MANEUVERS
Episode 27
Part D

 

Seska to the Kazon soldier standing nearby: "He must've transported aboard. Find him!"

Chakotay appears in the doorway. "I'm right here!" He fires on the transporter module.....

.....and destroys it.

As he advances on Seska, pointing his phaser on her, he taps his combadge. combadge "Activate the message beacon."

He comes right up to Seska, worrying her that she is his prisoner. Echoing Seska's earlier words to him, he says: "Lovely to see you again."

He offers her his phaser which she snatches from him.

USS Voyager, tracking Chakotay's shuttlecraft, at warp speed.

Voyager encounters the message beacon activated by Chakotay. Tuvok: "Captain, I'm detecting a Federation beacon at bearing 059 mark 72." Kim: "This one's definitely ours - Starfleet issue." Janeway: "All stop." Tuvok: "The beacon is transmitting an automated message. It is from Commander Chakotay."

Janeway: "On screen." viewscreen Recorded message: "....to Voyager. If this signal has been activated it means that I've destroyed the Nistrim's transporter capabilities. Captain, I apologise for acting without authorisation, but I ask you not to put the ship or crew in further jeopardy by attempting to rescue me. It's unlikely that I'm still alive. Chakotay to Voyager. If this signal has been activated..."

Janeway, listening to the message.

Chakotay is hauled into a room where Seska awaits him. They mistreat him. He has a blood wound on his forehead. Seska to the guards: "You can go." They leave. Chakotay: "I see the Nistrim take orders from you now."

Seska: "Let's just say I'm in a position of some influence, which is fortunate for you - Culluh wanted to execute you immediately. But I convinced him that you'd be a valuable prisoner, and that I should be the one to interrogate you." Chakotay, sarcastically: "Lucky me."

Seska: "Would you like a drink?" She goes to the drinks shelf and pours a glass. "The Kazon word for this is 'enemy's blood'. It's not exactly fine cognac, but I've developed a taste for it. Try some."

Chakotay: "No, thanks."

Seska: "You know, I've got to hand it to you. I thought all these months answering to Janeway would've made you soft, but all you needed was a little slap in the face to get that Maquis heart of yours beating again. Here's to old times." Chakotay: "I have no interest in reminiscing with you. I destroyed the transporter module. The game's over."

Seska: "What do I need with a single transporter module when I've got your shuttle and all its technology sitting in our hangar?" Chakotay: "I think you'll find that technology useless. I wiped the computer core before I transported." Seska: "I should've anticipated that." Chakotay: "So if you're going to have me killed, just do it." Seska: "You're still the noble one, aren't you, ready to die for your shipmates? You know, Chakotay, I may not have the transporter any more but I've got something better - you."

Maybe that's all I really wanted. I've missed you." Chakotay: "You can't possibly believe that you and I could still-" Seska: "Don't flatter yourself! It was never that good. You might have been an interesting diversion now and then, but I was always less interested in you than the information you could provide me with. First you gave me your Maquis secrets and now I want Voyager's command codes." Chakotay: "If you think I'm going to give you those codes, you don't know me as well as you think you do."

Seska: "Maybe not, but for old time's sake I'll let you in on a little secret. There are half a dozen ships from other Kazon sects on their way here right now. They're joining us to take Voyager." Chakotay: "Why're you telling me this?" Seska: "I'm not a monster. I still care about Torres and some of the others. I don't want to see anybody get hurt. I never did." Chakotay: "I'm touched." Seska: "These Kazon aren't as reasonable as you and I. I'm going to have to use all my influence to make sure they don't kill you all, but you've got to give me something to work with."

Chakotay: "Voyager's not coming. I left them explicit instructions not to follow me, so you needn't worry about people getting hurt!" Seska, with barely suppressed anger since Chakotay did not fall for her ploy by agreeing to co-operate: "They'll come! They'd never leave their First Officer in the hands of the Kazon. You may not give me the command codes, but when Culluh gets through with you, you'll wish you had." She stalks out.

On board Voyager, in the Briefing Room, Tuvok, Janeway and Torres discuss Chakotay's message. Tuvok: "The message appears to be authentic, Captain." Torres: "We've got to go get him." Tuvok: "Commander Chakotay has expressly requested that we not attempt to do so." Torres: "We don't have to honour that request. Captain?" Tuvok: "If a rescue attempt forces us to engage the Kazon, there is always a possibility that more of our technology will fall into their hands." The comm. signal sounds. comms. signal "Kim to the Captain. I'm picking up several vessels converging on the Nistrim's location." Janeway: "My gut tells me we should go after Chakotay, but my better judgement tells me we should honour his request." Torres: "I would never want you to ignore your judgement, Captain. But let me ask you this: in your judgement, how would the loss of our First Officer affect this crew? What would it do to the morale on this ship? Maybe this is an instance when your gut is giving you better advice." Janeway, via comms: "Janeway to conn." Paris, via comms: "Paris here." Janeway: "Resume a course for Chakotay's shuttle." Paris, via comms: "Aye, Captain."

Hopes are raised as the meeting breaks up.

On board the Kazon ship, Chakotay is being interrogated by Culluh, i.e. being subjected to pain and suffering to try and force information from him. Culluh hits the prisoner: "I'm losing patience, Federation." Chakotay says nothing. Culluh hits him again. Seska urges Chakotay: "Just tell him what he needs to know." Chakotay to Culluh: "She's quite a woman, isn't she? Does she rub your shoulders and tell you you're the most exciting man she's ever known? That's what she used to do for me. What's the matter, didn't she tell you about us?" Culluh: "Stop playing games and give me the command codes." Chakotay: "Flattery, devotion, sex - I always thought she had a lot to offer a man." Culluh: "You talk too much, Federation, but you're not telling me what I want to know." Chakotay: "You're wrong, Culluh. I'm telling you exactly what you need to know. She's using you." Culluh: "I'm the one who's using her." Chakotay gives a short laugh. To Seska about Culluh: "You've done an even better job than you did on me." Culluh to Chakotay: "You talk to me not to her, not to her." Chakotay: "Then what's she doing here? Watching you work?! She used to like to watch me work too." Culluh: "I don't believe a word you're saying, so you can stop trying to distract me now, and start answering questions." Chakotay: "You know one thing I especially liked? The little mole on her stomach." Culluh hits him again. "I guess you've seen it." Culluh: "I'm through wasting my strength on you." When Culluh clicks his fingers, Chakotay's guard injects him with drugs and Chakotay's view of his surroundings go blurred. "Now, give me the command codes." Chakotay: "I'll give you something better." Culluh: "What?" Chakotay: "Firsthand information." Culluh: "Go ahead." Culluh leans close in order to hear. Chakotay: "When Seska's through with you," chuckling, "she's going to kill you." Culluh hits him in the stomach, then seizes him by the hair and pulls his head up to punch him in the face. Seska intervenes. To Culluh: "He's delirious. He doesn't know what he's saying. Give him some time." Culluh lets go of Chakotay. "I'll be back in one hour. For his sake, he'd better be more co-operative." Culluh leaves.

Seska indicates with a shake of her head that the attending Kazon officer should also leave, and takes the syringe from him when he goes. Left alone with Chakotay, Seska tells him, "Very clever ploy, Chakotay. But you know I'm not a killer." She uses the syringe on him, which hurts as the needle goes in. "If I were, you'd've been dead a long time ago."

She leaves him. He has an hour before Culluh returns and the torture continues.

On Voyager's bridge, Tuvok reports: "I have located the Nistrim vessel on long-range sensors, distance .4 light years. However, they are not alone. They are now at least six other Kazon ships in the immediate vicinity."

Janeway: "I didn't think Culluh had that many ships."

Neelix: "They must belong to enemy sects." Tuvok: "That may be so, but the ships have not powered their weapons systems." Janeway: "What do you make of it, Neelix?" Neelix: "It's certainly unusual for rival Kazon sects to congregate peacefully." Janeway: "Is it possible the Nistrim have formed an alliance with other sects?" Neelix: "I've never known the Kazon to do anything like that before."

Tuvok: "If the Nistrim have added six ships to their force, it would be tactically unwise to engage them." Janeway: "Then we'll just have to find a way of getting Chakotay out of there without picking a fight." Torres: "We can transport him out."

>Tuvok: "We would have to slow down once within transporter range, giving the Kazon ample time to open fire." Torres: "Not necessarily. We could beam him out at warp speed without even slowing down. The Kazon would never be able to catch us." Kim: "That's difficult enough when both ships are travelling at warp. The Kazon ship's not even moving." Torres: "I can compensate for that." Janeway: "How?" Torres: "By synchronising the transporter's annular confinement beam to the warp core frequency."

Kim: "Maybe, but at a relative speed of two billion kilometres per second, it's pretty tough to get a lock on somebody." Tuvok: "Ensign Kim is correct. We would risk scrambling his transporter signal and killing him. It would be a direct violation of Starfleet's safety protocols." Torres: "Do you have a better idea?" To Janeway: "Trust me, Captain. I can do it." Janeway: "How can you be so sure?" Torres: "Because I've done it before. When you're a Maquis, you don't always have the luxury of following protocols."

 

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