Chapter 2 || Contents || Chapter 4

Dizziness engulfed her. Janeway put her hand out blindly, fumbling for support in the sudden blackness. Then, just as quickly as it had happened, the sensation passed like a bad dream and she felt something solid under her. Her hand brushed the rough fabric of her couch. She blinked several times, unable to bring her eyes into focus. She took a deep breath, shook her head. Her eyesight cleared and everything appeared suddenly in sharp detail. She sent a hasty glance at her surroundings.

The familiar sight of the captain's quarters greeted her gaze. The lights were on, the door was closed, the bedroom was still a blank pool of darkness, just like she'd left it - what? - Minutes ago? Hours? Then she thought to look down. Grey carpet. She was definitely back on her own Voyager.

Her sense of elation at being home quickly diminished. Was she too late?

She jumped up. "Computer, time!"

"The time is 23:10."

Chakotay had said it would take approximately one hour to reach the nebula, and that had been just before she'd retired for the night at 22:30. The hour was almost up.

The question she needed to address now was how much credence could she give the other captain's story? Had it all happened as she'd been told; did thirty alternate universes exist, and was she a small part in a huge repeating pattern of destruction and betrayal and death? Or was it just a dream, devised by her overwrought imagination following a severe beating to her confidence? On the other hand, could she afford to ignore the warnings?

She touched her combadge and moved with deliberate calmness into the corridor. "Janeway to Bridge."

*Chakotay here.*

His prompt answer was reassuring. If the ship was under attack, he would not be thinking about responding to hails. "Status," she requested crisply as she headed down the empty corridor. She reached the turbolift before he could answer.

*We came out of warp a minute ago. The ship is at impulse speed, 300,000 kilometers from the nebula. I was about to call you to the Bridge.*

Her heart hammered in panic. They had reached the nebula ahead of schedule. She threw herself into the lift, hitting the back wall in her haste. "Bridge!" she told the lift computer, and tried to catch her breath. She opened her mouth to issue the command to raise shields when suddenly the pain hit. She fell against the wall again, gasping for breath. Sweat beads broke out on her forehead, and she felt her stomach twist in a wave of nausea. This pain was different than the earlier twinges - it had an edge to it, a malevolent bite that mocked her attempts to overlook it. She could hardly disregard it now. Apparently her universe was not allotted the same grace period as the previous Captain Janeway's.

*Captain?* Chakotay sounded worried even over the comm channel.

Stealing herself, she propped her elbows on the lift's bulkhead. "Raise shields!" she gasped. She knew the Bridge crew would probably think she was crazy, but she would far rather give the other captain's warnings the benefit of the doubt than be an organ donor to the Vidiians. She could explain her actions later.

*Captain?* came Chakotay's second puzzled inquiry. It was amazing, really, how well that man conveyed his emotions in one word over a comm.

But she didn't have time to dwell on Chakotay's emotional attributes. "Just do it!" she ordered. "Bring us about and set course two two five mark six!"

*Aye, Captain.*

The lift doors opened, depositing her on the Bridge. Every member of the crew turned to look. She yelled, "Repo -"

The ship shuddered from the unexpected laser blast that found its target with frightening precision. Only the shields had saved the Bridge from instant incineration.

Janeway stumbled from the lift, using the railings at Tactical to help her regain her balance. More shots reached out for the ship, rocking it under a steady hail of laser fire.

"Red alert!" Chakotay ordered.

"Shields at eighty percent," Tuvok informed brusquely.

"Mr. Henderson!" the first officer called while he fell into his command chair. "Give us a long range scan - find out who's attacking us."

The young ensign at Ops scrambled over her controls. "I'm not getting any readings from long range scans, sir!" she said, her voice full of panic.

"Enhance short range to maximum," the first officer ordered. "Put anything you find on screen."

"We don't have time!" Janeway said. Another barrage heaved the deck under her feet and she slid down the steps beside Tactical, then fell against the command railings. Her stomach protested at the jarring and the nausea increased. Not now! she thought, fighting to control her breathing and recover her equilibrium. Please, just a few more minutes! "Evasive maneuvers, pattern Omega one!"

The ship lurched to the left, giving Janeway a boost on her way to the command level. She took what help she could get. "It's the Vidiians," she explained in between the evasive patterns and the laser fire that threw Voyager about like a rag. "Waiting - in the nebula."

"Got them!" Ensign Henderson yelled triumphantly. "At one nine three mark four!"

"Lock phasers!" ordered Commander Chakotay. "Fire!"

Energy lanced out from Voyager, burning through space to connect with the shields of a Vidiian ship just emerging from the gaseous cover of the nebula. Tuvok fired again, then again.

"Direct hits," the Vulcan reported. "We have penetrated their shields and damaged the hull. They have broken off the attack."

Sighs of relief echoed on the Bridge, but Janeway knew better than to relax. If she remembered correctly, there should be at least two more ships out there, waiting to ambush them. But her brain was getting fuzzy. She found it hard to concentrate. How many light years from the nebula had they lain in wait for the alternate Voyager?

"Scan for other ships," she said. "Look for ion trails, warp signatures, anything to indicate more ships waiting for us." Her gaze locked on the tip of her black boot, an unmoving point for her to focus her concentration on. Her stomach stopped heaving, and she felt stronger momentarily. She glanced up. "Mr. Tuvok, use the deflector array. The long range sensors were - " Another spasm gnawed at her resistance. " - sabotaged," she grunted at last. A few more minutes! Hold on! She reached the command level just as Tuvok found what they were looking for.

"Two more ships, Captain, off our starboard bow, bearing zero four five mark two. They are powering up their weapons. They are firing."

"Helm," she commanded, responding to the information almost by instinct and force of will power now. "Pattern Delta nine, full impulse. Tuvok, fire at will. Prepare to go to warp the minute we get clear." She stood up straight, her eyes glued to the screen and the two ships displayed there. One was moving forward fast, trying to edge around their port side and come up from behind. The other was keeping them occupied with blasts of phaser fire.

"Captain, the first ship is coming about, heading our way!" Ensign Henderson informed. The young woman was so intent on her panel readings that she hadn't noticed Mr. Kim arriving on the Bridge to take over. He was always the head Ops officer during battle.

As Harry managed to wrangle his station away from the ensign, Tom Paris arrived and slid into the pilot's seat, taking over the helm controls from a relieved Crewman Bertelli. He instantly made some minor adjustments and the ship leapt upward in an arcing roll. The maneuver took Voyager safely out of range of the first and second Vidiian ships, but brought it closer to the third. A fair trade, thought Tom as he smoothed out the roll and brought the ship about.

Then Mr. Tuvok calmly stated, "Captain, another ship is heading our way, 900,000 kilometers and closing."

"Mr. Paris!" she said.

Paris grunted, "I know! Going to pattern gamma two. Looking for an opening. I think I've got it! Tuvok, fire everything we have - this is going to be a close shave."

Tuvok fired the phasers in a complicated pattern that included all four ships, even though the fourth was barely in range. Ninety-five percent of his shots found their target. His brow furrowed as he attempted to further maximize his efforts. "Shields at forty percent and failing," he reported.

"Go to warp six when you can, Mr. Paris," Janeway ordered. Her vision blurred, but she remained on her feet, blinking rapidly to clear her eyesight. The uncomfortable twinges had evolved into a constant roar that coursed through her body like fire. It hurt to breath.

"Here we go!" Paris warned. He punched the controls andVoyager shot forward, heading for two of the four ships at high impulse. At the last minute he dropped the speed by half, dove one thousand kilometers down, and the two Vidiian ships rocketed passed Voyager, unable to react to his strategy fast enough. Then Tom threw the ship forward again, aiming at the opening the two ships had unwittingly created. "Thanks for the break, fellas," he muttered sarcastically. "We're free, Captain!"

Janeway nodded, giving the screen a wolfish grin. "Warp speed, Mr. Paris," she said, a victorious ring in her voice. You almost had us, you leeches, she thought, but not this time. Thanks to Captain Janeway - all of them.

The ship shot forward, impulse engines giving way to the smooth power of the warp drive. "Warp six and holding steady," Paris reported, the grin evident in his tone.

Her discomfort subsided for the moment and she was able to pant, "Good work, Mr. Paris." She turned to Tuvok. "Are they pursuing us?

"No, Captain. They have broken off the attack and are retreating."

"Excellent. But that was a close one." She wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Chakotay grinned at her from across the command level. "You can say that again. There's nothing like a Vidiian ambush at midnight to keep you on your toes."

Tuvok interrupted. "I'm curious, Captain. How did you know of their plan to attack us? And I'm still puzzled about the long range sensors. I find no sign of a malfunction of any kind."

She smiled at him in relief and sighed. "It's a long story, Lieutenant. I'll fill you in later. But for now I'd like the damage report." And after the damage was ascertained, she was heading to Sickbay to visit the doctor. Perhaps the pattern could be broken after all, she thought with an optimistic grin.

"Very well, Captain," Tuvok stated blandly, curbing his curiosity. "Damage to decks five and six. No casualties, only minor injuries. The injured crewmembers have already been escorted to Sickbay. Lieutenant Torres reports the warp coils will require a minor adjustment after our -"

Janeway didn't hear what more Tuvok had to report. A harsh wave of pain darted through her body, stopping her breath, followed by a second, and a third, much more powerful than she had expected. A groan ripped from her lips and she doubled over, falling to her knees with a thud. Not here, not in front of the crew! she thought hazily, hating a show of weakness even in her weakened state. Hot, sticky blood soaked the lower half of her uniform, spreading to the gray carpeted deck under her knees, and she wasn't even sure where it was coming from.

She lifted her palm from where she'd been supporting herself on the floor, and her shaking fingers were covered with blood. She knew this was not something she could handle alone, no matter how much she detested physical deficiencies. She managed to lift her head and, thoughts of the alternate Janeway's advice clouding her mind, she found Chakotay already kneeling beside her. She clenched her teeth and forced herself to speak. "Please... help," she whispered pitifully. Then vertigo encompassed her and she slid into unconsciousness.

Chakotay caught her. He looked down in alarm at the blood stain now spreading onto his uniform. "Tuvok!" he yelled in overwhelming desperation.

The Vulcan vaulted over the Tactical station's railings and landed a few feet from the captain's inert form. "I see no visible wounds or lacerations. My guess is the bleeding is internal. We must get her to Sickbay immediately before she bleeds to death." Two drops of sweat suddenly dotted his upper lip. "Transporter," he said loudly, another indication of his stress, "lock onto Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay and beam them directly to Sickbay." He paused briefly, then said, "Sickbay, medical emergency. Please stand by."

Chakotay turned terrified eyes to Mr. Paris, who was kneeling beside him, helping to support the captain. "Mr. Paris, you have the Bridge."

"Yes, sir," Tom answered smartly, his ashen face showing that he was just as scared as Chakotay.

"Tuvok," the first officer continued, "meet me in Sickbay." He felt a tingle as the transporter locked onto his signal. He tightened his grip on the unmoving form in his arms, and prayed.

Chapter 2 || Contents || Chapter 4