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CHAPTER 4


"Captain, Tuvok here, we have a problem. Please report to the Briefing Room."

"On my way."

Janeway left her readyroom with a hollow feeling in her stomach. As she entered the Briefing Room, she saw Neelix, who was busy monitoring transmissions from the surface together with Tuvok. The Talaxian turned toward her, a pained look on his face.

"Captain, take a look at this", he said as he gestured towards a screen with what looked to be like a news show.

Janeway looked and listened; the alien related a story about a group of religious fanatics who had taken hostages in a bar, the previous night. She felt sorry for the people but she could not get involved. But what was the reason that Tuvok had called her in? Then the scene shifted and she was looking at what was obviously a amateur film. In it were all the hostages, with their hands behind their heads. Suddenly, she saw a face there she recognized.


"No, that's Harry", she gasped, the hollow feeling in her stomach suddenly filled by a large stone weight.

"Yes, captain. It seems Lt. Kim was at a cafe last night that was attacked by these so-called terrorists and taken hostage. They have demanded concessions of the government but it would be illogical to assume the government would agree."

"Captain, Mr.Vulcan, look!"

"Oh, my God….."

One of the hostages had to bend over and put his head on a wooden log. His hands were tied behind his back and his mouth was gagged. A man wearing a mask walked up behind him. He raised his hands, holding what looked like an axe and brought them down in a swift movement. Before Janeway could turn away, the head of the man rolled away, purplish blood erupting from what had once been his neck. The corpse slowly, fell to the ground. Janeway couldn't hear anything but the scream she was holding back. After she felt composed enough, Janeway called for a staff meeting.


"I have searched the planet surface for any sign of Lt. Kim's commsignal, however, my search has proven unsuccessful. I did find the commbadge but it was located at the headquarters of the security forces. I have beamed it back after ascertaining that Mr. Kim was not held there."

"That leaves us with one option, captain. We have to scan the planet for human lifesigns. I have already started reconfiguring the long-range sensors to aid us. That way we can triple the area we have to search but it will still could take us 3,4 days not taking into account any sort of interference from materials that resist our scans."

"We should concentrate our searches to the countryside. I don't think these people would take the risk of moving the hostages with some many security forces around."

Paris spoke up, saying, " That leaves one question, Chakotay. Once we've found where the hostages are kept, do we go in and get Harry out or do we deliver an " anonymous " message to the authorities."

"Tom, there is no question about it, as soon as we find out where he's being held, we will beam him out."

"Captain, what about the other hostages? We can't just leave them there!"

"Kes is right, Captain. It would be cruel to just go in for Harry while the others have to suffer. Who knows what will happen when they find out that someone has escaped. They might panic and kill them all."

"Neelix, Kes, I understand, I really do but there is nothing we can do. The Prime Directive forbids us to interfere."

"Captain, we are already involved by sending someone down to the planet."

"In for a penny, in for a pound, doctor?"

"Yes, Captain. Kes is right and so is Neelix. We have, by our own actions insinuated ourselves in this situation. Therefore, we are to finish it. As soon as we find lt. Kim, we could send down a team, take out the terrorists and free the hostages. Once the local security forces arrive, they can take over without anyone ever having to know that it was us. And before you say anything, my database contains enough data to confidently say that none of the hostages will be able to give a accurate description of their rescuers. They will all be giving conflicting statements and it will be assumed that the things they saw are due to confusion, stress and the fighting. The security forces will most likely take credit for it, since nobody knows who has actually rescued the hostages."


Janeway pondered the doctor's arguments for a moment. When she looked up she said,

"Get to it."


Tom and B'Elanna spend the next few days, searching for Harry, she directing him which sector to search while she manned her station, scanning the surface. Then suddenly, her console beeped. She was exhausted, she hadn't slept well for the past few months and not at all since Harry's capture so she did not immediately grasp the significance. Then suddenly, her eyes went wide and she punched in a few commands.


"Captain, I've got him! Transferring coordinates to the helm, now!"

"I want a full scan of the area, all security measures, population, everything and I want it yesterday!"

"Aye, captain."


Two hours later, after the briefing, both Tom and B'Elanna approached the captain.


"Captain, we would like to be part of the rescue operation."

"That is out of the question, B'Elanna, the both of you have been up since this thing started. You are exhausted. It would be dangerous to send you down in your condition."

"Captain, I asked the doc for some stim-shots and B'Elanna is a lot tougher than most of us. We can handle it. Please reconsider", Tom pleaded.


She looked both of them in the eye, thinking about what had happened between the 3 of them. Nobody knew, but both Tom and B'Elanna wanted to go to help their friend. The two of them had done something that had hurt Harry and they had been suffering for it. They both looked exhausted and not only from the last few days of tenseness. And now they were trying to redeem themselves. Against her better judgement, she agreed and couldn't help but smile at the elation in their eyes.


Harry was in pain. He had at least 2 broken ribs, received when he had tried to stop one of the terrorists from beating and raping a young girl. He was glad that the doctor's efforts in disguising him had been effective enough to stop the most vicious of the blows. A second layer of skin had been grafted onto his body, with in between a gel like substance with the color of the aliens' blood. It had acted as a cushion. He was going to die tomorrow, they had told him. All he could think about was that he would never see Voyager again, never see his friends again. Hold it, he had no friends, the only people he had called his friends had betrayed him. In his last hours, with nothing to do, he started thinking about the past 3 months.


"Hey Harry, can I come in?"

"Sure, Megan. Can I get you anything?"

"No, thanks."

Megan Delaney sat down on the sofa, her eyes never leaving Harry. She knew something was going on between him, Paris and Torres but nobody knew what it was. She had a pretty good idea what it might be but she wanted to hear it from Harry. Paris hadn't told her sister anything, so now it was her turn.


"Okay, Harry, out with it."

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Harry, don't play dumb with me. We've known each other long enough not to play games with each other. What is the matter between you, B'Elanna and Tom?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing. There is nothing going on, right?"

"That's right."

She looked at him for a moment before continuing,

"How long have you been in love with her, Harry?"

"What do you mean, Megan", he said, trying to keep a pokerface, while inside, his mind was running in circles, trying to find some way out of his predicament.

"How long have you been in love with B'Elanna, Harry?"

"How did you find out?"

"I've seen the looks you've been giving each other. I have been there myself, so I know. Now tell me what happened."


Harry sat silently contemplating if he should tell Megan what had happened. He sighed deeply and told the story.

"Harry, I think she got scared when you asked her to marry you. You know how she is, better than any of us. I've heard some of the stories about her childhood and frankly, if I had had half as bad a life as she had I would never have been able to get my life together like she has. She is still scared. You of all people should know how she reacts when she is scared, Harry. She strikes out without thinking. She doesn't even think straight. Isn't that right, Harry?"

"Yeah, she just goes berserk."

"You see, Harry, she's scared because nobody has ever loved her. Everybody she knew was afraid of her, because of her Klingon side. And along came you; you didn't care what her heritage is. You love her for what she is and that has never happened to her before. Can't you see, she reacted in the only way she knew how. She didn't really mean to hurt you. Just look at her, when she is off duty in the mess hall, she just sits staring off in the distance. She snaps at people for no reason. She is back being the old B'Elanna Torres. Hell, she's far worse then when she came on board!

You should go talk to her. You have a lot of things between the two of you to resolve, Harry. And you should talk to Tom, also. He is hurting just as much, maybe more, because he probably feels that he has betrayed both of you."


With those words, Megan Delaney had gotten up and left, leaving Harry to ponder the events that had led up to this mess. Now he was here, about to die and nothing had been resolved. If only Voyager could find him, than he would talk to her and maybe, just maybe he would give her another chance.


"See anything, Tuvok?"

"Yes, mr. Paris, I see a lot."

"Come on, you know what I mean."

"If by that you mean, if I see Mr. Kim, than the answer is no. Now please, be quiet."

They had been in position for over 2 hours before dawn and the sun was now up. It was early morning; Torres and Paris where together, hidden behind a row of bushes and watching the guards move about. Suddenly, there was movement as several more guards brought out the remaining hostages, one of them separated from the rest.

It was obvious that this hostage was to be the next one to be killed as retaliation for the government's refusal to step down. B'Elanna gasped when she saw who it was.


"Tuvok, that's Harry! We've got to move now!"

"Not yet, Lt. Wait for my signal. Everybody stand by. Pick your targets."


As Tuvok assigned new targets to every member of his security team, B'Elanna watched with a pounding heart the events unfolding in front of her. Harry was led to the chopping block and forcibly pushed down on his knees. The executioner raised his axe and was about to bring it down when…..


"Fire."


From several hidden positions, phasershots lashed out, hitting the unsuspecting terrorists dead center. Before they had even hit the ground unconscious, the other guards were being hit. The man who had brought Harry out, however, had dodged the shot aimed at him and was firing back. Kim immediately pushed himself off the ground and hit him in the back like a linebacker. The man when down hard, a loud whoosh signifying the air which was escaping from his lungs as Harry fell on top of him. He got up immediately and the toe of his boot connected solidly with the man's chin. Several minutes later, the last of the terrorists had been stunned and the hostages had fled in the confusion. Tuvok ordered that the terrorists were to be tied up and placed a call through to security headquarters. After that they all ran for the high grass and disappeared into it, to be beamed up. All the while, B'Elanna and Tom did not move from Harry's side as if to make sure that he was alive.

In sickbay, the doctor immediately set to work on Harry's injuries, first sedating him. Torres would not budge from his side and the doctor, after initially ordering her to leave decided to let her stay, provided she let the patient sleep. He was not in the mood for another screaming match.