Ongoing Path – The Star Trek Voyager Universe
By Stargatesg1fan1
Disclaimer: I own nothing of any recognized characters or universes within. If I did own these rights Tom Paris would have had a harem.
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Stardate 51471.3…
Harry was on duty on the bridge when Kathryn came in. She was late. That was unlike her but he would ignore it for now and ask her about it later. She wasn't the only one. HK was late as well.
"We seem to be a bit short handed today," Kathryn commented to Chakotay as she took her Captain's chair.
"Harry is a little late. I was going to give him another few minutes before calling him," Chakotay replied.
"That's alright. I'm a bit late myself. I had a bad dream that kept me asleep for longer than I should have slept," Kathryn explained.
"I had a bad dream as well last night. I was hunting in the forest with my grandfather when he turned into a greenish-gray alien with a ridge bisecting his face and throat," Chakotay said.
"Did he also have a claw built into the ridge at the point of his chin?" Kathryn queried.
"How could you know that?" Chakotay questioned.
"Because I had the same alien in my nightmare," Kathryn announced.
"Tuvok," Harry called out, having heard the conversation between the Captain and First Officer. "Did you have a nightmare as well last night involving an alien with a ridge bisecting his facial features and a claw or talon at the bottom of his chin?"
"I did indeed have an unsettling dream involving the alien you describe," Tuvok confirmed.
"I think this sounds like more than a coincidence," Kathryn suggested.
"It sounds like a telepathic incursion," Harry pointed out.
"Did you experience any nightmares or did you even go to sleep?" Kathryn asked her mate, knowing he often times worked late in his lab.
Often times the only times Kathryn, Seven, or B'Elanna saw their lover asleep was after they tired him out with their carnal activities. More often than not they passed out much sooner than he did.
"I was in my lab the entire night," Harry confirmed.
"We need the senior staff together to discuss how to handle this. Where is Harry at? Even accounting for being late it has been too long by this point," Kathryn inquired.
"Bridge to Ensign Kim," Chakotay prompted over the com.
"I've just accessed the internal sensors in Harry's quarters," Voyager's pilot announced. "He's still asleep and it isn't natural."
"Transport him to sick bay," Kathryn directed.
"He isn't the only one," Harry added. "Sensor scans reveal multiple crew members in a similar hyper REM state. I'm transporting them all to sick bay. I'll go down and help the Doctor and Denara."
"I will join you there," Kathryn agreed.
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"We have tried every conventional method of waking them from drugs to direct stimulation," the Doctor stated. "Nothing works."
"The scans have detected no viral or bacterial agents, no cranial trauma, and no neural disorders. They simply appear to be in a deep state of sleep," Denara added.
"I am suspicious this is related to the alien in our dreams. We are still working on identifying the species," Kathryn replied.
"I recommend that I initiate a telepathic link with those asleep and try to bring one of them out of this state," Harry suggested.
"Are you sure that is safe, Tom?" Kathryn asked worriedly.
"I will be fine," Harry assured.
"I don't recommend this course of option," the Doctor stated.
"Hush," Denara told her mate. "You won't change his mind. Our Mr. Paris is very resourceful. Let him do this."
Harry laid down on one of the empty medical beds and closed his eyes. Within seconds the sex god was in mental contact with Ensign Kim. He used this contact to slip into the dreamscape, a mental universe of sorts, which HK was connected to. He was on Voyager. The mage knew that the reality he was in was only mental. He walked into the dining hall and found one of the bat-like aliens waiting for him in the form of an attractive female.
"Nice try," Harry said. "But I see through you."
"Whatever do you mean?" The bat-alien said in its most sultry tone.
Harry imagined the alien in a cage and its human mask being ripped away. The alien let out a cry of pain and fell to its knees while locked in a cage.
"That is much better," Harry stated as he walked casually around the cage.
"This isn't possible," the alien shouted while gripping the bars and gazing at his captor with hatred burned onto his features. "You waking species have no power here! We are in control of this reality. You will not destroy us while we sleep any longer! In this place we will destroy you."
"That is where you are mistaken. I am afraid you have now encountered something bigger and badder than you are in this place you call a reality," Harry assured. "Now let's discuss what you are doing to my crew mates."
Outside of the neural reality B'Elanna had just finished setting up the telepathic sphere system her lover had shown her how to use.
"And we are ready now," B'Elanna announced after tapping out a sequence on the holographic interface.
Different colored lights flowed throughout the room.
"Look how much brighter the light around Tom is," Kathryn pointed out as she and her friend observed the telepathic energy throughout the room.
"It would appear that this nightmare is shared," B'Elanna said with a yawn while examining the readout from the sphere concerning the links between the victims of the telepathic assault.
Suddenly B'Elanna and Kathryn both began to feel quite tired.
"Captain, Lieutenant, what is wrong?" The Doctor inquired.
"I feel really tired all of a sudden," Kathryn announced before she slumped to the ground unconscious.
B'Elanna was only moments behind.
"That can't be good," Denara declared.
Sensors all over the ship were telling the two physicians that the rest of the crew was rapidly falling unconscious.
Back in the dream realm Harry let up on his mental torture of the alien who had attempted to kill him. He sensed several others of the bat-like alien's species, the Sekari, attempting to invade his mind.
The Sekari Harry had been torturing let out a sneer and whispered, "We have you now."
Moments later the Sekari that thought they were being stealthy mentally attacked. Their attacks took the form of their bodies. Harry sidestepped the first clumsy attempt at a mental tackle and lashed out with a jab to the back of the Sekari's skull that saw the alien's head explode both in the dreamscape and real life. The second and third Sekari attacked in unison. The sex god caught both Sekari by the throat and lifted them off their feet. As they thrashed Harry snapped their necks and tossed them at their fellow attackers. The Sekari were soon a pile of bodies on the floor of the mess hall which vanished swiftly enough. Their physical bodies were now little more than vegetables.
"You are just like all the rest," the Sekari in the cage declared.
"It was you who attacked us, vermin," Harry snarled in response. "I've been inside your mind. I have seen what you do in the name of defense. You keep the ships from those you attack to supposedly defend yourselves. You turn several of the crews into little more than puppets for your telepathic control. That won't be happening to my crew."
Harry banished the Sekari from his mind. Denara and the Doctor didn't see in the waking world as the lights revealed by the telepathic probe surrounding the pilot nearby increased in intensity. They did notice when he sat up.
"Lieutenant Paris," the Doctor exclaimed in surprise. "You're awake!"
"Doctor, you can be a master of stating the obvious," Harry declared as he stood.
"What happened? How are you awake and the rest of the crew is asleep?" Denara questioned.
"I'm made of sterner stuff," Harry assured while he strode over to telepathic sphere and began rapidly typing away at the interface controls.
"As soon as you entered your telepathic interface state the crewmembers all began falling asleep one by one," the Doctor announced.
"What are you doing?" Denara asked the genius pilot.
"I'm looking for a specific frequency of neurogenic field. I got the frequency from the Sekari I encountered in the dream realm," Harry explained. "There, I have it," the mage added with a grin. He pressed a button then announced, "You should be able to wake up everyone now."
To prove his point the sorcerer walked over to a position between Kathryn and B'Elanna's adjoining beds. He gently woke the women.
"What happened?" Kathryn asked when she sat up.
The Doctor explained.
"I've cancelled out the neurogenic field. We are now invulnerable to the technology the Sekari are using to attack ships passing through this region," Harry explained.
"What are we going to do about these Sekari?" B'Elanna asked. "We can't let them get away with attacking us because they will just do it over and over to unsuspecting ships that pass through their territory."
"Let's take it up with Starfleet," Kathryn suggested.
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Starfleet's response was to send in a strike force composed of holographic beings. The neurogenic field enhancer the Sekari were using to inflict their mental presence on the dreams of other beings was taken for study. The Sekari were monitored through a Paris Array. Every time the Sekari tried to build another field enhancer it was taken after the Sekari returned to their natural sleep state. It wasn't a perfect solution to the troublesome situation but it was the solution which resulted in the least harm for all involved.
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Stardate 51501.4…
"Captain, we are only a few light-years away from a relay station I have been monitoring on long range sensors for some time now," Harry announced from his position at the helm.
"A communications relay?" Kathryn clarified.
"Yes. The relay is part of a vast network which spans a significant region of space," Harry replied. "These relays have been giving off some unusual energy readings I would like to investigate."
"Very well, Tom. Set a course," Kathryn instructed.
Kathryn trusted her mate's judgment. Anything that interested the brilliant man was definitely worth investigating.
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A short while later Voyager began shaking as the Federation vessel neared the relay station.
"We are encountering some kind of gravimetric forces," HK announced.
"Source," Chakotay prompted.
"The source is the relay station, or more accurately what is powering the relay station," Harry replied.
"That station is two light-years out. What could be powering the station that projects a gravimetric field this far, some kind of unusual fusion device?" Kathryn queried.
"A micro-black hole," Harry answered. "At least that is what I suspect. We won't know for sure until we get closer. Whatever field is being used to contain the relay's power source is also scattering our sensors."
"I have compensated for the disturbance. But it won't last when we get closer," HK announced.
"I might be able to do something with our spatial disruptor to compensate," Harry suggested.
"See what you can do," Kathryn replied.
"I'm detecting a ship with no life-signs onboard. There is however a single male humanoid onboard deceased," Tuvok announced.
"Let's try out a new sensor I've been working on," Harry suggested as he spun around in his chair to face the center of the bridge.
A holographic interface appeared showing Voyager and the space surrounding her. Harry tapped the holographic image of the other ship and the view zoomed closer. The alien craft dominated the hologram. The ship's insides were shown in stark detail. Harry tapped on the image of a small humanoid figure on one of the ship's decks and the alien was shown. Voyager's bridge crew was treated to a surprisingly detailed gruesome sight.
"It has been gutted," Chakotay stated. "That is only the skin left."
"I think we have seen enough. Let's continue moving," Kathryn directed.
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When the relay station was close enough to be seen on the main view screen the bridge crew saw a six finned structure that also had two hubs sticking out of either side of the point where the fins met.
"Radiometric decay rate indicates the relay is at least 100,000 years old," HK announced. "I'm not detecting any life-forms onboard."
"I'm not surprised. Any species advanced enough to create that was already very old. It is likely they evolved and entered a higher dimensional state of existence," Harry postulated.
"So you have confirmed it is a micro-singularity powering the relay then?" Kathryn queried.
"Yes," Harry confirmed.
Just then Voyager experienced another tremor.
"Are you ready with that compensator, Tom?" Kathryn asked.
"Bringing it online now," Harry replied.
A dome of blue energy appeared to form around Voyager's hull. Those looking from the outside would see the energy rippling. The spatial disruptor field was being used to generate an inverse wave effect and cancel out the spatial distortions being generated by the black hole.
"How could anyone live on that station even when the relay was created?" Chakotay asked.
"I think these disruptions are occurring because the field containing the black hole has weakened over time. Containing a black hole is a pretty violent act. Any technology would degrade over time without maintenance no matter how impressive the science," Harry suggested.
"That relay is putting out almost four terawatts of energy," HK informed his crewmates.
"Perhaps in a shuttle we could get closer and take some deep scans of the relay," Seven suggested. "A shuttle will not suffer the gravimetric eddies as much as an unshielded larger ship."
"It would mean less of a strain on our spatial disruptor systems. I didn't design the disruptor to work in this fashion. I would need to do an extensive system redesign in order to give Voyager better protection closer to the relay," Harry added.
"Very well," Kathryn agreed. "Seven, Tom, take a shuttle and perform your scans."
A short time later the shuttle was approaching the relay. The ride was somewhat bumpy.
"Tom, is it the Captain's custom to send two people on an away mission?" Seven asked as her mate piloted the shuttle.
"Two people is the minimum required number of away team members by Starfleet regulations," Harry answered.
"I see," Seven said.
Sensing the reason for his mate's question the deity added, "Seven, Kathryn trusts you. She doesn't feel you require supervision. She is just looking out for one of her crewmembers. It would be irresponsible of her to send you out here alone. If something happened to you that might have been prevented by having the assistance of another person Kathryn would never forgive herself. You've got to admit, I'm damn handy to have around."
Seven sensed the smile in her lover's tone as she focused on her console.
"Indeed you are," Seven admitted.
"Interesting," Harry mused.
"What do you find interesting?" Seven queried.
"I think we might be able to get some more life out of the containment field. Let's try hitting it with a polaron pulse and I will know more after that," Harry suggested.
"We are close enough to do so. I am bringing the main deflector online now," Seven announced.
Several moments later an orange pulse of energy shot out from the front of the shuttle and streaked towards the relay. A previously invisible energy barrier flared into sight.
"Hmm…the variance in the containment field is now at 0.28," Harry informed his companion. "I'm adjusting the parameters of the polaron pulse. Hit it again."
The second pulse was larger and had a more visible effect. The micro-holes in the field were much smaller.
"The variance has reduced to 0.20," Harry stated. "I think that is about all we are going to get out of it without some specialized equipment that would need to be shipped from Earth."
Moments later the shuttle was rocked by an impact against its hull.
"We have just been scanned by a sub-nucleonic beam," Harry announced.
"And it knocked out navigation," Seven added.
"The communications, warp, and weapons systems have gone offline as well," Harry pointed out. "We've got incoming off our port stern."
The larger ship began firing on the shuttle as the Federation craft attempted to escape at sublight speeds. The larger ship was faster and had soon disabled the shuttle with several well placed shots.
"They have us in a tractor beam," Seven stated. "I will try to disrupt it." Several moments later she announced, "I was unsuccessful."
"I am launching a distress beacon," Harry responded.
Moments later a red beam struck the hull of the shuttle. Seven quickly passed out under the beam's stunning effects. Harry acted like he was unconscious as well. Soon two sizeable aliens entered the shuttle and carried Harry and Seven into their ship. The Voyager crewmembers were bound in an uncomfortable position with long straps. Harry waited until the two Hirogen had dropped him and Seven in a chamber of their ship and left the room. He sat up and phased through his bonds. An illusion flowed over his form to make him look like he was still bound.
Walking over to Seven and sitting down beside her the Fey nudged his mate and whispered, "Seven, wake up."
Harry managed to roll her onto her back as she woke.
"Where are we?" Seven asked groggily.
"We appear to be in a chamber onboard the alien ship that attacked us. Judging from the décor I would say this is a violent and possibly even a hunter oriented species," Harry stated.
Seven looked around and saw the weapons on the walls. Chains hung from the ceiling along with thick strapped netting containing the bones of many different types of aliens.
"This is most uncomfortable," Seven declared before sitting up.
Just then one of the Hirogen returned. The alien was tall and muscled, well over seven feet. They wore plate-like body armor all over their forms.
"You were pathetic prey," the Alpha Hirogen declared as he reached down and lifted Harry up. The god messed with the Alpha's mind to make the alien think he was still tied up. "You were easily taken. The hunt was not satisfying." The Hirogen also picked Seven up after setting Harry down. "I want information. Why do you violate our property?"
"I'm assuming you are talking about the relay. Such an advanced piece of technology surely can't belong to such a crude race," Harry replied with a sneer.
The Hirogen walked over and gripped Harry's neck with one large hand.
"I could snap your puny neck with one twist," the Alpha asserted.
Harry's grin in response was positively feral. The Alpha was confused. The prey acted like it wasn't bothered by its neck being squeezed. The Alpha put more pressure on with no change in the prey's expression.
"No you can't," Harry assured.
The Alpha growled and gripped the prey's neck with two hands while squeezing as hard as he could. Harry began to chuckle.
"What are you?" The Alpha demanded.
"Your worst nightmare, hunter," Harry declared.
"We will see about that," the Alpha said while releasing Harry's neck. "You may be resilient but my knives will carve you up neatly."
The Hirogen walked over to a nearby table and picked up a container of black paint, doing his best to hide the fear he felt inside. He had never encountered a creature of flesh and blood that could withstand the strength of his hands. He turned back to the two smaller beings and walked to the female, applying the paint to her brow in the ritual markings necessary to prepare prey for slaughter.
Another Hirogen, the Beta, entered the chamber at this time and declared, "Pitiful relics."
"They are the first of their kind. I will be envied. And this one has proved more resilient than he appears," the Alpha corrected while indicating Harry.
"I have located their ship approximately 4,000 ketrics from the module," the Beta announced.
"We will be there within the hour. Go to stalking mode," the Alpha ordered. There was a pause by the Beta. "Why do you hesitate?"
"The rest of the group is on its way. We may not be able to take the prey's ship alone," the Beta explained. "We need the strength of the others."
"I will not share prey with the others," the Alpha heatedly said, getting in the Beta's face. The Beta had his head lowered. "These two will be the only relics from this hunt. Prepare them."
The Alpha left the room. Several moments after the Alpha was gone Harry used his illusion to make it seem like he had broken his restraints. He was upon the Beta before the Hirogen realized it. The warrior had seized a curved blade from the wall and drove it through the hunter's back. Harry's arm wrapped around the alien's neck and with a sharp tug from the god its neck snapped. Seven stared in amazement as she watched the form of the dead alien hit the deck. Her lover was at her side quickly and released her from her bonds.
"What now?" Seven asked as she stretched her sore muscles.
"Now I go take out the Alpha," Harry replied before gliding towards the entrance to the bridge with more silence than Seven would have expected from someone of his size.
Harry entered the bridge to hear the Alpha talking with Kathryn via the ship's communications system. He only caught the last part of the conversation.
"Not without my people," Kathryn responded back to the Alpha's command to leave.
"They are my relics. If the rest of my group arrives you will be taken as well. I'm giving you a chance to…gughghr," the Alpha said, cutting off as a blade sprouted out of his chest.
"Annoying wanker," Harry muttered as he stepped in front of the view screen. "Captain," he greeted.
"Are you alright, Tom?" Kathryn asked.
"Seven and I are fine. We've got two dead Hirogen onboard," Harry replied as Seven joined him in front of the view screen.
"And we have three more Hirogen vessels on the way," HK added from Voyager's bridge.
"I don't like those odds. While our Promethium drive gives us a great deal of protection that relay is putting out more power in a single minute than a star puts out in an entire year," Harry stated.
"But it doesn't appear the Hirogen are advanced enough to have created the relays," Kathryn pointed out.
"But the Hirogen could have technologically regressed to an extent or they could have just found the technology and claimed it as their own. Even if the Hirogen found the technology and claimed it I don't think we want to risk the chance that they have created some way to tap into the power of the relay to power their shipboard weapons," Harry explained.
Kathryn winced and replied, "You make a good point. Do you have an alternative?"
"Cloak Voyager to start off with," Harry suggested. "I can rig this ship to blow close to the relay and take the incoming ships with it. If we're at a safe enough distance it shouldn't be a problem."
"Sounds like a plan," Kathryn agreed.
"Give us a few minutes. Paris out," Harry replied.
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Harry watched from his helm safely back on Voyager a great distance from the relay. Three Hirogen craft had just dropped out of Warp and were congregating around their sister ship not far from the relay.
"The three new Hirogen ships will be within one hundred meters of the fourth ship in ten seconds," Tuvok announced.
When the three new arrivals passed within one hundred meters of the designated vessel's position, the craft Harry and Seven had modified shot towards the relay at beyond its normal safe operating sublight speed. When the vessel hit the energy barrier around the relay it went off with the force of a Warp core exploding. The explosion was spectacular but the resulting hole that opened up in spacetime was even more of a sight to see. The three craft filled with Hirogen hunters became prey of an even larger and older hunter. The black hole claimed the ships in short order.
"Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of aliens," Harry muttered.
"Indeed," Seven agreed. The blonde was standing at a console near the helm tapped into her Astrometrics lab. "Captain, it appears the rest of the relays in the network are losing the ability to communicate with each other."
"Curious," Kathryn mused.
"I will have to study the effect further with Seven," Harry suggested.
"A good idea," Kathryn agreed. "In the meantime get us going back towards Earth."
Harry did just that.
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Stardate 51652.3…
"Verify," Kathryn instructed.
"Monotanium hull plating, dicyclic Warp signature," Tuvok replied. "The vessel is definitely Hirogen."
"They are moving to intercept," Chakotay added.
"Hard about, full impulse," Kathryn instructed. "Let's stand our grand."
"Red alert," Chakotay instructed.
"Put them on screen as soon as they are in visual range," Kathryn instructed. "Hail them."
"No response," Tuvok replied. "They are not charging weapons."
"And they are slowing down," Harry added. "That ship is on autopilot."
"I am only detecting one erratic life-sign," Tuvok put forth.
"I can't penetrate their stealth armor with my holo-scanning system," Harry informed Kathryn.
"This could be a trap," Chakotay suggested.
"Are there any other Hirogen ships out there on long range sensors?" Kathryn asked HK.
"None," HK replied a few moments later.
"Take us within transporter range," Kathryn instructed.
"That vessel is a potential threat," Seven pointed out. "We should destroy it."
"I am surprised at you, Seven. How did the Borg ever obtain so much knowledge if they destroyed anything that threatened them?" Kathryn replied.
"Not much threatened the Borg," Seven answered.
"This is a good opportunity to learn more about the Hirogen. By showing compassion to a wounded pilot we might obtain a measure of goodwill from them," Kathryn explained.
"Besides that, the Hirogen may have been able to take one of our shuttles but they will find the Promethium drive harder to contend with," Harry added.
"Commander, take an away team," Kathryn instructed.
"Tuvok, Paris, you're with me," Chakotay directed.
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The inside of the Hirogen vessel was badly damaged.
"Fan out and search for the life-sign we detected. It's hard to get a reading in here with the stealth armor Hirogen vessels are equipped with," Chakotay directed.
"How do you think I should handle this, love?" Harry asked Hermione as she walked through the wrecked Hirogen vessel with him.
Hermione was still getting used to the fact that her mate was now an insanely powerful god. She appreciated that he had fought so hard and long to bring her back to life but the universe was so different from when she had last left it. Or rather, perhaps she had simply been more ignorant than she had realized about the true nature of the universe. In any case she planned on learning as much as she could from her favorite wizard. Using the invisibility technology he had gifted her allowed Hermione to learn through observation.
"Do you mean how do you handle the situation with the Species 8472 alien hidden on the ship?" Hermione clarified.
"Yes," Harry confirmed.
"You could kill it. But that seems rather unnecessary. It poses no threat to you personally and you won't let anything happen to those you care about," Hermione mused. "Maybe just wait and observe what it does for now. I take it you haven't broken into its mind?"
"No, I find things are more interesting if I don't know the alien's motives," Harry explained.
"Then that sounds like a prudent course of action. Wait and see," Hermione agreed.
"Chakotay, Tuvok," Harry called after he came upon a pile of Hirogen hunter remains. The two males quickly came over. "There are no weapon residuals. A first guess is that this Hirogen was torn limb from limb physically."
"I can pick up the other life-sign from here. The other Hirogen must be close by," Chakotay said before heading off with the other two following him.
It was a short distance to a closed door. Chakotay felt around the frame and the door opened to reveal the wounded Hirogen.
"He has massive internal bleeding," Harry announced after a quick scan. "We need to get him to sick bay."
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While Harry worked with the Doctor to treat the Hirogen, Tuvok and Chakotay briefed the Captain on their findings. The Hirogen regained consciousness when the Doctor attempted to remove the hunter's body armor. The hunter was not happy. The Doctor tried several sedatives but the hunter's immune system neutralized it all. Kathryn was advised of the situation so she came to sick bay to try the diplomatic approach. After some talking she got the hunter to respond.
"We captured our prey two days ago. It proved more formidable than we had first thought it would," the hunter explained. "It broke free of its restraints. Release me so that I may continue the hunt."
Harry was disgusted. It was one thing to kill in defense of one's home and for food. But the species the Hirogen hunted were often sentient.
"You're in no condition to continue. Your prey will kill you before you can kill it. I say we let him go after it," Harry suggested.
"Only if he first lets the Doctors help him," Kathryn replied.
The Hirogen nodded his agreement. Denara and the Doctor walked through the force-field containing the hunter and began taking scans. Kathryn returned to the bridge where she learned six more Hirogen ships were on their way. She ordered the cloak activated and Voyager moved away from the damaged Hirogen vessel in hopes that the coming hunters wouldn't be able to detect Voyager.
Shortly after this point the Federation vessel experienced several shuddering explosions. The Species 8472 alien had entered the ship. When B'Elanna walked into sick bay Harry was immediately at her side.
"What happened?" The mage asked his mate.
"The alien got into main engineering through the antimatter injector port. It attacked us. Our personal shields slowed it down but it still knocked us about. There are a few broken bones. I took a bump to the head," B'Elanna explained.
"Our phaser fire was insufficient," Seven added.
"You will be fine, B'Elanna. But I want you to take it easy," Harry urged.
"You know me," B'Elanna replied.
"All too well," Harry replied fondly, knowing his mate's tendency to overwork herself.
"I want to know if that alien is alone," Kathryn demanded of the Hirogen hunter as she strode into sick bay.
"Why do you ask?" The hunter queried.
"Six months ago this species invaded our galaxy with thousands of ships," Chakotay announced. "We were barely able to drive them back to their home territory."
"Your prey could be an indicator that another invasion is occurring," Kathryn added. "If that happens everyone in this galaxy is in trouble. How many ships have your people encountered?"
"Only one," the hunter answered. "The single ship was damaged. We tracked it across fifty light-years of space. We thought we had ended the life of this creature but it turns out to have many lives. Lower the force-field and I will finish the hunt."
"Without Borg nano-probes you will fail," Seven asserted. "Species 8472 is highly resistant to all technology but this."
"What are nano-probes?" The hunter questioned.
"Weapons that are smaller than molecules and which can attack at that level," Harry explained.
"I will modify the phaser rifles to fire nano-probe discharges," Seven volunteered.
"Can you do it so that we can incapacitate the creature instead of killing it?" Kathryn asked.
"Yes," Harry answered instead of Seven, knowing how much the blonde disliked Species 8472.
"Good. We need to find out why the alien has returned," Kathryn stated. "Six of your vessels will arrive in the area in four hours. It is doubtful they will find us but if they do I hope you will let them know we saved your life."
"Let me resume the hunt and no further harm will come to you," the hunter offered.
"I will keep an eye on him," Harry volunteered.
The god sensed the disdain the hunter felt for him at that statement. Harry inwardly grinned. The ship shuddered at that moment.
"Tuvok to Janeway," the com stated at that moment.
"Go ahead," Kathryn prompted.
"We are holding position in section 94. The creature has gained access to environmental controls. Deck 11 is losing life support," Tuvok announced. As he floated into the air the Vulcan added, "Artificial gravity has also been compromised."
"Evacuate the deck and regroup on deck 10," Kathryn ordered.
"Aye, aye," Tuvok acknowledged.
"Keep an eye on him," Kathryn told her mate before leaving sick bay.
Harry, Chakotay, Seven, and Tuvok got suited up in space suits. The Hirogen wore the helmet on his body armor. His hide was augmented in exposed areas by a thin force-field projected at the surface of his skin.
"I'm depressurizing the hatch now. Magnetize," Chakotay announced while magnetizing his own boots.
The group walked along the dark corridor. T'Pol was following alongside her mate invisibly. Kes and Hermione were watching Tuvok and Seven.
"I am not sensing you using your extra-dimensional senses to detect the hostile alien. Why?" Seven asked as she used her limited control of the bond she shared with her divine mate to sense what she had pointed out.
"That would take all the fun out of the situation. My instincts tell me I will gain more enjoyment if I don't reach out with my senses," Harry explained.
"But even if the creature attacked you with everything it had it would not cause you any lasting damage," T'Pol observed.
"True," Harry agreed. "I doubt there is anything in this universe that could cause me serious harm. But I choose not to focus on that. I focus on the adventure provided by the unknown and new experiences."
"I see," T'Pol replied.
As the couple talked, the Hirogen tried pushing past Chakotay to take the lead.
"Maintain your position," Chakotay ordered.
"He's here," the Hirogen replied.
After pushing in front of the Hirogen Chakotay said, "I said maintain your position. This is my hunt. I'm at point."
"My knowledge of this prey is superior to yours," the hunter replied.
"But you're on unfamiliar terrain. I know this ship and you don't," Chakotay rebutted.
"And if you don't listen to him I'll explode your brain with my mind," Harry promised.
To prove his point the telepathic fey sent a surge of painful psionic energy through the Hirogen hunter's head. The hunter clutched at his head for a moment as he experienced the most painful headache of his life. Harry let up after several moments.
"A telepath…I do not see any presence of that ability among your people," the hunter said after he had recovered.
"He's special," Chakotay replied before turning back the other way and starting to walk again.
Only the periodic flashing of the emergency lighting provided any illumination outside of the lights on the weapons the trio carried. They came upon floating globules of liquid at one point.
"Blood, the alien is wounded," Harry observed.
"The corridor ends about twenty meters further along. The only thing down there is deflector control," Chakotay pointed out.
"The prey is waiting. He'll attempt to slip around and attack us from behind," the hunter postulated.
"Chakotay to Tuvok," Chakotay said.
"Tuvok here," the Vulcan replied.
"We think we have the intruder cornered in section 59," Chakotay said.
"On our way," Tuvok replied.
A short distance later Harry's group came upon the alien floating hurt in the middle of the corridor.
"It's hurt," Chakotay observed.
"This prey is resilient," the Hirogen hunter answered. "He will strike with his dying breath. We must kill him now."
"That may not be necessary," Chakotay argued as the Hirogen raised his weapon to fire. "Hold your fire."
Chakotay made to physically intervene but the Hirogen elbowed the Commander in the stomach and sent the human hurtling back into the wall. He turned swiftly and leveled his weapon at Harry. Two back to back shots impacted the god's chest with absolutely no effect.
"That wasn't very nice," Harry said with a grim smile before stalking forward and driving his fist up into the Hirogen's chin.
The Hirogen tried to block the blow but his arm didn't even impede the warrior wizard. The Hirogen was thrown backwards right into the grasp of its prey. The 8472 alien was weak but had strength enough to snap the Hirogen's neck. It then curled up and moaned in pain.
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"A security perimeter has been established," Harry informed his mate a few minutes later as he led Kathryn into the section of Voyager where the 8472 alien had been confined.
"This entire section is essentially a brig," Chakotay added.
"Injuries?" Kathryn prompted the Doctor.
"We can't really tell for certain. Its body is generating some type of bioelectric field preventing scans," the Doctor explained.
"We can probably come up with a way to bypass the field given enough time but we fear that isn't time the creature has," Harry explained. "We can create the bypass without the creature."
The group came upon Seven at that moment where she had been analyzing what the 8472 alien had been doing.
"The alien was attempting to access deflector control to open a singularity into fluidic space," Seven explained.
"It wanted to go home," Kathryn surmised.
The group moved on to where the alien was contained. Harry closed his eyes as soon as he came around the corridor.
"It's initiating telepathic contact," Harry said with his eyes closed. "Its ship was damaged beyond repair during the conflict with the Borg. When the other members of its species retreated back to their realm this alien was left behind stranded in this dimension. The Hirogen have been chasing it ever since. It just wants to go home. It has no desire for further fighting. It will die from its injuries unless it returns home."
"You have nothing to be afraid of. We will help you get back to your realm," Kathryn said to the alien, knowing her mate would translate.
The creature lost consciousness.
"B'Elanna's people can begin constructing a container with enough life support capability to sustain the creature until help can arrive along with a powerful enough transmitter to call that help. I will begin configuring the deflector to open up the singularity. We can transport the entire container through the singularity into fluidic space," Harry suggested.
"It sounds like a good plan. Proceed," Kathryn replied.
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The 8472 alien was sent back to its own realm without fanfare. The dead Hirogen was transported back to his ship and Voyager swiftly left the area using its cloak. All traces of human DNA down to the smallest molecule were removed from the Hirogen's form by the transporters and the Hirogen ship was scoured the same way. With any luck the other Hirogen would think the hunters had fallen victim to their prey and that the same prey had escaped off the ship to parts unknown.
Harry entered Astrometrics after seeing the 8472 alien off to find Seven staring off into space with her hands poised over the console.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked after coming up behind the blonde.
He slowly wrapped his arms around her. Seven leaned back into the arms of her mate which made her feel safe.
"I am unsettled after our encounter with the alien," Seven replied. "I understand logically the idea of compassion but I do not understand it emotionally."
"That will come with time," Harry assured. "You also have to think of the situation in another fashion. If that alien survives it will tell its people how we rescued it. Maybe they won't be so quick to jump into a war with us in the future."
"I simply do not have your faith in other species," Seven said while turning around and kissing her lover soundly.
What Harry didn't reveal to Seven was that his instincts also told him the word of one member of Species 8472, especially a being so low in their social rank, wouldn't sway the collective policy of its race. But he didn't feel the need to tell his young mate that. He wanted her to learn optimism instead of the somewhat pragmatic and even possibly pessimistic outlook she had gained as a result of her time among the Borg. His pleasuring of her after that conversation sure went a long way in swaying Seven's mindset towards the one the fey wished. Positive reinforcement could be very effective.
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Stardate 51781.2…
"An energetic shockwave just knocked us out of Warp," Harry announced as he sat at the helm during one of his shifts.
"What caused the shockwave?" Chakotay asked.
"All sensor readings have been locked out. The computer is bringing up the Greek letter Omega," Harry replied. "Oh my," he added as he realized what was going on.
"What?" Chakotay probed.
"I'm afraid that the cause of the computer lockout is above your pay grade, Chakotay," Harry explained.
"Perhaps that would explain why my command codes aren't working as well," Chakotay suggested.
Chakotay knew that the genius pilot also had an incredibly high security clearance in the Federation. Given the intellect Tom Paris displayed and the man's mysterious past Chakotay wouldn't be surprised if Tom's clearance was in fact higher than Kathryn's.
Just then Kathryn walked onto the bridge and ordered, "Don't do anything. I will handle this." She tapped a few keys on the nearest station and the Omega symbol cleared from the screens. "Send all sensor data about the particle wave to my ready room. Tom, disengage the engines and hold position here then come with me."
"Captain, what's going on?" Chakotay asked.
"I can't explain right now. Don't discuss any of this with the rest of the crew," Kathryn ordered.
Harry followed Kathryn into her ready room.
"Before you ask, I know all about Omega," Harry announced.
With a relieved sigh Kathryn said, "I had hoped you might. A starship captain was never meant to deal with Omega when they were cut off from the Federation."
"No, you are right of course," Harry agreed. "Although we can communicate with the Federation they cannot dispatch a trained team to deal with the situation. They can dispatch a ship with a holo-crew. But the readings we just received from the particle wave suggest hundreds of millions of Omega molecules destabilized and there might be more. This is an invaluable opportunity."
"That changes everything. The Federation only synthesized one Omega molecule," Kathryn replied while her mind raced at the consequences.
"If nothing else you could get some valuable sensor data. Let's contact Federation command to discuss the situation with them," Harry suggested.
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When the senior crew was settled in the main briefing room Kathryn began to speak.
"Under normal circumstances you would never hear a word of what I am about to tell you. Since we are not in Federation space the leaders of our organization have allowed me to brief you on this subject. What I am about to say cannot go beyond these walls," Kathryn explained. "Am I clear?"
Everyone nodded their agreement.
"The Omega directive deals with the Omega molecule," Harry spoke up while causing a hologram of the molecule being discussed to materialize over the center of the table. "Omega is the most powerful substance known to exist. A single molecule of Omega contains the same energy as Voyager's Warp core. In theory a small chain of Omega molecules could be used to sustain a very advanced civilization. An Omega molecule was first synthesized over one hundred years ago by a physicist named Keteract."
"It is speculated he was hoping to develop an inexhaustible power source," Kathryn put forth.
"Or possibly a weapon," Seven added.
"Whatever his intention we will never know for sure. The Omega molecule destabilized in the span of less than a second. The resulting explosion destroyed the space station Keteract was on along with the 126 other scientists who were performing research onboard the station in the Lantaru sector," Harry continued.
"When rescue teams attempted to reach the station's last known location an unexpected phenomenon was encountered. Subspace ruptures prevented all Warp speed travel," Kathryn explained.
"Information was disseminated stating that the inability to create a stable subspace field in the Lantaru sector was a natural phenomenon," Harry said.
"Omega destroys subspace. A handful of these molecules could devastate subspace throughout an entire quadrant," Kathryn added. "Warp travel would become impossible, ending space travel as we know it. When Starfleet realized the power of Omega they suppressed all knowledge of it. We have detected Omega here in the Delta quadrant in sizeable quantities. Starfleet has authorized us to use whatever means necessary to destroy it. They also recommended that we take as much sensor data as possible. We're going to use this as a learning opportunity if possible. Sadly very few souls will ever see the results. Tom has already started Voyager towards the calculated location of the Omega molecules. Tom assures me Voyager's Promethium Drive will protect us against Omega radiation after some modification at least until an explosion occurs. We have our work cut out for us. Let's get to it people."
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As Voyager neared the star system where the Omega explosion had originated from Kathryn entered Main Engineering and instructed, "Report."
Harry could feel Kathryn's anxiety over the Omega situation and responded by sending calming emotions over their bond.
"This technology is a harmonic resonance chamber designed by the Borg to stabilize Omega," Seven explained while projecting a hologram showing a design into the air.
"Seven, I requested you to work on the photon torpedo option for destroying Omega," Kathryn pointed out.
"The torpedo option will very likely be insufficient given the quantity of Omega Tom has informed me is likely at our destination. This chamber can be modified using an inverse frequency technique to neutralize Omega," Seven explained.
"I've been working on it with her, Kathryn. She is correct," Harry assured his mate quietly.
"Excellent work both of you," Kathryn replied. "Do you need any help?"
Kathryn was truthfully a little eager to learn more about Omega.
"The calculations are quite complex," Seven admitted. "Your assistance would be appreciated."
"Seven, when did the Borg first discover Omega?" Kathryn asked as she joined in on the work.
"Two hundred and twenty-nine years ago," Seven answered. "We assimilated thirteen different species beginning with species two-six-two. Their culture was primitive but the oral history of their species referred to a powerful substance which could burn the sky. The Borg's interest was caught and was led to species two-six-three. Species two-six-three was also primitive and thought Omega was a drop of blood from their creator."
"So you followed Omega's trail through thirteen species?" Kathryn queried.
"Yes, for many years," Seven confirmed. "Species seven-four-six had useful scientific data on Omega and we were able to create the molecule ourselves."
"Federation cosmologists had a theory that Omega once existed in nature for an infinitesimal period of time during the big bang," Kathryn explained. "Some scientists thought Omega might be the primal source of energy that began our universe."
"That sounds like a creation myth like any other," Seven pointed out.
"The Borg say Omega is perfect. Is that a theory or a belief?" Kathryn rebutted.
Seven was saved from answering by Chakotay calling Kathryn to the bridge. Voyager was approaching the target system.
"I will join you on the bridge," Harry suggested.
"Doesn't Seven need your help?" Kathryn asked.
"I have two old friends of mine who will be able to assist her quite well," Harry answered as he activated holo-interfaces linked to the Parris Array Voyager used to communicate with the Sol System.
T'Pol and Hermione both became visible. This was the real Hermione and T'Pol and not simply holograms. Hogwarts was making Voyager's computer think they were holograms originating from the Sol System.
"This is T'Pol and Hermione," Harry introduced.
"T'Pol, you bear a striking resemblance to the T'Pol who served with Captain Archer on the Enterprise NX-01," Kathryn commented.
"She was an ancestor of mine, Captain. I am named after her," T'Pol answered smoothly.
T'Pol was quite famous in the Federation as was all of the NX-01 bridge crew. It was not unexpected that she might be noticed. Kathryn nodded understanding and then walked with Harry towards the bridge.
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"Is the system inhabited?" Kathryn prompted as she arrived on the bridge.
"There is a pre-warp civilization on the outermost planet," Chakotay answered. "Omega's source seems to be further in."
"Take over the helm, Tom," Kathryn instructed after Voyager shuddered slightly from the first distortions in subspace. "Put up the source on the view screen as soon as we are in visual range."
Moments later a moon appeared on the view screen with part of the atmosphere pulsing with a glowing light.
"There is a sub-nucleonic reaction occurring in the upper atmosphere," Tuvok announced.
HK changed the view image with a better sensor scan which showed a scorched and flattened region of the surface where a structure had once obviously stood.
"Over 300,000 square kilometers has been destroyed," HK announced. "I am also detecting life-signs. The structure extends underground and several sections are still shielded from my scans. If you go down to the surface the high levels of radiation may be dangerous."
"Our personal shields will take care of that," Harry assured.
"Tuvok, assemble a rescue team," Kathryn ordered.
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There were bodies both alive and dead strewn about inside the structure.
"There is more Omega here but I am having trouble pin-pointing an exact location," Kathryn admitted while examining her tricorder.
"It's this way," Harry directed while examining his own modified equipment. "It looks like they lost containment. This is a solid deuratanium door thirteen centimeters thick. The deuratanium has fused into the door frame. Phasors should allow us to cut through though."
While this was going on Harry was aware of Seven's conversation with one of the healing rescued Ruari aliens taking place in Voyager's sick bay. The lead research Allos had learned that Seven intended to destroy the Omega molecules remaining. Allos was pissed and warned more of his people would be on the way. When Tuvok had cut through as much of the deuratanium as possible without cutting into the containment chamber itself, Harry stepped forward and gripped the door before ripping it away with ease. A brightly blue glowing field of Omega molecules became visible.
"It sometimes slips my mind how amazed mortal bound can be of what we consider mundane," Aphrodite commented as she materialized behind Harry and pinched his bum for no other reason than she could.
"Hello, love," Harry greeted his Ascended wife.
"So how much do you plan to tell them about what Omega really is?" Aphrodite queried. "And this one is delicious. Her soul is strong though she sometimes does some pretty stupid shit."
Aphrodite was referring to Kathryn.
"I haven't decided yet on how much to tell them. Barring accidents their technology is still quite a ways off from being able to detect Between. They know about other universes but Between is something different," Harry answered.
Omega was matter that leaked into normal universes from the Between. In certain points throughout many universes the barrier separating the universe from the Between weakened and allowed Between matter to leak in. In the Between this matter could be pretty mundane. But inside a normal universe the matter was anything but mundane.
"Well if you don't mind I will stick around for a little while and watch how this plays out," Aphrodite suggested.
"I don't mind at all, lover," Harry answered. "You are always welcome."
Aphrodite's love, her very essence, radiated across their bond and filled him with a spiritual warmth.
"There is enough Omega here to wipe out subspace across half the quadrant. We will have to go with the Borg option to neutralize this much Omega," Kathryn observed after examining her tricorder readings.
"It is quite unfortunate we cannot study this phenomenon in more detail," Tuvok noted.
"Look more closely at those energy levels on your tricorder, Tuvok. They are so dense the limited scanners on our tricorder can't detect the exact energy density. You know how much energy it takes to overload a tricorder's scanning feature. Risking half the quadrant to satisfy curiosity would be arrogant and irresponsible," Kathryn declared.
"I take back my earlier assessment…she is learning wisdom as she makes this journey through her life," Aphrodite noted.
"Indeed," Harry agreed.
Meanwhile up on Voyager, Seven believed she had found a way to stabilize Omega and was making an impassioned plea to Chakotay to allow her to try. She had found a way to stabilize Omega for far longer than any other being in her universe. But Omega was not meant to be inside of a universe. It was matter of the Between and that was where it belonged. If left unhindered Omega would decay and drain back out of a universe. Seven revealed that the Borg essentially worshipped Omega as their god.
"She is very intelligent," Aphrodite noted of Seven. "Normally she would not be able to comprehend Omega's true nature with her limited mind. But you elevated her past that limitation somewhat. Until she truly Ascends she can still not fully comprehend it but she can understand a great deal of it. How will you handle that?"
"I'm thinking as a reward after this I will reveal to her alone as much as she can understand," Harry mused.
"Bridge to Janeway," Chakotay said over the com.
"Go ahead," Kathryn prompted.
"Two ships are on an intercept course for us and will arrive in less than four minutes. They are unresponsive to hails," Chakotay explained.
"We are moments from being ready to try a beam-out," Kathryn replied.
"I am taking Voyager into the atmosphere to make the probability of a successful beam-out much better. The Promethium Drive will protect us from the sub-nucleonic reaction," Harry announced as he remotely accessed the helm control and piloted the craft down. Several moments later he said, "Go ahead with transport."
"The transport was successful," Seven announced.
"We're back onboard Voyager. Let's get going," Kathryn instructed. "We're on our way to the bridge."
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"We found a region of uninhabited space where there are no indications of technology or other signs of life," HK announced as Janeway came onto the bridge with Tuvok and Harry.
"It should be a safe place to carry out the procedure," Chakotay added.
"Can we stay ahead of those two ships?" Kathryn asked.
"Easily," Harry assured.
"Seven showed me a pretty convincing simulation of how she could stabilize the molecules," Chakotay put forth.
"I should have known she couldn't let this one go," Kathryn said. "I need to go speak to her."
"Captain, may I join you?" Harry asked. "Voyager will have no trouble outrunning those ships before we jump to Warp."
"By all means," Kathryn invited.
When the pair arrived in Seven's cargo bay where she had been working she immediately announced, "Eleven percent of the molecules have already been neutralized. Did Commander Chakotay tell you about my idea?"
"Yes, he did," Kathryn confirmed. "But you don't know for sure your idea would work. You risk the lives of countless beings. It is arrogance in the extreme to take that risk. The only place it would be safe to experiment with Omega molecules is in the void between galaxies."
"Seven, load your experimental setup onto a Transwarp shuttle and you can holo-interface to the shuttle to try your experiment," Harry suggested.
"That could actually work assuming Omega doesn't suffer adversely through unshielded Warp at those speeds," Kathryn replied.
"It doesn't," Harry assured. "I know that much."
"An intriguing idea," Seven admitted. "Would you assist me?"
"Yes," Kathryn agreed.
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Voyager was able to jump to Warp much sooner than the pursuing alien craft. The recovering aliens were left behind in an escape pod. The Transwarp shuttled made it to the void between the Milky Way galaxy and neighboring galaxies in several days time. Seven's plan to stabilize the molecules did work for a time but after several days of observation Omega destabilized. The resulting explosion damaged subspace in that region of the intergalactic void for some time to come.
Seven was feeling pretty down about this outcome. Harry decided to cheer her up. He found her in the Transwarp shuttle's holo-interface examining the sensor readings from moments before the destabilization.
"This won't help you understand," Harry informed his mate.
"What will help me?" Seven asked her lover.
Harry walked close to her and placed his right hand on her cheek. She closed her eyes instinctively. Harry transferred knowledge into her mind through their bond. She didn't yet sense the bond but she assumed he was telepathically transferring information. Her eyes snapped open wide.
"Does that help?" Harry asked.
"Thank you," Seven said, her voice actually tinged with emotion.
Harry simply wrapped her in his arms and held her as she adjusted to her new understanding of Omega. Seven didn't understand Omega perfectly but she now was able to comprehend enough of it to sate her curiosity for the moment. She understood some of the Omega's molecules complex properties including the fact that there were many different types of Omega molecules. The molecules she and the Borg had encountered were the least energetic Omega molecules they could have come across in their study of the mysterious subject that was Omega.
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Rev 0 Posted 1/17/2016
Author's Note:
Check out my Facebook group Stargatesg1fan1's Fanfiction Works and Favorites.
For those of you who ask me questions about specific Path verses I am no longer answering these in individual PMs. Instead when someone asks me about a potential Path verse I will go categorize it in a document on my Facebook group called Planned Path Verses & Other Verses. I'm simply tired of answering questions where nobody but the person who asked them can read them. Lol! I'm trying to save myself time. Multiple people are curious about the same verses.
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