Redemptions of the Heart

By Oprelia

Rating: PG-13

Code: P, J/P

Category: VOYAGER

Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance

Beta: H. Louise

Disclaimer: STAR TREK: VOYAGER and all its characters contained within this story are owned exclusively by Paramount Pictures Corporation. No copyright infringements are intended.

Chapter Ten

The New Tom Paris

*****

"I thought that you weren't on a quest for perfection. How can you do this to him?" Janeway demanded, visibly shocked by the revelation.

"Changes to his genetic code were required to reverse the cellular decay. The virulent pathogen had infected and corrupted a large proportion of his cellular structure. Genetic re-sequencing was necessary to repair the damaged portions of his physical body. Prevarication was not an option. Any further delay would have greatly diminished the probability of success with the procedure. I had disclosed the details of the procedure so that Tom would have been aware of the changes that would occur," The Alpha-Prime said.

"And you agreed?" Kathryn asked Tom incredulously.

"Yes, Kathryn. I was dying! Ben gave me the only viable option available that ensured that I would live. I was approximately half an hour away from collapsing. My body was shutting down and my only thought was to be with you!" Tom exclaimed. All the stress that had accumulated since his capture and his rescue had finally conspired against him and his tightly held emotions erupted. "I had been willing to do anything to see you for just a single precious minute before I died. I was desperate but then he told me that he could heal me. When I realised that he really could heal me, I immediately took the chance, knowing that I would be able to see you again."

Kathryn saw Tom's anguish and she realised how badly she had handled the situation. Her shock at the Borg's revelation made her ignorant to her beloved's feelings of helplessness during his ordeal. She hugged her fiancée as she profusely apologised for her insensitivity.

Chakotay finally cleared his throat and Tom reluctantly released the Captain from his loving embrace.

"While that serves as a partial explanation, you still have not answered the Captain's query. Why did you have to modify Mr Paris' genetic code? Why did you not reconstruct his genetic code without the alterations?" Tuvok asked.

"That is a very good question. Why did you change him since you could have used the data in his medical records as a template to recreate his cellular coding?" the doctor added.

Ben would have sighed if he had lungs. He knew that they would ask that question.

"Tom's cells were in an advanced stage of cellular decay. As I have previously stated, the damage done by the viral pathogen was too extensive. His organs were failing and his body was quite close to a complete shut down. I was required to reconstruct a large portion of his physical body as well as eradicating the pathogen and any corrupted cells that were remaining in his body. The virus would have exposed his body to a massive amount of trauma and his body was not equipped to handle the stress the pathogen had inflicted on his body.

"The re-sequencing procedure was also very traumatic to his physical body. The human body was not designed to be virtually rebuilt from head to toe

"The human body was not designed to withstand the complex rebuilding from head to to in mind, especially after the extensive damage the pathogen had caused. All the stresses involved made the re-sequencing procedure very traumatic to his body. The enhancements that I had devised were designed to strengthen the remaining organs so that the possibility of success would be higher. The changes to his autoimmune system were designed to accept the new organs while preventing a repeat of this incident. The newly grown organs were designed to complement the changes he had received," Ben patiently explained.

"So you are saying that those changes were absolutely necessary. There was no other option?" Kathryn asked for clarification.

"Not exactly. I had also made some minor enhancements to Tom's body without telling him," Ben admitted.

"What!" Tom exclaimed. "What else did you change?"

"I had only made some minor changes, Tom. Nothing that can harm you, I can assure you. You will discover the changes later when you have a physical," Ben tried to reassure his human friend.

"Why didn't you tell me about the changes?" Tom asked, slightly mollified by Ben's reassurance.

"There wasn't any time, Tom. You needed to start the procedure immediately," Ben replied.

"Why did you make the unnecessary enhancements? It would have been an inefficient use of your resources," Seven pointed out. The Borg's motives were still not clear to her since she knew that the Borg prided on their efficiency. Adding extra unnecessary enhancements was an inefficient use of their resources.

"It was not an inefficient use of my resources. In researching the best method to eradicate and heal Tom's body, I had extensively studied the human body. Since I was rewriting large amounts of his genetic code, I felt it prudent to include the adjustments during the procedure. It would have been an inefficient use of my resources if I had to enhance his body later. The changes I have added were not necessary but I had realised the potential the human race would have had if not for the flaws inherent in your species. With Tom I have sufficiently altered his body to start a new race, a race that may fully realise their potential."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Harry demanded. He couldn't believe that his friend had been vastly altered.

"He has the power to choose his own destiny and if he chooses correctly, then his race will prosper," Ben said enigmatically

"A cryptic answer," Vorik observed.

"That is correct, however the situation warrants it," Ben simply replied.

An uncomfortable silence occurred as the senior staff digested this new information. They were overwhelmed by this new information about Tom's procedure. Tom finally broke the silence due to his exhaustion.

"I'm getting tired, Kathryn. Let's go to sickbay now and the doctor can give me a full physical. He will discover the changes in me are safe," Tom wearily said. They all looked at Tom and they could see the strain on his smooth face.

"Yes, Tom. I believe you need to get some rest as well," the EMH said.

"Before we go, Ben, can you give the Doc a new holo-emitter? He will need it," Tom said as he turned towards his new friend.

Ben tilted his head and a drone appeared from the left and walked up to the EMH. In the drone's cybernetic hand was a holo-emitter. Reaching out, the doctor carefully grasped the emitter and examined it. The colour of the device was black and green, evidently Borg technology.

"I had that constructed Tom, while you were undergoing the procedure. The device has been ready and I have been waiting for the time to give it to your EMH. This device is different from the other emitter as you have noticed. The components in this version have been designed with current Borg technology and the circuitry can be easily adapted by your engineers to make a Starfleet version," said Ben to the awaiting staff.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have important things to do. I have removed the force fields around Main Engineering so that your crew can begin studying the enhancements and repairs we have made to systems of your vessel. Do not attempt to unlock the encryptions that I have placed over the primary systems. The secondary systems have been released and you must complete a full analysis of those systems. Repairs must be made," Ben warned. With that, he walked over to his alcove and the cables came down to retrieve his head and spinal column.

A transporter beam took them all to sickbay before they could even walk towards the door. Since they were in sickbay, Tom immediately (and without preamble) went to the Doctor's office to retrieve a sickbay gown. The faster the scans were done the faster he could spend time with the love of his life.

Seeing that Tom was anxious to commence his examination, the doctor quickly ushered everyone out of sickbay. They reluctantly complied with the doctor's orders and they all bade Tom goodbye. The doctor went over to the main surgical bay with a tricorder and prepared everything for Tom's examination.

When Tom had finished dressing, he stepped out of the bathroom, went to the main surgical bay, and climbed onto the bio-bed, waiting for the doctor to start the examination.

The physical took place without a single complaint from Tom and the doctor was surprised.

"Tom, you are surprisingly cooperative today. May I ask why?" the doctor asked as he activated the arch.

"Well, any procrastination will only delay the examination and prevent me from spending time alone with Kathryn. I haven't been with her in over a month Doc. Can you imagine how my heart aches to be with her?" Tom tried to explain. His relationship with the doctor had improved immensely since the transwarp incident and he often confided in the doctor when he was in sickbay. "Besides I think she is having problems accepting my new body. I want this examination to reassure her that I am still the same Tom Paris, only better."

"I see," the doctor replied.  With all the time spent with Tom ever since he was activated, he could understand his assistant's thoughts better now. "I will make a very thorough examination so that we can reassure her that you are essentially the same," the EMH said compassionately, and with that the doctor continued with his scans.

* * * * *

The Captain's Ready Room

Four days have passed since she left Tom in sickbay. Since then she has had no contact with him at all. The doctor had imposed strict communication quarantine over her pilot. His explanation was that he didn't want anyone contaminating his tests, which included a full physical and psychological test. Tension levels around the ship dropped significantly on the news that Tom was all right and was in sickbay undergoing some tests. What they didn't know was the nature of the tests. They did not know that Tom had changed.

During those four days, Kathryn had tried to understand the implication of the changes in her fiancée but she was afraid that he had changed too much to be the Tom she knew. She was apprehensive about the imminent results of the tests. She hoped that Tom was the same but she couldn't help but think of the worst. Unable to keep her doubts to herself any longer, she summoned her two friends to discuss her problems.

"Would you like anything drink? Chakotay? Tuvok?" asked Kathryn of her First Officer and of her oldest friend as she beckoned them to couch in her room

"Some tea would be fine," replied Tuvok.

"Tea would be just fine Kathryn," said Chakotay. She went to the replicator and ordered two mint teas and a coffee. She passed the beverages to them and sat down on her couch. She slowly sipped her coffee as she arranged her troubled thoughts. Her two officers patiently waited for her to gather her errant thoughts, as they knew that she was having trouble with something. Finally she spoke.

"I have tried to understand the implications of the Alpha-Prime's revelation for the past few days. Do any of you have any problems with Tom having undergone genetic re-sequencing?" she asked. Tuvok and Chakotay both glanced at each other before Tuvok spoke first.

"What is the source of your troubles Captain? Are you afraid that the person you remember has been irrevocably changed now that he has physically changed?"

"I think so. I mean I fell in love with Tom, but now he is different. He has changed. Benjamin said that he is no longer human!" she exclaimed

"Are you saying that you only fell for Tom's body?" asked Chakotay

"No!" she vehemently denied.

"Captain, until the doctor has fully examined the changes that have occurred to Mr Paris, you cannot fully understand the changes and its implications. You have said that he is no longer human. I believe that the Borg Alpha-Prime implied that Mr Paris' genetic structure has now deviated from the normal human design while his base structure still resembles the basic human template. If the doctor confirms my hypothesis, then there are no mental differences due to the procedure. The doctor can confirm the Alpha-Prime's claim about the trauma and the necessity of the physical changes that have occurred to Mr Paris.

"From my understanding of medicine, I believe that the claim is valid. The amount of damage that Mr Paris' body had sustained due to the pathogen was very high. It would not be illogical to assume that he could have died during the procedure. As to the unnecessary enhancements to his body, the Alpha-Prime referred to them as corrections in the flaws of Species 5618, the human race.

"My conclusion would be that the genetic re-sequencing procedure that Mr Paris underwent has changed his body so that his genetic structure would look similar to a human however the coding would be vastly different. Essentially he is the same person," Tuvok said as he expressed his views.

"That is how I have interpreted his words. Since Tom wasn't connected to the hive mind, you can safely say that his mind has remained the same. The problem you have is that Tom's body has changed. How do you know that it hasn't changed for the better? For example, let's just say, for the sake of argument, that he was intellectually limited prior to the re-sequencing. From my understanding of the words of the Alpha-Prime, he would now be quite intelligent. Would that be a problem to you?" Chakotay argued.

"I guess not. But that is a poor example. You and I both know that Tom is very intelligent. He only hides it from us. But that is not the only problem. What about the Federation Laws that prohibit genetic manipulation?" Kathryn asked. This was another problem she had. The laws on genetic manipulation were there to prevent an unfair advantage to the recipient.

"The initial genetic changes would not apply to Mr Paris' situation, since the Federation Laws on genetic manipulation do not prevent their use for purely medical reasons. Without those changes, he would not have survived his illness. His body also might not have endured the added stresses the procedure would have caused to his body in his weakened state. The pathogen had caused severe damage and the re-sequencing might have added extensive trauma to his already damaged body. The minor enhancements, however, would be harder to explain since he could be breaching the Federation ban on genetic enhancements. Since Mr Paris was unaware of the enhancements until it was too late could be used in his defence, however the situation is not ideal," Tuvok admitted.

"We must also ask ourselves a simple question. Why did the Collective use their resources to save Tom? He was, to coin Seven's phrase, 'damaged'," Chakotay observed.

"Correct. It would be illogical to utilise the Collective's vast resources to repair the damage done to Mr Paris' body and then neglect to assimilate him. The Borg must have an ulterior motive," Tuvok added.

"You have a point. Not only were they uncharacteristic in healing Tom, they didn't assimilate him into their Collective. I must ask Tom if he knows why," Kathryn said with determination.

The doctor interrupted any subsequent discussion.

::: Sickbay to Captain Janeway :::

"Yes Doctor?"

::: I have finished my examination of Mr Paris and he has asked for your presence here so we may discuss the results :::

"Understood. I'm on my way. Janeway out" and the comm. link deactivated. "I'm sorry to cut this conversation short but my fiancée is waiting for me," she said as she rose from her seat.

"Certainly Kathryn. We are always glad to help you resolve your feelings when Tom isn't around," said Chakotay as he also rises from his seat.

"Thank you both for your wise counsel."

Tuvok just nods while Chakotay smiles.

* * * * *

She strode into sickbay and saw that Tom and the doctor were both waiting inside the office. She walked into the office and Tom flashed her his biggest smile she'd seen since his recovery.

"Come and sit on my lap honey," said Tom as he patted his laps. He just wanted to hold and cuddle her.

"I'd rather not right now. I want to see the results of the scans." She tried to ignore the hurt look on Tom's face but she couldn't. "Tom, it's not that I don't accept you, I just don't want to be distracted when I'm studying the results. All I really want to do is curl up on your lap while you hold me forever and if I do that we will never finish the report. Maybe when we get back to our quarters okay?"

Tom's smile came back.

"Ahem, can we start now or would you two lovebirds prefer to get a room?" interrupted a sarcastic voice. Both Tom and Kathryn looked sharply at the Doc and Kathryn couldn't help but blush at the crude words while Tom just laughed.

"That sounds like something I would say!" Tom said while still laughing.

"I think you should begin Doctor," Kathryn said as she shot Tom an exasperated look.

"Okay, I have analysed Tom's cells and the data that Benjamin sent to sickbay on Tom's cure. Re-sequencing is not the best word to describe the process that Tom underwent. Reconstruction is the term that should be used instead. The data shows that nearly thirty-five percent of Tom's DNA was destroyed and a further fifteen percent was damaged. The damage was also corrupting his chromosomes and his cells. Due to the corruption of his cells, his organs were slowly shutting down, one by one and his autoimmune system was also failing.

"Without a doubt the reconstruction was absolutely necessary or else Tom would be dead by now. The Borg has recoded Tom's genetic structure using a basic human template and I must stress the word basic. His new genes have been coded into every cell in his body and although they are not the same, they still resemble his old genes. The Borg have inserted into Tom's DNA numerous new coding, while removing any damaged or redundant strands. These changes have in turn changed his chromosomes and his cells have also subsequently changed. With the new cells come the new organs. All these additions have altered his physical body. It wasn't just a simple 'plug the gaps' method.

"The procedure was quite remarkable and complex but to shorten the lecture, the procedure was done so that the new codes have been seamlessly integrated into his DNA and the newly reconstructed chromosomes are now fully compatible with his newly enhanced body. New cells were created and his organs have been healed and/or enhanced. Although he still retains some basic DNA sequences of a human, all his attributes have been enhanced. When you analyse the code, It would look like a normal sequence except for some subtle differences.

"Take this sequence as an example," and the EMH brought up a section of code on the computer display. "On a normal person, it is supposed to be like this. Now it is like this," and the screen changed to show the new code.

"So physically, what has changed?" asked Kathryn. She could see the changes done to his cellular coding but what physical changes did Tom now have?

"Well this is a scan of his cerebral cortex. As you can see by the scans, his brain has slightly changed. His neocortex has been enlarged by a small degree. It is not as large as the neocortex that is found in a Vulcan, however it is larger than a normal human is. His analytical skills have significantly increased and you can remember how intelligent he was prior to the procedure. If you look at this scan, you can clearly see that his neurological activity has increased by thirty percent. I have done some hand-eye coordination tests and he had a visual acuity index of 99.8 percent. That is even higher than Seven's are.

"His memory recall was also quite high. I gave him a list of words to memorise on the first day of tests and he had perfect recall five hours later. When I asked him this morning to recite the list of words he still had perfectly recited the list of words and their meanings. My conclusion, Captain, is that Tom has become an advanced human. In the data that the Borg sent to me, the Alpha-Prime inserted into Tom's genetic structure some of his own coding. His brain was not the only thing to be enhanced.

"I did some tests to his immune system. From the sample of blood that I took, I introduced a simple virus to the blood and his immune system destroyed it immediately. I have since then tested many virulent and dangerous viruses and bacterium into the sample and they have all been destroyed. During those tests, I noticed a pattern in the way his immune system reacted and I went to our databases. This is what I found," the doctor said and the display split to show Tom's sample on one side and an unfamiliar sample with a time index on the other side. "This sample shows the data on Mr Kim's blood when the stray Species 8472 cells were attacking his body. Tom's immune system is similar to Species 8472's immune system, Captain" the doctor reported.

"So what are you saying? Tom can't get sick anymore? If I remember correctly, the cells were impervious to biological and technological agents. The cells were even immune to assimilation!" Kathryn observed.

"Correct, which is why I tested the modified nanoprobes we used on Species 8472 with the sample of Tom's blood. The results were astonishing. Tom's sample attacked the nanoprobes as well. Tom is now resistant to assimilation," the doctor revealed.

"That's good news. With Tom immune or at least resistant to the assimilation process, we might be able to create a serum that might mimic his immune system for us. But why would the Borg modify Tom to make him resistant to assimilation?" she asked, it was illogical for them to give Tom this gift.

"Ben said that he didn't want to assimilate me. He said that he had no desire to assimilate people," Tom said. He shrugged when she asked for him to explain. "That's what he said to me," Tom protested. She obviously didn't believe him.

"We will have to question him about his true agenda later. How else has Tom changed, Doctor?" she asked as she turned her attention back to the EMH.

"His stamina has increased tenfold. His strength index is also similar to Seven's and much stronger than a Vulcan is. I believe that if Tom organised a duel with Commander Tuvok, Tom would win even if he hadn't studied the advanced fighting techniques the Commander had taught him. Tom would only have to study the Commander's movements and adapt. Finally, he achieved 99.9 percent in his spatial-orientation test that he did yesterday".

"Wow" was all she could say. "What about mental tests? Is he still my Tom?" She was awed by his test results.

"Yes Captain. He is still *your* Tom. He has consistently answered any questions I have made about this journey. He was also able to repeat some of the conversations he has had with me. When I did an examination of his cognitive abilities, the results were outstanding. They far exceeded his prior level and they were very high in the first place. I believe he is now the most intelligent person on board this ship, excluding the Borg Alpha-Prime. In summary he is still the loveable and irrepressible Tom Paris that we all know," the Doc said with warmth.

"Oh gee thanks Doc. I'm blushing now," Tom said as he smiled at his friend.

"Really? Then why am I not detecting it?" was the fast comeback. This was part of the ritual he had missed when Tom was missing.

"Because I'm blushing on the inside," Tom replied. He too missed the rapport he shared with the Doc and his clever repartees.

"Ha Ha Mr Paris. The last thing I need to say is on the dominant genes. Tom, your new genes are now more dominant than that of a normal human. Therefore any offspring that you produce will most likely for example have sandy blond hair and blue eyes like yourself."

"Did the Alpha-Prime give you data on the reasons for inserting the minor enhancements into Tom?" asked Kathryn. After her discussion with Chakotay and Tuvok, she wanted to find out the motives of the Borg.

"Ben said in the report that since he was going to repair the damage to my body using a lot of his resources, he said that he might as well fix the other flaws in my body," Tom said. He also realised the unanswered question, and after being with her for the past few years, he had become familiar with her facial expressions and her thought patterns.  "Ben said that he would heal me as a gift for giving him a good name."

"I find that hard to believe. There must be another reason. We'll have to discuss this with the Senior Staff later," she declared. She saw how troubled he was when she didn't believe him.

"Okay. We'll do that then. Is there anything else Doc?" Tom asked. He wanted to go home and spend time with his beloved.

"No, you are perfectly healthy. How long you stay that way remains to be seen," was the reply to Tom's inquiry.

"You're really funny today Doc. I'm really glad that I'm back so that I can hear all your bad jokes," he said as he looked towards Kathryn.

"My jokes are not bad! And for that I'm ordering you to rest for a full week. You are on medical leave until I give you a final check-up next week. Am I understood?" ordered the Doctor.

"Yes Doc. I'll just have more time to recover..." Tom stood up and held out his hand out to Kathryn. "Are you off-duty yet?"

"Yes Tom. I have been for the last two hours," she replied as she took his offered hand.

"Great... You heard what the Doc said. My stamina has increased tenfold and I just can't wait to ravish you," Tom said as we wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, Tom, I have a feeling that I won't be able to get up tomorrow," she said with a false swoon.

"I hope so... " Tom said as he swept her into his arms and before she could protest, he requested a site to site transport.

*****

A/N: Please Read and Review.

    Next: Chapter Eleven