Chapter 5: Energize
"Hey Tom, wait up!"
"Harry?" Tom paused in the corridor, allowing Harry to draw abreast with him before continuing. "I'm on my way to astromatrix to run these flight plans by Seven. What's up?"
"What's up?" Harry glanced at the ceiling and then at Tom.
Tom laughed at the bewildered look on Harry's face. "What's up? It's slang, used in 20th century Earth. It means ...um... well in this case it means 'what do you want to talk to me about?' but it can be used in lots of other ways too. That's one of the beauties of slang."
"Okay," Harry said, letting another of Tom's occasional obsessive comments about an ancient culture side. "I was wondering if you would like to join me to try out a new holo-program I've been creating?"
Tom blinked, "That was fast."
"Excuse me?"
"I thought you'd still be mad at me."
"Come on, Tom, you said it yourself; it was just a joke." Harry said slightly too magnanimously.
Tom looked skeptically at Harry.
"Alright, alright. I was slightly annoyed," Harry admitted. "But I'm going crazy with nothing to do. You're not going to make me spend another day by myself in the holo-deck are you?"
"I suppose not." Tom said without any real reluctance.
"Great! 1500 hours, holo-deck 3."
"All right!" Grinning hugely, Tom clapped Harry on the back, relived to have his friend back.
Tom and Harry paused as they reached the turbolift and waited for the doors to open. They stepped inside the small, cylindrical room; Tom stood near to one wall and rested his arm against the railing.
"Bridge." Tom commanded. "You?" he asked Harry.
"Deck four."
"Ah, going to put some finishing touches on your holo-program?" Tom asked impishly.
"No!" Harry replied defensively.
To turbolift doors slide open. "Well this is my stop," Tom said, stepping out.
"See you at 1500," Harry called just as the doors closed.
Tom walked across the Bridge to his post. Janeway and Chakotay glanced up from their conversation, briefly noting his presents, before returning to their discussion.
"That's an interesting idea, Commander," Janeway said, turning halfway in her chair to look straight into Chakotay's serious brown eyes. "Tuvok?"
"The Commander suggestion is ingenious." Tuvok said carefully. "Touching Voyagers hull to the edge of the anomaly should not endanger the ship according to the scans we've been taking and my help us get a better reading on the anomaly. If I may ask, Commander, what made you think of this procedure?"
"It's and old Indian Scout trick, before sensors, they would put their ears to the ground to listen for vibrations."
"And so you deduced that we might "hear" similar "vibrations" if we put Voyages sensors against the anomaly," Janeway finished. "Tom, do it!"
"Aye, Aye Ma'ma," Tom said, grinning. His hands touched lightly upon the controls, easing Voyager forward until her the tip of her bow lightly touched the edge of the anomaly.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The purple swirl of the anomaly enclosed two figures, standing in space: One was shroud in a dark cloak, its features masked; the other, dressed in a Starfleet admiral's uniform, was Q. "My champions. . . as you so whimsically call them. . . have arrived," Q snarled at the hidden figure. "Can't you hurry yours along so we can get on with this mockery?"
"They are coming," The figure said. Her voice was both softly sad and resolute.
"Hey Tom, wait up!"
"Harry?" Tom paused in the corridor, allowing Harry to draw abreast with him before continuing. "I'm on my way to astromatrix to run these flight plans by Seven. What's up?"
"What's up?" Harry glanced at the ceiling and then at Tom.
Tom laughed at the bewildered look on Harry's face. "What's up? It's slang, used in 20th century Earth. It means ...um... well in this case it means 'what do you want to talk to me about?' but it can be used in lots of other ways too. That's one of the beauties of slang."
"Okay," Harry said, letting another of Tom's occasional obsessive comments about an ancient culture side. "I was wondering if you would like to join me to try out a new holo-program I've been creating?"
Tom blinked, "That was fast."
"Excuse me?"
"I thought you'd still be mad at me."
"Come on, Tom, you said it yourself; it was just a joke." Harry said slightly too magnanimously.
Tom looked skeptically at Harry.
"Alright, alright. I was slightly annoyed," Harry admitted. "But I'm going crazy with nothing to do. You're not going to make me spend another day by myself in the holo-deck are you?"
"I suppose not." Tom said without any real reluctance.
"Great! 1500 hours, holo-deck 3."
"All right!" Grinning hugely, Tom clapped Harry on the back, relived to have his friend back.
Tom and Harry paused as they reached the turbolift and waited for the doors to open. They stepped inside the small, cylindrical room; Tom stood near to one wall and rested his arm against the railing.
"Bridge." Tom commanded. "You?" he asked Harry.
"Deck four."
"Ah, going to put some finishing touches on your holo-program?" Tom asked impishly.
"No!" Harry replied defensively.
To turbolift doors slide open. "Well this is my stop," Tom said, stepping out.
"See you at 1500," Harry called just as the doors closed.
Tom walked across the Bridge to his post. Janeway and Chakotay glanced up from their conversation, briefly noting his presents, before returning to their discussion.
"That's an interesting idea, Commander," Janeway said, turning halfway in her chair to look straight into Chakotay's serious brown eyes. "Tuvok?"
"The Commander suggestion is ingenious." Tuvok said carefully. "Touching Voyagers hull to the edge of the anomaly should not endanger the ship according to the scans we've been taking and my help us get a better reading on the anomaly. If I may ask, Commander, what made you think of this procedure?"
"It's and old Indian Scout trick, before sensors, they would put their ears to the ground to listen for vibrations."
"And so you deduced that we might "hear" similar "vibrations" if we put Voyages sensors against the anomaly," Janeway finished. "Tom, do it!"
"Aye, Aye Ma'ma," Tom said, grinning. His hands touched lightly upon the controls, easing Voyager forward until her the tip of her bow lightly touched the edge of the anomaly.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The purple swirl of the anomaly enclosed two figures, standing in space: One was shroud in a dark cloak, its features masked; the other, dressed in a Starfleet admiral's uniform, was Q. "My champions. . . as you so whimsically call them. . . have arrived," Q snarled at the hidden figure. "Can't you hurry yours along so we can get on with this mockery?"
"They are coming," The figure said. Her voice was both softly sad and resolute.