Chapter 2: Along the
winding road
"Ensign, report." Paris strode across the bridge
and took his place as commanding officer due to the absence of the captain and
commander, and the illness of the security officer, Tuvok. Ensign Andrews
scanned his station for a report, and found the information he was looking for.
"We are out of tracking range from the Borg cube
thanks to Lieutenant Torres, but we have lost many crewman including the
Captain, Commander Chakotay, Ensign Kim and Ensign Winters. Before we left
their space, the Borg informed us that they were re-inserting Seven of Nine
into the 'community'." Paris sighed and leant over the console that the
Ensign sat at.
"This ship does not go any further towards the alpha
quadrent until we have recovered our crew."
"Tom Paris" Allya whispered, head turned towards
the floor. Kathryn looked at Allya.
"Why did you leave the Federation?" She asked,
kneeling to the Maquis captain's level.
"I was arrested for conspiring against the
Federation. Two other people were arrested at the same time as me. One for
murder, one for actions with fatal intent." Allya wiped the tears from her
face and looked at the Captain in front of her.
"The one tried for murder was Tom, wasn't it".
"How did you know?" Allya looked, bemused, at
the information this woman held.
"Lieutenant Paris works on my ship at the helm. You
tend to know these things about your crewmen. For now, however, we must forget
the past and concentrate on the present. Ensign Kim, Ensign Winters, come over
here. Captain Stevens, do you know a way out of here?" Allya stood up and
went over to where the desk was chained against the wall. She took out a com
badge, a handheld scanner, and a piece of acetate sheeting. Allya pinned the
badge to her torso, placed the scanner in her belt, and gave the sheet to the
captain.
"This is a map of this level of the Borg cube. We are
here. My ship is in the bay over here. The rooms along corridor Beta 6 are
heavily guarded...."
"What are we going to do now?" Ensign Andrews
bought the ship to a full halt so they could assess damage and addressed the
commanding officer.
"We should wait a while. If I know Captain Janeway,
she'll find a way back to Voyager before you can say assimilation."
"Hey!" Allya rattled the bars of the prison and
yelled at the guard. "Hey, metal head!" One of Five turned and walked
towards the Maquis Captain.
"Feeble human. Resistance is Futile, you shall never
get out of here."
"You want them alive, right?" Allya said,
pointing to the huddle of Federation officers. "One of them is ill! You
think she's going to be worth anything like that? All of them are suffering,
look! You have to help them if they're going to be worth anything to you!"
One of Five considered this for a moment, then issued two of the other officers
to escort the group to the medi-bay. When they had got through corridor Beta 6,
Chakotay issued the first blow to the escorting Borg - a kick straight into the
torso of the guard on the right. Allya tackled the other and stole his weapon.
Chakotay took the weapon of the other guard and the group ran to the bay. When
they were running, Chakotay issued a comment -
"You did that martial arts course too, Captain
Stevens?"
"Oh yeah. And passed in first as well."
"I noticed."
"Tom, there's something on the long range
scanners." B'Elanna looked at the console again. "It's a Maquis ship,
and it's armed."
"Power up the shields and prepare to open communication
channels."
"There's something on the scanners, Captain."
Allya and Kathyrn looked at each other. "Which Captain?" Allya asked,
turning back to the console.
"Both," Chakotay replied.
"It's a Federation ship, and it's hailing us."
Allya took a deep breath, and opened the channel, putting the face of Tom Paris
up on screen. "Oh god..." Allya muttered under her breath.
"Ally?" Tom gasped, and looked at her. "It
can't be you... you never got paroled..."
"No, Tom, I killed three Federation officers, escaped
and joined the Maquis." Tom looked at her, then at Captain Janeway, who
nodded. "Tom, open one of your landing bays and drop shields. I've got
some crew members to return to you." Paris' face disappeared from the
screen, and Allya turned to Chakotay. "You know how to fly this
thing?" He nodded. "Get us into the landing bay. I don't want a scratch
on her when you land." Allya smiled, and walked out to the Captain's
office to get something she had been given long ago, and never lost.
Janeway, Chakotay, Kim and Winters stepped into the
landing bay and walked up to the Lieutenant. Janeway saw the look on his face,
and answered the question it asked.
"She's still on the ship. I think she went to get
something."
Allya picked up the box, and opened it. She took out the
silver locket and opened it. Two photos. Her photo...and Tom's. There was a
beep as the door to the office opened. Allya looked up and saw the reflection
in the window. Saw his reflection in the window. She span around. They
didn't say anything, just looked at each other. Tom studied the woman in front
of her. It wasn't the Ally he knew, she was...different. Somehow.
"Tom, I joined the Maquis so I could get into the
delta quadrent. So I could come and find you. And I had a slight grudge against
the Federation at the time." Tom watched her as she spoke.
"Ever since Captain Janeway let me onto the ship I've
been hacking into the Federation files trying to find what happened to
you." Ally smiled, and walked over to Tom. She took his hands in hers and
looked up at him.
"I missed you, Tom."
"I missed you too, Ally." They kissed, and tears
rolled down their cheeks as they relived a moment they thought they had lost
forever.