Gunfire could be heard in the distance as the battle between the Nazi and Americans raged through the streets. Six people gathered around a map of the city inside the restaurant named Le Coeur de Lion, which was dimly lit so as not to draw attention to themselves. Two were in American Army uniforms while three were dressed in all black, hinting at the covert mission they had just been on; the last was in typical French civilian clothes and had a large baby bump. Although none of them knew it, they were none other than Janeway, Chakotay, Tuvok, Seven, Tom, and B'Elanna, who was the one that looked to be pregnant.
"We think it's a secret compound the Nazi built after they took over the city. What I don't understand is how they managed to camouflage it so well," Chakotay, who believed that he was a captain in the army, explained.
"Indeed. We've been scrutinizing German troop movements since the occupation. We knew nothing of this installation," Tuvok, a member of the French resistance, stated, still sounding Vulcan despite the chip making him think that he was a character in the simulation.
"Don't sweat it. Our recon planes missed it, too. Any idea what they're hiding in there, Captain?" Tom, an army lieutenant and old fling of B'Elanna's character, asked.
"We saw all sorts of scientific equipment... strange metals, instruments that we can't identify. I've relayed the findings to Military Intelligence. They believe this could be an advanced munitions laboratory designed to build some kind of super weapon," Chakotay replied.
"We got to put it out of business," Tom said eagerly.
"I've already sent three squads in, but the Nazis are putting up one hell of a fight. I've requested additional troops. Lieutenant, this restaurant will serve as our command post. Set up the transmitter and post guards around the perimeter," Chakotay ordered.
"Yes, sir."
"You've done a bang-up job, but we'll take it from here. Tell your people to lie low and that the Americans said 'thanks'," Chakotay instructed to the 'French Resistance' members.
"We're not wearing your uniform, Captain," Janeway retorted. "This is our city. We have no intention of lying low."
"Listen, honey, the time for sneaking messages back and forth is over. This is war, and you aren't soldiers," he countered.
Janeway raised a brow in annoyance and responded, "No, but this is our home, and we will fight for it. Do your men know the streets of Sainte Claire like we do? Do they know the secret tunnels that we have built? Where we have weapon caches all over the city? If you want to win this war, you are going to need our help."
He smirked, "Fine, but your people are only to be guides."
"Brigitte, show them where our weapons..." Janeway instructed, but was cut off by a sharp pain at the base of her skull, as the control chip was overloaded.
Janeway was not alone as the others also felt the pain a moment later. Unlike the rest, a simple message remained in her mind that was delivered right before the chip was shut down.
[Regroup at Sick Bay.]
"What happened?"
"Where are we?"
"What happened to the Hirogen?"
Several people asked questions, but no one had any answers as the chip blocked their memories of the past month. Unfortunately for them, the simulation did not stop with their confusion. An artillery shell hit the corner of the café and blew a large hole into the building. Although stunned and confused, they were still smart enough to move for cover and grab whatever weapons they could.
"We must be on the holo-deck. I don't know what's going on, but we need to regroup at Sick Bay," Janeway instructed, the message still fresh in her mind.
"Then we should be able to end this. Computer, end program! Computer, exit! Computer, respond!" Tom said over the sound of gunfire that was getting louder by the second, yet nothing happened.
"The comm system must be down," B'Elanna guessed.
"If whatever is going on could be solved so simply, we would not be in this position," Seven stated, almost mockingly.
"Look around for an access hatch. I'd rather not risk moving through the battlefield unless we have to," Janeway ordered.
Tuvok and Chakotay were closest to the bar, so they searched along the back wall. Unlike the episode, the hatch has already been sealed by the Hirogen, as well as every other hidden access to the jefferies tubes, and with the comm system down, the only way on or off the holo-deck was through the hole that was blasted through one of the walls. While the Fae Dragon crew's plan was good for handling the Hirogen reinforcements, they had inadvertently made things more difficult for the Voyager crew that were still trapped on the holo-decks.
An American soldier carrying a rifle ran into the building and reported, "Captain Miller, a Nazi strike force is pushing its way here with strange and powerful weapons. We need to retreat before we are overrun."
With the soldier addressing Chakotay as Captain, several of the show's main cast looked at him with amusement or curiosity, but he played it cool and said, "Understood. Gather the rest of the troops in the area and we'll move out in two minutes."
"Yes, sir!" the soldier said, saluting, then turned and hurried to carry out Chakotay's orders.
After he disappeared out the hole, Chakotay shrugged and said, "I had to say something, and this will give us a bit of cover."
"Fine," Janeway replied with a smirk. "Grab whatever you see weapon wise and get moving... You heard the 'Captain'."
The Vulcan and former-Borg aside, the rest of the group chuckled softly. They gathered the 'primitive' guns that were scattered across the restaurant then headed outside. Twenty American soldiers were gathered around the main door when the main cast walked out of the tavern.
It was nighttime in the simulation, and the streets were lit by the full moon. The glow of fires raging across the city could be seen, but nothing stood out more than the giant tear that stretched from the former Nazi headquarters and into the sky, revealing the interior of Voyager. The main stars shared a look that silently conveyed that that was the direction which they needed to head towards.
"Circle up. We are heading for... that," Chakotay ordered the American troops, motioning towards the hole in the holo-deck.
"But, sir, the Nazis are converging from that direction, down those three streets," one of the soldiers replied.
Chakotay could not help but glance back at Janeway who responded, "Then we'll circle around. This way."
Janeway led the large group down another street that seemed to be in the wrong direction. Her plan was simply to move a few blocks away from the restaurant then circle around to the giant rift in the sky that could not be blocked by the buildings they passed due to its size. The holographic soldiers circled around the Voyager crew and guarded them as everyone watched the road for signs of the Nazi.
"May I ask why you said that we needed to regroup at Sick Bay? Would the Bridge or Engineering not be more logical choice?" Tuvok asked as they walked.
"I'm not sure," Janeway replied with a slight frown. "I just had this feeling, an outside feeling... I'm not really sure how to explain it."
"Do you think it came from Rebecca and her group?" Chakotay asked.
"I'm not sure, but I hope so... We don't even know what is going on or how long that we've been in this simulation," she replied.
"Captain, there is a Nazi blockade ahead," one of the soldiers reported.
"This way," Janeway suggested, pointing towards an alleyway.
She hoped that they could find a way around the Nazis, but dead ends, more blockades, and even a collapsed building kept blocking their progression. They were cornered, but by the time that they realized that the Hirogen had already closed in. With little other choice, Tuvok kicked open the door of a nearby building then everyone rushed in.
"You five, start barricading the door with whatever you can find, and you five, search for any other entry point and block it as well. Four of you, take point at the window and the rest find another position upstairs," Chakotay ordered the holographic troops.
"How long do you think this building will hold up if those 'strange weapons' are Hirogen phaser rifles?" Tom asked softly after the holograms moved to carry out Chakotay's orders.
"If you have any suggestions, Lieutenant, we're all ears," he retorted.
"We need an inventory of the munitions that we have available. They may be crude, but they should still prove useful if utilized properly," Tuvok commented.
"Captain, with B'Elanna's help, my ocular implant can be modified to allow me to see through layers of photonic energy; we just need a small piece of wire," Seven stated.
"How did you learn to do that?" B'Elanna could not help but ask.
"The technique was theorized by Katye while we were discussing the Borg technology within Rebecca's and Echo's bodies. I have yet to test it out, but her data appeared to be valid," she replied.
A small smile appeared on Janeway's face, and she glanced at Chakotay, who gave her a knowing look. She dropped her rifle off on a table along with her bag as she instructed, "Do it. Tom, you have some knowledge of this time period, so go with Tuvok and get the inventory then we'll start planning our defense. We are going to hold this as long as we can."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Be sure to keep Harry and the other two out of sight. Alpha Karr and I are walking down the main street.] I warned.
[I stashed them on an opposite rooftop three buildings away within my Territorial Domain, under Nyka's control. You'll pass me in four buildings.]
I resisted the urge to focus on our connection to spot her, and possibly tip off Karr next to me. It was surprising how good she had gotten at hiding her presence since, at my current level, I would be able to sense Katye's or L'Naan's mana despite the 'noise' that the holo-deck generated, yet I sensed nothing out of place. Our sparring sessions were bound to become annoying in the future, especially with her traps.
Karr introduced himself as we rode the turbo lift down and asked a few questions about my race. I kept my answers brief and simple, much to his amusement, as I had yet to disconnect from his mind; it took time to earn my trust which was something that we lacked at the moment, so niceties were out. I could not read his mind directly, but sensing his emotions was enough for me.
"Commandant!" the holographic Nazis saluted as well as a few of the Hirogen.
"Alpha, we have cornered Janeway and her group within that building," the Beta said, glancing at me. "Do we have the order to kill?"
"No, the Voyager crew will give us the Holo-Deck technology and help us develop designs for a large-scale facility," Karr replied.
I smirked, as I had not agreed to the second part, but unfortunately, the Beta took my expression as mocking.
"You made a deal with 'prey'?" he asked with disgust.
"We're all someone's prey, brat. You'd be dead and your head mounted if the people that I cared about would not die in the exchange. Finest 'Hunters' in the quadrant and you don't even realize that you are surrounded," I mocked.
"A bluff," he huffed.
"Oh? Are you so sure?" I asked while silently relaying Echo my plan.
I summoned out the gold coin that Sancu had given us for Echo's favor and flipped it in the air with a bit of force. It reached the peak of its arc about ten feet above us and, at that exact moment, Echo's arrow hit it. Of course, she did not fire a simple arrow and it exploded with a violet burst of energy. I had to activate the shields of my exo-suit to protect myself, Karr, and even the mouthy Beta, since we were too close, but the holograms and nearest Hirogen were thrown back by the force of the explosion.
Karr was surprised by Echo's display and even looked for her, but she had already slipped into the Yin Realm and was relocating. My secret had not bothered him as he had likely guessed that I had eyes on Janeway's group since I had brought him here directly. The Beta looked a bit cowed by the show of force, so I had to keep my taunts simple.
"Does the second team need to give you another demonstration, so that you will believe me, or was that enough?" I asked with a smirk.
"That was enough," Karr replied. "Turanj, this is Captain Cox of the USS Fae Dragon; ally of Captain Janeway and the crew of Voyager. She took down a team of Hunters on the Bridge, along with myself, without harming anyone while the rest of her crew took over Engineering and Sick Bay as well as disabled the neuro-chips in the Voyager crew. Either we release Voyager after they assist us with creating the designs for our own facility, or we lose this technology forever. This is our chance to make a new path for our people; don't forget that."
Turanj gave me a measuring look before he gave a slight bow. Looking past the Hirogen, I saw several familiar faces exiting a building that was not too far away.
"I trust that you will keep your word, Alpha Karr," I reminded him.
"Of course. Everyone, stand down; that's a direct order," Karr ordered.
I gave him a nod before walking past them, keeping my focus on them despite our 'deal'. Karr may have been honorable in the episode, and so far, but Turanj, his Beta, had killed him in the show. Surprisingly, they did not take any action against me while I headed down the street to meet up with Janeway and her group.
"Is this your way of making sure that I don't leave the ship again?" I teased after removing my exo-suit visor.
"I'm glad to see you again," Janeway sighed lightly with a smile.
"Don't say that yet. I had to make a deal with the Hirogen to ensure Voyager's survival and you aren't going to like it, but we can talk about that later. First, we need to get the crew to safety because the holo-deck controls are down. L'Naan is working on overloading the emitters, but it's going to take some more time," I replied.
"Alright, we'll get the crew straightened out and then you can tell me what's been going on."
"Of course, Captain," I agreed with a smile.
A/N: Double release coming in a few minutes!