Star Trek Voyager: Here I Stand

Here I Stand, Part 8

Part 8

                Every breath, every heartbeat, was fire.

                He’d come to consciousness in the grip of a crushing, burning nightmare of pain that would have made him cry out, but for the flames roaring from the middle of his chest, robbing him of breath.

                Suder had meant to kill him.

                Harry almost wished he had.

                He willed himself to be still, to hold his breath, to force down the panic that made his heart beat wildly, sending hot shards of pain along his every nerve.

                He knew he had to stay calm long enough to help himself before he lost consciousness again.

                He seemed to hear Tuvok’s voice in his head. Accept the pain, the voice said. Accept it, experience it, and set it aside.

                And then Chakotay’s voice, more strident than Tuvok’s. Think, Harry. What do you remember? What did you see? What can you tell me?

                There was something wrong with Suder, something that reminded him of Lon, only worse. More cunning, more calculating.

                The weapon he’d used had been like nothing Harry had ever seen before, in this or any quadrant. Larger than a hand phaser but smaller than a compression rifle, it gave off a blinding red light when fired, but very little noise. Cardassian, maybe? Orion? He didn’t know. But Suder had to have gotten it from somewhere. There must be a supplier. The man surely wasn’t acting alone, not with that kind of weapon in his hands. Whatever it was, it was clearly designed to inflict both maximum damage and maximum pain.

                The need to breathe overtook him. Harry closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and inhaled slowly through his nose.

                It was a mistake.

                The filling of his lungs brought with it the return of the unforgiving pain…and the smell of his own charred flesh.

                Bile rose in his throat and he gagged. The spasm sent fire through him once again. This time he did cry out, shocked by the sound of his own ragged voice in the night. An owl hooted in response.

                Delirious with agony, he wondered if there were dangerous animals in these woods. Rattlesnakes? Black bears? And wouldn’t that be ironic? After all he’d experienced in the Delta Quadrant, he would be torn apart by a mountain lion on a deserted highway on Earth.

                He would have laughed at the strangeness of it all, but he suspected it would kill him.

                We’re Starfleet officers, someone had once said to him. Weird is part of the job.

                Someone…

                Janeway.

                She was Suder’s target, not him, not Kayma.

                Kayma.

                Suder had Kayma in his clutches already, and was surely going after the Admiral next.

                That’s what Chakotay needed to know. And he need to know it now.

                Grunting with effort, ignoring the crushing pain, Harry raised his hand and touched his chest where his comm badge should be.