Here He Comes To Save The Day!

Here he comes to save the day!
Ruth — 13 Oct 1998, 5:11 PM

[Okay, wrong cartoon. I'm not sure where this fits in the time line; probably after Jules' posse. I'll do some checking before I finish this.]

B'Elanna tried to quell the tide of panic she felt swelling within her. She strained, trying to find the power, the flexibility, the correct position, anything that would help her reach into her boot and grab her key to freedom.

Her knife.

Try as she might, however, she couldn't get her hand closer than six inches to the top of the boot where she kept her knife. Frustrated, she relaxed, tears of frustration swelling in her eyes. She tried to calm herself and listen, straining to hear the sound of an approaching train.

The one that would kill her. She was tied with a rope to the tracks like the heroine of one of those melodrama's the Rockefeller's were always showing down at the Opera House.

Just then, B'Elanna heard something. But it wasn't a train. It was a horse! Maybe it was Tom or her father! She looked expectantly as a horse and rider came up over the bluff that ran parallel to the tracks. But it wasn't anyone from the Delta Q. It wasn't anyone she had ever seen before.

This man wore a brilliant scarlet jacket, a uniform of some kind. His pants were crisp and black, with a yellow stripe running down each leg. His calves and feet were covered with brown boots that looked freshly polished. He wore a wide brimmed hat. And, despite the fact that it was hot and dusty, he looked clean and cool, without a speck of dust or drop of sweat on his splendid person.

The rider saw B'Elanna, but did not, as she might have expected, give any outward display of surprise. Perhaps where he came from, she thought, finding women tied to railroad tracks was a common occurrence.

The man rode closer, then dismounted. He tugged at the scarlet jacket to straighten it, took off his hat, and said, "May I be of assistance, miss....?" She assumed he wanted to know her name, and wondered how he could have failed to notice the gag she had in her mouth. Still, he was so gorgeous, she felt she had to try and help him. He had short cropped brown hair, and lovely eyes. And that mouth.

He really is the most beautiful man I've ever seen, she thought. Then she remembered Tom. And Ayala. And that McQueen guy that Clare Darrow was always mooning about. Even her father had caught the eye of several Voyager City ladies, she knew.

She shook her head. The sun must be getting to her, and the nice young man was still looking at her expectantly. Through her gag she said, "Bell-A-Horrezzz."

The man smiled. "Ah, Belle. Lovely name. Reminds me of a girl I knew back in Canada. Sweet Nell. We were very close. She named her first child after my horse."

B'Elanna just stared at him for a moment, and then lowered her eyes so she was looking down toward the gag, and said, "esscuze me."

The young man, went, "ah, yes," and with some difficulty and apparent embarrassment at having to touch B'Elanna's person, he managed to undo the knot in the gag and get it out of her mouth.

"Thanks." She rasped. "Say, are you one of those dancers? Sue Z. Cue went to one of those shows in Federation City, and she said one of them dressed like a Mountie."

The handsome young man looked a little perplexed. "I am a patron of the arts, and I have been known to attend the occasional square dance. Further, back home I spent some time learning the traditional dances of the Inuit people, but that is not how I make my living." He suddenly looked chagrined, "Oh dear. Where are my manners. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Constable Benton Fraser of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police."

Here he comes to save the day! part 2
Ruth — 15 Oct 1998, 10:52 AM

"Nice to meet you, Constable Fraser. Aren't you a little far from home?," B'Elanna asked.

"I am currently serving as N.W.M.P. Liaison Officer with the Canadian Consulate in Federation City. The ambassador heard about the recent crime wave in Voyager City, and he asked me to come here to investigate matters for him. We are particularly interested in the rumor that the Nova gang has been operating in this territory."

"Yes, they have," said B'Elanna. "But why would the Mounted Police and the Canadian embassy be interested in their activities? Why would the gang go so far north? And what kind of crime did they commit there? Littering?"

Fraser's chest puffed up in outrage, "Why, Miss Belle, although you would not know it from the way you Americans act, littering is a very serious offense, and anyone who would disturb the pristine beauty of the Canadian wilderness should be punished to the full extent of the law!"

"Oops, I'm sorry. You're right, of course. Uh, not to change the subject or anything, but do you think maybe you could cut these ropes and get me off the tracks?"

"I would be pleased to do so, Miss Belle." He paused, and moved his head around as if he was looking for something. He looked back at her. "How would you suggest that I do so?"

"I thought you might have a knife."

"Oh, no, fair lady. I dislike the use of any weapons of destruction, and prefer not carry them. I pride myself on being able to catch my quarry through the use of my wits."

"I can't imagine that you wits will do you much good up against the Nova gang once they point their six shooters at you," she said drily.

"I will improvise."

"Well, luckily we don't have to right now. I have a knife in my right boot, if you could just reach down there and pull it out."

The constable looked faintly scandalized. "Miss Belle, you cannot wish me to touch one of your limbs. It would hardly be proper!"

Unsure how to counter this rather bizarre statement, B'Elanna was trying to figure out what to say next when she received a further shock. A beautiful white wolf came up over the hill, and came to stand beside Fraser.

"Ah, Diefenbaker!," Fraser announced happily. "Perhaps he can be of use. Diefenbaker," he leaned down to the wolf, "do you think you could retrieve a knife from the fair Belle's right boot?"

Here he comes to save the day! part 3
Ruth — 15 Oct 1998, 11:01 AM

The wolf started toward B'Elanna, but she growled, "stay away from me furball! Grrrrrr," and the wolf retreated, hurrying to stand back behind Fraser.

"Diefenbaker would never cause you any harm, Miss."

"Look Constable," said B'Elanna, losing patience. "Just get the knife and cut the ropes. We don't have a lot of time --- a train is coming."

"Ah," Fraser said with interest. "I gather from your appearance that you are a member of an indigenous people. Has this given you an extra sensitivity in reading signs that others might miss? I am most interested in this kind of skill, and, must admit with some modesty, that I also possess certain talents in this area. How is it you are able to divine the approach of a train?"

She jerked her head to the right. "Because I can *see* it, Mountie boy! Get the knife and get me off these damn tracks!"

Surely enough, a train was coming around the bend, headed straight for them. Thus, spurred to action, Fraser swiftly retrieved the knife, cut the ropes, and jerked B'Elanna off the tracks. He had just succeeded in this mission when the train sped by, its velocity and power knocking the two off their feet, and sending them tumbling away from the tracks. For a moment, B'Elanna was stunned and could not move. Then her breath came back, and she sat back up and stared down at Fraser who was laying flat on his back.

"Thank you," she said.

"You are most welcome, Miss Belle. I was just doing my duty."

Almost simultaneously, the two realized that B'Elanna was straddling the Mountie like he was a favorite horse. Fraser's face immediately turned as scarlet as his jacket, and B'Elanna started laughing.

And this was how Tom, Chakotay, Miss Kathryn, and Marshal Marshall Tuvok found the pair when they rode up over the hill a few seconds later.

[Author's note -- I went the RCMP page, and saw that they were NWMP from 1874-1905, not the RNMP, like I said in part 1. BTW, cool site! Lots of neat pictures of Mounties!]