TOM AND B'ELANNA'S COURTSHIP, page 6

#149 DRIVE

In Astrometrics Torres finds Seven finding the most efficient course for the first segment of the Rally. Torres: "I'm surprised you're putting time into this." Seven: "Initially I did find this activity irrelevant, but then I realised that it is important for the crew's morale and for my relationship with Lieutenant Paris." Torres: "Your relationship with Lieutenant Paris?" Seven: "I was speaking professionally. I often work with him on navigational problems. He can be an erratic individual. He's also a very competent officer and clearly a skilled pilot." Torres: "It's the erratic individual that takes getting used to." Seven: "No doubt, but I've learned that if I embrace some of his interests, support him in his personal goals, we're able to function more efficiently as crewmates." Seven's words give Torres something to think about.

Aboard the Delta Flyer, Paris is in the pilot's seat making final preparations. He hears someone enter and says without looking up: "Harry, where have you been?" There is a flash as a holopicture of him is taken. Torres: "Say qa'pla! It means 'success'. I just wanted to catch the moment, not to mention that cute bewildered expression." Paris: "What are you doing in that flight suit?" Torres: "There's been a change of plan. I'm your new co-pilot." Paris: "Look, I don't have time for practical jokes." Torres: "Neither do I. Ready to bring that impulse drive online?"

Paris: "B'Elanna." Torres: "Ok, I was upset that you cancelled our weekend but then I realised why should we spend this time apart when we can be together doing something you like?" Paris: "What about Harry?" Torres: "I assigned him to a Level 5 diagnostic in Engineering." Paris: "Oh that's terrible." Torres: "I'm just kidding. I told him how hard it was for us to get time together and he understood. Anyway, the way I see it, you're trading an Ensign for a Chief Engineer."

Paris: "Well, you don't have to convince me. I couldn't ask for a better co-pilot." As they take their posts: "Now, just remember, we're not on vacation. The point is to win." Torres: "And you know how much I hate to lose." Paris: "Thrusters online. Opening shuttlebay doors."

The competitors take position at the starting line. USS Voyager fires a photon torpedo to start the race. As it explodes the competitors hurtle away along the race course. Ambassador O'Zaal's historic speech before the start of the race

Paris and Torres in the Delta Flyer. They have passed two more ships. The impulse engine is hot but stable. The number 8 ship, Assan, rushes past them, grazing their shields so that port thrusters go offline and Paris has to compensate. Paris says: "Ah, that was an old trick. Back at the Academy we used to call that 'scraping'." Torres: "Assan nearly scraped us out of the race." Paris: "How are we doing on time?" Torres: "20 seconds to the third marker. Assan's already rounding it thanks to that little tactic." Paris: "It's a long race. We'll catch him."

Aboard Voyager Neelix gives the crew an exciting race commentary.

In the Astrometrics Lab, the race is watched by a gathering of excited crewmembers. Neelix gives an exciting race commentary.

Inside the Delta Flyer.
Paris: "Now it's down to Irina and Assan."
Torres: "In a few moments they'll just be echoes in our aft scanners."
Paris: "We've still got the mobius inversion coming up."
Torres: "The what?"
Paris: "Tell me you read the course manual."
Torres: "I skimmed it, more or less."
Paris: "Oh great."
Torres: "So what exactly is this mobius whatever?"
Paris: "Take a look. Covers the entire last third of the course - level 6 subspace distortions, gravimetric shears. Just think of it as a little wormhole with a big attitude."

Aboard Voyager the crew wait anxiously as no ships can be tracked while inside the mobius inversion.

Aboard the Delta Flyer. Torres: "50 metres, 40. We can get through." Paris: "No, they're too close to each other." Torres: "I'm reversing our deflector polarity. It'll repel their shields. Why wait for an opening when you can make one?" Paris: "No, it's too risky." Torres: "Too risky? That doesn't sound like the Tom Paris I know." Paris: "What are you doing?" Torres: "Deploying auxiliary thrusters. We'll need the extra maneuvering power to get through the gap." Paris: "B'Elanna-" Torres: "Just steer the ship." It works and the Delta Flyer flies through the gap between Assan's and Irina's ship, repelling their shields to force enough space.

During the Antarian Trans-Stellar Rally the Delta Flyer squeezes through between Irina's ship and Assan's and touches their shields in doing so. (pop-up window)

Torres: "We did it!"
But Paris is not pleased: "Should have waited."
Torres: "I saw a chance and I-"
Paris: "I'm the pilot! That means I do the flying."
But before they can argue further, O'Zaal's announcement comes over the communications system: "Attention all pilots. There's been an accident. Stay in order and shut down your engines."

Joxum, Irina's co-pilot, is treated in Voyager's Sickbay for severe burns. Irina tells Janeway: "This was Assan's fault. ... He collided with me so many times my shield generator overloaded. Joxum's console exploded. He's lucky to be alive."

In Voyager's briefing room Tuvok explains that maybe neither Assan, nor indeed Torres and Paris, were responsible for the accident. He found a phase inverter, designed to cause a system overload, interfaced with Irina's ship's shield generator. O'Zaal believes it may be more than a simple case of cheating - someone is trying to end the peace as he received several threats of a more serious nature from groups opposed to the alliance e.g. arms dealers, isolationists, political extremists. O'Zaal wants to cancel or postpone the race but Irina argues: "No, if we stop now we'll be letting these extremists win." All participants agree. Kim surprises Paris, Torres and even Irina when he announces that he will be Irina's replacement co-pilot. He has checked it with the race officials and it is legal. Irina is not keen to accept Kim's offer, but eventually accepts. Now she is back in the race.

"It's embarrassing." "Ok, repeat after me: I am not the pilot, I will not attempt to fly this ship."

Torres and Paris make pre-flight checks aboard the Delta Flyer. Paris: "Come on, you can say it." Torres: "It's embarrassing." Paris: "I just want to make sure we're clear on what we're doing. Torres: "'Right at the light, then re-adjust my sight.' Paris: "Meaning?" Torres: "Come about 86 degrees at the red giant then recalibrate sensors to compensate for photonic interference." Paris: "Great. Next?" Torres: "Do I really have to spend my morning reciting nursery rhymes?" Paris: "It got me through the Academy." Torres: "You were expelled." Paris: "Ok, repeat after me: I am not the pilot, I will not attempt to fly this ship." Torres: "That one doesn't even rhyme." Kim comes on board and borrows a hyperspanner. He has worked all night with Irina making repairs to her ship ready for the race. He tells them about her: "To be honest, I can't remember the time I last had so much fun. She's funny, smart, we get along without trying. I'm going to ask her if she wants to spend some time on Voyager after the race."

The race resumes.
Torres: "'Straight through the gate.'"
Paris: "'Then remodulate.'"
Torres: "Harry sure had that glow, didn't he?"
Paris: "What glow?"
Torres: "You know, that look you get when you first meet someone."
Paris: "His cheeks were a little redder than usual."
Torres: "We're through the pulsars. Harry and Irina are right behind us."
Paris: "Ease up off the thrusters now. Want to conserve some fuel for the final leg."
Torres: "If circumstances were right, they might even have a future together."
Paris: "What?"
Torres: "Harry and Irina."
Paris: "They just met. It's a little early to be planning a wedding."
Torres: "No, I just meant that some people just fit together without having to work at it, and other people, no matter how much they try-"
Paris: "Are we talking about them or us?"
Torres: "What? No, I didn't mean-"
Paris: "Something's bothering you, let's talk about it."
Torres: "We should concentrate on the race."
Paris: "Well, maybe Harry and Irina aren't such a great team after all. They're falling behind."

On Irina's ship Kim detects malfunctions. They will be out of the race soon. He notes that whenever he suggests how to repair a fault Irina finds a reason to reject it. An alert sounds and Irina leaves her pilot's seat. Kim realises it is an overload in his console and gets out of the chair only just in time to avoid being seriously injured. Kim: "That's the second time your co-pilot's console exploded. Quite a coincidence." As he looks up, he finds Irina is pointing a gun at him. Kim: "You sabotaged your own ship, twice. Why are you trying so hard to get out of this race?" Suddenly he activates a control and the ship tilts. At the same time he leaps up, wrestles the gun away from her and points it at her. Kim: "What the hell is going on?! Sit down and hold still!"

Kim tries to contact Antarian Security but she has disabled the communications system. He says: "We'll just wait - someone'll come along eventually."

Aboard the Delta Flyer.
Torres: "We're past the last marker. Time to deploy the thrusters?"
Paris: "Whatever you say."
Torres: "What happened to 'I'm the pilot'?"
Paris: "That really bothered you, didn't it. It's why you don't think we fit together as well as Harry and Irina?"
Torres: "Could we talk about this later? Assan is gaining on us."
Paris: "Well, I guess you'd better deploy the thrusters."
Torres: "Thrusters deployed. This isn't about the race any more, is it?"
Paris: "You tell me."

Torres: "I thought that if we could do this one thing together, something that you cared about, it might help our relationship." Paris: "I didn't think it needed help." Torres: "Well, that's part of the problem." Paris: "What's the rest?!" Torres: "You know the rest." Paris: "So we 'scrape shields' occasionally. It keeps things interesting." Torres: "Maybe 'interesting' isn't enough for me." Paris brings the Delta Flyer to a stop. Torres: What are you doing?" Assan's ship flies past. "That was Assan! Why are we just sitting here?" Paris: "If we've got a problem we're going to resolve it, right here, right now."