SAVIOR

Author:  Tiggy

Disclaimer:  See part 1

Rating:  Still PG13

Author's  notes:

Sorry for  taking so long, I would have finished this part last weekend but instead I  visited my first Star Trek Convention in Bonn, Germany- incredible. They showed  lots of new (7th season) Voyager episodes and I loved all of them-  apart from 'Human Error' of course, which I didn't want to see because 1) I  can't stand the Barbie Borg and 2) the mere thought of her and our gorgeous  First Officer makes me want to throw up.

Anyway, I  got a great amount of inspiration for new stories (which will take some time  because I have to get through my finals first- end of april !!!), so there's more  to come.

I'd like  to dedicate this story to Heike, the first 'real' Janeway fan I've ever met in  person, -I hope we'll keep in touch- and to Eva Maria, Ash an Caitlin, who were  the first people to send me feedback. Thanks for encouraging me to continue with  this story. I wasn't really sure about it.

II

"Watch out, he's right behind you!"

Chakotay turned his head just in time to see a dark figure standing over him with a  phaser in his hand. He let go of the woman's hands and ducked his head just in  time to avoid a disruptor shot aimed at his head. He heard a soft cry beneath him and swore silently as he realized that his 'hostage' must have been hit. However, he knew that he couldn't afford to turn around and check on her. Instead, he concentrated on the man whose Cardassian features were slightly  distorted with surprise from discovering whom he had just shot. Just for a moment, Chakotay was sure he saw a slightly pained expression on the man's face.  However, it disappeared instantly and Chakotay seized his opportunity to lurch  at the stunned man before he could react.

The Cardassian was thrown to the floor with Chakotay landing on top of him. Chakotay had a firm grip on the Cardassians wrists attempting to reach the other man's  weapon. Unfortunately, his attacker was a good deal larger and stronger than him and, after several moments of struggle, he managed to disengage his arms and throw Chakotay off him. When Chakotay hit the floor, he felt slightly dizzy for several seconds. He was lying face down and when he turned his head to the side, he saw that he had landed right next to the human woman. She seemed to have lost  consciousness. For all I know she might be dead, he thought. Somehow, that possibility made him feel even worse.

"Turn around! I want to see your face before I kill you." The Cardassian's voice was loud and commanding. Chakotay turned and stared into his angry face. "I will make you pay for this mess", the Cardassian growled. Chakotay wondered whether the man referred to what had happened to this ship or to the injured woman next to him.

He was just about to obey and turn around as he felt the familiar tingling of the transporter envelop him. At the last moment, he managed to stretch his arm and grasp the woman's hand before they both disappeared.

They rematerialized in the transporter room of his ship. Chakotay looked up and saw Seska standing at the panel across the room. "How did you know that..." "We've detected another Cardassian ship on an intercept course. They're approaching at  high speed. I know we should have hailed you instead of just beaming you out." Seska suspiciously eyed the woman next to him. "Sorry if I interrupted anything..."

Only now did Chakotay realize that he still held the woman in a tight grip. "She needs immediate medical treatment. I'll take her to the infirmary. Tell Lewis to meet  me there. By the way, where's the rest of the away team? I take it they're  already on board?"

"We beamed them out just before you. B'Elanna has been able to access some of the ship's logs. You might want to take a look at them as soon as you'll be able to tear yourself away from Sleeping Beauty."

As usual, Chakotay ignored Seska's sarcastic remarks and left the room without another word, holding the woman in his arms. When he arrived in the infirmary, Lewis, the only person with some medical knowledge they had on board, was already  waiting for him. He scanned the woman as soon as Chakotay had laid her on the nearest biobed.

"How is she?" Chakotay asked. Lewis took some more scans before facing his commander. "I think she'll be alright." He took a hypospray and placed it  against her neck. "She's been hit by a Cardassian disruptor but her injuries aren't severe. Apparently, whoever did this missed his target. She's only been shot in her right arm. I guess the pain made her pass out but she'll be alright.  I'll treat the wound now. After that I'll let her have some rest before waking her up if that's okay with you." Chakotay nodded and stared at the woman's  lovely face. "Who is she?" Lewis asked curiously. Chakotay looked up. "I have no  idea. I'd like to know what she's doing on a Cardassian ship..."

"...wearing nothing but that flimsy excuse of a nightgown. If you ask me, I think it's pretty obvious what her 'purpose' was." "Nobody asked for your opinion!" Chakotay growled. Lewis just stared at him, surprise and a hint of amusement  showing in his eyes.

"What about the other?" Chakotay straightened and turned towards the only other person present, a Cardassian soldier who was lying on a bed on the other side of the small room. "He won't make it." Lewis said and went to stand next to the man, checking his lifesigns. "I think he was hit by a plasma discharge during the attack. To me it's a miracle that he's still alive." "Can you wake him up so that I can talk to him before he dies?" Lewis nodded. "I can't tell you if he'll be able to give you any information. His memories might have been impaired."

"We'll see." Chakotay said and waited for the medic to administer a hypospray. The Cardassian moaned as he woke up and Lewis quickly gave him a painkiller. The man opened his eyes and focused on Chakotay's face.

"Do you remember what happened?" Chakotay asked. The soldier merely stared at him. "You are prisoner aboard a Maquis ship. Your vessel attacked ours before you got trouble with your systems. Do you know what happened to your ship?" "...Explosion...lost control...don't know..." It was obvious that the man was hardly strong enough to talk. Chakotay pressed on. "What were you doing in this region? I want to know what your mission was!" "...don't know...secret  mission...only followed my orders...have to ask...Gul Camet..." "Gul Camet? Was that the man who was in charge of the mission? Was he onboard?" "Yes...he...and  his..." The man grimaced in pain and moaned once more. Lewis stepped in. "We're losing him." He administered another hypospray but it was to late. The Cardassian simply lay there unmoving, his head turned to the side and his eyes open but empty. "Sorry, I couldn't do anything." Lewis said. Chakotay just  nodded. The grim look on his face told that he wasn't pleased with the information he'd just received- or rather lack thereof.

Just then Ayala's voice sounded over the intercom."Chakotay to the bridge!" He turned and took one last look at the unconscious figure on the bed next to the door, then he left for the command center.

When he entered the bridge, Chakotay immediately sat in his chair and asked for a report. "The second ship has just arrived at the coordinates of the damaged  vessel. We've gone to a safe distance, they're not pursuing us...yet." As Kylen gave his report, it was obvious that he'd rather leave the area as soon as possible. "I don't think there's anything else we can do here at the moment. Ayala, take us back to base. I'll be down in engineering to see what B'Elanna has found."

"There's not much information in there, that I can tell you." B'Elanna said while Chakotay combed through the Cardassians' logs. "It looks like this Gul Camet, whoever he is, has a lot of influence on Cardassian politics. He's the one who initiated this entire mission. Unfortunately, there's no hint at  what this mission was. Those are the official logs. Maybe he didn't want anyone to find out about his plans. Everything in here makes it look like a simple surveillance mission- but I think there's much more to it. Why would someone as influencial as Camet participate in something like this? And who would have a reason to sabotage the ship then? No, something strange is going on here and we need to find out what it is!" "Maybe your new friend can tell us something." B'Elanna suggested. Chakotay looked up and rolled his eyes. "I see you've talked to Seska. News travels with warp 10 on this ship." "Yes, Seska was quite...concerned when she told me." "So far, I don't even know who she is. I found her in Camet's quarters. I don't think she was there  voluntarily."

"Seska called her a 'cheap bitch', so I take it she's quite a sight?" Chakotay let out an exasperated sigh. "I really don't have time for this. If you'll excuse me,  I'll be in the infirmary." "Have fun!" B'Elanna called and walked away, giving him no time to answer.

Chakotay ordered Lewis to wake the woman up as soon as he came through the doors. "I'll leave you two alone, call me if there are any complications." Chakotay nodded and focused his attention on the biobed. The woman moaned slightly as she slipped back into consciousness. When she opened her eyes, they were unfocused  for a few moments before they finally settled on Chakotay. "Hello again." he said and smiled slightly at her. She made an attempt to sit up but Chakotay stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder and pushing her down. "Hey, take it easy! I can assure you there 's no need to attack me again, you're safe here." "Where am I?" "Excuse me, I've obviously forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Chakotay, you're aboard the Maquis ship Liberty. Your ship..." "I need to send a message to Starfleet, tell them I'm alive. In what region of space are we at the moment?" "We're close to the Badlands, our home. And as far as your request is concerned, I'm afraid we can't allow you to make contact with Starfleet at the moment. You'll have to join us to our base." "What are you saying? I've never heard of this region before, nor do I know anything  about your Maquis.What do you want from me?"

She stared at him suspiciously. Chakotay put a reassuring hand on her arm which she immediately pulled away. He sighed. "Alright, let's take this one step at a  time. First of all, it would be nice to know who I'm dealing with, so please tell me who you are." She hesitated for a moment. "I'm Ensign Kathryn Janeway from the United Federation of Planets." "What were you doing on a Cardassian ship, is Starfleet attempting to form a new coalition with the Cardassians  against the Maquis?" "As I said, I don't even know what the Maquis are and..." "You don't really expect me to believe that, do you? I mean, everybody in Starfleet knows about us."

She lowered her eyes and said softly: "Let's just say I'm not really up to date. But you must believe me when I tell you that I don't have anything to do with your conflict. All I want at this moment is to get home." She looked at him with pleading eyes and he was shocked about all the pain he saw there. "Alright, just tell me what you were doing on that ship and we'll go from there." Her eyes were scanning the room, looking at anything but him.

"I...I was a prisoner of...Gul Camet... the leader of the vessel which attacked you."  She swallowed. "I don't know anything about their mission. He wouldn't tell me anything about it." "I thought the times when the Cardassians were keeping citizens of the Federation hostage were long over." She concentrated on her hands which were lying in her lap now. "Well, maybe they are." "What are you  talking about?" Suddenly, she looked at him. "Excuse me, but I'm awfully hungry.  Is their anything I can eat?" Chakotay decided not to press on her obvious evasion of the question at the moment. "Yes, Lewis will get you something. I'll come back later to continue our conversation. If you need anything, call me."  She nodded. He went and told Lewis to get her some food and clothes, then he left and went back to  engineering.

"Well, how did it go?" B'Elanna asked when she saw him. "She hasn't been very forthcoming with any information so far but I think that she has nothing to do with Camet's plans." "Were you at least able to find out who she is?" "She told me her name, and she claims to be a Starfleet officer. I want you to hack into the Starfleet database, try to learn anything about one Ensign Kathryn Janeway." B'Elanna nodded and went to the nearest console. This shouldn't be too much of a problem. We received a transmission from base earlier today where they gave us the latest codes. Looks like we've gained a new valuable source of information at headquarters...There you go...Kathryn Janeway, her entire record. She looks awfully young." Chakotay took a closer look. "Strange...That picture must be about 10 years old." "Well", B'Elanna said. "I'll leave you to it if you don't mind. I have work to do."

Chakotay nodded. He sat down in front of the screen and began to read. What he found made him gasp in surprise. B'Elanna heard him and returned to his side. "Hey, what is  it?" Chakotay answered without taking his eyes of the screen. "Kathryn Janeway,  Ensign- daughter of Admiral Edward Janeway- captured by Cardassians during a secret surveillance mission- presumed dead...now I understand why she didn't know anything..." B'Elanna stared at him quizzically. "Chakotay, what are you talking about?" "When I talked to her earlier, she claimed that she didn't know  anything about the Maquis or the Badlands..."

"Chakotay, we both know that must be a lie!" "No, you don't understand. B'Elanna, the capture, all those events described in her file occurred 15 years ago!" "My god, you don't honestly believe that she's been in the hands of the Cardassians for all that time? She could never have survived somethig like that!"

"B'Elanna, believe me, I pray that it's not true...but I guess there's only one way to find out!"

With that, he stood and hurried out of the room.

On to part III

Back to part I

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