To Tell the Truth by Melanie

by Sebastian Perseus Jason

Tom's decision to seek Chakotay's help in contacting his spirit guide leads to unexpected complications, including the revelation that his past may not be what he or anyone else had thought it was. Just when Tom's decided to stop worrying, the AlphaOmegans, adversaries from his past, appear, promising a way home for Voyager and nothing but pain for Tom.

17. Part 4 : Sunfire Chapter 1

To Tell the Truth, Part 4/8: Sunfire

Chapter 1

"Tom? Hello?" Kathryn waved a hand in front of her pilot's face only to have it gently moved out of the way.

"I'm listening," he insisted, not looking at her.

"No, you're not. What are you watching?"

Kathryn looked across the Resort terrace as Tom was. She could not tell precisely which of the guests at Naomi's birthday party he was staring at so intently. Scratch that. She could. Off to one side, seated in a double chaise lounge, was B'Elanna, quietly sipping her drink, while the birthday girl more or less snuck up on her.

"Careful," Tom softly coached the little girl. "Don't rush her."

Naomi slowly climbed up on the cushions beside B'Elanna. The two looked at one another, not saying anything. At last, the woman offered the little girl something from her plate from the buffet. A little hand chose a small orange object.

"Good girl."

"Which one are you talking to? Naomi or B'Elanna?"

"Naomi."

As she nibbled the hors d'oeuvre, the child in question laid her cheek against B'Elanna's upper arm. The half-Klingon froze for a moment. She stared down at the top of the little head then her eyes began scanning the area for Tom. When she found him, she sent a pleading look his way. He merely waved and turned back to Kathryn.

"Keep watching them," he ordered. "Tell me how far Naomi gets."

"How far she gets?"

"Yes."

"They seem to be talking," she shrugged. "Actually Naomi's doing most of the talking. B'Elanna's looking sort of uncomfortable - no, that's not right. Sort of... I don't know how she's looking."

Tom's eyes narrowed at Kathryn's sudden, surprised smile and turned back to the scene below them. A very maternal looking B'Elanna was wiping Naomi's face with a napkin. As the woman set aside the cloth, the little girl climbed up into her lap and snuggled into her chest. There was a split second pause then B'Elanna's arms encircled the little girl and cuddled her close.

Kathryn took in the satisfied smile on Tom's face. "What's going on?"

Tom merely smiled and squeezed her shoulder before wandering off across the terrace to the pair he had been watching.

Shrugging, she went over to join the birthday girl's mother who was talking to a lieutenant and an ensign who recently had paired off.

"Captain," Sam welcomed, "I can't thank you enough for your gift. Naomi is so excited that you're going to show her the Bridge tomorrow. She won't sleep a wink, I know it."

"I couldn't think of anything to get her. And I know she's wanted to see it for some time."

"Well, I think it's her favourite of all her birthday gifts."

"She certainly seems to be loving every minute of this."

One of their companions, a large, male Terran ensign from stellar cartography, laughed in his booming voice. "That's because she's the centre of attention."

His girlfriend shushed him. "She'll hear you."

They all looked towards the chaise lounge where Tom now sat with B'Elanna and Naomi, the little girl still happily ensconced on the Chief Engineer's lap. The three were laughing at some comment of Tom's as he tickled the child under the chin.

"Well, I'll be..." Sam murmured.

Her companions turned their gaze from the trio to a softly smiling Ensign Wildman.

"They're parents," she explained once she realized they were looking at her. "They're natural born parents."

"Lieutenant Torres is scared of her," the ensign declared.

"Just uncomfortable I think. I doubt she's been around kids much."

"And Lieutenant Paris spoils Naomi mercilessly," the lieutenant reminded her. "Parents shouldn't do that."

"No, Neelix spoils her. He's her godfather. He's read somewhere that he's supposed to do that so he does. No, Tom only spoils her a little. He does discipline her too when needed. All instinctively I'd say."

Kathryn nodded at the verity of the statement. "I do doubt it's learned behaviour, given what little he's said about the Admiral as a father."

"However his childhood may have been, Lieutenant Paris turned out well in the end. He's one of the few people on the ship I'd trust completely with Naomi."

Turning back, they saw Tom take Naomi from B'Elanna and set the little girl on her feet beside the chair. She was off and running towards some newcomers to the Resort before her feet even hit the terrace. Tom settled back down beside his mate, snitching some food from her plate. She glared at him. He merely grinned and gave her a quick kiss.

"What are we watching?" the First Officer wondered, stopping beside the Captain.

"Tom and B'Elanna," his superior answered.

"Oh, so you're practising being peeping Toms?"

They laughed along with him and split up into smaller groups to go off and socialize with the others. Fifteen minutes later though, Kathryn and Chakotay found themselves walking into the midst of a mock-argument between Voyager's favourite couple.

"Huh," Tom huffed, swinging his head away from B'Elanna, nose in the air, "I'm going to go find someone who does love me."

"You're such a ham, Paris," B'Elanna called after him as he walked away.

Tom swung back to her, eyes grinning. "Gee, Torres, pig to ham, huh?" Tom laid a hand on Tuvok's shoulder as he came up to them. "I'd watch it, Tuvok. Torres is starting to get logical."

In a deadpan, the Vulcan looked at the human. "Then perhaps there is hope for you yet, Lieutenant."

The pilot pretended to consider it. "Mmm, wouldn't bet on it." he informed him sagely over his shoulder as he walked away.

Tuvok's "Unfortunate" was overridden by a high-pitched squeal. Seconds later Tom returned with a giggling birthday girl in his arms.

"Found someone," he told B'Elanna smugly.

B'Elanna raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think she loves you either?"

"Yeah," the little girl giggled.

"Hey!" Tom gasped in mock-rage. "Always be on the side of the person holding you, Cucumber. The deck's a long way down." He pointedly stared at the terrace floor beneath his feet.

Naomi followed his gaze then turned to B'Elanna, clearly having switched sides. "Yeah, hey!"

Her former ally planted her fists into her hips. "Traitor."

Naomi grinned.

Tom jiggled the little girl. "Hey, you. I still haven't given you your present yet." He set her on her feet. "Go ask Neelix for the padd I gave him to put behind the bar. And bring him and your Mommy back with you, okay?"

"Okay."

As the little girl skipped off across the Resort terrace to find her godfather, Tom called to the computer. "Computer, run programme Playmates with a three minute delay."

"Acknowledged," the feminine monotone responded.

"So what is this mysterious present?" Kathryn asked, surfacing from her conversation with Tuvok.

"You'll see," her helmsman said, smiling enigmaticallly.

B'Elanna shook her head. "You're wasting your breath asking, Captain. He won't even tell me."

"Even after she tortured me."

The sizzling look the pair exchanged left little doubt about the nature of the "torture."

"Uh-huh," Kathryn smiled prior to changing the subject. "Tuvok says there's an indication of the Gherop fleet having passed through here not too long ago. A few days at most."

Groaning, Tom closed his eyes.

B'Elanna sighed. "Engineering's barely finished fixing the damage after our last encounter with them."

"Nevertheless," the Captain replied, "we'll have to be ready. I doubt we've see the last of them."

"Why don't they just give up?" Tom asked no one in particular. "What did we ever do to them anyway?"

Shaking her head at him, his mate laughed. "You say that about every species in the Delta Quadrant."

"Not every one, just the ones that get it into their heads to start shooting at us for absolutely no reason. Which, admittedly, seems like practically everyone of them."

Naomi bounded back into their circle, arms up to Tom. He picked up the little girl and took the padd from her hands. After checking it, he handed it to Samantha Wildman.

"What's this?" Naomi's mother asked, Naomi's godfather peering at the padd from over her shoulder.

"That's her?" a strange, young male voice said from a couple of metres away.

Everyone turned to see a motley crew of ten children. They all appeared to be around Naomi's age, though some were slightly older and bigger than she was.

"Yes, Mor," Tom said to the young Klingon who stood at the front of the group, "this is Naomi Wildman. Naomi, I'd like you to meet some new additions to the Voyager." Tom performed the introductions and each "child" nodded in turn.

The twin male Bolians, Chyr and Chyn, were first and every bit as gregarious as Chell and Gowat who had inspired them. They immediately began chattering and only a gentle "hush, you can talk her leg off later, boys" from Tom halted their endless stream of words.

A human female, apparently Terran in origin was next. Allegia, a petite six-year-old girl with chestnut brown hair and flashing green eyes both smiled broadly at their new playmate.

T'Kosh, a female Vulcan who could have been Tuvok's daughter, gave a typically Vulcan nod. She may have been the picture of a restrained and disciplined Vulcan, but her eyes still held a hint of wildness her Vulcan training had yet to tame.

That wildness was equalled in the next children to be introduced. Two males, a Romulan named Sar and a Cardassian named Darkat, were a puzzle for the adults. There was no mistaking their heritage and everyone found them to be strange inclusions in this little group. Tom continued on without a break so they could not ask for an explanation.

Pia, an Orion female, surprised them only slightly less than Sar and Darkat. Unlike the stories one heard of Orion females being animalistic and lacking in intelligence, Pia had the air of a scholar. Everyone thought Tom had invoked artistic license to create her, though refrained from saying it.

Naxia made Neelix smile and his heartache a little. The little Talaxian female reminded him of his sister Alixia. He felt happy to see another of his kind, yet saddened at the same time.

Fala nearly was as friendly as the Bolians. The un-joined Trill predicted she and Naomi and the other children were going to have loads of fun together.

The apparent ringleader of the group, the young Klingon male Tom had addressed as Mor, did not seem as convinced of this as Fala was. He glared at the intimidated Naomi, who simply did not know what to make of this new development and hid her face in Tom's neck.

Mor snorted derisively. "She's going to be no fun. She's just a scared little baby."

That got Naomi. "Am not a baby!" she shot back, lifting her head to glare back at the scowling young Klingon.

"Yes, you are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Mor," Allegia interrupted softly.

Surprisingly, Mor subsided and the adults began to wonder if their impression that he was the ringleader of this strange band of misfits was incorrect.

Pushing her thick brown hair out of her eyes, Allegia stepped forwards. "Do you want to come play with us?" she asked Naomi. "It could be fun."

Uncertainly, Naomi looked at Tom. She waited for his smile and nod before she assented. Gently, Tom set her on her feet and Allegia took Naomi's hand and all but Mor ran off towards the beach.

Tom squatted down next to the remaining child, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Didn't quite work," Mor said quietly.

"No, but it was a good try," Tom assured the child. "Challenging her was a good move. But fear always is a wildcard. It makes it difficult to predict behaviour sometimes."

"Fear must be conquered," Mor stated defiantly. "It is the one true enemy of a warrior."

"Yes, but remember what I told you. We're not trying to turn her into a warrior. Just let her play."

Mor nodded and hurried off to join his friends in their noisy game on the beach.

"You want me to go watch them, Tommy?" a new voice asked.

Tom rose as everyone looked at a pretty red-haired female. "If you wouldn't mind?"

"Nah, I've got my book in my beach bag." she assured him, gesturing to the straw bag over one arm. "I'll be fine." With a sparkling smile, she strode off, the multi-hued wrap over her blue one piece swimsuit swishing with every step.

"That's Siobahn," he told everyone once she was gone. "She was... a good friend of mine who always wanted kids but never had any. I figured she'd make a great teacher for Naomi and the other kids."

The Captain blinked. "Teacher?"

"Naomi's going to need educating, Captain, you know that. I've being trying to do what I can, but the way I've been doing it... I can't keep teaching her through play."

"Through play?"

"I've been setting up our playdates so she'll learn something as well as have fun."

"Learn what?" the child's mother asked suspiciously.

"What with the Gherop and all, it's been mostly survival skills lately." He laughed. "Since this ship does seem to get into trouble with alarming frequency, I figured she'd need to know how to look after herself. So, when we go to the beach and built sandcastles, she's learning how to set up a campsite. When we play hide and seek, she's learning how to evade capture. I've shown her some Starfleet procedures so she'll know how to manually unlock a jammed door or how to negotiate her way through the Jefferies tubes. That kind of thing."

"In case the ship ever is taken over."

"Exactly. But she's getting to the age that she needs to start learning more than how to play or how to protect herself. So I created Siobahn and the kids. I figured if you and the Captain approve, Naomi can start coming here every day for an hour or two at first and go to school with the others."

"This must have taken you weeks," Sam whispered.

Tom shrugged, eyes moving to the group playing tag on the beach under Siobahn's watchful eye from under a sun umbrella. "It was worth it. Neelix and I and some of the others are okay as playmates for her, but she needs kids her own age. We can do things with her, kid things, but we're adults..." He grinned. "Well, the others are adults anyway. Me..." He shrugged again and his grin faded. "If she keeps hanging out with us all of the time, she'll miss out on being a kid. I know what that's like. It's damned unfair."

"So you created some peers for her."

"Or tried my best to. When I was a kid, I didn't spend a lot of time with other kids or if I did they were 'Fleet brats like my sisters and me. I didn't have the type of childhood I think she deserves so I talked with practically everyone on this ship about their childhoods, found out what I'd missed out on, and tried to set things up so she won't miss out on them either. I'm sure everybody thinks I'm nuts or something after answering my rather weird questions. I took their answers and some of my own ideas and created the kids." He finally looked at her. "If there's anything you don't like about them, you can eliminate it from their programmes. It's all in the padd there."

Ensign Wildman shot B'Elanna a glance. "Don't kill me," she said rather cryptically to the Engineer then her actions explained the comment. She laid a hand on Tom's shoulder and reached up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "I think this is the sweetest thing anyone's ever done."

"Shh!" he hissed. "Don't tell anybody. Can't have them thinking I'm a marshmallow or something."

Sam laughed and stepped back as B'Elanna, at Tom's other side, threaded her arm through Tom's.

"I think it's already general knowledge," his mate told him then kissed his other cheek in a rare public display of affection from her.

Tom released a long-suffering sigh. "There goes my reputation completely. My ego's still trying to recover from Neelix telling me months ago that I *used* to be quite the ladiesman. Now, you're telling everybody knows I'm a total softie. I think I want to cry," he sniffed.

"Total ham."

"Captain," Tom said pointing away from them.

Kathryn dutifully looked the other way while her Helmsman and Chief Engineer broke her no PDA's rule.

Two hours later, the exhausted birthday girl was taken home and the party broke up so some of the celebrants could go on duty. Tom and B'Elanna refused an invitation to join some of the others in Sandrine's, instead leaving for Tom's quarters to spend some time alone.

"I think that went well," Tom sighed, kicking off his boots.

"Why didn't you come rescue me sooner?" B'Elanna questioned, at last having a chance to pose the question she had wanted to ask since it happened.

"Hmm?"

"When Naomi came over to me. Why didn't you come rescue me like I wanted? I know you saw me. You waved."

"Because I didn't think you needed rescuing," Tom explained. "You were doing just fine with her."

"Just fine?!"

"Yes. And quite frankly I wanted to see how you would handle her."

"Huh?"

Tom carefully chose his words. "I was curious about how you'd be with kids."

"Kids?" She knew she was not holding up her end of this scintillating conversation, but she could not do any better until Tom Paris started making sense.

"I... I was wondering how you would be with our kids."

B'Elanna's eyes widened.

"I'm not saying right this minute or anything," he hastened to add. "I mean we've never even talked about it. I don't even know if you want kids, but I was just wondering how you'd be with them if we ever had any." He ran a hand through his hair, leaving it in wild disarray. "And I'm babbling."

She said nothing for a long moment. That of course only provoked more babbling.

"I mean, I know... I doubted you'd be anything like Harry." He shook his head. "I figured if anyone would be good with kids, he would be. Never would I have imagined him not being comfortable with one, but-"

"Why?"

"Why what? Why did I think he'd be good with kids? Because he grew up in this great family. He had these terrific, nominate-them-for-the-Parent-Hall-of-Fame parents."

"And we didn't."

"Well, yeah."

"And yet next to her mother and Neelix, you're the best one on the ship with her."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Moving closer, she reached up and smoothed his wild hair. "That's always puzzled everyone, you know. How you two got so close. Most people wouldn't think you'd be that way with kids. Your ladiesman reputation-" He snorted at that and she smiled. "-And being the youngest one in your family and never being allowed to be a kid, always having to be a "little man," not a little boy. If you've no previous experience with kids, how come you're so good with this one?"

"About a year or so ago," he began, "Naomi and her mother were going to the Mess Hall when Ensign Wildman stopped to talk to someone in the corridor. Naomi wandered off, ended up in a turbolift with a couple who didn't even realize she was there with them."

"How'd they miss seeing her? A turbolift's not that big."

"I asked them that later." He grimaced. "Well, *demanded* to know that actually."

She lifted an eyebrow at that admission.

"Well, I was mad. They should have noticed her, but didn't. Apparently they were talking when she slipped in behind them and they never noticed her. They took the turbolift down to Deck Five and went into one of the labs. Naomi followed them out and was looking around the corridor when they entered a lab and she didn't see where they went. When I came out of Sickbay, I found her curled up next to a bulkhead, crying."

Tom shook is head. "She barely knew me. Saw me a few times in the Mess Hall or the Resort, that was about it. But you would have thought I was her long lost friend when I squatted down next to her. She threw herself at me and wouldn't let go. The kid was like a little limpet. Even after I took her back to her mother, she wouldn't let go."

"Her hero," B'Elanna smiled.

"I guess. But things just kind of grew from there."

"Women do tend to throw themselves at you, don't they?"

"Not anymore they don't. Too scared you'll take after them."

"I have to protect what's mine."

Tom nuzzled her ear. "And what's yours."

B'Elanna grinned evilly and pulled his body flush with hers. "You, Thomas Eugene Paris, and don't you ever forget it."

"Yes, ma'am."

She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. "Tom?"

"Hmm?"

"Were you really were serious about maybe us having children?" she asked.

"Yes, I was."

"I don't know, Tom. I know you'll do well, considering how quickly you took to Naomi-"

"Quickly? Hardly. For quite a while, I was petrified I'd do something wrong with her. I had no idea what I was doing. Here was this kid who kept popping up. Every time I turned around, there she was, wanting to do whatever I was doing, wanting me to pick her up for a cuddle, wanting me to talk to her. It was only after a couple of months that I suddenly realized I was comfortable with her."

She sensed him debating with himself about whether to tell her something so she remained quiet, waiting.

"I realized I enjoyed it, B'Elanna. The feel of that warm little body giving me a hug. Her big, sloppy kisses. The way she'd look up at me like I could do no wrong, like I had all of the answers. It was... I felt... I've never felt anything like that before, B'Elanna."

"And you think children of your own would make you feel like that?"

"I don't know. I'd hope so, but it just... it just got me thinking about us having kids of our own some day."

Unconsciously stroking his chest, B'Elanna quietly thought for a moment. "This is permanent, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"Us."

It was Tom's turn to think. "Yeah," he whispered, "I think it is."

She made no comment. That worried him.

"Are you... are you okay with that?"

In response, she lifted her head from his shoulder and curled a hand around his neck. As she drew his head down for a long kiss, the door inevitably chimed. For close to thirty seconds they ignored it. Then, after the fourth chime, they addressed the door.

"Come in, Harry," the couple chorused.

The EMH entered, eyebrow quirked. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Lieutenants."

Tom and B'Elanna disengaged. "Sorry, Doc," Tom apologized. "We're so used to Harry being the one to suddenly appear every time we try to have a moment alone here." He grinned. "We're starting to wonder if he has the internal sensors rigged to alert him every time B'Elanna comes in here."

"Well, given some of the tricks you and the Ensign get up to, I wouldn't put it past you."

As Tom grinned, B'Elanna shook her head at him then looked enquiringly at the hologram. "So if Harry hasn't deputized you to stand in for him while he's on duty, what can we do for you?"

He handed Tom a padd. "I have found something I think might help my family's case."

"The case for your being alive?"

He nodded while Tom reviewed the information. "I believe it may just prove-" He broke off as Tom handed back the padd. The man who first had brought the holographic family's plight to the attention of the family patriarch shook his head. "What? It's perfect."

"I found that one already," Tom sighed. "It was over turned on appeal."

"That's not in the database."

"No, not as a direct citation for some reason, but it is mentioned in another case."

He went to the computer on his desk and called up the relevant file. The EMH scanned the record then scowled. Tom placed a hand on the hologram's shoulder.

"I'll keep looking, Doc. That's the best I can promise you."

The hologram squared his shoulders. "Well, I'll be returning to Sickbay then. If you'll stop by before your shift tomorrow, I should have that report for the Captain finished by then."

When they were alone, Tom sighed and lowered his head to B'Elanna's shoulder.

"You'll think of something," she assured him, stroking his hair. "You have plenty of time. Voyager's a long way from getting home."

He sighed and tightened his hold.

She smiled at the sweet display and withdrew from Tom's quarters. In the brief time she had been observing this one and his crewmates, she had come to enjoy their closeness. It reminded her of those who had prompted her people's search.

'Soon,' she promised herself, 'soon my people will be ready for him and I can approach him.'

The smile that had increased with making this vow changed to a perplexed look. She turned away from the ship and stared straight at a little dark-haired boy.

*Who are you?*

He said nothing, only looked at her curiously.

*You've been following me, haven't you?*

Still nothing.

*I've felt something or someone watching me, but I never could see it or them. It was you, wasn't it?*

He came closer, tilting his head this way and that as his eyes stared into hers. When she reached out for him, he promptly vanished. She could sense his continued presence on the edge of her consciousness, but not see him.

'He'll reappear when he wants to,' she assured herself. 'It's doubtful he wants to stop you in any way. If he did, he would have done it long before now.'

Warily, she returned to watching the ship.

Tom was dreaming. Since Voyager had encountered the aliens who had attacked them through their dreams, he had worked hard on perfecting the art of lucid dreaming. He wanted to be ready in case they encountered anyone else who could do the same thing. Now he was at the point he could tell the instant he began dreaming, even calling up favourite dreams with the ease another would request a file from the ship's computer. He found using this new skill to be an exhilarating experience. This dream, one of his favourites, was no exception.

He stood at the foot of a slight rise in a park. Looking up, he saw a deep blue sky dotted with wisps of white cloud. Beneath his feet was lush green grass begging for his bare feet. Immediately, he obliged, shedding his shoes and socks.

A squeal of delight from a short ways off met his ears. Instantly recognizing it, he ran off in the direction of the child. He found her on the other side of the rise. A little blonde head bobbed in and out of sight in a field of wildflowers twenty metres away as she chased a butterfly. The four-year old was under the watchful gaze of her very pregnant mother sitting on a blanket beneath an oak tree.

"Don't go too far, M'Nea Madeleine," B'Elanna called after her daughter.

"Yes, Mommy," the child sing-songed over her shoulder.

"She's going to get lost in there." B'Elanna smiled at Tom over her shoulder. "Guess who gets to rescue her?"

Moving to the edge of the blanket and dropping his shoes and socks, he pretended to think about it. "Mmm, you?"

She laughed. "Oh, you'd make a pregnant woman drag herself off after a rambunctious four-year old? Do you know how long it took me to get down here?"

Grinning broadly, he leaned down to kiss her. "About half as long as it's going to take you to get up, I'll bet."

"Unless my big, strong husband who is responsible for me being in this condition takes pity on me and helps me up."

"Well, when he gets here, tell me and I'll make myself scarce." He gave her another quick kiss and bounded off after his AWOL offspring.

"Daddy!" she yelled and abandoned the butterfly chase. She hurled herself into his waiting arms, laughing as he tossed her into the air.

"Having fun, Piglet?" he asked, carrying her back towards the blanket where her mother was setting out lunch.

As she told him everything he had missed so far, he lowered her to her feet then he folded his long frame into a comfortable position next to his mate on the blanket. B'Elanna snuggled back into his chest and placed her hands over his where they came to rest on her swollen abdomen. The pair sighed happily and listened to their daughter chatter.

"Tom?"

"Hmm?"

"Come on, you've got to let go. We've got to be on duty in less than half an hour."

Reluctantly, Tom opened his eyes. He was staring at the ceiling of his sitting area.

"Tom?" The voice was becoming insistent.

His attempt to lift his head from the back of the couch was met with instant agony. Gentle hands helped him tilt his stiff head and neck into an upright position. Smiling through his pain as the hands massaged his neck, he saw what he considered the best sight in the entire Galaxy - a sleep tousled B'Elanna Torres sitting in his lap.

"We fell asleep sitting up on the couch again, didn't we?" he mumbled.

She nodded and flitted away as he started to tighten his hold on her again. "No time for that, Paris. And no time for breakfast either. I have to go to my quarters to shower and change into my uniform before heading up to the Bridge. And you have to go to Sickbay to pick up that report for the Captain from the Doctor, remember?"

Nodding, he sighed appreciatively as he watched her stretch the kinks out of her compact frame. "Gods, you're beautiful," he sighed.

The comment earned him a quick kiss and a bright smile. "I'll see you on the Bridge in a little while."

Painfully, he dragged his cramped frame off the couch and towards the shower as she hurried out. 'One of these days,' he promised himself, 'she won't have to go off to her quarters to change.'

He stopped in his tracks. Was he really thinking what he thought he was thinking?

Tom sat heavily on the side of his bed. Marriage. Despite his agreeing last night that their relationship was of the permanent sort, it still had not fully sunk in that he was thinking totally *permanent*. Sure, he had been enjoying the dreams about their life together with their children, but now he was beginning to realize it did not have to be a nocturnal fantasy. She had not run scared or knocked him senseless when they had spoken of children or permanency. In fact, she had been the one to use the word "permanent" first. Maybe, just maybe, he *could* propose and not be shoved out the nearest airlock.

'But if you're going to do it, Paris, you're going to do it right,' he ordered himself. 'No flippancy. No miscommunication. Nothing but honesty and sincerity.' He looked down at his hands and found them shaking... along with the rest of him. The trembling was not strictly because he was about to stick out his neck in the biggest way possible. It was because, if he was going to do this right, there was someone he had to talk to first.

Voices that had been silent for over two months assaulted him as his hand hovered over his combadge.

*You really think that is wise?* Camet sneered. *Formally taking her as your mate?*

'Shut up, Camet. You're not real. You're a manifestation of my subconscious.'

*Perhaps, but if I am here, then maybe there is a reason. Maybe you should listen to me. Maybe I am right when I remind you that when this ship gets home or your people come to get you, anyone you are close to will be at risk. Especially your mate. Who would be a more obvious choice than your wife if they are trying to figure out to whom you may have told everything?*

'Voyager may never make it home. And it's been months since the Doctor was in the Alpha Quadrant. If they haven't come by now, they aren't coming for me.'

*Yes, keep telling yourself that pretty little lie. It does help you sleep better at night, doesn't it? That and the so-called plan you and the Vulcan concocted.*

'You can shut up at any time, Camet. I may be lying to myself, but I'm tired of living my life in fear that one day The Protectors will send the AlphaOmegans to drag me back into the fold or kill me. I'm tired of hiding from the people I love and who love me.'

*So what are you going to do? Tell them the truth about yourself? Oh, that will go over well. Once they know the whole sordid tale, they will be tripping over themselves, trying to get as far away from you as possible.*

Tom paused. 'I may not be able to be completely honest with them, but I'm not going to let that stop me from having a life. I can't make up for what I've done or been made to do, but I'm certainly not going to spend the rest of my life the way I've spent the past few months.'

His hand hit his combadge. "Paris to Chakotay."

"Chakotay here."

Tom swallowed hard. "Commander, what shift are you on today?"

"Alpha. Why?"

"Could we meet after shift? I have something I need to discuss with you."

"Sure. Where?"

"Your quarters?"

"Fine. 1800 okay?"

"Yes, fine. Paris out."

*And just what is talking to that soporific oaf going to accomplish?* Camet wanted to know as Tom stripped and stepped into the shower.

'He's the closest thing to family B'Elanna's got on this ship. It's Klingon custom and Latin, if I remember correctly, to ask permission from the head of the family before proposing.'

*You are going to ask him for permission to marry B'Elanna?* Camet smirked. *He will laugh in your face or punch you between those pretty blue eyes of yours. You are not good enough for her. I know it. You know it. He knows it.*

Hurrying from the shower to his closet, Tom shook his head. 'I may not be good enough for her, but we love each other and I'm trying my best to be better. That's as much as any better man could say.'

*You are so deluded, my young friend.*

'You're not my friend, Camet.'

*Perhaps not, but I am here, just the same. Remember that. I am here and I am never going to go away.*

Tom finished fastening his uniform in silence. He knew Camet or his psyche at least was right about that.

"This had better be important, I'Nu," the Gherop commander barked with his mouthful, "or you'll be-"

"A party of our ships have spotted Voyager. She's coming this way, E'Arte."

The big brute of a male performed his version of a smug grin and grabbed his now filled goblet from his serving slave. He was mindless of the alcohol that sloshed over the rim of the heavy clay vessel and over the hands and ragged dress of the girl and onto the once exquisite, now chipped and ruined mosaic floor beneath her bare feet.

"And you questioned my judgement in sending our ships out to force them in our direction."

"I was not questioning your judgement, E'Arte, more wondering if there would have been less chance of irreparably damaging Voyager were we to use subterfuge right from the outset. With each confrontation, we inflict more damage on them and lose more of our ships and crews."

"I need to know how Voyager handles herself in battle. If she gets damaged a little then all the better. Then they'll be sure to come here for supplies and we'll be waiting for them."

"But our ships and-"

"We can always take more from the neighbouring systems when we need them. As for the crews to fly them, there always are more Rachar."

He looked at the top of his serving slave's downcast head. Grabbing the girl's small chin in his hand, he yanked her face up to his. Malnutrition made her pale blue skin nearly the same shade of grey as his own and her dark blue hair dull and hang limply around her delicate features.

"They breed so copiously. There's always more where the crews came from."

The adolescent in his grasp stopped breathing. Zji understood both the meaning in his words and in his dark grey eyes. Her master had yet to take her to his bedchamber, though she knew it was inevitable that one day, when she had matured enough to his liking, he would. Even if she managed to live long enough without incurring his wrath and thereby signalling her death, she knew she would not survive for long after being installed in his bed. E'Arte had aeons worth of patience when it came to waiting for what he wanted, but once he had it, he had a very short attention span. When he finally tired of her, she would go the way of all things of which he tired - straight to the refuse pile. Were it before or after he had her, he did not care. He only would find another to take her place. Either way, she was dead in the end unless the rebellion succeeded and forced the Gherop from Rachar before then.

"But the captains and first officers of the ships are our fellow Gherop. We aren't in the same seemingly never ending supply."

E'Arte released his slave and returned to his meal. "What are a few sacrificed Gherop if it means getting Voyager? If even a tenth of what we have heard of her is true, we will be able to crush the Verta once and for all."

"But the people on the Homeworld-"

"What the people on the Homeworld want is everything Rachar can produce. The minerals. The agricultural products. The fabrics." He held up his goblet. "The pottery. Don't care how we get what they want as long as we do get it. They don't want to hear or even think about the loss of any Gherop lives or the conditions we are forced to live in so long as they get everything we can take from this planet."

He set down his goblet and swiped his mouth with his sleeve. "You won't hear any outcry from them about what we have to do to get what they want. The only thing we'll hear is more communiqués from T'Do demanding to know if we are daring to hold back luxuries for ourselves and that is why exports to the Homeworld are down seventeen percent and why haven't the rebels been eliminated. I, for one, do not wish to have to explain to T'Do yet again why we are failing to destroy the Verta. Do you?"

"No, E'Arte."

"I thought not. I want to know the moment our ships report in again."

I'Nu bowed low and retreated as E'Arte thrust out his empty goblet for filling once more.

"Welcome to the Bridge, Naomi."

After a quick smile for the Captain, the little girl let go of her mother's hand and moved farther out of the turbolift. "It looks just like Tommy's."

"Tommy's?" her mother asked squatting down next to her.

"Yeah. The one Tommy made for me on the holodeck. He said I was too little to see the real one, but it was okay if I looked at the one he made me."

"Tommy made you a Bridge?"

"Yeah. And an Engineering 'cause he said I'm too little to go there either."

She sent a pleading look towards the Chief Engineer, who immediately caved. "We'll see," was what B'Elanna said, though everyone knew Naomi in Engineering was a forgone conclusion.

Grinning, Naomi followed the Captain over to Tuvok's station. Though everyone continued to monitor their stations, they listened in on the Captain's tour. All were surprised by the extent of Naomi's knowledge about the Tactical station and other stations along the rear of the Bridge. She was asking a very intelligent question about the Ops console when the turbolift doors opened and the imparter of all her Bridge knowledge stepped out, padd in hand.

"Watch it, Harry, she's after your job."

Harry Kim scowled at his best friend who was walking towards him and the group around his console.

The moment the tall man was in range, Naomi raised her arms for him to pick her up. Once he had handed the Captain the padd from the Doctor, he obliged the little girl.

"No, want to fly," she declared.

Holding her away from him, Tom tilted her this way and that, pretending to study her. "Well, you're not all that aerodynamically sound, Cucumber, but maybe if we shot you out of a torpedo tube or something you might fly okay."

"Tommmmy."

"Naomiiii." He gave her a quick kiss. "So what haven't you seen yet?" She whispered in his ear. "Oh, the most important part." He thought for a moment. "No, that's probably the Captain's chair. Nice and comfy." He lowered his voice to a stage whisper. "I'm pretty sure the Captain's fallen asleep there. I've heard snoring from behind me a few times."

"That wasn't me," Kathryn objected. "That was Commander Chakotay."

In his seat, her First Officer whirled around. "Hey!"

As everyone laughed, Tom carried the visitor to his station. "Baytart, I've brought your replacement."

The young human looked up and affected an innocent look. "Frankly, I thought she was yours, sir."

Tom raised an eyebrow at Naomi. "Does that mean I get your job, Cucumber?" Wearing his most ingenuous look, Tom turned to Ensign Wildman. "Can I go play now, Mommy?"

Sam chuckled. "I am *not* claiming you as my offspring."

Tom pouted and sniffed. "Nobody wants me."

"Ham," a voice from the direction of the Engineering station declared.

"Apparently everyone missed us at breakfast, Torres," Tom shot back. "Bacon was on the menu. I missed out on feeling outraged at Neelix serving one of my fellow pigs." He met her grin for grin then turned back to his station's console to point out features he had not shown to Naomi in the past.

At seeing the read outs the Tactical station automatically sent to the Helm, Tom suddenly was in alert mode.

"Captain, Gherop ship approaching," Tuvok announced.

"Wildman, take her." Tom thrust the little girl at her mother who had followed them down to the Conn. She immediately raced up the stairs with her daughter and into the turbolift. "Baytart, up."

The well-trained ensign was up and out of the seat before his superior could finish his order. The Chief Helmsman's fingers were flying over the controls before his body ever touched the padding of the seat. Baytart, too, retreated from the Bridge.

For nearly thirty minutes, the-best-damned-pilot-in-the-Delta-Quadrant tried everything to shake the ever-increasing number of the small and agile Gherop ships. Soon there were eleven of them in pursuit of their Federation prey. Tom put the ship through manoeuvres her designers never would have contemplated performing, even in a much smaller craft. Somehow the Gherop stuck with them. He was about to try another prohibited move when there was a familiar reading on his sensors.

"Tom, what is it?" Kathryn asked, hearing unfamiliar words she guessed was profanity coming from the helm. Until now she had tried not to unnerve him by hovering. Now she leapt to her feet and approached his station.

He swore again and began punching out commands all the more furiously.

"Captain, I'm getting some strange readings," Harry called from behind them. "They're- Tom, what'd you do that for?"

"Mr. Paris," Tuvok intoned, "why have you assumed control of the Tactical station?"

The pilot said nothing to any of them. He kept up his frantic pace of flying fingers.

The Captain opened her mouth to demand an explanation when her eyes saw what everyone else on the Bridge had noticed by then. On the main viewer, a star in the distance seemed to be growing at an astounding rate. As it grew, an irregular, dark mass could be seen in the very centre.

Chakotay go to his feet and came to stand beside the Captain. "What is it?" he wondered.

"Some would call it the cavalry," came the muttered answer from the Helm.

"Huh?"

Had anyone been watching, they would have seen the eyebrow of a certain Vulcan give a nearly imperceptible twitch. If anyone had missed the action, they merely would have assumed the rapid commands he began to input into his console were a vain attempt to wrestle control of the Tactical station from the Helm. At least that is how it would have appeared.

When the object on screen finally fully emerged, they saw it was a ship, far bigger than Voyager and all of the Gherop ships put together. As the light faded, two of the Gherop ships foolishly broke off their pursuit to attack the newcomer.

This was Gherop tactical error number one.

Their weapons bounced harmlessly off of the shielding of the big ship as it relentlessly pushed forwards, never even bothering to fire back.

Soon all but one of the Gherop ships broke off to join their ineffective brothers in their attack.

This was Gherop tactical error number two.

The instant the ships were in range, the exterior of the big ship seemed to shatter, leaving only the core of ship and twenty-five pieces of "debris." Only it was not "debris." Without warning the pieces suddenly came "alive" and took after the Gherop ships. Like border collies herding sheep, they coaxed the attackers between themselves and the core of their ship. Within moments the Gherop were trapped between the little shards of ship and the core.

Permitting this to happen was the third, and, for these ships anyway, final, Gherop tactical error of the battle.

The crew of Voyager never knew exactly what happened after that, though the one remaining Gherop ship - the one that had stuck with them - could have told them. Those next few brief seconds were imprinted on their sensor banks and retinas until they died.

As Tom slipped Voyager behind a moon and effected an emergency-braking manoeuvre, the Gherop ship shot past them and back around the moon at the same instant its brothers discovered they had fallen into an impenetrable trap.

The twenty-six pieces that made up the large ship began to glow with an eerie blue-white light. Like tentacles, shafts of the light shot out from each of the evenly spaced ships. Each beam merged with another to form a geodesic framework. The second all of the beams touched, the light from the core ship at the sphere's epicentre pulsated into a blinding flash, eclipsing the nearby binary stars.

When it faded, only a single ship was left of the Gherop attack force - the one that had not been inside the framework. In the space of less than ten seconds, the ten trapped Gherop ships had been vaporized. The framework slowly dismantled itself and the ships' glow faded.

On Voyager, no one other than Tom knew of this development. All were still picking themselves up off of the deck after Tom's abrupt and unannounced stop. The pilot had cut all power to Voyager, except life support, and set all windows for maximum opacity so no one actually saw and the switched off sensors did not register the blinding flash of light flying past the edges of the moon. Naturally the first thing the Bridge crew did upon regaining their collective feet was to turn on Tom, not knowing he had just saved their sight and their systems from massive and irreparable damage.

Janeway automatically began demanding "one Hell of an explanation" from "Mr. Paris." Tom silently ignored her. He powered up the ship and slowly edged the ship out from behind the moon.

By the time they re-emerged, the shattered ship was reassembling itself. The awesome sight of the twenty-five pieces reassembling like some sort of giant, three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle caught everyone's attention. Except Tom's. He had seen the sight before, even been apart of the procedure, both as pilot of one of the "pieces" and as overseer of the manoeuvre from the core ship. His attention, instead, was on the remaining Gherop vessel, careening wildly out of control. It was on a collision course with one of the twin suns of the system.

Janeway finally noticed the out-of-control ship and her innate goodness demanded she do something to assist her impotent enemy. "Tuvok, tractor that ship back."

"I cannot, Captain," he told her. "Mr. Paris still retains control of that system."

"Lieutenant-"

"Let them die," Tom instructed quietly, holding Voyager in its position and his fingers away from the tractor beam controls. "Their lives are over. Once someone's seen a Destroyer class ship at work..." He shook his head sadly. "Unless you're properly shielded, it does things to a person. Physically, you're blinded, but psychologically... I've heard it likened to looking into the face of Hell itself." His eyes turned inwards. "That I doubt. The ones who told me that hadn't ever seen true Hell." He came back to her and blue eyes met grey. "You have no choice in this, Captain. Death is the best thing for them."

There was a brief flash. All turned to the screen. While Tom had talked, the Gherop ship had entered the influence of the stars. The flash had been the ship's destruction.

"End of discussion."

Tom felt the tingle of a transporter beam and suddenly he was in a familiar room facing an even more familiar Vulcan visage.

'And the beginning of another,' Tom thought without missing a beat.

Sunfire had known the moment he had been brought on board. Though none of the others knew it, she was tapped into The Diogenes' computer, her tracks carefully hidden.

'Should I risk doing it now,' she wondered, 'or bide my time?'

'Best bide your time,' she counselled herself. 'Certainly they'll bring you two together soon enough. They wouldn't have brought you and the rest of the team with them unless they had some plan up their sleeve. Best wait and collect as much Intell as you can so you'll be ready to when the time comes. Tipping your hand now would only endanger everything.'

Having decided upon a plan, she settled down to wait.

"Well, I'Nu?"

The younger male Gherop tried not to cringe as he informed his superior of the message from the dying Gherop captain about the second, more powerful ship entering the field of battle. Needless to say, E'Arte was not pleased to hear of this development. When he had calmed slightly, he removed his boot from I'Nu's neck and stomped across his office to glare into the glass offered him by Zji. I'Nu picked himself up off of the floor, desperately trying to swallow to see if his throat still worked.

"How many intervals' travel are they from here?"

"Four point seven," I'Nu croaked.

"Get together our fastest and best armed ships and send them there. I want to know if this new ship is there to assist Voyager or to take her for themselves."

"What if they are not still there when our ships arrive?"

"Then they'll have to find them," E'Arte slowly enunciated. "I want Voyager."

"What about this new ship? If the message was correct, it's far more powerful than Voyager."

"Perhaps, but I know Voyager has what I want. This new one might not. I want Voyager."

"Yes, E'Arte."

I'Nu left, massaging his bruised throat and wishing he had become a tz'Mer wrestler like his grandmother had wanted. The tz'Mer might have seven sets of sixty-two teeth and the disposition of someone with a toothache in each tooth, but they still were sweeter than E'Arte in a foul mood. He only hoped Voyager fell quickly or he might not survive this plan of his superior's. Just in case, he would start writing down his filing system for the next unlucky soul who came to take his place after E'Arte killed him.

If a hue and cry had arisen when Tom Paris had abruptly disappeared fifteen minutes earlier, it was nothing to the shocked gasps at the sudden appearance of a human male in a midnight blue uniform and matching gloves. Automatically, Tuvok, Harry, and Chakotay whipped out phasers and pointed them at the newcomer standing a metre away from the Captain who had been pacing behind Tom's - now Baytart's once more - chair.

The Captain was the first to find her tongue. "Who are you and what have you done with my Conn Officer?"

The man smiled disarmingly. He was as tall and equally handsome as the missing pilot was, but the similarity between Voyager's Conn Officer and this man ended there. This man was far more muscular and had hair so black it shone with blue highlights that rivalled his navy blue eyes "I'm Raven, Captain Janeway. Starfleet, Special Ops. Tom Paris is on our ship, The Diogenes. As for why we're here, we've been sent to help get you home."

There was a collective gasp from the Bridge crew, but the phasers did not lower.

Through narrowed gaze, the Captain regarded him. "And just what proof do you have you are who you say you are?"

Raven nodded. "Tom said you had been tricked recently by one of this quadrant's residents. But I can prove we really are from the Alpha Quadrant and are here to get Voyager home." Never breaking eye contact with her, he called out to Harry. "Ensign Kim, please verify there have been no unauthorized attempts to access Voyager's computer."

Harry waited for his captain to indicate he was to go ahead before he did as Raven asked. "There's no indications of anyone trying to enter our systems, Captain."

"Thank you, Ensign Kim," Raven smiled. "Computer, recognize Raven. Zeta Delta Six. Request verification of identity. Clearance, Special Operations, Gamma Kappa 6218157. Maroon through Ultra Maroon."

"Identity verified. Welcome to Voyager, Raven."

Withdrawing an isolinear chip from a pocket in his tunic, he held it out to her in one gloved hand. "A message from Starfleet Command and the Federation President, Captain. It will explain the plan for Voyager."

"Plan?" Chakotay asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Commander. On The Diogenes is an Assessment Team who will have to complete a survey of Voyager to ensure she is not bringing anything back with her that we don't want in the Alpha Quadrant. Little critters, et cetera. Anything the Alpha Quadrant doesn't need to be exposed to. And we need to check out any modifications you've made to Voyager so we don't have any nasty surprises when we begin the alterations to her so she can use the Gopher Hole to get home."

It was B'Elanna's turn to stiffen. "Define 'alterations.'"

Raven gave her a reassuring smile. "Nothing too horrible, Lieutenant. A Gopher Hole is our name for very long, very forgettable technical term for what amounts to an artificial worm hole."

The Captain's eyebrows rose. "Starfleet's finally managed to create a stable one?"

"We have, yes. The Gopher Hole, it exerts tremendous pressures on any ship venturing inside of it. Unless a ship is properly designed, she won't survive entering the Hole. The technicians aboard The Diogenes have studied Voyager's design for a long time and we think we can alter Voyager just enough to protect her during the trip without having to dismantle and rebuilt her properly."

Janeway looked at him for a long time without speaking then at the chip in her hand. "You will understand I want to review this before-"

"Of course, Captain. We would expect no less."

"And I want to know why my Conn Officer is on your ship."

"My commanding officer is one who prefers to hear things first hand, Captain, not read about them in reports. Since he wants to know what's happened to all of you here in the Delta Quadrant and he's known Mr. Paris since he was born, he beamed Mr. Paris over to our ship to speak with him."

"He couldn't wait to see him? He just beamed him off of our Bridge without a word."

"For some reason the Gopher Hole has scrambled our external communications systems, Captain. Internal's working, but the Hole really did a number on our external. Until we've isolated the problem and fixed it, we can't contact anyone outside of our own ship. Besides, it's been a long time since they've seen each other, Captain. Over five years. He was very anxious to see Mr. Paris. My apologies for the lack of patience on his part." He gestured to the chip in her hand. "Would you be more comfortable with me returning to The Diogenes while you review the message or would you like me to stay here to answer any questions the moment they arise?"

"If your external communications aren't working, how do you plan to signal for return to your ship?"

He gestured to the small device strapped to his wrist. "The external sensors are working. They can pick up my signal from this and tell the transporter chief to recall me. Say we give you an hour to review the message then I beam back over or contact you if we've got the communications problem sorted out?"

"Fine. And I want to talk to Mr. Paris."

Raven shrugged. "I can't promise anything, but I'll do my best."

The second he dematerialized, Kathryn looked down at the chips in her hand then at her First Officer.

"Too good to be true?" he asked her.

"We'll have to see. Tuvok, yellow alert. I don't know what good it'll do though, since they can beam through our shields," she sighed. "Keep a close watch on the internal sensors. I want to know the moment anyone beams onto this ship who shouldn't be here."

"They want to talk to him," Raven informed his superior.

"As I expected," the middle aged Vulcan in the white uniform answered. He did not take his eyes from the figure on the examining table in the medlab beyond the transparent aluminium window. "You told them what you were instructed to say?"

"And I think they believed me, but the Captain still wishes to speak with Paris. What do we do now?"

"You leave it up to me."

After twenty minutes of wondering whether this was to be the happiest day of their lives or one of the worst, the Senior Staff assembled in the Conference Room to hear the Captain's decision on the authenticity of the message. She did not tell them immediately. Instead she played for them the recording of the Federation President and various experts from Starfleet Command outlining their plan for refitting Voyager enough for her to survive her trip through the Gopher Hole. When it was finished, the Captain looked at all of them, pausing on the empty chair next to B'Elanna.

"Have you heard from Tom?" B'Elanna asked anxiously, seeing where the Captain's gaze paused.

"Audio only, but yes," she nodded. "It was very brief, but he confirmed what Raven said. They are Special Ops, he's known their commanding officer for years, and he's briefing them on the past five years. He says there's another project Special Ops is working on that they need his imput on. Apparently someone he used to associate with after he left Starfleet is the subject of an investigation by Special Ops and he's the only one left alive who can give them any insight into this guy."

Tom's mate shook her head. "I don't like this."

"I don't like Tom being off the ship either, B'Elanna, but they authorized Tom to tell me enough about this person they're after and, frankly, if his being absent from Voyager for a while will help them capture him, it's worth it." She shook her head. "I find it hard to believe Tom would know someone like the man their after. He's murdered thousands of people."

Shaking her head, she came back to the topic at hand. "Now, does anyone have any comments on this plan to refit Voyager?"

"There are a lot of repairs that have to be done before any refit can start," B'Elanna reported in Chief Engineer mode.

"Captain," Tuvok began to caution, "I feel I must remind you that this still might be an elaborate ruse."

"Yes," Kathryn sighed, "I know, and I want everyone on this ship to be on their guards. The computer may have verified who Raven was, and the codes imbedded in the message from Command and the President checked out, and Tom confirmed who they were, but there may still be something afoot. If they *are* up to something, I want us to know about it before they can do whatever *it* is. Everyone should be vigilant, but not obvious about it. Harry, you haven't found any indications of tampering with our computer?"

The ensign shook his head. "No. I've checked and rechecked. If they've faked Raven's security clearance, I can't find any evidence of it. I've gone over the encoding for the message as you asked me to and as far as I can tell, it's real."

"If anyone from The Diogenes is to be permitted on Voyager, I suggest they be accompanied by Security personnel," Tuvok suggested.

The Captain nodded. "Agreed. Any suggestions on how best we should explain to the crew the somewhat unusual makeup of this Assessment Team?"

"You mean the fact there are a Cardassian and a Romulan amongst them." Chakotay clarified.

"Yes."

"I think your just telling the crew that they are on our side and working *for* Starfleet Command should be enough for the majority of the crew."

"You think the Maquis will have a problem with a Cardassian being on Voyager."

He stared at his hands where they were clasped on the table. "Honestly, I for one am going to find it hard as Hell and I know some others will too." He sighed heavily. "But I think if I warn them about him ahead of time and make them see he's not aligned with the Cardassian Empire, but came over to Starfleet a long time before the War began, they should tolerate him at least."

"Can you?"

Chakotay thought about that for a long time then nodded. "If Starfleet's Special Ops has cleared him and this Romulan to work for them, then I'd hope they were trustworthy."

"Provided Special Ops is trustworthy," B'Elanna interjected.

"Exactly."

Kathryn massaged her temples. "And we cannot be positive they are. Why does life have to be so complicated?"

No one had an answer to that.

She looked at the Doctor and Neelix who had been quiet so far. "How about you two? Neelix, you interact with the entire crew on a daily basis in the Mess Hall. How do you think these interviews they want to do with them will go over."

The Talaxian leaned forward in his chair. "I think their counsellor talking with each member of the crew to see how they've fared here and how they feel about finally getting home is a good idea, Captain, and the majority of the crew will agree with me. Some may not like talking about their feelings with a stranger and some are a bit... less than forthcoming with their feelings on any subject..." He shrugged.

"I'm sure it's nothing an experienced counsellor has not encountered before. Doctor? These physicals they want everyone to have?"

He was silent for a moment. Since he had heard the news of The Diogenes and that Voyager really might be going home this time, he had been deep in thought. He still had no solid defence for his and his family's continued existence. He needed more time to develop his legal argument, time that he clearly was not going to receive. Help was here and it seemed this ship was going home. 'And you still have a duty to perform,' he reminded himself.

"I see no reason for these tests, Captain," the EMH dismissed at last. "I can vouch for the health of every member of this crew. There is absolutely no need for anyone to verify that."

Forcing a smile from forming at the insulted EMH's expense, Chakotay addressed him. "I think Command just wants to be on the safe side, Doctor. Besides, they may have a point. No one on this ship has ever been through this Gopher Hole of theirs. Someone *might* just have a bad reaction to it."

"I still think it is a waste of time. I also wonder about this alleged Doctor of theirs, Yana. An Orion *female* with several advanced medical degrees?"

"I know the reputation of Orion females, Doctor," the Captain began, "but her credentials do check out."

Reluctantly, he conceded this point.

"And since we do have a little while until the repairs are completed and the refit is done. Might as well use it constructively and make Command happy by doing these physicals they want."

"But my time could be better spent working on my case, Captain."

She sighed. "Your case. Yes, I had forgotten about that."

He was more than a little ticked off to hear that. "Well, I can assure you *I* haven't."

"Have you found anything new?"

He grimaced. "No."

"Then I suggest you concentrate on the physicals for the time being. Once we get to the Alpha Quadrant, I'll speak to someone I know in the Judge Advocate General's Office. If she can't help you and your family find a legal position, no one can. Until then there's not much else we can do."

"Yes, Captain."

She surveyed the faces of the others. "Okay, so we're in agreement? We permit them aboard, under escort, and only after everyone has been informed of this Dumar and Pardan's presence?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, then. It seems we're about to get company."

In an anteroom to the medlab, the grey uniformed technician took a deep breath and attempted to explain his problem to the Vulcan who was staring disapprovingly at him after his last, somewhat incoherent attempt to answer his questions. "It isn't working. I mean, part of it *is* working and part of it isn't."

"Explain, Vassanji."

"I can't, not so far anyway. We're still going through his logs."

"He would not be stupid enough to record it in his log where anyone who was invading his privacy could read it."

"And we are checking all of the other logs we downloaded from Voyager," Vassanji hastened to add. "So far we have found no mention of finding the device. There is, however, something we think you will find important. A little over two months ago, their Security Chief was seriously injured. So seriously he did not expect to survive. Since the two of them were alone together, Paris volunteered to accept the katra."

"You are saying they shared a body? For how long?"

"A couple of days."

"In form the Team of this development and monitor Tuvok closely."

"Immediately, sir."

"Is the download function one of the ones that is working?"

"No."

"So he will have to tell us what we want to know and what he may have told the others. Is it still recording?"

"It's too damaged for us to tell."

"What will happen if it is and it does not download?"

"The Implant he received is designed for long-term use. No one has ever had the need to go longer than seventeen months before downloading the information from his or her Implant. Theoretically, though, maybe it has enough memory space for... six, maybe seven years' worth of storage."

"And after that?"

"If the memory becomes full, the Implant won't record anything further."

"Voyager left the Alpha Quadrant slightly over five years ago now."

"So if it is still recording, there isn't much space left."

"What if it isn't? Would the information it has recorded before it was damaged still be stored?"

"Provided the damage did not erase the memory, yes. But since it won't download as it is, you would have to remove the memory core from the Implant, repair it, and download it that way. In order to do that, you'd have to remove it from his brain."

"Your point?"

"You'd have to kill him to get the Implant out."

"Then he had better tell me what we need to know before that becomes necessary." Alpha Two started for the door only to turn back. "What about the self-destruct function?"

"If you are asking 'Can he trigger it himself now that it's damaged?' I don't know. If you're asking 'Can you order it to destroy itself?' I don't know that either."

"Then find out. I want to know if it can be used if it becomes necessary."

"Aye, sir."

To say some of the more militant Maquis were less than thrilled to hear about a Cardassian about to be in their midst was like saying everyone on board was thrilled with the imminent presence of a Romulan. It took Chakotay and Janeway at their most logical and persuasive, plus a heavy dose of reminding everyone that they *were* going to get home before a grudging acceptance was made for the presence of the enemy. They were not welcoming - Dumar and Pardan would not be invited to anyone's quarters for tea - yet the crew were going to tolerate the pair while they kept their eyes open for signs they were up to something. Showing their loyalty to the Captain and First Officer, no one flatly refused their requests they work with them.

So, it was onto a justifiably tense Bridge that Raven and his six companions materialized. The Assessment Team also looked wary, not of the Bridge crew, but of the team of Tuvok's best who had them surrounded.

Raven stepped forward, handing the kit bag from over his shoulder to the nearest Security officer. "I assume you will wish to inspect our equipment."

The officer took the bad and inspected the contents then handed it back. "Just padds and tricorders, Captain."

One by one, members of the Assessment Team submitted to the same search. In the meantime, Raven began explaining the purpose of the Team. "My colleagues here are to ready to begin assessing damage to Voyager and begin repairs whenever you are satisfied as to our good intentions, Captain."

B'Elanna already was a tad emotional. There was Tom's abrupt disappearance and his failure to send a message reassuring *her*, not only Janeway, of his safety. Then there was the long list of repairs ahead of her and her staff - repairs they had performed only two days earlier and now had to be repeated thanks to the Gherop. Now she had a Cardassian *and* a Romulan standing only a two metres away and this stranger was suggesting someone other than her staff was going to touch *her* ship. Quite understandably, she became a touch bit ticked off. "You'll begin repairs?!" she demanded, storming towards them from the Engineering station. "We -"

A large male Klingon disengaged from the rest of the group and barred her from approaching the others. When she attempted to push past him, he asked her in Klingon to "calm down." She opened her mouth to tell him to get lost, only to be interrupted by his leader.

"Stand down, Lieutenant," Raven barked.

B'Elanna's head snapped around to growl at him, only to realize he was not speaking to her, but the male who was in her face.

Immediately, the warrior stepped back and stood at attention. Raven continued to stare at him for a moment then approached B'Elanna.

"I apologize, Lieutenant," he said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "I phrased that incorrectly. I meant to convey we were more than willing to *assist* with the repairs that have to be made. In fact, it would be easier for all of us if we did pitch in. It'll give everyone an opportunity to learn everyone else's working styles before the truly difficult work begins. Apology accepted?"

Only slightly mollified, B'Elanna nodded once.

"Thank you."

Uncomfortably with the near fight, Kathryn decided to change the subject. "Your story and the clearance codes in the message check out," she began, staring at their uniforms, "but I've never seen your uniforms before. Have the uniforms for Special Ops changed that much while we've been gone?"

"All of Starfleet's uniforms have changed, Captain. However, we can discuss that later when we have more time. Right now, the people who were attacking you when we arrived...?"

"The Gherop," she supplied for him.

"The Gherop. We detected a message being sent from the last of the Gherop ships, probably back to their base, just before the ship was destroyed."

Janeway nodded. Harry, once he had reassumed control of Ops from the Helm after Tom had disappeared, had detected it too. "Voyager picked it up too," she confirmed.

"While we haven't been able to decipher it yet, it is logical to assume there'll be reinforcements on the way. By our preliminary evaluation, Voyager won't survive another attack."

"Tom took a lot out of her trying to avoid the attack," B'Elanna begrudged.

"We thought as much. Our main weapon will need a couple more hours to recharge so hopefully their base is a ways away."

Chakotay's eyes narrowed. "Main weapon? Whatever destroyed the Gherop ships?"

"Yes, Commander Chakotay. It is classified or I would explain how it works. Let's just leave it at the fact that it does work, but it will be a while before it can work again." Navy eyes turned to grey. "You don't have any idea where their base is, Captain?"

She shook her head. "So far we've only encountered a few of their raiding parties. Far as we can tell, they have a base somewhere and they leave it to systematically loot neighbouring systems whenever the fancy strikes them. We must be getting close though. From all the warp trails, it would seem this is their main route for travelling. Their base has to be around here somewhere."

"And you came this way knowing that?""We didn't know it until it was too late and we were here."

"Then we'd better get Voyager repaired and get out of here A.S.A.P. Even if we only finish the repairs here, we can find a quiet, out of the way place somewhere to do the alterations in peace." He gestured to the Romulan male nearby. "This is our First officer, Pardan. He will be co-ordinating the Assessment."

The Romulan nodded to Captain Janeway then addressed Chakotay. "You are my counterpart, Commander Chakotay. We will adjourn to your office to discuss matters." He did not wait for an agreement; he merely headed for the turbolift. The stunned Commander and the two Security officers assigned to watching Pardan had to hurry after him at their Captain's nod.

"And this is T'Kara, our Chief Pilot."

The elegantly beautiful Vulcan inclined her head to the Captain.

"Since Mr. Paris is on The Diogenes she will be working with his second?"

"Ensign Pablo Baytart," the man who had reassumed the Conn introduced himself.

He and T'Kara exchanged nods and began conferring on the damage to the Helm under the watchful gaze of her Security people.

"Bartoq is our Tactical Expert," Raven continued.

The Klingon who had had the run in with B'Elanna met Janeway's eyes. She tried not to cringe at the hardness she saw in them, though she was grateful when he broke the contact so he could head for Tuvok's station.

She turned back in time to see Raven gesturing to a breathtakingly beautiful Orion female. "Yana's our Medical officer."

Suddenly the little Orion female Tom had created as a playmate for Naomi did not seem to be such a fabrication. Clearly she was based on the scholarly woman before her.

"Captain Janeway," she said in well-measured tones, "if I may have an escort to your Sickbay? I would like to begin conferring with your EMH."

Two of the Security people stepped forwards as Janeway nodded. She had sensed it might not be the best of ideas to assign two heterosexual males, no matter how professional and serious about their task those males might be, to guard a *female* Orion of dubious intentions. As a hopefully unnecessary precaution to prevent the Orion from doing what Orion females allegedly did best - use their sexuality to their advantage - she had given Tuvok an unusual order. She had told him to pick from his best people either two heterosexual females or two homosexual males or - as ended up being the case - a combination there of. The last thing Janeway wanted was to find out these people actually were trying to trick them and Yana had seduced her lovesick guard or guards into being less than vigilant.

"This way please, Yana," the female half of the pair offered.

Following her female escort with the male bringing up the rear, Yana mounted the stairs to the turbolift.

"Dumar is Ops," Raven continued.

The Cardassian male who responded caused a few stiffened postures from the Maquis on the Bridge. If he noticed he ignored it as he mounted the stairs to Harry's position. "First, Ensign Kim, we will need to check the internal and external sensors for damage. Tom's actions should have protected them when we used or weapon, but we will have to see."

Harry frowned. "How'd you know my name?"

"We know all about your ship and crew," Raven reminded. "Souris here is our Counsellor, Captain. She is the one who will be meeting with your crew, each individually, assessing their states of mind, and preparing them for their return home."

A petite human female with waist-length brown hair and huge green eyes nodded to the Captain then over Kathryn's shoulder, she locked eyes with Harry. Both she and the young ensign visibly stopped breathing until she looked away. Blinking, she refocused her attention on the woman in charge.

"I've assigned you quarters you may use as an office while you're here," Janeway informed her. "Your escorts will show them to you."

Smiling her thanks, Souris looked up at her guards expectantly. While the two men were not the largest members on Tuvok's staff, they dwarfed their little charge. As one of them led the way, the other met the suppressed smirk of one of his colleagues with a slight shrug and trailed along behind the other two in his party.

"And I'll be taking care of Engineering," Raven announced, removing one glove and sticking his bare hand out for B'Elanna to shake, which she begrudgingly did.

He held her hand and eyes for a moment longer than strictly necessary. Where ordinarily she would have tugged her hand away, she did not even seem to notice his over-familiarity. In fact, the only reason she took her hand back and shifted her eyes from his was because her Captain spoke and interrupted the moment.

"B'Elanna, before they start any alterations, I'm going to want you and Seven to check them over to make sure the Borg modifications we've made won't interfere with them."

"Yes, Captain," the Chief Engineer answered in a distracted voice.

"We'd better get started on the repairs then," Raven suggested. "Sooner we're done, the sooner we're home. Excuse us, Captain?"

"Of course."

"We were wondering at the changes we had seen to the ship," Raven remarked, a newly re-gloved hand cupping his counterpart's elbow to guide her up the stairs to the turbolift with their guards. "They're Borg, hmm?"

"Along with some other Engineering tricks we've picked up along the way," B'Elanna clarified, "yes."

"I can't wait to hear about them. All the new technologies your people must have encountered. It must have been fascinating."

As the turbolift doors closed, Kathryn sighed softly to herself. 'Home,' she thought. 'Finally we're going to get home. I hope.'

Tom came to in a familiar room, in a familiar position. A Re-Education Room with him strapped in the chair. His Starfleet uniform was gone and he was wearing only the black briefs he favoured.

'Relax,' he ordered himself, testing his restrains. 'You'll get out of this. Remember the plan. Tuvok will help you.'

"And here we are again."

Stilling, he barely suppressed an involuntary shiver as he recognized the voice.

Alpha Two.

Not betraying the fear he felt in the presence of the Vulcan, he turned his head to meet the black as deep space eyes.

"You have led us on quite the chase," Alpha Two remarked, hands folded primly behind his white uniformed body. "Across a galaxy." He leaned close to Tom's face. "Yet we still caught you."

Tom continued to show no emotion. He knew he had to control even the slightest of responses or his adversary would gain the upper hand. This one could take things others overlooked and use them to glean what his opponent was trying to hide. Even something as subtle as an eye movement could be used by such an astute observer as this one to learn what was not being said. And Tom had too much to protect to give anything away.

"It was obvious from your hiding Voyager behind that moon that you recognized this ship, or at least her design. How much else do you remember I wonder? Everything clearly, or bits and pieces that are all jumbled up in your mind?"

There was no answer.

"You may be stubborn all you want, but eventually you are going to tell me everything. If not now, then when we get back to the Alpha Quadrant. I would suggest now. The longer you remain silent, the more insistent I will have to become. You do remember what it is like when I become insistent, don't you?"

Tom did yet he continued staring unemotionally ahead. He was the best there was at keeping his emotions under wraps, as anyone from Voyager could attest.

"Vassanji says your Implant is badly damaged. We cannot download the information from it so unless you give me the answers I require, we will have to remove it and take the information that way. Either way, we will have what we need." He paused. "Of course there's always a mindmeld."

The young human maintained his silence. He knew what he had dreaded all along probably was true. The chances of his ever seeing the Alpha Quadrant were slim. Well, if he was going to die, he was going to do his best to make their lives as difficult as possible before then. Starting now.

"Doctor?" Yana's female escort called from the main room of Sickbay.

In response to her call, they heard grumbling coming from the lab.

"So predictable. I'm right in the middle of an experiment and someone decides they have to break something or leak bodily fluids all over the place." Head down, examining a padd as he walked through to them, he did not immediately see the new face on board. "So, what have you managed to do to yourself, hmm?"

When he finally looked up, he nearly dropped the medical tricorder he was picking up. He had seen Yana's file, at least the credentials part of it, therefore had seen her picture yet seeing the beautiful Orion in the flesh had an incredible impact on him.

"I am Yana, Doctor," she smiled, holding out her hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Stunned, he shook the offered hand. "Um, yes, a pleasure."

Yana's smile changed from friendly to knowing. "Doctor," she began, moving a step closer to the man whose hand she still held, "I see the reputation of my sex has proceeded me."

He tried to deny it but she waved off the denial. "It's all right, Doctor. My fellow students and later my colleagues all had the same reservations that you do. They came around once they worked with me for a while and saw I was more than qualified to hold up my end of things."

Knowing he had offended her, he tried to apologize only to have that waved off as well.

"No need to apologize, Doctor. And no time," she said, dropping his hand. "By the time this ship is repaired and refitted for the trip home, every crewmember has to have had a full physical."

"How long do we have?"

"That all depends on how long the repairs take and whether or not these Gherop stay out of our way."

"Then we had better get started. I'll call -" He groaned. "How typical. When I could use Mr. Paris, he's nowhere in sight." The EMH gave a long-suffering sigh then motioned Yana into his office. "I'll call Ensign Wildman to give us a hand."

"You have quite a well run Engineering Section, Lieutenant," Raven approved.

B'Elanna smiled back at him. "Voyager's engineers are the best."

"And very innovative too."

"We've had to be."

He laid a bare hand on hers. "I can imagine. It must have been very difficult for you, trying to keep all this together without help from any Starbase."

"Yes, but we've managed," she answered in a soft voice.

His own voice lowered an octave. "Quite well too. Integrating the Borg technology into the ship's design was brilliant. When you get home, I'm certain Starfleet Command will be itching to get you onto their Engineering Staff."

"Well, I don't know -"

"Chief," Carey called from across the room.

With a show of reluctance, Raven removed his hand and stepped back a pace.

B'Elanna stared at him for another instant then hurried over to her second in command, Raven following along behind, regloving his hand.