SYMBOLS

CHAPTER 14

"Drop your weapons!" the first Anawin guard yelled.

"Intruders on the bridge," Tuvok reported.

Several officers tried to fire their hand-held phasers at the three red uniformed guards that had entered the bridge, but found the weapons were no longer fully functional and didn't reach their target.

"Halt your fire!" Janeway said. She stepped toward the guard nearest her. "We offer you no further resistance. In return, I expect you to spare my people and to explain your purpose in being here."

"Captain Janeway?" the lead guard checked.

She nodded.

The guard took a couple of steps forward, fired one precise shot from his disrupter and hit the captain in the chest.

Janeway fell to the floor.

"The Captain's down!" Chakotay yelled, quickly kneeling beside her body. He placed his fingers to her neck, while searching her clothes for disrupter burns.

Paris rushed over to join him.

"I'm getting a pulse. She's still alive," Chakotay told Paris.

"She's been heavily stunned," Paris confirmed after double checking her vital signs.

"That is correct," the guard said. "We have no interest in you or your crew."

Chakotay slowly stood up. "Then we don't need any heroes!" He directed at the officers gathered around him. Paris and Kim looked like they were about to lunge at the armed guard that had shot the captain.

Chakotay handed his phaser over to the guard who stood in front of him with his weapon raised and his hand outstretched. He insisted the others do the same.

They had an understanding. The crew would not defy the commander.

"We are here for one purpose only. Our mission is to ensure the penalty for murder is carried out to the very end." The guard sneered deliberately at Kylani and she froze where she stood, while Harry stepped away from the others, edged his way slowly back toward her and placed a protective arm around her waist.

Chakotay silenced the intruder alert still sounding in the background.

"Where is the impure child?" the lead guard asked.

"I can't tell you that," Chakotay replied.

"You will tell me!" the guard raised his fist and struck the commander in the side of the head. Chakotay partially blocked the blow, but still took some of the impact. "You will tell me, or I'll kill you." The guard placed his weapon to the tattoo on Chakotay's forehead and flicked the firing mechanism.

Chakotay stayed silent, remaining still. They were at a deadlock. He would never disclose the location of the child, no matter what the guard did. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Tuvok. The chief of security was subtly maneuvering something under his console. Finally, Chakotay saw him raise the sonic disrupter that Neelix had presented to him earlier - a souvenir Neelix had acquired from his time on the Anawin space station.

The lead guard held Chakotay captive. The remaining two guards had their weapons trained on other bridge officers. Tuvok still hadn't made the presence of his weapon known. The bridge was deathly quiet. No one moved.

"Put down your weapons!" Neelix shouted. His brave yell startled the bridge officers and the guards.

Chakotay stared at the armed Talaxian. He'd faced the Borg, the Vidiians, Species 8472, but nothing scared him more than the sight of Neelix with a phaser compression rifle in his hands and the uncertainty of what might follow.

Tayna was just a few steps behind him.

Neelix aimed his weapon at the guard that held Chakotay hostage. He indicated for Tayna to take a few steps back. He nodded at Kylani.

"Is the Captain alright?" Neelix asked, as he walked closer and stepped over her unmoving body. Chakotay nodded.

"Let him go!" Neelix shouted. He raised his rifle higher and moved closer to the lead guard. The man scowled at him and removed his disrupter from the commander's forehead.

"Now put your hands up where I can see them," Neelix said. The three guards lifted their hands into a recognized position of surrender. Neelix had them crowd together. He held his position, eyes unblinking, teeth clenched and weapon raised, while in the background, Tuvok moved forward with the sonic disrupter in his hands.

Then, as Tom Paris would later describe, all hell broke loose.

Chakotay wasn't sure when he actually caught sight of the weapon. He'd been watching the three guards very closely as they steadily crowded together. But instinctively something inside him had recognized the threat potential in the rapid movement of the nearest guard's hand.

"Tayna, look out!" Chakotay yelled. The child ducked in unison with his loud cry. Weapon fire lanced over the top of her head.

In response, Neelix fired his rifle twice. The shots sounded in quick succession and two of the guards doubled under the impact and fell to the floor. But there was no time for a third shot, before the remaining guard returned fire, and the Talaxian crumpled with a glancing shot to his chest.

"Enough!" the lone guard raged.

The crew jumped, startled by the loudness of the shots and the threatening tone of the guard's voice.

Neelix faltered. He was gasping for breath. Walking slowly backward, he collided with the wall. Within seconds, his eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped to the floor. And all the while, the guard kept his disrupter raised, ready to fire at anyone that moved.

The guard turned in a circle. He was no longer captivated by the turn of events and seemed to realize he was now alone on this assignment. He spotted the little girl. Lifting his sonic disrupter to shoulder height, he targeted Tayna.

Chakotay saw Kylani move away from Harry's protective embrace. She walked forward, still composed, with her gaze not shifting from the guard, and then she began to speak.

"Do you recognize me? My name is Kylanina. I am a member of the Dimar. The one chosen to protect this child."

Kylani stepped in front of the guard. Now she had his attention. Her stare was unflinching. Steadily, she edged forward, sliding in between the weapon and Tayna. The disrupter was so close to her.

"Though you seek to destroy us and silence all that we believe in, the Dimar will never be silent and will continue to protect and defend our own."

The guard huffed and tightened his grip on the disrupter.

"Young lady, today, you and I will both face our Supreme Creator."

He licked his lips, and Kylani released the breath she was holding.