Harry Kim sighed as he settled down to sleep. He was extremely tired. "Lights off," he called thickly. He thought he would be too tired to be kept awake by his imagination but he was wrong.
Ever since he had been accepted as Harry Kim, he had almost forgotten that this Voyager was not his Voyager. Everyone had been so nice to him. Dwelling on the past and all his dead friends was too hard and everyone had just drawn him in—because of Tom Paris.
No one had known how to handle him at first but renegade Tom Paris had buttered him up and lifted his depression with little jokes. Eventually came the questions of how close his universe was to the new Voyager. Paris was Paris, different universe or not. He hoped he was Kim, different universe or not. The Doctor had done experiments and research and still Tom and Harry had been confused. Tom…
He thought losing Tom Paris of his universe had been bad but, somehow, losing the Tom Paris of this universe was even worse. Perhaps because they had become closer friends.
I've got to stop it, he scolded himself. The Captain had told me to get some sleep and that's what I'm going to do. Thinking about Tom's death is only going to keep you awake. Go to sleep.
Turning over onto his side so he could face the stars moving past him, he closed his eyes and relaxed. His mind slowed and he slipped into sleep.
Yet if he had wanted to get away from thoughts of Tom Paris, it wouldn't be in his dreams.
He walked along a dark room's outer walls, feeling his way by fingertips. A low moan sounded from ahead. The sound of pure despair and hopelessness caused Harry to shiver. Slowly, he continued forward, his curiosity aroused.
A gray light urged him on. And a familiar voice talking to itself.
"Help. Help me. I'm not dead. I'm not dead." The voice was weary and almost monotonous.
Harry cleared his throat. "Tom?"
Suddenly, the room brightened and he saw he was across from a cage. Inside the cage lay Tom Paris. His skin was ashen, his uniform torn, cuts and scrapes visible all over his body. He almost looked washed out, faded.
Tom lifted his head with obvious effort. "Harry? That you? Please say it's you."
Harry frowned. "Can't you see me?" He walked closer, to right beside Tom, on the outside of the cage. Tom concentrated on his voice and looked in his direction, not actually looking at him.
"No, Harry. I can't see. Not since I came here. How did you get here, Harry? No, never mind. You have to leave. It's growing stronger. It can't feed off of Seven anymore; she's put up some kind of shield. It's looking for another host while it slowly consumes me. Harry, I'm not dead. You can't get rid of my body. If you do, I can never go back. Please. You've got to believe me." Tom leaned heavily on the bars of the cage, seeming dejected. "I'm not dead. I'm here."
Harry stood, finding himself shaking. "I'm dreaming. This isn't real. You're dead. I've seen your body; I saw you die. You're just an illusion of Tom Paris that my brain has conjured to torment me. It's a dream."
Tom grabbed at him, missing. "Harry! No! You've got to believe me! Check my body! What seems to be dead can be barely alive. Please, Harry! I'm asking you to do what I can't. Go back and save my body. No one believes me, except maybe Tuvok, and he thinks he's going insane. Seven is too close' she acts what I say still. I'm stuck in this hell and can't get out. You've got to help me. Just this once. Please!"
A low growl echoed to their hearing.
Tom paled even further. "Go! Awake before it sees you. Get me out of here. Go!"
Harry, not knowing what it was but certain that he didn't want to face it, turned and ran down the hall that materialized in front of him. As he ran, he heard a faint cry of pain behind him.
Tom…
With a gasp, Harry sat up in bed, panting. He felt as if he had been running all night long. Like in his dream…
"What seems to be dead can be barely alive…"
Harry shook his head, trying to shake the voice from his mind. It couldn't be true. He had no telekinesis that he knew of. Tom's death must be affecting him more than he realized.
"I'm not dead! Harry, you've got to believe me!"
Shaking, Harry got up, tossed on his uniform jacket and left his room. Something needed to be resolved in his mind. With a swift stride, he headed for sickbay.
B'Elanna Torres couldn't concentrate on her work. Stuck up here on the bridge, doing easy work, mostly supervising Ensign Peters, B'Elanna thought she was going to fall asleep.
Then, a familiar cube popped out of space in front of her and a billion voices overrode the ship's intercom.
"We are the Borg. Prepare to be assimilated. Resistance is futile."
Chakotay had leaped to his feet when he spotted the Cube. He jabbed at his commbadge. "Captain to the bridge!"
Janeway's voice was angry. "On my way. Call all senior bridge officers to the bridge. Go to red alert. Janeway out."
As soon as Janeway cut off, B'Elanna ignored the intercom message Chakotay was sending to the bridge crew while the lights dimmed to red and alarms droned, instead focused on feeding more power to warp speed. Sweat began to bead on her brow when she saw that the Borg Cube followed closely.
"Commander," Ensign Peters called. "Would you like to take the conn?"
Chakotay paused, showing to B'Elanna that he had temporarily forgotten that Tom was not with them. "Yes," he finally replied, knowing he was a better pilot in situations like this than Peters. They switched quickly and he concentrated on his flying.
Get to work, Torres, she reminded herself.
She would stay here until the rest of the bridge crew arrived, then try to go down to Engineering, where she was actually needed.
B'Elanna…
"You need something, Commander?" B'Elanna asked, looking up. She saw Chakotay glance swiftly back towards her.
"No," he grunted.
Feeling silly, she studied the panel in front of her. She must be hearing things.
Just then, Captain Janeway hurried in. Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying and B'Elanna suddenly understood where her captain had been.
With Tom's body.
"Status report?" Janeway barked, dropping into her command chair. Harry Kim rushed in, with Neelix on his heels.
Harry still doesn't look like he's slept, B'Elanna observed.
Tuvok entered, supporting a weak but completely aware Seven of Nine. The Doctor was right behind them. The threat of the Borg always brought all to the bridge.
Janeway's expression was a mixture of surprise and anger when she saw Seven. "Seven! I trust you have Doctor's orders?"
Seven nodded.
The Doctor took Tuvok's place with Seven on his shoulder so that Tuvok could go to his station. He helped Seven come up to B'Elanna to take her place.
B'Elanna heard, once again, a voice. Don't be mad at Seven, B'Elanna.
B'Elanna blinked, moving backwards to clear the way for Seven. The other woman was pale and sweating but obviously determined to stick through the latest attack by the Borg.
Seven glanced at her. "Lieutenant Torres, I hope that you do not blame me for the death of Tom Paris…"
B'Elanna shook her head, mutely. Where had the voice come from? Was she going insane?
"Status!" Janeway ordered again.
Tuvok replied in his same, steady way, "The Borg Cube is closing, Captain. They will overtake us in approximately fifteen minutes."
Janeway whirled to face him. "Fifteen minutes?"
"Correct, Captain," Tuvok intoned. A chime from his panel alerted him and Janeway. "They are firing."
"Take us out of warp! Brace for impact!" Janeway shouted, tightening her grip on her command chair.
Evasive maneuvers, Captain.
Janeway stopped breathing for a second. That voice…
The projectile hit and Voyager rocked.
"Evasive maneuvers, Chakotay," she said breathlessly. She could hardly breathe. That voice…
Chakotay complied, rolling them away from the threat. A planet suddenly filled the viewscreeen.
"We have arrived at the class-M planet where the cueproan dwells, Captain," Seven informed her.
"Hide us," she answered, not really paying full attention.
"Captain?"
Janeway didn't answer Harry. That voice had disturbed her so…
"Captain?" Now it was Tuvok. "Are you all right?"
Janeway nodded, and the spell broke. She glanced at B'Elanna, who still hadn't left yet, and saw a flicker of understanding on the half-Klingon's face. At least it wasn't only her who heard it.
Save me, Captain.
That voice again.
"Tom…" She whispered.
I'm not dead. You must believe me.
Suddenly, she snapped out of her daze. "Chakotay, hide us. We have a lot more work to do and we'll have to do it right now."