A/N Thanks for those reviews guys. Keep them coming. Also Happy new year to every one.

Chapter 20

State of Flux

Captain's Personal Log Stardate: 48610.1: It's been a few weeks since Commander Rollins and B'Elanna went to Sikaris and stole a technology that could have taken us back to the Alpha Quadrant. With our luck however the device didn't even work. At the moment I'm not sure what I'm more disappointed about. The fact that the device didn't work or that my girlfriend was a part of a conspiracy to take alien technology. Even though I want to get home and was secretly hoping that we could get our hands on that technology, we represent the full body of the Federation and I gave my word to represent it.

Still, I've been distant more towards B'Elanna then Commander Rollins as of late. It's going to be a long trek back to the Alpha Quadrant and I can't let what happened stop the love I have for her, no matter how disappointed I am. That's why I decided to spend the day with her since both of us have time off. On a lighter note, on my daily visit to see Lt. Stadi, the Doctor informed me that she has increased brain activity. He also believes that because of it, she'll more then likely wake up soon.

Harry's Quarters

So this is how she wants to spend time together? Harry thought to himself as his girlfriend opened a small brown bag and took out an ancient looking device before placing it on the floor.

"Pick out two things that are personal to you and have a seat on the floor." B'Elanna told Harry as he walked around his quarters and picked up his clarinet and a happy picture of both of them on a nice sunny day.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Harry asked as he placed the items on the floor before sitting down himself.

"I've seen Chakotay do this tons of times." B'Elanna replied as she sat cross-legged on the floor and put her hand on the replicated Akoonah before she considered. "Well, I've seen him do this a dozen times... maybe two times but it looked easy enough."

"I don't know about this." Harry said as she placed a hand on his. "Isn't this a little... sacrilegious?"

"Look Harry, nothing bad is going to happen." B'Elanna tried to assure him. "I've seen Chakotay do this before and all I want is for you to talk to your animal guide."

Seeing the look in her eyes, all Harry could do was feel sorry for her. He knew that she missed her friend Chakotay and he pondered on if this was B'Elanna's a way of preserving the other man's spirit and the spirit of his people by keeping this practice alive. "Okay." Harry replied after a moment of thinking. There was something he just had to know. "How was it when you met your animal guide?"

"I umm... I tried to kill it." B'Elanna mumbled making Harry cough.

"What?"

Captain you're needed to the bridge. Rollins voice said over the com-line. There's something you really need to see.

"I'm on my way." Harry said as he stood to his feet. "We'll try this again later. I promise." he said as he looked at B'Elanna a moment longer before walking out of the room.

Sickbay

Doctor Zimmerman and his new assistant Kes hovered over a red shirt with a sore wrist. Searching in his memory files under the list of crew members on the ship, he recognized him as Lt. Walter Baxter.

"It started acting up a couple of days ago." Lt. Baxter said to Kes as he moved his wrist around a little and winced. "I'd been working out in the gym, maybe I overdid it."

"Is it sore here?" Doctor Zimmerman asked as he touched his wrist.

"Yes." Baxter replied with another wince.

"Localized tenderness to the ulna bone, no epidermal damage, moderate oedema." The Doctor muttered as he looked over at Kes. "What are the possible diagnoses?"

"Epicondylitis, strained ligament, torn muscle and hairline fracture."

"That's exactly right." the holographic doctor replied, clearly impressed.

"I've studied all the material you gave me." Kes said with a smile. She loved working in the hydroponics bay, but she got so much more fulfillment in Sickbay. "I'm ready for more."

"Good." The Doctor said with a nod. "There's a great deal more for you to learn. The tricorder indicates this is a small stress fracture."

"Can this guy do everything a real doctor does?" Baxter asked rudely as he stared over at the Ocampa woman.

"Yes, he can." the Doctor answered for himself as he handed a device over to Kes. "Activate it and direct the beam here." he instructed as Kes ran the beam over the lieutenants arm. "That's it. Not quite so fast."

"If I had to get treatment for something serious, if I needed surgery for instance, would he be performing it?" Baxter again directed his questions to Kes.

"Of course, and quite expertly too." the Doctor told him with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know." Baxter considered. "I'd have to think twice about that."

"Fine." Doctor Zimmerman replied nonchalantly. "And if you were lucky you wouldn't die on the table while you were making up your mind. That should do it. How does it feel?"

"Not bad." Baxter said as he moved his arm around and hopped off of the bio-bed. "Thanks." he called over his shoulder as he walked out of sickbay.

"Doctor, did you notice how rudely that officer treated you?" Kes asked as the Doctor walked into his office and sat down.

"Not more so than most." he replied as he entered the injury report into his files.

"You mean others act that way too?" Kes asked with concern.

"Let's just say I've become accustomed to being treated like a hypospray." the Doctor replied as he handed her a PADD. "Now, here's some material on first aid for burns."

"Doctor, I think I'd like to do more than study first aid." Kes said as she took the PADD she was given. "I'd be interested in knowing more about anatomy and physiology."

"You're intellectually curious. I like that." the Doctor replied with a grin as he picked up some more PADDs. "These deal with human anatomy and physiology, but they weren't written for the layman. They're quite technical."

As he said that Kes looked over the set of PADDs. "I understand. I'll do my best. And I really appreciate your help." Kes said as she turned to leave. If the Doctor wouldn't defend himself, she would do it herself.

Bridge

"Report." Harry ordered as he walked onto the bridge.

"Captain we've found a body floating in space." Rollins reported as Harry sat down next to Tom and Isis.

"What's so significant about that?" Harry asked, knowing that other races probably did the same thing that they did when someone died.

"It's significant because it's the body of a Kazon sir." Rollins went on. "And if my readings are right his body has a Federation Transporter signature on him."

"What?" Harry asked as he turned to look at his second officer. Could there be another Federation ship out here? He questioned himself.

"Mr. Rollins is it possible to beam the body on board without destroying the previous signature pattern on it?" Tom asked.

"It's possible." Rollins replied as he looked to Lyssa for confirmation. "But I'd feel better if we just tractored it into the Cargo bay."

"Tractor it in then." Harry replied as he stood to his feet. "Tom inform the Doctor about what's going on and tell him to be prepared to examine a body. Mr. Rollins do a scan and tell me the second a Kazon ship or any ship for that matter comes into the system. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the Ready room."

Ready room

Not knowing whether to smile or frown, Harry giddily sat down at the table. It was an overwhelming feeling that another Federation ship could possibly be in the Delta Quadrant but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Standing to his feet, he was about to get something to drink when his door chime sounded.

"Come in." Harry said as he turned to the door, surprised who had come through it. "Kes, it's good to see you. How can I help you today?"

"Am I interrupting?"

"No, not at all." Harry replied as he walked up to the replicator. "I was just going to have a cup of coffee. Would you like anything?"

"Ah, spinach juice with a touch of pear, please." Kes replied. Seeing that Harry was giving her a look, she clarified. "Commander Paris introduced me to it, it's very nutritious."

"Knowing Tom, I'm sure it is." Harry replied with a smile as he turned back to the replicator. "Computer, one spinach juice with a touch of pear and one cup of coffee, black." as the drinks materialized on the replicator pad Harry took them and handed Kes her drink. "So tell me... I haven't seen Neelix around in awhile. How are you two doing?"

"I.. ummm... we... we're doing fine." Kes stuttered. In reality they weren't doing fine. She couldn't understand it but she was jealous of Neelix talking to Lt. Campbell and now they argued constantly."I... umm.. I just wanted to know if there were a member of the crew whose needs weren't being met, would you want to know about it?"

"Of course, I'd want to know." Harry replied as his eyebrows scrunched together in concern. "Kes, do you and Neelix feel that your needs are being ignored?"

"Oh no, of course not, we're very happy here." Kes replied. "I'm referring to the Doctor."

"The Doctor?" Harry asked in confusion. "What about him?"

"I don't understand why people treat him the way they do."

"Exactly how do people treat him?" the Captain asked as he took a sip of coffee.

"As though he doesn't exist. They talk about him while he's standing right there. They ignore him. They insult him."

"Well since you've brought it up, I've been hearing the exact opposite about him." Harry cut her off. "Most of the crew have complained that the Doctor is rude and that he lacks any bedside manner. We've been talking about reprogramming his personality matrix."

"You can do that?" Kes asked as she took a sip of her own drink. "It doesn't seem right."

"Kes, in case you haven't realized he's only a hologram."

"He's also your Medical Officer." she countered. "He's alive."

"Kes, I know he might seem alive but believe me he's not."

"He's self aware, he's communicative, he has the ability to learn."

"Because he's been programmed to do that."

"So because he's a hologram he doesn't have to be treated with respect or any consideration at all?"

"You're right." Harry replied after a moment of thinking. Seeing how passionate she was about this he looked at her deep in her eyes. "I'll look into it."

"That's all that I ask." Kes said as she finished her juice and stood to her feet. "Thank you, Captain."

"You're welcome." Harry replied as he watched her walk out of the room. Finishing his coffee, he took both cups and put them in the recycler. Deciding the hell with it, he walked out of the room himself because he needed to see how the Doctor was doing with the Kazon body anyway.

Sickbay

As Harry entered Sickbay, he looked around and saw that the place was deserted, sans Lt. Stadi and the Kazon body.

"Computer, activate the Emergency Medical Hologram."

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency." The Doctor said as he shimmered into existence.

"Actually there is no emergency, Doctor." Harry replied as he walked over to him.

"Well, that's good." Doctor Zimmerman said in irritation. "I was right in the middle of examining the Kazon body when Ensign Kyoto deactivated me."

"Well, I'm sure she didn't realize you were busy." Harry replied with a smile, hoping that it would release some of the tension in the room. With his luck it didn't work.

"What is it you want, Captain?" The Doctor finally asked as he picked up a medical tricorder.

"Actually, I was hoping that we could just talk for a minute."

"About what?"

"Well Doc, you were originally programmed to serve in emergency situations only." Harry started as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Now you're being asked to do much more."

"That's certainly true." The Doctor replied proudly. "I'm providing full time medical service for the entire ship's crew, functioning both as doctor and nurse, and now as an instructor as well."

"That's because you don't have the luxury of thinking of yourself as am Emergency Medical Program any more. You're a full-fledged member of the crew now."

"I see." the Doctor replied with a sigh. "Are you suggesting that I be re-programmed?"

"No. I'm asking if there's anything I can do to help you."

"Help me?"

"If there's anything you need, or want, I'd like to see that you get it." Harry clarified.

"What I'd like is to be turned off when people leave." The Doctor said as he crossed his own arms over his shoulder. "I spend hours here with absolutely nothing to do. When someone does remember to deactivate me they do so without asking if it's convenient. It's extremely irritating."

"What if I gave you control over your deactivation sequence?" Harry offered. Hologram or not it was the least he could do.

"I beg your pardon?" the Doctor asked, believing that his hearing subroutines were malfunctioning.

"I'm sure B'Elanna or Lyssa can make it possible for you to turn yourself off, or to prevent being turned off." Harry considered.

"I, I might like that." the Doctor said perking up a little.

"I'll have someone look into it then." Harry said hoping that was it. "Anything else?"

"I'm not sure, I'll have to give it some thought."

"You do that." Harry said as he turned all business like. "Before you were turned off what did you find out about our friend over here?"

"Well, I can conclusively say that Commander Rollins was wrong." the Doctor said as both of them walked over to the dead Kazon's bio-bed. "The transporter signature is from a quadrant of space close to the alpha quadrant but it isn't from the Federation."

"Then what species is it from?" Harry asked in surprise.

"The signature is from a Klingon vessel."

"What?" Harry asked with wide eyes. Before the Doctor could say anything further the ship shook lightly and slipped into red alert.

Captain, you're needed to the bridge immediately. Tom said frantically over the com-line.

"I'm on my way." Harry replied as he tapped at his com-badge. "Thanks for your help Doctor."

"Any time." Doctor Zimmerman mumbled as Harry ran out of the room.

Bridge

"Report." Harry instantly said as he walked off of the turbolift.

"We're surrounded by three Kazon Predator type ships." Tom answered as he got up from the command chair and let Harry sit down.

"How the hell did they sneak up on us?"

"I can't explain it sir." Rollins answered as he worked his controls. "They just popped up on our sensors."

"We're being hailed by the lead vessel sir." Lt. Campbell spoke up.

"Put it on screen." Harry replied nervously as a smiling Kazon male appeared on the main viewer.

"I am First Maje Jal Culluh of the Kazon-Nistrim." Culluh said as he eyed the bridge crew, finally stopping his gaze on Harry. "To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

"I'm Captain Harry Kim of the USS... Voyager." Harry replied, saying the last part out hesitantly but then it wasn't like the Kazon couldn't read what was on the hull of the ship. He did notice however that Culluh's eyes grew wide with excitement.

"Well, I admit that we were searching for another vessel at the moment but we've been looking for you for quite some time." Culluh replied as his eyes narrowed, but still with that same smile on his face. "Your little ship was responsible for hundreds of Kazon lives in the Ocampa system."

"I guess saying sorry is out of the question now?" Tom asked as the Kazon leader gave him an irritated glare.

"Hardly." Culluh mumbled as he looked back to Harry. "The first shot that we fired at your vessel was merely a warning shot. I assure you the next one won't be. Drop your shields and prepare to be boarded."

"That'll be the day." Harry replied with a frown. "Mr. Rollins bring the weapons systems online and if the Kazon so much as make an aggressive move towards us blow them out of the water. Ensign Jetal, with all due respect I need my best pilot at the helm. Tom take her place."

"You have your best pilot at the helm sir." Tom defended his protege'. "Ahni can do this, but if it'll make you feel better, I'll feed her course corrections."

"Okay." Harry said as he looked between them.

"You've made a grave mistake." Culluh growled as he blipped off the main viewer.

Voyager shook with the impact of the combined fire power of all three Kazon vessels. Returning fire, Voyager dipped and pivoted around, before going under one of the ships and blasting away at the Kazon's shields. Managing to hit a weak spot, they managed to get a few clean hits directly on it's weapons array, which exploded and sent a shockwave through the vessel, making the power shut down.

"That was impressive flying, Jetal." Harry complemented.

"Let's hope that it holds up." Rollins said as his hands danced along his console. "That ship will regain power soon and we still have two more to deal with."

As if to prove his point one of the other Kazon vessels came around the ship and Voyager took another volley of energy weapons right to it's bow. The ship shook so hard that Harry was thrown out of his seat as his side console exploded.

That was a Maquis maneuver. Tom thought to himself. All of their little tricks and how they got into this system were. How the hell did they pull that off? "Report!" Tom shouted as he got to his feet and saw that his best friend was on the floor and knocked unconscious. Rolling him over, he saw that he was bleeding from his forehead but was still breathing. "Get him to Sickbay." he told an Ensign that had walked onto the Bridge. Seeing that they had gotten Harry out of the way, Tom looked over to Rollins for his report.

"They managed to severely weaken our forward shields!" Rollins yelled out, fighting to be heard over the steam that shot out of a plasma conduit behind him. "They haven't managed to do much damage to our advanced hull plating but they did knock out one of our forward torpedo launchers."

"Ahni, get us out of here!" Tom shouted, as he sat back down in the Captain's chair.

"I can't sir." Jetal replied frantically as she turned to look at him. "The Kazon have us boxed in."

Damn it. Tom thought to himself.

"Sir a vessel just decloaked off of our port bow." Lt. Campbell reported. "And it's firing on the Kazon vessels."

"Put it on screen." Tom ordered as he saw a Klingon bird of Prey taking on and destroying one of the Kazon ships. What the hell are the Klingons doing out here?

"Sir the Kazons are in retreat." Rollins reported. "The Klingon vessel is now hailing us."

As Tom gave the order to place it on screen, his hands clenched tightly around the arm rests of his chair. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Harry felt a warm and gentle hand running through his hair. As the slender fingers then touched his face, he heard a husky voice whisper into his ear. "Harry it's time to wake up."

Waking up with a start, Captain Janeway's voice still in his ears, Harry sat up in a bio-bed and looked around as his surroundings. As B'Elanna ran into his arms, he saw Tom talking to Lt. Stadi, a black Vulcan male, a tall Klingon male wearing a Starfleet uniform and a man with a tribal tattoo on his face.

"What happened?" Harry asked as he got off of the bio-bed and everyone looked at him. "Who are you people?"

"My name is Chakotay." the man with the tattoo spoke in a calm voice. "And we have a lot to discuss, Captain."