DISCLAIMER: You all know the drill - Paramount is God.  All hail Paramount.  They own everything in the Star Trek Universe - I'm just using my overactive imagination to take their characters where they refuse to go.  All in the name of fun, not profit (I wish).

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Huzzah!  The next chapter is finally here!  Sorry for the wait, folks, but I had to get through exams first.  I'll try and post a new chapter at least once a week.  Thanks go out to my beta Jaina Solo for her help with this one.

CAUSALITY

CHAPTER ONE: PROLOGUE

"It's not working!"

"There's a massive chronoton surge building in one of the reactors!" yelled one of the alien engineers.

Tom Paris looked up from his console.  "The containment field is destabilizing!"

"We can stop it!" insisted the chief engineer.

"It's too late, Taman!" yelled Captain Janeway over the blaring alarms.

"We've kept this reactor working for five years!  I'm not about to give up now!"

"The radiation level is critical!" she yelled back, staring him down despite her short stature.

He stared back at her for a few seconds before he reluctantly turned toward the group of engineers frantically trying to avert the crisis.  "Everybody out!"

Neelix, standing near the doorway, began helping people out the door.  "That's it, keep moving.  No need to panic.  Quickly, now."

"I'm reading a tachyon cascade!" began the engineer next to Janeway, running over to a console on the other side of the room.  "I'm going to --"

He never finished his sentence as there was an explosion and the room disappeared in a blinding flash of light.

*

On Voyager, Harry Kim looked up from his console.  "Commander, I'm reading some kind of subspace disruption."

Chakotay checked the console in between the command chairs.  "Source?"

Harry looked up from his station in disbelief.  "It came from the surface."

"I am detecting high levels of tachyon radiation from inside the capitol city," reported Tuvok.

Chakotay rose from his chair and turned towards the security station.  "The away team?"

"The radiation levels are too high.  I am unable to detect them."

He frowned.  "Chakotay to Janeway."

*

Neelix slowly pushed himself off the floor, shaking his head to try and stop the ringing in his ears.  Propping himself up on his elbows, he looked around the reactor core.  There was little sign of the explosion that had ripped through the room aside from the haze of smoke that hung in the air.  Beside him, the chief engineer Taman was regaining consciousness as well.

Voyager to away team, please respond.

Finally reaching a sitting position, Neelix hit his commbadge.  "Go ahead, Commander."

What happened down there?  We detected some kind of subspace disturbance.

"We were in the middle of our tour of the power facility when there was a problem with the Mallorian reactor.  We tried to help."

Is everything all right?

"I…I don't know.  It all happened so fast.  There was a…a tachyon cascade.  That's the last thing I remember."

What about the Captain and Tom?

"They're…"  Neelix looked at the spot where Captain Janeway and Lieutenant Paris had been standing.  He stared in disbelief as he climbed to his feet.  "They're gone."

*

Chakotay's head snapped up and he looked first at Tuvok, then at Harry.  "What do you mean, they're gone?"

*

Neelix walked slowly around the now empty room.  The engineer that had been working near Janeway was just pulling himself up off the floor with a groan.  Except for Neelix and the two Mallorians, the rest of the room was deserted.

"They're just…gone, Commander."

*

Captain Janeway could hear a multitude of concerned and excited voices around her, and she struggled to open her eyes.  They felt like they were fused shut, and it took a great deal of concentration and effort to finally pry them open.

She squinted as the bright light from the roof above her stung her eyes.  When her eyes adjusted to the light, she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, gasping as the room spun around her.  She had to overcome a sudden sharp wave of nausea before she was able to look around the room.  The shapes around her were blurred and indistinct, and she wasn't able to tell where she was.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head to see who it was.  The alien faces gathered around her were unfamiliar…except for one.  Her vision was still blurry, but the face looked familiar now that her head was clearing.

"Taman," she rasped weakly, recognizing the engineer.

The one who had his hand on her shoulder looked back at the people standing behind him.  "You know this woman, Taman?"

Taman came closer, kneeling beside her.  "I don't believe so, sir."

She frowned, her mind still feeling sluggish.  "Did it work?"

"I'm sorry," said the alien who still  had his hand on her shoulder.  "I…don't know what you're talking about."

She heard a familiar groan, and looked over to see Tom Paris coming to on the floor beside her.

She turned back to Taman.  "The reactor overload.  Did we stop it?"

"Overload?"

"Your reactor.  It experienced a tachyon cascade."

Taman glanced at his companion, then turned back to her.  "You must be mistaken," he said, frowning with concern.  "We only brought this reactor on line five minutes ago."