by Melanie
"Vorik, you're in charge," he yelled, running out. He did not stop running until he hit the turbolift then began again once he had reached B'Elanna's deck. Nearly knocking over two crewmembers along the way, he came to a halt in front of her door and pressed the chime. Then he pressed it again a moment later. After four more rings, a negligee-clad woman appeared, eyes barely open.
"B'Elanna, you'd better read this," he said, moving into the room behind her.
"What?" she murmured. "Read what?"
"The padd Tom gave you. I don't know when he was in Engineering. I certainly don't remember it and no one mentioned it, but obviously he was."
"Huh?"
"B'Elanna, you have to wake up!" He gave her a shake and her eyes popped open a little farther.
"Joe?"
"Read this."
She squinted at the padd he pressed into her palm, obviously not seeing it. A second later, she handed it back to him. "You read."
First, he sat her down in the nearest chair then sat himself on the couch, facing her before doing as asked.
"'B'Elanna, I know the truth about you and Harry,'" Joe read. "'I regret the fact neither of you felt you could come to me and tell me how you felt about one another, either before or after Dartin VIII.'"
Her eyes opened wider as she began to register the words. Joe noticed this and kept going.
"Doubtless, it would have saved both of you a great deal of heartache while I unknowingly kept you tied to me. I hope the general consensus amongst the crew is correct and you two are a better match than we ever were and you two can be happy. Tom.'"
By the time he had finished, B'Elanna was wide awake and pale and shaking. "How did he find out?" she whispered.
"B'Elanna, what-"
"I have to find him. Explain to him." She leapt up and would have rushed out if Joe had not caught her.
"B'Elanna, look at how you're dressed. You need to at least throw on a robe."
In a flash, she was into the bedroom and calling out to Tom over the Comm. "Torres to Paris."
There was no answer.
"Computer, locate, Lieutenant Paris."
-------
"Come."
Seated on the Ready Room couch, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay looked up from the reports they were discussing over a replicated lunch.
"Captain," Tom began, "the Doctor informed me of your decision regarding the Rachar and I've come asking you to reconsider."
She shook her head. "I can't, Tom," she said in a quiet voice and she almost reached out for Chakotay's hand for strength.
"Life is going to be rough for them there. And they probably won't be safe there from Gherop for long. Once the Gherop have figured out who the successor to T'Do will be, they'll come after the Rachar. I'm sure of it. They won't stop until they have them back or killed all of them. They don't like to be humiliated or to lose. The Rachar caused them to do both."
"Tom," Chakotay interrupted, "the Prime Directive-"
"It's interesting how this crew can forget and remember the Prime Directive seemingly at will. In fact it's been broken or ignored so many times I've lost count."
The First Officer was beginning to take offence. "Lieutenant-"
"You're not going to change your mind, are you, Captain?" Tom shook his head, already knowing her answer. "That's what I thought."
"This is not our fight," she insisted.
"I would have thought what they did to this crew would have made it your fight. Clearly, I was wrong." He laid the last of his two padds to one side of their lunch plates on the coffee table then exited the Ready Room.
Kathryn slumped back into the cushions.
"At least you talked to him," her First Officer comforted. "Once he's calmed down a bit, you two can try and talk some more, especially about what happened."
She nodded. "But am I right in not doing what he wants? After everything that happened, I feel like I owe it to him and I'm disappointing him."
"Yes, he's disappointed, but he'll get over it. I understand his desire to help them, but Voyager is only one ship. We're no match for the Gherop fleet. And he knows that. We've done all we can for them. But right now, he's still identifying with the Rachar. Given time, he'll begin to accept we can't help them any further."
"Yes," she sighed, picking up the padd he had left, "I know."
"More coffee?"
Automatically, she held out her cup as she activated the padd. Before he could begin pouring her another cup from the carafe, she gasped and would have dropped the cup if he had not caught it.
"Janeway to Paris," she called desperately.
No answer.
"Computer, locate Tom Paris."
"Tom Paris no longer is on Voyager," came the response, its calmness a marked contrast to her anxiety.
"No!"
"Kathryn? What's wrong?" Chakotay called as she rushed out of the room and he had to scramble to run after her. She was standing in the middle of the Bridge before he did. "He's probably just beamed over to Sunfire."
Shoving the padd at him, she ignored him. "Tuvok, where's Sunfire?"
"She powered up her engines and departed, Captain," the Vulcan answered, confused. "I assumed when Mr. Paris exited your Ready Room, said goodbye to me, then beamed directly to her that you had dispatched him on some mission."
"I didn't. Ensign Baytart?"
Tom's replacement at the Helm swiveled in his chair. "Yes, Captain?"
"Find out where Sunfire's gone."
"Captain?"
"Now!"
More than a little intimidated, the pilot whirled back to face the Conn.
Tuvok was staring at his old friend with an inquiring look on his face. "Captain?"
"He's left Voyager for good?!" Chakotay gasped, finally recovering from reading the letter of resignation that was Tom's message to the Captain.
The Bridge was silent except for Baytart's quiet: "She's gone, Captain. I can't find her trail. Lieutenant Paris did say something about Sunfire being unique and not leaving warp trails like other ships do. There's no way I know of to trace her."
"There has to be a way you're just not thinking of!" Janeway insisted angrily.
"Kathryn, we'll find him," Chakotay assured her. "He's in no state of mind to be making these sorts of decisions."
"Gherop ships detected at high warp," announced Tuvok. "They'll intercept us in fourteen minutes."
"Evasive maneuvers."
For the time being, necessity forced them to forget Tom Paris. They had to let him go. For now.
-------
*Sunfire.*
'Not you again.'
*Bring him to us, Sunfire.*
'I told you before, if you want him to come to you, explain why you want him and I'll tell him and maybe he'll come.'
*He can't be told yet.*
'Then he won't come.'
She knew the ship was firm on this and would not budge. 'Fine,' she thought to herself, 'I'll just have to bring him to us another way.'
* * *
The End of Part 5