Book Eleven: Nuclear Winter (1/4)
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Ten Forward, Enterprise...
"You look nervous."
"I feel nervous."
"Why?"
Guinan put a glass down in front of Deanna Troi and regarded her with interest.
"I have this feeling that someone is looking over my shoulder."
"You too?"
Troi looked at her with surprise. "You feel it?"
"I do."
"What do you feel?"
"Like someone is looking over my shoulder."
Troi sighed and sipped her drink. "Maybe it's the area. Maybe it's the war that has never ended."
"You'll feel better when we have some down time. I hear that we're going to put in at Dorvan V. The shipyards they've built there are ready to take us."
"So I've heard. I hear it's a beautiful place."
"You and Will should take some time off and visit there."
"Maybe we will. It's been a while since we were alone without stress and obligation."
"Good," Guinan said smiling. "Settled."
Troi smiled and considered the possibilities. They could be alone and recuperate. It made her feel better even if it didn't alleviate the sensation of being watched.
**********On the Bridge of the Crazy Horse...
Chakotay watched Enterprise, the ship's glistening sides gleaming as she flew through the night. Beyond her, paralleling her, Liberty flew as well. In their present condition they could destroy Enterprise, taking her out of the picture. And if they did they would blow their cover. After the President is captured, Chakotay thought, after we have him then we can see about you, Picard. Maybe I can even the score for Dorvan V. He leaned back and sighed. "Status, Harry?"
"We're five by five, Captain. Enterprise doesn't know we're here."
"Good. Keep it that way for thirty minutes more and we'll break it off."
"Yes, sir," Harry said, concentrating on his new equipment. The stealth required for this maneuvering tested his skills and after a momentary jolt of emotion, he felt an almost sexual rush from the process of paralleling an enemy unseen. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before.
**********Later that night...
They sat together in the hot water, candles lit and soft music playing, balm to their tensions. She set her wine glass down and half rose, resting on her knees. Taking a sponge, she began to rub his chest, smiling at his look of pleasure. "We're heading for Dorvan V shortly. Let's take a vacation.
It's been a while since we were together."
Will Riker grinned and nodded. "I hear it's a beautiful place."
"So did I," she agreed.
"Maybe a beach or the mountains," Will suggested.
"I like the beach idea," Will said, sipping his wine as her hand slipped the sponge under the water line. He sighed and closed his eyes in pleasure.
**********In a hotel behind Maquis lines...
"Tell us."
"I don't have that information."
"You have access to them. Your other information paid off. Find out."
She looked at him, noting his wheedling expression and sighed. "You Federation spies, you're so demanding."
He grinned and shifted, nuzzling her bosom. "You Midran are so sexy. Find out for me, Oola. We have Nayib, just like you told us. Now find out about Beyvahl."
She looked at him and sighed, noting that they hadn't even gotten around to sex yet. It was mostly rolling around on the bed, wheedling and whining. "What is it with you?" she asked him, sighing tragically. "You're never satisfied."
He grinned. "It's hard to be satisfied with a woman like you. You're a bottomless pit of sexiness. If I weren't married I would be seriously after you."
"I can just see that. 'Mother? This is Oola. She's a prostitute that I banged when I was in deep cover in Maquis territory. By the way, she has a dick."
He chuckled, kissing her with passion. "My mother would love you."
"Right. So, are we going to have some fun or not?"
"Promise me."
"I promise. I'll see what I can do."
"Good enough for me."
With that, the conversation ended and the work began. She gave him bang for the buck and when she left, dressed in white silk, he lay on the bed totally satisfied. She had told him what the Maquis wanted. Sorrel Bay was too damaged to use and would be cannibalized for parts for Voyager. The Federation would be tricked into believing that she was offline. As for the capture of 'Nayib' and Tom Paris, the Revolutionary Council was regrouping and all was changed. It would make no difference now. All that Nayib might know was old news.
Oola walked down the stairs and out onto the street. She rounded a corner and entered a ground car that sped off into the night. Ten minutes later she exited the car and entered a warehouse, following a man who took her to a small office. The two tattooed men, related obviously to the one that was taken, were sitting there waiting for her. She sat on a chair and took the drink offered her.
"So, did they buy it?"
She smiled, her red lips glistening. "Hook, line and sinker, as I believe you call it."
Nayib nodded and rose, walking to the window. "I want you to tell them that Sorrel Bay is being towed away to another berth removed from this place. It won't be coming back for now. We're using it for salvage and we want it removed from here so it won't get in the way of normal operations. That will explain why it won't be here." He turned and regarded her. "Tell them that the Council has cancelled their meeting due to Nayib's capture. Tell them that it will be rescheduled pending a review of security measures. Tell them that the man you're banging now is in love with you and spills his guts because he trusts you. I want you to go out on dates with my brother, Chakotay. They'd pee their pants to think that they have a source as highly placed as him."
All eyes turned to Chakotay who sat silently on the corner of a desk.
"Tell them that Chakotay is my brother if they don't know already and that he's Bey's right arm. Tell them that he captains the Crazy Horse if they don't know. They should buy whatever you tell them without a qualm. As it is, they're thinking with their dick, not their heads."
She grinned slightly. "Wouldn't you?"
He looked at her and then smiled brightly, shaking his head.
"Considering what a babe you are, yeah. Probably."
She leaned back slightly mollified by his words. He grinned at her. "Do you have any questions?"
She shook her head no.
"Good. Tomorrow night, dancing and then back to your place with Chakotay."
She nodded and rose, pausing to consider the big man staring at her with unreadable eyes. "I don't suppose you want to make it real?"
He sighed and shook his head. "I like men."
"No problem there," she purred.
"One certain man."
She pouted prettily and they all smiled. "Mores the pity. With that, she turned and walked to the door, stepping out with the man who brought her. Nayib sighed and turned to Chakotay.
"That is one hot piece," he said, grinning at Chakotay's laugh.
"Yeah, well, so is Tom."
Nayib regarded him silently. "Still pining."
"Forever," Chakotay replied quickly. "Nayib, can I ask you a favor?"
"Shoot."
"Keep Tabor when we go on the Federation run?"
"Why?"
"I don't want anything to happen to him if this fucks up. If he's with you then I know he'll be safe. He deserves this, Nayib."
"Your run with Enterprise, it was successful?"
"It was," Chakotay agreed. "But I want to know that if something pops up and we get fucked Tabor is in the clear."
Nayib nodded. "All right. Hard duty, that one."
Chakotay grinned and rose, tired and hungry. "Let's get a bite and talk about the raid. Two days, Nayib and all hell will break loose."
"'Bout time," Nayib said with characteristic bravado. "You'll pull this off, Chakotay. I have faith in you."
"Thanks, Nubby," Chakotay said, walking to the door with his brother. "Two days and counting."
"Take Oola to dinner tomorrow night and dancing. Then go to her place for an hour or two."
Chakotay nodded.
"I'll make sure that the bastards know about it and come out of their hiding hole. Did you know that they're working on the docks? They're loading refugee ships with provisions."
Chakotay nodded. "When this is over-"
"Not to worry," Nayib said grimly. "Not to worry one bit."
**********Far away, evening...
Tom stared at the bracelet on his ankle and considered what he would do once he popped it off. He would only have seconds. Federation Security would beam in immediately and he had to be ready to run. In his neighborhood, there were few places to
hide so he studied the neighbors, their ground cars and their schedules. A judicious search of the computer database gave him all the information he needed to steal a car and get lost into the crowds.
Identity papers and other such things would be harder. One thing at a time, Tommy boy, he said to himself as he reached for a small tool. What money he could salvage was in his pocket. He wore comfortable clothes and good shoes. He knew he could go as far as the edge of his lawn before the trigger would go off so he let himself out of the window dropping soundlessly to the grass below.
He turned and slunk along the side of the house pausing by a big bush before slipping to a tree beyond. A fast ground car was parked across the street and he knew in seconds how to turn it on and speed away. With a deep breath he knelt down and picked the combination apart on the bracelet thatshackled him to his prison. It stopped beeping and fell off. Before it hit the ground, Tom was across the street and in the car, rigging it to go. As he tore out flashing past where the bracelet lay, two men with arms materialized on the lawn. Stepping on the accelerator, he sped on into the night and freedom.
**********A shuttle port on Dorvan V...
He stared at all the soldiers and 'Fleet personnel walking from the shuttle terminal to the transport vehicles beyond. They moved on, driving out to god only knew where. He noted that the build up had been impressive. It was especially impressive when you considered that this was the home world of the Federation's most wanted criminals, Nayib, Chakotay and Beyvahl.
He turned and noted his nervous companion. Smiling, he nodded and they both stepped out. Crossing the port, they stepped outside where a car was waiting for him. A man drove them on into the night to a house rented from him under an assumed name. It was very dark when they arrived and stepped out under the velvet sky.
Tom Riker took a deep lungful of fresh air, sighing audibly as he turned to his partner. "Nice place, don't you think, Reg?"
Reg Barclay looked at him and nodded. "I'd like it a lot better if I knew where Voyager was."
"In good time, Reg, in good time," Riker said, a wolfish smile crossing his face.
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Book Eleven: Nuclear Winter (2/4)
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At a restaurant...
"You don't look like you're having fun."
"Sorry. I guess I'm not the 'fun' type."
"Is it because I'm a working girl?"
"No," Chakotay asked, his expression softening. "That has nothing to do with it."
"Then it's that man that you love. He's broken your heart."
Chakotay looked at her and sighed. "Probably. But it wasn't his fault."
"It never is. Love is complicated. Among my kind, we aren't exclusive. We find a lover and stay with them as long as we wish and then we find another, sometimes at the same time."
Chakotay grinned. "Sounds casual. I'm not the casual type."
"So it would appear," she said, studying him closely. "Did he know that you love him?"
"Not until it was too late. He's married."
"Ah," she said, considering this new piece of information.
"So, he's married and you're filled with remorse because you didn't tell him until it was too late."
"Something like that."
"Does he love her?"
"He did until things changed. I don't know what he feels now. I'm not sure he does either."
"Have you slept with him?"
"No."
"Then you missed your chance to show him how you feel. Obviously you aren't much with words."
He looked at her, at her dark exotic beauty and sighed. "You're one direct broad."
She grinned. "We're lovers, remember? What kind of 'lover' would I be if I didn't tell you straight from my heart what matters?"
Chakotay grinned. "I hear you're pretty unique."
"Perhaps I'll show you ..."
He looked into her dark eyes, framed by a cloud of red hair and sighed. "You tempt me."
"Good. You had me worried for a while there."
He grinned and looked at the dance floor. "Care to dance?"
"Are you ready to hold me like a lover?"
"Sure," Chakotay said, rising.
She rose with him and they walked to the dance floor, finding a spot among the many already there. He held her close, the fragrance of her perfume filling his senses. Her red lips were this close to his and he felt the feline beauty of her exotic body pressing hard against his as he held her tightly in his grip. "You feel good."
"I feel better when I'm naked."
He chuckled and smiled. "You're incorrigible."
"I like sex, men and women, hard men who won't give in. I'm amazing in the sack. I give the best head around."
"Head I might consider."
"Good," she said, smiling. "I'm making headway, pun intended. You worry me as a professional woman. Your reticence is daunting."
"Your persistence is charming."
They danced together, keenly aware of three men sitting around the room, their own gaze firmly upon the tall exotic woman and the man holding her tightly. He was Chakotay, the criminal wanted for much and they ached to take him. However, he was more useful to them as a source of information since it was clear that he and Oola had a relationship that was more than business.
They danced together, Oola nibbling on Chakotay's ear, whispering sexually charged words as they swayed together. He let her, finding in the abandon of the moment a bit of relief from the tightly coiled tension that had filled him for days. She was mind fucking him and he let her. She wanted to bang him, he was a challenge he knew, and she might get her way he thought, the hardness within him, even present since their return, twisting around the coldness in his chest.
They danced and then they sat, eating and talking together. When they were done, they walked out hand in hand and headed for her apartment on a fashionable street off the main business sector. Behind them, following at a discreet distance, three Federation spies walked, noting every twist and turn of the scene ahead of them. So intent were they, they didn't notice that behind them, two Maquis followed too.
**********Dorvan V...
They sat on the porch, watching the sun rise. Breakfast had been accomplished and they now waited. Enterprise would be coming soon and they would be ready to make their move.
Reg Barclay sipped his coffee, watching the sky streak red and pink. "His mother is nearby."
"I know."
"She's under house arrest."
Tom Riker nodded. "She hasn't done anything wrong."
"I know. I don't understand this. I don't like it a bit."
"You and me both. However, shortly we'll make our contribution to freedom and we won't look back. You'll look good in Maquis leathers, Reg."
"I don't know about that," he fretted. "I do know that I can't sit around and wait for something to happen. I want to be with Voyager."
"In due time, Reg," Tom reassured as he considered what he was planning to do. It would be risky but he would hold all the cards. Also, he had the added benefit of being a perfect copy. When he took Riker's place, no one would know the difference. There would be none, physically. With a smile, he relaxed and propped his feet up on the porch railing. Reg noted his composure and sighed, propping his feet up too. All they had to do now was wait for Enterprise to come.
**********San Francisco...
He abandoned the ground car and hurried through the night, arriving at the transport station near the freight office. He slipped through the darkness and found what he was looking for. Sliding into the freight car, he found a place in the back where he would hide. No one would find him here and the long train of cars soon began to move, heading north through California and into Oregon. When he got there, he would figure out how to get to France. If he could find Sandrine, she would be able to help him get off Earth. All he had to do was cross the United States, the Atlantic Ocean and half of France. Piece of cake, he thought ruefully, pulling the collar of his light jacket up around his ears. With a sigh, he settled in for the ride.
**********At the house...
His parents listened to the security guard brief them, the details of Tom's escape and whereabouts in flux. He nodded and the guard left.
"What now, Owen?" Miriam asked, staring at her husband with fear in her eyes.
"We'll find him, honey," he said, filled with a dread that was hard to quantify. "We have to. We have to get him back."
It would be a long night for both of them.
**********At an apartment...
He stared at her, watching as she stripped off a long velvet glove. She was beautiful, he conceded, and even though he knew she was a man too he knew he wouldn't go to bed with her. She paused, as if reading his mind. "You don't want the full treatment."
"No. No offense."
"None taken," she said, regarding him curiously. "This man, he must be something."
"He is."
"Well then, I will just give you a little. For our great and true love."
She walked up to him, touching his face with her long fingers. Her lips pressed against his, her tongue flickering out. Almost against his will he gathered her to him, sucking on her lips long and hard before he broke the kiss, staring into her dark amused eyes as he struggled to control himself.
"Not bad."
He smiled in spite of himself and then he put his hands on her shoulders, pressing down. She knelt and looked up at him, smiling with triumph. She rubbed his crotch, smiling again as he groaned in pleasure. "Well, you're human after all."
She reached up and unfastened his trousers, pulling down both them and his shorts until they pooled around his ankles. Grinning, she stared at his cock, erect and flat against his stomach. Gripping it in her hand, she looked up at him and smiled. "Hold on. We're going for liftoff." With that, she opened her mouth and took him whole, sucking with all the skill that years of practice could produce.
Chakotay gripped her shoulders, holding himself still as thousands of sparks exploded in his brain. As she worked her magic, he struggled to stay afoot. Before she was done, he would be flat on his back, screaming at the top of his voice. He would scream Tom's name.
**********In orbit around Dorvan V...
They walked to the lift, the Alpha crew moving to quarters to get their gear. Picard was staying on board yet but the others were going to get some down time on the lovely plane below. Deanna Troi smiled at Will Riker as they rode the lift to the transporter room. Their gear was sent on ahead to a small and exclusive resort on the ocean farthest from the great mountains and the great plain surrounding them that was still dangerous Maquis territory. They had a bungalow, a beachfront, and they planned to spend a week there swimming, sunning themselves and having all the sex they couldn't get on board the ship. It was going to be heaven.
Beaming down, they were met by a ground car that would drive them to the resort twenty minutes away. They had avoided the Pueblo Shuttle Port, opting instead for the regional hub near Arapahoe Springs, a medium-sized city noted for its beauty and artist's colony. The drive was pleasant the two of them talking happily and when they arrived the resort staff took them to their bungalow. They entered and once the young man and woman left, they turned to each other and grinned. Deanna turned and walked to an open window, peering outside at the immaculate lawn and the wooden walkway that led to a perfect white sand beach.
It was warm and lovely, early evening, and she turned back to Will, noting his strange silence and even stranger expression. "What is it?"
"You don't know?"
For a moment there was nothing and then it penetrated her preoccupied mind that they weren't alone. Two men stepped from the bathroom, one of them armed with a phaser. That man grinned and they both became chilled as he stepped into the light. "Hello, Will. Remember me?"
Will Riker swallowed and nodded. "Hello, Tom. Long time no see."
Tom nodded. "Yeah. There was that Cardassian prison camp. That and a few other things make reunions hard to come by. But that's all changed now."
"What do you want?"
He grinned again. "Nothing more than I deserve. I want my life back. However, I'll settle for revenge."
With that, he fired. Will convulsed and fell to the floor in a heap. Deanna cried out and knelt down, checking him for injury.
"What did you do?" she cried out.
"Stunned him, the bastard. Now move back or I'll stun you too."
She hesitated and then moved back, standing by the window, her eyes flickering between Will on the floor and Tom. He turned and nodded, another man stepping out, and he knelt beside Will, gathering his wrists for binding.
"Reg! What are you doing!" Deanna cried out, stunned at that actions of someone she considered a friend.
He looked up, anguish warring with determination on his face. "I'm going to help Voyager, Deanna. Don't hate me, please." With that, he finished and rose, stepping back as Riker rolled over onto his back. Tom tapped his comm badge and two men slipped into the room.
"Take him to the house and get him ready for transport. Reg will go with you." He turned and smiled at Troi. "Deanna and I have a few things to settle. Right, Deanna?"
She swallowed and watched as Will was picked up and carried off. Reg followed and the door closed. Tom walked to the table and sat, his phaser in front of him. He turned his hard gaze on her pale face. "Sit down. We have a lot to talk about."
Slowly, reluctantly, she sat down on a chair across from him, this familiar and utterly unknown stranger.
**********Elsewhere...
Tom slept, his head resting on a box as the train made its slow way over the Siskiyou Mountains. Soon they would go down the other side as they made their way toward Yakima. A stop in the Rogue Valley, Medford, Oregon to be precise, would only take a few minutes. He was on his way but he had a very long and dangerous road to go.
In San Francisco, Owen Paris poured over reports, working overtime to make sure that when his son was picked up, they would still retain custody. He had broken his parole and everything was up in the air. It would be difficult to retain Tom unless they did this very carefully.
"He's here, Owen," Miriam said, peering into the den at her husband.
He nodded and rose. "Send him in. Come in too, Miriam."
She nodded and turned, calling to someone. They came in and all three sat down.
"Doctor Richards, my son has run away. The parole is broken. If we can't do something, they'll send him to prison. I believe that he needs help, that he needs to be with us so he can recover."
The doctor nodded.
"Please, help us. When we take him back, we need a statement from you that he's emotionally distraught and needs psychiatric treatment. If we can't prove this, they'll send him to prison and I can't ..." He paused and swallowed hard. "I won't let that happen to him again."
The doctor nodded and looked at them both. "I will do what I can for you and for your son, Admiral. What we need to do is find him soon."
"We're trying," Owen said, rising painfully. "God knows we're trying."
Chakotay stood in the darkness, breathing fresh air into his lungs. It was bracing out and he felt better. Oola had helped him in spite of himself and he felt rather kindly toward the idiosyncratic alien. She was different, like his Tom and she was full of surprises. He sighed and wondered where Tom was.
They had sent for information regarding Tom and Bey, activating agents in the Federation that had never come on line before. He wondered where they were. Were they safe? Did they have food and shelter? Were they being abused? It all crashed in on him and his hardness resolved itself. He would do anything it took to get them back, them and all the others.
Anything at all.
With that thought, he stepped off the curb and headed back toward the Maquis HQ where Nayib labored through the night. Tabor would be there too, he thought and as he walked, he considered all the people that he loved, both there and every place else in the universe.
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Book Eleven: Nuclear Winter (3/4)
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The night before...
"That didn't kill you now did it?"
Chakotay sighed and dried his face, tossing his towel into the sink. "No. It was great. Thanks."
"Don't mention it." She turned and moved to the bed, removing her full skirts and draping them over a chair next to it. Her ass was perfect, the way she planned it and he watched her as she began to undress for bed. "Sure you won't stay? I love a well-endowed man. Especially after those Federation pencil dicks."
Chakotay snorted and grinned. "You're a piece of work. Maybe if I didn't have it bad for someone else, I'd take you up on it."
"This man, he must be a wonder of the galaxy. Anyone I know?"
"Nope."
She sighed and pouted. "Well, its been an hour."
"It has." Chakotay walked to her, taking her slim waist into his hands. "Thanks." He leaned in and kissed her softly. "I'll let myself out."
"Too bad," she said, watching as he went to the door. He paused and turned, smiling at her. Nodding, he turned and left. She smiled and shook her head. "Did you get that, boys? I gave your leader a damned fine blow job. What about it? You ready for me? Are you man enough for me?" She grinned and walked into the bathroom, running her tub.
Nearby, listening with amusement, two Maquis sighed. "Damn. I wish I were an officer," one of them said, shifting in his seat.
"You and me both," the other replied, punching the rewind button on the recorder. "At least we can listen."
The sounds of lust and groaning filled the small space of the ground car as they waited for the dawn to come.
**********Far away...
She walked out the back door, pausing to look at the sky. It was morning and the day promised heat. Summer in this part of the great plateau leading to the mountains nearby was hot, dry and slow. Chickens walked up, waiting and clucking for their breakfast. She scattered the grain, her ducks and geese walking up, their distinctive honking and quacking a familiar and comforting sound. She walked to the barn, opening the paddock doors. Her horses and sheep walked out, heading for the open gate and the pasturage beyond.
Cows lowed and she smiled, patting their patient sides. Taking a bucket and stool, she sat down and began to milk her cow, the others watching as they waited for her to finish. When she was done, they would all head for the green grass beyond and a lazy day of grazing and lying about, tails whisking flies and colts and calves frisking around them.
Maria patted her cow and moved the bucket, walking to the gate and pulling it open. The cows moved from the big pen and walked past her, the milk cow's bell tingling softly. As they walked she considered her family once more. She was alone but not, the memories of thousands of mornings like this when they were all with her filling her mind. Some place they all were, together or not and soon they would be here with her, she considered. Soon. With a sigh, she turned and walked back to her house to have breakfast. Alone.
**********Nearby...
She sat in her room, sitting on a bed that would be hers for about three more days. They had talked all night, her and the fake Riker. They had come to an understanding. Or, she had come to understand what was at stake. Will Riker would be dead and long gone if she did anything but what she was told for the next few months or so.
Her Riker, her Will would be held in another place, not here but elsewhere. Where that was she would never be told. He would be held by deeply loyal employees of Tom Riker, men like him who harbored grievances against the Federation and Star Fleet and if she didn't do what she was supposed to do, they would kill him without mercy. In her mind it all became clear. There would be no margin for error. There would be no mistakes, no cries for help, no action on her part that signaled that she wasn't completely compliant with his demands. If she failed, she knew Tom would kill Will. She could sense his determination and his resolve.
She was to be herself, the infatuated long-time lover who would smooth any doubts in the minds of observers or friends should Tom's performance show any cracks. They would continue as if nothing had changed and she would have to be convincing. Riker had studied hard. He knew who was on the ship, what they did and what kind of relationship they would have with Will. She provided reams of information about what he didn't know and would continue to do onboard. He was flawless in figure and attitude, in knowledge and in character. She knew he would be diligent in making sure that no one found out that he wasn't who he was supposed to be. She was sure that if she didn't come through, an 'accident' would be easily arranged by him for her.
He told her that he had decided he would use his uniqueness and his fortune and contacts -illicit and otherwise- to help the only people who had taken him in and accepted him, the Maquis. He had done hard time in a prison run by Cardassians and the edge on his personality was there if you looked hard enough.
He told her that he was the same man as Will, with the same dreams, hopes and experiences and to lose his life to Will had been the death of a lot of his spirit, his soul. There was something hard inside him that would be unyielding in pursuit of his goals and if she didn't do her part, make it easier for him to order the death of his doppelganger. She had no hesitation in her mind that he would if needed. None whatsoever.
So here in this paradise surrounded by beauty, she was deeply implicated in a Maquis plot. What it would be she didn't know. She just knew that no matter what happened she would cooperate, if nothing more than by keeping her mouth shut. She would smile at him and be with him and do things with him. She would deflect any stray hesitation on the part of someone else that he wasn't who he said he was. In the end, she hoped, she would save Will's life.
She lay down on the bed, curling up as outside her door she
listened as Tom Riker called Enterprise and established a link to her main computer. For the next three days he would study, read, ask questions, and learn what he needed to step into another man's life. When he was done they would return to Enterprise, he would become the First Officer and they would take their places among the crew.
Will Riker himself would be sedated and secured in a trunk that would be shipped back to Earth on one of Tom's private vessels. When it arrived in San Francisco, it would be taken to one of the most expensive homes in the city, in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods where it would be opened. Will Riker would be removed and placed in a cell with a class ten barrier. He would stay there in luxury while the matter of his life fell into someone else's hands.
If at any time things didn't work out, he would be killed and his body consigned to the basement incinerator after which the mystery of what happened to him would be born. No one involved in the process of holding him would ever betray their loyalty to Tom Riker. They were all graduates of the same camp and they all had the same feelings. They were all in it together come what may.
**********Captain's Cabin, Crazy Horse...
"I don't want to stay, Chakotay."
"It's not negotiable, Tabor."
Chakotay tossed the towel down and turned to his lover, noting the younger man's dark expression of anger. He sighed and stepped closer, resting his hands on Tabor's shoulders. "I have no doubt that we'll pull off this mission. I just want to know that in the event that it fucks up you'll be safe. I want that, Tabor."
"I want to be with you. We're a team, Chakotay. We work best together."
"I know," Chakotay said, kissing Tabor softly. "I want you safe. Besides, Nayib has a heavy load and you've been a godsend to him. I want you here. Bey's gone and I'm going. If something happened to me, I want to know that someone I trust is with him."
Tabor stared at him a long time and then finally nodded. "All right."
Chakotay pulled him into his arms, holding him tightly. "I'll feel better. Nayib has to carry the load, Tabor. You can help him do it. You already do."
Tabor nodded, his head resting on Chakotay's shoulder. Chakotay patted him and then stared into Tabor's still angry eyes. "You're beautiful when you're pissed."
Tabor smiled ruefully. "It's easy to do with you."
"Nubby is easier on the ego, I know," Chakotay said chuckling.
"He's a good man. I don't know how it is that someone didn't land him years ago."
"Well, the Maquis and the fucking war probably had something to do with it. Nayib always had a boy friend. He was unconscious that way. It was the same as breathing. I will say that I've never heard him talk of someone with the same degree of reverence that he speaks of you."
"He told me he'd do me if it weren't for you."
Chakotay smiled and finished buttoning his shirt. He tucked it in and turned to Tabor. "If something happens to me, Nayib will be there to take care of you."
"I don't need anyone taking care of me," Tabor said, suddenly defensive.
"I know that," Chakotay proffered. "You Bajorans, you're tough and hard-nosed. But you *still* need someone. I would hate to sit in a prison and think that you were alone."
"You won't end up in prison."
"No, probably."
"You won't," Tabor replied, his voice strained. "They won't catch you. They can't. They aren't smart enough or tough enough."
Chakotay stared at him and touched Tabor's face gently. "Don't worry about me. No surrender, remember?" He stroked Tabor's cheek with his thumb. "They won't catch us. We're invisible, remember?"
"Yeah, no surrender," Tabor whispered, slipping into Chakotay's arms.
They stood together a long time, swaying gently in the quiet room before turning and going together to the planet below to see Nayib about the upcoming mission to Khitomer.
**********In a train yard in Medford, Oregon ...
He hopped off the freight car and looked around, the dimness of the dawn and shadows of the cars concealing him. He had ridden the train to Southern Oregon, first stop on a trip heading east. There were cars everywhere and he considered where they were going.
The sky brightened slowly overhead as he slunk among the cars, looking at the destination tags on the metal doors. When he found one headed for Denver, he moved to the door and began to work the code. It slipped open and he clambered in, moving to sit between paletted boxes. His stomach growled and his head hurt. He had aches and pains and he was worried. However, he had no other choice and he settled in as best he could. As the door closed, the darkness came and Tom Paris closed his eyes against the pitch blackness that swallowed him. It would be a long and very scary ride to the mile high city.
Nearby, the yard foreman walked along, checking the seals on the cars. As he reached the one in which Tom Paris hid, he frowned. It had been opened. He put down his scanner and punched in the code. As he did, Tom felt panic rising in him. Slowly, the door slid open and Tom sat as still as he could. A man's face appeared in the too bright light of the door and then he climbed up the metal stairs, stepping inside the car. Tom sat as a statue, not even daring to breathe as the man slowly moved along the row of boxes in front of him.
**********Three days later...
She walked beside him as they stepped down from the transporter pad. Together they walked to the lift and entered, the door closing behind them. He turned and smiled at her, noting her pale face. "Lift, deck three."
It began to move and Tom stepped forward, lifting her chin with his hand. "You better cheer up. If you don't pull off your end of this deal, lover boy pays for it."
She swallowed and nodded, making effort to project her normal vitality. The lift stopped and he moved to step off. She stood still as he walked past, waiting to go on to her deck. He turned and caught her arm, pulling her off. Turning, he walked to his cabin, her arm in his hand.
Nodding and smiling at crew, he worked out mentally who each was. His recall was flawless as usual, his naturally high abilities honed by life with the Cardassians. Pausing to punch the codes in his door, he nudged her inside and stepped in himself. The door closed and she turned, staring at him with concern. "Why am I here?"
"You aren't playing your part. I want to make it very clear, Deanna. If you don't hold up your end of the deal, Will dies."
"I know that."
"Then *show* it." He stared at her with frustration. "I'm not kidding here. Will took my life and I got screwed. I spent a lot of time in a Cardassian prison camp and alot of things got straight in my mind. My goals and my loyaltieswhat's important to me is very clear. Will Riker is a dead man if you don't cooperate. And consider this ... if you *told* them I wasn't Will, there's no way to prove that I'm not. No way in hell."
She stared at him, defeat filling every corner of her brain and then she sighed, nodding her defeat. "Please, whatever you want I'll do. Just don't hurt him."
Tom relaxed, noting her capitulation. "All right. Just remember, I'm not joking around. I mean what I say."
She nodded. "Can I go?"
"Sure. Be here for dinner at 1700. We must keep the charade up."
She nodded and turned, reaching the door.
"Deanna."
She turned and looked at him.
"There are twenty-seven people on this ship with telepathic abilities. If for some reason they read what's happening, Riker is *dead*. Do you understand my meaning?"
She nodded and swallowed hard. "Loud and clear." With that, she turned and walked silently out of the room.
=0=
Book Eleven: Nuclear Winter (4/4)
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It was cold and the morning light was low when they finished breakfast. Tuvok sat quietly, staring out the window, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of his family. The mission was on and they had a last meal together until they returned, the Federation President and his party in their brigs. Chakotay rose and dumped his dishes, turning and staring at the quiet group with him. Nayib was there as was Tabor and Tuvok. B'Elanna and Harry, Seven and Kira Nerys, they sat together. Miles O'Brien, Julian Bashir and the Holodoc all sat waiting, their eyes flickering between themselves and Chakotay.
"We have to go. We have a lot at stake. Our people are waiting for us to set them free. I'm not just talking about the Voyager crew and Tom. I'm talking about Bey and my father, about all the people who have been sitting in cells for years and years while their families mourned them for dead. I'm talking about people of conscience, like Sek of Vulcan. I think it's time to make the Federation rethink their program. It's time to either escalate or end this war. It's in our hands."
Nayib nodded and rose, staring at the people around him. "My brother and father need us. My mother needs to see them. Our people, all the people out here, they need relief. We are the only ones standing between them and the vengeance of the Federation. The hard-liners, they want to make us pay. We can't fail. But I want you to know, Chakotay, if you can't take them, you have the Council's permission to blow them to hell. One way or the other, the Federation President is ours."
Chakotay nodded.
"For those of you late to the dance, I want you to know that it's an act of faith to include you. Some of you come from worlds that felt the iron fist of Federation indifference and politicking. Bajor and all the rest, they were left to fend for themselves. Now's our time; our hour. Now is the time to step up to the plate and do for all our people, the living and the dead, what our Federation should have done for us. It's in our hands now. I trust that you made your peace with your decision to be with us."
Julian sighed deeply and nodded. "I have. I ... I want this over too. If this does it, then I'm in."
Nayib nodded and looked at Chakotay. "Take care."
Chakotay nodded and stepped to his brother, hugging him tightly. He turned and hugged Tabor, kissing him and hugging him again.
"We'll be here when you get back."
"We'll be back," Chakotay said, nodding to Tuvok.
They all rose and stood in a group, comming the ships they would fly with for transport. When they were all gone, Tabor turned and looked at Nayib, the older man pale and solemn. "Come on, Nayib. I could use a walk by the river."
Nayib looked at him and reached out, pulling Tabor into his arms. He held him for a long time and then smiled, nodding to the younger man. "I think I could too."
With that, they turned and walked out the door to the corridor beyond, and then to the street below. Above them, moving with skill and precision, two great white ships stood out to begin a mission of rescue with a twist. They would take someone else's people to rescue their own and maybe in the doing, force a peace that had eluded both sides for more than a decade.
**********Medford, Oregon...
He saw the man crouching down and before he could move, the figure sprang at him. They fell back, hitting the wall and the inspector saw stars. The figure darted past and jumped out, landing awkwardly on the ground. The inspector straightened, pressing his comm badge.
"Security! I've been attacked! There's a man running loose down at track five!"
Tom rose from the ground, his ankle shooting pains up his leg. Grimacing with agony, he began to limp away, moving as fast as his ankle would allow. Behind him he could hear shouting and people running. Desperately, he moved between cars and headed over the tracks toward a big empty field surrounded by houses. Before he could clear the barbed wire fence that separated the tracks from the field, rough hands grabbed him and pulled him back.
He landed on his back and struck out blindly until an agonizing pain rendered him unconscious. Two men stepped back, rubbing their faces where Tom's hands had struck them. One of them but the stunning device back in his belt and tapped his comm badge.
"Lucy, we have him. You better call the Sheriff. We'll need a transport to Rogue Valley Memorial."
"Affirmative."
They stood over him for three minutes before the Sheriff's deputy and the ambulance arrived. Soon the lanky stranger would be someone else's problem and they could go about their business again.
**********Enterprise...
He stepped out, walking along the corridor. It was the beginning of the first day of his impersonation and he looked forward to being back in old, familiar haunts among people he hadn't seen in years. He entered the lift and rode to the Bridge, stepping off and pausing. Everything looked so right, so now that he had a moment of deja vu, something of the longing that had been a part of him for so long that he had become unaware of its existence. Moving to his chair, he sat and smiled at Picard.
"Morning, Captain."
"Morning, Will. Nice break?"
"The best," he answered, a fat grin on his face evidence of his pleasure and enjoyment.
"Good," Picard replied, smiling. "We'll be standing out soon enough. Take over the conn will you?"
"Certainly," Tom said, leaning back with ease.
Picard walked to his Ready Room and soon was out of sight. Tom looked around and chuckled softly. It was all too easy, he thought. Way too damned easy for words.
**********On a planet far away...
Wesley Crusher stood by the fence, noting that the security here was as high as any place he had seen. Most Federation prisoners were transported to camps off the main route. They worked in mines or sat in camps waiting for the armistice that never seemed to come. He was another class of prisoner. He had a value and therefore was kept here along with others like Kathryn Janeway and Geordi LeForge. He hadn't seen her but he had heard she was here. Most of the loyalists of the Sorrel Bay were gone but she was here in solitary confinement.
Word had it she was eaten with remorse over everything. He didn't know. He hadn't seen her and the camp scuttlebutt wasn't always reliable. He figured she was. Two ships and crews were lost on her watch. That had to eat at you eventually.
"Wes!"
He turned and noted Geordi signaling him. Breakfast, he thought, turning and walking to join his XO. Just in time, he thought, sighing with boredom. Something to break the day.
***********Nearby...
She finished her meal and then began the callisthentics that broke her day into pieces. The monotony of it all left her too much time to consider her situation and after spending days exhausting the possibilities for making a break for it -they consisted of zero to none- she made her own amusements.
Guards seldom came but for meals or to take her to her exercise hour in the yard. She was constantly alone and all she could do was compose verse, pace endlessly and exercise. All-in-all, it was a terrible, terrible endless and monotonous life.
**********Nearby...
Nayib looked up with a smile, noting that Tabor had lunch on a tray for two. He tossed his stylus and moved to sit on the couch.
"You're as bad as your brother."
"No one is as bad as Chakotay. However, if you want to have him come running either bring him his lunch naked or have fresh baked bread and homemade butter available."
"So that's the trick."
"It is."
Tabor set their food out and leaned back, a sandwich in his hands. He took a big bite of the thick and fulsome delight and began to chew. "It always amazes me to see human food in alien hands."
"We invented the sandwich, Nayib. Get used to it."
Nayib chuckled and shook his head. "You remind me of Maris. He said that the Klingons invented everything first. I asked him if they invented butt fucking and he looked at me all indignantly. He said, 'Klingons don't butt fuck.' I asked him, what the hell kind of lie was that? He was *the biggest* bottom in the universe."
"What did he say?"
Nayib grinned and sighed, shaking his head. "He said that Klingons screwed, they didn't butt fuck."
"Semantics," Tabor said, laughing loudly.
"I told him that and he told me not to bring religion into the conversation."
"He sounds like a nut."
"He was. I loved him like a fool. He broke my heart. You know, baby, my heart still hurts." Nayib took Tabor's hand and slid it into his shirt. "Feel it? That's heartache."
"Ah, that's so sad. What can I do to help make it all better?" Tabor asked, blinking his eyes innocently.
"Well, you could sit on my face for a while. I think that might help me over the hump."
Tabor laughed and looked at Nayib with affection. "You're a dog."
"I am. I have to admit it. However, my heart *is* broken and I haven't had the requisite number of sexual interludes in which to come to terms with my loss and such. If you were truly a man of mercy, a man of peace and joy, you'd let me jump you without delay."
"All right."
Nayib paused, looking at Tabor over the top of his own sandwich.
"Are you joking?"
"Nope."
"My brother would kill me."
"Probably."
Nayib grinned and sighed, shaking his head in amusement. "You're worse than Maris for breaking my balls."
"I know," Tabor said, smiling sweetly. "I love to watch you squirm."
"I squirm better naked."
Tabor grinned and leaned forward, his lips this close to Nayib's. "I bet you do. I squirm pretty good myself."
Nayib put his sandwich down and smiled. "You're a tease. I like that in a man."
Tabor smiled. "Eat you sandwich. You never know when you'll need your strength."
"Shit," Nayib sighed, laughing. "You're a ball buster. Just like Maris."
"Maybe," Tabor said, gazing at Nayib with fondness. "But I do know that if you were ever mine, I would never leave you."
Nayib smiled and nodded. "Fair enough," he said, picking up his sandwich and taking a big bite.
They continued their meal and when they were done, re-entered the war once more.
**********Rogue Valley Memorial Hospital...
He awoke in a room, restraints on his arms and legs. The door was security strength and through the window he could see men in uniforms. Tom lay his head back, tears brimming in his eyes. He had failed. He was recaptured. He was heading for prison. He lay quietly, ignoring that the door opened. A hand hesitantly came to rest on his shoulder and he turned his head, slowly opening his eyes. He stared at the figure and the one behind him. It was his parents.
"It's all right, Tom," his father said, tears on the edge of his voice. "It's going to be all right."
"It will, Tommy," his mother said, moving closer and touching his hand with her own. "We're going to take you back home."
"No," Tom said, jerking his restraints. "No!"
Owen and Miriam stepped back and a third figure stepped forward. He pressed a hypo against Tom's neck and he fell into a light sleep.
"That should make it easier to transport him back to San Francisco," Doctor Frazier said, nodding to an orderly. "When we get to the clinic, we'll work out what we will do to get him stabilized enough for the hearing with the parole board."
Owen nodded, his wife's hand held firmly in his. He watched as orderlies transferred Tom's still form to a gurney for the short trip to the Medford International Airport. In a few minutes aboard his private shuttle, Tom would be taken from San Francisco Interplanetary Shuttle Port to the exclusive and private clinic of the Briars near the bay. When he was there, they would evaluate him and prepare him to meet the parole board that would decide his fate for the next few months or the rest of his life.
If Owen Paris had his way, they would keep custody of their son come hell or high water. He was prepared to play as dirty as possible to make sure that Tom didn't disappear into the Federation Prison System once more.
**********Shortly thereafter ...
The shuttle arrived, following a Star Fleet Admiral's barge to the VIP terminals. It parked alongside the admiral's shuttle, its beautiful lines and markings announcing it to be a prototype of Alaksa Corp, Tom Riker's conglomerate. This ship was one that they were developing for the military and it had transported its creator to Dorvan V and its cargo back in record time. As the doors opened and a big trunk was unloaded, the Admiral's barge unloaded cargo of its own. A gurney was wheeled down the cargo ramp and over to an ambulance that would take the victim on board to seclusion in a rest facility.
The trunk was wheeled to a Alaksa Corp truck which would take it to a beautiful house where it would be off loaded and its contents taken good care of pending further notice. It would be ironic that both cargos arrived at the same time on the same day. It would be further ironic that Tom Riker's mansion was only half a mile away from the Paris family home.
**********Far away...
They flew together, moving through space unseen and undetected. Tuvok sat in his command chair, his calm facade a thin layer over his seething heart. He practiced his meditations, working magic over his turmoil. The turmoil itself was a mixed blessing. He never felt before such a sensation of awareness and observation. Even though it was hard to contain, he channeled it into his senses and his reasoning, making it work for him rather than against him.
This would be the first step in getting his son out of prison and returning to his beloved wife. He would do whatever it took to succeed. Failure was too painful and too permanent to contemplate.
**********Nearby...
Chakotay sat in his chair, listening to the encoded traffic between Enterprise and the Federation President's barge. The great cruiser would escort the President's barge for a part of the distance, leaving it to travel alone and incognito for the greatest distance to Khitomer. The trip and the space they were traveling through was considered to be safe and therefore it was felt that going low key would keep from attracting unwanted attention. Besides, the barge was well armed and the crew veteran.
Chakotay smiled at the thought, the intelligence they received comforting. It meant that Tom Riker was now the First Officer of Enterprise. He was sending the messages, piggybacked to others, using the Maquis technology developed to communicate with deep plant spies. They knew when Enterprise left that they would be able to form up on the barge, one on each side and capture it without a shot being fired. When they did, when the shuttle was safely inside Crazy Horse, then they would disappear off the face of the galaxy.
It amused him deeply to contemplate it and he sat, his fingers steepled in front of him as his crew flew them to within visual sighting of Enterprise and the small barge that was carrying the Federation President and his party.
**********At the Briars...
He awoke and stretched, unaware for a moment that he was in a bed in an unfamiliar place. He took a deep breath and sat up slowly, a hand resting on his shoulder as he did. He blinked and stared at the arm, following it to a shoulder and then to a pale face. "Lie back down. You're going to be okay."
Tom looked at the figure and blinked again. "Dad?" he asked, confused.
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