Passages 2

Author: Cybermum

Act Four

"There has been another surge along the carrier wave, Ensign," Tuvok reported. "I believe we do not have much time."

"I've still only got one signal, Commander." Kim was working as quickly as he was able to translate the readings he was receiving. "It's moving quite quickly," he reported. Heading towards...It's...she's heading towards the surface." He looked up. "Commander, I can't get her out unless we uncloak the planet. And we can only do that once."

"Harry." Tom Paris twisted himself around in his pilot's chair to face his friend. "Who is it?"

"I don't know Tom. I don't know."

Kathryn Janeway was fully focused upon the task at hand. The Zornon tool kit was open beside her. Her back pained her, but she ignored it. She wondered fleetingly if Torres had made it to the surface, and then pushed the thought away. The deflector beam that Torres had rigged into her tricorder had bought her a precious few extra minutes, but the Zornon guard had almost penetrated her shield. There was a loud grunt on the other side of the door and it finally burst open. She was immediately surrounded by six Zornon officers, their weapons cocked and aimed. She calmly continued what she was doing.

Rhenat stepped through the phalanx of her officers and watched for a moment.

"Very impressive Captain Janeway. You have done well. Not many of our visitors have been quite so... intrepid."

Rhenat approached and examined the work that Janeway had done on the Zornon scope. She leaned over and watched as the Captain made one more modification.

"Yes. Yes. Of course. You will be an asset to Zorno's scientific community."

"So," Janeway finally looked up. "You deal in lives as well as technology Rhenat?"

"We welcome newcomers to our world, Captain. You will be treated well here. As will your crew."

"You underestimate us, Rhenat. My crew will be gone from your space shortly."

Rhenat walked up to the scope and examined it quickly. She entered three quick commands into its controls and the machine lit up. Janeway watched her carefully.

"Oh no Captain." Rhenat smiled at her. "I think in this case you underestimate your crew. They will not leave here without you. And none of you," she added "will be leaving."

"Commander, the Zornons have reinforced the cloak," Tuvok reported.

"Harry?" Chakotay asked.

"Still only one signal, Commander. Almost at the surface."

"Can you increase the sensor capacity?"

"It's at maximum now, sir," he replied.

The Zornons have activated weapons, Commander. We are being targeted."

"Return fire, Tuvok," Chakotay instructed. "Harry, initiate your procedure."

"But..."

"Do it, Ensign," Chakotay said softly.

"Initiating particle bursts," Kim said flatly.

"Adjusting for gravimetric shear." Seven reported.

"Mr. Paris?" Chakotay demanded.

"Thrust activated, Sir. Our wheels are spinning," he added.

They all felt it as Voyager began an almost rhythmical rock. And they all felt the powerful jolt as the ship broke free of the orbital lock and shot forward, out of range of the Zornon weapons.

There was a moment of silence.

"The Zornon cloak has been disabled," Tuvok reported.

"Locking on to signal," Harry said.

"Beam her onto the bridge, Harry." Chakotay instructed.

"Energizing."

B'Elanna materialized before them.

"Prefect, the other one has escaped." Orpon pushed his way through the guards that surrounded Janeway and Rhenat to report his findings. "We had tracked her to the Lorac Egress. We had her surrounded. But as we approached she de-materialized."

There was a sudden thump and the scope shuddered. Rhenat looked up and Janeway glanced quickly at the control panel beside it. Voyager had escaped the orbital lock, she noted with satisfaction.

Rhenat ignored this turn of events and addressed her officer. "I see. This one will not escape, Orpon." She turned to face Janeway once again. " It seems your ship has left you behind. I was mistaken. You are expendable after all. "

"My crew is following orders, Rhenat. They know that their mission is to return to the Alpha Quadrant. Nothing will stop them."

"And their loss is our gain, is it not?" She reached out and took Janeway's tricorder, which she examined carefully.

"You accused me, I think, of piracy, Captain?" she stated. "And yet here I see evidence of theft." She waved the offending scanner under Janeway's nose. " Are these not our own schematics? Does this not make you one of us?"

"Perhaps," Janeway replied. "But nothing was destroyed, and no one was killed in the process. Your systems remain intact."

"You can justify it that way if you like. But the evidence is right here."

"Rhenat, you may be right. We are probably more alike than I would ever want to admit." Janeway acknowledged. "We are both fighting for the survival of our people. Yours here on a planet that is harsh and inhospitable. Mine in a sector of space that is hostile and far from home. But, I hope, there are differences as well. My crew has always been free to choose to stay with me on this journey. Oh yes, I will fight to protect them." She stopped for a minute and couldn't help but recall a recent conversation. "I will try to do what is right for them. But" she continued "I will not use threats or force or intimidation to ensure our success. I will not wilfully do harm to anyone in order to reach our goal. And," she finished firmly, "I will not compromise our values in order to survive."

"As you wish, Captain. In the meantime, I believe that our technology (she indicated the telescope) has been compromised. You will restore it to its previous state."

"B'Elanna!"

Tom rushed from his chair to embrace his wife. She kissed him quickly and soundly and then looked around.

"The Captain," she said. "Did you get the Captain?"

"No," Chakotay replied. "Where is she?"

"I left her in the Zornon surveillance center. She was trying to reprogramme their telescopic array so that I could get out. She must have managed."

"No B'Elanna," Paris corrected her. "That was Harry. He and Seven figured out how you uncloaked the planet. They recreated the work you were doing on the conversion matrix and figured out how you de-cloaked the planet."

"But you were able to read our signals," B'Elanna said impatiently, "because the Captain must have deactivated the carrier wave on the scope... which means that..."

Torres hurried over to her Engineering station. Seven moved quickly out of the way.

"We can get her out of there," she continued. "If she has disabled it, I can break the beam." She set her tricorder down carefully beside her console.

"By the way, Harry," B'Elanna asked over her shoulder "how did you figure out what caused the planet to de-cloak?"

It was the soup, Lieutenant," Seven supplied.

"Soup?" She turned and looked at both of them. "Never mind," she said. "You can tell me later." She returned her attention to the matter at hand. "I've got the Zornon schematics here. I should be able to deactivate their defense systems. We need to get closer to the planet. Soup?" The last was muttered under her breath.

"B'Elanna," Kim warned her. "If we go back there's a danger that Voyager will be caught again. I don't know that we can get away a second time."

She ignored him. "I'm entering the Zornon figures into our data base. Computer, recalibrate information to conform with Voyager's communications array".

"Recalibrating data." The computer's familiar voice reported.

"Tom. Turn her around," B'Elanna instructed.

"Now, Computer, enter Zornon specifications into Voyager's data bank."

"Chakotay?" Paris asked.

"Unable to comply. Information must be reformatted," The computer reported.

"Damn." B'Elanna smacked the wall in front of her. "Computer...No wait. She was right. Too many different components. I've got to compensate for the diversity factors." She re-entered the instructions into her console."

"Turn her around, Tom, we can do this." She looked up. "Chakotay?"

She and Voyager's First Officer exchanged a long look. Chakotay turned to consult silently with Tuvok, who was checking Torres' statistics against his own calculations. The Vulcan nodded.

"Change course, Mr. Paris," Chakotay instructed. "Head back to Zorno space."

Rhenat watched closely as Janeway worked on the scope's control panel. She had not yet ordered her guards to stand down, and the tips of their weapons invaded the periphery of the Captain's vision as she made her alterations. Rhenat leaned forward to take a reading of her own.

"Captain, it seems I was correct after all." The Zornon commander gloated. "Voyager is once again within range of our sensors. This freedom you have given them to choose will cost them dearly."

Janeway said nothing, but continued her modifications.

"This time they will not escape so easily."

"We are within range of Zorno, Commander," Tuvok reported.

"Approach slowly. Half impulse," Chakotay instructed. "Tom. Are you ready to 'spin your wheels' again?"

"Yes sir." The pilot responded.

"I've penetrated the surface Commander. The probe is functioning," Harry said.

We have one chance at this people. One. Got it? B'Elanna?"

"I'm ready, Chakotay."

"We have been detected, Commander," Tuvok reported.

Rhenat was tracking Voyager's return.

"There they are Captain. Right above us. I think it's only right that you should catch them yourself. Don't you think so, Orpon?"

Her adjunct smiled.

"Go ahead, Captain. Activate." She nodded to the guards who re-cocked their weapons in response.

Janeway hesitated for a beat and threw the switch.

"We are once again in the orbital lock," Seven of Nine reported.

"Okay," Torres replied. "Activating anti lock beam." She paused for one moment to do so. "Now, Seven."

"I've got her," Harry exclaimed. "I've got the Captain's signal."

"Initiating continuous particle bursts," Seven reported.

"Maneuvering thrusters enabled. Hang on people." Paris worked his controls.

Voyager shuddered and once again began to rock rhythmically.

Rhenat was peering over Janeway's shoulder. A red light was blinking rapidly on the scope.

"Ah. Captain," Rhenat said. "Did you think to fool us? I see what you have done. You have reversed the carrier wave and tried to deactivate the lock."

"It was worth a try, don't you think?" Janeway asked wryly.

"I will take over from here." The Zornon commander pushed the captain out of her way.

Janeway moved aside and away from Rhenat and the scope. There was a muffled thud as Voyager neutralized the lock. Rhenat entered a command and threw the same switch that Janeway had activated shortly before. There was a grinding of gears as the entire apparatus shut down.

"What have you done?" Rhenat shouted.

"I believe you said it, Rhenat," Janeway explained calmly as she began to dematerialize. " One should always have a contingency plan."

Kathryn Janeway disappeared into the shimmering blue light of Voyager's transporter beam.

Epilogue

There were quite a few crew members in evidence at Sandrine's the next evening; a warm social atmosphere prevailed. Kathryn Janeway, followed closely by Tuvok appeared at the door. She was dressed casually, in a soft blue sweater and gray slacks. She hesitated for just a moment before entering, and then continued her conversation with the Vulcan.

"Tuvok, you were right about the Zornons. They definitely had a hidden agenda. What was it about them that..." She looked sideways at him for a moment. "Never mind. But I promise you, from now on, I will listen more carefully to your hunches."

Tuvok said nothing, and Janeway continued. "Well, we didn't get any of that dilithium, but we were able to upgrade our security system and our long range scanners quite nicely. And the cloaking technology is a real bonus."

"The orbital lock schematics will definitely be an asset," Tuvok agreed.

The Captain's presence in Sandrine's had been noticed almost immediately by the crew, who were obviously very pleased to see her there. She was greeted several times by various crewmembers, and acknowledged each one. She was extremely touched and most gratified by their response, and acknowledged to herself that perhaps B'Elanna was right after all. She and Tuvok eventually managed to reach the bar, where Torres was already seated, and talking with Neelix.

"Captain. I'm glad to see..." B'Elanna began.

"Ahh. Captain your timing is perfect," Neelix interrupted her eagerly. "I was just telling Lieutenant Torres about her sport in the Delta Games. I have your assignment ready for you too."

"Thank you, Neelix." Janeway slipped onto a bar stool and took the PADD that Neelix proffered and began to read it with interest.

" and I worked very hard to divide the crew into equal teams," he continued enthusiastically. "And we tried to find events that would be just right for each crewmember. We even developed a few new ones. Yours and B'Elanna's, for instance. A brand new sport. Developed right here on Voyager."

"Sport! Yeah right." B'Elanna was practically spitting. "I'm going to kill him." She waved her own PADD in the air. "A marathon biathlon."

"You can't be serious..." Janeway looked up.

Tom Paris, followed by Chakotay, arrived at the bar at that moment. Both were carrying pool cues.

"You know Chakotay, if you would use some of that famous patience of yours, I bet you could do a lot better at the pool table." Tom said helpfully. "I think you need a lesson or two in technique. I'd be glad to coach you any time," he offered.

"Tom, I don't need ... Kathryn, it's good to see you here." Chakotay took her hand for a moment.

"It's nice to be here Chakotay. So..." She turned to address Tom who was standing beside his wife, trying unsuccessfully to calm her down. "Mr. Paris, you are responsible for this?" She waggled her PADD at him.

"Yes ma'am!" He responded proudly.

Janeway took the PADD that Torres was holding and handed it, along with hers to Chakotay. In turn she took the Commander's pool cue and stood up.

"I think, Lieutenant, that you could use a few lessons at the pool table yourself."

"I... Yes ma'am."

"Let me see..." she mused as the headed towards the pool table, followed eagerly by Chakotay, B'Elanna and Neelix.

"How about... best two out of three, and the looser will be Voyager's new marathon Biathlon competitor." She grinned at B'Elanna, turned back to the table and broke. Perfectly.