"Activate the controls now!" Zeten told his partner who nodded
his head in confirmation.
Enskew's fingers flew over the portable control pad just as Tom
and B'Elanna disappeared from the surface. And shortly
thereafter the two aliens disappeared as well.
* * * * * *
The blue transporter light shimmered over the transporter pad and
in an instant B'Elanna materialized and next to her the blue orb
that Tom had been carrying fell onto the pad and rolled off the
edge of the platform and onto the deck. Tom was not there.
"Where is he, McNamara!" she yelled at the unfortunate
transporter operator.
"I don't know Lieutenant, I'm recalibrating the buffers now."
McNamara tried again but he was a still unsuccessful. "One minute
he was there and the next he was gone."
"Let me try," she ordered, pushing the young ensign out of the
way.
Minutes passed but still Tom hadn't appeared. Finally, Joe Carey
having been called to the transporter room by Ensign McNamara,
stood by B'Elanna's side. He reviewed the procedures and checked
the instruments. Sadly, he pushed her hands away from the
controls.
"I'm sorry, B'Elanna. I'm sorry. By the looks of it, there was
some kind of transporter malfunction. Tom's couldn't have
survived.
B'Elanna looked up at her friend with disbelief written all over
her face and shook her head. "No. No. It can't be. Everything
was working correctly. I myself checked this transporter
just two days ago. It was working perfectly. He can't be dead.
He can't be. . ."
Joe enveloped his arms around his boss and the half-Klingon
sobbed in his arms. "Call the Captain," he ordered McNamara.
* * * * * * *
Tom Paris dropped to the deck of the alien space ship as soon as
the beam released him. Ascertaining his situation, the pilot
immediately stood up and faced two aliens, one of them being the
one he had met in the marketplace. He tapped his commbadge, but
received no response.
"What going on here?! Why have you transported me to your
ship?!"
"Quiet!!" Enskew roared.
"I demand to know what is . . . !" Tom bellowed just before Zeten
backhanded him across the face and sent him careening back to the
deck below.
"I said quiet!!!"
His order didn't stop the pilot who got up once again and faced
his kidnappers. "I'm Lieutenant Thomas Paris of the Starship
Voyager. I demand that you release me."
"Or what?" the shorter alien said as his partner Zeten punched some buttons on a panel and three more of the aliens entered the room.
"Or Captain Janeway will . . ."
"She'll do nothing," Enskew interrupted. "As far as she and
everyone else on Voyager knows you're dead."
"Then why do you want me?" an incredulous Tom Paris asked them.
"To sell," he replied simply and motioned for his crew to take
the prisoner away.
Tom tried his best to avoid the three aliens who approached him.
He threw a punch at one and while trying to kick the other two. The fight lasted several minutes. Much longer than his captors would have imagined. Finally, one of the larger aliens of the group found his opportunity and clubbed the pilot across the back of his head knocking him unconscious.
As one of the three threw Paris over his shoulder and left the
room, Zeten turned to his friend. "She'll love him."
"He'll fetch a handsome price," Enskew added his eyes glinting
with avarice.
"Of course he may be difficult to train."
"Since when has that ever stopped the Lady Daylia. She'll have
to have him, I'm sure of it. In fact I think we should offer him
to her at three times the usual price," Zeten said.
"Three times!!!" What if she doesn't accept," Enskew replied
incredulously.
". . . and so we gather here today," the Captain spoke thickly.
The words were very hard to say, they caught in her throat. "To
say goodbye to a crewmate, a friend, a father, and a husband. We
will all miss Thomas Eugene Paris."
The memorial service then ended and a tearful B'Elanna clutched
her two bewildered boys to her chest.
She had told them two days ago that Dada wouldn't be coming back
but of course being so young they didn't understand. They still
asked for their Dada and each time they did B'Elanna's heart
ached. It was almost impossible for her to deal with her
husband's loss alone, but she had to take care of the twins as
well. Lucas' blue eyes and Kyle's blond hair would always
remind her of Tom, and they both were developing that sweet
devilish smile that would charm the girls.
Tom may be gone, B'Elanna vowed, but he would not be forgotten.
She planned on speaking to Harry soon about helping her develop a
holodeck program about Tom. One that she could take the boys to
see, so they would never forget their father. There were so many
things to do and she had to do them by herself. In much the same
way her mother had to do, after B'Elannas father left, when she was a little girl.
Chakotay accompanied the Captain back to her cabin after the
service. He had never seen her so withdrawn, so quiet. It
scared him.
After they entered her quarters he helped her sit down on the
sofa, then went to the replicator to get two cups of coffee. He
handed one of the steaming cups to her.
"Thanks," she replied woodenly.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Chakotay didn't even wait for a
response before he continued. "You miss him?"
She nodded her head and being afraid that she would break down
took a careful sip of coffee.
"I do too. More than I'd care to admit." Kathryn's eyes met his
dark ones as he sat down beside her. He continued. "You know,
as well as anyone, that in the beginning I had no love lost for
Paris. I look back know and can't imagine how I could have ever
felt that way about him."
"You didn't know."
"No I just assumed like everyone else did. I never took the time
to ask. To find out what Tom Paris was really like."
"I had my own misconceptions about him at first."
"You know, I don't think I ever told him that my feelings had changed. That I'd come to think of him as a friend. That I respected him."
Kathryn reached over and patted Chakotay's knee. "He knew
Chakotay. I'll miss him too. Tom was like a younger brother to
me. I can't tell you how much I'll miss his 'yes, ma'am.' It
will be very different on the bridge. And then there's B'Elanna
and the babies. Those boys are going to grow up without a father
and B'Elanna will have to go on without a husbands love and
support." She put down the coffee cup and let Chakotay
hold her as she wept.
Later that evening, Harry sat by himself in amongst the
holocharacters in a dimly lit Sandrine's nursing his fourth beer.
It had been a long time since he had used the program. Actually,
Sandrine's hadn't been run since before the twins were born. It
seemed fitting somehow to be here in one of Tom's favorite
holoprograms. He remembered the good times he had here with his
friend. Tom had taught him how to play pool, how to get over
Libby, and helped him ease back into to dating again. He was the
brother he had never had. Harry missed him. He missed him a lot.
Alera found him still drowning his sorrows in his beer and
talking with Sandrine when she arrived about a half an hour
later. She could sense his despair and sadness.
"Harry, it's time to go home," Alera said soothingly and she
placed her arm around his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.
Harry turned his tear-streaked face towards her. "I miss him so
much, Alera."
"I know, love."
"It's like I lost a member of the family as well as a friend," he
said and pulled her to him and hugged her as more sobs wracked
his body.
"It's okay, Harry. Let it out," she said holding him close. She
knew that all day he had tried to maintain a brave front for
B'Elanna, the boys, and the rest of the crew. "It's time."
Alera held him until he was finished and helped him back to their
cabin. Tomorrow the future would begin.
It was past 2200 when B'Elanna finally settled the boys down for
the night and she was finally able to sit down by herself. The young widow clutched a hot cup of herbal tea and curled up on the
coach. She knew that life from now on was going to be very
difficult. She had come to rely on Tom for so much, he was half
to their whole. Her mate for life and a very devoted, loving
father. B'Elanna would miss him tremendously, but she vowed to do him proud. She would make sure that their sons grew up to be men he would have been proud of and she was determined that they would never forget their father.
Chapter 5
"On your feet Voyager!" Zeten roared and pulled hard on the chain
that was attached to the neck of the blond man.
Tom had no choice but to obey for they had bound his hands behind
his back and tethered his legs together so he could barely walk.
It been close to two weeks by his judgement. Two weeks of being
confined to a cell in the ship's brig along with ten other
unfortunate souls. All apparently destined for someone the
Gabions referred to as The Lady.
This morning began just like all the other mornings over the
past two weeks had. Tom rose from the pallet on the floor and
waited with the rest of his cell mates for the aliens' version of
breakfast while his stomach growled. The menu was very
consistent. You had the choice of slop, slop, or if you were really lucky, slop. Either way it was a tasteless mass of grey glop whose consistency resembled watered down mashed potatoes.
As every morning had started, shortly after he awoke the guards
came to the cell and deposited large spoonfuls of the slop into
each of the cups that had been given to all of the prisoners.
But unlike other days, after they had all eaten, several guards
came back. At first, they talked amongst themselves pointing
from one prisoner to the next until finally they opened the cell
door. With three of the guards armed to prevent escape, they
selected two of the prisoners, attached a chain to the metal
collar they all wore and dragged them away. This pattern kept up
until finally only Tom remained.
"Where are you taking me!!!" he yelled at the guards. But the
guards remained silent. They dragged him down the hall, up a
turbolift and down another hall before finally stopping at a
door. They pushed it open and dragged the pilot in with them.
There before him stood four more aliens, two of whom came
forward. They placed manacles on each of Tom's wrists and helped
the guards that brought him down to immobilize him by using the
chains attached to the manacles, they pulled both arms out in a spread eagle fashion.
Behind him a door slid open and Zeten and Enskew entered the
room.
"Hold him fast," Zeten ordered the others. The four took a firm
hold on the chains and the other two tightened the tether around
the pilot's ankles. He was going nowhere. He was at their
mercy.
"Prepare him," Enskew said.
One of the two that had tightened the tether around his ankles
reached into an inside pocket and withdrew an ugly, large knife.
There was nothing he could do. There was no where to run, he
closed his eyes. *Please let it be swift,* he prayed. *God,
please protect B'Elanna and the boys. Keep them safe. He felt
one the aliens clutch the front of his grey tunic top. *This is
it,* he thought. *I'll be waiting for you in Sto-Vo-Kor, my love*
With a swift movement the tunic was sliced from the neckline to
the bottom edge. Tom's eyes flew open in surprise. *What are
they doing?* Next the blade came up to his shoulder the again
the material was severed, and again on the other shoulder. The
tunic fell to the deck leaving the pilot bare from the waist up.
Next the waist band of Tom's shorts were pulled away from his
body and they too soon joined the tunic on the deck and Tom was
left standing naked among the aliens.
Looking at Tom's assets Enskew eyes widened and he whispered to
Zeten.
Zeten nodded. "Yes, I think you're right. The price has risen."
As the greedy two talked, the alien that had used the knife
returned it to its hiding place and grabbed a pair of what looked
to Tom like large brooms that had been resting against the wall.
"Stop!!!" yelled Enskew. "Not those. Use the soft ones over
there. We can't afford to damage this one." He pointed toward
the other end of the room at a similar pair of 'brooms' but these
had a soft foam-like material attached to the ends.
The alien did as they were told and brought both of them back
along with a bucket. Handing one of the 'brooms' to his partner
both dipped the foam ends into the bucket of foamy water and
proceeded to swap Tom, making sure to get every inch of the man.
"Hey you know," Tom quipped. "If I smelled that bad all you had
to do was tell me, I would have been glad to take a bath."
"Quiet!!!" Zeten roared and the four holding the manacles jerked
on the chains causing pain to jolt up his arms and down his back.
When the washing was finished the two guards pressed a button on the wall and from above Tom a large quantity of ice cold water was released rinsing the soapy foam off his skin.
Tom shook his head to try to try and get rid of as much water from his hair as possible. "What's the matter can't afford to heat the water?" he asked.
"Take him to the holding cell and dress him," Enskew ordered and
the two friends left the room.
Tom was pulled out of the room and placed in another cell much
like the one he and his fellow prisoners had occupied for the
past two weeks. A white shirt and shorts where thrown in after
him.
* * * * * * * *
Shortly after they were beamed to the planet, Tom along with most
of his fellow prisoners stood in a courtyard just outside the
gate of a beautiful palace. The walls of the mauve colored
building glimmered in the sunlight. Finally the gate opened and
two of his fellow prisoners were herded through. This continued
with only a few returning until he again was the last one
remaining. The Gabions forcefully pulled him out of the cell
holding the chain attached to his collar.
They walked a little ways into the palace grounds. Along the way
Tom noticed that he saw mostly women. Any men that he saw were
all dressed in dark green tops with short sleeves and very small
shorts and they were all carrying things or pushing things.
Finally they reached the another door and Tom was led into an
opulent room. It was decorated in purple and silver. Soft
lounges edged the room and potted plants where interspersed in
between. Music emanated from the back of the room where several
young men played strange looking instruments. Zete and Enskew
were already there waiting for them with smiles on their faces.
They brought the pilot out into the middle of the room and a tall
man dress in the same dark green clapped his hands. Before long
a tall elegantly dressed woman entered the room.
"This is our best Lady Daylia," Zeten said and motioned for his
guard to pull Tom forward toward the Lady.
"What's going on here!!" Tom demanded.
The Lady glared at him. How dare he speak in a raised voice to
her? But despite his insolence he intrigued her. She looked him
over and what she saw she liked very much. His eyes were the
color of a clear sky, *how unusual,* she thought. And his hair
was the color of the sunshine. She reached up and tried to touch
the top of his head but he jerked away. "Show me more," she
demanded.
Zeten nodded his head and two of the guards and swiftly moved toward Tom. Tom struggled but the guards quickly subdued him.
"Hey what are you do . . ." Tom started to say before a large
hand clamped down over his mouth.
The guards then removed his top for the Lady's inspection.
"Hmmmm," she murmured. *He's golden all over,* she thought and
extended one long graceful hand up to run her slender fingers
through his chest hair. *I have to have him, he's a magnificent
specimen, so unique, even though he is undisciplined, but I can
take care of that easy enough.*
She removed her hand from the man's chest and spun on her heal
trying to retain her aloof appearance.
"Price?" she asked simply. It bothered her to do business with
males.
Zeten without hesitation quoted a price of 500 quens, a price
five times his usual. Enskew had to fight not to be surprised at what his friend said.
"500 quens?" the Lady asked. "That seems very steep."
"If I may your Lady," Zeten said as he approached her. She
nodded and he bent his head down to her level and whispered in
her ear.
The Lady's eyes grew wide in disbelief. Zeten bent down once
more and whispered again.
"Show me," she ordered.
The two approached Tom who was still being restrained. Zeten
reached down and grabbed the waistband of the pilot's shorts and
pulled it out away from his body. The Lady peered down inside
and she licked her lips. She liked what she saw.
"Sold." she said. She motioned to the overseers of her slaves
who was standing against the wall. "Take him to be trained and
be sure prepare him well."
