TITLE: THE GAME
AUTHOR: DANCING PIXIE
RATING: T
SUMMARY: This story takes place after the season 4 but before season 5. The Senoir staff return to the holodeck and the WWII senario.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I started this story a while ago. I love the idea of Voyager's staff fighting in the Second World War but felt bad that none of them knew who they were. The story takes a while to get going mainly because I am a history nerd. As you can tell, this isn't finished yet but I hope it is still an enjoyable read.
Please read and review!
Captain Janeway never regretted giving the Hirogen holodeck technology. They needed to evolve and redevelop their culture and the holodeck enabled them to do just that while persevering the hunt. She disliked how they had hunted and her crew through the holodecks but the cold logical side of her could understood why.
The Hirogen had never been the most popular aliens that Voyager had come across in the Delta quadrant and the majority of the crew had heaved a huge sigh of relief when Voyager left their territory. So it came as a surprise to Captain Janeway when she was enjoying a lovely evening in her rooms to hear Harry's voice over her Comm badge, "Captain to the Bridge. We are being hailed by a Hirogen vessel." Rubbing her eyes she slipped her red and black command jacket back on and she head for the bridge to see what was going on.
When she entered the turbolift Chakotay was already standing there. Apparently Harry had also hailed him. "So what do you think they want this time?"
Janeway shrugged, "I don't know. We left their territory weeks ago, gave them the technology they wanted as a relic. Why would they chase us? It isn't like them." The transporter slowed to a halt and the Captain and her First Officer entered the bridge. On the screen was a Hirogen commander sitting at his version of a bridge. Janeway squinted to she if she recognized him but his forehead ridges were too close together and his manner was different from any others she could think of. That one in the back of the screen though, she couldn't have sworn that he had been part of the group that attacked her ship a few months ago. Harry had been talking to the Hirogen Commander but they both feel silent when the Captain entered the Bridge.
"This is Captain Janeway of the Starship Voyager."
"You have violated our territory!"
"I am sorry, I was lead to believe that your territory was a part of space we left several months ago."
"That is the territory of the Alpha Clan. We are the Beta Clan," Damn thought the Captain, she had to face whole new group of Hirogen. The alien on the screen paused and then continued, "Are you the Captain who gave us the Technology?"
It took a minute for the Captain to realize what the alien meant before she responded, "Yes, your leader had an interesting plan for the holodecks, one which I believed would work."
The alien suddenly looked triumphant, "Then we have a solution. There are many hunters in our Clan and your pursuing your vessel would be an too easy of a hunt. My second in command tells me that when you were part of the simulation you were most challenging prey. If we were to put our two holodecks together we could produce a most interesting hunt."
This could work thought, Janeway. There was no way her ship could survive another attack by a fleet of Hirogen vessels but they could hold there own on a holodeck. She stole a glance at her First Officer and he barely nodded. Chakotay's support cliched it, with his agreement she left the platform where she been standing and walked around to her chair, "I think that this 'game' would be much more satisfying then a normal hunt. We will participate," The best way to deal with the Hirogen was to act like a Hirogen and trying to sound like a fellow hunter, she responded, "Do have a particular simulation in mind?"
" My crewmen tell me that one which involved a war that took place on your planet many years ago was the most interesting. It was the last simulation you played..."
"We call that war World War II and you are in luck, we still have the program."
Turning from his console, Tom spoke up, "Captain if we are going to play this 'game' we are going to need rules and restrictions."
The suggestion was ironic coming from Tom, and it showed how much he had changed since joining Voyager, but he was right. "One last thing, Commander. My Lt. has made a good suggestion. This hunt will need rules to ensure the challenge. I suggest an exchange of negotiators to figure out all the details."
"Our negotiator will transport to your ship in half an hour." The screen went blank.
"I guess that was good-bye," Captain shifted in her chair to Tom, "Mr. Paris you just became Voyager's newest negotiator. Of all of the crew you know the most about the holodeck and that particular situation. Try to get ensure that the safeties are on during the simulation and if not make sure the Doctor can some how treat the wounded."
Standing up Tom quipped, "It's a long long way to Tripary..."
"What?"
"Never mind Captain."
Six hours latter the senior staff plus Neelix and the Doctor meet Tom in the Meeting Room. He looked like hell. His jacket was off, and his hair looked decidedly scruffy. Data PADDS were all around him and he was drinking what appeared to by his 7th cup of coffee. The Hirogen negotiator had left 15 minutes ago not looking much better himself and shortly afterwards Tom had asked everyone to meet in the Captain's meeting room.
Once everyone had filed in and was seated around the table he rose from his chair. "The Hirogan are stubborn little buggers, sorry Captain, and after 3 hours of steady negotiations I realised that they were going to blow up this ship or play the game with out the safeties."
Tom leaned over and picked up a data PADD, "On the bright side I managed to arrange for the Doctor to be written into the program but they countered with that he can only use surgical techniques on the patients from the 1940's era, with the notable exceptions of B'Elanna, Tuvok, Neelix and Seven who all have alien physilogies. Basically we are going to be playing the exact same situation that we had the last game. To the Hirogen the challenge is re-enacting old battles with the same restrictions as the original soldiers. As a result the other rules are that even though we will get to know who we are this time around, we must stay in character at all times. If you come out of character, you are shot by a "sniper". To make things fair neither side is to use weapons from our time period. Oh, and only the senior staff is going to be in the simulation. The total simulation will last for a week and during that time neither ship is to attack each other or the game is forfeit. If we lose, Voyager will be captured and we become their new bulkhead decoration. If we win they leave us alone. Because this 'game' will start in a week, I thought I would give everyone a review tonight, you know some reading material on the Nazi's and their weaponry and some more detailed stuff for the non-humans in the room."
"The who and what weaponry? " asked Chakotay looking up from the data PADD Tom passed him.
"Didn't you take Advanced History at the Academy?' Chakotay shook his head, "Did anyone?" When only the Captain raised her hand, Tom slid into his chair, "Dammit! Captain with the safety of the senior staff in mind, I would like permission to organise an intensive 6 day seminar on early 20th century history."
"Permission granted Mr. Paris."
"Okay everyone, get ready to learn. Meet me in the Holodeck in six hours."
Exactly six hours latter Tom Paris sat behind his desk in the bare Holodeck. There were 8 others chairs with typical school desks in rows in front of him. Closing his eyes, he tried to hide how much fun he was having. Sure they were going to go into a simulation that could potentially kill them, but what away to go! Tom knew that he was operating on little to no sleep but he had been so excited. After the meeting he had returned to his quarters and spent the time going through all of his extensive collection on 20th century history to compile a good lesson plan. He was going to get history into his crew's brains or die trying.
"You apparently have a darker sense of humour then I originally gave you credit for, Tom," cracked the Captain, "Desks? I haven't sat in one of these since my Academy days."
"But they do permit easy note taking, which will you be doing a lot of."
"You may be the teacher Tom, but I am still the Captain."
"Message received loud and clear Ma'am."
By this point most of the crew had arrived. Tom kept a laugh to himself. You could tell a lot about a person depending of where they sat in the classroom. Harry and the Captain both sat in the first row armed with lots of extra data PADDs. B'Elanna and Chakotay hid in the back trying to avoid eye contact. Neelix and the Doctor both sat in the middle and Tuvok side slightly off to the side. There was still one seat empty. Seven.
As if reading his mind the Captain said, "Let me, Tom." She tapped her Comm badge, "Captain Janeway to Seven of Nine."
"This is Seven of Nine."
"You were to report to Holodeck 1 around now but your seat it still empty."
"I have no desire to attend Lt. Paris's seminar, anything I need to know about this 'game' I can assimilate at a latter date. Right now I am busy in the process of recalibrating the proton torpedos, if it is done correctly we may not need to engage in this inefficent game at all."
"Seven, the Holodeck now! That is an order!"
"Yes, Captain."
It took only minutes for Seven to arrive at the Holodeck and once she had taken her seat, Tom began his speech. She still didn't look happy about it though.
"This game isn't going to depend on how much firepower we have, or how cunning we are. This game is going to depend on what we know. As we speak the Hirogen are studying the same data as we are, memorising the same facts. I can't stress this enough, if you don't know this information, you will die. Those are the rules of the game, so take notes and pay attention."
Pausing Tom tried to make eye contact with everyone. "You can't understand what is going on if you don't know why you got here. And you can't understand WWII if you don't understand WWI and you can't understand WWI if you don't know what the Industrial Revolution is. We will cover the beginning of the 20th century to WWI this morning and World War I after lunch. The Twenties and Thirties and the Causes of World War II tomorrow. Any questions?"
Any doubts the Senior staff of Voyager had about Tom's knowledge of the early 20th century vanished during the first day. By the end of the day even Seven grudgingly admitted that Tom knew his stuff. Tuvok and Chakotay, both former Starfleet Academy teachers, voiced how impressed they were. The Captain noticed that Tom looked more relaxed then he normally did, something she saw only when he was piloting Voyager. Tom was in his element.
At the end of the day the Captain and the rest of the crew felt overstuffed with information. The industrial revolution, Henry Ford, imperialism, World War I, mustard gas, Treaty of Versailles. As Tom passed around the test PADDs Harry joked, "Last time Tom gave me a history quiz, he had a gun aimed at my head."
"What?" asked Tom looked up.
"You wouldn't remember, it was during the simulation when you actually thought that you were a WWII soldier. You wouldn't believe me when I said I was an American. You asked me what I would be looking at if Betty Garbow came around the corner. I froze and you nearly pulled the trigger."
"You remembered in time apparently."
"Yup."
The Captain wasn't quite sure but she thought she heard Tom whisper, "Thank God." Harry was perhaps the closest friend Tom had ever had and the Captain had a pretty good idea that Tom would be up a few nights thinking that he had almost killed his best friend.
After half an hour Tom looked up from his desk, "Pencils down!"
"What's a pencil?" asked B'Elanna.
"An ancient writing utensil. You'll learn about it tomorrow."
The next 3 days Tom crammed them as full as possible with information. They learned everything and more about World War II, the international situation, the internal situation, pop culture, attitudes towards women and the list went on. Voyager was in suspension in space while the senior staff absorbed all the information it could handle. It was not an uncommon sight to see the Captain talking to Chakotay about Mein Kampf over coffee, Harry and Seven arguing over the causes of the Second World War and Tuvok listening to Jazz music. The ship joke was B'Elanna's "extra help" sessions.
However on the 4th day, Tom did something different. When they entered there were at least 4 data PADDs already on their desks. "Today we are going to do something new. Part of the game is not only knowing the factoids of what is going on but also who we are. For example, I am Lt. Bobby Davis. I have a past and the holo-soldiers expect me to recognise them, I am friends with some and not with others. They will expect me to act in character. Briggite, played by Lt. Torres, and I have a romantic past. I know certain things and not others. To help everyone I have complied a short history and vital statistics. Underneath are other PADDs which contain information you are expected to know."
Raising a PADD Tuvok read the title, " 'A Hundred and One Alcoholic Drinks from the 1940's' Is this really required reading, Mr. Paris?"
"It is when you are the bartender," pausing Tom looked around at the confused faces of his friends, "Let me quickly go over who everyone is. We have been divided into two groups. The Resistance and the Americans. Commander Chakotay, the Doctor and I are all American soldiers. The Captain is the chief of the Resistance in St. Claire where she runs a Club. Tuvok is a man named Tomas, who works as her bartender and is her second-in-command. B'Elanna is my ex-girlfriend and the radio expert for the resistance. In order to get information she is carrying on a relationship with one of the German holo-soliders. Neelix is the messenger and local baker. Luckily for us the one with the most to learn is Seven, since she is both the munitions expert and the local Jazz singer." Everyone glanced over to see Seven with wires coming out her right hand connecting to the PADDS, eyes closed obliviously assimilating encyclopaedias worth of knowledge.
"Uhmm Tom?" Harry looked confused.
"Yeah?."
"Why don't I have any PADDs?"
"Well that is because you are special Harry. You see the simulation is programmed to prevent the holo-people from noticing aliens. They cover up Tuvok's ears and B'Elanna's ridges. But you are human, they can't modify you. And there very, very few Asian - Americans would be fighting in World War II in St. Claire. It is historically improbable, plus a character for you wasn't written into the original program. The Hirogen have a agreed that someone from each side needs to be on the outside to ensure that everything runs smoothly. That is your job."
"Great, then why they did you make me learn all this stuff?"
"Because I have written in an emergency character for you. If something goes wrong, you activate this character and enter the simulation."
"Well, who am I?"
"Read and find out." Tom passed Harry a data PADD, "Does anyone have any questions about the information in their profile?"
"Yes I do," The doctor had thoroughly enjoyed Tom's lectures, all of the information could have easily been written into his program but he liked the idea of 'learning', "My program is unfamiliar with many of the terms in these guides. Don't tell my I will actually have to cut my patients open?"
"Well that was what medicine was like then Doc..."
"TOM PARIS YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!"B'Elanna interrupted.
Turning to face her Tom asked, "What is the matter?"
"I'll tell you what is the matter under, in my profile under 'medical conditions' it reads '8 months pregnant'!"
"It's part of the original program B'Elanna, I can't write it out. It is part of the plot!" This didn't seem to cool B'Elanna's temper at all.
"Speaking of plot Mr. Paris," asked Neelix, " I don't really remember what the details of this simulation because apparently I was shot before I could really participate."
"Well is really quite simple Neelix. It is 1945, after D-Day. The War is essentially won but the Germans are still putting up a good resistance. The Americans have been assigned to liberate this part of France and that is where the Americans fit fit in. The Resistance is trying to help the American's liberate their city. We are attacking from the outside and you are attacking from the inside."
"But if the whole point is secrecy, won't our cover be blown when they see us?"
"Well, it is written into the program to 'disguise' all the Resistance members to look like holo-characters to the Hirogen. Any more questions?"
"Tom, I have one last question," asked Chakotay, "How does this war end? Do the Germans make a come back, does France become liberated? You never finished explaining."
"Your character doesn't know that Commander, so neither will you," replied Tom flashing a grin. Yup, thought the Captain, Tom really does have a dark sense of humour.
Once everyone had finished reading his or her profiles, Tom announced, "We are going to run a simulation of the St. Claire so that everyone gets idea of the plan of the city and then we are going to go experiment with the usage of the technology. We only have 3 days left and a lot to learn. Computer run St. Claire city plan, without Holo-characters."
Instantly the cold metal beams around them disappeared and the French village grew.
The next few days passed in a flurry. In between reading all of the material, some of which even Tom didn't know, the senior staff was busy learning how to ride bicycles, use radios and fire old style guns. Luckily the safeties where on because the Captain nearly blew herself up several times with a grenade. It took B'Elanna hours to learn how to tune the radio and Neelix nearly poisoned everyone with his first batch of French bread. Chakotay and Tom learned how to walk around with their body weight on their back and the Doctor accidentally killed many holo-character is his efforts to learn early Medicare.
All the while Harry was going nearly crazy working with counterpart to get the holo-deck big enough to run the simulation. Barely anyone ever saw him, he spent all waking hours at the holo-deck console.
There were some successes too. Seven first attempt at Jazz singing was breathtaking, to say the least. And Tuvok learned to mix a delicious martini. B'Elanna decoded messages at a truly incredible speed. Chakotay's ability to read maps impressed even the Captain.
It was on the last night of the seminars when they were eating diner at the Captain's club when she raised an excellent point. The dinner had been Tom's idea, as a final test, to see if they could really blend in with the holo-characters. Tom was dancing with B'Elanna while Seven sang. Tuvok and Kathryn were actually working, greeting customers and serving drinks. Harry, Chakotay and the Doctor looked particularly dashing in their tuxedos and were enjoying a drink. Neelix was taking full advantage of the situation to mingle. Seven had just finished her last song and had sat down when the Captain made the comment to Chakotay. "I think the most frustrating process of this whole thing was that before I did all this with out having to learn it. I just knew it. Now I am having to go back and relearn things I vaguely remember doing perfectly."
"You are correct Captain," Tuvok said wiping a glass, "I still find handling the money of this place confusing even though I know it should be very simple." Pausing to pour a drink Tuvok continued, "What I find most incredible is Mr. Paris extensive knowledge of this time period . Of all us, he had the least to learn." Tom turned around when he heard his name.
"Yeah, Tom," asked Chakotay sipping on his martini, "Where did you learn all this history? Certainly not all in one Academy course."
"Prison." When everyone raised their eyebrow Tom elaborated, "I spent several years in prison and penal colonies in a maximum security cell. After the 3rd day you start to go crazy, locked in that little tiny space. Some let it happen, others pick fights and do anything to get attention. A 3rd group sinks into themselves. It was the library cart that saved me. I had 8 hours of emptiness on my hands and a stack of library books. I was actually half way through a thesis when the Captain sprung me loose." Tom didn't talk about his experiences in prison very often and when he did it was always a sobering experience. Trying to break the silence that he had created, Tom spoke again, "I would like to congratulate everyone on passing this test. I think that we are ready. The games start tomorrow so there is nothing more to do. See you all at Holodeck 2 in the morning! Captain and the other members of the resistance I wish you luck! Chakotay, Doc lets get ready to rumble!" With that everyone started exit the holodeck..
Tom and B'Elanna walked off hand in hand. Tom thought that B'Elanna looked absolutely stunning in the black dress was wearing. She had insisted that she not start being pregnant until absolutely have to, so she had not started wearing the loose maternity clothes of the period. Tom began to think of what she was wearing under that dress and started to grow a little hot under the collar. B'Elanna was right, sometimes he really did have a one-track mind.
"Tom! B'Elanna!" Behind him the Doc was calling. Please, not another tutorial begged Tom in his mind. B'Elanna didn't look too pleased either as they turned around.
"What?" Asked his little chief engineer crisply.
"I really must speak to the both of you. If you would please step into my office."
Rolling his eyes, Tom followed the doctor into Sickbay and it to his office. "I have been looking to talk to the both of you but it has been hard to get a chance to speak to you with out every other staff member around."
"What is the matter Doc?" asked Tom wondering what possibly could be wrong.
"Nothing is really wrong, yet at least. You see your talk on pop culture of the '40's got me thinking."
"About what?" Tom tried to think about what he had said.
"You mentioned briefly in that contraceptives essentially didn't exist and that was one of the reasons that B'Elanna's character in the program was pregnant. However, she is only holographically pregnant. And after a little bit of research I discovered that if you and Lt. Torres engage in, uhmm, sexual activity in the program, she could become really pregnant, since neither of you are holograms."
During this whole discussion both B'Elanna and Tom had been going progressively redder. Shortly after the infamous Day of Honour B'Elanna had begun to receive contraceptive booster shots from the Doctor, like many of the other female members of the crew. She hadn't made a big deal of it and the Doctor had enough grace to refrain from making any comments. However, she had a severe allergic reaction, thus she and Tom decided to use more tradition contraceptives instead. They weren't ready to become parents and she knew managing her career as Chief Engineer and mother would be near impossible especially since they were trapped in the Delta Quadrant. And although she and Tom had discussed the possibility of what to do if they're contraceptives failed they were always very careful. Trying to smile she looked at the Doctor, "Thanks for informing us of this Doc. And we will keep you advice in mind."
When the left the Doctor's office Tom was cursing up a blue streak, "I don't believe it!" B'Elanna turned to look at Tom, there was real fear in his eyes, "I could have gotten you pregnant. I just never thought about it."
"You would have thought of it eventually. And now we know." Leaning up to whisper in his ear she said, "Now let's take advantage of our last opportunity."
Smiling Tom lead her back to his room. God he loved this woman.
Nobody, except maybe Tuvok and Seven, slept that night. The Captain paced the floors, Chakotay went a sprit quest. Tom and B'Elanna threw themselves into their love making. Harry worked on his console until the Captain ordered him to bed.
At 7 o'clock the next morning the Captain gave her final orders to the crew and Harry, who would be the Acting Captain during the simulation. Silently, she and the rest of the senior staff walked to Holodeck 2. The Hirogen had already boarded the ship but they would start their simulation in Holodeck 1. Tom may have guided them to the point but they were still her crew and she still gave the pep talk before they went out. "In exactly 2 minutes Ensign Kim will commence Simulation Liberation. We will be transported to the world of 1945 France. We have trained and simulated this so many times that most of have forgotten where we end and where our character begins. Tuvok, B'Elanna, Neelix, Seven and I will try to make contact with Chakotay, Tom and the Doctor as soon as possible. Tom has done a brilliant job training us for this mission and I have every confidence in you. Good luck and Aurevoir!"
Suddenly the holodeck went completely black. When the mist cleared the Captain, wait no she was Katrine now, was in her club. Tomas, her barman, stood behind the bar and Mme. De Neuvre, her Jazz singer, was at the piano. Slowly each of them turned to look at each other, examining their surroundings. Looking down, she realised she was wearing a simple brown dress. Seven looked a little better in a blue flora dress that had a very fashionable cut and Tuvok was wearing what appeared to be a suit with out the jacket and there were funny little elastic things around his arms. Well let's get started, thought Kathryn and gave both 'Mme. de Neuvre' and 'Tomas' a big wink. From behind her a door slammed 'Briggite' entered carrying a huge shopping bag. "Bonjour Briggite! Let me help you with that!"
"Merci...Katrine," B'Elanna responded passing her the bag, which a appeared to be some sort of food. Even under her large shirt and loose shirt she couldn't hide that she was very, very pregnant.
Quickly she checked her watch, "I believe that Monsieur Nealen will be here any moment with today's supplies, perhaps you would like to go into the kitchen to set up."
"Of course," Bridget replied still looking a little confused.
With in minutes Neelix had arrived on his bicycle. Grabbing the wine bottle he had been carrying, she ripped off the labels as she entered the kitchen. B'Elanna was sitting on a stool, with a radio in front of her trying to tune it, while holding an earpiece to her right ear. Suddenly the room exploded with noise, "THIS IS THE BBC..."
Swearing B'Elanna, turned down the radio's volume and the transmission continued, "This is a special news broadcast. Today London is expecting rain and showers while Essex and the Isle of White are going to be treated to lovely sunny weather. Temperatures will very from 12 degree to 30. Thank for listening to the BBC. Once again..." B'Elanna had been frantically jotting the whole transmission while Kathryn used the figures written on the back of the wine label to decipher the code. After the transmission was finished the two compared notes and the end result the Captain read aloud, "ALLIES COME, Tomorrow. Get radio out of HQ"
Pacing the floor Janeway continued, "At least we know now when they are arriving. The Americans may have big guns and tanks but they don't know this city and they don't know the Germans that guard it. What we need to do is..."
Suddenly from the front of the club they heard a low whistle, from where Seven and Tuvok had remained on guard. It was the signal that trouble had entered the club and Kathryn raced for the door while B'Elanna and Neelix hurriedly put the radio back into the hiding place.
In the Club was a Hirogen officer. Trying to act like an innocent businesswoman Kathryn greeted him, "Bonjour Commandante! Welcome to my club, we are not open yet but if you come back at a latter time we will more then pleased to serve you. As long as you leave the war at that door!"
"Thank you Madame, the new Commandante has asked me to search all of the shops and stores to ensure that no contraband is being held."
"Officer what a ridiculous thought! Contraband! Well feel free to search my club, you won't find any here!" Katherine answered trying to act as unsuspicious as possible.
"I will start in the kitchen."
"Of course, let me show you the way," Kathryn replied, leading the Officer into the back of the club. When they entered all they saw was Neelix peeling fruits and B'Elanna cutting up vegetables. Silently the officer searched the room from top to bottom but found nothing.
He only addressed them once, grabbing B'Elanna's her face and asking, "What about you whore, what do you know?"
B'Elanna looked like she was going to impale the Officer on her knife and blow her cover but Kathryn gave her a quick kick under the table and she softened, somewhat. "Nothing. I know nothing." The Hirogen officer let her go.
The Hirogen found nothing and departed. Once he had left, Neelix heaved a huge sigh of relief and then continued to peel the vegetables, shifting where he had been standing revealing a loose tile under which the radio was hidden.
Trying to phrase what she wanted to say with out acting out of time period she called for Seven. Seven walked into the kitchen with a grace that had been practised. Once she had found out that her character would wear high heels, she had worn only high heels till she could walk in them with the same grace as her normal shoes.
"Yes...Katrine. You called?"
"This is a situation we have been in before," Trying to get her point across she glanced at B'Elanna and Seven, to her relief both of the looked like they understood what she was trying to say.
"But this is were it will get different. Briggite we still need you to use your contacts in the Nazi HQ. To find out where the radio's are. Mme de Neuvre, this time I need you to organise a large explosion with Tomas to distract the Gestapo. You and I will then enter the HQ, get the radio and leave. With any luck the explosion should cause enough of a distraction to let the Americans enter the city safely. M. Nealan I need you to be waiting for them and pass on some messages."
"Katrine, any explosion of this magnitude would require more explosives then we currently have hidden under the Cinema," Seven might have lost some of her rigid speaking manner in this simulation but she still have a long way to go.
"M. Nealan, talk to you contacts get see if you can get some...dynamite."
"I am right on it, Madame."
Briggite was already at the door, struggling to put on her coat, "My Lt. should be in his office. Nazi he might be, but he treasures his child. If I start fainting he will let me in."
"Be careful," called out the Captain and then turned to her staff, "Okay folks lets get to work. We only have a day to get this plan in action! And the Club opens in an hour!"
American Camp - June 23rd, 1945, 2200 hours
Well at least there is coffee, thought Tom. He sat in his military gear around a camp fire, holding a metal cup in his hands. It had been a good day. Most of his research had payed off and not one of holo-soldiers had even begun to suspect that he, the Doctor and 'Captain Miller' were who they claimed to be. Luckily, just as they had arrived a telegram had come for Chakotay giving the attack plans. Liberate St. Claire tomorrow. It had been a long day, and no amount of reading could ever replicate the feeling of actually being there. Chakotay was a brilliant commander and had managed to hide any confusion he might have. The Doctor had also done well stepping right into the role as Field Doctor. Tom himself had spent the majority of his day lifting carrying, and preparing for the attack. He was sore and tried but not quite ready to head for his bedroll yet. Tomorrow would be a long and dangerous day and they were going to lead the attack. He hoped that he was accurate enough with his gun. He thoughts drifted to B'Elanna, Tom knew she was a capable officer but he was frightened for her. In this game her 'boyfriend' was a German Officer and when they were last here he had nearly hit her. And B'Elanna was in no condition to fight back. He was brought out his thoughts when Chakotay sat down beside him, "Pass the coffee, would you."
"Sorry, sir," Tom quickly passed the tin pot and a cup.
"You know St. Claire doesn't have any coffee right now due to rationing. I wonder how their residents are dealing." Chakotay might have been talking in the plural but Tom was pretty sure he was referring to one resident in particular. One resident who hated going with out coffee more than anything.
"I bet she will be more excited to see the coffee then us." Both men chuckled, but too tried to continue the small talk they soon drifted back into their own thoughts.
"You seem pretty out of it, solider," Chakotay asked a few minutes latter, "Anything the matter?"
"Not really just thinking of a girl."
"Any girl in particular?"
"I have been to St. Claire before. Fell in love with the prettiest girl I have ever seen, wrote her every day till the war started. Just wondering how she was getting along."
"You care about her that much?"
"More then you could ever imagine." Tom looked straight into Chakotay's eyes. He had no idea what kind of game they were playing but he had the strange feeling he was being tested. Chakotay knew B'Elanna better then anyone and had always looked out for her.
"Does she think that much of you?"
"Well I don't know, I am pretty much a screw-up and she could probably do a lot better then me but for some reason she always said she loved me."
"Well I wish you luck," Getting up, Chakotay patted his shoulder, "I am hitting the...sack."
Tom nodded to show that he had used the right terminology and then decided to find his tent as well. They had a big day tomorrow.
Harry sat in the Captain's chair, trying to look commanding. For the first time in a week he was semi-relaxed. His part of the mission was done at least. It had been hell the last couple of days, getting every system ready, working triple shifts just to get one minor detail all set up. Hirogen and Starfleet technology did not mesh easily and he had nearly torn his hair out a few times trying to get things to work, even falling asleep on his console more then once. But it was done now and Tom and the rest of the senior staff were in the Holodeck fighting. He was enjoying being the 'Captain' and finally having his part of the job done, but part of him still wanted to be in the holo-deck participating, instead of pacing, waiting for the days to go by.
It was weird being the only person the bridge. The rest of the crew was working on repairs and since the ship wasn't moving there was no real point in having a whole staff up here. Getting up he checked the sensors and the Holodeck. According to the readings everything was going according to plan. Now all he had to do was hail the Hirogen to see if everything was all right on their side and then wait for the Night Captain to show up. Maybe he would even get a chance to have dinner with the Delaney sisters. As he tapped the panels, he could see a light flashing out of the corner of his eye. The sensors were picking up something. An alien vessel. Getting a lock on the vessel Harry order the computer to display it on screen.
This was not good. Trying not to panic Harry barked, "Code Red!" Instantly the lights dimmed and the ship prepared for attack, "All crew members report to duty stations!" Within minutes the bridge was filled with people. Harry sat in the Captain's chair trying to look like one, telling the Comm Officer to hail the Hirogen. From behind him an Ensign announced, "Hirogen on screen."
"What? Why is your vessel in lock down?" A Hirogen barked.
"We have trouble. A vessel of species 8427 has just jumped out of fluidic space and is headed straight for us."