by Alys Landale
In fact, Tom wasn't even aware of what he was doing himself. Some other instinct had just kicked in and he went with it.
There was no time to be picky. He had to do something and if his gut told him what to do, he had no choice but to listen.
His eyes dilated slightly as he placed his hand on the bottom of the console in front of him. He was barely aware of one of the silver tentacles disattach itself from his hand and implant itself onto the metal of the computer. Others did this as well and then they punctured through the metal casing into the computer database within.
Tom felt himself merge with the entire complex. He could sense everything that was going around inside the base. All the
information that was held within the computer was suddenly stored within him. He then accessed the main controls for the level he was on and shut the door to shuttlebay.
As the guards tried to stop the massive door from closing, they were inevitably pushed back to the corridor on the other side.
The few that were stranded in shuttlebay were easy for Connley to pick off.
Connley then turned her attention to Tom. She was only slightly taken aback by what she saw before her. Tom had his hand on the bottom of the console they were hiding behind. Silver tentacles linked him to the computer inside. She had seen Borg do the same before but it was still a little surprising to see this man doing it.
"Can you get the hanger doors open?" she asked.
After a few seconds, he replied, "Yes."
"Then come on. It won't be long before they can pry those doors open."
"They know too much." he said.
Connley didn't know what he was talking about. "What do you mean?"
"It won't be long before they can do the same thing that happened to me to others. We have to destroy this place."
Most people would be sick by the thought of causing the deaths of so many, but Connley only asked, "How?"
"Give me a second." Tom's eyes still had the disconnected look in them. He transplanted all the information from the databanks into himself. Now the computers were devoid of any information that was once stored in them. He then issued a self destruct mechanism to activate with a countdown of five minutes. After that, the tentacles disattached themselves from the console and slid back under his skin.
"That should give everyone at least a fighting chance of evacuating the complex." As he said this, a siren went off alarming everyone of the imminent destruction of the complex. "We can open the hanger doors from inside the shuttle."
Connley nodded. Her respect for this man was growing by the minute. Both boarded the shuttle. For some reason Tom slid in behind the Conn.
"So you can fly a shuttle too," she asked.
He flashed her a smile. It was the same one that had made B’Elanna melt throughout their relationship. "Well, we're fixing to find out."
Kail approached Takma just as the warning sirens went off.
"Come on we've got to evacuate," he said.
Takma was fuming but complied. "Okay," she agreed and then turned to a cluster of guards. "You, you, and you." she said pointing to each one. "I want you to try and get this self destruct sequence off line. Don't leave until it's done understood."
The three guards nodded grimly. They ran to find a security console to work from. Each knew that this would probably be their last order but they would rather die in an explosion than face the punishment of disobeying orders.
The general and Takma then proceeded to one of the escape pods. Neither of them would be caught inside when the complex blew.
A nurse quickly grabbed an emergency med kit as she heard the siren go off. She then approached her patient.
"Come on Doctor Rosin, we've got to get out of here."
He slowly nodded and she helped him to his feet. His wound had been sealed shut but he still needed surgery. The two then hobbled to an escape pod.
Tom powered the engines and Connley opened the hanger doors. The information he had just acquired had included the layout of each system aboard an Imperial shuttlecraft. But for some reason he had chosen the Conn instead of one of the other systems like Tacticianal of Ops. Piloting just seemed the natural thing to do.
He jettisoned them out of the shuttlebay and maneuvered them around all the escape pods that were being launched.
He climbed into the upper atmosphere of the moon, which the station was located on. As the complex below exploded he guided them around whatever debris came into contact with them by issuing complex spirals and flips to avoid being hit.
Once they were safely in space above, Connley made her comment. "I see you really can fly."
He smiled again and then shot back, "I'm just as surprised as you are. By the way, I never caught a name."
"While undercover in the complex, I went by the name Connley. But my real name is Ariasonya Shantoa Brandwin."
"Quite a mouth full."
"You can call me Aria," she said. "I don't suppose you have a name." She knew that he couldn't remember any of his past but she tried to be polite.
"I might have had one at one time, but I don't seem to recall. Perhaps I can find it again."
She smiled sadly. This man had gone through so much and she knew full well that he would have much more to go through as well.
Tom broke the silence. "So, where to."
"We're fixing to go pay a visit on a few friends."
*
It had been almost four hours since the battle, and things were just beginning to quiet down in engineering. B’Elanna was finally forced to leave by a nagging Joe Carrey who kept persisting that he could finish things up down there and that she needed to get some rest.
But there was one problem, she wasn't tired. So instead of retiring to her quarters, she entered one of the holodecks. Once inside, she wondered why she had come here. It was the same reason as to why she had entered Engineering when she had. Something' was pushing her to do this and she didn't know why.
She scrolled down the holoprograms on the computer. For some reason she decided to pull up Tom's list. Most of them she knew. There was Sandrines, the 'grease-monkey' program, Captain Proton. But then something caught her attention. It was the last entry on the list and had been added only one day before they had left on the away mission. So far it had never been played.
She pulled up the entry. It was entitled, 'Surprise.'
The entire holodeck turned to a lush green. She found herself standing on a hill overlooking a lake below on one side and on the other was a pasture with cows and horses. It looked to be set in the Southern region of America on Earth. Children swam in the water or rode the horses on the other side.
*This must be the surprise that Tom had planned for Naomi.* Everyone had heard about how Tom had promised the little girl a surprise. But once they had come back without him...
Tears began to slide down her face. She wished Tom was back so badly. If only he were still alive.
She swore she could feel a hand on her shoulder. With this feeling came a kind of peace. A gentle acceptance. It felt like Tom was trying to tell her not to be afraid anymore, not to worry about him, that he was fine.
She turned around to find out who was behind her but all that was there was the gentle breeze of the holodeck. She wiped away the tears. Tom would want her to be happy. He had died so that she and the rest aboard this ship might live.
Closing down the holodeck program, she turned to leave. But this time however, she wouldn't be leaving to wallow in sorrow in her quarters. For the first time in days, she would get some sleep.
She had come into the holodeck an empty shell of her former self, now she left with hope and acceptance filling her soul.
And Tom's 'spirit' watched her leave as a changed woman.
Captain Janeway sunk into her ready room chair. The battle had been won, but now a new battle had arisen. The battle with herself.
All her thoughts took their toll on her. Guilt. Pity. Sorrow. They all played havoc on her mind.
*There had to be something I could do* she thought.
**You couldn't do anything** came a small voice from inside her.
She couldn't describe it, but with those words came the truth that her guilt had been hiding all along. 'There was nothing she could do.'
But now there was something she could do. Tom had taken her place and given his life because he knew that she was the only one capable of leading this crew. She had to be strong; she had to fight. She couldn't sit back and let self Pity take over her. He would never want that.
Slowly she got up from her desk. Tonight she would sleep in her own bed for once. And tomorrow she would keep her promise to Tom. She would protect this crew and get them home.
And that was a promise that she would not break.
*
Aria watched Tom sleep. He deserved it. Despite how much he had done in the small battle, in which they had just fought, he still suffered from injuries brought on from the doctor's experiments on him.
She could sense that he was 'talking' to someone. Along with the Borg-like qualities he now possessed he also had a telepathic power that was just as powerful as her own.
*If only he fully knew how to use it* she thought. Well that was her job. She had to get him ready for what was to come. It was her destiny to guide him into the battle, which he would soon lead.
She now sat at the Conn. He had been a little reluctant, but after her continued nagging, he had agreed to get some sleep.
Looking over to where he slept on one of the reclined chairs, she smiled. He was so amazing. He was brave and strong, just what she had anticipated.
*And handsome too* she thought to herself.
Wait what was she saying. She was here to help him not be attracted to him. But hearts never could be swayed by the mind, and Aria was no different. Her people had sent her to make sure that he would be ready when the Final Battle arose, but all she could think of was how perfect and kind he was.
She had anticipated everything. Everything except falling in love with him.
The End...Until Part Three
I would like to thank everyone that has e-mailed me in response to this story. You have no idea how great it is to know someone likes your work. I had first thought that I might not write a second part to this series and just hang it up but when I checked my e-mail I quickly changed my mind. Please write and tell me what you think.
Alys
