The next couple of weeks were not exactly quiet, but nothing that the Voyager and the Fae Dragon couldn't handle. The Kazon-Relora, with half a dozen ships, attempted to attack the Voyager, but we were able to make them retreat quickly once our ship was added into the exchange. We packed the same punch as the Voyager but were far more maneuverable. Between Raven's excellent flying and Echo's accuracy with the weapon system, we barely used any of the ship's energy on defense and the entire dogfight was over in fifteen minutes with all of the Kazon ships left disabled.
When Janeway had ordered us to return instead of wiping out the Kazon ships, Echo had a problem with it. It was easy to understand; why spare an enemy that could attack us later? Unfortunately, that was just how the Federation worked. All life was important, which meant, no killing unless it was absolutely needed. Considering that Seska was still locked up in the brig, the idea of leaving potential enemies behind made me uncomfortable, but there was also a part of me that was happy to not have to kill. So much of my time in 'The 100' had been tainted with all the blood I had spilt, so it was refreshing to leave an opponent alive. They might come back and try to bite me, but we had overpowered them with ease, so what danger could they pose in the future?
For a moment, or for days, I could be lost in the fantasy of Star Trek: Voyager and just live my life within this world, but then an episode would pop up, and I would find myself at the center of the drama. I had been working in the Aeroponics Bay, helping everything grow faster with my power. It was very relaxing to sit in the center of the room, meditating and listening to the plants 'hum' with energy.
"Chakotay to Rebecca," my comm badge chimed, waking me from my trance.
"Yes, Commander?" I replied.
"Can you meet us in Transporter Room Two for an away mission?" he asked.
"Of course, sir," I agreed.
I stood up and stretched. I left the room and headed for the nearest turbo lift. By the time I reached Transporter Room Two, Chakotay, Tuvok, Harry, and Echo, with Nyka laying across her shoulders, were already waiting on me.
"So, what's the mission?" I asked as Echo passed me a phaser.
"Torres, Paris, and Durst were examining some magnesite formations in a cave system on the planet, but they didn't return to the beam in coordinates. Apparently, there have been a number of geologic shifts and the tunnels have completely changed in places, so there is a chance that they are stuck or lost somewhere. Thankfully, with you two around, it shouldn't be too hard to find them," Chakotay explained.
I did my best to keep my face neutral, but it was clear that I had done a poor job as all four of them looked at me with curiosity. For most episodes, I would need some clues to figure out which one it was, but there were impactful ones like Seska's betrayal and then there were ones that centered around my favorite characters. The acting in this one may not have been the best, but I loved B'Elanna in the show, and in this episode, there were two.
"What is it?" Chakotay asked.
"A bad feeling, a very bad feeling," I replied, realizing that B'Elanna, Tom, and Durst were already captured, and Durst would be killed soon if we did not hurry. "The away team is in a lot of danger."
Chakotay understood my subtle look towards the transporter operator and said, "You're dismissed, crewman."
"Yes, sir," she agreed and then headed for the door.
"Chakotay to Janeway. Can you join us in the transporter room? There has been a development," Chakotay asked, tapping his badge.
"Understood," Janeway replied.
"How sure are you?" Chakotay asked.
"If Seska was eighty percent, then this is ninety-nine percent," I answered.
"You knew about Seska?" Harry questioned with surprise.
"I knew that she wasn't Bajoran and that she was hiding something bigger, but without any proof other than my instincts," I explained. "You can't really condemn a person with just that, but thankfully, she underestimated my abilities and outright confessed since she believed that she could escape."
"The deflected transporter beam... Of course, you did it once before on that asteroid," Harry agreed, remembering the away mission.
I nodded my head in agreement. Janeway walked in a moment later and sighed as she drew closer.
"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this?" Janeway asked.
"Because you're not. Tell me, have you had the displeasure of meeting a race known as the Vidiians?" I asked in reply.
"Yes, actually... Maybe a week before you joined us, we were lured into a trap of sorts, and they stole Neelix's lungs," Janeway answered.
"Then I'm sure that you know about their ability to disguise their force fields. Those tunnels didn't just shift because of tectonic activity. This is a Vidiian mining operation, and the tunnel change was them reconfiguring their shields. By now, Tom, B'Elanna, and Pete are captured and if we don't move quickly, one, possibly two, will be killed."
"Chiporofita?" Janeway asked with a sigh.
"And a recent one," I agreed with a nod. "I've warned you that these visions can change the more that 'we' are involved, but by the time that you can use conventual means to get inside, one will already be dead."
"What do you have in mind then?" Janeway asked.
"Let me take my group down and we will bring down their shields one way or another. I'm hoping that we can slip through with one of our abilities and then it would be a stealth operation to secure our crew members before bringing down the shield. If we can't, I can signal you to be on standby and I'll bring down the force field by destroying it."
"You have no information on how strong their shield is. How can you be sure that you can destroy it?" Tuvok asked.
"I have two methods," I said as violet sparks danced between my fingers on the hand I held up, "by force or siphon. I have the strength to break the Voyager's shields in a single, direct contact attack. If that isn't enough, I've also taught myself how to drain off the energy of a force field, but the danger with that is that I will have to burn off that energy quickly. Even if I need to also use the second method, the chances that they would start executing prisoners as soon as their shields are attacked are significantly low."
"You can break the Voyager's shield by yourself?" Janeway asked with disbelief.
"I can, but I would end up unconscious for a week or two if I couldn't drain energy off of something. With Katye's help, I can launch the attack and then turn to drain the shield if needed to and lessen the damage to myself. I still might need the next few days off, but you should be able to lock onto any human or Klingon signatures before the Vidiians would turn on their prisoners. Even if you can't transport the four of us out immediately, I'm confident that Katye, Echo, and Raven could defend me until you can grab us."
Janeway sighed and looked between Chakotay and Tuvok then tapped her comm badge. "Janeway to Katye and Raven. Please report to Transporter Room Two, immediately."
"Yes, Captain," their replies came a moment apart.
"I still want Chakotay and Tuvok to come with you. We need to set up some subspace transponders to help get around the dense magnesite formations in the planet's crust," Janeway instructed.
"Of course, but my main idea to slip past their shield can only be done by the four of us, unless someone wants to be branded with my energy which would allow me to track them no matter the distance between us; not to mention the realm that we move through isn't an inviting place, right, Echo?"
"An understatement to say the least," Echo agreed, scratching Nyka's ears.
"That's fine; I understand. If you are able to get past their shield, they can beam back up to the ship and we will wait for your signal," Janeway replied.
"Thank you, Captain," I replied as Raven and Katye, with Filigree on her shoulder, walked in.
"Well, looks like you owe me five crystals," Katye chuckled to Raven.
"Fine, I'll pay you when we get back," Raven huffed. "So, what doom and gloom are we trying to stop this time?"
I sighed, shaking my head, and replied, "B'Elanna, Tom, and Pete have been captured by the Vidiians, so we need to rescue them before they are hurt or killed."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't think it was..." Raven started with a deflated tone.
"I know, but we need to get moving," I said, gently. "Also, Filigree, you should stay here. I'm hoping that we can travel through the Yin Realm to get past the shield, so you wouldn't be able to follow."
"But..." Filigree started.
"No 'buts', little one. I promised to keep you safe, and this will be dangerous. At your current level of strength, a phaser set to stun could kill you. I'm sure Kes or Neelix would be happy to stay with you, or you can go back to the shuttle," Katye said, plucking the pixie off her shoulder and placing her down on her palm.
The pixie pouted but nodded her head anyways. She then fluttered her wings and flew off, heading out of the room. I walked over to a locker and grabbed two more phasers before handing them over to Raven and Katye. The six of us moved into position on the transporter pad while Janeway and Harry headed to the console.
"I'm trusting you, Rebecca," Janeway said.
"I understand, Captain. I promise nothing but my best," I replied.
She nodded and said, "Energizing."
We were beamed down to the planet, inside a cavern with multiple tunnels branching off in direction. Both Katye and I spread out our Earth Domains while Chakotay, Tuvok, and Echo turned on their wrist lights. It was still extremely dark, so I conjured a ball of white fire and Willed it to float above our heads; there was still a limit to how much it could light up, but every little bit helped.
Chakotay and Tuvok pulled out their tricorders and started scanning. Nyka hopped off of Echo's shoulder and sniffed the air a few times before giving a soft bark. The little fox started walking towards a particular path and Echo followed behind without a word. Katye, Raven, and I all shared a look since no one, but Echo, could understand the fox, but we had all grown used to the absurdity that accompanied our powers, so we just followed as well. Without any other option, Chakotay and Tuvok took up the rear.
"There might be a patrol, so just seal off the tunnel between us and them if you sense them first," I warned.
"Got it," Katye agreed.
We walked for a while, but eventually, the edge of the shielding was discovered by both Katye's and my Domains brushing upon it. It was also about the time that we found four people moving into our direction, but I blocked off the path before they could get close. That would cause confusion with the Vidiians when they found the dead end, of course, but magic was not really a thing in this universe, so it should not alert them to our plan.
Nyka barked again, staring at a section of wall that I already knew was a disguised portion of the Vidiian shield, and Echo translated, "She says that their trail goes through the wall."
"It's the shield, not true rock," I confirmed. "Give me a moment and I'll test if I can get past it."
"Why you?" Katye asked, annoyed.
"Physically stronger and you have a pixie linked to you. I just need two minutes," I retorted, before activating my Shadow Skin spell, followed by my Void Walk spell, before she could argue any further.
The world shifted into shades of black and deep blue as I was drawn into the Yin Realm, formally known as the Shadow Realm. Most of Katye's and my original powers were based off of stories that Tori told us in our original lives and Shadow based abilities were hers first before she helped me learn them. She was stronger than me with the Yin element, and probably even the Yang thanks to Filigree, but I was still stronger than her overall, plus my protectiveness towards all of them was just like a Dragon protecting its hoard.
In this world, Katye's body was dyed blue, since she had undergone the Naru Darc trial as I had. Chakotay was a lump of golden light while Tuvok was similar with a slightly greenish hue. It was Raven and Echo who were different this time, but considering that they had mana that they could control this time, it was not surprising. Raven's body had threads of maroon that looked like veins running through the golden form and Echo was similar, though hers were icy blue. Aside from the people around me, there was a muddy blue-green wall that cut through the stone which had to be the shield.
I walked up to it and placed a hand against it. I could feel traces of Lightning mana, but it was thinned out by Yin mana because I was in the realm. Using a combination of the two energies, I coated my arm in them and pushed it through the barrier. It ate up nearly twice the amount of mana that it normally used to move through the Yin Realm, but I was still able to slip through and back out. I exited the realm, and my girls all looked in my direction, sensing my return.
"It looks like we can slip past the shield," I said.
"That's good then," Chakotay replied with a nod then tapped his comm badge. "Chakotay to Janeway."
"Go ahead, Commander," Janeway's voice came through the badge.
"We've found the Vidiian shield, and Rebecca is able to move through it."
"Alright. Rebecca, do you need anything else from us?" Janeway asked.
"No, Captain. Just give us some time and keep an eye on this area," I answered.
"Alright; Chakotay and Tuvok, prepare to beam back to the Voyager."
"Understood, Captain," Chakotay acknowledged. "Good luck."
"Thanks, Commander, we'll get our people back," I replied.
He gave me a nod with a slight smile of encouragement, before he and Tuvok were transported away. I let out a sigh of relief since I no longer had to be careful with what I said or did, but that made Katye chuckle. I shot her a glare, but she simply shrugged her shoulders.
"Don't act like you don't enjoy playing the hero. I know things are serious, but it's not like you haven't stopped to take a relaxing breath before," Katye remarked with a smirk.
I sighed and nodded my head with a light smile. "You're right, as usual. We had already fought Mount Weather and Echo and I were playing double agent in Azgeda after this this much time. There were more than ten times the number of lives resting on our shoulders than all of the Voyager crew put together."
She chuckled as she moved closer to me and kissed my cheek before she teased, "Say it again."
"You're right," I said, rolling my eyes.
"It's good to see that Captain's rank hasn't gone to your head. You ready, Echo?" Katye asked.
Echo picked up Nyka, and the small fox turned translucent before Echo seemed to absorb her energy. She held out a hand to Katye which Katye took and then pulled both of them into the Yin Realm. Raven walked over to me with a smile, and I took her hand, drawing her into the dark world. It was time to save our friends and kick a little butt while we were at it.