Title: Into the Arms of Strangers
Author: Zappy Zaps
Category: Drama/Action/Adventure P, P/T
Summary: An officer who had gone MIA six months earlier is found in an alien order serving on their security force but has no memory of anything prior to six months ago. His new life is also plagued with new responsibilities, duties and promises.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: All the Star Trek characters are Paramount's. I don't own them (yet). ;)
Archiving: Please do, but tell me! zappyzaps@hotmail.com
Author's note: I had to try and amnesia/loss of memory story, just for fun! ;-)
Oct02/Nov02/Dec02
Chapter 3
Captain Janeway and her first officer entered Astrometrics where Lietenant Kim, Lieutenant Torres and Seven were waiting. Harry had commed them saying they had found something interesting about this area of space.
"What is it?" Kathryn asked as she stroded over.
"We may have found how Tom ended up here." Harry said. There was no excitement in his voice, the kind that usually appears when a discoveries of importance is made. In its place was grim acceptance.
Seven tapped in a few commands and those assembled watched the large screen with interest. A scan of subspace was displayed and within it waves of dense residual energy passed by in all directions like ripples in a pond. "These are the remnants of quantum singularity tests or more specifically wormholes," Seven said. "Usually the energy streams pass through each other unaltered but in rare instances there is turbulence and small eddies are formed. Most are too small to affect space-time however on some rare occasions," she called up another scenario, "a temporary distortion occurs." They watched as some of the energy eddies collided and a chain reaction was initiated.
"Then Tom was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Chakotay said.
"Apparently," Seven replied earning herself a icy look from B'Elanna. Seven detachment was grating on her last nerve and while she and the former borg were on better terms the friction was still present.
The solitary sun of the system was creeping over the horizon, tinting the clouded sky with shades of pink and orange. Still, the magnificence of the sunrise was not enough to take the tumultuous thoughts of Commander Nate from the document that was in his hands.
The document was the Starfleet file of one, Tom Paris and Iyin had been right. Nate certainly hoped that he was not Tom Paris. He hadn't read through the entire file, only about the first third but it had been enough. He didn't want to know anymore. Had he been such a terrible person? He didn't know the answer to that or any of his other questions. They may lie within the rest of the file but he feared what else he might discover.
He rested his head in his hands as he tried to sort through what he had just learnt. The file left too many questions unanswered, most of them beginning with why. Why had he lied about Caldik Prime? Why had he joined the Maquis? Why did he betray the Maquis and help Captain Janeway track down the Maquis? He wasn't sure he wanted the answers to these questions. The crew of Voyager seems to want him back though. Had he redeemed himself? Not knowing his own past was more frustrating than he would have ever imagined.
"Commander?" a voice asked. Nate didn't look up to acknowledge the person. "Commander, what are you doing here?" the man continued.
Finally Nate looked up and saw one of his junior officers, Mickel was his name. Tom had seen him the night before as he was leaving the building since Mickel had the night shift along with a few other unlucky souls.
"Nothing," Nate responded and looked back down. Mickel could tell something was bothering the commander but didn't want to intrude on his personal life. "Do you know what time it is?" Nate asked, curious as to how long he had been here.
Mickel checked his device. "It's 0630, sir."
Nate stood up and once again towered over the young officer. "Thank you." Nate took his leave and despite his confusion, Mickel did the same.
Nate walked into his relatively small office and notice the indicator blinking that he had several messages. "I suppose I'm not the only insomniac," he said quietly as he tapped the button to play the messages. The first three were just some officers reporting to him about the state of repairs but the last eight were personal messages.
Halia's face appeared on the screen and she looked worried. "Nate where are you? It's nearly four! When you get this message contact me," she ended and the screen went blank for a few seconds before the next message played. Halia was on the screen again, pleading with Nate to contact her. Tom stopped the message and did as Halia had asked and called her.
The tell-tale beep of the communications unit roused her from her light sleep and after identifying the noise she slowly made her way there. Pressing the button to respond as she sat down. Nate's image appeared on the screen. Halia sighed with relief.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Am I alright?" she asked in a tone that was almost outrage. "Where have you been? I've been up for hours trying to find you!"
Nate's expression remained empty as he listened to her. "I've been busy," he replied.
Halia sized him up and after a moment asked, "What did she do?" Her eye's narrowed.
Sighing he ran a hand over this face before responding. "Iyin didn't do anything." Halia was going to speak again but Nate cut her off. "You're sure you're alright?" she nodded. "Okay. I have to go. I'll see you tonight." He closed the channel before she could respond.
Eight hundred hours rolled around slowly on Voyager and the senior officers began their meeting right on time. The official reports took too long in Harry's opinion. He was only really interested in hearing about the lasted developments about Tom's situation. It had taken him far longer than usual to fall asleep that night as his mind churned over the day's events. Harry pulled attention back to the meeting as the subject changed
"We've been through all of the social policies and we didn't find anything that will help us free Tom," Chakotay said to the group.
"Can't we just buy his freedom, like he had said yesterday?" B'Elanna asked.
Chakotay shook his head and responded. "You need to be a citizen of the Order to do that otherwise it could be considered buying a person or a slave, which is illegal in the Order."
"They should take a long look at their entire society," Harry mumbled and the same thought echoed in the minds of all those whom were assembled.
There was a long stretch of silence as they each formulated plans to free their comrade. "Couldn't we just say that he's married and needs to return home?" Baytart asked.
"Their marriage isn't recognized by the Order. That's what our plan had been initially as well," the Captain said. "Our only option other than taking him an running would be Tom buying his own freedom."
"He won't do it," B'Elanna stated. Her years with Tom had led to several discoveries and there was still a lot she didn't know about him. One of things that she knew however, was that Tom would not back down on a promise. He had never broken a promise to her or Harry and he would definitely not let down the woman he had been speaking of.
"I know," Kathryn said, "but we're out of options."
Nate had just closed the comm. channel and he sat back in his chair, hardly believing what he had just heard. He was in the privacy of his office and he gave himself a quiet moment to reflect. There had been so much uncertainty with the plan. This was rarely ever done and doing it properly was essential because once she was gone, she would be on her own. Contact between Saretti and Deneran citizens was rare unless they were in the armed forces.
Nate inputted the correct comm. address and waited for the response. There were more beeps than usual before a response came and Nate let out the breath he was holding when he saw Halia, alive and well.
"What is it?" she asked. Nate rarely called during the day.
"It's set," he told her.
At first she didn't know what he was talking about but then it hit her. "Are…are you sure?" she stuttered.
"I'm positive. This evening at eight, you need to go to the Patrol Board in our sector and give them your name and status number. Everything will be set up. All they'll need is your signature. There's already a place set up for you and an account." Tom smiled at her but it quickly turned to a frown when he noticed that Halia didn't look happy. "What?"
She continued to look at him for several seconds before sighing. "Nate, take the credits and get out of here."
"Halia-" Nate started but she interrupted.
"Nate, you don't belong here!" she said. "You don't want to be here and now you have somewhere else to go! So go!"
"Halia," Tom grumbled looking down. Why did she have to argue this? "If you don't take this opportunity, you'll regret it and so will I! Besides, it's too late to back out now." Halia was going to protest again but Nate cut her off. "Halia please! Just be there at eight."
She observed him silently for several seconds before nodding.
"Halia, it'll work out. I promise. I'll be fine,"
"I know," she said smiling as she allowed herself to be happy.
"I'll see you at eight." Tom said before signing off. Halia nodded and sat there for minutes so happy that she couldn't move. She and her child were going to be free tonight. Her dream had finally come true.
Tom's smile didn't last very long once the channel closed. He was genuinely happy for Halia. He may never be free of the Deneran social class but he would never want his daughter to grow up where he lived and so he was willing to put his own needs aside for somebody else. Still, he wished he could leave with her.
Tom began to get up but he felt a tingling sensation on the back of his hands and knew what was coming. He staggered towards the door but fell short as the pain caused paralysis. He suffered silently through another episode. He muscles spasmed painfully and his head ached, he stopped breathing and his heart rate became erratic. The burning in his chest seemed to spread throughout his body until he lost awareness of his surroundings.
"I'll get Nate and we'll meet you their," Fashi said to his subordinate. Fashi walked briskly to Nate's office and knocked. He waited for a response but none came. He knew Nate was inside; he had seen him enter about half and hour earlier.
Fashi keyed in his security override and opened the door. "Nate!" he cried when he saw the man lying on the floor unmoving. He kneeled at his side and tried to rouse him. "Nate, wake up!" he yelled. Seeing that it was no use Fashi commed the emergency transporters and had Commander Nate relocated to the medical centre. Unsure of the lines of communication between Voyager and Iyin, Fashi felt that he should inform them of what happened. He knew that Nate's condition was serious and if Nate really was one of them, then they might have something that could help.
Dr. Unjabi, was called immediately when Nate arrived. His condition was deteriorating quickly and they would need help to save him. It was the attack that the Voyager physician had warned about, the one they had hoped would never happen. If they couldn't find away to stop the massive brain damage being caused, Nate would be dead in less than an hour no matter ho hard they tried.
On Voyager, the viewscreen had just gone blank as they finished talking to Fashi, the head of security of the fleet. He had informed them of Nate's episode; the worst one he had ever seen, he described it. Janeway commed the Doctor just another transmission came to Voyager.
"Captain Janeway, Nate is dying. I'll need the help of your doctor to have any chance of saving him," Unjabi said without preamble.
"We'll send him down immediately." Janeway said and Unjabi promptly cut the transmission and went back to her patient. "Did you get that Doctor?" Janeway asked knowing that the comm. between the bridge and sickbay had been open the entire time.
"Yes, Captain. I'm ready to go." The Doc said as he grabbed the last hyposprays and vial that he would need.
"Good. Lieutenant Kim, transport the Doctor directly to the medical centre."
"Aye Captain," Kim said and went to work. "It's done. The Doc's on the planet."
Janeway nodded to Harry and then turned to her second in command. Somebody needed to tell B'Elanna and nobody wanted to break the news to her. B'Elanna had put in a request to go see Tom again but they had yet to get a response from the Saretti.
"Captain," Harry interrupted their thoughts, "I'll tell her," he said solemnly. Kathryn nodded and Harry left the bridge.
Harry walked in to main engineering and looked for B'Elanna. He quickly spotted her near the warp core and went over. She gave him a quick hello before going back to work. Harry came to engineering every so often, so she thought nothing of his unexpected appearance.
He stood next to her for a few seconds trying to decide what to say. "Harry, what is it?" she asked after he had been standing their quietly.
"Let's go to your office," Harry said softly. B'Elanna conceded and followed him in.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Harry stared at the floor for a few seconds before making eye contact with her. "It's Tom," he said and watched as she sharply inhaled. He stepped closer to her and continued explaining. "He's had another episode and…. He…."
"No," she whispered. She took a step backwards.
"The doc has gone to help but….I'm so sorry, B'Elanna-"
"No." B'Elanna interrupted him. She stepped passed him and went for the exit. Harry ran after her.
"Where are you going?" Harry asked as he followed her out of engineering.
"I have to be with him."
B'Elanna forced her way between two officers that were coming at them from the opposite direction. Harry briefly apologized before running after B'Elanna again.
"B'Elanna, stop." Harry moved in front of her blocking her path.
"Harry I need to go to him."
"The Doctor's already there. He's going to help Tom. All we have to do is wait." B'Elanna looked at the grey floor for a minute trying to collect her thoughts but gave up and proceeded to walk past Harry. She didn't know where she was going but she knew she had to be alone. If Tom died, being alone is something she imagined she'd have to get used to.
Harry watched her go, unsure whether or not he should follow. He sighed and head back to the bridge. He too would be waiting for any updates on Tom's condition. He wanted to do something, help B'Elanna and help his best friend but Tom was getting the help he needed and B'Elanna needed to be alone right now. Sometimes that hardest thing to do, is to do nothing.
Back on the planet Fashi walked into the meeting that had been called. Fashi had been informed of the meeting just a few minutes earlier and was going to inform Nate when he found him unconscious. Taking his place at the large table, he noted the presence of the Vodierre. She rarely came to the security meetings unless there was something very big happening.
"Where is commander Nate?" Iyin asked the head of security.
Fashi wondered whether or not to tell Iyin what little he knew of what was happening to Nate. "He's unable to make the meeting for medical reasons. I'll brief him on this meeting as soon as he is ready."
Iyin held her tongue and the meeting began. According to the Military surveillance probes, there was a small planet called Osikar, near the outskirt of the Fourth Order that was under attack. The attackers were part of a group of a large group of smugglers and slave traders that operated in and around the Order. Despite continued efforts to shut them down it was a slow process. They rarely raided colonies of the Order but such a small and well-resourced settlement so far away from the homeworld was a good target for the smugglers.
"Fleet Arriah 9 is our first choice for this mission. The ships have all been through a refit and will be best able to take on the smugglers. We've already sent our nearest vessels to aid the settlers but they'll need back up." The Chief Officer said.
Fashi and the other officers of fleet Arriah 9 nodded.
"Who will be in command?" Iyin asked.
"We probably won't disembark from the hangar for about and three and a half while we assemble our officers. If he's not ready by then, Isam or I will be in command."
The holo-Doc and Dr. Unjabi stepped away from their patient as he regained consciousness. They gave him some room to regain his bearing before addressing him.
"Where am I?" Nate asked as he looked around. The bright overhead lights made seeing anything a challenge but his eyes soon adjusted to the light.
"Nate, you're in the medical centre. You had another episode." Nate was silent for a long moment as he tried to recall what had happened. "Don't be alarmed if you don't remember," Unjabi tried to assure him. Nate looked past her and noticed a man in a black and blue uniform behind her. Tom quickly sat up nearly regretting when his vision began to spin. After it passed he looked at the man again. He was strangely familiar.
"Do you remember me Tom?"
"Doc? Why are you here?" Nate asked when he recalled the past couple of days. The Doc gave Unjabi a worrisome glance before looking apologetically at Tom. "What?" Nate asked, fearing the worst. "Am I going to die in a day or something? What is it?"
"Tom, we had to perform the procedure to save you," the Doctor told him.
There was a pause as Nate took in the information. "So I'll never remember anymore of my past?"
"I'm sorry, Nate," Unjabi said laying her hand on his forearm.
"Can I leave?" Tom asked as he shakily stood up.
"We'd like you to stay for a few days, for observation," Unjabi said but Tom ignored her.
"I'm leaving," Nate said. He grabbed his tunic from the foot of his bed and headed for the door. He needed some time and so they just watched him leave.
Before Tom could make it out of the complex his head of security on the fleet found him. "Nate, I was just coming to see you." Fashi didn't receive a response. "Are you alright?"
"Fine. What did you want?" Tom asked. There was a slight sheen of sweat on his brow and his breaths were coming too rapidly but Fashi responded.
"I came to inform you that we have an urgent mission."
After being briefed Tom met with the Vodierre. He knew that after undergoing a major medical procedure it was procedure for an officer to be given a brief medical leave but Nate had a feeling that he would not be granted it in this instance.
His requests always went through the Vodierre no matter how trivial they may seem. Outwardly, he appeared to be fine but the Nate always tried to internalize what he was feeling and thinking, only sharing it with those he trusts, and Iyin was not on his short list.
"Do you want to visit the woman on Voyager again? It that it?" Iyin asked, throwing the padd across the room.
"Vodierre, I'm simply informing you that if sent into the conflict I will not be at my best and I may be a danger to others." His voice carried a sharp tone that he had never directed at Iyin before.
"You don't look sick to me," Iyin said giving him a once over. She noticed that gold band on his left ring finger and wondered why he never removed it. Banishing the stray thought from her head she looked back at the fleet Commander.
"You're medical leave has been denied, report to your fleet at once."
Nate left silently after being dismissed. Iyin was, as always, angry at Nate for no good reason and wanted to punish him. If that meant sending him into a fight which he may not live through then so be it. He didn't deserve her sympathy.
Captain Janeway watched on the viewscreen as the fleet Arriah 9 left the planet and jumped to warp, Tom in command. What was he thinking? What were any of them thinking? Tom had just undergone a medical procedure and was in no condition to be in command of an entire fleet.
"That's familiar," Chakotay mumbled to himself. Janeway looked at him unsure of what he meant. "Itching to get out of sickbay, ignoring the Doctor's orders…"
"True." Janeway turned to Lt. Kim. "Have we received permission from the Saretti to leave yet?" she asked.
"Not yet Captain." Of course the Saretti knew that when Voyager requested to leave what they meant was that they wanted to follow the fleet. Not only did Iyin not want Voyager taking Nate but Voyager's presence in the conflict would be a distraction for Nate and put everyone in danger.
After several long minutes of waiting, they were hailed and Minister Persel addressed the Captain. He informed her that Voyager was free to leave however they were not allowed to head towards the conflict. They were however also free to wait in orbit for the fleet's return. That could be anywhere from one day to a week or more depending on what happened.
The Voyager didn't seem to have much of a choice. They couldn't just abandon Tom, so they decided to wait. The crew was still allowed down the planet and visit some planets within the system so the wait was made more bearable, for some.
"Harry…" B'Elanna nearly growled and Harry wondered how quickly he could make it to the door if B'Elanna got violent.
"I'm just saying that you need to relax a little. I hear the second moon of the third planet is really nice," he suggested.
"How can you think of vacationing? Tom's out there in the middle of a war and he may not come back!"
"You don't think that I know that? B'Elanna, I just want to help. I don't know what else to do. If I'm not here bothering you then I'm in the holodeck beating the hell out of a holo-character in a combat sim Tom designed or I'm pacing my quarters!" Harry got up from the chair he was in but didn't know where he was going to go. He just needed to move; to do something to keep his mind occupied.
"I'm sorry, Harry," B'Elanna said after a pause of silence. She shifted on the couch so that she could see the viewport and the stars beyond as she and Harry shared several minutes of awkward silence.
Several light years away, the battle was in full force. Despite the hails there was no response from the colonists on the planet. There had been nearly ten thousand of them, hopefully they were still well but the sensors had been damaged in the battle along with several other systems and the only way to find out whether or not they were okay was to go down there.
Nate, Fashi and several security officers transported down in waves and the destruction before them froze each man and woman in their place. Much of the earth was charred black and only scorched remains of objects and buildings could be seen. They split up into different groups and began their search. There was still much fighting occurring on the surface as stubborn settlers and even more stubborn thieves fought for the resources and valuables.
With the help of the security forces, the smugglers were being subdued but the price was sometimes high. The smugglers had little to loose and most chose to take down as many people with them as possible.
Nate was leading one group of officers through the remains of the small city staying aware of any sound or movement around him. There were plenty of good places for people to hide.
Weapons fire seemed to come out of nowhere and the officers ducked behind anything that could provide shelter and fired back even if they couldn't see their target. As he fired from around the fallen debris that provided protection Nate created a quick plan. "Cover me," he said to the young officer whom he shared the hiding spot with.
Before the other man could respond Nate sprinted to the side of a dilapidated building narrowly missing being shot. He disappeared from the site of his comrades as he went around the back of the building.
The other officers waited for what seemed like an eternity for their Commanding officer to return, when in actuality it was only a few minutes. Suddenly the enemy fire ceased and faint sounds of a struggle in the distance was replaced with the whine of a disruptor.
The smuggler slammed the thick handle of the disrupter against the side of Nate's head momentarily stunning the officer. He raised his weapon to shoot but Nate still had the presence of mind to try and move out of the way. The blast caught him in his side but he had avoided the brunt of it. Quickly pointing his weapon, Nate fired and the other man fell to the ground unconscious.
His breath was coming much faster and his hands began to tremble as his control began to slip. He was so tired and felt numb, almost as if he was sleep walking. "Commander," someone addressed him but Nate did not respond. "sir?" A hand on his shoulder cleared some of the haze from his mind and he refocused on the task at hand. He had to finish this if nothing else.
"Secure him and get him back to our ship," Nate said.
"Aye sir," the officer responded. Nate watched for a minute as the smuggler was shackled and before moving off with the rest of his group. There was still a lot more work to do.
Day and night they scoured the surface for the colonist and smugglers. They had been there for nearly three days and had only been allowed a few scant hours of sleep a night and for other they could not waste time with sleep no matter how badly their body craved it.
Fashi pressed a hypo to Nate's neck and the bleary blue eyes became more alert. "Thanks," Nate mumbled.
"I don't know how long we can go on like this," Fashi said as he seated himself on a chair. They had made their ground base in what had been the colony's main building. It was the sturdiest and had best survived the conflict. It was also large enough to house the officers in shifts and the colonist while they waited to be transported off the planet.
"We continue for as long as it takes," Nate said, sounding strong despite his fatigue.
Fashi nodded. "How many are still missing?"
"One hundred eight-two, forty-three presumed dead."
Fashi shook his head "I'm not willing to give up on any of them." Fashi declared softly.
Nate smiled and nodded his head in agreement. Fashi, despite his cool nature had always treated Nate with respect and while Fashi may never admit it, he and Nate were friends. Fashi had kept himself up to date with what had happened between the Commander and the Voyager's. He didn't know of everything that had happened, like the genetic test that had proved Nate was actually Tom Paris but, he could easily see that Nate didn't belong here. As much as he'd miss the presence of his witty friend, he didn't deserve to die fighting for people that cared little for him.
"Fashi, get some rest," Nate said as he flipped through another padd. He had been speaking to the Saretti man but Fashi failed to respond to him. Nate placed the padd down and looked at the other man. Fatigue clearly evident in his features and the same ones no doubt on his own but he had to continue. "I need you at your best."
Fashi was about to protest but when his mind was too sluggish to come up with a viable excuse he nodded. Watching silently as Nate put on his protective gear and armed himself. Fashi then and there made it his duty to make sure that Nate made it safely home; safely to Voyager.
"Any word from the fleet?" Iyin asked Minster Persel.
"One report an hour ago from Fleet Commander Nate. They've secured the surrounding space but there are still many missing citizens and even more smugglers still reaping havoc on the planet." He watched Iyin carefully for a reaction.
She almost felt sorry for Nate. Being stuck in the middle of such a hopeless battle against a ruthless enemy. It was his fault though. He shouldn't have betrayed her. He shouldn't have rejected her.
"Inform Captain Janeway. I'm sure she would like to know that her lieutenant is still alive." Iyin quickly left. It seems that she had accepted the Nate was part of the Voyager crew but she had staked her claim and when he returned, she'd send Voyager on their way without him.
Captain Janeway read the short report that Minister Persel had sent. She sighed and placed in on her desk. It was vague and didn't tell her anything she didn't already know, still she had to update the senior staff. She wasn't sure how many more times she could face the hopeful gazes of Harry and B'Elanna. Despite their hopes, they had not received and much on Tom's state and it was tearing at all of them not knowing.
"Janeway to Senior Staff, report to the Conference room in ten minutes," Kathryn said trying to keep her voice steady. Once the channel was closed she sighed again. Ten minutes; that should give her enough time to collect her thought and deal with her own fears. When Tom had been thought dead, she too had lost a friend and a loyal officer. She didn't want to face the prospect of loosing him again.
Fashi only slept for about two hours. While it was a well deserved break, he still had much to do. In the relatively short time that he had been asleep, much had happened. Nate's fleet had left and come back, bringing several colonists with them. According to one of the officers most of the group was in the infirmary getting injuries taken care of and so Fashi headed there looking for Nate.
The infirmary was busy with new patients. By the looks of it the battle had been terrible. Maybe they were ambushed, Fashi thought. Most of Nate's squadron was there but Fashi couldn't find Nate. He walked through the aisles seeing the inured soldiers and civilians but no Nate.
"Private," Fashi addressed one of the soldiers that had been part of Nate squad, "Where is Commander Nate?"
"I don't know sir. Some of the squadron was separated in the fight and Commander Nate instructed the rest of us to return with the civilians back to base."
Fashi gave the officer a brisk nod before leaving. He checked with the roster and found that only Nate and one other officer were still missing. Originally seven were missing but they had slowly trickled back to the base one by one.
Fashi suited up and joined the next squadron that was heading out in the general direction he believed that Nate's crew had gone. It was a small squad heading out this time. With Fashi, they numbered only seven and they were heading into a battle with criminals and cut-throats that out numbered them three to one.
As they took the ground transport to their target they saw explosions in the distance followed seconds later by the low rumbled it had produced. The air was laced with smoke and the sky had been scorched to a dark grey. Only a few stray rays of light peeked through the clouds giving the soldiers the only glimmer of hope on the desolate battlefield.
He'd never been here before and Fashi couldn't imagine what this place had been like before the carnage. They had made it to the core of the confrontation and this is where this small war would be won or lost. Fashi shot down another smuggler before quickly shielding himself behind what was left of a monument to the original colonists. He sighed as he changed the power-cell of the rifle with a fresh one. They'd been out here for nearly twelve hours and there was still no sign of the Fleet Commander. Fashi hoped to all the deities that Nate was well or else he had already failed in his self-appointed mission.
A crackled transmission came in on Fashi's communicator. 'Reincforcements…. Arriving… immediate aerial assault…all forces seek shelter….' Fashi relayed his message to the squadron and they retreated back a few hundred meters. They waited for several minutes but nothing happened. The longer they were out there the more likely they would be found by their enemies and killed.
What's taking them? Fashi asked himself over and over again. Suddenly another jumbled message came through and all the officers listened carefully, hoping for some sort of explanation.
'….irradiated atmosphere… unable to target….require…. energy signature for lock…..' Nothing more came through. The other officers looked to Fashi for an answer not understanding what had been said.
Fashi looked around why couldn't they get a lock? He had never been much of a scientist and he didn't understand why th e ships in orbit couldn't establish a lock. He watched as one of the officers removed a spent energy core from his weapon and it hit him. These weapons have a long range and on the right setting can cause a lot of damage. The energy source of the weapon however is not atomically stable and while the radiation is harmless to humanoids it causes havoc to some systems; communications and targeting sensors in particular. The atmosphere of the planet, especially in this area was no doubt concentrated with the radiation particles and so the vessels in orbit could not get a good fix on the enemy target. They needed some sort of large disturbance to light up their enemies and make them easy targets.
"Scope," Fashi said holding out his hand. One of the officers handed him the device and Fashi scanned the area looking for anything that could help them; any sort of mineral deposit that could emit and energy signature, or some chemical waste that could be ignited. The colony was rich in resources and refining those resources required many chemicals and highly reactive compounds.
"Perfect," Fashi said as he spotted some large canisters near where the smugglers had set their front. They were likely not aware of what was in the canisters and were therefore ignorant to the dangers that lurked right in front of them. Before Fashi could get out his weapon to try and ignite the compounds he saw a form start running towards them. The man bore one the Saretti infantry uniforms and Fashi ordered his soldiers to provide the man with cover fire as the smugglers noticed one of their enemies and began shooting.
Just as the man was about a third of the way across the stretch the smugglers suddenly turned their fire away from the Saretti soldier to someone within their bunker. Fashi focussed the scope there and zoomed in hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever was happening. He saw someone move swiftly through the bunker but before he could see anything more he was nearly blinded as the canisters of chemicals and exploded and in brilliant display of light and energy.
The clouds were illuminated to shade of blue as the canisters combusted releasing intense light and energy. The Saretti squadron had to look away and shield there eyes from the onslaught of light.
"What happened?" one of the Saretti officers asked as the blast faded somewhat. The other Saretti soldier had just made it back to them and Fashi immediately began interrogating him.
"What were you doing over there? Is there anyone else?"
The young man managed to respond while he tried to catch his breath. "A group of us were separated from the squadron during a gas attack." He took a few more breaths before continuing. "Commander Nate, went after us and the others managed to get to safety but he and I were stuck behind enemy lines and couldn't risk moving."
"Is he still there?" Fashi asked as he used the scope to check for signs of the Commander.
"He was," the officer said sadly as he moved next to Fashi to look over the large piece of debris that served as their cover. "We got a transmission that said an indicator was needed for the other ships and so we made one. He ordered me to make a run for cover while he set it off."
Fashi silently scanned the enemy front looking for Nate but there was little motion on the other side. The canisters of chemical still burned bright releasing massive amounts of thoron radiation into the atmosphere.
A movement in what Fashi thought was debris caught his attention and slowly a man stood up and began towards them. He knew it was Nate. Fashi was getting up to go and help his friend when suddenly weapons fire pierced through the clouded sky, raining fire on the enemy camp. Dust and debris was kicked into the air as craters form the weapons indented the planets surface.
"Tell them to call off the attack!" Fashi ordered to the comm. officer with them.
"I can't! There's too much thoron interference."
Blast continued to impound the enemy camp leaving hardly a square meter of ground unscathed. Within it all Nate tried to stay on his feet and make it to safety. A blast a hit the ground a few meters away hurtled him several meters before he crashed to the ground. Surprisingly he felt little pain and without a second thought he clamoured to his feet and continued to make his escape.
"I see him!" one officer yelled. The entire squadron watched helplessly as their commanding officer tried to dodge the powerful weapon-fire and he nearly succeeded. He was running towards them. The group of Saretti didn't know if Nate saw them but he was heading right for them.
Suddenly, as if in an effort to halt all movement in the area the last bolt struck directly in front of Nate. In the blast of dirt and debris it caused, nobody could tell if Nate had survived. Just as suddenly as it had started it ended. The fire from above ceased and only the sound of crackling fires as they engulfed every last piece of fuel was heard.
Nobody could have survived they thought as they approached the scene. The ground still smoked and the air was thick with dust reducing their field of vision to only a few meters in front of them. They stepped over numerous corpses, saddened that it had come to this but they had no other choice. Kill or be killed. What they thought would be a small battle had escalated into a small war and the Saretti had come out the victors, if you could call this victory.
"This is no victory," Fashi said to himself as he crouched down to check if one of the smugglers had survived but he too was dead. Fashi moved on, slowly checking the ground, looking for any sign that Nate had survived. He could feel the warmth of the ground through his boots as he stepped on the ashes and he smelt the foul congregation of odours that only death could concoct. Still there was not sign of Nate.
He didn't know what had happened he remember running; trying to get away and then suddenly there was a bright streak of light in front of him. There was nothing after that except the sensations of awareness slowly falling on him.
He was face down in the dirt covered from head to toe with ashes and soot, blending in perfectly to his surroundings. His senses began to return to him as did control over his body. Slowly he moved from his position. He coughed the dust out of his lungs but the foul taste remained in his mouth. He rolled onto his side and stared out at the smoke. His sight had not returned to him entirely but there was not much to see in any case.
He managed to move into a sitting position and he rested his arms on top of his knees, waiting. For what, he wasn't sure but he was too tired to care. He mind was sluggish after receiving such a jolt and Nate had no desire to do anything, so he waited.
The dust settled and the air started to clear. So far the small band of Saretti had only found two survivors, both of them smugglers. Fashi stopped at the edge of the burnt expanse. Nate must not have made it, he thought to himself. Slowly he turned around and surveyed the damage. He doubted that in his lifetime would he ever see this land restored to its original beauty. He doubted whether he would ever want to come back here.
His sullen troops continued with their duties looking for survivors. They had long past the location where commander Nate had laid, missing his form in the poor visibility that had hindered their initial search but when Fashi looked back he saw a form just sitting on the small rise, perfectly still.
Fashi sprinted to the man hoping all hopes that it was Nate and he would not be disappointed. His lungs burned as he forced himself to inhale the polluted air but his attention was elsewhere. He finally reached Nate and crouched next to him.
"Nate!" There was not response. "Please, say something," Fashi pleaded. Nate remained seated frozen as thought time itself had paused. His once golden hair was saturated with ash colouring it black. His usually fair face was contrasted with the dark soot that now covered most of it and his eye still mirrored the colour of the sky, they were grey as though something in him had died.
"How many civilians missing?" Nate rasped.
"None, they've all been accounted for," Fashi replied glad to here that at least some of the man had survived. "Are you in pain?"
"Probably," Nate responded softly. He didn't move and his eyes remained fixed on some distant point. Fashi guessed the Nate was in shock. So much had happened to him in such a short time and he imagined that everybody would react the same way. Nate shakily stood up and looked around. "Call them back. Let's get out of here," Nate said, referring to the other soldiers. His voice was weak but the command tone was still there.
"You know you can't keep this up," Fashi stated. Nate was too tired to respond. "Between your duties, your friend Halia, Iyin and now Voyager, you're on the road to an early grave. I might add, one you narrowly missed today."
"I do what I have to," Nate said trying to walk away but his steps faltered as he was made aware of his injuries. Sensations in his limbs were returning and he began to feel the pain.
"You need to get back to Voyager," Fashi said.
Nate face him. "Why? So I can return to a life that I have no memory of? What good does that do?"
"You don't belong here," Fashi reasoned. He thought Nate would want to leave. He heard about Nate having a family on the ship and though he doesn't remember Fashi still held hope that Nate might regain his memories.
"I don't belong anywhere, Fashi! Here I'm destined to live out my life serving the Fourth Order and on the Voyager I was a traitor, a convict and failure! I can't go back there."
"Where did you hear that?" Fashi asked.
Tom looked away for a moment closing his eyes when it caused a pain in his neck. "Iyin gave me my file from Voyager."
"I can't believe that those things are true," Fashi said but when Nate looked at him with his somber grey eyes he knew that he spoke the truth. "There must have been some reason…"
"Well it's not in my file, I can't remember it and something tells me I don't want to,"
"Did you read all of the file?"
"I read enough of it," Nate said turning away. "I don't want to be Tom Paris."
"You'd rather be Fleet commander Nate?" Fashi asked knowing that Nate didn't have an answer. The only reason he was Nate was because he didn't have choice. Now that he has one he won't make it so Fashi chose to make it for him.
"Get the squad. We need to head back to base," Nate said tiredly as he slowly walked away. He tried to walk normally but there was still a slight limp. With his back to Fashi he did not see what happened to suddenly paralyse him.
He felt a hand at the base of his neck applying a slight pressure before it was released. His last bit of strength began to desert him and he felt himself collapsing. A pair of arms gently lowered him to the ground and Nate stared up at Fashi.
"What…." He managed to croak out.
"I'm sorry its come to this my friend but I can't let you make this mistake. This is your only chance to be free of this life."
"No… I…." Nate didn't have the strength to protest though the look in his eyes was enough to send the message.
"You have a family on Voyager; a wife and child on the way," Fashi reminded him. A slight smile crossed his features as he continued to weaken. Things seemed so much simpler and clearer now. Many of his doubts had been erased temporarily from his mind, enough for him to recall what he had discovered about his family and friends on Voyager.
Fashi watched as the Nate slowly faded into unconsciousness. "I hope one day you'll thank me for this, even if you don't understand."
"Let's move out." Fashi ordered all traces of emotion again wiped from his face.
"We can't just leave him here," an officer said and approached Nate's still figure.
"Fleet Commander Nate died in the confrontation between Squadron 16 of fleet Arriah 9 and the smugglers. Nate is dead. There is only Lieutenant Tom Paris of the Starship Voyager," Fashi said and the officer understood. They, as well as many other people were aware of the predicament Commander Nate was in.
The officers nodded and despite the sour feelings they experienced with leaving the man who had been their commanding officer behind, they knew that he had somewhere else that he needed to be.
The tension on the bridge had reached epic levels as they watched ship after ship pass them by and return to the surface of the planet. Captain Janeway sat in the command chair waiting for a communiqué from the surface. They hadn't received any news about Commander and they were beginning to suspect the worst. The turbolift doors slid open with a quiet hiss and B'Elanna stepped out. She had been in main engineering when she was informed that the fleet was returning. Leaving Carey in charge she came to the bridge.
As each ship came in range Harry would scan it for human life-signs but so far he had not found any. A ship that Harry recognized as the lead ship of fleet Arriah 9 was nearing sensor range and he informed the Captain.
"Captain, the lead ship is approaching."
Captain Janeway stood up and headed towards Harry's station. "Are they in sensor range?"
"Not yet," Harry said. The bridge crew waited for the ship to come within range and when it did Harry immediately scanned it. He checked the readings twice before reporting the grim news. "No human life-sign on board." He said.
"Are you sure?" B'Elanna asked him. Harry could only nod in response.
"This is the last ship," Harry informed. Captain Janeway walked slowly back to her chair as the news sunk in, but before it could sink too deep they wee hailed by the lead ship.
Fashi's image appeared on the screen and he looked to the Captain. "Nate is not here," he told them.
Janeway nodded, "We know." She said with disappointment.
"There is something of yours on Osikar." Fashi said. "Don't leave without him."
Fashi stared at her intently making sure that his message was understood.
"Thank you," Janeway said to him.
"Safe journey," Fashi said before closing the channel.
Janeway turned to Kim. "Send a message to the Fourth Order that we're leaving."
"Aye Captain," Harry said. He wasn't entirely sure of the meaning of Fashi's words but if Tom was on Osikar, or even his remains, then that's where they had to go.
"Set a course for Osikar, maximum warp," Janeway ordered to Baytart.
"New heading, 184 mark 4,"
"Engage."
Voyager jumped to warp and flash of light and sped towards the now abandoned planet, save for one sole individual who remained.
On the Saretti homeworld, Minister Persel walked into Iyin's office and found her sitting at her desk simply staring at it. "Voyager has left," he informed her. After a few moments Iyin acknowledged the information with a nod but remained locked in her thoughts.
She had recently been informed that Commander Nate had died on Osikar and the guilt was nearly enough to break her. She had sent him to his death. It was her fault. She wanted him to suffer; wanted him to love her but she had imposed her will on him far too often and this time he paid the ultimate price for her selfish actions. "What have I done?" She whispered to herself and buried her face in her hands.
Minister Persel regarded her for a few moments wondering what she was thinking and hoping that maybe she had learnt a lesson. Unfortunately an innocent man had to die for her so see her error.
Halia checked the database every two minutes looking for Nate's name on the list of survivors. She hadn't mustered the courage to look at the list of the deceased. Nate hadn't been there when she left her Deneran status. There were no problems with the move. Her new place was beautiful and she was well provided for thanks to Nate's clever thinking but he was still missing and thus a part of her was missing as well.
Halia once again searched the list of survivors for Nate's name but it did not come up. A note at the bottom confirmed that this was the complete list of survivors. With unsteady hands Halia went to the list of deceased and almost immediately her eyes found Nate on the list.
Salty tears flowed from her eyes as she stared at his name, reading it over and over again. Nate, Fleet Commander: Killed In Action.
Halia hit the console in rage. It wasn't supposed to end like this. Nate was supposed to come back and then go home to Voyager. She wanted to break everything. She wanted to scream but knew none of it would bring him back. The tears blurred her vision as she walked to her bed. She buried her face in a pillow and cried.
"You promised," she sobbed. "You promised everything would work out."
End Chapter 3
