Biological Advancement

Author: The Passionate Admiral

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek: Voyager.

Plot: An AU outcome of the episode which is regarded by many as the "epitome of failure" of the series. Suppose that "Threshold" had happened differently at the end (I know that this one has been done a few times before, but who cares?)

Captain Kathryn Janeway sat on one of the bio-beds in sickbay. Her chief helmsman, Lieutenant Tom Paris, lay on the adjoining bio-bed.

The two of them had been through an ordeal. First Tom had broken the Warp 10 Threshold, then he died, came back to life, and mutated into a different lifeform. Soon after, he had kidnapped Captain Janeway in his mutated form and used the threshold to bring her to a nearby planet. There they had become giant lizard-like organisms, and they had... mated with each other and reproduced.

The two officers were rescued by the crew of the Voyager shortly after, but the offspring had been left behind. Not long after this, Janeway and Paris had been returned to their human form.

Less than 24 hours later, they were back in sickbay being examined for residual side-effects of the threshold disaster. What The Doctor discovered was rather peculiar.

The holographic physician ran the medical tricorder over the vessel's CO. He gave the occasional "Hmmm..." as he observed her. Kes stood by the door, documenting a few reports.

After about five minutes, Captain Janeway started to get annoyed. She said "Doctor, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to the bridge TODAY."

"Of course, Captain," said the EMH, "There's just something rather peculiar that is going on in your neural pathways."

"What do you mean?" asked Janeway.

"I'm not sure," said The Doctor, "But if I were to venture a guess, I would say-"

"I know you're bored too, Lieutenant," Janeway interrupted him, "But there's no need to complain."

Tom looked over at her, somewhat confused. "Captain, I wasn't complaining."

"I thought I just heard you say 'Hurry up, you babbling cluster of photons,'" said Janeway.

"Well, I freely admit that I may have been thinking that," said Tom, "But I haven't spoken a word since we got here."

"I can vouch for him, Captain," said Kes, looking over her shoulder. "He's been totally silent since I began to examine you."

"That's odd," said Kathryn, "I'm not sure how to say this, but I think I can... sense Tom's thoughts."

"Really?" Tom raised an eyebrow in interest, "What am I thinking now?"

"You're thinking..." Janeway began, but then said "A moment ago, I could sense your thoughts, but now I can't. However, I can tell that you are experiencing fascination."

The Doctor began to examine Captain Janeway's neural pathways again, and finally, he found the solution. He said "Captain, I believe that somehow, through the threshold incident, you have become empathic."

"What?" Janeway stared at the EMH.

"Cool," said Tom, "But empaths can only sense emotions. How was the Captain able to read my mind?"

"It would appear that at certain intervals, she can experience telepathy as well for a certain amount of time," The Doctor reported, going over his results.

"How is that possible?" said Kes.

"Alas, I don't know," The Doctor admitted. Soon, another figure on the tricorder caught his attention. He went over to the wall and pressed a few buttons. He walked back over to the bio-bed and instructed Janeway to stand up. Once she was on her feet, The Doctor said "Captain, I want you to try to pick me up."

"Doctor?" said the confused Captain.

"I need you to do this in order to confirm my theory," said The Doctor.

Janeway shrugged, put her arms around The Doctor's waist and lifted him up easily.

"I must say, you're heavier than I thought you would be." said Janeway.

"That's because I just increased my metric mass to 200 pounds," said The Doctor.

Janeway put The Doctor back down. "How is that possible?" she asked.

"Captain, your strength has been affected as well," the EMH revealed. "Based on these results, I would estimate that you are about three times stronger than the average woman your age."

Tom whistled in amazement. Janeway was too stunned to speak.

The Doctor completed his examination on the Captain and went on to examine the Chief Conn Officer.

Janeway could sense that Tom was no longer feeling bored. To the contrary, he was full of excitement.

"Well, Doc, how have I been affected?" Paris asked after ten minutes.

"Mr. Paris," said The Doctor, "It would appear as though your neural pathways have been affected as well."

"In what way?" asked Kes.

The Doctor spoke with a hint of interest in his voice "I have never seen brain activity like this before. Your neural pathways are taking in information and processing and storing it at an exponential rate!"

"So, basically, you're telling me that somehow through the threshold incident, my awareness, comprehension, and memory have all been improved?" said Tom.

"It's more than just that," said The Doctor. "Mr. Paris, you may as well be the smartest person on board this ship!"

Tom was deeply impressed by the news The Doctor was giving him. He asked him "Doc, do you still weigh 200 pounds?"

"Yes."

"Kes, could you come over here for a moment?" the pilot asked the petite Ocampa.

The blonde alien walked over to his bio-bed. Tom asked her "How much do you weigh?"

"About 90 pounds," she told him.

Tom got up and told her "Hold on to The Doctor for a moment."

Kes wrapped her arms around the EMH. Tom stood in front of them, wrapped his arms around them both, and lifted them both off the ground.

Captain Janeway raised an eyebrow in amazement. Evidently, Tom's strengh had also been increased.

After fifteen seconds, Tom set the Ocampa and the EMH down.

"I don't know why, but I feel like doing back-flips right now." said Tom.

Without warning, he threw himself backward, touched the ground with his hands, and landed standing straight up.

"I probably don't even need to tell you about the changes in Mr. Paris' strength and agility, do I?" asked The Doctor.

"No, I don't see any need to," said Janeway.