Liberty For Wolves: Chapter 2
Kathryn found herself tumbling across the deck nearly to the Engineering console. Her ears were ringing, and blood ran down her chin from where she’d bitten her lip. That’s what you get for making the grand gesture, Kathryn.
Dimly she heard Chakotay shout at Tom to get them the hell out of there, before Voyager lurched roughly, pitching Kathryn back to her knees as the inertial dampeners struggled to compensate for the jump to warp.
“What the hell was that?” Kathryn gave up trying to get up from the tilting deck, content to just sit upright for the moment.
“The other ship opened fire on us.” Chakotay got up from his chair and made his way carefully to her. “Obviously with everything they had.”
“I didn’t know they had anything.” She took the hand he offered and let him pull her to her feet.
“It appears we were wrong.” He let go of her hand but stayed close to her side as Kathryn made her way to the command chair. “It also appears we were suckered in.”
“Damage report, Harry.” Kathryn winced as she sat down. She’d tried her best to tuck and roll as she’d been taught to do at the Academy – but either she was getting older or the decks were getting harder.
Harry looked down at his board. It might be easier to list what wasn’t broken. Prioritize, Harry! “Life support is down on decks 12 through 14 – all crewmembers have been evacuated and accounted for. Engineering reports damage to warp and impulse engines. Maximum warp is two point eight – and B'Elanna recommends we maintain that speed for no longer than one hour at best.”
“We can’t get very far in an hour.” She shook her head. “They’ll find us before we get any repairs done.”
“Captain – the other ship is following us.” Ayala looked up from the Tactical console. “They must’ve been pulled into warp with us.”
“Here I thought it was just a myth that something could be pulled into warp if it was too close.” Kathryn turned to Ayala. “Are they aware of our position?”
“I’m not sure.” He frowned as he tried to force information from the damaged console. “We’re barely registering the ship – let alone their status.”
“Do your best.” She swiveled to look at Harry once again. “Any word on Tuvok?”
“He was trapped in one of the turbolifts, but he’s on his way to the bridge now.” Harry looked at his list of damaged systems once more. “Turbolifts are all offline, Captain.”
Which meant Tuvok was climbing to the bridge deck by deck. Kathryn settled back in her seat, wincing again at the ache in her ribs. “Tom, can you push our speed?”
“I’ve got my foot in it now, Captain.” He shook his head. “Any more and we risk losing warp completely.”
“Mr. Rock, I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Hard Place.” Chakotay muttered.
Kathryn smiled, despite the seriousness of their situation. “I don’t like that ship being right on our tail – not after what they did to us.”
“You’re not giving them the benefit of the doubt?” He asked. “Perhaps they were firing at the Hirogen and missed?”
“No, I’m not.” His tone told her he wasn’t giving them the benefit of the doubt either, but playing devil’s advocate was part of Chakotay’s job. A large part. “Tom, can you drop us out of warp and lose them?”
“I can… however…” Tom looked over the readings on his console. There were far too many amber numbers. “I can’t guarantee we can make the jump back to warp. We’re going to have to reduce speed as it is.”
“We need to knock them out of our warp field.” Chakotay called up information on the console between the command chairs. There was a significant lag in the time it took for the information to appear. “A photon torpedo – no.”
“No?” Kathryn looked at the screen. There were red letters next to the torpedo system. “Offline? Damn.”
“We can try the phasers – but the targeting system is down.” He sighed. This reminded him too much of Voyager’s early days in the Delta Quadrant. “At this point tossing leola root out the hatches would be more likely to hit them.”
“That’s a tempting proposition, actually, in light of the leola hash we had last night.”
“I’ll open the bay doors.” Tom grinned. Despite the fact that Naomi and Neelix were the only ones would could stomach leola root – Neelix still tried to sneak the occasional leola root meal past the crew.
“I’ll have to tell my mother she only thinks she knows all the places a good girl can be tempted to go bad.” Kathryn chuckled. “All right then, for now, keep an eye on that ship – maintain best speed – and let’s work on what repairs we can.”
There was a chorus of ayes throughout the bridge.
Twenty minutes later, it became clear that what repairs they’d been able to do weren’t going to be enough.
“Captain – we’re losing our warp bubble!” Tom compensated, but the loss of integrity to the warp field was happening too swiftly. “We’re dropping out of warp!”
“Damn it!” Kathryn glared at the stars that appeared on the view screen. “What’s our position?”
“Point zero zero one two seven light years from our last position.” Harry didn’t look up from the Ops board – he didn’t want to see the captain’s glare turned on himself.
“Great.” Tom urged Voyager to move as fast as she was able. “We went down the block and around the corner.”
“What about the ship that was behind us?” Chakotay asked.
“The other ship fell out of warp with us.” Tuvok reported. “I am not reading propulsion – it appears to be drifting.”
“Are you sure of your readings?”
Looking at the Tactical console, with the panels open and circuits exposed, he raised an eyebrow. “No. I can say for certain that there is a ship and that it is moving. However, I am forced to assume that since they are not matching our speed and course – that they are drifting.”
“The damage to their warp core may have been real then.” Kathryn mused. “Why throw in their lot with the Hirogen?”
“To save themselves, perhaps?” Chakotay wasn’t certain the Hirogen would offer such a deal – but at this point it seemed anything was possible.
“Captain, the other ship is hailing us.” Glancing up from the Ops board, Harry put the signal through when she nodded.
Kathryn wasn’t surprised to see an image appear. No doubt the aliens had used the supposed lack of video to both convince her of the desperation of their situation and to hide the fact that they were lying.
She was surprised to see the Hirogen hunter who appeared on the main view screen.
“Drop your shields. Prepare to be boarded.”
You have got to be kidding me. Tom had pushed Voyager up to one quarter impulse – a laughable speed under normal conditions – but a speed the other ship couldn’t match.
“Not even if you say mother may I.” Kathryn smirked as she cut the connection. “Harry, tell B'Elanna we need the warp engines back on line now.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He took a deep breath before relaying the message. The response was immediate and as hostile as expected. “Ah… she says that’s not possible, Captain.”
“She probably said if I wanted them fixed any faster I should come down and help.” Kathryn couldn’t hold back her grin. It was comforting to know some things never changed. “Tell her I’m on my way down.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll come along.” Chakotay stood up. “I’m not in the same class as the two of you – but I can hold my own.”
“The more the merrier – we’ve got to get those engines back on line and get out of here as soon as possible.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be quick enough.” Tom watched as five Hirogen ships appeared on the screen.
“Damn.” Kathryn swore softly.
There was no way they could defeat the Hirogen ships. Not in Voyager’s current condition. Photon torpedoes were off line – the targeting system for the phasers was off line – and their shields were still dangerously low. Fighting would only bring more damage before they were eventually boarded.
“Captain, we’re being hailed.”
“Put them onscreen, Harry.” She lifted her chin up and settled her hands on her hips.
“Captain Janeway.”
“Why are you attacking my ship?” A stalling question. They already knew what the Hirogen wanted.
“I need your ship.” The Alpha paused. “To help my people.”
“As much as I’d love to help your people – I like my bones where they are.” She shook her head. “No deal.”
“Your ship is badly damaged. I have no wish to damage it further.”
“That’s good to hear, I’ve no wish to have it damaged further, either.” If only she had a few more percentage points of shields and a handful of working torpedoes!
“We will board your ship.” The Alpha told her. “How we do so is up to you.”
“My mother always said if I couldn’t say something nice not to say anything at all.” She made a motion and Harry cut the link. “My father would say you’re a prick.”
Chakotay didn’t bother to hold back his laugh. “I think even my father would have said something along those lines.”
“The Hirogen vessels are moving to box us in.” Tuvok reported from the Tactical console. “Their weapons are powered.”
“Janeway to Engineering.”
“Engineering – “ B'Elanna sounded out of breath. “We’re a little busy down here, Captain.”
“How long until the warp engines are back on line?”
“I’ve got fused relays to replace – there’s an imbalance – it’s small but there – we really need to shut down and – “
“B'Elanna – “ Kathryn said quietly. “There are five Hirogen ships off our bow. How long until the warp engines are back on line?”
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the comm link.
“B'Elanna?”
“I need forty five minutes.” B'Elanna’s voice was calmer than before.
“We’ll get it for you.” Kathryn turned to Harry. “Seal off Engineering. No one in or out.”
“Captain?”
“We can’t afford the fight – the damage.” She looked at the ships on the view screen again. “Do we have the transporters?”
“There are… transporter room 1 is still operational.”
“Order a crew in there and seal it off. They’re to beam any Hirogen who board back into space.”
“What are we going to do?” Chakotay asked.
“We’re going to buy B'Elanna time to fix the warp engines.” It might not be textbook Starfleet – but it was the only plan she had. “Computer, open a shipwide comm.”
“Shipwide comm open.”
“This is Captain Janeway. We have five Hirogen vessels confronting us, and we’re unable to jump to warp. Arm yourselves and prepare for close quarters combat. We need to buy forty five minutes for Engineering to repair the warp engines.”
Chakotay moved to stand next to her, offering his silent support.
“The engine room is to be defended at all costs – a crew will be manning transporter room 1 to help even the odds. Both areas are sealed and any crewmembers nearby need to take defensive positions.”
She looked away from the screen and met Chakotay’s eyes. “If we lose the engine room – I will not let the Hirogen hunt us down like animals. Janeway out.”
“We can manage it.” He told her, giving her a confident smile.
“I hope so.” Stiffening her spine, Kathryn gave the orders Starfleet hadn’t trained her for. “All stop. Lower the shields. Prepare to repel boarders.”