Rating: PG-13
Notes: This is the fourth installment of the Modulation Series. If you haven't read the first three parts, I would suggest doing so.
Be it by some divine intervention or a stroke of pure inspiration, a solution came to mind. Tom raced to the front of the shuttle, locking onto the guard and beaming him into the mountains they had been forced to march through. They were covered with thick snow now, and would be next to impossible to navigate this far into winter.
Having completed his task, Tom returned to Kathryn's side. She had lost consciousness by then. A sweet smile crossed her lips that made his heart sink. Only in dreams could any of them be that free...
"Kathryn?" Tom whispered, tapping her shoulder lightly. "Kathryn? Come on. Wake up...please. I don't know how much time we have before they get back." Panic was setting into the recesses of Tom's mind. Given the number of beatings she had suffered, the severity of those blows, and the amount of blood she had lost, the idea that she might never regain consciousness gnawed at him. He never thought that she would face death like this; he had always imagined a grand battle or of old age.
By the brusing on her arms, it was apparent that they had taken the brunt of the beating this time. Her right wrist was swelling. No doubt it was broken.
"I need to splint your wrist. There was some small bulkhead fragments near that spare part pile in the back. I promise I'll be right back."
For the first time in an expanse of minutes, Tom found himself alone, left to thoughts of what had just happened. Memories of violent outbreaks in his past resurfaced, but, in the past, this had all been for self defense. This, however, was murder. True, he was saving the captain...Kathryn's life, but he had lost control of himself. He clutched his eyes shut. The feeling of that guard bleeding out, begging for his life made him feel alive again, powerful, and in control for the first time in months. He finally truly understood why the Maquis had chosen to fight against the Cardassians. In that brief flash, he knew what it was like to hate someone to such depths. What scared him more than his actual actions was that he didn't regret it. Part of himself actually enjoyed watching the life drain from the guard's eyes.
To be honest, he wanted them all dead. From the first time Kathryn had returned from the first of many late night beating, he had wanted nothing more than to have a few moments alone with those guards. Instead he would stay with her, nurse the wounds he could, and beg her to stay with him. Many times he wondered how she had managed to make it through the night. Often, when he caught that defeated look in his eyes, he was reminded of how selfish he had been. He begged her to stay alive because she was the reason he kept living. Never did he imagine he would be able to carry out his thoughts...both good and bad until now...until this imprisonment.
His mother had always said that it was necessary to find the silver lining to even the most abysmal of settings. Silver lining? He could only think of one. Kathryn... He had finally known what it was like to see her be herself. Granted, it had come at an extreme cost, but, at night, she would present herself to him, unguarded. In those moments between dusk and dawn, he fell in love with her all over again.
Within the pile of fragments, he found two pieces of bulkhead that would suffice. Once he returned, he used those two pieces and torn strips from his uniform to make a splint for her wrist.
Guards approached the pair. "What is the meaning of this?"
"One of your guards attacked her. What do you think had happened?"
"Have you completed work on this shuttle?"
"No. We haven't. We were nearly done when one of your men decided to attack her."
The guard tilted his head. "Not complying will mean death. Finish up your work here, then we will return you to your cell."
"Belay that order. You will return them to their cell now," Tumeric said, appearing from behind Tom.
"But, Sir, they have not finished."
"They didn't finish because one of your men injured her. Now, do as I tell you."
Tom picked Kathryn's limp form up off the ground and carried her in his arms to the shuttle. Seven, Vorik, and Sam were already chained into place.
The ride back to the encampment was exceptionally slow as the shuttle was moving on thrusters only. The warp drive finally gave out a quarter of the mile to the compound, forcing the prisoners to walk the remainder of the way. Tom never wavered once as he carried her down the steep slope. Humming lightly under his breath the last tune he could remember playing in Sullivan's the night before they were kidnapped...
"Do you remember that night, Kathryn? I caught you talking to Maggie about me. You flushed as I approached. Always a sure sign that you were up to no good. I asked you what the pair of you were discussing and you said the weather. Maggie, thought, she set me straight. 'A strapping young man he is Katie. You have excellent taste.' You laughed and excused yourself no doubt to delete Maggie's memory before I could get the details out of her. You always thought of everything, didn't you?"
"Lieutenant Paris, I fail to see how talking to the Captain is assisting her recovery," Seven said, walking beside him.
"Well, I can't offer her medical attention because the second I stop to help her, they'll kill all of us," he said motioning towards the guards. "I just thought that speaking to her...letting her hear my voice, would keep her grounded."
"You believe you are willing to the captain to survive?"
Tom nodded slowly. "Not very scientific, but when everything else is taken away, hope is the only thing left."
"Pandora? Really, Tom, you are losing it," Sam said.
"If you loose hope...faith...in the idea that we will get out of here, then they have already won."
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