Author's Note: Not the most confident in this first chapter, but a story of this nature can't really launch in any specific way.
I would also like to credit MobMotherScitah, a fellow Fanfictioner and close personal friend of mine, for assisting in coming up with some of the concepts you will see later on. She isn't quite the Trekkie I am, but if your'e a Kamen Rider/Doctor Who fan, give her a look-see. Ok, enjoy!
Ensign Harry Kim's Personal Log: Stardate 51098.2.
I've been using my down-time wisely since Captain Janeway's been on edge lately. Started around the time Seven of Nine was admitted into our little fold, and with good reason. I haven't exactly been myself, either. The shock of the virus Species 8472 infected me with still lingers. I don't mean the sensation, but the processing of what happened. I'm not sure just how things are gonna develop from here. I know one thing, though...Voyager won't be the same without Kes around.
The Ensign sits on his bed dressed in basic pajama-wear. With a heavy sigh, Kim presses a button next to his bed, ending the Personal Log he just recited.
"Computer, what's the time?" Kim asks aloud.
"ZERO ONE-HUNDRED FIFTY HOURS."
Would he even sleep tonight? He wasn't sure. Kim felt bad complaining considering that there were others aboard the ship that had it worse. Seven of Nine in particular, who was only accepted two days ago, and even then...'accepted' was a loose classification. She was in a new world. New sensations, new ideology; and eighty percent of the ship just short of hostile towards her.
Granted, given her origins, reactions like those were unavoidable and unsurprising.
The Ensign lays down on the bed, tucking himself into a side-faced position.
There was always tomorrow, Kim supposed. Maybe he'll try to approach her tomorrow. Give her a tour. If nobody else was gonna do it, he might as well, right?
And with that, Kim closes his eyes, and goes to sleep.
As the Ensign sleeps, a brief light shines in a corner of the room, isolated across from Harry's bed. A woman materializes from the light; almost out of nowhere. Auburn hair, eye pupils as solid and singular as clear glass. Her garb suggests a fortuneteller of sorts. A multi-colored robe of red and blue dons her entire body, brown moccasins covering her feet.
"I've scanned your mind." She whispers to the sleeping man, walking up to his bed as quietly as she can muster. "So...neutral to the universe. You do not fear the unknown. For this, You shall be our conduit."
At this point, she's neck-and-neck with Harry.'s sleeping frame; their heads practically touching. The woman rises her right hand, extending her pointing finger upwards. A red light shines from her raised finger as she slowly lowers it towards the Ensign's exposed neck. The light travels off of her finger and onto Harry's skin, almost as though it were bleeding onto him.
The scene zooms closer onto Harry's neck as the light begins to fade. Dimmer...Dimmer...And dimmer...until it simply vanishes.
The woman then vanishes too, leaving the sleeping Ensign to his privacy.
"Appearances...Mindsets...Rules..." Says the woman's voice, which begins to trail away. "Merely the surface of the unknown. Can this one see deeper...?"
Kim wakes to an odd feeling.
"Computer. What's the time?" Asks Kim aloud.
"TIME IS NINE-HUNDRED HOURS."
"Aw, crap..." Says the Ensign, who struggles hurriedly out of bed. "The meeting was at oh seven hundred!"
Kim opens his closet door hurriedly, only to find...Suits? No. He wasn't sure what these shurts were meant for...Nothing in the closet looked familiar.
"Wait. Where's my uniform?" Kim wonders. "Ugh, no time."
Kim runs up to the Replicator in his room, pressing the glowing buttons to turn it on.
"Starfleet-issue Ensign uniform; Size: Medium-3. Shirt and pants." Kim says, hoping that the Replicator can provide him with a new uniform.
"THOSE PARAMETERS ARE NOT RECOGNIZED. PLEASE TRY AGAIN."
He was in a hurry, the last thing Kim needed now was a Replicator malfunction.
"A medium uniform combo." Harry says a bit more calmly. Maybe a simpler inquiry would speed the process?
The Replicator hums to life as something materializes in the slot it posesses.
Harry picks up the result...Another black shirt just like the ones in the closet.
"Screw it all!" Thinks the Ensign; putting on the black, monotone shirt and pants.
Harry looked back at his unmade bed. He'd hear it from Tuvok later; but he didn't care. Pinning his Starfleet communicator (Which was resting on the table by the bed) onto his chest, the Ensign rushes out of the door.
Harry runs throughout the hall to the Command Room. Nothing inside of Voyager looked familiar. The walls were a dull blue color. Everyone was wearing the same dark black uniform he was. A hand extends from the Turbolift door Harry was heading for, as an officer holds the door open for him.
"Thanks." Says Harry, as the Lift door closes behind him. "Bridge."
As Harry catches his breath, he couldn't help but notice the officer next to him giving him a suspicious look. Almost as though she were waiting for Harry to attack her.
Something in Harry's mind warned him not to say anything.
The Lift stops a moment, as the officer leaves; the doors releasing and closing with hissing noises.
"Why was she so hostile?" Harry thinks to himself. "I don't even know her..."...Which was another problem. While Harry wasn't familiar with the identity of every member of the crew, he did know everyone's face.
Harry chalked it up to morning fatique.
The Turbolift reaches it's destination as the door opens. The next sight only made him feel worse.
The bridge configuration was entirely modified. Usually, the door opened next to Tuvok's console. Then the Bridge was in front of it, a bit to the left. In this case, the lift stopped above everything; as all of the consoles were combined into a single, massive interface positioned in front of the view monitor.
But that wasn't even the worst part.
The crew...
For the most part, everyone looked the same, sans the uniforms. Though, the white, glowing collars they were wearing on their necks made Harry uncomfortable.
Captain Janeway of the Voyager stood up, facing the view monitor as Tuvok, Tom...and for some reason Neelix...were tapping away at the buttons on the massive interface. Kim noted how Janeway was the only one of the group not wearing a collar.
"Status of the warp core?" Janeway asked.
"Warp core stable. Maximum warp for now is Warp 4." Says Tuvok.
"Mister Neelix, ETA for our next rendevous with the Kazon Scouts?" Asks Janeway.
"One hour, twelve minutes." Replies Neelix. Kim noticed how nervous he sounded.
"Good." Says Janeway."They're a soft people, but their punctual...And honest. We need all the allies we can get right now."
"The Kazon?" Kim thinks to himself. "Soft? Allies?"
This wasn't his Voyager. Couldn't be...
"Captain, the scout cruiser is five lightyears away." Says Tuvok.
"Good." Janeway says. "Remain at impulse. Neelix, remember that plan we discussed?"
"Of course." Neelix says, turning to face Janeway. His nervousness was getting worse. His eyes showed fear. As though he were afraid of her.
"The moment that cruiser makes contact, send that carrier wave." Janeway says. "I don't care how far we are from Regime space, Lord Khan can always use that data."
"Lord Khan?" Kim thinks. "...As in...Noonien Singh?"
Janeway turns to see Kim staring at them from the Turbolift.
Shit! That'll teach Kim to play spy on a populated bridge from the most conspicuous area: The elevator EVERYONE used.
"Your'e late, Mister Kim. What kept you?" Asks Janeway.
"I overslept, Captain." Kim says. For now, he'd play along. "I wish I had a better excuse, but I don't."
"Wait." Janeway says, eyeing Kim menacingly. She walks closer to him, her hands still positioned behind her back.
Their faces meet, as do their eyes.
"Where...is...your...Designation collar?" Janeway asks, her eyes filled with anger. The calmness in her voice was not genuine.
"It's...still in my quarters." Kim says hesitantly. Chances of her buying that were slim to bupkus.
Janeway's gaze furrows into disgust.
"You know the punishment for ignoring Regime regulations." Janeway says, snapping her fingers loudly.
In a moment, Tom and Tuvok are both on top of him.
Kim struggles futilely, as the combination of Vulcan strength and Human cunning hoist him up by the arms.
Janeway digs into her belt, revealing a gun-like weapon.
"Wait...What-" Kim asks, struggling to get free of the arms holding him steady.
"Harry, just be quiet and go with dignity." Tom whispers into his ear.
"I concur with Mister Paris." Tuvok interjects.
"Any last words, Mister Kim?" Janeway asks, aiming the weapon at Harry's chest.
"I'm not the Kim you know!" Harry shouts, struggling harder. "I'm not from here!"
"So your'e a spy?" Janeway asks with an evil chuckle. "No wonder. Harry's the most legal of us all. He'd never obey even the tiniest rule. Well, your honesty was a kind gesture. After we examine your body, we'll put in a good word to your superiors. It's the least I can do. Now close your eyes."
So what? Was he going to die here? In some distant world? At the hands of these...impostors?
Janeway...Tuvok...Tom...Neelix...B'elana...Hell, Seven too...
This Janeway fires her weapon, as a red concentrated beam flies toward Harry.
Harry closes his eyes, bracing himself for the end...
Everything goes white and...Nothing.
After a second, he opens his eyes.
He looks around. He's back in his room, on his bed.
Kim could feel the communicator pinned to his chest. (Well, his pajamas at the moment...)
Harry gets up, opening his closet door.
Starfleet uniforms, size medium-3.
"Computer, what's the time?"
"TWO-HUNDRED HOURS."
So, he was only asleep for ten minutes?
One hell of a dream.
Kim moved his arms to stretch, only to re-coil them back. Some slight pressure near the elbow on both sides...Almost as though they'd been...pressured.
The hell was his body doing before?
Maybe he slept on them wrong?
It was strange.
But, he'd dwell on it in the morning.
Multiversal Compendium Entry #1
Khan-Verse
Status: Active
Risk Level: Medium
The first universe Harry Kim of the U.S.S. Voyager is warped to. In this universe, Events unfold like their prime counterparts up until Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise made first contact with Khan Noonien Singh on Stardate 2267. In this reality, Kirk's crew was defeated by the tyrant Augment; and made to serve the colony he founded on Cel Alpha V using a mind control agent secretly developed by one of Khan's advisors during his attack on the Enterprise in 2267.
Through years of amassing resources and followers, (As well as ushering an alliance with the Klingons in 2400 and later the Romulan Empire in 2686) Khan and his followers declared war on the Federation of Planets in 3000, emerging victorious through a massive assault on the planet Earth (And by extension, the headquarters of the UFOP) in 3162.
Khan's despotism transformed the Federation of Planets into the militaristic Unification Regime. While the Regime shared the Federation's ideal of exploring new worlds and maintaining peace, that peace was bought through force, the usurping of freedoms, and a Darwinistic-style military. While freedoms were low, Regime-controlled planets were noted for having crime rates of only 0.5%; and employment rates of 95%; having the strongest economy in the Alpha Quadrant.
Officers were trained to obey a superior to the letter; and torture devices were commonplace to ensure loyalty. (Though they generally gathered dust, due to training and conditioning, which made such situations rare) Regime Starships kept tabs on every being aboard them, and shock collars were used to discipline Soldiers and maintain an organizational atmosphere. While compassion and relationships were discouraged, betrayal was the highest offense and was punishable by instant death at the Captain's discretion.
The Harry Kim of this Universe: Was the Tactical Officer aboard the G.S.S Voyager. Known for a complete dedication to Regime principles...and for a complete disdain of Regime regulations. While awaiting execution, A special situation allowed him to force a truce with Voyager's crew to ensure his and their survival when they were flung to an unknown region of space; overlooking his ignorance of tact in exchange for his stellar services. since Voyager was operating on a skeleton crew at the time. (Whether this still holds is unknown, though considering the stardate in which the Prime Kim entered this reality implies that it does.)
After the Prime Kim's brief summon to this universe, The fate of this world's Harry Kim is uncertain; though it can be assumed he resumed service, albeit with a much tighter leash.