Chameleon

By Sirap

Part Two: Three Tests

Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres felt like she had searched the whole database. "People don't just disappear!" she cried.

Unfortunately, according to internal sensors that was exactly what had happened, one minute Tom and Alex's life signs were present, the next they were gone. B'Elanna only prayed that Tom was all right. She had been devastated when the Captain had told her of his disappearance. Hogan had put his hand on her shoulder and said, "At least they're together." Strangely enough, this hadn't comforted the surly engineer. She'd spent the last two days thinking of ways to keep them apart. Scanning again she looked for any sign of. well anything. A transporter signature or something resembling it. She found nothing. Whatever they were dealing with, it was far outside their realm of knowledge.

* * * *

Tom and Monroe examined their small cell, Malesint had left without telling them anymore about the tests that they would be forced to take. Now that the two were once again alone, they were searching for an escape.

"She didn't even tell us what our first test was." Monroe said miserably.

"Well, lets hope we aren't here long enough to find out what it is." Tom snapped back.

Tom pried off a piece of the wall. It was the partition opposite the forcefield controls and Tom could see all the wires powering their biggest obstacle, the forcefield.

Monroe looked over briefly as she paced by the jumble of cables. " Cut the purple wire."

Tom smiled and sliced it with a piece of jagged metal from the wall. The forcefield flickered away. He turned to Alex she was smiling smugly.

"You think you're smart, don't you?"

"Shouldn't we be departing?"

"After you," he said motioning to the egress with his hand.

Monroe checked both ways then stepped into the corridor. On their way many of the roaring prisoners banged on the walls and yelled out in languages they didn't understand. Without their combadges there was nothing to translate the prisoners words.

"Maybe we should set them free, it would create a diversion," Tom suggested.

"This isn't the time and they could be dangerous," Monroe pointed out. "We worry about us now, them later."

Tom nodded and they continued on their way. Eventually they came across a colossal doorway, Tom pulled Monroe inside.

"This looks like some kind of control room." Alex observed. The room consisted of numerous bright white consoles with flashing gray, yellow and orange lights.

Tom sat down at one of the terminals and examined the buttons. "I'm running a check on our position relative to the Voyagers last known coordinates." Tom grimaced when he saw the results.

"How bad?" Monroe asked.

"326,027 light years away, Malesint had been telling the truth. There's no point in sending a message."

"And if we take a shuttle we'll never catch up to Voyager."

"It's our best bet in any case," Tom reminded.

"Not necessarily," Alex mused. "We could return to our cell."

Tom was silent for a beat, "Excuse me?"

"If we pass all of Malesint's tests she would grant us one wish. She would be forced to return us home. It's our only chance, Tom. We'd never get anywhere in some shuttle, if we even made it off the ship alive."

"And how do we even know Malesint will even keep her word?" Tom queried.

"What other choice do we have but to hope that she will?"

Tom reluctantly conceded and they headed back to their cell. When they stepped across the threshold Malesint was laying across the single bed and had a wicked grin plastered on her face. The wall Tom had torn apart had been fixed.

"Congratulations," she greeted. "You've passed the first test."

"What?" Monroe gasped, "How?"

"You realized escape was futile. If you had stolen a shuttle it would have exploded the moment you left my ship. Most believe that they can escape anything." Malesint turned her attention to Tom, "They are too cocky. Young and brash." With a grin she turned her gaze back to Monroe, "You make a good team. I chose well with you." Stepping out of the cell she reactivated the forcefield.

"You should rest now, the next test shall not be so easy."

* * * *

Harry sighed and fell back in his chair. Looking at the flashing lights in front of him, he almost got dizzy. He had come down to Engineering to help B'Elanna. Of course their wasn't much to do considering that there was no record of anything ever happening. Harry was really starting to become worried about Tom and Alex. The whole situation was bazaar, he was even starting to believe not even Tom Paris would be able to handle it.

"KIM!" an angry voice roared.

Harry looked up to see B'Elanna standing before him, her hands on her hips.

"Sleeping on the job?" she asked harshly.

Harry paled, "No sir," he responded quickly. "I'll get right back to work." He said hurriedly. He thought he detected a ghost of a smile on the hot- tempered engineer's face as she watched him scramble to get back to work, but immediately dismissed the idea.

* * * *

When Tom and Monroe woke up the next day they were no longer in their cell. They were back in Alex's quarters on Voyager.

"How did we get here?" Tom asked after they shared a long look.

Alex shrugged, "Maybe we never left."

"Not likely," Tom said skeptically. "What about Malesint? You remember everything, don't you?" Monroe nodded. "Then don't you think it is strange we would both have the same dream? It had to have been real."

"Anything could have happened. Malesint was telepathic, maybe she has only been testing us in our own minds," Monroe suggested.

"Perhaps," he conceded. "But we need to go see the Captain."

* * * *

Tom and Monroe burst out of the turbolift onto the bridge. Chakotay and Janeway turned and looked at them only slightly amused.

"Mister Paris, you're late. I was just about to com you."

"Captain," Tom said suddenly. "We need to talk, it's urgent."

Janeway was quickly on her feet. "Lets go to my ready room," she said.

The duo obediently followed her through the door.

"What is this about?" Janeway asked, her brow furrowed in concern.

"We've been in contact with a telepathic alien, we aren't sure how." Alex told her, straight forward as ever.

Janeway wasn't fazed, she'd seen a lot in her day and it would take more than some telepath communicating with her crew to surprise her. "Was this alien hostile?"

"She sure wasn't real friendly," Tom quipped.

"Janeway to Chakotay, bring the ship to yellow alert."

"Understood," Chakotay answered confused.

"I want to know exactly what happened."

Tom and Alex told her everything that may or may not have happened. Janeway listened intently the whole time, her eyes drilling into the two younger officers. "I don't know what to think." Janeway said with a sigh. "If it's true that Malesint is 300,000 light years away the ship shouldn't be in any danger."

"Red alert," Chakotay's voice rang over the com. "All hands to battle stations."

"Knock on wood," Tom mumbled as he followed the two women from the room.

"Report," Janeway snapped.

"We're under attack." Chakotay told her. "It's the Kazon."

Tom sighed and headed to the helm. Just what they needed.

The Kazon.

Monroe went to the science station and relieved the crewman at the post. Janeway sat in her chair. "Tom evasive maneuvers."

Tom immediately began to avoid the two Kazon warships.

"Harry, try hailing them, Mister Tuvok charge weapons."

The two Kazon warships swung around Voyager, circling like vultures and managed to trap the Starfleet ship between them. Tom quickly pulled them out, watching their strategy. Their tactics were high above normal. Their techniques were too intellectually complex for the Kazon to have created. Flying the ship with one hand, Tom quickly checked to see if all the life signs were Kazon, they were and his confusion grew. Turning his attention back to the helm he soon learned a feel for the Kazon's new methods and was then predicting their next moves.

"Still not answering hails," Harry reported.

Janeway nodded coolly, "Return fire."

Tom's mind was still reeling to figure out what was going on. He stole a glance at Monroe she saw him and shrugged. She realized something was wrong too but was as clueless as he was.

Janeway eventually stood and began to pace, to hyped up to sit. "Tom, I want you to find us an out and jump to warp."

Tom nodded and resisted the urge to reply with "no problem" he said "Aye, sir," instead.

However, just as he was about to make the jump Voyager was completely surrounded by a fleet of ships. They were of a design that none of them had seen before.

Janeway fought to keep her jaw from dropping, "Harry, hail them."

"No answer," he responded.

"Captain, we need to get out of here," Chakotay said softly.

"Tom, can you find us a way out?" she asked.

"The nebula," Tom mused, his eyes becoming brighter.

"What about it?" Janeway snapped.

"We can hit it with phasers and it will cause an explosion." Monroe burst out from her station catching onto his plan.

Tom smiled, "It will break a hole in this circle they've formed and we'll be able to get out."

The ship was rocked again and Janeway almost fell. "Do it," she ordered.

Tom and Alex both smiled, the same smile as they put their plan into action. They pulled it off as easily as they had explained it. But just as Tom jumped to warp, Voyager was engulfed by a familiar green light and Tom fell down onto cold metal, painfully raising his head he saw Alex beside him.

"Well played."

Tom knew it was Malesint even before he pulled himself onto his knees.

"What did you think of my simulation? Realistic, no?"

"Simulation?" Tom echoed.

"You've past my second test. The third and final is next. It's a test of physical endurance, cunning, and fighting skills. Tomorrow, you will face the undefeated Whyley beast. Rest up."