Harry Kim entered the bridge to take his next duty shift, being a few minutes shy of having arrived on time. He had spent a little too much time talking to Tom Paris in the galley. Tom was incorrigible, Harry thought. On more than one occasion, Tom had kept him from his work. Not that Kim really minded, but he had been reprimanded before, and he didn't exactly feel like another talking-to just then.
Fortunately, Captain Janeway didn't seem to mind much, although she did glance meaningfully at the chronometer on the wall. Chakotay was the one who cast him a disapproving glance. Harry reported to his station in silence, pretending to check through the panel that had been malfunctioning the day before. Captain Janeway rose from her seat and wandered over to Harry's station.
"Is your panel in working order again, Ensign?" She asked. "I don't remember you telling me."
"No ma'am," Harry replied, sounding a little ashamed. He hadn't thought it important enough to bother the exhausted captain with. "I think it's in working order now. It just wasn't responding to anything. No scans, no calls, nothing. But I can scan the whole ship now, and out side of it, too. Everything is online."
"Good work, Ensign Kim," Kathryn Janeway said. "But next time, inform me of your progress."
"Yes ma'am," Harry mumbled. The captain turned away from him to glance towards the turbo lift, which had just brought a new personage onto the bridge.
"Ah, Wix," the captain greeted the blonde faerie girl. "It's quiet now, Lieutenant Kert has served his shift, and Paris is off duty. Why don't you take the con?"
Danni looked surprised. It was rare that she was asked to take the con. It just wasn't usually her station. She was more likely to take over for the communications officer, or perhaps, Ensign Kim. She stole a glance over at his station. He was looking down at his console, apparently intent on one thing or another.
"Ensign Wix?"
The captain's voice broke through her thoughts. She nodded hurriedly. "Oh, yes captain. Thank you." She sat down at her station and carefully ran her fingers over the controls. She knew plenty about the con from computer simulations, but not much from the real thing. She loved having new jobs. Well, sometimes. They could be challenging, and though she had been in Starfleet for several years, her easy upbringing sometimes got in the way of her wanting to work as hard as she should. It was true that most of the faeries had become trash folk; beings that decent people did not associate with. Indeed, she had encountered a stunning amount of criticism at the Academy as a cadet. She had been avoided, she had been bullied, and others had been prejudiced against her, but she kept going; especially with the help of one good friend. It was amazing to her how much good one person could do…
Harry Kim stood at his station, scanning and re-scanning the area in an attempt to block out all other thoughts from his mind. The scanners were blank. Nothing appeared. But wait! What was that flicker? Harry snapped to attention, peering at the scanner with eagle's eyes. Nothing. The scanner was blank once again. But there! Another flicker! There was something out there. Harry could not begin to guess what it was, but it was enough to attract his attention.
"Captain, I'm getting something on long-range scanners," the ensign said.
The captain glanced in his direction, her brow furrowing. "What is it ensign?" She asked.
"I'm not sure, Captain," Harry replied, shaking his head. "Something weird. I can't even get a lock on it, it keeps fading in and out as if…"
"As if?" Janeway urged him to continue.
"Well, it looks like it's just a freak. I don't know why in the world the scanner would be down, and it seems real enough…" Harry's voice trailed off once again.
"Well, ensign?"
"I'm sorry, Captain," Harry said, his voice sounding dejected. "I've lost it again. No, wait!" He stared hard at the screen. "No, it's gone. I can't seem to-"
"Captain!"
Janeway turned at the sound of Danni Wix's voice. She sounded surprised, and there was a tint of fear behind her eyes. She rose from her seat, looking down at her body. Janeway began to rise from her own seat. "Ensign, what is wrong?"
"I don't know, Captian," she said, trembling visibly. "Something's wrong. I'm tingling all over." She began to fade in and out.
"Stay still!" Janeway ran over to where Danni was standing. She made an attempt to grab her, but failed. Her hand passed right through the ensign. "Harry, someone is attempting to transport her off of Voyager. Can you get a transporter lock on her and hold her here?"
"I'm trying, captain," Harry said, beginning to perspire. He couldn't let her go, but nothing was working! "The computer won't lock onto her. They've gotten too far. The computer doesn't even register her as being on this ship."
"Harry, we're loosing her!" Janeway cried out. Chakotay sprang forward, grasping for Danni. In the moment that he did, she was solid enough for him to get a hold on her arm, but a blue lightning sent a shock through his body and he fell back.
"Captain, I can't-"
"Harry!" Danni screamed, and then she faded.
"She's gone!" Chakotay gasped, scrambling to his feet again.