Part One

Trading sector
Grathor II
Delta Quadrant
20 years earlier…

Lurking in the shadows at the end of a run down market place, it seemed an unlikely setting in which to find a fancy dress costume, yet something seemed to draw Harry in.

Desperation ranked high on the list of possible incentives…he had less than an hour to locate the perfect outfit before he was due back to the rendezvous point where, no doubt, a grinning Tom Paris would be waiting to inspect his purchases. He was beginning to wish he'd stuck with his original plan to replicate a costume from the computer's database…trust Tom to complicate matters!

The tattered remnants of what might once have been a shop sign hung precariously from a rusted nail above his head, groaning loudly in protest whenever a stray gust of wind brushed against it. Intrigued Harry moved closer, squinting into the murky gloom in an attempt to identify the goods on display. In the end the grime encrusted window forced him to use the sleeve of his uniform to clear away the dust that seemed to cling to everything on this planet.

Strange objects spilled out of the darkness. Piled one on top of the other they competed with the ever-present dust for space. In one corner what he took to be parchment manuscripts tumbled out of a cupboard drawer onto the floor below. Stray fingers of light danced over jeweled bottles half filled with fine-grained powders of every hue. It was truly an Aladdin's cave of useless objects and as such was utterly irresistible to one who had spent the last six years cocooned within the sterile environment of a starship.

Reaching out Harry placed his hand against the metal plate set into the doorway. Much to his surprise the door slid noiselessly open at his command, beckoning him into the gloomy interior…

All Hallows Eve
0900

'Neelix, slow down. You might even try breathing occasionally. The Doctor assures me it does wonders for the complexion.'

Captain Kathryn Janeway resisted the temptation to smile at the earnest expression on the face of her self-appointed morale officer. Glancing to the side, she caught her first officer giving the Talaxian a nod of encouragement.

'I'm sorry Captain, I've only just been made aware of the various traditions associated with today's date. All I need are a few hours more…'

Kathryn leant back in her chair as she scanned the faces of her senior officers, currently ranged around the table in the conference room adjacent to the bridge. It didn't take a genius to work out which particular crewmember had alerted Neelix to the significance of All Hallows Eve. She was just surprised it had taken them this long into their journey through the Delta Quadrant for the matter to come up.

As if sensing her thoughts, Lt. Tom Paris looked up from the data padd that had kept him occupied for the past few minutes and fired off a mischievous grin in her direction. Kathryn had to admire the audacity of her helmsman. It was obvious from the sparkle in Tom's eyes that he was intimately acquainted with the fine details of Neelix's 'surprise'. It was equally obvious that he had no intention of enlightening her anytime soon.

She returned fire with a half-hearted glare that only seemed to aggravate the situation by turning the grin into a smirk. With a sense of impending doom Kathryn dragged her thoughts back to the matter in hand.

'Let me get this straight…' Tapping her fingers against the side of her coffee cup, she weighted up the pro's and con's of Neelix's latest request. '…you would like to commandeer both holodecks in order to prepare for a 'Halloween Party.'

Kathryn paused for a moment as she drained the last dregs from her cup. A slight grimace slipped past her defenses as the bitter liquid settled on her tongue. With a wistful sigh she pushed the now empty cup to the side before continuing.

'In addition to this you also require the release of several officers from Bridge duties to assist you in the programming and implementation of said party, effective immediately…'

Seven pairs of eyes focused on their Captain as her senior officers awaited her decision with varying degrees of interest, ranging from bewilderment to barely suppressed excitement.

In the end if was the pleading look in Neelix's eyes that swayed the decision in his favour.

'I think we can accommodate you there, Neelix…'

She held up a hand to stop the flood of words that threatened to flow from his mouth. It was, however, a futile gesture as Neelix's tongue tripped over itself in its haste to make his appreciation known.

He was still thanking her five minutes later, when his eyes fell on the chronometer located on the shelf behind the Captain's head. The words dried up on his lips as he watched the precious seconds slip away.

Taking advantage of the sudden silence Kathryn brought the meeting to a speedy conclusion, watching amused as Neelix all but ran from the room. It wasn't until the doors slid shut behind all but one of her officers that Kathryn allowed herself to relax. The interview had lasted less than fifteen minutes yet she felt as if she had gone ten rounds with the Borg Queen.

Resting her chin on her hand she turned to look at Chakotay, who seemed to be doing his level best to avoid her gaze.

'So Commander…' Kathryn leant heavily on his title, throwing in a frown for added effect. 'What, exactly, is it he's doing in there?'

Chakotay simply grinned at her; two could play at that game.

'Now Captain, you know I can't tell you. Neelix wanted it to be a surprise for both you and the crew. You wouldn't want to disappoint him, would you?'

He'd backed her into a corner and they both knew it. Resigned to her fate Kathryn rose and made her way over to the replicator in search of fresh coffee.

If there was one thing in this life that was guaranteed to drive Kathryn Janeway to drink it was the word 'surprise'.

All Hallows Eve
1300

'Harry…Harry…Harry.' Tom Paris shook his head sadly as he cast an experienced eye over his friend's latest purchase. 'They must have seen you coming. Six years of studying with the master and your still throwing your money away on useless junk. Perhaps it's genetic…'

B'Elanna tore her gaze away from the ornately carved cube long enough to come to Harry's defense.

'Go easy on him, helm boy. At least this is harmless junk.'

'Alice wasn't junk…she was just …'

He was about to say 'misunderstood' but a warning growl from B'Elanna suggested a change of topic would be advisable.

'I just don't see the point of a box you can't open.'

Feeling unappreciated, Tom turned and threw himself down on Harry's couch with the air of a man resigned to his fate.

'I'm not sure it's supposed to.'

Harry turned the cube over in his hands, his fingers gliding across the polished metal as they traced the intricate design scrawled across its surface. No matter how many times he followed the delicate lines, he couldn't seem to unravel the pattern. As always, his fingers stopped when they reached the edge of the raised dial that dominated one of the faces.

B'Elanna followed his gaze, her curiosity piqued.

'Some kind of timepiece? It's possible.' She paused for a moment, tilting the box to allow the light from a nearby lamp to illuminate the ornate carvings. Frowning, she turned to Harry, her sharp gaze picking out a series of symbols that had been cleverly interwoven into the design.

'What do you make of that?'

'Looks like some form of script…'

Annoyance tinged Harry's reply. He'd spent the best part of the day staring at the cube and had failed to spot anything that looked even remotely like writing, yet B'Elanna had homed in on it within minutes.

'Pass me that tricorder.'

B'Elanna had barely finished scanning the script when a loud rumbling echoed around the room. Tom looked down at his rebellious stomach, patting it fondly as it made its presence felt.

'Hey, what can I say…I'm a growing boy. Now if you've both finished, we should just about have time to snatch something to eat before Neelix tracks us down and reassigns us. And I thought Tuvok was bad …'

'Okay…okay. Anything for a little piece and quiet.' B'Elanna reached over and ran her fingers through Tom's hair, restoring order where before there was chaos.

'Bring it down to Engineering tomorrow Harry and I'll have a closer look at it. The computer should have finished the translation by then. As for you…' She gave in to temptation and planted a teasing kiss on the tip of Tom's nose before unceremoniously ejecting him from the couch.

'Go liberate some of those replicator rations you've been hoarding and find us something to eat that doesn't taste of leola root...'