Soon...
Tap-tap. Harry knocks lightly on Janeway's door.
"Yes? is that you, Tom?" his captain's unpleasant voice greets him, it was smooth and friendly, which was very abnormal to hear, but of course all it did was make her sound even more creepy than usual.
"Um, no, Captain." Harry answers, his nerves catching up with him as the potent stuff starts to rapidly wear off "it-it's me, Harry."
"Harry!?" Janeway's voice responds, irritated "what do you want!?"
"I, uh, brought you your coffee, I'm sorry Tom couldn't do it but you see he tripped and broke his wrist and needed to go to sickbay and the job was passed on to me." Harry explains quickly.
"...oh." Janeway sounds "well, give me a minute."
"Yes, Mam-Sir-ugh, Captain...!" Harry stammers.
He stood there for a moment, listening to the sound of shuffling clothes and Janeway muttering to herself about how she 'can't' fuck Harry, at least not in the way she had wanted to with Tom, until finally she comes and opens the door, dressed in her red uniform, it was slightly wrinkled but Harry didn't dare stare at any of her besides her face for long.
"Ah! I've been waiting for this, you may leave." Janeway says as she takes the coffee from Harry and blatantly doesn't thank him, starting to turn away.
"W-wait! uh, Captain?" Harry asks, forcing himself with every word.
"Hrm?" Janeway looks at him, her eyes narrowing a little "what? spit it out, I don't have all day."
"Uh, I, uh, well, I was just wondering, uh, about my rank..." Harry stammers.
"What about it?" Janeway asks flatly.
"W-well, it's just, you promoted Tom to Lieutenant a while ago, and he was an Ensign before..." Harry explains "and, well, I've been ah, ay-a, an Ensign for a lot longer than he has, so, uh, I guess I'm asking, wh-when do I get promoted?"
Silence.
"...when do you get promoted." Janeway repeats, stiff "tell me, Harry, how many times have you saved the ship with your piloting skills?"
"Uh-!" Harry gasps.
"How many times have you saved patients' lives in sickbay while the Doctor was busy with others or unavailable altogether?" Janeway persists.
"I-!" Harry breathes.
"And of course, where exactly can I find your story arc of redemption from a criminal background and struggling to live up to your father's reputation and expectations while also desperately trying to garnish any respect whatsoever from your fellow crewmates and closing up some sort of weird blood-feud with Chakotay?" Janeway finishes.
Harry's silent, at a loss for words, knowing he's been defeated.
"Yeah, forgot about that one, didn't'chu?" Janeway asks smugly, referring to the last bit about the Chakotay blood-feud that nobody besides me the author ever remembers because it was stupid as hell and didn't even last into the second episode of the entire series.
"I-!" Harry whines, starting to break down into tears.
"You will receive your promotion the moment you adequately deserve one, and not a day prior." Janeway states, staring Harry down with her evil, hard gaze "is that clear?"
"Y-y-y-y-yes, C-C-C-C-Ca-a-a-aptian...!" Harry falls apart, whimpering and crying.
"Stop that! or I'll really give you something to cry about." Janeway snaps.
"B-but I, I can't help it-!" Harry squeals.
Soon...
"You're lucky she didn't break your spine with that kick." the Doctor comments as he gingerly removes the heel of Janeway's boot from the middle of Harry's back.
"That was the only thing 'lucky' about any of it!" Harry snaps quietly as he keeps his eyes shut against the pain.
"Oh shut up before I 'have' to sedate you." the Doctor warns, injecting a hypospray into the fleshy mess of the wound.
"AGGGHHH!" Harry screams like a little bitch "it hurts!"
"And I'm afraid it will keep hurting." the Doctor shrugs "that's all the Captain's allowing me to do for you, and to be frank I have to agree, our medical supplies would go to much better use on patients who didn't practically inflict such ailments on themselves."
"The hell is that supposed to mean!?" Harry demands "what're you trying to say, Doc? that I begged her to do it?"
"Well, I mean really, Ensign, what were you thinking? asking about 'promotions', trying to justify it because she gave one to her loyal, beloved pet who she's obviously biased towards over all the rest of us, what possibly could've compelled you to think any of it would result in a desirable manner?" the Doctor questions.
"I don't know, Doc." Harry says flatly as he glares at the Doctor "maybe it was a little thing called 'hope'."
"Tut-tut." the Doctor shakes his head disappointedly "really now, hope? if you were smart like the rest of us you would've abandoned that aspect of human personality long ago, nothing good comes from 'hope' anymore, Harry Kim, only pain."
"You're one to talk." Harry snarls "you've never felt pain."
At this the Doctor's expression hardens.
"Once again you have made a critical error in judgment." he states "I, unlike you, have felt what is without question the worst pain imaginable, the pain... of a broken heart, desperate for love, yet, never fulfilled, a fate worse than death, sweet, sweet death."
"Spare me the Love Quest speech." Harry rolls his eyes.
"Never! you shall not quench my passion, my voice will be heard!" the Doctor insists "I will ensure that all people of every walk of life hears my tale, everybody will learn how my heartsweet was taken from me not once, not twice, not thrice, not four times, but five times throughout my life, they will hear about the evil forces that tore us apart, every one of them, Kes, Freya, Danara, Mareeza, and Seven of-!"
Shoosh. the sickbay door opens and Seven of Nine enters the room, walking straight and formally as always.
"-EEP!" the Doctor immediately shuts up, putting on a stiff, wide smile "Seven! oh my, is it time for your check-up already?"
"Correct, this is the designated time." Seven nods, a hint of impatience in her voice, "am I interrupting?" she adds with a glance to Harry.
"No! not all at, Ensign Kim here was just leaving." the Doctor says with an aggressive nudge to Harry, making the schoolboy flinch away in pain "isn't that right, Harry?"
"Uh, yes, of course, pardon me." Harry sucks it up because he's a beta-male pushover who always does as he's told, he bows politely to Seven before 'running' out of sickbay and leaning against the wall in the corridor outside, I say 'running' because it's the best he can manage in his current condition.
"I hate these people." he groans to himself "the Doctor, the Captain, Torres, Chakotay, Neelix, Tuvok, the freakin' background extras, even Seven inadvertently makes my life miserable, she doesn't even have to try, none of them do! ohhh, I wish I could have my revenge on all of them, slow, sweet, passionate revenge, why can't they ever suffer!? WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE MEEEEEE!?" he finishes by angrily punching the wall.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! the wall hits back as magenta lightning explodes through a tiny crack that no Harry did not make, Harry barely has time to gasp in shock before the weird energy locks onto his chest, pouring into him and throwing him against the opposite wall, as the last of it enters him Harry has one last look of horror and pain spread across his face before he flops over onto the floor, his eyes staring lifelessly ahead of him.
Five Minutes Later...
Shoosh. the sickbay door opens and Seven of Nine walks out, turning down the hall and almost walking right into Harry's lifeless corpse, she pauses, staring down at the young ensign, then turns around and reenters sickbay.
Hello, Alterations fans! As you may notice, this chapter was uploaded exactly two weeks since the last one. That's the upload schedule we here at Greene Earth Productions have decided on. Every two weeks we'll upload another chapter, on either Friday Night or Saturday Morning.
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