"Janeway to transporter room, do you have her, B'Elanna?" Janeway touched a hand to her forehead, warding off a severe headache. Now was not the time to break down.

"Yes Captain, he's beaming her over now." B'Elanna watched as the bluish electricity came through in the form of Danni Wix. Suddenly, the blue turned dark and gray, sparking and sizzling. "Captain, something's happening. I don't think his transporters are compatible with ours."

Chakotay jumped up from his seat and was into the turbolift before anyone could react. The doors closed and everyone heard the whoosh of the turbolift leaving bridge level.

"Captain, if I lose Wix, she might materialize anywhere. But no matter where anywhere is, she won't live long," B'Elanna frantically tried to adjust the controls as Chakotay came through the door. He elbowed her out of the way and took over the transporter station.

"B'Elanna, can you keep her in limbo long enough for me to hail the commander of the other vessel and try to resolve the situation?" The Captain asked.

"This is Chakotay, Captain," the Commander said, "I've got a solid lock on her now. I think I can pull her through. She's too far materialized to keep in limbo any longer. She's coming through. Either she'll be alive, or whatever we get back will be something that no one will want to see."

Janeway pressed her lips together. "I'm going down there." She stepped toward the turbolift.

"Captain, request permission to accompany you," Harry blurted out, feeling his cheeks flame up.

Fortunately, the Captain seemed to think nothing of it. "Of course, Mr. Kim."

Kim left his station to a redheaded Ensign and followed the Captain into the turbolift. The door closed and the turbolift shuttled through the ship. When it finally stopped, the door opened to the transporter room, and a very unconscious Ensign in the Commander's arms.

"To the journey!"-- Tom Paris

"Will she be all right, Doctor?"

Janeway looked up at the emergency medical hologram, her brow creasing in concern. She glanced at the still form of the Ensign covered with a blue blanket. Chakotay stood near her, but was looking at the Doctor. Harry glanced back and forth between them, standing near the Captain and shifting awkwardly from foot to foot.

"I believe so, Captain," the Doctor said, scanning the Ensign's body with his tricorder. "Her vital signs appear to be normal. Nothing wrong with her, except that she's unconscious, of course."

"And why is that?" Janeway questioned, cocking her head slightly.

"I would not expect less form someone who has been through the sort of ordeal you have described," the Doctor mused. "Not to worry, she'll be up and about in only a few hours. In fact, she'll be waking any minute now, but I'd like to keep her here for a while to run a few more tests."

"Doctor."

Chakotay's rich voice broke into the conversation and both Captain Janeway and the Doctor turned. Danni had pushed herself up on her elbows and was conveniently ignoring Chakotay's pressing hand on her shoulder.

The Doctor stepped past the Captain and Harry and helped Chakotay push her back onto the bed. "Now, now, you can't get up just yet."

"But I feel fine," Danni argued, but allowed the doctor to lower her to the bed again.

"I'm not so sure," the Doctor replied, shaking his head. "I want to run tests before I let you out of here."

"Come to think of it, I do have a splitting headache," Danni touched a hand to her forehead. Then she looked around, taking in the Captain, Harry and, last of all, Chakotay. The First Officer met her eyes and frowned slightly. Harry caught the blush that reddened her cheeks when Danni caught the scowl in Chakotay's brow.

"What are you all doing standing around here?" Danni asked in bewilderment.

"When an Ensign is abducted without a reasonable explanation, we make it a very important business to discover the reason," The Captain informed her seriously. She glanced at Chakotay. "The First Officer and I have to return to the bridge, but Ensign Kim will remain behind to question you about what happened over there."

"But Captain-" The Doctor spoke up, objecting strongly to the very idea!

Janeway held up a hand. "Doctor, we need to know why one of our personnel was kidnapped without any reason or warning. I understand your concern, but this has to be unraveled."

The hologram sighed deeply. "Very well, but if the investigation persists too long, I will have to terminate it."

"As you wish, Doctor," Janeway nodded to concede. She motioned to Chakotay, who took one last look at Danni and then headed out the door, following the captain.

Harry shifted uncomfortably as he looked back and forth from doctor to patient. Danni's eyes lingered on the door that had closed behind the Captain and the First Officer. The Doctor's holographic eyes were fixed intently on Harry.

At last the Doctor clapped his hands, "well, I was doing a little research on Vulcan skin afflictions. I suppose I'll get back to it." And with that, he disappeared inside his office.

Harry peeked at Danni out of the corner of his eye. She was biting her lip slightly, to keep from laughing. Or at least, that's what it looked like. Harry averted his eyes under the pretense of looking for a stool to sit on. He found one, in the leftmost corner of the room. Dragging it to the bedside, he faced the little faerie on the bed.

"Well, I guess I should-" Harry cleared his throat-"guess I should introduce myself. I'm Ensign Harry Kim."

"Danni Wix," the young woman said, raising one eyebrow above the other. "You're the operations officer, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," Harry replied. "This is my first assignment."

"Tough luck," Danni grunted, looking up at the ceiling. "First assignment and you get blown across the galaxy."

Harry nodded slowly. "Yeah, but I'm sure we'll find a way to get back. Someday," he added under his breath.

"Harry," Danni said with a slight frown, "We will get home."

Harry sighed and nodded. "So um, I suppose I should get on with the questions. Where were you when you realized that you were no longer on Voyager?"

Okay, so this chapter was probably a little boring. Sorry, guys! Soon we'll get into the good stuff and it'll be action from there. =D