Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 9

Roxas straightened up, stretching, wiping the sweat out of his eyes, laughing when Hayner groaned and flopped down in the shade. Being human was different to what he'd expected even after he first entered the Replica but…he wouldn't want to go back to being a Nobody again. Sure, there were some things he missed, like the not needing to eat and only doing so for the taste, but the Replica body was a bit better than a normal humans which meant it hadn't been as much of an adjustment.

He'd had a few alterations to the Replica made over the years, the scientists never fully happy with their work. There was still a lot they didn't know…like how long a Replica body could last. Would they need new ones as the years passed? Was there a limit on how many times they could transfer their hearts to a new one? Could a Replica age properly? He thought he'd aged a bit but only time would tell.

He tried not to worry about it, but he knew Axel did, always looking him and Xion over for any problems. It felt…nice. Even Isa kept an eye on them, though that was mainly for Lea's sake, though the man had apologised for the way he had treated them when he was a Nobody. They accepted him, Roxas mainly for Lea's sake. There wasn't much he wouldn't do for Lea, Xion, or his Twilight Town friends.

"Any word from Riku?" Olette asked as she and Pence joined them, handing out cold drinks. Uncle Scrooge was a slave driver but the pay was good.

"Not since the last call to Kairi that I know of."

"Are you worried about Sora not remembering? I mean, in a way you're closer to him than anyone," Pence pointed out.

"Once he knew about me he tried reaching me but I wasn't really awake most of the time. And I may have been his Nobody, but we aren't really much alike. I reckon he'd remember Ven before me since he was in his heart so long," he shrugged slightly. He'd spent months locked away in Sora's heart before Sora had found out about him. Still, Sora not remembering how hard he'd worked to give him his own body hurt. "He has started remembering some things, or at least finding them familiar so he might remember by the time he comes back."

"But you wish you could teach whoever hurt him a lesson, don't you?" Olette teased, and Roxas nodded.

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Sora sat still on the biobed for his standard check-up, half listening to the doctors results. "Doctor?"

"Yes Sora?"

"How is it possible for me to dream?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. By rights, you shouldn't be able to sleep, just Regenerate since there are so many implants left in your brain. It could be that your link to this Riku person is what gives you the ability, he said he was a Dream Eater, correct?" he asked, and Sora nodded. "So it may be coming from him. I don't suggest trying to sleep, if it happens then it happens. Mr Paris' scans showed normal brain waves for dreaming when you slept but we don't want to push things."

"Understood."

"You are attending your sessions with Commander Tuvok?"

"Whenever no one is attempting to blow the ship up, yes." He was not sure why he phrased it that why but the Doctor paused and then smirked at him.

"Not a bad attempt at humour, congratulations."

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Riku knew the ship could take him no further, but it didn't matter, he could feel Sora's heart. That was all the guiding key he needed. He would do whatever it took to help Sora remember but even if he never did, he would stay at his side and he knew Kairi would feel the same.

Part of him was scared to see Sora in the flesh, to see the damage done, did he still look as he had in the nightmare? Like a machine? If he did, he could never go home, it would destroy the World Order. He'd be only able to go to Worlds like Radiant Garden and Mickey's Castle. He didn't want Sora to have to be so limited like that. He just wanted him to be happy and with them.

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Tom and Harry led Sora onto the Holodeck, already dressed for parrises squares, Sora tugging at the padded outfit.

"Guessing you've never played."

"The Borg do not have recreation and therefore information and memories of such activities is not kept by the Collective." He looked around curiously.

"Well, we have two weeks to teach you before the match so let's get started," Harry told him. He thought Sora would be good at it; he had the coordination, strength, and speed to be a very good player.

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Kairi put her Gummiphone away and lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Riku had finally called again. He was managing semi-regular dream contact with Sora which was wonderful. The fact he was having to ditch the ship wasn't and…she knew he was keeping things from her. But about what? What had happened to Sora seemed the most likely and that worried her. Would he ever be the Sora they had known again? She just wanted them both back and safe.

The thought of seeing him though, and having him look at her like a stranger…he had to remember them, he just had to. Although Riku had told her that Sora hadn't asked for her name but for confirmation a child memory of her had the right name. So he'd remembered something about her.

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Sora ducked into a Jeffries tube, and then pulled free a panel, wriggling inside, working his way into parts of the ship not usually accessed except in space dock. The Hirogen had managed to board the ship and were rounding up the crew. The Doctor would be safe enough but they needed people to remain free. With his implants, he should be very hard to pick up on internal sensors so deep into the ship, he had left his combadge behind ages ago to keep from being tracked that way. It was a good thing he was relatively small or he would never fit.

He just had to find a way to retake the ship before he went too long without Regenerating.

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"She'll survive."

"What about her neural interface?"

The medic scanned a Y shaped scar below the Captain's jawline. "Stable."

"Are you sure? There were times when she seemed aware of who she is."

"Impossible. I was monitoring the crew during the entire simulation. She believes she's whoever we programme her to be. Shall I return her to the Klingon simulation?"

"No. Bring her to Holodeck one. I've found another programme I want to try. A conflict that took place on her own planet. It should prove stimulating."

Sora turned off the small imaging device he had cobbled together, the footage was not good at all. Such technology…there had to be a way for him to work around it and free the crew, without risking Assimilating them. He could theoretically introduce his nanoprobes into the holodeck systems, override the Hirogen programs, but it would not matter so long as the crew was being influence. He could not attempt to slip in either as somehow the process had worked on Seven. His implants were a generation further advanced but it was too risky.

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Sora's fingers flew over the controls, working as swiftly as possible.

"Please state the…this is not Sickbay."

"Doctor," Sora called, and the EMH turned to him.

"Sora!" he moved to his side. "Where are we?"

"I am not sure how long the emitters here will last," he warned.

"When did you last Regenerate?" the Doctor asked in alarm.

"I was Regenerating when the Hirogen attacked."

"That was a week ago," he hissed in alarm. "If you don't Regenerate soon…"

"I know, however I can hardly use my alcove under the circumstances. I tapped into a power conduit yesterday but I will soon need more. We must free the crew."

"A handful are being kept free for repair work, I shall attempt to contact Mr Kim about your situation. How have you remained hidden?"

"In between decks where there is enough interference to hide my life signs. Is the Captain well? I saw footage of her in Sickbay."

"The crew is all alive, for how much longer I can't say. We need to move quickly."

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The Doctor worked with the Hirogen medic on Seven, Neelix laying on the nearby biobed. He wished he had a way to wake her and get her help but there was nothing he could do while being watched.

"This neural interface has been damaged."

"That's because it took a direct hit when one of your bullets grazed the base of her skull," he pointed out.

"I'll provide you with another. Install it."

"Not until I've repaired her injuries," he answered, stalling.

"How long?"

"She has two fractured vertebrae and a punctured lung. Another hour at least." Technically forty minutes but that bought him extra time to try and find some way to work around the interface. Sora desperately needed back up because the best plan they had was him using his nanoprobes on the ship! Yes, Voyager had incorporated Borg technology but his idea would be adding even more.

"Him?"

"I've stabilised his vital systems, but he still has bullet fragments lodged in his shoulder."

"I will treat him."

"This time you might do a better job repairing the muscle lacerations. The last crewmember you treated was brought back in with internal bleeding."

"Your crew is fragile. They fall too easily."

"What do you expect?" he snapped. "They've been stabbed, shot, beaten, phasered and bat'lethed over the past three weeks. Their bodies weren't designed for this kind of punishment."

They paused as the Hirogen Alpha entered Sickbay. "What happened?" he demanded.

"These prey were hunted by Turanj. Their injuries are severe."

"You assured me that your people would avoid causing serious head injuries. Another centimetre and the bullet would have penetrated her brain. If you can't keep your people under control, then you should put an end to this blood sport."

"The simulations will continue."

"At least activate the holodeck safety protocols," he argued, he did not wish to have someone else killed in their 'hunt'. There had only been two deaths since it had started but that was two too many as far as he was concerned.

"No."

"It'll prevent life-threatening injuries for your people as well," the Doctor pointed out.

"It will also eliminate the challenge."

"I have had twenty eight wounded and one fatality in the past twelve hours. Even I can't keep up with that level of triage."

"You will keep up or they will die. Their lives are in your hands, Doctor. Don't fail them. When that one is ready, place him in holodeck two. Let's see how he fares with the Klingons."

"What about her?" the medic asked

"Send her back to holodeck one. I like her voice."

Seven would be with the Captain and most of the command crew, if only they could find a way to use that.

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Harry was working with an engineer, a Hirogen standing guard nearby to ensure they didn't try anything. "The holo-emitters in this corridor are stable. Let's start working on section nineteen," he said before dropping his volume. "But first, tell the guard to escort you to Engineering. That we need more equipment. Specifically, a type three isolinear emitter. If he gives you any trouble, say I can't complete the assignment without it."

Ashmore nodded and went to the guard. "We need an isolinear emitter from Engineering."

Harry watched them enter the turbolift and then activated the emitters, relieved when the Doctor appeared.

"Ensign, how did I get here?"

"I transferred you here, using the new emitters in this section."

"I assume you've got a plan? While Sora's may work it is very risky."

"Half a plan. Is Sora alright? I didn't know what happened to him after they boarded."

"He's hiding among Voyager's 'guts' in order to mask his life signs. he is in desperate need of Regeneration and more food though. He's hooked into the ships power a handful of times to compensate. Now, let's hear your plan."

"Before we can retake the ship, we've got to get the crew back. That means disabling the neural interfaces."

"Easier said than done. The great Hunters are everywhere you turn. Sora's plan involves upgrading the transporters and beaming the Hirogen into space."

"Don't worry, I think I've found a way to tap into the Sickbay diagnostic console. The only catch is," Harry stopped as the guard and Ashmore returned, the Doctor vanishing. "Standby with the emitter. I'm almost done here," he told them. He went around the corner and the Doctor reappeared.

"The catch, Ensign?"

"Somebody's got to be inside the holodeck to engage the bridge control relays," he admitted. Sora would be the best bet for getting in and to the necessary system but if he was seen they would know he was part of the crew and not the program due to his implants.

"We're short-handed."

"I know," he couldn't do it, they hadn't taken him near the holodecks.

"Well, we've got two Borg on board, don't we? Maybe we can put them both to good use. If you could find a way to leave some food in Jeffries tube 58 I am sure Sora would appreciate it."

"I'll do what I can but how will he know?"

"He's hooked into the ships sensors in a limited capacity. It's a good thing Sora's had time to learn Voyager's systems."

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Sora closed his eyes, he had not attempted anything like it since being disconnected from the Collective. Neither of them had wished to be connected to each other, even when Regenerating. He did wonder how that was being managed in the holodeck. He shook his head and activated his neural transceiver, letting it search for Seven's. She was still within Sickbay as far as he could tell. Good, the Doctor could fill her in once he managed to override the Hirogen neural interface.

"Seven," he called out to her and he smiled as he heard her response.

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"That old black magic has me in its spell. That old black magic that you weave so well. Those icy fingers up and down my spine. The same old witchcraft when your eyes meet," she sang but then there was a fizzing sound and she stopped, confused. "I apologise," she murmured. "I must stop for now."

She moved away from the stage and to the bar, going behind it to get a drink of water and then she felt her neural transceiver activate, data flowing to her from Sora, filling her in on the program she was within.

"If the entertainment is over, I'll be going."

"Stay right there, Kommandant. I'm sure she's fine. Let me talk to her," the Captain told the Hirogen.

"What's wrong?"

"I require a glass of water, I apologise."

"Make it a quick one. I promised the Kommandant you'd be singing till midnight. I want to get a lot of information out of him tonight."

"Of course, it was a momentary dizzy spell," she assured her. She finished the water and returned to the stage, thankful that Sora had included several appropriate songs in the data. Accessing her own internal chronometer had her very concerned for the younger ex-drone. If he was in hiding, how was he Regenerating or procuring sustenance?

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It was not their beach but thankfully it wasn't that creepy mechanical place either. Riku glanced around and found Sora slumped against a wall. He didn't look good at all. "Sora?" he called, moving to kneel in front of him, a hand going to cup his cheek.

"Have to keep working, systems need."

"Shh, it's okay Sora. Come on focus on me," he urged and Sora blinked slowly.

"Riku?"

"Yeah. You scared me for a second. What's going on? I haven't been able to Dive in over a week."

"The ship has been taken by the Hirogen. I am free but having to remain hidden deep in the ship so that they do not detect me."

"When was the last time you ate or slept?"

"Three hundred and fifty hours since my last proper Regeneration cycle, I used a power conduit fifty hours ago. Food was twenty hours ago, emergency rations. We have a plan."

"Good, plans are good," Riku said, for both of their sake. "Once this is done you eat and rest as much as you need. I hate seeing you like this."

"Are you?" Sora mumbled, and Riku frowned.

"Sora?"

"Deprivation can cause hallucinations."

"I'm real Sora, you're asleep and dreaming, promise. Just rest for a while." He sat down against the wall and carefully drew Sora into his arms. "I've got you," he whispered, running his hand through Sora's hair, happy when he felt him relax.

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"We've got to stop meeting like this," the Doctor commented.

"I managed to grab a quick scan of holodeck one, and it looks like Seven of Nine is on the move, so Sora must have been successful. Are you ready in Sickbay?"

"My Hirogen taskmaster is working in the bio-lab. I'll have access to the medical console for another twenty minutes at least. I'm not sure how much longer Sora can last," he warned and Harry nodded.

The kid was hooked into the main computer but only the part that stored the data on Holoprograms. He was feeding Seven everything she needed to know to remain in character.

"That'll give me enough time to get to the bridge," Harry told him and then the Doctor vanished as two Hirogen entered the room. "Good afternoon."

"What are you doing in here?" one demanded, he looked young, good.

"Trying to get the replicator system back online. Unless you prefer the emergency rations? Personally, I'm getting tired of synthetic protein. You're supposed to be the finest hunters in the quadrant, why don't you find us something a little more tasty? Is something wrong?"

"An unauthorised transmission was sent from this room."

"What kind of transmission?" Harry feigned ignorance.

"I don't know. Maybe you can tell me."

"Well, I was trying to re-route power from the main computer to the replicators. Of course. I must have tripped a communications subroutine. Sorry about that. Didn't mean to worry you. Your people have damaged just about every system on this vessel. Accidents are bound to happen. Now, if you don't mind, I'm due on the bridge." He went to walk by but was stopped.

"Show it to me."

"What?"

"I want to see this subroutine. Show me what you were doing when the accident occurred."

"Forget it. I don't have time." He grunted as he hit the deck, refusing to show any more pain though.

"Do as I say."

"All right! But you'd better call the bridge. Tell your superior I'm going to be late, that I'm working under your orders now, not his. Go ahead, make the call. I don't want to take the blame for this."

His attacker paused to think about it for a minute before moving away. "Report to the bridge."

"Thanks." He got up and left the mess hall to head for the bridge.

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The radio operator was writing down a Morse code transmission as they entered, the Captain knocking him out. "Set the charges here, here and there. This looks like a message from one of their reconnaissance teams," she commented as she looked at what he'd been recording. She took the headphones and listened.

Seven went to the shelves and removed several books to reveal the holodeck controls, immediately beginning to work.

"These must be instructions for troop deployments. The Germans must be taking up new positions outside the city. It looks like they're mobilising more troops than our sources originally expected."

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The computer beeped, a monitor at the back of Ops suddenly reading; Holodeck One Access Enabled. Harry worked the consoles, and one in Sickbay proclaimed Neural Interface Access Enabled. The Doctor quickly brought up Janeway's personnel file.

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"They're moving armoured units into the valley. They must know the Americans are coming. We've got to warn them somehow. What are you doing? You haven't set the charges. What is that?"

"I believe it is a transmitter. I'm attempting to disable it," Seven explained in a way that should fit the scenario.

"You're sending a message to the Nazis."

"No," she denied.

"Step away, or I'll kill you."

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"What are you doing?" the medic demanded.

"Er, nothing. Just running a diagnostic," the Doctor lied, so much for privacy.

"You've accessed the neural interface controls. Stop it immediately."

A clanging noise had the medic turning and then he hit the deck, Sora standing over him, breathing heavily.

"Perfect timing," the Doctor told him, quickly disabling the Captain's interface.

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"I told you no more mistakes. You've just made your last one." She began to squeeze the trigger only to grimace at a stab of pain below her ear. "Ow!" she shook her head and frowned in confusion. "Seven?"

"Captain."

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Voyager rocked with an internal explosion.

"What happened?" the Hirogen Alpha demanded.

"There was a simulated explosion on holodeck one. Somehow it blew out the hologrid across three decks," Harry explained, that was not part of the plan.

"Is the programme still running?"

"Yes. The breach opened the simulation into the surrounding sections. I'm picking up holographic soldiers moving into deck five."

"Shut down the holo-emitters until we can regain control."

"I can't. The programme controls are offline. You wanted a war? Looks like you've got one," Harry shrugged.

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"There are eighty five Hirogen on board, concentrated on decks two through nine," Seven read off the computer display in astrometrics.

"What about the bridge?"

"Four Hirogen and Ensign Kim."

"At least he's alive. The neural interfaces, you said they're controlled through Sickbay."

"Yes. There's only one Hirogen in Sickbay with the Doctor, but the corridors outside are heavily guarded." She blinked. "Correction, there was one Hirogen, Sora has successfully neutralised him and they are working to disable the rest of the interfaces but it will take time as they have to be done one at a time."

"Then we need to buy them that time, but we'll need help."

"We did have allies in the World War Two simulation. The French Resistance," Seven pointed out.

"It's time we mount a resistance of our own," she smirked and readied her gun, wishing for the familiarity of a phaser. Good thing the holodeck safeties had been turned off or it'd be useless in a real fight. But without them even holographic bullets could kill.

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Sora stepped back from the doors. "That will keep them occupied for some time," he told the Doctor.

"Good, help me get these things disabled. Doing it one at a time is taking far too long."

Sora nodded and moved to help him, ignoring the pounding in his head.

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Harry winced at the sound of machinegun fire nearby, bolting around a corner, not noticing the holographic Nazi aiming his weapon at him, only to get shot by… "Tom!" he yelled in relief at the save and at seeing his best friend.

"Wrong guy. You speak English?"

"Yeah. I speak English," he answered, obviously Tom's interface hadn't been deactivated yet, great.

"American?"

"I didn't see him coming. You saved my life." He really needed a phaser.

"Why are you out of uniform? What Company are you with?"

"Well, er, I'm a civilian," he fumbled, not like his Starfleet uniform looked like WWII era civilian clothing either.

"In the middle of a battle zone in France? The hell you are," Tom snapped as more gunfire ran out, the soldier with Tom moving forward. "Go on, I'm right behind you. Look, I don't have time for twenty questions. You say you're an American? All right then. If Betty Grable came around that corner, what part of her would you be staring at? Sorry. Time's up." He aimed and Harry stared with wide eyes.

"Her legs! I'd be staring at her legs," he blurted and Tom lowered his gun.

"Bull's-eye. Lucky for you," Tom moved on and Harry slumped against the wall for a second before moving, he needed to get to Sickbay.

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"As you wish. You, help me seal this hatch."

They watched the Hirogen move away to seal the Jeffries tube access, cutting off their access to the rest of the ship.

"What do you think? A boy or a girl?" Tom asked as he took in B'Elanna's condition.

"It's a holographic projection," Seven pointed out, relieved that their interfaces had been disabled.

"Unfortunately, it's a very good projection. I feel twenty kilos heavier. It even kicks," B'Elanna grumbled, rubbing her lower back.

"I don't recognise this program," Tuvok commented.

"I do. He's wearing a Nazi uniform. We're on Earth during the Second World War," Tom grimaced which meant it likely wasn't good.

"Nazi?" B'Elanna asked.

"Totalitarian fanatics bent on world conquest. The Borg of their day. No offence," Tom explained.

"None taken," she told him, not liking what data she had from Sora on the topic. The connection had been severed, Sora's help needed elsewhere.

"What are you staring at?" B'Elanna asked one of the holographic soldiers, perhaps not a wise move given the circumstances.

"Get up. You deceived me," the man snarled, pulling her up by the arm.

"Really?"

"I should've seen through your flirtations."

"If you say so," she shrugged slightly.

"The thought of you carrying my child disgusts me."

"You're not the only one," B'Elanna snarled at him and he slapped her.

Tom was immediately on his feet. "Look, I don't know what went on between the two of you, but it's obviously over now."

"I see you're acquainted. Do you find her as attractive as I once did? I'll miss our nights together."

"Pig!" Tom spat and the man aimed his gun at him.

"Put the weapon away. Now," the lead Hirogen ordered.

The soldier obeyed and walked away.

"Funny, he doesn't seem like your type," Tom murmured as they sat.

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Sora crawled through the Jeffries tube and into the transporter room, getting to work, not taking the care he would normally when removing access panels. It was strange but…it almost felt like he had done it before as he worked to enhance the transporters to match the Borg equivalent. He then activated a ship wide comm. "Attention Hirogen hunters. Stand down or be transported into space." He knew the Captain would warn them and so he did, watching the internal sensors, locking on to all Hirogen life signs. "This is your last warning, stand down hostilities or die."

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"He's bluffing."

"I think you'll find the Borg do not bluff and he is newly enough freed from the Collective to still be very direct. Call off the hunt or he will do it." It was a relief to hear Sora but she could hear the strain in his voice. The last thing she wanted was for him to have to carry out his threat, to have more guilt added to what he already carried from his time as a drone.

"Turanj, order our hunters to end the fighting."

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Sora frowned as the fighting intensified, hand hovering over the control. He saw three life signs fade and ran his hand up the panel, unwilling to watch more of the crew die.

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Kathryn watched the Hirogen Alpha vanish and left the ready room to find Harry alone on the bridge.

"He did it," Harry whispered, and she nodded.

"This is the Captain speaking, secure all decks. All wounded report to sickbay. Get those holodecks shut down." She moved to the conn and brought the engines online, changing course suddenly and going to maximum warp. "Any signs of pursuit?"

"Negative," Harry answered in relief. "They can't match our top speed and the course change was sudden enough it looks like we've lost them."

"For now," she sighed. "Get to the transporter room and get Sora to his alcove as fast as you can."

"Yes ma'am."

Well, she supposed it was crunch time so she'd let the ma'am slide. They had a lot of work to do but first they had wounded to see to.

Of course that was when the ship immediately went to Yellow Alert, that only happened automatically upon the detection of unknown or hostile spacecraft, strange energy sources, or upon the detection of certain system malfunctions. She supposed the mess with the holodecks counted…until she saw something fluctuate onscreen. She moved to ops and brought up the sensors. An unknown energy source at heading three seven mark five two nine, not moving but expanding, distance only two hundred kilometres. She activated the shields, glad the Hirogen had seen them as a necessary repair after boarding.

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Harry didn't waste time walking, beaming them both to the cargo bay and then pushing Sora into his alcove. "You've more than earned the rest Sora. We can handle the rest."

Sora nodded tiredly and then off course Yellow Alert began flashing.

"Stay here, it's not a Red Alert. You're no good to anyone if you end up in Sickbay."

"Affirmative," Sora mumbled and Harry activated his alcove, Sora immediately entering Regeneration while Harry left to get back to the bridge, hoping it was not any alien ships.

TBC…