Author's note: This is my first attempt at a fanfic. Though I joined up with Fanfiction.net some time ago, I never really had the urge to write anything until now, so please send me constructive criticism via AIM or e-mail.
Disclaimer: I have great reverence for Gene Roddenberry and the universe that he created. All I'm doing is just playing in it. Star Trek: Voyager is his, not mine, nor would I be so dishonorable as to take it away from him. I'll make some aliens for the story, but they're mere ants in a very, very big world that is not my own. So, not mine. Don't sue me.
Flesh and Steel: Chapter 1
The USS Voyager, a Federation vessel stranded in the delta quadrant, is dedicated to two things: 1) Getting back to Earth, and 2) Discovering new life and civilizations, since they were there anyways.
At the moment, they were doing much of neither, and ensign Harry Kim had to stifle a yawn. Surprisingly, the warp core had started degrading well before the predictions of chief engineer B'Elanna and the calculations of astrophysics officer Seven of Nine. In order to understand and fix the problem, they had to it shut down, which meant that Voyager was stuck in space, far from any civilization.
Which meant that while engineers on board were up and about, trying to figure out what was going on with their power source, Harry Kim was stuck monitoring dead space. For the past four hours, he'd been standing at attention waiting for anything, anything to come along and start his day. Unfortunately, nothing came up except for a slight backache from standing for so long.
Captain Kathryn Janeway was not too pleased about the situation either. Every half an hour she alternated between asking Engineering about their progress, and asking whether anything appeared on scanners. Whatever question she asked, the response didn't please her.
This time however, the question was different. "Harry." The captain began.
"Yes, Captain?" Harry replied, and realized with shame that he was slouching. He corrected the problem immediately.
Janeway smiled. "You look bored, Ensign. Why don't you take the rest of the day off, there's no need to have you bored at your station, since there's nothing out there."
Harry felt a brief sense of indignation. He was a Starfleet officer, not to mention an ensign that has had more experience than some lieutenants in the Alpha quadrant. And here his captain was coddling him! He squelched the indignation under a sense of gratitude for having the day off, and hid the internal conflict under a stoic mask. "Thank you, captain."
It was just at that moment that the ops station went dark, then flickered to life. Both Harry and Janeway frowned at the discrepancy, and the rest of the crew looked around in confusion. The power fluctuation seemed to only affect the ops station, and nothing else.
"What is it, Ensign?" Chakotay asked, rising from the seat. Any unusual event on such an ordinary day was worth noting.
Harry switched to reserve internal scanners and scanned the ship. "Nothing. It's just a problem in the EPS conduits on deck 10, only affecting the scanners though."
Janeway tapped her comm. badge. "Janeway to engineering. Can you spare an engineer to go down and repair a conduit?"
B'Elanna's frustrated voice rang over the comm. "Negative, Captain. We have all hands working on the warp core, and we still haven't figured out what happened to it. If we send someone, it'll just take that much longer to figure out what the hell's going on."
Harry spoke up. "Captain, if I may, I'd like to repair the conduit. I have some basic engineering skill, and could patch it up until the proper officers can look into it."
Janeway and Chakotay exchanged amused glances. If Harry was bold enough to volunteer, then he MUST be bored. "Very well," Janeway answered in her faux regal voice. "Ensign Rainworth, take over at Ops."
Harry smiled as the turbolift doors closed. Perhaps this play was a little more boring than most, but at least he got to do something today.
----
Dragging a repair kit alongside his body, Harry made his way through 40 meters of jefferies tube to meet his destination. On normal days, he'd hate to be one of the engineers who routinely gain calluses from crawling through the junctions, but this time it was relief from the monotony of the bridge and exercised his stiff legs. The only condition that would make this better would be to have Seven crawling in here with me to help, Harry grinned. Most men and not a few women would like to spend time with the beautiful woman, if only her taciturn manner didn't get in the way. Harry noticed that a more human attitude is starting to brew under the cold exterior; during the incident on the Dauntless, he noted the slight smile that brightened her face after he told her how essential she was to the Voyager crew. Of course, spending time alone with the former drone would mean being subject to odd and somewhat embarrassing questions about humanity. Harry turned red at the memory of Seven demanding him to strip and "copulate" in the name of scientific curiosity. And suddenly, having Seven to himself seemed to be better as just wishful thinking.
Before long, the Tricorder at his side beeped to tell him that he arrived at the junction where the EPS conduit blew out. He was glad he programmed the proximity sensor on the tool, or else he would have crawled right past it while lost in thought. The damage didn't look too extensive; a simple power disconnect, though he couldn't understand how an EPS conduit could just shut down. Harry sighed; leave the thinking to the professionals. All he needed to do was replace the conduit and get back up to the bridge.
Just before he even touched the misbehaving part, the back of Harry's head slammed into the opposite wall as Voyager rocked around him. "Damn!" He cursed, rubbing his head.
Half a heartbeat later, Red Alert sirens began screaming, and blood red lights pulsating cast a crimson glow on the tight corridor. "All hands to battle stations! We're under attack!" Captain Janeway said, a tint of panic edged her words.
Kim, slightly nauseous, started crawling forwards in hopes of finding an exit quickly. Conduit be damned, Voyager's never been this vulnerable ever before and if they were under attack his place was on the bridge. He needed to get there as soon as possible, and the auxiliary sensors would have to do for the upcoming battle.
But it seemed that the Gods of Fortune had something else planned for Harry. Before he could crawl half a foot, another explosion rocked Voyager causing an overload in the conduit in front of him and knocking him unconscious.
----
"Harry. Harry."
Harry opened his eyes the second time he heard his name. From what he could tell, he was in a stone courtyard, with minature stone towers and trees placed at seemingly random intervals. Swords, spears, blunt objects, and all kinds of ancient weapons hung glittering on the courtyard walls. But the speaker was nowhere to be found.
"Harry." The voice called again.
"Yes?" called Harry cautiously. "Who is this? Where am I?"
"Do you not recognize this place, Harry?" The seemingly omnipotent voice sounded disappointed, forlorn. "This is your heritage. This is where you came from, this is who you are meant to be."
"No," Harry started shaking his head and backing up at the same time. "No. My destiny is my own, who I am meant to be. I am not made to be some ancient weapon of destruction. I want to discover! I want to research! This," he proclaimed, gesturing to the weapons on the walls, "this is my ancestor's past, and nothing more."
The wizened voice continued with sorrow, promising future regret, saying. "The more you deny it, the more peril you will find yourself in. Take up the sword, or your family will perish. Take up the sword, and be the savior of your family, as I only know you can, my son."
Harry canted his head to one side, straining to comprehend. "Dad? Is that you?"
Silence.
"Dad?"
Beep.
"Dad?"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
----
The shrill beeping of his tricorder brought Harry back into wakefulness. The next thing he noticed was pain. It pulsed in his whole body as a dull ache, making him feel like he was sunburned. His back and head had sharp pains when he moved. It was then that he realized what the tricorder's alarm meant: he was being poisoned by theta radiation by the exposed conduit even as he lay there. Because the way forward was blocked by debris, he painfully brought his body around and made his way back to where he came.
----
With an all mighty heave, he brought himself out of the jefferies tube and into the darkened corridor where the only illumination was from the red alert. The 40 meters had crawled seemed like miles in his weakened state: he would have to go to sickbay and get inoculated. As he walked to sickbay, he tried to get a report from the bridge. "Kim to Janeway."
No response.
He frowned, from both his aches and the communication failure. "Kim to Janeway, please respond."
No response.
"Computer, please locate Captain Janeway."
"Captain Janeway is not onboard Voyager."
A chill ran down his spine as he heard the response. Suddenly, he realized that he should've seen people buzzing about, repairing damage or trying to get to sickbay like him. "Computer, locate Commander Chakotay."
"Commander Chakotay is not onboard Voyager."
His throat and mouth were dry before, but now they were stuffed with cotton, and Harry found it hard to breathe. Stopping to take a ragged breath, he asked the computer in a trembling voice, "Computer, how many lifesigns are aboard Voyager at this moment, and who are they?"
The computer responded in a cool voice that belied the drastic situation. "There is one lifesign aboard Voyager."
Harry's eyes widened.
"That lifesign is Harry Kim."
To be continued....