"Kill me? Harry, I think you're being delusional. You're the last person on this ship who would want to kill me," Tom laughed.

Harry growled as he struggled against the two. He ended up pushing the Doctor away with his arm and shoving Tom back against the nearby wall. It took a moment for Tom to regain his composure.

"I have to get back! She'll be out of her mind with worry!" protested Harry.

The ensign jumped off the bed and began to rush for the door. Tom tried to run after him as the Doctor climbed to his feet.

"Computer, erect a force field around Sickbay," the hologram commanded.

Harry gasped for air as he ran into the force field and was knocked backwards. He slammed his fists against it several times before he finally slumped to his knees in obvious pain. The Doctor rushed over and applied another hypospray, aiding the unconscious Harry down to the floor.

"Lieutenant, I'm going to need your help," he called over to Tom.

He hurried over and aided the Doctor in getting his friend back onto the biobed. The hologram gazed over his patient before turning back to Tom.

"Who is he talking about?" he inquired.

"It must be Ekaterina. She's the only Rysarian woman he's had any real contact with since we arrived, even more so after his experience with the mereflow several days ago," replied Tom.

The Doctor gave a sigh, wondering how things were going to proceed. He thought about the endless possibilities.

00000

Tyrex paced back and forth within his office, a myriad of thoughts. Ekaterina sat in front of his desk, writing down a few things on a paper sitting in front of her. His pacing was soon worrying the advisor.

"What are you worried about Chancellor?" she questioned.

"I fear they may come to the conclusion that I am somehow one of those vile creatures. I can't let that happen. What will happen if this gets out?" he replied.

"Probably a panic, Chancellor. I mean, we've never been able to ever capture one. If it gets out that those creatures are able to walk amongst us undetected, accusations are going to spread like wildfire," Ekaterina replied.

Tyrex sighed as a knock came to the door. Chakotay and B'Elanna gingerly stepped inside. The chancellor carefully eyed the two, wondering what they wanted. Behind them, he noticed a timid Ransor.

"Have you come to judge me? I still have a right to prove my innocence," he protested.

"And indeed you do Chancellor but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to ask a few questions first," a voice called out to him.

Tyrex's eyes widened as Janeway stepped into the building. Even Ekaterina had to stop and gaze with amazement.

"Captain, how did you…?" started the chancellor.

"It doesn't matter how I got away from them, the fact is I did and I plan to go after the remainder of my crew. But first, I'd like to ask you a few questions," Janeway told them.

Ekaterina stood up from her work and gave a step towards the group. Janeway noticed and turned to the Rysarian woman, who quickly inhaled.

"Advisor Matol, there's someone in our Sickbay who would like to see you. I know he would like to see you," the captain said.

"I don't understand, Captain. There is no one who would warrant my attention except for Ensign Kim and as far I've been told, he's missing," Ekaterina questioned.

Janeway gave her a knowing smile and the Rysarian's heart skipped a beat.

00000

Ekaterina stepped into Sickbay to find Harry laying on one of the beds and clearly in a restless sleep. The Doctor was nowhere to be found and Tom was sitting next to his friend. He turned to see her walking up to them and made his way over to her.

"How is he doing, Lieutenant?" she inquired.

"He's not doing good. He's been having a few hallucinations. His whole body and mind seems to be in a extremely tumultuous state and nothing we've tried seems to calm him down," he quietly told her.

Ekaterina narrowed her eyes at the ensign as she gently stepped up to his side. She could see the sweat pouring off his entire body, which was shaking severely. Running her one hand through his hair and placing the other on his chest, she began to softly talk to him.

"Calm down. Everything is going to be fine. You will recover from this. I am here," she murmured into his ear.

As if on cue, the ensign slowly calmed down and his body began to rest peacefully. Tom was amazed as Janeway and Tyrex watched from the doorway. The captain soon led him out of the room and down the hallway. The chancellor was upset and it clearly showed on his face.

"Captain, there's nothing more you can get out of me. You can ask your two officers yourself for they interrogated me very intensely earlier," Tyrex told her.

"I'm not looking to interrogate you about whether or not you might be a mereflow. I'd like to know more about Advisor Matol," Janeway explained.

The look of pure confusion crossed Tryex's face. He was quite perplexed as to why Janeway made such a request.

"Chancellor, I'm just exploring all the options. I'm not trying to make any accusations whatsoever. Please, humour me," she replied.

"Advisor Ekaterina Matol has been nothing but an exemplary member of my committee. As far as I know, she doesn't have a lot of friends and she isn't involved with anyone at the moment but she's been very open with me. I am probably her closet friend for she tells me everything. My advisor has given me nothing but tremendous council over the last 10 years," he explained.

"So there might be nothing that's she's hiding?" questioned Janeway.

"I don't see how. I've been to her home several times and there's nothing out of the ordinary there. She is a bit of a loner for she usually stays home at night. Usually does some reading before going to sleep. If you even think about accusing her…" he started.

"That remains to be seen, just like you chancellor. We're not going to put the suspicions on you or Ransor to rest until we have definitive proof in any direction," Janeway replied.

Tyrec watched her as she headed down the corridor even further. He began to follow her again, hoping to make some sort of agreement.

00000

"What happened to your hand?"

Ekaterina broke out of her trance and faced Tom Paris as he sat across the room from her. He was giving her a curious look as he folded his arms, waiting for a response.

"What was that again?" she questioned.

"What happened to your hand? I see you have it bandaged," he repeated.

She stole a quick glance at her hand, grinning before returning her stare to Harry Kim. She eyed the lieutenant out of the corner of her eye before giving a deep breath.

"I had a slight accident this morning while making my breakfast. Wasn't being careful and ended up cutting my hand with a knife," she replied.

"How bad is it? I could get the Doctor online and he might look at it for you," offered the lieutenant.

She shook her head and flexed her fingers. Before either of them could say anything else, a groan came from the biobed. The two looked to see Harry struggling to climb to a sitting position and they hurried over to his side.

"Harry, how are you doing?" Tom quickly asked.

The ensign blinked a few times before their faces came into focus. He grinned from ear to ear once he saw Ekaterina and leaned up to kiss her. She was slightly caught off guard as he almost reached her lips. Placing a hand on his chest, she tenderly pushed him back down to the bed.

"Harry, we're not alone," she quietly said.

Harry turned to see Tom standing next to them, looking somewhat uncomfortable with what he almost witnessed yet a second time. Harry turned his head away slightly, a small blush to his cheeks.

"Harry, we'll talk about that later. Right now, I'd like you to tell me how you're feeling," Tom told him.

Harry thought about the question for a moment, uncertain how he was going to answer his friend. After several seconds, Harry opened his mouth.

"I feel extremely fatigued. My mind is very foggy and I can't seem to tell the difference between my memories and dreams. I remember seeing the captain wandering around the forest. She tried to help me several times and I even told her to leave me behind at one point but she wouldn't listen to me," he muttered.

Tom gave Ekaterina a worried look and she returned it. She pulled him aside and wondered what everything meant.

"Lieutenant, I care for him as well and I hate to see him like this but you must be exhausted. If you'd like to get some rest, I will look after him. I cannot promise that he will not try and kiss me again but I will promise to minimize anything if it should happen. If he should require assistance, I will bring the doctor online," she quietly said.

"All right but if anything happens, I'll put the blame squarely on your shoulders," he replied.

She nodded as he hesitated for a moment and headed out the door. Once he was gone, Ekaterina stepped back up to Harry and gently caressed his face.

"Harry don't you worry. I'll get you out of here. Just give me some time," she cooed into his ear.

He gave a small smile as he took her hand and kissed the fingers. Ekaterina returned the smile as she placed a calming hand through his hair and he fell asleep within a few short moments.

00000

Tom walked out of the Sickbay to find Janeway standing there, arms crossed. She gave him a lopsided smile as he moved closer to her.

"Is there anything wrong Captain?" he wondered.

"Nothing yet. I'm simply curious about Advisor Matol's hand. Did she mention how she injured it?" she replied.

"She said she cut it this morning on a knife," Tom said.

Janeway eyed the Sickbay door as Tom wondered what exactly was going on. He stood next to her and joined in the direction of her stare.

"What are you thinking?" asked Tom.

"I'm thinking we should soon get our crew back," she said.

00000

Chakotay carefully watched the captain pace back and forth in her ready room. Late afternoon was beginning to fall on Rysaria and everything was making her nervous.

"It's almost impossible to know when to go. They'll be expecting us to come back immediately yet if we wait too long, the others will be nothing but mindless slaves," she mused.

"You're right. By what you've told me, the only thing they really seem to fear from us is if we discovered any of their secrets too early," Chakotay mentioned.

Janeway thought about it for a moment before a smile crossed her face. She turned back to Chakotay, a knowing look on her face. He was wondering what was on her mind now.

"And we do know one of their secrets. I know where they live. It is possible that might scare them a bit," she reminded him.

Chakotay returned the smile, realizing what she was getting at. She walked up to him, her mind filled with ideas.

"Well, let's get started. Tuvok and the others aren't going to wait forever," she replied.

TBC…