Disclaimer:  Paramount owns Star Trek, forever and always, no matter how
much I want it. :)      


             "Suspicion and Fear"
              By: Krystal Banzon


     "Mr. Paris, did you hear me?"  Tom snapped back to reality on the
bridge.  "Mr Paris?"  "Yes, Ma'am?"  "I repeated my order twice, are you
alright?"  "Yes, ma'am, I'm fine."  "Alright, don't let it happen
again."  The Captain stared at him wondering what was wrong, then said,
"Take her to full impulse."  "Aye, Captain." Tom replied.  He had been
staring straight ahead at the viewscreen when he had been mesmerized,
by.....something.  It had taken all of his attention, and a chill ran up
his spine, until the Captain pulled him back to reality.  He double
checked the course setting, and it turned out the same as always, toward
the Alpha Quadrant.  Everything checked out alright, yet he still
couldn't help but get a bad feeling.....about what, he didn't know.

                   **********

     In the emptiness of space, in a floating graveyard, a few light
years ahead, something felt it.  It felt something it had never felt in
centuries.....it reveled in it, it lived it.  It absorbed, lived, and
breathed in the emotion of the slight chaos it had awoken.  It knew
something was coming.  It was something it was waiting for all these
years.  It would feed him for centuries once again........

                  ************
     Captain Janeway sat in her quarters, trying to relax.  She was
reading some classics stored in her padd.  But she couldn't help but
think about the way Tom had zoned out on the bridge.  She knew it was
nothing to worry about.  It happened often.  Crewmembers get easily
distracted on slow days.  It was especially normal in this region of
space.  There hasn't been an M class planet for weeks, and it's hard for
the crew, especially Tom to sit and do nothing for this long a time.
She knew she was yelling at herself, and trying to convince herself that
everything was alright, but if she didn't do it, who would.  Yet she
still couldn't help but feel a slight uneasiness flow through her, when
she felt a chill run down her spine.
     
     Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres shift was almost over in Engineering.
She did one more diagnostic to make sure everything was alright.  As she
was about ready to leave, when her commbadge chirped, "Paris to Torres."
She tapped it and replied, "Torres here."  Then she heard the slightly
annoying voice that she loves to hear, the voice of Tom Paris tell her,
"We're still on or dinner in the Mess Hall, right?"  "Yup! I'll be there
in a few minutes."  "Alright, see you there!"  "Bye, Torres out,"  She
slapped her commbadge off as she walked out of Engineering.  She turned
around to take another look at Engineering when, the warp core caught
her eye.  It looked normal, but didn't feel right.  The swirls of color
as the plasma danced inside the core, was hypnotizing.  It cast an eerie
reflection of color on her face.  Then she gasped, she saw a slight
shape in the core.  Blended in with the blue and purple plasma, it
wasn't a shape or figure, it was just a.....ghostly blob, that didn't
feel right. It held her eyes so she couldn't turn, as the colors floated
in front of her.  That shapeless figure brought a quiet fear into her,
and when the trance was broken, she turned and stumbled out the doors.
As the doors closed behind her she felt a slight chill run down her
body.  She walked to the nearest Turbolift, and as the doors slid open,
she felt a slight hesitancy to step inside.  She stood staring at the
open doors for a long moment, and pushed the uneasiness aside and walked
in.  The Turbolift ride seemed like forever, eyes darting side to side.
When the doors finally opened, she walked to the mess hall, calming down
a little.  She stepped inside, seeing Tom waiting in the corner for her.
She walked up to the table, as Tom stood up and asked, "B'Elanna, are
you alright?"  B'Elanna answered, "Yeah, Im fine, Tom."  "Oh, Well, You
just look a little pale."  "I'm fine, Tom, Really."  She answered, a
little too harshly.  "I'm just trying to help, B'Elanna." Tom answered .
B'Elanna looked down, "Yeah, I know, Im sorry I snapped at you.  I'm
just a little tired thats all."  B'Elanna said, as she looked back up at
Tom.  "It's alright, B'Elanna,"  He said as he looked into her eyes.
Her deep brown eyes looked different, no shine, no sparkle.  They looked
haunted.......they didn't look like his B'Elanna's eyes......like
someone else was behind them........She smiled at him, then a chill ran
up his spine.         
                      ***********
That's it for now!!!  :)
Any comments, queries, questions, quizzes?

Copyright   (c)  1998     Krystal Banzon 
        startrex@webtv.net