The BLTS Archive - Deaths of Harry by Rob Vrablik (rvrablik@ma.ultranet.com) --- Archive: SeventhHeaven, ASC, others with permission Disclaimers: Paramount owns it, I'm just borrowing a couple characters. Thanks: to my Beta readers. --- "A sucking chest wound is nature's way of telling you it's time to slow down" Murphy's Laws of Combat --- Seven looked at Harry. "Ensign Kim, you're dead." An upset Harry Kim looked down and fingered the hole burned through his middle by the phaser blast. "Damn. That's the third time today." Tom walked up and slapped Harry on the shoulder. "Don't look so down Harry." Leaning over in front, Tom looked speculatively through the hole in Harry's middle. "If you keep this up, we can start using you for a window." Seven strode up behind Harry, squatted, and examined the hole as well. "His frequent incidents of mortality are having a detrimental effect on our team's score". She looked up at Tom through Harry's middle. "Perhaps a different approach is required." Harry moved sideways. "All right, enough. Computer, reset simulation." The hole disappeared, leaving Harry complete except for his ego. "I was just trying to figure out where the second set of fire was coming from, and I got hit." B'Elanna broke though a hedge and walked up "I was just starting to get a bead on them when the simulation stopped. What happened?" Tom nodded at Harry as he said, "Our walking target picked up another couple of points for the other teams." B'Elanna got an exasperated look on her face, looked at Harry, and shook her head. "Harry, there are times when I wish you would just crawl under a rock and stay there." Harry objected, "Hey, I'm just having a bad day." B'Elanna gave him a mildly disgusted look, "Have any more like this, and I'll be considering replacing you with Naomi Wildman." She turned and started walking back toward the exercise start point. Harry objected. "Hey, I'm not that easily replaced." Seven considered him with a look. "Perhaps not." Then, with a twinkle in her eye, she started to follow B'Elanna. "However, it may be a logical choice. Being much younger, Naomi's visual acuity is better, her reflexes are faster by eight point three percent, and more to the point, she presents a significantly smaller target. I will have to discuss the possibility with Samantha Wildman." A chagrined Harry slumped a little more. "I can't believe I just walked into the field of fire like that." Tom shook his head "You're thinking too much, Harry. Usually that's fine, but there are times when it will get you killed. You're paying too much attention to what's going on up here," tapping his head, " and not enough time paying attention" indicating the area around them, "to what's going on out here." Harry sighed. "So, what does that do to our overall score?" Tom smiled as they walked off. "I don't think you want to know; you're depressed enough as it is. Let's just say I think we just fell behind the team from accounting…" --- Harry walked down the hall kicking himself. He couldn't believe he had allowed himself to fall apart like that. In hindsight, he realized what he'd been doing. In a sense Tom was right, he'd been spending too much time in his head, but not the way Tom thought. He'd walked in to start the exercise, and had experienced what he had come to call one of his 'Seven moments'. Though he had mostly given up on any sort of relationship beyond friends with Seven, he still was struck by her presence at times. He usually was able to move on, but today for some reason it left him a little scattered. It had gotten him considering how others saw him again. Seven's view of his actions, what would she consider perfection? What would B'Elanna want him doing? Tom? He'd been doing it a lot lately. He'd ended up so busy thinking about everything but the exercise he'd stopped paying real attention. He'd popped down into cover with Seven, and had been so focused on that, that he'd just stood up at the completely wrong moment. Things had sort of snowballed from there. He'd done it a second time while thinking about what he had done the first time. His embarrassment had gotten rolling, and so he'd of course worked his way into a trap the third time. That one hadn't been as stupid as the first two, but if he'd been paying attention he would have avoided it, and regardless of how stupid it was or not, he'd ended up just as 'dead'. He hated it when this thing of his for Seven reared up. As she would probably say, it made him 'Inefficient'. He was pretty good at keeping it suppressed, but every once in a while it would start to kick him in the head again. He'd found usually one of two things usually did the trick to put it to rest for a while, and oddly both were social activities. The first solution was to get active with other people to keep him involved and distracted. The second was to ask Seven to those same social events. A couple rejections would remind him why he didn't do that any more. And who knew, maybe sometime she'd say yes. Harry scoffed at himself, smiling. At least he'd learned to laugh about it. It was sort of like a third arm, it was there but you didn't really know what to do about it. Well, at least he could get away for a bit. The Captain was going to put together an away mission, and Chakotay had let him know that he was to lead it. A few days off the ship would get him the space to get back in stride. He headed to his quarters to change and review the materials for the meeting. --- Seven strode down the corridor. Harry's errors had cost them a number of points this round. The reason for his errors was obvious to Seven: His tendency to distraction. He allowed himself to think about too many things at once. He needed focus. His tendency to 'chat' while working was an example of this. Another example was his reaction to herself. Though he had become better at avoiding the distraction, and usually no longer allowed it to alter his behavior, she still on occasion noted his attention waver when, say, entering her presence, among others. Recently, when it did happen, he would marshal himself, and return to what he was doing. She observed him for these reactions when they were in the same location. In today's exercises, she had noted three occasions, once when arriving to begin the exercise, and twice when they were forced to take cover in close proximity. The first of these last two had resulted in the error that had gotten him killed the first time. Seven reached Astrometrics. She needed to spend some time preparing scans for the Senior Staff meeting. There were two sets of planetary systems they were approaching, and instead of choosing which to explore, there was a high probably of an away mission, with the Delta Flyer exploring one, and Voyager exploring the other. --- Janeway started to wrap up the senior staff meeting. "Harry, I want you to put together an away team and a mission plan for visiting these three systems. Take Seven and another crewman. Six days?" Harry cringed internally when Seven was assigned. So much for getting away from it all. Well, he'd dealt with it before, he'd do it again. He considered the time Janeway had given him. "Possibly a bit more. I'd like to plan for an extra day in case we find anything interesting." Janeway looked at the projected rendezvous point Chakotay calculated, and approved. "Granted. I want a plan on my desk by 0800 tomorrow. " She continued, "Now, for the last item of business. Rumor has it the senior staff team has fallen in the standings of the tactical combat tournament this week." She looked at Harry with a smiling reprimand, "I also noticed you've been a little deader than average, Harry." Harry blanched while the others smiled. He had figured this was coming, but it still didn't make it that much easier. "That being as it may, I'd like to see my top people back on top. Tuvok, what are the standings?" "Team four has surpassed the senior staff team by 32 points, the majority of those points being supplied by Ensign Brooks." The captain looked up with mild surprise. "Accounting?" Tuvok responded, "I do believe that is one of her primary duties in ship services." Janeway considered, "Perhaps it's time to cross train her with security. At least she deserves more away team time for a performance like this. Harry, how about adding her as the third member of your away team?" "Sure, we need the third hand mainly for security duties." Janeway wrapped up the meeting, "It's done then. Meeting adjourned." As the staff exited, Janeway asked Harry to remain. He moved back to the conference table as everyone else left the room. Janeway picked up her coffee, took a sip, and considered him, "You've been a bit distracted lately, Harry. This is one of those away missions where you'll have a lot of free time on your hands. Take some of that time, and straighten out whatever is going on." She gave him a full smile, "And when you get back, I want my old dependable Harry back. The one that doesn't keep getting himself shot." Harry, slightly embarrassed, returned the smile. "Yes, Ma'am." --- As Harry stopped playing his clarinet, he considered the starscape out the front of the Delta Flyer. Seven was keeping herself busy at the console doing systems checks and sensor sweeps. Harry figured if she wanted, she could automate the majority of what she was doing, but by not doing so, it gave her something to keep her busy while they traveled. Brooks had just headed out back to catch her turn at sleep. There was an art to an away mission like this one. Long periods of boredom during travel, interspersed with brief periods of exploration, and intense interest. The key was to save yourself up for the periods where you needed to be sharp, without loosing your edge while you were getting there. Different people handled the combination of boredom and close proximity different ways. Harry had his clarinet. Tom played cards to distract himself. Neelix would talk continuously, telling endless stories, only stopping when he could elicit one from his mission mates. Seven, on the other hand, tended to bury herself in technical work, effectively isolating herself. On his first mission with her, he had simply left her alone, interrupting only for mission related discussions, much like he would on a mission with Tuvok. However, as time passed and Harry had gotten to know her, he had come to realize she welcomed the distraction of the occasional 'irrelevant discussion'. And since they had been doing their own thing for a while, it was about time for another irrelevancy… "I hear Tom is throwing another party when we get back. Are you going?" Seven looked up from what she was doing. Harry watched as she considered for a moment, then decided to stop and participate in the conversation. Seven might seem to have an expressionless exterior, but if you knew her, you could read her as well as anyone. You just had to pay more attention. "The children were interested in attending this 'beach party'. Since Neelix agreed to escort them, I was going to take the opportunity to perform some tasks I have not been able to perform due to my time commitments with them." Harry tried to reassure her. "Seven, the captain and the rest of us understand that you can't do everything you used to. In a sense, the children are part of your duties now. You're not doing less, you're doing more. So instead of trying to catch up, do something you want to do. If you want to spend some time alone, do it." Then, with a smile, and a slight bow arcing his arm, "Or, if you would like to accompany me to Tom's party, I would be honored to escort you." Seven looked at Harry with the kind of expression one would expect if one found a bug in their soup. Perhaps an amusing bug, but still a bug at that. "And why would you wish to do that?" Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I just like your company," and holding his hand up, he reassured her, "It's not a date, just friends." Then, with a twinkle in his eye and hand over heart, he got dramatic again, "Or perhaps I can't bear the thought of possibly ending this life without having seen you at least once in a bathing suit." Even though Seven found her amusement growing, she was still uncomfortable with the thought of another evening of socializing with the entire crew. "Ensign Kim, though I appreciate your offer, I suspect that I may have to, uh," her eyebrow rose, " 'Wash my hair' that night?" Harry, though slightly disappointed, had to smile at her response. She was at least getting creative at turning him down for these large events. "Ah, well, I tried. But if you change your mind, let me know." Seven turned back to the console. Harry, still smiling, picked back up his clarinet, took a breath, and went back to playing. --- Harry dove over the boulder, rolled, and crawled back up to the edge. He gave Seven and Ensign Brooks covering fire as they followed him. They had been going from cover to cover for hours now, trying to escape this planet's top indigenous species, or "Indig" for short. They had been headed back to the Delta Flyer when they had come under fire, and had been on the move ever since. They had tried to communicate with their pursuers, but that had only succeeded in getting them rushed, forcing them to defend themselves hand to hand. Ever since, the remaining Indigs had kept their distance, having learned the hard way about phasers. Mostly they were using some sort of small explosive that came arcing in through the air, only occasionally using their inefficient hand weapons when they got close enough. In the low-level scrub and boulders of the canyon it was an effective technique, since often they could not see their pursuers for a shot, while their pursuers seemed to be able to lob explosives at their leisure. They weren't that accurate, but they didn't have to be, since eventually they were probably going to hit something. At least it was better than getting rushed. Harry began to remember the hand-to-hand fighting, and quickly made himself think of something else. Time for a distraction. Any distraction. Still scanning his area, he yelled to Seven, "Hey Seven, you sure you don't want to go with me to Tom's beach party? The way things are going, this might be your last chance to say 'yes'." Seven glanced over at Harry, then back to scanning her area. Firing off a shot, she responded, "May I assume that you therefore consider this a 'last request'?" A grim smile cracked Harry's features. Seven was running with it. He glanced over. Ensign Books was looking at him with a combined look of surprise, disbelief, and just a touch of horror. Despite the fear churning his guts, Harry kept the front up, smiled and winked. "Could be Seven." He turned back to his area. "Though it could be that if you turn me down again, I'll have to find someone else to take. You got a date yet, Brooks?" He noticed some movement. "Cover!" A wave of projectiles came flying in, landing both on the face of the rock above them, and in the rocks down below them. Harry had chosen the location well, anything arcing in would fall short or harmlessly down below. Not that it made having explosions going off all around you any easier. They all jumped up and started firing, knowing the Indigs were using the opportunity to move up. Brooks hit her target, Seven and Harry just missing theirs as they ducked into cover after moving closer. He glanced at his charges. Ensign Brooks was at the middle of the depression behind the boulder, visually scanning her area. She seemed to have a few cuts, but nothing serious. She seemed to have taken a little heart from the fact that he could still toss out a joke in the middle of all this. Made it seem like there was more of chance they were getting out of here. Seven was at the far end, and was faring about the same. She had a few rips in her jumps suit, with a scratch here and there, and was covered in dust and dirt. Her hair was in disarray, but still held back from her face. Neither seemed to be reaching their physical limits yet, which was good. Harry looked back out, scanning his area again through the brush. He considered their predicament, which was bad. Due to the natural interference in the planet's atmosphere, communicators would only work occasionally. They had known they would probably be inoperable, and that they would not be able to beam back to the Delta flyer, but had not considered it a necessity. Harry was running out of ideas. They obviously couldn't move back up the canyon into the pursuit. According to the tricorder, there had been fourteen of them, now probably twelve, just too many to overcome. They couldn't continue much further down the canyon into the open, the cover ran out and they'd be sitting ducks. And they couldn't stay here. Getting behind their pursuers had become the only possibility he could see to make this work. He'd tried repeatedly to find a way to move around behind their pursuit, but it never worked. And as they had been driven back, the canyon had narrowed, and there were fewer and fewer options. He needed a different idea, or a different way to get there. Looking out, Harry saw the depression in the plain beyond the mouth of the canyon where they had landed the Delta Flyer. All that protection and firepower, and they couldn't get to it. Harry banged his fist in frustration, knocking a few stones aside to tumble down the rock face. Looking down after them, he noticed an opening covered by some loose rock held in place by a large flake of fallen cliff. Stepping down, he pulled it away from its resting-place, and discovered an opening large enough to fit into. He turned around and realized there was just enough loose cover below them that they could potentially move off without being seen from above. And there was a good defensive position further down that would serve perfectly for his purposes. Harry realized he might have found that different way to get there. He moved back up. Indicating the opening he had just created, Harry called out, "Seven, Brooks, get in there. We can get you in behind them. I'll cover the opening, and draw them down the rest of the canyon. When the tricorder indicates they have passed by, get out and come down behind. I'll find a spot to keep them busy, and you can take them out with clear shots from above. Seven immediately objected, "It is inappropriate to divide our force, it violates standard tactical doctrines. This plan also exposes you to the greatest risk, acting as a target. " Harry fired a shot at some movement, then looked at Seven. "Staying here isn't an option, and neither is moving much further down, so if you have any better ideas, I'm ready to hear them. We need our best shots in the rear group, and that's the two of you. Besides, we all know I make the best target…" He took the opportunity to fire off another couple of shots near where he had seen the movement. He needed to keep them at a distance a few minutes longer. When Seven didn't answer, Harry moved back down and pulled the flake back enough for Seven and Brooks to enter. "Ladies, I'd appreciate if you'd hurry. I'm going to need as much of a lead as I can get." Brooks fired a shot up the canyon, looked at Harry, shook her head, and muttered, "Remember to duck" as she moved down and crawled into the hole. Seven, on the other hand, looked on the edge of defying him. Harry didn't want trouble, and he needed her to move now. His query came out as half question, half command, "Seven?" --- Seven did not understand what Harry was doing. Their situation was grave, but that did not excuse discarding standard tactical dictates. They should stay together, continue their retreat, support each other, and hope the Indigs would commit an error they could exploit. The course of action being proposed made no sense. Harry would be taking a high risk. Seven observed Harry. His physical condition was sound, with minor abrasions, and an unkempt appearance consistent with their activities. His features as usual revealed his emotions. Seven had come to be able to read Harry's emotions better than anyone else on Voyager. Through long association, she could read his distraction, concentration, personal pain, pleasure, humor, and of course, his occasional lapses in attention due to attraction. Seven noted the difference in him. To use a phrase she had heard Tom use, this was a different Harry. In the holodeck exercises, his distractions made him hesitant. Here he was in charge, keeping them moving, always knowing what he wanted them to do next, and when it was time to do it. Instead of being hindered by his tendency toward distractions, he now used it to relieve tension. She speculated about the difference. Thought Seven could not understand what he was doing, she had to admit, she did not have another effective option to offer. Harry was in command, and so far, he had kept them together, and alive. Though illogical, she would have to accede to this plan. --- Seven looked him in the eye for a few moments, then appeared to change her mind, and backed down. She turned, fired off three quick shots, (at what, Harry couldn't see, though he was sure she hit exactly what she was aiming at), and began to follow Ensign Brooks into the hole. "I expect you to better your performance of the recent tactical simulations." The corner of Harry's mouth ticked up, "I promise, I'll get myself killed once at most," and began to push the flake back into place. Once he had pushed the flake back, he pushed a few smaller rocks in front to cover some of the remaining opening. He then raised his head and fired off a couple more shots at places he had seen movement, then turned and quickly headed down the canyon. --- Seven crawled into the space behind the flake, and turned around. It was tight, but not cramped. There was some light remaining as Harry covered the opening back up. She heard him head down the canyon: the sounds of his movement, a couple phaser shots and explosions, all moving away. Placing her tricorder near one of the openings, she found she could get a scan of some of the surrounding area. She watched as Harry moved down the canyon, his signal becoming intermittent as he moved behind cover, then disappearing all together. There followed the sound of one more phaser shot, then a few explosions, then silence. They waited. Seven contemplated the situation. She could sense her anxiety. She had felt it while they had been in retreat. It had been a distraction, growing and waning at times. She found the emotion did not behave logically. While they had been engaged in moving down the canyon in the fighting retreat, the sensation had been present, but not a significant distraction. However, now as she lay waiting, the distraction grew. She had found herself following the sounds, extrapolating what was happening from them. With their cessation, however, and with nothing showing on the tricorder, she had no information. As her anxiety grew, she inexplicably found herself intently listening not for the sound of the Indigs, which she expected, but for the sound of a phaser. Nothing. After a few more moments, one of the Indigs showed up on the tricorder scan. Seven held her hand up to indicate the fact to Brooks. Brooks nodded in understanding, and slowly brought her phaser to the front, ready to move. Seven watched as more showed up on the scan. They heard scrabbling above them. One of the Indigs moved over the boulder, and from the sounds of it, down to the ledge they had occupied, then down to right outside their lair. Seven quickly indicated with her hand that if the Indigs opened the flake, they were to rush out. Brooks shook her head in acknowledgement. Seven could tell from Brooks' expression she understood what that would mean. If discovered, rushing out would give them a chance at survival. But not much. They both quickly raised their weapons and tensed as a hand appeared at an edge of the flake. --- Harry looked out from behind where he had taken cover. He watched as he was followed, taking a few shots when they were visible, but they weren't exposed long enough for him to get an effective shot off. But he did have clear view of where Seven and Ensign Brooks were. He watched as one of he Indigs moved into the position he had just vacated. Harry hadn't picked the best position to defend for the moment, but it gave him a clear hot to protect Seven and Brooks. He took careful aim, and squeezed the trigger. --- At the sound of a phaser, the hand was jerked away, accompanied by a sound like a forced, high pitch wheeze, obviously a cry of pain. A second or so later there was the sound of metal on the ledge, followed after a pause by the sharp impact of body and weapons on the rocks below. They could almost feel the impact in the rock itself. Seven heard a second Indig scramble off the ledge and down to the rocks below. Her tricorder indicated that one paused where his friend had obviously fallen, then moved on down the canyon after Harry with the rest. Seven heard a sharp exclamation of breath at her side. She turned and looked as Brooks lay her forehead on her arm, and stated in a deep emphatic whisper, "Thank you, Ensign Harry Kim." She remained there for a moment, took a deep breath, let it out, then raised her head up, looked at Seven, and nodded to indicate she was ready. Seven considered, and decided she owed him the same thanks. She would deal with that at the appropriate time. She looked at the tricorder, held her hand up to indicate a moment, waited until they seemed to be in the clear, then beckoned for them to move. They carefully pushed the flake out enough to allow their escape, and quickly moved out of their lair, phasers ready. Nothing shot at them, and they saw nothing alive. Below them lay the Indig Harry had struck, limbs splayed in death. There was an obvious phaser burn enveloping one side of the torso. They looked at the tableau for a moment, then climbed down. --- Harry was moving again, looking for the spot to make his stand. As he moved toward the mouth of the canyon, cover was becoming scarce. He found a position that would concentrate the enemy above him in somewhat exposed positions, and which gave him fairly good cover. The only problem was that there was nowhere left to retreat. The position would pull the enemy together, but leave him no place to pull back to without completely exposing himself. Well, this was his plan. It seemed like the right idea. A close explosion caused Harry to duck. A few more followed. It's not like they had to guess where he was anymore, with no other cover in sight. Hunkering down a bit more, Harry guessed this was home for a while. He fired a few more shots without having much to aim at, and a couple explosions went off even closer. As long as it wasn't home for too long... --- Seven and Ensign Brooks moved down the canyon, Seven using the tricorder to guide their progress. The sounds of the fight came up to them. Seven halted Brooks at a boulder. "We should have a clear view once we move around this obstruction. I will take the right side, you take the left. Start with any targets on the flanks, and move toward the center. Wait until you hear my fire." They each moved to their positions and scanned the area. As Harry had hoped, the enemy positions were shielded from Harry's position, but completely exposed to fire from above. After a few moments, Seven had found the positions in her area, and assumed Brooks had found hers as well. She raised her phaser, chose the order of her targets, aimed, and started firing. --- Harry heard the sound of phaser fire, and moved into position to give support. He got off a few shots when one of the explosives went off just behind him. A sharp pain lanced through his left side, and as he spasmed, he found himself thrown against the rock and falling to the ground. --- Seven heard the yell over the general commotion. She began to move down the canyon, paused, then continued firing at the exposed enemy. Finding themselves fired upon from both above and below, the Indigs had started to move down the canyon, some moving toward Harry's position, while others took cover from the fire coming from above. Seven tried to raise Harry, but as expected received no response. She could not tell if communications were not working, if he was simply too busy to respond, or if he was now unable to respond. She tried yelling, but heard no response. So she did what she could, and kept firing. The remaining Indigs were beginning to recover from the onslaught from their rear, and with no fire from below, were able to take effective cover from the fire from above. They did so, and began to press Seven and Brooks. Seven yelled for Harry one more time. Again, she heard no response. She and Brooks moved back to better cover, and continued with suppressive fire. There was no further phaser fire from below. --- Harry found himself staring at a small stone sitting in the surrounding detritus. It was a small rounded stone, with a grayer spot on one side, and a lighter portion on another where a corner had broken off, exposing the cleaner insides. His arm lay behind, cut and bleeding. He remembered the explosion, and falling. He knew he was injured, but it didn't seem to hurt, it just felt sort of numb. He tried to move, and discovered that movement hurt. A lot. When the pain went away again, he reopened his eyes. OK, so moving around was something to avoid for a while. Not moving, yeah, he could do that. Then he heard Seven. The Indigs. When reading novels, Harry had never really understood what it meant to have a character drag themselves up. It had made a nice sounding phrase, and was fairly descriptive, evoking a particular picture in one's mind, but if you thought about it, it hadn't really made much sense. Either you moved, or you didn't. Now he understood, intimately, what it meant. Harry dragged himself up, through the pain, across the face of the boulder that formed his haven. He could hear the fight as he went, phaser fire intermixed with explosions, and now the sound of the hand weapons the Indigs used. As he reached a crouch, his head came up over the top. He saw a few Indig casualties lying on the rocks. Others were crouched behind cover, firing up the canyon. Phaser fire lanced out from above at their positions. He saw two more running toward him. Harry lurched his phaser around, brought it to bear, and fired. Harry was almost as surprised as his target when the shot connected, and the first Indig fell to the ground. The second saw his companion fall, raised his weapon, and fired at Harry on the run. The projectile it fired struck the rock face to Harry's right, sending small splinters harmlessly off to the side. Harry moved his aim and fired again. The second Indig dropped. Harry felt nauseous. Somewhere in the back of his head, the tally of guilt went up two more. Four. Harry looked back up at the surrounding rocks, and fired at one of the Indigs taking cover there. He was wide, but the Indig, again taking fire from above and below, with no where to go, dropped his weapon and ran. Harry watched as another looked at the first leaving, looked in Harry's direction, then also dropped his weapon and left. One by one, the rest began to follow. Harry was growing tired. He felt his phaser start to loosen in his grip, and couldn't react quickly enough to keep it. It slid out of his hand, down the rock, and fell to the ground with a thud. He then felt himself begin to fall to the side, but did not have the energy to stop. Knowing his injuries were on that side, he began to suspect what was coming. The last thing he felt was the flash of pain from hitting the ground. --- Seven heard phaser fire from the direction of Harry's position, then saw an Indig break from cover, heading for the canyon opening. She raised her phaser to fire, and then noted he was heading away from Harry's position, and had dropped his weapon. Then two more followed. The Indigs were breaking. She withheld fire, and carefully began to move forward. When the majority of the Indigs appeared to be fleeing she ordered Brooks to cover her, and began to move more quickly toward Harry's position. She called to him, but received no response. As she came into the open she saw the two remaining Indigs she had not accounted for lying there. She also saw the rocks of Harry's position. There was an arm extended out to one side. It was limp, unmoving. There was a dark patch on the ground below it, slowly growing larger. She ran. Harry lay on his back, having fallen on his wounded side and rolled. Dirt and blood covered one side from various small wounds. The majority of blood on the ground was welling out of a wound on his arm. Two others in his side appeared critical, but were not releasing nearly as much blood. He looked not unlike the Indigs they had left up the canyon: lifeless and limp. The only evidence of life was a continuing shallow movement of the chest, and the blood seeping from his wounds. Seven quickly used a dermal regenerator to close the most serious wounds, stemming the bleeding, and having done what she could, stood up. The Indigs had broken, but could return. Moving Harry in his current condition risked both his health and their complete exposure, but leaving Harry and Brooks here while she retrieved the flyer was even worse. She picked Harry up and placed him over her shoulder. "Ensign Brooks, I will convey Ensign Kim to the ship. Cover our withdrawal, but stay close enough that I may support you if we come under fire." She began heading for the depression on the plain where they had landed the delta flyer. Seven kept up as fast pace as she could maintain, which due to her Borg implants was a fairly impressive clip. Brooks was pressed to both keep up and maintain a visual scan of their rear. --- After they had done what they could for Harry, Brooks monitored him while Seven got the flyer moving. She exited the atmosphere and headed into warp. Once clear of the planetary interference, she contacted Voyager and arranged a rendezvous. They would fly toward the Delta Flyer and cut down on transit time, increasing Harry's chances. Once everything was arranged, she signed off, made sure the course was set, and went back to see if there was anything further that could be done for Harry. "Ensign Brooks, I will relieve you now." "Seven?" "You are familiar with basic stellar navigation and communication procedures, correct?" "It's been a while..." "Very well. Assume the Helm, and contact me if anything appears abnormal. We are currently set for auto navigation and plotted to rendezvous with Voyager in 20 hours. I will remain here with Ensign Kim." "Do you need to rest? You carried him all the way back." "I will be fine." Brooks looked a little shocked to be driving, but headed up front to 'take control'. Seven stood looking at Harry for a moment, at a loss for what to do. Medically, everything they had the ability to do had been done. Harry would have to survive or not on his own until they reached Voyager. His external injuries had been healed, but for the more complex internal ones they did not have the proper equipment. They simply had to keep him comfortable and wait. Seven looked him over, mentally reviewing the injuries, and what had been done. With his epidermal surfaces regenerated, the only lingering evidence of the severe injuries sustained was the state of his uniform. Harry's uniform was torn, filthy, and bloody. Aside from the filth from their retreat down the canyon, there had been numerous punctures on his left side from the blast that had injured him. The clotted blood on his uniform gave stark evidence of the remaining internal damage. His face, still knotted in pain, was accented by it's own film of dirt and blood. The state of Harry's features somehow troubled Seven. Harry had always been neat and clean, and though grooming was irrelevant, it bothered her to see him this way. She produced a bit of cloth and some water, and began to systematically clean his face. She found doing so relieved some of her anxiety. When she was done, he looked a little less dead. Harry twitched, and groaned in pain, turning slightly. Seven decided it would be better to give him a sedative, to keep him from furthering his injuries. She turned and began to ready a hypospray. --- Harry was lost, wandering though a surreal collage of recent events, being driven toward consciousness by pain. As a wave passed, his awareness moved from the pain and memories to a more familiar, comfortable sound. As he listened to the low hum, he opened his eyes, and slowly realized he was on the delta flyer, in flight. The last thing he remembered was the retreat down the canyon, and his stand at the bottom. He looked to one side, and saw Seven. Mustering his strength, he spoke. "Seven?" She turned, hypo spray in hand, and leaned down, "Ensign Kim. Do not exert yourself. You have been severely injured." He absorbed that fact for a moment, but focused on a more pressing concern, "You? Brooks?" She understood the question. "We are well, there were no serious injuries other than those to yourself. Your plan was successful, allowing us to reach this ship. We are under way, and will rendezvous with Voyager in approximately twenty hours." He relaxed a bit. At least he hadn't gotten anyone else hurt. She continued, "We have treated what we can, but your remaining injuries are potentially life threatening. You may not survive until we reach Voyager. I will be giving you a sedative to prevent you from furthering your injuries. Before I put you under, is there anything you would like?" He took a moment to absorb what she was telling him. It made sense with the pain he was in. He looked at her, and noting her concern, had a peculiar thought. He considered a moment, and decided it was worth a try, might even be his last chance. "Have to survive." He paused, and a slight smile came to his tired features, "Tom's party..." Harry got what he wanted: Seven's eyebrow rose at this irrelevancy, and some of the stress disappeared from her face, as she responded with guarded humor, "I'm sure Mr. Paris will be pleased to know his entertainment programs instill such enthusiasm." He gasped at a sudden pain, then focusing back on Seven, managed to get out "It's not the program, it's who you go with." She dodged the implied question, and seeing the continuing pain, decided it was time. "You need sleep now." Harry, persistent to the last, tried one last time to get a response out of her. "What, not even a thank you for saving your life?" She hesitated. She still disagreed with what Harry had ordered. She had gone along with it since she had not been able to propose another possibility at the time, but still felt that given time they would have been able to devise something that would have been less foolhardy. Though it had worked, he had violated basic tactical dictates by dividing their force. He had set himself up as a target. It had almost gotten him killed. She couldn't bring herself to thank him for it. But with his damage and pain, this was also not the time to debate it. "Perhaps later, when you are well. I will see you when you awaken." She began to move the hypospray to his neck. He interrupted her movement with a quiet word, humor gone, "Seven..." She stopped, and waited. The humor in his features was gone, replaced by a calm acceptance. He looked her in the eye, "In case..." He paused, and continued, "It's been a pleasure serving with you." Seven glanced away as a ripple of emotions crossed her features, welling up from inside, threatening her composure. She had little experience with this kind of emotional assault, and it took her a few moments to recover. She took a breath, regained herself, and looked back, the stress lines having returned to her face. She hesitated, silent, at a loss for how to respond. Finally, softly, she tried, "I... have also ...", but trailed off, pained at being unable to articulate. Harry gave a small nod of understanding. There was silence between them for a few moments, then she extended the hypo spray and put him under. She sat, and steeled herself for the long trip back to Voyager. Time did not pass quickly. --- Seven walked to where Harry lay sprawled. His eyes were open but unfocused, and there was no discernable breath. He was obviously dead. The last explosion had caused several internal injuries that had proven severe enough to terminate him. His death had happened quickly. "Computer, freeze simulation." She contemplated, attempting once again to discover her error. In her latest attempt, Ensign Brooks had been hit, prompting the simulated Harry to come to her aid. He had then been struck by fire himself. The Seven of Nine holographic representation had then been surrounded. It lay behind another boulder, seriously injured, and soon would have been terminated. It was just another in a series of failures. Immediately upon returning to Voyager she had headed to sickbay, and had learned Harry would recover. The Doctor had complemented her on her field medic skills, "A less skilled effort, and he probably would not have made it back." She was uneasy, though at what, she could not fathom. The praise had not reduced it. When recording her mission report, she found her unease centered on descriptions of their engagement with the Indigs, and Harry's command decisions. She had finally headed to the holodeck, determined to examine these events. Every simulation she so far had tried had failed, in one way or another. She was using all of her tactical knowledge in the attempt to devise what she would consider a reasonable scenario, resulting in all away team members escaping from the canyon, but so far, had not succeeded. In every case, one, and usually two, died. Her best results had come from sacrificing one member of the team, leaving them to cover the rear, as the other two withdrew to the Delta Flyer. Usually one, and sometimes two, of the withdrawing members succeeded in reaching the flyer alive. The rear guard, however, always ended up being overwhelmed. Other options had not fared as well. Experiments with rushing the enemy positions had been even worse, resulting in consistent loss of the entire away team. She had at first participated in the simulations, but as her attempts continued to fail, she had eventually added a holographic representation of herself, and had wandered through the running simulation as a non-interactive observer. She had hoped that seeing things from different viewpoints would help her identify possible solutions. It had not. Seeing no more options, Seven finally did what she had been avoiding. "Computer. Reset scenario parameters to adhere to the tactical decisions made by Ensign Kim. Reset simulation and run from time index theta one." A part of her hoped that running things the way Harry had decided on the planet would uncover an error in the simulation, that the simulation results would not match the actual outcome on the planet. This would then explain her inability to devise a better tactical solution to the problem. But the results matched. She ran the simulation a few times, and the results continued to be positive. Most often all participants survived, though occasionally there were injuries, and in one instance the simulated Harry Kim was terminated. These strange tactics of his seemed to be the only key to the situation. She tried to understand the approach, and began to modify the point at which the decision to split up was made. Most often disaster ensued. After one rather poor performance, Seven did something she rarely did. She gave up. "Computer. Freeze simulation." Seven contemplated the canyon, and the dead crew lying there. She looked at the results of her efforts, a dead Harry Kim, Ensign Brooks, and Seven of Nine. She looked at her own simulation, sprawled across the ground, tossed unceremoniously by an explosive device. The explosion had been strong enough to cause significant damage to the cranium, and to rend her body cavity, destroying soft tissue and Borg implants alike. The damage if real would have been sufficient to cause instantaneous death. If this had not been a simulation, she doubted she would have even known she had been struck before her awareness terminated. She finally accepted it. She could not find a different solution, and would not herself have found any solution. But Harry Kim somehow had. Seven ended the simulation. She noted the time. She would regenerate for a few hours, then take a few minutes to go by sickbay before seeing B'Elanna and beginning her duty shift. The Doctor had said Harry might be awake by then. She wanted to confirm he was well enough to be awake before she went on duty. As she headed for the exit, she decided there was one more way to discover if another solution could be devised. She reset and saved the simulation, then contacted Commander Tuvok on her commbadge. "Commander, I have just concluded running a simulation I have created of the away mission. I have a proposition for you..." --- Harry didn't think things could get much worse. He'd gotten the away team all shot up, had almost gotten himself killed, and hadn't even had a chance to talk to Seven about it afterwards. He had woken up from one nightmare to find himself facing another, the realization he was still stuck in sickbay. He was healing well, but various aches and pains persisted. He'd been there for a day, the Doctor keeping him there for two more to make sure his recovery went fine. Most everyone had stooped by. Tom had chatted with him for a while, then talked with the Doctor for a bit. The Doctor had seemed agitated about something, but Tom seemed to have calmed him down. The Captain and Chakotay had stopped in to make sure he didn't need anything. Ensign Brooks had stopped in to chat. They had talked for a while, though when Harry had mentioned Seven, Brooks had briefly seemed a little nervous. When Harry had first woken up, the Doctor had said he'd prefer if Harry would stop using his services so much. "I like seeing you, but not in this fashion. If you continue your habit of getting injured, we will have to install a bed with your name on it." Harry shook his head remembering the comment. Seven had stopped in briefly. She'd entered, asking the Doctor if his recovery was still proceeding well.. She'd then asked if there was anything he needed, and when he said there wasn't, she had left, indicating she needed to see B'Elanna. Harry smiled. It had been typical Seven. No irrelevant conversation, just gather the important information, and move on. He would have enjoyed being able to talk with her, but chasing her down the corridor was a bit outside of his capabilities at the moment. He sighed, and picked up a pad he was reviewing to pass the time. After a while, the door opened, and a wave of humanity entered, lead by Tom in one of his Hawaiian shirts. In each hand he held a drink with a small umbrella in it, and was followed by B'Elanna and others. Tom turned to the Doc, "May I turn it on?" The doctor looked pained, and rolled his eyes upwards, seeking unforthcoming relief from affliction, "If you must." Tom spoke, "Computer, activate program Paris Theta Two, medical annex." Suddenly there were waves of sand on the floor, a few palm trees scattered about, and through the window and door where the doctor's office had been, the view of a beach and the sound of surf. Until that moment, Harry had not understood what was going on. Suddenly he realized what time it was. The Doctor, turning to Harry, sarcastically indicated Tom, "Mr. Paris talked me into allowing part of this event to be moved here for your benefit. I will probably regret it." Tom turned to the Doc. "Common, Doc, lighten up. It's a beach party. Enjoy yourself a bit." The Doctor looked pained. "Very well. Will this make you happy?" Suddenly the Doctor was sporting a loose fitting flowered shirt similar to Tom's. "Now excuse me while I return to my duties. If this 'beach' party gets any sand in the instruments, you're going to be pulling double shifts until things are set right." "Sure doc." Tom smiled as the doc walked away, noticing that not only was Doc heading for the Delaney sisters instead of his desk, but he had also acquired a drink with an umbrella in it. B'Elanna entered sickbay, and walked over to Harry. "Harry, if you kept getting hit like this, I really am going get Naomi Wildman to replace you on the team." Harry took the ribbing as intended, with good humor "You know, the way I'm feeling, I might just welcome being replaced." B'Elanna then became a little more serious, "Harry, you did good out there; you saved your team. Seven put a simulation together to show us what went on down there. The other teams from the tactical competition have tried it." She paused. "Half are making it out with significant casualties. The rest aren't making it out at all." She continued, more curious, "Everyone wants to know how you did it. Seven and Brooks aren't talking, and Tuvok got the idea from somewhere to run everybody through this, so the captain and he won't say anything until everyone has been though it twice. How did you get the away team out of there? And with only three crewmen instead of four?" Harry contemplated a moment. He then smiled a B'Elanna, "I did what I do best. I played target." She hit him on the shoulder, though lightly, "Fine, don't tell me. Just next time, duck a little sooner, OK?" Harry smiled. It was nice to still be around to get chastised by B'Elanna. "Sure. Speaking of Seven, have you seen her? I haven't had a chance to talk with her since the flyer." Harry was shocked as B'Elanna smiled a knowing smile. B'Elanna NEVER smiled when Seven was mentioned. He suddenly realized something had to be up. "She came by to ask me for some advice yesterday. I'm sure she'll be around at some point." She looked toward the door as Harry heard it open, and smiled again. Grabbing Tom's arm possessively she continued, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to re-acquaint myself with Mr. Paris here." As they turned to leave, Seven of Nine entered. She was dressed in a simple black one-piece suit, a silken wrap about her waist, open to the side, and a pair of wedge sandals. Harry thought she looked stunning. From some of the looks she got, others there obviously thought so too. She strode toward Harry. Tom welcomed her. "Seven, welcome to the party. I thought you weren't going to be able to attend. Not that I'm complaining, mind you." Seven reached Harry's bed, and came to her standard stance facing him, expression considering, hands clasped behind, feet together. She turned to respond, "Ensign Kim had expressed an interest in seeing me attired in what you call a 'bathing suit' at some point before he died." She turned back to Harry while she continued her response, "Considering his most recent near death experience, and his frequent encounters with such incidents in the past, I have concluded this desire needed to be fulfilled soon, before he discovered some other method of terminating himself." She considered Harry with a thoughtful look, "I would regret such a disappointment." Tom grinned. "Our Harry does seem to catch more than his share at times, doesn't he?" Tom excused himself, allowing B'Elanna to continue to lead him away, "Well, I have to go play host. It's good to see you, Seven." Harry complemented Seven, "You look great." Seven responded, "Lieutenant Torres aided me with the selection of this garment. She indicated you would appreciate it. I believe she said, 'If this doesn't get Harry out of that bed in sickbay, nothing will'." Harry flushed, slightly embarrassed. Seven hesitated, then continued. "Ensign Kim, I must apologize for doubting you on the planet. If we had not taken your course of action, we would all probably be dead." Harry became serious in return, "Seven, you don't need to apologize. I could just as easily have been wrong. I got lucky." Seven replied, "On the contrary, every other crewmember attempting the simulation has failed," she paused, then her voice lowered a bit as she admitted, "including myself." Returning somewhat to her previous self assured manner, she continued, "In such a case, I can not reasonably account your success to luck." Seven looked at him, curious, "I have noted a significant difference between your actions in the tactical simulations, and those on the planet. Can you explain?" Harry knew what she was talking about. He tried to explain as best as he could, considering he wasn't sure he understood it himself. "I think it has to do with the difference between a contest and reality. In the exercise, what seemed important was what the other people thought, while in the real situation it was easy to deal with what was important. It suddenly didn't matter what you or anyone else thought, what mattered was getting everyone out alive, no matter what it took. I guess in a way I saw a little of what it must be like to be the Captain, trying to get us home. Seven considered what he had said, then continued, "I must also thank you for saving our lives." Harry performed his own contemplation for a few moments. "You're welcome, Seven. I'm just glad I was able to pull it off." Harry looked at her, and smiled at the suit. "And thank you for coming. You know, I was joking about 'having to see you in a bathing suit'." Seven looked at him directly, pinning him with her eyes. "I have learned that things stated as humor often contain aspects of the truth. I do not believe that your expressed desire was completely in jest." Harry blanched slightly. Caught. "Uh, well, uh, I can't say I'm sorry you did..." Seven's eyebrow rose again, her eyes smiling. "Very well." She turned and looked around at the gathered festivities, and her normal, slightly disdaining self slipped back into place, "So explain to me, what exactly are we supposed to do at a 'beach party'?" Harry smiled. He'd saved his team, avoided getting killed, and Seven came to a beach party with him. Things were looking up. --- The End