The small group materialized just outside the mechanical sentry of the settlement's longest "arm". Harry disabled it quickly, and they passed through the settlement, staying in the shadows, to the space between the inner and outer rings of the compound.

Tuvok disabled a passing soldier, and Catalani darted forward across the open space, ducking behind a building on the other side.

The others waited until he gave the all clear, and then dashed across to join him. They proceeded this way until they reached the inner edge of the circle, then paused while Tuvok and Catalani did some more extensive reconnisance.

The two security officers returned after a few short minutes (and one close encounter with a Custodian, whom Harry had disabled and dragged into the lee of a building), later.

"There are six sentries to the right," Catalani reported in a whisper.

"To the left, as well," Tuvok replied. "We require a diversion."

"The only thing we've got that's fireproof is the doc, here," Harry pointed out.

"Are you suggesting that i should go out there and parade around in front of soldiers so you can get into that compound?' The Doctor demanded. "What happens if they catch me?"

"Don't get caught," Catalani suggested.

"I-"

"Now would be an excellent time for this diversion, Doctor," Tuvok said sharply, looking over Harry's shoulder.

Harry turned, but saw nothing. "What is it?" he asked.

"People approaching," Tuvok replied softly.

"Oh, very well!" The Doctor replied iritably. "Here goes nothing!" He hurled himself out into the night, shouting insults at the top of his lungs, then ran around the curve where he couldn't be seen by his companions. Nor they, by anyone who was chasing the Doctor.

Tuvok nodded to Catalani, who darted out to grab one of the two remaining sentries. Tuvok took out the second, and they headed across to the central compound.

Tuvok removed the two guards from thier posts, and Harry stepped into the glaringly lit entranceway to override the computer systems. He levered open a panel to the left of the door, cutting and splicing wires with abandon. Getting in was easy enough, getting in without being seen was a problem. He hoped they weren't watching thier monitors too closely, because he was certainly setting off alarms. He threw himself out of the way as the doors cycled open, but no guards barred their path.

Tuvok motioned Catalani and Kim to move down one corridor, and took the other alone. They were each equiped with a tight beam locator. Whoever found Tom first would send a short communications burst, causing the other three to light up briefly. The other team would then move to that location.

Harry followed Catalani, one eye on the locator, one for his tricorder, and trusting Catalani not to let him walk into anything.

Catalani halted suddenly, pushing Harry back into a wall and holding him there while a troop of soldiers thundered past. The security ensign peeked around the corner, motioned once to Harry, then set out at a dead run down one corridor, across into another, and around a bend into what seemed to be a dead end.

"Any readings?" Catalani whispered, ducking out into the corridor and then back again quickly.

"No. This might be someplace important, though. People don't normally create corridors that go nowhere," Harry replied, looking up at the expanse of curved wall. He turned his tricorder on it, frowning.

"What?" Catalani asked, glancing away from the empty corridor for a moment.

"I'm not getting any readings at all..." Harry replied softly. "This... whatever it is is much more strongly shielded than anything else on this planet. i don't even think the shields over thier capital city are this technologically advanced. Harry ran his hands over the wall, searching for any cracks or bumps, but found nothing.

"Someone's coming!" Catalani warned. Harry let out a frustrated noise, then followed Catalani back out into the corridor, where they ducked into a room which Harry's tricorder informed him contained chemicals and computer equipment, but no people.

Harry looked around him and saw tables, shelves and scientific equipment scattered all over the room. At the back, a flicker of motion caught his attention.

Catalani looked around and saw a security guards' nightmare. there could be someone behind every piece of machinery in this room. He raised his phaser, headed toward that movement. Harry followed as silently as he could.

Catalani paused at the last obstruction before what Harry suspected to be some sort of viewscreen came within sight. The security officer threw himself out into the open, rolling to an upright position with his phaser pointed at the enemy. He held the pose for a moment, then lowered his weapon and nodded an okay to Harry.

Harry emerged from hiding, and his eyes locked onto a hundred images of Tom being displayed on the screen. His gaze flickered from muscle reaction diagrams to bone movement to a block of images, some of them obviously being replayed: Tom reacting to various instruments of torture. Kaia raised her head, listening. There was some sort of commotion outside...

She rose from her position on the floor and pushed her window open. Leaning out over the green expanse of lawn surrounding the Inquisition Building, she noted with some surprise that there was a man being pursued by what appeared to be every Custodian in the area.

How fortuitous. And yet, were they ready to take advantage of this... disturbance? A young man stopped under her window, looking up. She met his eyes briefly, and he motioned toward the gathered custodians, waiting.

She nodded. They were ready. Kaia retreated, moving quickly. If the man being chased was from the Voyager, and by the look of him, he was, then there were probably others already inside the compound. With a little judicious help, they should be able to free her hostage.

Given her future plans, she coldn't aid them, but what the custodians did not see, they could not prevent. Most were loyal enough not to see what she asked them not to.

The easy part of a revolution... Her people remained loyal under any circumstances. The hard part? Gaining thier loyalty to begin with. Fortunately they were also quite gullible. A racial flaw which she hoped to correct, given a few centuries of... healthy rulers. Begining with one of her own choosing. Assuming she could convince him to accept the post. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are you doing?" Catalani asked, still whispering.

"I think those symbols at the lower left are time indexes. The tricorder should be able to discipher them easily, since they're obviously counting in order. I want to know which one is happening now. Signal Tuvok. We can decide what to do about this from here. There is an incredible amount of information about Tom here, surely there's a location somewhere!" Harry realized that his voice was rising, and shut up immediately. He took a firm grip on his emotions, trying to pretend that the images on the screens weren't Tom.

He took a deep breath, then pulled a connective cable from a pouch at his belt. The ensign popped open a console, and ran a lead from his tricorder to the console. He punched in a command and let the tricorder figure out how to talk to the other machine. Binary languages, being based on numbers, which were much the same in any language, were far easier to decipher than the complex written and verbal communication of a sentient species.

One by one, each of the screens froze, until not one of them even flickered.

"Sir," Catalani said softly, indicating one screen at the top right. Harry looked more closely, and noticed the image of Tom breathing shallowly. Other than that he was completely motionless.

After a few moments, the screen next to his image displayed a schematic of the base, with important areas highlighted in yellow.

The door to the Labratory cycled open, and Catalani pulled Harry out of sight, moving stealthiy toward the door. There was the familiar soft whirr of a tricorder, and Tuvok's calm voice intruded upon the silence. "Ensigns."

"Sir!" Catalani replied, popping up from behind a lab table.

Tuvok raised an eyebrow."Ensign Paris does not appear to be in attendance," he said critically.

"We're working on that," Harry replied, climbing to his feet. "Come over and look at this," he added soberly. Harry tapped a more specific enquirey into the tiny computer, and data flickered onto the screen almost immediately. a small dot began flashing over an area clear across the compound.

Harry shook his head. "The computer is telling me that Tom is over there," He said, confused. "Why would their information center be on the opposite side of the building?"

"Maybe the computer is lying to us," Catalani suggested.

Harry just shook his head. "Where was that dead end, relative to us?" he asked, fiddling with his readouts.

"Um... it would be about tenmeters to the north-east," Catalani replied.

Harry punched this data into the tricorder, along with a request for information on the area. Information began scrolling across the screen, and Harry looked down at his tricorder for a translation. "It's a holodeck," He said, surprised. "Primitive, but unmistakable. Registering occupied, at the moment. Only one person..." he addded thoughtfully. An idea was forming in his head, but he was afraid saying it aloud would make it wrong, somehow.

Harry carefully ignored every screen but the one in front of him while he punched more commands into the computer. It responded by changing the highlighted areas to three small rooms, each equidistant to the room occupied by the landing party. Over one of the two inside the compound, the tiny symbol that meant Tom blinked steadily on and off.

"They've got him on a holodeck," Harry said softly. "They're probably creating an image of themselves that's controled from another holodeck. That way no-one actually has to come in contact with him."

"That would eliminate many opportunities for escape," Tuvok replied thoughtfully.

"It also eliminates a lot of opportunities for rescue," Catalani pointed out.

"And they know we're here, somewhere. They'll move him if we don't get him out tonight," Harry added, looking at Tuvok.

Tuvok raised one eyebrow consideringly. "I think the time for stealth has passed," he said finaly. "Mr Catalani, create a blockade at the entrance. We need to hinder thier progress as much as we may," He added dryly. He raised a hand, and tapped his comm badge. "Away team to Voyager."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaia frowned, glaing at her monitor. Fools. She couldn't keep the Custodians from finding them now. What were they thinking, opening an unsecured communications beam inside the compound?

She reluctantly ceased monitoring thier progress, and turned her attention to the myriad little details associated with a sucessful coup d' état.

It would take a miracle from the Emporer Himself for them to survive now. And she very much doubted that the current specimin was capable of delivering one.

She focused the now empty viewscreen on her own protege, watching his actions and reactions carefully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Tuvok, report," Janeway's voice came through staticky, but understandable.

"We have found Ensign Paris, but are unable to effect a release from our current location," Tuvok replied, glancing sideways at the screen, which showed a ggreat many troops rapidly converging on said current location.

"Captain," Harry interrupted, "If you can tap into my tricorder readings, it'll give you his exact location. B'Elanna modified the sensors and transporters before we left; they should cut through the shields. Tell B'Elanna that these are a lot stronger than the ones we were expecting."

"I heard, Harry," B'Elanna's voice crackled through the link. "Locking on. Engaging..." There was the extended whine of a transporter beam fighting to get a lock, and then a welcome "Got him! Locking on to the away team!" from B'Elanna.

"The Doc is outside somewhere!" Harry said sharply.

We'll get him, Ensign," Janeway replied reassuringly.

The door burst open and weapons fire screamed toward them just as the spine tingling shiver of the transporter beam whisked them away from the planet's surface.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry materialized on the transporter platform, and was promptly knocked off his feet as Voyager went direcly into warp from a standard orbit.

He scrambled up and bolted for the closest turbolift, hearing the beginnings of a transporter beam before the doors shut behind him.

"Sickbay," he said breathlessly. Nevermind the bridge now, they could surely outrun the technology-impaired Mareians without his help. The turbolift hummed to life, depositing him shortly thereafter just across from his destination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom flinched away from the Doctor's touch, eliciting an acerbic "Mr Paris, if you don't let me treat you, you'll be in this condition for weeks. At least."

Harry rocketed through the doors, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw Tom.

Tom stopped breathing. Harry. Warm, loving Harry. My Harry.

He watched his lover approach, barely feeling the prick of a hypospray against his arm. He couldn't take his eyes off of him. Dark hair, dark eyes, golden skin. He looked so colorful, so vibrant, so alive.

"Tom," Harry said shakily. He stepped close enough to make the Doctor frown at him, but refrained from touching Tom in any way. "Are you okay?" he asked, watching Tom carefully.

Tom heard him, dimly, but didn't answer. He reached out and gently, carefully touched one trembling hand to his lover's face. He traced one cheekbone , touched the worry line btween the eyebrows. "Worried," he said vaguely. "I didn't think of that one."

"Tom, i don't understand," Harry said quietly. He crowded closer, almost touching.

Tom carefully wrapped his arms around Harry, holding him close. He smelled so good; felt so good in his arms.

Harry responded to the embrace by holding tom so tightly he couldn't breath.

Tom laughed, startling both of them. He buried his face in Harry's neck, pulling his lover onto the bed with him. He climbed practically into Harry's lap and crowded up against him. He just stayed there, for the longest time, with Harry stroking his hair, and rocking gently back and forth, neither of them speaking.

The doctor graciously gave them their privacy, and locked the sickbay doors to anything but an emergency while he went to make his report to the captain.

"It's okay, Tom," Harry said softly, finally. "It's over now."

He didn't let go of Tom, and Tom started crying. "Everything will be all right," he said again, rocking slowly back and forth.