Redemption
Chapter 18
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.
Captain Janeway had just entered her ready room when her commbadge beeped. "Sickbay to the Captain." The EMH's voice sounded almost concerned.
"Yes, Doctor, is there a problem with Lieutenant Paris?" She asked. I just left sickbay and Lieutenant Paris seemed to be holding his own.
"Captain, could you please turn on your monitor?" The EMH requested.
Janeway moved to her desk and activated her communication monitor. She sat down and slowly rubbed her temples as she watched the EMH scroll through a medical file. Starting to lose her patience, she cleared her throat; trying to get the hologram's attention. "Doctor, you said that you have news regarding Lieutenant Paris?"
"Yes, Captain. Having stabilized the Lieutenant, I ran a full bioscan and discovered some past injuries."
"Surely, Doctor, the Lieutenant has suffered injuries during his time with the Maquis and there are reports of several fights at Aukland Penal Colony." Janeway said in a tired voice. We haven't heard from the away team and now this. Will this day ever end?
"I am aware of the Lieutenant's history of altercations and his tendency to take unwarranted risks with his safety, Captain. These injuries are within the past few weeks and have not been entered into the Lieutenant's medical file. He apparently has been treated by someone other than me. He currently has bruising on both his upper back and abdominal region which are not consistent with the reported incidents on the planet." The EMH looked perturbed that he had not been notified of the injuries. "I find it difficult to maintain a high level of care when I am not kept thoroughly informed of the crew's health."
"I have not been told of any injuries that Lieutenant Paris has suffered while he has been onboard Voyager. I'll certainly look into this Doctor, thank you. Janeway out." Lieutenant Paris hasn't left the ship until this mission. I'll have to question him when he has recovered more fully. She stood and moved to the replicator. "Coffee, black."
* * * * *
Harry sat on the floor of the shuttle, cradling B'Elanna's head in his lap. She had not regained consciousness since she was knocked into the bulkhead. Although there was no bleeding, he could feel a lump forming over her right temple.
Ayala brought the shuttle within view of Voyager and called for an emergency beam out to sickbay. They continued to the ship and he brought them in for a smooth docking in the shuttle bay. Turning to Hamilton and the others, Ayala ordered them to unload the Dilithium Crystals. "Kim, you go to sickbay and check on Torres."
"Who put you in charge?" Dalby snapped as he headed for the exit.
"He is the ranking officer." Gerron stated quietly, than stiffened as Dalby advanced towards him.
"That's enough, Dalby. I gave you an order; either you follow it or I go to Chakotay." Ayala stepped between Dalby and Gerron. Dalby turned and headed for the cargo hold and Ayala handed Gerron several PADDs. "Here, Gerron, take these to engineering. I'm sure Lieutenant Carey can use the information on these to begin to evaluate the Dilithium Crystals to determine how pure they are."
Gerron gladly left the shuttle bay as the rest of the away team continued to unload the crystals.
* * * * *
The blue shimmering lights, signifying a transport in progress, appeared in sickbay alerting the EMH to come online. "Please state the nature of the medical emergency." He spoke as he approached the figure huddled on the floor.
"Doctor, the away team requested an emergency beam out from the shuttle. Lieutenant Torres was injured during an ion storm. She was thrown against a bulkhead and has remained unconscious." Kes said as she moved to B'Elanna's side and helped the EMH lift her onto a biobed.
After scanning the Lieutenant, the EMH grabbed a hypospray off the medical cart and injected B'Elanna with an anti-inflammatory drug to reduce the pressure in her brain. Taking an osteoregenerator, he began to heal the hairline fracture on the right side of her skull. "The Lieutenant should regain consciousness shortly. I would like to keep her here for several hours under observation." He stated as he handed the tools to Kes and moved to his office to file a report on the injuries and his treatment.
"Yes, Doctor." Kes replied as she pulled a blanket out from the shelf under the biobed and covered B'Elanna with it. She activated the bioscanners above the Lieutenant's head and moved to the surgical bay when she heard Tom softly calling her name.
"I'm right here, Tom. Are you in any pain?" She asked, glancing at the readings over his head.
"No, I'm alright. What happened to Lieutenant Torres?" He asked quietly. "Will she be okay?"
"It is just a mild concussion. The doctor has treated her and she can be released in a few hours." Kes answered and turned to the entrance as the doors slid open.
Captain Janeway entered and moved to the biobed where B'Elanna was starting to awaken. "How is she?" She asked the EMH as he approached from his office.
"Lieutenant Torres has sustained a mild concussion; I have treated her with Inpedrezine to decrease the pressure in her brain and an osteoregenerator to heal the skull fracture." He replied in his self-important manner. "She should remain here for observation for the next few hours and can return to duty at her next shift."
Janeway headed towards the office and indicated that she wanted a private conversation with the EMH. Entering the office, she requested. "Doctor, I would like a complete report on the injuries you found on the bioscan of Lieutenant Paris."
"Yes, Captain. I have entered them into his medical file and I can download the report onto a PADD." He turned, sat at his desk and after entering several commands, stood and handed the report to the captain.
"If I am no longer needed, I would appreciate being deactivated. People are always leaving me on; I am supposed to be for emergencies only, after all."
"Computer, please deactivate the EMH by all means." The captain said with a tired sigh. "Someone definitely needs to work on that program's communication skills and soon." She snapped as she returned to B'Elanna's side.
"Captain? What happened? Did we get the Dilithium back onboard?" B'Elanna struggled to sit up.
"Please, Lieutenant, you must lie back. You had a head injury and the Doctor has given you some medication. He wants you to remain here for the next several hours and rest." Kes gently pushed B'Elanna back down on the biobed.
"Lieutenant Torres, we'll talk in the morning. The shuttle made it back in one piece and we've sent the Dilithium Crystals to Engineering. You are off duty until 13:00 hours tomorrow." At B'Elanna's expression of disagreement, Janeway replied. "That's an order, Lieutenant. Now get some rest." Janeway looked towards the surgical bay and turned to Kes. "How is Lieutenant Paris?"
"He is resting now, Captain. The medication has eased the pain and he has been drifting in and out of sleep." Kes replied.
"Thank you, Kes. You need to get some rest too." Janeway said, placing her hand on the young woman's shoulder.
"Yes, Captain. Ensign Wildman has offered to stand watch during the Gamma shift." Kes answered.
Janeway smiled at Kes, then turned and left sickbay.
Kes moved to the doctor's office and sat in the large leather chair behind the desk. "Computer, lights at ten percent illumination." She ordered and the lights in sickbay dimmed. Kes turned on the console and began reading about human physiology. The doctor had offered to tutor her in becoming his medical assistant and she was eager to learn about the crew.
Kes looked up at the sound of the doors sliding open. Harry walked into sickbay and when he noticed Kes sitting behind the desk, he headed for the office. "How's Lieutenant Torres?" He asked as Kes stood and met him in the doorway.
"The doctor treated her for a concussion and she can be released in several
hours." Kes answered as they moved to the biobed.
"And Tom; how is he doing?" Harry looked towards the surgical bay.
"The Lieutenant regained consciousness and was in some pain but the doctor gave him an analgesic and he is resting now." Kes gave Harry a smile as she went back into the office.
Harry quietly moved to B'Elanna's side as she opened her eyes. "Hey, Starfleet. No need to sneak around. I'm fine; just a knock on the head. I'll be out of here in a few hours." B'Elanna gave Harry a small grin as she started to sit up.
Harry touched her shoulder and gently pushed her back down on the biobed. "I believe you are supposed to be resting. I'll see you in the morning." He then moved to the surgical bay and found Tom asleep. Giving Kes a wave, Harry left sickbay.
* * * * *
The next morning when Harry entered the mess hall, he saw B'Elanna sitting at a small table in the corner of the room. Grabbing a tray of food, he walked over to her. "Hi, mind if I join you? You're looking much better this morning."
"Thanks, Harry, I feel much better. A little rest in sickbay can do wonders. Getting out of there does even more. That hologram is a little on the strange side." Harry sat down across from her and they ate in silence for several minutes until the doors slid open and Gerron entered. "There's Gerron. We really need to talk to him; I think he should go to Chakotay about Dalby." B'Elanna waved the young Bajoran over to their table. "Gerron, have a seat."
The young man looked about nervously and then sat down. "Morning, B'Elanna, Ensign Kim."
"Gerron, it's just Harry when we're off duty." Harry smiled at Gerron. "We need to talk about what you mentioned on the shuttle."
Gerron gulped and looked down at his plate. "Look, I don't want to get anyone in trouble."
B'Elanna glanced at Harry and then looked up at Gerron. "Look, Paris can't keep getting attacked. You need to go to Chakotay and tell him what you know about Dalby."
When Gerron shook his head and started to stand, B'Elanna reached for his arm. "I'll go with you. Anyone watching will think we have an engineering problem relating to the Dilithium Crystals we gathered on the planet yesterday. We'll go to his quarters after we finish eating."
Gerron nodded but only pushed his food around on the plate, having suddenly lost his appetite. When Harry and B'Elanna finished, the three stood, took their trays to the recycler, and left the mess hall. Harry headed for the bridge and B'Elanna and Gerron headed for Chakotay's quarters.
* * * * *
Standing outside Chakotay's quarters, B'Elanna activated the call signal.
They heard Chakotay's voice. "Come." As the doors slid open, B'Elanna and Gerron entered the commander's quarters.
"Yes, B'Elanna, Gerron, what can I do for you? How did the retrieval of the Dilithium Crystals go?" Chakotay motioned them to a small table with several chairs around it. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Nothing, Chakotay, thanks. The mission yesterday went well and we were able to mine several hundred kilos of Dilithium. That's not why we are here though." B'Elanna replied as Gerron sat nervously twisting his hands in his lap. "Go ahead, Gerron. Tell Chakotay what you told Harry and me on the shuttle."
Gerron looked up into his former captain's face and relaxed. Chakotay would not let anyone harm him and he would take care of Dalby. He related the incidents where he overheard the crewmen talking about teaching Lieutenant Paris that he did not belong on Voyager and seeing Tom leave the cargo bay with obvious injuries. Chakotay assured Gerron that what he said would be held in strict confidence and told the young man to report to engineering to start refining the Dilithium crystals.
"B'Elanna, what do you know about Dalby and his contacts with Paris?" Chakotay asked after Gerron had left.
"All I know is that Dalby makes it quite clear that he feels Paris should never have been brought onboard. He thinks we would still be safe in the Alpha Quadrant if it wasn't for Paris helping to track down the Liberty." B'Elanna answered. "Didn't you know Dalby at Starfleet?"
Chakotay walked over to the replicator. "Tea, hot, two cups." He ordered and then carried the cups to the table. Setting one down in front of B'Elanna, he sat down, took a sip of the hot drink and folded his arms across his chest. "Actually, Dalby was in one of my classes at the Academy. He had a rough background and a difficult time with the courses." Chakotay thought back to his days teaching an advanced tactical class….
* * * * *
The chime sounded outside Chakotay's office. "Enter." Chakotay stated and the doors slid open. Ken Dalby entered and moved to the desk. His hair was plastered to his head and his clothes were soaking wet. "What is it Dalby? Why are you out in this weather?"
Dalby began to pace back and forth, rubbing his hands on the front of his pants. "Lieutenant Commander, I'm about to be expelled. Admiral Paris has it in for me. You have to help me."
"Sit down, Ken." Chakotay moved to his replicator. "Vulcan spiced tea, hot." He ordered and handed the mug to Dalby. "What's happened? Why do you think the Admiral is going to have you expelled?"
Dalby took the mug of tea and, after taking several sips, looked up at Chakotay. "The Admiral's been trying to get me out of the Academy since I screwed up in his survival class last year. He claims that Professor S'Rek reported me for cheating on his exam."
Chakotay had heard suspicions of Dalby cheating, several times in the past few months, from different professors. "Ken, tell me the truth; did you cheat on the exam?"
Dalby looked away but then straightened up and glared at Chakotay. "His exams are so convoluted everyone gets extra help. I'm not the only one."
"Ken, I'm not asking about the others in the class. Did you cheat?" When the younger man remained silent, Chakotay rose from his chair. "Look, I'll talk to the Admiral but I'm not sure I can help you out of this situation."
* * * * *
"What happened when you went to Admiral Paris?" B'Elanna asked as Chakotay halted his account of Dalby's time at Starfleet Academy.
"He refused to change the order to have Dalby expelled. Dalby had failed the Admiral's survival course in his junior year. He re-took it with another professor in his senior year, barely passing it then. Several professors had caught him with dubious reports on his training missions. S'Rek's exam was the final straw. He left Earth soon after that; we lost contact until we met up again when I joined the Maquis." Chakotay answered quietly.
"I remember him getting into several fights when I came onboard the Liberty. I still can't believe he'd be that vindictive against Paris just because of what the Admiral did." B'Elanna said.
"I'm not sure what his rationale is but I'll certainly get to the bottom of this." Chakotay answered as he stood and gathered the cups, dumped them into the recycler, and moved to the door. "I'll walk you to engineering." Motioning B'Elanna towards the corridor.
"Janeway to Commander Chakotay." The captain's voice interrupted their exit from Chakotay's quarters.
"Yes, Captain?" Chakotay responded.
"I know you're still officially off-duty but could you please report to my ready room?" Janeway asked in a steely quiet voice.
Shrugging his shoulders at B'Elanna, Chakotay answered. "On my way, Captain. Chakotay out. Sorry, B'Elanna, I'll catch up with you later."
to be continued……
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