"I've never liked how we shoot bodies into space," said Gretchen sadly, standing next to Tom and Harry as they watched Captain Ransom disappear into the vast reaches of the unknown, "When I die I want to be burned on a pyre like a Viking princess."
"That sounds very Klingon," said B'Elanna, approaching the three of them.
"I suppose it does," she said, looking away.
"Hey," said Tom, interjecting as B'Elanna scowled, "Let's get out of here, it's depressing."
"Is it okay to leave now?" asked Gretchen.
"We don't need to stay," said Harry, "The Equinox crew is going to be sent back to Sickbay momentarily."
The four of them left the makeshift funeral parlor of the Mess Hall, leaving the Equinox crew and the remaining senior staff and security members behind. Captain Janeway, Tuvok, and Chakotay stood formally in one corner, Janeway having presided over the funeral. Neelix and the Doctor were attempting to comfort a few of the more emotional Equinox crew members, Neelix providing hot, if salty, neon pink cider and the Doctor offering awkward condolences. Seven was absent, again in charge of the Bridge.
Once the Mess Hall doors closed Harry piped up, "Hey, let's go to the holodeck. I have a couple of hours and I think we're all off rotation at the moment."
"I'm always up for the holodeck," said Tom cheerfully, "How about it, ladies?"
"Alright," said B'Elanna.
Gretchen nodded, "I'd like to finally see what a holodeck is like."
"Seriously?" asked Harry, looking around, and finding the four of them alone, "You've never been, in all your years on Voyager?"
"I have no memories of it. It's been out of commission for most of my life."
"That sounds horrifying," said Tom, "The holodeck is about 85% of why I'm not out there with Captain Ransom."
"And you're the other 15% of course," said Tom, as B'Elanna glared at him, "I mean the whole 100%. The 85% is from a second percentage, one that was from before I realized I loved you."
B'Elanna growled, rolling her eyes.
"Well at least we can show you a good time today," said Harry, ignoring his best friend, "You pick the program, where would you like to go?"
"Anywhere?"
"Anywhere at all," said Harry.
"Oh gosh, I don't know," said Gretchen with awe, bringing her hand to her face.
"Don't think too hard," said Tom, as they entered the turbolift, "There'll be other times. We'll have to get you on the schedule. Oh, replicator rations too."
"I got those," said Gretchen distractedly, "Oh, remind me to make your replicators more efficient."
"You can do that?" said B'Elanna.
"Yes," said Gretchen stiffly, still tapping a finger against her chin, "Do you all have any suggestions? I'm not even sure what's possible."
"Let's see," said Tom, "There's Captain Proton or Chez Sandrine's."
"One of those is black and white." exclaimed Harry, rolling his eyes, "And Chez Sandrine's is a pool hall. She's been stuck on a spaceship forever, she'll want something outdoors, or at least expansive, not some sleazy claustrophobic bar."
"It's not sleazy," defended Tom, to another roll of Harry's eyes, "Ok, it's just the right amount of sleazy. For me. But I can see your point. Well, what do you like Gretchen?"
"What do you mean?"
"Have you been on any planets? Seen any landscapes that speak to you? Or places you've heard of that sounded exciting?"
"Read any stories that made you want to adventure?" added Harry.
"No Beowulf," Tom insisted.
"What about Dante's Inferno?" asked Gretchen.
"You can call up anywhere, and you ask for Hell?" asked Tom in shock.
"I was born and raised floating in the chilly emptiness of the void," defended Gretchen testily, "What do you want from my imagination?"
"I'm sure there's some kind of…cultural program imagining Dante's Inferno," said Harry uncertainly.
"Okay, I admit to my terrible taste, " said Gretchen awkwardly, rubbing her forearm, "I'm new to this….Harry, they're your credits, you decide. Somewhere outdoors, that everyone can enjoy would be nice. It's been years or never since I saw a planet that wasn't dominated by rocks."
"No rocks got it," said Harry jokingly, "Let's see…..I've got the perfect idea, Betazed!"
B'Elanna looked at him sourly.
Harry quickly added, "A nice remote site on Betazed, with no people. In the mountains, with lots of trees and a crystal clear lake."
"I've got to hand it to you Harry," said Tom Paris about 20 minutes later, standing in a mountain valley with blue and white star-shaped flowers, enormous evergreen trees, and multiple lakes glistening in the distance, "Maybe I should stop holding Beowulf against you, you sure can pick holodeck programs now."
"This is beautiful," said Gretchen with emotion, drawing out the word, "Is this what Earth looks like?"
"Parts of it," answered Tom, "Not the part I grew up in, this looks, kind of like Norway I think."
"Let's go hiking," said Harry happily, "Maybe we can take a boat out on the lake."
"What was that?" said Tom loudly as the landscape flickered and the floor jerked. A few seconds later there was another jerk and a high pitched noise sounded in the air.
"If that boat is the Klingon Barge of the Dead I'm going to ram it through your chest cavity," screamed B'Elanna as she held her hands up to her ears.
"This wasn't me," yelled Harry over the noise, "Computer end program!"
Another flicker, and the room went completely dark as the next jerk toppled them off their feet. The high pitched noise refused to stop.
"It's not the holodeck," yelled Gretchen, "It's the ship."
There was blue lightning suddenly all over the room. Then another jerk, which threw all four of them across the room and the hindmost two of them into the wall, and then complete silence.
"Why do I feel like I've been fried?" said Tom, shaking himself vigorously as he stood.
"Because you have been," answered Harry, "That was some kind of energy pulse."
"You bet it was," said B'Elanna angrily, "And it must have been all over Voyager to cause that kind of shaking. Captain!" B'Elanna pressed her combadge forcefully, "Captain! Captain!...It must be dead."
"It or she?"
"Don't even think that Tom," said Harry, "It's just a communication problem. Maybe we went through some kind of electric field. We've got to get to our stations and help."
"No," said Gretchen firmly, "This was not an accident. It was the Equinox crew."
"Is that possible B'Elanna?" questioned Tom.
"I….Max is a great engineer, but I don't see how he could have done this…..but that doesn't mean he didn't."
"They were trying to knock us out, or kill us with that pulse," said Gretchen, "Since they didn't succeed, we've got to get to the Mess Hall or Sickbay and stop them."
"They'll have already left," said Harry, "If you're right, they'll be going for Command."
"No," said B'Elanna, "Assuming you're right, Max is an engineer, he'll use that as his base of operations. The bridge is useless if you don't control the rest of the ship. And they don't have enough people for that."
"Why do you call him Max?" questioned Gretchen suspiciously.
"We used to date at the Academy," said B'Elanna dismissively, "But he's my enemy now. We were rivals when we dated, knowing his skills and the way he works, should give us an advantage."
"So what should we do?" said Tom urgently.
"The holodeck has a large number of protections against power surges, because of the number of emitters used. That's likely what protected us against the majority of the internal shockwaves. But if this was planned ahead of time, he'd have no way of knowing if anyone would be in the holodeck, let alone that I would be in here and left conscious….If we can get to Engineering before Max, we can set a trap for them."
"Let's go," said Tom, "We're a bit closer if they were in Sickbay, and a lot closer if they were still in the Mess Hall."
B'Elanna hit the door panel emergency open once, and then again, and again, "It's burned out," she said heatedly, opening the panel, "I can get through this, but it'll take time."
"We'll use the Jeffries Tubes. There's one over there," said Harry, moving towards it and opening the hatch, "Damn it, the emergency lights are dead. If they somehow left the turbolifts alone, they're definitely going to beat us. These things are confusing enough as it is"
"I'll go first," said Gretchen, "I know these things far too well."
Gretchen leaped into the tube and disappeared, Harry followed, hitting his head on one of the rungs almost immediately, "Ow!"
"I didn't even bring my phaser to the funeral," grumbled Tom as he followed.
"You should always bring weapons to a funeral," hissed B'Elanna as she crawled behind him.