"Are you sure this is the right way back to camp, Tom?" Ensign Harry Kim asked nervously as they picked their way along the narrow track through the undergrowth.

"Of course, I am. Have I ever been wrong?" Lt. Paris retorted, glancing back over his shoulder at the younger man.

"I don't know. Have you?" It was easy for the ensign to look innocent and Tom scowled at him, not sure whether he was being mocked or not. He came to a halt and turned to Kim.

"You want to lead the way?" he asked sarcastically.

"Oh no, you're doing fine," Harry said hastily. Paris snorted and swung around to stride forward again, leaving Kim to lengthen his strides to match those of the taller man. Around them the forest seemed to whisper, branches clacking together in the thick darkness. The sweet, cloying scent of flowers clogged the air and Harry pinched his nose, feeling the pollen grains tickling his sinus'. Proteus V was a fragrant world, full of strange scents that Paris seemed to be oblivious to. "Dark, isn't it?" Kim said uneasily, unconsciously hurrying his pace to get closer to his friend.

"It's night time, Harry," Tom pointed out drily. "What did you expect? Illuminated mushrooms to light your way?"

"Sorry. I guess I'm used to Earth. Everywhere there seems to be lit at night."

Paris waved a hand around him. "Well, this planet is the back of beyond. A backwater in a backwater and then some." He shook his head and grinned as Harry let out a violent sneeze. "Hay fever still bothering you?"

"I do not have hay fever!" Harry exclaimed, glaring at Paris as the Lieutenant chuckled.

"I don't know what the captain was thinking of, dumping a landing party here," Paris said however as he strolled on. "There's nothing but weeds on this planet."

"Maybe we're here to stop Neelix complaining about the lack of vegetable variety in Hydroponics," Harry said helpfully, patting the bag he had slung over his shoulder. "Maybe we've found a new variety of coffee bean. That should please the captain," Tom teased.

"Lt. Crane should be pleased with these specimens we found."

Paris gave him a thoughtful look. "Are you out to impress the delightful Lt. Crane of the long legs and the lissome..."

"Tom! She outranks me!"

"Only when she's in uniform," Paris smirked. He enjoyed teasing Kim. In many ways, Harry was a typical bright eyed and eager ensign. He was also charmingly innocent and Paris found that something about his young friend's trusting naivete refreshed his own somewhat jaded out look on life.

"She's older than me," Kim protested weakly.

"More experienced," Paris winked broadly and elbowed the ensign in the ribs, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"I told you, I have a girlfriend back home!" Kim argued, blushing furiously.

Tom's smirk faded and he wrapped a companionable arm around the younger man, suddenly feeling the need for contact at the reminder of how far away from home they were. "It may be a long time before we go home, Harry. You planning on staying celibate forever? I bet she doesn't."

Kim scowled and shook him off. "That isn't funny."

"The Voyager will have been reported as missing by now. She'll mourn but she won't expect you back. Do you really want her to miss out on life waiting for you?"

"I...that isn't fair!"

"Life isn't fair. Or haven't you figured that out by now?" Paris shook his head. "You've got to live in the here and now or go crazy."

Kim glared at him and stalked on ahead, clinging to his ideals of love and security. "I want to go home, Tom. Maybe you don't but I do!" he called back over his shoulder.

"I know, kid. So do I." Sighing heavily, Paris hurried after him and decided to lighten the mood a little. "Hey, look, the twin moons are coming out. You can romance the lovely Crane in the moonlight and bill and coo all night long."

"I told you! That isn't funny!" Harry snapped indignantly.

"Then why are you making so much fuss if it isn't a little bit true?" Paris teased, relieved that the ensign had let him catch up.

Kim made a little sound that was part exasperation, part annoyance and part chagrin. To cover his embarrassment, he fished out his tricorder and swung it in an arc around them. His wrist light glimmered on the oily green foliage that surrounded them. "The camp's over that way," he announced. "I'm reading the shuttle." Harry stopped, his head jerking up as he heard the low chittering sound from the undergrowth. "Tom?" he whispered nervously.

"I hear it," Paris let his hand slide down to his phaser. "Who's there? Tuvok? Crane?" There was no human answer, but the chittering sound increased, seeming to ripple through the leaves and bushes in a menacing wave. Tom edged closer to Kim. "How close is the shuttle?"

"A quarter mile that way." Harry pointed without taking his eyes off his tricorder.

"What do you read out there?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?"

"Exactly that. There's nothing reading as a biologic life sign out there." The ensign fiddled with his tricorder, studying the readings that resulted carefully. "But there is something moving." He shot a startled look at Paris, his dark eyes catching the glimmer of reflected moonlight. "It reads botanic!" There a note of panic in his voice.

"Steady, Harry." Paris put a firm hand on the ensign's shoulder and gave him a shove. "Let's move back to the shuttle. No need to hurry, but keep a look out."

"But..." The chittering increased in the thick shadows of the forest, feeding their imaginations with dread as it grew louder.

"Don't argue, ensign," Paris told him sternly and Kim automatically stopped arguing and started walking. "The universe is full of botanic life forms. Not all of them sapient and most of them not dangerous. You did the same classes I did. Is it getting closer?"

"No. It doesn't seem to have moved." Harry peered over his shoulder as if expecting to see something leap out onto the path behind them.

"Keep watching." Paris tapped his commbadge, not for the first time wishing that the Voyager had stayed in orbit rather than examining the other planets in the system. "Paris to Crane."

"Crane here." The botanist had a beautifully sexy voice and Paris licked his lips, a vivid image of the lovely long legs of the black officer flashing into his mind. If only she could be persuaded to be a little more co-operative he was sure they could have a wonderful time. He shook the thought off, reminding himself of where and when he was.

"Lieutenant, we seem to have located something unusual here," he began, describing what they had heard. Kim chimed in with his tricorder readings.

"We have been hearing similar sounds, lieutenant," Tuvok interrupted in his usual dignified tones. "It appears to be some form of indigenous plant life. It is unlikely to be harmful to us. I suggest you return to the shuttle. We will meet you there."

"Check, sir." Paris said cooly and flashed a grin at Kim. "See? nothing to worry about. I don't know why you were getting so worried."

"Me getting worried? What about you?" Despite his indignation Harry was a lot calmer. Hearing from the implacable Vulcan had calmed them both down. Behind them in the darkness, the chittering echoed faintly and both men shuddered. There was something about that sound that touched primitive nerve endings and got them both moving again.

Paris led the way, hurrying down the narrow path and cursing as he tripped and stumbled in the dark. "Take it easy," Kim urged from behind him. "Tuvok said there was nothing to worry about."

"And you believe him?" Tom retorted. "The chances are whatever it is wouldn't eat a Vulcan anyway! It'd probably get indigestion."

"The chances are that you'll break an ankle in the dark," Kim responded.

"I'll have you know I've got reflexes like a..." There was a loud thud and a startled yelp as Paris tripped over a thick root twisting across the path and went flying.

"Tom? You okay?" Harry's wrist light glimmered over the path and landed on the lieutenant. Stunned by the fall, Paris groggily pushed himself to his knees and groped at the root.

"I swear this wasn't here earlier," he muttered bitterly as the ensign crouched to help him free his foot.

"Roots don't grow this fast," Kim pointed out. "Although the Bamboo on Earth can grow several feet in a few hours."

"Harry, enough with the trivia already. Help me up." Paris struggled to his feet and leaned heavily on the Oriental.

"Maybe you shouldn't walk on it," Harry said in concern, eyeing Paris's ankle.

"I've twisted it, that's all. It'll be fine." Letting go of Kim, Tom took a few unsteady steps and gave his friend a broad grin. "See? Nothing to it."

"Well, if you're sure," Kim said doubtfully.

"I'm sure. Come on." Paris hobbled on ahead, leaving the ensign to trot obediently at his heels.

Harry kept a worried eye on him, unconsciously rubbing his nose. The scent he had been aware of earlier seemed to be getting stronger. "Are you sure this is the right way?" he asked uncertainly after a couple of minutes. "I thought the shuttle was that way." He pointed off into the shadows.

"No. You've got yourself turned around, It's this way." Paris pointed ahead of them confidently and was surprised when Kim came to a stop.

"I don't think so," Harry murmured, taking a step towards the bushes. Something rattled in the darkness, the peculiar chittering sound they had heard earlier making Paris jump in fright. Kim didn't seem to hear it as he reached to pull the branches aside. "Through here." With a scowl, Tom pounced on Kim and grabbed his arm.

"What's got into you? That vegetable thingy is still out there. You could walk straight into it in the dark!"

"It won't hurt us. The shuttle is this way," Kim murmured dreamily.

Paris peered at him, baffled by the dazed look on his friend's face. Taking Kim's tricorder, Paris flipped it open and studied the readings. It was still registering the shuttle, but the odd botanic reading Kim had picked up earlier was there too.

"This way," Kim repeated insistently, tugging absently away from Paris. The lieutenant tightened his grip securing him to his side.

"Snap out of it," he scolded irritably. "This is no time for games."

Kim gave him a long suffering look and inhaled deeply. "We should get some of those flowers for Cynthia," he said softly, unexpectedly smirking at Paris and winking broadly. "She'd be really pleased."

Tom blinked at him in astonishment. I don't believe it. Harry attempting an innuendo? "What flowers?"

"Can't you smell them?" Kim inhaled so deeply Tom thought his ribs were going to spring apart. Paris took a deep breath of his own and promptly sneezed. "Aren't they wonderful?" Harry sighed dreamily. "Like rain wet roses."

"You need to get your nose examined, Harry! That's more like rotting cabbage!" Paris said in disgust. "Come on, you're coming back to the shuttle with me."

"It's this way. There's a short cut," Kim said immediately, taking another step towards the undergrowth. There was an impatient rattle in the darkness that sounded almost anticipatory to Paris's nervous ears. Paris yanked Harry off balance and set off, towing the younger man. Kim stumbled along beside him, mumbling a dazed protest at this treatment. After a minute or so he lapsed into silence and seemed to be walking in a dream as Paris hustled him along.

***

"They're late," Crane commented anxiously as she peered into the darkness surrounding the shuttle. "Should we go and look for them?"

"I'm sure that is unnecessary, lieutenant," Tuvok observed from where he was examining their finds.

"They could have had an accident. It's so dark in this forest. You'd think it would be brighter with two moons."

Tuvok glanced up at the dark night sky, observing the pale moonlit clouds behind which the planet's two moons were hiding. "I believe there will be rain at some point," he observed. "That is why it is dark. Paris and Kim are unlikely to have come to harm. They both have their commbadges."

"But what about that botanic?" Crane moved back to the Vulcan's side, her dark eyes wide with alarm. Voyager had been her first starship assignment. Previously her career had kept her planet side and she had little experience of alien worlds.

"None of our readings or investigation of this planet indicate any form of ambulatory plant life. I am sure they are quite safe, lieutenant." Indicating the array of planet specimens laid out on the table he gave her a cool look. "I suggest you assist me with beginning to catalogue these specimens. You may find it calming."

Cynthia glared at him coldly and grabbed a handful of trey leaved plants. Under normal conditions she would have enjoyed having so many new plants to examine and categorise, but right then she was in no mood to concentrate. The headache that had been bothering her all day was worse than ever tonight, increasing apparently with the thickness of the pollen in the air and the gathering humidity. The heavy perfume that filled the air reminded her of something and irritated her by remaining indefinable no matter how hard she concentrated.

A rumble of thunder from overhead disturbed her thoughts and made her look up sharply. She flinched from a dazzling flash of lightning as it arced like a white hot whip lash across the sky.

"It would appear I was correct, lieutenant," Tuvok said complacently, being far too well brought up a Vulcan to actually sound smug about it. Annoyed, she shot a look at him and then followed his gaze towards the edge of the trees as Paris and Kim emerged from the shadows.

"Where have you two been?" Cynthia demanded impatiently, forgetting Tuvok's superior rank. She had no idea why she felt so angry, but she was glad of the chance to have someone to take it out on at last and she bore down on Paris in fury.

"Why? Were you worried about me?" Paris grinned at her. Crane stalked straight up to him and glared at him nose to nose.

"No. I was worried about Ensign Kim. We all know about your background."

"Whoa," Paris's smile went out and he lifted his hands defensively. Beside him, Kim blinked at his wrist as it was released and started to drift away from the two arguing officers. "I have a very interesting background. A very experienced background," Tom went on deliberately, raising an eyebrow at her in salacious mockery.

"I've heard all about how experienced you are," Crane shot back.

"Jealous?"

"Of what?"

"That will do, lieutenants!" Tuvok interrupted sharply, his words almost drowned out by the giant boom of thunder that rumbled overhead. Lightning snapped at the clouds a moment later, illuminating the clearing in stark black and white for a moment. "We will take cover in the shuttle."

"With pleasure. It looks like rain." Paris obsequiously bowed to Crane as she stalked ahead of him towards the shuttle and then followed her.

"Mr Kim, if you please," Tuvok's hail made Tom pause and look round sharply. In his concentration on Cynthia he had forgotten his friend. Harry had wandered off and was prowling the edge of the clearing, peering into the darkness. He seemed tempted to plunge back into the shadowy undergrowth again. "Ensign Kim!" Tuvok's voice became a little forceful. Kim didn't respond but came to a halt, staring into the forest. A cold breeze had sprung up, rustling the leaves in a hissing sussuration of sound.

With a frown, Tuvok started towards him. "Ensign, you will return to the shuttle," he said sharply and broke off at the ominous clicking sound that rattled from the shadows. For a split second he paused at the sound and in the moment of his indecision, Kim broke and ran into the forest.

"Harry!" Paris shouted his friend's name and lunged after him, bolting past the Vulcan before Tuvok could voice a protest. Tuvok stiffened slightly and took out his tricorder.

"Should we go after them?" Crane's eyes had an odd gleam to their inky depths as she came up alongside the Vulcan and peered hungrily into the darkness. Paris's cursing as he flailed amongst the bushes couldn't quite cover the crashing sounds of Kim's confused progress.

"I think that would be wise. Ensign Kim appears to be heading straight for one of the botanic entities." Tuvok strode coolly into the forest. "Lt. Paris! Kim is to your right. Approximately ten metres from you."

Paris said something rude that wasn't recognised protocol at the Academy and plunged in the new direction. "Harry! Come back here! When I get my hands on you, I'm going to kill you for this!"

Tuvok sighed, aware of Crane following close on his heels with a drawn phaser. These humans were so impractically illogical that it was a wonder any of them had survived. He knew Paris considered Kim perhaps his closest friend on Voyager and his threat to harm the young ensign was a blatant lie. It was strange how often humans expressed concern with reactions that seemed totally at odds with their actual feelings.

"This way," Crane hissed abruptly and lunged past the Vulcan, startling him with her speed. Tuvok hurried after her, taking the precaution of drawing his own phaser.

"Harry! Answer me!" Paris's voice was closer, but there was still no response from Kim. Tuvok studied the illuminated screen of his tricorder again, noting that Kim appeared to be right on top of the botanic and wasn't moving.

"To your left, Paris," he called to the officer.

"Make your mind up!" Paris screamed back, but leafy crunching noises indicated he was obeying. Crane altered her own course, plunging through the undergrowth and letting the branches flick back at the following Vulcan. Unperturbed, Tuvok raised one hand to shield his face and pressed on.

"NO!" Paris's howl rang through the darkness, echoed by the thunder that crashed overhead and on its heels came a scream of pain as if the lash of the lightning had found a victim in the night.

***

Out of breath, scratched by bushes and bruised by close encounters with one too many trees Paris stumbled into a clearing and staggered to a halt. Kim was standing a few feet away, staring up into the twisted branches of the gnarled, single tree that dominated the centre of the clearing. The air was thick with the stench that had disgusted Paris earlier, half smothering him and making it hard to get his breath back. A faint haze hung in the air, swirling around Harry in a misty veil of white.

"There you are," Paris panted in relief, leaning against the smooth bole of the tree beside him. "What are you doing? Looking for squirrels?" Overhead the sky opened, unleashing a torrential downpour of rain that sliced through the leafy canopy as if it wasn't there. Paris gasped aloud as the shock of cold rain drenched him and Kim looked at him slowly, his eyes dark glimmering pools as they caught what little light there was. His lips moved but no sound came out. "Harry? You okay? What's the matter?" Suddenly more worried about his friend than annoyed, Paris started towards him. Kim jerked away from him, colliding with the gnarled trunk. As he did so something fell out of the tree on top of him, landing across his shoulder and left arm and bearing him to the ground under its weight.

"NO!" Paris bolted forward as Harry fell. Kim screamed in pain and terror and seemed to wake up, clawing at the writhing mat that swarmed over his arm and wrapped long knotted tendrils around his throat, silencing his cries by effectively strangling him. Tom got to him within seconds and grabbed for a handhold on the creature. Thick leathery skin squirmed under his touch as he dug his fingers under the tendrils choking his young friend and preventing them from crushing his throat. Harry was making gurgling sounds, unable to breathe. Paris groped for his phaser, struggling to alter the settings one handed.

"Allow me." Tuvok's strong capable hands brushed Paris's aside and seized hold of the tendrils, snapping them with surprising ease. "Lt. Crane, your phaser...Lieutenant?" He shot a glance back at the botanist but she had frozen, staring into the leaves overhead while rain cascaded over her face and shoulders. "Paris?"

Tom had reluctantly let go of the tendrils and reset his phaser. Now he grabbed a fold of thick plant matter, angled the phaser to miss the mercifully unconscious ensign and fired a narrow beam point blank into it. It writhed, making a high pitched throbbing sound as a million pseudopods drummed together as flesh crisped. A wave of darkness washed through the vegetative mat and it stopped rippling in its efforts to escape the phaser, small chunks started to flake off and Tuvok willingly helped the process along with his hands. Paris holstered his phaser and felt shakily for Kim's pulse. It was beating like a frightened rabbit's. Scowling, Paris ripped at the vegetative mat, finding the fibrous matter hardest to peel off around Kim's hand and forearm. Finally they had torn the thing off the ensign and Paris was able to examine him in the poor light of the wrist beams. Harry's hands and left arm were bleeding from numerous small puncture wounds. Tuvok kept one eye on Paris and Kim as he spoke to Crane.

"Lieutenant Crane? Cynthia, is there something wrong?" Crane hadn't moved. She was still staring silently up into the tree. Tuvok looked up warily and drew his tricorder.

"Tuvok, maybe we'd better get away from here," Paris urged, noticing the young woman's vacant expression. He slid his arms under Kim, hoisting him off the ground. "I don't know what that thing was, but there may be more."

"Agreed. There does appear to be another botanic present. Lt. Crane, please, come with me." Tuvok gingerly took her arm, steering her away from the tree. She came slowly, moving like an automaton and staring back over her shoulder.

As they reached the edge of the clearing, Paris stumbled. Kim was limp in his arms and he seemed to weigh a lot more than he had when he picked the ensign up. Tuvok put a quick hand on his arm to steady him. "Lieutenant, perhaps I should carry the ensign."

"He doesn't weigh that much," Tom argued, reluctant to release his friend.

"You are tired, Mr Paris, and dropping Mr Kim would be unadvisable," Tuvok pointed out politely.

"Okay, okay." Somewhat sullenly, Paris eased Kim into the Vulcan's stronger arms and sternly told his masculine pride not to be offended. Tuvok was a Vulcan, of course he was stronger. He winced as Tuvok shifted his grip and eased Kim over his shoulder into a more practical position for transport. Practical it might be, but part of Tom insisted Tuvok was treating his young friend like a rolled up hearth rug.

"I should examine the specimen," Crane said abruptly, startling both men. Her tone was lifeless with shock.

"In the morning," Paris said quickly. "We're all soaked to the skin."

"I will get samples." Crane strode back towards the clearing before Paris could stop her.

"She sounds odd," Paris muttered.

"Fetch her," Tuvok ordered.

Tom glared at him but obediently trotted after the botanist. Anyone would think I'm a pet dog. "Cynthia, wait up," he called. Crane was nearly at the tree and Tom felt a stab of fright. "Come away from there. Tuvok said there's another one of those things here."

Crane didn't even look back but kept right on walking, thudding into the tree trunk as if she hadn't even seen it. "Tuvok!" Shouting for the Vulcan, Paris sprinted forward as he saw a second dark mat fall from the tree. This time its aim was more accurate, landing on the lieutenant's head and shoulders and crushing her to the ground. It was larger than the one that had fallen on Kim, engulfing Crane's thrashing body. Reaching her, Paris leaned over her with phaser in hand as the convulsion stopped abruptly. A ripple ran through the vegetative mat, the tendrils at the edge groping out to secure new grips and starting to ooze a clear liquid. Cursing, Paris fired his phaser point blank into it, slicing it away from Crane's chest and throat. He was dimly aware that Tuvok had reached them.

"Help me, Tuvok!" he yelled at the Vulcan when he did nothing but wave his tricorder. "I killed it. We can save her."

"There is nothing we can do for her," Tuvok answered steadily. "She is dead."

"No! She can't be!" Not Crane. Not so vibrant and alive one second and so still the next.

"She's dead," Tuvok repeated and put an awkward hand on Paris's shoulder. "The tricorder shows massive trauma to her upper body beyond anything repairable."

"We can't simply leave her here!" Paris protested, glaring up at the Vulcan. "You're not that cold, are you?"

Tuvok blinked dark eyes and looked away for a moment, looking over to where he had left Kim tucked under the poor shelter of the trees. He didn't truly understand Paris's anguish and his own concern was for the living. "She would understand," he said quietly. "See what you can do to assist Ensign Kim."

It wasn't the answer Paris wanted, but it was one he understood and read more in the wordless silence. Harry came first. He was alive and hurt and needed Tom far more than Cynthia ever would now. "What are you going to do?" he demanded bitterly.

"Lt. Crane was correct. We do need samples from this plant. I will endeavour to obtain them before we return to the shuttle."

"Is that all you think of? Scientific samples?"

"Samples may prove to be important in improving our knowledge of this plant," Tuvok responded.

"Who the hell cares?!"

Tuvok raised a slender eyebrow. "Ensign Kim may if it proves to have been poisonous," he said calmly.

Paris's mouth rounded in a silent oh of embarrassed shock. "Sorry," he mumbled uncomfortably. "I wasn't thinking."

"Understandable, lieutenant. Please, attend to Mr Kim. I will endeavour to be as quick as possible."

Tom didn't think he had ever been wetter or more miserable than he was as they trudged back to the shuttle. He wished they could have used the transporter on the shuttle to beam back, but Tuvok insisted that there was too much ionic interference in the storm to risk it. The rain continued to pour down incessantly, thunder grumbling irritably in the distance as lightning licked the dark clouds with jagged tongues of fire. He let Tuvok carry the barely stirring Kim inside and then followed, shivering as the sudden warmth of the shuttle made him realise how cold the rain was. Harry moaned and lifted his head, pushing awkwardly as Tuvok's slim back. "Lemme down," he mumbled in complaint.

"Now he wakes up," Paris sighed in exasperation as he helped the Vulcan set the ensign back on his feet. "How do you feel, Harry?"

"Sick and cold," Kim groaned, blinking at him groggily and shivering violently. Paris snorted and shoved the ensign's wet black hair off his face, checking his temperature by pressing one hand against his forehead. "But I'm okay. Why am I wet?" Harry asked plaintively as he pushed the lieutenant's hand away.

"It's raining," Paris answered, answering Tuvok's questioning expression with a frown and a quick shake of his head. Kim was certainly not okay. If anything, he felt too hot rather than too cold. "Do you remember what happened?"

Kim looked from one to the other of them and touched his face, wiping the pierrot mask of white pollen from his cheek. "I remember the flowers," he said slowly. "They smelled nice. Then, I don't remember anything else. Did something sticky fall on me?" He stared at his fingers, confused by the white grains under his fingernails.

"You could say that," Tom said grimly, forcing a smile as Harry shot an anxious look at him. "Don't worry about it."

"We will return to Voyager," Tuvok announced abruptly. "I suggest you help Mr Kim dry off, Lt. Paris. Please retain his uniform for examination."

"Yes, sir," Paris agreed as he took a firm grip on Kim's arm. "Come on, Harry. Let's get you cleaned up."

"Shouldn't we wait for Lt. Crane?" Kim asked, looking from one to the other of his senior officers in confusion.

"Why? You want her to help you get your clothes off?"

Kim blushed faintly. "No. But we can't leave without her."

"She won't be coming," Tom said gently as Tuvok made his way forwards to the cockpit. He pushed Kim down into one of the seats and headed over to the replicator to get dry clothes and towels. He knew the energy supply for the replicator wouldn't last forever, but he considered this an emergency and the articles could be reused once produced. He and Tuvok could wait for dry clothes when they got back to the ship. "Bath sheet towels," he ordered briskly.

"State colour required."

Paris raised his eyes skywards. "Who cares? Green."

"State shade."

"We have to get this thing reprogrammed," Paris muttered. "Dark bottle green. Plain."

"She isn't coming? She's staying here? Why?" Kim said slowly, focusing on Tom's battered appearance and then looked down at his own filthy, blood stained clothes. "What- what did I do?"

"Do?" Paris glanced at him in surprise as he hauled an armload of towels from the replicator. There was fear on Harry's young round face. "Hey, no. You didn't do anything. We ran into a couple of the botanics you picked up on your tricorder. I guess you got a little high on those flowers you could smell. You took off and we followed you. Crane ran right into one of them. I'm afraid she's dead." Tom kept it brisk, hoping it wouldn't hurt so much to say. It didn't help.

"Dead? Then it was my fault," Harry whispered.

"If it was anyone's fault it was mine and Tuvok's. We should have been watching her. We could see she was out of it, same as you were. We should have realised the botanics would lure her in the same as they did you." Paris paused, eyeing Kim in concern. The ensign didn't appear to be reassured. "Harry, you were out cold. These aren't exactly scratches you have here." He caught Kim's wrists, showing him the puncture wounds in his skin. Some of them were starting to look inflamed. "You were lucky, she wasn't. Some times that's the way life is. Now, come on. Get out of those wet clothes and let me get you cleaned up."

"Turn your back then," Harry said shakily as he reached to unfasten his collar.

"Harry, I've been taking lessons from the Holo Doc, remember? Besides, you haven't got anything I haven't seen before: as every good nurse always says."

"You don't look like a nurse to me," Kim growled. "Turn round."

"All right, all right, if you're that shy I'll go and see what's taking Tuvok so long. We should be off the ground by now." Shoving the towels into the ensign's arms, Paris left Kim to undress in peace and made his way forward to the cockpit. His feet squelched uncomfortably in his boots, reminding him all too clearly how wet he was.

"Lt. Paris," Tuvok glanced up at him as the Terran entered the cockpit. "We have a minor problem. It appears that something in this weather system is affecting our instruments. Apparently there is an anomaly in the meteorite ring surrounding this world that we were not previously aware of. This has caused the current weather conditions. We may sustain meteorite damage to the shuttle should we attempt to take off. I have been in contact with Captain Janeway and she advises us to maintain our present position until the weather is more favourable."

Paris dropped soggily into the co-pilot's seat. "Did you tell her about Kim? Harry doesn't look good to me despite what he says."

"I reported the accident and Ensign Kim's condition. The Voyager will return immediately to transport him aboard if you consider him to be in need of immediate assistance. However, their survey of the second planet in this system is proving most interesting."

"Well, I guess he can wait. He probably needs to get warm and dry more than anything. I can give him a broad spectrum anti toxin shot to hold him over until we can get him to the Holo Doc." Paris sighed and eased tiredly back to his feet. "Ration packs all round?"

"That would be advisable," Tuvok agreed. "I also suggest the replication of dry uniforms for ourselves. I presume you have done this for Mr Kim already?"

"It seemed like a good idea," Paris gave the Vulcan a cheeky grin. "Excuse me while I slip into something more comfortable." The lieutenant trotted back into the main cabin and Tuvok heard him laugh at a startled squawk from Kim. "Don't make so much fuss, Harry. You're really not my type."

* * *

"There, how does that feel?" An hour later, Paris looked up at Kim from sealing the last few puncture wounds in his friend's hands.

"Better, thanks," Harry said quietly, hugging his aching hands to his chest. Tom frowned and hitched the blanket further around him, then put a hand on his shoulder and coaxed him into settling back into the seats.

"You'd better rest for a while," he said in concern, urging Kim to put his feet up and lie down on the seats.

"I should start cataloguing some of the samples," Kim protested weakly.

"No, you shouldn't." Paris ran the medical tricorder over him, studying the readings with a prickle of unease. His training hadn't been that extensive, but he could tell the elevated levels of toxins in Harry's blood stream weren't right and the ensign's temperature was gradually creeping up.

"There's so much to do," Harry whispered.

"And someone else can do it for once. You're an ensign, not a slave," Paris scolded impatiently. "Go to sleep for a while. You need some rest." He dug into the medical kit again and fished out a hypospray, clipping another anti toxin capsule into place.

"Ah, Tom, not again," Harry complained at that. "The first one was enough!"

"I want to be sure of this," Paris retorted as he caught the ensign's wrist. "Hold still a second. It won't hurt."

"They always do!" Kim argued, flinching as the hypospray hissed, pressurising the dosage into his upper arm.

"It wouldn't if you keep still. Now, go to sleep while I change." Kim grunted and rolled over, turning his back on Paris and curling up into a sulky ball of disgust at the way he was being treated.

Tom chuckled and started to peel out of his uniform. He had already started to dry out in the warmth of the cabin and the stiffening of the fabric was making him distinctly uncomfortable. Taking off his commbadge he put it with Kim's in the lid of the medical kit and skimmed out of the rest of his clothes. Quickly towelling himself dry, he pulled on his clean uniform and started to dry his hair back to its normal light brown. Harry whimpered unexpectedly, twitching and curling tighter.

"Harry?" Paris leaned over him in concern and touched his shoulder. Kim didn't respond. Worried, Tom touched his forehead and then grabbed at the medical tricorder in alarm at the fever he could feel in his friend. Paris took a look at the medical tricorder, none to pleased by the readings. Kim's temperature had risen by a full degree and the toxin levels were still climbing. He was also barely semi conscious.

"Tuvok!" he shouted at the cockpit.

"What is the matter, lieutenant?" the Vulcan answered calmly as he appeared in the hatchway, sealing his own clean uniform.

"Kim's getting worse. I think we'd better get him back to Voyager right away." Paris glanced at the tricorder again. "His temperatures up, his toxin levels are rising. The anti toxin shots aren't making any difference."

"I will call Voyager immediately," Tuvok said steadily and started to turn back to the cockpit. As he did so, he heard a faint humming sound and paused. It sounded remarkably like a transporter effect but the harmonics were subtly wrong. He turned back. "Lieutenant..."

"Harry!" Paris had taken his eyes off Kim to fiddle with the tricorder but as he heard the hum, he glanced round warily and saw the first faint shimmer of a transporter effect go through the ensign's body. Without thinking of the dangers, he lunged at Kim and grabbed: meaning to pull him clear. Instead the beam intensified, engulfing both men. For a split second Tom felt his vision blur into multiple images, then the shuttle vanished from around him.

Tuvok jerked forward a step and then stopped, recovering himself and tapping at his commbadge. "Tuvok to Paris? Ensign Kim?" A faint twittering from the medical kit drew his attention and he moved to peer into it and extract the two commbadges. His dark fingers closed over them tightly and he tapped at his own badge again. "Tuvok to Voyager. Captain, we have a problem."

***

The world whirled around him and dropped Paris two foot into snow, landing on top of Kim. Lurching sideways, Paris swallowed hard, fighting violent nausea before he lost his lunch. Ice cold wind snarled around him, biting through his uniform and throwing snow in his face. With chattering teeth, he leaned over Kim and tugged the blanket around him.

"Tom?" Harry opened his eyes, blank confusion in their depths as he registered their snowy surroundings. "What? Where are we?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Paris muttered, huddling down next to his friend in the snow in the hopes of blocking some of the wind from him. "Someone transported us off the shuttle. And whoever it was needs to adjust his terrain clearance settings." Tom rubbed a bruised knee ruefully.

Kim made a flailing movement to sit up and fell against Paris. "Voyager beamed us up?" he asked.

"Sideways, I think, Harry," Paris commented, glowering around him at the glacial landscape. "And I don't think it was Voyager. This must be one of the planet's poles."

"Where's Tuvok?" Kim was starting to shiver violently, unconsciously snuggling closer to Paris.

"No idea. I think they were after you and I hitched a ride." Which might not have been the smartest thing I ever did considering where we've landed. He focused on Harry's dark head as the wind ruffled his hair. "You okay, kid?"

"Cold," Kim mumbled, tucking his face into Tom's shoulder and tugging the blanket up around his ears. His fingers were starting to swell. "I want to go home," he added in a miserable whisper that Paris could barely hear above the wind.

"It'll be okay, Harry. Voyager will pick us up." Oh yeah? Remember where you left the commbadges? Paris tightened his grip on Kim as the ensign shuddered. He cursed silently, aware that without the commbadges, Voyager would have little chance of locating them in time. He didn't want to scare Harry by telling him though. With the fever running through him, Kim had enough to cope with already. Tom could feel the heat of his body even through the emergency blanket and the cold. Harry was starting to lose consciousness already and there was little chance of his survival in the freezing temperatures. Or of Tom's own survival come to that. Folding his arms around the younger man, Tom pulled him closer and gave him a little wake up shake. "Sorry, Harry. I know you feel rotten, but we have to start walking."

"We do? Why?" Harry blinked at him dazedly.

"It'll be warmer," Paris told him with a confidence he was far from feeling. "Come on, up." Hoisting Kim to his feet, he let the ensign lean into his side. "Off we go now."

"Where?" Kim asked shortly, shoving his bangs out of his eyes. "I'm too tired."

Paris gritted his teeth and held him up as Harry's knees gave way and threatened to dump him back into the snow.

"Anywhere. We have to move or freeze," he explained patiently. "You can do it." He tugged, half carrying Kim forward. They had taken no more than a couple of steps when a blast of wind nearly blew them off their feet and Kim sagged again.

"I c-can't, I'm s-sorry," he said miserably as they clung together in the teeth of the wind.

Paris swore softly and pulled Harry against him, tugging his face against his shoulder. Kim clutched at him to stay upright, too cold and exhausted to do more than lean on his friend. "This isn't fair!" Paris screamed in impotent fury into the wind, enraged that there was nothing he could do: no enemy he could get to grips with and no way he could help Kim. "Captain, we need help!" Kim shifted against him, winding his fingers into the back of Paris's uniform. "I'm sorry, Harry," Tom responded gently to the movement. "I'm so sorry, kid. There's nothing..." His tongue seemed to freeze, clinging to the roof of his mouth as he felt the uncomfortable tingle of a transporter beam locking on to them. "Harry, hold on. They've found us! Hold on!" Excitement unlocked his tongue and he closed his eyes in relief, willingly letting the transporter take him.

This time the disorientation was easier and the nausea less and Tom opened his eyes, expecting to see the familiar sight of the transporter room. Instead he found himself gazing at rock walls and dancing lines of power fading from the air around them. Kim moaned softly, tugging at Paris as he peered groggily over the taller man's shoulder. Tom shot a quick look behind him and whirled, showing the ensign protectively behind him. A white haired man and a young blonde woman were standing against what looked like some kind of control panel. They both looked faintly relieved.

"I don't know who you are," Paris began furiously, recovering from his initial surprise and taking a step forward, "But kidnapping..."

"No!" The woman's pale silver eyes filled with alarm and she held up one hand to stop his movement.

"Tom!" Harry's frightened voice yelped from behind him in the same second that one of the sizzling blue power beams intersected Paris's chest. Tom felt as if he was being torn in a hundred different directions at once, then, mercifully, there was nothing but the cool sea wash of oblivion soothing his senses into darkness.

* * *

"And you were unable to get a lock on the transporter beam?" Captain Kathryn Janeway asked sharply as she studied the data padd, Tuvok had handed her. The Vulcan had returned to the Voyager an hour ago, the storm having finally relented in its ferocity enough to allow the shuttle to lift off.

"It was impossible to establish the exact point of origin of the beam," Tuvok admitted in what for him was a miserable tone. "I believe it came from the Southern pole of the planet, but an exact location of the source was not possible."

Janeway frowned at the padd for a moment longer, then handed it to her first officer to examine while she ordered the minor course correction to place them over the Southern pole. "I want a full sensor scan done of the area and I want to know about any anomaly you find," she added to Tuvok crisply. The Vulcan headed obediently for his station while the captain turned back to her first officer. "Chakotay?"

"These transporter readings are new to me," the Amerindian replied steadily. "The energy fluctuations are unusual and indicate a very high power beam. Possibly of interplanetary strength."

Janeway settled elegantly into the captain's seat and propped her chin on one hand, frowning at the main screen. "The second planet was devastated by that fungoid life form we detected. If there were survivors they had to go somewhere and this is the only other planet in this system capable of sustaining carbon based life. Perhaps a colony beamed here to escape the fungoid infestation of Proteus II."

"If Tuvok is right, then the same thing is happening here on this planet," Chakotay pointed out grimly.

"Tuvok is very rarely wrong," Janeway said absently.

"They may need our help."

Kathryn gave him a narrow eyed look. "Kidnapping two of my crew is not a polite way of gaining my co-operation," she told him darkly.

"But they might think they're helping. If they've been monitoring our communications, they probably know Kim was sick." The commander folded his arms, settling back in his seat. "They don't know how paranoid we are about alien races. They might think it was the only way to help."

"I would prefer to have Ensign Kim in our Sickbay where he can be treated by someone who knows human physiology. But I'll give them the doubt. lets see if they're wiling to talk to us. Open hailing frequencies."

* * *

Some days it simply didn't pay to get up in the morning, Paris reflected as he painfully forced his eyes opened and stared up at a rocky ceiling above him. Someone had decorated it with a tracery of fine coloured lines that twisted and spiralled into infinity. A faint beeping noise from his left made him turn his head and squint at the device perched on rocky shelf beside him. Its sleek black and grey lines and complicated, many coloured control surfaces was at odds with the room that had obviously been carved straight from the bedrock of the planet.

A whimper of combined fright and pain drew Tom's attention beyond his own confusion and he focused on the next bed over where Kim was struggling weakly with a tall black man who appeared to attempting to force a drink down him. "Get off him!" Paris launched himself from his bed and shoved the man away, dropping into a defensive crouch beside the ensign. The alien crashed into the wall, dropping the goblet he was holding and looking stunned by the impact. Harry sank back, moaning unhappily under his breath.

"They took my clothes," he whimpered, trembling in a combination of cold and fear.

Paris scowled and reached to tug the sheet over his shivering friend. He threw a savage glare at the alien as the man picked himself up. The man was humanoid, taller than Paris by a good six inches, but thinner with longer arms and legs. His hair was shaved at the sides and fell in a long, glossy pony tail down his back. His clothes were of simple design and cut and of a uniform dark green colour. "What are you? Some kind of pervert? He's sick for crying out loud!"

The alien made a gesture with his long fingers that seemed to be meant as placatory. "I mean no harm," he said haltingly, pointing at Harry. "He was in pain."

"And you weren't helping," Paris snarled. His own head was throbbing and he felt as dry as if he had been wandering around a desert for days on end. A rustle from the shadows made him jerk back against Kim's wide couch, peering towards the new arrival. It was the young blonde woman he had seen at the transporter. She looked from Paris to the black man and casually moved closer to deposit a tray on the end of the bed Paris had deserted.

"It is all right, Onok. I will deal with this now." she said calmly to the relieved black man. He hurried out as the woman turned her attention to the tray. "Lymos juice," she announced. "It is compatible with your physiology."

"What makes you think I'm going to touch it?" Tom growled.

"You are dehydrated, lieutenant. You foolishly stepped into the power grid of our teleport before we had finished shutting down." She raised a pale eyebrow at him. "You were lucky we succeeded in locating you before you both froze. We had calibrated for Ensign Kim's weight, not for your additional body mass. Fortunately for you, the safety guards dropped the beam."

"Fortunately? Do you have any idea of how cold out there it is?"

"I have an excellent idea," the woman said calmly as she filled a plain goblet with a pale green liquid from a pitcher on the tray. "The alternative would have been for you to materialise within solid rock." She handed Paris the goblet, smiling faintly at his stunned expression. While he goggled at her, she leaned over Kim and touched his face. Harry mumbled, shrinking away from her touch in a daze.

"Leave him alone." Paris slammed the goblet down beside the monitor, caught her wrist and pulled her away from the ensign. "I want an explanation. First of all you kidnap us and knock me out, then you take his clothes."

"You knocked yourself out," the blonde said stiffly as she shook him off. "As for taking the ensign's clothes, how else are we to examine a patient?"

"A patient?" Paris echoed.

She sighed patiently, gently adjusting the blanket over Kim. "We were monitoring your communications. We heard that the ensign was sick after being attacked by a Fungoid. Since you seemed to be taking no action, we prepared the teleport to bring him here in the hopes that we could help." She gave Paris a cold look. "Perhaps we should not have wasted the effort."

"That is enough, T'chan. Lt. Paris is worried for his friend and concerned by our motives." The tall white haired man who entered the room was younger than Paris had first thought. He moved with a lithe limbed grace despite leaning on a heavy and ornately carved stick. He smiled amiably at the Federation officer. "You need not be afraid. We mean you no harm."

"Well excuse me if I don't jump for joy at that," Paris retorted sarcastically. "I've heard it before you see, usually before a Romulan starts blasting."

"Romulan?"

"Never mind. What do you want?"

T'chan glared at him. "You're insufferable," she snapped. "Who do you think you are? We wanted to help you!"

"Honey, I've been called a lot worse than insufferable," Paris retorted, barely looking at her. "And I've got a lot on my mind right now. And a lot of questions. How do you know who we are?"

"Ensign Kim has been delirious for some time. He gave us your names," T'chan answered as she took a wet cloth from a bowl on the shelf and used it to wipe Kim's perspiring face.

Paris snatched it away from her and involuntarily glanced at Kim as he whimpered again. "You say you wanted to help. Well, he doesn't look any better to me."

The white haired man cleared his throat uncomfortably. "We have a few drugs that assist with Fungoid poisoning," he said slowly.

"Assist? What do you mean assist?" Paris demanded suspiciously. "A cure?"

"No, we do not have one," the alien replied bitterly.

"Amide!" T'chan yelped.

"He deserves the truth," the man replied tiredly. "We have spent a long time searching for a cure to Fungoid poisoning without success. We have drugs that will ease the passage from this world, but no more."

"Then why the hell did you bring us here!" Paris blazed in rage.

"At first we thought you were from Homeworld, that you would contact us when you were ready. When you did not, we listened and learned that you are not from this sector of space. We hoped that your medicines would cure your ensign or help us to further our own research."

Paris's thoughts whirled. "You mean, you brought us here so you could find out how to cure your own people? Couldn't you simply have asked for help?"

"Why should you help us?" Amide said quietly.

"You could have asked!" Tom yelped indignantly, then took a deep breath. "Okay, you brought us here and found out we don't have you what you want. Now let us return to our ship. Kim can be treated in our Sickbay."

"No," Amide said flatly.

"What?" Paris gaped at him. Amide had seemed quite reasonable up until then and the alien's refusal to release them stunned him. "Kim needs help!"

"We will do all we can for him. But we cannot allow you to leave here."

"Why not?!" Paris snarled.

"Your physiology is radically different from our own. From studying the progress of the poisoning in Ensign Kim it should be possible to achieve new information and thereby discover a cure."

"But he could die!" Tom shouted in furious anguish.

"He will die," Amide corrected. "There is no cure available."

"But it doesn't have to be like that! Back on Voyager we have a fully equipped Sickbay. Okay, so the doctor's a hologram, but he's a damn good doctor anyway and he has an entire computer system to call on for back up!"

"Hologram?" T'chan repeated, her silver eyes agleam with curiosity.

Paris scowled at her. "It doesn't matter. Let us go and we'll help you!"

"And what guarantee would we have of that?" Amide asked drily.

"My word as a Starfleet officer!"

"I know nothing of Starfleet or of their officer's honour," Amide said cooly and turned back to the door. "For all I know you may be allied to the Pulkai."

Paris flinched, stung by how close the alien unknowingly cut. "All right. Send Kim back. I'll stay here as your hostage," he said desperately.

"I am afraid it is not possible."

"Please," Tom appealed desperately.

T'chan shifted uncomfortably. "Could we not at leat release Lt. Paris?" she asked hopefully as Tom's frantic entreaty got through to her. "We don't need him."

"He would tell the others what he knows and they would come here in force. We cannot afford that T'chan. We would be destroyed as the Pulkai destroyed Homeworld. Do not forget our enemies."

"That was fifty years ago! Surely they have forgotten us!"

"The Pulkai neither forget nor forgive. Come..." Amide stretched out one hand to her in a gesture for her to accompany him. The woman hesitated for a moment, then bowed politely.

"I will stay and make Ensign Kim comfortable," she said steadily. Amide gazed at her with eyes as unfathomable as her own.

"It is late, daughter. Be sure that you rest."

"I will," she promised demurely. Amide hesitated for a moment longer, then nodded and swept out.

"You're his daughter?!" Tom snapped. "And you're going to let him get away with this?"

T'chan gave him a chilly look. "He is also our Patriarch and respected by our entire colony. He has held us together despite everything."

"It seems that he's the one who doesn't forgive or forget," Paris said bitterly as he reached to check Kim's pulse. "Who are the Pulkai?"

"Our enemy."

"Very informative," Tom said grimly as he perched on the edge of Harry's couch and patted Kim's limp fingers.

"You do not know of the Pulkai?"

"I'm a stranger in these here parts," Paris said mockingly.

T'chan frowned at him, fiddling with the monitor and more carefully attuning it to register Kim's life signs. "The Pulkai are drifters, scavengers. They take what they want and destroy what they can't carry. My people fought back and we paid for it. The Pulkai occupied Homeworld and decimated the population. When they left they seeded the meteorite belts of the planets in our system with Fungoid spores. Periodically they fall on the surface and start to grow. There were so many at first, Homeworld was destroyed by them. What survivors could be gathered together came here by teleport and established this colony." She waved her hand around her at the rocky walls. "We have done well. We cut this place from the solid bedrock. It and the cold protects us from the Fungoids. We grow our food underground and breed livestock to feed us. There are nearly two thousand of us here now. But the Fungoids continue to breed and smother the surface. Some of us have never seen the sky and never will."

"Those vegetative mat things are what you call Fungoids?" Paris asked slowly. "How could they destroy a world?"

"They leach the nutrients from the soil, they absorb plant and animal life. You were fortunate to land on the Southern continent. The Northern lands have been smothered by the Fungoid."

"Then why doesn't it starve?" Paris demanded.

"New spores land and grow on the original matting. It self perpetuates." She paused, picking up the goblet she had given him earlier and handing it to him again. "It won't hurt you, you know."

Paris was feeling dizzy with thirst, but he scowled at her. "How do I know it isn't poisoned? Then you'd have two guinea pigs to play with."

"Guinea pigs?"

"Never mind, its an old Terran saying," Tom muttered and took the goblet. "I had a small grey box with me when I arrived. Where is it?"

"Here." T'chan moved to a cupboard set against the wall and took out his medical tricorder.

Snatching it from her, Paris scanned the goblet and was relieved by the information that was displayed. Gulping the juice down gratefully he hurried back to Kim and ran the tricorder over him. The results were less inspiring. Kim was dying by inches under his nose.

"I'm sorry," T'chan said softly.

"If you were, you'd let us go."

"We couldn't beam you back to your ship, even if Amide would let us," T'chan said however. "Our teleport is not designed to lock on to a moving object as a receiving platform. You would end up with your molecules scattered through space."

"A comforting thought," Paris muttered. "But Voyager could beam us aboard if they only knew where we were." he gave her a hopefully look, doing his best to charm her. She smiled faintly.

"I cannot go against the word of the Patriarch," she responded. "I am sorry."

"Then you might as well go and let me look after my friend."

T'chan hesitated, then touched his shoulder. "I could find you another room," she offered. "Somewhere you could be comfortable."

"While I wait for him to die? No thanks. If he's going to die, then he's not going to do it alone."

"I could stay with him," T'chan offered.

"You don't count," Paris said bleakly. "He doesn't know you. I'm his friend. And right now, I don't want anyone else coming near him."

"You need to rest."

Paris whirled around and glared at her angrily. "Haven't you done enough to us already? I'm going to stay with him. You're the one I want to get out! Get one thing clear. We don't need you and I am not going to let you dissect Harry or whatever else it is you plan to do with him!"

* * *

"Scan complete," Tuvok intoned solemnly into the hushed atmosphere of the bridge. "No life signs found."

Chakotay leaned forward, studying the unpromising snowy waste displayed on the main screen. "With the temperatures down there as low as they are, they wouldn't have lasted five minutes," he murmured. "But if there's no sign of habitation on the surface, then how about below it? That beam had to come from somewhere."

Janeway inclined her head, agreeing with her executive. "Lt. Tuvok, recalibrate your sensors to detect underground habitation. Search for the power source for the transporter beam. We must be able to find some sign of them."

* * *

"Shh, Harry. I know it hurts," Tom crooned awkwardly into his friend's ear. Kim was tossing and turning on the couch, the sheets twined around his sweat soaked body. T'chan had finally left, having give all the advice she could. The few drugs she had been able to supply had done nothing to alleviate Kim's pain or lower his fever. After an hour she had realised Paris was going to continue to ignore her, his whole attention absorbed by his friend.

"Tom?" Kim's dark eyes fluttered open and wildly searched the shadowy ceiling. "Tom! Don't leave me alone!"

"Hey, calm down, I'm right here!" Paris caught the ensign's flailing hands, wincing at how swollen his fingers were. A dull maroon flush was spreading under Harry's skin, slowly spiralling up his arms and darkening along his neck where the tendrils had punctured his flesh.

"I can't see," Kim whispered. "I can't see, Tom. And I can't feel anything."

"Nothing at all?" Paris leaned over him, peering into his friend's unfocused gaze and gently touching his cheek. Kim turned his face into his palm and clawed at Tom's arm, desperate to maintain the contact.

"Please, don't leave me," Harry begged, like a child in need of comfort. "I don't want to die alone."

"Don't be silly. You're going to be fine."

"No, don't lie to me. Please. I heard them. I'm going to die. I'm scared, Tom, and I'm so cold."

"Cold?" With a stab of fright, Paris squirmed his hands free, having to steel himself against Harry's frightened whimper to do so. He caught up the tricorder and quickly scanned Kim's shivering body. Sure enough his temperature was dropping: not so much returning to normal though as plummeting far below what was safe. Readings flashed across the screen, indicating warnings of hypothermia and shock setting in. The toxin levels were at an all time high, indicating the on set of nerve damage and tissue destruction unless treatment was received.

"Tom?" Harry whispered plaintively, reaching in what he hoped was the lieutenant's direction. His fingers bumped Tom's chest and he winced as his sore skin protested. Paris wrapped his own hand around his friend's and gazed at him helplessly. He had no treatment to give and no comfort to offer. Awkwardly he touched Harry's mop of hair, smoothing it back gingerly. Harry sighed and closed his eyes, relaxing a little. Shudders of pain racked him and he clawed at the covers, fighting their restraint as his breathing turned harsh. Tom bit his lip and bent to tug his boots off. "Tom?" Kim croaked weakly as Paris moved and released him.

"Be with you in a second, Harry," Paris promised. "Move over." With a gentle shove, he edged Kim over and slid onto the couch beside him. He caught the ensign's hands as they pushed at him and pulled Kim against his side. "There, that better?"

"Contagious. No, get away," Kim forced out.

"You can't be contagious. You're poisoned," Paris corrected firmly, shifting around until he found a comfortable position that accommodated Kim's squirmings. "You should be grateful. I wouldn't do this for any one else. At least, not unless they were female and stacked." Kim made a faint sound that might have been an effort at a giggle, but he was still tense in Paris's arms. Swallowing nervously, Tom started to pet his hair again. "Relax, kid. This is only to warm you up a bit. You're freezing. I have no designs on your body." He continued to talk, as much to hide his own discomfort as to soothe Kim. Gradually the tension crept out of Kim's body and he unconsciously snuggled closer, drifting back into the limbo of torpor.

* * *

"There!" Tuvok's cry was almost excited and more than one person on the bridge gave the Vulcan a startled look. "I have a location on a massive power source, captain."

Janeway smiled faintly. She had known Tuvok long enough to know when he was smug about something. "Where is it?"

"Two miles beneath the surface of the ice cap. A large complex of caverns emitting numerous energy readings. It appears to be well populated."

"Tuvok, with me. We shall beam down and pay these people a little visit."

* * *

"But Amide, Kim is no older than I am," T'chan protested over the morning meal to her father. "If his people can save him, surely we must let them."

"You are too young to remember the Pulkai, daughter. I will not give them reason to return here."

"But these people are not the Pulkai!"

"And we know nothing of their motives. I cannot take the risk." Amide broke off as Okon strode in.

"Patriarch, forgive me for this interruption of your meal," he began.

"Is it Kim?" T'chan demanded, cutting him off.

"As per your instructions, I have not intruded on our 'guests'," Okon gave Amide a look that was not quite disgusted. He had made his own disapproval of keeping Paris and Kim captive quite clear. "But it would appear that their ship has located them. Three officers have teleported into the Council chamber. They await you there."

Amide hesitated for a split second and then rose to his feet. "I will see them."

"Should I get Lt. Paris?" T'chan asked.

"No. Let him stay with his friend. I estimate it is almost over for Kim now. Come with me, T'chan. We must send these people away."

T'chan exchanged a look with Okon and then hurried after her father, her pale blue dress flowing around her long legs. Okon frowned to himself, reaching to nibble on a piece of Lymos fruit and peeling off the knobbly red skin as he popped the pulpy flesh into his mouth. He had never disobeyed the Patriarch in his life, but then he had never truly disagreed with Amide before. Amide's excuse that these strangers might be in league with the Pulkai was no longer valid if he intend to send these new visitors away. Now it was fear of retaliation, fear of what they might do to them for letting the young man die. Okon's scowl deepened. He had watched his own brother die from Fungoid poisoning when he could nothing. Paris had said there might be a chance if Kim could be returned for medical treatment to their ship. Absently picking up another piece of fruit, Okon headed for the door. Amide might never speak to him again for his disobedience, but he could live with that more easily than he could his conscience.

* * *

"I am Patriarch Amide, this is my daughter, T'chan. How can we help you?" Amide made the formal introductions in responde to Janeway's. The captain had brought Tuvok and Lt. B'Elanna Torres with her and they stood on either side of her like a pair of mismatched bookends.

"We believe you have two of our people here," Janeway replied bluntly, in no mood to be diplomatic. If what Voyager's doctor said was true about the poisoning, then Kim had very little time left and none to waste if the proposed treatment was to be effective. "Right now, I don't care why or what you've done, but I want them back. And I want them now."

Amide blinked. It had been a long time since anyone spoke to him that way. "I don't believe I understand, captain," he said slowly.

"Tricorder shows two human life signs and one alien, captain," Torres interrupted, waving her tricorder. "Moving this way."

Amide shot a quick look at daughter. "Go and find out what is happening."

T'chan took half a step and then stopped as Tuvok's phaser was levelled on her. "I believe we will wait and see what is happening first," the Vulcan said mildly.

Janeway folded her arms and smiled faintly. "Perhaps you would care to explain while we do that," she said casually.

"You wouldn't understand," Amide said coldly. "We had to protect ourselves from the Pulkai. We had no way of knowing whether you were allied to them or not."

"You think they're Pulkai?" T'chan exclaimed.

Amide jerked his head in a tight nod. "If they were they would have obtained the cure for Kim," he looked thoughtfully at Janeway. "They still might. Who else would have the cure but the Pulkai?"

Janeway's eyes narrowed. She didn't like the sound of this. The young blonde woman looked disgusted, she noticed. "I do trust Ensign Kim has been adequately cared for while he has been here," she murmured and was alarmed to note Amide's quick flicker of panic.

"We had to find a cure for the Fungoid poisoning. It was our last chance."

"Our last chance was letting him go home," T'chan said abruptly, startling Amide into glaring at her. "Much as I have been taught to fear the Pulkai, I think I can tell the difference between enemies and friends. We had no right to harm these people or keep Ensign Kim here and thinking he might be Pulkai is certainly no excuse."

Torres scowled at them. The half Klingon had a soft spot for Kim. "He'd better be all right," she said darkly, giving them a wolfish smile. "Do you have any idea what a starship can do? We can make these Pulkai of yours look like a child's day dream!"

"That will do, lieutenant," the captain said sharply, her eyes drawn to a movement at the door. A tall black man strode in, carrying a blanket wrapped bundle. Paris was trotting at his heels, looking distinctly frayed at the edges after a sleepless night of worry.

Torres strode to meet them, careless of the way the black alien loomed over her. She tugged aside a corner of blanket and peered into Kim's fever flushed face. His eyes flickered open and she smiled in delight that he was even semi conscious.

"He can't see you," Paris said flatly. He had been frightened out of his wits when Okon stomped in, startling him out of an uncomfortable doze. For a moment he had thought Okon had come to kill them until he scooped Kim off the couch in a bundle of blankets and explained about the arrival of the Starfleet landing party.

"No?" B'Elanna glanced at him, then touched kind fingers to the ensign's face as she clipped a commbadge to his blanket. "It's all right, starfleet, we've come to take you home."

"Maquis?" Harry responded weakly.

"The very same." Handing Paris a commbadge she glanced at Janeway for permission and then slid her arms under Kim. "I'll take him," she told Okon.

"You?" Okon stared at her in disbelief as she took the ensign's weight easily from him.

"I'm stronger than I look," Torres said blandly. "Paris?"

Tom hit his commbadge harder than he needed to and it twittered in complaint. "Paris to Voyager. Medical emergency. Three to beam directly to Sickbay." The trio shimmered out of existence immediately.

"Now," Janeway began with exaggerated patience. "Perhaps we can begin again. Exactly who are the Pulkai and what has been going on here?"

* * *

Paris loathed waiting. Most of his life he had been told to wait. Wait for class. Wait for a ship. Wait for a promotion. Now wait to find out whether your best friend was going to live or not.

Restlessly rising to his feet, Tom paced his quarters and glared at the walls. They had beamed directly to Sickbay where Torres had gingerly lowered Kim on to a medical couch and the doctor had taken over. The hologram was an excellent doctor, but had a lousy bedside manner and barely noticed the concern of Kim's friends. He had thrown Paris and Torres out, banning them both before they got in his way. Only his Ocampa assistant, Kes, was allowed to stay to assist. That had been twenty four hours ago.

Since then, Paris had showered, changed, eaten one of Neelix's meals that had proved to actually be edible for once, reported to the captain and snatched a few hours sleep. Janeway had ordered him to stay off the bridge until he was rested, but Tom didn't think he was going to be able to rest until he knew about Kim. Nor could he believe that Janeway had decided to help the colonists. In exchange for food supplies, the Voyager was saturating the meteorite belts and the Northern continent with sufficient ionised particles to kill off the Fungoid spoors that still remained and medical details of the treatment for Fungoid poisoning was being supplied by the holographic doctor.

Paris only wished he believed the treatment would be as effective as the doctor seemed to think it would be. The hologram had apparently experimented with the samples Tuvok had brought back aboard and established a treatment from that. Kim hadn't shown any signs of improvement when Tom had managed to sneak a peak at him that morning. A bleep from the door caught his attention, disturbing his morose thoughts.

"Come." He turned to face the doors as they slid open, dreading bad news. It was Neelix who slipped in though and deposited a tray on Paris's coffee table.

"I thought you might like a light dinner," the little alien said brightly as he proceeded to lay out the cutlery and dishes.

"Look, I appreciate the thought Neelix, but I'm really not hungry," Paris said bleakly, moving to put the dishes back. He paused, sniffing a soup plate. "This smells almost like tomato soup."

"It is tomato soup!" Neelix retorted indignantly. "Of course, I added a few herbs and spices from my own recipes."

"Ah, of course." Paris put the dish down hastily.

"Aren't you going to at least taste it?" Neelix peered up at him from under a forest of wild orange eyebrows.

"May I come in?" Paris was saved from having to answer by Kes's entrance. The pretty blond Ocampa woman was dressed in a pale pink tunic today and looked younger than ever.

"Kes," Tom felt his voice choke up in his throat. "Is it Harry?"

She smiled at him. "He's awake and asking for you. He's very weak though, so don't stay long."

Paris was out the door almost before she had finished speaking, ignoring Neelix's complaint that he hadn't touched his food. Kes slipped her arm through that of Neelix's and snuggled up happily.

"You could keep it warm for him," she suggested. "He'll be starving once he's seen Kim."

"I've a good mind to let it get cold," Neelix sniffed as he started to collect the cutlery again, but he smiled at her affectionately. "That wouldn't be very nice of me though, would it?"

"No," Kes said lightly. "Give Paris a chance. He's worried."

"Well, it is a pity to let all this good food got to waste. He can have it later. I suppose I'll have to start thinking of recipes to tempt Ensign Kim's appetite now."

* * *

Paris crept into Sickbay, noting that the holograph programm was still running. He glared at the lieutenant. "I suppose you've come to see Ensign Kim?" he said irritably. "Kes said she would tell you."

"Can I see him or not?"

"Only for a few minutes. He needs to rest."

"But he will be okay? He couldn't see."

"The toxins had reached a critical point in his system but we were able to reverse the effects. He'll be fine. If you let him sleep."

"I will. I promise," Paris hesitated. "Would you like me to turn you off?"

The doctor frowned. "I hardly think that would be appropriate while I have a patient," he said darkly. "Go and see him and stop bothering me, Paris."

Tom startled the doctor with a grin and scooted through into Sickbay proper. Kim was curled up on a medical couch, surrounded by tubes filtering the poisons from his system and supplying him with much needed fluid. Paris leaned over him, ruffling his hair as he peered into Kim's ashen features. Kim's breathing was better and the ugly maroon flush to his skin had faded to a faint purplish bruising. Dark eyelashes fluttered as Kim opened his eyes.

"Tom?"

"Yeah. How you doing, buddy?"

"Better I think. But I can't seem to get warm."

Paris shot a quick look at the monitors and relaxed slightly. "Your system is still mixed up. You're actually too warm," he told him. "It's a sign of fever. It means your nerves are confused."

"Oh, I seem to remember you getting into bed with me," Harry squinted at him suspiciously, licking dry lips. "Or did I dream that?"

"Ah, no," Paris could feel himself blushing furiously. "It was an emergency, trust me."

"For some peculiar reason, I do Tom," Harry said quietly and gave him a tired smile. "Do you mind if I go to sleep now? I'm real tired."

"Sure, kid. Sleep all you want." Paris patted his shoulder.

Kim shifted slightly and put his own hand over Tom's for a second. "Thanks," he said shyly.

"For what?"

"For being there. You didn't have to be."

"Like hell I didn't. You'd have haunted me."

Kim smiled and let his eyes drift shut. Tom felt a daft grin cross his face and shrugged, ruffling Kim's hair again in affection. "Don't do that, it tickles," Harry grumbled, shifting away from his hand.

"Sorry." Paris tucked his hands behind his back and watched silently as his friend drifted back into sleep, clearly feeling secure in the knowledge that Paris was there and he was safe. It gave Paris an odd, warm feeling to know that someone finally trusted him to be there and he swore silently that no matter what happened to them he would never allow himself to fail Harry Kim's trust in him.