Sunshine. There was just no substitute for genuine, non-holographic, sunshine. Harry closed his eyes, relishing the warmth on his face. A breeze rustled the rust-coloured leaves on the stout trees behind him. A faint musky scent wafted from the tree buds that reminded Harry of an old pine forest. Letting out a deep breath, he returned his attention to the PADD in his hand. He had spent the morning sitting in front of a café just off the main shopping boulevard of Astruda Prime. Voyager had originally stopped at the planet to trade for supplies, but the inhabitants had been so welcoming, and the climate so pleasant, that Captain Janeway had allowed for a few days of shore leave for the crew.
Harry was looking forward to checking out a music club that Ensign Ashmore had mentioned. But first, he wanted to finish drafting his report on the results of the new power distribution system he and B'Elanna had designed. The report wasn't due until the end of the week, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to relax until it was done. Harry couldn't stand having unfinished work. It caused a nagging feeling in his brain that made him tense and nervous when he tried to put things off. Not like Tom, who could finish up a report while walking down the corridor on his way to hand it in to Commander Chekotay.
Harry sipped his coffee and glanced around the patio. There were six other tables sitting out in the sunlight. The tables on the edge of the patio where he was sitting were dappled by shadows from the trees lining the boulevard. It was getting close to the Astrudian lunch hour and the café was filling up with people stopping to grab a quick bite to eat. The long-armed Astrudian waiter breezed by the table and refilled Harry's coffee cup without breaking stride. Harry marveled at the grace of this handsome race.
Looking out onto the street, he spotted Ensign Wildman walking up carrying some packages and holding her daughter Naomi by the hand. Naomi waved when she saw him. Harry smiled and waved back.
"Good morning, Ensign. Enjoying the nice weather?" asked Ensign Wildman as the pair wandered up to him.
"Absolutely," answered Harry. "How are you? Been enjoying the time off?"
"Yes, I really have," laughed Ensign Wildman. "We just finished doing some shopping, and now we're thinking of getting some lunch before meeting up with Nelix this afternoon." She looked around the café trying to spot an empty table. "This place seems popular. I don't see any empty tables. We might have to pick somewhere else, Naomi."
"Oh, you don't have to do that," said Harry. "You're welcome to sit here with me, if you like."
"Oh, thanks. That's really nice of you." Ensign Wildman set her packages under the table and helped Naomi climb into a chair.
The two ensigns chatted while the waiter brought sandwiches. Naomi swung her legs under the table while she sipped some juice. Next to her, her mother began to pick through her packages, opening each one, then setting it aside.
"Looking for something?" asked Harry.
Ensign Wildman ran her hand through her blonde hair in mild frustration. "I seem to have misplaced the new scarf I bought. I think I must have left it on the counter of the last shop we were in." She sighed and looked back down the street where they had come from.
"I can watch your stuff if you want to go back to get it," said Harry.
She smiled, her tense shoulders dropping in relief. "That would be great. Can I leave Naomi here with you too?"
"Of course."
"Thanks, I really appreciate it." Ensign Wildman turned to her daughter as she stood up. "I'm just going to be a few minutes. Are you going to be okay waiting here with Mr. Kim?"
"Sure, Mommy," chirped the little girl.
Harry watched as Ensign Wildman disappeared down the crowded street then turned back to Naomi. "Have you been having fun on your visit so far, Naomi?" he asked.
"Yeah." She nodded. "Sort of."
"Sort of?"
"Mommy and I went to a playground this morning. It was fun, but it was kind of hard to use a lot of the equipment. Astrudians' arms are a lot longer than humans', so I couldn't reach when I tried to climb on the monkey bars or the jungle gym." Naomi paused to take a sip of her juice. "After that, when we were shopping, we found this other place. It was sort of like a big store, but it was full of games you could play. Mommy said that was like a thing on ancient Earth called an 'arcade.' I wanted to try some of the games, but most of them you have to have a tail to play. I wish I had a tail like the Astrudians. It would almost be like having a third hand."
"Yeah, it would be kind of useful to have a tail," agreed Harry. "That's too bad about the arcade though."
Naomi shrugged. "It's okay. I can't help it that I don't have a tail. Mommy says that if Humans had evolved from monkeys instead of apes, that we'd probably look a lot like the Astrudians."
"I think your mom is right." A thought suddenly occurred to Harry and he leaned forward on the table. "Hey, for the arcade, you know what you could try is—"
Harry stopped as he noticed the dishes on the table rattle and felt his chair wobble. It felt like a huge transport shuttle had just flown by.
"What was that?" asked Naomi.
"I think it was a tremor," answered Harry. He looked around at the other café customers. A couple were laughing about a spilled drink. No one seemed disturbed about the shaking. "Scans of the planet did show that Astruda has unusually high seismic activity. It's probably normal. Everything is-."
Harry felt the ground lurch under him. Naomi screamed as the table between them tipped and the dishes shattered on the ground. Around them people were panicking, trying to shield themselves from debris falling from the trees and buildings. Harry grabbed Naomi by the hand and pulled her out into the street to get away from the collapsing buildings. The ground continued to heave under them. Naomi lost her balance and fell hard on her hands. Harry scooped her up in his arms to stop her from being trampled by the desperate people staggering around them.
He watched one of the trees next the café topple down onto the patio where they had been sitting moments before. Across the street a fire broke out in a store selling wines and spirits. Harry could hear bottles exploding from the heat. They sounded like gunshots from the holodeck.
Unsure of where to go in the chaos, he stumbled as best he could down the street away from the fire. Suddenly the ground disappeared from under him. He fell into the blackness.