Cracks 02 Clear as Mud Page 5

  Part 8

  Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay, and Ensign Kim, just finishing their dinner of mushroom soup, were startled by the sight of a transporter beam and two figures appearing in the captain's quarters. Simms and Hudson untangled themselves from each other and climbed to their feet, turning to face them. "Captain, we--" Hudson abruptly stopped speaking as he caught sight of Ensign Kim, who appeared to be wearing one of Kes' outfits. His mouth dropped open. He wanted to turn and look at Ethan, but knew he didn't dare. He would never be able to keep a straight face. Kim felt a deep blush traveling up his face. He just knew he would never hear the end of this, especially once Paris heard about it, and he would hear about it. Tom Paris always seemed to know what was happening on this ship, whether it concerned him or not. Understanding empathy crossed Janeway's face. Hoping to divert some attention away from Kim, she spoke. "Mr. Hudson, did you locate Lieutenants Torres and Paris?" Hudson dragged his attention from Kim and stood at attention before the captain. "Yes, Captain. They appear to be well--" Hudson's report was cut off by the sound of his comm badge chirping. The sudden sound startled everyone. Hudson tentatively tapped his badge. "Hudson here." "Ensign," came Tuvok's voice, "we attempted to beam you and Ensign Simms off the holodeck and to sickbay; however, the doctor reports that nobody has beamed in. Might I inquire as to your current location?" Hudson started to reply, but Janeway, stepping closer, took the initiative. "Tuvok, Hudson and Simms beamed into my quarters. Ensign Kim is also here. What's the status of getting us out of here?" "We are working on it, Captain. It was a struggle just to achieve communications with you." "And Paris and Torres?" she quizzed. "The doctor was on the holodeck shortly after we beamed Ensigns Hudson and Simms out. He reports that they are doing well, and he has delivered medical supplies, food and fresh uniforms to them. We also delivered new comm badges to them, but as of yet, we have been unable to contact them or pick up their signals for a beam out." "What's the status of the ship?" Janeway had been growing increasingly concerned at being out of touch with the rest of the ship. "Engineering is encountering several problems," reported Tuvok. "The warp engines are currently off line. We are attempting to move the ship out of the magnetic field, which I believe is causing most, if not all, of the problems; however, at only impulse--" "Very good, Mr. Tuvok," interrupted Janeway, sensing his distraction with the continuing problems Voyager was encountering. "It sounds like you're on top of things. Please keep me apprised of the situation. Meanwhile, I know you're extremely busy, but if you could find some way to release us from my quarters..." "Of course, Captain. I will do my best. Tuvok out." Janeway frowned a bit. Tuvok was sounding a bit frazzled, an uncommon occurrence for the Vulcan. She turned back to the others and couldn't keep a slight smile off her face as she imagined Paris' and Torres' relief at having fresh uniforms. Harry was looking a bit envious at the moment. She met Chakotay's gaze. His eyes held humor. While the situation was serious, they couldn't help but be amused as Harry had told them of his holodeck adventures while they ate dinner. She was glad Chakotay was finally seeing the humor in it. She suspected he was a bit upset over the burgeoning relationship that appeared to be developing between Tom and B'Elanna. Privately, Kathryn Janeway was delighted. She thought they were well suited and, being fond of both of them, she wanted them to find some happiness out here in the Delta Quadrant. "Well, gentlemen," said Janeway, "we appear to have some time on our hands. Any suggestions?" As Tuvok ended his transmission with Captain Janeway, he tried desperately to center himself. *Calm. Emotions are not logical, NOT logical,* he kept repeating over and over in his mind, hoping not to give into the chaos that the present crisis had brought on. "Mr. Hamilton, keep trying to get in touch with the doctor to see if he succeeded in getting into the holodeck. Ensign Lamont, try to send repair teams to try and get the doors of the captain's quarters working." *The sooner, the better!* added Tuvok to himself. Although he felt that he was more than capable of handling any normal crisis, a captain's place WAS on the bridge. Just as Tuvok was turning to check one of the displays at the Conn position, Hamilton's voice rang out in alarm, "Sir, I think you better look at this!" As Tuvok whirled around to look at the viewscreen, he took another deep breath as the one thing that he didn't want to see appeared. A Kazon ship. "Red Alert! Shields up! Mr. Hamilton, scan them for weapons status," Tuvok ordered. At the same time, instead of the red alert klaxon sounding, the remaining bridge crew heard "Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me? M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. Mickey Mouse..." "What is THAT? Turn it off," Tuvok asked and ordered, trying to figure out how to defend the ship when it seemed all of the vital systems on board were malfunctioning. As if in answer to his question, Hamilton's voice rang out in warning, "Sir! They're firing! Shields are not functioning!" "All hands, brace for impact!" Tuvok managed to get out before stumbling into the captain's chair, while watching the torpedo come closer and closer to Voyager. "Three seconds to impact," warned Hamilton. The tension on the bridge increased threefold, while everyone braced for the torpedo hit. It never came. "Mr. Hamilton, report," ordered Tuvok. "I can't explain it, sir. I can't pick up the torpedo on any of our readouts. I just don't understand...Hamilton stopped, stunned by the scene on the viewscreen. The Kazon ship suddenly changed into a Cardassian Galor class warship, then just as quickly, into a Federation Excelsior class vessel. "Curious. If the 'attack' was part of the ship's malfunctions, how were we able to receive any information from our scans?" puzzled Tuvok. "We didn't, sir. Things happened so fast, I didn't realize that the scans revealed that there was nothing out there, but they're scanning that 'ship' out there now, and we're getting positive results," replied Hamilton, more than a little confused himself. This problem was getting too much for even Tuvok to handle by himself. "Ensign Lamont, any success in getting repair teams to the captain's quarters?" "Not yet, sir," she replied, "but I've finally been able to get through to the doctor. He said that he was able to successfully get on to Holodeck 2 and deliver his supplies to Lieutenants Torres and Paris." *One thing happened the way that it was supposed to,* thought Tuvok. Now if they could only shut that annoying music off. "Cancel red alert," he commanded. The music continued unabated. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart," Ensign Wildman crooned to her baby. "It has to go. Mommy just can't think of anything else to do." Sighing, she commanded, "Computer, permanently delete program 'Wildman Babysongs Three'." Mercifully, the music stopped, but the baby kept screaming. "Shh, hush, honey. It's all right now. It stopped." "Well, it's about time," snapped a furious Jenny Delaney. "God, I can't believe I've been stuck in here for seven hours. Seven hours! Do you know how many diapers you've changed in the last seven hours?" "Four," answered Samantha calmly. "Four!" said Jenny, too busy with her own tantrum to even notice that Samantha had spoken. "Next time, you can jolly well come down to Stellar Cartography and pick up your own reports! Can't you shut her up?" "If you can't shut up, why should I expect HER to shut up?" asked Ensign Wildman calmly. Jenny looked daggers at her. "Motherhood is definitely NOT my cup of leola root juice. If I ever get out of this stupid nursery, Tom Paris is not getting within five feet of me ever again." *I'm sure he'll be just crushed,* Sam thought to herself. But she had more class than to say so aloud. "Now I'm sorry I put the fire out," said Tom dejectedly. "The rain would have put it out anyway," pointed out B'Elanna. "Yeah, I guess." They sat huddled together as far inside the little rocky alcove as they could get, covered with their blanket, staring out at the rain pouring down from the gray heavens. Damp, chilled and miserable, Tom still could not be completely sorry he was stuck in Harry's program run amok. Not as long as the company was good. "Paris, I--" she started, then hesitated. "What?" he prompted. "Tom, I have to talk to you about something." "Lady, you have my undivided attention." "No, this is serious." Tom raised his eyebrows. "What's wrong?" *Get it said, Torres,* she chided herself. "I, well, I've been having these dreams. About you." The Vyarri commander sat staring at the empty viewscreen. *Had it really even been there?* The beautiful, mysterious warship ha
d disappeared as fast as it had materialized out of the magnetic "fog" he had taken his ship into. A stupid move, he saw that now. They could probably have outrun the Vidiian vessel, or out-maneuvered it. Still, with Vidiians, one could take no chances. They did not leave survivors. Yet now he had another problem on his hands. *This blasted stuff! How many times have I been warned by my superiors not to go into these fields? Now, with my warp drive off line and my major systems incapacitated, I am a sitting egret should that ship come out of nowhere, firing. But what a prize if I could take them!* "Power up whatever weapons are operational," he barked to his primary attendant. Tom opened his mouth, a wisecrack on the tip of his tongue, but looking at B'Elanna, he saw the deadly serious expression on her face and snapped his mouth shut without uttering a sound. After a long moment, Tom took a deep breath and tried again. "I'm listening," he simply said. B'Elanna looked at him as if doubting the sincerity of his words, but he returned her gaze steadfastly. Trying to swallow her nervousness, she said, "I've been having strange dreams ever since the assimilation and they almost always seem to involve you in some way." She stopped, unable to go on. "What kind of dreams?" Tom's voice was gentle, encouraging. B'Elanna shrugged self-consciously. "In the dream I had a couple of nights ago, I was soaring through the air like a bird. I remember feeling a freedom I'd never felt before, and I felt safe. I had a companion during that flight. It was you, Tom, and it just felt...right somehow, as if that was the way it was supposed to be." When Tom remained silent, B'Elanna was afraid to look at him and see the expression on his face. Talking rapidly, before she lost her nerve, she finished what she had been saying. "Last night I dreamed about the Vidiians. You were there, protecting me. You were holding me close, not letting the Vidiians get near me. It seemed so real. I could feel your arms around me." She looked away in embarrassment. Unsure how B'Elanna would take what he had to say, Paris shifted uncomfortably. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the onslaught of anger that was about to be hurled at him. "When I woke up last night, you were shivering, so I pulled you closer. To share body heat," he added defensively. "I had my arm around you. I think you must have been aware of it on some level while you were dreaming." B'Elanna knew she should be angry, but looking at him, sitting there seemingly contrite, she couldn't find it in herself to be angry. Tom had been concerned about her. He always seemed to be concerned about her, B'Elanna noted. She wasn't accustomed to having another person watch out for her. She found, to her surprise, that she rather enjoyed the sensation of being cared for. Paris, waiting for the harsh and angry words to fall, was so surprised to hear B'Elanna speak to him softly, her tone gentle, that he almost forgot to listen to what she was saying. "You know, when I was a little girl, I used to wish someone would put their arms around me and hold me. My father was already out of the picture, and my mother, well, she wasn't exactly the demonstrative type." Tom was surprised to hear B'Elanna talk about her past, particularly her childhood. He didn't know much about it, but he had perceived that it had been an unhappy time for her. Feeling braver, since she hadn't jumped all over him for liberties taken the night before -- real or imagined -- Tom slipped an arm about her shoulders and squeezed gently. "I'll always be here for you, B'Elanna. Anytime you need a hug or just a friend to talk to." B'Elanna surprised him by leaning into his embrace, as if she craved the physical contact. Tom's ego wasn't so large that he mistook her motion to mean she craved physical contact with him specifically. Right now, she just needed to feel the comfort of another warm body next to hers. B'Elanna settled into Tom's embrace. Caught off guard by his unexpected gentleness and understanding, she realized that whatever attraction she possessed for him had been held at bay by her refusal to acknowledge it. B'Elanna gave in to it, letting it blossom like a flower, filling her senses. Tom, looking down at the top of her head, was surprised when B'Elanna tilted her head back to look at him. Their faces were mere inches apart. Then she surprised him even more by reaching up and pulling his head down, their lips meeting. This was no gentle kiss, but one full of hunger unabated. They explored each other's mouths, both ravenous for the taste of the other. Finally, they pulled back from one another. Both were breathing heavily. "Tom." "B'Elanna." They both spoke at the same time. As they gazed at one another, acknowledging that somehow something had just changed with that one kiss, a deep rumbling noise filled the air. As they gazed outward, mud began pouring in great sheets down the bluff they were sheltering under, making escape impossible. The last thing Tom remembered was throwing himself on top of B'Elanna in hopes of protecting her from the onslaught. For a moment, B'Elanna felt as though all the air had been removed from her lungs. Then, as she felt the reassuring warmth of Tom's body, she relaxed and allowed herself to breathe. Though her body was protected for the most part from the painful impact of the torrent of mud, B'Elanna could still feel a cold stinging sensation as mud splattered her arms and legs. Tom's reflexes had been quicker than hers, and had he not covered her face, she would probably have been choked by the deluge of mud. Burrowing her head deeper into Tom's shoulder, B'Elanna wondered if the mudslide had been a curse or a salvation. Her desire to know if Tom had been having the same type of dreams she had been having since the assimilation, had turned into more than she felt ready to handle. Yet, for the first time in her life, when she reached out to someone to hold her, that someone had been there. Not even Chakotay, the only person whom she had ever allowed herself to depend on, had ever made B'Elanna feel so safe and secure. Safe and secure, yet excited at the same time. It was an incredible feeling, and she was terrified of it. B'Elanna was used to fighting the volatile Klingon side of her, but the strength of her emotions as she kissed Tom had been stronger than even her Klingon rage. With no safeties on the holodeck, there was no guarantee that either of them would make it out of this crazy mountain setting alive. B'Elanna made a promise to herself. If they got out of here, she would stay as far away as possible from the dangerous emotions that Tom Paris evoked in her. That meant staying away from Tom Paris. After the mudslide came to a halt, Tom remained still a moment and tried to figure out what was happening. Another mudslide. He silently cursed this doomed program. *And just as things were starting to look like they might take a turn for the better.* B'Elanna did not move. He shifted so that he could see her. She was breathing. "B'Elanna?" he whispered. "Are you all right?" She didn't look at him. "I'm fine. What happened?" "The mud is back." "Great." Then B'Elanna was silent. "Is something wrong?" Tom asked quietly. "Nothing's wrong." "Because if something's wrong, you can tell me. You know that," he whispered, disquieted. "I know."

  Part 9

  As if aware of B'Elanna's troubled thoughts or of some hidden danger, Chakotay's amused smile disappeared. A feeling of unease gripped him. Pressing his comm badge, he said, "Chakotay to Transporter Room 1." It was no surprise when Hogan in Engineering answered instead. "Hogan, here, Commander. As you can tell, we have not cleared the magnetic field. I have not been able to establish direct contact between Engineering and the bridge. Engineering sensors also indicate an alien vessel approaching us. That reading could be part of the numerous malfunctions." Static began to creep into the voice transmission. Chakotay silently cursed as Hogan's voice began to fade. "Hogan, before we lose contact, I want you to try a site-to-site transport, beaming me to..." *Damn,* Hogan thought. *Beam Commander Chakotay to where?* A transport was not likely to work at this point, anyway. The commander probably wanted to attempt another rescue for the lieutenants. Hogan thought security had certainly not been successful in their attempts, but it was worth another try. Quickly setting up the transport, Hogan hoped that Commander Chakotay did not end up in Neelix's kitchen or somewhere equally terrifying. One second, Chakotay was in the captain's quarters hoping that Hogan could get him to the bridge, the next he was sliding down a huge embankment. Closing his eyes against the waves of mud, he braced himself for impact and possible death as he neared the bottom. He felt himself flailing in the air for mere seconds, then he hit the ground with a painful
landing on his face. Winded for a moment, Chakotay continued to lay on his stomach unable to think or breathe. As air was suddenly forced into his lungs, he gulped, then sputtered as he tasted mud. *Mud?* Thinking of Harry's appearance when he first beamed into the captain's quarters, Chakotay decided he must be on the holodeck. If he could open his eyes, he could verify that. Unfortunately, his entire face was coated with mud. Gathering his strength, he attempted to roll over onto his back. As he moved, Chakotay's body came into contact with a what seemed to be a wall. Reaching out, he touched the wall and was surprised to feel what appeared to be...cloth? Quickly trying to remove as much mud as possible from his eyes, Chakotay opened them and through blurry eyes saw what appeared to be a body. Sitting up abruptly, he put a hand on the inert body hoping that the person was still breathing. Seeing a tiny strip of red and the size of the body, Chakotay surmised it was Paris. "Paris, can you hear me?" Tom jumped as his dazed mind registered the hand on his back and the sound of his name. Moving away from B'Elanna, he turned over and sat up. Recognizing Chakotay, Tom smiled. "It's good of you to join us, Commander." After registering that Paris was perfectly okay, or at least healthy enough to be his usual cocky self, Chakotay glanced to where B'Elanna was now sitting up and attempting to restore her dignity. Though she was not as drenched by mud as Paris or himself, she was frantically trying to brush off huge splatters. Her face, with only a small amount of mud covering it, was glowing bright red. "I don't want to know," Chakotay told B'Elanna, and if anything the red hue of her face became even darker. "No, you don't," Paris agreed and despite being covered in mud, his blue eyes danced merrily, and his white teeth gleamed with mirth. In the captain's quarters, Hudson and Simms, having heard the explanation given by Harry, Captain Janeway, and Chakotay, (before his sudden beam-out) for Ensign Kim's unusual attire, were seated and almost enjoying themselves. If either one of them had been alone there with his commanding officers, he would have been quite uncomfortable, but now that the three ensigns were in it together, they were all much more at ease. Although Hudson and Simms both felt extremely sympathetic to Ensign Kim both of them could barely keep from snickering when they thought of him in there with the captain and commander, wearing that dress. The officers were actually having a friendly chat with one another when the subject of Lieutenant Paris and Lieutenant Torres came up. "What exactly IS going on with them, anyway?" Harry inquired, sounding almost as curious as he felt. "Well, I'm not really sure, to tell you the truth," Simms replied, and looked at Hudson. "Mik?" "Don't look at me!" Hudson said, grinning. "Come on, you were on that Borg ship with them, AND you were stuck in the holodeck with them; you guys know something. And I want you to tell me!" Kim said to them, laughing. This made Janeway laugh, and she realized she seldom got to watch her officers interact in such a casual way. She enjoyed it, and they almost seemed as if they had forgotten she was there. "Okay, well, there IS something going on. What, I don't know. But, I mean, these looks they keep giving each other. It's almost like THEY don't even know what's happening between them," Simms continued. "Who would have thought the two of them would have something going on? Go figure. Harry, you know them the best. What do you think?" "What do I think? I think they're both in denial and won't admit to anything!" Harry seemed much more comfortable now that everyone had almost forgotten about his dress. "I know Tom, and I can't even figure him out lately. But really, the commander knows B'Elanna better than any of us." Tom had felt a hand on his back and heard Chakotay's voice speaking to him. That had been about an hour ago, but the short dialogue between him and B'Elanna was still running through his mind. There was something in her tone of voice that had seemed strange. He glanced at her and noticed that not once since the most recent mudslide had she looked him straight in the eye. He was confused and almost hurt by her actions at avoiding his gaze and the shortness of her words toward him in that brief conversation. Now they were sitting with Chakotay on a fallen tree in the woods away from the mud, discussing the ship's current situation. The commander had said something about the possibility that there was a hostile ship out there in close proximity, but Tom couldn't seem to concentrate. He looked at B'Elanna. She was all muddy again; not half as muddy as he and Chakotay were, but he didn't think that was the reason for the change in her mood. "Paris, are you listening?" Chakotay's exasperated voice intruded on Tom's thoughts. He jerked his attention back to the present and looked at Chakotay. Tom tried a grin, but it failed miserably. Chakotay stared at Paris for a long moment. He didn't understand the younger man at all. Every time he thought he had him pegged, he turned around and surprised him. It had quickly become obvious to him that Paris had covered B'Elanna with his own body to protect her from the mudslide at risk to himself. And just now, when he had been prepared to berate Paris for not paying attention, Paris had flashed that lame excuse for a smile at him. He looked about as down in the mouth as Chakotay had ever seen him. And B'Elanna had completely withdrawn, not saying much of anything and refusing to look at either of them. Heaving a sigh, Chakotay spoke. "Listen you two, you could slice the tension in here with a knife. Now, I don't know what happened before I got here...did Paris do something to offend you...?" Chakotay was surprised when B'Elanna spoke, her voice defensive. "Tom didn't do anything. Why do you always blame him for everything?" Chakotay quirked an eyebrow. This was definitely a new twist. Torres coming to Paris' defense? "Okay," Chakotay acknowledged, "Paris didn't do anything." He turned to Tom, who had leaned forward in interest when B'Elanna spoke. "Anything you want to add?" Paris immediately pulled back, withdrawing. He shrugged. "Not really. I'd just like to get off this holodeck." Tom suddenly found himself flat on his back on the ground. No, that wasn't right. It was the deck underneath him. Looking around, he saw that the holoprogram had disappeared to be replaced by the black holodeck walls with the yellow grid pattern. The exit! Swinging his head around, he saw that B'Elanna was already headed in that direction. Chakotay followed and Paris was not far behind. The door slid open and they stepped out, catching Carey, who had been quietly cursing the computer under his breath, by surprise. Carey's eyes widened at the sight of the mud-covered trio. "Hey, shouldn't this mud have disappeared when the program shut off?" asked B'Elanna, always the engineer. *She's always thinking technically, isn't she?* Tom thought to himself, amused. He hadn't thought of that, but the mud should have disappeared, shouldn't it? Tom took a quick look behind him. Holodeck 2 appeared to be awash in a sea of mud. It was all over not only the floor, but the walls as well. And as he watched, more was synthesized. "Well, we'll worry about that later. For now--" "I suggest you work on getting the captain out of her quarters," Chakotay said to Carey. "Unless that's already been done?" Carey shook his head. "No, sir. I'll get right on it." As Carey strode down the hall, Chakotay turned to Torres and Paris. Taking in B'Elanna's slight limp, he said, "You should go to sickbay and have that looked at." "All I want to do is go to my quarters and take a long shower," B'Elanna replied. "It wouldn't hurt for you to check in with sickbay either, Paris." "Me?" Paris sounded surprised. "You were semi-conscious when I found you," Chakotay said. "Make sure you both have the doctor look you over before you report for duty." Chakotay headed down the corridor. The door to Kathryn Janeway's quarters slid open just as Carey reached it. At the same moment the ship's yellow alert sounded. Janeway turned to look at the other occupants of her quarters. "Ensign Kim, I'd like you on the bridge." She paused at his stricken look. "Like this?" he asked uncertainly, indicating his choice of clothing. Taking pity on the ensign, she said, "Paris' uniform should be dry by now. Put it on and get to the bridge as soon as possible." "Yes, Ma'am." She didn't correct him. For all she knew, this was crunch time. She bolted from her quarters and headed for the turbolift. As she reached it, the door slid open and Chakotay, a mud-covered Chakotay, stepped out. "Commander, I could use you on the bridge," Janeway said briskly. "Like this?" replied Chakotay, indicating his mud-covered state. Janeway smiled, thinking, *Didn't I just have this conversation with Kim?* "I'll take you
any way I can get you, Commander. Let's go." They stepped into the turbolift. Carey stood in the corridor outside the captain's quarters. Paris and Torres were out of the holodeck, Chakotay with them, which had been a surprise. The captain was out of her quarters. Hudson and Simms had also exited her quarters and Kim, in a red and black uniform, had just raced by, heading for the turbolift. And Carey still didn't know why everything had locked up in the first place, let alone why it had unlocked. Shaking his head, he headed for Engineering, sure there was something there that needed doing.