Authors notes: Ain't he a bastard? I confess, my storytelling seems to go along the route of "Okay, new chapter, what absolute hell can I put my characters through?" and Captain Whyrens does enough damage without having to inflict the Borg on everyone. It's strange to think that, in a story based on an MMO that's mostly shooting and attacking aliens, we've only actually had one space combat scene. We're starting to approach the end of this particular story, and I'm starting to brew ideas for the next one. Anyway, here we go…

Chapter Seven

Admiral Jorel Quinn was in Sickbay moments after Captain Whyrens had left.
"So, you took the scans."
"Yes, sir." Sammy nodded. "I think I managed to find the transceiver he told us about. I just have to upload the scans to a holo-projector, and that'll give us a much better look at the thing."
"So, what's stopping you?"
"The ship doesn't have any holo-projectors, sir. It's older than a member of the Vulcan High Council."
Quinn frowned. "I see. Why not use one on the Daikatana? Or, get them to transport one over?"
Sammy blinked. "I hadn't thought of that."
A chuckle came from behind them. They turned, to see Corspa leaning against a wall, one foot resting on it. "That's my man. Cute, but no brains."
Sammy mock-glowered at her, then tapped his Comm-badge. "Doctor Edwards to Daikatana."
"Daikatana, Chief Terra here."
"Chief, I'd like you to send over a medical-grade Holo-Projector to the Fizzgig."
"For what purpose?"
Sammy looked, bewildered, over to Quinn, who smiled slightly, and shrugged, pulling out a Padd and tapping at it, looking for something. "It's for a medical diagnostic."
"Sorry, Doctor, all our medical Holos are tied up." There was a brief pause. "Are you the same Edwards who sat in the third row during the Doctors' class on Xenomorphic Exobiology two semesters ago?"
"Err….yes."
"Then you definitely won't see any Holo-Projectors. I sat behind you in that course, as part of my field-medic extension, and I don't think that an important piece of technology like that should be used as it was in that class to, if memory serves, create a four foot, three dimensional, full colour replica of your-"
"Chief, this is Admiral Jorel Quinn."
"Yes, sir!" Sammy moved away from Quinn, and caught the curious look on Corspa's face. "Later." He whispered to her.
"I hope so." She whispered back, with a wink.
"Chief, we need that Holo-Projector." Quinn examined his Padd. "It's for Protocol Gamma Four Epsilon."
"Yes, sir, confirmed Gamma Four Epsilon. I'll get a Projector to you, right away!"

A few seconds later, a holo-projector appeared on top of the medical scanner. Quinn gestured towards it. "There you go, Doctor. One Medical grade projector. Do try not to scan any parts of your own anatomy."
"Yes, sir." Sammy felt his cheeks get hot. He opened his mouth to say more, when the door hissed open, and Kat burst into the room, in tears.
"Captain Hill!" Quinn was stunned. "What's wrong?"
"You can't kill him!"
"What?"
"Jason, you can't kill him. He's innocent!"
The three other officers stared at her. "Kat," Corspa ventured. "Didn't anyone tell you what's been going on?"
"Jason did! He said he was going to be executed, because nobody could prove he's not a murderer. But I know he isn't, he's a good man!"
Corspa stared at her in shock, then turned to face the Admiral and Sammy. "She doesn't know."
"Know what?"
Quinn patted the chair closest to him. "Sit down, Captain. This might take some time…"

As Sammy fiddled with his scans and Quinn told Katharine all that had transpired with Jason, Corspa studied her face carefully. She had gotten to be quite adept at reading facial expressions and body language in humanoid life-forms, and something she saw there, in her acting Captain, proved to be quite interesting. 'Later,' she chided herself. 'It may be nothing, anyway. Even if it IS something, we may never get Captain Jason back.'
"So…you're not going to kill him?" Kat looked confused.
"Certainly not. We're attempting to remove the Section 31 personality, yes, but without harming the original personality of Jason Whyrens."
"He played me." Kat growled. "He saw I was in pain, and he played me, for no reason other than to hurt me."
"Or…" Corspa said, thoughtfully. "Maybe he thought he could get you so over-emotional and wracked with guilt, you'd try to free him."
Sammy looked up. "Why would he think that would work? I mean, no offence, Captain, but you and Jay aren't that close." He turned his attention back to his scan, missing the meaningful glance that Corspa gave her, or her blush in response.
"I'll kill him." She banged her fists against the desktop. "I'l l break his legs and let him crawl for his life."
"Been there, done that." Corspa shook her head. "You humans are so fragile." She sighed contentedly. "The question should be, now, what are we going to do?"
"Ah-hah!" Sammy shouted, pressing a button on the Holo-Projector. A bluish image flickered to life above their heads, an ovaloid disk with a tiny wire coiling out of it, and a green flashing light on the upper part of the body.
"What's that?"
"Subspace Transceiver." Sammy gestured towards it. "A very advanced work, too. Way beyond my capabilities to understand."
Quinn shrugged at him. "You're a doctor, not an engineer." He turned to Kat. "Who do we have in engineering we can trust absolutely?"
"Tahiri, the Chief."
"Get her up here, Captain, and I'll get some of the engineering team from the Daikatana to assist." Quinn pointed at the hologram. "We need to find out how this thing works."

Tahiri and four of the Daikatana engineers went to work examining the Holo, as well as sensory scans that Sammy took, and asking him endless questions about placement, frequencies being used, and other things Sammy had no idea on. When the Engineers saw that he had fulfilled his usefulness, they roundly ignored him and discussed, amongst themselves, the potential secondary uses of the transceiver.

Sammy joined Corspa, Kat, and Quinn in his office, where they were discussing something in low tones.
"…Quite plausible, but it'll hurt."
"I'll worry about that, Kat, you just stick to the plan."
"What plan?" Sammy asked loudly, dropping into his chair. The three others looked up guiltily. "Sorry." He lowered his voice. "What plan?"
"To restrain Captain Whyrens."
"He's restrained now. In the brig."
Quinn shook his head. "Restrained, as in 'prepare him for emergency surgery to remove the transceiver', Doctor."
Sammy shrugged. "We walk into the Brig, lower the forcefield, Stun him, and take him to Sickbay."
"And if he can trigger some sort of self-destruct in the implant?"
"He'll die, we'll get Jay back." Sammy managed to smile. "Win/Win for the good guys."
"Uhm, no, dear. He'll detonate the device, which will destroy most of his brain, and kill Jay. Win for the bad guys, lose for us." Corspa shook her head. "What're his faults, what're his flaws?"
"He's a bastard."
Corspa looked admonishingly at her boyfriend. "I mean, that we can exploit." She cast her mind back. "When I was talking to him, he was more…what's the word?"
"More like a bastard?"
Corspa smacked Sammy in the stomach lightly. "He seemed overly keen to show off his intellect. His mind. He was fond of florid, polysyllabic nomenclature."
"Huh?"
"Big words, Sammy. Bad man like use big words, he look smart to us. We use this, bad man go down."
"Ohh, I see."
Kat sighed. "I need to fix this."
"What?"
She stood. "If it wasn't for me, this personality wouldn't have come out in the open." She looked at Corspa. "Are you sure this plan'll work?"
"Yes. But the longer we wait, the more obvious it'll seem to be a trap."
"Well, then. Let's do it."


Captain Whyrens was a patient man. He didn't know if it was something he was born with, or gained later, when he joined Section 31, but he knew how to wait. No doubt Quinn and the idiot Sammy were cooking something up, but he'd taken Captain Hill out of commission, and she was the only one who scared him. 'She's brilliant'. He mused. 'It's just a pity I'll have to kill her, either when the ship blows up, or before, in person. Such a waste.'
The door to the brig hissed open, and Hill came barging in. Her hair, usually tied back in a ponytail, was set free, her eyes were still wet with tears, she had a phaser rifle slung under each shoulder, and her uniform was torn. Affecting the innocent, naïve expression of Jason, Whyrens stared at her.
"Kat? What's going on?"
In response, she hefted the phaser rifle on her right side, and shot the control panel, making it spark, and shutting down the forcefield holding him captive.
"Kat?"
"C'mon, Jay, I'm getting you out of here."
Whyrens smiled at her. "Thank you, Kat."
She moved towards him, and kissed him tenderly on the lips, running a hand over his neck. "Thank me later, when we've gotten to a Runabout. We have to hurry, before…"
"Going somewhere, Captain?" Another voice chimed in. Kat spun around, to come face to face with Corspa.
"Out of my way, Ensign. That's an order."
"You heard the Admiral, Ma'am. Captain Whyrens is to go back to Spacedock for psychiatric evaluation."
"Over my dead body."
"I'd rather it didn't come to that, Ma'am. Stunned body, sure, but nobody has to die here, today."
"Shows what you know, Ensign." Whyrens grabbed the rifle from Kats' nearest side, her left, and fired it at the security chief. She collapsed in a heap, a look of shock on her face.
"Jay! You didn't have to do that."
He blinked. 'Oh, right. I'm supposed to be stupid.' "I'm sorry, Kat, but…it was her or you, and I'd pick you every time."
Kat nodded. "I suppose you're right." She lifted her arm, allowing Jason to unloop the strap, and take the phaser rifle he held away from her. "Come on, I've put up forcefields to block anyone from stopping us getting to the shuttlebay."
He smiled. "You're good."
"You know it." She smiled back, and moved to Corspa. Eyeing her, she reared back, and kicked her in the stomach, as hard as she could. "You don't threaten the Captain." She looked up, smiling at Whyrens, who was staring at her. "Sorry, but I really didn't like her."
Whyrens nodded in understanding. "Shall we get the hell out of here?"
"After you."

They ran down the corridor, before stopping in front of the shuttlebay door. "Here we are." Kat smiled. "I've prepped the Wanderer for launch. All we have to do is get on board, and-"
"Blah, blah, blah." Whyrens smirked, levelling the rifle at her.
"Jay? What're you doing?"
"What does it look like? I'm killing you. Thank you so much for everything, Captain Bitch. You killed Corspa, you set me free. I knew I could play you."
"Jay…I don't…I love you."
"Sorry." He aimed the phaser rifle at her, and fired.

Running into the shuttlebay, he eyed the names of the Runabouts. When he saw the Wanderer, he ran up to it, and slapped the entry button on the side. The hatch lowered, and he darted inside. Sitting down in the pilot's seat, he rested the phaser rifle on the console next to him, within easy reach.
He heard a faint 'fwunt' coming from behind him. Turning around, he saw nothing. 'However…' "Computer."
"Working."
"How many life-signs are aboard this vessel?"
"One life-sign detected."
Whyrens shook his head. "Must have been my imagination." He pressed a few buttons, and grinned. "Computer, open the shuttlebay doors and prepare for departure."
"Not likely."

It took a moment for Jason to realise that wasn't the computers voice. He tried to spin in his chair, to grab the phaser rifle, but…nothing. He was completely immobile. Someone spun his chair around for him, and in his line of sight was Sammy, and Admiral Quinn…and Corspa, and Hill.
"You're probably wondering why we're alive." Corspa smirked. "The phaser you took was heavily underpowered. We made sure the one closest to you when I came in would be. Don't try to move, Sammy shot you with a dart that shut down your higher functions. You can probably only just understand me…but it means you can't trigger any self-destruct your implant has." She turned to Hill. "That kick really hurt, you know. You're like a mule."
"Sorry." Hill shook her head, then knelt in close to Whyrens. "I'm sorry, Jay. If you're in there, please know that I'm only doing this to save you. When you wake up, you'll be you again, and not this…thing. And, if you don't wake up…" She took a deep breath, and whispered close in his ear.
"I wanted you to know, I think I may have meant what I said outside the shuttlebay." She stood up, straightened her uniform one handed, and nodded at Sammy, holding out her other hand. "When's this anaesthetic going to wear off? My hand's completely numb."
Sammy shrugged. "Five to ten minutes. Good work getting it on the back of his neck. How'd you manage it?"
Kat blushed, but didn't say anything. "Okaaaaay…" Sammy continued, eyeing her suspiciously. He turned to Whyrens. "You're going to go to sleep, now, and hopefully, we'll never see you again.

"We win."

Whyrens saw Sammy lean in, heard a faint hiss, and then…knew nothing.


It was two days later. Whyrens was in a medically induced coma, monitored around the clock by medical personnel, and a security detail from the Daikatana. Sammy had been up for 35 straight hours, trying to figure out who'd created the implant stuck in Jason's brain, and was no closer to solving the puzzle.
He kicked back from his chair, scowling, and felt a pair of hands on his shoulders, starting to massage him gently.
"Mmm, that's nice, babe."
"Thanks." He heard the smile in Corspa's voice, and smiled back, knowing she could probably see it in his monitor reflection. "No progress?"
"None. There are elements to this that are familiar, but I just can't place how."
"You should have paid more attention in class."
"Yeah…" He drifted off. "Class." He leaned back and looked up, and stared at the blue, upside down face above him.
"What?"
"Well, for one thing, I can see right up your nose. And, for another…I need to call a doctor."
"Sammy, you are a Doctor."
"No, no. I'm an idiot." He slapped his forehead with his hand.
"Doctor…Facepalm?"
Sammy started laughing.
"Uhm…honey? Maybe you've been awake too long. That joke wasn't that funny."
"No, don't you see? Science and engineering, combined into one tiny unit. We need to go to Galor Four."
"What's at Galor Four?"
Sammy grinned. "The Daystrom Institute annex." He tapped his comm-badge. "Edwards to the bridge."
"Hill here, Doctor. What do you need?"
"We need to get to Galor IV, as fast as possible. And I need a channel open to the Soong Foundation."
"Why?"
"I think I know someone who can help us, but we need to go there."
"Can't this person come to here, instead? It'll be faster."
Sammy laughed. "Trust me, on a ship this old, this particular Doctor can't make house-calls."

"Hello?"
"Doctor, this is…"
"Yes, I know who you are, Doctor Edwards." The balding man frowned at him. "Your 'pranks' in my class at the academy weren't well received, you know. I had half a mind to fail you on the spot. Frankly, I'm amazed you graduated, let alone passed your final exam to become a real Doctor."
"Doctor, I need your help."
"My help, you say? Surely a doctor as brilliant as yourself can figure out how to tie their own shoelaces without wasting my time."
Sammy sighed. "Doctor, please."
"Oh, very well." The EMH shook his head. "Since you said 'please'. It's nice to hear a Starfleet officer being courteous to me, even if he does want something in return. It's the way my life seems to go, as of late."
"The courtcase not going well?"
"You read the reports, I take it?"
Sammy nodded, and the Doctor looked at him slyly. "Well, let that be a lesson for me. Even a brilliant being as myself can be shocked."
"Thank you, Doct-"
"I didn't know you could read."
Sammy scowled. "Doctor, I'm sending you a holo-image I'd like you to take a look at."
"This isn't the same one you made in my Xenomorphic Exobiology seminar, is it?"
"No, sir."
"Good." He studied the sent file intently for a few seconds. "Ah, yes, this."
"You know what it is?"
"Of course I do. I designed it as a medical practitioners aid."
"Doctor, we've come across a serious bastardisation of your work, and I'd like your help in fixing it. We're on our way, but we're 40 hours away from the Galor system."
The Doctor blinked. "Are you coming by rowboat?"
"No, sir. Miranda Class vessel."
"Ah. Well, then, I'll see you in 40 hours, if you haven't died of old age, first."
The Doctor shut off the communication.
"What a nice man." Sammy said to himself, shaking his head.


First Officers personal log, Stardate 87737.8
We're approximately 12 hours out of the Galor system, where Sammy assures me that the Mark One EMH from Voyager will be able to help us with our situation with Jason. I'm not too sure about this, myself. I've never trusted the Emergency Medicals, and utilising a Mark One seems like trying to fix a power conduit with a screwdriver. We have to be careful, as well. If the EMH designed this…thing in Jasons' head, it's programming may have been corrupted by Section 31. Or maybe it's always worked that way, programmed to be the ultimate spy, and undetectable by The Cabal because we never thought to look…
I'm going crazy. Paranoid. An EMH can't harm humans like this, it's against every iota of their core programming, not even a minor subroutine could let them hurt someone. I can't seem to concentrate. I can't remember when I got any decent sleep, but I think it was before Jay got shocked by his door. That was the night of the party, so the night before that…no, I was giving Jason the tour and reviewing notes. I haven't had ANY sleep since he came aboard. Meanwhile, he's sleeping like a baby…no, that isn't fair. It's not his fault that he was made like this. If I ever find out who did this to him, I'll –

The door chimed. Kat frowned. "Computer, end log recording."
"Log ended."
"Come in!"
The door hissed open, and Corspa stood in the doorway, holding two mugs of what Kat assumed, from the smell, was fresh coffee. "Can I come in?"
"Please." Kat smiled at her friend, who held one of the cups aloft. "For me?"
"I checked with the chef, and he said you usually ordered this exact blend at this exact sweetness. Says you're a stickler for fine detail."
"Did he?"
"Well, he said you were an anal retentive pain in the neck, but I read between the lines." She smiled, and sat down opposite the interim Captain. "You okay?"
"I'm tired. I just realised I hadn't gotten any sleep since you, Sammy, and Jason got here."
"We're party animals." Corspa smiled sadly. "It was Captain Jason I was talking about, though."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm good at reading people. The psychology course."
"I remember." Kat nodded.
"And…well…we're off-duty, right?"
"Right."
"Well…right, then." Corspa took a deep breath. "Do you have feelings for Jason?"
She could have heard the small window of vulnerability slamming shut from Kat, who frowned. "The Captain's a fine officer."
"That isn't what I meant."
"You don't fall in love with someone after two days."
"I didn't say 'love', Kat, I said 'feelings'."
"I don't love him."
"I never said you did."
"Good."
Corspa watched her friend carefully. "You did, though."
"What?"
She looked at Kat sadly. "I have pretty good hearing, and I was tailing you two on your run to the shuttlebay. And then I heard what you said to him after we'd incapacitated Captain Whyrens. You think you're falling in love with him."
"After two days?"
Corspa snorted. "I loved Sammy after two shots of whiskey."
Kat tried to smile. "Yes, but now that I know Sammy, I can understand why you'd have to be drunk, first."
"Hey!" Corspa laughed, then shook her head. "You missed a trick going into Command and not staying a Security officer, you know."
"Why's that?"
"You're good at evading and dodging." She smirked. "Answer the question."
Kat sighed. "Just between us two?"
"Always."
"I think I could grow to love him. But there's problems."
"Ignoring that fact that his consciousness is currently trapped in his body whilst a homicidal maniac is inhabiting it…like what?"
"Firstly, he's the Captain, and I'm the First Officer."
"Secret romances can be fun."
"It'd impair his judgement. Or mine. If I get trapped under enemy fire, I don't want him risking every life on the ship by flying in to rescue me."
"Yes, you do."
"What?"
Corspa raised her hands in the universal gesture of 'hear me out'. "I think I've gotten to know you pretty well, the last few days. Plus, I'm good at observing people and reading body language. You're a romantic, and you may not want to be the damsel in distress, but you also want to have that white knight riding in to save you if you get in trouble."
Kat shook her head. "I'm not saying you're right, but I can't have 198 deaths on my conscience."
"Okay. What else?"
"He can be very…immature."
Corspa grinned at her. "If he were here to hear this, he'd object at being called a child again."
"But who else dresses up like a pirate on the bridge of their own ship?"
"A free spirit. And he's not always immature, what about that trick he did with the torpedoes?"
"Okay," Kat admitted. "That was impressive."
"Right! He just needs someone to guide him, help him. He might be the Captain, but he's also only just graduated the Academy."
"What happens if we get together and break up? What'd that do for the morale of the ship?" Kat blinked. "What if he doesn't want to get together? What if-"
"What if he wakes up on Galor and realises he's actually a Tribble in disguise?" Corspa shook her head. "Stop overanalysing."
"I'm just…I'm not used to not being in control."
Corspa raised an eyebrow. "Maybe Jason wants you to be in control."
Kat looked mortified, then tried to hold a laugh in. When it failed, she roared, a laugh that threatened to wake her neighbours. Corspa joined in, and when they'd finished, Kat felt a lot lighter than she could remember. "Thanks."
"Any time. So, what're you going to do?"
Kat pondered this for a second, then nodded to herself. "When he wakes up…and that's when, not if…I'm going to tell him how I feel. "
Corspa smiled. "Good for you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try to get some sleep."
"Me too." Kat smiled. "Me, too."


"Ah, Galor. The system so crappy they named it after a Cardassian myth."
"Huh?"
Ensign Jonas turned to face Sammy. "Galor. He was a mythological Cardassian warrior."
"Oh." Sammy thought about this for a second. "What did he do?"
"Something Cardassiany. Probably killed a million Bajorans, betrayed his loved ones and drank some Kanar." Jonas shrugged.
The Turbolift door slid open, and Kat came out, nodding to Jonas. "Ensign, Doctor. In the words of our immortal Captain…'are we there yet'?"
Jonas chuckled, and nodded. "Aye, Captain."
"Captain, you're looking well."
"Thank you, Doctor."
"Better than I've seen you in days, in fact."
Kat looked at him oddly. "Thank you, Doctor."
Sammy leaned in close, and whispered. "My best friend's a lucky man."
Kat stared. "Doctor…"
Sammy grinned. "Just taking a wild guess. But I'm pretty sure he likes you, too."
Kat cleared her throat, and nodded to Corspa. "Open a channel to the Soon Foundation, to Doctor…." She turned to look at Sammy, who shrugged. "He never chose a name. He's just the Doctor."
"Right. Open a channel to…the Doctor."
"Aye, Ma'am."

The viewscreen changed from a view of a planet, to show a balding, scowling man in a very old fashioned Starfleet uniform, under a white flowing lab coat. "This is The Doctor speaking, and…Oh. Doctor Edwards. You made it in one piece, then."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. I'd hate to think you travelled all that way in a flying bathtub and died. I'm expecting you and your party, and await your arrival." The viewscreen shut off.
Kat turned to Sammy. "It doesn't have a particularly good bedside manner, I'm guessing?"
Sammy smiled. "Actually, that was quite warm, for him. He just…doesn't really like Starfleet."
"Oh."
"We should get going, he hates to be kept waiting."


Kat looked around the facility, where she, Sammy, and Corspa had been kept waiting for four hours. "Hates to be kept waiting, huh?"
Sammy shrugged. "Something else probably came up. It's no big deal, he said he'd be with us, so he will be."
"It."
"What?"
Kat shook her head. "He is an it."
"No, he's a he." Sammy leaned back, eyed closed, then slowly opened one eye, which turned to look at Hill. "Captain…are you a racist?"
"What?" Kat spluttered. "Certainly not."
"No shame in it."
"Yes, there is." Kat looked shocked. "If I were accused of racism, I could be dismissed from the service!" She shook her head, then paused. "Why is it that if I assert the Doctor is an 'it', it's racism?"
"You're discriminating against someone because of who they are, where they're from. That's racism."
"No, that's me being able to tell a shuttle pilot from a shuttle-pod." She sighed. "Sammy, I understand it wants to improve itself, and has done so, but it's still a hologram. I can shut it off any time I choose."
"Given the right hypospray, I could shut you off any time I choose, too."
Kat shook her head. "It's not a real person."
"Thank you, Captain, for reminding me why I dislike Starfleet."
Kats' head spun round, to stare at the Hologram from the viewscreen some hours prior. Sammy stood up, and nodded to it. "Doctor."
"Doctor Edwards. Who're your…friends?"
"This is Captain Katharine Hill, of the USS Fizzgig." He gestured to Corspa. "And this is Ensign Corspa, chief of security."
"It's nice to meet you, Doctor." Corspa smiled.
"Thank you, Ensign, it's very nice to meet you, as well." The Doctor glared at Kat, as if to let her know that it wasn't nice at all to meet her. "Well, come into my lab, and tell me about this bastardisation of my work."

"…And now, he's in a medical coma on our ship."
The Doctor nodded. "I see. Well, Ensign, I can't say I blame you. The device wasn't originally designed for subterfuge, but as a medical device. If this Section 31 of yours has co-opted it, that could be a danger."
"Why?" Kat asked.
"It was designed to primarily access medical knowledge through a subspace network, and be used for very short periods of time. Prolonged usage could do immeasurable harm to a Human brain."
"Including creating a secondary personality?"
The Doctor considered this, but shook his head. "No, but it's conceivable that one could have been installed within the matrix of the unit."
"So, remove the unit, and everything will be fine?"
The Doctor glared at Kat. "Oh, by all means. Forget the psychological damage you'll be doing to the patient, just yank the thing that's been supplementing his brain out. You must really have a dislike for your Captain."
Kat turned to Sammy. "This is ridiculous. Shut it off, and remove the-"
"Excuse me?"
"-And remove the transceiver yourself." Kat finished, talking over The Doctor.
" Did you just call me an 'it'?"
Kat turned to face The Doctor. "I did, yes."
The Doctor turned to look at Sammy. "Ensign, kindly tell this…woman…that I won't operate on your friend if she's in the complex."
"Kat…"
"No!" She marched towards The Doctor, and jabbed him in the chest with a finger. "What're you going to do if I stay, Doctor? There aren't any Holograms on my ship you can incite to riot and kill anyone?"
"Kat!" Corspa blinked.
"What, you two have never played Photons Be Free? This Hologram wrote it, and through it, nearly collapsed Dilithium Processing Plants across the Quadrant."
"That was never my intent."
"But you got people killed."
The Doctor sighed. "Yes, I did, and I regret it."
"And now this device might be killing my Captain."
The Doctor nodded. "In that, Captain Hill, you're correct, yes."
"So, help save a life, instead of destroying it."
The Doctor looked squarely at her. Kat stood, defiant, staring at him.
"Very well, I'll help your friend. But I don't want you in the complex at the time, and I want it noted that I'm never helping Starfleet again."
"Doctor…"
"No, Mr Edwards. This is the very last time a Mark One EMH will be used by Starfleet. If you'll all excuse me, I have to prepare the medical unit for the procedure."

As The Doctor left them, Corspa turned to face Kat. "Well, that could have gone better, don't you think?"
Kat shrugged. "It said it'll help us. That's all I wanted to know." She sighed. "I'll have Jason beamed down when I return to the ship. Good luck, Sammy." She tapped her Commbadge. "Hill to Fizzgig, one to beam up."