=/\=

NATALIE AND Naomi were trapped in the Prelate’s office. The doors had automatically sealed shut and the escape tunnel was to high up to reach. They were starting to panic. Naomi was frantically trying to turn off the buzzing alarm, which was even more annoying the red alert siren. Natalie was searching the walls for another escape route.

"There has got to be a way out of here!" she cried. "We have to hide!". Naomi shook her head.

"They know we’re in here," she said as Natalie poked around near the couch. She stood up and as she did, she tripped and fell on the lamp. A secret passage way opened next to the table. Natalie looked astonished at her luck. It had been completely sealed before, but now it was wide open and easy access.

"One must be a way to get in, and another out," Natalie said. "Come on!". Naomi rushed over.

"We don’t know where it goes, or who’s on the other side," Naomi replied, hesitantly.

"Do you want to be Borg bacon bits?" she asked, crawling in. Naomi followed, without another word. The two girls crawled on their hands and knees for five minutes before reaching a fork in the road. Natalie looked at both directions, one to the front and one to the left side, but they continued on too far for Natalie to see the ends. "Which way?". Naomi stopped next to her, and examined the options.

"We don’t have much time," she replied. "Pick one." Natalie shrugged and continued in the direction they were already heading in. Soon, they reached a dead end. A large hatch faced them, but Natalie was hesitant to open it.

"What are you waiting for?" Naomi asked. "Open it." Naomi was breathing heavily and closed her eyes, trying to slow her breath down. Natalie looked concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Naomi nodded. "We don’t know what’s on the other side. That Nakari woman and her army on Borg could be on the other side."

"Do you just want to sit here and rot?" Naomi asked. "If you aren’t going to open it, I will." She reached over to the controls and pushed one of the buttons. The hatch slowly opened and revealed a hallway. It was empty. Naomi and Natalie crawled out.

"Oh good," Naomi said. "It’s empty. Come on." Naomi and Natalie hurried through the hallway, staying close to the wall. "We have to contact Voyager. I’m not sure how to do that, but that is what we have to do." They turned a corner. Natalie spotted a computer terminal.

"Naomi, over here," she pointed. "Can you access anything?". Naomi tapped the panel a few times.

"This will be harder," she said. "The panel isn’t as advanced as the computer console, so I won’t be able to directly access the communications systems, but I will be able to send a signal to Voyager if I’m lucky." She pushed a few more buttons. "I think I’ve got it. I sent out a short message, the SOS from Morse Code. Harry should recognize this and it’ll let Voyager know that we’re here." Natalie nodded her head.

"Maybe we should send a longer message," she suggested. "That way Voyager will know we’re safe and that we can help or something." Naomi shook her head, not liking the idea.

"There’s no way to tell if the message would get there," she replied. "I think it’s safer just to send a short message. It’ll be easier to get through any interference." The message was sent without a hitch. Naomi sighed with relief. "Now all we do is wait to see if this will help."

=/\=

"Captain, I’m receiving a transmission from the surface," Harry announced. "It’s coming from inside the structure." Janeway, Chakotay, and Tom both hurried over to Harry’s station.

"What does it say?" she asked impatiently. "Who is it from?". Harry tapped the controls, trying to access the message.

"It’s says SOS," he replied. "Morse code. I’m not sure who it’s from. It doesn’t actually say. Though we have to assume it’s from one of the kids." Janeway sighed, though neither with impatience or satisfaction.

"How much longer before we can transport through the shields?" Chakotay asked.

"Seven and B’Elanna are almost through with making the modifications," Harry replied. "We should be able to transport with in fifteen to twenty minutes."

"That is if the kids can make it that long. We know two of them are running around the structure," Tom piped in. "Too bad we just can’t let them know we’re coming."

=/\=

Natalie and Naomi flew through the halls, two Borgs directly behind them. Up some stairs, around the corner, keep running, look both ways, turn another corner, and run some more. The Borgs were fast runners, and they no doubt had more Borgs just ready to catch them.

"Natalie in here!" Naomi whispered, grabbing Natalie’s wrist and pulling her behind a wall. They both held their breath as the two Borgs ran past the hideaway.

"We have to get back to the cell, Naomi," Natalie whispered. "We’ve been gone long enough, they’re probably freaking out by now." Naomi nodded in agreement and they both carefully and cautiously got out. They tiptoed through the hallways, looking in every direction for Borgs.

"Do you have any idea how to get back?" Naomi asked. Natalie shook her head. "This place is huge. It’ll take forever to find the cell."

=/\=

Little did anyone realize that the remaining part of the group was still working on a way to escape the prison cell. Emily and Noah were busy working on the controls. Andy and Anna were watching for any Borgs, though they seemed strangely scarce in the area. Blake was able to dismantle a power relay and modify it as a crude tricorder, but it only picked up phaser readings. So far he hadn’t detected anything, which led him to believe that Voyager had yet to send a rescue team down. Seth, meanwhile, was looking through more power relays for more enhancers to help build the tricorder.

"When do you think they will get back?" Anna asked. "They’ve been gone for hours at least." Blake shrugged.

"I’m not sure, Anna," he replied. "Why don’t you talk to you Borg pals to see if they’ve assimilated them." Anna glared and attempted to jump on Blake, who was sitting by the wall, but Andy held her back.

"You aren’t going to accomplish anything that way, Anna," Andy said.

"That was rude and uncalled for, Blake," Emily added, hands on her hips. Blake ignored her. Emily scoffed in disbelief.

"This is your fault anyway," Emily shot back. Blake shot his head up. "Yeah, that’s right. If we hadn’t followed you away from the Away Team none of this would have ever happened!". Blake got to his feet.

"If Anna hadn’t touched the stupid piece of equipment they never would have found us," Blake retorted. Emily slapped him on the head, followed by Blake shoving Emily to the floor. Blake was about to kick Emily when Noah jumped in between them.

"Do I have to be the voice of reason here?" Noah practically yelled. "You guys are acting like children. Naomi and Natalie are out there trying to save our butts and you’re in here fighting about whose fault it is. I think you two are a bit ungrateful right about now and I have a mind to leave you here. Do you have any idea what our parents are going through up there? I suggest you guys shut up and get to work." Noah was breathing heavily with anger, and Blake and Emily both looked at their feet like sad little puppies.

"Sorry" they both muttered and went back to work. Suddenly Naomi and Natalie skidded to halt in front of the cell door, on the other side.

"Oh god, we made it," Naomi panted. "We have to get out here, they’re following us." Natalie went over to the control panel and disengaged the force field. The blue shied when down and everyone hurried down the hallway.

"Were you able to contact Voyager?" Blake asked, while they were running. Naomi motioned to follow her down a narrow, abandoned passageway before answering.

"We were inside the communications system, but we were caught," Naomi responded. "Later, we sent Voyager an SOS. Hopefully they’ll send down a rescue team soon." Anna spotted approaching Borg and they hurried down an adjacent hallway.

"We were able to develop a crude tricorder," Emily added. "But it only picks up phaser signatures." Naomi took tricorder and, while they were crouched nearly the wall, examined it. She nodded her approval, but made a few modifications with the buttons.

"The power node isn’t very advanced," she noted. "What did you build this with?".

Blake smiled, "A Borg power relay." Naomi grinned.

"Tuvok’s survival training paid off well," she replied. "No wonder. Borg power relays are enheritantley pathetic in capabilities. This thing will burn out in twenty minutes if we keep it off." Naomi shut it off and it made a soft humming noise as the lights shut off. "Good, come on, let’s see if we can find another access terminal. They seem to run along the main corridors, and from the looks of this", she stared up at the dark and damp hallway, with bits of broken equipment and furniture scattered around, "this is not a main corridor." They continued down and made a left, and found an dusty old terminal, but still in operation.

"This place must be so big that they don’t need all the technology or equipment that comes with it," Seth observed. Naomi opened the terminal, and found that the only thing working was its internal scanners.

"Darn it," she said. "Well, at least we can keep an eye on when a rescue team will transport down. Unfortuantely, we won’t be able to communicate with them once they do."

=/\=

"Done!" B’Elanna shouted as she leaped up for joy. "Torres to Bridge, we’ve finished the modifications and we are in business." Everyone the bridge sighed with the relief and Janeway and Chakotay quickly hugged before getting back to work.

"Good Job, B’Elanna, thank you," Janeway replied. "Harry can you transport through the shields." Harry nodded.

"I can transport, but I’m having trouble locking on to them," he reported. "It’s like I have them and then they’re gone and then they reappear and then the signal is gone again."

"Perhaps the Borg are compensating," Tom hypothesized. "Maybe they can detect that Voyager can transport through our shields." Janeway nodded, thinking. But before Janeway could make her next order, Harry received a transmission from the planet surface. It was the Prelate.

"On screen," Janeway ordered.

"Looks like your children have the same futile determination as yourself, Captain," the Prelate said. "They have escaped from their cell, but mark my words, Captain, they will be found and punished. And you can forget our little compromise as well." She cut off the transmission.

"Harry, find them and fast," Janeway ordered.

"Yes ma’am," Harry acknowledged, his fingers flying over the controls.

=/\=

Down on the planet, Naomi was getting a little impatient with the crew of Voyager. She constantly checked the meek sensor grid which was about as reliable as a waffle iron. Blake and Seth were working on making the tricorder a bit more enhanced using some scrapes of broken down technology lying around. Unfortunately, it really was broken, and most of the power cells burnt out within a few seconds after installation.

"What is taking them so long," Natalie said, leaning against a wall. "Seven and B’Elanna should have been able to work this out by now. They’ve probably done this a hundred times." Natalie crossed her arms and moaned quietly. Then synchronized footsteps echoed down the hall.

=/\=

"I’ve got a solid lock on them, Captain," Harry reported. "Wait, they’re moving. Fast." Janeway looked up.

"What do you mean fast?" she asked.

"I’m detecting two, no six, no eight Borgs following them," Harry replied. "I’m trying to get a lock on them, but I’m having difficulty. The shielding is getting in the way again." Harry was frantically trying to compensate.

"I’m losing it, Captain," he was shouting.

=/\=

Transport to: Table of Contents | Chapter Six