It was crammed with buttons, consoles and screens inside the control room.
"How did you find this place?" Tom asked.
"Well, when you've been walking around for hours without seeing any door of any kind, you
take the chance to peep inside. And it was the right one."
Harry explained, with a humble tone in his voice, while he tapped at a console frenetically.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see that door." Tom felt a little ashamed, after all he'd been leading their
way only to find a control room. And then he'd missed it.
B'Elanna reminded him of his mistake once again, ironic enough she hadn't seen it either, just
stopped when Harry did. Tom didn't have to know that, B'Elanna reasoned.
Tom was at least glad that B'Elanna didn't seem mad at him anymore, though it really wasn't
his fault that she knocked somebody down.
She probably just needed a scapegoat, and why not - both Starfleet and Maquis had used him
for that purpose before. He no longer saw a resolution in arguing about whose fault it actually
was.
Half an hour later, Tom had found several copies of their warpcore blueprints.
"According to this data, they're already building a prototype."
"Stupid idiots!" B'Elanna muttered from her position, still with her nose buried in her work.
"They can't put an engine designed by Starfleet, to fill the 'fleet's purposes into one of their
ships without improving the entire ship."
"What if they install their prototype and blows themselves up? That's not our business."
Harry mentioned.
"Harry," she emphasized his name, and made a pause for effect, this made Harry feel really
dumb. Tom didn't even seem to bother, like he already knew the answer, but in reality he
listened carefully to her Torres explain her theory.
"When we were on our way down I made some extra sensor reading. They indicated an
unstable atmosphere, if it blows up, the active subatomic particles will cause a huge explosion.
And if Voyager still is in this orbit when they engage..."
She made another pause, finishing her sentence for good.
"Like a nuclear bomb." Tom put in, blowing his 'couldn't care less' cover.
"I'M IN! THEIR MAIN COMPUTER, SYSTEMS, EVERYTHING! I'VE GOT IT ALL IN
MY HAND!!" Harry shrieked, his words bouncing back and fourth several times.
"Harry, you've got to stop being so ardent telling us what you've accomplished."
Tom drew sharply for air. His father had used those exact words to him when he'd made his
first roll with a shuttle. He remembered that he, eleven years old, had been very depressed after
that.
"It was just a joke." He hurried to say, a little too fast according to B'Elanna's uneasy look.
"Tom, I didn't think you were sincere, and I won't ever think that when you make a sentence
like that."
'Just wish my father would have been a joker too.' He thought, and made an attempt to save
his face.
"Good! I'm just checking. Download the crap now!" Tom laughed halfhearted and looked pretty sheepish.
'Smooth, Tom!' He admonished himself.
"Already done." Harry replied.
"Then we're finished, right?" B'Elanna moaned.
"What is it, Maquis?"
"I've got a headache! Probably caught it from you."
Harry flushed at her last words, but she didn't notice and continued.
"Or maybe from all these annoying buttons and this indecipherable writing."
"I'm sorry, B'Elanna, but Harry had to get the only translator."
"I know, and now he's found what he was looking for all along, and you've got the blueprints.
So, let's get out of here!"
The two men agreed and they had just began to approach the door when footsteps was to be
heard. 'Oh, no! Not again!' Tom mentally groaned.
"Be quiet!" the former Maquis engineer hissed.
Harry collapsed in a corner, his foot felt like it was ready to burst. When he moved after
standing still for such a long time, everything flushed over him again, and twice as hard.
He could feel little beads of sweat take form at his forehead. He closed his eyes, not wanting
anything else than to go to sleep.
At the same time Harry's eyes closed, the door in front of his two buddies began to open.
Tom immediately put an arm around B'Elanna's shoulder and quietly dragged her away from
the doorway.
When an arm and almost a whole shoulder was visible where the closed door should have
been, B'Elanna grabbed the arm and violently pulled the person outside into the room.
Tom hurried to shut the door and then looked up at the Sprai-koo male pressed against a wall.
"Ecbel!" He said, astonished.
"Tim! Tell this monster to let me go!"
B'Elanna smiled innocently, "Do you know this subtle person?"
"He escorted me to Scrich, and later to Morekay. A lost soul, just like you and me." He
winked at B'Elanna. She loosened her tight grip and stepped back.
Ecbel massaged his sore shoulders.
"What is this? Mutiny?"
"You want to help us?" Tom grinned.
"Most certainly not!" Ecbel looked terrified, or at least he tried to.
"You don't have to pretend. I know how badly you want to get out. You said yourself that
you dreaded her." Tom pushed.
"Oh, okay. I'll be glad if this coming war can come to an end even before it started. But
according to my vows, I have to object if someone suggests mutery, and you do."
"What stupid laws do you have here?!"
"B'Elanna! Shut it! Ecbel, you've been loyal to your vows. You have objected already, does it
say how many time you have to stand up for her?"
"No, not anywhere that I know of."
"Then, technically, you can help us now..."
"No!"
"Oh, after what I saw back at Voyager, you'd sell your own mother if the price was right!"
B'Elanna spat.
"My mother happens to be dead!"
"Do you have any other family?" Tom said, thankful because B'Elanna had given him an idea.
"No."
"Then you're a bachelor, and a bachelor is free to do whatever he wants!"
"But my work--"
"Work! Work doesn't stop a free bachelor to fulfill his dreams."
Ecbel's eyes lit up.
"Your right! I guess I can fulfill my dreams! So what do you want me to do?"
"Help us find a way out of here!"
B'Elanna narrowed her eyes. She didn't like his quick exchange from exaggerating no-sayer to
exaggerating gay and helpful. She wondered if Tom knew and had a brilliant plan involving this
newcoming 'I have Neelix's personality' copy.
"Not to sound whiny Tim, but can your friend walk?"
Tom and B'Elanna quickly turned to Harry, they both thought that he was in the background,
ready to defend himself. He sat behind them.
"Harry! What's the matter?" She threw herself to her knees beside Harry.
"My foot... hurts. I sprained it when I jumped. I lied... didn't have a headache." He mumbled,
trying to smile.
"It's okay, Har. You'll be fine. What will we do now?" She turned to Tom, who looked at
Ecbel.
"Er... I can take him to my room for a while." Ecbel volunteered, feeling pressured to say
something by Tom's eyes.
"Thank you! We truly appreciate it. If you could describe the way to somewhere when you can
send a message to a ship far away..."
"I'll take care of it."
"Great! Thanks! Oh, I'll have to introduce you! Ecbel - this is Harry Kim and B'Elanna Torres.
Harry, B'Elanna - Ecbel Ecbal." He made a few fast motions with his hands.
Ecbel looked confused when Tom pronounced B'Elanna's name. He tried to copy but
stumbled already at the E.
"Just call me 'Lanna'," she suggested.
***
"How did you find this place?" Tom asked.
"Well, when you've been walking around for hours without seeing any door of any kind, you
take the chance to peep inside. And it was the right one."
Harry explained, with a humble tone in his voice, while he tapped at a console frenetically.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see that door." Tom felt a little ashamed, after all he'd been leading their
way only to find a control room. And then he'd missed it.
B'Elanna reminded him of his mistake once again, ironic enough she hadn't seen it either, just
stopped when Harry did. Tom didn't have to know that, B'Elanna reasoned.
Tom was at least glad that B'Elanna didn't seem mad at him anymore, though it really wasn't
his fault that she knocked somebody down.
She probably just needed a scapegoat, and why not - both Starfleet and Maquis had used him
for that purpose before. He no longer saw a resolution in arguing about whose fault it actually
was.
Half an hour later, Tom had found several copies of their warpcore blueprints.
"According to this data, they're already building a prototype."
"Stupid idiots!" B'Elanna muttered from her position, still with her nose buried in her work.
"They can't put an engine designed by Starfleet, to fill the 'fleet's purposes into one of their
ships without improving the entire ship."
"What if they install their prototype and blows themselves up? That's not our business."
Harry mentioned.
"Harry," she emphasized his name, and made a pause for effect, this made Harry feel really
dumb. Tom didn't even seem to bother, like he already knew the answer, but in reality he
listened carefully to her Torres explain her theory.
"When we were on our way down I made some extra sensor reading. They indicated an
unstable atmosphere, if it blows up, the active subatomic particles will cause a huge explosion.
And if Voyager still is in this orbit when they engage..."
She made another pause, finishing her sentence for good.
"Like a nuclear bomb." Tom put in, blowing his 'couldn't care less' cover.
"I'M IN! THEIR MAIN COMPUTER, SYSTEMS, EVERYTHING! I'VE GOT IT ALL IN
MY HAND!!" Harry shrieked, his words bouncing back and fourth several times.
"Harry, you've got to stop being so ardent telling us what you've accomplished."
Tom drew sharply for air. His father had used those exact words to him when he'd made his
first roll with a shuttle. He remembered that he, eleven years old, had been very depressed after
that.
"It was just a joke." He hurried to say, a little too fast according to B'Elanna's uneasy look.
"Tom, I didn't think you were sincere, and I won't ever think that when you make a sentence
like that."
'Just wish my father would have been a joker too.' He thought, and made an attempt to save
his face.
"Good! I'm just checking. Download the crap now!" Tom laughed halfhearted and looked pretty sheepish.
'Smooth, Tom!' He admonished himself.
"Already done." Harry replied.
"Then we're finished, right?" B'Elanna moaned.
"What is it, Maquis?"
"I've got a headache! Probably caught it from you."
Harry flushed at her last words, but she didn't notice and continued.
"Or maybe from all these annoying buttons and this indecipherable writing."
"I'm sorry, B'Elanna, but Harry had to get the only translator."
"I know, and now he's found what he was looking for all along, and you've got the blueprints.
So, let's get out of here!"
The two men agreed and they had just began to approach the door when footsteps was to be
heard. 'Oh, no! Not again!' Tom mentally groaned.
"Be quiet!" the former Maquis engineer hissed.
Harry collapsed in a corner, his foot felt like it was ready to burst. When he moved after
standing still for such a long time, everything flushed over him again, and twice as hard.
He could feel little beads of sweat take form at his forehead. He closed his eyes, not wanting
anything else than to go to sleep.
At the same time Harry's eyes closed, the door in front of his two buddies began to open.
Tom immediately put an arm around B'Elanna's shoulder and quietly dragged her away from
the doorway.
When an arm and almost a whole shoulder was visible where the closed door should have
been, B'Elanna grabbed the arm and violently pulled the person outside into the room.
Tom hurried to shut the door and then looked up at the Sprai-koo male pressed against a wall.
"Ecbel!" He said, astonished.
"Tim! Tell this monster to let me go!"
B'Elanna smiled innocently, "Do you know this subtle person?"
"He escorted me to Scrich, and later to Morekay. A lost soul, just like you and me." He
winked at B'Elanna. She loosened her tight grip and stepped back.
Ecbel massaged his sore shoulders.
"What is this? Mutiny?"
"You want to help us?" Tom grinned.
"Most certainly not!" Ecbel looked terrified, or at least he tried to.
"You don't have to pretend. I know how badly you want to get out. You said yourself that
you dreaded her." Tom pushed.
"Oh, okay. I'll be glad if this coming war can come to an end even before it started. But
according to my vows, I have to object if someone suggests mutery, and you do."
"What stupid laws do you have here?!"
"B'Elanna! Shut it! Ecbel, you've been loyal to your vows. You have objected already, does it
say how many time you have to stand up for her?"
"No, not anywhere that I know of."
"Then, technically, you can help us now..."
"No!"
"Oh, after what I saw back at Voyager, you'd sell your own mother if the price was right!"
B'Elanna spat.
"My mother happens to be dead!"
"Do you have any other family?" Tom said, thankful because B'Elanna had given him an idea.
"No."
"Then you're a bachelor, and a bachelor is free to do whatever he wants!"
"But my work--"
"Work! Work doesn't stop a free bachelor to fulfill his dreams."
Ecbel's eyes lit up.
"Your right! I guess I can fulfill my dreams! So what do you want me to do?"
"Help us find a way out of here!"
B'Elanna narrowed her eyes. She didn't like his quick exchange from exaggerating no-sayer to
exaggerating gay and helpful. She wondered if Tom knew and had a brilliant plan involving this
newcoming 'I have Neelix's personality' copy.
"Not to sound whiny Tim, but can your friend walk?"
Tom and B'Elanna quickly turned to Harry, they both thought that he was in the background,
ready to defend himself. He sat behind them.
"Harry! What's the matter?" She threw herself to her knees beside Harry.
"My foot... hurts. I sprained it when I jumped. I lied... didn't have a headache." He mumbled,
trying to smile.
"It's okay, Har. You'll be fine. What will we do now?" She turned to Tom, who looked at
Ecbel.
"Er... I can take him to my room for a while." Ecbel volunteered, feeling pressured to say
something by Tom's eyes.
"Thank you! We truly appreciate it. If you could describe the way to somewhere when you can
send a message to a ship far away..."
"I'll take care of it."
"Great! Thanks! Oh, I'll have to introduce you! Ecbel - this is Harry Kim and B'Elanna Torres.
Harry, B'Elanna - Ecbel Ecbal." He made a few fast motions with his hands.
Ecbel looked confused when Tom pronounced B'Elanna's name. He tried to copy but
stumbled already at the E.
"Just call me 'Lanna'," she suggested.
***