Betwixt and Between
Part 2
He wasn't sure whether he was grateful or not that they were no longer on Voyager. It had been very difficult, these last several days. Adjusting to his new status as 'Seo' and carrier of 'Yuri' had not been so hard. What bothered him was his constant shadow –his 'Alorem'. He glanced at the silent, watchful figure and returned to his brooding. Why of all people, Tom Paris? Was this a cruel joke cooked up by the spirits to test him, or punish him, or just annoy him? He didn't know why this situation occurred but he knew that there was no getting out of it. It would be a minimum of three more days before 'Yuri' was strong enough to leave him and even then it may not be safe enough for the young energy being to go. Chakotay sighed quietly and Tom glanced back at him before returning his gaze back to the expanse before them.
Chakotay's eyes narrowed. Tom was suddenly very attuned to him. The slightest changes in his mood or comfort seemed to be noticed by the pilot. Sure, Tom had always been able to read him very well (something which still irritated the hell out of the Commander since Tom used that particular ability to annoy him, or he used to) but this was taking it to an extreme that Chakotay was not comfortable with. It had been bad enough walking around the corridors of Voyager with Tom at his side or somewhere nearby. He swore he heard the crew laughing at him once they thought he was out of earshot but he did not dwell on it. He had a duty to do –to keep Yuri safe- and so did Tom. It was plain to see that Paris took his new role as protector very seriously and Chakotay was somewhat grateful that Paris wasn't being an ass about it. No, it seemed that this time around their roles would be reversed. This time Tom was the quiet protector and the one in charge, while Chakotay was the subordinate and protectorate.
He looked at the padd they had taken with the chronometer and noticed that it was nearly 2300 ships time but on this planet the twin suns were only starting to set. They'd been here four standard days. They'd decided to leave Voyager, at least temporarily until this whole situation was settled. There had been numerous attacks on Chakotay by the Relor since this whole incident began and each progressive attack caused more and more damage to both the ship and the crew. Usually the Relor, another species of energy beings, attacked Alorem but it seemed that the Relor where getting used to attacking matter and thus were causing more damage with each incident. The day before they'd departed two crewmen were badly injured during a Relor attack on the ship. To Chakotay's surprise Tom had decided that they had to leave Voyager and even when Chakotay protested the look in the pilot's eyes showed that 'no' was not an acceptable response, and so they'd taken a shuttle and left, leaving only the briefest of messages to the Captain to explain their sudden departure.
The trip to this M-class planet labelled by sensors simply as PLM-56H was the fourth planet in a binary system. It had taken them eighteen hours to get here by shuttle and Tom had masked their ion trail using some Alorem trick or ability such that nobody could follow them. For Chakotay it had been eighteen hours of quiet thought and silent ranting mostly. There was nothing to keep him occupied other than manning a station unnecessarily since Paris seemed to have everything under control and all contingencies worked out. So Chakotay was left to sit back and contemplate the situation. He now reminded himself never to do so much steady thinking at once –he didn't like the conclusions that his brain came up with.
He looked carefully over Tom and though his back was facing the commander, Chakotay was aware of the wounds, bruises and scars that addled Paris's body; marks that without proper medical treatment would soon be permanent. Chakotay, like Tom, felt an awareness of the other man now that he had Yuri but it seemed to be only an awareness of his physical state as though Yuri needed to know the status of her guard at all times. He felt a wave of sadness as he acknowledged that those wounds were obtained while Tom was not only defending he and Yuri, but also Voyager's crew. There was and intense loyalty in Paris that Chakotay had only witnessed previously when Tom interacted with Janeway, Harry and the other few whom Tom considered his close friends. Somewhere within him, Chakotay wished that he belonged to that elite group. Thanks to Yuri he'd been given that gift or curse, at the moment he wasn't sure which.
What he was sure of, was that he couldn't take much more silence. Tom hardly said more than a dozen words a day since this trip began -if he was lucky. On Voyager it hadn't been so bad. There were other distractions and other people to converse with. Tom had actually been more comfortable on Voyager too. The two of them were even able to hold a few civilised and even friendly conversations while they were still on the ship. Now, however, it was different. Where was the vivacious loud mouth that Chakotay had told to shut up on more than one occasion? Suddenly he missed it. Maybe he just missed the normalcy of what he had twelve days ago. That had to be it. There was no way he missed Tom Paris's attitude. A beam of light shone into his eyes making Chakotay squint and draw his hands up.
"Sorry, Seo," Tom said softly and moved his battleth to a different position since the light had bounced off the smooth surface and into Chakotay's eyes. Chakotay only nodded and returned his gaze to the sunsets. Just a few more days –he could handle that. He looked at the vivid bruise on Tom's forearm and hoped that Paris would survive this mission. Suddenly, he had the unsettling thought that if Paris didn't make it they'd be loosing a good man, a thought which a few days ago he was not sure would have had, or at least acknowledged.
Meanwhile on Voyager, efforts continued to locate their two wayward crewmen. It'd been over a week since they'd left the ship and the crew had been searching for them ever since. Sure the message had said not to look for them but they were not going to let Tom and Chakotay face the threat of the Relor alone. They were one crew out here and they'd leave no one to the mercy of someone who chose to be their enemy. Most of the damage from the Relor attacks had been repaired as Lt. Torres had her crews working double time to get the ship running at peak efficiency. Her worry for the two missing men came out as hostility but everybody seemed to understand and did their duties without complaint. The command staff would have ignored any complaints anyway. They were busy with more exigent matters.
Commander Tuvok walked onto the bridge and relieved Lt. Ayala from the Tactical station. "The aft targeting sensor is off by point zero three eight radians and the last security sweep revealed no Relor activity in the area," Ayala informed Tuvok. Who nodded in typical Vulcan fashion.
"Is there any new information regarding Commander Chakotay and Lieutenant Paris?" Tuvok questioned.
"None sir," Ayala responded watching Tuvok carefully for any sign of response. "But we'll find them," he said assuredly.
"That we will," Tuvok agreed and Ayala smiled a small smile.
The shift continued, Captain Janeway eventually making it to the bridge and new search patterns and scanner modifications were tried in an attempt to find their crewmen. When the sensors noted the energy signature of the Alorem there was no longer any sense of surprise in the crew. They'd received a few visits from these beings since the first one. The Alorem had explained in more detail the changes to Chakotay, which were very few and the changes to Paris, which were numerous but as the Alorem repeatedly told them, not as far from the man they know as what they might expect. The Alorem were always aware of other Alorem and somewhat of the dormant Yuri, their location and their state, but they were sketchy on the details, which worried the Captain. She watched the dance of energy as the Alorem materialized and recalled that they'd explained the reason for secrecy in one of their last visits. They didn't want the Relor to pick up on any communications between Tom and the other Alorem so they had limited contact, keeping Yuri safe.
Two large beings appeared on the bridge, all eyes riveted on the process of their travel. They looked directly at the Captain, practically ignoring everybody else. The Alorem were like that sometimes. All of their attention focussed on one thing, one goal –much the way Tom had been before he'd left with the Commander.
"Welcome back," Janeway greeted, standing up. "Any news?"
'They are well, for now,' Nie responded.
'The Relor are preparing to mount a large attack. We feel them fortifying their warriors. They will attack at once and no single Alorem will be able to defend against them all,' Osa said in his usual soft tone.
"They're in danger," Janeway stated. "We need their location so that we can find and help them."
'No. You could not help them before and you cannot now. Your weapons will not hurt them-'
"But Tom used a battleth." Harry blurted out and felt himself go red as they all looked at him.
'True but he equipped the weapon with our energy making it an effective weapon against the Relor.'
"Then maybe we could do the same," Janeway suggested and she watched curiously as the Alorem looked at each other. This had never happened before in all the millennia of their existence. Never had other beings been able to or even offered to assist. Of course those matter-beings had never been chosen to care fore one of their precious charges before either. It seemed like this was the time to start breaking records.
'We thank you for your help and will assist in any way possible to ensure the best results,' Osa replied with a bow.
Chakotay ate another piece of fruit and licked his fingers. God, he was hungry. He didn't know when last he'd eaten. Every once in while Tom would go out and gather some of the local vegetation for them to eat as they had abandoned the shuttle after cutting all power. Tom worried that any energy signature would be enough for the Relor to find them and he was not willing to take any chances.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Chakotay asked picking up his favourite fruit. He noticed it was the last one of its kind. He'd eaten all of them but one and Tom had eaten none. There were still other vegetables but the one he had tasted the best.
"I'll eat later. You have to keep your strength, Seo," Tom said. "Yuri needs you."
Chakotay tried to recall when he's seen Tom eat and found that he couldn't. He knew the man ate. He'd noticed before a decrease in the stockpile of food one time after he had awoken but he didn't think that Tom was getting nearly enough. He held out the last of his favourite fruit to Tom. "Eat it. That's an order lieutenant." Tom just stared at him as though he didn't recognize him. He reached for on of the blander vegetables and began eating that.
Tom turned back to the expanse outside their shelter, which was really nothing more that a wide fissure in the side of an escarpment. "I don't like those ones," Tom informed them. "They're sour."
Chakotay looked at Tom and opened himself to the awareness that he'd been ignoring and suppressing since he'd discovered it. He felt a series of wounds, some new and others, very old. He opened himself more to it, testing the extent of this new ability and began to feel a small fraction of the pain that Tom felt. Abruptly he stopped and stared at the back of Tom's head with wide eyes. Just how badly was Tom hurt? Chakotay had a bad feeling it was worse than he thought. He moved over to the Tom in the confines of their shelter. Tom glanced at him questioningly but since Chakotay was not hurt he did not ask.
"Tom did you bring the med kit?" Chakotay asked.
"Yes."
"Can I see it?" Chakotay asked.
"You're not hurt," Tom stated.
"But you are."
"We can't risk it. The energy signature of the regenerator might alert them to our location."
"But you're hurt."
"I'll live."
Chakotay glared at the stubborn man. "Are you sure?" Tom didn't respond. He wasn't sure and the silence only made Chakotay worry more.
The last day of the eighty cycles had come and gone and Chakotay had started to feel the effects of the being within him. Tom had explained what he knew of Yuri to Chakotay, saying that their energies where not the same, or even close, so there was interference which caused the nausea and disorientation that Chakotay was experiencing. Tom estimated that Yuri would leave him within twenty-four hours. It was now just as uncomfortable for Yuri to be within the Commander as it was for the Commander to have Yuri within him.
Voyager was speeding towards a small planet which they'd been informed held Chakotay and Paris. They had not been given any details about their condition and thus the entire crew waited tensely for any news on the missing men. The modified weapons were almost ready though they were untested and thus their effectiveness was not known. The Alorem had infused four torpedoes with some of their energy. Modifications to the phasers were also made, however, the type of energy that the Alorem had indicated would be harmful to the Relor was beyond the range of the phaser banks and thus the modifications would only work temporarily against the Relor.
"We're in visual range," Ensign Hamilton stated from the helm.
"On screen," the Captain ordered and the viewscreen change from an expanse of stars to planet with a few large bodies of water but mostly desert and a few scattered forests. "Scan the surface for lifesigns."
There were several seconds of silence as Harry did so. "No lifesigns," he announced trying to hide his disappointment.
Janeway walked down to the conn. "Are these the coordinates we were given?"
"Yes Captain," the pilot replied.
"Captain, I've found the shuttle on sensors," said Kim. "All the systems have been shut down."
"Well then they must be down there somewhere-" her words were cut off as the ship went to red alert and warnings sounded.
"Relor!" Harry announced. They'd added a subcommand to the computer that whenever Relor energy signatures were locate in close proximity to Voyager the ship would go to red alert. They'd had too many surprise attacks from these beings.
"Send a broad range signal to the surface. Tell them that were here and so are the Relor. If they have their commbadges they may be able to get it even through the interference cause by the Relor."
Kim nodded and did as she instructed. After a few moments he told them, "there's no response and I'm detecting what may be Relor energy signatures forming on the surface."
"Harry, run continuous scans of the surface. The moment they show up on sensors, I want Tom and Chakotay beamed to sickbay." She didn't wait for him to acknowledge. She turned back to the viewscreen and wondered what the hell was going on down there.
It had started with a tingling feeling moving down his back –a warning. With slow careful movements he raised his battleth to the ready and carefully scanned the area with his eyes for Relor. Chakotay watched Tom's movements and wondered what was going on. Tom turned and his eyes were caught by something behind the commander. He gripped the weapon tightly and it began to glow with a low energy. "Seo, don't move," Tom ordered and slowly approached, crouching in the small shelter. Chakotay's eyes followed his movements and worried. As he contemplated what the problem was and wondered how long it would take for them to get to the shuttle and power it up again, a shadow past before his eyes but before he could react Tom had swung the batleth. His movements had been so quick the only true evidence that Tom had moved at all was the breeze that he felt on his arm and side, and the mass of energy that went white and then disintegrated around him.
"We have to move," Tom said and helped Chakotay out of the cave.
"Where to?" Chakotay asked feeling winded even after such little movement.
Tom looked around. "We have to stay close to the mountains. The denser the mass, the more difficult it is for the Relor to get to us." It made some sense to Chakotay. From what he'd learnt of the Relor and Alorem they were both capable of taking on physical and energy states but they were vulnerable in the physical state. When in their more powerful energy state they move best through a vacuum. In turn, materials were the inter-atomic spacing was larger like gases they could move fairly well but not so much through solids where the spacing was smaller.
They had only begun to walk away from their previous hideout when suddenly Tom grabbed him and pulled them both to the ground. Around them lights began to flash as though something was hitting a forcefield around them. He heard Tom breathing heavily and felt the man's movements on his back. Chakotay turned his head to see the younger man's face and found that it was creased with pain. "Tom," Chakotay breathed.
The eyes flew open and such raw pain and strength was visible in the blue depths of his eyes. Their eyes met and held. This moment was burned into his memory and would be a source of comfort and sorrow for many years to come. The assault on the barrier increased and Tom and Chakotay were bathed in white light. Tom's body tensed and a tingling feeling rushed over him as he strained to continue protecting them.
There was a sudden decrease in the assault and Tom sighed in what Chakotay assumed was relief. When the attacks stopped Tom moaned and slowly rolled off Chakotay. They were both breathing heavily but Tom didn't waste time to catch his breath. He reached for his battleth and visually scanned the area. He rose to a crouch.
A dozen meters away familiar swirls of energy coalesced and approached. Chakotay recognized Osa and Nie but the other one was made up of a much darker energy almost black with dark grey clothing. It glided past Chakotay to Tom who seemed to have trouble breathing. Osa and Nie went Chakotay but the commander noticed that much of Osa's attention was on Tom. Looking behind him Chakotay saw the dark being run some of its energy over Tom's body almost like a scanner. It looked to Osa and a silent message was sent between the two.
"Is he alright?" Chakotay asked. Despite the situation he was still the commanding officer and therefore Tom was his responsibility. Osa didn't respond but if Chakotay was reading the strangely plain but no less handsome features of Osa correctly the news was not good.
Chakotay turned but was kept from moving towards Tom by Nie. A sudden sound nearly caused the Commander to jump out of skin. There had been almost total silence after the attack but then the voice of Kathryn Janeway was heard from Chakotay's commbadge. Tom had set the commbadges to be used only as passive receiving devices so that they could only receive transmissions not send them –nor could the device work as a homing beacon.
The message was unclear due to some unknown interference but Chakotay got the gist of it. Voyager was in orbit looking for them but their lifesigns weren't showing up. Chakotay asked Nie, whose attention he had, "Why can't they find us?"
"Thomas has masked your bio readings. It was a very intelligent thing to do. Most of us would likely have over looked the energy created by physical forms and the Relor would have found you much earlier," Nie responded.
"They're coming back," Tom said softly and rose painfully to his feet. Even the Alorem seemed dismayed by the pool of blood at his feet that had dribble down his side.
"Shit." Chakotay moved to Paris.
"I'll survive," Tom said with tired version of his usual smirk but Chakoay was relieved to see it. He couldn't be hurt that badly if he could still be a smart-ass. He looked to Osa and Nie and spoke to them in a language that Chakotay did not recognize and the translator could not decipher.
Osa responded but seemed mildly surprised that Thomas knew their language. He was becoming rather fond of this young one and hoped that when this was over Thomas would continue to astound him for a long time to come. "Send a message to your ship," Osa ordered to Chakotay who removed his commbadge and set it to send messages. "The Relor will return quickly and the window of opportunity will be small."
"Why?" Chakotay asked as he placed the protective casing back on the device.
"Our energy signatures as well as the Relor's are interfering with your transporters. We will leave so that you may be returned but once we do the Relor will no doubt attack in full force."
Chakotay nodded. He contacted the Captain and gave them a rundown of the situation while Osa spoke to Tom who never took his eyes off Chakotay even for a moment.
"You enjoy his company, child?" Osa asked quietly and like a patronizing elder who already knew the answer.
"Yes, but the circumstances are not quite as pleasant," Tom responded blandly.
Osa smiled. "Sometimes it takes tragedy and hardship to push people together."
"They're ready. The modified weapons are still on stand-by but the Relor energy levels need to be higher before the targeting sensors will work." Chakotay glanced at the dark energy being who radiated warmth and comfort. It seemed to be unable to create a fully physical form unlike Nie and Osa. He'd have to save his questions until later.
"We'll be near. Good luck." Nie nodded and vanished followed by the dark one and then Osa.
Chakotay didn't waste any time and immediately tapped his commbadge. "Chakotay to Voyager, two to beam up." For several seconds they waited and Tom visibly tensed. His eyes darted around seemingly locating and counting numerous enemies. He stepped closer to Chakotay putting himself between Seo and those who would hurt him. "Chakotay to Voyager, what's the problem?"
"…static….transporter band….static…"
"Repeat! What's the problem?" Chakotay yelled. Tom took a step backwards –closer to Chakotay. The message repeated and it sounded like Harry but they couldn't be sure. Apparently there were energy fluctuations in the transporter confinement beam causing a feedback and inhibiting transport.
"Purge the transporter buffer!" Tom ordered. "You've taken a Relor and it can't be rematerialized without modifications to the compensators!"
"A purge will kill it," Chakotay half protested.
"Only if we're lucky. It's them or us, Chakotay."
Chakotay realized that it was the first time since Tom had called him anything other than Seo since this began. He didn't have time to comment on it. From nowhere spikes of energy lanced around them. Tom deflected most with his battleth but as more attacks came he had to again resort to creating a barrier to protect them. The klingon weapon was discarded and Tom resorted to whatever Alorem abilities he had been given to defend them. The attacks were more numerous and more powerful than before. Although the blast did not directly hit them the shockwave that it produced within the confines of the barrier knocked them to their knees –first Chakotay and then Tom.
The size and shape of the barrier changed from second to second. When a blast struck it, it warped and got smaller but given enough time there was a recovery. However the time between the blasts was not sufficient for full recovery and as a result the barrier volume continued to decrease. Chakotay moved to stay within the confines but noticed that Tom didn't and the barrier continued to shrink.
"Paris, move in!" Chakotay yelled but was ignored. "Damn it!" He moved towards Paris but wasn't fast enough. His strength seemed to be leaving him as Yuri became stronger. In the end he could only watch as Tom slipped past the barrier and into the foray of the battle.
The sounds astounded him. He didn't expect it to be so loud out here. It was deafening in its volume and pitch –the low pulses where loud enough to shake the ground but the shrill whine of the air being charged by the energy was high enough to crack crystal. Tom brought his hand to his ears but was careful not to let the barrier drop. More blows rained down on him when the Relor decided to shift their assault to the one creating the barrier rather than the structure itself. It was not the smartest tactical move they could have made.
Without the constant bombardment the structure recovered and increased in size, slowly but surely. Chakotay crawled along with the barrier, cautiously moving forward. If the attack began again he'd have to move back quickly but until then he was going to try and get Paris. The barrier stopped growing just as it reached Tom's back and began being hit by some of the attacks aimed at Tom. Chakotay waited anxiously for the barrier to grow, totally ignoring the bright bursts of light around him. Just one more centimeter and he'd be able to reach him.
Elsewhere but not too far away they watched hoping against all odds that the Voyager crew would be able to get the two men. Their young Alorem was weakening and this assault was too much for him.
'We must help.'
'We can't.' the white one responded. He felt the outrage of his companion touch him and it only served intensify his guilt about the current situation.
Nie's body pulsed and glowed with pent up rage. Rage at the situation, rage at Thomas, but mostly rage at his own inability to help. It was there place to defend Yuri not the humans. Those fragile little beings were not built to resist this sort of attack. They barely had a concept of what was occurring and yet they'd left them to defend themselves against their enemy. 'They are killing him!' Nie hissed.
Osa's pained response quieted the protests of those around him. 'I know.'
He waited and waited know that each second that passed was one more where Tom suffered from wound after wound and one of those may just kill him. A slight ease in the fighting was all he needed and he got it when phaser fire and photon torpedoes crashed down from the sky as though Zeus was angered. Clouds of dust were kicked up by the blast and there were shockwaves of energy from the weapons, which Chakotay surmised came from the modifications the Alorem had made. The blast knocked Chakotay backward onto his rear but the barrier grew several centimetres. The Commander lunged forward and grabbed the back of Tom's shirt which was wet to the touch. He pulled back and Tom was finally in the safety of the barrier with him.
"Spirits, Paris! The next time you do that I'll have your head," Chakotay barked but was more worried than he sounded. His hands were covered in blood and it wasn't his. "Shit," Chakotay cursed as the attacks started to pick up again. "Where are the Alorem?" he asked of Paris.
Tom was attempting to rise but having much difficult doing so. "They can't come," he coughed bringing up some blood. He absently wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Transporters won't work with them here," he said softly.
"Then what do we do?"
Tom looked at him and noted the tension in Seo. He wouldn't fail him/her. He'd get Seo out of this even if he didn't get to go with him. "Sit down and close your eyes," Tom said and moved behind the Commander. Chakotay sat warily but didn't close his eyes. When he felt Tom's arm's wrap around him from behind and the body press into his back he tensed at the nearness but it faded and Chakotay began to relax. For some reason he felt more than safe. He felt…cherished. He revelled in the comfort of it for as long as possible, cataloguing it, memorizing it in case he never felt it again. At least he'd have this to look back on and keep him somewhat warm.
Tom closed his eyes and concentrated. He could do this, he told himself. He had little choice-he would not fail them not this time. He didn't feel the change in his body as all his energy was gathered. Chakotay on the other hand felt a tingling wherever Tom and he were in contact. Chakotay looked down at Tom's arms and saw a faint glow emanating from him.
"Harry, what's going on down there?" Janeway asked looking at the display on the screen. There were faint energy beings flitting across that surface of the planet and a whole lot of what she assumed was weapons fire. There was no sign of Chakotay and Tom.
"I'm detecting a build up Alorem energy from the center of the clash. It's gone!" Harry announced sounding startled and a moment later there was a spectacular burst of light and energy from the planet's surface. A wave of energy spread across the surface of the planet like a ripple, with Tom and Chakotay at its origin.
There was another pulse of energy from the same location only this time the energy shot straight up parting the clouds as it passed and causing a shudder to pass through Voyager. An instant later the display was over and two clear lifesigns were located by sensors surrounded by a few Relor.
"I have them," Kim said.
"Get them up here!" she barked. They were out of the modified weapons and the phasers no longer had much effect on the Relor. They had to get them back in the lull of activity or they may not get another chance.
"I can't get a lock. I'm going to try a sweep transport."
On the surface there was only a low rumble that emanated from the earth as the wave of energy passed over it. Even on the other side of the planet they could still feel its power and just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. Silence was held for several seconds.
"Did it work?" Chakotay asked softly. He looked around and saw nothing but barren landscape and the mountain range. There was no sign of the Relor. He felt the arms around him slacken and the warmth at his back fall away. "Tom!"
Tom felt as though he was watching a vid. He saw the energy destroy many of the Relor and push many of them back into their realm. He watched as his body fell to the ground watery blue eyes staring sightlessly up ward. He watched Chakotay move frantically to him and touch him. He felt the touch on his face and the worry of his Seo and knew that if he was going to die it wasn't going to be now.
"Tom, look at me!" Chakotay yelled. He held his breath as he waited for a response. He touched the side of Tom's pale face and was dismayed at the cool and clammy feel. "Tom, look at me!" The eyes snapped to his and Chakotay smiled in relief at the recognition he saw there. He didn't notice at first when the setting changed.
He looked around noting the shuttles and the large bay doors of the vast room –the shuttle bay. He felt Tom stir. He was trying to sit up and Chakotay moved to help him. He felt infinitely better being back on Voyager but still worried that the crew would be in danger. He had just helped Tom into a sitting position when he felt the first flare of pain within him. He froze.
Tom looked quickly to him having felt the change. He briefly saw a wave of familiar energy. "Yuri," he whispered. Tom looked around and saw the Relor energy forms coming. Yuri's signature was far more noticeable than his or Seo's especially now that Yuri was no longer dormant. "You have to go," Tom said to Yuri. He looked at Chakotay's face that was twisted in a grimace of pain and wished he could take that pain away. "I'll protect you, both of you, always." A pause. "Please, you're hurting him," Tom whispered, the pain and fatigue making his voice hoarse.
The doors to the shuttle bay opened and Captain Janeway and full security team entered. They noted the masses of energy forming and gestured for the officers to take aim but not fire, not yet. They were left to watch from a distance the removal of Yuri from Chakotay. The being seemed to pour out from him into the air and coalesce into the form they had first encountered those many days ago. Chakotay hunched over and held his sides as Yuri left him.
"Osa," Tom called softly knowing that he'd come and take Yuri to safety. He had to get Yuri out of here before the Relor were able to attack her. A portal opened and after flying once around Tom and Chakotay as though thanking them, she left through the opening into the safe haven of her realm.
The officers witnessing the event expected the Relor to fade away when their target left but they were not so fortunate. They continued to develop and once there were fully formed they attacked Tom and the Commander.
"Fire at will!" Janeway ordered and raised her own weapon. The beings decreased in number but it took some work as phasers had little effect on them. They just had to weaken them enough so that they realised it was not such a good idea to stay and try to enact their vengeance. Soon it was quiet again. Cautiously they rose from their positions and moved closer to Paris and Chakotay. Tuvok ordered a few of the officers to secure the premises.
Janeway smiled as she approached them but it faltered and fell when she got a good look at them. Chakotay looked tired but other wise fine, Tom however was another matter. His uniform was tattered and burned. Rivulets of blood ran down his hands and dropped to the metal floor. What was left of his grey shirt was stained a deep red by his blood. His eyes had lost their sparkle; they were haunted and glassy. She didn't hesitate to tap her commbadge and call for an emergency medical beam out as soon as possible. With the residual Relor and Alorem energy it may take some time and she was unsure if Tom had any to spare.
"Why are we in the suttlebay?" Chakotay rasped in a voice that sounded dry and unused. He stepped from around Paris to look at his Captain. His hand still rubbed at his midsection.
"The energy caught in the transport couldn't be safely contained anywhere but here," she explained shortly. She could get into the details later.
Without warning Tom took a step forward and to his left, just in front of Chakotay. The watched curiously and with a fair amount of worry as Tom reached out to touch something that they could not see. It was eerily reminiscent of what Chakotay had done on the bridge when Yuri had first appeared to them. Just before he touched it something startled him and he stepped backward. He gestured for everyone to back away. They did so. Tom raised both his hands, palms facing outward. There was a clash of two different energies and the other being became visible. The security officers quickly fired at it but there was of no consequence the modifications were no longer effective against the Relor.
Janeway barked orders and Tuvok recalibrated his phaser with no effect. Their eyes caught the outline of something that looked like a blade or spear within the Relor energy being but didn't have time to utter a warning before the weapon shot out. Thankfully it was deflected by Tom's barrier and the being retreated to its own realm.
Tom turned around to ask Chakotay if he was all right. The wide-eyed startled look on Chakotay's face confused him briefly until his connection to Seo allowed him to understand. He turned half way around and raised his hand hoping to defend them from the sudden assault. A large Relor had quickly formed and so had its deadly blade. Its intent was clear –kill Seo. With lightening speed the spike race forward and after only a momentary pause, it passed through Tom' barrier. The Relor weapon had, for a moment, a physical presence –allowing it interact with matter –passing through the air, Tom's clothing and into the flesh at his side. He gasped and would have collapse but the weapon held his weight. Tom felt it moving through him. It would get through him and then it would kill Chakotay. He wouldn't allow that to happen. He did what he'd done many times before but this time with new desperation. He was weaker now than he had been before and he wasn't sure if he had enough energy to kill this one.
He placed his hand on the weapon that protruded from his body and concentrated. 'Osa, help me. Please…'. Tom could swear he saw a hand over his own just before the Relor began to revert to millions of tiny particles. It vanished nearly instantaneously and Tom staggered.
Before the others could reach them Chakotay had Tom in his arms, supporting the man as his strength gave out. Chakotay collapsed to his knees still holding him. The pilot's head was on his shoulder. He felt the faltering breaths leave Tom's body. "Get him to sickbay!" Chakotay yelled not taking his eyes of the blonde head next to his.
Tuvok did as Chakotay instructed and contacted the transporter room but it would not be enough. Before their very eyes Tom began to disintegrate just as had happened to the Relor a moment ago. "Tom, hang on!" Janeway said moving to his side and laying a hand on his shaking shoulder. His face was tight with pain. He mouthed something softly. Only Chakotay's ear was close enough to hear him.
"No, no, no! You're going to be fine," Chakotay told him in a shaking voice. "You're going to be fine." He sounded as though he was trying to convince himself and still Tom repeated the same thing over and over again. His chest began to convert to energy and vanish. The tingling feeling passed under Chakotay's hands and he held on tighter as though his strength could hold Tom together long enough for them to get help. Where were the Alorem? Why weren't they here?
The process continued, moving up his neck to his head and even his hair until in a fading glow of light the particles disappeared. His weight vanished as the last particle began to fade. Chakotay's arms which only a moment ago had been holding a solid person collapsed to his own chest as the other man vanished. He held them there with his eyes close for many moments unwilling to acknowledge the truth. When he finally opened his eyes there was nothing. His arms were empty –the weight and the warmth were gone. Staring at the empty space he rocked back to his haunches screaming silently to himself that he had to do something. His breathing rate increased until it was nearly painful. Closing his shaking hands into fists he bowed his head and did nothing to hide the tears that slipped from his eyes.
It was over. They'd fought and they'd lost. They'd lost Tom and Chakotay felt something in his heart go as well.
He could still feel Tom whisper in his ear. "I'm sorry. I failed. I'm sorry….
End Part 2
Sagga Bott…