Disclaimer: I absolutely do not own Star Trek: Voyager!
A/N: This was written for the VAMB Secret Drabble Exchange and more specifically for Shayenne, who gave me the first line and pairing. Extra thanks go to BonesBird for reading it over for me. Takes place post-Unimatrix Zero...
Tom had to shut up, Chakotay thought, or they wouldn't make it out alive. He ducked around a corner of the cube's narrow passageway as a trio of borg drones moved by. In the small confines of the corridor the three bulky drones took up the majority of the passage and in effect separated himself and Tom. Not that Paris noticed. The pilot was far too busy 'talking'.
"Paris." Chakotay hissed, his frustration clearly leaking through his every pore. How the helmsman didn't notice he'd never know. Unless he did notice and just didn't care.
Yeah, that sounded more like Tom.
Chakotay looked to the right then the left, but there were no signs of other borg about to stampede so, with an aggravated scowl, he crossed the corridor and slipped into the small crevice that Tom and a borg drone occupied. The regenerating drone was completely indifferent to them, but that didn't mean Tom's constant talking couldn't attract unnecessary attention eventually.
"Come on, buddy..." The pilot said with a crooked grin as if they were playing pool at Sandrine's instead of standing in a borg cube surrounded by beings that would assimilate them in an instant given the chance. "Just show us where the central plexus is. Better yet, do you happen to know if the Queen is busy? My friend over here and I would love to have word with her royal highness" He added, and Chakotay considered breaking the thumb that was jabbed in his direction.
"Tom." He snapped in a hushed voice. "Now's not the time to make a new friend!"
"Relax, Chakotay. Sparky here and I were just having a conversation."
Chakotay grabbed Tom's upper arm, his fingers digging into the material of the uniform a little tighter than necessary, and began to pull him away. "We don't have time for this, Paris. We're here for a reason." He felt his nerves crackling under the surface, just barely restrained from erupting. It wasn't much of a difference from how he'd felt the last couple of days actually "Or did you forget about that." He didn't bother covering up the annoyance dripping from his every word.
Tom's eyes narrowed, his face darkening, and for a moment Chakotay saw a flash of something like accusation directed at him. "I know why we're here." The pilot smoothly pulled his arm away and tucked the phaser rifle more firmly under his arm without ever breaking eye contact.
Before Chakotay could address the borderline insubordinate attitude or the familiar tinge of guilt that began to sting his conscious, Tom was turning and moving down the corridor. With a clenched jaw Chakotay followed after him.
He didn't get far.
"Explain to me again how this is my fault?" Tom asked in disbelief. When Chakotay shot him a glare he only received a cold as steel look in return. The helmsman had been spending far too much time around Kathryn it seemed.
Chakotay shook his head and focused on their current predicament. Now wasn't the time for the path the thought of Kathryn would take his mind. "If you had paid more attention to our mission instead of acting like a..." He trailed off, a muscle in his jaw ticking, as the two borg drones on either side of him pushed him further into the room.
"Like a what, Chakotay?" Tom asked as he too was escorted by two drones. When they were brought to an abrupt halt with drones surrounding the exists he shot Chakotay an accusing glare.
"Just shut up, Paris."
"No, I don't think I will. Because you know what, Chakotay, you're a..."
"Such hostilities..." The voice was almost a purr, but it sent a cold shiver down both the Starfleet officer's spines.
The Borg Queen slowly stepped towards them, like a predator in guise of a friend. That alone was enough to spur his disdain. He'd had enough friends turn out to be enemies to make do for a lifetime. At this very moment the Queen personified all those betrayals in one. For a moment he considered charging forward and taking out his frustrations. If it weren't for the hands holding him in place he probably would have.
"Now what could possibly have caused such aggression between two crewmates?" The Queen continued, as if completely unaware of the thoughts circulating through his mind. Of course she was unaware of his exact thoughts, at the moment at least, but he knew the unabashed expression of hatred on his face was enough to fill her in on the basics.
"But what else could be expected, of course. You are only...humans, after all." She continued and even he grimaced when she slowly ran a thin finger over Tom's cheek. The pilot, he noted with a light flare of respect, barely blinked. For a moment Chakotay wondered if Tom was even aware of his current surroundings.
The Queen moved on from Tom and made her way towards him. As she approached he could almost feel a cold chill fill the air as her equally cold eyes bore into his own. He wondered if this was what Kathryn felt when she had faced the Queen. "Tell me, what was your plan?"
Before Chakotay could respond there was a soft snort from beside him. "I'm not doing this anymore. Computer, end program."
Chakotay watched as the icy eyes in front of him instantly faded from existence, being followed by the lifeless feeling atmosphere of the borg cube. He blinked once...twice...as the bare holodeck walls stood out starkly against the images that he'd just been entranced by.
And just as suddenly the anger, frustration, and...guilt...flared in his chest once more. He turned sharply to Tom with fire blazing in his eyes. "What do you think you're doing, Lieutenant? The mission wasn't over."
"We failed, Chakotay." Tom pointed out just as angrily. "The mission is over. Has been over. We're not even here for a mission anymore we're here for you. For your own sense of incompetence!"
Chakotay clenched his fist at his side as he took a step forward. "We are here because we need to be ready. If something like this..." His voice trailed off uncontrollably for a moment as images of B'Elanna, Kathryn, and Tuvok flooded his mind's eye. "...if it happens again it'll be our turn because I won't let them go through that again."
Tom released a dry bout of laughter before mirroring Chakotay's movements and taking a step forward. "No, Commander. We're here because you can't stand the guilt. You can't stand seeing the Captain and the others down in sickbay knowing you didn't try harder to convince them against going through with the plan. You know it should have been you in their place and now you're taking out your frustrations since you just can't deal with it."
"You're way out of line, Paris..."
"And you know what..." Tom continued as if not hearing Chakotay's warning or seeing the fiery look on his face. "You should feel guilty because you should have done more..." Chakotay bristled and was seconds away from punching the arrogant pilot in his big mouth when the other man continued. "...Just like I should have."
The metaphorical wind in Chakotay's sail instantly blew out of existence. All the fight seemed to drain out of him and in that moment he doubted he could lift his arm to defend himself, let alone punch Tom. "What?"
"Don't you think I feel just as responsible? When they were beamed off the cube and I saw them don't you think I wanted to trade places with them? I would have in a heartbeat." Tom turned around as he started walking around the empty holodeck. "Have you even talked to any of them since they woke up?"
He hesitated a moment before answering. "No."
"Well, maybe you should." Tom replied. "I have. The moment the Captain saw me she could tell what I was thinking and you know what she told me?"
Knowing Kathryn as well as he did Chakotay could take a few guesses, but he had a feeling Tom would tell him anyways. "No, what did she say?"
"She told me that..." The helmsman smiled a bitter smile. "That if I didn't knock it off she'd assign me nothing but sickbay shifts for the next month."
He wasn't sure where it came from, but Chakotay actually found himself laughing. That kind of comment was exactly what he would have expected. In a way knowing that Kathryn was still so much herself comforted him in a way he hadn't expected, certainly more than his make-shift attempt at therapy had.
"Now, if you're done trying to torture yourself do you think we could get out of here?"
Chakotay smirked lightly and gestured towards the holodeck doors. "After you."
"How gentlemanly of you. I didn't know you had it in you, Chakotay." Tom quipped as he passed.
"Shut up, Tom."