Story takes place approximately five years after Voyager's entry
into the Delta Quadrant and assumes that P&T have been engaged
for a few months.

Summary: Tom is abducted and forced to become part of a corrupt
government's plan to control is populace.

Disclaimer: Paramount owns Voyager and its characters. I've only
borrowed the characters to satisfy my own creative urges.
Archiving is okay, just e-mail me. Please keep disclaimer and my
name attached.
 

DECEPTION, rated PG-13, 3/98
by PJ in NH
E-mail at kelhapam@lr.net
 

Chapter 1 - Prytolus

"...and so we knew there had to be someway to get Professor Mofek's
face to crack. I mean, Tuvok's animated compared to Mofek.  This
Vulcan didn't even raise an eyebrow and every lecture was delivered
strictly monotone, and I don't need to tell you that temporal
mechanics is boring enough to begin with.  Vulcan or no Vulcan, we
had determined that before the end of the semester we would get him
to show some kind of emotion."

"You not talking about Morose Mofek?" said Harry in disbelief as he
approached the table and sat down.

"The very same," confirmed Tom.

"So what did you do?" asked B'Elanna.

"Well I don't know if I should tell you," baited the pilot as he
reached over to touch her left ear lobe.  "After all this material
is really not suitable for a lady's delicate ears."

"Since when am I a lady," she growled.

"I've always thought of you as a lady my dear." he said smoothly.
"But, you can't say I didn't warn you...Seven, I'm sorry, you'll
have to forgive me they're forcing me."

"Come on Tom out with it, don't keep us waiting," pleaded Kim.
"What did you do?"

"All right, but if you ever try this on Tuvok, I'll disavow any
knowledge of the event."

"Tom commence your story," order Seven in a strong voice.  Even the
ex-Borg had been captivated by the introduction.

"I'm getting to it Seven, just wanted to create the mood," he said
a conceited smile on his face.  "It was a dark and stormy night--no
wait a minute, that's another story."  He cleared his voice and
began again obviously relishing the anticipation.  "It started..."

"Senior officers report to the ready room."

"Aargh!" they collectively groaned as they all marched out of the
Mess Hall.

*** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ ***

As her senior staff reluctantly filed into the Captain's ready
room, the Janeway was already seated at the head of the table.  "I
hope I wasn't interrupting something?" she asked as she looked at
all the sad faces save for her pilot.

"Nothing that we can't continue at another time," chimed in Tom
gracing her with his trademark grin.

"Good, well it's time to get down to business," she stated as she
got up out of her chair to start her customary pacing around the
table.  "We have just come across a message beacon inviting us to
come and partake of a neighboring planet's hospitality.  The planet
is called Prytolus.  Hopefully, we can use this opportunity to at
least replenish our food stores and purchase other necessary
supplies and, maybe, if things work out, we can even arrange for a
short shore leave." Looking around the room, she noticed that she
had everyone's undivided attention.  "We have been instructed to
contact the officials when we achieve orbit to make the necessary
arrangements.  Any questions?  Then everyone please return to your
stations."
 

A couple of hours later Prytolus appeared on the view screen, it
was a planet very similar to Earth with an abundance of water and
varied land surfaces.  It looked very inviting, very reminiscent of
home.

"Mr. Paris when should we arrive?"

"At our present speed, about fifty minutes, Captain."
 

Fifty minutes later, they achieved orbit around Prytolus.

"Mr. Kim, please contact the officials using the communication band
width identified by the beacon," instructed Janeway.

"Aye, aye, Captain.   Ready to transmit."

"Officials of Prytolus, this is Captain Katherine Janeway of the
U.S.S. Federation Starship Voyager, please respond."

"At your service Captain Janeway, I see that you found our beacon.
Allow me to introduce myself, I am Representative Ryola to the
First Prime Minister of Prytolus.  Welcome." The figure that
appeared on the view screen resembled a human except for the fact
that there were numerous blue splotches or spots all over his
forehead.

The Captain smiled. "Yes, we were hoping to avail ourselves of your
hospitality.  We are in need of restocking our food stores.  Do you
think you could help us?"

"Certainly, but first we would like to invite you and a few members
of your crew of your choosing to meet with us at the First Prime
Minister's residence here in the capital to attend a reception in
your honor at sundown tomorrow," he explained.

"We would be honored."

"Before you beam down, security dictates that you provide us with
some routine information regarding the members of your crew that
will be attending the reception, like name, visual I.D., rank, etc.

"Very well, we will send that information down first thing tomorrow
morning." she replied with a smile.  "I look forward to the
reception, Voyager out."

Janeway turned to her crew.  "Commander, Ms. Torres, Mr. Paris, and
Mr. Tuvok please plan to attend the reception, dress uniforms."

"Yes, Captain," they replied in unison.
 

The rest of the day passed by rather quickly as many of the crew
were called upon to assemble lists and to provide space in the
ship's cargo bays for the anticipated acquisitions.

That evening a very tired pilot and engineer prepared for bed,
using B'Elanna's quarters for the night.  "You know, eventually, we
are going to have to decide which cabin to use," complained Tom,
obviously it was a familiar argument.

"Tom, we've talked about this before, but I am just too tired to
talk about it tonight."

"That's fine, just promise me you'll think about it Bea, it won't
be long before we'll be husband and wife and it doesn't look good
for married couples to be living apart," he said with a smile and
he tweaked her pert nose.  "Okay?"

"I promise, I'll think about it.  I'll let you know before we leave
Prytolus."

"Okay.  Now let's turn in love of my life, I'm exhausted."

They cuddled against each other as was their custom, anything more
than that would have to wait for the morning, and before long they
were both sound asleep.

During the night, B'Elanna received an emergency message from the
Delta Shift.  They had experienced a critical problem when they had
tested the transporter pad and needed both B'Elanna and Carey to
help make corrections so the transporters would be ready for their
important tasks scheduled for the next couple of days.

It was a couple of hours before she was able to return to her
quarters.  When she entered her cabin she didn't even call for
illumination, not wanting to wake Tom. As she quietly took off her
uniform she heard muffled noises from the sleeping area.  Nearing
the bed, she could see that the pilot was having another nightmare.
They had been less frequent lately, coinciding with their new
sleeping arrangement, but when he did experience one it was just a
troubling as then ones he had had in the past.

"No stay away," he mumbled.  "I don't want...it hurts..."

B'Elanna crawled in beside him and hugged his shaking body to hers.
"Ssssh, Tom, it's alright I'm here."

"Not again...leave me alone..."

<Wouldn't those memories from the Rehab Colony ever leave him
alone?>  She shook him gently.  "Tom, wake up your on Voyager, your
safe."

The blue, troubled eyes opened.  Realizing that he had had a
nightmare his arms sought out his love and he nestled his cheek
against hers.  "B'Elanna, I don't know what I'd do without you, all
you have to do is touch me, talk to me, and everything is right
again. I love you so much."

"Then hold on to me," she offered as she kissed him tenderly on the
lips and turned in his arms so he could spoon his body against
hers.  "Just hold me and try to go back to sleep, tomorrow's a busy
day."  It took a while, but eventually his breathing evened out and
his arms relaxed and she knew and he had finally achieved a restful
sleep.  She followed his example and soon she was back to sleep
herself.
 

Chapter 2 - Misconception

The requested information was transmitted to the surface for
Representative Ryola's perusal.  There was one piece of information
sent that intrigued him and he went to share this with the Prime
Minister.  The day had all of a sudden had gotten very interesting.
 

"You'll double check the invitees to this 'reception,' ordered the
Prime Minister, as he reviewed the information he had been
presented "Cross any names off the list who are not familiar with
the situation."

"Yes sir."
 

*** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ ***

The four crewmembers and their Captain assembled in the transporter
room at 1800 hours, all looking slightly uncomfortable in the
seldom warn dress uniforms.  Paris tugged on his collar
demonstrating obvious discomfort as the edge of the collar happened
to coincide with the love bite B'Elanna had bestowed on him that
morning. <I should have found the time to go that Sickbay to get it
taken care.>

"Nervous, Tom," as B'Elanna.

"No but why do these affairs always have to be formal?  he
complained.  "Can't they ever arrange for an informal reception?
Like a picnic?"

Chakotay slapped the pilot on the back. "I'm sure the Captain
requested a dress uniforms just to annoy you Tom."

"I figured it was either that or maybe you talked here into it," he
grumbled.

The rest of the group chuckled, except for Tuvok, and proceeded to
the transporter pads.

"Well is everyone ready? Good.  Mr. Wilson please beam us down to
the appropriate coordinates," requested the Captain.

Within moments the beam shimmered around all the five and they were
transported to the reception area at the First Prime Minister's
Palace.  The reception area was a large white room accented by blue
trim with high ceilings and oval-shaped windows, brightly
illuminated by hidden light sources and decorated with numerous
plants and paintings.  Several Prytolians, came over to the Voyager
crew to greet them.

"Ahh, Captain Janeway I believe," said the familiar voice from the
previous transmission.  "Let me introduce you our First Prime
Minister, Curielan.

The Captain approached the Prime Minister.  "Minister Curielan, its
an honor to make your acquaintance, I hope we can do business
together."

"The pleasure is all mine, but please call me Curielan," he offered,
"and I'm sure we can come to a suitable arrangement regarding your
food requirements."  Though he was talking to the Captain, his gaze
kept traveling to the pilot that was standing behind her.

Behind the Minister, Representative Ryola and a colleague were
conferring amongst themselves in obvious interest, and every time
they looked up their eyes fell on Paris as well.

"Let me introduce you to some of my crewmembers," the captain
offered.  "Curielan, this is Commander Chakotay my first officer."
The Indian shook hands with the Minister and then Janeway turned to
Tuvok.  "And this is Lt. Commander Tuvok, our Chief of Security."
The Vulcan also greeted the minister.  "This is our Chief of
Engineering, Lt. B'Elanna Torres, and our Chief Pilot, Lt. Tom
Paris."  Curielan shook hands with B'Elanna as well as Tom, but
lingered as he shook the pilot's hand blatantly observing his
facial features, which caused Paris to blush."

"You are not all of the same race," stated Curielan.

"No, Mr. Tuvok is Vulcan, Ms. Torres is half-human/half-Klingon,
and Commander Chakotay, Lt. Paris, and myself are humans." she
explained.

"Interesting, now I have to make a formal announcement, it's one of
the things that I'm expected to do." he said to her in a low voice.

The captain lightly laughed at the joke.

"Visitors from Voyager," he addressed his guests, "on behalf of the
Prytolian government I welcome you to our fair planet.  I hope that
you will enjoy your brief stay.  Please help yourself to the
refreshments."
 
 

*** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ ***

"Bea this could be worse," he said later as he removed two glasses
of Prytolian wine from a tray held by an attendant.  The food's
good, the wine is" as he took a sip from the glass "ah. . .
acceptable, and the atmosphere is  . . . well it isn't Voyager."

"I have to agree the food isn't bad, it certainly beats some of
Neelix's concoctions."

"It wouldn't take much to accomplish that," he laughed as he looked
around .  "You know, Bea, call me paranoid but I keep having this
feeling that I'm being watched."

"Okay, your paranoid."

"No really, I'm serious, I haven't felt this way since, well...
since the Admiral used to drag me along to some of his Starfleet
parties.  I was the only child there so everyone kept their eye on
me.  I guess they were afraid I'd run off with the family silver."

"I'm sure it's just your imagination Tom, maybe the Pytolians
aren't used to seeing someone as tall and handsome as you are?" she
teased.

"You know, your probably right, I am one unique specimen." he joked
as puffed out his chest in a proud pose.  They then proceeded to
circulate around the room, pausing every so often to answer and ask
questions.

Representative Ryola approached the two lieutenants, carrying two
full glasses of Prytolian wine, he offered one to each of them.
"It appears that you need a refill.  Lt. Torres and Lt. Paris isn't
it?"  The two lieutenants nodded and accepted the refreshments.
"Perhaps I could interest you in a tour of our Hall of
Appreciation?  I think you might be interested in some Prytolian's
finest works of art."

"We'd be delighted." responded the pilot graciously for the both of
them.

"Then please follow me, its right through these doors."
 

*** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ ***

"...and if you look over here you'll see a painting by one of our
finest artists of our great victory on the Tyleen Ocean." Their
eyes focused on a large painting obviously depicting an important
maritime conflict that contained many vessels and a generous
display of fire power.

<<Representative Ryola please report to the atrium.>> came the
message over the intercom system.

"I'm sorry, duty calls, you'll have to excuse me.  Please continue
the tour, if either of you needs to use the 'comfort area' it's at
the end of the far hall."

B'Elanna shook his hand.  "I'm sure we will be fine, thank you for
taking the trouble to show us your lovely art collection."  Tom
nodded in agreement.

The engineer and pilot resumed their tour.  B'Elanna finished her
beverage but noticed that Tom had only drunk about half of his
glass.  "What's the matter," she said pointing to the glass "the
wine's not up to your standards?"

"Well, I didn't want to say anything to our host, but I think it
tastes sour," holding the glass up to the light to inspect the
contents. "Perhaps my glass was poured from a different bottle than
yours."

"You know," she said worriedly as she reached up to touch his cheek
and sweaty forehead, "you look even more pale that usual and your
running a fever, are you feeling all right?"

"To be honest, Bea, I've felt better, in fact I'm feeling a bit
nauseous.  Maybe I'll check out that 'comfort area'."  He handed
her his half-filled glass and headed down the hall that Ryola
pointed out earlier.
 

Chapter 3 - Seclusion

A half an hour had passed and B'Elanna was still waiting for Tom to
return.  She had walked around the room twice and looked at all of
the paintings and sculptures again and had returned to the space
she had occupied when he first left the room.  Just as she was
about to go and investigate, a sound from behind her startled her.
She immediately turned around only to bump into Chakotay and
spilled the remaining contents of Tom's glass down the front of her
uniform.

"Sorry B'Elanna, I didn't mean to startle you."

"That's okay," she said distractedly as she tried to brush away the
wetness.

"Where's Tom?"

"He wasn't feeling well and went to use the rest room, but that was
about a half an hour ago.  To tell you the truth, I'm starting to
get worried.  Would you mind coming with me to check it out, I'd
hate to walk in on anybody besides Tom?"

"Sure, just point me in the right direction."

She lead him over to the hallway and accompanied him down the
corridor until they came to the end.  "You go on in, I'll just wait
out here."

The Commander entered the room and after a brief inspection,
quickly rejoined B'Elanna in the Hall.  "He's not in there
B'Elanna, maybe he took a wrong turn on his way back to join you?"

The half-Klingon activated her commbadge in response. "Torres to
Paris."

No answer.

"Chakotay to Paris."

Again, no answer.

"Chakotay to Voyager."

"Kim here, Commander."

"Mr. Kim did Lt. Paris return to the ship?"

"No one has returned sir."

"It appears that our pilot is missing, maybe he's getting cold feet
about the wedding already," he said with a grin for B'Elanna's
benefit.  "Please institute a scan of the immediate area."

"Aye, aye sir, I'll get right back to you."

"Very good Harry.  B'Elanna let's go back and inform the Captain."
 

Chakotay guided B'Elanna out of the Hall of Appreciation back to
the reception area.   It took a little while but they finally found
the Captain talking with Curielan on the other side of the room.
"Captain?"

"Yes, what is it Commander?"

"I thought that you should know that Mr. Paris is missing and is
not answering his commbadge."

"Did he return to Voyager?"

"No, I've already checked on that."

"Kim to Commander Chakotay."

"Go ahead Mr. Kim."

"I've had located Tom's commbadge, it appears to be about a half a
kilometer to the west of your present location."

"Very good Mr. Kim, we'll check it out."

"You might need some assistance, I'll send Representative Ryola
with you," offered Curielan.
 

After about forty minutes, Chakotay and Representative Ryola made
the gruesome discovery. Underneath a grove of trees they found what
was left of the pilot's torn and bloody dress uniform.  Ryola
explained to the Commander that by the looks of what remained, it
was quite apparent that a pack of kyenkas, Prytolian wolves, had
attacked and killed the lieutenant.  The Indian reached up and
reluctantly activated his commbadge.  "Captain, it looks like we
found something, I'm over by the tall group of trees not far from
the fountain."  This was going to be very difficult.

Hoping to protect B'Elanna, Chakotay quickly left the area in an
effort to prevent her from seeing her fianc‚'s remains, what there
was of them.

The engineer and captain approached.  Chakotay grabbed B'Elanna by
her upper arms. <How can I say these words to her?  How can I tell
her that her fiance has been killed?>

Noticing the look on the commander's face which said it all,
B'Elanna shook her head in disbelief. "Noooo!  Noooo!"

He was unable to stop her as she broke free of him and ran past him
into the grove of trees.  Seeing the bloody uniform on the ground,
she crumbled to the ground and clutched the torn clothing to her
chest and emitted a pitiful wail.

Janeway started to walk past Chakotay to go to B'Elanna's aid but
was stopped by her First Officer.  "Let her be Katherine," his voice
thick with emotion.  "She needs to be alone right now, Klingons
prefer to grieve in isolation.  If we go in, we'll only embarrass
her."

"So he's gone?" she questioned looking at the man in front of her,
she couldn't bring herself to say 'dead.'

"I don't see how he could have survived, his uniform, what's left
of it is torn and bloody, he lost a great deal of blood.  According
to Ryola, an animal called a kyenka, it apparently resembles some
type of wolf," he explained "attacked and killed him.  I'm afraid
we will never see Tom again."

"My heart just breaks for her," the captain said softly, "they had
so much to look forward to and now it's all gone.  They had finally
found their happiness."

She collapsed into his waiting arms and cried.  After a while, she
lifted her tear-stained face up to him. "I'm sorry, this is not
very becoming for a Starfleet captain."

"You don't need to apologize.  We'll all miss him," he choked and
cradled her in his strong arms.  In the background, they could
still hear B'Elanna's cries.
 

*** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ ***

Oh gods, if he could just get to the rest room before he lost it in
the hallway.  It was bad enough to be sick, but when you were
trying to make a good impression, it was worse.

He finally found the comfort area as promised at the end of the
hall and gratefully pushed open the door and stumbled inside.  When
the lights didn't automatically turn on, he searched the wall near
the door for an activation switch, but before he could locate it,
his arms were grabbed from behind, a hand was clasped over his
mouth.  He could feel someone administering a syringe into the side
of his neck.  Before the drug took affect and he lost
consciousness, he could feel his uniform being brutally torn from
his body and what felt like needles being inserted in both arms.
 

Chapter 4 - Re-education

He awoke to darkness, something was covering his eyes and he was
being restrained.  He tried to speak, but all he could do was moan
as his mouth was taped shut.  As he became more aware of the
circumstances, he could feel a pair hands repeatedly touching his
forehead.

"There, about done and just in time it seems, he's waking up.  He's
still a very pale, we may have taken too much blood from him, but
I confident he'll recover.  It's time for the next phase of the
plan, take him into the next room, I'll inform Doctor Warlek that
he's ready," he ordered the assistant.

The pilot uselessly struggled on the bed as the assistant did as
bade and moved him into another room.  <What is going on?  Where am
I?  What are they doing to me?>  After few minutes the movement
stopped, apparently they had reached their destination.

"Ah, I see you have brought our visitor," the new voice said as he
nodded to the assistant to leave.  "My name is Doctor Warlek.  With
a flourish he brutally ripped off the tape that covered the pilot's
mouth and eyes.

"Aargh!"
 
"Let me welcome you to my humble laboratory, Mr. Paris, it's time
for your re-education."

Squinting his eyes against the glare of the harsh light, the tired
pilot attempted to clear his dry throat.  "What are you talking
about?  Where are my crewmates?  Why am I here?"  He looked down at
the restraints and noticed that they had dressed him in a grey
jumpsuit, reminiscent of similar clothes he had worn at the Rehab
Colony. "Where is my uniform?"

"Your here to perform an important service for the people of
Prytolus, you should be honored," he explained as he approached
within a hand's breadth of the patient's face, "and your crewmates
are long gone, they think your dead."  Tom looked back at Warlek,
a look that conveyed his disbelief.

"No?  You don't believe me?  Maybe you'll believe this."  With a
push of a button, a screen descended from the ceiling and a vid
tape began to play.  Tom could hear and see everything that had
happened yesterday in the grove of trees, Chakotay and
Representative Ryola finding the remains, B'Elanna sobbing and
clutching his bloody uniform, Chakotay holding Janeway while she
cried--everything.  These Pytolians had done their job well, it
certainly looked like B'Elanna and his friends thought he was dead.

Seeing B'Elanna so distraught tore at his heart, how dare they make
the woman he loved so heartbroken.  "You bastards!" he screamed as
he struggled against the restraints, but his words meant nothing to
the doctor.

"Before your done human your not even going to remember your
friends, you'll be firmly convinced that you are a Prytolian of the
worker caste." he spoke with confidence.

"I think you might be underestimating this guinea pig," spat Paris.

"We'll see, or maybe you should see?"  The interrogator turned to
the table behind him and grabbed a mirror and shoved it in front of
his patient's face.

The reflection that greeted the pilot was not what he expected.
His forehead was covered with green splotches, not as many or the
same color as the Pytolians he had already seen, but obviously they
wanted him to look like one of them.  The pilot's eyes narrowed in
suspicion. "What are you planning?"

The overconfident Doctor silently turned back to the screen and
pushed another button on the console and another series of images
appeared.  This vid had been shot from a distance, Tom could see
many Prytolians gathered attending a meeting of some sort.  Most of
the people he saw were ill-dressed and had green spots on their
foreheads, but there were also some in attendance with blue and red
spots.  In the background, he could see the person that was
addressing the crowd with a raised fist in the air.  He was
speaking to the assembled crowd extolling them with passion to
continue their fight in the name of freedom and equality for all
sectors of the population, ruling caste, religious caste, and
particularly the worker caste.  The crowd shouted in unison
repeating the same words over and over "Madeel! Madeel! Freedom for
the Workers, Equality for Prytolus!"

As the picture ultimately zoomed in and focused solely on the
leader, Paris could see that it was the same image that he had just
seen in the mirror.  He was shocked, his mouth agape and looked at
the smiling, conceited face of the doctor and then back to the
screen.  The next image to be seen was taken in a room very much
like the one he was in, they were cruelly interrogating the man,
asking him over and over again to denounce his cause.  Every
question was responded to in the same manner, total silence.  The
final set of images showed his 'twin' painfully dying as he no
longer could withstand the torture he had been forced to endure.
Then the screen went black.  Paris had watched this all in a
similar silence and when it was over he looked up with a
questioning look at the doctor.

"You still don't get it you simple human?  Do I have to spell it
out for you?" Warlek said condescendingly.  "Your going to become
Madeel, your going to speak to the people of Prytolus, and in
particular the worker caste, and tell them that you were wrong and
denounce the rebellion and claim that the religious caste and
especially the elite caste deserve all the power that they have
achieved and earned over the years.  Your going to tell them that
the worker caste should humble themselves again and be proud to
serve the more enlightened Pytolians."

"Your insane!  I won't do it! You can't make me! Besides Madeel is
dead, it won't work."

"Only a few people know that Madeel is dead and believe me by the
time we're done, even you are going to believe that you are this
Madeel."  Warlek picked up a large syringe and completely injected
the substance it contained in into Paris' arm.  "Trust me, you'll
believe, this wonderful drug will work its miracle, you'll see."

It wasn't long before the room began to spin and swirl and Paris
started to feel the effects of the drug the Doctor had injected
into his system.  Warlek proceeded to secure conditioning straps to
Paris' wrists and ankles and then he left the room.

He returned a short while later with an assistant, checked on his
reluctant patient again and determined that it was time to begin
and picked up an activation device, a small black box with a red
button in the center.  Clasping his hands around his back he walked
over the Paris.

"It's time for your re-education," he announced calmly  "I should
warn you, this is all up to you.  You can make it easy or difficult
and believe me," he threatened "I can make it very difficult."
Warlek sat down and made himself comfortable.  "Let's begin.
What's your name?"

"Lieutenant Tom Paris of the Star. . ." Warlek pushed the red button
and an electrical charge surged through the pilot's body causing
him to scream in agony and gasp for breath.

"Wrong answer," he said calmly,  your name is Madeel.  Shall we try
again?  What is your name?"

Paris repeated his original answer and again received the same
response and electrical jolt.  This continued several more times,
occasionally the jolts in combination with his dizziness resulted
in the pilot retching painfully until after a while there was
nothing left to vomit.  Each time he spoke, his voice sounded
weaker and more unsure, until late in the afternoon he ultimately
lapsed into unconsciousness.

The doctor turned to his assistant.  "This is enough for today, I
am surprised though, this human's more resistant than I thought.
We'll continue tomorrow.  Remember, he is to receive no water or
food until he cooperates."

Tom awoke a while later in a dark cell, having apparently been
deposited there sometime after he had passed out.  It was all he
could do to pull himself up off the cold floor and onto the small
cot that occupied the cell.  Whatever was in that drug, he mused,
certainly packed a punch.  His vision was still wavering and the
exertion that he expended to get on the cot caused him to become
nauseous again.  He attempted to ward off the inevitable by taking
a series of deep breaths, but in the end he doubled over and
started dry heaving again.  <Someone help me, please.>.
Eventually, tired and sore, he just closed his eyes and was
thankful when he finally fell to sleep.

He was still asleep the next morning when he was dragged from the
cot back to the interrogation room and again was strapped to the
bed.  A short while later, the door to the room loudly slammed open
which made him jerk against the restraints.  The doctor entered
carrying a tall glass of water, his assistant was close behind him.
"Good morning, are you ready for your second session?"  He was
greeted with silence.  "Let's begin."  Warlek brought out the
syringe again and again injected the contents into the pilot's arm
and waited patiently for the drug to take effect.  He then motioned
for his assistant to hand him the activation device, and he asked
the pilot again.  "Who are you, what his your name?"

"Lieutenant Tom . .  AARGH!"

"You'd think you would learn.   I told you your name is Madeel.
Didn't yesterday mean anything?"

The question was only answered by a look of defiance on Tom's face.

Warlek picked up the glass of water and walked over to his victim
and took a long drink and licked his lips relishing his
refreshment.  "I would imagine that you must be thirsty?  I know
that most patients that receive the injections become very dry,
it's one of the side effects, along with the nausea--rather an odd
combination.  Are you sure you don't want some?" and he took
another slurp from the glass.

He was right, he was dizzy, nauseous, but very thirsty, his mouth
tasted like dust, he could barely swallow, but he vowed that he
wouldn't give in.  The pilot tried to spit at Warlek, but because
his mouth was so dry nothing came out.

"I know you want some water and you can have some, but not now, not
until you cooperate."

"Let's try again.  What's your name..."

The lesson continued for most of the second day with the same
results.  Finally the pilot, as had happened the previous day,
eventually passed out from exhaustion.

"Tomorrow Doctor?" queried the assistant.

"Tomorrow.  I'm sure the results will be better tomorrow.  All we
need is for him to admit that he is Madeel once, for him to want
the water badly enough, and the rest of his defenses will all come
down."

Again Paris was thrown in the cell, but this time he did not wake
as he had the previous night.  He was still on the cold floor when
the guards came to wake him to move him back to the interrogation
room the next morning.

The third day started out much like the other two, only this time
the doctor injected an even larger dose of the drug into his
patient.  And again the doctor brought in a large glass of water in
which to tempt him.  By mid-afternoon, the scale started to tip in
the Warlek's favor.

The doctor paced back and forth, obviously getting more annoyed.
"I know your thirsty, you want the water.  If you cooperate you can
have the whole glass, I can even give you something for the nausea.
So again I ask you, WHAT--IS--YOUR--NAME!?" he asked for the
eighteenth time that day.

There was no response, but Tom's eyes never left the glass of water
sitting next to him on the table, it was the only thing he could
see, the rest of his world spun all around him, pitching first one
way and then the other--and he was so thirsty.  He wanted the
water, he needed the water, he wanted to feel the cool wetness of
it flow down his dry arid throat.

Warlek moved closer to the dazed pilot sensing victory.  "I said,
WHAT--IS--YOUR--NAME!?"

"Um, um . . . ah . . . ," he murmured almost inaudibly, his lips
cracked and the tongue swollen, he looked at the doctor, then back
to the water, "It's . . . it's . . .Madeel."

"I don't think I heard you, what did you say?" he teased and he
lightly pushed the button which gave the pilot a minor, but in his
condition, painful jolt.

"It's Madeel." he responded a little bit stronger through a fog-
filled daze, his world tilted on a shaky axis.

"Very good Madeel" and he reached over and brought the glass to the
pilot's lips and let him drink.

Madeel/Tom drank the entire contents of the glass, though in his
haste to drink a lot spilled down his chin, but it tasted so good,
so good.
 

Chapter 5 - Re-examination

Captain's log

It has been three days since Voyager left orbit around Prytolus.
Since our departure, Voyager has been cloaked in a cloud of gloom.
B'Elanna and Harry are so depressed I doubt if either is eating or
sleeping.   B'Elanna is obviously blaming herself for what happened
to Tom.  I must send them down to the doctor to see if he can help
them before they become seriously ill.

Life on Voyager is no longer the same.  How can one person's
absence affect the quality of life on this ship so much.  I don't
know, but it has.  I no longer hear any laughter from the crew.

Tom's one-liners and gentle, and not-so-gentle, ribbing of the
First Officer and Chief of Security are going to be missed by all,
even by Chakotay and Tuvok.  I'll miss the way he could reduce a
complicated problem down to its bare essentials.  Tuvok would
describe a problem down to the most minute detail, then Tom in just
a few raw words could reduce it to its bare essentials while still
retaining all its crucial elements.  There's another thing I'm
going to miss, the way he had of saying "yes, ma'am," it just rolled
off his tongue so naturally.  I never even cared if it wasn't
'crunch time,' though I never told him.  Yes, I think I'm going to
miss hearing him speak those words maybe most of all.

The ship is now dull and solemn, devoid of life, its spark has been
extinguished.

End log.
 
 

In engineering things were in a whirlwind.  Where B'Elanna led, her
staff followed, not always willingly, but they followed.  Every
system was checked and rechecked, every trivial maintenance task
that could be accomplished was being performed.  If they were busy,
she was busy.  It was the only way she could think of to survive.
In the past, she had taken them along on these involuntary wild
rides but this time it was different.  In the past, if you had come
across one of the engineering staff during one of these escapades
they could be heard loudly complaining about the excess, and what
was often deemed unnecessary, work.  They would complain that the
B'Elanna was being unreasonable and unfair.  This time, however,
all that could be heard was that, while they admitted that they
were being worked hard and were tired, they all sympathized with
the Chief Engineer.  All knew of her feelings toward Voyager's
former pilot and could see how deeply his death affected her.  So
her crew followed her, knowing that eventually, even the half-
Klingon would either slow down or drop.

The fourth morning since their departure from Prytolus started out
like the other three had.  After a few hours of restless sleep, the
alarm rang and B'Elanna arose from the sofa she had been sleeping
on still fresh with the memories of a dream, no a nightmare.  She
had been plagued with the same nightmare since the visit to
Prytolus.  Mostly, it just consisted of a jumble of images, the
most disturbing was the image of the remains of his bloody uniform,
she just couldn't get it out of her mind.  Maybe she should go back
to sleeping in her bed, she mused, maybe she would sleep better.
Since his death though she couldn't bear to sleep there, it still
smelt like Tom and it brought back too many memories, happy
memories, but painful in their own way.  She stumbled into the
bathroom tired from lack of sleep and took her shower.  Afterwards,
she took the time to finally pick up her quarters for the first
time since they had returned from the planet.  There on the floor
she spotted her dress uniform where she had thrown it in
frustration.  She picked it up and hung it in her closet,
forgetting that Tom's drink had spilled on it and it should have
gone in the refresher.  She quickly tidied up the rest of her
quarters and hurried out the door on the way to engineering--her
refuge.

Entering the turbolift she ran into Chakotay.

"B'Elanna how are you feeling?

"How do you think I'm feeling?" she snapped.  "I can't sleep.  I
can't eat.  All I do is think of him."

"I know this isn't a good time, but I promised the Captain. Have
you given any more thought regarding a memorial service for Tom?"
he asked carefully steeling himself for her backlash.

"I have."

"And?"

"Not yet Chakotay, not yet.. . . I'll tell you when, but I can't do
it yet." she said firmly not even looking back at him as she exited
the lift.

By the tone in her voice he knew that he had picked a poor time to
ask her.  "Fine," he called after her "I'll tell the Captain, you
just let me know when your ready.  Okay?"  She nodded.
 
 

Engineering was full of activity when she stormed in that morning
and she immediately went to work issuing orders to various
engineers and technicians.  "Carey please check out turbolift 4, I
was just in it and I think it . . . well just look at it."

"Aye, aye." responded Carey crisply, knowing that he would probably
find nothing.

"Nicoletti, go down to the Mess Hall and help Neelix with his
steamer, he says its acting up again, and don't come back until he
is satisfied."

"Right away."

"Seven of Nine," she called.

"Coming."

"Seven, you can help me in jeffries tube 12."

"Acknowledged."  Seven picked up her maintenance kit and followed
B'Elanna back out into the hall and into the nearest turbolift.

They got off at level 5 and proceeded to the closest access point
to JT 12.  After crawling in quite a ways, they reached the
juncture of another tube and the Chief Engineer put down her tool
kit and started disassembling a control panel.  The half-Klingon
hadn't said a single word to the former Borg since they left
engineering, the nightmare was still playing through her mind as if
on continuous replay.

"Lt. Torres?"

"Yes Seven."

"I worked on that control panel yesterday, it's in perfect working
order." she observed.

"Well just because it's the one your worked on yesterday, doesn't
mean that it doesn't require service today. Tom," she choked,
"always told me you can't judge a book by its cover."

"Judge a book by its cover?  Explain."

B'Elanna continued to pull apart the control panel. "Well it means
that just because something looks a certain way on the outside,"
she explained as she removed a faulty conductor, "that that's not
necessarily what it looks on...um...the...inside..."  She suddenly
stopped working, her hands still holding the defective item, her
eyes focused on something thousands of miles away.

"Lieutenant are you all right?  Seven asked after several seconds
had passed.  "Lieutenant?"

"Seven, what was the question?"

"Are you functioning adequately?"

"Ah... yes, I think so, maybe for the first time in...ah...finish
this up Seven, if anyone comes looking for me, tell them I'm in
Sickbay."

"Acknowledged."

The Chief Engineer nodded and headed out the tubes on the way to
see the Doctor, leaving the blond alone obviously puzzled.
 
 

She entered the Sickbay a short time later carrying a parcel.
"Activate EMH." she ordered as soon as the doors slid shut behind
her.

"Ah, Lt. Torres, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering, do you still have the remains of Tom's dress
uniform?"

"Of course."

"Tell me you didn't have it cleaned yet."

"I didn't have it cleaned yet."

"I mean it, this isn't a joke, did have you refreshed it?"

"No, not yet I've been rather busy training my new assistant." he
said shaking his head.  He never would have thought he would have
admitted it, but he missed Tom, even though at times he had been a
little unorthodox.

"Would you do me a favor and get it and check something out for me?"

"Of course, Lieutenant." he replied confusedly, and he turned to
collect what remained of the still bloody uniform from this office.

"You checked the blood and its Tom's right?" she asked when he
returned.

"Yes, you were here when I did it."

"Did you check for anything else?"

"No, what else did I need to check for?"

"Can you go over the uniform again and tell me if there are any
signs of other significant traces of DNA on the uniform?" she
asked.

"If you insist."

"I do."

After a few tense minutes, the Doctor finished his examination.
"No, there are no other significant traces of DNA on the uniform."

"Nothing that might account for...say...animal saliva?"

"No."

<One down and two to go but don't get your hopes up yet Torres, not
yet.>

B'Elanna opened the package she was carrying and removed her own
dress uniform.  "Could you check this uniform and tell me what you
find?"

"Of course, but I still don't understand."

"Please, just do it," she asked.

After another anxious wait, longer that the first, the Doctor read
off the tricorder results.  "Other than what remains of your own
DNA signature, there appears to be traces of a variety of
chemicals, namely on the front of your uniform in the area of the
stain, there's sodium, iridium, copper, ditholian, . . ."

"I don't have time to hear the complete list, just extrapolate the
results," she interrupted.

"I would say, judging from the chemical makeup, that what's on your
uniform would relate to possibly the ingredients of an alcoholic
beverage, and" he stopped, suddenly it dawned on him why she had
come to Sickbay.

"And what?"

"If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say some type of narcotic."

"Could this narcotic produce nausea and a fever, Doctor?"

"Oh, yes, most definitely."

<Two down.> "Thank you!"  The half-Klingon kissed the surprised EMH
and tapped her commbadge.  "Lt. Torres to Captain Janeway!"

"Yes, B'Elanna." replied the Captain obviously surprised by the
exuberant tone of her Chief Engineer's voice.

"Could you come to Sickbay, I have something to show you."

"Of course."

"What was that all about?" asked her First Officer turning towards
the Captain also obviously questioning the half-Klingon's tone of
voice.

"I have no idea, want to come along and find out?"
 

*** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ ***

B'Elanna was furiously pacing and in deep concentration when the
Captain and Commanding Officer entered the Sickbay.

"B'Elanna I hope you don't mind, but I've brought Chakotay along."

"Not at all, he should hear this too." and she related what she had
suspected and the Doctor had confirmed.  "So Captain, taking into
account the total lack of animal saliva and the presence of a
drug/narcotic that was in his drink," she concluded "Tom might still
be alive.  At the very least though, we certainly don't have the
whole story."

"Your right." agreed the Captain, the Commander nodded his head in
agreement.

"Captain to Commander Tuvok."

"Tuvok here."

"Tuvok take us back to Prytolus, fastest speed possible."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

That night as a demonstration of her faith that her mate was still
alive, she slept again in her bed, deeply breathing in his scent
that had remained on the sheets and pillows, and for the first time
since that fateful night she slept undisturbed.
 

Chapter 6 - Deception and Discovery

"So are we ready to implement out plan?" Curielan asked Warlek.

"Soon, I just want to make sure that the drugs I'm pumping into his
system are at satisfactory levels.  I still can't believe how much
it took before we achieved our goals.  These humans are more
resilient than we thought."

"Just make sure he doesn't look like he is under the influence of
your drugs when it comes time for his speech."

Madeel/Paris was sitting up in bed eating breakfast when Warlek
entered the interrogation room the next morning and drew another
syringe, this time not as full as the others had been.  "So Madeel
how are you this morning, are you ready for your medicine?"

"I don't want another shot," he snapped, obviously irritated.  "It
makes me feel like I've got insects crawling around inside my
head."

"Now you know that the medicine is helping.  Your not having those
bad dreams anymore are you."

Reluctantly, he admitted that the dreams had stopped.  The dreams
were always of a tanned, dark haired woman with an odd forehead,
they weren't exactly bad dreams, but they disturbed his sleep, so
he allowed the doctor to pull up the sleeve of his grey jumpsuit.

"There," the doctor replied in a soothing voice as he finished
giving him the shot, "that's better. Have you been reviewing the
information I left you yesterday?  Good, let's go over it
together."
 

Four hours later.

"Now repeat after me: 'I have taken the time..."

"I have taken the time," Madeel/Paris repeated in a monotone voice,
his face devoid of all emotion with the drug in his system.

"over the past several months..."

"over the past several months."

"Your doing wonderfully," the doctor motioned for his assistant to
take his place.  "Now, keep on going over this information with our
patient, if you have any problems just call for me."

"Very good Doctor."
 

*** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ ***

"Dr. Warlek, please come in," Curielan asked the doctor.  "So tell
me how is our little project coming along?"

"Very good sir, I think you should be able to schedule the press
conference in two days.  He'll be ready then."

"Wonderful!" beamed the Prime Minister.  "The sooner we put this
behind us the better.  Just remember Doctor, he had better be
convincing, I don't want a drugged-up, half-asleep man giving this
speech, it has to look real, it has to be 'Madeel' on the podium."

"It will, you can trust me, they'll all believe it's him.  After
all have I ever failed you?"
 

Chapter 6 - Deception and Discovery

Mr. Perkins don't bring us too close to Prytolus, I don't want them
knowing that Voyager has returned.

"Yes Captain."

"Mr. Kim, are you detecting any audio or visual transmission?"

"Not at this moment Captain, but I'll keep you informed."

"Very good keep on it."

Janeway tapped her commbadge.  "Senior staff please report to my
ready room in twenty minutes."  "All except you Harry, I need you
at communications." <Tom needs you at communications.>

Harry nodded his head unknowingly echoing the same thought.
 

Twenty minutes later, the Captain, Chakotay, B'Elanna, Tuvok,
Seven, and the Doctor had assembled in the Ready Room.

"We are now in range of the planet, it is my plan to send a shuttle
within transporter range of the capital of Prytolus.  Mr. Tuvok you
will pilot that shuttle."  The Vulcan gave a brief nod.  "The
Prytolian's lack of a sophisticated sensing equipment shouldn't be
able to detect a small shuttlecraft, I hope.  Then Chakotay,
B'Elanna, and myself will transport down to the planet, just
outside of the capital.  Doctor, I would like you to come to, you
will stay with Tuvok while we are on the planet, unfortunately I
would imagine that if we find Lt. Paris, he will require your
services."

"Captain, I have intercepted a signal from the capital city that
you might find interesting." Harry interrupted.

"Please patch it through to the Ready Room, Mr. Kim."

"Aye, aye ma'am."

The meeting attendees focused their attention on the view screen
immediately behind the Captain.  There on the screen was an
apparent news broadcast already in progress.

<<SO AFTER NOT HEARING FROM REVOLUTIONARY LEADER MADEEL IN OVER SIX
MONTHS, HE WILL APPEAR AT A NEWS CONFERENCE TOMORROW AT HIGH SUN IN
THE PRISON CONFERENCE ROOM.>>

An obviously older televid of the man in question was being shown
to the viewers, in fact it was the same one that Warlek had shown
Tom.  The crew noticed that while the people in the demonstration
looked like the Pytolians they had met at the party, accept their
splotches weren't all blue, most were green and some were red.

<<A SOURCE FROM THE PRISON INFORMS US THAT HE WILL BE READING A
SPEECH HE HAS PREPARED ADDRESSED TO HIS FELLOW MEMBERS OF THE
WORKER CASTE.  NEWSVID WILL KEEP YOU APPRAISED OF THE LATEST
DETAILS AND WILL BRING YOU LIVE COVERAGE TOMORROW...NEXT ON...>>

Just before the news segment ended, a much clearer picture of
Madeel was shown.  A collective gasp in the room was heard.

"If this Madeel were human," concluded the Captain as she sat down,
obviously stunned by what she had just witnessed, "he could be our
Mr. Paris, this is just too much of a coincidence.  We may have
found a reason for what occurred that night on Prytolus. It also
appears that the local government is being challenged by a
potential violent group of workers.  It all maybe tied in together.
Mr. Kim, please come to the Ready Room."

"Aye, ma'am."

Harry entered the room almost immediately, anxious to be of any
assistance.  "Mr. Kim, please call up and review your activities
during the night of Tom's disappearance <I refuse to say death.>"

"Yes, Captain."  Using the console in the Ready Room he called up
a listing of all his activities for that evening.

"Harry, I assume the evening of the reception that you performed a
search for Tom in the general area of his last known siting."

"I did."

With hands on the table she leaned toward the ensign.  "By chance
do your records show any type of interference in any of the
buildings or areas that might have interfered with your attempts to
locate the lieutenant?"

"I'll check."  After several moments a bewildered Kim looked up.
"I didn't see this that evening, but there is one location in the
immediate vicinity that might have caused some interference.  It is
a building about ten kilometers away from the Prime Minister's
residence, it appears to have some type of force field around it.
The energy it emits is low, but it could cause a disruption or
false reading, especially if someone were inside and say lower than
ground level."

"Can you zoom in on that building and determine its function?"

Harry worked the controls and after a few minutes looked up from
the screen again, this time with a sly grin on his face.  "There is
a great deal of security surrounding the building along with thick
walls and the like, that type of configuration would typically be
used to either keep people out, let's say if you were guarding
someone or something, or to keep people in, like if was a prison."

Turning to address them all Janeway concluded "Interesting, another
coincidence," and she sat back in her chair in obvious deep
thought.

After several minutes she had made up her mind.  "This is what I
propose we do.  Commander Tuvok will pilot a shuttle and Chakotay,
B'Elanna, and myself will be dressed and made up to resemble
Prytolian's elite caste and we three along with the doctor will
accompany him.  Tuvok will fly us just close enough to safely
transport us into the city, but not so close to be detected by them
and then wait for our signal on their second moon.  Mr. Kim and
Seven I need you to stay behind and monitor the communications
equipment.  Our mission will be to gain access into the prison and
attempt to rescue Mr. Paris.  Mr. Tuvok time until Voyager will be
in position so that we can launch the shuttle?"

The stoic Vulcan responded "5 hours, 32 minutes, 17 seconds, at our
current speed."

"Very good, B'Elanna and Commander please accompany me to Sickbay,
the Doctor has some work to do."
 

Chapter 7 - Reintegration

The four members of the away team met the following morning in
Shuttlebay One.  Each member was dressed appropriately and each had
had their foreheads altered with numerous blue splotches.
B'Elanna's transformation had taken longer than the others due to
the fact that her forehead ridges had to be covered with a
prosthetic substance before the blue dye would be applied.

Unexpectedly, before they boarded the shuttlecraft Portsmouth,
Ensign Garon approached them.  The Bajoran requested that he bless
the mission before they departed to which Janeway was glad to
accommodate.

Garon donned the religious vestments of his family and faith and
proceeded to walk around the shuttle and the away team before
coming to a stop at the bow of the Portsmouth.  He raised both
hands above his head.  "May the prophets bless this mission and
return to us that which has been lost." Garon then dipped his hands
into a bowl of scented oil and wiped his hands along the nose of
the shuttlecraft and again raised his hands above his head.
"Return to us all that depart on this vessel this day.  Praise to
the prophets."  Garon then picked up the bowl walked once more
around the ship and the crew, who had been visibly moved by his
blessing, finally stopping in front of Janeway.  "Thank you for
letting me do this Captain, I hope it will help."

"We can use all the help we can get, thank you Ensign."

The away team then boarded the vessel and before long the
Portsmouth departed the shuttlebay.

After about three hours of travel time they neared the location
that had been designated to transport from and three of the crew
prepared to beam down to the planet.  "Mr. Tuvok we will signal you
with three taps of my commbadge when we require you to beam us
aboard."

"Yes, Captain."

"Then we are ready, please initiate transport."
 
 

"Well so far, so good," Chakotay observed as they neared the prison
building a couple of hours later, "but how are we going to get
inside?"

"I've been thinking about that," the Captain responded with a raised
eyebrow typical of the Vulcan waiting for them to return to the
shuttlecraft.  "How about the direct approach combined with a
deliberate distraction?"
 
 

The crowd became heavier as they neared the prison.  Members of all
three sects were part of the crowd, but the division between the
three were obvious, the workers to the right, the elite to the
left, with the smaller religious caste in the middle.

"Follow my lead," said the bespeckled Captain.
 

After several minutes, they reached the entrance to the prison and
the security staff.

"Your identification badge?" asked the guard.

"Oh, yes it's right here," said the Captain as she feigned a search
for her identification.  "Oh no," she pointed, "look at that, what
are those workers doing in there!?" she yelled trying to sound
concerned.  "You've got to help my friend they're attacking her!"
she said urgently as she pushed him into the room in an obvious
gesture of concern of an unknown friend.  "Hurry!" she said to the
rest of the team, "get in there and get as close to the front of
the room as you can!"

"Katherine, I never knew you were such a good actress," Chakotay
whispered in her ear.
 
 

In the preparation room, Warlek as making the final arrangements
for the debut of the new Madeel.  During the previous twelve hours,
the decreased dosage of medicine was affecting the pilot, causing
him to experience flashbacks to his life before Prytolus, and it
had been necessary to administer small electrical charges to keep
him in line.

"One more time Madeel, repeat the speech."

"Go to hell!." Zap!  Another jolt was given to the pilot and he
commenced reciting the prepared statement.

"Were ready Doctor."
 
 

"Someone's coming out," whispered Chakotay.

"Hurry, we have to get down front."

>From behind the podium, a door opened several bodyguards and
officials entered the room.  Finally, Madeel/Tom appeared.
"Remember," the Doctor threatened the pilot, "you cooperate out
there or I'll just press this little button again, but this time I
might forget to remove my finger."  The victim only nodded.

As Madeel stepped up to the podium a gasp was heard throughout the
room.  "B'Elanna, is that Tom can you tell?" asked the Captain.

B'Elanna approached even closer to get a better view.  It was
difficult to determine, but then she saw it with the man in
question turned his head slightly.  They had overlooked one thing,
they hadn't taken the time to cover up a half-faded, crescent-
shaped bite mark on his left jaw.  "Captain, it's Tom, there is no
mistake about it."

The three former residents of the Alpha Quadrant's could hardly
believe their eyes.  There before them was their missing crewman,
but he was obviously a shell of his former self.  His eyes were
glazed over and there was black circles around them from obvious
lack of sleep, food, and stress.

<Kahless, what have they done to him, we need to get him out of
here as soon as possible, back to the ship.> thought B'Elanna as
she took in Tom's wooden expression.

The prime minister approached the podium "I would like to take a
moment welcome everyone to our press conference, this is truly an
important day in Prytolian history, and now I would like to
introduce Madeel." he said as he motioned for Madeel/Tom to join
him.

"Fellow citizens of Prytolus," Madeel/Tom began remembering the
words that had been drummed into his mind, "today I come before you
a changed man, enlightened to the traditions of our proud people."
 

As he had been coached at this moment, he looked into his audience.
All eyes were on him.  He started at the back of the room where
people were still clamoring for entry to witness this important
occasion.  As his gaze focused on people nearer to him he noticed
three people, a man and two women, trying to work their way through
the crowd in an effort to get closer to him.  And he returned to
his speech.

"I have taken the time over the past several months to re-evaluate
my position and . . ."

<That man, the one of the three moving forward, looked familiar?
No it couldn't be.>  Then suddenly a memory flashed in his brain.
He could see this man, well he mostly looked like this man, except
instead of the blue spots on his forehead there was a graphic
marking over the left eyebrow.  They were on a broken stairway
together.  The man was obviously hurt and he was trying to help
him, stretching out his hand to him to help him span the breach of
the broken stairway.  Ah, he received a minor jolt, only
perceptible to him.  He shook his head to clear the memory and
continued once more.

"to re-evaluate my position and I have come to a conclusion . . ."

<And that woman with the man, the one with the reddish, brown hair.
There was something about her.> In the memories that she conjured
up, she was wearing different clothes, they were red and black and
she also had no spots, no markings, but no spots.  This wasn't
making sense.  Before he could be zapped a again he commenced the
speech, still under the influence of the drug too much to notice
the growing unrest in the back of the room.

"He looks troubled, confused," Janeway whispered to B'Elanna who
shook in head in agreement as they had finally made their way to
stand right in front of Paris.

"... come to the conclusion that what I have done in the past was
a mistake, I should never have incited . . ."

He looked at the second woman, the darker of the two, their eyes
locked together, blue to brown, the memories were strong with this
one.  In his memories, she like the other two were missing the
spots, but this one's forehead was ridged not smooth, she was the
woman of his dreams.  The memory he experience when he looked at
her were of them floating alone in darkness.  This particular
memory, it strong.  He could remember tender words spoken, she
loved him?  He was confused.  Before Warlek could administer
another warning jolt, violence erupted from the unruly crowd in the
back.

"That's not Madeel, what have you done with Madeel!" shouted a
member of the worker caste.  The one voice was joined with many
others, all demanding to know what was going on.  Out of the melee,
an arm was raised, a shot fired striking Paris in the abdomen and
he went down.

"Quickly," Janeway urged her team. The three reached the podium.
Chakotay had the Prime Minister in a bear lock with his phaser
pointed at his head.  The Captain and B'Elanna bent over Tom and
gently hoisted him to his feet, pulling his arms over their
shoulders so they could move him.

With his phaser raised Chakotay motioned for everyone to back off.
"Move back or I'll kill your Prime Minister," the Maquis promised.

"Get back everyone, please," pleaded a terrified Curielan as he was
forcibly led off the stage and into the crowd followed by the other
three.

As soon as they exited the building Janeway tapped her commbadge
three times.

Pushing Curielan aside, the transporter beam locked on to the four
and they were beamed aboard the shuttle.

As soon as the beam released them, B'Elanna and the Doctor  placed
Tom down on the bench in the rear of the shuttle.  "Tuvok get us
out of here and back to Voyager as soon as possible," the Captain
ordered.

The Doctor ripped open the pilots jumpsuit to examine the recent
wound.  "It looks like his wound was inflicted by a driven
projectile." he informed the Captain.

"Is it bad Doctor?"

"I won't lie to you, in his condition, anything like this is bad,
but for the moment it doesn't appear life threatening," he informed
her as attempted to stop the bleeding.  "Commander hold this in
place while I run a diagnostic on Mr. Paris.  He got out the
medical tricorder and ran a scan on the pilot, "In addition to his
abdominal injury, it appears that he is suffering from some degree
of malnutrition, exhaustion, and there appears to be some type of
drug or chemical in his blood stream."

B'Elanna gently picked up her fiance's wrist to examine the straps
that were still in place.  "Captain?"

"What do you think they are Lieutenant?

"Well, maybe if I can remove. ..uh . . .one . . . there it's off.
>From the looks of it," she turned the item over in her hands to
examine the underside, "it's some type of electrical charge device."

"For what purpose?" asked Chakotay.

"If I were to guess, I would say their purpose was to administer
electrical shocks." she said solemnly. <Tom, you've suffered so
much.>

The Captain noticing the Klingon's distress patted her on the
shoulder.  "B'Elanna he is in good hands now, let's concentrate on
getting him back to Voyager."
 

Chapter 7 - Reintegration

The Doctor and the Commander placed the pilot on a biobed. The rest
of the away team hovered in the hallway awaiting the prognosis, the
doctor activated the medical arch and proceeded to treat the
pilot's injuries, including removing the object that was lodged in
his abdomen.  As he finished treating the abdominal injury with the
dermal regenerator, the pilot stirred.  "Mr. Paris can you hear me?
Mr. Paris?"

"Ah . . . oh . . ." he moaned as he opened his near lifeless blue
eyes. <Where was he now?  Who was this man?>

"Take it easy your going to be all right," the Doctor promised and
raised his hand holding the regenerator to begin using it on the
other injuries.

Seeing the device in the doctor's hand and assuming that it was
another pain administrator, the pilot visibly cowered bringing his
arms up to cover his face and painfully pushing himself as far away
from the doctor as was possible.  "I'll be good, please don't, I'll
say anything, just don't. . . ." he mumbled as he trembled in fear.
To alleviate his distress, the EMH administered a hypospray to
sedate his patient.

The Doctor after assuring himself that the pilot's wounds had been
treated and he was resting comfortably he asked the others to join
him in his office.

As they entered the Doctor's office, they all began speaking at
once.  "Calm down everyone.  Mr. Paris is now resting, I've given
him a sedative.  From tests I have performed on his blood, there is
still a significant amount of an unknown drug in his system.
Unfortunately, I have no idea how long it will take for his body to
rid itself of this chemical.  The lieutenant did awake briefly and
became very distraught when he saw me.  For the foreseeable future,
I am forced to restrict any visits to Mr. Paris.  My temporary
assistant and myself will be the only ones to attend to him.  When
he is able to deal with us without getting upset, then we can
increase his visitations."

"But Doctor, you can't mean me, surely I can see him?" asked
B'Elanna.

"I meant exactly what I said, we have to think what is best for
Tom.  You can call me anytime and I will let you know his
condition.  I'm doing this because it is necessary, not to be
cruel."
 

Four day later.

A concerned Harry Kim approached the Chief's office door and
requested admittance.  What he saw shook him, B'Elanna was seated
at her desk in the dark staring ahead as if in a trance.

"B'Elanna?...Maquis?...B'Elanna?" he said each time louder and
louder.

"Harry?"

"I just spoke with the Doctor, he says there is still no change."

"I know, I spoke with him myself not too long ago.  I was hoping by
now there would be some improvement.  The Doctor says that whatever
they gave Tom is taking a while to clear his system.  I wish I
could help him."

"Maybe you should."

"But the Doctor..."

"The Doctor sometimes is very ignorant," he bluntly explained.

"What do you mean." she said shocked by the tone of Harry's voice.

"I understand that the Doctor has asked that you to stay away from
Sickbay, is that right?"  She nodded her head sadly.  "Well, you
know sometimes even Doctors don't know what is right for their
patients.  Sometimes only the ones who love them know that.  Do you
understand what I'm trying to say?"

"I don't know."

"It's just this, as much as we respect and trust the Doctor, he is
still only a holographic projection, he is not human.  He cannot
completely understand the connection that is formed between a man
and woman, between you and Tom."  She looked up at the young ensign
sharply.  "You may not be a doctor, B'Elanna, but you may be able
to help our pilot better than the EMH."

She recalled Tom's words the night before the Prytolian reception
when he told her how much her touch meant to him, how much it
comforted him.  She knew what she had to do.

"Thanks, I think I do understand.  I don't know if I have ever told
you, but Tom and I are very fortunate you have you as a friend."
 

*** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ ***

She was going to get in trouble but she didn't care.  It had been
four days since Tom had been rescued, and only the Doctor had been
allowed to see him.  She was going to do something about it
regardless of the consequences.

The Doctor turned to her as she entered the Sickbay carrying a
satchel.  "Doctor, where is Tom?" she asked.

"I put him in the private room, he seems to be more comfortable
there, but he is still confused, still thinks he is back on
Prytolus."

"I need to see him."

"I can't allow it."

"You don't understand, I'm not asking you I'm telling you.  I know
you are doing all you can for him, but what your doing isn't
enough."

"I've done all that anyone can do, I've treated his wounds, seen
that he has all the proper nutrition, sleep . . ."

"I'm not blaming you Doctor," she interrupted, "but you can't touch
him and convey the love behind the touch, you can't do what I can
do for him.  That's why I have come, and no one is going to stop
me.  I'm not leaving here until I've had my chance to help him and
if you try to stop me, well let's just say that I might forget how
to work on your portable holographic projector."  She defiantly
marched into the isolation room, not looking back at the Doctor.

There before her curled up in a ball facing the wall trying
fretfully to sleep, lay her fianc‚.  As she got closer. she could
hear him mumbling words over and over, "don't . . . can't . . .
stop."

"Oh Tom," she said as she placed her parcel on the floor and she sat
down on the chair beside the bed.  She continued to gently talk to
him, telling him that he was safe and that she would take care of
him.  Finally, his breathing evened out and he quieted down.
 

"Doctor to the Captain."

"Yes Doctor, is everything all right?  Is Tom okay?"

"That's what I'm calling you about.  Lt. Torres burst into Sickbay
a little while ago demanding to see Tom against my orders.  She is
in his private room and refuses to leave.  From the looks of it,
she is prepared to stay for quite a while."

"I'll be down shortly, Captain out."  She turned to her First
Officer, "Commander would you please accompany me."

"So Doctor what's going on?" asked the Captain as she and the
Commander entered the EMH's office.  The Doctor was observing his
monitoring screens.

"Well for starters I'm out here and she's in there," he accused as
he appointed at the monitor that was recording the events in the
private room.

"From the looks of it, everything seems to be under control.  In
fact, Lt. Paris actually appears to be resting rather comfortably,"
commented the Captain.

"Well yes," he reluctantly admitted and obviously flustered, "he is
but . . ."

"But nothing, maybe Lt. Torres should have been allowed to see him
a long time ago.  In fact, I'm going to have to override your
previous orders.  Come with me, I want speak to both you and
B'Elanna."

The Captain opened the door to the private room and she entered
followed by the Commander and the Doctor.

"Captain, I can explain . . ." began the Klingon.

"You don't have to B'Elanna, I haven't come in here to criticize
your actions, in fact quite the opposite.  Doctor, I expect the two
of you to work together towards your common goal.  I'll check back
this evening.  Come on Chakotay, let's leave them alone."

At the sound of voices, Tom again started to become restless and
she reached over and gently rubbed his back.  At first he flinched
at her touch, but gradually he relaxed.  The rest of the day
proceeded much the same way with the Doctor only coming in to
inject nutrients into the patient.  After her evening meal, the
Captain returned.

"So how's it going Doctor?"

"Well, I have to admit he certainly is not as agitated, he has
slept rather peacefully.  I guess I'll never understand human
feelings."

"It's okay Doctor, it is sometimes difficult for humans themselves
to understand."
 
 

Laying on a cot that the Doctor had brought in, B'Elanna had been
able to sleep on and off during the night, awaking only to comfort
Tom when he became restless.

The next morning, after she had her breakfast she opened her parcel
and extracted two candles and placed on the end table next to the
bed and requested that the computer softly play some of Tom's
favorite songs.  As she was lighting the candles, the Doctor came
in to check on his patient.

"Why the candles and music Lieutenant?"

"Well to tell you the truth, I don't know if it is going to help
but Tom loves the smell of vanilla and these candles will emit that
scent.  I thought maybe that as well as the music might bring back
memories, happy memories."

"I see, well I suppose it couldn't hurt."  At the sound of the outer
door opening, he turned to leave the room, another crewmember
required the Doctor's services.

B'Elanna then proceeded to tidy up her appearance and brushed out
her hair that had been tangled during the night in front of the
mirror on the wall

As she put down the brush, she glanced over the bed and noticed
that she was being watched through half-opened blue eyes.

"I know you," he said softly. It was more of a statement than a
question."

"You do, my name is B'Elanna, do remember I was here with you
yesterday?  Do you remember me rubbing your back?" she asked
carefully as she walked over to sit down on the bed beside him.

He nodded. <Who was this beautiful woman?  Why was he so
comfortable with her?>  He sniffed the air, smelling the scent
being emitted from the candles and noticed that music was softly
playing. <Why did the fragrance in this room and the music seem
familiar?>

"You like the smell and the music?"

He nodded.

"Would you like something to eat?  Are you hungry?"

He nodded again.

"I'll be right back with something, I promise."
 

In a little while, she returned with a light breakfast consisting
of fruit and toast, along with a glass of milk.  Sitting down
beside him again, she helped him with his breakfast.  All the while
his blue eyes never left her face. <Who is she?  He should know.>

"B'Elanna, how do I know you?" he asked as he reached up and touched
her forehead, his fingers exploring the ridges.

"We've known each other for about five years, Tom.  Do you know
that your name is Tom?"

He shook his head, everything was so confusing.  "They told me my
name was Madeel, my name is Madeel," he persisted repeating the
mantra while rubbing his wrists.

"No it's not, those people were trying to trick you, use you."  She
grabbed him by the hands and showed him that the straps had been
removed from his wrists.  "There gone Tom, those people, the ones
with the spots on their foreheads, they can't hurt you any more.
Your home, your safe," she explained as she reached up and smooth
his sleep-tousled hair away from his forehead.  She then got up and
got the mirror that was hanging on the wall and her parcel and went
back to him and placed the mirror in his hands.  "Look Tom, this is
really you."  But he was reluctant to raise the mirror remembering
the last time he had been forced to look into one and what he had
discovered.

B'Elanna rummaged in the satchel and extracted two holographic
picture plates.  "Maybe you'll remember this, it was taken about
two years ago at Neelix holographic resort on this ship.  See," she
said pointing to each of the figures, "this is Harry, Joe Carey,
me, and here you are wearing that, um, "Big Daddy" shirt you love
so much.  And this one, she handed him the other one, this was
taken about three months at an engagement party <their engagement
party>."

<Who were these people, they seemed somewhat familiar. And that was
him, no spots?  He seemed so happy, especially in the second
picture? Was he ever that happy?> He finally tilted the mirror up
and ran his hand over the bare forehead, no spots, and looked back
at B'Elanna, tears in his eyes, he was so confused.

"There all gone Tom, the Doctor removed them." she explained.

"B'Elanna?  Who am I?  I don't know anymore, I just don't know."
The tears started to fall.  He dropped the mirror and he began to
tremble.

The half-Klingon took the disturbed man in her arms and hugged and
comforted him by softly patting his back.  "Your Lt. Thomas Eugene
Paris," she explained to the confused man holding him close she
hadn't held him like this for a long time, "your the 'Best Damned
Pilot of the Delta Quadrant,' your a friend to many people on board
this ship, and your my ... my fiance.  Tom, I love you, I want you
to come back to me.  I need you...I need you."  They held each
other rocking back and forth and cried for a long time.

The Doctor had quietly watched this exchange from the doorway, he
had learned a lot this day.  You could move mountains with a lot of
love, patience, music, and maybe a couple of candles.
 

*** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ ***

Five days later.

"So Doctor, how is Tom doing today?" Janeway asked that afternoon.

"A lot better, Captain, the change since B'Elanna has been here has
been remarkable.  That substance he was injected with has all but
left his system.  He's a changed man.  He has even asked that
Ensign Kim come by after his shift.  It'll take a little bit
longer, but after what he went through he has already made
significant progress.  In fact, I plan on releasing him to
B'Elanna's care tomorrow morning."

"How much has he remembered?"

"Most of it, there are still some minor memories he can't recall.
I would imagine that by the end of next week even those will return
and he will be the similar sometimes obnoxious Tom Paris we call
know.  There are other memories of his time with the Prytolian's
though that I wish I could erase.
 
 

Harry stopped by shortly after leaving the bridge that afternoon
and stuck his head in the private room. B'Elanna and Tom where in
there softly talking, with the pilot laughing every once in a
while.  "Hi, am I interrupting something?" he asked with a grin on
his face.  When they brought Tom on board he didn't think he would
see him laugh again.

"No, not at all Harry, it's nothing we can't get back to," replied
the half-Klingon her face light with relief.

"Harry?"

"Yes Tom, it's good to see you.  I brought you one of my data padds
you've been wanting to read."

"Thanks," he said as he reached for the padd.  "It's good to see
you. B'Elanna tells me I need to thank you for her being here."

"It was nothin'," blushed Harry.

"No it wasn't and I'll never forget it."
 

*** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ *** ^^^ ***

Two weeks later.

"You know there are some things I wish I didn't remember," Tom said
to B'Elanna as he poked about the Leola Root Surprise.  Before long
he was joined by Harry and Seven.

"Tom?"

"Yes, Seven."

"I'm ready." she said out of the blue.

He was confused, "For what?"

"The rest of the story," demanded the blond.

"What story?"

It was Kim's turn now.  "You know Professor Mofek?"

"Oh, that story.  Well you have been patient."  All eyes were
trained on him hanging on his every word.  "Where did we leave off."

"You didn't!" they chorused.

"Can anyone join this discussion?" asked the Commander as he
approached with the Captain.

"Of course, Tom's about to tell us about Professor Mofek and how he
got the Vulcan to show some emotion." explained Harry.

"Morose Mofek, that was you?" said the Commander incredulously.

"Well yeah," he sheepishly replied, "but I can't take all the
credit, I did have some help."

"After this happened," the Captain explained, "the story made its
way all through the fleet, Tom's class had accomplished the
impossible.  In fact," she said turning to the pilot, " I was with
your father when he found out, he laughed so hard he was almost
rolling on the floor."

"I find that hard to believe," he contradicted.  "After the episode,
he contacted me and I was informed that I would be attending Arctic
Survival Camp for half of my summer vacation, he certainly wasn't
laughing then."

"Well I can vouch for him, I'd never seen him laugh so hard," she
shook her head remembering.

The Commander was getting impatient this time.  "So Tom, tell us
what happened?"

"Okay, it started like this.  About two-thirds of the way through
the spring semester, a couple fellow students and yours truly came
up with a plan to make that Vulcan facade crack, or at least wobble
a bit.  I don't know if you remember," he said looking at each
former Starfleet cadet, "but  Mofek was a creature of habit.'
Those that had the misfortune to attend his class nodded their
heads in agreement. "He always started each lecture with a cup of
herbal tea.  It was always the same, all the cadets would file in
for the class, he would sit down, pour a cup of tea, spoon in one
level teaspoon of honey, stir it exactly five times, drink it down,
and then he would begin the lecture from hell.  Exactly forty-five
minutes into the lecture, he would stop talking, walk over the west
wall and open all five windows exactly half-way -- never two-thirds
or one-third always exactly half-way, rain or shine.  He would then
turn his back to the class and observe that we were all vertical,
you know awake, turn back again to the open windows deeply inhale
the fresh air, and then go back to his desk, sit down, pour another
cup of herbal tea, and the ritual would begin all over again."  Tom
at this moment, took a sip from his own cup of herbal tea and
continued with the tale.

"That spring I was seeing this voluptuous red head.  Linda was
enrolled in a clerical program in the nearby community college.
She was fun to be with, had a figure that wouldn't quit..."

"Watch it helmboy, or you'll be sleeping alone wedding or no
wedding." warned the half-Klingon.

"...but she wasn't the brightest thing to come out of the cabbage
patch," he continued.

"Now, we found out from the custodian that some repair work was
going to be done on the outside of the building the following week
which would involve scaffolding, cranes, etc.  So we met with the
construction workers the beginning of the next week and devised our
plan.  That Thursday began just like any other, first the tea
ceremony, then the first half of the lecture, then the windows
where opened, and he turned back to the class.  Not a sole was
sleeping, in fact inside that Vulcan exterior he was probably
wondering why we looked so alert for a change.  Then came the
moment that would go down into the annals of Starfleet Academy." he
said savoring the anticipation.

"And" they all said to prompt him"

"And he turned around to take his customary breath of fresh air and
his breath caught in his throat, his eyebrows shot up, and I
thought his eyeballs were going to jump out of his head. There
perched sexily on the scaffolding was Linda wearing the barest of
black bikinis waving at the Professor and blowing him kisses, the
whole classroom erupted in laughter."  Telling this story had
caused Tom to laugh until tears rolled down his cheeks and he was
not alone.  "Morose Mofek actually dismissed us all from class
forty-five minutes early that day, probably it was probably the
only time that had ever happened during his whole teaching career."

"That's one class that I wish I had taken," replied the Commander
who had laughed so hard he had to wipe away the tears that coursed
down his cheeks.  The rest of the audience had to concur, they
would also have to concur that it was good to have Tom back.
 

The End.
 

Okay, this is the part where I request e-mail, so here it goes.

Please send e-mail to "PJ in NH" at kelhapam@lr.net, if only just
to tell me your read the story and survived.  If you did manage to
get to the end of it without having to resort to going to the
Emergency Room, I would be interested in hearing from you regarding
what part/chapter of the story you enjoyed the most.  Thanks.  I'm
desperate to know if all the time I've been spending lately has
been worth it.

And this is the part where I thank my husband and daughter for
letting me indulge in this creative endeavor--I'd thank my dog, but
he just destroyed my gloves!  Maybe next time.