Disclaimer: Star Trek: Voyager and all characters therein are the property of Americans who are not me. No infringement of copyright is intended.
This story is set approximately around Season 3-4, but no particular spoilers other than this happens before Thirty Days. Rating M/15 for mature themes. Thanks to Star Trek Voyager: Lower Decks for all factual/technical information pertaining to the layout of the USS Voyager, and Star Trek: Technobabble for the correct spelling of "Jefferies Tube".
FEEDING THE FURY
Chapter 2
… "the proof of the pudding is in the eating!" Tom, Harry, B'Elanna, and Chakotay chorused the punch-line of the joke together to Neelix.
As the Talaxian hurried back to the kitchen as more hungry crewmembers came into the Mess Hall, Tom laughed along as he ate his Jbalian fudge-cake, silently almost admiring the treacherous pair. Not by the flicker of an eyelash had they betrayed themselves – it was almost enough to make him doubt what his eyes had seen, except that his imagination would never conjure up any image of B'Elanna in the carnal embrace of another man.
Chakotay's life belonged to him, what if he was to simply order the bastard to commit suicide? It wasn't enough. He didn't want Chakotay to take the tragically noble way out of this, destroyed by a doomed love that could never be, he wanted to break every bone in the man's body and drop his bloody pulp of a corpse at B'Elanna's feet. Let's see how much she had the hots for Chakotay then…
The proof of the pudding…the phrase echoed in his head and he veiled his eyes by lowering them to the confection on his plate. That was the necessity if he was to expose their betrayal, their treachery…his lover and his supposed friend. It was his word against theirs and a vehement accusation of their adultery would play right into their hands. All they had to was deny everything, and Tom Paris would be the scorned obsessive villain of the piece. B'Elanna could leave him in 'offence' and after letting things lie a few weeks the pair of them could come together openly and pass it off by making jokes about how they would never have realised their attraction if it weren't for 'that loser Paris'.
What was it they used to do in the old gumshoe movies? Incriminating photographs - but not possible in this instance. The only person aboard who had a holographic imager was the Doctor, understandable since neither the Starfleet crew nor the Maquis had had any intention of taking souvenir snaps of their quick trip through the Badlands. Asking the Doctor to borrow it so he could obtain evidence against his unfaithful lover was out, and replicating one would be a waste of rations.
But suddenly Tom felt a tiny surge of doubt. He looked at B'Elanna's beautiful face and Chakotay grinning as they teased Harry about being Buster Kincaid, Captain Proton's sidekick. Was he about to destroy everything by over-reacting? Was it possible he had misinterpreted what he'd seen? Maybe B'Elanna and Chakotay had just suffered a moment's weakness that wouldn't be repeated? Maybe he should think things through…
No – his anger surged anew, more powerfully than before. B'Elanna and Chakotay had betrayed him. Were betraying his love and his trust, and they were going be begging at his feet for mercy before he was finished with them!
Continued in Chapter 3…
© 2005, Catherine D. Stewart