Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me.

A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.

Chapter 13

"Ensign Baytart, take the helm and lay in a course to follow the coordinates as transmitted." Janeway said in a resigned and tired voice as she sank into her command chair. She rubbed at the headache pounding in her temples. The shuttle was gone. Three crewmembers were gone with it. The Kazon and Romulan officers were holding her ship captive. If they didn't follow the instructions, her crew would all be taken prisoner. Kazon prisons were notorious for cruelty and the Romulans were no better.

An uneasy silence permeated the bridge as the shaken officers tried to comprehend what they had seen. Romulans in the Delta Quadrant. The shuttle with three of their comrades was gone and Voyager was now at the mercy of a more powerful ship.

Chakotay leaned towards the Captain and touched her arm to get her attention. "Repair crews are working on the shields and should have them back to maximum within three hours." he stated quietly with a sympathetic look on his face. He knew how protective she was of all of her crewmembers.

Janeway gazed out the main viewport, still in shock at the loss of the shuttle. "Even then, our weapons are still not at full strength and warp drive is off-line. We need to find the shuttle with Tom and the others." her voice barely above a whisper. She patted his hand and rose from the chair. "Mr. Tuvok, you have the bridge. We'll be in Astrometrics." she indicated that Chakotay join her as she headed for the turbolift.

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A slight moan was heard from the floor of the shuttle as emergency lighting bathed the interior in pale blue light. Tom pushed himself into a sitting position and shook his head to clear it. He pulled open a storage bin and reached in for a medkit. Taking the tricorder, he slid over to Morrow and began to scan him for injuries. "You'll be OK. Just a few cracked ribs and a gash on your temple." he assured the frightened crewman.

"Get the hell away from him!" Darwin shouted as he grabbed Tom by his jacket and hauled him to his feet. Although Tom was a good two inches taller than him, Darwin had more weight to his advantage. He rammed Tom against the bulkhead and Tom winced in pain as he felt the bones in his right forearm snap. He slumped to the floor of the shuttle and clutched the injured arm to his chest.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I'm trying to help him." Tom muttered at Darwin. He tried to push into standing but stumbled as the shuttle shifted.

"You've helped enough, traitor. If it wasn't for you we wouldn't be here at all." Darwin's deep voice cut through the air. He advanced towards Tom with hate on his face.

Tom's eyes widened in recognition. It was Frank's voice he had heard that night outside the Jeffries tube. Frank had been there when he was attacked. Tom remembered hearing Frank order someone to hold his arms behind his back. Was that someone James Morrow? "W..what did I do? Why......?"

Tom's questions were cut off when the shuttle's hatch was struck by weapons fire. Frank spun around and grabbed his phaser. Tom pulled himself to standing and headed for the communications console. "I'll try to send a message to Voyager." he said. Tom glanced towards James Morrow who was trying to get up into a sitting position. "Morrow, get your phaser out. We'll try to stall them as long as possible."

Frank turned and faced the rear of the shuttle, phaser drawn. He could hear voices from outside as the hatch began to open. Three Romulan soldiers appeared with disruptor rifles in their hands.

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The Captain and Chakotay left the turbolift and headed for Astrometrics. Seven was tapping coordinates into the main console as they entered.

"Captain, Commander, I may have located the shuttle. There's a small moon orbiting an M-Class planet four light years from here. A Romulan vapor trail appears at 1.4 light years from the moon's surface. They may have been pulled in by the planet's gravitational pull and crashed on the moon."

"How soon until we get close enough to scan for signs of the shuttle?" Janeway asked in a weary voice. Maybe they would find their missing crewmen.

"We would need to be at least two light years closer but the moon is not along the path of the coordinates transmitted from the Kazon ship." Seven replied as she projected the ship's path on the main screen.

"As we get closer, perhaps we could try to deviate from the path long enough to scan for the shuttle." Chakotay suggested. He was also concerned about the three crewmen since The Captain had informed him of her conversation with Dalby. He was aware of the danger that Tom was in since he was apparently with the two men who had attacked him.

Suddenly, the red alert klaxons began to blare. "Janeway to the bridge. What the hell is going on now?"

"Captain, another Kazon ship has appeared and they are firing on the first ship." Tuvok's voice, although calm, held a note of puzzlement.

"We'll be right there. Captain out." Janeway and Chakotay turned for the exit. "Seven. continue to try to scan for any signs of the shuttle."

"Of course, Captain." Seven replied as the command team left Astrometrics.

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The main viewscreen lit up with weapon's fire as the two Kazon ships circled each other. Voyager was temporarily ignored in the clash. "Captain to Astrometrics." Janeway eyed the two ships.

"Yes, Captain." Seven's voice came through the comm system.

"Transmit the coordinates of that moon to the helm." Janeway ordered. While the two Kazon ships were occupied with each other she planned to slip away and find their lost shuttle.

"Captain, the two Kazon ships are powering up their weapons systems." Harry announced suddenly.

Janeway looked at the viewport to see the first ship hit with photon torpedo blasts. It fired back but was clearly no match. Voyager rocked from the shock waves. Suddenly, the first ship exploded in a huge ball of fire. The bridge crew looked on in shock.

"Captain, we are being hailed. Audio only." Harry stated.

"Open a channel, Ensign." Janeway ordered.

"Federation, prepare to be boarded." the familiar voice of a Kazon came over the comm system.

Janeway glanced at her first officer with a confused look on her face. Chakotay recognized the voice and motioned to Harry to cut the sound. "Captain, if I may?" he asked. She nodded her head and signaled Harry to open the link again. "Kazon ship, this is Commander Chakotay from the Federation Starship Voyager."

The starscape was abruptly replaced with the bridge of the Kazon ship. Three men were seen with a younger man to the left of the screen. He repeated his earlier command. "You are our enemy. Prepare to be boarded."

"Kar, it's good to see you are well." Chakotay gave the young man a small smile.

"I am Jal Kardane Razik, Federation. You were warned that the next time I met you I would kill you." He straightened to his full height and glared at Chakotay.

"Silence, Kar!" snapped the Kazon in the center of the screen. "We have no conflict with the Federation vessel." he turned to the viewscreen. "I am First Maj Halize."

"Yes, Maj, I recall meeting you." Janeway replied. "I would like an explanation. What are Kazon ships doing in this sector of the quadrant and why were Romulan soldiers aboard?"

The Maj rose from his chair and approached the screen. "We have been following their ship for many days. The Romulan Warbird was also drawn into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker. Maj Goral was able to adapt the cloaking technology from the Warbird which made it difficult to track them They attacked our encampment and many were killed. We have sought our revenge. Our mission here is completed."

"But First Maj......" Kar began, but was cut off.

"Quiet!" Halize ordered. "The Federation saved your life and enabled you to earn a name." he glared at Kar. "We will leave you now but if we are to meet again it will be as enemies." the transmission was abruptly cut off.

Janeway let out the breath she had been holding and turned to the helm. "Ensign, please continue to the coordinates for the moon. It's time to find our shuttle." she said as she lowered herself back into her command chair.

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The Romulans raised their disruptor rifles, aiming at Frank and Tom. "Get away from the controls. You are our prisoners. You will come with us now." the first Romulan ordered as he pointed his weapon at Frank.

"You won't take me. I'll be damned if I'm going to one of your prisons." Frank yelled.

"Darwin, stand down. That's an order." Tom shouted as Frank raised his phaser and lunged at the first soldier. The Romulan fired at Frank, hit him in his chest and he fell to the floor.

Tom turned back to the communication console and attempted to send out a warning beacon. The Romulan lowered his weapon at the console and fired. The console exploded in a blast of sparks sending Tom flying across the shuttle and slamming into the far bulkhead.

Morrow dropped his phaser, struggled to his feet, and raised both hands in surrender. He looked to Darwin and knew that he was already dead. He then turned to Tom who was crumpled against the bulkhead. He could see burns on his uniform jacket and how deathly still he lay.

"Bring him." the soldier ordered his companions as he motioned Morrow to precede him out of the shuttle. The other two Romulans hauled Tom to his feet and dragged him out of the shuttle.

TBC