Star Trek Voyager: Fragments

Star Trek Voyager: Fragments (Chapter 12)

A/n: Argh, I think this story has been my most writers block afflicted story ever! (It didn’t help that I accidently deleted “Workforce” from my Sky+ and so couldn’t re-watch it for ideas…) Forgive my horrible updating rate for this and PLEASE REVIEW! :D

“I demand that you help me save Amal!” Annika growled out at Tom and Harry angrily as her glare flickered resentfully between them. “He is our First Officer and we cannot hope to save the rest of the crew without him!” she exclaimed when they didn’t react, the tears in her throat making her normally forceful voice hoarse and broken.

Harry blanched in guilt, badly shaken by the violence with which Amal had been taken away and deeply unnerved by Annika’s behaviour. The same sense of déjà vu and foreknowledge that had been haunting him since he’d met the couple under such strange circumstances told him that her behaviour was uncharacteristic, which made it doubly upsetting to witness. “We’re not saying that we should abandon him Annika…” He began carefully, placing a gentle hand on her quavering shoulder.

Annika visibly flinched at the word “abandon” and shrugged his hand away, replying through gritted teeth, “By suggesting that we continue with our original plan you leave him in the hands of a corrupted police force to do with him as they wish…”

Tom took a deep breath, somehow knowing that he’d need to be blunt with her. Uncompromisingly he grabbed her upper arms and held her firmly against the wall. “You’re being irrational Seven of… I mean Annika.” he told her sharply, watching her face flush as his words sunk in, her throat gulping convulsively. “Amal…Chakotay wouldn’t want us being thrown in jail for his sake, not right now while we need to get more crewmembers on our side to get all of us out of this situation.” He let his tone become more sympathetic as the flaming red blood which had flooded her cheeks in anger and embarrassment drained away, leaving her looking exhausted and white as a ghost, “Listen, if you can get into the computer mainframe with those codes of yours, surely you can check what they’re doing with Chakotay, and Tuvok too?”

“Yes…” Annika murmured quietly, rubbing her pale face with the back of one hand as he stepped back. She flinched slightly when she saw the tears she’d wiped away glittering on the skin of her hand, shame radiated through her pensive features before she shook it off, an expressionless mask settling over her face and hiding the emotional turmoil beneath. “Thank you for restoring my composure Lieutenant.” She muttered to Tom stiffly before setting off in the direction of the power plant at a brisk pace, glancing back at the two of them over her shoulder, “Aren’t you coming?”

“Have you found anything yet?” Tom hissed at Annika and Harry impatiently as he stood guard at the door to Annika’s office.

“It takes time to go through all these personnel records Tom.” Harry reminded him as he bent over the console assisting Annika.

“It will take longer to inform all these people of their situation, their work and life patterns are dissociated…” Annika muttered distractedly as she sifted methodically through all the relevant files she could find.

“Can we really just limit it to our crew?” Harry asked tightly, “They can’t just have started with us; there could be hundreds of others in this same boat, getting their lives erased and reconstructed at will.”

“Of that I have little doubt.” Annika agreed grimly, “But we cannot…” Her breath caught suddenly in her throat and the two men looked over at her worriedly.

“What?” Tom whispered after a moment of silent dread, already made well aware that the information must be bad by the horrified expression on her face.

Annika swallowed hard, bracing herself against the console to stay upright, the very console, she now remembered, that she’d leaned against while Amal had kissed her. Closing her eyes for a second to shut out the sweet but painful memory, she said shakily, “The…The police have lost custody of Amal. He was taken away by…” Her fists clenched in hatred, “Dr Kadan.”