There were moments Tom still found himself surprised by Leena's
change in personality. Since their reconciliation she had become less
combative, nothing like the woman he'd first lusted after. Not that he
minded the change - Leena seemed determined to give their partnership a
real chance - but it felt unnatural somehow, like she was purposely
trying to avoid another confrontation.
Now was a case in point. "I like what you've done with the
place," Tom said as he surveyed the decor of her living quarters. As he
expected, the room was very clean and ordered, but it had a keen sense
of style to it as well. Definitely more 'homey' than his, but then he
had never considered bringing many personal effects on what was supposed
to have been a short-term observer's assignment.
"Thank you," she answered while programming the replicator. "A
lot of the furnishings belonged to my parents when we were all still
living together. When I graduated from the Academy and received my
first posting my father insisted I take them, so I'd always have a piece
of home with me wherever I went. I never really appreciated his
sentiment until we got stuck out here."
Tom spotted a holo-image sitting nearby and moved in to inspect
it. Now that he noticed, it was the only picture in the whole room. That struck him as a bit odd. A lot of people on Voyager had
unconsciously made a practice of producing and displaying several images
of family and friends, to keep the hope of returning home alive. It was
possible that he was making too much out of nothing, but hardly anything
Leena Calloway did was an accident.
He picked up the picture at looked at it. It was an older man,
presumably Leena's father. A geologist, she had said. The guy
certainly looked the part of a scientist: tall and lanky, angular
features. There was no question; Leena inherited her good looks from
her mother.
Her mother. That was the missing component. Leena had never
mentioned her mother until just a moment ago. Something must have
happened her mother. Tonight would be a good time to ask about it.
"What are you up to now, Tom?"
He showed her the picture, both as an explanation and a question. "This your old man?"
"Yes, that's my father," she said, swiping the picture from him
and setting it back down on the shelf. She brushed the dust off the
frame in a wistful manner. "I can't imagine what he must be going
through right now."
"And your mother, it must be hard on her, too," Tom ventured. Leena's head jerked up and her body tensed. Tom suddenly had
misgivings, thinking that he had just literally trampled over her
mother's grave.
Before he could prepare for her verbal onslaught, however, she
relaxed again and looked back at the holo-image. "It's possible, I
guess. I never really thought much about it."
Tom felt like he had just dodged a stun beam. He leaned back
against the bulkhead. "You and she don't get along too well, I take
it."
"My mother walked out on my father to continue her Starfleet
career when I was very young," she answered dully. "I thought what
she'd done was unforgivable and for a long time I hated her, but I came
to understand that it was what she had to do. She was too much of an
explorer to be able to settle down with a family."
"I'm sorry, Leena. I shouldn't have brought it up."
"It's all right; I had to tell you at some point anyway." She
reluctantly returned the picture frame to its standing place. "We
should eat before the food gets cold."
"Yeah, sure." Tom followed Leena into the dining room, sullen. And people wonder why so many Starfleet officers never marry. Leena's
the lucky one, though; her mother knew when to get out. Tom sat down
and looked at the meal on his dinner plate. His stomach rumbled
involuntarily, although he didn't feel much like eating anything.
"So, how is the transwarp engine project coming along?"
Tom was thankful that she decided to change subjects, but the new
topic wasn't much better than the old one. "It's not looking good," he
sighed.
"Hit a wall, have you?"
"Yeah, and at about warp 9.98. We're already scratching for ideas
about how to prevent the pylons from ripping off the shuttle."
"Well, don't give up, Tom. If anyone can find the answer, it'll
be you three."
He grimaced at her pat reassurance. "I wish I could share your
optimism. It's looking almost impossible."
Leena smirked. "Then I don't see why you're so worried. You've
developed a real habit of defying impossible situations."
"Every time we get close to the threshold the subspace torque rips
the nacelles off the shuttle." B'Elanna's voice sounded very tired. Tom wondered if it could be attributed to the almost constant demand for
her presence in Engineering or if she was coming to the same conclusion
about the fate of their project.
"What about a duranium alloy?" Harry suggested, though by the tone
of his voice even he was having doubts. "We could try using it to
reinforce...."
"No," B'Elanna cut him off. "I thought about that already. It's
too brittle."
A gloomy, pensive atmosphere surrounded them again.
"More coffee?"
Tom's eyes darted up briefly at Neelix and groaned in silence. Just what we don't need right now. He must have some built-in radar
for detecting depression. If he starts talking about his grandmother's
old sayings again I won't be liable for my actions.
"You look like a happy bunch," he said as he topped up their mugs.
Harry - poor, naive Harry - made the mistake of answering,
thereby giving the Talaxian full consent to enter into their conference. "We've hit a wall."
"Oh." It was an even bet that Neelix would want to add his two
cents now; the Talaxian thought his role as morale officer immediately
gave him the qualifications to solve any problem. "Well, maybe I can
help."
Tom made little effort to hide his sarcasm. "Great! Do you know
anything about quantum warp theory or multispectral subspace engine
design?"
The sarcasm was completely lost on Neelix. He actually stopped
for a moment to consider if he possessed such knowledge. "Ah, no," he
said at last, "but I'm a quick study." He appropriated a chair and
looked at the trio with unbounded enthusiasm. "What are we working
on?" Only now did Harry fully grasp his error, and it showed in the
slight sag of his shoulders.
"Do you have anything to eat?" Torres abruptly asked him. Tom
immediately knew her inquiry was just a polite way of telling Neelix
that his help wasn't needed. It wasn't usually like B'Elanna to be so
subtle, but Neelix's delicate disposition required a similar approach.
She probably should have been more direct, however; Neelix was
behaving more obtusely than usual. "Ehh, sure. There's some Kalevian
biscuits somewhere in the kitchen." He waved a hand dismissively in the
general direction of the galley, already engrossing himself with the
information on a PADD.
After a few moments it became clear that the Talaxian had no
intention of getting them. "I guess I'll go find them myself," B'Elanna
said, getting up slowly. She paused beside Harry and patted him
mockingly on the shoulder. "Fill him in."
Harry seemed to realize how close from the end of the rope he
dangled. He turned to the Talaxian hesitantly. "Neelix, it would take
too long to...."
Neelix's whiskers began to quiver. "What, are you saying I'm not
smart enough? I'll have you know I did two years as an engineer's
assistant aboard a Trevalian freighter. I'm well versed in warp
theory."
"Okay, okay, we'll tell you," Tom blurted. He'd humour Neelix, if
only to quiet him. "We're trying to break the maximum warp barrier." A
wrinkled brow informed him that Neelix didn't understand.
"Nothing in the universe can go Warp 10," Harry further explained. "It's a theoretical impossibility. In principle, if you were to reach
Warp 10 you'd be travelling at infinite velocity."
Neelix bobbed his head. "Infinite velocity, got it. So that
means...very fast?"
Tom almost rolled his eyes. Well versed, my ass. "It means
that you would occupy every point in the universe simultaneously. In
theory you could go any place in the wink of an eye. Time and distance
would have no meaning."
"If Voyager achieved Warp 10 we could be home in the time it
takes to press a button," Harry said.
Neelix's eyes boggled. He was almost speechless. Almost. "Wow! And you, you're working on this?"
Tom picked up another PADD. "The dilithium we discovered last
month remains stable at a much higher warp frequency."
"The problem is," Harry countered, "every time we simulate
crossing the transwarp threshold the nacelles get torn off the ship."
Neelix's lit up with familiarity. "I remember, there was a time I
lost a warp nacelle going through a dark matter nebula."
A dark matter nebula? Tom shook his head. "This is a very
different problem."
"I realize that. I'm just using it as an example." Neelix looked
over at Harry. "As the ship went through the nebula it sent out a dark
matter bow wave. Eventually so much pressure built up it tore the
nacelle from its housing. Now maybe the same thing is happening to
you."
Tom visualized Neelix's explanation despite already dismissing it. He saw the Talaxian's little craft try to plough its way through the
intrastellar quagmire, saw the nebula resist the intrusion into its
body, and saw the nacelle get ripped away in a failed battle of momentum
versus inertia. A textbook example, really, but it didn't have anything
to do with their problem. Neelix's damaged nacelle was due to simple
Newtonian principles: the greater surface area of the shuttle's fuselage
resulted in a greater amount of resistance force applied by the nebula
than on the nacelles.
"No, I don't think so," Harry answered. "The simulations don't
indicate any subspace stress on the nacelles."
"Wait a minute," Tom suddenly said, immediately earning the pair's
attention. In his meandering thoughts an answer began to resolve. There was a connection between Neelix's accident and their
simulations. The difference was that their problem was completely
opposite. "What about the shuttle itself?"
Harry was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Maybe we've been looking in the wrong place. What if the
nacelles aren't being torn from the ship; what if the ship is being
torn from the nacelles?"
The ensign's eyes went glassy for a second, presumably creating
the same mental picture Tom had just reviewed. When they cleared Tom
could see comprehension growing in them. "The hull of the shuttle is
made of tritanium alloy. At the speeds we're talking about, that alloy
could depolarize..."
"...and create a velocity differential," Tom finished. "The
fuselage would be travelling at a faster rate of speed than the
nacelles."
"That means we just have to set up a depolarization matrix around
the fuselage."
A broad grin split Tom's face, rivalled equally by Harry's. "That's it!" The answer made so much sense it was impossible to believe
they hadn't seen it before now. To think, the transwarp engine project
was destined for mothballing until Neelix - Neelix! - pointed out the
problem with a simple 'nose on your face' perspective. "Neelix, you're
a genius!" Tom nearly planted a kiss on the Talaxian's mottled cheek,
but at the last second realized who he'd be kissing and opted for an
excited hug instead. From the sound of it Neelix was tickled pink by
the affectionate gesture anyway.
Bwee-op.
Bwee-op.
Bwee-op.
Thud-dud-dud-dud-thud.
"Errrrgh." Leena rolled over and lethargically wiped the sleep
from her eyes. "Wha...?"
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Her faculties clearing, Leena realized that someone was pounding
on her cabin door. "Computer, lights, 35 percent." She slipped on her
night coat and trudged grumpily to the entrance. The comm systems had
better be down, she thought irritably, because that's the only thing
that will keep me from killing whoever's on the other side of that
bulkhead.
As she got closer she discerned the muffled voice yelling at her
in the hallway. "Leena! Open up already!" She wrapped her coat a
little more tightly around her, then opened the door. Tom nearly
smacked her in the nose as his fist continued to beat on a door that no
longer existed. "Finally! I thought all security officers were light
sleepers."
"Sorry to disappoint you," Leena growled. She yanked the pin off
Tom's jacket. "You could have tried using this. I find it's a lot more
effective than trying to punch a hole through the bulkhead." She
flipped it back at him and walked into the den. Tom followed close
behind, fumbling to refasten the badge.
"Uh, right. I'm so excited I guess I forgot. I just had to come
tell you. We did it!"
Leena stopped abruptly, gasping in shock. She turned around, eyes
wide. "You crossed the threshold?"
Tom's smile, already huge, spread wider. "Yes. Yes!"
She tried to shriek excitedly, but her throat constricted; the
only thing that came out was a shrill squeak. She cupped her hands over
her mouth, embarrassed by the noise, and then realized that Tom probably
didn't care. The announcement was simply staggering. Warp 10 - the
chance to return home, to resume life practically where it had been
left, to see family and old friends once more - was only a hair's
breadth away from reality. Glee overwhelmed her, and she began
giggling. "That's wonderful!"
Tom spread wide his arms and Leena, without a second thought,
leaped into them. He caught her and spun her in a full circle in merry
celebration before setting her down. They laughed together over the
groundbreaking achievement and hugged each other as tightly as possible. "I knew you could do it, Tom," Leena finally said after a long while.
"Hey, this might not have happened if it hadn't been for you. You
were my motivation every step of the way." He smirked. "Even when I
hated your guts."
The statement was made lightly but it still neutralized Leena's
ebullience. Remnants of Tom's confession returned to her. His freedom,
his passion, and his happiness would all be taken away by the transwarp
flight. She felt awful for feeling so happy.
Now Tom's smile had disappeared. He looked at her with sudden
concern. "What's wrong? Was it something I said?"
"No, no, it's not your fault. I was so caught up by what it will
mean for me to go home again that I forgot for a moment what it might
mean for you."
For a brief instant she registered the surprise in his features. Then it was gone, replaced with sincere affection. "Don't worry about
me, Leena. I'll be fine."
"You do realize that you could be sent back to the New Zealand
penal settlement, don't you? How can you be happy about that?"
He stared deep into her eyes. Leena was hypnotized, feeling as
though he was grabbing hold of her soul. "As long as you're happy, it
doesn't matter what happens to me. I survived New Zealand once, I can
do it again."
Leena felt a lump in her throat, and it took a few moments to
clear. "If it makes any difference, you can count on my support for an
appeal when we get back."
He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, smiling softly. "I'd like that."
Slowly but without hesitation their lips met. Leena's thoughts
lingered on Tom's selfless humanitarianism. She hadn't detected any
insincerity from him when he'd declared his indifference about New
Zealand. Love and passion had reflected in his icy blue stare. He
meant every word. It had taken their falling out to make her realize
how much he cared for her, just as she cared for him.
The kiss lasted two and a half seconds, just long enough to
be significant. Leena couldn't see but she could tell that her face and
neck were flushed with excitement. Tom regarded her wordlessly for a
long moment. She wondered what thoughts were going through his mind. "I'd probably better get going. I have bridge duty in the morning,
though I'm not sure if I'll get any sleep tonight."
"I know how you feel. After what you just told me I don't know if
I can go back to bed, either."
Tom walked to the door, but stopped when it opened. "You know
something, Leena? If this really works...I mean, if I can actually fly
the Cochrane at Warp 10 in a live test, I may not have to worry about
going back to prison. Hell, I might not have to worry about anything
anymore. Just imagine what kind of respect I'll get for being the first
pilot to break the threshold."
"From your father, you mean?"
He snorted mirthfully. "Not exactly what I meant, but yeah, that
would be something, too. Nothing is ever assured with the Admiral. At
the very least I can show him that I'm not a failure."