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Personal Log, Cadet Icheb, Star Date: 54242.5

A Lokirrim patrol ship attacked Voyager with an anti-photonic weapon earlier today. The captain ordered the holodecks shut down. Commander Tuvok was in Holodeck Two at the time, participating in the program Lieutenant Paris had developed to provide exercises in meditation which were meant to alleviate his current . . . medical condition. As a result, the commander's medical status continues to be problematic. The captain of the patrol ship wished to investigate Voyager for signs of photonic activity. The captain refused to allow it. She has, however, agreed to allow the Lokirrim patrol ship to accompany Voyager through their territory.

We are continuing to search for the Delta Flyer II and our missing away team. While I am confident Seven, Ensign Kim, and the Doctor can manage most situations they encounter, I am concerned because we have been unable to identify the course the Flyer took through Lokirrim space. No trace of their ion trail or warp signature has been identified, even though Commander Tuvok left his . . . sickbed to join the search. If Mr. Paris's diagnosis of Tarkalean Flu was accurate, everyone on the bridge would have been exposed to the virus by now and at risk of contracting the disease. While no one has openly questioned Mr. Paris's diagnosis as far as I know, no one has expressed any alarm at Commander Tuvok's presence on the bridge. From this evidence, I believe that although Commander Tuvok was invested in keeping his current condition a secret from the crew, everyone is aware of it.

I now understand why Lieutenant Torres left the mess hall so abruptly when I asked her about Vulcans using meditation when suffering from a severe case of Tarkalean Flu. About three years ago, one of her engineers, Ensign Vorik, also suffered from the same condition. I have been unable to uncover all of the details. Neelix refused to say anything about it, other than that he was part of an away mission which "encountered a lot of problems" thanks to Vorik. Lieutenant Torres and Lieutenant Paris were also team members on that mission. When I tried to speak to Tom about it, he remembered he had to do something so urgently, he could not speak with me any longer. When I said I would ask his wife about it, he became agitated and yelled to me, "No, Icheb! Never, ever mention that mission to B'Elanna! We NEVER talk about it." This mission created major disruptions for our engineering department.

Seven has often stated that the most difficult aspect of adapting to individuality involves understanding the motives of our fellow crew members. They can become extremely emotional over incidents which appear trivial. Commander Tuvok's situation isn't trivial - especially to him - but I have observed that people can get very "touchy" about interpersonal relationships. I will try to keep Seven's advice to "stay out of it" whenever I encounter this type of reaction.

End personal log entry.

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Personal Log Addendum

Voyager received a message from the Delta Flyer. It was tractored inside a different Lokirrim patrol ship. Seven, the Doctor, and Harry Kim are prisoners. Since the Lokirrim took our away team prisoner, we are no longer cooperating with them. The captain ordered Voyager to fire on the ship accompanying us, damaging its power matrix, permitting Voyager to escape. Because of an insurrection by Lokirrim photonics in this region, anyone in possession of holograms is accused of harboring insurgents. This is the Lokirrim's rationale for taking our away team into custody. Mr. Paris informed me that Seven and Ensign Kim are well, but he did not provide me with the status of our EMH. As soon as Voyager has retrieved the away team and the Delta Flyer, we will depart at maximum warp. Once we are no longer traveling through Lokirrim space, we hope we will be able to avoid any further complications from the photonic's insurgency.

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In his reading, Icheb had come upon one term for an angry reaction that he did not understand until he asked Tom what it meant. When Seven arrived back on Voyager, he realized he now knew exactly what the term "spitting bullets" looked like. Her anger at the Doctor for "abusing her body" with Captain Ranek and the Lokirrim acting medic Jaryn was intense.

"Why is she so angry, Harry? By protecting the EMH, she was able to keep him from being destroyed by the Lokirrim," Icheb asked, when he had a chance to visit with Harry in the mess hall, after Voyager was safely out of Lokirrim territory. "I don't understand why letting him 'hide out' in her was such a problem."

"Hiding out wasn't the problem, but overindulging in sweets and intoxicating beverages? Flirting with the Lokirrim on board their ship? That's what she's so miffed about!" Harry explained. "Doc finally had a chance to experience all sorts of sensations he'd never had the chance to before, and he really took advantage. Even after she warned him not to, he couldn't help himself. New York cheesecake! Bottles of syntheholic beverages."

Icheb smiled broadly. "Borg implants are incompatible with syntheholic or alcoholic beverages, but I am unaware of any difficulty with the digestion of sugary desserts."

"He consumed an entire cheesecake," Harry laughed.

"I see the difficulty," Icheb noted, laughing out loud, too. "The caloric content in one cheesecake would tend to make one of Seven's outfits fit very tightly."

"They're 'formfitting' as it is," Harry said, laughing even harder. Once their mutual state of merriment came under control, Harry observed, "You're much more fun these days, Icheb."

"Without a cortical node, I no longer have an emotional inhibitor chip. I feel all emotions much more strongly now." Pausing briefly, he added nervously, "I didn't say anything inappropriate just now, did I?"

"Nah," Harry replied. "It's great to see you cut loose a little. Most young guys act like that every now and then. It's actually very nice to see, coming from you."

Relieved, Icheb said, "That's good." After a short pause, he added, "Am I correct in thinking I shouldn't ever mention this conversation to Seven . . . or the Doctor?"

"Not in a million years! Forget I ever told you what happened!"

"Is this a conspiracy, Harry?"

"Absolutely!"

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