A/N: Thanks for the reviews! And for the ideas! I will try to remember
to put POV on top from now on. I will also try to make my chapters longer.
If I mess up on either of these, well there are a possibility of two
reasons, A. I'm only human, and B. I've been so busy with school that my
brain is currently fried. Hope y'all understand!
POV – Tom Paris
Oh, reminder, neither Hilary nor I own Star Trek Voyager, or any part of Star Trek Voyager.
Neelix smiled widely, "That's right! Famous!"
I rolled my eyes, and drawled, "Then again, the crew compliment is so small, that any piece of news is quickly famous. And I'm sure that everyone knows that I fell asleep at the helm as well as they know that we have a new crewmember."
Coughing, Kim turned his back for a moment, missing the glare I shot at him.
"Kim, you wouldn't have anything to do with that particular fact circulating would you?" I asked, frowning.
Turning back to face us, he tried to muster an innocent face and replied, "Who? Me? Now why would I do such a thing to such a good friend Tom?"
I snorted at his attempt to displace the blame and answered, "Gee, well, let's see Kim… only someone who was on the bridge, other than B'Elana, who is NOT likely to spread it around considering… , would know about the incident in the first place. I can safely bet you the ship that it wasn't Tuvok who squealed. Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay don't spread rumors… and that leaves… really only you, Kim, as the logical culprit. And it's BECAUSE you are SUCH a good friend that you WOULD do it."
"But I give you 10 points for effort," I added grinning.
Laughing at the ludicrous expression that brought out on poor Harry's face, I turned to Maren, "You have no idea how many people offered me a pillow on my way to the bridge today! If it hadn't been me, I would have been rolling on the floor laughing! I just hope nobody put their neck on the line by making a comment to B'Elana!"
"What was that Tom?" I heard behind me.
Whirling, I saw B'Elana, with a very odd expression on her face.
My eyebrows raised in surprise, "Nothing really, I was just complaining about all the digs I got on my way to the bridge last shift. Was anybody foolish enough to say anything to you?"
B'Elana's face quickly took on that exasperated look I knew too well, "As a matter of fact, someone did… but he wasn't laughing for long!"
Seeing the alarmed expression on Maren's face, B'Elana grinned wolfishly, "Oh, don't worry, I certainly didn't do any lasting harm. All I did was singe his ears with regulations on back-talking to a superior office. His ego is probably bruised, but it's his own fault for trying to show off to his friends with his comment. I didn't wait for his friends to scurry off to let loose on him. Hopefully, they'll learn a lesson too."
Chuckling, I replied, "Yeah, never get on B'Elana's bad side! Maybe you should punish him by having him face you in unarmed combat practice."
B'Elana smirked, "Now THERE'S an idea Tom! Glad to see you have one once in a while…"
While I pretended innocence, Kim laughed and Maren laughed.
"I don't think I'll do that to his this time though… that might be too harsh. If he does anything in the next week though that gets my attention…. Well, THEN I'll take that suggestion and put it into practice," she continued through the laughter.
"Remind me to warn everyone in engineering…" Kim murmured to Maren, getting her to smile.
"I heard that Kim…" B'Elana stated.
Paling, Kim tried to smile, but it looked a little sick as B'Elana shot him a LOOK.
"Relax buddy! B'Elana won't hurt you!" I laughed, slapping Kim on the back.
B'Elana smiled, and inclined her head, as if to say, 'dare me'.
Laughing at Kim's expression, we turned back to Neelix.
"Any other scuttlebutt floating around the ship Neelix?" I asked, hoping to change the topic so Kim could get his composure back.
Cocking his head slightly, Neelix thought for a moment, "No, not that I recall… oh, there is a rumor going around that we're going to be reaching that M-class planet tomorrow. Is that true?"
Smiling, I answered, "Actually, yes. We should be reaching it by oh-nine- hundred tomorrow. The Captain has mentioned that there is a strong possibility that we'll be able to acquire various food-stuffs there. That oughta make you happy Neelix!"
"Yes, indeedy, it does! I hope Captain Janeway will let me go down with the away team this time so that I can pick out the best things. I know I got in trouble the last time I went down… but I promised to stay with my escort this time if she let. Otherwise I just can't guarantee the quality we'll be getting! You know the planet-bound, they always want to keep the best stuff for themselves, and give the second-rate stuff to everyone else." he complained.
"And as morale officer, I can't say what kind of effect that has on the crew…" Neelix continued.
"Ok Neelix, I'll get the message to the Captain, as I expect you want me too. Ok?" I asked, trying to sound helpful.
Neelix nodded enthusiastically, and turned to Maren, "So, would you like anything to eat? I don't think you answered that before… or I may have forgotten to ask. But either way… ?"
POV – Tom Paris
Oh, reminder, neither Hilary nor I own Star Trek Voyager, or any part of Star Trek Voyager.
Neelix smiled widely, "That's right! Famous!"
I rolled my eyes, and drawled, "Then again, the crew compliment is so small, that any piece of news is quickly famous. And I'm sure that everyone knows that I fell asleep at the helm as well as they know that we have a new crewmember."
Coughing, Kim turned his back for a moment, missing the glare I shot at him.
"Kim, you wouldn't have anything to do with that particular fact circulating would you?" I asked, frowning.
Turning back to face us, he tried to muster an innocent face and replied, "Who? Me? Now why would I do such a thing to such a good friend Tom?"
I snorted at his attempt to displace the blame and answered, "Gee, well, let's see Kim… only someone who was on the bridge, other than B'Elana, who is NOT likely to spread it around considering… , would know about the incident in the first place. I can safely bet you the ship that it wasn't Tuvok who squealed. Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay don't spread rumors… and that leaves… really only you, Kim, as the logical culprit. And it's BECAUSE you are SUCH a good friend that you WOULD do it."
"But I give you 10 points for effort," I added grinning.
Laughing at the ludicrous expression that brought out on poor Harry's face, I turned to Maren, "You have no idea how many people offered me a pillow on my way to the bridge today! If it hadn't been me, I would have been rolling on the floor laughing! I just hope nobody put their neck on the line by making a comment to B'Elana!"
"What was that Tom?" I heard behind me.
Whirling, I saw B'Elana, with a very odd expression on her face.
My eyebrows raised in surprise, "Nothing really, I was just complaining about all the digs I got on my way to the bridge last shift. Was anybody foolish enough to say anything to you?"
B'Elana's face quickly took on that exasperated look I knew too well, "As a matter of fact, someone did… but he wasn't laughing for long!"
Seeing the alarmed expression on Maren's face, B'Elana grinned wolfishly, "Oh, don't worry, I certainly didn't do any lasting harm. All I did was singe his ears with regulations on back-talking to a superior office. His ego is probably bruised, but it's his own fault for trying to show off to his friends with his comment. I didn't wait for his friends to scurry off to let loose on him. Hopefully, they'll learn a lesson too."
Chuckling, I replied, "Yeah, never get on B'Elana's bad side! Maybe you should punish him by having him face you in unarmed combat practice."
B'Elana smirked, "Now THERE'S an idea Tom! Glad to see you have one once in a while…"
While I pretended innocence, Kim laughed and Maren laughed.
"I don't think I'll do that to his this time though… that might be too harsh. If he does anything in the next week though that gets my attention…. Well, THEN I'll take that suggestion and put it into practice," she continued through the laughter.
"Remind me to warn everyone in engineering…" Kim murmured to Maren, getting her to smile.
"I heard that Kim…" B'Elana stated.
Paling, Kim tried to smile, but it looked a little sick as B'Elana shot him a LOOK.
"Relax buddy! B'Elana won't hurt you!" I laughed, slapping Kim on the back.
B'Elana smiled, and inclined her head, as if to say, 'dare me'.
Laughing at Kim's expression, we turned back to Neelix.
"Any other scuttlebutt floating around the ship Neelix?" I asked, hoping to change the topic so Kim could get his composure back.
Cocking his head slightly, Neelix thought for a moment, "No, not that I recall… oh, there is a rumor going around that we're going to be reaching that M-class planet tomorrow. Is that true?"
Smiling, I answered, "Actually, yes. We should be reaching it by oh-nine- hundred tomorrow. The Captain has mentioned that there is a strong possibility that we'll be able to acquire various food-stuffs there. That oughta make you happy Neelix!"
"Yes, indeedy, it does! I hope Captain Janeway will let me go down with the away team this time so that I can pick out the best things. I know I got in trouble the last time I went down… but I promised to stay with my escort this time if she let. Otherwise I just can't guarantee the quality we'll be getting! You know the planet-bound, they always want to keep the best stuff for themselves, and give the second-rate stuff to everyone else." he complained.
"And as morale officer, I can't say what kind of effect that has on the crew…" Neelix continued.
"Ok Neelix, I'll get the message to the Captain, as I expect you want me too. Ok?" I asked, trying to sound helpful.
Neelix nodded enthusiastically, and turned to Maren, "So, would you like anything to eat? I don't think you answered that before… or I may have forgotten to ask. But either way… ?"