eventhorizon12


	Part Twelve Once again, Chakotay stood at the edge of 'The Cliff' as he'd come to think of it. Before he started his meditation, he had decided that he would jump and pray to the Spirits that he didn't get hurt or killed in the process. He had to see if Tom really was dead and the only way he could get to the foot of 'The Cliff' was by jumping. Chakotay took a step closer to the edge, but before he could carry out his plan, he suddenly spotted a narrow trail leading down. He blinked in surprise. He knew it had never been there before. A moment later, he shrugged it off, figuring that this was the Spirits' way of ensuring he wouldn't get injured in his need to check on Tom. Chakotay carefully followed the trail down, and when he reached the bottom, he quickly made his way to Tom's side. He crouched down, reached out and pressed his fingers to the younger man's neck, checking for a pulse. He was surprised, and relieved, to find one. It was weak and slightly erratic, but there. Keeping his fingers pressed against Tom's neck, Chakotay looked the pilot over, searching for obvious signs of injury. Tom's breathing was shallow and his lips had a blue tinge to them. Blood ran from his mouth and nose and his skin had a gray cast to it. Chakotay moved his eyes from Tom's face and let them sweep over the pilot's body, continuing his visual inspection. The only other injury he could see was a broken leg. He finally removed his fingers from Tom's neck, letting his hands slide over the younger man's body, looking for more damage. Chakotay finished his examination and sighed. He'd found a couple of broken ribs, but that was all. Of course, he had no way of knowing whether Tom had any internal injuries, but considering how far the pilot had fallen…. A sudden and complete darkness interrupted Chakotay's thoughts. When the darkness receded a few moments later, he found himself kneeling on the floor of a small cabin. Looking around and seeing the furniture, he decided that he was in the living room. Chakotay got to his feet and frowned in thought, trying to figure out what was wrong. It took a few minutes, but he finally remembered what he'd been doing before everything had turned black and he arrived here. Tom. He'd been checking Tom for injuries. Fighting down his panic, Chakotay headed for the opened door that lead to the hallway. Once in the hall, he looked at the other doors, trying to decide which one to check first. All three were closed, and he knew that one of them had to lead outside. Making up his mind, Chakotay crossed the hall and tried the door diagonally across from the living room. It opened easily. He stepped into the room behind it and found himself in a slightly darkened bedroom. The first thing that caught his attention was the huge double bed placed against one wall. On it laid a fully dressed Tom Paris. Chakotay walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, checking for Tom's injuries. They were still there, but at least the pilot had stopped bleeding. *** The EMH sat in his office, pondering the best way to fulfill SicA's latest demand. Despite the fact that his ethics subroutines had been disabled, the doctor didn't like his newest order. Unfortunately, there wasn't any way he could disobey without blowing his cover. And Commander Chakotay had told him not to do that until he found a way to get rid of the aliens. The doctor finished his search of the medical database, having found what he needed. SicA had told him to find a drug that would at least cause confusion, panic attacks and insomnia. Any other symptoms would be a bonus, she had added. The drug that he'd found did all this and more. The doctor double checked the database, then wrote down the name of the drug and the symptoms it caused. He also added a recommendation of how it should be administered for best effect. "Speed: Causes high blood pressure, high heart rate, panic attacks, agitation, confusion, tremors, headache, fatigue, insomnia and increases nervousness. Also causes heavy sweating, blurred vision, dry mouth and palpitations. (Palpitations makes the victim's heart beat so hard he/she can hear it. The victim will feel like his/her heart will go out of his/her chest). Recommended method of administration: Released directly into the blood stream." When he'd finished his report, the doctor commed SicA. "EMH to SicA." "Yes, Doctor?" "I have found a suitable drug. The report on its effects are finished," the doctor informed her. "Excellent. I'm on my way." With that, SicA closed the connection. * Chakotay came out of his meditative trance when he felt something press against his neck. His dark eye opened in time to see SicA remove the hypospray from the side of his neck. "What did you inject me with?" he asked frowning. "Eat your lunch," SicA ordered with an unpleasant smile. Then she turned and left the cabin without answering Chakotay's question. Chakotay's frown deepened, but he rose to his feet, then went over to sit by the dinner table and started on his soup. Halfway through his meal, he started sweating and trembling. As he dropped the spoon, he felt his heart rate pick up. A moment later, he felt the beginnings of a severe headache. Getting to his feet, Chakotay staggered into the bedroom and all but fell onto the bed, hoping he would feel better if he got some sleep. It took some time, but he finally managed to fall asleep, only to be plagued by nightmares. *** The doctor studied the medical screen. It showed detailed information on the aliens' anatomy. SicA had told him to find out what was wrong with her sick crew, but that wasn't exactly what he was doing. He was looking for some kind of weakness that could be used to get rid of them. So far, he hadn't found anything, but he wasn't about to give up. He was going to find something if it killed him. The irony of that thought didn't escape the hologram and he snorted quietly. Suddenly something on the screen caught his attention and he stopped the flow of information. He double- checked and almost smiled in glee when the data was verified. He had found something useful. Now they just needed to get Tom Paris back. Of course, that could be a problem since the pilot wasn't even on Voyager. SicA had had him transported to her own ship and wouldn't bring him back until she was ready. The doctor closed the medical screen and returned to his office, deep in thought. There had to be a way to convince SicA to bring Tom back. The question was how. The doctor considered the options for a long time. When he had decided on a course of action, he commed SicA and asked her to come to sickbay. He just hoped his arguments would convince her that Tom was needed on Voyager. ***** Several hours later, the door to the Ambassadorial quarters on Voyager opened and Tom Paris entered slowly. When he first returned to the ship, he had been brought directly to sickbay where the doctor had explained the situation. Being a medic, Tom understood the possible danger to Chakotay. If the commander was injected with speed regularly as SicA planned, it could cause a heart attack. And when it was mixed with yohinbine as the doctor had done, the risk of serious health problems was even greater. So here he was, Tom Paris, the best damned pilot in the Delta, reduced to baby-sitting Voyager's first officer. SicA had informed him that from now on, he would have to inject Chakotay with the drugs. He hadn't objected because he didn't want his XO on a constant trip, and this way he could make sure that Chakotay didn't get the drugs. Tom shook off his thoughts and went into the bedroom to check on Chakotay. He stopped in the doorway and smiled softly when he saw that the other man was sound asleep. A moment later, Chakotay suddenly became agitated and Tom quickly walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. He lifted a hand and gently stroked Chakotay's hair, trying to soothe him. "Shh. It's okay. I'm back and everything's gonna be all right," he said quietly. Amazingly it seemed to work. Chakotay settled down and drifted into a deeper sleep. Tom removed his hand, took off his boots and slid into bed. He wrapped his arms around Chakotay, wanting to make sure he woke if the other man became distressed again. Then he sighed deeply and fell asleep. Part 13 Back