An Attempt On Fate

Author: The Passionate Admiral

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Star Trek universe, including any of the characters. I just own the storyline.

("…" means "time passes")

Plot: Not everyone was willing to accept Tom into the crew. All the Starfleet officers, being the tolerant people they were, accepted him almost immediately. But a few of the Maquis may not have been able to forgive him for betraying them. This story suggests that one time someone wanted to eliminate Tom Paris from the crew. This takes place between "Learning Curve" and "The 37s."

Lieutenant Tom Paris walked to the bridge to the turbolift to report for his shift at the helm. He was quickly examining his navigation report, which would be turned in to the Captain when he reported in. He stepped into the turbolift and said "Bridge."

The turbolift went up a few decks and stopped at Deck 1. Tom got out and stepped down to the center of the bridge. Captain Kathryn Janeway was sitting in her chair, drinking her daily cup of black coffee. Lieutenant Paris approached her and handing over the PADD, said "Here's today's update on the navigation array, Captain."

Taking it, she said "Thank you, Lieutenant Paris." While she examined it, Tom noticed that she was not the only one with a drink. Commander Chakotay had a cup of orange juice in his hand, Lieutenant Tuvok had a cup of tranya, and Ensign Harry Kim had some warm chocolate milk with him.

"Excuse me, Captain." said the pilot. "Are we allowed to have drinks on the bridge now?"

Captain Janeway just gave him the smirk with the raised eyebrow, which indicated that it was allowed. She told him "If you would like something to drink, Lieutenant, the replicator in my ready room is open for grabs."

"Thank you, Captain." said Tom. He went into the ready room and stepped up to the replicator. He said "Sweet green tea, chilled with a hint of lemon."

The replicator materialized a cup of green tea. Tom took it, left the ready room, and relieved Ensign Pablo Baytart of his duty shift at the helm. As he examined the astrogation charts, Harry asked him "What'd you get, Tom?"

"Green tea." answered the chief flight controller before drinking some of his beverage.

"Excellent choice." Chakotay commented.

"I think so, too." Tom agreed.

All of a sudden, an icon started flashing on the panel in front of him. He called out "Captain, there's a vessel approaching fast on an intercept course!"

"Harry, what is its status?" Janeway asked the young operations officer.

"Its shields and weapons are coming online!" Harry notified the Captain.

"And its configuration?" Kathryn aimed this question at Tuvok.

"Just a moment." he went through the readings on his console before answering "Kazon."

She stood up and shouted "Shields up! Go to red alert!"

Everybody put their drinks down and went to work preparing the ship to go into battle.

The Kazon ship was destroyed in the end. After the battle, the repair teams inspected the damage.

On the bridge, the damage was light. Captain Janeway's coffee had spilled on her lap. Commander Chakotay's orange juice had splashed into his face. Harry's chocolate milk had spilled onto his console. Tuvok's tranya glass had fallen to the ground, creating a large stain on the floor.

Tom was the only one whose drink had not spilled anywhere.

He just turned to the others and grinned. He took a sip of his green tea, and then commented "We should do this more often. Pretty soon, there may be a policy that permits a picnic on the bridge."

The drinking policy on the bridge was maintained over the next week. On the eighth day, Tom reported for his shift, handed in his report on navigations, and went to the replicator in the ready room.

Tom came back out with his daily glass of green tea. Chakotay asked him "Green tea again, Tom?"

"You know it, Commander." was Tom's reply.

"Why all the green tea, Lieutenant?" inquired Kathryn.

He shrugged and responded with "It's good for you, Captain. Much better than coffee."

"Well, I don't know about that." she argued.

"I looked it up." Tom told her. "Green tea is the only beverage you should be drinking every day to have a healthy lifestyle."

Janeway just humorously rolled her eyes and said "Whatever you say, Lieutenant."

Tom then took a sip of his tea, but then he made a face. "Odd."

"What is it, Tom?" asked Harry.

"I thought I tasted something other than lemon." Tom answered. He took another sip. The mysterious piquancy was not there that time. He just shrugged and went to sit down at the helm.

Nothing was really going on at that moment, but Tom was staying alert and focused on his station.

After an hour, Tom's vision was suddenly becoming a little blurred in his right eye. He lightly waved his right hand over the same eye. Within a few moments, he regained his vision entirely.

A moment later, Tom's left foot went numb. He ignored it at first, assuming that his foot was merely asleep. But after five minutes, it was still numb. He shook his foot for about a minute until it regained its senses.

Another thirty minutes later, Tom's glass was almost empty. He was just about to finish it when he felt a slight sting in his side. He held his hand against his side, trying to use pressure on it to ease the pain. But it did not work. Slowly, the ache in his side was expanding further into the center of his chest. Eventually he felt it throughout his entire lower chest. It was becoming remarkably unpleasant.

"Lieutenant, are you alright?" asked Captain Janeway.

Tom had been so occupied in easing the pain that he had not realized that he was doubling over slightly. His left arm had been firmly grasping his chest. He gave his captain a thumbs-up sign over his shoulders with his other hand and said "I'm fine, Captain."

But she did not believe him. Janeway stood up and walked over to Tom. By then, he was almost giving out an agonizing groan under his breath. She tried to see the front of his face, but he was intentionally turning away to avoid her gaze. She told him "No, Mr. Paris, you're clearly not fine."

"Captain, I insist… I'm okay." Just then Tom's right hand slipped from the panel and hit his cup of green tea, knocking it to the ground. Almost that exact same moment, all the pain in Tom's chest went directly to his throat. He grabbed his neck with both hands while simultaneously he fell out of his chair. Then he was quickly hyperventilating and groaning on the floor. Ensign Wildman screamed in fright.

Chakotay came over to Tom and helped the Captain with him. He asked him "Tom, what's wrong?"

Tom's eyes were wide-open and he was trying to take some desperate breaths. All he could say was "I… can't…b-breathe!"

Chakotay grabbed the fragments of the shattered cup, and then gestured for Kathryn to move back. She complied, and then Chakotay tapped his combadge and said "Medical emergency! Beam me and Lieutenant Paris directly to sickbay!"

As the two of them vanished in the transporter beam, Crewman Grimes took over Tom's place at the helm. Captain Janeway just returned to her seat and sat down with a look of anxiety on her face.

In the sickbay, Tom was going into shock. As Kes helped him onto the bio-bed, Chakotay shouted "Computer, activate Emergency Medical Hologram!"

The Doctor appeared and uttered "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

"Tom says he can't breathe." Chakotay summarized. "He was just fine this morning when he reported for duty."

"Was it something he ate or drank?" asked Kes, trying to calm the pilot, who was experiencing violent spasms at that moment.

"I believe it was something he drank." Chakotay handed the broken glass over to The Doctor. "There's still some of the liquid he was drinking in the cup."

"What was he drinking?" asked The Doctor.

"Green tea."

"Well that should have had the complete opposite effect on him than the one he is currently experiencing." said The Doctor. He noticed that Tom was still desperately gasping for air. The Doctor instructed Kes "Give him 6 CCs of rieolicine. That should sedate him."

Kes nodded and filled a hypospray with the recommended drug. Then she injected it into Tom's neck. He slowly calmed down and went into deep sleep. She then took a look at Tom's bio-readings and said to The Doctor "His oxygen levels are still going down."

"There's a crate of emergency oxygen masks in that cabinet over there." The Doctor instructed her. "You should be able to use one to stabilize his breathing."

Kes nodded and went over to the cabinet. She took out an oxygen mask and approached Tom. She slid the breathing apparatus over his mouth and connected the power cell into the main computer. After activating it, she took a look at his vital signs. She announced "His vitals are holding! Oxygen levels are returning to normal."

The Doctor picked up his medical tricorder and conducted some biological scans on Tom. After he finished, he examined the data and announced "Interesting. There are trace amounts of terionium disulfide in his blood and on the sides of his neck.

"Terionium disulfide?" said Chakotay. He looked down at the shattered glass in his hands. Holding it out to The Doctor, he ordered him "Scan the tea for that same compound."

The Doctor complied, and reported his findings: "There's more of it in the liquid. Very interesting."

Suddenly, he realized what the Commander was suggesting. He slowly came to the same conclusion. He tapped his combadge and said "Doctor to Captain Janeway."

"Janeway here. What is it, Doctor?"

"Commander Chakotay and I must request that you take the ship to Yellow Alert, Captain."

"May I ask why, Doctor?"

There was a rather unpleasant pause. Then The Doctor answered with "We believe someone just tried to kill Lieutenant Paris."