WHiMS VI: The Undiscovered Hologrid

By Corporal Coral

Coral's Story Index ~ Email Coral

Disclaimer: I saw Fair Haven today. I can no longer be accused of being prejudiced!

Dedicated to Martin, for making my Fair Haven worries seem *almost* insignificant, and the wonderful compliment: "Where did you learn to be so funny?"

Last time on WHiMS V: The Final Battle?:

"The MiB's are involved, or they will be soon."

"We want to reach the MiB HQ in one piece."

"I'm not reading Pampers' lifesigns."

"We have an intruder alert!"

"I love you, you love me..."

"STOP, ALL OF YOU!"

"You didn't send them?"

"That means someone else is pulling Michael's strings! But the question is - who?"

And now, the conclusion...

@@@

"But the question is - who?"

The girls looked from one to another in confusion. "Who would have a motive?" Kim asked, barely refraining from throwing an accusative look at the assembled MiB's.

"Who could get the access?" Shorty asked in confusion. "Only we know the codes. Even Janeway doesn't know them!"

Qex looked worried. "Is this true?" Everyone nodded. "Then we have a problem, girls-" she looked at Chakotay and Angel, who looked very offended, "-and boy- er, men... uh - okay! *People*, we have a problem. Can I ask you to put your differences aside and work together?"

The members of the two warring factions eyed each other warily. "Well... I *suppose* we could..." Pampers said hesitantly, taking the lead. She turned to Shorty with a grin. "Kiss and make up?!"

Shorty made a face. "Will a hug do?" she asked good-naturedly.

Pampers pretended to think this over, then launched herself on Shorty for a big bear hug, knocking her and half of the rest of the room over in a spectacular domino effect.

Qex, who had managed to retain her vertical position, smiled at last. "Now, can we solve this mystery?"

@@@

Listmom's Log. Despite the resurfaced tensions between the "We Hate Michael Sullivan"'s and the "Michael International Bodyguards", the two groups have decided to work together to solve the mystery of who has been controlling Michael's program. Katie and Jenna, working together, have tracked down an area of holographic activity, so the girls are heading there in my personal ship. The neutrals and myself are remaining behind to work on the problem from here.

@@@

"Speed?"

"Warp five."

Private Pampers, recently liberated from Michaels' clutches, frowned. "Only warp five."

"Puck reckons that's the fastest we can go without warning whoever's waiting of our approach," Coral explained.

"Did you check the figures?" Kim asked.

Coral nodded. "Katie ran them through the computer. They checked out."

Kim looked anxiously at the Private and the Corporal. "Do you really think they'd...?" she asked in a whisper.

Pam and Coral shared worried looks that spoke volumes. How could they trust the MiB? They'd been at war for months, since the advent of Michael. They couldn't be sure that the other group wouldn't try to take advantage of the temporary alliance.

"We'll just have to trust them," Pam resolved, "But stay on your toes."

Commander Chakotay approached the group, and the girls immediately fell quiet. The Indian looked at them suspiciously.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

Pam shook her head. "We were just discussing the alliance," Kim commented off-handedly, as if it was the hot topic of the day.

Chakotay lowered his voice and quickly glanced around. "Do you trust them?" he asked, sotto voce.

Pam grinned. "Chuckles, you read my mind!"

Chakotay scowled at the use of the disliked nickname, and the Private had the grace to look at least vaguely apologetic.

"So...?" Chakotay asked again.

Coral shrugged. "Would you trust a spoonhead?" she asked rhetorically.

"Heads up!" Kim hissed, noticing the approach of Shorty and Angel, but the look that passed between the four finished the conversation aptly. They would trust, but not too much.

@@@

"ETA, Private?" Puck asked.

"About ten minutes, give or take an hour..." Pampers replied, tucking into a hobnob. "Want one?"

"Uh, no thanks," Puck declined the offer. "Have we found out anything about our destination yet?"

"Puck, stop getting so worried! Everything'll be fine, I'm sure," Pam drawled as she set up the mini-Michael dartboard that Jay had brought along on a stand in the middle of the room. "No offence intended, Puck, but I need some stress relief right about now, and this might upset you a little."

The MiB rolled her eyes. "Fine! Fine, I'll leave you to your gratuitous Michael Bashing! Just remember, Qex said we had to work together." She walked out of the room.

About five darts later, the door chime rang again. "Come in if you're a WHiMS!" Pam yelled, intent on her darts throwing.

Coral stuck her head around the door with a grin. "Do I qualify?"

"Right you do!" Pampers said, throwing her a hobnob.

Coral caught it and walked in. "I thought I might find you with the dartboard," she commented, brushing her hair back out of her face. "Mind if I chuck one?"

"Be my guest," Pam said, handing her a supersharp dart, one of the new ones Jay had recently found.

"Thanks," Coral said and lobbed it at the board. The dart went straight through Michael's eye and buried itself in the board, right up to the feathers.

Pampers raised an eyebrow. "Is there something on your mind, Corporal?" she asked.

"It's Hejira," Coral said frankly. "She keeps dropping hints about wanting to rejoin the WHiMS."

Pam sat down, and motioned for Coral to do the same. "What exactly is the problem with that? We always need new members," Private Pampers pointed out prudently.

Coral started pacing up and down. "She's a *liability*, P, not an asset! She's already defected from us once! She could do it again!"

Pam turned this over in her mind. "I see your point. It might also be a ruse by the MiB to get a spy in our midst," the Irish girl mused.

"Exactly! We can't trust her anymore than we can trust any of the MiB's!" Coral picked up another dart and chucked it at the dartboard. The dart went straight through Michael's mouth and the point ended up the other side of the board.

Pampers shook her head. "No need to get quite so worked up, Corporal!"

Coral frowned. "Sorry. I think I have a headache. I'll... go down to sickbay and see if there's anything down there for it."

With a bob of her head, Pam indicated her agreement. "Meanwhile, we'll keep an eye on Hejira. Let's see what we can find *out*, then we'll make our decision."

@@@

Jenna and Kate2 emerged from the turbolift and the temperature on the bridge seemed to drop a few degrees. Katie noticed with a grim sigh that the two girls ignored each other completely, despite the fact that they had been supposed to be working together on a hologram detector.

Saving her work so far, Katie walked casually across to them. "How's the work going, girls?" she asked in a deceptively pleasant tone.

"Fine," Kate2 grunted.

"Alright," Jenna spat out at the same time.

Katie leaned back and folded her arms. "Are you two having a communication problem?" she probed.

"No, no *communication* problem at all," Jenna said snidely, completely ignoring Kate2.

"Kate2, care to elaborate?"

"Not really."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Look, you two, like it or not, we all have to work together. Now, if we aren't talking to each other, we're not gonna be very efficient, are we?!"

The girls looked up at Katie with disgruntled expressions.

"Kate2 insulted Michael," Jenna explained tersely.

"Then she kept arguing with me!" Kate2 added in an injured tone of voice, causing Katie to glare at her.

"Kate2, I know you're new, but weren't you listening at the briefing?" Katie asked meaningfully.

The newest WHiMS blushed. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Make up, Jenna?" she added reluctantly after another glare from Katie.

Jenna eyed her warily. "Suppose so."

Katie sighed in relief. "Good, now you can get back to work. Need I remind you that we'll be arriving shortly?"

@@@

"Charon to all hands, please assemble in the transporter room. We have arrived."

Angel and Shorty's heads flew up at the summons, and they crawled out of the doghouse they'd brought along to eat popcorn in, and dashed down the corridors to the transporter room. Racing in the door, they discovered that everyone had beaten them there, and they were all waiting impatiently.

"Sorry," Shorty shrugged by way of apology, "We were watching 'Friends'."

"Good excuse, Shorty," Charon said sarcastically.

Shorty just stuck her tongue out at Charon as Pampers and Puck went over the mission briefing and handed out supplies. Soon, everyone was equipped with weapons and hobnobs, and they were ready to go.

"Energise!" they all yelled at once, and the computer complied.

They materialised in the centre of a dilapidated, stereotypically Irish town.

"It's Fair Haven... kinda..." Jenna observed.

"It looks *awful*," Kate2 said. "No wonder Michael looks like he hasn't shaved in months."

Chakotay looked around with concern. "It doesn't normally look this bad," he commented. "Something must be wrong."

Charon and Shorty both got out their tricorders and scanned the area. "I'm reading hundreds of Michaels!" Charon exclaimed in horror.

Kate2 paled. "Hundreds?" she whispered in disbelief.

"It'll be worse than the Q Continuum," Chakotay noted.

"Yeah, at least they all *look* different," Jenn chimed in, and Jay nodded her agreement.

"This isn't helping us," Puck grumbled. "We've got to find the person responsible for... for this." She swept her hand in a gesture that encompassed the whole village.

A creaking sound caused the girls - and Chakotay and Angel - to fall silent. Behind them, a heavy oak door slowly swung open, creaking as it did so, and revealing a dark silhouette framed against the flickering firelight.

It stepped out of the shadows to reveal a tall, roughly shaven man.

"Michael?" Charon gasped, turning paler.

The holographic Irishman was about seven feet tall, and much broader than they remembered. His face was surly, his hands sinewy and powerful looking, and the girls had no trouble believing that he could beat them in an arm wrestling contest.

Jay stepped back. "I don't think Janeway did that..."

"A little more than three centimetres..." Coral agreed.

"Miss Puck..." he rumbled. "You've found me."

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To Be Continued...