CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
August 2371
The United Federation of planets, currently engaged in war with the Cardassian Union, had received little assistance, not that it had asked for any, when the Union and the Dominion united in an attempt to bring down the most powerful commonwealth in the universe. In year 1 of the Great War, the Federation suffered many defeats, crushed at the Battle of Gundor, where it lost seventeen of its twenty two starships and battle cruisers. In another offensive, the Dominion attacked ten Federation vessels on route to the Gamma Quadrant where they were supposed to relieve the heavily damaged Seventh Fleet. At that point, the Cardassian-Dominion Axis was ready to cry victory, but the Federation hit back, gaining an important victory at the Battle of Keprod, where several of the Cardassian Union's most advanced vessels were stationed. Thus, a stalemate of some kind ensued where each side battled for supremacy, in the process forced to count the cost of their actions. Thousands of lives were lost during the first year, a situation the United Federation of Planets found untenable. It sought to end hostilities as soon as possible to ensure that no more lives were sacrificed.
This apparent about turn of the Federation offered little consolation to those home worlds destroyed completely by the Cardassians - worlds that had been under Federation Rule until the truce was signed early in 2371. All warnings up to that time that the Cardassians were playing an evil game in which their only objective was to extend their empire regardless of the cost, had fallen on deaf ears. The Federation was willing to concede that it had been blind and naïve in thinking that a truce would be enough to secure peace. History had demonstrated repeatedly how easily respect for truces, as well as the conventions of war, could disappear in times of conflict. Did not a mad megalomaniac in Earth’s twentieth century have a flagrant disregard for human life and rules and dignity? That was the question that had been on the lips of historians and political analysts and philosophers. With its humanitarian principles regarded as one of its greatest strengths, the Federation was soon rudely awakened to the reality that, in certain situations, those principles could also become its greatest weakness; for while it believed in fighting fair, the enemy had no such reserve and pounced ruthlessly, rattling the Federation to its very foundations.
The Federation had acknowledged its error and was concentrating now on destroying the power of the Cardassians once and for all.
But relief was not in sight; while the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Empire had joined in the fray against the might of the Cardassian-Dominion Alliance, it seemed like they were engaging an unbeatable foe. It was when the Dominion turned on its allies early in year two of the War, to establish a more far reaching control and extend its own empire, that Cardassia Prime, once considered its friend, began to crumble. It was not something that the Federation wished upon its enemy, which still preferred to bury its head in the sand and continue in its war against the Federation. Still, war inevitably produced its casualties, collateral damage the enemy justified by insisting that innocents were part of the war and that it was unfortunate that they were in the way. So said the head of the Cardassian Offensive when, in the latest skirmish, it killed thousands of innocents at the Battle of Balkon IV to gain control over only two Constellation Class Federation starships.
The Federation tried several bold initiatives at this time and during the second year of the war, it reaped results. It turned to a motley band of renegades to assist them in their effort against the enemy. Once considered traitors and criminals, betrayers of the cause of the Federation and all its ideals, the Maquis engendered a new phase in the thinking and strategy of Starfleet Command. It was their instinct for waging guerrilla type warfare and the 'no rules policy' they applied to their strategies of attacking both Federation and Cardassian installations, that proved beyond doubt that the strength of the Maquis could be harnessed into something useful and honourable. It was a state of affairs that did not go down well with the few die hard Federationists who still thought of the Maquis as traitors. For once, the Maquis and the Federation had a common goal; in gaining the trust of the Maquis and assurances that in a post war climate there would be no retribution, the Federation vowed that certain criminal acts committed by individual Maquis be examined, each one on its own merit. The Maquis sighed relief. Now, they were not alone in fighting the might of the Cardassians; they had the entire United Federation of Planets behind them.
In simple military terms this meant that the Federation could play the game their way by getting the Maquis on its side. By doing this they reduced the risks the former outlaws posed to the Federation. As an effective strategy with only one goal, which was to bring the war to a close sooner, it could also mean that the Federation might renege on their offer of pardon once their objective had been achieved and throw all Maquis in jail. That may have been true as a thought still harboured by those mistrustful of the Federation's commitment, but the clear message sent by the Federation was that they would not renege on their pledge.
It meant more to the Maquis that the Federation finally acknowledged the role they could play in military offensives. The Federation needed the expertise of many good Maquis leaders, most of whom had been their greatest strategists. These men and women were at the forefront of Maquis operations and knew all the tricks and strategies to survive any onslaught.
They recalled Captain Berrol Oldimar, who headed one of the biggest Maquis cells and who had resigned from the Federation out of protest, after several homeworlds formally under Federation mandate - a caretaker arrangement it had with homeworlds that were still negotiating leaderships and truces - were destroyed by the Cardassian Union. Oldimar was a brilliant tactician whose worth was lost to the Federation when he joined the Maquis. Now, back in the fold of Starfleet Command, his expertise proved invaluable to the cause. Many good former Starfleet personnel, who’d also left Starfleet, were recalled or pardoned and their services enlisted.
Captain Chakotay, formerly First Officer of the USS Ormskirk, had also resigned from the Federation and joined the Maquis. In his case he was never recalled to duty for the Federation since, on a technicality, he’d never left it. No one, not even Captain Kathryn Janeway, his wife, knew that he had been asked to do undercover work for Starfleet Command. Even during the time he was considered a renegade and traitor, Captain Chakotay had been instrumental in attacking and revealing key Cardassian communications installations. It was ironic that it was this work done by Captain Chakotay that led the Federation War Office, in a drive headed by Admirals Paris and Ponsonby to promote the value of the Maquis, to finally accept the full value of the Maquis, although Admiral Alynna Nechayev still persisted in persecuting the Maquis once the War was over. It was only after a sustained effort of persuasion by Admirals Paris, Ponsonby and Lewis, that Nechayev relaxed her rigid stance against the Maquis and Captain Chakotay. Only when another major offensive started by the Maquis and finished by several Starfleet destroyers proved extremely successful for the Federation, striking a deep dent in the Cardassian-Dominion defences, did Nechayev finally relent.
Still, the end of the war was not in sight, and when Starfleet launched its latest, most revolutionary vessel, the USS Voyager captained by Captain Kathryn Janeway, it was with the express purpose of launching a rescue operation on its maiden mission, since the Liberty, Maquis vessel under the command of Captain Chakotay, was cornered in the Badlands by several Cardassian vessels. Captain Chakotay, secretly engaged in furnishing the Federation with key intelligence from the moment he joined the Maquis - that fact had only been made known to Admiral Nechayev very recently - was in possession of critical information that would, in the hands of the Cardassians, allow the enemy to gain a valuable foothold in their offensives against the Federation. It was therefore a matter of life and death to get Chakotay and the Liberty out of harm's way. But Voyager had been led into an ambush and in the end, to save the lives of the crew of the Liberty and of Voyager, Captain Chakotay exchanged his valued freedom for the safety of the two crews. In a bold attempt, and knowing that imprisonment in a Cardassian labour camp meant certain death, Captain Chakotay bade farewell to those who fought with him in the name of freedom and to Captain Kathryn Janeway, his wife. Only minutes before Chakotay had beamed over to the Cardassian Warship, the Vetar, he oversaw the download of all official and personal records and logs from the Liberty to Voyager's computer.
*
It had been three months since Captain Chakotay sacrificed his own freedom to ensure the safety of the crews of the Liberty and Voyager. The Liberty had been destroyed when Captain Chakotay rammed his vessel into a Cardassian ship in order to buy Voyager and its crew some time. On impact, Chakotay had been transported to Voyager.
Realising that there was nothing she could do, Captain Janeway ordered Voyager to head for Federation space again.
Kathryn Janeway had little hope that Chakotay would be spared by the Cardassians, and her knowledge of how the inhabitants of Dorvan V had been tortured, ravaged and mutilated, left her nothing to hope for in the treatment of her husband as a prisoner of war.
Therefore, Kathryn Janeway shut herself off from thoughts of his maltreatment and the known atrocities the Cardassians committed with no regard for interplanetary agreements on the treatment of prisoners of war. Indeed, such agreements did exist, but the Cardassians were notorious for disregarding any convention and truce that had been drawn up between them and the United Federation of Planets.
On returning home briefly before Voyager set out to join the rest of the Fleet, her meeting with Admirals Paris, Ponsonby and Lewis had been the first order of business. It was a difficult confrontation, facing the very men who had, in various ways, shaped her career and personal life.
"There was nothing you could do in the circumstances, Kathryn," Owen Paris said, from where he stood at the tall window of his office. There had been a pensive look in his eyes as he stared out the window.
"Kathryn..." She had been too distraught to hear her stepfather's voice at first; when he said her name again, she looked up at him. He was standing next to her, his hand on her shoulder. In his touch she felt solace. "He saved the lives of two crews, Kathryn..."
"It doesn't bring him back here, does it?" she asked, feeling not in the least consoled. "I failed him, Admiral. The mission was supposed to be a success. I - "
"Kathryn," Admiral Lewis's voice reached her, "Captain Chakotay also downloaded onto Voyager's computers all the critical intelligence as well as other information he thought might endanger you further."
She knew how important that had been. It had been a superfast reaction and thinking on his part and that of Magnus Rollins to ensure that nothing remained on the Liberty. It was why the Cardassians could destroy the vessel with so much ease - they’d found nothing there. Still, it was only a small consolation. The first time she had seen Chakotay in months since her birthday, and the parting had been shattering.
"I understand, Admiral," she sighed. Once in Federation space, she had handed over the information to Starfleet Command. It included the crew complement of Chakotay's vessel as well as all encrypted information to Admirals Paris and Ponsonby about communications between them and the Liberty.
She had been depressed for a few days, and when she visited her mother in her new home, had burst into tears when the first word Hannah uttered was "Da-da..." She wallowed only a short while in morbid thoughts; Chakotay's face, just before he disappeared in the transporter beam, was still clear in her memory, in her waking moments and even in her dreams. There had been a distraught look on his face, a momentary fear he’d banked instantly because she knew he didn't want to unsettle her further by showing that he was afraid of what would happen to him.
She had spent a few days with her mother, stepfather and Hannah, days in which the resolved to find Winonah and to push away all thoughts of how Chakotay must be suffering, how he might even be dead.’
Hannah had been demanding, but for once Kathryn revelled in her daughter's seemingly unending energetic exuberance. A few times Hannah had been fractious and Kathryn knew that small as she was, she missed her father.
Gretchen Janeway-Ponsonby had been ever supportive in her no-nonsense manner which for once, Kathryn didn't mind. It kept her from thinking about too many other things. Hannah loved her Grandma and Grandpa and her aunt Phoebe, who popped in from time to time. And then there was Ceara. She was all over Hannah and even though the child couldn't walk yet, she would soon, if only to run after the dog. Ceara was now a strapping year old with a smooth sheen to her red coat, and she completely adored Hannah.
It was with a slightly lighter heart that Kathryn left her family to resume her duties again as Captain of Voyager.
***
Kathryn Janeway studied the report in front of her intently. Magnus Rollins had given a shake of his head just before she dismissed him so that he could resume his duties on the bridge. Kathryn smiled grimly, wondering how she was going to resolve the spats between B'Elanna Torres and Joe Carey, Voyager's Chief Engineer. It was the second time in the last two months that Joe had been treated by Sergei Karkoff in sickbay for a broken nose.
B'Elanna admittedly had a short fuse, but Kathryn could understand the young woman's impatience with Joe. While Joe was always careful, perhaps far too pragmatic for the likes of the former Maquis who had once been a Starfleet cadet, B'Elanna Torres had blown her top at something Joe could have solved in less than half the time, if he had listened to her. Joe had taken her ideas and promptly rejected them, telling her that it was not Starfleet regulation, etc, etc.
She had had several meetings with B'Elanna since then, assuring her that while procedures had to adhere to the rules, there were times that Maquis tactics proved better in certain conditions. Kathryn sighed. B'Elanna had been none too happy, but the half-Klingon, half-human needed the discipline that was applied in Engineering by Joe Carey.
"But, Captain, the problem could have been solved in half the time!" B'Elanna's voice had trembled with outrage. "On the Liberty - "
"I am aware of your creative solutions on the Liberty," Kathryn cut in quickly, "but you're on a Federation starship, currently the fastest in the fleet - "
"I can make her faster, Captain."
"To what end, B'Elanna?" Kathryn asked as she noted how B'Elanna beat her fist into her palm. B'Elanna's eyes were on fire.
"I - " B'Elanna paused, dropped the gaze that met Kathryn's so directly only moments before. "We could apply the Epileng Cross Maneuver more effectively..."
Kathryn knew where the conversation was leading, feeling for a moment the old twinge as Chakotay's image flashed in her mind. It was about Chakotay...always about Chakotay...
"I...understand that you want to break Captain Chakotay out of that Cardassian prison, B'Elanna."
"It will work this time, Captain! Tom said - "
Tom said... Did B'Elanna even know how her tone of voice lowered and became softer when she mentioned Tom Paris's name?
"Tom can say as much as he wants right now. I have already noted his recommendations." Kathryn saw the surprise as B'Elanna's eyes widened. Kathryn smiled as B'Elanna shifted in her chair. "Look, I know you want Captain Chakotay back with us as much as everyone else...as much as I would like to have him here. I - " she didn't want to tell B'Elanna the origin of the latest intelligence - a one line communiqué from a very unlikely source – she’d received, "I can assure you that he is alive."
"Captain?"
"More I can't tell you, except that any move to free Captain Chakotay from a Cardassian Prison must include all the other Starfleet personnel and dissidents from other homeworlds also held by the Cardassians." Kathryn paused long enough to let B'Elanna absorb her words and was gratified when B'Elanna gave a little sheepish smile. Chakotay would never be happy being freed while others remained behind - men and women who deserved that freedom as much as he did. She knew Chakotay and she knew that as long as he was alive in any prison, that his concern would not only be for himself and his family, but for other prisoners as well. Kathryn sighed.
"Captain, I - I am sorry. I guess I jumped the gun there."
"It's alright, B'Elanna. When you go back to Engineering, don't forget to apologise to Joe Carey."
"Apologise? Captain, that man, he - !"
"As I said, do the right thing, Miss Torres. After all, you did, break the man's nose."
"Captain!"
"And for a second offence, Miss Torres, I should let you cool off in the brig for 30 days."
"30 days..."
"But, in lieu of a period in the brig, I need you for another task.
For a moment Kathryn enjoyed the look of complete stupefaction on B'Elanna's face. If the mission hadn't been so urgent, she would have laughed. B'Elanna must have sensed finally that she hadn't been called to the ready room to be hauled over the coals, and when a long sigh of relief escaped the young half-Klingon woman, Kathryn reached forward and touched her hand.
"Chakotay would have killed me..." B'Elanna said, her voice sounding awed.
"Make no mistake, B'Elanna, the next time you're guilty, it's the brig."
"Understood. Captain, this...er, task."
"Yes, it's urgent. Here is the information..." Kathryn started, and then turned the vid-com so that B'Elanna could also look at the data. For the next few minutes they were deep in conversation, B'Elanna nodding her head from time to time. When finally, they were finished, B'Elanna rose to her feet.
"Captain, you have great faith in me..."
"I know you can do it, B'Elanna."
"Thank you, Captain."
"Dismissed."
Kathryn watched in silence as B'Elanna exited the ready room. The Maquis had problems adjusting, but it was nothing that couldn't be dealt with if handled with care. Chakotay would have wanted them to integrate, and that thought alone made the transition for them bearable.
"I'm trying my best, Chakotay..." Kathryn whispered as she looked at the face of her husband, smiling from the gold frame of the photograph on her desk. "I'm trying..." she repeated.
******************************
"And you say your mother still lives on Bajor," B'Elanna said conversationally to Karan Tor who sat at the conn of the Cochrane, one of Voyager's shuttles. When he didn't respond, B'Elanna repeated her question. Still no response as he stared straight ahead of him. "Hey..."
"Yes, she lives there," he replied tersely, not looking at her when he spoke.
"I'm just trying to make conversation here."
"Why don't you keep quiet?"
"We've had nothing but silence since we started out, what...fifteen hours ago?"
"Suits me just fine."
Tor shrugged as he spoke. He had nothing against B'Elanna Torres, but too aware of their task and of how much Captain Janeway depended on them, he was keeping quiet, thinking mostly of the plan they devised, and of his mother. Karan Ardra would be surprised to see him. Bajor had been depleted of all its resources, and now was mostly ignored by the Cardassians. Tor sighed. Most of the slaves had been freed and returned to Bajor. During the purge Karan Ardra had seen to it that her son escaped to Earth. There he’d stayed with old friends of his mother's until he decided to enrol in the Academy. Ardra had been happy, but the price she paid was to be a slave mistress like so many other Bajoran women. She bore Gul Gorek two sons...
B'Elanna had settled back in her seat next to him and was staring morosely at the viewscreen.
"Let me know when we get there," she said with a tinge of sarcasm as she folded her arms and closed her eyes.
Tor gave a sigh of relief. B'Elanna Torres could never be underestimated, he thought. She was a brilliant engineer, and many on board Voyager thought she was better than Joe Carey. Maybe when the war was over, she could go back to the Academy and complete her training. He snorted inwardly. He'd like to see some tutors get the better of B'Elanna Torres. For this mission, she was important, but he was the better pilot. All they had to do was get hold of one person, and he was certain that his mother knew his whereabouts.
He was glad to have been given his present commission on Voyager. He had liked serving on the USS Volga and the USS Osaka, but when he heard about Voyager, he had signed on immediately, wanting to serve under Captain Janeway on a brand new vessel. She was the wife of his former tutor and he had always admired and been in awe of Captain Chakotay. Now, he had been given a special assignment by the Captain and he felt deeply honoured that the Captain had chosen him, as well as B'Elanna Torres, for this mission.
He had been apprehensive when she hailed him and he had gone to see her in her ready room. Always, when he saw her, he was captivated by the Captain's beauty. But as he always saw the underlying sadness in his mother's eyes, so had he seen the sadness lurking in Captain Janeway's eyes. She could only assure him that Captain Chakotay, her husband, was still alive. More than that she told no one, but the crew had been happy to learn that Chakotay was still alive. He, Karan Tor, had no doubt about the kind of treatment Chakotay was subjected to and he had given a silent nod of understanding when she told him. He had seen enough in his short life to know that the Cardassians were unfeeling butchers who experimented on people while they were still alive. That alone was an unspeakable atrocity and what hadn't been said between him and Captain Janeway, was simply knowledge that the worst was happening to Captain Chakotay.
Tor hadn't wanted to tell Captain Janeway of some of the methods of torture the Cardassians used; no doubt, the Captain must be aware of that herself. Captain Chakotay was a tough man. He'd not go down easily, Karan Tor thought, as they approached the Bajoran wormhole and prepared for the thrill of the ride through.
**************
"Tor, we'd better make this a very quick visit," B'Elanna said as they moved cautiously across a small plaza in the direction of the residential location.
"I know. I hadn't expected so many off-worlders here. But fear not, Torres, you do not stand out around here."
"So I noticed. We must have passed about twenty Klingons as well as some K'tarians and Romulans."
"Bajor poses no threat anymore, so visits from off-worlders are more common now, though to look at them, you'd not know there's a war... But we must speak with the one person my mother can get us in contact with."
B'Elanna slowed down and looked at Tor, her injunction of earlier that they hurry, momentarily forgotten.
"Did I say something wrong?" Tor asked her.
"No, but you're talking..."
Tor gave her a wry grin, his hand touching his earring in an unconscious gesture of pride.
"I was not on my best behaviour, Torres."
"Don't worry. You had...things on your mind."
Tor nodded his thanks and they proceeded along the first road they approached.
"Understood. Still, if we hurry, we could get back to Voyager in three days," he offered, not looking at her, instead, keeping his eyes on a point at the end of the long road. "We do have enough time that Captain Janeway can make the detour."
"I have a feeling we're running out of time, Tor."
"Don't worry, once we have concluded our mission here, it's plain sailing, as they say."
"You been talking to Tom Paris, Karan Tor?"
Tor smiled this time and B'Elanna gripped his arm in a comradely squeeze.
"Not many like him, B'Elanna, but I do. The Maquis are fighting on our side - "
"Get this, Karan, the Maquis were always fighting on your side."
"You know what I mean."
B'Elanna let out a sigh, and seeing how Tor's expression became serious again, she said, "The Captain did mention that Starfleet Command gave her less than two weeks to complete the latest mission and we have to get Voyager through some hostile sectors."
"We're fairly clear here. I'm just home to visit my mother. That's our official-unofficial business here."
B'Elanna gave a light laugh.
"For official-unofficial business, I'd say you'd pass for a Bajoran in that attire."
"And you look very Maquis...again," Tor replied succinctly. He seemed to have thawed a little at B'Elanna's attempts at conversation. "I know you have been feeling uncomfortable in a Starfleet uniform..."
"Yeah, I did. The first few days. I kept scratching my neck! But Starfleet tends to grow on you..."
"I know," Tor replied with heartfelt warmth. "I know. I've wanted to be at Starfleet Academy since James - "
"James Hamilton?"
"Yeah. We were neighbours on Earth where I lived with my foster parents."
"I...understand."
"Well, I've always wanted to be in a Starfleet uniform."
"Good, Starfleet. I'm dying to be introduced to your mother. If she's as dour as you - "
Tor stopped dead in his tracks, pulled B'Elanna roughly by her arm and faced her boldly, his lips thin from ill-repressed anger.
"Perhaps you don't know, since I've not wanted this to be common knowledge, Torres. My mother is the mistress of Gul Gorek, a very, very unpleasant Cardassian."
"Hey, Starfleet," B'Elanna responded, pushing his hands away from her, "I'm...sorry."
"She was a slave, Torres. She did not choose to be his mistress. I - I have two younger brothers, fathered by Gul Gorek."
"Kahless!" B'Elanna Torres dropped her gaze, chastised by the quiet dignity of the young Bajoran pilot. "Forgive me, I wasn't thinking."
"Thank you," replied Tor, noting the penitent look in B'Elanna's eyes. B'Elanna was half-Klingon, half-human, and he had thought she would understand the pain of duality in being a hybrid. His brothers had been spawned by a slave master, a ruthless man who had no need of them. He gave a resigned sigh and continued walking in silence, B'Elanna managing deftly to match his quickened pace.
They approached a house near the end of a lane. The road had been resurfaced in keeping with other rehabilitation efforts, years after the Cardassians had ravaged the planet. The bitterness rose in him and spread through his body like an amoeboid creature spreading its tentacles, bleeding into every pore in his body. He remembered the old Cardassian-Klingon woman who held on to him while they dragged his protesting mother from him. He had been ten years old and he had known fear, the kind that made him petrified. There had been no screams coming from him, and Karan Ardra's last words to him that day had been, "go well, my son..."
Old Kor’ena, bastard child of a Klingon mother, had duped the Cardassians, who’d expected her to take him to the orphan colony on Cardassia Prime, as she did all orphans, whether they were Bajoran or Cardassian. However, instead she had secretly sent the terrified boy with the daughter of an old friend to Deep Space Nine, and from there to Earth.’
Tor shook the thoughts from him, breathing in deeply as he stood in front of the house that once belonged to his late father. The calm settled inside him again and when he looked at B'Elanna, he gave a little tight smile.
"We're here."
***
B'Elanna Torres couldn't stop looking at Karan Ardra as she invited them to step inside her home. The woman was tall and painfully thin, though her face exuded a serenity that stunned the half-Klingon engineer. She could not be more than forty five years old, yet she appeared younger. Tor's mother was beautiful and it was a beauty that had become even more serene in the face of suffering. B'Elanna blinked once, twice, and then kept staring even as she heard Tor's voice coming through a haze at her.
"Greetings, Mother," Tor said softly, giving what B'Elanna thought was a half bow, but so full of respect that she too, inclined her head. When Ardra looked at her, Tor offered, "this is B'Elanna Torres, a fellow crewmember on Voyager..."
"You are Klingon?" Karan Ardra asked.
"Half-Klingon, half-human," B'Elanna offered, without the usual derision that tinged her voice every time someone was curious about her race. Karan Ardra nodded, the look in her eyes not so much compassionate as understanding. B'Elanna was glad. She could bear understanding, or just plain acceptance without being dismissive, but she couldn't stand anyone being compassionate. There was a time she had loved her mother, and for a long time she loved her father. She bore the instinctive pride and honour of the Klingons and she was proud. Just sometimes... All her outbursts...it was always easier to blame it on her Klingon side. She heard a cough and realised Ardra and Tor were looking pointedly at her. B'Elanna gave a sheepish grin.
Ardra took B'Elanna's hand and drew her closer.
"I'm glad that you came with Tor, B'Elanna Torres. There is someone who is waiting for you both..."
B'Elanna thought Karan Ardra sounded enigmatic, but nodded nonetheless. She was on this mission because Captain Janeway had briefed her. Karan Tor might be a brilliant pilot, although not as good as Tom Paris, but she was needed to assist him as well as guard his back.
"It is why I have accompanied you, Tor - " she said when they embarked on this away mission.
"Mother, I do not see my brothers here," Tor cut in, realising belatedly that the house was devoid of childish sounds.
Karan Ardra's dark eyes sombered; a frown marred her beautiful features. A sigh escaped her and for a moment B'Elanna thought that she wasn't going to respond to her son.
"They have been taken away from here, Tor. Their father - "
"What has he done with them?"
"You know that I have lived on Cardassia Prime..." Tor gave a nod, and B'Elanna's heart quickened. She had an idea why they had been removed from the mother. "It was shameful to be seen with slave children who were bi-racial," Ardra continued.
"Where are they, Mother?"
"I do not know, son."
"A Cardassian orphan camp?"
B'Elanna knew there were several of these camps on planets dotted along the Cardassian borders. Most likely, the children were dead by now...
"Come," she said, not replying to her son's question. B'Elanna thought the woman was suffering, but showing no signs of it. She was very enigmatic when she commanded they accompany her.
As they followed her through the house B'Elanna's attention was drawn to the various artefacts gracing the walls and small stands, mostly Bajoran, she presumed. They exited through a back entrance. She was surprised. From the front view of the house, they couldn't see that the back extended to the next road. From time to time as they walked, Ardra looked furtively around her, but Tor and B'Elanna looked at the cosmopolitan blend of people with interest. There was no Cardassian presence here; they were so caught up in the war that Bajor was expendable to them. It had been expendable for a long time, and their interest no longer focused on this barren homeworld that only in the last months was showing signs of rehabilitation. Some gave them curious stares, but it was no more than normal; after they had passed a few Klingons, B'Elanna realised suddenly they were all very old. She shrugged. Even Kronos had joined the fray and they were never sensitive about selecting only their most able bodied warriors. These Klingons had all served their duties as warriors, but, B'Elanna supposed they were usefully occupied on Bajor. They had expertise the Bajorans needed. It was as simple as that. Bajor was not ready as a holiday destination...
Some twenty minutes later they approached a small abode. Ardra paused, turning to look at B'Elanna and her son. Again, B'Elanna was struck by the serenity that exuded from the older woman.
"I received a communication from Captain Janeway a month ago..."
"Mother?"
Karan Tor clearly sounded surprised and B'Elanna lifted an eyebrow. Captain Janeway hadn't told them about it, but B'Elanna had heard from Tom Paris and Dalby that a few years ago, the Captain, who had then been the first officer of the Crimond, had come to Bajor to conduct interviews with people here. Now she wondered about it. There were still too many pieces of the puzzle missing, and the whereabouts of the Captain's niece was a major piece. Perhaps, this was just another clue leading them to Winonah.
"Do not ask too many questions, Tor," his mother chided gently. "You know what happened before - "
"What happened before?" B'Elanna asked, her curiosity piqued.
Tor gave a sigh and a blush crept to his cheeks.
"Communication between my mother and myself while I was still a cadet - it was innocuous information- led the Cardassians to Commander Chakotay and Kathryn Janeway. Because of that the Captain and her husband separated..."
B'Elanna gasped softly. She had always sensed that Chakotay had no love for Cardassians, that it was more than just the destruction of his homeworld. He had a personal vendetta with them. Although Chakotay never spoke about it and Ken Dalby remained close-mouthed about what he knew, the Cardassians were responsible for Chakotay's personal misery and the break-up of his marriage. Seska... B'Elanna shook her head. They used innocent youngsters, like Karan Tor had been.
"So that's why..."
"Yes, that's why. I have felt responsible. No one told me to my face, Torres. Indeed, the Captain has always been excessively fair. There is no blame. I was just a young and inexperienced cadet talking to my mother on Bajor. I had no idea..."
"Don't worry, Tor. I don't think anyone is blaming you. It's you blaming yourself. I don't think Chakotay would appreciate you beating yourself up over this..."
"Torres! You don't understand. Everything that has happened - "
"Hey, Starfleet, take it easy," B'Elanna said as she nodded to Ardra, "no one can control destiny..."
When Ardra pressed her hand against the panel and the door sprung open, Tor was momentarily diverted from his self-castigation and B'Elanna sighed with relief. They entered a dark passage, although they could all see well enough. The first thing B'Elanna noticed as they entered what she presumed was the lounge of the house, was a bat-leth hanging on a bracket.
"Who lives here?" she asked.
"Please," Ardra said she moved through the lounge to a door that led off it. A short lobby, with another door and Ardra paused. She turned to face B'Elanna and Tor.
"She will tell you what you need to know. Tor, your brothers..." The words came as a strained whisper from her and B'Elanna could see the pain in Ardra's eyes. She must miss her children, came the thought to her. Before they could respond to her words, the door opened and they entered quietly.
Their eyes were immediately drawn to a man lying on a large bed. B'Elanna saw instantly that he must be part Klingon and part Cardassian. His lips were parched and parted; he was clearly struggling to breathe. There was a sallow look to his features. The ridges were Klingon, and B'Elanna thought that if he were dying, he must have only one set of his vital organs, a legacy of his Cardassian heritage. A second heart, liver and pair of lungs might have increased his chances at fighting to keep alive. Then, on the other hand, who knew? The patient had long unruly hair brushed away from his face and through the weak light of early evening, there was a strange glow about him, as if in fact did possess an inner resilience to fight.
B'Elanna was also aware of the candles dotted around the darkened room, their flickering flames throwing shadows on the walls. She felt Tor nudging her forward and as she looked at the Bajoran pilot, B'Elanna realised that he must have stumbled, or given an unsure step, maybe at the sight of the sick man. Tor's gaze was riveted on the patient who looked no more than perhaps thirty years.
A woman sat in a chair next to the bed. A Klingon woman whose mane of hair - once burnished bronze, now streaked liberally with grey - fanned over her shoulders. Her eyes were closed but as they approached, she opened her eyes and fixed her gaze first on Ardra.
"Greetings, Karan Ardra," she said unsmilingly, not rising from her chair. Her voice was raspy, yet strong, still possessing power, B'Elanna thought. A bony hand gestured they come forward. The woman's ridges were coarse, very pronounced, but her eyes were still alert and glowing warmly. She looked at B'Elanna, the recognition of race dawning in her eyes. But it was Karan Ardra who broke the tiny silence that ensued in the moments B'Elanna and the old woman sized one another up.
"Kor'ena, you know my son Tor." Kor'ena nodded as Tor gave a slight bow. When her eyes rested on B'Elanna, Ardra continued, "And this is B'Elanna Torres."
"Greetings, B'Elanna Torres. You are not full Klingon... Like my son..."
"No," B'Elanna said with firmness, "I'm half-human. My mother is Klingon."
Kor'ena nodded again, and B'Elanna gained the impression that Kor'ena just accepted her origin as natural, just the way she wanted: no sentiments, no sympathies and no pity. She thought Kor'ena was proud that she carried herself so well. Good thing they didn't know about her struggles for acceptance, her own struggle just to look at herself in the mirror and like her for herself. That was a long, miserable road. It was only Chakotay... B'Elanna gave a sigh as she was reminded of their mission. She looked at Tor, who looked at his mother and Kor'ena in turn. Then Karan Ardra spoke in soft, firm tones.
"I informed Captain Janeway that a young warrior of Cardassian-Klingon birth had been injured during one of the Battles. He was serving on the Vetar..."
"T-The Vetar? Gul Evek's vessel?"
"My son was more Klingon than Cardassian, B'Elanna Torres, but his father desired he become a gul one day..."
"I've never seen him before," Tor said reflectively.
"He was already prepared for training by the time your mother got you to safety - "
"Through you..." Tor said in awe. "You have sacrificed much, Kor'ena."
"I was a warrior like my mother and father before me," she responded quickly, making B'Elanna smile at the unconscious proud bearing of Kor'ena's stature as she straightened in her chair. She gazed unflinchingly at Tor.
"I thank you, Kor'ena."
"No need to thank me. Your mother has intelligence of the Vetar..."
"Xandor was on the Vetar the day the Cardassians attacked Dorvan V, Captain Chakotay's homeworld."
"He might know..." B'Elanna said as she caught on quickly the meaning behind Ardra's words.
"He - he has been injured severely. He may not live, so he was sent back here."
"To die." Kor'ena spoke, her words emotionless. She was expecting his death, so that she could commit his body to Sto-vo-kor. B'Elanna nodded her understanding.
"We will leave you two with the patient. I see he is about to open his eyes..." Karan Ardra said, holding her hand to her old friend. Kor'ena rose heavily to her feet, and when her hand that had been clasped around that of her son, released him, they both noted that his hand was still balled into a fist, as if he held something very precious in it and desired no one else see it.
The door closed softly behind them.
B'Elanna seated herself quickly in the chair vacated by Kor'ena. She could finally understand why it was necessary that she and Tor make the journey to Bajor on their own. Voyager was currently engaged in heavy battles, and while Joe Carey - her lips curled derisively at the thought of the Chief Engineer - was super efficient in Engineering, she could be spared. Now that she saw the objective of their mission involved a dying half-Klingon male, it made some sense, though B'Elanna also speculated that Voyager simply couldn't make a major detour in the time allotted her. She knew that Captain Janeway had been given special dispensation to track down her niece, and narrowing down the possibilities in the shortest amount of time was critical in to her strategy. They had to go in, and get out as fast as they can. For that they had to know the exact coordinates to make a hasty rescue and then head for Earth.
The first weeks after Xandor had been deposited at his home on Bajor, they had not known what information he carried. Yet, Karan Ardra, knowing that he served on the Vetar, had understood that interrogating him would reap results. Good results. B'Elanna hoped fervently that he could help. If not, she'd have to hypospray him to semi-consciousness and whip the information out of him. He knew something, that was certain. The way his hand kept clamping, relaxing, clamping around whatever object lay in his palm, told her as much. Tor suspected the same as she saw him watch how Xandor's hand moved. She held her breath as Xandor's lips began to move.
"This...this is for Captain...Janeway..." he croaked. Xandor opened his hand, the fingers slowly easing away from their grip. B'Elanna glanced quickly at Tor, who had seated himself on the other side of the bed. Tor frowned. On Xandor's palm lay exposed a gold chain with a locket.
"Where did you get it?" B'Elanna asked softly. Xandor turned to face her, a slow turn of the head to the direction of the voice. He stared long at B'Elanna.
"You...you are Klingon..."
"I am," she responded, and raised her hand only slightly to curb Tor's urge to correct Xandor. "Yes, I am Klingon."
Xandor's eyes closed, then opened again.
"Take it," he said and waited until B'Elanna had taken the locket from him and opened it. "I - I found the little girl - "
"Winonah?"
"That is her name...yes. I found it lying next to her."
"Then you know what happened to Winonah?" B'Elanna asked, her heart racing; Chakotay's absolute conviction that his niece was still alive somewhere was being confirmed. "Are these her parents in the pictures, Xandor...?"
"I - I thought the mother looked familiar."
"She has Chakotay's looks..." B'Elanna said reflectively as she studied the small image of Chakotay's sister.
"Where is the child, Xandor?" Tor asked, leaning over to touch Xandor's hand.
Xandor looked at him with eyes that burned, eyes that looked into the portals of death. When Xandor turned slowly to face B'Elanna, he gave a groan of pain and breathed erratically for a few seconds. When at length the breathing subsided to an even rhythm, he reached to touch B'Elanna's hand.
"I swear by Kahless, I never touched any woman..."
"You were the dissident on board the Vetar?" B'Elanna asked.
Captain Janeway had informed her that their contact crewed on the Vetar, that he might have knowledge of Winonah's disappearance. Her latest update on the Vetar's crew complement furnished by Ken Dalby, showed no presence of one Xandor Landral. Only when she matched the Vetar’s current status with those in the crew at the time Chakotay had been on board with Sedeka could she determine that the missing person was languishing somewhere on Bajor...
"Yes, I had no part in the shameful deeds committed by the Cardassian warriors. I am Klingon. You must understand the ways of the Klingon."
"I understand, Xandor."
"It is a dishonour. I - I had of necessity - "
"Defend yourself only when the men attacked you?"
"Yes. But the warriors...they had no honour. No honour. I saw them rip the mother away from the child, let the child watch. There were many warriors...many who violated this - this child's mother..."
"I understand that you felt helpless."
"One of the men grabbed the child and ripped her clothes from her..."
"Kahless..."
"So I pulled the child from him...told him I wanted...her...for...myself..." There was a long pause in which Xandor struggled to breathe. then he gasped again, "I took the child and hid her in my cabin until I could get off the Vetar."
"Where did you take her?" Tor asked, his voice trembling with anticipation.
"I placed her with a kind woman on Kronos - "
"Kronos!"
Xandor expelled a loud groan.
"The woman - it was her special task... I was assured she would be transported when it was safe to - to Kodari..."
"But - but that's in No-man's-land!" Tor cried out suddenly.
"She's there, with this other person?" B'Elanna asked quickly.
"Not all Cardassians were happy with what their people did..." Xandor looked pointedly at B'Elanna and she realised that she hadn't introduced herself. She fingered the locket and chain tenderly.
"My name is B'Elanna Torres - "
"Torres? That was the name of the woman who - who helped us on Kronos. Do you know her?"
"My mother..." B'Elanna responded, awed by the knowledge that her mother was on Kronos, overseeing the safety of refugees.
"She is a good woman... B'Elanna... It is a good name. A Klingon name."
"Thank you."
"The little girl...she was frightened. I thought all her family had been wiped out. But you say - you say..."
Xandor looked at them with eyes that were pathetic in their pleading. B'Elanna felt the heat crawling like snakes through her body. It was evident that Xandor, believing that Winonah had no family, sent her to Kodari where she could rebuild her life. He had no idea that she had a remaining relative; he had no idea that people were looking for the child. All the time, they were chasing hopeless leads... Still, Xandor had had no way of knowing that Chakotay was related to the child, and his only desire now was to see Winonah in the custody of people from Earth.
"She has relatives, Xandor," B'Elanna said soberly.
"She will be well cared for with her own people, you must understand." Tor had been holding Xandor's hand again and when Xandor turned to face him, it was with eyes filled with sorrow.
"You have two brothers, Karan Tor."
"Yes."
"They are on Kodari..."
"Kahless!" B'Elanna sucked in her breath, wondering why it was that Karan Ardra hadn't known, since Xandor Landral was on Bajor at least two weeks. Could he have been in a state of semi-consciousness or unconscious all this time?
"I spent the last months trying to - to save children..."
"My mother will be happy, Xandor."
"That is why...why I have been injured. I had to fight. The children were in a labour colony. I managed to get them out. They are safe, Karan Tor."
The two women had entered, and Kor'ena took her place by her son's side. B'Elanna rose and stationed herself at the foot of the bed. Kor'ena appeared impassive, as if she knew that Xandor was about to take a final breath. She leaned forward and touched his forehead, her finger resting over the ridges and her eyes closed.
Tor grasped his mother's hand and squeezed it. There was joy and sadness in the touch, but it seemed that Karan Ardra rested her faith in her eldest son. Her children would be returned to her. She knew now that they were safe. Tor's look had given her that assurance. She sighed deeply, relief that only now was allowed to flood through her.
"Mother..." Xandor's voice was heavy, "grieve not, for I shall be happy..."
"I know, my son."
"B'Elanna Torres, this is my message to Captain Janeway of Voyager: I...tried...my...best..."
There was a pause, then Xandor's eyes closed.
"Commit me to Sto-vo-kor..."
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END CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR