by Marleena
"I'll help you. I'll help you escape," he said softly so as to
not be overheard by whomever might be monitoring the cell.
"You'll help us? When?" she whispered. Had she heard him
correctly?
"It can't be tonight, there is too much preparation involved to
accomplish it tonight. But if you two can survive the hunt
tomorrow--yes, if you can outwit Lodar, I can help you."
B'Elanna was anxious to know what he was planning. "How can you
help us?"
"I can't go into details now, but be prepared tomorrow, when you
are beamed back to the ship, be prepared to act and act quickly."
"But how?"
"You'll know what to do, you'll have to trust me," Brizat reached
into the open medical case and extracted the last of the
Starfleet medical supplies and handed them to B'Elanna. "Here
hide these, you might need them tomorrow."
B'Elanna just nodded her head as the Doctor closed the case and
exited the cell leaving orders with the guard outside to provide
them with extra food and water.
"I think we're going to get out of here Tom," she said very
softly to the still unconscious man. "Rest now my love for you
will need all your strength for tomorrow."
Chapter 17
It was nearing 1900 hours, and still Alera and Harry couldn't get
the twins to sleep. They had tried just about everything: from
rocking them to reading to them. All to no avail.
Suddenly, Lucas began to wail.
"Oh no," Harry groaned, "He probably needs to be changed."
Alera smiled slightly. She patted him on the hand, and stood up,
"I'll change him," she said, "He's more comfortable around me
anyway."
Harry rolled his eyes, "Thanks for confirming what I already
know, Lerise."
Alera smiled and went into the bedroom. While she changed
diapers, Ensign Kim went back to thinking of way to get the twins
to sleep. He suddenly remembered Tom telling him that the
boys loved to fall asleep to music.
"Alera," he said, getting up, "I have an idea."
The half-Betazoid stepped into the main room. She looked at him
curiously.
"What, Harry?"
"Tom mentioned to me that the twins liked to fall asleep to
music. Maybe we could try that."
Alera nodded, "Good idea. What should we play?"
Harry thought for a moment then brightened, "How about this?
Computer, play Harry Music Selection Beta 4."
The computer chirped then music started to play. It was a
soothing duet of a clarinet and a alto sax.
"That's lovely," Alera commented, smiling.
The two sat on the couch and listened. They then heard wailing
from the other room.
"What's wrong now?" Harry asked, getting up.
Alera followed. They entered the bedroom to a duet of crying.
Alera picked up Kyle, but his diaper was dry.
Harry looked at her as Lucas kicked his tiny feet while the
ensign held him.
"They don't seem to like that music," Alera mentioned. "Try
something else."
Harry nodded, "Computer, play Harry Music Selection Alpha 6."
The computer chirped and soon a soulful sax filled the room. The
put the infants in the crib and almost at once, they began to
cry. The two of them were so loud, the couple could barely hear
the music.
"Harry, they don't like it!" Alera shouted to be heard, "Try
something different. Try what Tom plays!"
"I don't know what he plays for them!" Harry shouted.
"Play Tom's favorite music, Harry. Something! My teeth are
starting to rattle!"
*Tom's favorite music!* he thought. He then groaned inwardly.
Tom's favorite music was from the 1960s. Something he called Rock
'n' Roll. It sounded noisy to him. The songs hardly made sense.
*But if it helps them sleep,* he thought. Out loud, he said,
"Computer list Lt. Tom Paris' music selections."
The computer chirped and listed all the songs that Paris had in
his data banks. Harry and Alera shook their heads to clear the
dizziness as the songs scrolled by.
"There!" Harry said, pointing to a song, "Computer, play Paris
Selection 15."
The computer chirped again, and a short guitar cord started
followed by two male voices singing: "It's been a hard day's
night..."
The two stared at each other--a hard day's night? That didn't
make any sense at all.. They shook their heads and scrolled the
list again as the babies wailed on.
"Let's try this one," Alera said, hopefully, "Computer, play
Paris Selection 25."
Suddenly, a drum beat sounded followed by male voices singing,
"Here we come; walking down the street; we get the funniest looks
from; everyone we meet..."
A second later, the drums sounded and the group shouted, "Hey,
hey! We're the Monkees...."
The twins cried louder and the couple shook their heads.
"I don't even like it," Harry said. The two scrolled again.
"Here," Harry said after a moment. The twins continued to cry,
and he could see it was getting on Alera's strong nerves.
"Computer, play Paris Selection 36."
The computer chirped and a familiar song began to play. It was a
song even Harry liked. He smiled and closed his eyes.
"What song is this?" Alera asked, confused at Harry's happy
smile.
"Tom introduced me to this song once, and I fell in love with it.
It's called 'Start Me Up' by the Rolling Stones.
Alera almost sneered, "It's noisy."
Harry nodded, "I know, but it has a nice beat to it."
Alera had to agree with that.
The twins had quieted down, and the two smiled.
*Finally,* they both thought at the same time.
The music stopped, and the next selection played. Almost at once
a guitar cord screamed through the room. The two covered their
ears, and stared at each other.
"What the hell is that?!" Alera shouted.
"Selection 37?" Harry asked.
"It's loud. It'll wake the babies!"
"Computer, end selection!"
The computer chirped and the noise in the room quieted down. The
two ensigns breathed a sigh of relief. They removed their hands
from their ears, and listened for the cries of the twins.
None came.
"What was that?" Alera asked again, more calmly.
"Computer, name Paris Selection 37."
"The name of Paris Selection 37 is 'Rock 'n' Roll All Night.' The
group is called 'Kiss.' They were a rock group from the mid-
1970s to early 1990s."
Harry smiled, "Anything to do with the 20th Century. Tom loved
the era. Sometimes, I think he wishes he lived during that time,
instead of now."
Alera returned the smile, "He wouldn't have met B'Elanna."
"True, but if he could, he would take her back with him."
Alera nodded. The calm moment was broken by one twin then the
other crying. The Betazoid rolled her eyes.
"Computer, play Paris Selection 37 in a loop for sixteen hours,
half volume."
The music filled the quarters. Both Alera and Harry covered their
/>
ears as they made themselves comfortable on the couch.
It was going to be a very long night.
Chapter 18
The following morning the couple awakened and B'Elanna was happy
to note Tom looked much better than the night before. She
silently thanked Brizat for his help and prayed that his promise
of assistance for them to escape would not be forgotten. As they
ate the 'doughnuts' that the Hirogen provided, B'Elanna quietly
informed Tom of her conversation with Brizat the night before and
told him that the doctor had given her what was left of the
Starfleet medical supplies.
"We just have to get through one more hunt, Tom," B'Elanna
whispered. "Just one more, we have do to it."
"We will 'Lanna, we can do anything if it means we can get back
home and to our boys," Tom reassured her and placed a kiss on her
lips. "Come on eat up, we'll need all our strength for this hunt.
Lodar is bound to be the biggest challenge yet."
B'Elanna nodded, returned the kiss, and broke off another piece
of the 'doughnut' and ate it.
* * * * * *
Tom and B'Elanna, dressed in the same shorts and shirts as they
had worn the day before, were beamed down once again to the
planet's surface, with the only information provided to them that
the weapon for today's hunt contained a poisonous projectile, and
they were warned that direct contact with it would surely result
in death.
As the beam released them, the couple looked around and noted
that the terrain all around them was densely covered with tall
deep green trees and from their branches vines hung. All around
the trees ferns and strange exotic flowers grew. They could hear
the sounds of insects and birds all around them.
Like the last hunt, temperature was hot but was accompanied by a
thick humidity, which made the air very heavy and very difficult
to breathe.
"Welcome to paradise," Tom said sarcastically as he slapped away
an insect that lit upon his forearm. He grabbed his wife by the
hand and led her into the jungle.
* * * * * * *
Approximately fifteen minutes later, Lodar beamed down to the
same coordinates, spying the broken fronds of alien fern he was
soon on their trail.
* * * * * * *
Many kilometers later, Tom pulled his wife up over a fallen tree,
and when they were both on the other side he told her it was time
to take a break and handed her a bottle of 'water.' B'Elanna
gratefully accepted the fluid and drank a couple of swallows and
handed it to her husband.
"I feel like I'm living in a Equarian steam bath Tom groused as
he too drank from the bottle. Both Tom and B'Elanna's hair clung
damply to their scalps, their clothing was soaked with
perspiration, and their bodies were peppered with numerous insect
bites. Thankfully, other than that the bites itched, they didn't
seem to be poisonous.
"We have to do something Tom, we just can't keep up this pace
much longer." What she really wanted to say was that she doubted
whether Tom could continue much longer. Even with the Doctor's
ministrations, he still wasn't completely recovered from their
ordeal yesterday. B'Elanna could tell that he was weary and on
the verge of collapse. "Maybe we should fight back?" she
suggested.
Tom wiped away the sweat from his face with his arm. "I'm
listening 'Lanna. Do you have a plan?"
"Well there was something that we used to do in the Maquis. We
used to booby trap the area around some of our encampments. We
could set up a trip wire that would fire a projectile -- like an
arrow. Even if that doesn't kill Lodar, it should slow him down
so we could get further away and buy us some time."
"So what do you need, a length of vine and a sharp sick?"
"Yeah, I'll get the vine and you can pare down a stick with one
of those rocks over there," she said pointing to a pile of stones
nearby.
"Fine, let me give you a boost up that tree, I think if you try
for that thin vine right above your head it might be the easiest
to bring down," Tom suggested.
Working quickly, soon B'Elanna had the trip vine ready and the
sharpened stick was in position. Now all the pair had to do
would be to wait for Lodar.
Long, tense minutes past, until finally a distant noise could be
heard. "I think I can hear him," B'Elanna whispered from their
position behind a large tree.
Tom nodded his head and peeked out from behind their vantage
point. Sure enough, the large Hirogen commander was coming their
way, following the path which would lead him right into their
trap.
"I can sense your presence Voyagers!!" Lodar bellowed. "You
cannot hide from me!!" The Hirogen continued toward the pair,
brandishing his weapon .
To urge him on further Tom tossed a small stone toward a nearby
bush.
Lodar's head snapped towards the direction of the sound. "I've
got you now!!" Lodar predicted and stepped around a moss covered
tree toward the bush. Before Lodar reached his target, the large
alien walked into the vine and Tom's 'arrow' was released finding
its mark -- the Hirogen's left thigh. Lodar screamed in outrage
and pain, dropping to his knees, but never once relinquished the
grip on his weapon.
"Quick, B'Elanna, let's get out of here!!!" Tom yelled. With Tom
in the lead, B'Elanna followed him back further into the depths
of the jungle.
Lodar hearing the pair, immediately raised his weapon and fired
at them twice. One shot embedded itself into a nearby tree trunk
but the second nicked B'Elanna's upper right arm.
"Tom, I've been hit," B'Elanna informed him. "But keep moving,
it barely grazed me."
Hoping that she did not decide that now was the time to assert
her Klingon half and be stupidly brave, Tom deftly wove his way
amongst the jungle trees and B'Elanna followed. After they had
put a few kilometers behind them, they both decided that it was
time to take a water break and rest. Tom reached into his pack
and withdrew the second bottle of water and handed it to his
wife. She grabbed it with her right hand but immediately dropped
it and looked down incredulously at her unresponsive hand.
"Let me see where you got hit," Tom insisted. He helped B'Elanna
pulled off her shirt and saw where the projectile had penetrated
the skin, it was painfully swollen and red. "We should have
stopped sooner, B'Elanna. Why didn't you say something?" He
searched through B'Elanna's pack and brought out the medical
supplies Brizat had given her and found an anti-toxin which he
immediately administered to her.
B'Elanna looked up at him with those big chocolate brown eyes
that she knew he could never resist.
"B'Elanna, what am I going to do with you?" he asked her. He
cradled her face with his hands and kissed her tenderly on the
mouth. "Damn it, 'Lanna, you're burning up."
"Sorr
y, I just wanted to get away as far away from Lodar as
possible."
"Don't you remember, we BOTH have to finish this hunt to survive.
It was a good thing that Brizat gave you the medical supplies or
you might . . . I don't even want to think about it," he
admitted.
"Ssssh, Tom, I'll be fine. Just let me rest here a few more
minutes, then we will get moving again."
"Okay, just a few minutes. Here lay your head down on my lap and
try and rest while the anti-toxin works and I'll keep an eye out
for that miserable Hirogen.
For a change, B'Elanna didn't even argue and laid her head down
upon his lap and immediately went to sleep.
Chapter 19
Tom gave her more than a few minutes before he woke her. He
hated to wake her. Knowing that she needed to rest even though
the fever had diminished dramatically.
"B'Elanna love, wake up," we have to get moving. Before Lodar
finds us. Come on."
