Title:Past Resurfacing (15/?) Author:CatHeights Pairing: VOY (P/T, K, Tu, J, C, Doc) Rating:R, angsty images -------------------------------------------------------------- Feedback: CatHeights@yahoo.com Archive:ATPS, Paris Nights, TPD.Anywhere else, please ask first. -------------------------------------------------------------- Spoiler Warning: Thirty Days -------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer: Paramount owns all rights to Star Trek Voyager, its characters, and the Voyager episodes referred to in this story.The story idea is mine, but I am doing this just for fun, no money to be made. --------------------------------------------------------------- Part 15 Harry frowned as Tom sat down across from him, mumbling a hello."Tom, you look awful." Tom looked at Harry with a small grin."Thanks for letting me know."He sighed."I just didn't get much sleep last night."He started pushing the food on his tray around, not even attempting to eat it. Well, Harry thought, do I even bother to ask the question?Will he tell me what is going on or push me off?He figured it couldn't hurt as Tom had already admitted to not sleeping well.If Tom didn't answer the question, he'd just let it go. "Is everything okay?" Harry asked quietly.He was surprised that instead of just saying all was fine, Tom sighed again, put down his fork, and looked directly at Harry. "No. B'Elanna and I had a fight." Harry relaxed and forced himself not to smile; Tom and B'Elanna always had fights.It was part of the charm of their relationship."Don't let it get to you.You two always work things out, and I bet the makeup session is spectacular," he teased, but it didn't even get a chuckle out of Tom. "I'm not so sure, Harry," Tom said, his eyes looking distant."She wasn't angry.She was so cold.I went by last night to try and talk to her, and she wouldn't answer the door.Frustrated, I keyed in her codes to find out she had changed them.Harry, we've had plenty of fights, and she's never changed her codes.I went by again this morning, and she still wouldn't talk to me.How can I explain things if she won't listen?" Tom clenched his hand, bringing the closed fist to his lips.He had to get her to listen. Harry frowned, concerned. This did sound different than their normal fights."What did you fight about?" That question got the response from Tom he had been expecting earlier.The walls went up and the mask came down.Tom picked up his fork, and pushed a bit of egg-like substance around the plate."The usual things," he said dismissively. Harry nodded, taking a bite of his breakfast.He wasn't getting any more out of Tom.He wondered what it took to get through Tom’s barriers.Pushing him for an answer surely didn’t work, particularly right now.Harry got the feeling that if one more person pressured Tom about his being okay, he’d explode.He actually felt a bit guilty about what had happened on the planet.Like Chakotay, he had thought that Tom was flipping out, but now he realized Tom probably had been sensing things that they hadn’t.Right now he figured the best thing would be just to wait until Tom was willing to talk.He knew if he needed to discuss something, Harry was there to listen. Silence fell between the two men, as Harry went about finishing his breakfast and Tom continued to play with it.Harry finished his last bite, and was just about to suggest that they head to the bridge, when a scream cut through the mess hall.Tom was on his feet instantly, moving toward the entrance of the room where people had started to gather. Harry followed quickly behind him. The two officers pushed their way through to find Ensign Tabor, a Bajoran and member of the Maquis, screaming hysterically, "Please, just let him die.Why are they doing this?" Except for Tabor, those present in the mess hall stared silently at the scene unfolding in front of them. The doorway to the room seemed to have vanished.In its place was a large, dingy room with concrete floors, and shards of straggly material separating it into sections.Situated near one of these torn curtains was a bed with an old man lying on it, twisting in agony.He was a wraith of a man; his face contorted by pain and his body wasted away. The man’s body twitched spasmodically, jolting upward as a gargling sound came out of his throat.His frail hands gripped at the dark-haired woman sitting beside him.She let him hold tightly to her hand as the seizure shook through him, and she spoke in a soothing tone.The attack finally died, and she eased him back on the bed, and then wiped off the brownish fluid that dripped down the side of his mouth. Harry saw that two young boys were standing off to the side of the sectioned off area.One was just a young child, but the other seemed to be an adolescent.He thought vaguely that surely there must be some other place for them to be instead of watching this sight.He could hear other screams, though, and he realized that nowhere was probably safe. Dear god, what was this place? He noticed that while the people before them were life size, the images started above the floor.If you looked closely, you could still see the bottom of the mess hall’s door.It was a bit like watching a play, except it was no play Harry would ever want to see. Tom took a step toward Tabor as he touched his combadge, "Paris to Security.Send a team to the mess hall immediately.Some type of image is being played out here.It’s currently blocking the entrance to the mess hall." "Aye sir, a team has been dispatched," a voice replied immediately. Tabor was softly muttering, "let it end, just let it end."Tom took another step toward him.He was almost positive that what they were all seeing was a prison camp.He remembered that when the Doc had used the research of Crell Moset to save B’Elanna, Tabor had objected. At that time, Chakotay had told him that Moset had tortured Tabor’s family.He guessed they were witnessing Tabor’s memories of that torture.He still felt that it was right to use the research to save B’Elanna, but as he looked at the pain-ridden old man writhing on the bed, he understood Tabor’s vehement reaction.He knew what it was like to live through a nightmare. "Ensign Tabor look at me," Tom said firmly.Tabor didn’t respond, so Tom placed his hand lightly on the ensign’s shoulder and said,"Tabor, I know you can hear me.What you see is over.It can no longer hurt you.You have to stop looking at it.Look at me." "Paris?"Tabor stammered, giving a quick glance toward Tom, before turning back to the scene in front of him. "Look at me," Tom said his voice firm, issuing a command. "But that’s my grandfather," the Bajoran whispered. "I said look at me Ensign." Tabor swallowed heavily and turned to face Tom."I don’t understand.Why…How can we be seeing this?You do see it too, don’t you?" "I see it.As to why and how, I don’t know, but we will find out.You don’t need to watch this now.You know what happens, don’t you?" Tom said softly. Tabor briefly closed his eyes, and then whispered brokenly, "Yes." Tom moved him away from the entrance toward an empty table, and sat him down in a chair facing away from the image.Once Tabor was seated, Tom glanced over at the image.The old man had started to vomit violently.Tom looked away, instead watching as Harry moved people away from the doorway and kept them at a distance from Tom and Tabor. Tom felt a tingling on his neck, as if something had brushed by him.He could feel it, just as he had on the planet, a presence watching them.The tingling was gone in a second, and once it stopped, the image by the doors disappeared. "It’s gone," Tom said.Tabor nodded and put his head in his hands. A few minutes later, Tuvok with two security personnel in tow entered the mess hall.He told his crewmen to clear the room, and then headed straight for Tom. "The image disappeared just a minute ago," Tom said once Tuvok reached the table.Harry joined them just as Tom began speaking. "We’ve had three other similar incidents occur within minutes of each other," Tuvok said.He raised an eyebrow, his glance falling on Tabor. Tom nodded, "It was something from his past."Tabor didn’t even acknowledge Tuvok’s presence. He now sat with his arms on the table and his head lying on them. "The others who experienced this, did they all see things from their past?"Harry asked. "Yes and they felt slightly ill afterwards.Mr. Paris, the doctor has said he could use your assistance in sickbay," Tuvok said. "I’ll help Tabor there and see what I can do," Tom said. "Do you need help?"Harry asked. Tom shook his head."I can manage." "Then I’ll head to the bridge," Harry said. Tuvok headed toward the door to scan the area and Harry followed him, while Tom turned his attention to Tabor.He spoke softly to the ensign for a few moments and got Tabor to stand up. The Bajoran swayed on his feet, and Tom reached out a hand to steady him. He frowned; Tabor felt warm.He noticed sweat on the man’s forehead."Come on.Let’s get you to sickbay," he said and guided Tabor out of the mess hall. They walked to the turbolift, and as the doors slid shut, Tom said, "Deck 5." Tabor closed his eyes, not saying a word, and Tom respected his silence.He knew from his own experience that when bad memories resurfaced the last thing you wanted to do was talk to someone.Particularly not when everything was fresh in your mind. The turbolift halted, and they exited heading toward sickbay."Doc," Tom called as they entered, and he helped Tabor up onto a biobed. The Doctor approached the biobed, a tricorder in his hand.Tabor lay quietly, his eyes closed.The Doctor started running scans immediately, his eyes meeting Tom’s in question. "An image appeared in the mess hall that was rather disturbing," Tom said. "Ah," the Doctor said."Ensign you have a slight fever.Nothing to worry about.Rest for a bit, and I’ll back."Tabor said nothing as Tom and the Doctor walked away. The Doctor headed toward his office, where they would have some privacy, and Tom followed.He noticed that there were three other patients in sickbay all looking as worn and shell-shocked as Tabor. "What happened to him?"the Doctor asked. "He saw his grandfather dying in a Cardassian prison camp," Tom said.He didn’t mention Crell Moset.The Doctor had been the one to finally delete the program containing Moset’s knowledge, and Tom knew it was a sensitive subject with him.He had considered the holographic recreation to be a colleague, only to find out that he had done monstrous things. The Doctor made the connection anyway."Tortured by Crell Moset?" "Possibly, but I didn’t see that actually happen. What’s going on, Doc?" "Our three other patients all have had similar experiences, confronted by images of unpleasant events from their past.They and Tabor are all also running a low-grade fever for which I have yet to find a cause.It’s nothing life threatening," the Doctor said. "But as we don’t know what’s causing it, it’s a concern," Tom added."I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Doc." "I agree with you Mr. Paris.Let’s see if we can find a cause." Tom nodded and followed the Doctor to monitor their patients.Maybe they would be able to find some clues as to what type of being was preying upon them.                                ****************************** The Doctor and Tom entered the conference room together.Two of the patients in sickbay had been released to their quarters; only Tabor and Crewman Fitzpatrick remained.Both were sleeping quietly, their fevers having broken an hour ago without Tom and the Doctor being able to pinpoint a cause.Samantha Wildman was watching over the now calm sickbay during the senior staff briefing the Captain had called. As he took a seat next to Harry, Tom noticed that B’Elanna was sitting on the opposite side of the table between Chakotay and Neelix.He tried to catch her eye, but she was staring at a pad in her hand.He kept his gaze on her, knowing she had to feel it.He wasn’t going to give up; she was going to listen to him.His persistence was rewarded, as B’Elanna lifted her head, her eyes meeting his.Instead of the coldness he feared to find, he saw hurt in those eyes before she turned away.He felt a twinge of guilt knowing he had put that pain in her eyes, but at the same time he felt hope.As long as she still felt something, he could get through to her. He hadn’t lost her. B’Elanna gripped the pad in her hand tightly, feeling her resolve slipping away.Last night she had decided that her and Tom were over.She wasn’t taking anymore.Feeling angry and a bit empty that decision had seemed so easy to make.She had felt spitefully pleased when she heard Tom try to access her quarters only to discover that the codes had been changed.She ignored his consistent chiming of the door, and was fine-- until it stopped.Then the pain and the questions running through her mind started. Why couldn’t he trust her?Was it something she did that made him unable to confide in her?Why? She slept fitfully and had been wide-awake when Tom had showed up at her door this morning. Still she had refused to answer.It was harder though, especially when she had heard him call through the door, "B’Elanna, please open the door.Let me explain."She could hear the desperation in his voice.She told herself to just ignore him; she was better off without him.She didn’t believe a word of it. Now sitting across from him, she gave up lying to herself.She didn’t want to end things with Tom.All she wanted was for him to talk to her.By Kahless, was that such an awful thing to want?She glanced up again, this time meeting Tom’s eyes firmly.Those blue eyes pleaded with her to give him a chance to explain. She nodded once, and almost smiled as Tom briefly squeezed his eyes closed in obvious relief.She had to admit his persistence was reassuring. Tom gave her a small grin, she returned it with a glare, which made his smile widen.She’d give him his chance to talk, but if he evaded a single question, she swore she’d shake it out of him if she had to.The Captain entered the room, and B’Elanna turned her attention to Janeway, feeling a bit better.Maybe there was a chance that Tom was willing to open up to her. "As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, several members of the crew have been subjected to some images that they found disturbing.Tuvok have you come up with any explanations?" "I’m afraid not, Captain.We’ve run an exhaustive battery of scans, but neither myself nor Mr. Kim have turned up anything," Tuvok said. "B’Elanna, any luck with the engines?" "No, Captain.Diagnostics still state that there is nothing wrong with either the warp drive or the impulse drive, but both systems don’t work.We’ve scanned through every part comprising the systems, but I’m sorry to say not a single malfunction has come to light." Frustration was clear on the Captain’s face."Doctor, have you learned anything about the images?" "Not a lot I’m afraid, Captain.The only after affect of exposure to these images seems to be a fever. The intensity of the fever and the length of time it lasts appears to be determined by how long the patient spent looking at the image.I could find no cause for the fever, and nothing I gave any of the patients had any effect on reducing it.Also while the fever lasted, I could not sedate the patient.Any drug given to the patients was fought off by their immune systems, rendering the medication useless within minutes.At this time all four crewmembers have recovered, but not as a result of any treatment of mine. There was nothing to do but wait for the fever to run its course."The hologram looked as annoyed as the Captain.He didn’t like a medical mystery that eluded him. "Well…" Janeway began, stopping when the sound of laughter filled the room."Did anyone else hear that?" she asked. "I heard it," Chakotay said coming to his feet. "Janeway to Security."She got no answer, instead the laugher again echoed. Tuvok headed to the door, but it refused to open.On the other side of the room, Chakotay cautiously moved around the table, searching for something out of the ordinary.Tom watched them, feeling that tingling sensation again.It was here, that presence.He started to tell the Captain that he felt something, when a pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared--right above B’Elanna’s head. TBC