Atonement (11 page)

“Seal
the doors to this chamber,” Lsia ordered Veelo, who moved immediately to obey. To Janeway, she said, “If this ship is destroyed you will die. We will not.”

“The moment I agreed to turn myself over to you, I figured my odds of surviving this were long. On the off chance I miscalculated, tell me why you've done this. Tell me what you want, and I will do whatever I can to help you if we all survive the next few minutes.”

The clatter of weapons firing at the chamber door was added to the symphony of regular percussive booms followed by continued bucking of the deck.

Lsia smiled sadly. “Would you believe me if I told you that we just want to go home?”

THIRD CALVERT

Ranking General Mattings usually preferred bloodless victories. Today was an exception to that rule.

His forces had been humiliated by the
Kinara
. For that, the
Kinara
must burn. He could not argue with their tactics. Withholding their most powerful vessel, the
Scion,
until the fight was well under way was a dangerous choice, but it had worked to the
Kinara
's advantage.

Once.

Now that the CIF had all the requisite intel at their disposal, grinding the
Kinara
to dust was a simple matter of the appropriate allocation of resources.

A sight I hunger to see.

As his third detachment moved into formation to attack the
Scion
, her cannons rotated and opened fire.

On the
Manticle.

“Sweet Source at sundown,” Mattings cursed. “JP Mantz, order the second detachment to protect the
Manticle.
Encrypted transmission to LG Swenn. Destroy the
Scion.
”

“It looks to me like he's already trying,” Captain Chakotay noted.

Mattings focused his attention on the quadrant of his screen that showed the third detachment flying close target runs around the
Scion
like a swarm of
gnetz.
Her shields had yet to show any weaknesses, but that would change soon enough.

He hoped.

Quadrant one of his display showed the
Lightcarrier
and
Denizen
now trading fire with the Turei and Vaadwaur vessels who had departed their post at the Gateway. The latter were about to lose that engagement. The remaining two quadrants showed a flurry of fire between the CIF and the ships flanking the
Manticle
, and the cordon of vessels surrounding the Federation ships, far from the center of battle.

“General,” a voice called from tactical.

“Report, JC Leveti.”

“The
Scion
is—”

But before he could finish Mattings watched as the massive Voth ship cleared a path by ramming its way through the CIF line, accelerating as it moved toward the
Manticle.

“Order the fourth detachment to take the three unID'd moving on the
Manticle
's flank. Send the fifth to help LG Swenn.”

A small explosion along the
Manticle
's rear propulsion array caught the general's eye.

“Captain Chakotay, I swore to rescue your admiral, but she hasn't made my job any easier.”

“She does that a lot,” Chakotay noted.

As the deck began to vibrate, Mattings instinctively grabbed the edge of his control panel. A sharp crack indicated their shields had just taken a beating, but most of the status bars glowed gold with only a few edging into the orange.

“The Turei and Vaadwaur ships have been destroyed, sir,” Leveti reported.

Mattings watched as five of his finest moved to intercept the
Lightcarrier.
The
Denizen
was belching flame from her underbelly, her course erratic.

“The
Lightcarrier
is trying to flee, sir,” Leveti said.

“Let them go,” Chakotay suggested.

“I
don't think so, Captain,” Mattings replied.

“That was Rigger Meeml's ship,” Chakotay insisted. “His men just watched him die. The rest of his people should be told what happened here.”

“When his ship never returns home, his family and friends can assume the worst,” Mattings said.

“You don't know yet how many more ships they might have or
who
is really controlling them. It looks to me like the original
Kinara
members are attacking their newest allies, the ones we know were compromised by Meegan. They're
helping you
. A gesture of goodwill could go a long way toward making future negotiations easier. They don't have to be your enemy.”

Mattings sighed. Vengeance was one thing. But Chakotay had a point.

“Let the
Lightcarrier
go,” Mattings ordered.

“Now, hail the
Manticle,
” Chakotay offered.

“I don't want to talk to them,” Mattings replied. “I'll save their sorry backs for the sake of your admiral, but that's as much courtesy as I can possibly extend right now.”

“May I?” Chakotay asked.

“It's your breath to waste, Captain.”

Chakotay looked about the command center of the
Calvert.
Mattings obliged him by ordering Mantz to contact the
Manticle.

“The Gateway has been cleared of enemy ships, General,” Leveti advised. “The
Denizen
has been destroyed.”

“Have those detachments fall back. What monster forged the alloys of the
Scion?
” he asked.

“No response from the
Manticle,
” Mattings heard his communications officer confirm. This didn't surprise him. Mattings wondered if it surprised Chakotay.

A single Devore vessel was all that remained now of the
Kinara,
apart from the
Scion
and
Manticle.
The space between the two larger ships was filled with two CIF detachments making slow but steady progress. Several weak areas had finally begun to show in the
Scion
's shields and his men were exploiting them mercilessly.

“Another direct hit on the
Manticle
,” Leveti reported. “Her
shield strength is below one-half. The other Devore vessel has been destroyed.”

Finally, a huge burst of green flame shot up from the aft section of the
Scion.

“It's about damn time,” Mattings said.

Suddenly, perhaps cognizant of the futility of her efforts, the
Scion
accelerated, passing the
Manticle
and clearing a path through her CIF attackers. She seemed to shudder momentarily before engaging her faster-than-light propulsion unit. Her body appeared to elongate before she vanished before the general's eyes. A number of CIF vessels caught in the resulting shockwave tumbled out of control like falling stars.

“Order the second through fifth detachments to stand down with my gratitude and compliments,” Mattings said. “Order the first to surround the
Manticle.
”

“General, the
Manticle
is signaling her surrender and requesting parlay.”

“Tell them to drop whatever is left of their shields, take all of their weapons offline, and prepare to be boarded.” To Chakotay he said, “Let's go get your admiral.”

MANTICLE

The door was sturdier than it looked. The internal seals Veelo had activated showed no signs of weakening as the sounds of disruptors and pounding continued. Admiral Janeway had moved toward the far side of the platform and taken hold of it as the ship rocked and bucked, tossed about by the waves of enemy fire now loosed upon her.

Lsia remained near her with enviable sea legs. The ship's motion did not appear to disturb her at all. Emem, Veelo, and Dhina had formed a tight semicircle near the door, their weapons raised, ready to attack the first person to breach the door.

“You said you wished to help us, Admiral,” Lsia said softly. “Is that still true?”

“I suppose it depends on who comes through that door,”
Janeway replied. “You led the Devore, the Turei, the Vaadwaur, and the Voth here under false pretenses. You may need to answer to them for that.”

“You understand that
we can't die
. They can kill these forms and if they do, we will simply choose others.”

“Solving nothing,” Janeway agreed bitterly.

“You wanted to end this without further bloodshed. This is your chance.”

Janeway looked to the others.

“Hand over your weapons, and I'll see what I can do,” Janeway said.

Lsia nodded, and moved to collect her companions' sidearms. Kashyk was the last to surrender his, and did so grudgingly.

“One more question,” Janeway said.

“Yes?”

“You took seven canisters from the Neyser. By my count, four remain. Where are they?”

“Three,” Lsia corrected her. “Sipho, Ruscho, and Phiel remain contained. The fourth, Xolani, was lost when I first attempted to release him. I fear he never survived the transfer from his last form into containment.”

“Are they on board the
Manticle?
”

Lsia paused, then said, “I left them on an asteroid.”

“Near New Talax,” Janeway said, smiling faintly in anticipation of her next conversation with Lieutenant Barclay and making a mental note to add a commendation to his file.

“Yes,” Lsia confirmed.

“Take cover,” Janeway suggested as she moved to stand alone directly in front of the door.

•   •   •   •   •

Chakotay knew that transport via protector was completely safe. That didn't mean he enjoyed it. He could only manage to keep his stomach calm as he moved through open space by keeping his eyes focused on his boots and extending his arms out to the sides, allowing his fingers to graze the edges of the wave form that was carrying him.

After a few unsettling minutes of travel, he found himself inside a large shuttlebay. An old acquaintance awaited his party, flanked by four men. It was the first time Chakotay had ever seen any Devore officers unarmed.

General Mattings and six of his security officers were already standing on the deck when Chakotay's protector released him.

“Commander Chakotay?” the lead Devore officer greeted him.

“It's captain now, Mister Pratt.”

Pratt was a portly man, well past his prime. He had taken more pleasure than most of his counterparts in petty humiliations during Devore inspections. Chakotay might have relished seeing him like this, his uniform scorched and blood trickling down the side of his face, had he not been conscious of how much now depended upon Pratt's goodwill.

“Captain,” Pratt said.

“This is Ranking General Mattings of the Confederacy Interstellar Fleet's
Third Calvert.
His was one of many ships that just risked themselves to protect the
Manticle.
”

“I suppose you want our thanks?” Pratt sneered.

“That won't be necessary,” Mattings replied. “Where is Admiral Janeway?”

“The tribunal chamber was sealed from the inside just after hostilities began. My men are trying to force the door now.”

“Is she still alive?” Chakotay asked.

“We believe so.”

“And the others?”

“I've known for months that something was wrong with Kashyk,” Pratt said. “His obsession with this alliance was completely out of character, despite the possible benefits. It's good to know now that I wasn't wrong.”

“Is
he
still alive?” Chakotay demanded harshly.

“Just as long as the door holds,” Pratt replied.

“We need to move now, General,” Chakotay said, starting toward the bay doors. “Mister Pratt, order your men to hold their fire if they breach the chamber before we get there. We aren't certain, but
we believe that the Neyser consciousness that took your inspector is capable of transferring itself to anyone it wishes. Killing Kashyk and the other officers they took will only result in additional loss of life.”

“Does the general intend to let us live once you have secured the admiral?” Pratt asked, expending serious effort to keep pace with Chakotay.

“Every time you speak, I find that I am less inclined in that direction,” Mattings replied.

Pratt nodded, started to speak again, and thought better of it.

•   •   •   •   •

The constant pounding on the door had become so regular it was shocking when it finally ceased. The silence came just a few minutes after the ship stopped shaking around them. The battle was clearly over but Admiral Janeway had no idea who had won.

A crackle of static over the room's comm system preceded the sound of a voice Janeway remembered almost as well as Kashyk's.

“This is Adjunct Inspector Pratt of the Devore Imperium. We have surrendered to the Commander of the Confederacy Interstellar Fleet and are assured that the survival of every life-form within the chamber and aboard this ship is contingent upon the condition of Admiral Kathryn Janeway. For all our sakes, I hope you people are wiser than I believe you to be.”

“Mister Pratt,” Janeway said, hoping he could hear her.

“
Admiral Janeway, is that you?”

“Yes.”

“Can you release the door?”

Janeway looked to Lsia, who nodded to Veelo.

As Veelo released the interior seals Janeway said, “Advise your officers to keep their weapons down when they enter.”

“Is the chamber secure?”
Pratt asked.

“It is,” Janeway replied.

•   •   •   •   •

Finally, the doors slid open. General Mattings entered first, Chakotay a few steps behind with his phaser low. They were followed by four of the general's men. Two more remained outside, their weapons trained on Pratt and his officers.