A/N:I am so sorry that this has taken so long. I'm afraid life has been extremely busy as of late. Well, enjoy.
Harry Kim's Personal Log, Stardate 52369.06: I just got off duty. Tonight is the night. I'll be on my way to pick up Seven after I change. Tom and I worked all week on this program, and I think he's just as excited about it as I am. He's been pushing me hard every single day to help him in the holodeck. I've only seen Seven twice since that dinner the night after the nebula, and I'm not sure that Tom has seen B'Elanna at all. With any luck, tonight will make it all worth it.
Harry Kim strolled down the hall toward Cargo Bay Two. He had chosen a loose blue shirt with long sleeves and dark gray pants for the occasion. As he stepped to the door, it opened revealing the darkened cargo bay with a row of Borg re-generator alcoves. He didn't immediately see Seven of Nine, so he stood just outside the open door and waited.
After a moment, he called out, "Seven?"
A woman that Harry didn't immediately recognize came around the corner. She had shoulder length blond hair and was dressed in a pastel blue and teal dress. Only after a moment did he realize that the woman was Seven, but with her hair down and wearing something other than the tight fitting outfits that the Doctor had created for her.
Seven looked down self consciously, "Is this not appropriate? I could change..."
Harry finally unlocked his hanging jaw, "No, no. You look...amazing."
Seven smiled, and her cheeks flushed. Harry's heart skipped a beat. That entire week of work was worth it just for that one smile, he thought. He had seen her smile before, but this was entirely different. It was something wholly feminine and beautiful. Something about the way the pieces fit together created a perfect, flawless whole. Harry had been attracted to many women before, but it was in this moment that he decided he would never be attracted to another woman ever again.
"Shall we go?" she asked.
He mentally shook himself, "Right, yes." He turned with her and moved toward the entrance of Cargo Bay Two. They stepped into the hallway and as they walked, Seven slid both of her hands around Harry's left arm. That sensation, that light touch, caused his heart to skip a beat again.
They met Tom and B'Elanna at the entrance of Holodeck one. Seven was glad to see the two. Over the last week, in the absence of Tom and Harry, she and B'Elanna had become quite friendly. She was quickly learning that there were certain things that only another female of similar age could understand. Seven got the sense that B'Elanna was glad to have someone to confide in, as well. She was close to Chakotay and, much like Seven herself, looked up to Captain Janeway. But not having any other senior female officers close to her age must have been a very lonely existence. Seven could relate.
Tom and Harry each took a place to a side of the doorway, almost as though presenting something to the captain. Tom cleared his throat.
"You both know," he said, in a slightly official tone, "that we have been spending every waking moment, while not on duty, on this program."
B'Elanna rolled her eyes, "Tom, just open the door."
He turned and touched the control pad, "Computer, run Luna Park One."
The computer chirped, then responded, "Program active. You may enter when ready."
He exchanged a knowing glance with Harry before touching the control panel. The doors hummed open revealing a scene like nothing Seven had ever encountered. A blacktop road led to a large, terraced gate. Lights ran along the surface at the corners and in its many decorative grooves. It stood over fifteen meters tall. Gigantic letters, also lined with bright lights, declared it to be 'Luna Park'.
As she stepped across the threshold, the smell of the place washed across her. Cool air blown in from a salt water ocean caressed her face. There was something else, something appetizing. It was something she had never experienced before, but the aroma instantly made her salivate. Whatever it was, she wanted to find it, now.
Seven glanced at B'Elanna and saw that she was smiling with childlike wonder. She glanced in Seven's direction and, upon making eye contact, smiled brighter. Seven smiled in return and in unison, they looked back to their respective dates. Tom and Harry stood, watching their reactions.
"Tom," B'Elanna said, rushing forward to embrace him, "This is amazing!"
Harry watched them for a moment before he looked to Seven expectantly. Seven, for her part, was unsure of what to do. She thought that she should show some appreciation for all of the hard work that they had done, but running to Harry and embracing him as B'Elenna had done seemed too familiar. She wasn't even sure if they were officially dating yet. Was this their first date? Was it their third? What would she do in either case? The Doctor's social lessons hadn't actually covered the nuances of romantic interaction.
In the end, she settled on a question, "What is that smell?"
Harry's slumped shoulders and B'Elanna's muffled laughter told her instantly she had made the wrong choice. She stared at Harry's hurt expression for what seemed like an eternity before Tom came to her rescue.
He took a deep breath through his nose and said, "The fresh sea air, or the corn dogs?"
Seven walked toward the other three, "Neither. I want to know what the food is."
This time, they all chuckled. Harry stepped forward, a smile on his face. Seven was relieved to see it. It was a very attractive expression on him. As he approached, she, almost instinctively, reached out and grabbed his hands with hers.
"Corn dogs are a food, Seven," he said, "They're made by dipping hot dogs, a kind of meat product, in a batter of corn meal and frying them."
"Then the meat is from a member of the Canis Genus," she stated, believing she understood.
Harry chuckled again, "No, that's just a name. The meat comes from cows."
Seven was confused, "Then the name 'hot dog'..."
"Doesn't make any sense," Tom answered.
"I see," she said, "so the 'Corn Dogs' are the food I smell."
Harry smiled, "Yes, and if you like, we can get some."
Seven felt a smile touch at her lips, "Yes, I would like that very much."
"Then we'd better get going," Tom said, grabbing B'Elanna's hand and leading her toward the gigantic gate, "What do you say we get some tickets."
Harry, still holding one of Seven's hands, led her behind the other two toward the park.
"Tickets?" B'Elanna asked, "Why do we need tickets? This is your program after all. Why can't we just walk in?"
"It's all part of the experience," Harry answered, "We wanted it to be as authentic as possible."
Seven gazed upward at the imposing arch, made all the more impressive the closer they got to it, and smiled. "I think you did an amazing job."
Harry couldn't remember ever having a more wonderful night. They had started by getting corn dogs, and they were delicious. Then they had ridden several of the rides, including the famous 'Trip to the Moon', for which the park was named. Seven had commented that the whole idea of walking on the surface of Earth's moon while the 'Moon Maidens' danced around them was completely ridicules. Even still, once they reached the 'Palace of the Man on the Moon', she seemed just as excited about the whole experience as everyone else.
After that, they had played several midway games. Seven had, predictably, beaten them all with ease, winning several prizes for everyone. After a while, the others didn't even play, preferring instead to watch Seven amaze the vendors with her skills.
Harry and Seven now sat in one of the cars near the top of the Ferris wheel, Tom and B'Elanna having gotten in the one just above them. As they rose, the darkness of the ocean stood out in stark contrast against the lights of the city just beyond it. A white streak, created by the full moon, wavered across the surface of the water. Near the top, the Ferris wheel slowed to a stop.
Seven looked over the side, "Is it supposed to stop?"
Harry smiled, "Not normally. But Tom and I thought you and B'Elanna might like a little more time to appreciate the view."
"I thought you wished this to be as authentic as possible." she said.
He shrugged, "We had to take some artistic license. Besides, I think you'll find it was worth it."
He swept his hand out over the New York cityscape. Seven's head came up and she seemed to really take in the visual for the first time. As she leaned forward, Harry felt more than a little proud of himself. The Ferris wheel ride and view of the city had been his idea. Tom had objected at first, but once Harry showed him the backdrop he had designed, Tom had conceded.
"Is this what Earth looks like?" Seven asked, her voice heavy with wonder.
Harry leaned back in the car, draping his arm across the cushion, "Not for a very long time."
He held out his other hand, intending to motion with it while explaining further. But as he did, she leaned back and nestled against his side, causing the words to catch in his throat. He turned to her and their eyes met. Pressed against his side as she was, their faces were mere centimeters apart.
"You were saying?" she asked in a whisper.
He smiled, just slightly, and leaned the tiniest bit closer. He was sure she could feel him whisper, "I can't remember."
She leaned in as well. He felt her lips move as she breathed, "It was unimportant."
Time seemed to slow, stretching the instant into forever. Harry tried to take in every tiny detail; The feel of her warm breath on his face, the texture of her hair, the smell of her skin, the lights reflecting off of her blue eyes, the sound of his heart beating. Something from deep within him said that he disparately needed to savor everything about this moment.
"Captain Janeway and senior officers to the bridge." Chakotay's voice interrupted over the comm.
Still a hair breadth from the kiss he had been waiting for over a year to have, Harry sighed, "You have got to be kidding me."
First Officer's Log, Stardate 52369.4: We've picked up a rather unusual set of readings on long range sensors. Its unusual in that there are no readings. The universe just seems to stop at a certain point. From this far away, we won't be able to get a clear reading until we can get a report from Astrometrics. I'm sending a request for Seven to do some intensive long range scans in the morning. We shouldn't hit this phenomenon for almost another month, so we'll have plenty of time for analysis before we actually have to face it.
Chakotay glanced once again over the report in his hand. It didn't make any sense. It seemed as though beyond that point, there were no star systems, nebula, or anything else. It was as if space simply stopped. When he got to the end of the report, he scrolled back to the beginning and read it again. There wasn't much else to do on the night shift. He had only agreed to take the night command shift for Ensign Kim because he knew it would be good for Seven. He also knew how much time he and Lieutenant Paris had been spending on their holodeck program, and he didn't feel right letting that time go to waste. Still, it was boring.
"Sir," Ensign Jenkins said, bringing him out of his thoughts, "We have a ship approaching on an intercept course."
Chakotay straightened in the command chair. He started to look at the abbreviated readout at his right hand, but almost immediately realized that, because he was in the captain's chair, it was actually on his left. The ship's configuration was familiar, and after only a few seconds did he recognize it.
"Red alert!" he called, "Shields up. Captain Janeway and senior officers to the bridge."
He looked over his shoulder at the Ops officer on duty, "Thomas, see if you can't find us a place to hide. A nebula, a star system with a lot of moons, something. Jenkins, put as much distance between us and that ship as possible."
The turbolift door opened revealing Tuvok and Janeway. The Vulcan took up his post at tactical while the captain took her now vacated chair.
"What have we got, Commander?" she asked.
Chakotay, now seated beside her in his traditional seat, pointed as the ship's configuration on his console.
"Hirogen," he answered, "Moving in on an intercept course. At current speed, it will catch us in about two minutes."
"Not if I have anything to say about it," came a familiar voice from the now open turbo lift. Paris, Kim, Torres, and Seven all stepped onto the bridge. Each made their way quickly to their stations; Seven joining Torres at the engineering station.
"We have a problem," Kim said, "Two more warships just joined the hunt."
"Mr. Kim," Chakotay called, "Can you find us a place to hide?"
"Not yet," he answered, "Wait! I've got something. Tom, bring us to a heading of five zero three mark two."
"Yes sir," Tom mocked, but did as ordered.
"What have you got in mind, Harry?" the captain asked.
"This," he answered as information began feeding to the console between Chakotay and Janeway, showing a Class J planet orbiting a Type G star.
Kim continued, "We can use it to hide. It should block the Hirogen's sensors."
"Approaching the planet," Tom announced, "Dropping out of warp."
Janeway stood and stepped forward. "On screen."
And orange ball of swirling gas filled the screen. It was obvious by the way it ebbed and flowed that powerful wind currents blew just beneath the surface. Chakotay stood, moving next to the captain. As the clouds moved across the surface, he could swear he saw images of the animal spirits his people worship.
"Reading mostly hydrogen and fluorine," Kim said, "It will definitely block their sensors. The down side is that we'll be almost completely blind while in it's atmosphere. We'll have an effective sensor range of about ten kilometers."
"Ten kilometers? That's not much." Chakotay said quietly to the captain.
"Maybe," she said, "but I'll take that over angry Hirogen any day."
Tom spoke up, "I'm reading wind speeds of at least ten thousand KPH. It's like the world's worst wind storm in there."
Janeway put her hand on the back of helm chair and smirked down at Paris, "Think you can handle it, Tom?"
Paris smiled, his eyes showing the delight of a new challenge to be conquered, "Yes ma'am."
The ship lowered into the gaseous atmosphere, rattling as it his cross winds. Chakotay could see Tom's hands working the controls, guiding Voyager as gently as possible through the incredible tempest. The ship shook around them as the inertial dampeners strained against the pressure of the atmosphere. Suddenly, violently, the deck rocked beneath their feet, nearly knocking him from his feet. Standing straight again, Chakotay realized that all was calm.
"Sorry about that last jolt," Paris said, turning to face them, "We've slipped between two thermal layers. We should be alright here for a while."
"Great work," Chakotay said, looking at the skilled pilot. Then he looked back to Kim, "Both of you."
"How's our sensors, Harry?" Janeway asked.
"We created a wake as we entered," he said, "But it's gone. I was able to get as glimpse of the Hirogen entering the just behind us."
"They should be just as blind as us,"Chaotay said to the captain as they both moved to sit, "That's something at least."
"Tom," Janeway said, "See if you can't find us another spot to hide in here. I don't want to make it too easy for our friends to find us. In the mean time, I need suggestions."
"Modulated tetryon pulses," B'Elanna said suddenly.
Janeway looked her direction, "What do you mean?"
Realizing he knew what she was talking about, Chakotay explained, "When we used to hide from Federation and Cardassian patrols in the badlands, we would use modulated tetryon pulses. If they came into contact with anything, like a ship, they would bounce back. From that, we could get an approximate location."
"Like sonar," Tom said.
"Sonar?" the captain asked.
"Yeah," he said, "Submarines on earth used it hundreds of years ago. It was the same basic principle, only with sound instead of tetryons."
"Wouldn't that give away our position?" Tuvok asked, speaking for the first time since stepping on the bridge.
"Yes," B'Elanna answered, "We'd have to change course and speed every time we hit something."
"Why don't we just leave?" Seven asked, "If the Hirogen are hunting for us in the atmosphere, and are just as sensor blind as we are, then they wouldn't know if we simply left at high warp."
"If I were the Hirogen," Janeway said, "I'd leave one of the ships above the atmosphere to see if we poke our head above the sand."
"We can't stay in here forever," Kim said.
"Don't worry, Harry," the captain said, "We'll get out of here, but I need options."
"We must disable or destroy the ship waiting for us outside the atmosphere." Tuvok said, "If we do, the other wouldn't know that we had left."
"The Delta Flyer." Kim said suddenly, "We could use it as a relay for Voyager's sensors. We could even use for targeting."
Seven spoke up again, "That plan is flawed. You would be detected by the Hirogen almost instantly."
"Not necessarily," Kim responded, "The Flyer can move just beneath the top layer of the atmosphere. With the sensors pointed straight up, we'll be be able to see out, but we should be too small to attract their attention."
Paris spoke over his shoulder, "The winds are the strongest the closer we get to the outer edge."
Chakotay smiled and stood, intending to take the helm, "Sounds like he's going to need our best pilot."
"I agree," Janeway said from behind him, "Tom, go with him. B'Elanna, get down to Engineering and work on those pulses. I don't want to be surprised while were in here. Seven, go to Astrometrics and begin setting up the link between Voyager and the Delta Flyer."
Paris stood, allowing Chakotay to take his place. The commander took over the controls and instantly realized, once again, just how talented a pilot Tom Paris was.
Just outside the shuttle bay, Tom and Harry stopped and turned to face Seven and B'Elanna. Tom wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. Not sure what to do, Harry glanced awkwardly to Seven.
Suddenly, she grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a kiss. It was a desperate, slightly clumsy kiss, like that of an eager teenager. Harry didn't care. As far as he was concerned, it was the most wonderful, most passionate kiss he had ever experienced. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her deeper into it. After what seemed an eternity, their lips parted. An eternity, but still not nearly long enough.
"I did not believe it fair that our moment was interrupted on the holodeck," she said.
Unsure of what to say, he simply grinned.
"Harry," Tom called, "They'll be plenty of time for that later. We have to go."
"Right" he answered, somewhat breathlessly. He looked directly into Seven's eyes, "Later."
As he walked through the shuttle bay doors, Harry turned to see his friend smiling at him. He wanted to be annoyed, but he couldn't stop grinning.