Trials 03 Torres' Trial

by Terri Zavaleta

  well---if he doesn't talk your ears off," Torres commented, rolling

  her eyes.

  Malista almost giggled. "I don't mind. If he does all the

  talking, people don't notice how quiet I am." She sobered for a

  moment. "Lieutenant, can I ask you a question?"

  "Sure."

  "Were you upset---that I was the one---No, never mind," Shadow

  said rapidly. "It's a silly question."

  Torres frowned at her. "That you were the one? To what? Oh, you

  mean that you figured out what the problem was?" She snorted. "No! I

  was just glad someone did, before I lost it and broke somebody's

  nose! For some reason, the captain frowns on nose-breaking as

  motivational behavior." She grinned for a moment, then sobered. "I

  simply can't believe no one thought of looking at the replicator

  matrix sooner. It was just such a silly mistake! Of course, the state

  that Engineering has been in since we got the ship back from the

  Kazon---Why? Did you think I was upset?"

  Shadow shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm glad you aren't."

  Torres' eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Someone told you that I

  was, right? Can I guess who?"

  Malista fidgeted. "I asked him why you were upset at Sandrine's

  the other night."

  Torres inhaled with a hiss of annoyance. "That Paris! Don't

  believe a word he says, Malista! No one should. He was throwing you

  off his trail. He just didn't want to admit that he made a mistake.

  It's not your problem."

  "If there's anything I can do---" the taller woman offered

  tentatively, not sure she wanted to find herself between B'Elanna

  Torres and Tom Paris in a personal dispute. In addition to being her

  immediate superior, Torres was her friend. Actually, her first female

  friend. And Tom was her self-appointed older brother. She cared about

  both of them.

  "No. I'll handle this. Don't worry about it. You just keep

  Chell's hands as busy as his mouth," Torres directed. She watched as

  the repair teams dispersed throughout the ship. Her scowl was

  motivation enough to get them moving quickly, if for no other reason

  than to get away from the chief engineer's watchful eyes.

  ***********************

  The Bolian was good company--- for those who didn't mind

  listening to long and rambling stories about people they didn't know,

  in places they'd never been, doing things they'd never heard of

  before. Since he was panting with exertion, his monologue began to

  wind down as they finally reached their goal in Jefferiestube seven,

  deck five, section 23F. It was a power junction for several main

  systems and, therefore, a high priority for replacement parts.

  Chell noticed that Malista was half-humming, half-singing to

  herself as she climbed. "You have a nice voice, Malista. Do you

  sing?"

  Malista ignored the question. She'd found that worked better

  with Chell than trying to change the subject. She opened the panel

  and assessed the situation with a tricorder. "Chell, get the

  replacements ready. I can see two couplings that show signs of

  cracking. There's a lot of power running through this junction and

  the one above us. We need to take the power offline." She slapped

  her commbadge. "Crewman Shadow to Operations."

  "Kim here. Go ahead."

  Shadow tried to suppress the smile that always appeared when she

  heard that particular voice. She didn't want Chell to think she was

  sappy about Ensign Kim. Though she was. "Ensign, we need to take

  power offline at junction seven five in order to replace the power

  couplings. Shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes."

  "Negative," Kim replied sharply. "That would cause a temporary

  power loss to the shields. We've just entered an asteroid field. We

  need the shields to deflect debris. We should be clear of the

  asteroid field in---" There was a momentary pause as he checked with

  the helm officer. "We'll be clear in ten minutes. Stand by."

  "Standing by," Shadow replied. She gazed at the Bolian and

  sighed. "Hurry up and wait!"

  "Standard problem," Chell said sympathetically. "Did I ever tell

  you about the Maquis raid planned for the Darien Colony? We were

  supposed to---"

  "Wait!" Malista said, frowning as she studied the panel. "This

  coupling isn't going to last ten minutes. Chell, give me a

  replacement!"

  "What?" he muttered, even as he handed the part to her. "You

  can't replace a coupling with the power on. You'll fry yourself."

  The tip of Malista's tongue made an appearance as she

  concentrated on moving her fingers in and around the active circuits

  to the vulnerable coupling. "You can if you're v---e---r---y careful-

  --or very good! And I'm both."

  Chell held his breath, speechless for once as he watched her

  delicately reach past the circuitry that was audibly humming with the

  power surging through it.

  "Ta-da! Got it!" She flashed a grin at him. Her grin faded

  quickly. "Do you smell something? What's that buzzing noise?" It was

  coming from above their position, from the next section of the

  Jefferies tube. "Chell, move! Get out of here!"

  "What noise--- " Chell began, as he obediently started climbing

  down the access crawlway ladder.

  "Hurry!" she shouted. Malista lunged upward striving to reach

  the controls that would seal the hatch to the next compartment of the

  Jefferies tube. "There's another---" Her fingers brushed the hatch

  controls, but it was a split second too late.

  The shock wave from the explosion threw Chell backwards and down

  the access tube, leaving him semiconscious in the corridor below.

  Malista was thrown down the same path, but somehow her left arm and

  leg caught on the ladder, leaving her dangling upside down six feet

  above the deck, her uniform smoldering the length of her side. Sparks

  and debris continued to rain down on them both.

  Internal sensors broadcast the alarm to the Operations Console

  immediately. "Captain," Kim snapped, "We have an emergency between

  decks seven and eight. Explosion in the Jefferies tube. Shields are

  holding."

  Even as the ensign reported, another commbadge was heard.

  "Crewman Gerron to the bridge. Two injured. Crewmen Shadow and Chell

  have been beamed directly to Sickbay. We have a damage control party

  in place. We'll report our findings as soon as possible."

  "How severe are their injuries?" Kim rapped out. That shouldn't

  have been his next question, but the captain chose to overlook his

  slight lapse in Starfleet professionalism under the circumstances.

  "It looked like Malista took the brunt of the explosion. Chell

  didn't seem to be badly hurt," Gerron reported. "We've got the system

  locked down and are now assessing the damage. I'll get back to you.

  Gerron out." The young Bajoran sounded agitated. He was almost

  shouting to be heard over the background noise of the repair teams

  and the hissing of fire suppression systems.

  Janeway met Kim's distraught brown eyes, but spoke to her

  helmsman. "Mr. Paris, let me know the minute we're clear of the


  asteroid field."

  "Yes, ma'am." Paris' reply lacked its usual insouciant note.

  "Clear in two minutes." His rigid posture telegraphed his tension.

  They were the slowest two minutes Harry Kim had ever

  experienced. He didn't think he even remembered to breathe as he

  forced himself to focus on the console and controls before him,

  carrying out his assigned duties. He caught himself fidgeting and

  consciously forced himself to stand still. "Damage report is in,

  Captain. Gerron says Mal---the repair team activated the hatch

  sealing mechanism before the explosion. The hatchway was partially

  closed so the damage was limited to deck five, tube seven, section

  23G. Light damage to 23H. Some debris in 23A-F."

  Chakotay checked his own readouts. "I'm glad they reacted

  quickly, if we'd lost power in 23F---"

  "We'd have lost the shields and Voyager would have been smashed

  to a paste by these glorified rocks," Paris supplied grimly. His

  fingers danced over the controls as he maneuvered the ship. "Clear of

  the asteroid field, Captain. Resuming normal flight pattern," he

  reported. He spun in his chair, his blue eyes making the plea he

  couldn't bring himself to verbalize.

  Janeway nodded. "Mr. Paris, why don't you go to Sickbay and

  check on the injured? You can be my representative." Without

  turning, she added, "And Mr. Kim can represent Commander Chakotay."

  "Thank you, Captain," the two young men said in unison. They

  beat a hasty retreat to the turbolift as relief personnel slid into

  their positions.

  Janeway seated herself and found Chakotay smiling at her. "Was

  there something you wanted to say, Commander?" she asked casually,

  picking up her data padd.

  Chakotay's brown eyes twinkled, though his expression remained

  deadpan.

  "No, Captain. It's a good thing to delegate non-critical duties to

  junior officers. I'm sure you learned that at Starfleet Academy."

  Then he added, sotto voce, "You old softy."

  Kathryn shot a quick glance around the bridge. No one was

  watching. She darted her tongue out at her first officer, and resumed

  her usual professional demeanor in less than a heartbeat.

  Caught offguard, Chakotay burst out laughing. The other bridge

  officers glanced at him curiously. He just shrugged and settled back

  into his chair, shaking his head as he checked his console readings.

  The captain, demurely studying the padd, ignored his strange behavior

  as if she hadn't noticed. The bridge crew returned their attention

  to their duties with slightly puzzled frowns.

  ***********************

  Chell was awake and sitting up on the biobed. He was suffering

  from bruises and cuts. His eyes were fixed on the surgical bay which

  was temporarily out of sight behind a privacy screen. The doctor and

  Kes were busily working on Malista there.

  Kes stepped out and pushed the screen out of the way. Malista

  was dressed in a Sickbay gown, lying unconscious on the biobed. Her

  singed and burned uniform lay in a heap on the floor. The right side

  of her body and face showed burn damage. Her left arm was lying at an

  awkward angle. The doctor meticulously straightened her left leg and

  ran an osteoregenerator over it.

  Harry Kim stopped a few feet from the bed, staring at Malista

  Shadow's injuries with distress.

  Paris asked politely, "Doctor? Could we have a report?"

  The Doctor frowned in concentration as he worked on his patient.

  "The burns are superficial. The dermal regenerator will be able to

  repair the damage within a few hours. The more serious injuries are

  the concussion---she suffered a blow to the head---the dislocated

  shoulder and the broken tibia. She should recover consciousness any

  time. She will require several hours, possibly days of recovery time.

  *If* she follows the proper treatment regimen! I have come to expect

  a lack of cooperation from this crew," the Doctor complained.

  He finished with Shadow's leg and turned his attention to the

  burns that ran down the left side of her face and down her side,

  almost to her waist. He handed the osteoregenerator to Kes, who began

  working on Malista's arm and shoulder.

  Tom Paris sighed with relief and turned to the Bolian. "Chell?

  What happened?"

  The Bolian shook his head. "Malista spotted a few bad power

  couplings. We were waiting for the ship to clear the asteroid field

  so we could shut down the power in that section. Then she heard a

  noise from the next section of the Jefferies tube---I didn't hear

  anything!---and she told me to get out! I started down the ladder,

  but she didn't follow me! She went up! I don't know why!" He studied

  his erstwhile teammate with concern, wondering if he could have done

  anything to help her.

  "She tried to close the hatch to contain the explosion," Harry

  Kim explained glumly. He was watching every move made by Kes and the

  Doctor as if his attention was necessary to Malista's recovery. "She

  didn't quite make it. The hatch didn't seal completely. She should

  have just gotten out of there!"

  "It would have been worse if she hadn't tried," Paris insisted.

  "They would have taken the full force of the explosion!"

  "She almost got herself killed!" Kim muttered through gritted

  teeth. "And it's my fault!"

  "How could it be your fault?" Paris demanded.

  "I had them standby. They were waiting because I wouldn't let

  them shut off the power in that section. I should have rerouted the

  power. I could have done that. It wouldn't have taken very long. Then

  they wouldn't have been---"

  Paris grabbed his friend's shoulder and gave it a shake. "Harry,

  you don't know that! It was an accident! You heard Chell. The

  explosion occurred above them---not in their section!"

  Harry shook his head. Kes finished her task and stepped away

  from the biobed, studying Ensign Kim with concern in her eyes. Harry

  darted toward the biobed as Malista moaned. Paris followed him,

  prepared to pull him out of the doctor's way if necessary.

  Her eyes opened slowly. The first image she saw was the doctor's

  frowning visage about four inches from her face. "Oh, no!" she

  groaned. "Not you again!" She tensed and tried to move away from his

  hand.

  The doctor shot an indignant glance in Tom's direction. "Mr.

  Paris, have you been coaching her? That's exactly what you said when

  you regained consciousness after your 'para-skiing' mishap on the

  holodeck!" He put a hand to her right shoulder and gently tilted her

  head into position so he could continue the dermal regeneration on

  her face. "Lie still, Ms. Shadow."

  She looked past him, saw Tom and Harry, and her body relaxed

  visibly, reassured by their presence. "Chell? Is he okay?" she asked

  anxiously.

  The Bolian moved into her line of sight. "Hello!" He raised his

  hand, wiggling his fingers. "Are you all right?"

  "I'm fine," she muttered. She was uncomfortable with the

  Doctor's nearness. She knew he was just a hologram, but still---
r />   Harry stepped forward, dodged around the doctor and the

  approaching Kes and took her right hand in his. "Malista, I'm sorry.

  I should have rerouted the power so you could shut it down."

  She frowned her puzzlement. "What? What does that have to do---"

  "Nothing. This is not the time, Harry," Paris said, tugging

  Harry's arm to pull him out of the way as the doctor moved around the

  bed to get a better angle. "We came to check on you. Now that we know

  you're going to be okay, we'd better get back to the bridge."

  Harry was staring at Malista's injuries, feeling guilt-ridden

  and anxious.

  "The bridge, Harry!" Tom repeated. "We have to get back to the

  bridge."

  "Mr. Kim," the doctor said over his shoulder, "This will take

  some time and it will take more time than necessary if you continue

  to provide a distraction."

  Harry gazed at Tom blankly. He turned back to her. "Malista---"

  She hissed an indrawn breath with pain as the doctor

  repositioned her burned face so he could reach the skin under her

  jawline for treatment. She tried to smile at Harry, but tears were

  filling her eyes. "Not now, Harry. Please. I'll talk to you later."

  "Come on, Harry. Let the doctor do his job," Paris said, tugging

  Kim's arm once more. This time the ensign allowed himself to be

  dragged toward the exit.

  "I'll be back as soon as I get offshift," Harry called. "Call me

  if you need anything!"

  The door slid shut behind the duo. The doctor shook his head. He

  eyed Malista dubiously as she twitched nervously away from his hand

  again. "Crewman Shadow, please stay still! Regenerating burn tissue

  is a delicate business and while I am an excellent doctor, even I

  cannot be expected to heal you without pain---if you insist on

  squirming! I remind you that I am a hologram. I have no prurient

  interest in touching you."

  "Doctor!" Kes chided. She needed to review the meaning of the

  word 'tact' with him once more. Surely one of the forty-seven doctors

  who'd contributed to his programming was familiar with the concept,

  although it wasn't evident in his bedside manner.

  Malista met the doctor's eyes. Actually, his brusqueness

  reassured her. He might not be human, but he had kind eyes. "Sorry.

  I'll try to stay still."

  "I know," Chell exclaimed. "I'll talk to her so she'll have