Parturition: Part Two

Chapter 46: Parturition: Part Two.

(30 minutes later.)

Bini Filters's POV

-----

I marched into the shuttle bay followed by Sarah and Micheal, attaching a tricorder and phaser to my belt. We stood for a moment and watched as Neelix and Tom filled the shuttle with needed supplies, hostility brewing between them.

"Dear Lord, I am going to die." I muttered. I heard Sarah snicker behind me. We walked towards the shuttle. They moved beside me. We stopped again to watch them.

"Mommy won't send you on this mission if you were going to die, Bini." Micheal argued.

"She is punishing me. She doesn't think we are going to die. But she hasn't watched these two recently. She only read the reports from the fight. It doesn't have the same effect when it is in writing." I explained. Hesitant to move forward.

"Mommy said she was teaching them to work together. Why is she sending you on this mission?" He asked.

"Again, she is punishing me for getting you guys in trouble." I turned around and faced them. "If I get back and I am dead. Make sure everyone says something nice about me."

"That would boost your ego too much." Micheal argued.

"Micheal, I would be dead. I won't be able hear anything."

"Why does it matter then?" Sarah asked.

"Because...I will get back to you on that." I replied.

"What are you supposed to be doing on this...mission anyway?" Micheal chipped in.

"Security detail. We don't know who is on this planet. And if Tom and Neelix get too crazy, stun them to hell." I said.

"Bini!" Tom called out. We turned around as Neelix entered the shuttle and Tom gestured me to get into the shuttle. "Time to go! Hurry up."

"I am coming! Give me a moment!" I yelled back. Then looked towards the kids again. "See you guys in an hour or so. I don't know how long the trip will be. But, it shouldn't be too long. Not an overnight thing."

They nodded and Sarah hugged me. Saying their goodbyes, they quickly ran off to find their mother and Mollie. I walked towards the shuttle sharing a quick laugh and a joke with Tom, then being on the receiving end of Neelix's jealous glare.

I clear my throat uncomfortably and entered the shuttle. Getting myself comfortable in the back. Checking my power levels. Tom and Neelix moved the last of the supplies and moved to the front.

Tom sat at the pilot seat and Neelix sat at Ops. We were cleared to leave Voyager. The shuttle took off and we left Voyager swiftly. Heading towards the gray planet below.

---5 minutes later---

"Entry sequence at two minutes, mark. All systems normal. Trigemic density at point zero four one and rising." Tom reported.

"We lost communication with Voyager thirty seconds ago. You don't have to impress me with your technobabble." Neelix snapped. God damn, we managed five minutes in peaceful silence and now the bickering starts.

"I'm not trying to impress anyone, I'm entering it into the flight record. Look, can I make a suggestion?" Tom bit back with annoyance.

"You're the commander of this mission. You can make any suggestion you want, and if you make it an order, I'll even have to obey it." Neelix snapped back.

"My suggestion is that we put our personal problems aside until this mission is over. Okay?" Tom requested. Wow, for once Tom isn't thriving off of drama.

"I left my personal problems back on the ship. I can't speak for you." Neelix snapped. I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Sure, you left it on the ship." I muttered. Neelix turned in his seat to look at me with confusion.

"What did you say, Ensign Filters?"

"Nothing. Nothing, Neelix." I insisted. Thinking it was better to keep my mouth shut then get involved.

"Fine. Let's get the job done." Tom snapped.

"You get us down in one piece, and I'll take it from there." Neelix said.

"Entry sequence at three minutes, mark. All systems, stand by. Have you been briefed on shuttle operations?" Tom asked as we entered the main atmosphere.

"Ensign Baytart took me through the basics. Of course, I didn't have the benefit of your personal tutelage."

"Check your console. I'm reading a power output decline of fifteen percent."

"Confirmed."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, the shuttle started to violently shake.

"Warning. Vectored exhaust controls malfunctioning." The Computer announced as we started to hold on among the chaos.

"What does that mean?" Neelix frantically asked.

"It means we are going to die!" I called out.

"DIE!?" Neelix exclaimed.

"We are not going to die! Bini, stop jumping to conclusions! We're getting some kind of reaction in our driver coil assembly from the EM anomalies in the atmosphere." Tom explained. "I'm going to abort the mission. Hold on. We've lost our impulse drive. Shut off the deuterium flow! I'm dumping excess fuel."

"Deuterium flow sealed." Neelix announced.

"Setting DCA pulse over to neutral. Engaging thrusters."

"Can you regain control?"

"I'm trying, Neelix. Prepare for an emergency landing. Send out an EMS pulse. There's still a chance Voyager will pick it up." Tom announced.

-----

Chakotay's POV

"Captain, we're picking up a locator signal from the shuttle." Tuvok reported.

"Can you track it?" The Captain asked.

"Their last velocity vector indicates a steep descent. We've lost contact." Tuvok replied.

"Bridge to Torres." I said on my combadge.

"Torres here." B'Elanna replied on the comlink.

"B'Elanna, our shuttle's in trouble. Any progress on modifying the transporter?" I asked.

"Negative. It's an extremely complex interference pattern, and it keeps changing."

"Bring in as much help as you need. This is now a search and rescue operation." Janeway told B'Elanna on the link.

"Acknowledged. Torres out." B'Elanna said, abruptly cutting the line.

"Keep me informed. I'll be in my Ready room." The Captain ordered and walked into her ready room, followed by Mollie.

-----

(Meanwhile.)

Bini Filters's POV

I woke up coughing violently with smoke clouding my vision and hear rustle in front of me.

"I said in one piece." Neelix snapped, pulling debris off of him. Tom moved closer to me. Pulling a piece of a bulkhead off my back. My head was throbbing and I though it, pulling back sharply with a hiss and seeing some blood covering my hand. Tom swore as he grabbed a kit, trying to find some medical supplies that weren't crushed or destroyed.

"Sorry. I did the best I could. Any broken bones?" Tom replied, asking the both of us.

"Everything seems to be working. I'm itching." Neelix commented.

"Yeah, my head is bleeding and I am itchy. Who has got it worse here?" I sarcastically replied, scratching my arms. Tom slammed the kit shut, holding a hypospray. He shook his head towards me, signalling that there were no medical supplies that would help my head.

"I feel it too. We've got atmospheric leakage in the hull. The trigemic vapours really sting. Here. Doc said this would help a little." Tom said, pressing the hypospray against each of our necks. Easing the itching.

"If we've got atmospheric leakage, how can we fly out of here?"Neelix asked.

"We can't. We'll have to wait for Voyager to find us." Tom replied.

"We're not even sure they're looking for us yet. We don't know if the EMS pulse got through."

"B'Elanna's working on the transporter, and one of those atmospheric windows might open up. In the meantime, we're going to have to look for some kind of cover."

I leaned against the shuttle wall. Listening to those two knuckleheads fight.

"I say we stay right here." Neelix voted.

"The trigemic vapours are going to-"

"You're the one who wants to go out into those vapours. Staying here is our best chance of being found. You heard what they said. Those windows may only be open for a matter of minutes."

"And we may be waiting here for days. Exposure to these vapours is too dangerous. We're leaving. Grab your gear." Tom ordered. Moving to help me up.

"Is that an order or a suggestion?" Neelix barked.

"An order!" Tom snapped back.

"Yes, sir." He muttered. Crawling out of the shuttle and helping me out.

---20 minutes later---

"I hope you're satisfied. We were a lot more comfortable inside the shuttle. I have red welts all over my hands now." Neelix complained as we trudged through the planet's surface.

"You know, it might be more constructive if you could find us something safe to eat." Tom bit back. I stopped quickly to look around the rock barren terrain.

"I certainly don't know why the ship's sensors indicated this planet might be rich in food supplies. It sure doesn't look it." Neelix complained.

"Our emergency rations won't last forever." Tom said.

"I'll find something for us. Of course, it might not meet your personal culinary standards." Neelix snapped.

"Oh, don't worry. I've learned to lower my standards since you became cook." Tom snapped. Neelix stepped back appaled. Then looked at me for help. I shrugged and moved past him following Tom.

"He is not...completely wrong." I befriended. He started to studder up and excuse but was interrupted by Tom's tricorder wildly beeping.

"I'm picking up some caves about a kilometre west of here." Tom announced. Moving our direction to follow the signal.

"What good fortune." Neelix muttered.

-----

Micheal Janeway's POV

I marched off the turbo lift in a fury with Sarah. I knew Bini was right. But, no. I had to ignore her and think she was crazy. I had to learn that the shuttle went down from some Ensign gossiping about Tom and Neelix! Not from Mommy! Mommy should have informed us!

Everyone on the bridge turned to us when we stomped onto the bridge. Glaring at Mommy in the middle.

"Mommy. Can we speak to you?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Micheal, now isn't really a good time-"

"Mommy." I pressed. She sighed and gave the command to Chakotay. She gestured us to follow her into the ready room. We quickly hurried after her, ignoring the looks from the crew of annoyance.

Once we entered, Mommy sat on the sofa and gestured us sit next to her, which we accepted. Then she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Now, what is this about kids?" Mommy asked.

"Bini said she was going to die and/or Neelix and Tom were going to kill each other on the mission. We didn't believe her, next thing we know, the shuttle went down and they are either dead on that planet, or killing each other! Why did you send them on a mission together, Mommy? WHY?" I demanded.

"Because Tom and Neelix needed to settle their differences, Bini needed to get off the ship. She has barely gone on any away missions for the past two months. Besides, she needed to be taught a lesson. This was meant to be a learning experience for all of them."

"Some learning...Learning experi-Whatever. It didn't work Mommy." I snapped. Then I abruptly got up, scaring Mollie who was sleeping beside Mommy's desk. "Come on, Mollie."

Mollie happily wagged her tail and followed after me, leaving Mommy and Sarah behind as we left the ready room and the bridge behind to play some catch on the holodeck to calm me down.

-----

Kes's POV

I paced my quarters. Back and forth, back and forth. Trying to desperately not worry. Then my doorbell suddenly chimed. My heart soared at the thought that it might be Neelix standing there.

"Come in." I granted. Harry nervously stepped through my door, into my quarters. "Harry. Any word yet?"

"We're doing everything possible. The transporter just doesn't want to work in that atmosphere. How are you doing?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm all right. It's just, I was very angry at them a few hours ago." I explained.

"You had every right to be." Harry said.

"And now they might both be dead. And I'm sitting here, and I'm feeling guilty for some reason." I explained.

"Guilty? Why?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. But I don't like it. And it's their fault. And I can't even tell them how angry I am at them, and I may never be able to tell them how angry I am at them, so it doesn't matter, does it?" I explained.

"Look. You know if there was any way to land that shuttle, Tom Paris got it down." Harry said, trying to make me feel better. I chuckled and shrugged.

"And no one has stronger survival skills than Neelix."

"And I am sure that if they try to kill each other. Bini will be more than happy to stun them both. I think that is part of the reason she was even on that mission. She is a security officer. I'm sure they'll all be fine."

"Unless they kill each other. Unless Bini can't stop them for some reason." I countered. Rising panic hit me.

"They're professionals."

"Oh, they'd better be all right, because when I see them, I'm personally going to tell them that I never intend to speak to either one of them again."

Suddenly, the ship lurched forward. Making us stumble to the floor.

"Chakotay to crew. Battle stations."

-----

Tom Paris's POV

"This is good. We can last a while in here." Tom said as he sealed the entrance of the cave with a blast of Neelix's and Tom's phaser.

"That should do it."

"Garnesite. This will give us a little heat, at least." Neelix said, holding up to rocks.

"We'd better conserve our beacon cells." Tom suggested, turning off our arm torches and heating up rocks using the phasers again. We all moved to sit against the cave wall near the rocks.

"So, what is Starfleet protocol for situations like this?" Neelix asked.

"Oh, there's a whole course at the Academy full of all sorts of survival strategies." Tom replied.

"Well, what did you get?" I asked.

"B minus." He muttered.

"That's not very encouraging." Neelix replied.

"My father was teaching the class that year." Tom said.

"And he gave you a B minus? I guess he didn't play favourites, huh?" Tom asked.

"He certainly doesn't. Tom's father is the scum of the Earth. He went and killed my father. To add insult to injury, he threw me and Tom in jail!" I complained. Neelix seemed appalled at my statement.

"But you wrote my Father that letter. I thought you forgave him!" Tom said.

"Sure. For one day. One day that I felt nice, I thought I forgave him." I replied. Tom cleared his throat comfortably.

"What about Talaxian protocols?" Tom asked, trying to change the subject.

"I wrote my own book. My life before Voyager was no bed of Felaran rose petals." Neelix said, doing a dramatic gesture.

"No, more like a bed of--"

"What?" Neelix snapped.

"Nothing."

"You were going to say junk, perhaps? Go ahead. Say it. Junk. I was a dealer in junk. Perhaps not worthy of a woman like Kes, in your opinion." Neelix harshly replied.

"Neelix, I didn't say that. I never even-"

"OK, you two." I said, standing up. "I am asexual for a reason. The reason is so that I don't turn into bobbled head lovesick freaks who fall on their face for some bimbo who walks across the damn corridor."

"Excuse me?" Neelix snapped and stood up abruptly. "How dare you call Kes a Bimbo!"

Then it was Tom's turn to stand up.

"That's not why you are asexual! You are asexual because life has dealt you a bad hand! Also, I am not a bobbled head lovesick freak who falls on my face!" Tom argued.

"OK, Tom. Don't try and figure out how I became asexual. I always have so try and shut up. Neelix, I didn't say Kes was a Bimbo, it was just an example. Then again I wouldn't put it past her."

"Kes is the most-"

"I swear if I hear one more sentence about how damn wonderful that elf is, I will use my Obsidion Order skills against you both. It doesn't matter who said it, your both in for the injury of your life!" I barked.

Suddenly, we heard a small sound, an animal-like sound in the deeper in the cave.

"Tell me something. In that Starfleet survival course, did your father teach you to check for life signs before you seal yourself inside a cave?" Neelix asked in fear as we slowly moved deeper into the cave.

"I checked for life signs. There weren't any." Tom hissed.

"There are now." Neelix snapped back.

"Well, should we kill it?" I asked. Tom and Neelix shot me a look.

"Did we activate that killer side of you or something, Filters?" Tom hissed.

"Actually yes, you did." I admitted. "I can smell your blood."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, you sick---?"

-----

Captain Kathryn Janeway's POV

I stumbled out of my ready room, holding Sarah, followed by Mollie. I sat down in my command chair as a scared Sarah hugged me tightly, crying in fear as the ship on the viewscreen swung around and began to fire at us again.

"Hail them." I barked. Chakotay took Sarah from me and began the process of calming her down.

"They do not respond, Captain." Tuvok announced.

"They're powering down their weapons systems." Harry said.

"Their vessel has taken up a position directly beneath us." Tuvok reported.

"What do you make of it, Lieutenant?" I asked.

"They would seem to have adopted a defensive posture, Captain."

"I agree. But defending what? The planet?" I asked.

"Or something on it." Chakotay added.

-----

Bini Filters's POV

"Whatever this life form is, its vital signs are awfully faint." Tom said as we moved forward into the complex cavern. Tom looked back at the two of us and gestured to me.

"Bini seems to be a murderer right now. Why don't you take the lead?" Tom suggested.

"Shut up knuckleheaded dong berry." I snapped. "Do your damn job sun-cracked!"

"Why is she so rude right now?" Neelix asked. Tom rolled his eyes and glared at me.

"In the maquis we referred it as the killer instinct being activated," Tom explained. "Something she learned in the Obsidion order. This has only happened three times and she always acts like this every time and bashes somebody's head in. But those were always Cardassians...but in this case-"

"If you don't keep moving, there will be a fourth head bashed in." I threatened.

"Anyway, as I was saying the vital signs are weak." Tom said, trying to change the subject.

"In this atmosphere, it could be dying of exposure." Neelix exclaimed as we inched slowly and cautiously.

"No, I don't think so. They're faint, but steady." Tom said.

"Wait, is that a boot print?" I said, pointing to the print in the dirt.

"I'd say it's becoming more and more evident that we chose the wrong cave." Neelix said. Suddenly we saw three large eggs.

"This is where the life signs are coming from. They're embryonic life forms. These two are half-formed. This one almost seems to be-"

The egg abruptly cracked open and a baby reptile popped out and started mewling.

"Oh no. The dinosaur is alive."

"Did I mention Bini makes a lot more sarcastic comments when the instinct is activated. That kills people by itself."

---10 minutes later---

"This creature's going to have the ability to stand upright. It has the skeletal system of a humanoid. It's cold-blooded, has reptilian epidermis. Its brain is significantly larger than most reptilian species. I'd say we're dealing with a sentient life form here, you two." Tom said as we all knelt around the creature.

"If this species is sentient, wouldn't that suggest that its parents might return to care for it?"

"It's hard to say. Most common reptiles lay their eggs and never return to protect them."

"I think we've established we're not dealing with a common reptile."

"True. And if this thing does have a mother, I'd say we don't want to be around when she gets back. Come on." Tom said, gesturing us to go back. Neelix stood his ground and didn't dare move with a stern expression.

"We can't just leave it here."

"We're not leaving it here, its mother left it here. We just happened to wander in."

"But we blocked off the cave. The mother might have been trapped outside."

'We'll leave the door open for her when we go, okay?"

"Look. It's not that simple. What if she can sense we were here? She, she might be able to smell that faux lime aftershave of yours. I'm sure you realize many species won't return to a nest after it's been tampered with." Neelix argued with Tom.

"There's not much we can do about that now, is there? We should just leave all this the way we found it."

"No." He snapped.

"Neelix!"

"This creature is our responsibility."

"Ours?" Neelix questioned him.

"The moment we came in here, it became our responsibility." Neelix snapped.

"And you expect to take care of this thing until what? It graduates from high school, college? And what if Mom doesn't come back? Are you planning to bring this with us back on the ship?" Tom asked.

"Look, if she does return and accepts the hatchling, it'll solve everything. We just have to wait and see what she does. I don't know how it is in your quadrant, but in mine we don't abandon a new-born thing."

"Fine. Fine. You made your point. I officially designate you its godfather." Tom snapped. Waving him off. Neelix took off his jacket and wrapped the creature in it. He picked it up and the creature stopped crying and started to shiver. Tom and I moved closer to look at the poor thing.

"It's stopped crying." I muttered.

"It's shivering. That's normal, isn't it? I mean, newborn life forms do shiver, don't they?" Tom asked.

"To be honest, I haven't been around many newborns." Neelix admitted.

"Me neither." Tom said.

"Oh, look at this, Paris. It's stopped shivering."

"It's asleep. Forget what I said, Neelix. You're not its godfather. You're its godmother." Tom cut in.

---5 minutes later---

"Oh, come on. Come on. It doesn't seem to care for Starfleet rations." Tom said as he attempted to stuff the "food" into his new friends, he held in his arms.

"If I were in my kitchen, I could cook you up some delightful leola root broth." I couldn't help but think that his food would kill the baby.

"Are you serious?" Tom asked and cringed in disgust. "Ugh. I hope I never see another leola root. And you're certainly not feeding any of that hideous broth to my niece. Or nephew. Whatever it is."

"His heartbeat is getting weaker. Come on, kid. Please eat something." I pressed.

"It seems far more interested in my jacket than your food." Neelix replied smugly. As the creature nibbled on the fabric.

"Neelix, it's not your jacket. It's the residue of the trigemic vapours we walked through. Think about it. Voyager's sensors picked up high levels of proteins and amino acids, which we assumed meant this was a planet filled with vast supplies of edible plant life."

"We were certainly wrong about that."

"The residue is a concentration of proteins and amino acids."

"The perfect source of nutrition for the hatchling."

"The source we cut off when we blocked the cave. Come on. We've got some rocks to move." Tom ordered.

-----

(Three hours later.)

Bini stumbled into the messhall. Followed by me, Micheal. She stumbled over to the nearest table. We both sat down with her, bring a cup of hot chocolate for Bini.

"So what happened?" I asked. "You look like a mess."

"Neelix and Tom became godparents and fluffy the bird brain dinosaur came to pick up her kid." She snapped, scrunching her face up.

"Why are you calling people funny names?" I asked.

"Funny names? What funny names?" She asked, taking a sip out of her cup.

"You called Ensign Jenkins a Butherroller of the Terran race, then called Vorok an over patient elf." I explained. "Now, tell me why Mommy told Commander Chakotay, you three became a family down there to some kid."

"Because Neelix and Tom designated themselves, Godmother and Godfather, and I the guard dog. It was a strange conversation to say the least when we had to explain it to the Captain."

"But they attacked us! They brought a ship and attacked us! You should have left that baby along."

"Micheal, I don't have the energy to argue with you right now." She said, shaking her head and taking another sip.

"Alright. Did you guys give him a name?" I asked. Bini smiled at me and nodded.

"Yep. At least I did. I named him Dinosaur." She replied.

"That's a stupid name." I said.

"It's logical." She argued.

"Don't use Vulcan logic on me."

---End of Chapter 46: Next ???---