Dedicated to Jean. We miss you, honey. Also to the rest of the
gang.
****************************************************
Part Three
Harry, B'Elanna and Tuvok walked over to Captain Janeway's
emergency shelter and knocked on the door. When she answered,
the three of them entered and stopped in the middle of the room,
waiting for Janeway to acknowledge their presence.
After a moment, the captain looked up from the padd she was
reading, eyeing her three officers. "Yes?"
"Captain, we would like to know why you left the doctor, Lt.
Paris and Commander Chakotay behind," Tuvok stated.
"Tom was still in surgery, and couldn't be moved. It might have
killed him," Janeway started her explanation. "And Commander
Chakotay chose to stay behind of his own free will." She sighed.
"I hope the three of them can get the ship back."
B'Elanna frowned when she heard the captain's reasoning.
*She's lying,* she thought. *Why would she lie?* B'Elanna
opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it and
closed it again.
Tuvok considered Janeway's words for a moment, then nodded.
It was logical. Tom Paris and the doctor had taken the ship back
from the Kazon, and with the help of commander Chakotay it
would be even easier.
Harry just nodded. The captain's reasons to leave Tom and the
others on the ship was sound. And she was right. He hoped that
Tom and the others would have the chance to take back Voyager
and come and rescue them.
Janeway studied her officers, gauging their reactions. Harry Kim
was easy to manipulate. He would believe anything she told him.
Tuvok wasn't hard to read either. She'd known him long enough
to know how his mind worked. She knew he'd find her reasoning
logical. That just left B'Elanna.
Janeway wasn't sure if B'Elanna believed her. The chief
engineer had always been hard to read, and it was no different
now. Noticing B'Elanna's frown, Janeway asked, "Lt. Torres? Is
there anything wrong?"
B'Elanna met the Captain's eyes. She shook her head. "No,
Captain. I just hope that Tom and Chakotay aren't in trouble,"
she answered.
Janeway nodded her understanding. "So do I, B'Elanna. So do
I." She looked back at Tuvok. "Was there anything else?"
"No, Captain," Tuvok answered.
"All right. Dismissed," Janeway said and sat down again.
Tuvok left the shelter, followed by Harry and B'Elanna. When
there was enough distance between them and the captain's
emergency shelter, B'Elanna said, "She's lying."
Tuvok and Harry stopped and turned around to face B'Elanna.
Tuvok lifted an eyebrow. "What makes you think that the
Captain is lying?" he asked.
"I don't *think* that she's lying," B'Elanna answered. "I
*know* she is."
Harry frowned at B'Elanna. "What is she lying about?"
B'Elanna looked from Harry to Tuvok and back again. She could
tell that they didn't believe her. Yet. Taking a deep breath, she
told them. "Tom wasn't in surgery when we left the ship."
Tuvok's eyebrow attempted to meet his hairline, and Harry's
frown deepened. "How do you know that, Lieutenant?" Tuvok
asked.
"I know because I commed sickbay forty-five minutes before
Janeway ordered the evacuation," B'Elanna said quietly. "The
doctor told me that he'd just finished operating on Tom, and that
he'd keep him sedated for the night to be sure Tom got some
rest."
Harry was confused. "Then, why would the Captain leave them
behind?" he asked.
B'Elanna bit her lower lip, not sure if she should tell the two men
about her suspicion. It was based on something Tom had recently
told her in confidence. He'd asked her not to tell anyone, and if
she told Harry and Tuvok, she'd break Tom's trust in her. On the
other hand, telling them might be the only way to make them
believe her.
Tuvok noticed the expression in B'Elanna's eyes, and concluded
that she knew something. "Lieutenant Torres?" When she met
his eyes, he continued, "If you know something that could clear
up the facts, then please tell us."
B'Elanna hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I think so," she
answered. She still hesitated, then reached a decision and looked
seriously at Harry and Tuvok. "About a month and a half ago I
noticed a change in the way Janeway treated Tom," she started.
"At first I dismissed it as her having a bad day. However, when it
continued, I talked to Tom, and asked him if he had noticed. He
told me 'yes'. After I did a bit of prodding, he told me why."
When B'Elanna paused, Tuvok lifted his eyebrow quizzically.
"What did Lt. Paris tell you?"
B'Elanna glanced at Harry and saw the questioning expression
on his face. She took a deep breath, then revealed what Tom had
told her.
*****
Tom looked around the quarters he and Chakotay had been
locked in. The alien had taken him to deck three where they had
picked up Chakotay and the doctor. Then the four of them had
gone to the ambassadorial quarters.
The alien had informed the two men that their access to the
computer had been removed, and that they were to stay in these
quarters for now. Then he/she/it had left, along with the doctor,
sealing the door as they did.
Chakotay had moved to sit on the couch as the door closed
behind the alien and the doctor. Now he watched the pilot as
Tom looked around their prison. Because, no matter how
comfortable the quarters were, he and Tom were, in fact, in 'jail'.
Tom finished inspecting the cabin and came over to sit beside
Chakotay. He had a few questions for the commander, and hoped
that Chakotay would answer them. He turned slightly until he
was facing him. "What happened to the doctor?" he asked
quietly. It was something he had wondered ever since he woke
up in sickbay.
Chakotay smiled wickedly. "I did a little reprogramming before
the aliens boarded." When he saw Tom's quizzical look, he
elaborated. "I disabled his ethical subroutines, and programmed
him to be completely loyal to the two of us."
Tom chuckled in amusement. Then he had a thought and stopped
laughing. "What if the aliens reprogram him again?" he asked
worried.
Chakotay lifted an eyebrow. "I thought of that," he said. "I put an
access-code into the doctor's program. I'm the only one who can
make any changes in his subroutines."
"Good thinking," Tom said, then gave Chakotay a puzzled look.
"Did you have enough time to do that before the aliens boarded
the ship?"
"Yes," Chakotay answered. "The aliens took longer to board
Voyager than anticipated," he explained. "I had half an hour to
change the doctor's program."
For a moment Tom looked surprised. Then he shrugged it off. He
had a more important question. "That vid the doctor showed me
of the shuttle bay," he started hesitantly. "Did that really happen,
or was it altered?"
Chakotay's face turned serious. "It wasn't altered," he answered
quietly, dreading Tom's reaction. "What's on that security vid is
exactly what happened." He looked at Tom and was started to
see that the younger man didn't seem surprised. In fact, Tom's
face was devoid of any emotion.
Tom took in Chakotay's words in silence. He wasn't surprised.
Hurt, but not surprised. Ever since the little... altercation he had
with Janeway a month and a half earlier, she had been cold and
formal towards him.
For a long time Tom sat in silence, working through the pain of
Janeway's betrayal. He was aware of Chakotay sitting beside
him, and guessed that the other man didn't want to disturb him.
Finally, Tom abruptly rose from the couch and started pacing, all
the while cursing under his breath. He wanted to scream and
throw things, but not in front of Chakotay. He needed to be
alone, but since that wasn't about to happen, he tried to calm
down.
Chakotay watched Tom pace and frowned in concern. After a
few minutes, he decided to try and find out why Janeway would
willingly leave Tom and the doctor behind. The doctor had told
him that Tom had been out of surgery when the captain ordered
the evacuation. When Chakotay had asked why the doctor hadn't
beamed himself and Tom aboard one of the shuttles, the
hologram had told him that Janeway had put a security lock on
sickbay, preventing anyone from leaving.
Chakotay rose from the couch and moved to intercept Tom. He
put a hand on the younger man's chest. "Tom."
Tom shook himself out of his thoughts and met Chakotay's eyes.
"What?" he snapped.
"Why would Captain Janeway leave you and the doctor?"
"Because she's a damn bitch," Tom snarled bitterly. Then he
sighed deeply and got control of his temper once more. He
studied Chakotay for a moment, then said, "Let's sit down, and
I'll tell you."
The two men walked over to the couch and sat down again. Tom
turned to Chakotay and looked straight into his eyes. "A month
and a half ago, Janeway visited me in my quarters," he began,
and proceeded to tell Chakotay what had happened during that
visit.