The Fates Series 04 Innocence Unveiled

by Alys Landale

  “Hypospray.” Doc ordered.

  Sam handed him the instrument. It was then that she noticed Paris’s hands. Her eyes widened as she stared at the blood covered appendages. She backed away slightly.

  “Umm, Doc. I think you should see this,” she told him.

  The ship was shook to its side once more. Medical instruments fell to the floor.

  “I don’t have time to look at...” The ship shook once more and he grabbed onto the side of the biobed to keep his balance.

  Then he felt the tentacles brush the side of his holographic hand. He looked down to see Tom’s hands.

  His jaw dropped as he saw what Sam was referring to. For a few moments he was speechless. Finally, he found the subroutine for his voice. “Get Seven in here now.”

  “How much longer until we clear the hole.” Janeway shouted. Already two consoles had blown up. Thankfully, no one had been present at them.

  “We are reaching the edge of the anomaly,” said Seven. “We shall be out within ten seconds.”

  One last ion beam hit them. The ship rocked to its starboard side but luckily didn’t sustain any damage. A few seconds later the ship emerged outside. The hole collapsed just moments after they had reached safety.

  Janeway breathed a sigh of relief. “Status report. Where are we?”

  Harry checked his sensors. “We’re ten thousand light years away from our original position. Only fifteen years away from home.”

  All on the bridge were speechless. Ten years had just been taken from their trip home and they had been reunited with Tom

  Paris. The day had been extremely good for them.

  At that moment the doctor’s voice came over the comm line. “Doctor to Seven. I need you in sickbay ‘now’.”

  Seven looked up, but didn’t have a chance to reply. Janeway beat her to it.

  “Doctor is Tom alright?” she asked.

  “I can’t say anything for sure right now. Just send Seven down here now,” he ended his transmission at that.

  Janeway turned to Seven. “I’ll go with you,” she said.

  The ex-Borg and captain began to leave when B’Elanna left as well. “I’m coming too,” she said.

  The three left. Xara would have gone as well, but Chakotay held her back. “Why don’t you stay here for now? We’ll let you go down there when the Doc says it’s alright.”

  She looked longingly at the door leading out of the bridge, but she complied to Chakotay’s wishes anyway.

  The three women made it to sickbay in record time. Once they reached the doorway, all they could see was Sam and the doctor bent over one of the biobeds. So much did the two obstruct their view of Paris, that they couldn’t see just how serious his wounds were.

  Janeway stepped forward. “Doctor what is Mr. Paris’s condition?”

  Doc didn’t even turn his gaze from where he worked as he said. “I don’t have time to talk right now. Seven get over here.”

  The ex-Borg cast Janeway a puzzled gaze but did as she was told. When she reached the biobed her eyes widened in one of her few expressions of shock.

  B’Elanna refused to be so brushed aside from the doctor. She started towards the biobed but was halted as Janeway grabbed her by the arm.

  “Come on Lieutenant. We need to let the doctor work,” the captain told her.

  B’Elanna however pulled her arm out of Janeway’s grasp. “I haven’t had one chance to talk to him during this whole time. I am not leaving until I see that he’s alright.”

  At that point, the doctor turned around. Both Janeway and Torres were caught off guard by what they saw. The doctor’s form had hidden Paris’s upper body. Now the two could see his wounded torso, his blood-stained hair, the death like appearance on his face. Both women lost their breath as they stared at their wounded friend. However, neither could see his hands just yet.

  The EMH cast an impatient glare at the two women. “I want everyone who isn’t helping me, out of sickbay this minute!”

  The forces of which he said these words caught both captain and lieutenant by surprise.

  Reluctantly Torres allowed Janeway to escort her out of sickbay. Casting one last look back to her mate, she walked out of the room.

  Once the two women were gone, Doc turned back to his work. Seven stood beside Ensign Wildman.

  Doc turned to Seven. “I need your Borg expertise here, Seven. We’ve encountered some Borg elements in his system. I need your help on this.” He handed her a tricorder.

  She took a look at some readings. “I have never encountered Borg components such as this, but it does appear that he has been assimilated during some course in the past year.”

  The readings above Paris’s biobed began to turn erratic.

  “I need a cortical stimulator,” the EMH told Sam.

  She handed him the required instrument. Doc began to administer it to his patient. It looked like he would be improvising again.

  B’Elanna followed Janeway to the bridge. Her mind was awash by what had just happened.

  *How did he get hurt like that?* her mind was racing with questions. She new that if there was a way to get injured, Tom could find it. But if the doctor was acting so strangely, it had to be really bad.

  She wasn’t even aware of Janeway talking to her until the older woman put a hand on her shoulder. B’Elanna looked up at her captain.

  “B’Elanna, why don’t you go to your quarters. I’ll inform you when the doctor has any news.” Janeway told her.

  B’Elanna just stood there for a few moments but then nodded. She turned to alter her course back to her cabin.

  Janeway watched the younger woman go. She felt sorry for her. She felt sorry for Tom and Xara. Both were now years away from the only homes they knew. She had wanted to help Tom, if it was Tom, regain his memory, but this was going to be a huge change for him. She didn’t know what she was going to tell him once he woke up.

  *If he does wake up.* she thought. She had only seen a small portion of him but she could tell that he was in extremely bad shape. And the doctor’s reaction hadn’t been very reassuring either.

  Janeway tried to alter her line of thought from that aspect. Right now she had to have a talk with someone. She began

  walking back towards the bridge.

  Xara sat in the Captain’s ready room for the second time that day. She fiddled with the armrests, swiveled the chair, and did just about anything she could to take her mind off of Rune.

  *He’ll be okay* she told herself. *He’s been hurt bad before and been just fine.* But still doubt loomed its ugly head in her mind.

  Chakotay sat opposite her. He tried to divert her attention from her thoughts as well. “You know there’s something I’m sure you’d love to see in a little while. We have a holodeck and I’m sure I could get Naomi to show you around.”

  She just looked up at him. He could tell that she saw through what he was trying to do. “No thanks.” she said.

  He was about to pursue another line of conversation when Janeway entered.

  “So how’s our little stowaway doing?” Janeway asked Xara.

  The girl looked anxious when she saw the captain. “You just came back from sickbay. How’s Rune?”

  Janeway forced a smile, but it belied the sadness she was feeling. “The doctor is working on him right now. I’m sure he’ll

  be fine.”

  Xara, however didn’t seem convinced. “If he’s letting the doctor work on him, he must be hurt pretty bad.”

  Chakotay looked surprised by what she said. “What do you mean?”

  Xara thought she had said too much but continued. “He never stays in sickbay. Satira was like a sister to him and she would have to practically drag him in there even if he was hurt really bad.”

  Janeway couldn’t help but think that was just like Paris. She sat down next to Xara and tried to assure her. “Don’t worry.

  Doc is very good. I’m sure he can help him.” She then shifted the conversation. “So would you mi
nd telling me just how you hid on my ship.”

  Naomi had heard through Voyager’s grapevine that Xara had been found by the captain. Since her mother was in sickbay,

  Naomi decided to go talk to Janeway and tell her that it wasn’t all Xara’s fault. She couldn’t let the other girl get in trouble when it was partly her fault.

  So now, Naomi stood outside the captain’s ready room. Tentatively, she chimed the door.

  Xara continued to look at the floor as Janeway asked her the question again. There was no hardness in the captain’s voice, but Xara refused to tell her about Naomi’s part in the matter.

  The door chimed at that moment.

  “Come,” Janeway said.

  The door opened and Naomi entered. She looked at Xara and then approached the captain.

  Janeway looked down at her littlest crewman and said. “Yes Naomi, what is it?”

  Xara was now watching Naomi shuffle her feet around on the floor. Naomi then spoke. “I came here to make sure Xara didn’t get in trouble. See, I helped her stay on board.” The girl’s voice was not much above a whisper.

  Xara then spoke up. “I’m the one who hid on your ship. I just asked her to help me.” Xara paused for a second. “I had to make sure Rune was alright.”

  Janeway and Chakotay exchanged a glance. Finally the captain spoke. “No one’s going to get in trouble, but next time the two of you decide to do something ask before you do it.” She then addressed Xara solely. “You know that we’re very far away from your home. What about your family?”

  Xara looked at the ground again. “Rune’s my family. He take’s care of me.”

  Chakotay looked surprised. “What about your parents? Rune isn’t your father?” He hoped that they hadn’t made a mistake and this really wasn’t Paris.

  She met his gaze. Her voice was a lot softer as she spoke. “My parents died a few years ago. Rune rescued me from one of the Empire’s concentration camps. He takes care of me now.”

  Janeway’s expression turned much softer now. She hadn’t realized just how much this child had gone through. “Well,” she told Xara. “Until Rune gets better why don’t you stay with Naomi. I’ll send Neelix down to stay with you.”

  “You’ll tell me any news you get about Rune, won’t you?” she asked.

  The captain nodded. “Naomi, why don’t you show Xara to your quarters. I’m sure your mom won’t mind if she spends the night tonight.”

  Naomi nodded and the two left.

  Janeway and Chakotay both exchanged a glance. Chakotay put a hand on Janeway’s shoulder. She leaned up against him.

  There wasn’t much either could say.

  B’Elanna sat on her bed. She just stared off at the wall in search of an answer. This was so unfair. She loses Tom. Then gets him back, albeit he doesn’t remember her. And now she was faced with the option of possibly losing him again.

  All her emotions raged war upon one another. She didn’t know what to do. Finally, her Klingon side took over. She let out a roar and threw a nearby Padd across the room.

  The sound of its shattering seemed to comfort her somewhat. She leaned back on her bed then and tried to relax.

  She had to take control of herself. *Why does everything have to be so damn hard!* she thought.

  She was making preparations of how she would infiltrate sickbay when her exhausted body began to protest. Her eyelids began to droop and soon sleep overwhelmed her.

  Neelix got Janeway’s message and hurried to Naomi’s quarters. He felt sorry for the young girl. Living a life such as hers was hard enough, but now to be faced with the possibility of losing someone so close to you.

  He entered the door to the Wildman’s cabin. Inside Naomi and Xara were talking to themselves. It seemed that Naomi was trying to reassure her.

  “I’m sure he’ll be alright,” she told Xara. “Doc has saved a lot of people on this ship. He knows what he’s doing.”

  Xara just shook her head. “But what if he doesn’t know how to help him. Aria was the only one who knew how to operate on him. Not even Satira was as experienced as Aria and she’s worked on a lot of different races.”

  “Well, we think that Rune might be Tom Paris. He disappeared a year ago and you said that’s how long you’ve known him. And believe me, my mom used to say that Doc had more experience working on Tom than he had on anyone else on the ship.”

  Neelix stood in the doorway as the girls talked. He didn’t want to intrude on their conversation, but he also didn’t want to act like he was eavesdropping. So he finally made his presence known.

  “I see you two are already here. Captain Janeway told me to come down and visit you. She said you might be in need of some morale.” He said good heartedly as he walked into the room.

  Xara just looked at him but kept her downcast expression. He sat down beside her. “How about the three of us go to the holodeck. We could run one of Naomi’s Flodder programs.”

  Xara shook her head. “I’ll wait here until Janeway calls. Rune’s hardly ever been in sickbay for more than a day. I’m sure she’ll have news really soon.”

  He tried to lift her spirits as well. “Don’t worry. The doctor is very good. He’ll have Tom back on his feet in no time.”

  Naomi looked up at him. She still felt uneasy by everyone calling him ‘Tom’ and not ‘Rune.’ Her mind then came to a realization. “Maybe you’re right. After all you do have one Borg on your ship already.”

  Both Naomi and Neelix were confused by her statement but neither said anything.

  Doc finished healing the last of Paris’s injuries. Seven was almost finished with the Borg qualities of his physiology as well.

  She then sat down her tricorder.

  “I am done,” she said.

  He nodded. “Good, I don’t see anything we can do now but wait.” He took another look at his patient’s vital signs. They were within normal parameters, but then again, how did he know what were normal parameters for Tom now?

  He turned to the two women next to him. “I want sickbay sealed off for now. Unless someone is injured, I don’t want anyone in here.” He stole a glance at Paris’s hands. Seven had been able to fix them to the best of her ability. Now the silver tentacles were wrapped around the back of his hands and wrists.

  “What do you wish to inform the captain?” Seven asked. She herself didn’t even know how Paris had come to acquire these new components in his body.

  “I’ll request a senior staff meeting. I think all of them have a right to know about this. Do you feel able enough to help me explain it to them now or not?” He realized that he had pushed her extremely hard over the past couple of hours. It had taken a lot more time with Tom than usual, partially due to the unfamiliarity of his anatomy.

  “I do not require regeneration at the present time. When do you wish to call the meeting.”

  “Now if it’s possible.” he said.

  *

  Aboard Raken’s ship Satira was in sickbay. Danag entered to visit her. He noticed that the Dezorisian was sitting behind the chief Doctor’s desk. A look of worry covered her face.

  “Hey,” he said.

  She looked up but didn’t say anything.

  He let out a sigh. When they had realized that Xara was not aboard the ship, they had gone back to get her at the insistence of almost all of the Jihaid’s crew. What they had found at the wormhole was the receding form of Voyager being sucked inside along with the debris of what appeared to be the Jihaid.

  “You’re going to stop blaming yourself right now,” he told her as he walked over to where she sat. “They might have made it through the hole before it collapsed. We don’t know.”

  She stood up suddenly. “Do not attempt to tell me what to do. If I had not allowed Xara to stay behind, then she would be alive and well right now.”

  He, himself, was grief stricken by the disappearance of Rune and Xara as well, but he refused to let it eat away at his sole. There was still a chance that they were alive. He grabbed Sati
ra by the shoulders and shook her.

  “It’s not your fault so stop blaming yourself this instant.”

  She was only angered by his little speech. Her eyes flashed as she yelled. “And just how do you expect to stop me?”

  “Like this.” he said and then pulled her close to him. He pressed his lips to hers violently and began to plunder her mouth with his. After a few minutes, he pulled away.

  For once in her life, she looked somewhat surprised. “It is about time you did that.” she told him and then closed the gap between them as she reunited her lips with his once more.

  *

  Takma sat aboard her vessel. This had been a very good day indeed. Not only was she rid of Rune Landis, but Portus was also out of the way as well. She turned to Kail.

  “Well General, how do you like the new Pretor?” she asked.

  He smiled. “It’s a vast improvement over the old one.”

  *

  Once all the members of the Senior staff had congregated in the ready room, Doc prepared to give his announcement. B’Elanna appeared to have just awoken from slumber but looked as anxious as all the rest. They all wanted to hear what the doctor had to say. Even Neelix had been permitted to sit in on this meeting.

  Doc didn’t know where to begin so Janeway prompted him. “Doc, you can begin now.”

  He nodded. “Well any doubts that we might have had about this being Mr. Paris have been taken care of. I have run a great number of scans and all point to the same end. This is in fact Tom.”

  B’Elanna let out a sigh of relief. “Then you can get his memory back, right?” she said.

  He looked at her a bit sadly and then began into his intended speech. “I don’t think that’s possible. While Seven and I worked on Mr. Paris, we came upon a few ‘discoveries’.”

  “What kind of ‘discoveries’?” Harry asked.

  B’Elanna along with everyone else was still stuck on the fact that the doctor couldn’t help Tom get his memory back. “Why can’t you help him? There has to be a way to help him remember!” B’Elanna was now out of her chair. Chakotay tried to calm her down.