The Counsellor | A Star Trek: Voyager/Tom Paris fanfiction

Chapter 10-Time and Again

The young boy is carried in, struggling. "Let me go!" he said "look what I caught sneaking around outside." said Terla. Tessina sighs "great" she remarks sarcastically.

Harry leads the Away team into the now destroyed room that Tessina and Tom we're in. "I'm still not showing any lifesigns." said Tuvok.

"The boy has nothing to do with any of this." Tessina said looking at the boy, well more scowling at the boy. "Is he yours?" Makull asked "no, he's just somebody we met here." said Tessina said appalled if she ever had kids they wouldn't be like him, "don't trust them. They aren't who they say they are." the boy said still struggling "really?" asked Makull raising his eyebrows. "Thanks, kid." said Tom sarcastically. "Look, this is all a misunderstanding." said Tessina glaring at the kid "that little son of a bitch" Tessina said to Tom "well you're not wrong" he replied "they lied about coming here on the Continental transport. I talked to the attendant myself. Let me go." the boy said "what do we do with him? We can't let him go." said Terla "just put him over there with the other." said Makull. Terla sits Latika next to Paris. "Now stay quiet." said Terla.

In the destroyed room, Harry finds two melted comm. badges. "The comm. badge is designed to self-activate when the casing is destroyed to help searchers locate victims." said Harry, sighing "I guess it means they were caught in the explosion." said B'Elanna "it only means their comm. badges were caught in the explosion. Further speculation serves no purpose. I suggest we search for other tangible evidence." said Tuvok.

The tricorders are on the table, beside Makull. "None of us have seen devices like these before. Terla believes they're spy equipment." he said "they're for surveying property. I've been thinking of buying land here. I need to survey it." said Tessina, calming down "I'd be curious to know how they work. Would you show me?" Terla asked, Tessina saw and opportunity and went to pick up the phaser but Makull grabbed her wrist "but then one of them might be a weapon, and I wouldn't want you to show me how that works, would I?" asked Makull, Tom leans over to the kid "hey, kid, you were right about one thing. I was lying. I don't eat children." he said. "You don't scare me. My father works for the Media Bureau and when I tell him all about this" said the boy "what is he, some kind of journalist?" asked Tom frowning slightly "yes, and so am I." said the boy. "Is that right?" asked Tom.

"Ego much?" Tessina asked, Tom snorts slightly, making people look at him "what are you snorting at?" Makull asked "just something a friend told me" said Tom, Makull looked at Tessina "I'm not that friend" said Tessina lying quickly.

"I report for my school journal. That's right where everyone's going to find out about you when I write about this in next week's edition." said the boy. "What's your name?" asked Tom "Latika." the boy replied "Latika. I'm sorry." Tom said "for what?" Latika asked "I just am." said Tom patting him on the arm. "I realise how this must appear to you but I'm just a patriot." said Makull. "A patriot?" asked Tessina not interested, in the Alpha Quadrant there was no need for protesting although, holograms needed the same rights as other people, just like Data, Tessina was an advocate for that but she wasn't in the streets protesting, she just takes her issues to Starfleet and they look into it. "I sincerely believe polaric energy has the potential to destroy this entire world." said Makull "and I take it very few people here agree with you." quipped Amanda "we have more support since the accident at Markov. We know the companies are afraid of us. We know they've increased security at all their plants, but it will not be enough to stop us. We can't wait another week, we have to move up the schedule. We know they're not telling us the truth. We have to assume the government sent them. Tell everyone we begin at four hundred tomorrow." said Makull to Terla. "Wait a minute." said Tessina following them both.

In the ruined room Kes feels a presence pass through her. "Tessina?" she asks turning.

In the room where Tessina is, she feels her too and looks at the wall behind her "Kes?" she asks, Tom looks at the wall confused. "Do you have something to tell me, Sevira? If that's your real name." asked Makull, Amanda turned around, knowing what she was going to do was a terrible idea but it was the best she had "it is my real name. Lieutenant Commander Tessina Sevira of the Federation Starship Voyager." Tom stared at Amanda in shock. "Are you insane?" he asked "perhaps, Imzadi" Tessina replied with a small smile, Terla realised something "they're communicating" he said.