Galatea Part 8 Seven keyed open the door to the shuttle, still silent. They entered it hoping that they would evade capture, and certain that Voyager would be looking for them. The door hissed closed and Harry punched the airlock controls. Seven made her way to where she hoped the navigational systems were, her Borg knowledge helpful to her in this instance:- that she knew there were only so many ways to steer a ship. "Ensign, can you detect Voyager at all?" she queried. "I doubt it" Replied the Vizier. "Come away from there and return to my custody. You will not be harmed if you capitulate now" "Ensign?" she said again a little louder, backing away from the console and from him. Her breathing became shallow and feelings of panic rose once again. "Ensign Kim, answer me!" Her voice was unsteady. Her eyes took in data unwanted. She saw the blade in his bare hand, coated with a dark red liquid that fell, drip, drip, drip to the metal decking. "You were and are the objective of this whole exercise. My facilitators are on their way as we speak. If you return with me now then it will be more pleasurable for all concerned" his voice was greased with innuendo. "You have killed him?" she said with a hint of steel entering into her tone. "Why do you worry? The Borg do not concern themselves with individuals" The vizier took a step forward, looked confused at a noise behind him and met the swung weapon full in the face and staggered backwards. "Seven, why don't we leave now?" Harry's voice expressed moderate concern at a speedy departure. "You cannot hope to defeat me. My facilitators will soon be here" He spat blood, or whatever liquid passed within his veins. "They won't fire on you, and we're leaving. Right, Seven?" "Affirmative. But you are damaged Ensign" She paused for a moment. "Do you require assistance?" "I'd feel better if we left" She turned to the navigational array and powered up the engines. The shuttle bay doors were not opening. Without hesitation she fired, exposing the bay to immediate vacuum. They exited into space, searching for a way home. "Return me and yourself to my habitat, drone" snapped the Vizier. "Leave her alone. We're not turning back. Our captain will want to deal with you. She doesn't take kindly to her crew being imprisoned" Harry said. He had managed to force his left arm in place across the hole in his chest that bubbled frothy blood. "Sit down and shut up" he snarled. Seven stood, her eyes scanning screens for signs of Voyager. She detected ion trails that seemed familiar, but she was very tired and afraid. "You cannot stop me. You are damaged, flawed, imperfect, weak. I will destroy you" pronounced the Vizier. It flaunted the knife anew. It appeared to be a ceremonial blade. "It's been tried before. I'm still here." Harry raised the rod like weapon, his grin unfriendly. "Give in and you will die without additional discomfort" "You don't play with Klingons very often do you?" was all Harry's response. The alien feinted and slashed with the wicked blade. Harry broke several of the bones in its hand with a downwards swing. The blade dropped from its fingers and it wailed in pain, a high pitched screeching noise that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. It made no move to get another weapon, seemingly oblivious to anything but its hand. Harry thumbed the peculiar staff to its maximum setting and pointed it at the vizier who stepped back, now paying attention. "If you fire that in here, in flight, the conduits will rupture and we will all die" A touch of fear entered its voice. Tuvok spoke "The signal is no longer stationary. The emitter is mobile, and rapidly increasing speed." "Can you pick them up? Life signs, Sevens implants, anything?" "Negative Captain. The shielding works both ways. Our only trace is on the signal from the doctors emitter." "Can you pinpoint it?" "I have the region of space on the screen, I can give co-ordinates and vector" "Co-ordinates? Match course, Tom" "Aye Captain" said the pilot. "Bingo" Said Tuvok, rather surprisingly. He pointed to a tiny dot through the main window. "There" The captain put down her gun and peered. "Get us closer. Broadcast a message, see if they can drop that cloak. On as many frequencies as you can. They might hear us." "We have been hailed. It is Voyagers shuttle. They are requesting that we drop the cloak. I do not know what is transmitting it" said Seven levelly, her mind on matters that she could control. "Tell her" Said Harry sharply. The vizier, obviously a politician, indicated a well hidden panel in defeat. Seven switched it off. ~ "We'll be in our transporter range in a minute or two. We can see you." Seven looked both hopeful and afraid at the same time. "Seven was he?" He left the question open, her scared face prompting him to ask. "He was the instigator" she confirmed in a small voice, "What will happen to him" "I'll be imprisoned and returned to my habitat after negotiations with the rest of my government. Voyager will receive reparations. And I will be so embarrassed" He raised his hands "I surrender. She is perfection to behold. Borg and female. Have you had her?" Harry ignored him. Seven looked apprehensive "Is that true? He will not be punished?" "Starfleet policy recommends negotiation. It depends whether his government supported his actions" Kim felt light headed, everything seemed very far away. "I will hunt you down, drone. You will be mine. I need you. I will never have this opportunity again" "Prepare for beam out. We've got a lock on you, Seven. Hang on Harry" "Is this Starfleet policy; women and children first, prisoners last?" Seven shimmered and disappeared. "Lower your weapon. I will be a model prisoner. Starfleet ethics, Starfleet brat" hissed the Alien in disgust. "I'm not in uniform" replied Harry. He fired the weapon, aiming directly between the aliens eyes. He had the satisfaction of seeing it drop face down on the floor. He felt the warmth of the impending explosion, for the beam had punched directly through its head, even as the transportation began.. He collapsed as the adrenaline burst faded. It was quiet and dark and he let himself relax. Tom and Tuvok were at the controls. Janeway was wrapping Seven in a blanket, appalled at her state. "Getting us out of range" said Tom as the fireball disappeared into the distance, "I don't think we'll be picking anyone else up from that ship" The two women looked at Harry. Seven was wearing his shirt and he was bruised and bloody and not breathing. In fact he lay perfectly still. Seven crept to his side, Janeway with the field medical kit, scanning with a tricorder. As she looked, unsuccessfully, for the artificial respirator, Seven had used her initiative. Aware that he was not breathing, Seven racked her brain. She knew that he needed air. Then she recalled that her own human lungs were inefficient and that her exhalations contained a breathable portion of oxygen and other trace gases. Her calculations were far quicker than Janeways search. In an efficient manner she straddled his hips and sealed her mouth to his and began to force air into him. Tom who had handed over the piloting to Tuvok, stared at the scene, making a mental note that he wished Harry could see this, before he got himself into gear. Seven would not be moved. After a short time she got a reaction. She felt a convulsion and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. She moved her head before most of it hit her. He continued to choke up the remainder of the liquid that was filling his lungs, turning his head to one side and weakly expelling it in that direction. He drew wheezing bubbling breaths on his own and Tom slapped a sterile seal over the hole in his chest. "Ensign, can you hear me?" asked Seven; he had not yet made indications of consciousness. "Harry? Please open your eyes!" At the unusual request he complied, still not focussing. Her face swam before him, huge blue eyes full of worry. "Yeah?" he croaked. She slapped him forcefully, bringing him further into the land of the living. "You promised not to leave me alone!" her accusation became tearful and Janeway moved her to one side. She flinched away from Tom as he put a gentle hand on her arm. Seven collapsed into Janeways arms and cried on her shoulder, nose running and hair knotted. Knees drawn up under her chin. The captain tucked the blanket back around her. "Where does it hurt Seven? Let me see you" "Everywhere" cried the inner child. "Make it go away, Mama" she rocked backwards and forwards. Tom was not having a good time. Harry had a punctured lung which was filing up with blood. He needed to collapse it medically, repair it and re-inflate it, and that was not an easy task under field conditions. "Take shallow breaths, buddy. Don't panic, we'll get you home in one piece." He pressed the hypo to Harry's chest. "Stay with me, I need you awake just a little while longer." He ordered, hands busy at work "I let you out of my sight for a week..." He shook his head "That's it, you're grounded, kid." Harry tried to smile. "How long, Tuvok?" "Minutes. Voyager is almost within range. Direct to sickbay?" "Yeah." Tom stopped most of the bleeding and began to work with the regenerator. "Activate EMH" said the Captain as they arrived in sickbay in a shimmer. The doctor appeared, his expression bland until his memory circuits were updated. "Please state the nature of the medical emergency" "Harry" Said Tom succinctly. The Doctor looked irritated. "Isn't he always? Seven, darling, are you alright?" The Doctor ignored Mr Paris's signals for assistance, and strode towards his beloved, wrapped in a grey Starfleet issue blanket and bruised and bloody. The captain was re-assuring her, and scanning her at the same time. "Doc, some help would be nice". The older man turned and glanced over his shoulder in distaste. "If I must. Captain. please take Seven to her alcove. She requires immediate regeneration for no less than twenty four hours." He patted her on the cheek and she flinched "Did that hurt? I will come and see you as soon as I can, sweetheart" He watched her go and only then picked up a medical tricoder and looked at the results of Toms primary diagnosis. He tutted, seemingly unconcerned. Janeway shepherded Seven to her quarters first. The marks of her ordeal covered her and the scrubbing she gave herself only hinted at her usual desire for cleanliness. The captain watched as dream free sleep sank in, and Sevens panic stricken childish face regained its composure. There was no way that she would be telling anyone anything for some time to come. It was several hours later that Tom crawled into bed exhausted. B'Elanna was already there. "You missed dinner" she said accusingly. "We had a date" "Sorry. Harry's fault. Tell you in morning" he said just before lapsing into unconsciousness. "Well Doctor?" Said the captain, in sickbay the next morning. "I have no memory of the events that transpired since my return with the datastream. Obviously my alter ego knew what happened, but since my emitter was destroyed, I don't." He said testily. "We're trying to replace it as soon as we can. We don't want to keep you under house arrest, but you do understand it's hard work" The Doctor grumbled. "Seven's nanoprobes are healing her nicely, I've increased her levels a small amount to allow for replacing and damage to her implants. Psychologically she's upset, obviously, but I'm fully qualified to sort that out." He put down the Padd. "And Harry?" Said the captain. "I've managed to restore some motor control to the left arm, but fine function is impaired and will be. There was damage to the brainstem and there will be other neural damage. On the positive note, Mr Paris did sterling work on the lungs." He said with grudging admiration. "How soon do you expect to come up with a solution?" "I don't. I will of course keep on trying. Even I cannot perform miracles every time, Captain" "Let me know when he wakes up" Seven rose from her alcove, alone in the green glow, which no longer comforted her. A note from the captain was nearby. She locked the cargo bay doors and dressed in her uniform. Trying hard to project her Borg facade she stalked through the corridors, relying on the fear that others felt for her to keep them at bay. She did not want to be alone with her thoughts, aware that an eidetic memory was not always an advantage, but she was also wary of others. Her steps led her to sickbay, which she entered nervously. The Doctor turned from his experimentation with a smile on his face. She steeled herself not to take a step backwards at his approach. "Seven! How are you my pet? I was so worried, and of course I couldn't come to see you" he indicated his lack of emitter. She felt nausea at his voice. He didn't know. He would not speak to her in this manner if he knew. She felt shame and fear rising. Her throat refused to make a sound at first, but she forced herself to speak. "I am reporting to sickbay for my weekly diagnostic" she stated simply, taking refuge in tried and tested methods of rebuffing others. He looked at her aghast. "I see you are not pleased to see me. Have you been otherwise occupied while I was not there?" The Doctor turned away with a frown. Still the professional, he picked up his instruments and indicated for her to lie down upon a biobed. "I have of course, no recall of what happened from the time we were attacked until I arrived back here as part of a databurst. I presume that my emitter was damaged by Ensign Kim's meddling?" She remained silent. "Hmm? Well, I recommend another night in your alcove. Did you sleep at all?" She looked at him, eyes hidden, and little Annika once again trapped by the Borg. "For a brief period." She swung her legs over the side and sat up "I will regenerate in my alcove" The Doctor wrapped his arms around her and she stiffened, aware that resistance was futile against a hologrammatic lifeform on his own turf as it were. He let go at her obvious reluctance. "Haven't you got anything to say to me?" He was frustrated. This Borg was not his Seven, not the pliant sensual woman that he had made her into. Someone had undone his months of work. "Thank you for your concern" She said. As she walked past the other lonely occupant in the sickbay she paused to look, not entirely free of concern. "Is the Ensign operational?" She queried. The Doctor was growing angry. "Is this any way to behave to your lover?" He snapped "You owe me-" "Respond to my query" she stated, apparently unconcerned. "No. He isn't. I'm very sorry" The Doctor's voice dripped with sarcasm. Seven nodded and walked out, ignoring his irate expression. When Tom Paris turned up for his duty in sickbay, half an hour later he was greeted by the sound of breaking glass. In the sterile area, the Doctor was throwing petri dishes at the wall in fury and swearing loudly. "Doc? Calm down, what-" "You've finally decided to turn up I see? No-body answers my calls and I'm trapped in here like a prisoner, I" Tom stayed the other side of a pillar, but at least the violence had stopped. "Slow. Down." he made pacifying motions with his hands. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?" "Everyone knows what's going on" Yelled the Doctor. He pointed at Harry who wasn't doing anything much. Breathing, remaining unconscious, nothing too exerting. "But no-one will tell me!" "We don't know. Doc, the only part of the signal that got through was just a static burst to let us find them" "And there was nothing else? Something you aren't telling me? Or do I know and you've decided to wipe my memory of it, yet again, just to make me feel better because it isn't working." Tom was confused. "Does this have something to do with Seven?" He hazarded a guess. Seven and / or Harry being the latest things to make the Doctor upset. He had been unbearable these last few days waiting to hear what had happened, imagining all sorts of scenarios in which Harry had seduced Seven and filled her ears with poison against the Doctor. Tom couldn't imagine Harry seducing anyone, and certainly not in the state he was in. By patient questioning he managed to coax from the Doctor the basic facts. "Computer, locate Seven of Nine" "Seven of nine is in her quarters. The Captain is also at that location." "She was pretty upset yesterday. Maybe it's just shock, but leave Harry out of this, he hasn't done anything" The Doctor gradually calmed down, still out of sorts but mildly placated by a message from B'Elanna telling him that she'd rigged up Holo-emitters in a few places around the ship so he could still get about. He beamed into the quarters he shared with Seven of nine as soon as the Captain left. "I would like to apologise" She said quietly. "I should think so. Are you going to explain your behaviour? Come and snuggle up sweetie pie." Seven stepped into his arms, sending the part of her that was Seven to hide away as he kissed her. The Captain tapped her Padd on the desk after re-reading the report that Seven had given her. She had been unable to get the young woman to elaborate any further, despite the obvious gaps in her story. She had not pressed for information, and had reluctantly left Sevens counseling in the hands of the Doctor. After her initial outburst on the shuttle Seven had become silent, and had returned to her emotionless Borgisms. She had demanded to be returned to duty, had spent long hours at it, when she wasn't regenerating. Sipping at too hot coffee she grimaced, slipping her shoes off. The days got longer, she thought. The repercussions of this recent event were slipping away. The beings that had taken her crewmembers and had treated them so badly had apparently been breakaway members of an extremist political party. The curt message she had received after so many days of trying had told her little. If she would remove the Borg from their space then no charges would be brought for the deaths of those involved. Deaths? Seven had been reticent about specifics, claiming that the lack of regeneration facilities had caused memory failure. Janeway stood up massaging her temples and finally retired to bed. Galatea Part 9 Harry sat bolt upright and gasped "Lights!" in a voice not used for several days. He scanned his surroundings rapidly; realising where he was and it didn't comfort him at all. He was on voyager, in the sickbay, in the territory of one particular person he didn't want to see right now. He was still breathing hard when the doctor fizzed into view. "I instructed the computer to activate me if your vital signs indicated that you were awake" "Only if I was awake?" The Doctor smiled coldly "I am a professional. Please sit still so that I can check your progress" he waved a small device towards Harry who flinched at the movement. "Sit still" he repeated. Harry noticed that the Doc wasn't wearing his mobile emitter, but decided not to ask about it. Hadn't they repaired it yet? He knew that this wasn't the same person who'd mentally tortured Seven, but couldn't bring himself to be polite, so he decided to keep quiet instead. "Hmm. Back from certain death again, Ensign. You should really find another hobby." Harry smiled for a split second. "Let me see your arms" ordered the Doctor in a bored tone. Harry extended them, then looked surprised to see that his left arm actually worked. He flexed his fingers and rotated the elbow joint. It appeared to be the same as his right. The Doctor caught his look of surprise. "Yes, I solved that little problem. The captain felt that you would find it difficult to perform your duties as a cripple so I-" Harry peered at his hand. Something wasn't quite right. Upon closer examination of his palm, he could see the faint tracery of sub dermal wires. Very fine ones to be certain, but distinctly non-biological. Tiny marks were visible under his fingernails, and the translucent skin on the inside of his arm showed the phenomenon to extend all the way up to his shoulder at least. He followed the path with the fingertips of his other hand, feeling sick as he reached a small eruption of metal high up behind his ear. He gagged slightly. "-Utilised Borg technology to provide digital nerve paths into your cerebellum" The Doctor looked pleased with himself "Another little something you'll have in common with Seven of Nine" That was delivered with as much sarcasm as the Doctor could muster. "Thanks" spat Harry from between gritted teeth. The nausea hadn't yet died away "Does it come with or without a neuroprocessor" "It's only a minor adaptation. The concentration of nanoprobes is thirty percent below the level requiring a basic processor to control them. Your brain should serve adequately for the time being. I doubt that you'll need to regenerate." The Doctor put down his instruments and folded his arms. "Now, Ensign, Why don't you tell me what happened?" "I'd rather not," said Harry as calmly as he could. "Well then, why don't you tell me what happened because I'd like to know why Seven is acting the way she is" "What makes you think I want to talk to you?" Said Harry. "Ensign, You are still under my authority" "I'm kind of tired. I'd like to get back to my quarters and get some sleep" "We all would like to go back to bed ensign. Seven is waiting in mine. If she's quiet, at least she'll still sleep with me" The Doctor said carefully, watching him. Harry pulled a face at that thought, swung his legs out of the bed and stood up, if a little unsteadily. "Where do you think you're going, Ensign?" The Doctor seemed surprised that Harry was actually contemplating disobeying him. "I'm leaving" Harry pulled away and started to walk off, just wanting to get away from that face. "I'm giving you an order, Ensign Kim." The Doctor was getting a little angry. Harry ignored him and walked out of sickbay, past a very startled Captain, whom the computer had also informed when he awoke. Her chief of operations barely paused in his stride to nod a brief greeting then continued on his way. She watched the young man, curiously, and wondered if she should say something about the fact that he was only wearing a pair of pyjama bottoms. Instead, she entered the sickbay. Fortunately for Harry, there were very few people wandering the corridors at that hour, and he didn't run across any of them. He palmed open his door with a sense of relief. The lights flicked on to low illumination. "Computer" He said quietly "Play-" he paused not knowing what he wanted to listen to "Anything" "Parameters" replied the machine stupidly. "Anything quiet, not too cheerful. Clarinet" Without further response, it launched into a soft melodic piece that reminded him of the wind. Turning out the lights, he got into bed. He lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes, recalling that the startled face he had seen as he made his exit had been that of his captain. He wondered briefly if he should get up and apologise. "Captain" said the Doctor courteously. "I'm sorry, I was just leaving" "Is it me?" She asked with a smile. "That was Ensign Kim just leaving too?" "Yes, it was." Said the Doctor. He turned and put his tools neatly away. He did not elaborate. "And?" She said, waiting for an explanation. She was going to have to investigate this further. She wanted to let them sort it out like adults, but was afraid that she would have to intervene. "The Ensign discharged himself from my care. Medically speaking he is as well as can be expected, a day or two to get some rest and then he can return to duties as normal." The Doctor finished it off with a sniff. Later, he beamed into the quarters he shared with Seven, and realised, within a matter of moments, that they were empty. A Padd was propped up on the pillow with a cursory note from Seven stating that she had gone to regenerate. "Computer, Locate Seven of nine." He announced, waiting for his suspicions to be confirmed. "Seven of nine is in Cargo Bay two. One alcove is operational" replied the disembodied voice. The Doctor made a disgruntled moue, but if Seven felt that she needed to regenerate... At least she wasn't with that Ensign. He deactivated himself, with a wakeup set for 08:00. Harry crawled out of bed the next morning, well aware that he should be in sickbay and feeling terrible. He wasn't going to go back. He showered and dressed and stared at himself in the mirror, not entirely certain who he was looking at. Well, now what are you going to do? With your track record kid, there's no way you're going to stay out of sickbay for long. So? he responded sullenly. And you think Seven is going to be real pleased to see you after you made an idiot of yourself. I can't believe you told her that. So? And you're arguing with yourself. The Doc might be right. You're going crazy, Harry. He gave up. Re-entering his main room, he found a small tidy pile of his possessions on the table. Some very grubby clothes, only suitable for recycling. He noted that his T-shirt had been returned. He dumped that too. just before he prepared to dispose of the things, he stopped. and pulled a small badly scuffed device from the pocket. The Doc's emitter. He sat down suddenly with the object in his hand, turning it over and over. He had to do something with his hands when he was thinking, why else would he have taken up the clarinet? He could, he supposed, junk this too. But they'd never been able to replicate the necessary components. If he trashed it he'd be condemning the doctor to a life in Sickbay, and that wasn't fair. Not fair? He deserves to be locked up for what he did to Seven. Are you telling me, he told himself, that you've never done anything stupid in your entire life? That you've never screwed up? Yeah but. Shut up Harry. You don't have to like it, you just have to do what's right. "Computer, locate B'Elanna Torres." "Lieutenant Torres is in engineering. You have a message from the captain. Do you wish to hear it now?" "I guess so" The computer dutifully replayed the message. "Harry. I'm glad to see you're up and about. Would you please report to me at 14:00 hours with your report." that was it, short pointed and not necessarily sweet. "Computer locate, Se- cancel request" He stood up and headed for engineering. "Harry? Tom said you wouldn't be out of sickbay for a couple of days yet, How are you?" B'Elanna looked up in relief from her task. "Terrible. Look, I owe you an apology, Be. You were right" He grinned. "I know. I saw the log. It's a good job the doc was there, or we'd never have found you. Nice job with his emitter, Feel like helping me build a new one?" "No" he said shortly "The less I see of him, the better, but I'll help." He took the small burned, scuffed and dented device from his pocket and placed it gingerly onto the bench. "You might need to clean this, before you start salvaging components. And don't upload his memories until I've had a chance to talk to the captain, okay?" "Is there something you don't want him to know?" She asked archly. "He went a little odd." Was the only reply Harry made. The two of them worked in companionable silence, with B'Elanna itching to ask details, Harry not volunteering then. Something had happened. It had to have, because the Doc was going absolutely mental, and Seven was giving everyone, including him, the ice queen treatment and had been hovering around sickbay when she thought no-one was watching. B'Elanna watched her friend intently for a while and the turned her attention back to the tricky job. Finally B'Elanna headed for the sickbay. The Doctor was stomping around as usual. "You're going to have to limit my shipwide emitters?" He said sarcastically "You couldn't possibly be here to give me good news" "For you, yes. I'm still annoyed with you, but I've been told to keep my nose out of things, so-" she held out the emitter to the doctor who took it gleefully. Harry entered the messhall, looking for Seven, who was finishing off her dinner with Naomi. Naomi smiled brightly at him as he approached, and he ignored the amused looks off the few remaining crewmembers who were dotted about. "Sorry to interrupt, but-" "That's okay, Harry, I was just going back to my schoolwork anyway. Bye Seven" The Ktarian child slid out of her seat. Seven stood up and faced him, her face a careful blank. "Ensign Kim, I am-" She paused "pleased to note that you are once again functional." "Thanks. How are you?" Seven shrugged, indicating neither a positive or negative state of affairs. "Listen, Sev" He said urgently "I've just been down in engineering with B'Elanna trying to fix the Doc's mobile emitter and" "Were you successful?" Her voice had taken on a note of fear. At his nod her face lost its resolve, and she leaned back against the counter, suddenly as if seeking support. "I don't entirely know what's been going on" he said, holding his hand out to her, palm up to show the small memory chip "But I thought it would be a good idea if you talked to the captain first. You haven't already?" "No she said. "I saw no point, I thought the memories had been lost, You promised that you would not tell and" "Let me put it this way, Seven, Either I go and talk to her, which I'm supposed to after lunch, you go and tell her what happened, or the Doc gets his hands on this and, well I don't think he's gonna behave any better this time around" "I thought you were different. I thought you were my friend" she started to raise her voice, at which the subtle glances in their direction became outright stares. "Seven, calm down." "You're telling me what to do. Everyone tells me what I should do, as if I should mindlessly obey" "No, I'm pointing out what's likely to happen. Make a choice, Seven, use that computer you call a brain and make a decision for once." Harry caught sight of Neelix's expression, wondered for a moment if it was directed at the argument he was having with Seven and then noticed Seven was staring terrified in that direction as well. He turned casually around into the Doctor's oncoming pace. "You missed your appointment ensign" said the Doctor, grabbing the point of Harry's chin in his hands, and moving his head from one side to the other. "Would you mind letting go?" The Doctor ran a tricorder over him and nodded at the results. "In perfect health. Good. Seven, how are you my icy little darling?" Seven gulped and said nothing, eyes flicking from one to the other. The Doctor released Harry with a little push sending him staggering back a few steps. "So, what's going on then? Anything interesting I should know about, going to keep me up to date on the gossip, are we? Or did someone just erase the last week for me? How convenient." His eyes lighted on the memory chip on Sevens open palm. He snatched it, lightening fast, from her unresponsive fingers. "Doc, don't-" "Is there something I shouldn't know?" the Doctor prepared to insert it into his emitter. "Not here and not now." Said Harry urgently. "Leave it until-" "Until what? Until you've had time to erase it, hmm?" Seven took a step backwards until she could no longer move because of the counter. As the Doctor halted due to the uploading of his file, Harry said quickly, "Neelix, did you call security, yet?" "No, I-" "Now would be a good time" said Harry. "Seven? Sev?" She was transfixed by the Doctor's gaze, like a rabbit. How could someone have cowed Seven so thoroughly, he wondered, as he tried to think. "You two timing whore" bellowed the Doctor through operatically designed lungs. He advanced on Seven, eyes gleaming with malice, words failing him for a change, for which small mercy, Harry was grateful. He stepped between the furious EMH and Seven's immobile form. "Haven't we had this argument already? Keep your mouth shut, Doc." "You forget I'm solid again, Ensign, and although you're not injured this time, I'll be happy to send you right back to sickbay again." The Doc took a vicious pleasure in issuing that threat. He could not bring himself to physically harm Seven for her betrayal, he couldn't quite bring himself to settle all the blame on her. There was no way that his ego would permit him to accept that he had anything to do with all of this. He saw himself as the innocent bystander. Harry ended up in the line of fire once more. "If it had not been for you she would never have done that! You corrupted my Seven, you-" The Doctor picked up a chair, which Harry ducked, its legs whistling past his hair by millimetres. "Neelix!" He said dodging back out of the way. The chair flew out of the way. "Doctor, desist!" said Seven forcefully. "You may injure someone!" "I hope so" hissed the Doctor, throwing the odd punch. What the hell had he been downloading into his matrix? "Isn't that against your programming" said Harry, stepping back yet again. "I'm an advanced lifeform, I grow, I learn, I become more human every day." "More human? Then act like it. Show some sympathy for a change" Said Harry, a kernel of an idea dropping into his head. It might make this situation a little less one sided. "For what? Her? She asked for everything she got. So have you." The Doctor scoffed. "Load 'If'" Said Harry in a tone far more calm than he felt. He was getting used to hiding his feelings. The Doctor paused in his tracks for a moment. "I'm fully functional, Ensign, you cant just switch me off like I'm a machine, now." "No, you don't get away from it that easily, this time" said Harry. "Doctor, Ensign, please do not-" interrupted Seven, unwisely. "Keep out of this. If you weren't so willing to spread your legs for-" The Doctor didn't get any further. A solid punch to his jaw threw him over a table top and onto the floor. Tuvok and his security team appeared through the door, stunned by this inexplicable sight.