Star Trek: Voyager Non Sequitur Iterum by Douglas Lee DouglasWLee@netscape.net (K/7) [PG] NOTE: While it isn't vital to have read the Borg Alive series, it would help a lot because there are a few references to events occuring in the aforementioned series. For those who aren't well-versed in Latin, like I'm not, the word 'iterum' means 'again, repeat' like "reiterate." It also draws some references to the first season episode, "Non Sequitur." -The Carp's Tail DISCLAIMER: Star Trek, its characters and all associated indica are the property of Paramount Pictures. No copyright infringement intended. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Captain Kathryn Janeway stood at the edge of the command pit with her arms akimbo and her attention to the main viewer before her. It was a characterstic of all Starfleet captains to stand on their Bridge, even if there was absolutely nothing of interest to warrant their attention. Even her former commanding officer, Admiral Owen Paris, was no exception to that unwritten rule, and she felt no reason to defy tradition. Right now, the mundane greeted the captain who staunchly held her ground. She appeared to be waiting for something to happen so it would seem that all the time she had been standing could be interpreted as preparedness, even to the extreme. Time passed by and just as she decided to finally take her seat, a voice interrupted her. "Captain, sensors are detecting unusual anomalies in this sector," Tuvok reported. "Preliminary scans are inconclusive, however I have also detected the appearance and disappearance of interstellar hydrogen atoms, as if they were phasing in and out of space-time." "Oh?" Janeway turned around. "The anomalies appear to form a trail, bearing 147 mark 82, which is in the direction of a planetary system." "I think we'd better take a look at what's causing these anomalies to develop, Tuvok." "Agreed but I strongly advise caution. If the anomalies are dense enough, Voyager may be drawn into one, with unpredictable results." "We'll have to take that chance. Someone's trying to play God with the physics of the universe and frankly, I like the way they are right now. Helm, lay in a course, warp six." As Voyager blazed into a star system and dropped into sublight, Tuvok began to scan the region again. Some of the readings didn't make sense but that was something he came to expect in the Delta Quadrant. "Captain, the density and number of anomalies appears to centre around the sixth planet of this system," he said. "Sensors are erratic but based on extrapolating from the data gathered, the planet seems to be the origin." "Standard orbit," the captain ordered to the Conn officer. "I am also detecting what appears to be wreckage of a starship. Although the anomalies are densest on the planet, they are absent in the immediate vicinity of the wreckage." "Can we beam down an away party to the surface?" "Yes but adjustments are required as the anomalies may prove to be of interference with the transporter beam." "A shuttlecraft might --" "-- if Voyager cannot withstand the anomaly, the shuttlecraft will not have any more success. The transporter is an advisable option. Nevertheless, we should limit the risks to the ship and crew to a strict minimum; a small away party, perhaps." "Very well. . .and I think I know who'll be that away party. . ." Seven of Nine opened her eyes, half-expecting to see the darkened cargo bay in front of her. Instead, she saw a smooth, grey wall and it was sideways. Her eidetic memory quickly reminded her that she wasn't in her Borg alcove but, in actuality, she was in something called a bed. Her skin tingled slightly as her bare skin felt a presence behind her. A moment's thought and she remembered that a certain ensign was with her in bed. The attractive half-Borg also remembered his gentle touch as they had made love during the night, explaining the absence of clothing from her body. She turned around and looked at him now. His eyebrows were knit as he slept, indicating a less than restful doze. He clenched his hands on the bedsheets and grunted unhappily. Seven's hand reached up for his face and she caressed it softly; he began to relax. Very carefully, she got up from the bed, took a stray sheet to wrap herself in (modesty was a stronger characteristic, of late), and sauntered into the bathroom. She looked around the area, fairly familiar with most of the items around her. The one thing she had any measure of interest in was the shower. It was a curious invention in that it employed sound waves or even water to clean one's body. The Borg had nothing of the sort: no drone ever sweated or otherwise produce waste normally found with imperfect lifeforms. Her head tilted to one side as she peered inside the stall and examined the control panel. She let the sheet fall from her body and she stepped in. The first button she pressed was for the sonic shower and she flinched for a brief second as her audio implant picked up the extremely high pitch of the sonic waves. It was more of an annoyance than discomfort but she felt relief when it was finally over. Still curious, she pressed the button for the water and she was surprised and amused to find lukewarm water hitting her skin in a misty spray. Her nerves tingled contentedly all around her as the water trickled along the curves of her nude body. It was a delightful sensation and just as she was getting used to it, the program cycled to its end and the water stopped. Her hair was now in a mess as it was thoroughly drenched. She couldn't see in front of her, thanks to the long tresses that blinded her. Trusting her memory, Seven stepped out of the shower stall and stooped around blindly for the bedsheet that was supposed to be on the floor. She couldn't find it, much to her chagrin, so she stood up. The next thing she felt was a soft, warm towel being wrapped around her. A few pats on her head with the towel and a hand brushing back the wet strands of hair behind her, and the half-Borg turned to find her lover holding her with the towel. "I was wondering who was using my shower," he grinned. "It was a. . .curious experience," she replied with a small smile. "I imagine it was." Using both ends of the towel, the young man's hands pulled her to him in a warm, fleshy contact. Her arms went around him and she hugged him fiercely, her breasts pressing firmly against his chest. He kissed her deeply as they held each other in a tighter embrace. "I love you, Seven," he murmured. "I love you, Harry," she replied. "Janeway to Ensign Kim and Seven of Nine," the captain called over the comm link, "I need to see the two of you in my office immediately." "We're on our way. Kim out," the ensign replied with a helpless smile on his face as he let go of the beautiful woman in his arms. They dressed each other with him in his standard-issue Starfleet uniform and her in her soft red civilians and the single ponytail -- a style she adopted recently. The two left his quarters and headed for the turbolift. "Come in," Kathryn said as the door request chirped. The two young crew members entered the captain's office and stood side by side in front of her desk. Janeway looked up and was surprised to see the half-Borg in her new appearance. After all her attempts to influence Seven in the ways of humans, it would seem that someone else was more successful in the process. She had a good idea who that was but they were a formidable team and the recommendations of Chakotay and Tuvok convinced her enough to accept them as just that. "Good, I have a mission that's well-suited for the two of you. We have just found what appears to be ship wreckage on the surface of this planet. What I want the two of you to do is to investigate the wreck and determine the nature of it," Janeway said. "Tuvok says there are ruptures in the space-time continuum around the planet but not in the vicinity of the wreckage; nevertheless, you are to use extreme caution during the course of your investigation. I won't lie to you: there's a considerable degree of danger to it due to the distortions; they can cause problems with the transporter, which means we might not be able to beam you up instantly if we need to. On the other hand, I wouldn't have asked you to come if I didn't think you could handle this away mission." "Understood," Harry and Seven said together. "Good luck. Dismissed." The two left the ready room for the transporter room. Meanwhile, Kathryn leaned back in her chair. She wondered what Harry had done that tipped the balance over in Seven's humanity. Whatever it was, it had to be monumental -- or at least something unorthodox. . . She laughed. Kim and Seven entered the transporter room and as he took out the tricorders, palm lights, and phasers, B'Elanna Torres walked in and relieved the duty transporter chief. "B'Elanna? What are you doing here?" He asked as Seven holstered her phaser. "Captain Janeway wanted nothing overlooked if we have to beam you two out in a hurry," the engineer replied. "If you ask me, she wants a scapegoat, namely me, in case you don't make it back." Harry chuckled as Torres smiled wryly, and he and the half-Borg stepped up to the transporter pad. "This will take a bit longer than a usual transport cycle, guys, primarily because of the distortions' interference," B'Elanna added. "I don't think you'll notice the difference but I thought you should know just the same. . .energizing. . ." Harry and Seven dematerialized into the annular confinement beam and after a few precautionary measures taken by Torres, the two found themselves standing in a relatively quiet area on the planet. They took stock of their surroundings and immediately noticed the wreckage Tuvok had detected with the ship's sensors. It was an unsightly mess buried into the cliffside but it seemed remarkably intact, surprisingly. Seven flipped her tricorder open and scanned the area. "Kim to Voyager," the ensign tapped his badge. "Go ahead, Harry," Chakotay replied but his voice was crackling through some static. "We've got visual contact with the wreckage and by the looks of things, there aren't any life signs in or around it," Kim said as Seven nodded no. "We're about to proceed to the wreckage." "All right. We'll try to keep the channel open here. Keep us posted down there." The two made for the cliff and found a breach in the hull, large enough for them to climb in one at a time. Once standing on the deck, they found the incline to be somewhat steep but manageable. They took out their tricorders again and attempted to get a general schematic of the wrecked ship. "I'm finding low level power readings 1000 metres to the right," he said. "That might be the best place to start." "Agreed," she nodded and they switched on their palm lights before clambering up the sloped deck until they found a closed hatch. Kim put his tricorder away and searched the wall for a manual override control panel. Finding nothing, he tried to force the doors by himself but even that was too much. "Perhaps you require assistance?" Seven asked. He sighed with a grin and let her get a solid grip on one door while he grabbed onto the other. They managed to pull the doors open to a small slit where Seven finished the job by pushing them apart to their fully open position. The two walked in and they immediately noticed a large central platform that seemed more like a containment area than anything else. There were pieces of metal and other broken bits lying around on the floor. "It would seem there was a catastrophic explosion in this room," the half-Borg mused. "It must have been enough to cause the ship to crash into this planet," Harry added as he looked over a console. "I think I found something; come, take a look a this." Seven went over to him and looked at the control panel in front of him. Although the language was foreign to both of them, the diagrams accompanying the text gave them a good idea of what was being described. "Correct me if I'm wrong but these look like manipulations of the space-time continuum. It's as if someone tried to build something that could transcend alternate timelines," he said. Or timestreams, Kim thought to himself, realizing the familiar terminology he once heard some time ago. "A failure," she replied matter-of-factly. "I wonder what these people were doing. . ." Harry tapped a few buttons and suddenly a low rumbling hum could be heard. It was rising in pitch and volume, making him very nervous. He turned around and watched energy fizz around the containment area and it soon became a solid projection. An annoying beeping drew his attention back to the console and he saw a flashing green light on the screen. "This doesn't look good," Kim said as the energy field began to flash intermittently. "Tricorder readings indicate a rise in tachyon emissions," Seven said, drawing a worried stare from the ensign. "The rise will approach dangerous levels within three minutes. "Away team to Voyager, I think now's a good time for a beam out." "I can't get a lock on you two," Torres complained. "There's too much interference. You have to move at least 100 metres from where you are now." The two looked at each other for a split second before they headed for the door they came through. Seven was a faster runner and she made it through the opening before Harry did, and to make things worse, he tripped over an abandoned piece of metal on the floor and he fell down. On seeing that her friend wasn't with her, the young woman doubled back and saw him stagger to his feet. He was shouting at her to get away as fast as she could, but she ignored him and pulled him along towards the door. "Captain," Tuvok said from his Tactical post, "energy readings are approaching critical." "B'Elanna, get them out of there!" Janeway ordered. "I'm trying!" The engineer complained as she worked furiously at the transporter controls. Harry and Seven ran down the hallway, trying to use the incline as much to their advantage as possible. As they saw the hull breach they used to get in, they saw an unearthly green light begin to envelop them. "Energy readings are off the scale," the Vulcan reported. "B'Elanna!" Kathryn cried. "C'mon, you stupid piece of. . ." Torres grumbled as she fought against the odds. "I didn't mean it when I'd become the scapegoat!" A fantastic explosion engulfed the ship wreckage in flames but as soon as it happened, the fiery ball disappeared with a strange rippling effect. The ship remained intact; it was as if there was no explosion. "Did we get them?" The captain asked as Tuvok gave her a pair of raised eyebrows. "We only got one," B'Elanna replied as Seven stood on the pad by herself and on looking around to find no one beside her, the half-Borg gritted her teeth and for a strange moment, she felt panic and fear. Harry felt his face lying on something hard. He didn't dare to open his eyes yet but his fingers slowly probed the surface he was lying on. He felt the smooth surfaces of inlaid rocks -- cobblestones. He heard footsteps approaching him. He opened his eyes slowly as he lifted his head off the ground. "Seven?" Kim called weakly as he tried to get up. He turned his head slightly but he didn't see any signs of her. The footsteps were getting closer. His hands failed him as a wave of disorientation came across him. He felt his body being turned over and the last thing he saw was the familiar patch of gold uniform of a Starfleet security officer. When he regained consciousness, Harry found himself in a med-bed. He looked around the room and realized that he was in a sickbay -- not Voyager's as it was considerably larger than the EMH's domain. This was a full-scale hospital ward. "Doctor, he's awake," someone said and moments later, a Starfleet doctor appeared. "Ah, good," the doctor smiled. "Wh-where am I? Who are you?" Kim asked. "For starters, you are in the Starfleet Medical Centre. My name's Doctor Wayne Stewart; I'm the administrator of this facility. You, on the other hand, are something of a mystery, Mister. Would you care to tell me who _you_ are?" "Ensign Kim. . .Harry Kim. . ." "I'm afraid that's quite impossible. Ensign Kim was killed along with a known Maquis sympathizer when they attempted to steal a highly experimental Runabout. Starfleet sent a ship after him to stop him from carrying out his ulterior motive. It was believed that Mr. Kim and the collaborator intended to deliver the Runabout to the Maquis." "What are you saying? I _am_ Harry Kim! I'm the operations officer of the Voyager. Seven and I were on the surface of a planet when. . ." "Voyager? You're not making any sense, Mister. Ensign Kim was a member of the Advanced Starship Design Bureau, and he was never assigned to a ship. As for Voyager, everyone knows that Voyager was lost in the Badlands. You're definitely not near the Cardassian border, my friend." "It must've been the continuum manipulator," he digressed aloud. "What was it? What was it she said? The tachyons. . .?" He then remembered an incident that happened to him, four years ago. All of the information the doctor was telling him was familiar to him because he was aware of it before. Kim thought long and hard, and he remembered living in an alternate timeline where he _was_ a Starfleet starship designer who ran off with a prototype Runabout. It didn't make sense to him now because he was certain that time had been restored to the way it should be. "Look, we'll have to settle this at a later time, when I bring in the commandant to investigate this whole fiasco. Meanwhile, the nurses will attend to your recovery. You _are_ something of a mystery because everything about you suggests that you're who you say you are but that's impossible. The only thing that makes sense is that you're a clone." "Clones? I'm not a clone, Doctor. I _am_ Ensign Harry Kim!" The commotion was drawing a few stares from the neighbouring beds; one person, a woman, who was in the ward appeared to be interested in the conversation. Out of the corner of his eye, Kim noticed this woman observing them and he had an odd feeling of recognition of her. She was too far from him to be sure but he thought she looked like Seven. . . "That will be enough, Mr. Kim, if that's what you want to be called," Stewart said as he applied a hypospray on the ensign. "We'll deal with this tomorrow." Harry fell back asleep, unaware that the woman who was listening to them was taking a closer look at him. . . Seven stood in the captain's ready room and although she didn't show it, she was upset. Kathryn didn't know what to do: despite the reconciliation they had, she was hardly the right person to console the half-Borg. The only thing that was worth talking about was Seven's account of the events planetside. "Ensign Kim believed that the equipment was meant for manipulating the space-time continuum," the young woman stated. "He was attempting to gather further information about the nature of the equipment when the operation was apparently initialized. I detected an increase in tachyon particles when the system was activated. In addition, there were signs of a previous explosion and it would seem that he had recreated the circumstances that led to the demise of the wrecked ship." "That explosion would explain the ruptures in the continuum," the captain nodded. "I guess the big question is, where's Harry?" "If his assessment is correct and the purpose of the equipment is to manipulate the fabric of space-time, he has arrived at a parallel universe -- possibly an alternate timeline that co-exists with our own but without our reality being compromised." "It's funny that you should say that, Seven, because about four years ago, Harry filed a report saying that he had been transported to an alternate timeline when he wasn't part of the Voyager crew but a Runabout designer for Starfleet, at Earth." Janeway turned her computer terminal to face Seven and the young woman bent down to look at the screen: _____________________________________________________________________ / / INCIDENT REPORTS, STARDATES 49000 TO 49500 | __________________________________________________________ | / | | | | STARDATE 49011 | | | | ENSIGN KIM, HARRY | | OPERATIONS OFFICER, USS VOYAGER, NCC-74656 | | | | During my return, the shuttlecraft travelled through a | | part of space where the onboard sensors detected an | | unusual population of tachyon particles. I raised the | | shuttle's shields and adjusted my heading to compensate. | | Approximately 3 minutes later, the computer reported a | | sudden weakness in the structural integrity field and the | | destabilization of the warp core. I contacted Voyager | | and requested an emergency beam-out. It was then I | | blacked out and found myself in San Francisco, Earth. . . The attractive half-Borg straightened up and brushed her hair back without realizing that she had. Janeway looked at her curiously. "Tachyon particles were involved in both scenarios," she mused. "Perhaps we should attempt to recreate the events to produce tachyons in order to retrieve the ensign." "Harry said that the tachyon particles were only a part of what he was told was an active timestream element," the captain replied. "I'm not entirely sure what he meant by that but he mentioned that he met an alien named Cosimo who revealed to him that he was in the wrong universe and that all of this was an accident. Harry reported that Cosimo's race is capable of transcending parallel universes but for the sole purpose of studying other cultures." "We don't have the presence of this alien to assist us, therefore I wish to return to the surface and attempt to recreate the accident." "Seven, I'd rather you didn't do that just as yet. We can't be sure of how to control this alien technology so we'll never know which of the thousands of universes our Harry is in. What I will do, however, is send you a copy of the sensor information from the records. I don't think there's anything too conclusive but there may be something in those readings that can help you." The half-Borg considered this carefully, "Very well." "I'll have Tuvok send it to the Astrometrics Lab; I imagine that you'll be working from there." "Yes. Thank you, Captain." Seven turned to leave and just as she reached the door, Kathryn called her and she stopped. "One more thing: I noticed that you've changed the way you look," Janeway said as the half-Borg turned around. "It's not what I expected from you but it's not an unwelcome change, mind you. . ." Silence. "Would you care to tell me what made you decide to do that? Did Harry have anything to do with it?" The younger woman paused and thought. "Ensign Kim is of significance to me, but the choice to alter my appearance was my own," Seven replied before leaving the office. Seven walked into the Astrometrics Lab where she found the sensor data waiting for her. She examined the readings and made notes on her padd. The captain was right, however: the data wasn't too helpful in determining what circumstances caused Harry's first interdimensional experience. At that moment, someone entered the lab and Seven tilted her head slightly in her usual manner to see who her visitor was. "Seven," Tom Paris said as he stood near the door, stopping in his tracks as he saw her noticing him. "Is there something I can do for you, Lieutenant?" Seven asked. "I. . .uh, well, I was wondering how you're holding up. I mean, I know that you're a lot closer to Harry nowadays than I've ever been, and that's not to say I'm against that, but --" "-- Lieutenant, I don't have time to socialize with you. If you intend to assist me in returning our friend to us, I suggest you either convince the captain to let me beam down to the surface or leave. I have much work to do and this conversation is impeding my progress." "I'm sorry. It's just that you shouldn't feel that you have to do this alone. Harry's got friends here and all of them, including me, are willing to do anything that would get him back." "I understand your claim, Lieutenant, however, as you're aware of the relationship I have with him, you should also understand my claim. Unlike you, I have no other tasks to undertake at this time which allows me to concentrate my efforts in devising an effective method to return him to me." "To you?" Paris' eyebrows went up, mildly surprised. "I have a personal interest in this matter, perhaps more than you realize," the blonde woman replied quietly. "If you wish to be useful, I suggest you talk with the captain into allowing me to return to the ship below to attempt a re-creation of the accident." "You know that Captain Janeway isn't too eager to agree to that, Seven. She'd rather see some evidence that you could reproduce the same circumstances that got Harry into this mess in the first place. . .on the other hand, I'll see what I can do." "Thank you." Tom nodded before leaving the lab. Seven watched him disappear as she stood in her dais with the padd in her hand. She looked down at her data, concentrating on the work she had to do. Harry woke up to a soft but insistent shaking. His eyes opened to find the room's lights dim and the steady hum from the medical equipment around him. He turned his head and found someone crouched beside him. Kim couldn't determine who it was as dark clothes effectively concealed the identity of his visitor. More to the point, the face was hidden by a black mask. The person appeared to be in a hurry. "Who are you?" The ensign asked uneasily. No answer. The only response was a hand on his chest as if he was supposed to calm down. "What do you want?" Still no answer. The person helped him into a sitting position before laying a small device on the spot he had been sleeping on. Harry thought that as soon as he had left the med-bed, the vital signs display would immediately shut down but it didn't happen; he realized that the little device was emulating statistics for the sensors to detect. What I'd give to have one of those for my next check-up, he said to himself as the dark-clothed person got him to his feet. Even though he wasn't absolutely sure why, Harry had the notion to trust this mysterious person. He was being assisted off the bed when he saw a tiny flash of golden brown at the back of the person's head and he noticed that this person wasn't built like a man at all. He realized that his dark friend was a woman! It couldn't be Libby; her hair was a dark brown with no signs of flax. Whoever this person was, she was very strong for her size as his feet were barely touching the ground as they moved quietly out of the hospital room. Carefully avoiding occupied hallways, the two made their way to a certain door. On entering, Kim noticed the familiar layout of a transporter room. The woman set him on the pad before doing a little work on the transporter controls. As she worked, Harry could hear the firm footsteps coming down the hallway. "Those must be security guards," he said urgently. She said nothing; her mind concentrating on making a few finishing touches before stepping onto the pad with him. Moments later, the beam enveloped them and he found himself in a scientist's lab. It was much brighter here, thanks to the better lighting, and Harry was taken to an adjoining room where he was set down on a sofa. "Why am I here?" He asked tentatively. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kim, but I felt it was necessary to take you from the hospital. In all honesty, I don't think you wanted to stay there a moment longer." The voice was authoritative but gentle; it was very familiar. . . "Who are you?" She took her mask off, shook her head to let her golden-brown hair fall from its confines and turned around. Her face was _very_ familiar. "Seven?" Harry whispered to himself as eyes went wide. However, it wasn't Seven as the unmasked woman in front of him had no Borg implants anywhere. Not even the crescent-shaped visual implant. "I'm Doctor Hansen. Annika Hansen," she said. "Computer, the time," Seven asked as she continued to work in the Astrometrics Lab. "0143 hours," the computer replied. She blinked indifferently. By now, Harry would have insisted that they sleep in preparation for the next day. She didn't fully understand why, because her regeneration periods in her alcove provided her with a substantial amount of energy, and she had operated without regeneration for hundreds of hours on end. The Doctor had told her that despite her ability to absorb energy, her human physiology demanded a regular time of strict inactivity -- sleep. The half-Borg hung her shoulders and on deciding to call it a day, she left Astrometrics and took the turbolift to Cargo Bay Two. Once in her domain, she felt a kind of relief and a sense of resignation. She dropped her padd down and stepped up to the line of alcoves and the one that was hers. Seven closed her eyes and waited for herself to settle into regeneration mode but after a few minutes, she stepped out of her alcove, feeling uneasy. The computer reminded her that her regeneration period was incomplete, but Seven ignored the warning. She picked up her padd and took the turbolift to Deck Five. She walked down one corridor until she found his quarters and she went in (Harry had arranged for her clearance into his cabin) to find it empty, as she expected. What she didn't expect was the fact she was feeling oddly uneasy about this emptiness. She didn't like being alone and without her friend to be with her now, the effect on her was beginning to rattle her. Seven's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. She never felt this way before and she wasn't entirely sure why she was now. "'Ensign Kim is of significance to me. . .'" She had said to the captain earlier in the day. She didn't realize how significant this brash young ensign was to her. Aside from Captain Janeway, Harry was the only person on the ship who cared enough about her that it finally made an impression on her. She turned and went to the bedroom where they had spent the night with each other. She sat down on the edge of the bed and set the padd down on the night table beside her. Seven looked up at the ceiling and felt helpless to do anything. She was half-expecting him to appear and hold her close to him but she knew that wasn't going to happen tonight. She turned the covers and climbed into the bed, as she had watched him do several times before. Her eyes remained open, staring blankly in front of her. Seven remained that way for a long time before she slept. Annika put the rest of her belongings inside a drawer and promptly closed it while Harry sat on the sofa, still in partial amazement. She came around, looking at him expectantly. "Annika Hansen?" He asked, confused. "You have heard of me?" The blonde woman asked in return. "I suppose you should have, considering my work, but I wasn't aware that Starfleet had declassified the Starburst Project." Kim was silent; confusion taking a positive hold on him. What he wasn't confused about was the fact that something was wrong here and he needed to find a way back to Voyager. "Why did you bring me here? You must know that Starfleet will do anything to you once they find out that you've taken me," he said. "Mr. Kim (which I'll assume _is_ your real name), you appear to have knowledge about interdimensional travel between parallel universes since you seem to be experiencing the result of one. I brought you here because I want to know everything there is behind your so-called arrival into this universe." "You were at the hospital. . .but why should you believe me? The doctor didn't." "Let's just say that I'm one to keep an open mind. Others call me unorthodox, even deviant." "Deviant isn't a word I'd use to describe you. Unorthodox, maybe, since you've abducted a patient from a Starfleet hospital. What's more, they'll find out where you've taken me because it's recorded in the transporter logs." "Trust me, those logs have the longevity of a top quark. They are _not_ going to trace us here and by the time Starfleet figures out a way how to do that, it won't matter any more because it would be too late." He said nothing. "Look, I took you because I feel that you can help me and in doing that, I can help you. All I need is any and all information you have of your experience through parallel universes." "I don't know. . ." "I don't intend to 'interrogate' you, if that's what you think," she continued. "I just want to know how it happened and what's involved in the process. The sedative Dr. Stewart gave you has no real effective counteragent so it seems that I'll have to wait until tomorrow." She's patient but so ambitious, he thought. So much like Seven. "Now, we'll need the entire day tomorrow to begin this whole thing and if I feel so inclined, we'll work out a way to get you back to your reality," Annika said. "I've got a spare bedroom over there; sometimes I use it when I'm too tired to go home. I'll be back first thing in the morning at 6 a.m. -- that's 0600 in your Starfleet terminology. In case you need to contact me, there's a computer console with a direct link to my apartment." "Thanks, I really mean it." "Good night, Harry." Annika's lips curved slightly, in the same kind of smile that he knew Seven had whenever she was amused or otherwise happy. There were some things that were consistent about parallel universes and Harry was glad to see this one. She went to a closet, picked up a jacket, and left the lab. Kim stood up and looked around. From what he could tell from the equipment in the room, he surmised that Seven -- no, this was Annika -- was an engineer in this universe. There were models of several Federation starships lining a far counter. The noteworthy ones were: the Phoenix, Earth's first warp-capable ship, the Excelsior, Starfleet's first attempt at transwarp, the Intrepid, the prototype (of whcih Voyager was the third of this starship class) that incorporated a new warp field geometry, and others that he had never seen before. In the lab there were several interestingly complex experiments running at the moment, but he had the wisdom to leave them alone. Deciding that he shouldn't do anything else, compounded with his fatigue, the ensign made his way to the spare bedroom she had indicated. It was small and functional -- Seven would have approved of its spartan furnishings -- but there were a few padds lying here and there. Curious, he picked one up and read the title: A STUDY ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BORG TRANSWARP WITH FEDERATION STARSHIPS There's some Borg in the Annika of this reality, he chuckled. He thought about his familiar-yet-not-so-familiar benefactor. She was as beautiful -- she'd have to be since it appeared that she was the fully human version of his friend -- and, evidently, as strong as Seven. She dressed similarly to the way Seven was _now_: a single long ponytail of hair behind her back but her black clothes were far from effective in hiding the curvaceous nature of her body. Annika's clothes were like the ones Seven wore when the Voyager crew took back the ship from the Hirogen, after all those holodeck survival games. She's different, Harry told himself. This isn't the same person you love on Voyager. She's an engineer here and she's all human. He put the padd down and went to sleep. Seven woke up with a start, which was unusual for her; she always regained consciousness gradually, even when she started sleeping. She looked around the room and demanded the computer for the time. It told her that it was nearly 0700 -- far from the minimum of seven hours that the Doctor had recommended, but sleep would not return today. As well, sleep wasn't as effective as regenerating in her alcove but there was something appealing about the whole thing. The half-Borg slid off the bed, picked up the padd she left on the night table from before, and headed out of Harry's quarters. She walked into the turbolift and moments later she was in the mess hall. Seven looked left and right, noticing the regular breakfast crowd before she was met by a yellowish- orange, frizzy-haired Talaxian. "Seven, good morning!" Neelix greeted her cheerfully. "Might I say that you look absolutely ravishing this fine morning -- a definite change from the terribly plain outfit of yours. . . What can I do for your breakfast today?" She stared at him briefly. Normally, she would have taken the cup of nutritional supplements from the replicator but there was no avoiding the ship's cook. Harry had told her that it was impolite to brush away people, even if they were as annoying as Neelix was known to be. "What is it that you are offering?" She asked. "Well, I usually try to put out a variety of breakfast items for the crew; after all, variety is the spice of life and don't I know it!" Seven blinked; a kind of twitch to show disgust for the cliche. ". . .I think you'll appreciate this," the Talaxian was saying as he led her to his kitchen. "These are pieces of bread, soaked in eggs, fried, then served with syrup. I believe Captain Janeway calls them 'French toast?' Frankly, I'm not sure what that means but the crew like it and that makes me happy well enough." She said nothing while Neelix was preparing her meal. She looked at her padd, entered a few calculations and then looked up again. The cook was smiling broadly and making a noise. He is not speaking but the tones appear to be harmonic in nature, Seven thought. "What is that noise you're producing?" She asked directly. "Oh, that? I'm just humming to myself," Neelix replied. "Does it bother you? I can stop if it does." "No, it doesn't. It's a. . .curious sound." "Ah." The Talaxian dropped a few slices from the pan onto a plate, took cutlery and a napkin, and led her to an empty table. It was exactly as he had done when he had given her her first meal, the same day she felt drawn to a homing signal originating from The Raven. This time, she sat down without hesitation and she was well-aware of the purpose of the fork in front of her. "How're you feeling today?" Neelix asked inquisitively as Seven set her padd down and picked up the fork. "What do you mean?" "Tom told me that Harry disappeared yesterday and you made it a personal mission to get him back." She said nothing. "He also told me that you and Harry were. . .well, _close_," the chef added, lowering his voice. "Your concern is noted," the half-Borg replied. "I am, as humans would say, fine. Lieutenant Paris is not known to be a reliable source of information or otherwise, however he is correct in the fact that I've decided to undertake the task of retrieving Ensign Kim." "I see. Well, if you need anything -- someone to talk to -- you can always find me here and I'll be glad to do anything I can to help you out," Neelix said as he turned to leave her alone. "Thank you." The Talaxian paused, turned back, and grinned. "You know, I don't think you would've said that to me last year, that day when you first walked into the mess hall? If I remember, I took quite a hit from you before you stormed off. You even told me that I was going to assimilated and that 'resistance is futile," to boot." "I'm different now." "I can tell." The cook stood there, nodded and returned to his kitchen. Seven looked around the lounge and saw that the other officers of the ship were looking at her. Some of them were still unused to her change of appearance but most of them still liked to look at her, now more than ever before. The half-Borg gave them indifferent stares and looked at her padd. By now, she had a fairly good idea of the original situation that sent Harry into an alternate universe. As she chewed on her food, Seven compared her notes with the readings she had in her tricorder, which she didn't need, thanks to her eidetic memory. Conclusions were difficult to make at this point; the best chance she had to make one was to return to the alien ship and experiment with the space-time continuum manipulation equipment. The half-Borg quickly finished her breakfast and returned everything to the kitchen -- another courtesy lesson from the ensign. She left for the turbolift. Annika Hansen pressed her thumb against the security reader and unlocked the door to her lab. She went inside, hung her jacket in the closet and walked into the main part of the lab. Harry was already awake and he was staring intently at the experiments she was running. He stood straight on realizing that she was here. "I didn't touch anything," Kim said innocently. "I know you didn't, because if you did, you wouldn't be standing her talking with me right now," Annika replied. "That apparatus that's beside you over there. . .it's a modified miniature of the new standard warp core that Starfleet ships will use." He looked at the indicated experiment carefully. "Wait, it's not matter-antimatter. . ." "That's right, Harry, it's not. But you're an intelligent man, for a Starfleet officer from another universe. You tell me what's powering the warp core." The ensign looked at the core again. He noticed a small button on the side of the chamber, and after looking at Annika questioningly, he pressed it. A panel in the side of the core slid open and a bright bluish-white light filled the room. Shielding his eyes, he glimpsed into the core and saw a familiar particle structure. Harry staggered backwards, fearful of what he saw. "That. . .that looks like an Omega particle in there! But how?" Kim asked, remembering the Omega Directive that Captain Janeway had to execute about four months ago. "How did you stabilize the particle? It's supposed to be extremely volatile, and Starfleet issued the Omega Directive that demanded its destruction on sight." "Starfleet annuled the Omega Directive about nine months ago," the young woman replied. "That was after I managed to stabilize a stray particle at Proxima Centauri III. Of course, Starfleet thought it was a chance occurrence but they were curious to find out more, so at the Daystrom Institute, we developed another Omega. I re-calibrated the containment harmonic field to the inverse value of Omega's harmonic and it stabilized instantly." "If I remember correctly, Seven tried that when we were carrying out the Omega Directive. She said she succeeded but it was too late." "Seven? Who or what is Seven?" Hansen asked with raised eyebrows. Harry blinked. It was so strange to see the face of the woman he loved ask that particular question. He forced himself to remember that this was a different person, and that she wasn't a former Borg drone. "A friend," he said, hoping Annika wouldn't pursue the issue. "Your friend has a strange name." "It's what she wants to be called. She's been called that for almost all her life so it's kind of stuck to her, not that she minds." "I'm assuming Seven has another name -- her real name?" "You wouldn't believe it if I told you." "Try me." She's persistent -- another consistency that transcends realities, Kim observed. "Perhaps it'll be best if I told you a bit more about Seven," he said, and the two walked to the sofa where they sat down. "Let's hear it," Annika said. "In my universe, Seven is a former drone of the Borg collective. We severed her connection to the hive about a year ago and she's been living with us -- on Voyager -- ever since." "You have a drone on a Starfleet ship? I don't know about your reality, but the Borg are considered an enemy of the Federation. Having a drone onboard would be inviting disaster." "The Borg are dangerous, from where I come from. But since we cut her off from the collective, she's evolved into a different person who isn't concerned about assimilating entire worlds and cultures. She's a human being, like one of us, with a strengthening recognition of what it means to be human. She even looks like one right now." "If she was human, then that means she had a human name before her Borg designation. Did you ever find out what her real name was?" "Captain Janeway did a lot of digging in the Federation database but she managed to identify Seven's human identity. We assumed that she and her parents were the first humans encountered and assimilated by the Borg about 20 years ago." "So what's her human name?" The engineering scientist asked. "I don't think I should tell you that," Kim replied. "It might be quite. . .disturbing, to say the least. I'm asking you not to push it, please." "Mr. Kim, I've been gambling most of my life in dealing with Omega so I don't think that a name is any more dangerous than that." "The repercussions are more than you might realize, Doctor. You have to trust me when I say that it's in your best interests that I keep silent about Seven's name." Annika looked at him analytically, "You _are_ serious." "Quite serious, I'm afraid." "All right, I can understand that. I won't like it but I respect your judgement call. Perhaps when you trust me a bit more, you'll open up somewhat?" She smiled. "I think I'd like that," Harry nodded with an equal smile. "Good. Now, let's begin. . .assuming that what you've been saying all along is true, what were the circumstances that brought you to our universe? What was happening at the time?" They stood up from the sofa and went to one of the computers in the main part of her lab. "We were investigating wreckage on a planet's surface. Captain Janeway briefed us that there were distortions in space-time but there weren't any anomalies in the immediate vicinity of the wreckage. Seven and I beamed down to the surface and after picking up some low-level power readings, we came across some scientific equipment," Kim said. "What kind of equipment are we talking about here?" She asked. "We didn't recognize anything except for something that seemed to be a containment area. I accessed the computer terminal and although we couldn't translate the language, I was certain that we were dealing with equipment that can manipulate the fabric of space-time." "Hm. . .that isn't much to go on, but we can concentrate on the theory before moving onto the practical. Were there any indications of these manipulations of the continuum, other than the anomalies?" "Yes, once the system was operational, Seven mentioned that she was detecting elevated tachyon emissions, probably from the containment area. I can't be sure of that because we left before making a complete analysis of what was happening." "Tachyons. . .they're usually associated with distortions in the space-time continuum but they're also fairly common in EPS systems." "That's right; Voyager experienced an increase of tachyons when we were experimenting with using Borg transwarp with our engines. Needless to say, we weren't successful and we had to eject the warp core because it was destabilizing." "You would also have to be using your navigational deflector then. Borg transwarp is no simple process and it requires careful manipulation of subspace, and even that's difficult as it is," Annika stated. "Uh huh," Harry agreed with a nod. "Anyway, the tachyon particles were reaching critical levels when, I think, Voyager attempted to beam us out of the area. That's when I found myself here, in this universe." "Transporter technology is notorious for causing these kinds of problems, but since it's used widely and frequently, no one's taking the time to fully investigate and improve on it. It's possible that during transport, the beam triggered a chain reaction in the tachyon field that caused a general cascade effect. It would surely distort your patterns and because you were in close proximity to the tear in space-time, you ended up shifting between parallel universes." "That seems to make sense. I wish I had my tricorder here; I'm sure that it has all the details recorded." "If we're lucky, we could go back to the hospital and find it," Annika said. "I know it's a long shot, but unless I miss my guess, they will be examining whatever you brought with you today or even tonight." "We'll have to move quickly if we're going to get it back," Harry replied. "They're not going to keep it in the hospital much longer. It'll be too late if we went tonight, which means we'll have do it now." "_You_ aren't going anywhere, Mister. Have you already forgotten that Starfleet is out to get you (and I'm not talking about paranoia)? _I_ can get in without too much trouble; I did yesterday and they won't suspect me at all for helping you." "No offence but you won't know which tricorder it is unless I'm there to verify it. If you went alone, you'd be flying blind, really." "Look, a shot in the dark is better than no shot at all. If you get caught, we both lose. The risk is a lot lower if I went alone than if we went together." "Oh, c'mon, Doctor! You took a chance with Omega and you won. Are you telling me that you're not willing to risk it this time?" Annika looked at him defiantly. She was ready to punch him when she realized that he was on shaky ground himself. She looked at him closely and saw that this argument wasn't based on who was right and who was wrong, but this man actually _cared_ for her, and she couldn't place her finger on the reason why. Strangely enough, in her own unique way, she cared about him. The blonde relaxed her stare and looked down. "All right, I tell you what we can do that will do the trick," she said. "I've got a couple of old style flip-open communicators that are about a hundred years old. We can tune them out of standard Starfleet frequencies and use the civilian carrier wave. The trouble is that they are old equipment and their effective range isn't as wide as today's communicators. I'll walk into the hospital and you'll have to help me identify the right tricorder from outside. It can't be too far but with a little luck, we'll have it in minutes." "Then we'd better get a move on," Kim nodded. Some time later, they stood against the hospital building, and she gave him one of the old style communicators. She told him to wait for her to signal him first, and then she walked into the hospital. He crouched down, attempting to keep a very low profile. For what seemed to be an eternity, Harry waited and he began to think that she had been captured. He was relieved, however, when he heard the ancient beeping on his communicator, and he opened it. "It's me," Doctor Hansen whispered. "I'm in Stewart's office but I don't see anything here that looks like it's going to be inspected and is yours. Can you tell me something that can identify what's yours?" "I'm afraid not," Kim replied. "The tricorder should contain the readings about the tachyon, which means you'll have to open it. My comm badge, however, is a totally different story. I guess the only way to figure it out is to find a badge that's with the tricorder or something to indicate that it's going to be examined." "All right, maybe there's something here. . .?" She cut off the transmission for a while, and the only thing he could do was wait anxiously for her to come back online. Minutes later, he heard the beep again. "I think I found something but tell me what equipment you had when you were in that wreckage," she said. "A palm beacon, a phaser, my comm badge, and my tricorder," Harry replied in anticipation. "Good. Four for four. I'm on my way out." He sighed in relief. Annika stowed Harry's belongings into her jacket and headed out into the hallway when she saw Doctor Stewart approaching. She froze and hoped he didn't see her come out of his office. Cautiously, she began walking towards the exit and just as they passed each other, Stewart called her. Standing still for a second, she turned around and faced him. "Doctor Hansen, come to check up on your friend?" He asked. "Yes, I was asked to get a few little things to help him out," she replied, knowing she was applying Harry's case to the situation. "Ah, well, then he can't be too far from recovery." "In fact, he should be getting back home soon." "That's good to hear. Good day." The blonde woman waited for a few moments before hurrying out of the hospital. She found Kim waiting where she left him, and they went back to her lab. When they returned, he opened the tricorder and was relieved to find that all the information was still in active memory. He showed it to Annika, who took the tricorder and examined it. While they began to piece together the rest of the puzzle, Kim remembered something about this universe. Since he was on Earth -- the same Earth that he had been on before -- it would mean that _she_ would be here, too. Annika heard him sigh and she asked him what was bothering him. "It's a fact," he said, "that I've been in this parallel universe before. When I left it, I had a fiancee, Libby, who helped me escape by blocking the Starfleet security officers from following me. I thought that once I returned to my reality, this one would collapse since it was more of an altered timeline than anything else. Now that I find that the universe I left still exists, I think I owe it to my fiancee to look her up and see how she is. I mean, the situation didn't provide for a suitable farewell. I'm sure you understand all this." "Of course, but even if you wanted to communicate with her, it'd be highly risky to do it from here. No doubt Starfleet has told your fiancee that you're back and if they haven't, they'd surely monitor all transmissions to and from her; she _would_ be the first person you'd call, Harry. Perhaps it's best that you _don't_ contact her. Libby, by now, has gotten over the loss of you, and to suddenly show up again can be more devastating and destructive that you might imagine," she said. "Doctor! I know this could ruin your reputation but you _have_ to understand that we haven't seen our families and our friends in the Alpha Quadrant for four years!" "I can't let you put yourself in jeopardy! You're only asking for trouble, and we've gone this far that we can't afford to lose it all." "I _have_ to try!" The ensign made for the computer controls but Annika pulled him back and turned him around. Harry growled angrily but before he could fight back, he felt her kissing him with equal ferocity. He was totally shocked and completely caught off guard. The primal part of him said this was his half-Borg lover but the rational half said she wasn't who he thought she was. "Forget about Libby, Harry," Annika whispered. "As far as she's concerned, you're dead; there's no reason to make her think otherwise." Still in stupor, Kim was led to the spare bedroom. . . Seven's eyes narrowed as her fingers worked on her communicator. A few moments later, Captain Janeway entered the Astrometrics Lab. The half-Borg looked up briefly to see the captain waiting in anticipation for her, and she stopped what she was doing. "Seven, Tom's asked me on your behalf to let you return to the surface of the planet, and to experiment with the alien eqiupment in the wreckage below," Kathryn said. "That is correct," Seven replied. "Would you mind showing me what you've got so far?" The younger woman handed her the padd, and Janeway read it. In it were Seven's calculations, assumptions, and conclusions all laid out in logical order. The half-Borg noticed the captain's eyebrows raising as if to indicate her being impressed with the information provided, even though there was little to help Seven on the way. "All right, then. It seems that you have a good bead on this and while I'm here, I may as well let you know what I've decided. I know that you're also taking this matter into your own hands as a personal mission, but I should tell you that although I _will_ let you go back down, I won't let you do it alone there. Tuvok will accompany you to the surface and assist you. Mind you, this isn't up for debate; it's a proviso for my agreement to your request." "Very well." "Good. Carry on." Janeway handed Seven the padd back and left Astrometrics. Seven turned around and looked after the now-gone captain, interested in how their conversation proceeded. She tapped her comm badge and called for Tuvok, explaining that she planned to return to the wreckage. The Vulcan agreed to meet her in the Astrometrics Lab. Tuvok arrived in the lab and found Seven working by herself. He asked her what she was doing. "I'm enhancing my communicator to emit a distinct tachyon pulse signature and modifying this tricorder to receive it," the half-Borg replied. "I'm doing so because we haven't been able to communicate with Ensign Kim using standard subspace channels, and while the problem will persist when we return to the wreckage, I plan to use the communicator to establish a lock for the tricorder." "Interesting, I do not believe a tachyon pulse has been utilized in this manner," the Vulcan said. "Once a lock is established, how do you intend to use it?" "By creating a lock between the communicator and the tricorder, it will assist you in maintaining the alignment of the parallel universes, and keep the transdimensional portal open." "Fascinating. However, since the portal is created in this universe, how do you intend to return from the other?" "That is how you are to assist me. Currently, my communicator is set to emit a tachyon pulse at 1,500 megahertz. When I am about to return, I will modify the pulse to 3,000 megahertz, which will be your signal to restore the portal's activity." "You are assuming that the portal will open at your location." "There is no reason to assume otherwise. I've finished my modifications. We can return to the surface," she said, replacing her comm badge back. The two left Astrometrics and headed for the transporter room. A few minutes later, they were on the surface where Seven led Tuvok to the place where the space-time continuum manipulator was held. She saw the console that Harry had been using before, and she went over to it. Handing the modified tricorder to the Vulcan, Seven looked over the alien terminal carefully. Tuvok opened the tricorder and saw that it picked up her communicator's signal, nodding in approval. "I believe this is how Ensign Kim activated the portal," Seven said, tapping on the controls, "and I believe _this_ is how it can be stabilized. . ." They waited momentarily before a low resonant hum of energy could be heard. The containment area flickered several times before a steady green haze appeared in it. They watched the haze steady into a solid energy field and the half-Borg stepped closer to it. "Seven, what are you doing?" Tuvok asked. She didn't say anything; he knew that she heard him but he wasn't sure why she didn't respond. In the meantime, Seven walked with her hands outstretched towards the containment area. Before Tuvok could do anything, the young woman walked into the green energy. "Seven!" The Vulcan repeated but it was too late. He looked down at the modified tricorder she gave him, and he saw that it was picking up the tachyon pulse of 1,500 megahertz from her communicator. It was a small measure of comfort to know that her plan was working so far, but he decided to contact the ship. "Janeway here," the captain replied. "Captain, Seven has passed through the dimensional portal," Tuvok reported. "I am detecting her tachyon signature but I am uncertain how to maintain the portal's stability; she did not explain her methods." "I should expect that from her. Well, there isn't too much you can do right now, Tuvok, but keep an eye on the situation. I'm sure she has left _some_ indication of what she's done -- her padd." "Yes, she left her notes here; they appear to be highly advanced quantum physics in conjunction with continuual mechanics." "She probably thinks that you can figure them out." "I am not an astute physicist as Seven is, Captain." "Have faith, Tuvok. Have faith," Kathryn assured the Vulcan. Meanwhile, Seven found herself hurtling towards the ground, and as soon as she came in contact with it, she tucked into a roll and emerged on her feet. Flipping open her own tricorder, she scanned her immediate surroundings. There were several buildings around her, some dating back as far as the 20th century while others were consistent with 24th century architecture. In addition, people were walking on the streets, paying little attention to her. In a strange moment, Seven felt someone touching her but when she turned around, she found no one within arm's length of her. The half-Borg, eyebrows raised in interest, began her hunt for her friend and headed in one direction. Annika sighed as she laid next to Harry. She had been gentle with him, half-regretting her sudden spike of lust while remembering that if everything went well, Kim would disappear from this universe again. She knew that it was somewhat wrong of her to push him this way, but she felt that there was an inexplicable connection between them and it was almost _natural_ for them to be together intimately. Harry, on the other hand, appeared to be distracted. The engineering doctor looked up at him and shook her head. She was wrong about this whole affair and there was no way to take back what had been done. "I only meant to save Libby the grief that you would've caused if you contacted her," she explained apologetically. He said nothing. The blonde woman looked down. She realized that if he was trapped here, he might not forgive her. There was only one thing to do. "I think we'd better get back to work," Hansen said. "All right," was his only reply. They got up from the bed, dressed, and return to the lab. Without speaking of that moment, they resumed their work on his dilemma. Within a few hours, they created a working model of the tachyon portal; it was a smaller version, of course, but it was a beginning. Powered by an EPS supply, Annika prepared the model for activation. "Standby for power-up procedures," she said. Harry held the tricorder up and waited for her to throw the switch on. She did just that, and after a few painstaking minutes, a light green glow appeared. He scanned the energy field with his tricorder, cross-checking these results with the ones from the alien equipment. For the most part, everything seemed to be okay but as soon as he ran another test, the tachyon field dissipated. "What happened?" He asked. "It seems that electro-plasma system isn't providing enough energy to create a stable portal," Annika replied. "But there isn't anything we can acquire in short notice that can produce the amount of energy and the strength of a tachyon field we need." "What about the Omega system?" The doctor raised her eyebrows and looked at the mini-power plant. "Perhaps," she said, "that might just work. But we'll have to do some adjustments to make the equipment and the power supply compatible." They moved the portal device closer to the Omega particle core and began their modifications. Seven wandered the streets of San Francisco, keeping an eye on the tricorder. She knew it would be extremely difficult for her to find him since she had little to distinguish one person from another. She looked up and saw a pair of Starfleet security officers guarding a building. A quick assessment of the structure told her that this must be a Starfleet facility of some purpose. Perhaps she could tap into their sensor net to help track him down? She holstered her tricorder and stood across the street, looking at the guards. To use a human term, it would be almost impossible for her to get past them without being questioned unless. . . It wouldn't be perfect, as she hoped, but it stood a chance of working. Seven walked up to them, watching them watching her warily. She made it obvious that she was wearing a Starfleet communicator and she hoped that they would take it at face value. "I'm sorry but this is a restricted area for Starfleet personnel only," one of the guards said, much to her disappointment. "Identify yourself." Seven stood there in front of them without a word or a move. The second guard pointed to the communicator she wore and pointed it out to other officer. The half-Borg tuned her audio implant to focus onto their conversation. . . "How did she get a communicator?" "It could be a replica -- a fake." Meanwhile, two Starfleet officers walked up the steps and the guards stood at attention. One of the newcomers wore the red uniform of command while the other had a blue one of science. The command officer looked up and down at these security guards and asked them what was the matter. "Commandant," one of the guards began, "we believe this person is attemping at unauthorized entry here." "She refused to identify herself." "Doctor Hansen," the blue uniformed man said, "I know you're the eccentric type but surely you could make these guards' lives easier if you told them who you were." Seven was put on the spot as all eyes were on her. She had to come up with an answer quickly or they would get suspicious. "I was uncertain if they would accept my self-identification," the blonde woman replied. "I assumed that the guards would have an extreme form of paranoia, thereby refusing my admittance." "Ah," the commandant shook his head, "well, that _is_ how things are these days, I'm afraid. Doctor Hansen (is it?), what brings you here?" "I have been unable to locate a friend of mine. I hoped to use the planetary sensor net to find him. His communicator is. . .not in use right now, but I believe I can use other means to locate him." "I see. Well, normally we'd send security officers to track him down. . .that is, if your friend is still on Earth." "I believe that he is still in the city." "That would make things simpler, then, wouldn't it? All right, if you insist, then we'll allow you access to the sensors," the commandant said. "Doctor Stewart, I'm holding you responsible for vouching for Doctor Hansen." "Of course, Commandant," Stewart nodded. The guards were ordered to stand aside and the three entered the building. Seven looked left and right, fully aware that the ruse was temporary and that the commandant and this Doctor Stewart would suspect something wrong. She had to get rid of them somehow and soon. For now, she followed the two officers to the commandant's office where there was a direct access to Earth's planetary net. Presently, a lower-ranking officer entered the office -- apparently an aide to the commandant. "If you will excuse me, Doctors," the commandant said, "but I'm needed elsewhere for the time being. Doctor Hansen, take your time with the sensors but please don't take _too_ much time." "I understand," Seven replied as she sat down at the computer. She quickly accessed the system while Doctor Stewart looked on. For a while, there was nothing remarkable to indicate Harry's location, and Seven sighed. Stewart heard her sigh. "Any luck?" He asked. "No," the half-Borg replied softly. Suddenly, the planetary sensors picked up an unusual increase of tachyons in a section of the city on the other side. In her mind, this was the best bet that Harry would be there. He might be trying to put together a portal for himself. Whatever the case, she had to get there. "Doctor Stewart," she said, "I need to reach this place." "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that your lab?" Stewart asked. "Yes." "I suppose, then, that your friend's been leading you on a wild goose chase." The half-Borg said nothing, knowing that her inquiry about the pursuit of an untamed bird would make her look silly . "Well, there aren't any transporters here which means you're left with getting there on foot or using a hover transport -- but you knew that already, Doctor." "Of course," Seven became very wary again. "All right, I'll see if I can arrange a hover with the commandant. Wait here while I talk with him." Stewart disappeared and Seven was left to think about the next few events. She knew that her ruse wouldn't last much longer. She waited a few minutes when Stewart reappeared. "C'mon, the commandant's lending us his hover," he announced. "We have about an hour." They left the commandant's office and Stewart piloted the hover to Annika's lab. When he deactivated the hover, causing it to land on the ground, the doctor was about to get out. "Let's take a look, eh?" He suggested. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but I can't let you proceed any further," she decided that this was the best time for her to take him out. "Huh?" Swifly, the half-Borg struck Stewart at the base of his skull, just as she had done to Harry so long ago. He was instantly knocked out, and he slumped over the controls of the hover. She got out and slowly went towards the door to the lab. She examined the security lock and found it to be a fingerprint-based system. This Doctor Stewart referred to me as Doctor Hansen, she thought. If this is supposed to be my lab, then this security system should accept my fingerprint. Seven applied her right, human hand to the lock and, as expected, the seal was unlocked and the door opened. Quietly, she went inside. Harry tried entering the parameters of the alien portal again and after a promising beginning, the energy field collapsed again. Annika was visibly frustrated. She began to doubt his word about coming from another universe when she decided to get a drink from the replicator. While she was gone, Kim continued to tinker with the device in front of him when he heard definitive clicks of heels coming toward him. It can't be Annika -- she doesn't wear heels, he thought. Turning around, he felt his jaw fall onto the floor when he saw Seven standing in the doorway. "Seven!" He cried happily. "Harry," the half-Borg replied with a smile. They came together and they hugged each other fiercely. "How did you get here? How long have you been here? How are we going to get back?" "Answering your questions in order: I reactivated the alien portal from our universe, approximately six hours, and Tuvok is waiting for my signal to reactivate the portal agian." "Harry?" Doctor Hansen asked from the other room, curious about the voices in the lab. "That voice. . .it sounds like my own," Seven mused in wonder. "It's a long story, I'll tell you when we get back," Kim replied. "Very well. I need to modify my communicator to emit a tachyon pulse at 3,000 megahertz." Taking a filament from the table, Seven took her communicator off and began to adjust its settings. Harry waited with anticipation while he gently held her body to him. "Harry?" Annika insisted, her voice drawing closer. "C'mon, we'd better get a move on, Seven," he said. "I'm working as quickly as I can, Harry," she replied when she heard a distinctive beep, indicating her modifications were complete. Within a minute, a hazy green light appeared in the lab. It was steadying into a stronger green haze and Seven felt pleased to know that Tuvok was able to reactivate the portal from their universe. "Go," she told him. Without a word, Harry ran into the green light that enveloped him in a flash. Just as Seven was about to enter the portal, she heard a gasp from behind her. She turned around and saw Annika Hansen staring back at her. The two looked at each other, frozen for an instant. "Doctor Hansen, I presume?" The half-Borg asked inquisitively. "Yes, but who are you?" The human asked in reply, realizing that this other woman looked and sounded exactly like her. "I am Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01." Hansen gasped as it dawned on her why Harry refused to identify this mysterious Seven earlier. Before Annika could say anything more, Seven turned around and stepped into the green light as it collapsed on itself.