Tom Paris awoke to 3 very solid walls. He sat up quickly, which a second later he regretted as the head rush took him by full force. He gripped his head in his hands and slowly stood to his feet. What was had happened? Where was he? The last thing he remembered was beaming down with the other, going off with Neelix and then…blank.
The room came into focus again and this time he looked around his hold. It was a small room, dark and dingy with what Tom could only suspect was a force field along the fourth missing wall to stop him escaping. Was he being held prisoner? Or perhaps hostage? WHY couldn't he remember!
He walked slowly to the edge of the force field, raising his hand to his neck as it twinged slightly. His fingertips ran over a small bump that Tom realized was from a hyposyringe. So he'd been stabbed and injected with who knows what. Great.
"Hey, excuse me," Tom said loudly to a nearby Galetian who had his back to him.
He turned around and looked at Tom coldly. "Yes?"
"Why am I in here?"
The Galetians expression didn't change and he continued in a bass tone. "You have been accused with the crime of murdering Waterman Jacob Drewett so you are to be detained here for…"
"I've been WHAT!" Tom stumbled backwards and sat back down on the bed he had woke up on, his back against the wall. There was no way this was happening again. Not to him. Was there a sign stuck to his forehead that said 'Feel free to pin murders on'?
"I didn't do it…I didn't do it…" he mumbled, his hands running through his hair as the anger grew inside of him. This was not happening again!
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Kathryn Janeway's face paled as she took in what Commander Chakotay was saying.
"Not again…does that man, ibreath/i trouble?"
She turned to Ensign Kim, stationed back behind his computer. "I want to speak to the Ambassador, now."
"Hailing now…onscreen." Harry said with a grim smile.
"Aah, Captain Janeway."
"Ambassador."
"I trust you've heard of our predicament? "
"I have. What exactly, is Lieutenant Paris accused of?"
"Simple. Murder."
"The murder of whom?"
"Waterman Jacob Drewett."
"Why would a member of my crew have any motive to kill one of you 'Watermen'?"
"I have no idea, but you are free to come and interrogate him yourself. We feel he may react better towards you."
"I will not interrogate any member of my crew, neither will I choose to believe that Tom Paris is guilty of anything other than being at the wrong place, at the wrong time. I bwill/b however, be beaming down to talk with you after we've finished with this conversation."
"I will look forwards to meeting with you captain."
"And I you, Janeway out."
She turned to face the crew. "Harry, Tuvok, with me. Commander, you have the bridge."
The three of them entered the Turbolift with great speed as the door closed in front of them and they made their way to the transporter room.
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He came into vision as the Ambassador led them to where Tom was being kept. Janeway's eyes softened as she saw her lieutenant locked up behind the force field.
"Remove the force field" she said without so much as a glance at the younger Galetian manning the computer with controls to the force field. The man looked towards his superior and the Ambassador nodded. The force field was let down and Janeway stepped into the small area he was being held in.
"Are you alright, Tom?"
"I've been better," he said bitterly looking towards the ambassador and the younger Galetian.
"Do you remember anything?"
Tom turned to the Captain, the faintest trace of panic in his eyes that he only let her see, "See that's the thing, I remember inothing/i."
"Nothing?"
"I remember beaming down, I remember going off with Neelix and then its completely blank, not even a warped picture."
Janeway put a hand on Tom's shoulder and sat down next to him. "We'll get you out of this."
Tom laughed, a weird sound to hear in such circumstances and it unnerved both Janeway and Harry. "Why bother?" he said with a smile. "This is where I belong, obviously. This is where I keep ending up, people keep arresting me." He said the last bit of that louder and his eyes flickered over towards the Ambassador again.
Harry had now moved to stand near the side of the force field space and looked sadly at Tom. "You know that now true."
"Isn't it?"
"Lieutenant Paris," Janeway said sharply standing up and looking down at him. She continued, a little softer, "We will do everything in our power to get you out of here. Just hold on until that moment comes." She smiled and caught Tom's eye. "After all, how are we going to get home without our best pilot?"
Tom didn't say anything after that and the three of them left, accompanied by the Ambassador. They heard the force field get reactivated once Janeway had safely set foot out of the cell. Her eyes moved around the room and this time she turned to the Ambassador.
"I've been told your kind are a peaceful kind, possessing weapons only for defense purposes."
"We are," the Ambassador smiled back proudly.
"Then why are there chains on the walls?" she said motioning towards a single set of blackened chains with wrist locks hanging from the wall.
"Ah, we do not use them. These tunnels were not put here by us; they were put here by spies amongst us from our enemies and used in the process of…gaining information from us."
Janeway's face changed, compassion spreading warmly across her features. "I'm sorry to hear that."
The Ambassador smiled back. "Don't worry, it was a long time ago. And I am truly sorry about this whole incident. Despite the rumors going around the Delta quadrant, I've taken a liking to both you and your crew."
Janeway suppressed a wave of anger. It got to her that Voyager was doing their damn best to try and disturb as little cultures and people as possible on their way home, and rumors were spreading of them being vicious and bloodthirsty. They only killed when they had to, despite what the Kazons where telling people.
"I thank you for your kind words Ambassador, now if you don't mind, I'd like you to tell me more about this arrest."