Redemption
Chapter 16
Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me.
A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.
"I've studied the ion storms, Captain and I believe I've discovered a pattern to them. If we timed it right, we could take a shuttle down to the surface and mine the dilithium crystals. We could land as close to the site as possible and would have to wait out one of the storms. Then, we could go out in two shifts, between storms, to gather the crystals. After the third cycle, we could lift off and return safely to Voyager." B'Elanna sat on the low sofa in the Captain's ready room.
The captain rose and walked to the replicator. "Coffee, black." She said in a tired voice. She had not slept well the night before. Lieutenant Paris was still on total life support and the EMH had yet to release Commander Chakotay from sickbay. "Lieutenant, I've given it more thought since last night and I don't want to endanger any more crewmembers. Between the ion storms and the creatures on the surface, I don't believe it's worth the risk."
"Captain, I know we could do it. Lieutenant Ayala has requested to return, as well as Ensign Kim. They've both been on the planet's surface and can look out for the creatures. We can stay close to the shuttle to be clear of the storms." B'Elanna pleaded, knowing that her engines were in need of the dilithium. As Janeway took a sip of her third cup of coffee that morning, she frowned. "Captain, remember, the shuttle didn't crash. It was shot down by the Kazon. You can also keep watch on us from Voyager. We can't sustain the warp drive much longer without an adequate supply of dilithium."
Shaking her head in acknowledgment of B'Elanna's argument, Janeway replied. "Very well, Lieutenant. Take as many crewmembers as will safely fit on the shuttle."
"Aye, Captain." B'Elanna replied with a slight smile, as she stood and exited the ready room.
Janeway moved to the viewport and looked out at the unfamiliar stars, as Voyager slowly orbited the small planet. Seventy years from home. How many crewmembers will we lose to get there? Did I do the right thing by protecting the Ocampa?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the EMH. "Sickbay to Captain Janeway. You wished to be notified when Commander Chakotay was ready to be released."
Sighing, Janeway moved towards her desk. "Yes, Doctor, I'll be right there. Janeway out." She set her cup down, unfinished, and walked out to the corridor.
* * * * *
The doors to sickbay slid open quietly and Janeway saw Chakotay sitting on the far biobed. He looked much better than he had last night; although his face still showed the strain he had been under on the planet. Glancing towards the surgical bay, she noted Kes checking the readings over Lieutenant Paris's head. The helmsman lay so very still and the only sound was the soft beeping of the machines keeping him alive. The captain pinched the bridge of her nose as she moved to Chakotay's side.
"Captain." His voice sounded tired, even after a nights sleep. Chakotay looked at Janeway, glanced at the surgical bay, and then put his head down. "I was responsible for the away mission and almost got us all killed. I'm sorry, Captain."
Placing a hand on his shoulder, Janeway replied. "I've read the preliminary reports from Lieutenant Ayala and Ensign Kim. You did the best you could have. We didn't foresee the Kazon shooting down the shuttle or that the environment would be so hostile.
Just then, the EMH emerged from the medical lab and approached the two officers. "Captain, Commander Chakotay is ready to be released, although he is not to return to active duty for the next 24 hours. He had a rather severe concussion with some temporal lobe swelling." Turning towards Chakotay, he continued. "You may still have some dizziness or blurred vision. If this does not cease in the next 12 hours, you are to return to sickbay."
The captain, glancing back at the surgical bay, turned to the EMH. "How is Lieutenant Paris this morning, Doctor?"
"He is still on total life support." He looked from the captain to Chakotay. "I have several questions for the Commander. I have managed to isolate the venom and it is highly toxic. Lieutenant Paris should not have been able to survive longer than 30 to 60 minutes after being bitten. I also found several small cuts in addition to the puncture wounds. They were quite even and deliberately made."
Chakotay cleared his throat as he looked away from the EMH. Straightening up, he answered. "I made the cuts. We had nothing except a small tricorder, my penknife, and several hyposprays. I've seen bites like that before on my home world. I knew the Lieutenant had very little time before the venom entered his entire system. It's a very primitive but somewhat effective treatment for snake bite. You cut across the bite and suck out the venom. Because it was moving through his bloodstream so quickly, I was forced to make a second set of cuts."
"Well, Commander, it appears that you just may have saved Lieutenants Paris's life down there with your quick thinking." The doctor stated and began to turn back towards the lab.
"Doctor, if the venom is so toxic, why wasn't Commander Chakotay affected as well?" Janeway's question stopped his movement.
"The venom primarily attacks the nervous system; the Commander was obviously careful not to ingest the venom."
Just then, Kes came up to the biobed. "Doctor, Lieutenant Paris's neural activity has decreased another 10%. Have you had any luck in the lab?"
Looking between the two officers, the EMH shook his head in an almost human gesture. "I have tried to synthesize an antitoxin for the venom but none of the solutions have stopped the decline in neural activity."
"Doctor, is it possible to put Lieutenant Paris into stasis, to prevent further loss of neural activity, while you continue your search for an antidote?" The captain asked, concern for her chief pilot evident in her voice.
"I have thought of that, Captain and have kept it in mind as a last resort. If I haven't found anything viable in the next two hours, I shall proceed with a stasis chamber." The EMH replied. "Now, I must return to the lab." He turned abruptly and left the main area of sickbay.
"Well, Captain, I believe we've been dismissed." Chakotay said with a grin, as he stood and turned towards the doors.
Janeway gave him a slight smile in return as she shook her head at the retreating figure of the EMH. "A hologram with an attitude. They certainly didn't teach that at the Academy. I'll expect a report on the away mission in my office by 13:00 hours tomorrow, Commander." She said as they left the sickbay.
* * * * *
Voyager's largest shuttle left the confines of the ship and headed for the planet's surface. Harry looked around at the crew that B'Elanna had gathered. They were all former Maquis. Ayala had agreed to return to the planet's surface along with Hamilton. They were joined by Chell, Gerron Tem, and Ken Dalby. B'Elanna had charted a pattern to the ion storms and they timed their descent to land after one of the larger storms.
When the shuttle touched down, the team quickly located the dilithium mine and the antigravity sled that Harry and Ayala had been forced to abandon when they were overtaken by the Kazon. They were able to load the sled three times and stow the crystals in the back of the shuttle before the winds became too strong to move the sled. They retreated to the shuttle to rest until they were able to go out again.
* * * * *
The lights in sickbay came on as Kes entered. "Doctor, where are you?" She moved to the surgical bay and looked at Tom's still form. His chest slowly moved up and down as the machine pumped air into his lungs. The display over his head indicated that his neural activity was only about 50% of normal. Please let the doctor find an antidote soon. Tom has been so kind to Neelix and me, he has to live.
"Oh good, Kes, you're here." The EMH entered from the lab. "We need to get started right away." He rolled a medical cart to the surgical bed and picked up a hypospray.
"Doctor, you've found something!" Kes said as she moved to his side.
"Yes, the last compound appears to have halted the decline in neural activity and may even reverse the effects of the toxin." He handed Kes a PADD. "After I administer the serum, I need you to monitor the Lieutenant's bioreadings. You need to record the changes every ten minutes. We should know within the hour if it's working." He leaned over Tom and pressed the hypospray against his neck. The soft hiss of the medicine entering his system could be heard between the beeps of the ventilator.
Kes recorded Tom's biosigns as his neural activity leveled off and then slowly began to show a slight increase. "Doctor, it's working!" She reported excitedly.
"Sickbay to the Captain." The EMH stood at the console next to the surgical bed. He entered the data from the PADD into Tom's record.
"Yes, Doctor." Janeway's voice came over the comm system.
"Captain, I am pleased to report that I have successfully synthesized an antidote and have administered it to Lieutenant Paris. His neural activity has leveled off and indeed shows a slight increase." His voice sounding smug with self satisfaction.
"Thank you, Doctor. Please continue to keep me apprised of the Lieutenant's condition. Janeway out."
Kes gently brushed a lock of hair off of Tom's forehead as she breathed a sigh of relief. It appeared that the pilot might recover after all.
* * * * *
The away team finished stowing the dilithium crystals they had retrieved on their second mining shift. They closed the hatch as the storm increased in intensity again. "Hey, Gregor. When can we get out of here and back to our nice, safe ship." Ken Dalby's sarcastic voice rang out from the rear of the shuttle. "You can finally get to show the Fleet crew what a real pilot can do. We landed safely with a Maquis at the helm instead of that traitor, Paris."
"Tom didn't crash the shuttle, Dalby. I told you that the Kazon shot us down." Harry jumped to defend his friend.
"Yeah, that's what Paris wanted you to believe. It's time to grow up, Ensign." Dalby remarked.
"No, Tom didn't tell us that we had been shot at because he didn't know. I found the evidence of phaser fire after we left the shuttle."
"Well, I still feel better with him out of the picture. Too bad he didn't die down here." Dalby's hatred for Tom evident in his comments.
"I don't think he's all that bad, Ken, and he is the best pilot on Voyager." Gerron spoke, in a quiet voice from his place on the floor of the shuttle. "Don't you remember when we were on Krelor? If it wasn't for Paris, I might have drowned."
"Give it up, Tem. Anybody could have gotten you out of that lake." Dalby said, his voice rising in volume as he glared at Gerron.
Ayala sat on the bunk in the rear of the shuttle and closed his eyes, trying to block out the loud voices of the other two men. He thought back to the refueling stop on Krelor…..
* * * * *
After finishing a scouting run, the crew on the Liberty took a shuttle down to Krelor to refuel. Although it was winter on the moon and bitter cold; the men had been cooped up on the ship for over a three weeks and they wandered around the abandoned trade settlement outside of the town. Gerron, the young Bajoran they had rescued from a Cardassian prison camp, was especially happy to be back on solid ground. The young man was barely 17 years old and had lost his entire family to the Cardassians. Always hoping to pick up something of value, he had wandered into one of the empty buildings at the far reaches of the old settlement. A loud crashing noise from the building alerted the others in the small group that Gerron was in trouble. Ayala, Dalby, and Tom Paris had rushed into the building to find a gaping hole in the floorboards and no sign of Gerron.
"Help me." Gerron's faint voice could be heard from below. He had fallen through the rotted out floor boards. They could hear the sound of water rushing by below the building. "Please help me. I can't swim." Gerron's panicked cries could be heard growing quieter as he was swept away by an underground stream.
Tom crouched down at the edge of the opening and called out to Gerron. "Can you grab onto something?" There was no answer, so Tom swung his legs over the opening. "I'm a pretty strong swimmer. I'll get him." He dropped into the hole and the other's rushed outside to track the path of the stream.
It took them several minutes, using their tricorders, to find Gerron and Tom's lifesigns. The stream emptied into a large lake about 100 meters from the buildings. They reached the edge of the lake, just as Tom was pushing Gerron onto the bank. Ayala and Dalby pulled Gerron from the frigid water. Tom then stumbled out after him. Half carrying Gerron, they returned to the shuttle and wrapped him in blankets. Tom followed and sank down on the floor. Ayala flew the shuttle back to Liberty while Tom huddled at the rear of the shuttle, shivering uncontrollably.
* * * * *
Ayala realized that Tom had been shivering not only from the cold, but from the fear of near drowning. When they returned to the ship, Gerron had been taken to the infirmary where he was treated for hypothermia while the crew ignored Tom. He had gone off alone to his cabin to change into dry clothes. That was the night that Paris got drunk and picked a fight with Dalby and the captain threw him in the brig. When Paris began to yell and try to get through the force field, Chakotay came down and sent me from my post. He actually let Paris serve his time in his quarters.
Ayala's thoughts were interrupted by B'Elanna, announcing that the storm had let up enough to lift off and return to Voyager.
to be continued…