SYMBOLS

CHAPTER 5

After over three hours of gauging atmospheric readings, all of which stayed fairly constant and within the normal range, Tom Paris allowed his mind to roam and found himself wondering what he was going to replicate for lunch. His mouth watered with thoughts of various delicacies.

Eventually, he returned his concentration to the task at hand. Behind him, he could hear Harry Kim muttering.

"B'Elanna, will you take a look at this?" Kim asked. "I've got a lone yellow light flickering here. I can't work out why it's on, and I don't seem to be able to turn it off." His frustration over the situation showed on his face.

B'Elanna crossed the bridge to Kim's console. She seemed pleased to finally be doing something productive. Reflecting on the light, she began to push a series of buttons, before crouching down to check under the console.

"It's probably just a loose connection, or a stray rerouting of power. It couldn't be anything serious." B'Elanna shrugged her shoulders at her own words, as she assisted Harry in compiling his most recent Ops data. "Harry's having some trouble getting an accurate scan of the planet's surface, so I've patched the data through to engineering," she informed Chakotay. She walked back to engineering and her fingers began their rapid glide over her own familiar panel. "Commencing a scan of the planet's surface."

Tom took a few seconds to watch B'Elanna, as she became increasingly animated. He knew she could easily work that engineering station blindfolded. When it came to technical glitches, B'Elanna was the expert. He could see that look of unrelenting determination written on her face again. That was one of the things that had first attracted him to her - B'Elanna was always decisive. But alongside that decisiveness, she was stubborn and had the raging temper of a flagged bull.

"I'm reading abnormally high levels of hydrazine and nitric acid," B'Elanna reported her findings.

Paris noted the chemicals hadn't sparked any recognition for anyone on the bridge, as they all returned her somewhat perplexed stare. Then without warning, his console lit up like a Christmas tree. His station was also reporting high levels of the undetermined chemical combination.

Tom scoured through his memory. He had a vague notion of having heard of the combination at least once before, most likely as a fleeting comment during his days at the Academy. Perhaps he'd heard it in an ancient history class, or during astrophysics, although that was unlikely. Astrophysics was the first class of the day and he'd skipped an innumerable number of sessions, in preference for a more leisurely look on life. Maybe biochemistry, he surmised, thinking through the subject timetable that was still embedded on his brain. And that was where he found himself. A slightly younger Tom Paris, doing time amid the dust coated PADDs and musty hand-bound periodicals of a former generation. Suddenly, the words leapt out at him and Tom announced triumphantly, "It's a hypergolic propellant!"

Racked with familiarity, he continued, "If I'm not mistaken, Commander, I think we're dealing with some sort of archaic rocket fuel." His face returned to the well-lit panel, before he added with a look of concern, "Something has just been launched from the planet!"

***

"Captain, we've been here a while. The rest of the crew will start to worry if we don't report back soon." Neelix's words were anxious, as if he'd been ready to leave for a while.

"Agreed," Janeway replied and edged a few steps closer to the exit, before she again acknowledged the High Councilor and their trade agreement.

Zeron pressed a recessed button on the wall and opened the door for them to leave. The action was voluntary and it made her hopeful he wouldn't show them any further resistance. He directed them through the door and returned them to the facility just outside the Conference Room.