WAKING MOMENTS
Episode 81 : Part B
| It is morning. Paris is in his quarters, not yet dressed. The door signal sounds.  door signal Still feeling groggy, he wanders over to the door and opens it. standard doors
Paris is surprised. "Hello." Torres: "Good morning. Sleep well?" Paris: "Not really. What are you doing here?" Torres: "I just thought I'd stop by and ask why you didn't meet me for breakfast." Paris: "Breakfast. What time is it?" Torres: "7.40." Paris: "And we were supposed to meet at 0700." Torres: "I was there, right after I got off the night shift. I waited, and I waited, and I called you on the comm.-" Paris is most apologetic. "I didn't hear you. I was having this wild nightmare. I was out like a light. Erm. I'm sorry. I'll get dressed right now." Torres: "You don't have time. You're due on the Bridge at 0800 and I've got to get some sleep." Paris: "Oh, I hate this! We never see each other." Torres: "I'm off Friday night." Paris: "Great. Let's go skiing. How about San Moritz?" Torres: "We went skiing last time." Paris: "And you loved it. You're getting really good, you know." Torres: "I just thought maybe we could run a program where the windchill factor wasn't thirty below zero. Like Fiji, or Samoa?" Paris: "There's nothing to do there!" Torres: "And you can be warm while you're not doing it!" Paris: "How about a compromise. Erm, spring skiing in Chile? Much warmer." Torres: "A compromise. How about Tahiti?" Paris: "Tahiti. As long as I can go waterskiing, fine." Torres: "You're on." She kisses him. "Now go get dressed, so you at least have time to stop off for some coffee." Paris: "I'll see you Friday night." |
 | Paris hurries into the Messhall.
Neelix: "Morning, Tom. What will it be? Scrambled sunny side up over easy?" Paris, bleary-eyed: "Just a cup of coffee." |
 | Neelix: "Are you sure? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you know."
Paris: "Neelix!" Neelix: "Right." He pours Paris a cup. |
 | Paris takes it and turns to leave, taking a sip as he goes. It is horrible! He has to put it back into the cup! He returns to the counter. |
 | Paris: "Neelix, did you have a rough night or something?"
Neelix: "Why do you ask?" Paris: "Because you just poured me a steaming cup of cooking oil." |
 | Neelix grabs the cup, seizes the coffee pot and pours him a mug of coffee. "Actually, I did have a little trouble sleeping last night. Nightmares."
Paris: "Oh. Me too." |
 | Neelix: "It must have been those three full moons we passed yesterday. Well, a few sips of my coffee should clear the fuzz out of your brain."
Paris: "Maybe you should pour yourself a cup while you're at it." He leaves for duty on the Bridge. |
| Janeway enters the Bridge from her Ready Room. She takes her seat in the captain's chair. She looks very tired.
Janeway observes: "We seem to be a little short-handed today." Chakotay: "Tom and Harry are both late. I was going to give them another five minutes but I'll call them now if you'd like." Janeway: "It's alright. I'm a little late myself, aren't I." Chakotay: "I wasn't going to mention it. Burning the midnight oil?" Janeway: "Actually I went to bed early for a change, but I had a nightmare and I could not get back to sleep." Chakotay: "I had a bad dream last night too." Janeway: "You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine." Paris hurries in, carrying his coffee mug. "Sorry I'm late, Captain." He goes to the helm and starts work. Janeway to Chakotay: "Well?" Chakotay: "I was in a forest with my father. We were hunting deer, which was odd because that was something I always refused to do. We cornered the animal. I looked to my father to see if he was going to kill it, but he wasn't my father any more; he was a vicious-looking alien." Janeway: "There was an alien in my dream too and it wasn't any race I've seen before. It had sharp ridges on his forehead and on the front of his neck." Chakotay: "That's what mine looked like." Paris: "Er, I don't mean to be eavesdropping, but I had a nightmare last night too, and I'm pretty sure I saw the same guy." Janeway: "Tuvok, by any chance did you have a bad dream last night?" Tuvok: "I did have a somewhat unsettling dream, yes. It involved an alien with ridges on his face and neck." Janeway: "I say this sounds like more than a coincidence. Let's get the rest of the senior staff together and come up with some answers, which reminds me, where's Harry?" Chakotay, via comms: "Bridge to Ensign Kim." Janeway: "Computer, locate Ensign Kim." Computer: "Ensign Kim is in his quarters." Janeway heads for the turbolift, calling to Tuvok that he should join her: "Tuvok." They enter the turbolift together. |
 | In the turbolift Janeway orders the computer: "Deck 6." To Tuvok: "I've got a hunch Harry's dreaming about our new alien friend.
Tuvok: "That would be consistent with the experiences the rest of us have had." Janeway: "Tell me more about your dream. Where exactly did you see the alien?" Tuvok: "As a matter of fact, it was here in the turbolift." |
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Janeway: "What happened?" Tuvok: "The alien simply stared at me as if scrutinising my appearance." Janeway: "That's what happened in my dream. What did you do?" Tuvok: "I returned to my quarters." Janeway: "Did the alien follow you?" Tuvok: "He did." Janeway: "And then?" Tuvok: "He watched me." Janeway: "Doing what?" Tuvok: "Getting dressed." |
 | Janeway thinks about this for a moment and is rather puzzled. "Getting dressed?"
Tuvok: "Yes." He hopes that will end her questioning. Janeway: "I don't suppose I should ask why you were undressed." Tuvok: "I would prefer that you didn't." |
 | They finish the last moment of the turbolift ride in silence as Tuvok plainly prefers not to discuss it further. |
 | The turbolift stops, the doors open and Tuvok exits. Janeway chortles to herself, realising what Tuvok's dream was, before she leaves the turbolift. |
 | As they walk along the corridor to Kim's quarters, she still cannot resist smiling, though she ensures Tuvok cannot see her. |
 | They reach Kim's quarters. Janeway presses buttons on the control panel but the doors do not open.
Janeway: "Harry?" She knocks on the door. "Harry!" Tuvok: "Computer, open door 105/2. Security clearance Tuvok zeta-nine." |
 | The doors open. They go in. It is dark and Kim is still asleep, very much asleep in fact. Janeway calls him. "Harry? Harry! Wake up!" But they are unable to wake him. |
 | In Sickbay, Janeway and the Doctor look at the patients, who include Kim. |
| Janeway: "Are they comatose?"
Doctor: "Not exactly. They all appear to be in a hyper-REM state. I've tried every conventional method of waking them, from drugs to direct cortical stimulation. Nothing works." Janeway: "Do you have any idea what's causing this?" Doctor: "Scans haven't detected any viral or bacterial agents, no cranial trauma, no neural disorders. They're simply asleep." Janeway: "I'd say it's a pretty good bet that it's somehow related to the alien from our dreams." Doctor: "Any progress in identifying him?" Janeway: "Not yet. I've got everyone working on it. In the meantime, what's your recommendation?" Doctor: "Larges doses of animazine." Janeway: "I thought you said drugs weren't working." Doctor: "Not for them, for everybody else. Until I can determine what's happening, I suggest the rest of you avoid going to sleep." |
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