Exploratory.
By
Serena Aris.
Disclaimers: Paramount and other big organisations own Star Trek: Voyager, the ship, its crew and the whole trek universe. I'm just borrowing some of it for a short amount of time.
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Exploratory.
By
Serena Aris.
Chapter Three.
After leaving Seven of Nine to make her own preparations, Janeway had to use her instincts as to where her other two away team members were. She knew that if she found one, the other wouldn't be too far away. Discovering Chakotay who was reading quietly in the shade of a tall plant, he offered to join her and together they attempted to track the two young officers down. They had to resort to the old-fashioned ways as not everyone had a combadge with them; it wouldn't be a holiday if they did. It was easy enough to locate her crew with the ship's sensors and beam everyone back that wasn't Alkarian, but that was hardly fair on the other one hundred and fifty or so crew.
"Any specific reason for your choosing of Paris and Kim for this?" Asked her first officer who was wearing his casual attire.
"They are both senior officers, Paris is our best pilot and has an expertise in rock climbing if they need it. Kim has engineering knowledge that matches or even exceeds any one in that department, so he can help Seven convert the resource into compatible energy that we can use."
"You just want to send those two to keep them out of trouble!" The tattooed man said with a knowing grin.
"Well, yeah. Just look at their track record, trouble just seems to find them." Kathryn said laughing.
"I haven't heard about any disturbances so far."
"Exactly, so let's not push our luck. These people are one of the few genuinely friendly races we've met in a long while so let's try and depart on good impressions." They had both been light-hearted and humorous but it was also a sad fact that the Federation travellers's reputation had preceded them. And it wasn't often seen in a good light. They continued to walk, side by side in a moment of silence to gather their thoughts, comfortable in one another's presence as they padded along a leafy trail. "No in all seriousness, their shoreleave is almost up anyway, and I was hoping that they might bring Seven out a bit more."
"Is there a problem?" He asked with concern, the man that had once been Captain Janeway's quarry and was now her trusted friend and confidante. He held away a stray branch that was obstructing their path and let her pass ahead of him, avoiding any collision before continuing on his way.
Janeway slowed a step in order for him to rejoin her, as she replied, "Not anything immediate. It's just that she's spent all of her leave working." This earned her a look from Chakotay who eyed her uniform. "I will be taking all of my assigned leave time, once I've sent them on their way, don't you worry. Even Tuvok has taken some time away from the ship, saying it was a 'logical need to spend time on a planetoid and get some fresh air'." Her companion looked at her with surprise, which she reflected back. Still the Vulcan had a point, humans and most other humanoid species needed to have a break from their everyday environment for their mental health if nothing else. He also suspected that the Security Chief was making sure that his Captain would take a break as well. "I just also think that they work well together and with Paris there, it's not going to follow too rigid a regime!"
The Indian man agreed, a little bit of flexibility, but still getting the job done, wasn't going to hurt the ex-Borg. It might even help her transition from machine to human he thought with an inward shudder. Then what made him shiver in fear more was the thought that Seven could develop Mr Paris' sense of humour.
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Laughter could be heard coming from the river. Positioned near its shore were a gathering of humanoids, on closer inspection there were two different races present. Near the centre of the huddle were two human males competing in what looked like some sort of game. The contenders each wore a temple implant, which relayed instructions from their brains to holographic projectors concealed in the area around them. The object of the game was to control a small flying disc and pass it through the random astral hoops that formed, collecting scores for each pass. Two discs were whizzing through the air above the spectators' heads, making breathtaking fireworks as they passed through a hoop. The red streamlined disc was in the lead by a wide margin, compared to the blue. A bleep sounded to signify time's up, game over, causing the pointed discs to stop then drop silently to the ground.
The two competitors removed the small round implants that softly hissed as they did so. As they regained their bearings, the smaller man asked, "How did you beat me by so much on our first go? This was the first time you've played it? Your not hustling me are you?" Ensign Kim thought back to Paris' holoprogram of Sandrines where they played pool. It was there that the young Ops officer had learnt the hard way the lesson of hustling. The man in question grinned in remembrance.
"I don't know Harry, they did say that it used your senses and instincts. Maybe you thought too much about it?"
"Maybe. You didn't answer all of my questions." The taller man gave him a butter-wouldn't-melt look, which he chose to ignore. "Anyway, I think that you might have had an unfair advantage, your senses are all honed for flying." He said good-naturedly.
"Hey if they have an Ops or Engineering version of the game I'll give you a rematch! Either way B'Elanna has got to try it!" Voyager's pilot said responding to his friend. He had slowly got closer to the ship's Chief Engineer, becoming friends then developing further, now dating one another. Somehow this seemingly mismatched couple on the surface, were perfectly harmonised to each other, although arguments and teething problems were still evident.
"Try what?" A feminine voice said from behind them, and when they turned around they found that it belonged to the Engineer in question. Harry Kim, smiled and said a hello in welcome, Paris however gave his girlfriend a kiss. "What no, 'how was your day, honey'?"
"I know how your day was. For most living beings it was boring and hard work, but to you it was the equivalent of a few days of fun-filled shoreleave!" The tall blonde man said in a tone that was hard to distinguish if it was mockery or fact.
"You enjoy your work! And anyway I wouldn't have to repair Voyager's warp and navigation systems if a certain pilot didn't keep wrecking them. You can't keep taking the ship to its limits without expecting some wear and tear." She said protectively of her engines.
"Yes ma'am!" He gave her another kiss, halting whatever retort was next. "Well, while you were puzzling over fried neural gel packs and plasma couplings Harry and I have been testing our wits in a native game."
Kim saw the glance his friend gave him and knew that he was up to something. "What game?" Paris shook his head. "Come on, what sort of game?"
"Oh just a mind game." He said relinquishing a cryptic clue.
"What's the matter helmboy, afraid that I'll beat you?" The smaller Asian man stepped back to watch the banter between his two best friends, following it from one side to the other.
"No." Paris said in an indifferent manner. "I just didn't think that you'd be interested in games." Kim saw the wind-up, where B'Elanna Torres clearly didn't, being too far into the implied challenge. He hid a grin behind his hand. "You probably wouldn't be any good at it." And there was the challenge.
"Bring it on pig," the ex-Maquis used as a battle charge. She took off looking for the possible game, like a sinewy predator. She pounced on the nearest Alkarian for information.
"I love it when she's all fired up!" Said Paris laughing as he watched the fiery woman in action. Baiting a Klingon could be a dangerous game, luckily Torres was only half-Klingon and Paris was sure that he could handle it.
It was at this time that Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay finally caught up with them. "Gentlemen!" The authoritative female said, suppressing a laugh when the two men jumped in surprise.
"Captain!" Ensign Harry Kim said, holding a hand over his chest. Paris merely nodded with a smile. "What can we do for you?"
"Sorry to cut your shoreleave short but I have an assignment for the two of you. I'm sending you ahead of the rest of us to check out a possible energy source in a nearby system." The Alkarians had no need for energy supplies, they got all they needed from solar power.
"Any inhabitants, or anyone staking claim to the area?" Her Chief Helmsmen asked. Janeway took this as a sign that they were willing to go.
"Not that the Alkarians are aware of. But if it does belong to someone else, try and open up a trade agreement." Chakotay answered and Janeway nodded in agreement.
Harry was already ahead of them, "We'll need to take some equipment from engineering, laser cutters." He thought out loud, mainly towards Paris.
His Captain held up a hand. "It's already being organised and everything you could possibly need is being loaded onto the Delta Flyer. All you two need to do is pack some personal items and get on the ship."
"So when do we go?" The fair, blonde man asked, he couldn't spend too long on the planet anyway he got sunburn easily and even more so with two suns.
"I told Seven that you would meeting her in the shuttlebay in about two and a half hours, so make the most of your time left. I'll don't expect to see you both till then."
The four officers scattered. Kim went off looking for a suitable souvenir of this Delta Quadrant paradise. He watched Paris jog in Torres' direction and knew that his best friends would want to spend some time on their own. Janeway took Chakotay's offered arm and took another stroll, this time along the tranquil shoreline.
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B'Elanna Torres spotted her tall, blonde pilot jogging towards her and smiled. As he drew near she held up the small coin-sized implants. "Found them, fly-boy. I bet you thought that I wouldn't think about looking for something so small."
He smiled, kissing her as he did so. "You are so cute when you're determined." His grin widened when her cheeks coloured in a rosy glow and dipped her gaze. Blushing, a human trait still viable with the tough warrior genes of her mother's race.
"Did I see the Captain?" She said diverting his attention. They still had their bodies held close until he held her hand and lead her to a nearby rock, where they sat down.
"Yeah you did. Harry and me have been assigned to an away mission, obtaining some kind of energy source. So I've got a few hours left before I have to be back on the ship."
"I know. Who's idea do you think it was for the ship to be ready loaded? I delegated." She smiled at his surprised look. "Besides I wanted to spend time with you before our conflicting work schedules got in the way again."
"Ah, the sacrifices we make for our careers!" Paris said chuckling, earning a playful punch from Torres. Although he joked the two of them took their duties seriously. To Tom Paris it wasn't that long ago when he thought that he might ever have any sort of career again. Who would want a liar, coward, ex-Maquis and ex-convict? He pushed back the thoughts, Janeway had given him his second chance and he would not ruin it. "Well we best make the most of this time you've claimed. Any ideas?"
"A few." They moved closer towards one another, their arms cradling around the other. The near future or next hour didn't matter, just each other's presence, sharing the moment, as their lips were once again reunited as they claimed each other's mouths.
/\ /\ /\
Tom Paris had left B'Elanna on the planet and would see her again in a few days. He had left her promising him that she would relax. She proved her intentions by showing him the Klingon "romance" novel that she intended to read in peace and quiet in a tranquil spot on the colourful planet. She had told him to take care, adding that the little ship's spare parts were difficult to replace. He laughed at her sarcasm and kissed her goodbye, wished her a well deserved break and boarded the Delta Flyer.
Looking back, Kim and Paris had enjoyed leaving the planet almost as much as arriving on it. The Alkarians knew how to treat their guests and supplied them with a feast of juicy organic fruits, home-made breads, pastries and cakes for them to enjoy. That had been expeditiously eaten within the first day of the journey. Even Seven had had some, saying that it was for species and cultural research. Seven's Alkarian friend had also been pleased with the data she sent on the dual stars, and talked at some length with her before the signal moved out of range.
Finally they arrived at the system two days later. They had entered it three hours ago and now Paris was bored and wished that they had saved some of the delicious provisions from forty eight hours ago, replicator food was bland in comparison. During the journey he had staved off the boredom by varying the flight to keep him amused. He had added a 'loop the loop' and a couple of zigzag manoeuvres to the route, much to the displeasure of his companions. Now however it was their turn to work as they continuously scanned and analysed the data collected from the planetoids and moons that they passed.
The system was similar to Earth's Solar system, one Sun, with planets circling around it. The differences were that only five planets orbited its star and there was no evidence of intelligent life. They had followed the energy signature to the system and reduced to an acceptable speed to allow Seven and Kim to collect enough efficient data as they made their way through. They needed to be certain that their presence was not seen as trespassing to whomever, if anyone, that claimed the area.
So far they had discovered some useful elements on the deserted planets and moons that Voyager could harvest and use in and around the ship. They could collect some of the metals to create spare parts or use to make alloys. They were just passing the Sun when they finally found what they were looking for. The fifth planet was just hidden visually by the fiery ball that heated it. It was the source of their energy signature.
"I can confirm that the energy signature is emanating from the planet." Seven announced in her succinct manner.
"Good, I'll plot a course." The pilot said, pleased to have finally reached their goal. "What sort of readings are you getting from it? From what I can see from here the whole planet is green!"
At his statement the other two officers looked up to see the monochrome acid-green planet. "I have not before encountered a planet like this." The ex-Borg said before delving back into the readings on her console. The planet was soon filling the viewscreen as the Flyer grew closer.
"I'm not picking up much. Wait, the sensors are reading; a solid mass, oxygen, nitrogen. I've lost it. That's strange, I can't pick anything up now." Harry Kim added perplexed.
Paris checked his sensors, as did Seven, all of them retrieved the same results. "What happened? You did say that the computer registered oxygen, it is a planet?" Paris asked, his puzzled expression mirrored by his friend.
"It was like reading a ghost, one second it was there the next it was gone!"
"But this ghost we can see is there. Could it be a malfunction?"
"I can detect no malfunction." Seven informed raising an eyebrow as her eyes looked at the planet. "We know that the planet is there as we have visual confirmation. It could be that this planet is surrounded by a substance that our sensors can not detect." Paris then put the ship into orbit around the sphere.
"So if we are saying that this is a planet, could it support life?" Paris asked weighing up the possibilities of them having a landing party on the mysterious planet below.
"Theoretically, I believe so." Seven of Nine interjected. She was to the point and sometimes brutally honest, which Paris liked about her, it also gave her a child-like innocence, but she also wasn't afraid of the consequences of her words. He had made a sort of connection with the outcast Borg when she was first separated from the Collective. She was shunned by most of the crew for what she was and did but Paris knew from personal experience what it was like to have a past that everyone knew about and judged you on. He also knew what it was like to be shunned, alone, an outsider, so he offered Seven his friendship and understanding. Now she was slowly becoming an integral member of the crew and someone he trusted.
"Let's send a hail just to be on the safe side. We don't want to drop in unannounced if anyone is there. Or drop through if there is no planet!" Paris said and watched as Harry prepared it, sent it and nodded with a grin when it was completed. Now it was the waiting game again as they waited for a possible reply.
Suddenly a blinding white light hit the ship. The occupants were thrown from their seats. "What the hell was that?" Paris grunted from the floor. However it wasn't over. As he scrambled to his knees the ship descended into darkness. Not even the consoles gave any light, only a faint green glow was emitted from the planet through the Flyer's windows. As the three crewmembers scrabbled about to find their seats, the ship lurched. Then it fell. "B'Elanna is going to kill me." Paris attempted in humour as they fell headlong towards the ominous planet. He looked at his console there was nothing he could do. The ship was in free-fall.
To be continued…