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

Chapter 13-Phage

Voyager heads into the crack in the asteroid. "Captain, I'm reducing power to the aft thrusters only. This passageway is getting a little too narrow for my taste." said Tom. "Use your discretion, Mister Paris. Any sign of the vessel, Lieutenant?" asked Janeway. "We are still following the ion trail, but electro-magnetic interference is limiting our sensor range. I am only able to scan five hundred metres ahead of us." said Tuvok. "Are there any indications we're being scanned or probed, Mister Kim?" asked Chakotay. "Not yet." said Harry.

"Tessina, do you sense anything?" Kathryn asked. Tessina shook her head "I can sense life signs from inside the asteroid but I cannot sense where they are and they're too far away to read their thoughts" said Tessina.

The area above Neelix has been decorated, and the lights dimmed. "Doctor? Doctor, I require your assistance." said Neelix. "What is it, Mister Neelix?" asked the Doctor. "Please, it's urgent." said Neelix. The Doctor walks over to Neelix "yes?" he asked. "I have an itch" said Neelix. "An itch?" asked the Doctor. "Just above my left eyebrow." said Neelix. The Doctor sighs, and scratches it. "A little higher. Ah. Thank you." said Neelix. "You're quite welcome." said the Doctor walking off. "Doctor, wait, don't leave." said Neelix. "I'm not leaving, Mister Neelix, I'm simply going back to work." said the Doctor. "I can't see you over there. I feel like I'm all alone." said Neelix.

"You are all alone. I'm a holographic projection. A projection with a lot of work to do, I might add." said the Doctor. "That's very amusing, Doctor. But, I'm really starting to feel a little trapped in here. A little claustrophobic, maybe. I'm not sure what to do." said Neelix. "There's nothing you can do except lie there and be quiet." said the Doctor. "I'm going to lie here for the rest of my life, aren't I? Just staring up at the ceiling. I'm not sure I can take that. I really need to get out of this restraint. Doctor, I want you to let me out of this thing right now." demanded Neelix. "You know that's impossible." said the Doctor. "I'm the patient, I know what my rights are. I want to be released from this restraint immediately. Immediately!" yelled Neelix. "Mister Neelix, you are alive. You are breathing and for the moment your condition is stable. That is more than most people can say in your situation. Now it is critical to your recovery that you not subject yourself to any additional stress. Try to calm down." said the Doctor. "Don't tell me to calm down! You're not the one trapped in a restraining field with holo, holo-lungs. I don't think they're working. I can't, can't get enough oxygen. There's something wrong." snapped Neelix starting to hyperventilate. "You're hyperventilating. Try to take slow, natural breaths." said the Doctor looking at the screen. "I can't. I'm dying. Let me out of here. Help me. Help me." said Neelix. The Doctor hypos Neelix into unconsciousness.

On the bridge, Kathryn is walking back and forth making Tessina slightly more than nervous. "You're doing fine, Mister Paris. Just fine." she said. Tom sighed with apprehension, Tessina squeezed his hand, he smiles gratefully at Tessina "Calm down, Imzadi, you're to perfectly" said Tessina "thanks, Captain." he said. "Sensors detect a large chamber ahead." said Tuvok. The chamber seems to be full of ships. "What the hell?" asked Chakotay. "We appear to be seeing Voyager and the alien ship reflecting off the walls of the chamber." said Tuvok. "Can you determine which ship is the real one?" asked Kathryn "no, Captain. The walls are emanating severe electro-magnetic interference. I cannot scan them directly." said Tuvok. "It's like trying to move through a hall of mirrors. You never know when you're going to walk into the glass." said Janeway. "I'm still picking up the alien's ion trail. Maybe we should follow that." suggested Tom.

"He might have left a fake ion trail to lure us in here. It could lead us right into one of those walls." said Tessina in her head not remembering only Tom could speak to her telepathically. "He might have left a fake ion trail to lure us in here. It could lead us right into one of those walls." Tessina said standing up. "that's a chance we're going to have to take. Tuvok, extend the deflectors to maximum range. If we do run into something, it'll give us an extra margin of error. Follow the ion trail, Mister Paris, slowly. Mister Kim, continuous scans." said Kathryn. "Aye, Captain." said Tom.