********* Melosia By Morgan Stubblefield ********* "We're going down!" Tom Paris shouted as the small shuttle craft shook. "Attempting to level our decent! B'Elanna, stabilize the secondary-" A massive internal explosion ripped through the shuttle, and a huge hole opened up in front of Paris' console, literally tearing Tom Paris out of the shuttle. He felt himself falling, then he hit the ground hard, before mercifully passing out. ******** "So, he got anythin' a value?" "Naw. Just da pin here." "Well, take it. C'mon, let's dump da body an' go." The two boys dragged a lifeless Tom Paris away from where he'd hit the ground, toward a ravine. Suddenly, an alarm sounded. "Footguys!" One of the boys shouted. "Lez go!" The other followed, leaving Paris on the ground. Tom thought about B'Elanna, and Harry. They'd both been in the shuttle. Where they alive? Dead? Dying? At any rate, he knew had had to help them. He didn't have much luck. After several minutes of trying, unsuccessfully, to get up, he saw a shadow fall over him. He only saw the outline of a girl before he blacked out. *************** When Tom awoke, he felt like he'd stepped into the Twilight Zone. *I'm on a Cardassian ship* he realized. He tried to sit up and instantly a girl was by his side. Looking at her face, he knew she wasn't Cardassian. From the look of her nose, she was Bajoran. "You're human," she stated quietly. He nodded. She couldn't be more than 14. "How did you get here?" She gestured to their surroundings. "This is an old Cardassian freezer ship." Seeing Tom's look of confusion, she continued, "It was some kind of experiment." Bitterly, she added, "They were transporting us to a research colony. I don't want to know what for." Tom nodded understandingly. "The Cardassians could be ruthless." "Do you need something?" "Nope. I'm fine. By the way, what's your name?" "Jena." "Jena, short for Jennifer?" She nodded. "What's your last name?" "Hamilton?" "Jena Hamilton. Sounds so...human. Well, then Jena, can you help me find my people?" "Your people?" "Yes." "There's more of you?!" "Of course. Aren't there more passengers?" Jena shook her head. "When we first landed on Melosia, the Melosians weren't happy. Seconds after we exited the ship the descended and slaughtered all but me." "How many were there?" "Eighty." "Why did they spare you?" "They didn't. I was four years old. I saw people coming to hurt me and I ran. When I came back, they were all dead. I've taken care of myself ever since." "It must have been hard." "What? To see them killed? Because killing on Melosia is very common, especially in the slums. If you mean raising myself, I just did what I had to do." "And you live here? Alone?" Tom asked gently. She nodded. "No one ever talks to me," she told him, as if it was natural. "Look at me! At my nose! Maybe if I had the same bluish tint to my skin, and I was as tall, I *might* fit in a little better...but..." Upset over her outburst, she busied herself in cleaning a panel. "Hey, it's okay. I know what it's like to feel unwanted." Tom smiled and turned her back toward him. "Now, how about my missing people?" She nodded. "There was an alarm. It meant that everyone had to get indoors, or they'd be arrested, too. I didn't know who they were looking for...but they stopped their search, so I'm guessing they found your other people." Tom frowned. "Do you know where they'd be held?" Jena nodded. "There's a prison near here where they keep all the prisoners." "Good. Let's go." He began to walk out, but Jena grabbed his arm, holding him back. "You can't just walk up and knock! The prison has *one* door, with at least a dozen guards. There aren't any trees, rocks, or any other type of cover. The walls are solid Feridium, completely impassable without large explosives. There's no way in, or out except for the door." Tom groaned. "No way in at all? None?" "None." "Then we'll have to wait for Voyager." "Who?" "My ship." Jena's eyes brightened, then abruptly dimmed. "What?" Tom asked. "Nothing." "No, really. What's wrong?" "Nothing!" She walked off, up a small staircase over to the isle that held the freezers. Tom sighed. Looking around, he saw what he took to be a communications panel. *If I can get it working...* ****************** Jena stared at the freezer that had once held her five-year-old body on a trek through space. Tom hadn't asked details, like the fact that the ship had been thrown off course while passing through a nebula, or that it'd taken them over fifty years to get to Melosia. Or how lonely she truly was. Contact with a person who didn't feel like she was evil was amazing. Talking with someone who didn't feel fear and loathing whenever they looked at her...She shook the thoughts of leaving Melosia out of her mind. When she was little, she used to dream about leaving, going....home. The truth was, she didn't *have* a home. Nor would she have anyone to talk to for very long. After all, Tom wasn't staying. Neither were his companions. Neither was his ship.... His ship. For an instant she thought about going with him, seeing people, people who maybe wouldn't hate her either. It was a thought she quickly pushed away. *No* she thought. *No one wants *me*. No one's ever wanted to even *talk* to me. Why would they want me on their ship? *It'll be hard to forget being able to speak in English, though* Jena had spent months learning both Melosian and English. The English database was one of the only that was still readable. Tom hadn't even noticed that fact that his Universal Translator wasn't translating Jena's speech, but she was speaking *his* language. Jena heard footsteps and immediately her hand reached down to the knife in her boot. Seeing Tom, she relaxed her hand. After coming up the staircase, Paris for the first time saw where Jena really lived. There was a mat in the corner, old, and uncomfortable-looking. Over it was an old green blanket, along with a small blue pillow. In another corner was a small box, most likely clothes. That was all, except for a tiny pile of wrapped food. Her living space was mapped entirely in a dead-end made by the freezers. The tubes were leaning against each side of the wall, and at the end of their row was Jena's "room". Tom felt pity for her, but she didn't seem to be feeling sorry for herself. She was very good at hiding her emotions, Tom realized. He could understand why. After all, if someone was threatening her, seeing fear would only make it worse. "I think I've figured out how to send a message to my ship...but I'm not sure about how to encode it. Can you help?" Jena nodded and stood, smoothing her long skirt and small top, the style on Melosia. "Who's kept this place running all these years?" "Only been ten years." "Hmm, so you're 14?" She nodded. "And you've kept this place running?" She nodded again. "How?" "I just figured it out." Tom was impressed. "Good for you." Jena shrugged. "This ship keeps me warm when it gets cold, and cool when it gets hot." After fixing the relays that would allow Tom's message to be encoded, they sat and waited. "Message received. Reply made." Said the stern Cardassian voice. "Yes! Computer, display message." Tom waited, but nothing happened. "I don't get it..." Suddenly, a message appeared on the screen as Jena appeared from under a console, a tool in her hand. "The computer voice activation codes haven't worked since the crash. Have to do it manually. Only small tidbits, like information, work now." Tom nodded, amazed at her knowledge of the ship. He looked at the message. ------------------------------------------------------- LT. PARIS HELP COMING. PLANET LOCATED. REQUEST GRANTED. BEAM-UP WILL COMMENCE AT 2400 EXACTLY. JANEWAY ------------------------------------------------------- Tom breathed a sigh of relief. "They're coming." Jena smiled. "Good. I-" Jena was cut off by the wailing sound of a siren. "What is that?" Jena went pale. "The execution alarm. They're about to execute someone." ***************** The two ran towards the town center, where the executions were to take place. When they arrived, there was already a large crowd. Jena and Paris pushed their way to a place where they could see. A legion of men came out, followed by a man holding an old scroll. Then came out the prisoners. Each were wearing a black hood, hiding their faces. "These people," began the man holding the scroll, whom Jena had identified as the L'Krai, a man like a police chief, "are outsiders who threaten the very livelihood of our race. They must be stopped. Therefore, they will be executed shortly." Tom gasped as one of the men removed the hoods, revealing B'Elanna and Harry. Tom looked down, deep in thought. He grabbed Jena's arm. "Let's go." "What?! But, I thought those people were-" "My friends, yes. I don't intend to let them die." "What are you going to do?" "Make a little diversion until Voyager gets here." "How?" "That's where you come in. You said they killed everyone, right?" She nodded. "Why have they left you alone?" "Well, they haven't. The towns people don't notice me anymore, but the police have orders to arrest me if I'm ever seen." Paris smiled. ****************** Ten minutes later, B'Elanna and Harry were still being read their list of charges. Tom and Jena were standing off to one side, waiting. The executioners readied their weapons, aimed, and Jena shoved her way through the crowd and threw a rock at the Melosian who'd been reading off the list of charges. HE looked at her, recognizing her immediately, and commanded the soldiers to stop. "Why, hello, Outsider." "Nice to see you again, Terrela." "Come to see them die?" "No, just passing' through. Thought I'd come to taunt the fact that in all these years, you still haven't caught me, even though I'm right under your nose." Terrela laughed. "Well, a fitting end. You were stupid to come here today. Why *did* you?" "Turn around." Terrela looked, and saw that Torres and Kim were missing. "Idiots!" Terrela screamed. "You mindless fools! You've let them get away!" He turned to grab Jena, but she too was gone. **************************** No one said anything as Jena led the way back to the ship. Torres gasped when the relatively small ship came into view, mostly hidden by huge trees. "It's Cardassian," she murmered. Tom began to explain the how Jena got to the Delta Quadrant. B'Elanna and Harry began asking questions Jena couldn't hear. The approached the airlock, Jena punched in a code and the door opened. B'Elanna was clearly impressed at how well Jena had taken care of the ship. Harry hadn't been saying much. "What's the matter, Harry?" Tom asked. "Nothing, just tired. Didn't get much sleep in prison." "I have a bed up those stairs, if you want to use it," Jena offered, "It's not too comfortable, but..." "It's fine. Thanks." Harry walked off. "And you've spoken to Voyager?" Torres asked. "Yeah. They're coming. Jena, you do need to tell them that they won't need to start a rescue mission." Jena set the format up for him, and he sent a message. All that was left to do was wait. --2200-- B'Elanna was still looking at the ship's systems, while Tom looked for something to do. He found it in a pack of cards. "A deck of cards. How about that. Wonder if there was a human here too." Jena simply sat, and watched each of them. "Know hwo to play cards?" Jena looked at him, not comprehending. "Well, then, I'll teach you. Poker sound okay?" "Tom, Tom," B'Elanna scolded, "do you want her end up like you?" "And what's wrong with me?" He asked sweetly. "I could think of a few things." "Aw! I'm hurt! I thought you loved me." Torres couldn't help but laugh. "We leave in a few hours, I'm going to see a couple more of these old Cardassian systems before we do." Tom smiled. Jena, however, was only too painfully aware that they'd be leaving soon. Playing poker was very interesting. Tom was a patient teacher and Jena a quick study. Before long, they were playing together, though Tom didn't play to his true potential, as he didn't want to discourage her. "Tom! It's almost 2400! Harry's up, we've got to go." "All right. Jena, I have to-" Paris was interrupted by a sudden, powerful blast to the ship. Harry and B'Elanna were almost thrown off the staircase they were coming down. "We have you completely surrounded. Come out all of you or we will be forced to fire," came the voice from outside. "Well, since they're not going to let us go out the front door, I don't suppose there's another way out." Paris directed toward Jennifer. Jennifer thought for a moment. "Well, no *real* way out, but there was a hull breech near the ground I sealed years ago. With enough force, we might be able to get it open." They ran toward it. The breech was very large, and it didn't take long to press a piece of the new metal off so they could fit through. "Where are they beaming us up at?" Harry asked. "Didn't say. They'll probably just-" A tremendous explosion made them both turn back. They'd managed to run quite far away from the ship and now were on a hill. They saw the bombs, then the many explosions, then watched the ship burn. "No..." Jena whispered softly. She began to run back, but Tom held her. "It's gone." Jena turned away. A shimmering light made them look to see Commander Chakotay, Tuvok, and two security officers. "Ready?" Chakotay asked. Paris moved to answer when movement behind them was heard. It was a Melosion storm trooper. As if in slow motion, he moved his weapon to shoot Tom. Jena saw the movement and threw herself in front of the man just in time to take the hit herself. She vaguely heard Tom yelling and several more phaser blasts before passing out. After stunning the Melosion, Tom kneeled near Jena, feeling for a pulse. "She's alive!" "We have to get her back to the ship," Chakotay said into his communicator. "Chakotay to Voyager, eight to beam up." **************** Jena awoke to strange voices. "Well, captain, she should make a complete recovery. Although she *is* lacking in several minerals and vitamins." "Thank you, Doctor. When will she be awake?" "Any time. Though Mr. Paris said he had "dibs" on seeing her first." Janeway smiled. "Well, inform me when she's awake." Quietly, so not to disturb Jena, Janeway walked out. The Doctor came to check on her a few minutes later. "Good, you're awake." He ran a medical tricorder over her. "Aside from needing more vitamins, which I doubt you'll get from Mr. Neelix's food, you've very healthy." "See, Doc?" The Doctor didn't seemed phased by Tom's sudden appearance. "Hello, Mr. Paris. You're just in time. I'll leave you two alone." "How do you feel?" "Okay." "That's good. Guess what?" Paris waited for Jena to say something, but she remained silent. "When the Doc springs you-" "She can go now," came the voice from the Doctor's office. "Thanks, Doc," Paris called. Turning back to Jena, he said, "Do you wanna go to your quarters?" Jena looked at him with confusion. "I'm staying?" He nodded. "Of course. We can't very well send you back. You've got nowhere to go." She smiled. "I have my *own* quarters?" "Yup. Shall we go?" She nodded and Paris helped her off the biobed. "We'll get you some clothes to wear later," he said, looking at her blue medical garb. They walked through the corridor, and to the turbolift, and back onto another deck. Tom pointed out various things. Soon they arrived at Jena's quarters, and she was amazed at how spacious they were. "If you need anything, just call. You can use the blue button on the control panel by the replicator. I'm two doors down, to the left." "Thanks." "Hey, it's no problem. After all, you saved my life." "It was nothing." "Sure it was! I won't forget it either." He turned to go, but reversed. "If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask." "I'll be fine." Satisfied, he smiled at her and left. Jena looked around at her new home, feeling that now her life held promise. ******************************************************* Disclaimer- Nothing's mine! I own nothing but the story and Jena. Comments? rose.dawson@mailexcite.com