Star Trek Voyager: The Gift

Star Trek Voyager: The Gift 24. Escape One Threat, Fall Into Another

“Seska?” The head Orion gave a bitter laugh as he repeated Chakotay’s shocked whisper, then inclined his ungainly green head to the Tarrellian, who promptly delivered a sharp kick to the kneeling woman’s ribs. The laughter increased in ferocity as Chakotay couldn’t completely hide his wince as he heard bones crack under the Tarrellian’s boot. “So she is one of yours Maquis?” The Orion taunted, stepping over Seska’s crumpled body to come within inches of Chakotay himself. “There’s really no point in denying it…” He snarled directly into Chakotay’s face, flecks of his saliva splattering onto Chakotay’s shirt. “Your little…Bajoran whore here…” He smirked lewdly at Seska before yanking violently on the chains that restrained her to drag her upright, “…was spying on us.” Amusement flickered through his eyes when Chakotay remained silent, “I can see why you chose her, although she’s not particularly skilled. We found her lurking after you within minutes.”

Adrenaline had quickly thawed the shock which had frozen Chakotay’s brain at the sight of Seska and now, as he stood inhaling the Orion’s breath that was even fouler than his words or his spit, he fought to conjure up an escape. In the heat of his initial anger, he’d considered denying knowing her but her panic filled eyes staring at him pleadingly had rendered that option impossible even before the Orion had seen through it. He’d need to talk them both out of this. Before he could say a word however, Seska had twisted around in her chains to glare at the Orion with desperate passion, “It’s not what you think! I was just trying to protect him…” She gasped out hurriedly, “Back him up and get him out of here quicker…”

The Orion man sneered at her as he smacked her hard across the face. To Chakotay’s surprise she took the strike without a sound. “I don’t care if you’re the midwife coming to inform him of his first born son woman!” The Orion snapped, “It was bad idea to come here, a deadly idea!”

“You’re right, it was a bad idea.” Chakotay agreed levelly, trying to ignore Seska’s betrayed expression as he met her eyes over the shoulder of the Orion with a seething glare of warning. “But she’s right about you having the wrong idea about her coming here. All members of my crew were ordered to remain at their posts, an order she ignored without my knowledge.” He continued in as confident a tone as he could possibly project, “We don’t want any trouble, hell, we’ve paid you in full. I’ll take the rest of our purchases and deal with her myself. You have my word we won’t come back to interfere with your…services again.” Chakotay held the leader’s gaze as he stood to his full height, towering over his gaoler, while pushing his fingers discreetly up his sleeve to reach the transporter beacon.

The Orion snorted incredulously as his cronies began to laugh behind him. “What good is the word of a Maquis, especially one who has already betrayed us?”

Chakotay saw him signal ominously to his muscle men as he turned away and, guessing what was coming, slammed the tiny beacon now in his hand onto the final crate of plasma torpedoes and seized Seska’s chains with his other hand as the resulting beam out of the torpedoes brought the chaos he’d anticipated. “Come on!” he hissed at Seska angrily as the guards began to take in the disappearance of the torpedoes and realise what he had done. The leader gave a howl of rage as Chakotay ducked out of the room, dragging Seska out behind him and swinging blindly at his pursuers as he did so. “We have to get out of here now!” he yelled at her as she also tried to fight them off and head for the door at the same time.

“They took my phaser!” Seska panted in frustration as she lashed out despite her wounds.