Never To Part
See part one for disclaimers.
Part Two
Looking around his cell Tom silently cursed.
He'd been over his capture a thousand times in his mind. Yet he went over it
again. There had to have been something he missed a way he could have avoided
it.
One minute he'd been looking at one of the
finished Delshorian fighters. Beautiful little ship. then he'd heard something
behind him. Whirling around he'd found himself facing Creeag, the Delshor who
owned the factory, who had been giving him the tour. Only now two guards
flanked the man, each holding a large phaser type rifle.
"If you will come with us." One of
the guards said gesturing with the rifle menacingly. What choice had he had? He
was certain they would have shot him with out a second thought. At least
captured he was alive to escape or be rescued.
And so here he was. Locked in this damn cell
somewhere in beneath Creeag's mansion. At least he knew Voyage would be looking
for him.
Hearing a scrabbling sound Tom looked up. As
he watched, a narrow crack opened in the wall and a tiny young woman slithered
through. He was worried for a moment then his thirst and hunger finally took
their toll and he slumped unconscious to the floor.
When he came to someone was pressing a cup to
his lips. It was water, he took a greedy swallow, reaching up he grabbed the
cup finishing it. Looking up he saw the tiny female again. He held out the cup.
"More?" He asked knowing she probably couldn't understand but
maybe...
She cocked her head at him, then took the cup
and disappeared throughout the crack in the wall. A few minutes later she
reappeared this time with a bucket. Setting it before him she handed him the
cup again. "More?" She said sounding curious.
Tom didn't answer, he was to busy greedily
drinking cup after cup of water. Again she disappeared through the crack. This
time it was longer before she returned. Carrying a bowl this time. She held it
out to him carefully, keeping her distance best she could. He cautiously took
it. The bowl was filled with some sort of dry cereal, he hesitated it could be
poisoned. Then he thought about it, either he would starve to death or die from
poison, at least this way he had a chance. He took a handful and ate it
considering the taste. Nothing impressive, but food was food.
In a few minutes he'd finished the cereal.
The girl was sitting watching him. "More food?" He questioned, making
an eating motion. She looked unsure for a moment then reached in to her
tattered cloak and pulled out a piece of dried meet and held it out. He took
it. And she turned slipping in to the crack again. Tom looked up from the meat.
"Thank you." He said. She looked back at him, then darted away.
Tom ate half the meat then realized he should
save some and tucked the rest away. Who was the girl he wondered, he hadn't
even noticed what she really looked like. She was the first person he'd seen
since he'd been dumped down here, the food had been the first he'd had in a
week. The water the second. The cell was set up so that when it rained, water ran
in the small window into a trough. But it had only rained once and lightly
since his arrival. Now he still had half a bucket, he could last a while longer
now. He would get back to Voyager, to Chakotay. He would stay alive. Laying
down he decided to try and sleep.
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Chakotay paced slowly from one end of his
quarters to the other. Not his, their's Tom would come back to him. He knew he
would. 'But what shape will he be in?' A voice asked quietly in the back of his
mind. 'Look what happened to you when you were caught, just in a few days,
Tom's been down there nearly a week.'
"SHUT UP." He yelled in to the
empty room, dropping on to the holding his head in his hands. "Tom will be
fine." He continued softly. "I know he will. Nothing will happen to
my Tom."
"How do you know?" The voice was
back. "What if it does?"
"It wouldn't matter anyway I love him,
nothing can change that." Chakotay whispered lying back on the bed trying
desperately stop the voice tormenting him. Tom would be fine the Spirits would
protect him, he knew they would.
********************************************************************************
The next thing Tom remembered was being
shaken. He jerked upright making a grab for whoever was shaking him. He missed
but was fully awake now and saw the girl again. This time he actually noticed
her. She had pale pink hair, and soft misty gray eyes that weren't quite human
looking but otherwise she could have been human. "More food." She
said, pointing to the bowl on the floor again filled with cereal and there were
some dried fruit sitting on top. "More..." She pointed again to the
now full bucket of water.
Tom reached for the food, then as she turned
to leave he stopped. "Wait." She turned back. "What's your
name?" She cocked her head at him the way she had last night. He put a
hand on in chest. "I am Tom." Then pointed to her. "Who are
you?"
"I am Kit." She said in heavily
accented, and awkward English.
"Thank you Kit."
She nodded then was gone again.
******************************************************************************
She returned again that evening, waiting
until he'd finished eating the meat and cereal. Then using gestures and the
very few words she knew she told Tom she wanted to learn more words.
Tom didn't know quite where to begin. He
began with things he could show her. The bowl, the bucket, the water. The
window, walls, door, crack... everything there was in the cell. And she caught
on with amazing swiftness. It must have been hours Tom realized after she left.
But she seemed to understand a lot of what he said as long as he kept it
simple. And after she'd figured out the words for 'come back' (that had taken a
while and a lot of miming but they'd gotten it) she told him she'd be back.
And she kept coming back, it had to have been
at least another week but he wasn't starving anymore and he wasn't lonely. Kit
was learning English at an incredible rate, they could almost have conversations
now. He told her about Voyager, and his friends. And about Chakotay, trying not
to show how badly he missed the man. She told him about her planet the best she
could, about her family, and her fiancée. Tom felt she was holding something
back but of course it could have just been that she didn't know the words to
explain.
********************************************************************************
Captain Janeway stepped in to Chakotay's
quarters when the door opened. Inside nothing looked out of the ordinary, save
that there was no one to meet her. "Chakotay?" She called. No answer.
"Chakotay, where are you?" She called again. Still no reply, she knew
Chakotay was here, he'd let her in after all. After a moment she moved in to
the second room.
He was there, sitting quietly staring out at
the planet below.
"Chakotay we're going down tomorrow,
we'll bring him back."
"It looks so close." He said
nodding to the planet. And something in his voice worried her, it was as though
he'd made a choice he knew he had to stick to, almost resigned. "Almost
like I could just reach down and save him.
And she knew what he was thinking.
"Don't even think it Commander."
"I could..."
"Chakotay this is a direct order, so
listen carefully. "You are not to leave this ship under any circumstances
short of its destruction." He nodded slowly. "You disobey me on this
and I swear you'll rot in the brig the rest of the way home. And it's very hard
to have a proper relationship from behind a force field."
"Yes Ma'am." Chakotay said.
"I won't come back with out him. I
promise Chakotay." She said as she turned to leave. "Look after
yourself." He didn't acknowledge her words.
********************************************************************************
Finally Tom was taken out of the cell and hauled off to an office. The man
behind the desk looked him over. "You seem to be fairing rather
well." He commented.
"I survive." Was all Tom said.
"Of course you do with that little slave
giving you her rations." Tom's eyes widened. "Ahh so you didn't know
they were hers. Yes that little thing has been giving you nearly all her food
rations for nearly a week now. Just keeping back a few grain rations for
herself." As he watched the prisoner's expression became slightly stricken.
"I don't understand it at all, slaves have been known to kill for extra
rations and she's just handing hers over."
"Its called kindness. But I've noticed
you don't have that here." Tom snarled.
Creeag ignored that. "I suppose she's
picked up all the basics of your language by now, that's what makes her kind so
very useful. They pick up languages quickly. If only that little one hadn't
killed her last master she'd be quite valuable. As are you whether your ship
wants you or not. I'll be negotiating for you soon you know, I wonder just how
valuable you are to them?"
********************************************************************************
When Tom was returned to his cell Kit was waiting just outside the crack.
"Tom." She exclaimed. "I was fear you... umm..." She
fumbled for the word. Then put her hands to her throat and mimed dead.
"That word's dead." Tom said
looking at the food she'd brought. "Why didn't you tell me these were you
rations?"
Her face froze. "You need more."
"Yes I did need them when you first
found me." He said. "But I can make do with less now. I think you
need it more now." He told her holding out the meat to her.
She shook her head. "No"
"What if we share?"
"Share?" She said intrigued.
"What mean share?"
Tom tore the meat in two roughly equal
halves, and put one in her hand before she could protest. "This is sharing
we each get some. Now eat it, you must be hungry."
She gave him a look. "Trick me."
She said slowly.
"Yep. Now eat." He grinned. Slowly
she smiled then started eating.
"We share tomorrow?" She asked, as
she left.
"From now on." Tom confirmed. He'd managed to coax her into eating most of the cereal but still felt guilty about eating her food for a week even if they'd been sharing from now on.