by Alys Landale
Tom grimaced slightly as she pulled the bar out of him. He wondered what the hell that thing was. Whenever it glowed, it would burn through his skin when brought near him. And it hurt. Damn, it hurt. His head was reeling. He could no longer see.
Everything was just a haze of pain. *Just kill me now* he silently pleaded.
He knew better than to let his pain show though. If he did then Takma would only feel that she was winning, and then proceed to beat him even further until he finally broke. No, he wouldn't give her that satisfaction.
Takma held the bloody bar out in her hand. His chest was ripped to shreds. She wanted him to talk. She'd give anything for the information he held, but so far she was getting no results. She couldn't let him die, that would be a waste of resources. But she had to find some way to get what she wanted.
She watched as his head swayed a bit. He would die if she continued this. He was already at the end of his rope as it was. *I suppose I'll just have to find another way to get the results I want.*
The world grew darker around Paris. He knew he was about to pass out. With the injuries he had received, he might not wake up again. *Not likely with my luck* he thought. Just before his world came crashing down into the darkness with which it had resided for so long in the past week, he heard Takma's last words. "Well, if you won't talk, I suppose I'll have to go to more drastic measures." And then he fell into unconsciousness.
Takma stared at the man before her. He had more stamina than anyone she had ever encountered.
Kail stood in the background. He had enjoyed watching her beat the prisoner. She had a certain finesse that intrigued him. And the man's endurance surprised him as well.
"What do you plan to do with him now?" he asked. "It's clear he won't talk."
She looked annoyed. "I suppose we will just have to find out what we want for ourselves. Call in one of the guards. I want him taken to Doctor Rosin's lab. We should be able to get better results there."
Kail nodded. Had he been any other species, he would have felt pity for the poor man. But as it was, he relished that of another's pain. He tapped his comm link. "Connley, come in here."
The door opened to his left and in walked the guard who had been assigned to Paris. Security was a matter of complete secrecy. The fewer people that new about Paris the better. And then, once they had what they needed, all the others who knew the secret would be 'taken care of'.
She approached Kail. "Yes General," she said.
"Connley, take this one to the doctor's lab." He nodded towards Paris.
Connley nodded and then Kail and Takma walked out. Once they had gone, she walked over to Paris.
She shuddered at what she saw. Little was left of the man she had been assigned to guard. He was covered in blood and didn't seem to be breathing as easily as he had before.
She gently wiped away some of the blood from his forehead. "Hello, can you hear me?"
He stirred a bit. His eyes slowly began to open. She waited until he could focus on her. She had debated over whether she should reveal her cover to him or not. But if he could withstand this kind of torture, then he could keep her secret.
"Hey,'' she said again. "I'm here to help you."
He looked at her as if he understood but made no move to speak.
She went on. "I'm going to help you get out of here, but I can't do that now. We have to wait until the security is down."
She stared into his eyes and created the telepathic link they had stumbled onto earlier. "If the pain becomes too unbearable, just think of me and I'll give you whatever strength I can to help you through it."
He nodded weakly. Then his head slumped down onto his chest and he fell unconscious again.
She pushed a piece of bloody hair off his forehead. *I just hope I'm strong enough to help.*
*
Naomi hugged her Flodder doll tighter to her. They had just returned from Tom's service. Her mom had asked her if she wanted to talk, but she had said no. The only person she wanted to talk to was Uncle Tommy.
"Why did they have to go on that stupid away mission anyway?" She asked. There was no one in the room, but it didn't really matter.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear Neelix enter. "Hey, Naomi." he said.
She turned around a bit surprised. "Oh, hey Neelix."
The Talaxian sat down beside her. He hated that she had to go through losing someone like this. He had seen his share of pain, and he knew that it was not something a little girl should have to see at her age.
"Naomi I was wondering if you might want to go to the holodeck for a while. We could play one to the new Flodder programs." He just wanted to try to distract her from her sorrow.
"No thanks."
He sighed. "Is there something you want to talk about?"
She seemed to hesitate for a while, but then shook her head.
"Are you sure," he asked. "You know that you can tell me anything."
She bit her bottom lip. "Why did they have to go on that stupid away mission?"
"Well, there was a source of dilithium on the planet and the captain thought it was best if they took advantage of the opportunity and go down and get some. She didn't know that something like this was going to happen.''
"But when Mom went on that away mission, they thought she might not come back. If it's so dangerous, why does the captain let so many people go?''
Neelix looked at his godchild. How could he explain this? "Naomi, sometimes people have to do things even if they aren't the safest things to do. There are always risks in everything. If the captain said that there could be no more away missions, then Voyager would run out of resources and we wouldn't be able to go anywhere."
She still looked a little unsure. Neelix continued. "We all take risks. Sometimes we come through alright." He looked down. "Sometimes we don't. But if we didn't take these risks then what would we have to live for.''
*
Doctor Rosin looked over the results. He had run a post-cellular scan on Paris and so far the results were amazing.
Takma approached him. "Well Doctor I hope you have some good news."
He smiled, "In fact, I have very good news. It seems that whatever did this, completely reformed his body."
"Well, you already told me that.'' She was impatient. They already knew that this was not his natural biological form. The doctor had better have better news than that.
"Yes, but what we didn't know was that his current body structure is not all that it could be."
Takma looked puzzled. "Explain.''
Rosin gestured her over to a computer terminal. An image of Paris's current state reflected off the screen. "You see his body is only at an intermediate stage. It seems that whatever 'assimilated' him, for lack of a better term, didn't assimilate him completely. If we stepped up the process, then we could have a being far more advanced than the Borg at our very disposal."
She grinned at the possibilities. "But what about his cooperation. He has already been put through torture and didn't break. If he was so advanced, then how could we control him?''
"That's where the beauty comes in. His brain is so much like a computer that it wouldn't take that much to erase any memories that we find 'unappealing'."
"And you could do this."
The doctor looked confidently at her. "It would take quite a bit of surgery, but I believe that it can be done."
"Could you down-load some of his memories as well?'' *Perhaps torture wasn't the best way to go about this* she thought.
"No, we can erase the memories but there is no way to download them."
Takma looked slightly pissed but then her face took on a thoughtful look. "Alright, do it. But I want him kept alive. He's a valuable commodity and I don't intend to lose him. Is that understood?''
Doctor Rosin nodded.
"Good, then begin your work immediately. Inform me of the results when they become available."
She strode out of the lab without even paying him a secon
d glance.
Rosin gulped. *Now that is one bitch you don't want to mess with.*
Connley wondered what was about to happen to the prisoner she had been assigned to. She didn't even know his name. That was something the Empire didn't care about. At most, a number would be assigned to a prisoner, but more than likely he would just be referred to as 'that one' or a simple 'him' or 'her'.
Connley felt badly. There had to be something more she could do. She had found out about Takma's newest project due to one of their spies, but no one else was willing to volunteer for this assignment. *No one else was stupid enough* she thought.
But she had another reason for volunteering. This man was important. She had to make sure that he lived and to do that she had to get him out of Takma's clutches.
*At least I still have my cover.* she thought. *If they manage to find out that I'm not a Parvanian then we're all shit up.*
She unconsciously let her fingers touch the points of her ears. They usually reached at least an inch above her head but were now bound close to her head and covered with a wig. Ears that long and blue hair didn't fall into the typical small-eared, black-haired class that was known as Parvanians.
She just had to bide her time until she could get around security. And security here was as high as it came. Her mind drifted on to the blond-haired man she was trying to protect. *I just hope you can hold on that long.*
Paris wondered how long he could hold on. He had been in the doctor's lab for hours he guessed. At least that was how long he had been awake. He had been slipping in and out of conscious more times than he could remember.
In fact, it was getting harder and harder to remember anything. Images of his family came before his eyes, his life in Starfleet, the time he spent in prison. Everything was flashing before him. Something didn't seem right. The harder he tried to concentrate on one thing, the more it eluded him.
*What are they doing to me?!*
The doctor looked down at his patient. So far, the procedure was going well. It had been fairly easy. All that he had done was install a neural implant into his cerebral cortex. Once the device had been charged with poleynetic ions, it had begun to destroy all the synapses that controlled memory impulses. It wouldn't be long until all the ‘unappealing’ information was completely erased.
Rosin still couldn't believe the complexities of this creatures body structure. His mind was perhaps the most intricate. It was comprised of the most perfect blend of biological and mechanical components he had ever encountered. The elements that were present in his body were just as amazing. They were like liquid, but never lost the characteristics of metal. He could come up with no way possible to destroy it.
Tom knew that he had to do something. With all the strength he had left, he tried to resist the process.
Rosin frowned. This man was actually resisting the treatment. He turned up the dosage. This was getting interesting.
Images of when he first saw B’Elanna passed through his mind. Their time together. How she had first said that she loved him. No. He couldn't lose all that. He struggled even more.
"Doctor," a nurse said next to him. "His vital signs are fluctuating. I can't believe this but he is actually resisting the process."
Rosin looked at his console. If he upped the dosage of ions then he might lose his patient. But if he didn't, then Takma would be extremely upset at his failure. *Damned if you do. Damned if you don't* He upped the dosage.
Tom's face grimaced in pain. B’Elanna's face flew passed him. His other friends from Voyager went by as well. He tried to stop what was happening but he couldn't. He remembered B’Elanna back on the planet. The station.
He had to stop this.
Sorores's voice filling his mind, the assimilation. He briefly wondered what had happened to her. But then it was gone. Everything. His last thoughts rested on the face of the woman that had guarded his cell.
He remembered her words. He concentrated on her. He needed help. A feeling of peace crossed over him and then he fell unconscious.
Connley's eyes flashed open. She felt his pain. *What have they done to him?!*
Concentrating as hard as she could, she sent to him all the feelings of peace and reassurance that she could muster. Taking on his pain, she tried to help as best she could.
She reached out her mind to him. He was unconscious now, but having already gained access to his mind, she tried to find out what they had done. What she found terrified her. She knew that he had gone through unbearable pain, but what she didn't know was what they had been doing.
As she searched his mind, she could find nothing. All his memories, all his past was gone. She knew now that she had to act fast. If she didn't, there was no telling what kind of lies Takma could instill inside him.
"I take it the procedure was a success." Takma stated.
"Yes," Rosin said. "Now all that is left is to upgrade his system. I can use the poleynetic implants to trigger an increase in the substance found in his blood stream. It should then bond to his bones and other organs. After that we can get rid of any useless organs and mold him into quite the soldier."
"Do it. I need these results fast. If you can do this to him, then it shouldn't be too hard to perform the same procedures on some of our other not-so-useful subjects."
The doctor thought about the implications of the words Takma had just spoken. He didn't care about all the people that would probably die, all he cared about was himself. *If she's telling me this, then I might not be so useful once she gets the needed information.*
Instead of letting any of his thoughts show, he simply said. "I'll get started immediately."
Takma nodded and left. Kail approached her in the hall. "We found that ship that we first encountered outside the nebula. One of our probes was able to do a scan of it. It seems that the occupants are of the same species as our guest."
"Do they possess the same 'qualities' as he does?''
"No, however we did find a Borg aboard the ship as well as numerous other races."
Takma was silent for a moment. "Can they outfire us?"
"No," he replied. He knew she would be going for the kill.
"Then send one of the ships we confiscated from the Resistance forces in this area. I don't want to alert my husband of our recent finding. It would be better if he thought that the Resistance was after that ship and not himself."
Kail turned to leave.
"Oh and one more thing General."
Kail turned to face Takma.
"Try and keep the ship in one piece. I would like to have the ship and a few of its occupants to 'study'."
Kail nodded and left.
Takma stood alone. "Now, all that is left is our guest."
*
Janeway sat in her ready room. They were entering a new sector, and that meant new dangers. She knew as a good captain, she should be concentrating entirely on the subject at hand. And that subject was how to get Voyager safely through this sector. But her mind kept drifting to the service a few hours ago.
*More like eight hours ago.* she thought.
It was now 0100 and the captain was nursing a cup of her favorite coffee. So far she had taken only three sips.
Chakotay was the one who was taking care of her ship now, the same as when they had entered the void and she had let guilt consume her before. Only this time she actually had a death on her head.
Her head swayed a bit. She really hadn't been getting enough sleep lately. If she wasn't careful then she just might incur the wrath of the ship's medical hologram.
"As if Mr. Paris isn't enough."
The words slid through her mouth without her thinking. That brought even more depression stirring to the surface.
She sat the Padd down on her desk. If only she had forced Tom not to go then he would still be here.
Her mind slowly began to grow clouded as thoughts of Tom whirled through it. She never felt the thud as her head fell to the desktop and sleep finally claimed her.
&n
bsp; That was how Chakotay found her that morning. He smiled in spite of himself. There was his captain, the strongest woman he had ever known. The woman that he secretly loved. Her head was lying on her desk; one hand still gripped the cold coffee cup to her right while her other one had fallen under the desk. Auburn hair was draped around her head in a halo.
*She looks like a little girl who stayed up too late* he thought.
Gently he pushed the hair from her face. Dark circles and lines etched her features. All his thoughts were obliterated as worry took their place.
Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to her quarters. It was still too early for anyone to be up so he didn't have to worry about speculative rumors getting started. As he entered her quarters, she finally stirred.
"What?" she mumbled. Her lack of sleep had never been so apparent. She must not have slept in days.
"Shhh," he soothed.
She quieted down and fell back to sleep. He laid her down on her bed and took a final look at the woman he loved. At times like this, he just wished he could take her in his arms and carry her away. Away from all the responsibility, all the sorrow that a captain had to face. He would just take her away from it all and be damned with the consequences.
Instead, he pulled a few covers over her and silently exited.
She would probably wonder how she got to her quarters but he could answer her later. Today he would take the bridge. She needed her sleep. And if she didn't get it now, he didn't know when she would concede to get it again.
*
Tom Paris felt like his insides were being ripped apart. When he opened his eyes, he realized that his assumptions had been correct. Above him stood a man with dark hair and black eyes. Above those eyes were ridged spikes.
For some reason the pain wasn't that unusual. He thought somehow, that he had experienced similar sensations before, but then he couldn't be sure. All his mind could draw was a blank. It was like nothing was there. Like his entire past had been wiped away.
