The bar was quiet. The emptiness of the place took him by surprise. If he hadn't been given specific directions he would not have known it was here. He had to go down a few steps below street level and enter through a curtained doorway. The other establishments in the district were alive with noise and activity but this was a place set apart.
He recognized him immediately. Sitting down at the edge of the bar staring into a glass the young man might have been handsome if he didn't have a look of complete dissolution about him. Chakotay sat a few seats away and ordered a Terillian ale. The young man looked up catching Chakotay's eyes.
"Tom Paris?" Chakotay asked.
"It's me. And you are Chakotay. I know who you are and I know what you do. I'm here. What do you want?"
"I heard you were a decent pilot."
Paris took a long drink and turned to look at him.
"I am. Haven't flown for a while but that doesn't matter. I'm that good." he said. Chakotay didn't know if he was being serious or if it was the drink talking.
"We could use a good pilot, if you're interested."
"Oh I'm interested. The problem is that in this particular sector they still use currency and what I need…"
"You'll be compensated for your time."
Paris took another long drink.
"Just so we're clear. I know all about your cause. I'm not unsympathetic and right now I hate Starfleet and all it stands for but at the same time…"
"We don't need your unwavering loyalty. What we need is someone to get us safely from point A to point B."
"How about we go on a trial run?"
Paris' skills had been under reported. He skipped through the nearby asteroid field swerving expertly where he needed to without causing fear or discomfort. There were no sudden stops, no hesitation, no second guessing. Chakotay had always dismissed stories about pilots who were 'one' with the ship but he would no longer. Paris was the pilot they needed.
He woke to the sound of fighting. Years of working on a star ship had acclimated him to being ready to fight at a moment's notice but then he realized he wasn't on the ship. He was in his bed back at their base and the fighting was a brawl.
Pushing his way through to the center of the crowd he saw his friend Dalby on the ground with Paris standing over him. Paris turned to face him. A bruise was already beginning to form around one eye and his lip was cut.
"What happened?" Chakotay asked. He was getting tired of this. Tom Paris had gotten them out of more than one desperate situation in space but he had brought chaos on the ground.
"Nothing. Just a misunderstanding." He said. He pushed back through the crowd without speaking another word. Chakotay cursed the day he had asked the man to join them. If he wasn't such a good pilot Chakotay would have sent him on his way without a second thought but they needed him.
Time passed and things did not improve. Chakotay sent him out alone on a high risk mission. He never came back.
No one missed him. The routine of the camp went back to normal. Chakotay heard later that he had been caught and was now in a Federation prison. There was justice in the world because Paris was a worthless individual with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.