Dedicated to Mort for her help with the alien's appearance.
*****************************************************
Part Two
"Why did you stay here?" Tom's question bounced around in
Chakotay's mind. He sat in silence for a minute, not knowing
how to answer. A moment later, he looked at Tom. "I didn't
agree with Janeway's decision to leave you behind," he said
calmly.
Tom stared at him in surprise. "Your sense of duty wouldn't let
you leave me and the doctor here, so you stayed?" he asked in
obvious disbelief.
Chakotay nodded in confirmation. It wasn't the real reason he
stayed, but there was no way in *hell* he was about to tell Tom
his true motive for refusing to abandon him and the doctor.
Tom opened his mouth, but before he could say anything,
another voice spoke. "Come with me, Tom Paris. It is time for us
to have a little... talk."
Tom turned towards the voice he'd heard earlier, his face
carefully blank. His facade almost slipped when he saw the alien.
The gender was indeterminable. But aside from that, he/she/it
was huge, at least 6 feet and 8 inches tall, was wider than
Commander Chakotay, and had warty skin and ridges on the
face. He/she/it had no nose, only breath holes and a thick neck,
reminiscent of that of Cardassians.
As he looked into the alien's eyes, Tom saw that they were
completely black, and retractable lids that slid back and forth as
you looked at them. When the alien opened his/hers/its mouth to
speak again, he noticed that the teeth were sharp and pointy. All
in all, it was one ugly alien.
"Tom Paris, come with me," he/she/it repeated.
Tom *really* didn't want to go with the alien, but he figured he
had no choice. A quick glance at Chakotay confirmed his
suspicions, so he rose from the biobed. "May I ask where we are
going?" he asked as politely as he could.
The alien's expression didn't change at the question. Or maybe it
did, and Tom just couldn't tell. "We are just going into the
hologram's office," he/she/it replied, then turned to the doctor.
"Doctor, escort the Commander to his quarters and see to it that
he doesn't leave them."
"Yes, SicA," the doctor replied respectfully, then turned to
Chakotay. "Come on, Commander. Let's go."
Chakotay rose from the biobed with obvious reluctance. He
glanced quickly at Tom, then headed out of sickbay with the
doctor right behind him.
Tom watched Chakotay and the doctor leave. As soon as the
door closed after them, he turned around and walked into the
doctor's office where the alien sat behind the desk. When the
alien gestured to the other chair, Tom walked over and sat down,
waiting for the alien to speak.
The alien studied Tom for a moment, then smiled. "Well Tom
Paris, the hologram showed you what happened when your
captain left the ship," he/she/it began. He/she/it watched Tom
closely for a reaction, but found none. He/she/it frowned. "I
understand that you have been very loyal to Captain Janeway, so
I'd like to know how you feel about her opinion of you and the
fact that she abandoned you."
Tom didn't answer immediately. Janeway's words ran through
his mind over and over. * Tom Paris is a traitor and a fuck-up.*
As the words repeated themselves, Tom felt his anger rise.
Finally he focused on the alien across from him. "How it makes
me feel?" he repeated in a voice soft with rage.
The alien nodded, fascinated by the suddenly icy expression in
Tom's eyes. "Yes. Tell me how your captain's words and
abandonment make you feel," he/she/it repeated, trying to get
Tom even angrier.
Tom opened his mouth to reply when he realized what the alien
was trying to do. He closed his mouth again, took a deep calming
breath, and thought fast. He knew that he had to defend
Janeway's actions, no matter how much he didn't want to.
After a moment of further silence, he finally spoke again. "I
understand why she left us," he said calmly. When the alien
looked surprised, he explained. "Starfleet has an unofficial
motto."
"And what is that?" the alien asked, clearly curious.
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the
one." Tom smiled coldly. "Captain Janeway couldn't risk the
lives of the rest of the crew just for two crewmembers, no matter
who they were," he said firmly.
The alien thought about Tom's words for a moment. "That
explains why she left you behind," he/she/it admitted. "But what
about the things she said about you and the... doctor?"
Tom considered that for a moment, then lifted an eyebrow when
he thought of a plausible explanation. "She said those things
because she knew how Commander Chakotay would react. She
*knew* that he would disagree with her." For a brief moment, he
seemed to think about something. "She probably even knew that
he'd stay behind with us. Hell, I'll bet she counted on it," he
added.
For a few minutes, the alien studied Tom in silence. Finally
he/she/it spoke. "I see. And you believe this?"
Tom sent him/her/it a cool look. "Of course I do. There is no
other explanation," he said with conviction. "Captain Janeway
would never have left us behind if she had a choice, and she
knew that Commander Chakotay's sense of duty wouldn't allow
him to abandon us."
The alien sighed quietly. It was obvious that Tom firmly believed
his own words. The alien wasn't so sure, but he/she/it realized
that Tom probably couldn't be convinced otherwise. He/she/it
rose from hir chair. "Come with me, Tom Paris. I'll show you
where you will stay."
Tom got to his feet and followed the alien out of the doctor's
office, then out of sickbay to the turbolift. Once they were inside,
the alien called for deck three. Tom blinked in surprise and
wondered where he was going to stay if not in the brig or his
own quarters.