POV: Tom Paris
I took my place at the helm, smiling, and very much awake. It felt like a great day, and it would be. We were scheduled to reach the nearest M-class planet that shift, and everyone was wondering what we would find, and if there would be leave granted to the crew.
Nothing of import happened until we reached the planet. When we got within distance that we could see it on the viewscreen, I'm sure it was on every screen available in the ship within minutes. Not only was it an M- class planet, but any one of us could have sworn it was Earth. The continents exactly paralleled the ones we all knew like the back of our hands. You could almost hear the ship sigh as everyone started thinking about the friends and family we'd all left behind.
"Captain, standard orbit?"
"Hm? Oh, yes Mr. Paris. Standard orbit please. Mr. Chakotay, please come to my office. Mr. Tuvok, you have the conn."
I watched them leave out of the corner of my eye as I set our course around the planet. I know that I could vouch for at least half the crew when I say that we were wondering if the fact that the planet could have been Earth's clone was going to stop us from stopping there. If I didn't know that we needed to re-supply, I would have wondered too. At this point though, the only question was if we'd have leave on the planet, not if we'd stop here.
As we orbited the planet, and waited for the Captain to emerge, the tension grew so that you could almost feel it. When Captain Janeway and Chakotay finally emerged all of us on the bridge held our breaths.
"Mr. Tuvok, prepare an Away Team, including the Doctor. Before you go, I want full readings taken of the planetary surface. If there is anything that seems out of the ordinary, whatsoever, I want to know about it. Don't forget, our primary purpose for being here is to acquire supplies," the Captain reminded him, "so pick Team members with that in mind."
"Yes, Captain," Tuvok replied, typically. He thought for a moment before speaking, "I would like Ensigns Kim and Maren, Seven of Nine, as well as a couple of security officers."
Nodding decisively, Captain Janeway answered, "Very well. Brief them on the probes' data, and inform me when you're ready."
"Yes, Captain."
Tuvok left the bridge, taking Kim and Maren with him. They were replaced with other ensigns, and the rest of us concentrated on not letting our disappointment at not being chosen for the Away Team.
During the next five hours, everyone waited impatiently to find out what was happening on the surface. I can guarantee that all those who believed in a Higher Power were praying for everything to check out well enough for Leave to be granted. When Captain Janeway finally emerged from her office, Tuvok on her heels, with a huge grin on her face, the atmosphere on the bridge turned instantly cheery, and a sigh of relief was heard as she announced Leave schedules to the rest of the ship. The fact that the planet looked exactly like Earth made us all a little wary, but the Away Team had been and gone, and nothing untoward had happened, so a general joy reined throughout the ship.
I was surprised, and gratified to discover that I was on the first shift down. Starting tomorrow, the crew would take turns, each a local 26 standard hour day long, on the surface of the planet. The original Away Team, as well as certain others, including myself, were gifted with the first shift.
When my duty shift was over, I hurried to the mess to find B'Elana and discuss the good news with her. It seemed that this was all the ship could think about, because when I stepped through the doors, I was nearly overwhelmed with requests for any information I had. Smiling and waving, I made my way to the table, where I spotted B'Elana, Kim and Maren, and sat down gratefully.
"I don't know what they want to know from me, everything I know is already common knowledge, and in the ship's data banks!" I complained, good- naturedly.
"They're just jealous. Notice how all the people that approached you are in second shift at best, and third shift at least," B'Elana pointed out, grinning mischievously.
Kim looked around, a little surprised, "You're right! They are! Don't you think it would be smarter for them to bother us after we've been there a full day? I mean, all I learned today is that the planet is an Earth twin, but without sentient life forms. There are even squirrels on North America II!!"
Surprised, I looked up from my "soup" and stared at Harry, "Are you certain they were squirrels?"
"Yeah, they even matched genetically, according to the good Doctor!" he confirmed.
"How odd! Well, I'm sure Tuvok is dealing with that somehow, doing all that research he does best. I'm sure that by the time we leave, he'll have a logical explanation. In the meantime, I am much more interested in if the planet has creatures that have been extinct on our Earth for years. Maybe we can bring back genetic material for the extinct creatures. That might even make some of our time in this G-d forsaken quadrant worthwhile!" I suggested. "Something to think about at least. Kim, why don't you ask the Doctor to program us a tricorder with extinct Earth creature DNA, and we can check it out. Maybe get us a little more time on planet."
Kim agreed with me, but only if I looked up the creatures' physical characteristics so that we'd have an idea, on sight, of what we were dealing with. Rolling my eyes, since I thought that would be a waste of time, I started to argue. I would have won, but B'Elana elbowed me, and shot me a look. Since it was sort of my idea anyway, I gave in and agreed. Even going so far as to offer to mention the project to Captain Janeway. When everyone shot me a 'who are you, and what have you done with Tom' look, I smirked.
"You know, I can be a nice guy sometimes!"
They looked far too surprised for my taste, and I got up and excused myself, walking swiftly to the Captain's office, knowing she'd be in there for at least another hour during her off-shift.
When I approached the door, they whisked open, and I stuck my head in, surprised.
"Come in, Tom," she said, startling me. "The others told me you were coming, and asked me to tell you they were sorry."
My eyebrows rose in shock, and I nodded dumbly.
"You had something to say, Tom?" she urged me.
"Oh, yes," I stumbled, still in surprise. I outlined my plan, and was awarded with a bright smile.
"That's a brilliant idea, Tom! You, and your team members, as well as Tuvok, can take a shuttle, and go about doing that second Leave shift."
She looked at me speculatively, "I didn't know you were much of a naturalist."
Flushing, I mumbled, "Yeah, well, when I was a kid, I used to be fascinated with dinosaurs. There may not be any of those here, but if we can bring back the creatures we destroyed without thinking, why not?"
"And anyway, it gets you another day of fresh air, right?" she finished my thought. She grinned, "You know, Tom, I think you forget that I wasn't always a captain. Go ahead, have your free day. Let me know what you find. Dismissed."
"Thank you, Captain!" I grinned back, and left the room, the doors whooshing behind me.
A/N: The next day…
I took my place at the helm, smiling, and very much awake. It felt like a great day, and it would be. We were scheduled to reach the nearest M-class planet that shift, and everyone was wondering what we would find, and if there would be leave granted to the crew.
Nothing of import happened until we reached the planet. When we got within distance that we could see it on the viewscreen, I'm sure it was on every screen available in the ship within minutes. Not only was it an M- class planet, but any one of us could have sworn it was Earth. The continents exactly paralleled the ones we all knew like the back of our hands. You could almost hear the ship sigh as everyone started thinking about the friends and family we'd all left behind.
"Captain, standard orbit?"
"Hm? Oh, yes Mr. Paris. Standard orbit please. Mr. Chakotay, please come to my office. Mr. Tuvok, you have the conn."
I watched them leave out of the corner of my eye as I set our course around the planet. I know that I could vouch for at least half the crew when I say that we were wondering if the fact that the planet could have been Earth's clone was going to stop us from stopping there. If I didn't know that we needed to re-supply, I would have wondered too. At this point though, the only question was if we'd have leave on the planet, not if we'd stop here.
As we orbited the planet, and waited for the Captain to emerge, the tension grew so that you could almost feel it. When Captain Janeway and Chakotay finally emerged all of us on the bridge held our breaths.
"Mr. Tuvok, prepare an Away Team, including the Doctor. Before you go, I want full readings taken of the planetary surface. If there is anything that seems out of the ordinary, whatsoever, I want to know about it. Don't forget, our primary purpose for being here is to acquire supplies," the Captain reminded him, "so pick Team members with that in mind."
"Yes, Captain," Tuvok replied, typically. He thought for a moment before speaking, "I would like Ensigns Kim and Maren, Seven of Nine, as well as a couple of security officers."
Nodding decisively, Captain Janeway answered, "Very well. Brief them on the probes' data, and inform me when you're ready."
"Yes, Captain."
Tuvok left the bridge, taking Kim and Maren with him. They were replaced with other ensigns, and the rest of us concentrated on not letting our disappointment at not being chosen for the Away Team.
During the next five hours, everyone waited impatiently to find out what was happening on the surface. I can guarantee that all those who believed in a Higher Power were praying for everything to check out well enough for Leave to be granted. When Captain Janeway finally emerged from her office, Tuvok on her heels, with a huge grin on her face, the atmosphere on the bridge turned instantly cheery, and a sigh of relief was heard as she announced Leave schedules to the rest of the ship. The fact that the planet looked exactly like Earth made us all a little wary, but the Away Team had been and gone, and nothing untoward had happened, so a general joy reined throughout the ship.
I was surprised, and gratified to discover that I was on the first shift down. Starting tomorrow, the crew would take turns, each a local 26 standard hour day long, on the surface of the planet. The original Away Team, as well as certain others, including myself, were gifted with the first shift.
When my duty shift was over, I hurried to the mess to find B'Elana and discuss the good news with her. It seemed that this was all the ship could think about, because when I stepped through the doors, I was nearly overwhelmed with requests for any information I had. Smiling and waving, I made my way to the table, where I spotted B'Elana, Kim and Maren, and sat down gratefully.
"I don't know what they want to know from me, everything I know is already common knowledge, and in the ship's data banks!" I complained, good- naturedly.
"They're just jealous. Notice how all the people that approached you are in second shift at best, and third shift at least," B'Elana pointed out, grinning mischievously.
Kim looked around, a little surprised, "You're right! They are! Don't you think it would be smarter for them to bother us after we've been there a full day? I mean, all I learned today is that the planet is an Earth twin, but without sentient life forms. There are even squirrels on North America II!!"
Surprised, I looked up from my "soup" and stared at Harry, "Are you certain they were squirrels?"
"Yeah, they even matched genetically, according to the good Doctor!" he confirmed.
"How odd! Well, I'm sure Tuvok is dealing with that somehow, doing all that research he does best. I'm sure that by the time we leave, he'll have a logical explanation. In the meantime, I am much more interested in if the planet has creatures that have been extinct on our Earth for years. Maybe we can bring back genetic material for the extinct creatures. That might even make some of our time in this G-d forsaken quadrant worthwhile!" I suggested. "Something to think about at least. Kim, why don't you ask the Doctor to program us a tricorder with extinct Earth creature DNA, and we can check it out. Maybe get us a little more time on planet."
Kim agreed with me, but only if I looked up the creatures' physical characteristics so that we'd have an idea, on sight, of what we were dealing with. Rolling my eyes, since I thought that would be a waste of time, I started to argue. I would have won, but B'Elana elbowed me, and shot me a look. Since it was sort of my idea anyway, I gave in and agreed. Even going so far as to offer to mention the project to Captain Janeway. When everyone shot me a 'who are you, and what have you done with Tom' look, I smirked.
"You know, I can be a nice guy sometimes!"
They looked far too surprised for my taste, and I got up and excused myself, walking swiftly to the Captain's office, knowing she'd be in there for at least another hour during her off-shift.
When I approached the door, they whisked open, and I stuck my head in, surprised.
"Come in, Tom," she said, startling me. "The others told me you were coming, and asked me to tell you they were sorry."
My eyebrows rose in shock, and I nodded dumbly.
"You had something to say, Tom?" she urged me.
"Oh, yes," I stumbled, still in surprise. I outlined my plan, and was awarded with a bright smile.
"That's a brilliant idea, Tom! You, and your team members, as well as Tuvok, can take a shuttle, and go about doing that second Leave shift."
She looked at me speculatively, "I didn't know you were much of a naturalist."
Flushing, I mumbled, "Yeah, well, when I was a kid, I used to be fascinated with dinosaurs. There may not be any of those here, but if we can bring back the creatures we destroyed without thinking, why not?"
"And anyway, it gets you another day of fresh air, right?" she finished my thought. She grinned, "You know, Tom, I think you forget that I wasn't always a captain. Go ahead, have your free day. Let me know what you find. Dismissed."
"Thank you, Captain!" I grinned back, and left the room, the doors whooshing behind me.
A/N: The next day…