by Alys Landale
“Nothing,” he said. “It’s just that I’m used to at least feeling something when I’m around other people. These are just like the doctor.”
B’Elanna nodded. It was still hard to imagine Tom as a telepath.
Seven then joined in on the conversation. “Ensign Paris there is a matter that I wished to speak with you about.”
“Go ahead,” he told her.
For a brief second she wondered whether or not she should ask, but she did anyway. “The captain and myself were going through some of the Jihaid’s logs. I noticed that you had quite an extensive amount of information regarding the Borg present there.
If you were not assimilated by them, might I inquire as to how you came to possess this knowledge?”
B’Elanna was ready to punch the other woman. They had brought Tom here to relax not to bring up past horrors as those.
Paris only smiled slightly. “I wasn’t assimilated by the Borg. But I did have some experience with them about three months ago. Our ship was caught in a time-spacial rift and we ended up in Borg space. We spent a few weeks there before we were able to journey back to the Empire.”
“You were able to make a trip that long in only a few months?” Harry asked.
Tom just shrugged. “We were caught in another subspacial current while we were in battle with a Borg cube and sent back.”
Seven nodded. She had her answer.
Harry then piped up. “How about we play some pool. I can show you how to play Tom.”
Paris allowed Harry to drag him over to the pool table. B’Elanna and Seven followed as well. Torres wondered how strange things had become that Paris was now taking lessons from Harry.
Harry took a ball and began showing Tom how to work the cue. Paris stood back and watched bemusedly as Harry tried to make a shot. Familiarity touched Paris’s eyes but he quickly suppressed it.
“So you just try and get these balls into the holes by using this ball here.” Harry finished.
Paris took the cue from Harry. He tried his luck at the game but the ball went wide. Harry was given the cue back and he successfully finished the game by sinking the rest of the balls.
“And there’s no other point to the game than that?” Tom asked.
“Well, we usually play for rations, but since you’re new to it, I don’t think we should just now.”
“Well then let’s play it that way. Just because I’m new doesn’t mean you need to change the rules all of a sudden.” Paris said. At Harry’s reluctance, Tom persisted. “Come on what’s the worst that can happen. It’ll only give me a reason to get better at the game a whole lot faster.”
“Okay,” Harry conceded. “We’ll keep it light though. Two rations a ball.”
Paris nodded. “Sounds good to me. Why don’t you start?”
Harry racked the balls and prepared for his opening shot. He sunk two balls but the rest scattered to rather remote places.
B’Elanna walked over to Tom. “What was that about?” she asked in reference to the two men’s wager.
He just smiled slightly. Harry missed his next shot and handed the cue to Paris.
“Just shoot like I told you.” Harry said. “The way the balls are lined up, it might be hard to sink one.”
Paris nodded and went over to the table. He brought the cue level with the cue ball and made his shot. Harry sighed as he watched Paris’s ball totally miss its mark. It hit the opposite side of the table and ricocheted back to where Tom was standing. Just before it returned to Paris however, it struck the red ball and sent it flying into the corner pocket. Harry stared in amazement at Tom’s first shot.
“Must just be luck,” Tom said and then lined up for his next shot.
He hit the blue ball, which started a chain reaction and sent two other balls flying into pockets as well as itself. After a few more shots, Tom had reduced the table down to only the cue ball and eight ball remaining. With one last shot he easily sank the remaining ball into the side pocket.
B’Elanna walked over to him. “You remember how to play?” she said. It was more of a statement though.
He smiled at her. After three days of being around the half-Klingon, he was learning how to read her.
He knew she needed an explanation. “Back on some of the Dezorisian ships there was a game similar to this. You’d try to sink a ball into a hole. It was a little more advanced, but it had the same principles.”
Harry stared at him in disbelief. “You conned me?” he asked.
Paris had to laugh a little at the young Ensign’s expression. “Don’t take it personally Harry. I just couldn’t resist.”
B’Elanna smiled at Tom. He seemed to be in a better mood now than he had in the past few days. Despite his lack of memories, this was still the same old Tom Paris.
The next day the senior staff all congregated in the captain’s ready room for their morning meeting. Chakotay brought up the morning report.
“This morning we were hailed by a trading vessel. It seems that it’s new to this area and is looking for trade. I think it would be wise if we took them up on their offer. They might have something we could use.”
“I agree,” Janeway said. “We shouldn’t let an opportunity like this one pass us by. We’ll check them out first to see if they pose any threat, but otherwise, I’d like to see if we could do business with them.” She then addressed the rest of the group. “Is there any other business that needs to be discussed?”
She smiled to herself. It was feeling like old times. Tom had retaken his rightful seat and everything was returning to normal. He was still distant, but there was something about the way that he was acting now that resembled more closely the Tom
Paris she used to know.
He now spoke up. “Actually, I have some news.”
“Go ahead Tom.” she told him. Everyone was wondering what this news might be.
Tom glanced at Seven before he spoke. “As Seven knows, I’ve been reviewing some of the information you acquired from that station you visited about a year ago.” Janeway looked a bit uneasy as Tom spoke of the place where they thought he had once been killed. He continued. “I noticed that some of it hadn’t been decoded yet.” He got up and walked over to the viewscreen. “So I took the liberty of translating it for you.”
He brought a list of text up on the screen.
Janeway got up out of her seat as well. “You were able to translate this?” she asked.
“We’ve tried just about everything we knew of to decode it.” Harry said. “How did you....”
“Well,” Tom said. “I’m not the one who decoded it first.”
“What do you mean?” asked B’Elanna.
He changed the text on the screen to the configuration that they had known it. “This is what it looked like before I decoded it.” He told them. He then tapped in a few commands and an encryption code began to go to work. After a few seconds, the complete text had been decoded once more. He could sense that more questions were about to be raised, so he continued. “This information was encoded in a simple Imperial code. It wasn’t tough to break it after that.”
Chakotay stared at the screen. “You’re saying the Empire put a decryption code on this information. Why?”
“Takma has a lot of reasons for what she does. When she saw this information, she probably realized how valuable it was to you. She didn’t want to risk you noticing that it was missing, so she encoded it.”
B’Elanna wondered just what kind of data that was anyway. She had to admit, her interest was sparked now. Along with her anger towards Takma. “What kind of information is it?” she asked.
Tom entered a few commands and the screen shifted from text to an image of a large cylindrical instrument, bearing a close resemblance to the Warp core.
“This,” Tom said, “is a trans-spacial warp core.”
Janeway was looking over the engineering layout of the new engine. B’Elanna got up as well and was soon engrossed in the diagram on the screen.
> “And just how does this work?” Janeway asked Paris.
He pointed to the interior of the core. “The core can run off just about any element, but the higher the atomic weight, the greater the power output. Dilithium would work, but it would be best if we could find another element to use.” He then entered some more commands and the screen shifted to an image of Voyager in space. “The core works by creating an emulsion field around the ship. The field then disrupts the ions located in the space around the ship.” The image then showed Voyager being surrounded in a dark blue field. The space around the ship began to be disrupted.
Tom continued. “After that the ship is submerged in a sub temporal current.” On the screen, the space around Voyager shifted from the blackness of space to that of a deep dawn-tinted color. The particles moved throughout the rift like a river. Deeper violet currents ran throughout the area. “From here Voyager can traverse through almost any area of space it wishes in almost no time at all.”
Janeway studied the image before her. The ship maneuvered its way through the currents and then pulled out of one. The space shifted back to its original form.
“How long would it take us to return to the Alpha Quadrant if we used this?” Janeway asked.
“It only takes a few minutes to enter a rift like this one. If we used dilithium to power the engines, then we could jump in and out of the current at short bursts, but we wouldn’t have enough power to stay in there any longer than one maybe one and a half minutes. Then it would take us about a few weeks to remodulate the core again.” He paused as he took all these variables into account. “With these kinds of setbacks it would take three, four months at most.”
Just about everyone lost their breath as they heard this news.
“What if we used a heavier element than dilithium?” B’Elanna asked.
“If we used one with a greater atomic weight we could stay in the current longer. Once we built the core and entered the current, we could be in the Alpha Quadrant in six or seven minutes.”
“Minutes?!” Janeway asked. This was too good to be true.
“It would take almost a month to build the core, but once we enter the current we’ll be able to travel light years in a matter of seconds.” He explained.
“You speak as if you are experienced in travels such as this.” Tuvok commented.
All eyes turned back to Tom. He smiled slightly. “I’ve had some experience.”
Harry, Seven, and B’Elanna knew what he was referring to. The others didn’t however.
Chakotay was the next to speak. “Just when did you get this ‘experience’?”
“The Jihaid was pulled into one of these currents once before. It sent us into Borg Space before we could get out. Due to our lack of shielding, we were unable to guide ourselves while we were inside it, so we ended up sinking into a time-spacial rift as well.”
“A time-spacial rift?” Chakotay asked.
“The Jihaid was sent into Borg space one year into the future of when we were sucked in. It will arrive there in a few months I’d say.” Tom said. “But if we outfit this ship with the proper shielding and build this new engine, we should be able to navigate it very easily.”
Janeway took another look at the designs. “So if we built this core, we could be back in the Alpha Quadrant in less than a month.” She took a few more moments to stare at the screen. She then turned to B’Elanna, “How soon can you start?”
The crew filed out of the ready room. Paris left with B’Elanna to go over design schematics for the new warp core while the rest of the procession headed towards the bridge.
B’Elanna stole another glance at Tom as they walked away. She was getting so infuriated at him not being able to remember her. But this new project would give them more time to talk. She had to admit that this new design really intrigued her. She couldn’t remember when she’d been so excited.
“I guess you’ll be seeing the Alpha Quadrant pretty soon,” she said. “What do you plan on doing first?”
He was silent for a moment. “I don’t know. I’m only planning on staying there until I can get a shuttle fitted with this engine design. Then I’m heading back for the Empire.”
She stopped in her tracks. How could he be planning to leave when he had just gotten back?
“You can’t be serious,” she said.
He stopped as well and looked back to where she stood. He could feel the anger and confusion rolling off of her in waves.
He could also see the fire in her eyes as they ignited.
*She looks so beautiful* he thought but then shook these thoughts from his mind. *I can’t possibly be thinking this. I don’t even know the woman.* But something in his heart told him he did.
He kept his face impassive as he said. “I’ve got things left undone over there. I have to go back. ”
She didn’t want to accept this. She couldn’t bear the thought that she would be separated from him again. In a month, he would be gone. No, she wasn’t going to leave him again. Even if he didn’t remember her, she still needed him.
“You can’t just leave us again! Just like that:?! You haven’t even given us a chance!” Her Klingon side was getting the better of her. It wouldn’t be long before she had lost every shred of patience that she possessed.
“I’ve got responsibilities back in the Empire. I can’t just forget my life back there.” He didn’t know why but fighting with her just seemed so natural. It made him think she was even more beautiful when her eyes flashed with anger.
“And you can’t disregard the life you had here and back in the Alpha Quadrant!” She was on the verge of screaming at him now.
Her face was flushed. She looked amazing. An image of a past scene floated through his mind. He could remember fighting with her over some other cause. Something to do with an away mission?
The thoughts left his mind rather quickly though. Taking over its space was a sharp pain that ran through his mind. He tried to push the pain from his mind, but it lingered there anyway.
B’Elanna continued in her tirade. She was oblivious to the pain Paris felt. “And just what do you expect us to tell your friends and family back in the Alpha Quadrant. They have a right to see you again.”
The pain slowly began to subside. He realized that B’Elanna was waiting for an answer. She stood there practically fuming. He couldn’t help himself. He just shot her an impish grin in return. Something inside him told him it was okay.
She stopped her tirade and stared at Paris. She could remember in the past when he would do similar things as well. She didn’t know what to say now that one of his past behaviors had resurfaced.
He then spoke for her. “Why don’t we continue this conversation some other time? I think we need to build the engine first before we talk about it anymore.”
She reluctantly conceded and walked past him to Engineering. He smiled and shook his head. That woman was something.
He pushed that thought away. He had to stay objective. Not even a week had passed since Aria’s death.
He began to follow in Torres’s wake. After a few steps, a searing pain ripped through his head. He stopped and gripped his forehead. Vertigo washed over him. He gripped the wall beside him to steady his balance.
As sudden as it had started, it was gone. He shook his head to clear it.
*What’s going on?* he wondered. Everything seemed fine now, but that didn’t mean anything. The idea of going to sickbay had never occurred to him. He resolved to take care of things when he returned to his quarters this evening.
He then turned his course back to follow in B’Elanna’s wake.
*
The three voices were still at war. The two feminine ones had formed an alliance against the male, but he was proving to be more powerful than they had anticipated. He had almost won their last battle. That last attack could have proven disastrous.
But now the masculine voice had receded to its hideaway deep within the landscape to which they were imprisoned.
The stronger of the two females then spoke up. She was free to transverse between the planes to which the other two had been imprisoned. *He seems to be getting stronger.* she said.
The other agreed. *I have been imprisoned with him for almost an eternity. I was on the brink of being overthrown by him once before. It was only with the aid of the one who imprisoned us that I was able to overthrow him. If he remains this powerful, I don’t believe even with our combined strength, we will be able to overthrow him again.*
If her old body had been present, a smile would have spread across her face. *Don’t underestimate me. I am a Nalyan warrior. I know how to fight.*
The other voice conceded. *Yes, Aria, I realize that you do. But you aren’t as powerful now as when you were alive.*
The Nalyan had to admit the other had a point. Aria’s spirit was still present to help in this battle. She was a servant to the Spirit; she had to help. Besides, there was much at stake. A Nalyan’s spirit was so strong that not even death could destroy it. Well, almost not even death. She had sort of cheated her fate by remaining on this plane of existence instead of transversing to the next. But she refused to leave until she had completed her duties.
She couldn’t leave just yet. She was now a guardian, and what she had to guard was more precious to her than anything imaginable.
*
Chakotay and Janeway were on the bridge speaking with the trader who had hailed them earlier. The man on the viewscreen was a species with very dark skin. He closely resembled the humans on Voyager except for the slight bony formations protruding from his skull.
“I’ll be lookin forward to doin business with you Captain,” the man said. His eyes were set hungrily on the captain. “You will be coming over here won’t you?”
Chakotay spoke up. “I’ll be leading an away team to your ship.” he said. “The captain will be remaining here.”
The man looked a bit upset but soon got over it. “Sure that’ll be fine.” he said and then spoke directly to Janeway.
“Although I will say that I had been looking forward to meeting you captain.”
