Phase Shift By T’Pam   Standard disclaimer: All of Voyager and its crew, Star Trek and all it’s incarnations - probably space itself - belongs to Paramount. No copyright infringement is intended. No money will be made from this story. It is just for fun.   Part Two "Report!" Captain Janeway barked. "Captain," Chakotay shrugged his shoulders. "B’Elanna and Harry are still trying to come up with some answers. I don’t know how to explain it. One minute he was here and then he disappeared." "Was it a transport of some kind?" The Commander shook his head. "Not as far as we can tell. There was no beam and there’s no transporter signature of any kind. He really seemed to just vanish." "I can’t accept that, Chakotay. People don’t just disappear. It must have been some sort of transporter, but a lot more advanced than we are. We have to find him, and soon. The Doctor is really worried, and I think that speaks for itself." "Yes," Chakotay agreed. "B’Elanna’s frantic and Harry’s not much better. I was going to send them back up to the ship, but they’re the best hope we’ve got of finding out what happened." The Captain shook her head. "They probably would have disobeyed you anyway. They won’t rest until we’ve got Tom back. Is there any evidence of temporal displacement, alternate dimensions, or alien interference of any kind?" Chakotay sighed. "Nothing like that. Tuvok’s run sweep after sweep and come up with nothing. B’Elanna’s got practically the whole of engineering down here, running diagnostics but so far everything’s checked out. The only clue we have is that Tom’s life signs were fluctuating according to the tricorder, although we can’t work out why. Harry’s still investigating all the readings the Doctor did." "Captain," Harry was hurrying towards her. "I’ve found something. The medical tricorder that the Doc was using to scan Tom wasn’t malfunctioning. Tom was causing it, due to some sort of phase variance that he was creating." "How is that possible?" Chakotay was stunned. "I don’t know Commander. It’s almost as if he shifted out of phase with us, but I don’t know how or why." "Out of phase with us?" Harry nodded. "It’s happened before, but there’s no real explanation for it. I remember quite a few years ago now, reading about some sort of disaster on a planet, and when the rescue teams arrived they thought there were no survivors. Only there was, but they couldn’t see them because they were .00000001 of a second or something, in front of them in time. It was like a whole different reality." "Are you saying that Tom could be lying here right now, just as we left him, only we can’t see him?" "Yes sir, only who knows if he’s lying on the beach? How do we know what this planet is like where he is?" Harry’s voice shook. "Where we’re standing could be covered with water. Everything could be entirely different." The Captain put her hand on his shoulder. "Let’s not borrow any more trouble than we have already Harry. Get B’Elanna over here and see if you can find the right variance." Harry took a deep breath. "Yes Captain. That could be almost impossible though, as there are an infinite number of possibilities." Janeway sighed unhappily. "Maybe B’Elanna can come up with something." However, B’Elanna could only agree with Harry. "I’ve got the computer working on it, but it could take days, even weeks." She slumped over dejectedly. "May I remind you all, that Tom doesn’t have days - and certainly not weeks," the Doctor said curtly. "He has, at the most, two hours before he will most certainly die." "What are we supposed to do?" B’Elanna turned on him angrily. She was shouting now, in front of the Captain too, but didn’t care. "You should have operated on him straight away, at least then he would have had a chance." "B’Elanna, you’re talking as if his fate is already sealed," Chakotay chided softly, putting his arm around her. "None of us are giving up on him yet." "Neither am I," B’Elanna snarled, pushing him away from her. "I’ll find a way to quicken the computer search. Just leave me alone." She marched off, adjusting her tricorder as she went. Harry hurried after her. "I’ll give you a hand. I’ve got a few ideas." "Carry on," Janeway said softly, as Chakotay squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   Mallee paced up and down outside their home, nervously. "Do you think Father can save it?" Quilla asked. She was perched on the stone fence watching her sister. "I’m not sure Quilla, but I know he’ll do the best that he can." "Then he will," Quilla said triumphantly. "Father’s the best animal doctor in the whole world." Mallee smiled. "I’m not sure that it is an animal, Quilla. You heard what Father guessed. It’s probably some sort of genetic mutation from the mountain people. I don’t think he’ll let you keep it, we’ll have to take it back." "That’s not fair. They left it to die Mallee. So they didn’t want it and I do. Father said I could have anything I wanted for my birthday." Mallee sighed patiently. "I suppose you’ve picked out a name already?" The little girl shook her head. "Not yet. I want to wait and see if it’s a boy or girl. I think it’s a boy, even though it doesn’t have any scales on its neck and has hair on its head, don’t you?" "Hmm," Mallee said thoughtfully. "You’re probably right. It has smooth skin like a girl and five fingers on its hand instead of three, but it doesn’t have any ridges like us. It also has hair on its chest and no girls have hair growing there." "Animals have though," Quilla said triumphantly. Mallee laughed. "Have it your own way." Their father appeared shortly afterwards, a worried frown on his face. "I have done all I can," he told his daughters. "The creatures insides were full of poison. I have given him an antitoxin but was not sure of the appropriate dosage. We’ll just have to wait and see if it was enough." "Is it a boy then?" Quilla asked excitedly. "Yes," her father answered. "Although unlike any male creature I have ever seen. He seems to be fully grown, which is amazing enough, but he only has one heart. All of his internal organs are in strange places and quite frankly, I’m not sure what all of them are for. One of them was completely rotten and that is what was poisoning the rest of him. I have taken it out, as I couldn’t find any useful purpose for it. I just hope I have done the right thing." "Thank you Father. Can I help to nurse him?" Mallee asked eagerly. "I don’t see why not. You have a very gentle bedside manner." "I want to help too!" "Not right now Quilla, maybe later," her father told her. "But I want to keep him for my very own. It’s my birthday, and you said I could pick anything." "He will have to be tested first. To see if he is dangerous,’ her father warned her. "I do not believe that he is, but we have to make sure that he is domesticated. However, I do not think it is a good idea for you to have any more pets’ young lady. You were very cruel to that Teeka bird you had, and also the Binda cat." "Oh, but they were so naughty all the time. They wouldn’t do what they were told. And I didn’t mean to be cruel Father." "You pulled the Teeka bird’s head off, Quilla!" Mallee scolded. "And that poor cat!" she shuddered. "I’m just glad that Father found a home for her, before you killed her too." "But, she scratched me." "Only because you were pulling her tail all the time." "She kept trying to run away. I had to stop her." "That’s because you were always being mean to her." "Enough girls," their father scolded. "Quilla, Mallee is right. Until you are older and can understand how to treat animals better, you will have no more pets." He held up his hand as Quilla let out a shriek. "That doesn’t mean that you can’t help your sister look after this one. But you must be gentle and caring. The problem is, that you don’t know your own strength." He turned to his eldest daughter. "And Mallee, you must be patient with your little sister. She is only four rotations of the sun. I seem to remember some terribly cruel doings of yours, when you were that age." Mallee nodded her head, a little embarrassed. "What are we going to do with him, when he gets better then Father? Should we return him to the mountains?" Her father shook his head. "Somebody obviously couldn’t be bothered with the poor thing and so they abandoned him. It was a very cruel thing to do. I think we should keep him, at least for now. He will have a good home with us and will be good company for you both. But remember Quilla, he is not yours to do with as you want." "Yes sir. I’ll be gentle this time. I promise." Mallee still looked anxious. "I was just a little worried that he might not want to stay when he’s all better, that’s all." "I’ll tie him up then," Quilla said determinedly. "I’ll make him stay with us, you just watch." "Quilla!" her father said sharply. "What have we just been saying? I wouldn’t worry about that anyway girls. Most animals, if you show them kindness, will want to stay. We will be offering it a far better home than what it must have had with the mountain people."   "So, you think he really is an animal then, do you Father?" "No, not really, but it sounds better than calling him a genetic mutant all the time Mallee. I do not believe that he can talk as you claim to have heard, not a proper conversation anyway. I do not miscount the possibility of him being able to mimic though. I will have quite a few tests to run, when he’s better."   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   "Damn it!!" B’Elanna yelled, banging her fist on the table. "It’s impossible!" "B’Elanna, calm down. This isn’t helping." "Nothing is helping Chakotay! You heard what the Doctor said. It’s been two hours. You know what’s probably happening right now." She choked, unable to continue. They had all gathered in the briefing room back on Voyager to discuss their progress, - or lack of it. The Captain’s face was pinched and drawn. "We’re not giving up. We’ll keep on trying. Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way. What made Tom phase shift anyway? Has anyone been able to determine a reason?" "No Captain." Harry ran his hands through his hair. "There’s a slight variance in the atmosphere of the planet that our scans didn’t pick up at first, but it shouldn’t effect anything or anyone. It’s so minute that I just can’t see how that could be a contributing factor." "Minute or not Ensign, it is logical to pursue this line of enquiry. Since Mr. Paris has definitely phase shifted and the atmosphere has, however small, a phase variance -----," "Tuvok’s right," the Captain interrupted. "This is too much of a coincidence." "I know," Harry said dejectedly. "I’ve tried everything I can think of. I’m sorry, but I just don’t know what to do next. Even if the atmosphere is to blame somehow, I can’t work out how or why. And more importantly - why only Tom? I mean, we were all down there. We were all standing, right with him. Why didn’t we all disappear?" The Captain sighed heavily. "Anybody got any ideas?" The Doctor said hesitantly. "I’m not sure what this means, but I have gone over Mr. Paris’s tricorder readings again and there was a strange substance in his system that he seems to have digested." "He ate the same as the rest of us Doc," Harry said. "Neelix’s picnic basket. Although he did eat a lot more than the rest of us." And that was my fault because of the stupid joke I played on him regarding his weight. If it weren’t for me Neelix would never have insisted on fattening him up, he thought guiltily. Neelix sat up startled. "Oh my! This is all my fault." He started to hyperventilate at the thought. "Neelix, calm down," Janeway held up her hand. "If this is anyone’s fault it is mine. I noticed how ill he was looking and instead of insisting he come back up to the ship, I left him down there. So don’t blame yourself." "You should take your own advice, Captain," the Doctor said sadly. "Mr. Paris should have known enough by now, to come up himself." "Don’t start that again," B’Elanna growled. "I am merely pointing out that the Captain should not blame herself. She is not a trained medical assistant," the Doctor said snippily. "May I suggest that I take a few readings of all the people that ate from Mr. Neelix’s picnic basket." A few minutes later the Doctor was able to confirm that no one else was registering the strange substance. "Maybe Tom’s readings are wrong, due to all those fluctuations, Doc," Harry suggested. The Doctor shook his head. "No, that’s not it. I am quite certain that Tom ate something the rest of you did not. That combined with his high temperature and the strange readings in the atmosphere are most likely what caused this, but I’m afraid I don’t know how." Neelix suddenly jumped up. "Tom did eat something that no-one else did. I just remembered. He ate everything on his plate including the plate." B’Elanna jumped up to face him. "P’tahk! This is no time to joke." Chakotay grabbed her and pushed her back into her chair. "Explain!" Seven of Nine demanded her brow arched up slightly. Neelix flushed. "I used some of the leaves that were down on the planet to eat off of instead of plates. Tom had forgotten to bring them you see. They were his responsibility, but he was in such a hurry he forgot. I didn’t want to see he and B’Elanna get into another argument so I came up with the idea of using some of the leaves instead. There were these huge purple ones that were really quite lovely and I made sure they weren’t poisonous or harmful in any way. The tricorder said that they had no nutritional value whatsoever." He shrugged. "I know all that," B’Elanna said impatiently. "But I can assure you that Tom didn’t eat one. I would have noticed, that’s for sure." "Yes, he did," the Talaxian argued. "He was using the - um - bathroom facilities when I was explaining about the leaves and didn’t hear me. When he came back, I handed him a ‘plate of delicacies’ and he rolled it all together and took at least three big bites before I noticed. We were all looking at poor Ensign Turner at the time. If you’ll remember, his swimming trunks had----" "Oh yes, - of course" the Captain interrupted. How could anyone forget? What a sight!!! "It seems we missed out on something, Seven," Chakotay couldn’t help smiling despite the serious situation and his worry over Tom. "Indeed!" Seven answered dryly. "Yes, well, anyway," Neelix continued. "As I turned back towards Tom I saw what he was eating and told him about the leaves. You were all still talking about poor Ensign Turner and probably didn’t notice. Tom said he thought that it was an open sandwich, whatever that is, and the leaf improved the taste, so he ate it all. I didn’t see any harm in it as the leaves had checked out." "Why didn’t you say something before?" B’Elanna snapped at him. "I didn’t realize-----. I mean, this is the first time the Doctor has mentioned anything about something Tom ate being one of the reasons---." "Well, we don’t know that for sure," the Captain interrupted. "But it’s certainly a place to start. Neelix, get some of these leaves beamed up straight away for the Doctor to examine. Harry, B’Elanna, keep on working on the variance calculations. Seven, perhaps you could give them a hand?" "Of course!" the former Borg consented. "So, it is agreed that we are working on the Doctor’s assumption that Ensign Paris phase shifted to another reality, due to atmospheric and certain physical conditions of his?" "For now. It’s the only lead we have." "Unfortunately, there are certain matters that need to be clarified," Tuvok felt he had to say. "All of it needs to be explained Tuvok. We just don’t have the answers." "No Captain, that is not what I meant. Doctor, if your hypothesis is correct, as soon as you administered the medication to Mr. Paris, to decrease his body temperature, he should have come back fully to us, as you would have taken one of the factors out of the equation. I also do not understand why his body was not fluctuating the same as his readings." "Tuvok’s right," Harry agreed. "We were all with Tom, and his body was there the whole time. It should have been disappearing on and off." "Well, I didn’t say I had all the answers," the Doctor said huffily. "The only thing I can assume is that he was existing in both places at once. And as for why he didn’t come back to us. Do you remember how Mr. Paris kept on insisting that there was another girl with us?" "He was delusional," B’Elanna put in. The Doctor shook his head. "I don’t think so. Remember that I told you at the time he shouldn’t have been. I believe that she was in the other reality, in contact with him in some way. Thus, his comment about her touching him. As long as she had hold of him in some way, it would have been enough to keep him there, as well as here." "Okay Doc, I follow you so far, but why did he suddenly disappear into her reality?" Harry asked. "We were holding onto him here too. I had his shoulders and the Commander had his legs, if you recall." "I am not sure," the Doctor admitted, as B’Elanna growled in frustration. "Somehow, she managed to pull him across the barrier between our two worlds." "Perhaps the girl had help," Harry quickly put in. "Remember what Tom said just before he disappeared? We thought he was hallucinating at the time." "He gasped out ‘giants’. Wouldn’t that mean there were more?" B’Elanna said eagerly. The Doctor nodded. "I have no idea how they managed to do it though." "Which means," Harry said miserably, "we still can’t get him back." "At least we now have a sound hypothesis of what happened," the captain said heartily. "But we’ve run out of time," B’Elanna reminded her angrily. "I would like to believe that these people have helped Tom, B’Elanna. Surely, they have doctors too," the Captain said reassuringly. She looked her straight in the eye with conviction. "Until it is proven otherwise that is what we will all believe. That is an order everyone." "Yes Captain," everyone chorused. "Now, everyone, back to work. Keep each other informed at all times. I’ll help the Doctor." "Captain," Tuvok spoke up. "May I just remind everyone, that this is all merely conjecture at this point? There is no corroborating evidence to support this theory at the present time." "No, you may not Commander," everyone chorused again.   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   Tom slowly came back to consciousness. Something cool was pressed against his forehead. He could hear soft, cooing noises. Thank gods; the pain’s gone he thought to himself. Everything was fuzzy as he looked around. This didn’t look like sickbay, though it was hard to tell. "B’Elanna?" he ventured. "Shh! Shh!" a voice said. It then continued in a babble of strange whistles and chirpings that Tom couldn’t understand. He struggled to sit up and clear his head. "Ow!" He felt like his stomach was going to explode. Gods, the pain’s still here. Why isn’t somebody helping me? The voice continued to babble at him and then he was pushed back down again. The pain subsided and he drifted back into an anxious sleep.   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   "I would like to volunteer my services," Seven of Nine announced to the group around the conference table. "It seems to be the logical conclusion." "How so?" The Captain wasn’t the only one with a look of astonishment on her face. Even Tuvok’s eyebrow was raised at an alarming level. "My Borg implant," Seven answered, as if that explained everything. The blank looks she was receiving in return caused her to sigh inwardly. "To be more precise, the implant around my eye could be altered to the precise phase variance that we need. I would then be able to see Ensign Paris myself and bring him back." "Well, if it comes to that, my mobile emitter could be altered so that I can be the one to go. Actually, it would make more sense if I went so that I can give medical treatment straight away as we are still not sure how to bring him back." "You’re emitter is fragile and if it were damaged you would be lost. My idea is superior." "Really!" the doctor said icily. "I beg to differ---." The Captain cleared her throat. "Harry, B’Elanna - have you found the correct variance?" At Harry’s shake of the head she said, "I didn’t think so. Until we do, it would be rather pointless sending either of you anywhere. However, thank you for the offer, I’ll keep it in mind." "It would have been a lot easier if Tom had been wearing his commbadge," Harry said morosely. "As it is we’ve got nothing to lock on. All we can do is look for human lifesigns. It’s a real needle in a haystack." B’Elanna sat back dejectedly. It’s too late!! Too late!!! kept running through her mind. "I believe that our next course of action should be, to re-create the exact circumstances of Mr. Paris’s disappearance," Tuvok suggested. "I don’t want to lose anybody else," Janeway said quickly. "If you monitor my vital signs closely, we should be able to ascertain the correct variance." "You, Tuvok?" "Yes Commander. I am the logical choice." "Hmph!" the Doctor snorted. "That was Seven’s argument. I can assure you Commander that there is a lot more to it than just eating a purple leaf and falling asleep on the beach." "I am aware of that. However, I have the ability to regulate my body temperature to a given degree. I am also able to control my sleep. I am confident that I can stop myself from crossing over, but will still be able to see what is happening around me. I should be able to confirm if Mr. Paris is still there at least." "Captain, if Tuvok can get to the same phase variance as Tom, B’Elanna and I should be able to rig up some sort of device for an away team to wear as an armband or something, to go to the same variance to bring him back." Harry was starting to feel enthusiastic about the idea. "Are you sure about this Tuvok?" "Yes Captain. I would not have suggested it otherwise." "Well what are we waiting for?" Harry jumped up eagerly. "The sun will be rising down on the planet in approximately two point four hours. I suggest we have everything ready by then." Seven said efficiently. "Let’s go," Janeway led them all out. Harry turned around as he realized that B’Elanna was still sitting in her chair. "Hey," he said softly. "Aren’t you coming?" "It’s been twelve hours Harry. It’s too late. We’re too late." Tears were pooling in her eyes. Harry knelt down beside her. "Do you want me to report you to the Captain for refusing to obey a direct order?" he teased quietly. "The Captain ordered us to believe that there were people on that planet who would help Tom. You have to believe that. I do." B’Elanna took a deep breath. "You’re right. Sorry! My human side took over there for a little while. Come-on. This is going to work, I just know it." Chakotay, who had been standing in the doorway, sighed heavily. If this idea of Tuvok’s didn’t work, he had one of his own. It might not bring Tom back, but at least it would put a few minds at rest.   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   "Captain, I would like to volunteer my services." Ensign Vorik stepped forward to greet the Captain as she entered the transporter room. "Seven, he’s stealing your lines," the Doctor whispered in a loud aside. She, in turn, raised her eyebrow in an excellent imitation of Tuvok. The Doctor was going to continue, but noticed the Captain was giving him ‘the look’. She turned her attention back to the Vulcan. "How so?" she asked, feeling like she was stuck in some sort of time loop. "Commander Tuvok has been explaining his intent. I believe it would be desirable for me to accompany you. Although my mental discipline is not as advanced as the Commanders it would be beneficial to have somebody there that can understand exactly what he is trying to accomplish. Just in case a difficulty arises, of course." "Of course," the Captain echoed. She felt herself smiling. This was the sixth person to stop her to offer assistance, discounting the senior staff. There had been many more offers relayed via Chakotay. Chakotay himself had come to her with the idea of trying to reach Tom through The Spirit World. Although he wouldn’t be able to bring him back, he may be able to see if he was all right. It was heartwarming. Tom was obviously very popular. Most of the crew had sat up through the night ‘brainstorming’. If only Tom could see it. "Thank you Ensign." She cleared her throat. "Are you ready Tuvok?" The Commander nodded, his gaze fixed firmly on the ‘open sandwich’ Neelix was holding. "The Commander is down on the surface helping Lieutenant Torres and Ensign Kim set up." "Good, we’d better join them then."   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   "Taste is irrelevant!" "Indeed!" "Come on Commander, it can’t be that bad." "You are mistaken Ensign. It can be. I am finding it extremely difficult to digest." "Oh dear! Oh dear! Tom said it was delicious." "It appears that Ensign Paris has abnormal taste buds, even for a Human." "Commander, enough! I am extremely disappointed in your rather recalcitrant behavior." "Indeed!" "Indeed," Seven repeated. "Taste is irrelevant. This must be done." "I am Vulcan. I can do this." "Then do it." As far as she was concerned that was the end of the matter. Harry shuddered. How had Tom managed to eat that ‘Thing’? "These foods really are quite delicious eaten separately," Neelix was saying. "Of course, they are not meant to be eaten together like this. And I can only imagine what the leaf is doing to the taste." "Ensign Paris digested this and so Commander Tuvok must do the same. We are trying to duplicate the exact circumstances of the incident." "Does that mean that Tuvok will have to eat all the other junk that Tom stuffed in?" "Junk???" Neelix was offended. He glared at Harry. "We do not believe that will be necessary." Seven walked over to where the Captain was standing with B’Elanna and Chakotay. "We are ready." Tuvok sat down in the sand next to the place Tom had last been seen. He closed his eyes and concentrated. It wasn’t long before he was in a trance, regulating his body temperature to the required 103.2 degrees. Ensign Vorik sat down across from him and closed his eyes as well.   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   "How’s he doing?" Mallee asked her father. "Much better. His temperature has come down, although, of course I don’t know what it should be normally. I think he’s got rid of all the toxins from his body now. If you’ll take over, I’ve got some paying customers to attend to," he smiled. "You should rest, Father. You’ve been up all night with him." "I’ve done it before Mallee, and I’ll probably have to do it again. I’ll be fine." "Has he said anything?" "No. Just a few strange animal sounds, that’s all." "Oh!" Mallee was disappointed. "When I was looking after him before, he kept on making this strange noise - sort of like," she hesitated. "Blannneee - I thought it might mean something." Her father patted her arm. "Don’t get your hopes up my love. I know that you would like to prove your theory of us not being the only people, but I don’t think you’ll be able to with this one." "I just wish that you, at least, would take me seriously Father. It’s impossible to believe that we are the only sentient creatures anywhere." "And if there are others, where do they live? This whole world has been explored - many, many times. It is a proven fact that there are only the mountain people and us. Your ideas about people living in the stars are wonderful stories, but not very believable." "Others believe it, besides me," Mallee pointed out. "A very small minority, my love. I’m proud that you will stand up for your convictions, but please don’t expect me to blindly follow you." Mallee sighed. They had had many arguments like this before. "I’m just saying that the possibility is there, that’s all." Her father sighed also. "If this is a creature from the stars, how did he get here? Did he jump off of his star?" "Of course not," Mallee said quietly. It hurt when her beloved father made fun of her ideas. Just then Tom started to thrash about, groaning loudly. "Time for his pain medication. You know what to do. There’s porridge on the cooker for your breakfast and I’ve made something up for our guest. Call me if you need me." With those words her father left, as she rushed over to Tom’s side.   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   The Doctor ran a tricorder over Tuvok. "His readings are fluctuating the same as Mr. Paris’s. This seems to be working." Tuvok had been in his trance for almost an hour and the Captain was starting to worry. She signaled to Harry to start recording. Hopefully they’d have some answers soon. Tuvok looked all around. He seemed to be in the same place as before, but something felt different. He could still see the away team standing over him. The doctor seemed to be taking his readings. He sighed. Ensign Paris was certainly not here. He searched the ground for some clues. Were there any footprints around the area to support their belief that some one had taken the pilot away? The sand was a mess, but he couldn’t be sure what reality he was looking in. It was a curious sensation - to be in two places at once. He wondered if he was. Everything looked the same. Which reality was he in? He decided to find out. "Captain." The Captain continued to look at him, but didn’t seem to register that he was speaking to her. He decided to try again. "Captain, can you hear me?" The captain didn’t even blink. It would seem that I am conscious in the other realm. I wonder if I can move around? It would be logical to see if I can find out where Mr. Paris was taken. The away teams voices were a distant noise that he could hardly hear. He stood up slowly. B’Elanna gasped. Vorik reached out to grab onto Tuvok’s arm, as he seemed to disappear. Tuvok reappeared in a slightly crouched position, with a puzzled look on his face. "What happened? Can you hear me?" "Yes Tuvok. You’re back with us again. You were just about to disappear when Ensign Vorik managed to grab hold of you. Can you tell us what you remember?" "Interesting. All I did was attempt to stand up. I tried to speak to you, but you did not seem able to hear. Everything was the same as it is here. I could still see you all, but it was difficult to hear you. As I started to stand you all seemed to disappear." "Did you see any sign of Tom?" The Captain held her breath. Tuvok shook his head. "The beach sand was very scuffed, but I was unable to ascertain what has happened to him. I believe the possibility that somebody moved him, is very strong. I was attempting to start a search in the immediate vicinity when I was brought back to you. There is no sign of any one else here at the moment, so I thought I should start looking for a village." "But as soon as you moved, you shifted into the other reality. If we can set our armbands at the same frequency that you were just in, we can send in a proper search party." Harry, who had been going over the recordings from Tuvok, looked up. "Um! We have a problem Captain." He did not want to give this news. "The variance that we recorded Tuvok in has already been selected by the computer and discarded, as there were no human lifesigns on the planet at that frequency." B’Elanna dropped down into the sand with a moan. She had been so hopeful. So sure that this would work. What could they do now? "Damn it!" the Captain said in frustration. "What does that mean? Each time you phase shift you go into a different reality than the time before?" "Possibly." Chakotay ran his hands through his hair and squatted down next to B’Elanna. "I suggest we do some more scans of the planet at that frequency, just in case the computer missed something the first time." "Yes you’re right. We’ll still keep the ship running the random search as well. We’ve hit a bump everyone. That’s all it is. We’re still on the right track, I’m sure of it." She looked down at B’Elanna, who seemed to have crumpled. "We’ll find him. Don’t give up. Everyone’s exhausted at the moment. We all need some sleep." "Captain, with your permission I’d like to carry on with my idea." Chakotay looked up at her grimly. Janeway nodded. "Go ahead," she said softly.   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   *Breep Brop* Janeway looked up from the padd she was reading at the sound. "Come in." Chakotay entered her ready room looking more exhausted than she felt. "Captain." "I take it you just got back from the planet?" Chakotay nodded tiredly. "I saw Tom." He practically fell into the chair opposite her. "How did he look? Was he all right?" "He was sleeping at the time so I’m not really sure, but he was being looked after by a giant girl. I know it was in the Spirit World so it might have been meant as a representation, but it means Tom is still alive. I’m sure of it." "Seven would probably dispute that, but I have come to respect your beliefs." Chakotay smiled. "I’m absolutely certain that my spirit guide would not have taken me to him unless he was still alive. She’s never led me astray before." "What else did you see?" "He was in a house, on the outskirts of a huge village. Everything seemed to be enormous. I couldn’t really get any more details than that as we zoomed in on him quickly. He was lying on some straw, I think, and seemed a little restless. The girl seemed to be singing to him. I tried to reach out to him but was immediately pulled back. I wish I could have got some more details but it all happened so fast." "That’s better than anything we’ve been able to come up with so far. It’s a huge relief to know that he’s still alive. You’d better get some rest. I’ll go tell B’Elanna. She’ll be thrilled." "No need. She was with me on the planet the whole time. Wouldn’t leave. I’ve sent her to her quarters and ordered her to sleep." "How was she?" "A lot better now, after my vision. She believes in the Spirit World too, so is more at ease now." "That’s good. I didn’t want her ending up in Sickbay." "Can I ask if you’ve had any sleep, yourself?" "Not much. Couldn’t relax. I’ll try again." "I’ll leave you to it then," Chakotay smiled getting up slowly. "Let me know if the computer finds anything."   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   This time when Tom awoke he was aware of the strange babbling noises straight away. Sickness enveloped him as he turned over and opened his eyes. He had vague recollections of vomiting off and on for hours. Things were a lot clearer now. He looked up at the ceiling. Nope, definitely not Voyager. He could hear the strange noises coming from the left of him, so he turned over quickly. Ow! His stomach still hurt, but not as bad. As long as he didn’t make any sudden moves it was bearable. He could see the two girls from the beach standing on the other side of the room. They seemed to be talking, that’s what the strange noise was, but he couldn’t understand any of it. Damn it! Without a commbadge it was going to be pretty difficult for them to understand each other. Tom suddenly realized that he was looking at the girls through something. His head swiveled around. Gods! Bars! They surrounded him. He was in a cage of some sort. It was open at the top, but enclosed him on four sides, like a rectangle. He started to panic. "Let me out of here," he intended to yell, but it came out as a mere croak. The girls turned around at the sound. "Look he’s awake. Can I feed him now? Father said we have to make him eat something to keep up his strength." "You’d better let me do it the first time, Quilla. I’m not sure how he’s going to react. We don’t even know what he eats, so Father made up some formulae in those bottles in the cooler. It’s full of all the basic nutrients. You can get me one if you want. Meanwhile, I’ll give him another shot to help with the vomiting." She headed over towards him smiling. Tom, of course, didn’t understand any of this. All he could see was Mallee coming towards him with some sort of weapon in her hand. She was smiling too. And he was too weak to move! As she got closer, she started making little shushing noises. Tom peered closer at the weapon. It looked vaguely familiar. It had a sharp pointy end on it and he was quite convinced that she meant to stab him with it. He tried to shrink back into the straw mattress. Mallee put down the side of the cot and tried to gently roll him over. He tried to resist. All of a sudden he remembered what it was, she was holding. A syringe! The Doc had made him study old-fashioned medicine on Earth, and he recalled they used these things to inject medication into patients. They called them needles. No!!! That sharp pointy end looked like it would hurt. He struggled harder, but Mallee had a death grip on him. The next thing he knew, there was a sharp pain in his backside. Ow!! Mallee rolled him back over and gently patted his head babbling to him all the while. He didn’t need the universal translator in his commbadge to tell him that she was probably saying - ‘There now, that didn’t hurt now did it? What was all that fuss about?’ or words to that effect. The nausea abated and he carefully sat up holding his stomach. He looked around the room getting his bearings. He was in a cot of some sort, wearing a gown that was open at the back, he suddenly realized, flushing with embarrassment. The smaller girl, Quilla, was now walking towards him, carrying a baby’s bottle. Okay, that was it. I’m out of here. Now!!!! Pity my legs don’t agree with me. He gritted his teeth - hard. The battle was about to begin.   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   "We’ve run every scan, twice over and there’s definitely no human lifesigns anywhere on the planet at that frequency." Harry sighed deeply. He'd managed to get a good four hours of sleep, but still felt bone-weary. He handed over his data padd to the Captain and waited. The Captain looked terrible. She was an awful gray color, and looked like she hadn’t slept in a week. The Captain quietly read the data without saying anything, while Harry looked around the ready room. By the look of all the coffee mugs on her desk, it looked like she’d been trying to keep herself awake. She sighed, bringing his attention back to her face. "It was worth a shot. We’ll just have to hope the computer comes up with something from the random search. Thank you Harry. I suppose you’ve heard the good news? Tom’s definitely still alive according to Chakotay’s spirit guide." "Yes Captain. B’Elanna told me. It’s a huge weight off of her shoulders. I went to check on her a while ago and she’s still sleeping." "That’s good. You look like you need a bit more yourself." "I couldn’t really settle Captain. Um, if you don’t mind my saying so, you look like you could do with some too." Janeway smiled. "You’re right. I thought I’d let Chakotay sleep first. Once he’s awake I’ll try again. It just seems like one of us should keep the fires burning, so to speak." Harry nodded. "I know what you mean. I thought I might rest once B’Elanna’s up and about." The Captain laughed. "We’re a real pair, aren’t we?" "Um, Captain. Can I ask you something personal?" "Depends on how personal, Ensign." "Um, do you believe in all that spirit world stuff that Chakotay talks about? I mean, I don’t mean to sound disrespectful of his beliefs or anything, but it’s just a little hard to swallow. I mean, I really want to believe that he saw Tom and he’s still alive, but I just don’t know." "You’ve been talking to Seven." "Yes ma’am." Janeway sighed, looking at Harry over the top of her steepled fingers. "Yes Harry, I do believe in the spirit world. Chakotay introduced me to my animal guide not long after we were first stranded out here. Although I don’t visit regularly with mine the way Chakotay does, it really helps when I do." She paused. "Sometimes I don’t understand what the message is, but there always is one. B’Elanna believes in it all and I think that says a lot." She smiled reassuringly. "If Chakotay’s guide showed him Tom alive then I truly believe that he is." "I hope so Captain." "Harry, the Commander and his people believe that the spirit world is just another plane of existence. In a way, Tom is on another plane of existence too. I don’t think it takes too much of a leap to believe that Chakotay’s animal guide could reassure him, by showing him a vision of Tom. Even if it was just for a few seconds." "Then why can’t he be shown exactly where Tom is? I mean, it’s a little inconclusive." "That’s just the way it works. You think his guide should be able to tell him the exact phase variance and co-ordinates?" "Well, when you put it like that ---." "Harry, your guide is just that - a guide. It can help you to relax and seek comfort. If you are as in tune with it as the Commander is, you may even have visions, but it’s not all knowing, all seeing. And even if it could give us the frequency, it wouldn’t. They can’t interfere in that way." "A little like the prime directive." Janeway laughed. "I hadn’t thought about it like that. Harry; go back to your quarters and try and rest. If the computer finds something we’ll soon be told. I’ve just decided that I’m going to. We need to be fully functional if it does." "Yes Ma’am." Harry couldn’t help feeling reassured.   ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****   Mallee was listening to her sister read when their father entered the room. "Hello there you two. How is everything? Has our patient woken up yet?" He walked over to the cot and peered down at Tom. "He seems to be much better. Sleeping quite peacefully by the looks of it. I see you’ve cleaned him up. The little thing looks rather sweet really." "Hmph! You should have been here at lunch time Father." "Oh Mallee, my love. I’m truly sorry. I should have let you know that I wouldn’t be here. I thought that if I worked through I could leave early. As I have been able to. I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble." "No Father, we just had some soup. It’s not that. Your sweet little patient over there gave us some problems." "You should have called me." "No. It was all right. We managed." She paused. "Just." She added darkly. "He was really naughty, Father. Threw his bottle right across the room and the top came off. Mallee took ages cleaning up the mess. There was milk everywhere, all over him too. He kept pushing the bottle away when Mallee was trying to feed him and an awful lot of it went on him." "He was just frustrated I think. You said he was fully grown Father, so I think he’s past the formulae stage. The amazing thing is, he asked me for some of the soup." Her father looked at her in astonishment. "He asked you?" "Well he kept pointing to the pot on the cooker, so I assumed he wanted some soup. When I fed him that he ate it all. Off the spoon as well. Just like people do." Her father smiled. "He is obviously well trained." "No, he’s naughty. Mallee tried to give him a bath after lunch because he was all messy and he was very bad. I told Mallee to smack him, but she wouldn’t." "He was frightened. He kept on struggling all the time and I nearly drowned him Father. That was a bit scary actually. I ended up having to give him some more painkillers, as he must have hurt his stomach again. He kept on holding it and making funny whimpering sounds." "I’m not surprised. He shouldn’t be moving about very much at all at the moment." "I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I just didn’t expect him to react like that. Normally baths are very soothing. I didn’t make him worse did I?" Her father was bending over Tom, feeling his stomach. "There doesn’t seem to be any damage, but I’d better get my instruments and examine him properly. How long has he been asleep?" "Since just after lunch. He wore himself out. I feel really bad about this." Her father straightened up with a sigh. "Don’t blame yourself Mallee. It couldn’t be helped." "It’s not your fault Mallee. He was just naughty. You should have smacked him. That would have made him behave and then he wouldn’t have hurt his tummy." "Quilla, how many times do I have to tell you that we don’t hit people or animals or whatever," Mallee scolded distractedly. She followed her father out to get his medical kit. Quilla looked over at Tom and scowled. "You are a very naughty little boy. You had better behave or else!"   End Part Two