No, it's not on subspace. It's here, now. Kim to Janeway. Kim to Paris." But of course, there was no answer.
"Can we locate the source of the signal?"
"Yes, sir. This way." We quickly went and followed Harry as he left the plaza.
-----
Lieutenant Tom Paris's POV
Makull gestured the Captain to get up. She untangled Micheal from herself, despite his protests and handed him to me. Micheal whimpered as I held him close. The Captain kept her head high as she stood up in front of Makull. Makull crossed his arms as he glared back at her.
"What's your name?" Makull asked.
"Janeway." She snapped.
"Unusual name."
"Not where I'm from."
"What part of Kalto province was that again
"I don't see any point in this."
"There is a point, a very important one. It has to do with our schedule, and whether we can keep it or not. Can we?"
"I don't know."
"Do they know our plan?"
"I have no idea."
I suddenly heard a rustling at the farthest window. I snapped my head over to see Sarah and the little boy duck out of sight. I swore under my breath as Terla left in a hurry and came back a minute later with two struggling kids.
That somehow wasn't the strangest thing happening here. Bini was also with him. Holding Mollie by the collar and Sarah by the arm. I think she was pretending to be a guard. She lowered her head for a moment and whispered something in Sarah's ear.
"Let me go!" The boy cried out as Terla roughly brought him forward.
"Look what I caught sneaking around outside." Terla said with a smirk as if catching a child was some sort of big accomplishment.
-----
Harry Kim's POV
Tuvok lead us into an old destroyed building. We walked down a set of stairs to where the signals originated. We opened up our tricorders again and scanned the room.
"I'm still not showing any life signs." Tuvok pointed out as we walked around the room.
-----
Bini Filters POV
I was silently praying I could pull off being a guard as I let go of Sarah and Mollie's collar.
"The kids have nothing to do with any of this. Let them go." The Captain insisted.
"Is they yours?" Makull asked. Sarah ran forward and hugged the Captain as Mollie followed and growled at the man as she passed. Causing him to take a step back.
"Mommy!" She squealed as the Captain knelt and picked her up.
"The boy is just somebody we met here." The Captain replied
"Don't trust them. They aren't who they say they are." The boy yelled out.
"Really?" Makull raised an eyebrow towards us. Tom kept giving me a suspicious glance.
"Thanks, kid." Tom muttered towards him.
"Look, this is all a misunderstanding." The Captain insisted.
"They lied about coming here on the Continental transport. I talked to the attendant myself. Let me go." The boy cried out again. Terla tightened his grip on him. Janeway lowered Sarah down.
"What do we do with him? We can't let him go."
"Just put him over there with the others. Get the girl." Makull ordered. Terla nodded and shoved the boy down next to Micheal and grabbed Sarah. Sarah fought against him but it was no use, Sarah was shoved to the stairs as well.
"Now stay quiet. You, make sure they don't try to escape." Terla ordered me. I snapped to attention and stood beside them."
-----
Kes's POV
I held two melted combadges out of four on the broken desk in my hand. Harry took another one of them and played with it in their hands.
"The combadge is designed to self-activate when the casing is destroyed to help searchers locate victims." Harry explained.
"I guess it means they were caught in the explosion." B'Elanna concluded.
"It only means their comm. badges were caught in the explosion. Further speculation serves no purpose. I suggest we search for other tangible evidence." Tuvok suggested.
-----
Captain Kathryn Janeway's POV
Makull moved back to his desk and picked up one of the tricorders.
"None of us have seen devices like these before. Terla believes they're spy equipment." Makull said. Terla seemed like more of the mastermind of this whole operation with his damn theories and options.
"They're for surveying property. I've been thinking of buying land here. I need to survey it." I explained.
"I'd be curious to know how they work. Would you show me?" Terla asked. I nodded and moved forward to grab the tricorder. Suddenly, Makull jolted forward and grabbed the tricorder I was about to grab. Mollie growled beside me.
"But then one of them might be a weapon, and I wouldn't want you to show me how that works, would I?" He snarled.
I heard shuffling from behind me. I am guessing it was Tom and the boy based on the following conversation.
"What's your name?"
"Latika."
I heard Tom sigh.
"Latika. I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I just am." He replied. Smooth Tom. Makull shifted his position away from the desk.
"I realize how this must appear to you but I'm just a patriot."
"A patriot?" I replied.
"I sincerely believe polaric energy has the potential to destroy this entire world."
"And I take it very few people here agree with you."
"We have more support since the accident at Markov. We know the companies are afraid of us. We know they've increased security at all their plants, but it will not be enough to stop us. We can't wait another week, we have to move up the schedule. We know they're not telling us the truth. We have to assume the government sent them. Tell everyone we begin at four hundred tomorrow." He ordered around the room. I looked towards Bini. She was still trying to play being a guard.
"Wait a minute-" I snapped forward. Bring their attention back towards me.
-----
Kes's POV
I felt a presence go through my body as I walked past a broken desk. I reminded me of the Captain. Was she here?
"Captain?"
-----
Tom Paris's POV
The Captain grew pale as she turned around and looked at the back wall.
"Kes?"
Makull, who didn't look like he cared much to whatever the Captain said gritted his teeth towards her.
"Do you have something to tell me, Janeway? If that's your real name." Makull pressed. she spun around to him again.
"It is my real name. Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager."
-----
Kes's POV
"I can feel their presence." I announced.
"Please elaborate. How can you feel their presence?" Tuvok asked as they all looked towards me.
"I don't know. I just can. They've been in this room, I know it."
"Is there a subspace fracture anywhere in here?" Chakotay asked. Tuvok scanned the room, carefully waving his tricorder around.
"Affirmative."
"Set up the equipment." Chakotay barked.
-----
Tom Paris's POV
"You wanted the truth, all right, here's the truth. We're from the future. Exactly one day in the future." The Captain snapped at him.
"You mean I was right?" Latika said to me. He wasn't entirely right. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
"We weren't allowed to tell. At least, I thought we weren't." I pointed out. Bini snickered beside me. Thinking something was funny about this entire situation.
"In a few hours from now, there will be a serious accident on this world. It will be caused by a polaric detonation. We came here in an interstellar ship to investigate that explosion. When we arrived, we were exposed to the polaric radiation." She explained to the disbelieving Makull and Terla.
-----
Kes's POV
"Showing a subspace fracture, co-ordinates one four one by twenty-one by fourteen, five percent drift, range four metres." Tuvok reported as B'elanna and Harry tinkered with the machine.
"Got it. Initiating generator."
"Initiating microscanner for subspace fracture."
-----
Tom Paris's POV
"It's very likely that whatever you're planning to do could be responsible for this tragedy." She continued.
"And somehow you can come back here to warn us?" Makull finished.
"The explosion had an after-effect that no one expected. It created fractures in time. We fell through one of those fractures-"
"Interstellar ships, fractures in time, do you honestly expect us to believe all this?"
-----
Kes's POV
"I've found them. Scanners are picking up a subspace beacon. Adjusting penetration co-ordinates to match. I'll try to open up the other end." B'Elanna reported as she switched on the machine and the green beam hit subspace, creating a mini wormhole. Chakotay quickly tapped his combadge.
"Chakotay to Janeway."
-----
Tom Paris's POV
"Captain, can you read us?" Chakotay's voice cut through the room from her combadge. The Captain looked startled for a moment. Bini straightened up and placed her hand in her pocket. Probably were her combadge was. Probably praying that Chakotay doesn't call her.
Terla stepped forward and ripped the combadge away from the Captain. He held up the badge to Makull.
"Eavesdropping devices!" He exclaimed. Makull gestured towards Bini and Terla to take our combadges as well as the Captain desperately tried to explain he was wrong. Bini mumbled her apologies as she went by, plucking our combadge off and placing them on the desk.
"Get the particle injector," Makull ordered as he pulled a weapon but from his desk and looked us over. Terla nodded and opened a safe, taking out a hand-sized device.
"Bring them with us. The children included. I have an idea of how they can help.
We were quickly shoved up and out of the room as more guards came in and were handed weapons, Bini included. I looked behind as the group moved past me. Suddenly I watched as a wormhole appeared! A wormhole. Chakotay's voice spoke again on the Captain's combadge.
"Chakotay to Janeway, can you read me? Please respond."
I took a step forward to answer. Suddenly the wormhole disappeared. I felt a great sense of loss. Suddenly I was yanked forward by a remaining guard who chuckled to himself about how I can't escape.
---Next Day---
"I don't get it, Captain, this morning you were giving orders about not interfering because of the Prime Directive, and now you're telling them everything." I snapped at her as we were "escorted" down the street. Bini was the only guard protecting us as most of them were near the front with the kids and one in front of us, just before the little gathering over there
"I told them the truth when I realized we'd already violated the Prime Directive in the worst possible manner."
"How did we do that?" I asked.
"Just by being here. Because if we hadn't been here it's very possible this world would not have been destroyed. Not to mention when Bini and my children got pulled through."
Bini leaned in between us, so we could see the scowl on her face.
"With all due respect, you weren't there when your kids went all hulk when they found out you went missing." Bini pitched in. Under normal circumstances, I would point out that once again Bini used the 20th-century reference but this is not the time.
"Can we please stay focused and return to the real matter here. What did you mean by that, Captain." Bini rolled her eyes at me and withdrew again.
"Think about it, Tom. Before we got involved, these people were planning to commit some kind of sabotage next week. We were the ones who forced a change in their schedule. Because of us, they decided to begin today at four hundred rotations, and we know the detonation takes place today at just after four hundred and one."
"Four oh one twenty-two eighty-four. Wait a minute. You're saying we're responsible for an explosion even though it occurred before our ship arrived here."
"We've travelled back to a point in time before the explosion, so, yes, we can be responsible for it." She replied.
"Let's say we never came, and their plans didn't change. Wouldn't the accident simply have occurred next week instead of today?"
"Who knows what might have happened between now and then. They could have been arrested before they got a chance to carry it out, conditions at the plant might not have been the same next week. But it's become our problem now, Tom, and we have got to find a way to solve it." She said as the power planet came into view in the distance.
-----
Harry Kim's POV
The senior staff were currently in the briefing room again. It had been about a day since The Captain, Tom, Bini and the children went missing. Chakotay looked like he hadn't been sleeping at all last night.
"We're running out of time. The subspace fractures are closing. We've lost over seventy percent of them." I explained next to the wall console which showed a diagram of the fractures disappearing.
"At this point, we're suggesting we concentrate our search at the flash-point." B'Elanna concluded.
"May I ask what you expect to accomplish by doing that?" Tuvok asked.
"We figure the Captain and Paris might have looked for the origin of the explosion to try and prevent it." I answered.
"Unlikely. It would be a highly questionable decision in light of the Prime Directive." Tuvok said.
"If it were me, I would have tried to get there." Chakotay insisted.
"The issue is whether Captain Janeway would go there, not you, Commander." Tuvok replied. Chakotay ignored him as he looked back at me.
"You think you can locate the flash-point?" Chakotay asked.
"We already have." I replied. He stood from his seat.
"Let's go. Dismissed."
-----
Captain Kathryn Janeway's POV
I took in a sharp breath as Makull pushed me to the front of the group and whispered into my ear.
"Your job is to get us past the guards. You'll tell them you're bringing us here to negotiate a settlement of our dispute with the power company."
"I cannot and will not do anything to help you." I snapped at him.
"Think before you say no. Terla has a weapon trained on the boy and your kids. If shooting begins he'll be the first victim." Makull replied. A guard standing at the gate stepped away and walked towards us.
"Is there something I can do for you?" The guard asked.
"She's a government representative on official business." makull replied. I took a step forward, towards the guard. My next action, I would probably live to regret. I saw Bini's eyes flash with concern out of the corner of my eyes as she took a step back, towards the children and Terla.
"I am a hostage. These men are here to break into the plant."
The guard immediately stepped back and almost took a run for it before Makull shot him to the ground. I pushed him aside and began to run towards my children as Bini ran towards Latika. She picked up the frightened child as Terla pointed the weapon at them. Tom jumped in his way as Mollie bit his leg. Terla yelped in pain and shot the weapon. Straight into Tom's side. He collapsed onto the grass in pain as Bini + my kids ran towards him.
Meanwhile, Makull shot another guard at the gate as he pressed the alarm. I turned around and looked at him as Terla stumbled away and limped past the gates with a fellow guard and Makull turned towards me.
"Their lives are on your conscience, Janeway!" He yelled and followed his members into the power planet. I gritted my teeth and knelt next to Tom as my children, Latika, Bini and Mollie surrounded him.
"You saved my life. " Latika exclaimed. Tom gave the boy a weak smile and looked up at me.
"Don't waste time with me, Captain. Got to stop them." He said and cried out in pain. I looked over to my kids and Latika.
"Will you stay with him until help arrives?" I asked.
"Sure they will, the kid and I, we're old friends now, aren't we?" He said to the boy.
"Yeah."
"I'll be back for you." I said to Tom. I got up and kissed both my kids on the forehead before calling for Mollie and gesturing Bini to follow. We ran after the group and carefully entered the building with the alarm still blaring. Bini pointed in a direction and I took it. Following their voices down the corridors.
After a few moments of twists and turns, we looked over a corner where Makull, Terla and one other person stopped at a control panel and began to take it apart.
-----
B'Elanna Torres's POV
We beamed down to a destroyed corridor of where we assumed the flashpoint was in a power plant. We all pulled out our tricorders again and scanned the area.
"The polaric levels are higher here than any place we've been so far." Harry said.
"This was undoubtedly the flash-point of the explosion. Whatever went wrong, it started here." I exclaimed.
"Do we have subspace fractures to work with here?" Chakotay asked.
"Affirmative. They remain quite numerous in this area." Tuvok confirmed.
"Set up the equipment."
"Aye, sir."
-----
Bini Filters POV
I kept my weapon close to my chest as the Captain gave me a silent count down soon. I nodded. She counted down from three as I heard Terla ask for an injector just beyond the bend. We jump out of our hiding spot with Mollie all ready to attack.
"Just hand that bag to me." The Captain ordered as they snapped their attention towards us. I trained my weapon towards them.
-----
B'Elanna Torres's POV
"Four one by three one zero. Two percent drift, range six metres, mark." Tuvok said.
"I have it. Initiating generator." Harry reported.
"Scanning for the subspace beacon. It doesn't look like they were here." I pointed out.
"It is highly unlikely that Captain Janeway would come here to-"
"No," Kes barked. "The Captain did come here. she was here with Bini and Mollie. This is where they died."
-----
Bini Filters's POV
"Everybody on this planet has less than three minutes to live if you go through with this, Makull. Don't!" The Captain barked. Mollie let out a few barks. Startling Terla.
"What exactly do you think we are planning to do here?" Makull demanded.
"I assume you're going to sabotage the plant, probably by detonating some kind of device."
"We're not stupid enough to blow up anything here."
"That may be true, but something will go wrong." I barked.
"Nothing is going to go wrong unless you fire that weapon near a polaric conduit. For everyone's safety, I suggest you put it down." He snapped at me and pointed towards my weapon.
"Give me the bag." The Captain ordered. Makull scowled and clutched it closer to his chest.
"All right then, we'll wait."
-----
B'Elanna Torres's POV
"If Kes is right, the Captain was here at the moment the explosion occurred. Is there anyway to break through subspace a few minutes before the detonation?" Chakotay asked.
"If the widest point of the fracture represents the time of the explosion, couldn't we open a hole just before the widest point?" Harry suggested.
"There's no way we could pin-point the exact time we'd be penetrating but we could make an educated guess." I replied.
"I feel it is my duty to point out there is absolutely no logical reason to believe Kes is correct. However, since I have no alternative course of action to recommend at this time, I suggest we proceed." I almost shot out a series of insults to the Vulcan, instead, I looked towards Chakotay for the next best option.
-----
Bini Filters's POV
I hands gripped the weapon, they were starting to feel sweaty. I don't like it, not to mention my arm was killing me, having to hold it.
"What time is it?" Janeway snapped. Terla looked down at his clock.
"Four oh one rotations plus twenty-one." Terla replied.
"We'll just wait until twenty-three." The Captain replied.
"Twenty three? What's the importance of twenty-three? Oh, this is all about the alleged time of our self-annihilation. All right, let's just see if we can all get through the next-" Makull was interrupted from his 'I don't believe you jokers' speech by a worm hole appearing behind us.
"Um...Captain?" I looked towards her for answers as Mollie barked at the hole.
"What's going on?" Terla demanded behind us.
"They're cutting through subspace."
The worm hole got bigger and bigger. So big that it was about to connect with the conduit wall.
"My god, it's going to intersect with the conduit wall!" Makull exclaimed.
"Our own rescue attempt. That's what sets it off! Our weapon may be able to seal that hole. It's our only chance." she demanded. Makull hesitantly opened the bag and we quickly pulled out our phasers, then we turned towards the growing wormhole and fired at the wormhole.
-----
B'Elanna Torres's POV
"I'm getting nadion particle resistance from the other side." I called out as Harry increased the input.
"Increasing generator to maximum output. The generator's overloading." Harry called out.
"I don't understand. It's not working. We're not penetrating the fracture." I snapped out frustrated. Suddenly the machine fizzed out, the wormhole snapped shut, with a lot of force, knocking us backwards as a white filled my vision.
-----(Time resets to Yesterday morning.)-----
Harry Kim's POV
I heard tapping on my console, just a few millimetres away from me. I looked up to see Tom grinning at me
"You ready?" He asked. I groaned internally as I caught up to what he was asking. It was because of that stupid bet I took. If only Bini didn't agree to take the night shift and day shift today and last night. She would be here. Shutting him up. Instead of getting off duty.
"No, I want to get on that transtator assembly diagnostic."
"Harry, I can't do this alone." He insisted.
"I'm sorry! I am just busy right now." I said.
"You're making a big mistake. Can't you see what's going to happen? We're the only humans out here, Harry. People are going to start pairing off, and if we don't get to the Delany sisters in Stellar Cartography soon, somebody else will." He demanded.
"I got a girl back home."
"So what? I've got five."
"I plan on seeing mine again."
"Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry. You think she's going to wait for you?"
"I hope so."
"Let her go. Let her have a husband and kids and a good life, while you and I have the Delany sisters." He insisted again. I shook my head.
"You are insane. I have to run a transtator diagnostic." I insisted as I entered the commands into the main computer.
"You need to run a self-diagnostic. Look, they come as a pair. It's a double date or no date. Come on! I told them all about you." He begged. I narrowed my eyes toward him.
"What did you tell them about me?" I snapped.
"Well, for one thing, how you broke the single pilot speed record at the Academy."
"Record? I never broke any record!" I exclaimed.
"And who are they going to check it with?" Tom asked. I rolled my eyes and pointed up.
"The computer, Tom. The computer. Besides, it is only 0900. We have only been on duty for two hours! We can't just abandon our posts. Which I see you don't care about." I said and looked over to his station where a young ensign replaced him.
"That's because I got us two hours off of duty, right now." he said with a big smile.
"Oh, really? What is the catch?" I asked.
"Well, we are giving up our lunch break and working one hour overtime." He replied. He pulled on my arm, making me step away from my station and someone else to replace it. I shook my head as Tom put his hand on my shoulder and lead me into the turbo lift.
-----
Chakotay's POV
I tapped my combadge. as I watched Tom and Harry walk off the bridge.
"Chakotay to Captain Janeway."
I looked back at my readings in the console between our command chairs as the ready room opens and Janeway walked out with Neelix.
"Yes, Commander?" she chirped. As she moved towards me and Neelix moved to stand beside the security station to annoy Tuvok with his usual morning banter whenever he comes to the bridge.
The Captain turned towards Neelix.
"Are you familiar with any intelligent life forms in this system, Mister Neelix?" She asked. Neelix fumbled with his hands for a moment as he opened his mouth to respond.
"Familiar. Not exactly familiar. Considerably less than familiar, actually." He stumbled out.
Suddenly, the turbo lift slid open to a frightened Kes. Neelix moved over to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Causing her to look towards him.
"I had to know." she muttered.
"Know? know what?" Neelix asked.
"The planet. Everyone was killed. There was this terrible explosion." she explained.
Janeway and I looked at each other in surprise, then back at Neelix and Kes.
"You had a bad dream." Neelix suggested.
"No, it was more than a dream." Kes insisted. Janeway looked towards Tuvok.
"Mister Tuvok, any indications of trouble on that M-class planet?" She asked.
"Negative, Captain." He answered.
"Is it populated?"
"Sensors do show humanoid life. There is no satellite system and no indications of spacecraft in the vicinity. It appears to be a pre-warp civilization." He finished. The Captain nodded her thanks and turned back to Kes.
"Which means, as a policy, we don't involve ourselves in their affairs." The Captain said.
"Of course. A most enlightened philosophy. Come on, Kes." Neelix insisted. Kes weaved past him and walked to the upper railing.
"I'm sorry. Captain, is it possible to see this planet on the viewscreen?"
The officer at Ops changed the screen to show the planet. A big blue healthy planet with clouds. Kes's body sagged a little due to released tension as she allowed Neelix to guide her out.
"Thank you, Captain." She called out.
"Anytime, Kes." She replied as the viewscreen switched back to normal again. She sat in her chair beside me.
"Enter the planet's co-ordinates into the log and maintain present heading, Commander, warp six."
"Aye, Captain." I replied.
---End of Chapter Nine. Next: Short Story: The Maquis Commander and my Mommy.---
Info: Captain Janeway sends Bini to find Micheal, in the hopes she can change his attitude since they got into a fight. The Captain won't tell her what the fight was about but she accepts anyway. She finds him on the holodeck. After a few minutes, he finally tells her. Let's just say...it's bad.
AN: Please tell me how I can improve and what you like and don't like. Have a good day.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder