Chapter 4

Tom and B'Elanna cuddled on the sofa in their quarters.  Tom kissed the top of her head, the tip of her nose and her lips.

After a few seconds, she pushed him away.  "Harry will be here soon."

"He's a big boy now," Tom said kissing her again.  "He's seen us kiss before."

B'Elanna giggled and kissed him as their door chimed.

They pulled apart and said, "Enter," in unison.

"What's so important that you couldn't tell us on the planet?" Tom asked.

"B'Elanna, I need your help.  Plona needs your help."

"Boy, this is serious," Tom said sitting forward. "I thought you only wanted relationship advice and wondered why you asked for B"Elanna instead of me."

B'Elanna punched his arm.  "What's up, Harry?"

"Well, the Great Earthquake is now only two and a half days away."

"Yes, and the engineers of Plona have things under control," Tom said.

"That's what I'm worried about," Harry said.

"I don't understand," B'Elanna said.

"Shyla is third in command of the engineers, and she discovered a hole in the containment system."  He told them about her conversation with Loyden.

"Why are you telling us?" B'Elanna asked suspiciously.  "She should inform the Plon government."

"We were going to do that this afternoon when we discovered the government is behind the conspiracy."

"Harry," B'Elanna began.

"I know what you're going to say.  We can't intervene.  The Prime Directive forbids it."

"Harry," Tom said.

Harry slammed his fist onto the coffee table.  "We can't just let this happen!"

"The Captain isn't going to let us interfere no matter how dire the situation," B'Elanna explained.

"We've got people down there.  She has to do something."

"She'll beam everyone up and-," Tom said.

"And just leave?  You know the Captain better than that.  B'Elanna, all I'm asking is that you go with Shyla and look at the system to see if there's a way you can repair it."

"And, if I find a way?"

"I'll talk to Janeway."

"Harry, what are you not telling us?" Tom asked.  "How does this hole concern Shyla?"

"You think this bothers me just because a girl I like is bothered by it?"  Harry stood and began pacing.  "There are lives at stake!  Do you think I don't care about that?"

Tom stood to face Harry.  "No, I don't think that.  I know how much you value life. God knows you'd risk your life and career for anyone on this ship and anyone else you care about."  Harry started to turn away, and Tom pulled him back.   "You're ready to do that now, and Shyla means a great deal to you.  That's why I asked."  He let go of Harry's arm and stepped back.

Harry sighed and lowered his eyes.  "Her sister lives in the mountain region."

***"Get back!"  Shyla pushed Harry and B'Elanna behind a building.  "We can't go in the front door," she explained.  "The government's got the building surrounded by security guards.  Luckily, I saw them before they saw us."

"Is there another way in?" B'Elanna asked.

"There is a secret entrance that only the engineers who work here know about.  But, we'll never be able to get close enough to the building to get to it."

"I guess Loyden informed his friends about your discovery," Harry said nervously.

"Once they find out you two are helping me, you'll have to be careful too."

"So, how do we get in?" B'Elanna asked.

"I'm not sure," Shyla admitted.

"Can we have beam into the building?" Harry asked.

"Not without authorization," B'Elanna said.

"The captain's at the beach," Harry pointed out.

"We'll need to be beamed directly into the containment system control room.   They'll assume I'll try to get there anyway I can, so they'll guard that room more heavily than the building itself."

"I'll need the exact coordinates," B'Elanna said. 

Shyla pulled out a pocket map of the building. 

"Torres to transporter room two.  Three to beam to the following coordinates." 

A few seconds later, they were in the control room.  Shyla immediately began explaining controls to B'Elanna.  Harry helped or stayed out of the way as needed and watched for signs of the guards becoming suspicious.

Twelve hours later, the three slumped exhausted on the floor of the control room.

"I'm sorry," B'Elanna was saying.  "The damage is too extensive.  Even if I could figure out how to repair this technology, it would take at least a week."

"At least you tried.  Thank you for doing such a thorough job," Shyla said.

"We have to warn the people in the mountain region," Harry said.  "I'm sure the government will be expecting that, so we'll need a diversion."

"Hold on a second, Harry," B'Elanna cautioned.  "We have to inform Janeway first, and she's not going to let us get more deeply involved."

"We already are deeply involved.  And, us?"

"I'm helping aren't I?"

"I can get us out through that secret entrance," Shyla said.  "It's a tunnel that comes up 18 meters from this building.  You two can run to the left behind the building and try to make it to the woods outside the downtown area without being seen.  I'll go to the right and steal a shuttle.  They won't know we've come out until they see me getting into a shuttle.  They'll know I got into the building somehow, but they won't even know about you.  I'll go to my brother's guesthouse and talk to my sister.  The guards will follow me.  I'm sure she'll want to go home and warn her friends, so we'll leave in her shuttle and pick you up in the woods."  Harry and B'Elanna looked at her.  "It will take twenty minutes for us to get out of the tunnel.  Then, it'll take me fifteen minutes to reach Loyden's guesthouse.  I'll take some back roads and speed to try to lose the guards.  Tamil won't believe me right away, but once I convince her, she'll want to leave immediately.  We can sneak out the back way and come for you, which will take at least half an hour depending on how far you've gotten."

"So, we're looking at approximately two hours," B'Elanna summarized.  "How confident are you that this will work?"

"Ninety five percent," Shyla replied.

"Let's get going."  Harry stood and stretched.

"We can access the tunnel from this panel."  Shyla led them across the room.

Twenty minutes later, Shyla poked her head out of the tunnel.  "No one appears to suspect anything," she told her companions.  She climbed out, and waited for them.  When they were out, she pointed to the left.  "When you get behind that building, I'll go for a shuttle."

"How long before the government finds out about us?" Harry asked.

"I don't know.  If one of the guards sees you, he'll report your location, especially if you're doing something suspicious."

'Like trying to evade them?" B'Elanna quipped.

"Ready?" Shyla asked.

Harry and B'Elanna nodded.  "Good luck," Harry whispered and kissed Shyla.

"Let's go, Harry," B'Elanna said gently.

Harry let go of Shyla and followed B'Elanna.  When they were safely behind the next building, Shyla ran for the nearest shuttle.  She made it to the door when a guard shouted, "Over there!"   As she closed the door, two guards fired.  Their shots ricocheted off the closed door and ignited a nearby vendor's cart.  As she sped off, four guards were rushing to their shuttles. 

Harry and B'Elanna walked quickly away from the commotion and didn't look back.  They didn't notice a muscular guard taking a bathroom break behind a bush.

***Shyla sped around one corner, then another.  She emerged on the other side of a building and chanced a look behind her.  "I really lost them this time," she said when the security officers didn't appear.  She doubled her speed.   She was only a few meters away when a shuttle came out from behind the building.  Shyla heard the siren and swore in her own language.   She swerved around some pedestrians and slowed only as much as was necessary to avoid crashing.