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.
Pairing codes: Mostly P, 7, Kim and crew.
Exploratory.
By
Serena Aris.
Chapter 8.
Finally leaving the labyrinth of corridors Paris was seated in the middle of a cylindrical room. On a table as bland and as sterile as the rest of the room lay his combadge and hyper-spanner. A hiss drew him back to the door that he had just entered moments ago. He felt the presence of his two flanking guards as they pressed the nose of their weapons into his back. The alien strolled in with an air of confidence and authority. He looked similar to the two that stood behind him but with subtle differences. It seemed this race had few physical differences and variation that he could see apart from the horns. The official looking alien had a full set of horns with symbols carved into them, where the other two's were plain. Paris immediately thought of them as some sort of rank insignia, he wondered what happened if they ever got demoted.
The newcomer sat across from the human and spoke in its native language. Then it paused when Paris looked confused. "I'm sorry but I don't understand what you're saying." The newcomer/interviewer looked behind him and spoke to the wall. Paris thought that there might be some sort of observation room hidden behind it. It continued with it's conversation with the voice behind the wall then suddenly Paris could understand them.
"...We are sorry Commander we are attempting to decipher the language but it will take some time." Came the voice over some sort of speaker system.
"Try to speed it up." Ordered the Commander who Paris assumed was a male through the deep voice. Paris was contemplating on whether or not to tell them that he could understand them or to continue pretending ignorance. That took a minute - his curiosity won out over being uncooperative and hoped that it would speed up the process of letting him go. And besides he was also bored.
"Hello, Commander is it? My name is Tom Paris." That instantly made him centre of attention.
"How? Our translators are not yet functioning." The Commander was perplexed as far as Tom could tell.
"I think I can answer that Commander...?"
"Base Commander Hamirtan." At least Paris knew that he was on some sort of base, most likely still on the planet he'd crash-landed on. There had been no indication of any type of space-faring vehicle on the way to the planet. Unless they were more technically advanced and left nothing like an ion trail behind to follow? Thought Tom.
"Well Commander Hamirtan that object there..." As he pointed to his combadge his two guards pounced fearing that he was reaching for the spanner to use as a weapon. Paris flinched but luckily for him the Commander had stopped them with a raised hand. "The object is a badge used for translating." Paris would tell them this but forget the fact that it could communicate to Voyager when it arrived.
"Remarkable." He said as he held the gold insignia in his scaly hand. "Our translators take up a whole room." That answered the more technically advanced question.
"I was trying to use it to speak to the group that attacked me. But as you can see it takes a while to work, evidently longer than they were willing to listen."
"My men believed that you were reaching for a weapon." He said defensively.
"I can understand that, I'd probably stun them and ask questions later too." I just wish the stun part hadn't hurt so much, thought Tom. Aloud he said, "so it was all a misunderstanding. You misunderstood me and I misunderstood you, so if that's all I'd like to go back to my ship." He began to rise from his seat.
Heavy hands clamped onto his shoulders and pushed him back down. "Yes, yes all in good time." Said the Commander in a friendly tone that still managed to leave Paris with an unsettling feeling in his stomach. "Once you have answered all of my questions."
"Ok," blew out Paris.
"Why did you come to the planet Voklas?"
"I was curious. I've never seen a planet surrounded by...whatever it is that's coating it." Paris said making sure he made no reference to the rest of the away team, until he knew what the Commander's intentions were. "I guess it didn't agree with my ship and caused it to crash."
"Are you certain it was the surrounding - mass that caused your ship to malfunction?"
"Most likely. I would have to repair my sensors to get a more conclusive answer."
"Was it in the crash that you received your first injury?" Tom looked at him perplexed before the Commander pointed to his head and the trickle of blood that still remained.
"Oh that, yeah. I healed it with my medikit."
"Does all of your species have advanced healing technology?"
"I wouldn't know I'm a long way from home." He said trying to give out as little information as possible while appearing to answer the questions.
"How far away?"
"Try far, the other side of the galaxy. Heard of the planet Earth?" He wondered if he'd take his answer as fact. Hamirtan didn't seem to react at all only ask another question.
"Tell me the specifications of your ship and how I could reproduce your technology."
"It'll be no use to you anyway. Your atmosphere damaged my ship remember." The Commander repeated the question again with impatience lacing his voice. "I can't answer that." That was the sort of question he wouldn't answer or even compromise a half-truth on.
"Can't or won't?" Base Commander Hamirtan leaned in close as he said it. "I'm thinking its won't."
"A bit of both actually." One of the guards struck him on the shoulder with the butt of his weapon. "I'm not exactly regarded as a technician or engineer among my people." He said through clenched teeth.
"I'm also thinking that although you are technically advanced I don't think that your small ship could have survived your long journey alone. That is if you're telling the truth about what we've been talking about." He studied Paris for any indication that he had been correct. However Paris was keeping his features as neutral as possible, his carefree mask slipping on with practised ease as he refused to answer. "You have nothing to say?"
"Only that I came in peace. I don't mean harm to anyone," he said sincerely. The Base Commander made a gruff sound that Tom interpreted as laughter.
"A great many invaders have come in the guise of peace. If you will not answer my questions we have other ways to get the answers I seek." The horned alien produced a file that contained images and scans of Paris - a medical file. "We plan to become very familiar with your species."
Tom understood the underlying threat and suppressed a shudder. "Take him back, let him get settled in his new home." At that he was roughly hauled from his seat and launched out of the room, smashing into the opposite wall of the corridor. A preview of what was to come...
(-/-)
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