by Alys Landale
B'Elanna was taken slightly by surprise. He usually wasn't one to apologize so easily, especially when he hadn't really done anything wrong. He must feel really bad if he was doing so this early.
"Tom I guess I shouldn't have been so hard on you. It's just that you never think before you do something." She relented some, but she still wasn't ready to admit she was sorry. Not yet anyway.
"So you’re not mad anymore?"
"Let's just say I'm not AS mad at you anymore. But don't push your luck."
He bent his head down and joined his lips with hers. The kiss started simple but soon escalated into something much more. They savored the feel of each other's mouth, driven with a desire that had first brought them together. The taste produced from their dirt covered lips was salty yet sweet at the same time. Finally the two pulled apart, each a little unwillingly.
"I hope I didn't push my luck too far." Tom said.
"No, but next time we do this we might want to be a little cleaner."
He laughed, "I guess we are a bit dirty."
"Understatement of the year, Paris."
Heading back to the shuttle, Tom commented, "So, I was wondering if a certain Chief Engineer might want to help me clean some of those hard to reach places."
"Now you're going too far, Pig."
Paris turned the rock over in his hand. It was early in the morning, too early for most, including himself. While the other two slept in the shuttle, he had gotten restless and decided that a short stroll around camp might help. For some reason, he couldn't sleep. His conversation with B'Elanna the day before echoed in his mind. At least she wasn't mad anymore.
*Look what your night life has become, Paris, walking around an alien planet while you could be sleeping with two beautiful women.*
He let out a chuckle at his thoughts. *Well not sleeping 'with' but 'near' two beautiful women.*
The early morning light flickered off the shuttle. The sky looked beautiful. It was a mass of swirling reds and purples. It looked... it looked ...alive.
Memories of the day before flashed through his mind. The space station. The nebula. The voices calling out.
Wait what was he thinking. There weren't any voices.
*I really need some sleep.*
He looked at the rock in his hand. When had he picked this up? In fact he couldn't even remember when he had come outside.
He studied the rock more closely. It was onyx with mixtures of red and violet intermingling throughout it. As he held it tighter, it seemed to feel more alive. It seemed to pulse in his hand. Very slightly of course, but pulsed none the less. It seemed to make a sound as well.
*Running water??* he thought as he tried to identify the sound.
Raising it to the sun he tried to get a better look. A ray of light hit it, illuminating the stone. A moment of surprise overwhelmed him just before the stone pulsated one last time and shot a spark through his hand.
"Shit! " he yelped as he dropped the stone. Cradling his injured hand, he inspected the damage, expecting to see charred stump where once an appendage had been. Instead, he could find no wound. Only a tingling sensation remained where once blinding pain had resided.
*What the hell?*
Confusion overwhelmed him, but it soon subsided into drowsiness.
*I just need to get some sleep,* he thought as he walked back to the shuttle.
Behind him, the stone that he had dropped began to glow a soft violet and then melted into the ground until there was no trace left.
Captain Janeway had to smile. Tom and B'Elanna had seemed at odds when they had first left Voyager, but now both seemed to be talking amicably.
She was still not at the best terms with Paris herself, but that didn't mean she wanted to see him and B'Elanna mad with one another.
*They're just too cute a couple to let some petty fight break them up.*
True, she didn't know what had happened between the two, but she had noticed a tension between them.
*This time on the planet must have done them some good.*
They had been on the planet for two days and were now getting ready to head back to Voyager.
"Preflight is done Captain. We can leave anytime." Paris said from behind the conn.
"All right Mr. Paris, take us up."
"So Tuvok anything new to report?"
Chakotay sat in the captain's chair. The past couple of days had been nothing more than complete boredom. *Spirits, I must miss Kathryn even more than I thought.*
"Commander, everything is running at peak efficiency," the Vulcan replied.
"Good." *Damn I could use something to keep my mind occupied.*
As Chakotay sat there engulfed in his thoughts, Tuvok spoke again. "Sir it would be logical to assume that nothing of any interest will be occurring in the next few minutes. If you wish, the holodeck is not occupied at this time."
Chakotay turned to the Vulcan, "Okay, I get your point. Tuvok you have the bridge. Call me the minute anything happens."
"Yes, sir."
*Well now I have something to take my mind off Kathryn.* Chakotay stepped into the turbolift. *I could kill myself for insisting she go on that away mission. If that nebula didn't interfere with communication, I'd have her on comm once every hour.*
His face suddenly took on a concerned expression. *What if she got in trouble out there, there'd be no way to contact us.*
He pushed those thoughts aside. *No I'm just being overprotective. Nothing's going to happen.*
But still, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that somehow things wouldn't be the same the next time they saw the Delta Flyer.
"Well, Captain, this will be the last chance we have to explore that station."
Tom Paris was behind the conn as usual, but Captain Janeway barely heard his remark. She was staring at the view screen ahead with undivided attention. Before them was the space station they had encountered earlier. It stood like a puzzle that she longed to solve. *Why would someone ever abandon something as magnificent as that?*
"Captain?"
"Oh, could you repeat what you just said Mr. Paris."
"I asked if you wanted to explore the station before we leave."
Janeway looked like a child who new better than to do something but was just too tempted. She really shouldn't, after all it wasn't in their original flight plan. But an opportunity like this.... It was just too good to pass.
"B'Elanna, do a sensor sweep for any life-forms."
Torres entered a few commands onto her console. "I'm still not picking up anything."
"Try hailing them." Janeway had to be sure no one was aboard that station before she intruded.
"There's no response."
Janeway stared at the screen. This technically went against the prime directive, but if there weren't any life-forms aboard...
"Captain, I think I've found an opening to their shuttle bay," Tom said from the helm. All knew that with a nebula such as this, transporters were out of the question. One slight change in the environment and a person's particles could be spread across the sector.
Janeway nodded to Paris's comment. She wanted more than anything to take a look at that station, but it was a security risk even without any natives aboard.
B'Elanna saw her apprehension and spoke up. "By what the sensors have picked up, this place has been abandoned for quite a while. I'm also picking up some technology far more advanced than our own. If we don't go, we'll be throwing away the chance of a lifetime."
Tom joined his mate in their persuasion. "Captain I can get us in there."
Janeway's resolution fell through. *Oh what the hell.*
"Take us in Mr. Paris."
Chapter Three
"Naomi, I'm sure Tom will be back as soon as he can."
Harry was stuck baby-sitting Naomi Wildman while Tom was gone. Usually Paris would keep her one night a week, but due to his absence Harry had volunteered to take his place.
"I just want him to hurry up and come back. I can't wa
it to see my surprise."
The little girl had been rattling about her 'surprise' ever since the away team left. Harry, as well as quite a few others that had been around Naomi in the past few days, had all agreed that once Paris returned they would each take their turn in personally 'killing' him. Even Sam had agreed that she would definitely have a few words to say to him.
"Look, Naomi, they'll be back as soon as possible, but there are still a few more days before they're scheduled to return."
"I assume Miss Wildman is referring to Captain Janeway's away team."
Seven entered the room with a PADD and handed it to Harry before he had time for a greeting.
"Seven what's this?" Harry asked.
"Commander Chakotay sent me to give them to you. I did not inquire as to what they were."
"Hello Seven," Naomi said. She and the ex-Borg now got along rather well despite her first assumptions about Seven.
"Miss Wildman." Seven stated matter-of-factly then turned to Harry, "If there is nothing else, I will be leaving now."
"Yeah, sure Seven." Harry was so wrapped up in the PADD that he didn't notice Seven leave until he heard the swish of the door behind her.
"What is it Harry?" Naomi asked referring to the PADD.
"Oh nothing just a list of subroutines that the Commander wants me to run. He must really miss the captain if he's making us recheck all this." Harry said and then tossed the PADD onto the table. This work would take him at least two full days to run. *I guess I'll have to cancel that date with Megan Delany,* he thought bitterly. *Lord, two days of nothing but the dullest work in the universe.*
He leaned back in his seat. This was going to be Hell.
*It looks like its alive,* Tom thought as he guided the Delta Flyer into the station’s shuttle bay. All around them, the walls, floors, and ceilings were lined with the same callous-like red material. Other than that, the room was typically Spartan. *Guess these people never heard of hiring a decorator.*
Resting the Flyer on the ground, Tom looked to B'Elanna. "Okay, I got us in. So what do we do now?"
B'Elanna just replied, "We get out."
Stopping mid-stride, Janeway turned back to her engineer before reaching the environmental suits. "Excuse me?"
"Sensors say that the outside environment is the same as in here. There must be some kind of force field that we couldn’t detect keeping out the radiation."
Standing up, Paris walked to the back of the shuttle and opened the hatch. There wasn't even a change in temperature as the air from outside mingled with that within the shuttle. "Well, we came to see the sights, so let's go."
As the three Starfleet officers stepped out into the shuttle bay, each was too preoccupied with tricorder readings and the adrenaline of exploration to notice the force field flicker in the background before solidifying into an invisible wall.
"Oh the great explorers of Starfleet. Can’t even find a damn door!"
Slamming her tricorder shut, B’Elanna let out a sigh before checking on her two companions. Janeway was running a tricorder over the walls, trying to discover what they were composed of. From the frown lines creasing her face, she could guess the captain was about as successful as she was. On the other hand, Tom was busy studying one section of wall that she and Janeway had already gone over, and he wasn't using his tricorder. Puzzled, she walked over to him.
"See something interesting?" she asked.
"Huh, oh yeah. I was just looking at this section. It seems different somehow." He could have sworn he had heard something from near there. *You're just being paranoid,* he told himself. But still, something seemed to draw him over here. He just couldn't put his finger on it.
B'Elanna watched his face turn to inner contemplation. *What is he thinking?*
She was about to voice her thoughts when he leaned a hand against one of the panels. It rippled at his touch, and the wall began to open upon itself, like it was made of water instead of metal.
"What did you do?" she asked, knowing that he probably didn't know anymore than she.
"I just touched the wall and it opened." Instead of a wall there was now an arched opening that led into what looked like a hallway.
Janeway had come over to where her two officers stood. "Well, Mr. Paris, it appears you've found a way inside."
Tom stood there dumbfounded. Why had he pressed that panel? He hadn't been aware he'd been doing anything. And further more, why did his hand feel like he had just reached into the warp core? He looked at his hand. *Everything looks fine. Maybe
I'm just going crazy.*
Realizing that they were waiting on his explanation, he fumbled for something to say, "Well you know me, I always could find a way in where I didn't belong."
Janeway stared at the doorway in front of her, "Well, there seems no point in remaining here."
She and B'Elanna walked through the doorway. Paris stood behind for a few minutes longer. Somehow he had been overwhelmed by this feeling that they didn't belong here, that they should leave.
*Damnit Paris, you're going crazy.*
He took one more look at his hand, glancing over his shoulder just to be safe, then followed the others inside.
"This technology is amazing."
B'Elanna held the tricorder up to the wall. They had gone through two decks of the complex already and found enough information to keep Seven and Harry busy for a month.
Tom looked at B'Elanna. She was in her element. Every time they would come upon something new, which was just about every other second, the light in her eyes would just grow brighter and brighter. He had to admit, she hadn't been this happy in a long time.
Janeway shared the engineer's enthusiasm as well. *If we're lucky, we might actually find something that can help get us home.*
Tom should have been thrilled as well. Usually alien technology fascinated him. But this... There was something about this that put him on edge. If only he could put his finger on it.
"This panel seems to be some sort of directory," Tom said as he looked at the screen in front of him. They had already distinguished what would, on a Starfleet vessel, be considered a view screen. Here it was more like a liquid pool resting on the wall. By touching the screen, the liquid would restructure itself into different shapes and dimensions. Right now he was looking at a three dimensional liquid sculpture of the different decks on the station.
Hearing Paris's comment, Janeway stepped over to where he was standing. "Can you figure out where we are?"
"Hold on a second." Paris touched the clear liquid and a few seconds later it began to glow in one of the middle decks. "I'd guess that glowing dot indicates where we are."
Janeway smiled. He had been quite helpful and seemed to catch on to this technology extremely fast. In fact, not only had he figured out how to operate the viewscreens, but he had also learned how to operate the doors. *If you could call them that,* Janeway thought.
B'Elanna stood at Paris's side as well. "I wonder where engineering is?" Throughout the whole expedition she had made little comments about finding her place of work.
Tom smiled, "Don't worry, Lieutenant, I'm sure no one would build a ship without an engineering section. After all they wouldn't want you to hunt them down and bug the Hell out of them, too."
Torres bit her lip. She was about to make a comeback when Paris beat her to it.
"It looks like its located in the middle here," he touched the screen where he had indicated and, the area enlarged to show a formation of several large moving objects which somewhat resembled the warp core on Voyager.
"Yes, look at those structures there. They resemble warp nacelles. If we go two more floors down we should be able to find it." B'Elanna practically plowed over the captain on her way to engineering.
"Guess we shouldn't get in her way." Paris mumbled.
The others followed after her. They had already discovered that the turbolifts here were quite similar to those on Voyager so there had been no problem in operating them.
/> *It just seems too easy,* Janeway thought. But no, she quickly chided herself. Had she rather still be stuck at stage one? *Yes,* she answered herself. *I'd feel a lot better if I was.*
B'Elanna was still intoxicated with all that was going on around her. How did they get this lucky? Who would ever leave something like this behind?
They were in an engineer's dreamworld. The surrounding engines were constructed of the most amazing elements Torres had ever seen in her life. They weren't even metal, they were the same liquid that had been used in the viewscreens. Her tricorder was overloading; it had never found materials with this type of composition before.
*It's liquid, yet by these readings it's practically indestructible.*
Janeway was wrapped up in the same thoughts as Torres. *How is this possible?*
B'Elanna finally broke the silence. "If we can adapt this technology to Voyager, the engines could run for decades on what it takes us to run for a week now."
"Get as much information as you can. If we..." Janeway trailed on in her speech but Paris didn't hear a word more. All he could hear was the shrill sound coming from behind them. It sounded like...like running water but not like it at all. He was still puzzling over this when Janeway shook his arm roughly, pulling him out of his reverie.
"Mr. Paris... Mr. Paris,"
"Huh," was his only response. The noise he had been listening to was slowly fading. *What the Hell was that anyway?*
"Ensign, is something wrong?" Janeway was giving him her 'mother hen' look. He had been staring at the door for almost five minutes before she had tried to get his attention. But what really concerned her was that he had not responded to her calling his name. The only thing that pulled him out of his trance was her shaking his arm as hard as she could.
"No, nothing, I just heard something that's all." He diverted his attention back towards the door. *Why didn't I tell her the truth?* The truth was that he had a growing fear that kept building up the longer they stayed here. It was like something was trying to warn him, yet trying to make him stay as well.
