"Hail them!" The Captain barked as another shot was fired from the ship, giving an even bigger jolt.
"No response," the black man said. "Shields at 42%"
"Re-route emergency power! Tuvok, open a channel, all hailing frequencies!"
"Hailing frequencies open."
"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. We are not your enemy!"
A few seconds passed then…
"They are responding," said Tuvok.
"On screen."
Someone…or something appeared on the screen. Harry hadn't seen anyone like this before. He wore a helmet and had many ridges and bumps on his dark face. He spoke in a low growling voice.
"You have entered out territory Captain."
"I'm sorry we didn't pick up any life forms on the planet," the Captain said with a touch of sarcasm in her voice. "We came hoping to mine the Dilithium, our own supplies are running low and only have enough for a few weeks. Perhaps we could trade."
"No," the alien said almost instantly, "you have entered Hirogen territory. You may consider yourself prey."
The screen reverted to the image of the ship orbiting the orange planet. They continued to fire. Prey? Harry thought.
"Looks like they've given us no choice. Target their weapon systems," the Captain ordered.
"Phasers armed and ready," replied Tuvok.
"Fire!"
A beam of light shot across the view screen toward the alien ship. Harry was now gripping the railing on the bridge so tightly he could feel his hands going numb. The beam hit the alien ship resulting in an explosion then a report from Tuvok.
"Their weapons have been disabled…and they are hailing."
"That got them talking," Captain Janeway muttered, smiling to herself, "on screen."
"Captain. You fought well…"
An almighty blast cut the transmission and lit up the dark, glowing orange. The alien vessel had been destroyed.
Janeway turned to Chakotay with a look of horror and confusion upon her face.
"Lifesigns?" The Captain said weakly.
"None," a young man said, opposite Tuvok.
"Harry, scan for any other Hirogen vessels in the sector."
For a brief moment Harry thought she was talking to him, then he realised she was facing the young officer opposite Tuvok, in the top right corner of the bridge. He was a quite short Chinese man with short black hair.
Captain Janeway put her hand on his shoulder.
"Maybe you should take a rest. Harry…Harry Kim sorry, take him to the guest quarters."
He nodded and led Harry out of the room. As they stood in the turbo lift, Harry was still thinking about the ship. How many people were on there? The officer brought him out of his thoughts.
"So what part of Earth do you come from?"
"Er…London, England."
"I've never been there myself, although I've seen plenty of holodeck programs." Seeing Harry's confused face he added, "they're kind of simulations, replications of the real thing."
Harry nodded. He wasn't in the mood for conversation although the idea seemed intriguing. They walked through the crowded corridors of the ship until they reached double doors. Harry Kim entered and gestured for Harry to follow.
"This," he said, walking over to machine built into the wall, "is a replicator. Simply say what you want and it can make it for you. Try it. Anything, a drink, food…"
"Erm…can I have a Butterbeer?" He asked it, feeling stupid talking to a hunk of metal in the wall.
A cool female voice came from it, "Unable to comply. Please restate request."
"Sorry, can I have er…a chocolate milkshake then?"
He looked down to see a chocolate milkshake in a tall glass complete with straw appear out of thin air. He gave a small smile.
"Well, if you need anything, you can contact us using this," Harry Kim pointed to a button on another computer. "This activates the com system. Just ask for Neelix. OK? I better get back to the bridge."
"OK, thanks," Harry replied.
Harry finished the milkshake and collapsed on the bed. It had certainly been an…eventful day. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought of Ron and Hermione. They were dead, everyone her knew. He drifted off to sleep and for the first time in years, had a peaceful, dreamless sleep…
TBC…