Title: Nameless Part 1

Author: Zappy Zaps 

Summary: The early days in the DQ. Tom gets some extra training (Learning Curve) and the Kazon attack leaving Tom and Gerron stranded on a Kazon infested planet.

I was inspired to right this by SnoopMary’s story ‘My Grown Up Xmas Wish’. It is a really cool story. If you haven’t read it you really should.

Rating: Uh…PG 

July 01

Disclaimer: Paramount, A Viacom Company, owns the Star Trek Universe. I’m not getting any thing from this. I’m just borrowing the characters for a little adventure.

Months after the incident at the Ocampan homeworld that stranded the crews of the Voyager and the Liberty two-thirds of the way across the galaxy, Commander Chakotay, Lt. Tuvok and Captain Janeway were still repositioning some of the crew members and scheduling some training simulations for the Maquis who had not gone through the academy and where having trouble adjusting to the Starfleet way of doing things. Going through the entire crew of the Liberty and reviewing their progress reports was a tedious job. When they had neared completion of the task an off-hand comment caught the Commanders attention.

"Tom Paris?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I think that he could use some additional training." She said as an explanation for scheduling him in the training courses. "Just so he can brush up on some of the protocol. He’s been out of Starfleet for nearly four years." She added. Giving Tuvok an expression that said he did not buy it, Chakotay let it drop. 

"All right. If you think that he needs it." He said with resignation.

"Well, that’s it then gentlemen. Dimissed." Giving her a brief nod, Commander Chakotay exited the ready room, Tuvok however, remained. Remembering instances before when Tuvok had done the same thing she turned to him with a smile on her face feeling a bit of nostalgia. "Yes Tuvok."

"Further training of Mr. Paris would not be productive. As a graduate of Starfleet Academy he is well aware of the protocol and procedures utilised on a Federation vessel and they have not changed drastically enough to warrant re-training." Tuvok stated. Sighing in defeat (knowing that she could not outdo Vulcan logic), she gave him the more accurate reason that she had suggested Tom Paris for extra Training.

A few minutes later Tuvok and Janeway left the Ready room and took their respective positions on the bridge. Tuvok looked at Lt. Tom Paris at conn in a whole new light. These glances did not go unnoticed by the XO and he was beginning to wonder what exactly was said after he had left the room. He made a mental note to ask Janeway about that. Removing himself from that line of thought he returned to the duties that had to be taken care of. First order of business was informing the last few crewmembers of their new positions and handing out the rosters. Second, was informing the people on his list that they were to attend training courses to brush up on their Starfleet protocol. Tom Paris. That was an interesting addition to the list Chakotay thought. He wondered how the cocky pilot would take the news that he has to take extra training. Probably not to well thought Chakotay with a smile.

Come 1130 hours the first reliefs for the alpha shift crew to take a lunch break. Tom joined Harry in the turbolift and together they made their way to the Mess Hall. Chakotay sat in his chair on the bridge for a few minutes before going to the mess hall himself. There was no one officially there to relieve the commanding officers; they just left the bridge in the hands of the highest-ranking officer (usually). So Chakotay left the bridge in the capable hands of Lt. Tuvok. Greeting almost every officer that he passed by, both Starfleet and Maquis, to try and help ease the tension between the two crews and handing out assignments as he went he slowly made his way to the mess hall. The two different crews were slowly beginning to mingle and the crew was very slowly becoming united. Although how long this truce will last, it was too early to say anything for certain. Very few of the Starfleet crew sat with the Maquis crewmembers, excuse me, former Maquis, and vice versa. The one common ground that the crew held though was Tom Paris. 

There were two major sides of this crew; Starfleet and former Maquis, to which Tom Paris belonged to neither. The only person who would be seen with him in public was Ensign Harry Kim. Chakotay had a hard time understanding what the fresh out of Starfleet Ensign could see in a man with such a colourful past. Chakotay thought that Ensign Kim either saw something that no one else could see in Tom Paris or that Paris had fooled the young man with his false charm. Regardless of which, Chakotay thought that it was a waste of time to contemplate Tom Paris any longer and made his way to the galley. Taking his colourful selection of food, Chakotay made his way to an empty table. As he passed the table of Kim and Paris he stopped.

"Paris," he said interrupting whatever conversation he was having with Harry "You’ll be taking some Starfleet training courses to familiarize yourself with the protocol." Chakotay stated.

"Really," Tom shrugged "And will you be joining me?" he asked in the tone that always succeeded in aggravating people. It didn’t fail to annoy Chakotay. He could feel his blood begin to boil at Paris’ tone but kept his anger at the man in check.

"No I won’t be joining you. If you had followed procedures at Caldik you might still be in Starfleet. You need the protocol training more than anyone else." Chakotay stated such that no one else in the room other than Kim and Paris could hear. 

"Maybe," Tom said neutrally and then returned to the conversation that he was having with Kim. Ensign Kim however was astonished at how low the commander actually went just to get one on Tom. Chakotay noticed his expression but ignored it and went to eat alone. Harry’s outrage at his comment was almost tangible. Paris’s expression however confused him. There was very brief flash of some expression that Chakotay couldn’t put a label on. But he had better things to do than ponder the mysteries of Tom Paris.

After they had finished their meal Harry and Tom walked back to the bridge. Tom noticed that Harry was unusually quiet after Chakotay paid them that little visit in the Mess Hall. Tom had acted like Chakotay had just given him the weather but for Harry it was a little more disturbing. Tom never talked about Caldik Prime even when Harry repeatedly asked about the incident. He wasn’t sure whether it was an extremely sensitive topic for Tom, which is probable due to the large impact it had on his life or if was something else; Harry knew, however, that Tom didn’t like to have Caldik Prime as the topic of discussion. Harry couldn’t gage Tom’s emotional reaction to the incident since he kept is emotions so well concealed that his facial expression could be impassive enough to make any Vulcan proud.

Tom wasn’t particularly surprised with Janeway’s decision for him to go through with some conventional training or Chakotay’s comments. Sheesh, you save a guy’s life and he still thinks that you’re the scum of the universe. Oh well you can’t please everybody, or anybody by the way people were glaring at him as he passed through the halls of Voyager. The crew, he observed was functioning more as one unit although the crew lines ran deep. They must have found something that they agreed on, mused Tom to himself. Probably that none of them liked him very much. Nothing brings people together like a common enemy; but why did he have to be that enemy he sighed to himself. Stepping off the turbolift onto the bridge and heading to take the conn he noticed the glances that Tuvok kept giving him. Hmm, that’s something to look out for. Out of habit he made a note of all the occupants of the bridge. Not that he felt particularly threatened but old habits are hard to break. Taking the conn from Hamilton he verified their course heading. The uneventful shift went by and soon the Beta Shift replacements came and relieved him. After outlining the status of the helm to the pilot who was only listening with half an ear, he joined Harry in the Turbolift. Tom got off on deck 3 and headed down the corridor to his quarters. 

As he passed by a dark alcove he noticed a slight movement out of the corner of his eye and immediately went on the alert. He walked down the suspiciously deserted corridor. To an observer Tom would look like an easy and unsuspecting target but that was only the expression he let the outside world see. Inside he was going through tactical scenarios, estimating the number of hidden crewmembers in the hall and listening carefully for any sounds that would give away their position or numbers. 

Chakotay was just exiting the turbolift getting off on deck three to go to a crewman’s quarters when he noticed how desolate the deck was and how quiet. He walked on in the same path the Paris had followed only moments before. What he saw when he rounded the next bend he would never forget.

As Tom approached the section that his quarters were located in the attack began. A large crewman grabbed Tom around his neck choking him while another, also from behind, slipped a crude blindfold over his eyes. Tom relied completely on his other senses to determine the location of his attacker. They had only gotten off one sucker punch before Tom retaliated. He had enough information now by the sound that they made to form an attack strategy. As they tried to force him into another room he jabbed is elbow into the person grabbing him from behind and then flipped him over him into one of the four assailants. Gauging where the other two would position themselves to avoid being the cushion for the person he just threw and hearing their approaching footsteps he attacked again. A quick kick to his right and his foot connected with someone’s gut. The last attacker still standing threw a punch that would have been fairly painful, if his fist had actually connected with the intended target. Instead Tom caught the right hook in mid swing with an iron grip. Although he was blindfolded he was face to face with the attacker sending an eerie feeling of being stared at that sent a chill through their spine. Taking the arm he twisted it such that the other man’s arm was behind his back so that he was facing away from Tom and then shoved him into the bulkhead just hard enough to knock the wind out of him. With his four aggressors on the floor Tom stepped over them, removed the blindfold and threw it back to then without ever taking a glance behind him. He knew that they would be in a little pain but would otherwise be fine. He walked the rest of the way to his quarters as if nothing had happened.

Chakotay was frozen in shock. Then entire thing had taken less than two minutes and Tom hadn’t even broken a sweat or showed a single emotion. No rage or anger. He just seemed like it was something that he would do any other time and had no significance. Maybe he wouldn’t have to protect Tom from the rest of the crew after all. Maybe it should be the other way around. The attackers where picking themselves off the deckplating when Chakotay walked by them and paused. 

"This time I won’t take any official action against you but if this incident repeats itself then action will be taken against you. This time it looks like you’ve learnt your lesson." And with that Chakotay walked by them and continued on his route. Two of them were former Maquis and the other two were Starfleet. As Chakotay passed by Tom’s quarters he was tempted to check if he was all right, for about a millisecond. He realised though that Tom only hit once in the stomach and it didn’t seem to have much of an effect on him but he would watch him closely for any signs of injury. 

In his quarters Tom relaxed but still not an emotion was on his face. He only had a few minutes to replicate his dinner and then get to the cargo bay for his ‘training’. Tom gave a snort of disgust but he wasn’t about to disobey a direct order from the captain, especially since she probably had access to some of the other parts of his file. He had to agree with her on a certain level though. He was used to playing by a different rule book than the rest of ‘fleet. He respected the Captain’s judgement so he would respect her command authority and go to the training exercise. 

At 1543 he reported to cargo bay 1 two as along with four other Maquis members. In the group was Donna Henley, Gerron, Ken Dalby, and Chell. Tuvok as punctual as ever began the training at 1545. Needless to say the first session did not go well. Chell running laps Dalby talking back to the commanding officer and then the Maquis walking out of the cargo bay. Tom wasn’t about to make another enemy and really didn’t care that he was there. Tuvok dismissed him soon after since it was inefficient to train one person when he would have to repeat the training again to the others that left. 

The second session went much better. After the incident in the Mess Hall with the former Maquis Captain the others were much more co-operative but still rather unfriendly. After several failed attempts to start a conversation with them and only receiving a minimal rely from Gerron he resigned himself to a very quiet meeting. The third meeting was when the real training began. All decked out in the training uniforms they did their physical fitness training. Get to deck thirteen. ‘Only two decks down’ thought Dably but Tom knew that there was more to the training than that as was just waiting for Tuvok to drop the bombshell. ‘By way of the messhall.’ Ay there’s the rub. Tom thought to himself. With Gerron leading the crawl and climb through the jefferies tubes they began at an acceptable pace, slower than what Tom was used to for training but he wasn’t expecting anything challenging. About seven deck up to the mess hall Gerron had to take a breather. This wasn’t difficult in the least; it was boring, but Tom wasn’t about to take out his frustration on anyone. They weren’t used to this sort of thing so he would be patient. After making it to the Mess Hall and then back down to deck thirteen where Tuvok began the 10K run Tom kept up with Tuvok but made sure that he stayed behind Dalby and Henley. Seeing him do this run with such ease would definitely raise questions. Gerron and Chell behind him were too winded to notice anything. When the training for that day was over he headed to the nearest turbolift and to his quarters without a word and was walking like Tuvok without showing any fatigue.

The battle simulation on the holodeck didn’t go very well either. Tuvok decide to let Dalby take command first. After being destroyed in the battle they were dismissed. Tom had kept quiet during that session as well, seeing as he was there so that he didn’t questions orders so much. And why shouldn’t he. He had spent long enough cleaning up after somebody else’s command mistakes. 

The next day Tom met Harry for dinner in the Mess Hall. Harry thought that it was good that Tom was doing the training without a fuss, saying that he knew how brutal the training could get especially with someone like Tuvok running it. Tom just shrugged saying that it wasn’t that bad. A few tables over sat with Chakotay and Janeway. Chakotay was eaves dropping on their conversation and Janeway knew it but she just shook her head with a smile playing on her lips.

"Not that bad?" Chakotay repeated in astonishment to Janeway "He thinks that crawling through jefferies tubes and running ten kilometres isn’t that bad?" Chakotay shook his head "Talking to the other participants in the training, they said it may as well have been torture." Chakotay was beginning to wonder what secrets Tom Paris was hiding. 

Combat Training was today’s topic in the holodeck. Tuvok taught them the basics of defence in addition to what they had already learnt from being in the Maquis. Tuvok had one-on-one, hand-to-hand combat with each one but avoided causing injury to them. When he was satisfied with the person that person was allowed to leave. Henley went first and left first. Next went Chell then Gerron then Dalby leaving Tom and Tuvok alone in the holodeck.

"Begin." Tuvok commanded as they advanced on each other.

In the corridor Gerron was making his way back to the holodeck to retrieve his tunic that he had forgotten in the holodeck. He had taken it off so that he could fight in the T-shirt he had on under it.

"Why are you going back that way." asked Dalby who had just left the holodeck.

"I forgot my shirt." He answered quietly.

"Go in and get it I’ll wait for you here." Gerron nodded his head once and continued the last few metres to the holodeck entrance. What he saw when he entered stopped him dead in his tracks. There on the matted floor was Tom Paris schooling Tuvok at hand-to-hand combat. Every swing that Tom took, although blocked, forced Tuvok to take a step backwards so that he had enough time to block the attacks. His movements were lightening fast and Tuvok could barely keep up. Tom wasn’t going full out on Tuvok but it had been a while since he had practiced combat, so he only stuck with the basics. Eventually Tuvok was backed out of the designated fighting area and Tom stopped his attacks, offering a helping hand to the fallen security officer with a gentle smile on his face. When it ended Gerron remembered his reason for coming. He quickly found his shirt and left the holodeck before Tuvok could notice but not before Tom did.

Tom was going to get his tunic and leave when he noticed that Tuvok wasn’t moving anywhere. "Is something wrong Tuvok?" He looked upset (for Vulcan anyway).

"I was curious to know where you learnt such fighting tactics." Tuvok said.

"I took some training at the Starfleet base in Marseilles France." Tuvok didn’t seem any less upset. "Is there something else?" 

"I should have been able to thwart your attack. As a Vulcan I possess superior strength." Tuvok explained. 

"You’re just tired Tuvok. You’ve fought a lot of peole already."

"As a Vulcan that should not have been a factor."

"Would you like to try again?" Tom offered with a smirk on his face. Tuvok’s pride was wounded by being beaten by a mere human.

"You won’t believe what I just saw!" said Gerron to Dalby. Dalby was surprised by the sudden talkativeness of the young man.

"Really what?" Dalby asked with slight sarcasm. 

"Paris was wiping the floor with Tuvok. You should have seen it. He was so fast." Said an awe struck Gerron. And rightfully so. Each of Tom’s movements was calculated, measured and smooth. Never over excessive in the amount of force, each movement melting into the next one.

"Tuvok was probably just worn out. Five fights is a bit much." said an unconvinced Dalby.

"I suppose." Gerron said quietly. But he was still not totally convinced that was the whole reason. He knew that there were some people on Voyager that would try to injure Paris. He wasn’t one of them but they would sure have one hell of a time trying to get at him Gerron thought to himself. 

Gerron and Dalby didn’t even notice when Chakotay passed them heading in the direction of the holodeck. He had heard what Gerron said and was curious as to what was going on so when he came to the holodeck entrance he walked in.

Tom a Tuvok had started another battle and Tom was winning again. This time he managed to trip Tuvok and using the weight of his body he pinned Tuvok to the ground. Chakotay moved to a less conspicuous hidning place. Tom helped Tuvok up again. Tom stretched his arms. It had definitely been a while. Tuvok was still upset.

"Again?" Tom asked and Tuvok nodded. They started and in less than two second Tom had flipped Tuvok and once again had him pinned to the floor. "Again?" Tuvok nodded. 

Chakotay watched as Tom toyed with Tuvok for a while. Tuvok was fast but Tom was much faster. Every time Tuvok would dodge something Tom would be ready to strike before Tuvok could dodge him again. After a minute Tom’s patience wore out and he decided to end this. Tom advanced on Tuvok and grabbed the arm which 
Tuvok swung out with. He twisted the arm and brought it behind Tuvok’s back. Tom who was also behind Tuvok brought his foot to link around Tuvok’s and pulled it out from under him causing Tuvok to fall forward onto the mat with Tom on top of him. Chakotay winced as Tom landed on top of Tuvok. For a human that would have hurt but since Tuvok was Vulcan and significantly stronger than a human it didn’t hurt him. Tom helped Tuvok up again. "Perhaps we could do this again. I would like to better my combat skills." Tom nodded went to get his shirt. 

Chakotay snuck out when Tom and Tuvok had their backs to him. He continued on his way thinking about Paris. Tom definitely didn’t need him to defend him from anyone who would attack him. 

By the end of the week the training was going much better. After an incident in the storage bay the Maquis crewmen were much more cooperative. Tom missed that little adventure since his presence was required on the bridge to kill the virus in the gel packs. The Maquis crewmen had officially finished their training, but Tuvok kept Tom behind after he dismissed the others. Tom ended up with an extra weeks worth of training to reprogram his responses so that he responded in the Starfleet manner.

State of Flux

Parturition: Tom and Neelix become friends

Alliances: Kazon mad at Voyager because of attack on them when they were supposed to be meeting peacefully.

At breakfast in the Mess Hall before the senior staff meeting, Tom was sitting alone in a corner with his back to the viewport. He was able to see everyone that came in and no one could come up from behind him. He didn’t think that anyone would try to get at him in the Mess Hall but better safe then sorry. He was acutely aware of the gazes of Chakotay and Gerron sweeping in his direction more often than was necessary. Feigning ignorance he continued on with his meal (if you could call it that). Harry entered the Mess Hall and after getting his food made his way over to Tom’s table. 

At the senior staff meeting the Captain announced that there was an uninhabited M-class planet rich in vegetation. They could stock up on food supplies and take some shore leave. They would have to remain on alert however. They were within Kazon territory and had to be ready for an attack at a moments notice. Tom and Neelix went down together with a group of other crewmen to collect any fruits and vegetables that they could use. The food collecting went as planned until the attack began. 

The four Kazon vessels had snuck up on them using some Cardassian tricks. The Kazon deployed several shuttles to the surface to apprehend as many people as they could. By the time the crew on voyager started transporting people up to the ship, all hell had broken loose on the surface. People where yelling and phaser fire ripped through the air. The number of Voyager crew on the surface was diminishing quickly. Severely out numbered Tom and the rest of the crew ran from the Kazon. Tom and Gerron bringing up the rear. In front of them they could see the blue of the transporters taking people to relative safety. All Tom could think was when are they going to beam up Gerron. The younger man had been making attempts to get to know the pilot better and they were developing a friendship if sorts. Tom had become fairly protective of him; not that he would let Gerron know though. He already had the entire Maquis crew being very protective of him since he was their youngest and most innocent crewmember. Gerron had told Tom that it bothered him sometimes when people where over protective of him. Tom could not help it though. Gerron reminded him of another young and innocent person he knew less than years ago. He had protected them and now he seemed to try and protect anyone weaker than he was. Perhaps that was why he had taken such a liking to Harry the first time he saw him. 

As they ran through the bushes and weaved their way through trees and the thick vegetation the blue beam of the Kazon weapons struck Gerron in the middle of his back. Gerron fell heavily to the ground. Tom realizing what had happened backtracked to help Gerron. He lifted the unconscious man over his shoulder.

"Sleeping on the job. Tsk tsk." Tom deadpanned as he made his escape with Gerron’s form draped over him. Further up ahead he saw one of the crewmembers starting to come back to help him with Gerron. Kazon phase fire just missed Paris’ side and the leg of the other crewmember. 

"Go! Go!" Tom yelled at the person to get moving again.

On voyager sparks flew and gas filled the bridge. A violent lurch and an explosion reverberating through the hull alerted everyone that the Kazon had gotten a direct hit on them.

"Report!" Janeway barked at Harry Kim at Ops. 

"Direct hit to our transporter emitters. Their off-line." Kim said as he desperately tried to reroute power through different relays but the damage was too severe and it would take at least a day to repair. Amazing how much damage can be inflicted in the blink of an eye. 

With the damage reports coming in on all channels each person knew that they could not stay here any longer and expect to get a away in one piece. 

"How many people still left on the planet?" Janeway asked knowing that they would have to leave and come back for them when most of the major repairs had been completed.

"Gerron and Paris are the only ones left." Harry stated. Knowing what they would have to do but no liking it in the least.

"Janeway to Paris"

"Paris" he said breathing heavily. The sound of the Kazon yelling and phaser fire could be heard in the background.

"We have to break orbit. Transporters are offline and we taking heavy damage."

"Understood." Short and succinct to keep from wasting precious air on speaking. "Paris out." And he terminated the link.

"Helm plot a course away from here maximum warp." Voyager pivoted around and the sleek ship jumped to high warp that the Kazon could not keep up with. 

On the surface of the planet Tom was hiding out and ducking search parties. He slipped past the Kazon and head in the other direction as fast as possible. The voices of the Kazon faded until they could not be heard. After about two hours of carrying Gerron and running from the Kazon. Gerron began to stir. Finding a well-shielded rock out cropping he gently lay him on the ground and took out his tricorder to assess his injuries. Phaser burns some bleeding. Nothing too serious but it would definitely be painful for him. Opening the small med pack that he had managed to avoid losing, he tended to Gerron’s more serious wounds and gave him something for the pain. 

Gerron was finally fully conscious and only slightly aching. He had a numb feeling like he was floating but other than that he felt all right. It took him a few moments to focus on the form above him. Paris. He recognized when his vision finally cleared. Gerron looked at his surroundings as Tom explained their situation to him.

"When will Voyager return?" Gerron inquired. Tom shrugged.

"Whenever they finish repairs I suppose." Tom stated looking around and listening for any signs that the Kazon where nearing them. This didn’t reassure Gerron though.

"Will they come back for us?" Gerron asked I honesty as he grasped Paris’ upper arm to get Paris to look at him. He wasn’t sure that Janeway would risk the ship just to rescue two crewmen. Tom heard the uncertainty in his voice and looked back at Gerron and told him in assurance:

"Janeway will come back for us. She won’t abandon anybody." Tom said looking at Gerron with an intense gaze. Gerron only nodded feeling more sure and removed his hand from where he had grasped Tom’s arm. The crimson liquid that covered his hand alerted him that Tom had sustained an injury.

"Paris," Gerron said to get his attention back. When Tom finally turned Gerron showed him his hand. "You’re injured." Gerron pointed out. Tom looked down at the part of his arm that was soaked in blood.

"Hmm. So I am." He said matter-of-factly and then returned to scouting the territory. Gerron took a good look at Tom and realised that he had more injuries that he was ignoring. A severe phaser burn in his side that he had done only superficial repairs to, several cuts and gashes adorned any exposed skin and his uniform was torn and scorched I several places. 

"Maybe you should use that regenerator on yourself too." 

"We have to keep moving." Tom said ignoring Gerron’s concerns. He packed up the med kit and help Gerron to his feet. Tom supported Gerron and they made their way deeper into to forest.

On the Kazon vessel orbiting the planet a furious Maj Cullah paced back and forth while a much calmer Seska watched. 

"I will get them. No one fires on the Kazon Nistrim and survives." He rambled to himself. 

"Of course Maj," Seska said in a comforting voice. "Soon they will know the price for their actions. One way or another, one by one." Cullah’s pacing continued and Seska turned to listen to the reports of the search parties. None of them had found any evidence that the Voyagers were still on the planet. The ships sensors however told them that there are human and Bajoran lifesigns in their general area. The Sensors where not accurate enough to pin point their location so they had to rely on ground troops to find them.

After running and walking for an hour Gerron could no longer keep up with Tom’s pace. He was leaning heavily on Tom. Tom noticed that the sun was beginning to set. It would soon be dark and they had to find shelter for the night where that Kazon could not find them. Tom headed towards the high lands in the distance hoping to find some shelter in the rock formations. Tom got Gerron onto his back so that he could piggy-back him the rest of the way. Gerron passed out and his head lay on the back of Tom’s shoulder. All tuckered out. Tom thought to himself. Gerron would be alright, he was just fatigued. He had kept up with Tom longer than he had expected him to and he was grateful that he didn’t have to carry him all the way to the highlands. 

"How are repairs coming." Janeway asked as she strode onto the bridge. 

"Slowly at best Captain." Responded Kim at his station. "The damage to the transporters is extensive. Several components have to be completely replaced and our backup systems are on the frits."

"How long until were fit to go back for Paris and Gerron?" she asked fearing the reply. Sighing heavily Kim responded after checking his console.

"At least 30 hours, Captain." 

"They may not be there in 30 hours." Janeway said to herself. "But we don’t have any other options" she said more to herself than any one. "I want repair crews working around the clock. Put everybody that you can spare working on repairs." 

"Aye Captain." 

"There we go." Said Paris as he gently laid the unconscious Gerron on the soft ground. Tom had carried Gerron up the steep incline of the land formations to a fairly secluded area and was ready set up for the night, figuring that he had put a enough distance between he and the Kazon. He also had a few tricks up his sleeve to even the odds a little. 

The sun was almost completely set. He hoped that the darkness would slow down the search for them. Taking his tricorder he open the back and began to modify the circuitry. Taking his and Gerron’s commbadges he took off the hard casing that revealed the circuitry within. Taking each commbadge he hooked them to the exposed circuitry of the tricorder. When he flipped open the front of the tricorder to turn it on. A shrill sound emanated from the tricorder before dying down to a low hum. Smiling to himself he carefully laid the open tricorder on the ground. That should make their job a little more difficult, Tom thought happily to himself. He took out the medical tricorder and examined Gerron again. Satisfied that the injuries where getting better he turned the tricorder on himself. A few second-degree phaser burns and some scratches, nothing of great concern. He sat himself next to Gerron who had slipped into a peaceful sleep. He would keep watch over the night and hope that the Kazon were as stupid as they looked and would not be able to find them.

On the bridge of the Kazon ship an infuriated Seska barked orders to the crew, much to the displeasure of Maj Cullah. 

"Morons! Lifesigns don’t just disappear." Seska shoved the Kazon officer at the Ops console away and took over. It was true though. The Human and Bajoran lifesigns had vanished. "They still have to be one the planet." Seska said with a single-mindedness that no one dared oppose. "They must have entered some sort of rock formation that the scanners can’t penetrate. Send the teams to the mountains east of their current location." Little did she know, but there targets where on the southern escarpments. The scanners can penetrate the minerals in that area though so she quickly discarded that as one of their hiding places.

Gerron slept peacefully through the night. The travelling on foot must have really worn him out yesterday. It wasn’t until the sun had fully risen, Tom estimated about 0530 hours, that Gerron began to stir and was soon awake and asking questions. It took him a moment before he recalled what had happened the day before.

"Where are the Kazon?" Gerron asked sleepily. 

"Probably still crawling through the mountains Tom said calmly gazing at the Horizon. "You just missed the sunrise. The sky turned the most amazingly vibrant colours." He said in awe. Gerron thought that it was a little presumptuous to think that they were safe from the Kazon.

"Shouldn’t we get moving?"

"In a little bit." Tom said distractedly. He was too busy enjoying the planets calming atmosphere. He was used to living as if every moment was his last. In this respect he seemed to race through life trying to get as much done in as short a period of time as possible. He took every opportunity he had to enjoy life and this was no exception. 

Gerron just stared at the enigma before him. He didn’t think that he would ever understand Tom Paris the man was a mystery through and through. Every time Gerron asked him about his family or his personal life before prison or of Caldik Prime, Tom would make some very cryptic comment and expertly change the subject or find a way to avoid the question. Half the time Gerron did not even realise what Tom had done. Most of the crew did not understand why Gerron was spending so much time with Paris but they chose not to interfere with his social life, most of them any way. Some of the Maquis warned Gerron about Paris in attempts to try and keep Gerron away from Paris but Gerron ignored their warnings thinking that there was more to Tom Paris than met the eye. Paris also received several threats warning him to stay away from Gerron and that failure to do so would result in some painful experiences. Tom did not heed the warnings but kept his guard up whenever he was alone in a public area. Gerron joined Tom for activities such as rock climbing and skiing in the holodeck, sometimes with invitation and sometimes without.

"Why are the Kazon searching the mountains for us?" Gerron inquired as he sat up. "Wouldn’t they be trying to pinpoint our lifesigns?"

"They would be, but I made that rather difficult for them to do." Tom replied smugly. "The tricorder is emitting a localized thoron field. The Kazon can’t scan through it, so it masks our lifesigns. When our lifesigns disappeared the Kazon thought that we must have entered a rock formation that they would not be able to scan through, so they’re crawling through the mountains looking for us. " Tom explained not taking his eyes off the horizon.

"Then how is Voyager supposed to find us?" Gerron pointed out the obvious flaw in his plan.

"One: Voyager won’t have repairs done for at least another twenty hours so until then, or until the tricorders power source dies, the thoron field will stay up. Two: Voyagers is equipped with low frequency DM flux sensors. When they read the fluctuations from the planet due to the thoron field generator, they’ll attempt to disable it using a teryon beam. The teryon beam will causes a variance in the thoron field which will cause the tricorder to make a really irritating squealing sound. When I here it, I’ll turn off the thoron generator and then Voyager can find us. Simple as pi." Tom smiled at his inside joke.

"That simple huh? Sounds like you’ve done this before." Gerron said, prompting Tom to say where he had done this before. 

"We should start moving. The mountains won’t keep the Kazon busy for too much longer." Tom changed the subject and began to get up. Gerron realizing that he was not about to give up any information asked another question.

"Have you been sitting up all night?" 

"Sitting, lying, standing, yes." He answered simply. "Let’s get moving." Tom offered his hand to Gerron and they were soon on their way further south away from the Kazon with the thoron generator in hand. They kept a quicker pace. Walked and talked for hours. Gerron did most of the talking; telling Tom about his life before the Maquis on Bajor and how he ended up joining. Gerron asked Tom about his joining the Maquis.

"You know the story. Do I have to repeat it?" 

"I know what people have told me but I’ve never heard you tell it."

"What makes you think it would be any different than what you’ve heard?"

"Because, what I’ve heard about you doesn’t concur with what I’ve learnt from you." Gerron answered honestly. Gerron waited for a reply but got none so he continued. "Your not a coward or a sleazy ass-hole or a cocky, loud mouth hotshot pilot." He stated "Well, maybe the hotshot pilot sometimes." He added with a smile. Tom kept silent through the speech. Gerron was pretty sharp and Tom would have to be more careful around him from now on. They walked for another two hours in silence. 

The rest of the day was uneventful until about three hours before Voyager was supposed to return for them. The modified tricorder that lay in Tom’s hand began to make a popping sound. Tom knowing what was coming threw the tricorder as far as he could. In mid-air the tricorder exploded leaving only pieces of debris scattered in front of them. 

"That’s it for our generator. We’ve got to pick up the pace to stay ahead of the Kazon." And with that they carried on. 

Gerron was beginning to get tired. Walking for over 18 hours through rough terrain isn’t easy and he began to fall behind. 

"Come on Gerron we just have to walk a little while longer until Voyager is back." Tom said as he threw Gerron’s arm over his shoulder and supported him. They ad stopped twice to eat some of the vegetation and to take a break but Gerron was still in no shape to be walking for so many hours, especially with his injuries.

"Easy for you to say." Gerron said weakly, "How do you make this look so easy."

Years of extensive training. Tom thought to himself, but to Gerron he said "It would be easy for you too if you weren’t injured." Tom explained smoothly. After about an hour of supporting Gerron phaser fire missed Tom’s ear by a few centimetres. In one swift motion Tom took his phaser off his holster and fired shots back at the Kazon getting one of several Kazon officers. Tom and Gerron kept moving until they came upon a deep gorge. It wasn’t that wide but it was a few meters too wide for Gerron jump safely. Tom looked around searching for something that they could use. He found what he was looking for. A few meters away stood a tall tree that would easily span the gorge. Setting his phaser on one of the highest settings Tom blasted away the part of the base facing the gorge causing the tree to topple over and create a bridge to the other side. The phaser fire from the Kazon was getting closer and more accurate.

"Gerron go." Tom commanded leaving no room for argument. Gerron stepped cautiously on the fallen tree. Tom stayed on the other side and fired at the Kazon. When Gerron was about halfway across the Kazon where about twenty meters away from them. He wouldn’t have enough time to get across before the Kazon were there. They would either shoot him and he would fall to his death or they would follow him across, he would shoot them and they would fall to their deaths and Tom wasn’t willing to kill them unless it was absolutely necessary. Tom came to a decision. "Gerron! Run!" Tom yelled at him. Complying, Gerron ran cautiously over the gorge trying to avoid looking down too much. When he reached the other side he jumped off the log and turned around expecting to see Tom following. Instead he saw Tom set the phaser on its highest setting, take aim at the log and then in half an instant the tree was vaporized.

"Keep Running!" Tom ordered.

"How are you supposed to get across?" Gerron asked in confusion.

"I’ll find a way, now GO!" Gerron hesitated a moment until phaser fire singed his arm. Gerron turned and ran as fast as he could through the thick forest. Tom ran alongside the gorge trying to put some distance between himself and the Kazon. He sincerely hoped that Gerron would be able to stay out of trouble until Voyager came for them, which shouldn’t be too long. Tom heard the shouts of the Kazon and ran faster. Each step faster and longer than the last until finally they stopped. Tom looked at the area in front of him. It was a flat plain as far as he could see. The gorge however was still as deep and as wide as ever. Tom ran into the field. It provided absolutely no cover for him but he wouldn’t need it for what he was about to do. Tom stopped running and checked his distance. Satisfied he lined himself up with the gorge. He was about fifteen meters away from the gorge and it was all he needed to jump it if he didn’t come across any problems. The Kazon were getting closer and phaser fire was beginning to get through the vegetation. With his mind completely focused on is goal Tom began is run towards the gorge.

Gerron ran inside the forest, where he was protected, but parallel to the gorge in hopes that he would see Tom making another bridge so that he could get across. The thick forest ended abruptly and he looked at the other side of the gorge. When he said he wanted Tom to find a way across that’s not what he meant. Across the gorge he saw Tom lining up his approach. He wouldn’t. Gerron thought to himself.

Tom started running.

He can’t be serious.

Tom accelerated.

Gerron’s heart was pounding harder with each step.

Each step bringing him closer and closer to what could be his death. Each step he took, was one chance less to turn back.

Kazon! Gerron’s mind screamed as the Kazon came through the forest. They didn’t hesitate in firing upon the Voyager crewman running past them. 

Burning pain flashed through Tom’s left leg below the knee. 

I can still make it. Tom thought with determination as he kept on running. 

More phaser fire hit him but he disregarded them and concentrated on his goal.

He won’t be able to make it! Gerron thought in horror.

Finally Tom took his last painful step and jumped off his good leg. At that moment time seemed to slow down. Gerron could feel each heart beat, could feel and hear each of his nervous breaths as he watched Tom Paris soar through the air. The other side was slowly approaching. Tom was unsure if he would make it to the other side but kept his mind on how he was supposed to land with an injured leg. In a lot of pain most likely. And unfortunately he was right.

Tom landed less than half a meter from the ledge. His bad leg collapsed under him as he landed causing him to land hard on his left side hearing a distinct crack from a breaking bone. The phaser fire had weakened the bone in that area. Tom struggled to get up as phaser fire rained down on him. Good thing the Kazon where such bad shots or else he’d be dead by now. As he forced himself up He felt a pair of strong hands hauling him to his feet. 

"Are you crazy?" Gerron asked knowing what his answer already was. This drew a chuckle from Tom.

"I made it, didn’t I?" Tom replied with a question. Soon Tom and Gerron where hobbling back into the forest. At that moment several Kazon men came through the forest with their weapons aimed point-blank at Gerron and Tom. From behind them stepped Maj Cullah and Seska, the traitorous whore, wearing an evil smirk on her face.

"Nice to see you again Gerron." Seska said to the young Bajoran. He said nothing but glared at Seska. 

"Too bad this visit is going to be cut short!" said Cullah angrily. 

Tom felt the tingle of the transporter taking them away. "Yeah too bad Cullah." He said before they had completely de-materialized. Cullah quickly fired on the disappearing men but hit nothing. 

Voyager rocked to one side as they took another volley of phaser fire.

"We’ve got them. They’re in Sickbay." Reported the Transporter Chief over the commline.

"Good. Helm plot course away from here, maximum warp. Engage when ready." Janeway ordered as she made her way back towards her seat on the bridge. "Damage report."

"Minimal damage to the aft shield emitters and hull damage on deck eight. Repair teams are responded." Reported Tuvok from the tactical station. Nodding, to Tuvok’s report she decided to change here course and headed for the turbolift.

"I’ll be in sickbay." 

"Captain-"

"Of course commander." Janeway responded to his unasked question. "Mr. Tuvok you have the bridge." And together Commander Chakotay and Captain Janeway made their way to Sickbay. Janeway assumed that Chakotay wanted to check on Gerron seeing as he held not friendship with Paris.

As they entered Sickbay they found Kes working over the still form of Tom Paris and the Doctor working in the surgical bay with the medical arch over Gerron’s inert form.

"Doctor report." Said Janeway as she walked towards him. 

"Mr. Gerron sustained so rather severe phaser burns but since they were mostly treated before he got here he will be fine in a matter of hour. I’ve also completely repaired the internal damage."

"Good. And Mr. Paris?"

"Mr. Paris will also make a fill recovery. His left fermur was broken and he had some second degree phaser burns, mostly on his left side. The rest was just a few cuts and scratches. I plan on keeping them both sedated for a few hours so that their bodies have some time to rest before they can break them for me to fix again." The Doctor finished dryly.

"Thank you, Doctor." The Captain replied rolling her eyes and heading towards Kes. The doctor only shrugged and went to write is report.

"He’ll be fine captain." Kes said reassuringly. "They both will be." Giving her a pat on the shoulder the Captain joined the commander at the doors to sickbay after he had checked up on Gerron and took a brief look at Paris’s bio-readings.

"They’re in good shape for having been stranded on a planet with the Kazon for over a day." Chakotay commented.

"There resourceful people. I’m not surprised." Janeway added. 

Chakotay was beginning to wonder more and more about one Thomas Eugene Paris. He couldn’t help thinking that there was more to him than met the eye but it’s hard to see past is irritating exterior to what may really lie behind it.
 
 

Eight hours later to Tom woke to the glum visage of the Doctor.

"Ah, your awake!" the doctor said

"Apparently." Tom mumbled rubbing his sleep-clouded eyes. "Where’s Gerron?" Tom asked.

"He’s still asleep but I expect him to be waking any moment now." At that very moment Gerron began to stir and the doctor left Tom’s side to check is other patient. Greeting Gerron in the same fashion they had a brief (very brief) conversation before the Doc commed the Captain that they were both awake. A few minutes Captain Janeway strode into Sickbay.

"Mr. Paris," Janeway greeted as she approached his biobed "how are you feeling?"

"Better." He replied with a smile. Patting his shoulder she turned and headed towards the biobed that Gerron occupied. Staring up at the ceiling of sickbay and noting how boring it was, he heard the hiss of the doors as they opened. Turning his head he saw Harry Kim walk in with a smile and B’elanna Torres followed behind him. Harry’s smile was infectious and Tom returned the smile. As he and Harry talked, B’elanna stayed out of their conversation. She was only here because Harry had dragged her along before they headed to Engineering to do more repairs.

Captain Janeway finished talking to Gerron and the Doctor and exited sickbay telling them that she wanted their reports tomorrow. Gerron. There was someone that B'elanna knew, since they were in the Maquis together. She went over to his bed.

"How are you Gerron?" B’elanna asked.

"I’m alright." He said with a smile. 

"Good!" She didn’t know where to go from there. "How did you guys evade the Kazon?" B’elanna blurted out. The silence was bothering her.

"I was out for most of it but I’m pretty sure that Tom carried me most of the way. I should thank him. He also made this device. It was… some sort of generator of something. Anyway he rigged the tricorder and it kept the Kazon from finding our lifesigns so they thought that we had gone into the rock formations that they could not scan through. I think he had made it the night before because I don’t remember moving at all when it was dark. When I woke up the next morning he was just sitting there next to me. It was pretty weird."

"Why was that so weird?"

"Well…you should have seen him he was just…staring."

"At you?"

"No." Gerron said like she was an idiot. "Just out at the horizon; watching the sunrise I guess, but it was different." Gerron exhaled. "I don’t know." He said as his eyes closed. 

"Get some rest Gerron." B’elanna said. Gerron nodded and closed his eyes again. B’elanna looked at the young man for a moment then walked away. What was Gerron talking about? That’s the question that would plague B’elanna through her entire shift. Tom Paris rig a tricorder? How did he look different? What the hell was going on? She finally gave up on the questions chalking it all up to Gerron’s injuries causing him to see things that weren’t there. Yeah, that had to be it. 

Gerron had to spend the night in Sickbay but the Doc released Tom and he would be on full duty the next day. Gerron was half awake when Tom was leaving but before he left the Doctor called him.

"Mr. Paris." The Doc called as he stepped out of his office and tossed a hypospray in Tom’s direction. Tom whirled around to face the Doctor and caught the hypospray. Smiling he pressed the hypo to his neck and tossed it back to the doctor. 

"Nice try Doc." Tom walked out of Sickbay. The Doctor huffed and went to the recycler to get rid of the vial that was in the hypospray. It was a precaution, for that specific drug that Tom took, that was programmed into him. Gerron saw this before he succumb to sleep and though that it was all very peculiar.

Tom went to his quarters it was only 1330 he replicated a sandwich and sat on is couch contemplating what to do now. The holodeck sounded like a good idea. He checked with the computer and found that one of the holodecks was open and reserved an hour time slot for himself. At the holodeck he ran a program that he had only used once before. It was called Paris 01. The holodeck grid was replaced with a forest. Tom smiled to himself and made his way through the forest on an old trail. The trees and the trail ended leaving Tom in the backyard of a house. He walked up to the house that was his home for a short time as a child. He walked in the back door and made his way through the house as memories of happy times with his mother surface in his mind.

He walked into the living room and sat down at the black, baby-grand piano near the bay window. The sunlight filtered through the leaves casting delicate shadows in the room that dance across the floor as the soft breeze moved the branches. He ran his fingers over the white and black keys making a tinkle of several notes. He placed his hands on the keys just as his mother had taught him and began to play. Soft notes filled the room and a melody emerged. He played the piece his mother had taught him when he was very young. The Song of Twighlight. It was the only real piece of music he could play. He had vague memories of his mother teaching him this song. All the other songs he made up or played them after hearing them somewhere else. He never learnt how to read music but he played the piano with the same finesse he used at the helm. 

He played the piano for a while before he lay himself down on the large sofa and left the rays of the sunshine on him through the windows. He put one arm behind his head and the other lay on his chest and he stayed there; thinking…and trying not to think. Eventually he fell asleep and the house was completely still.

Tom awoke to the sound of the computer’s voice telling him that his holedeck time was going to end in five minutes. He sat up from the sofa and looked around the room. There were few things that didn’t remind him of his mother or the fact that she was gone, that she had left him, just like everybody else would. He called for the arch, not liking were his train of thought was taking him. Tom walked slowly out of the holodeck "Comupter end program".

Tom went back to his quarters before he headed to the Mess hall for dinner. When he got there the early rush had already started. He got his food and sat at an empty table as usual. As he ate he noticed the looks he was getting from some of the crew. Dalby who was sitting with Henley and B’Elanna was looking over every once in a while as where the other two he was sitting with. Chaktoay was sitting with Ayala and he was glancing at him. Gerron walked into the Mess hall and while he was in line he kept throwing glances in Tom’s direction. What the hell was going on? Gerron joined Dalby’s table and a few minutes later Janeway and Tuvok walked in. They got some food and sat at another table. Every so often Janeway or Tuvok would glance in his direction. He was really getting irritated. At one point he looked up and there were four pairs of eyes on him at one time. That was it! He quickly put the tray away and left the Mess Hall. What were they staring at? Did he have a big booger on his face or something. He walked to his quarters. He’d talk to someone about this later.

The next day Tom was on the bridge back at his usual position. Also on the bridge was Chakotay, B’Elanna, Janeway and Tuvok. He felt as if someone was staring at him so he turned around. The four of them quickly went back to work. Tom glanced over to Harry at Ops who just shrugged he had not idea what was going on. He too had noticed the looks people were giving Tom. Tom went back to the helm controls. Once I a while he would feel like someone was watching him and he would turn around and at least one of them would be staring but would go back to work when Tom saw them. Two hours later he had had enough. "Captain, may I speak with you?" Tom asked, some irritation present in his voice. Janeway nodded and they went to her ready room. She sat behind her desk but Tom stood. "Is there something shaved into the back of my head that I am unaware of?" he asked annoyed. "Why is everyone staring at me?"

"I really can’t say." Janeway said pretending that she didn’t notice what was going on. Tom eyed her for a moment.

"Alright fine," play stupid, "but I would really appreciate it if you, Tuvok, Chakotay and B’Elanna would stop staring at me. I didn’t do it." Now Janeway was confused.

"What didn’t you do?"

"I don’t know whatever it is you thought I did." Janeway was trying not to smile.

"I’ll be sure to tell them. Dismissed." Tom left the ready room and went back to the conn. From her terminal in her ready room Janeway sent a message to Tuvok, Chakotay and B’Elanna to stop staring at Tom. She didn’t know why B’Elanna and Chakotay were staring but she understood Tuvok. She felt the same way when she first read his file. What Chakotay and B’Elanna was a complete mystery to her.

End Part I

The episodes that you see written in Italics are episodes that are vital to the events of the story so that the story makes sense. There may be more episodes in between but you get the idea.

Thanks to SnoopMary for letting me write this spin-off.

Send comments of constructive criticism to zappyzaps@hotmail.com

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That’s the link to SnoopMary’s story! Go there!