Part Ten: Stuck.
AN: this might be the last chapter for a while. My father passed way last week. We need to sell a huge house and move into something smaller. This has to be my focus for the next few weeks. Added to that, my mother passed earlier this year and my eleven-year-old had become very anxious with all the changes. Please enjoy and I'll try to get back to writing as soon as possible.
"Bring the weapons systems online," the Captain barked, standing in the middle of her bridge. "Red alert. All hands to battle stations."
Long range systems detected two Kazon ships hanging in the space before the array. Unwilling to subject her crew to further hostilities, Kathryn wanted to go into this skirmish armed and ready. It seemed Jabin had split his forces, sending a forward party to secure the advantage. Added to the situation, Captain Paris didn't know if she could count on the Maquis to stand beside them in a fire fight. So far only the threat of withholding their Engineer seemed to motivate Chakotay to join them. That was about to change as B'Elanna Torres transported back to Val Jean the moment they dropped out of warp.
Aware of changes in the Caretaker's behaviour over the last few months, Maj Jabin wanted to secure the station for himself. He knew these newcomers possessed the technology and means to meet with the Caretaker on the array, something the Ogla had been attempting for years without success. Each time they came within a thousand kilometres of the entities home, it destroyed their ships and repulsed their attempts. Even incursion underground on the Ocampan world brought a swift and uncompromising reaction.
Yet if the Talaxian was to be believed, these aliens had boarded the station and spoken with the Caretaker in person. They intended to return, forcing the entity to send them thousands of light years home. It proved the Caretaker was losing his authority and dominance in this sector. Coupled with the changes in the energy pulses, Jabin had every intention of winning this battle and securing the array, and its advanced technology for himself.
"The lead ship is hailing us, Captain," Tuvok reported stoically.
At the operations station, Ensign Kim brought the image of Maj Jabin up at his Captain's request.
"Leave," the Maj demanded before Kathryn could utter a word. "You have entered Kazon-Ogla space."
"All we care about is getting home, Jabin," the Captain lost any patience with the man's useless posturing. Although out-numbered, presently Voyager and Val Jean weren't our gunned, or in any danger. "We're about to transport over to the Array…"
"I cannot permit that," Jabin sneered. "You have challenged my authority, and I have no intention of letting anyone with your technological knowledge board the Array. It is in Ogla space and belongs to the Ogla."
"They're powering up their weapons," Tuvok announced a moment before the first of the Kazon blast hit Voyager and the ship rocked. "I have a link with Mr. Chakotay."
"Return fire," the Captain retreated to her chair. "Evasive pattern, Alpha three. Aim for their weapons and propulsion. I want you to remain at the helm, Mr. Paris, and you have the bridge. I'm going to take Tuvok and beam over to the array. The sooner we find a way back to the Alpha quadrant, the happier everyone will be."
In the battle that raged while Voyager's Captain and acting First Officer were on the array, Val Jean was badly damaged. Understanding the smaller of the two vessels to be the weakest link, in armament, weapons and skill of the pilot, Jabin ordered his ships to concentrate their fire in that quarter. Although manoeuvrable for a ship of her size, Voyager could not match the Kazon's agility due to their smaller size. Nor could they protect the Maquis raider from a two-pronged attack with a larger class warship bearing down on them.
Understanding neither of them would make it back to the Alpha quadrant if they were both destroyed, Chakotay swore under his breath before suggesting to Paris, "neither of us has enough firepower to stop that new ship. My engines are damaged beyond even B'Elanna's ability to repair them. I'm setting a collision course, but the guidance system is disabled. I'll have to pilot the ship manually. Torres is getting the crew ready to beam to Voyager."
"I'll have the shields dropped on Torres's mark," Tom agreed, his hands not stopping while one of the Kazon raiders turned their attention towards his ship. He didn't need to tell Rollins at tactical to direct Val Jean's crew into a secure area under heavy guard. The compliment of Voyager might be inexperienced but they were not reckless. Everyone understood the loss of the Maquis vessel meant trouble and few would forgive them for hiding during the first Kazon attack. "The transporter chief is keeping a lock on you, Chakotay."
Added to his issues, the Captain comm'ed, requiring more time on the array to achieve her mission. Swearing under this breath, Tom did the best he could to keep Voyager's weapons and shields operational as the main Kazon Vessel concentrated its fire on the phaser array. Chakotay finally took out the largest of the three vessels but the resulting trajectory took the vessel directly towards the Caretaker's array causing a massive collision that altered the stations position. As Chakotay beaned into the confinement area with his crew, a lucky shot shorted out Voyager's phaser ring on deck five. The Ensign at engineering attempted to get them back on line while the two smaller ships continued to buzz Voyager top side, weakening their shield but not causing more than minor damage.
Finally, Captain Paris and Lt. Commander Tuvok appeared on the bridge. The expression on Kathryn's face told a story, one few could misinterpret. When she ordered tricobolt torpedos armed and launched at the array, destroying the Caretaker and any change of returning to the Alpha quadrant, Jabin declared Voyager his sworn enemy and limped away with both raiders following behind.
"What the hell am I supposed to do now," Kathryn flopped onto the couch in her quarters several hours later. It had taken the remainder of her energy to get though the de-briefings and start on the minor repairs need to keep her ship battle ready.
They'd retained warp capability. Currently Ensign Baytart manned the helm and was following a course to a small M class planet in a system four and a half light years toward home. It would take them twelve hours to reach their destination. The Kazon limped away with their remaining vessels in the opposite direction. The Maquis were confined to a lounge on deck four under heavy guard. Everything had been taken from the room when they objected to their incarceration, including the replicator. The ring leaders were secured in the brig and proving rather indignant at being treated differently to their fellow Maquis.
"I don't see you have any choice," Tom came up behind his wife. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he started to work the knots out of the muscles. "You can't keep Chakotay and his crew confined for seventy-five years and Voyager doesn't have the resources to keep thirty people on board who aren't actively working to get us back to the Alpha quadrant. They've already practically destroyed the lounge on deck four."
"Which leaves?" Kathryn sighed, placing her hands over her husbands. Turning to face him, she wrestled with the decision. She didn't want to think about the repercussion. "Either I invite them to become part of this crew, or set them down on an uninhabited class M planet to live out their natural lives. Seven women and twenty-three men. How long do you think they'd last before all the rules of society broke down into chaos?"
"Your forgetting their resident Klingon," Tom smirked. "B'Elanna would have them whipped into shape, or beat them into submission within a week."
"Quite a shiner you managed to acquire, Mr. Paris," Kathryn chuckled, reaching up to touch the still black, swollen eye, "on your return from the Ocampan World. I don't know why you didn't let the EMH treat you?"
"Let's just say," Tom smirked, happy to see his wife relaxed, even if just for a moment, "it was the lesser of two evils. The way everything's occurred, B'Elanna will see it as defending her honour and we might just be able to use this event to get her on side. I'm not saying it will be easy, but she's the linchpin in the Maquis engineering section. Besides, I still have that dermal regenerator I lifted from your office if you really want to fix me up."
"Hoping I'd offer," she laughed easily. However, Kathryn's pensiveness returned, "After meeting Ms. Torres, I'm surprised she stopped at one punch."
"Ensign Kim and Torres seem to have developed a solid friendship during their incarceration on Ocampa," Tom shrugged his shoulders easily. "He'll be a good influence on B'Elanna, if," pausing, Commander Paris appeared, "you invite the Maquis to become part of this crew, I'd be encouraging that relationship."
"Where will that leave you, Tom," Kathryn asked, obviously worried. "I've seen the animosity Chakotay levels at you, especially when he thinks my back is turned. When I met with him after I destroyed the array, he wasn't at all pleased. The rest of his crew will take their lead from him."
"I'll live," Paris smirked once again. "My wife is this really scary woman. I'm afraid to cross her and when the Maquis get to know her, they will be too."
"Can you ever be serious," Kathryn rolled her eyes.
"Occasionally," he responded, leaning in and planting a kiss on her left cheek. Pulling back, he watched the glint in her eye soften. Caressing the other cheek with is lips, this time Kate growled low in her throat. "Tonight, is not one of those times. Come on Kate, this decision will look better in the morning with a good night's sleep."
"I get the feeling sleep is the last thing on your mind, Mr. Paris," she teased.
"Caught, Mrs. Paris," he snickered, standing suddenly. Picking up his wife, Tom carried her to their bedroom.
"Tuvok to Captain Paris."
"You have a lousy sense of timing," Tom muttered under his breath, allowing Kate to slip to the floor. "What happened to privacy in our quarters?"
Quelling his protests with a look, the Captain answered the hail.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your evening, Captain," Tuvok managed to keep his voice neutral, however it seemed contrite at the same time. "Mr. Chakotay is demanding to speak with you. He wishes to know what your intention are with regard to his crew and why they are not being treated in accordance with Starfleet protocol."
"You have got to be kidding," Tom whined, although quietly enough so only his wife heard. "I think the Maquis can stew for a few hours, Kate. Trust me, this is a ploy."
Giving him a look that said, his or yours, Tom became truly angry. Pulling away from his wife, he transformed into the consummate officer. "Tuvok, the Captain and I will meet you in her ready room to discuss the tactical issues associated with Mr. Chakotay's demands."
"Understood," the Vulcan stated, yet there seemed to be a quality in his voice that comprehended the predicament he'd placed the remainder of the command team in. "Bridge out."
"Tom," Kathryn understood she'd hurt her husband, it shone in his blue eyes.
"Not here, Captain," he spat. "I refuse to discuss this matter in my quarters. They are the private domain of myself and my wife."
Nodding, Captain Paris preceded her husband from the room. "Well," she demanded, seating behind her desk in the ready room. The act of being in this space created a distinction in her mind, one she needed to retain with the fury still lacing Tom's orbs.
"If the saturation were reversed," Tom announced in an icy professional voice, "you would be doing the same as Chakotay. He's worried about his people and want's an immediate resolution but a secondary motivation as to be upsetting Voyager's routine. That's the Maquis way. Don't allow your enemy to regroup, keep at them until they break. As to his crew, there are several I wouldn't trust as far as the nearest airlock. They'll be egging Chakotay on."
"Seska," Captain Paris stated, remembering their conversation with regard to the Bajoran woman.
"Suder, Dalby, Torres," Tom added, "just to name a few. Each has their personal reasons for hating either or both the Federation and Cardassian's. Most of the crew wouldn't have the ability or knowledge to mount a mutiny but would actively participate. Torres is your real problem. If she got loose, B'Elanna could cripple this ship in a matter of minutes with access to the Engineering systems. The others are just malicious and wouldn't care how much damaged they did to critical systems. If they managed to get Chakotay on side, he has ten years' experience on starships, four as a first officer before taking up his position teaching advanced tactics at the Academy campus on Furgus IV. He could be a very dangerous man, especially if pushed to the limit by the likes of Seska."
"Suggestions," the Captain demanded.
Tuvok merely allowed one eyebrow to rise before directing his gaze to Commander Paris.
"Give Chakotay the choice, stay as a Starfleet Officer with some responsibility, especially over his people or be off loaded at the class M planet," Tom shrugged easily. "Then give them the night to consider it. If they stay, Chakotay has command experience and I understand if you don't trust him, but you're going to need him to keep his people in line. Courted properly, he could be an asset and compliment the command team. Torres would be better with her energies engaged in the Engine room. Once she feels that the Warp and Impulse systems are hers, she'll develop a sense of belonging and her loyalty to those engines won't be questioned, even by the other Maquis. Ayala, under Tuvok's direction will make a good security officer. Keeping Ayala and Chakotay close gives us insight into the mood of the Maquis and how there behaving. I'm not saying it will be easy or pleasurable, learning to live together, but it fills the crew shortage. Otherwise, we equip them with the basics, enough to build a life and dump them on the nearest habitable planet."
"Without replicators or transporters," Captain Pairs sighed, placing her thumb and forefinger on the bridge of her nose to offset the coming headache. She couldn't allow any Alpha quadrant technology in case the Kazon uncovered the fledgling colony. "We can't afford to leave a shuttle. What kind of life is that?"
"Life on Val Jean was not pleasant," Tom stated acidly. While he didn't want to cause his wife pain, it was time she understood the truth. The Maquis were desperate people in an even more desperate fight with few resources. "There were few luxuries. The replicators were off line more often than they were on. We practically lived on ration bars. Energy was regulated with illumination often at less than twenty-five percent in all non-critical areas and barely above half even in those. I went days without a sonic shower, especially after a Cardassian attack. Everything went into repairs and keeping that ship functioning. Believe me, this crew could learn a lot from the Maquis when our resources dwindle."
"Can they be trusted not to sabotage Voyager," Tuvok asked.
"No," Tom responded quickly and easily. "I give it three months before at least someone attempts a mutiny or tries to contact the Kazon to sell Federation technology."
"I recall," Kathryn remembered a conversation a few days previously in this very room, "you said they are fanatics with no discipline and not suitable for employment on any vessel."
"Beggars," Tuvok added wisely, "cannot be choosers, Captain. Engineering is down six crew, we have no medical staff beyond the Emergency Medical Hologram. It would be possible to pair a Maquis crew member with Starfleet until they are able to demonstrate a level of proficiency and trust to earn their positions."
"I don't like it," Kathryn shook her head, "but understand the need." Sighing, she turned her grey eyes on Tom. "Would you accompany me, Commander, to speak with Mr. Chakotay and his crew. I believe, what is your archaic term, taking the bull by the horns, might prove more efficient and let me get back to my quarters and the semblance of a private life."
"Yes, Captain," Tom answered. His tone continuing to hold resentment.
Sending him a quelling look, they left the ready room together. The walk to deck four proved frosty. Unable to hold in her anger, Kathryn turned on the man beside her, forcing him into an empty corridor. "Enough, I expect more from you, Commander."
"Understood, Captain," Tom returned, however there was a very subtle softening in his gaze.
Making one of her famous snap decisions, Kathryn pulled Tom further into the quiet hallway where she knew they wouldn't be disturbed. "We can't keep being at each-other's throats like this," she declared.
"I haven't seen you in six months Kate," Tom took the opening. Watching the colour in his wife's eyes changed, every so subtlety, he knew her frustration matched his. "Forgive me if I want a single evening alone with my wife."
"You know as well as I do, a Captain is always on duty," Kate managed. There was fire and passion mixing in her glare. "Especially in a situation like this."
"A situation like this is even more reason," Tom parroted while make his point crystal clear. Kate had laid down the law when he first came on aboard Voyager. He was about to make his own demands equally understandable. "To find a dividing line between your personal and professional life, Kate. I understand you need to draw the distinction between Captain and wife and that the former is going to win more often than the latter. There are times I'm going to have to accept second place in your life and I'm good with that. But this, we're allowing the Maquis to come between us before they have even decided if they want to join your crew. What happens next time Chakotay demands you dance to his tune? Or we disagree professionally about how to handle them. We can't let this come between you and I."
"I know." Sighing, at this moment, Kathryn Paris was tired. More fatigued than she ever considered. Added to that, she'd hoped to tell Tom about the surprise awaiting them in the Alpha quadrant so he understood their personal need to get home within the next five years. "Let's get this interview out of the way, together. Then I have every intention of returning to my quarters."
Holding out her hand, Tom laced his fingers with his own. "A show of solidarity," he grinned, tightening his hold.
"Exactly," Kathryn offered, unable to keep a grin off her face. It was times like this her husband's insufferable childishness managed to get through her tough exterior. "I need you to always stay the same Tom Paris I married."
"I have for the last ten years," he teased easily, "I have no intention of stopping any time soon."
With that, Thomas Paris pulled his wife firmly against him. Understanding they would only have a few minutes alone, he moulded her body to his. One hand crept up to her tight bun but left it in the Captain's professional coiffure. It gave him the purchase to tilt Kate's head to just the right angle for his lips to caress hers. Their kiss turned both imitate and passionate within seconds. It ended just as quickly.
"Chakotay won't know what hit him," Tom mocked, changing moods rapidly and practically dragging his wife from their moment of solitude.
"You don't have to enjoy belittling the man, Tom," it was the Captain who answered.
"I worked with Chakotay for six months. Trust me, Kate, he wouldn't expect anything less," Tom grinned. "Besides, if I change my personality, he'll think he has gotten under my skin. It's the last thing I want any of the Maquis to believe."