Redemption
Written - 8/20/02 Summary - It's the anniversary of the encounter with the Equinox and Noah Lessing has something special in mind to mark the occasion. Rating - PG
Chapter 1
Kathryn Janeway sat comfortably on the sofa in her ready room. The starlines streaking by the viewport behind her head giving some indication of their speed through space. They had encountered a planet eight days before, inhabited by a warp capable society that was more than willing to trade for supplies. It had been a long week, but a very successful one, as Voyager was once again stocked with much needed food supplies and spare parts.
While the negotiations had been a success, it had been exhausting attending the seemingly endless torrent of meetings and social functions, overseeing the loading of supplies and making all the other necessary arrangements. Still wearing her dress uniform from the final ceremony, the Captain had taken leave of the rest of her senior staff as the ship left orbit, seeking refuge in her ready room to get some reports out of the way.
Upon entering her sanctuary, she had unfastened the collar of her tunic so it fell in a loose triangle across her chest, freeing her neck from the stiff, confining material. She picked up a PADD from her desk, replicated a mug of coffee, and retreated to the sofa under the viewport to work. That had been several hours ago and it was now the middle of Voyager's night, 0345 to be exact. Setting down the PADD, she leaned forward to peer over the edge of her third cup of coffee, and as she inhaled the pungent aroma of the beverage, she blessed whatever fictional gods were responsible for replicators.
Snuggling even farther into the cushions, she allowed her mind to wander. Even with the distractions of the trade negotiations to keep her busy, the significance of the date had not been lost on her and it added to her restlessness. The full schedule had been a convenient distraction, and served to keep her mind off the fact that it was the anniversary of the demise of the Equinox, but only for so long. At least no one else had seen fit to remind her of it and she hoped it would stay that way. She wrestled with her conflicting emotions of that time enough on her own without assistance.
After taking one last sip of coffee, she set the mug on the table in front of her and stretched her weary muscles. If she got up and out of here right now, she still had time to catch a couple of hours sleep before she would have to be back on duty at 0700. Rising to her tired feet, she took several steps forward and then stopped as she heard her door chime. 'Now who could that possibly be at this hour?' She wondered as she made her way toward her desk. 'Probably Chakotay coming to force me to get some sleep.'
Before she answered, the door chimed again, only this time she realized it wasn't the door from the bridge that had been activated, it was the rear door which led to the corridor. That in itself was fairly unusual, but as she assumed it was her First Officer, she wasn't all that concerned. He often used that door to meet her during his off-duty hours. Sometimes to discuss ship's business or share a meal or, as in situations like this, to encourage her to admit she was human and quit for the day.
Thinking nothing more of it she stood and crossed to her desk and ordered "Enter." She was just rounding the corner of her desk as the door opened leaving her back turned toward her visitor. Consequently, she could not see that it was not her first officer but a tall crewman in a blue-shouldered uniform. As soon as the opening was wide enough, he rushed her, grabbed her from behind, and pressed a long bladed, Starfleet issue, survival knife to her throat.
"Finally, I've got you where I want you, Janeway." He muttered at the back of her head.
From the sound of his voice alone, she was certain she knew who it was. "Crewman, let go of me before you get yourself in a great deal of trouble."
"I'm afraid you are not the one in control here Captain. Not anymore." He said as he pressed the blade harder against her skin.
She tried desperately not to move as she felt the blade cut deeply enough to send a trickle of something wet and warm down her neck. 'Keep calm Kathryn.' She told herself as she tried to keep her breathing even and her nerves under control. Luckily, her training and experience through her years in Starfleet, as well as her own tenacity, allowed her to focus on how to get herself out of this situation rather than succumbing to her fear, not to mention her pain.
As her attacker held the blade to her throat, he used his other hand to rip her commbadge from the front of her uniform and toss it to the floor at the other end of the room. "How does it feel Captain? How does it feel to have someone else calling the shots?"
Reaching slowly and carefully toward the hand that held the knife, she replied "What is it that you want from me?"
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough. For now let's just say you have a date with destiny." He explained, his voice sounding both eager and tense at the same time.
When she felt she was ready, Kathryn Janeway swiftly wrapped her hands around her attacker's arm and, falling back on her training, attempted to flip him off her. It was no use, he anticipated she would try something and had his weight balanced in such a way that it would be almost impossible for her to successfully execute the maneuver she was attempting. Leaning forward, he used his greater size and weight to his advantage as he slid his free arm around and down, effectively pinning her arms to her body. All the while pressing the knife ever deeper into her flesh until she could not help but cry out from the searing pain.
"Hurts doesn't it? You really shouldn't have tried that." He said with a cruel inflection to his voice as he mercifully released some of the pressure on the knife.
Taking a few long slow breaths to compose herself, she watched helplessly as her blood fell in glistening crimson droplets to the surface of her desk. "Does that give you some sort of satisfaction crewman?"
"As a matter of fact it does. I've waited a long time for this and I intend to savor the experience."
Suddenly she was spun around and bent backward over her desk, her muscles and joints straining against the awkward position. Now facing her assailant, her suspicions confirmed, she found herself looking straight into the crazed eyes of Noah Lessing.
In the year since the experience with the Equinox, there had been a period of time where Kathryn worried that Ransom's six remaining crewmembers would have a difficult time adjusting to their new situation aboard Voyager. Stripped of their rank, and put on severe restrictions as punishment for their crimes, they were initially ostracized by the Voyager crew. However, over time they had performed their duties as well as anyone on the ship, and most had earned a modicum of respect. In that time, she had seen fit to eliminate most of their restrictions as a reward for their good behavior. She believed, obviously in error, that they were beyond the point where there was any chance of a backlash. Lessing must have been harboring a hell of a grudge and decided that the anniversary of those events warranted special consideration.
Then again, she could hardly blame him. She wasn't at all proud of some of the things she had done during those trying days either, least of all her handling of him. She had literally interrogated him as if he were a common criminal and threatened his life. And for no better reason than she was furious with him for blindly following his commanding officer into a horrific violation of the Prime Directive. If Chakotay hadn't stepped in, she might have let the aliens kill him. She had been that out of control.
Nevertheless, she instinctively knew that there was something more to this. She could feel it. Noah seemed different somehow. At least different from the other times she had been around him. Granted there hadn't been that many, but she couldn't shake the thought there was much more to be concerned about here than met the eye, more than just the obvious anger and resentment.
"Noah, listen to me, this won't solve anything. It will only make things worse. I'm sure we can work this out if we just sit and talk things through. What do you say?"
As she looked at him for some sign of acquiescence, the pure unadulterated rage she saw in his eyes wasn't the least bit comforting. She guessed there would be little point in trying to reason with him in this state and she didn't have to wait long for her intuition to be confirmed. With one quick movement he leaned back and swung his left arm toward her, his hand clenched in a fist. The back of his hand struck the left side of her face so hard that the momentum threw her to the floor. As she rose to her knees, she recognized the distinct metallic taste of blood in her mouth. Spitting it out, she wiped her mouth with the back of her own hand, cringed when she disturbed the split in her lip, and mustered the strength in her legs to stand and face him.
"I'll take that as a no." She said through her rapidly swelling lip.
He stood staring at her as if he was unsure of what to do next, but the loathing in his eyes never wavered. After what seemed an eternity, but in reality was only a few seconds, he used his foot to kick one of the chairs in front of her desk until it was facing toward the main door. "Sit down!" he demanded, motioning toward the chair.
Deciding that compliance might buy her some time, she did as he asked only to be rewarded with the sight of him pulling several lengths of what appeared to be circuitry cable from his uniform jacket. He swiftly pulled her hands behind her and bound her wrists tightly together around the back of the chair. The resulting pain in her shoulders and wrists was excruciating until she managed to shift positions and lessen the discomfort somewhat.
She found herself wondering how in the world she was going to find a way out of this predicament. Lessing was obviously focused on revenge, and just how far he would take this was completely unknown at this point. What she did know was that she was in real danger, and possibly the ship and crew as well. "So, now that you've got me where you want me, what do you intend to do Noah? Whatever you have in mind, you can still get out of this you know. It's not too late to stop this before you do something you'll regret."
He turned and glared at her, "And just what would you know about regret? Do you regret anything you did to all of us from the Equinox a year ago? You never gave Captain Ransom or any of us a chance to explain, you never tried to understand, you simply passed judgment. You weren't in our shoes. You can't possibly know what it was like before we encountered those aliens."
Lessing's words confirmed that this was indeed about what had happened a year ago, even if there had never been any real doubt. Ironically, there was some truth to what he was saying. She had taken it upon herself to be judge and jury, and in his case, almost executioner as well. She had been outraged that any Starfleet captain and crew could stoop so low, but the entire incident had frightened her as well. In Rudy Ransom she saw something that she had long worried she could become herself if the circumstances were different. She had fought hard to keep her ideals, and those of her crew, intact through everything they had experienced in this God-forsaken quadrant.
"You're right crewman, there are a lot of things I could have done differently then that I regret now. Not the least of which was how I treated you. However, you're wrong when you say I don't understand. All of us on Voyager have been through some very difficult times in the Delta Quadrant. We have suffered through unprovoked attacks, hostile takeovers, system failures from battle damage or lack of maintenance, supply shortages of every kind, and we've lost too many members of our family out here. The list of challenges is endless. Through it all, I've had to make difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions, many of which Starfleet might not look so kindly on when we return home. So you see, I do understand. Maybe our experiences on Voyager have been a little different, but I do understand."
He knelt before her and moved close to her face when he replied. "Fine words Captain, but the damage has been done. What kind of a future can those of us from the Equinox possibly have? We've been in contact with Starfleet for some time now. Once we get back to the Alpha Quadrant, Starfleet is likely to want its pound of flesh. Your demotion of us was only the first step. And even if we never make it back, what kind of a life can we have on Voyager? We're shunned by many of the crew, they avoid us like the plague. How can we possibly hope to be considered the same as everyone else?"
"The Maquis faced those very same challenges and are now as much a part of this family as any of the original Starfleet crew. You have to give it time. They have earned a place on this ship and they all know I will fight for them with everything I have, when, and if, we return home."
He scowled at her, rose to his feet and began to pace, "And will you do the same for us? The situation is a little different isn't it? Back then you needed them. You'd lost many of your original crew when you were stranded out here. Will you fight for us as you say you will fight for them?"
Lifting her head into the air, she mustered all the command presence she could given her situation, "Yes, I will."
He came toward her so fast she almost knocked the chair over trying to pull back away from him, "I don't believe you. Your little mind games won't work on me Captain. You'd say anything to get me to let you out of here."
At this point, he was probably right, but what she had said was the truth. Even though their situations were somewhat different, there was no mistaking that the Equinox crew were now criminals in the eyes of Starfleet and Federation law as much as the Maquis. It was something she was concerned about being able to deal with should they return home, but she was convinced that circumstances in the Delta Quadrant can and should be considered in any tribunal. All of them had earned the right for special dispensation of their cases and she would indeed fight for that with all her strength if need be. Nevertheless, Noah Lessing was apparently in no mood to hear what she had to say so she chose not to reply.
Catching a glimpse at the computer terminal on her desk, she saw that it was now only 0430. Still much to early in the morning for anyone to notice she was in essence, missing. The bridge crew on duty would assume that she was still working and didn't wish to be disturbed, or that she had exited through the rear door to her quarters. Unless something went wrong, no one would notice her absence until 0630 or so when she normally appeared on the bridge somewhat in advance of the beginning of Alpha shift. She needed to do something to attract attention or she just might not live long enough for someone to come looking for her.
She had no idea what her foe had in mind, but she was certain that just sitting here and waiting to find out was not the best choice. Of course she could probably argue with him and create such a commotion that the security officer on duty would hear and raise the alarm, but by then, she could be seriously hurt or worse. At least there would be a chance the Doctor could do something about it. Before she had time to think about it anymore, she was stuck hard across the face again. This time near her right eye. Her head snapped back with the blow and she had to work at it to shake the cobwebs.
"I asked you a question Captain. Apparently, you weren't listening to me. That won't happen again now will it?"
Still clearing the fog from her brain, she managed to shake her head to indicate it would not and then followed with indignation, "Alright Lessing, just exactly what are you after? If you're planning to kill me then let's just get it over with, if not, there has to be something else you want."
He stood back from her, rubbing the hand he had just used to strike her. "That's it Captain, cut to the chase. Well, truth is, I want you to face up to what you did. Then you will stand in judgement. My judgement."
'Well, this could prove interesting.' She thought. Exactly what did he mean by face up to what she'd done.
She was about to find out.
Reaching up to tap his commbadge and activate the signal he instructed, "Hail your First Officer and get him up here."
She looked at him with incredible intensity, but said nothing.
"If you know what's good for you, and if you care about what happens to this ship, you'll do it, now!" As he finished speaking, he pressed the knife to her throat again and used his free hand to pull what looked like a transmitter of some kind from inside his uniform jacket.
Concerned about what that device could mean, she chose to play along, for now. "Janeway to Commander Chakotay." There was silence for a moment and she repeated her request, knowing that at this time of the morning he was most likely sound asleep.
Within a few more seconds, her sleepy first officer replied. "Yes Kathryn, is there something wrong?"
"As a matter of fact there is a problem. Can you come to my ready room please?" She wanted to tell him what the situation was, but she wasn't sure how Lessing would react.
Chakotay, even when not completely awake, could detect something in her voice that just didn't sound right. "Are you alright? You don't sound it."
Looking at Lessing she could tell he was getting impatient. "Just get up here Commander, that's an order. Janeway out."
That got his full attention and Chakotay didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. Something was definitely wrong but he had no clue what it could possibly be. The ship was not on alert, there had been no summons of the senior officers to the bridge, this had to be something that only Kathryn was dealing with at the moment that no one else was aware of. Having no information as to what he was facing, he determined he should take some backup. Tuvok was the logical choice. Whether what was wrong was a matter of ship's business or personal, Kathryn would be comfortable with him involved.
Quickly donning his uniform, he hailed Tuvok and explained the situation. Tuvok was more than willing to accompany Chakotay to the Captain's ready room given the curious circumstances. On the way to the bridge, neither spoke, both concerned about what they would find when they arrived.
=/\=
TBC
Written - 8/20/02 Summary - It's the anniversary of the encounter with the Equinox and Noah Lessing has something special in mind to mark the occasion. Rating - PG
Chapter 1
Kathryn Janeway sat comfortably on the sofa in her ready room. The starlines streaking by the viewport behind her head giving some indication of their speed through space. They had encountered a planet eight days before, inhabited by a warp capable society that was more than willing to trade for supplies. It had been a long week, but a very successful one, as Voyager was once again stocked with much needed food supplies and spare parts.
While the negotiations had been a success, it had been exhausting attending the seemingly endless torrent of meetings and social functions, overseeing the loading of supplies and making all the other necessary arrangements. Still wearing her dress uniform from the final ceremony, the Captain had taken leave of the rest of her senior staff as the ship left orbit, seeking refuge in her ready room to get some reports out of the way.
Upon entering her sanctuary, she had unfastened the collar of her tunic so it fell in a loose triangle across her chest, freeing her neck from the stiff, confining material. She picked up a PADD from her desk, replicated a mug of coffee, and retreated to the sofa under the viewport to work. That had been several hours ago and it was now the middle of Voyager's night, 0345 to be exact. Setting down the PADD, she leaned forward to peer over the edge of her third cup of coffee, and as she inhaled the pungent aroma of the beverage, she blessed whatever fictional gods were responsible for replicators.
Snuggling even farther into the cushions, she allowed her mind to wander. Even with the distractions of the trade negotiations to keep her busy, the significance of the date had not been lost on her and it added to her restlessness. The full schedule had been a convenient distraction, and served to keep her mind off the fact that it was the anniversary of the demise of the Equinox, but only for so long. At least no one else had seen fit to remind her of it and she hoped it would stay that way. She wrestled with her conflicting emotions of that time enough on her own without assistance.
After taking one last sip of coffee, she set the mug on the table in front of her and stretched her weary muscles. If she got up and out of here right now, she still had time to catch a couple of hours sleep before she would have to be back on duty at 0700. Rising to her tired feet, she took several steps forward and then stopped as she heard her door chime. 'Now who could that possibly be at this hour?' She wondered as she made her way toward her desk. 'Probably Chakotay coming to force me to get some sleep.'
Before she answered, the door chimed again, only this time she realized it wasn't the door from the bridge that had been activated, it was the rear door which led to the corridor. That in itself was fairly unusual, but as she assumed it was her First Officer, she wasn't all that concerned. He often used that door to meet her during his off-duty hours. Sometimes to discuss ship's business or share a meal or, as in situations like this, to encourage her to admit she was human and quit for the day.
Thinking nothing more of it she stood and crossed to her desk and ordered "Enter." She was just rounding the corner of her desk as the door opened leaving her back turned toward her visitor. Consequently, she could not see that it was not her first officer but a tall crewman in a blue-shouldered uniform. As soon as the opening was wide enough, he rushed her, grabbed her from behind, and pressed a long bladed, Starfleet issue, survival knife to her throat.
"Finally, I've got you where I want you, Janeway." He muttered at the back of her head.
From the sound of his voice alone, she was certain she knew who it was. "Crewman, let go of me before you get yourself in a great deal of trouble."
"I'm afraid you are not the one in control here Captain. Not anymore." He said as he pressed the blade harder against her skin.
She tried desperately not to move as she felt the blade cut deeply enough to send a trickle of something wet and warm down her neck. 'Keep calm Kathryn.' She told herself as she tried to keep her breathing even and her nerves under control. Luckily, her training and experience through her years in Starfleet, as well as her own tenacity, allowed her to focus on how to get herself out of this situation rather than succumbing to her fear, not to mention her pain.
As her attacker held the blade to her throat, he used his other hand to rip her commbadge from the front of her uniform and toss it to the floor at the other end of the room. "How does it feel Captain? How does it feel to have someone else calling the shots?"
Reaching slowly and carefully toward the hand that held the knife, she replied "What is it that you want from me?"
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough. For now let's just say you have a date with destiny." He explained, his voice sounding both eager and tense at the same time.
When she felt she was ready, Kathryn Janeway swiftly wrapped her hands around her attacker's arm and, falling back on her training, attempted to flip him off her. It was no use, he anticipated she would try something and had his weight balanced in such a way that it would be almost impossible for her to successfully execute the maneuver she was attempting. Leaning forward, he used his greater size and weight to his advantage as he slid his free arm around and down, effectively pinning her arms to her body. All the while pressing the knife ever deeper into her flesh until she could not help but cry out from the searing pain.
"Hurts doesn't it? You really shouldn't have tried that." He said with a cruel inflection to his voice as he mercifully released some of the pressure on the knife.
Taking a few long slow breaths to compose herself, she watched helplessly as her blood fell in glistening crimson droplets to the surface of her desk. "Does that give you some sort of satisfaction crewman?"
"As a matter of fact it does. I've waited a long time for this and I intend to savor the experience."
Suddenly she was spun around and bent backward over her desk, her muscles and joints straining against the awkward position. Now facing her assailant, her suspicions confirmed, she found herself looking straight into the crazed eyes of Noah Lessing.
In the year since the experience with the Equinox, there had been a period of time where Kathryn worried that Ransom's six remaining crewmembers would have a difficult time adjusting to their new situation aboard Voyager. Stripped of their rank, and put on severe restrictions as punishment for their crimes, they were initially ostracized by the Voyager crew. However, over time they had performed their duties as well as anyone on the ship, and most had earned a modicum of respect. In that time, she had seen fit to eliminate most of their restrictions as a reward for their good behavior. She believed, obviously in error, that they were beyond the point where there was any chance of a backlash. Lessing must have been harboring a hell of a grudge and decided that the anniversary of those events warranted special consideration.
Then again, she could hardly blame him. She wasn't at all proud of some of the things she had done during those trying days either, least of all her handling of him. She had literally interrogated him as if he were a common criminal and threatened his life. And for no better reason than she was furious with him for blindly following his commanding officer into a horrific violation of the Prime Directive. If Chakotay hadn't stepped in, she might have let the aliens kill him. She had been that out of control.
Nevertheless, she instinctively knew that there was something more to this. She could feel it. Noah seemed different somehow. At least different from the other times she had been around him. Granted there hadn't been that many, but she couldn't shake the thought there was much more to be concerned about here than met the eye, more than just the obvious anger and resentment.
"Noah, listen to me, this won't solve anything. It will only make things worse. I'm sure we can work this out if we just sit and talk things through. What do you say?"
As she looked at him for some sign of acquiescence, the pure unadulterated rage she saw in his eyes wasn't the least bit comforting. She guessed there would be little point in trying to reason with him in this state and she didn't have to wait long for her intuition to be confirmed. With one quick movement he leaned back and swung his left arm toward her, his hand clenched in a fist. The back of his hand struck the left side of her face so hard that the momentum threw her to the floor. As she rose to her knees, she recognized the distinct metallic taste of blood in her mouth. Spitting it out, she wiped her mouth with the back of her own hand, cringed when she disturbed the split in her lip, and mustered the strength in her legs to stand and face him.
"I'll take that as a no." She said through her rapidly swelling lip.
He stood staring at her as if he was unsure of what to do next, but the loathing in his eyes never wavered. After what seemed an eternity, but in reality was only a few seconds, he used his foot to kick one of the chairs in front of her desk until it was facing toward the main door. "Sit down!" he demanded, motioning toward the chair.
Deciding that compliance might buy her some time, she did as he asked only to be rewarded with the sight of him pulling several lengths of what appeared to be circuitry cable from his uniform jacket. He swiftly pulled her hands behind her and bound her wrists tightly together around the back of the chair. The resulting pain in her shoulders and wrists was excruciating until she managed to shift positions and lessen the discomfort somewhat.
She found herself wondering how in the world she was going to find a way out of this predicament. Lessing was obviously focused on revenge, and just how far he would take this was completely unknown at this point. What she did know was that she was in real danger, and possibly the ship and crew as well. "So, now that you've got me where you want me, what do you intend to do Noah? Whatever you have in mind, you can still get out of this you know. It's not too late to stop this before you do something you'll regret."
He turned and glared at her, "And just what would you know about regret? Do you regret anything you did to all of us from the Equinox a year ago? You never gave Captain Ransom or any of us a chance to explain, you never tried to understand, you simply passed judgment. You weren't in our shoes. You can't possibly know what it was like before we encountered those aliens."
Lessing's words confirmed that this was indeed about what had happened a year ago, even if there had never been any real doubt. Ironically, there was some truth to what he was saying. She had taken it upon herself to be judge and jury, and in his case, almost executioner as well. She had been outraged that any Starfleet captain and crew could stoop so low, but the entire incident had frightened her as well. In Rudy Ransom she saw something that she had long worried she could become herself if the circumstances were different. She had fought hard to keep her ideals, and those of her crew, intact through everything they had experienced in this God-forsaken quadrant.
"You're right crewman, there are a lot of things I could have done differently then that I regret now. Not the least of which was how I treated you. However, you're wrong when you say I don't understand. All of us on Voyager have been through some very difficult times in the Delta Quadrant. We have suffered through unprovoked attacks, hostile takeovers, system failures from battle damage or lack of maintenance, supply shortages of every kind, and we've lost too many members of our family out here. The list of challenges is endless. Through it all, I've had to make difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions, many of which Starfleet might not look so kindly on when we return home. So you see, I do understand. Maybe our experiences on Voyager have been a little different, but I do understand."
He knelt before her and moved close to her face when he replied. "Fine words Captain, but the damage has been done. What kind of a future can those of us from the Equinox possibly have? We've been in contact with Starfleet for some time now. Once we get back to the Alpha Quadrant, Starfleet is likely to want its pound of flesh. Your demotion of us was only the first step. And even if we never make it back, what kind of a life can we have on Voyager? We're shunned by many of the crew, they avoid us like the plague. How can we possibly hope to be considered the same as everyone else?"
"The Maquis faced those very same challenges and are now as much a part of this family as any of the original Starfleet crew. You have to give it time. They have earned a place on this ship and they all know I will fight for them with everything I have, when, and if, we return home."
He scowled at her, rose to his feet and began to pace, "And will you do the same for us? The situation is a little different isn't it? Back then you needed them. You'd lost many of your original crew when you were stranded out here. Will you fight for us as you say you will fight for them?"
Lifting her head into the air, she mustered all the command presence she could given her situation, "Yes, I will."
He came toward her so fast she almost knocked the chair over trying to pull back away from him, "I don't believe you. Your little mind games won't work on me Captain. You'd say anything to get me to let you out of here."
At this point, he was probably right, but what she had said was the truth. Even though their situations were somewhat different, there was no mistaking that the Equinox crew were now criminals in the eyes of Starfleet and Federation law as much as the Maquis. It was something she was concerned about being able to deal with should they return home, but she was convinced that circumstances in the Delta Quadrant can and should be considered in any tribunal. All of them had earned the right for special dispensation of their cases and she would indeed fight for that with all her strength if need be. Nevertheless, Noah Lessing was apparently in no mood to hear what she had to say so she chose not to reply.
Catching a glimpse at the computer terminal on her desk, she saw that it was now only 0430. Still much to early in the morning for anyone to notice she was in essence, missing. The bridge crew on duty would assume that she was still working and didn't wish to be disturbed, or that she had exited through the rear door to her quarters. Unless something went wrong, no one would notice her absence until 0630 or so when she normally appeared on the bridge somewhat in advance of the beginning of Alpha shift. She needed to do something to attract attention or she just might not live long enough for someone to come looking for her.
She had no idea what her foe had in mind, but she was certain that just sitting here and waiting to find out was not the best choice. Of course she could probably argue with him and create such a commotion that the security officer on duty would hear and raise the alarm, but by then, she could be seriously hurt or worse. At least there would be a chance the Doctor could do something about it. Before she had time to think about it anymore, she was stuck hard across the face again. This time near her right eye. Her head snapped back with the blow and she had to work at it to shake the cobwebs.
"I asked you a question Captain. Apparently, you weren't listening to me. That won't happen again now will it?"
Still clearing the fog from her brain, she managed to shake her head to indicate it would not and then followed with indignation, "Alright Lessing, just exactly what are you after? If you're planning to kill me then let's just get it over with, if not, there has to be something else you want."
He stood back from her, rubbing the hand he had just used to strike her. "That's it Captain, cut to the chase. Well, truth is, I want you to face up to what you did. Then you will stand in judgement. My judgement."
'Well, this could prove interesting.' She thought. Exactly what did he mean by face up to what she'd done.
She was about to find out.
Reaching up to tap his commbadge and activate the signal he instructed, "Hail your First Officer and get him up here."
She looked at him with incredible intensity, but said nothing.
"If you know what's good for you, and if you care about what happens to this ship, you'll do it, now!" As he finished speaking, he pressed the knife to her throat again and used his free hand to pull what looked like a transmitter of some kind from inside his uniform jacket.
Concerned about what that device could mean, she chose to play along, for now. "Janeway to Commander Chakotay." There was silence for a moment and she repeated her request, knowing that at this time of the morning he was most likely sound asleep.
Within a few more seconds, her sleepy first officer replied. "Yes Kathryn, is there something wrong?"
"As a matter of fact there is a problem. Can you come to my ready room please?" She wanted to tell him what the situation was, but she wasn't sure how Lessing would react.
Chakotay, even when not completely awake, could detect something in her voice that just didn't sound right. "Are you alright? You don't sound it."
Looking at Lessing she could tell he was getting impatient. "Just get up here Commander, that's an order. Janeway out."
That got his full attention and Chakotay didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. Something was definitely wrong but he had no clue what it could possibly be. The ship was not on alert, there had been no summons of the senior officers to the bridge, this had to be something that only Kathryn was dealing with at the moment that no one else was aware of. Having no information as to what he was facing, he determined he should take some backup. Tuvok was the logical choice. Whether what was wrong was a matter of ship's business or personal, Kathryn would be comfortable with him involved.
Quickly donning his uniform, he hailed Tuvok and explained the situation. Tuvok was more than willing to accompany Chakotay to the Captain's ready room given the curious circumstances. On the way to the bridge, neither spoke, both concerned about what they would find when they arrived.
=/\=
TBC