On our continued journey home, we discovered what we took to be Federation signals. We located the source of the signal, then Kathryn ordered Tom, Harry, Tuvok and I to take the Delta Flyer and investigate. Taking no chances, Kathryn had Voyager hid behind a moon, as to escape detection. Tuvok and I would pose as others, wearing the Starfleet uniform and find out why someone was simulating earth and Starfleet headquarters. . .out in the Delta Quadrant.
And more importantly, *who*. . .
**
It was just like Earth. The sun, the Golden Gate bridge. San Francisco at its finest. If it weren’t’ for the fact that I knew that this was a simulation, I could have sworn that it was Earth. It was beautiful; almost like being home again. But it wasn’t.
I hoped I looked like any other Starfleet officer. Our mission was simple; to find out who was impersonating humans and what their mission was. I was prepared with a story, just in case things got just a little bit too close for comfort.
I swung the holocamera onto my shoulder and hoped I didn’t seem too out of place. After all, didn’t wanting the natives getting restless.
**
I had pulled out my tricorder to do some scanning. Figuring that it couldn’t possibly hurt. Besides, it was bamboo. But that wasn’t what my tricorder was picking up. I was surprised when this older gentleman appeared at my shoulder.
"I can save you some time there, son." He said. "They're bamboo."
"I know that. Unfortunately, my tricorder is reading them as maple trees." He suggested I take it logistical support to have it looked at. He seemed pleasant enough.
Rather nosy, so I kept myself on general terms. I wasn’t about to blow my cover yet.
What about yourself? How long have you been posted here, Mister...?" I asked. Hopefully, it would get him off the subject of me.
"Boothby," The old fellow said. "Boothby is the name."
"Boothby--I've heard of you!" I said. I had heard of the man.
"I should hope so! I've been tending these grounds for 54 years. Give or take a few months."
"And beautiful grounds they are." I said. If only they were real.
We arrived at the main area and he gave me direction. "Logistics is a secure area, and they won't let you in with that holo-imaging device. Fresh from the Neutral Zone...you're not a Romulan double agent, are you, son?" He asked.
"Actually, I was just recording a few images for my friends back home. Would you mind posing for a shot?"
Boothby liked that idea. "You want a picture of me?"
"The one and only Boothby," I said. "My friends would be impressed." I got the attention of a young woman who was passing by and asked her if she would snap the photo. She did. Boothby warned her to not chop off our heads.
"I expect a copy of that, young man." He said, giving me a pat on the shoulder.
On with the mission.
**
I entered the Quantum Café, hoping to find some more answers here. I found an empty seat, or so I thought and decided to sit down. There was a book sitting on the bar so I picked it up, thumbed through it.
Then I notices a presence off my elbow. A woman, holding a drink, commander’s pips, looking like I had just done the worst offense on earth.
"You're in my seat. And you're reading my book!" She said. "Do you want my drink, too?" She made as if to hand it to me.
In some ways, she reminded me of Kathryn. Though I doubt Kathryn would ever be *that* forward.
Fine. I asked her what she was drinking. "Klingon martini: vermouth, gin, with a dash of bloodwine."
Ugh! Blood wine. I’ve never been able to stomach the stuff. B’Elanna calls me a wimp for not drinking it. "Bloodwine--never touch the stuff."
"What do you like?" She asked.
I was all but out of there, ready to make a hasty exit. But this woman wasn’t about to let me out of there that easily. "Valerie Archer." She said, extending her hand in greeting.
"Hayek," I lied. Tuvok had suggested a false name in case any suspicions were raised. " Jason Hayek."
"Nice tattoo," Archer said. "I bet there's a story behind it." Boy, did this one come on strong.
I laughed at it. Hopefully, I wouldn’t be here long enough to tell her what it meant. "A long one." I said. I picked up her book again. "A Cave Beyond Logic: Vulcan Perspectives on Platonic Thought.* Sounds...fascinating."
She offered to let me borrow it. That would be going too far.
"I can only take small doses of Vulcan philosophy." I said. Hell, I couldn’t take Tuvok in an enclosed space for too long. Why would I want to *read* it?
Her story was like many others I had heard from the real McCoy. She had come from everywhere, a real Starfleet brat.
Our conversation was interrupted by some commotion in the corner. It was like watching a morph in a disgusting transformation. It disturbed Archer. "Can I ask you a question? Have you ever reverted?"
Since I had no idea what we were dealing with yet, I decided to play it cool. I answered her without going into too much detail. "Not yet."
"Ensign O'Halloran--this is his third time this week. If it happens again, they'll pull him out of training." Well, now I was finding out something. I asked if she had any problems.
"Oh, I can keep my human form," She said. "It's the little things that bother me. Breathing oxygen, bipedal locomotion, and sleeping--the concept of being unconscious for eight hours a night. It's so...alien." Well, that opened the door a little farther. With a little luck, we may just find out what they were doing.
"That's why I started reading their books. For some reason it helps me relax." Interesting aside. She leaned a little closer. "But we shouldn't be talking about this. 'Think human. Talk human. Be human.' Remember?"
She offered to show me around when I told her I had just arrived here. I didn’t think so, since I really needed to get out of there. We needed to get this information to Kathryn as soon as possible.
Tuvok showed up then. Can say this time, I was truly happy to see him. He informed me we must go and Archer asked if we were still on for tonight.
I had every intention of standing her up.
"A date?" Tuvok asked as we left.
"Relax, Tuvok. I plan on standing her up. She talked about training. These are some kind of aliens learning to pose as humans."
"For what purpose?" Tuvok asked.
"I don't know. I didn't get that far."
**
We were walking to an area where we could beam back to the flyer without detection. Unfortunately, a man with ensign’s pips decided that we were in a restricted area and that we needed to be escorted to authorities. Very adamant about it. But apparently, he didn’t know Vulcan’s very well.
Nor the fact that you never turn your back on one when your the enemy.
Tuvok had him out like a light and I hailed Tom. "Chakotay to Paris, three to beam up."
"Three?" I heard him ask over the comm badge.
"I'll explain later."
**
We beamed back to the Delta Flyer with our friend. "Who's that?" Paris asked.
"One of Starfleet's finest" I said, helping Tuvok put our guest in a chair. "Take us to Voyager."
"What did you find down there?" Harry asked.
"Earth." Tuvok answered.
We headed back to Voyager.
**
Tuvok and I had taken our ‘friend’ to sickbay. Oldest trick in the book. Distract the person while the Vulcan applies the pinch. Kathryn posted security and we were ready.
"Welcome aboard." Kathryn said when our guest woke up.
"Where am I?" He asked, wide awake and alert.
"On a Starship."
"What Starship? Why have you brought me here? I'll report this incident to the admiral!" He said, by way of empty threat.
"Drop the charade. We know you're not human." I said.
"Who are you?" Kathryn said. She wasn’t in the mood for games.
"Gentry, David. Rank: Ensign. Starfleet service number 9-9-Beta-3-2-7-8. Planet of origin: Earth." Hah! Try again.
Kathryn looked at him coolly. I knew that look; had been on the receiving end of it a few times. "We're not interested in your knowledge of human culture. We're not part of your re-creation. I'm Captain Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. I'm from Earth. You're not." Kathryn said. He again repeated the information. So much for coming clean. Kathryn ordered Doc to take a genetic sample.
Kathryn was not happy. Not at all.
Doc approached him to take the sample. The whole time, he was trying to contact anyone to get away. We had wisely disabled his badge, so he wasn’t going anywhere. In a futile attempt at escape, he jumped from the bed, yelling, "No! Don't touch me. Disease! Humans!"
And with a final yell, it was over. Our guest was dead.
"It appears he's released a cellular toxin into his bloodstream." Doc said grimly. "He's dead."
**
We were gathered in Astrometrics; Tuvok, Seven, Kathryn and I. We were showing Kathryn and Seven the pictures I had gotten from ‘Starfleet’. I said what each one was.
"Federation Council, Astrophysics, Starfleet Medical complex. They even re-created the officers' club-- the Quantum Café."
One picture seemed to grab Kathryn. "Computer, return to time index 4228." It was the picture of myself with this Boothby fellow. "That's Boothby! The head groundskeeper at Starfleet Academy. When I was a cadet he used to give me fresh roses for my quarters."
An old gentleman who gave her roses. Must be a sweety. Too bad this guy wasn’t the real thing.
"It's safe to assume this individual is not Boothby." Tuvok stated. Spoilsport.
"Whoever they are, they've gathered incredibly accurate information about Starfleet headquarters." Kathryn said. That was an understatement.
"Perhaps they had access to a Federation database." Seven suggested. How and where would they find a Federation database?
"Or they've been to San Francisco." I said. It might be as simple as that.
"The habitat's population consists of Humans, Vulcan’s, Bolian, Ferengi," Tuvok said. "All Alpha Quadrant species." Ferengi’s. Now, *that* was a surprise to me. I didn’t know of any Ferengi who would want to join Starfleet.
**
"Species 8472," Kathryn said by way of starting the meeting. "The question is: why are they training to pose as human beings?"
Everyone threw around their theories of what the training facility was for. Infiltration of the Alpha Quadrant, attacking the Federation. A whole load of theories.
Kathryn told Tuvok to look into the tactical situation. Seven, she wanted to start in with our only known weapon; nanoprobes.
I brought up my ‘date’ with Archer. "Maybe I can capitalize on the relationship--get a better idea of what they're planning." Kathryn approved and told Harry and Tom that they’d be taking me in the Delta Flyer.
Kathryn ended the meeting with a sobering thought. "If Species 8472 attacks Earth...The Federation won't have any defenses against them and I don't need to remind you that we have no way to warn Starfleet Command. Voyager may be the last defense against an all-out invasion of Earth."
May whatever gods are watching us, be on our side this time.
**
I went to Astrometrics, deciding I had do a little bit of catching up on the layout of this habitats version of Starfleet headquarters. I was so engrossed that I didn’t even notice Kathryn coming into the room.
"Last minute preparations?" Kathryn asked.
"Just planning my big night out." I said smiling at her.
Kathryn smiled back at me. Though I could tell something was on her mind. "I can recommend a nice Japanese replimat on the Embarcadero."
"I was never very good with chopsticks." I admitted.
She looked at the layout. From her voice, it was almost melancholy. "Starfleet headquarters. Brings back memories, even if it is just a re-creation. I remember my last visit there. I was given my general orders for Voyager's first mission: proceed to the Badlands, and find the Maquis."
I nodded. "The orders that brought us together."
Kathryn asked me the last time I had been there. I knew the date as well as my birthday. "Before today? March 3, 2368--the day I resigned my commission. I can still remember the look on the admiral's face."
"Which one?" Kathryn asked.
"Namimby."
"He taught at the Academy, didn't he?" Kathryn questioned.
"That's right." Awful damn talkative, if you ask me.
"Interspecies Ethics, wasn't it?"
Kathryn of all people should remember that. It wasn’t that. I was getting the feeling that I was being tested. "Tactical analysis." I said. She was testing me all right. I sighed. "Kathryn, you think I might be one of them? You're testing me."
"You and Tuvok were in the alien habitat for nearly three hours. Anything could have happened down there." It was her safety measure. They couldn’t copy what they didn’t know.
"True." I paused. "Why don't you have Tuvok meet us in Sickbay? The Doctor can perform a microcellular analysis."
"Tuvok's already there." Kathryn said with a breath of relief.
"You could've just asked me to report to Sickbay." I said, quietly.
"Given Ensign Gentry's reaction I thought I'd be a little more tactful." She had a point.
"Not taking any chances, are you?" I said, noticing the two security guards outside the door carrying phaser rifles. Kathryn was taking no chances.
"Don't feel singled out," Kathryn said. "I've asked the Doctor to examine the *entire* crew. There's no telling how 8472 got their information about Starfleet--from the Borg, Earth. For all we know there's been an impostor on board."
Kathryn wasn’t taking any chances.
And I didn’t blame her.
**
Doc pronounced me human. Nice to know. "That's a relief. And Tuvok?" I asked.
"Green-blooded Vulcan through and through. Well, two down, 125 to go." He said in his typical sarcastic manner.
Kathryn was apparently relieved that I was human. She sent me away for my evening with Archer. "Just be home before midnight." She said lightly before turning her back to me.
"Yes, ma'am." I told her and went.
I wonder what she was thinking.
**
As we approached the habitat, Harry loaded me down with every precaution; tricorder, a phaser enhanced with Borg nanoprobes. Tom, in the pilot seat, asked Harry, "Do you always arm yourself before a first date?"
I let Harry handle that one. After all, he’d been a lot closer then any of the rest of us. "You've never had a date with species 8472."
Paris sighed. "Personally, I don't go out with girls from other galaxies." Apparently, other *species* wasn’t beyond him. Then again, we’re talking about Tom Paris.
"You're a true explorer, Chakotay." Harry said.
"Is she cute?" Paris asked.
I had no reason to lie. In human form, she was attractive. "In her human form, anyway." I admitted.
"I've always wondered what it would be like to date an alien." Harry said. If memory served, he had.
Oh well. "I'll take notes." I told him.
Once we arrived though, the joking was over. It was time to be serious. We knew what 8472 was capable of. "All stop. Shields up." I ordered.
**
When I arrived at the Quantum Café, Archer was talking with Boothby. I was curious and said as much.
"We were just talking about you." Archer said.
"She didn't think you were going to show up." Boothby said teasingly. Archer protested his statement good naturedly. "I've known Archer since she was a first-year cadet. She's not easily impressed." He winked at me. "I didn't think you were her type." Well, it was funny.
"If you'll excuse me, I've got some midnight orchids that need my attention. Think about what I said, young lady, and you'll be fine." Boothby said, by means of excusing himself from our presence.
"Problems?" I asked.
Archer smiled at me. She seemed to do that a lot. "I was offered a field commission this morning. First officer of the Starship Hor-cha." I gave her congratulations. "It's a Klingon vessel." I offered my apologies. I had heard of Klingon crews. I politely asked her what Boothby had told her.
"*du cha mee gagh roch*. 'Smile when you eat the gagh,'" She smiled.
Klingon humor. It was almost as bad as Vulcan humor. "Wise words. Do you always seek advice from the groundskeeper?" She looked at me as if she were surprised.
"Half the Captains in Starfleet wouldn't be where they are today if it weren't for Boothby. Lopez, Picard, Richardson...just to name a few." Advice to Picard and roses for Cadet Kathryn Janeway. What a charmer.
It was closing time and I asked her where we would be going next.
"Can you dance?" She asked.
"I've been accused of trying." I said. Archer told me it was *Pon Farr* night at the Vulcan nightclub. What was it I said about the Klingon versus Vulcan humor?
"It's just around the corner." She said. Then we left.
**
She invited me back to her quarters. Didn’t think much of it, to be truthful, since I had one thing on my mind and that was gathering information on ‘why’ they were using simulations. We had been ‘trading’ stories on the way. Make is sound as innocent as possible. ". . .turns out the transporter malfunctioned," I said, finishing up my story. "my uniform ended up in the pattern buffer."
"You're kidding. You were naked?" She asked. A little too intrigued.
"Not entirely. I had my commbadge." I admitted. At the time, it didn’t quite cover enough, but I wasn’t about to say that aloud.
"I hope it was well-placed."
We entered the building that housed the officers. If this was an accurate simulation, then I wished I had stayed in longer. This was incredible. "So this is where they're putting up officers nowadays. Not bad." Nice living arrangements, terrific view of the bay. Home.
Archer offered me a drink, but I decided to stick with water. At least I knew that it would be safe enough to drink.
"I'm beginning to think you're a teetotaler." She said. Not quite but I’d rather be safe, and in control of faculties when dealing with beings we’ve known it the past to be evil.
"I like to stay in control." I told her.
"Always at yellow alert, huh?" Archer said, smiling.
"Something like that." I said half heartedly. Things like this always kept me at red alert. I decided to walk around a bit, get a feel for my surroundings. After all, I was supposed to be gathering information. I was drawn to the bookshelf, with actual paper and a live computer terminal.
"Find anything interesting?" Archer asked.
I picked one of the books randomly. "Beyond the Galactic Edge: Humanity's Quest for Infinity. This is a 21st century edition of Hesterman, isn't it?"
8472. . .readers of Earth/Federation works? Gives new definition to ‘know your enemy’.
"Human beings--they're quite a paradox." I was curious now. I urged her to embellish on that comment. "At first glance...They're so primitive--genetic impurities, no telepathy, violent--and yet they've created so many beautiful ways to communicate their ideas--literature, art, music. At times, I've actually enjoyed being in this form." Well, that was a surprise. She caught me looking. "You must think I'm crazy."
"Not at all."
"I wonder what they think about us?" She said, then her tone got a little deeper. "I'll tell you what I think. They despise us. They'll attack any species that's not a part of their Federation..."
Surely she must be mistaken. What about the one we saved from the Hirogen? Didn’t we show it mercy by not blowing it out an airlock?
I didn’t say anything. Then, she began *flirting* with me; blatantly flirting. "Hmm. Speaking of being in human form--I could use an isomorphic injection. You need one?"
I told her I was fine. Besides, while she did that, I could down load items from her terminal, maybe get a bigger picture of what was really going on. As soon she went up stairs to her. . .loft, I guess is what you would call it, I headed for that computer.
I turned briefly to see her shadow on the wall. Yeah, sure, she was doing an injection. More like slipping into something more comfortable was more like it. I ignored her and set about my task.
I finished downloading the data and decided to take in the view from her window. It wasn’t long before I heard her voice.
"Commander," Archer called. I turned around to her standing on her landing. Yep, she changed all right. "How do you like the view?"
"Lovely." I said. I’d be lying if I said she wasn’t. Too bad she was lady in wolf’s clothing.
"Looks like a full moon. You can see the entire bay on a night like this."
"I should have brought my holo-imager." I said. "You make a pretty picture." We proceeded to walk out onto the balcony. I couldn’t very well lie. She *was* attractive.
"Mmmm, feel that?" Archer said. "Salinated oxygen molecules stimulating the epidermal neural receptors. Non-fluidic space has its charms." She meant it. "Planet Earth. The simulation will be real soon enough."
"How soon do you think?" I asked. I didn’t like the idea much. Voyager couldn’t repel an all out war.
"Weeks, days. As soon as they think we're ready."
"Can I be honest with you?" I asked. I was stalling for time. I was also vehemently hoping that I would be able to get back in one piece. So far, so good.
"Please." She said.
I circled around her, doing a patented Kathryn Janeway pace. "I'm starting to wonder if all this is worth the effort. This simulation, our mission--are we certain the humans pose a threat?"
This got her attention. The smile disappeared from her face. "They were allies with the Borg. They invaded our realm."
"That was one incident. Doesn't mean the entire Federation is planning a war against us."
She frowned. "We can't trust them. We have to prepare for the worst." Know your enemies. They couldn’t trust us? What about us trusting them?
"I'm not so sure."
"I think you've been human a little too long." Anger tipped her tongue. I had half a notion to say ‘all my life’. But I didn’t. Must be hanging around Tom just a little too much.
"Before you know it I'll be sending my resume to the real Starfleet." Quick save.
" 'Alien from distant galaxy seeks employment. References available upon request.' " She said, drawling out her language. Yes, she was a flirt.
"Well, it's getting late. I'd better go...I have a tactical report to finish before morning." It wasn’t exactly a lie. I wanted out of there. Quickly. I had the information that we desperately needed. Time to make a break.
She caught me as I hit the door. "Aren't we forgetting something? I'm no expert at human dating rituals but I think it's customary to kiss good night." Shit.
"Ummm..." Stall. I really *didn’t* want to kiss her.
"You've never done this before." She said. Was I going to tell her differently?
"Actually..." I really didn’t want to do this.
"Me, neither. Just...Think of it as part of our training." Training? God, this sounds like puberty at it’s worst.
I backed up as she moved forward. I really didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want to kiss her. I just wanted to get the hell out of dodge.
It wasn’t much. For that I was happy. It was like a training exercise. However, I wanted the lessen to be over. I grabbed her arms and pushed her away.
I thought, ‘what the hell. I’ll up the ante.’ And I laid one her. Then I made my excuses and I left.
Mental note. . .don’t make a second date.
**
Perhaps I should have been more on the ball. I left Archers apartment, ready to call for beam out and report what I found. It was dark. Too quiet.
Then all of a sudden, it wasn’t dark anymore. It was daylight. Me thinks I walked into a trap. One with 8472 written all over it. This is not my idea of a way to end a date.
I should have stood her up.
Then I heard it. The sound of footsteps behind me. Not running to catch me. No. . .worse then that; they were *walking* to catch up with me. What’s worse, was that they were coming from all direction, all at me. They were of all races, all in Starfleet uniforms. Talk about a quick time march.
All closing in on me.
I hailed Paris, hoping for a quick beam out, but for some reason, I got no response. Hell of a time for the lines to go down. I tried fighting my way out, but only managing to knock a couple off their feet. Unfortunately for me, there were just too many of them.
Damn.
**
Continue with log entry. . .