PRIME DIRECTIVE: Space may be the final frontier, but I'll never get there by any monies derived from this as Harry Potter and all properties of such are owned by the Dark Lady JKR. All content, characters related to Star Trek are owned by Paramount Pictures, Inc....except maybe some of that stuff that ended up being used in Starfleet Battles which is owned by the Amarillo Design Bureau who used much of their content via the Starfleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph Schnaubelt and published by Ballantine Books.

STORY NOTES: Just a heads-up. I went back and edited all the previous chapters. While I added a little content here and there, it was mostly editing mistakes or making certain things clearer to readers not as well versed in Star Trek lore as I am. Unlike many fan-fic authors, I have no trouble going back and editing (and removing) things so even things like the ranks at the end of Chapter Four can be edited as the story goes on.

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CHAPTER ELEVEN – HUNTERS, PART 1

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PITHY STATEMENT RELATING TO THIS CHAPTER: "The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of the gun." (The Adventures of Sally) P. G. Wodehouse – English novelist & humorist – 1881-1975

LAST UPDATED ON: 07-24-2020

Commodore's Log, Star Date 51203.4. All repairs, alterations, additions and resupply are complete and we are finally underway again for the Alpha Quadrant. We leave behind a place of much needed rest and reflection. We also leave behind a gift to the Delta Quadrant as well as an experiment. The gift is the Pit Stop itself. The hope is that the station will grow into a free port where future ships like Voyager may find a safe haven to rest and repair at.

An experiment given the 'crew' left behind. True to his word to the Doctor, Harry Potter had worked to repair the damage Seron photonic Dejaren. With help from Seven and many of the other former drones, Harry was able to not only repair Dejarin's code but to rid him of his hatred of organics. In addition, the team repaired the damaged EMH from the Equinox as well as updating and upgrading some of the more robust programs found in our ship's databases. In addition to these photonics is a host of what Harry calls droids. Harry's plan is that the photonic AI's now have a place where they could grow and exceed the limits of their original programming aided by these autonomous droids. The photonic repair AI version of Lewis Zimmerman will hopefully be able to utilize all the data, sub-routines and the like left behind to keep photonics with the ability to keep the Pit Stop running as a free port and as a home for them to grow.

Interestingly the former Equinox EMH decided to take the name of Hans Zimmerman and altered his appearance to match the real Lewis Zimmerman's father more closely. He also merged his memory files with that of the Doctor. While there had been some initial concern about the Pit-Stop being misused, Harry says he left a few nasty surprises to ensure no one misuses the base. However, Harry assures me that he has confidence that the non-organic beings we leave behind will enjoy their new roles. Not the AIs will be the only crew. Prior to our expected arrival, Harry had made overtures to the Zahl, a peaceful race with a small trading Confederation loosely allied with the much larger Krenim Imperium. Before our new impromptu fleet left, two Zahl vessels and a Krenim research vessel docked at the Pit Stop. The first Zahl ship carried the new personnel who would assist with manning and expanding the base. All three ships took advantage of the baryon sweep and other maintenance functions available. Parts of the expected use fees will be kept back to be used to help any future refugee ships that might find their way to the Pit Stop. Our little way of paying it forward and hopefully make it an important resource to this part of the Delta Quadrant.

As for our fleet, we now point ourselves back towards home. With new shipmates, new ships and news from home, I hope I can move past my previous missteps and mistakes. I am honored and humbled that the other captains pushed that I take on the rank of Commodore and be the over-all commander of our fleet. While it is a big responsibility, the addition of Commissioner Ransom to take on many of the personnel issues of the crews will allow me to better focus on the mission at hand. I find myself once more excited to be exploring even as I know that I'll be an old woman, if I'm lucky, when we finally reach home.

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BRIDGE, USS VOYAGER, SECTOR 28, DELTA QUADRANT – STAR DATE 51162.3

"Lieutenant Laren! Bring us around the Marianne so we can shield her better from those flanking from that side of the formation." Janeway turned towards tactical, "Tuvok, I want a breakup the main phaser into pulses to target multiple ships and then follow up with torpedoes. Hopefully, the phaser fire will blind their sensors a bit."

"Fighter status!" Riker called out as the ship rocked from incoming phaser fire from the surrounding Hazari ships. With their size and power, everyone on the bridge knew how badly Voyager would have fared against such ships had she been alone. It helped the sensors from the Equinox and Borg enhancements had allowed them to spot the trap they had been unknowingly falling into.

"All wings are reporting they are ready to make the jump back into the system!" SLT Mohindra reported with more than a bit of relish."

Riker looked at Janeway, "Well our hammer is coming."

Janeway nodded, "Time to shore up the anvil." She pressed the link to the Equinox, "Tahl, I'm sure you've seen the fighters are in position. Are you ready?"

"Moving into position with the Phoenix now. The modifications to this ship are really coming through. The old shield array would have been shredded by now," the Romulan said with perfect calm.

"Well hopefully this will be over soon," Janeway said before switching to the Marianne's link, "Chakotay, Tahl's almost ready and the fighters are just waiting for our signal. Status?"

"The multi-target missiles are prepped and ready," Chakotay replied. Like the Phoenix, the Marianne's weapons had been geared more towards sub-light warfare. While not large ships, both were formidably armed.

Before Janeway could hail the Phoenix, a brilliant stag made of light jumped through one of the bulkheads, "Ready on my end," it spoke with Harry Potter's voice.

"Show-off!" Riker muttered as Janeway flicked another link, "Seven, send the signal."

"Aye captain," came the reply. In Astrometrics, Seven turned to Treana who gave her a gesture Seven had learned to be the Orion equivalent of a thumbs-up. Seven sent the coded, sub-space transmission.

In the blackness of deep space, 24 sleek fighters cruised at one-quarter impulse. Their warp drives were online and ready. All they needed was the coordinates and heading. A beep on his console made newly promoted Junior Lieutenant Rick Sternbach smile, "This is Red Leader, that's the go signal. Arm missiles and prepare to jump." In the cockpits of the other fighters, the signal was downloaded even as missile safety locks disengaged.

"This is Green Leader. Snakes are ready," JLT Vale Li-Paz replied calmly as if jumping into combat was routine. Given his time with the Maquis, it probably was.

"Red Leader, Blue Leader; the Ravens are a go!" JLT Breve Jarvin echoed.

"Gold Leader here. Badgers are ready!" JLT Gal Sahreen said with obvious excitement in her voice.

JLT Sternbach checked the formation on one of his screens. Each wing had two pairs up front with the last pair following in a triangular formation. The formation was set so that Red and Gold groups would come in on one flank with Blue and Green groups coming in on the other.

A green light on his console told him all the back-up droids in the gunner seats were all online. These droids were an experiment. They mimicked human form simply because the cockpits were designed for such. Each droid was capable of flying and fighting the fighters but other than the mission parameters, had no other autonomous functions. Their primary purpose was to get the fighter (if possible) and the pilot to safety if things went wrong.

"Alright, all wings lock X-Foils in attack position and then increase to pursuit speed!" Sternbach ordered. All around him, the Marauders wings broke up top and bottom with the phaser pylons locking into place. The phasers turrets at the end of each pylon rotated so that they all were facing forward. While capable of firing into almost every arc, the initial strike would all be fire forward. As the X-Foils locked into place, the front of the wings opened to reveal the missiles inside. Once this was completed, the entire formation increased to full impulse so they wouldn't waste time having to accelerate once they dropped out of warp.

"Jump in three, two, one...Jump!" Sternbach ordered even though the nav-computers were all linked and ensured all 24 fighters jumped at once.

OoOoO

Group Captain Mazar growled deep in his throat from his command chair on his ship the Headhunter. He was facing a situation every Hazari captain hated. That being taking a job only to find the information (and bounty price) didn't match the tactical situation. First off, the client had only spoken of three ships and one of those was supposed to be a beat up, short-ranged science vessel. As his ship rocked from the shields taking long-range phaser fire hits, Mazar could see how wrong the client's information had been. Not only was there another small ship, the Equinox science vessel looked like it had gone through a complete overhaul in the last month since the client's probes had scanned the vessel.

To make matters worse, the target had obviously been alerted to the trap that Mazar had planned. What worried the Group Captain was that instead of running, they attacked. Now Mazar was hurriedly bringing in the wings of his trap to see if they could still complete the job. Yet Mazar was very much thinking of breaking off. As much as no Hazari liked to back away from a bounty, this prey was not the weak, under-supplied ships he'd been promised. Even if they won this battle, the bounty price might not cover the repairs needed afterwards.

That and the fact the small fleet brazenly attacked his much larger fleet bothered him. He was missing something; he knew it.

"Group-Captain! We have incoming fighters entering the system!" his tactical officer cried out.

"Show me!" Mazar roared as he banged a fist against the armrest of his command chair.

A hologram of the tactical situation blossomed into the air before him. Two groups of 12 fighters had dropped out of warp on the flanks of his main group. While both groups in turn had elements of Hazari behind them as they sped towards the battle, Mazar knew that these fighters had too much time to attack before being caught between his ships and the other ships of his hunter fleet.

As his eyes roamed over the display to try and find the best counter, the fighters began volleying high-speed missiles. Worse, the main human fleet of ships also accelerated towards his formation.

There was no profit here, "Helm! Get us out of here! Bring us about, bearing two-two mark seven. Tactical, blast us a path out of here! As soon as we can, go to high warp and get us away from here!"

Mazar's jaw began to hurt before he realized he was grinding his teeth. The target's damnable torpedoes threw out so much radiation that it made creating a stable warp field difficult. He hoped his ships could get free from the battle zone quick enough to go to escape speeds before taking too much damage.

OoOoO

Captain Tahl smiled as he leaned forward in his command chair, "Paris! Break formation and take us toward those two trailing ships. They aren't going to be able to shoot down all those missiles. We can follow up on those strikes and disable their weapon's array and engines and then tractor them away from the hot zone."

"Aye captain!" Paris replied as his hands flew over the navigation controls.

CDR Dhael smirked and pointed at the tactical display, "Seven was correct about the Hazari warp fields. They were much more vulnerable to tetrion radiation pulses than I would have expected." The display showed the more than half of the Hazari ships from the main group had been unable to jump to high warp and were desperately trying to disengage away from the battle. The outer wings of the Hazari trap had already disengaged.

Tahl nodded and hit the dedicated comm-link to Voyager, "Commodore, we are going in to take some prisoners to find out who hired them."

"Understood Captain. We'll be building a bridge for our fleeing enemy over here. Without risking the fighters, we can only encourage the rest of them to leave," Janeway's voice came back.

SLT Trevor Santos spoke up, "Captain, it looks like Captain Chakotay and the Wizard had the same idea. I'm showing they have captured two of those smaller corvette type craft,"

"Good! Now let's end this. Begin targeting their weapons array and then send the surrender communication. I'd rather not have to disable their engines if we don't have to," Tahl ordered. He looked over to the science console, "Ventrys, can we get a crew count now? I'd rather not send boarding parties over if we don't have to."

Ventrys turned toward the center of the bridge, "These ships have minimal crew. I'm detecting a lot more automation and the like for a ship that size. I would conjecture that since we know the Hazari make their living as bounty hunters, they try to minimize the crew on many of their ships to keep costs down."

Tahl nodded as the deck below his feet thrummed with phaser fire and torpedoes being launched, "Good. I am betting the ships that went to warp probably have the bulk of their crew along with their boarding parties."

"Captain! I'm getting a request for surrender terms!" Ventrys said the message scrolled across her screen as the universal translator did its job.

Dhael snorted, "To be expected. These Hazari are business types for all their martial prowess. They aren't inclined to go down fighting."

OoOoO

"Thanks, Neelix!" Harry said as the Talaxian freshened up his coffee. He'd tried to convince Neelix that he was more than happy to do such things himself but Harry realized that the Talaxian enjoyed being useful. He took a sip and turn back to pay attention to the after-action briefing where Chakotay was currently speaking.

"So, given we have some sensor equipment left over from the refit of the Equinox, I think we might want to a variation on B'Elanna's old dreadnought idea. We modify one or both Hazari corvettes we captured to beef up its sensor capability. It could be crewed by a modified AI along with some of those independent droids Harry makes. We could then use it as an advanced scout that would have a lot more capabilities than the current Class 5 probes we have been using. We got lucky this time in seeing the trap before it was sprung. I don't like relying on luck," Chakotay said before sitting down next to his XO Sakonna.

Harry set his coffee cup down, "I think this idea has merit. First off, we don't have to adapt the two ships all that much since they're already heavily automated. Second, I don't think many Delta Quadrant races are going to shoot at a Hazari ship. I mean that's like tickling a dragon. Thirdly, depending on how we do it, even if a Borg ship comes across it, it will be ignored if we do it correctly, right Seven?"

Seven, who was present due to her unique Borg knowledge as well as being head of Astrometrics, nodded, "If we tune the Federation equipment to a more Hazari manner, then yes a Borg vessel would not bother to assimilate it."

"I also believe this to be the best use of these ships. While they wouldn't need much in the way of a crew, we really don't have the personnel to spare," Tahl pointed out.

Janeway looked at B'Elanna, "Do you think you and all the engineer teams could get the two ships completed in a timely manner at our next stop?"

B'Elanna nodded, "I think so. With the information from the Zahl we met back at the Pit Stop, I think we should be able to get everything done. We might have to give up some profits by allowing the Zahl to do more of the stripping of the other two Hazari ships."

"Well with all the money the Zahl are going to make being the prime caretaker of the Pit Stop, I don't think they'll be averse to us being their longer than expected or changing what we need. Rather agreeable chaps, these Zahl," Harry pointed out.

"Let me know as soon as you can if this will change our shore leave rosters. I think it's important that we get information, even incomplete, out quickly to get ahead of the fleet rumor mill," Ransom said.

Janeway nodded at this, "Agreed. Well, I think we've done enough for today. Let's let our tactical people crunch their numbers and see how we did. For all that we didn't want this battle, it does give us a good starting point to build fleet training sims. B'Elanna, get with the engineering heads and work out what you think you'll need and get that info to Rudy as quickly as you can. Unless anyone else has anything, I think we can call it a day."

V'Lana spoke up, "Don't forget that we still need to figure out what sort of ceremony we will have to launch the Earhart with. Also, given we're a sort of hybrid fleet now, I think perhaps we should have some of our own awards. Or at least decide when it's appropriate to use non-Starfleet awards."

"Is that really necessary, V'Lana?" Tuvok asked in the dry way that showed he felt something was illogical.

Harry pipped up, "Actually Tuvok I think it is. A little under a century and a half before I was born, we had a famous general say he could conquer all of Europe on a trunk filled with medals. It might seem illogical, but I've seen firsthand how hard people will work to get one or how proud they are when awarded one. It's a small thing, but if it helps keep people getting into their fighters or beaming onto a hostile ship, well I think it's time worth spending. If anything, it gives people something to show their kids which they will hopefully have some time soon."

"Plus, we have many races in our crew who come from martial stock. Not acknowledging their combat prowess will cause resentment over time. You humans may have stepped away from such rewards but much of the galaxy has not," Tahl said.

Tuvok bowed his head in acknowledgment of the point.

Janeway stood and everyone followed, "I agreed; we can look into it as time permits. Well let's get back to our ships. When our tactical and engineering crew are ready, we can reconvene." She looked toward the side of the room with more of the uniformed personnel. "Dismissed."

The room broke up into various groups. Janeway and Riker moved to get more coffee while chatting with Chakotay and Sakonna. Tom and Ro were obviously speaking about the battle given their hand gestures. Harry could see Tom's new rank on his collar. Not only had Tom been reinstated as a lieutenant, Tahl had promoted him to Senior Lieutenant. The rest of the meeting members either left of huddle in a group to chat.

Harry wasn't feeling very social able and so was going to apparate back to the Phoenix when Seven made eye-contact with him and purposively strode over to him. "Seven; can I help you?"

The former drone nodded, "I do believe so. Would it be possible to go somewhere private so we can discuss various matters?"

Harry was surprised by this. Generally speaking, Seven rarely was this circumspect. She had already become rather infamous for having little in the way of a filter and said what she was thinking. This sort of brutal honesty didn't sit well with much of the crew to include the Vulcans.

"Care to hop over to the Phoenix?" Harry asked.

Seven nodded so Harry took her arm and jumped to his ship. Harry had already learned that apparating while in space was a whole lot easier than he'd ever have imagined. He figured the lack of a planet's gravity and mass to be the reason. Unlike most who had done a side-along apparition trip, Seven barely pursed her lips in response to the uncomfortable ride.

"Hello Seven. It is agreeable to see you again," said the being in the command chair.

Seven bowed her head in greeting, "To you as well, Veer."

"Where is Alars?" Harry asked as he looked at the ship status display which was green across the board. While the Phoenix's bridge mimicked a standard (if much smaller) Federation bridge with all the various stations, the ship itself could be run by one person in the command chair if they had a way to link to the ship in the manner he shared with Veer and Alars.

"Alars is currently regenerating early. He wishes to begin work on the damage to the starboard shield array prior to our scheduled departure," Veer said.

There was a good reason that both Veer and Alars were the only crew other than Harry himself on the Phoenix. The first was that both were still were mostly drones for similar reasons. For Veer, the three-armed Edosian had been heavily irradiated while a drone. While Harry was able to deal with the radiation magically to keep him from exposing others, it also meant that there was little Harry could do to remove much in the way of Veer's Borg shell. While Veer's head was exposed, the rest of his body was still encased in the hardened Borg shell. Even more disconcerting is that the Borg weren't content with the three arms. They had added mechanical arms under all three original arms to better allow Veer to control multiple devices. Harry had long given up trying to figure out why the Borg seemed wedded to having drones physically do so much which could be done via their intra-link. Indeed, much of running a Cube could be done with over 80% of the drones never leaving their alcoves.

Alars Zenkar wasn't radioactive but he had two things working against him. The first he was a Cardassian. With so much of the crew being Maquis, Harry felt it prudent to keep Alars here on the Phoenix. The second reason was that he had Yerem Kel syndrome. This complicated the assimilation process to the point where again Harry was limited in what he could do to remove the Borg tech. In Alars' case, he retained almost all of his Borg form. Still, Harry had been able to get Alars' skin and hair returned to normal even if his left eye still had a Borg optical implant. However, like Harry had done with the Gorn Uriash, he had worked to smooth out the Borg tech so that Alars looked like he was wearing the form-fitting armor colored in the tones Cardassians preferred in their military uniform. This look, Harry felt, would not make it any easier for him to be around any of the former Maquis. Harry had learned that one from a wizard who had tastelessly shown up at a costume party dressed like a Death Eater. Luckily for the wizard, Harry hadn't cast anything lethal. However, it didn't help the hapless wizard that Hermione, Neville and Luna of all people had cast on instinct as well. He didn't want Alars dredging up similar memories from the Maquis in the fleet.

Harry had felt that since there had been tension among the crew around the former drones, having two who still looked much like Borg would be bad for morale. That and he liked the company. Veer had a quirky sense of humor and Alars had a dry wit that reminded Harry of Neville Longbottom of all people. While he didn't keep them a secret, few in the fleet had met Veer and Alars other than Seven, V'Lana as well as Tom who often visited when he wasn't on Voyager with Maria and Treana.

"Seven and I are going to have a chat so give us some privacy," Harry said to Veer as he motioned Seven to follow him.

"Long-range scans show nothing of note in the area. There should be no cause for an interruption," Veer said.

Harry sighed. Unlike Alars, Veer's species were very…Hermione like in that they would brief you at the drop of a hat. Harry hadn't expected a reply and wouldn't have gotten one other than a nod from Alars. He liked Veer but at times the Edosian would alert him to almost everything he was doing. So far Harry and Alars simply rolled with it but it could be grating at times.

Harry led Seven through the Phoenix to his personal quarters. Like the Phoenix itself, his rooms were rather spartan. Perhaps growing up in a cupboard under the stairs had made an imprint on him. Still, Harry had found that even when he could have led an opulent life, it just wasn't something he liked. He gestured to Seven to take the chair by his desk while he himself sprawled on the bed. "So, what's on your mind?"

Seven was silent for a long while, her eyes not looking at Harry. Finally, she made eye-contact and pursed her lips, "I am unsure how to proceed."

"Start and the beginning and work to the end and then stop. That's usually a surprisingly good way to go about things," Harry said with his lop-sided grin.

"How droll," Seven said in a flat tone. She hesitated again before continuing, "I am finding myself faced with a problem I do not believe I have the capacity to solve. Yet I calculate that this sort of issue would be inappropriate or unsettling for most people if I went for them to help."

"Is this a sexual thing?" Harry asked.

Seven lifted an eyebrow, "Yes. How did you surmise that so quickly?"

Harry laughed, "I keep telling folks that they think that the 24th Century human is advanced and has moved past so many sins of the past. It's mostly bollocks, especially if it's regarding sex. Hell, even the Vulcans can still be prickly about it. So are things not going well with you and B'Elanna? I know you have a lot of the collective knowledge of the Borg. But knowing and feeling are very different things."

"I believe the current situation with Lieutenant Commander Torres is within normal parameters. While we are often at odds during duty hours, our time engaged in sexual activities as been very…enjoyable."

Harry chuckled, "Well some couples are like that. My best friends bickered constantly. It often looks bad from the outside. But that's not the problem, is it?"

Seven shook her head, "It is not. Prior to our arrival at the Pit-Stop, B'Elanna showed up and wished to engage in sexual relations. I was agreeable to this due to dealing with Yeoman Treana's pheromones. However, as we initiated the beginning of our encounter, I queried her on how to proceed. She told me to 'kiss her like I meant' it. This request has bothered me ever since because I believe I am unable to comply."

Harry was silent for a moment before sighing, "Well I can see why you might think that. You and all drones who went through a maturation chamber had your puberty stolen from you. You essentially had your formative sexual years leap-frogged so you don't have the experience to deal with your current emotions and desires."

Seven nodded, "That does seem to be a reasonable summation of the situation."

"Thank you," Harry said a bit sarcastically. "However, I think you can comply but right now you don't know how. More to the point, you don't have the language, if you will, to articulate what B'Elanna is asking. But first, what do you think she's asking?"

Seven shook her head, "I am unsure. Hence my desire to speak to you. Your unique status seemed to be the best avenue to take given your long personal history as well as your time connected to the Collective."

"Well I'm not the best one to come to for relationship advice as mine own life was sort of a disaster. Still, I know what B'Elanna is asking for. Right now, you probably have what it takes, you just don't know how to express it."

"Can you instruct me in this? I find the thought of not being able to fulfill this request is weighing upon my mind and it is impairing my efficiency to intolerable rates."

Harry laughed, "And that right there is a good example that you do have the capacity to comply. You see, Seven, it is trite to say a relationship is between two people but it's something often overlooked. What B'Elanna is asking of you is actually a reflection of her own issues. As you well know, B'Elanna strides two worlds and through most of her life, neither side gave her much in the way of support. I'm sure in the beginning, you were a sexual encounter, nothing more. You are, by the way, incredibly sexy."

"I have found this to be true given the reactions from most of the crew," Seven agreed.

"However, while it's one thing to have a fling or two with you, you both are finding that there is a bit more going on, correct?"

Seven nodded, "I believe so. If Commander Torres were only after sexual gratification, I conjecture she would leave soon after we have completed our assignation. She, however, likes to cuddle as she puts it."

"And do you enjoy this cuddling?" Harry asked. "I'm not being judgmental. Cuddling could be seen as a poor use of time."

Seven shook her head, "No, the cuddling is agreeable. I am finding the tactile experience with her to me most rewarding."

Harry laughed, "Well you and I share growing up without a human contact. So I know why you probably find cuddling to be nice. I'm betting you found it off-putting at first? I know I use to freeze up when Hermione would hug me. I didn't know how to process it."

Seven simply nodded at this.

"Okay so this is where you are getting into territory every teen goes through. The whole "do they like me the way I like them" aspect. In B'Elanna's case, she is used to being discarded. So much so that she developed bad habits to push people away. It's easier to break things off yourself than deal with the pain of being dumped. It's not much better but again, we organics are a pile of contradictions."

"So, you are saying that B'Elanna's request is related to her trouble with maintaining relationships?" Seven asked. She was obviously confused.

Harry nodded, "What she was asking you for was a commitment, if only for that moment. To fake it even. She was asking you to give her a moment where she could feel wanted and loved. To feel that, even for that hour or so you spent together, was something special. Something real. Her specific request was for you to kiss her in a way that made her feel wanted, to feel needed. And maybe a plea not to leave her in the future."

Seven was silent as she pondered this. "I believe I understand. However, the fact remains I do not have the capacity to comply with her request. As you said, I do not have the language to do so."

Harry shook his head with a chuckle, "You do. You simply haven't been around people to show you how it's done. Would you like me to teach you? It will require a fair bit of intimacy."

"I will comply. This emotional interruption cannot be allowed to continue. What must I do?" Seven asked.

"Come sit with me," Harry said as he patted the bed as he moved to allow her some room.

"Should I disrobe?" Seven asked.

Harry blinked at that, "While I already know you are easy on the eyes, Seven, let's just go with the basics for now."

Seven nodded and sat down rather stiffly next to Harry.

Harry manifested the Elder wand into his hand, "I want to show you a bit of magic I don't think you've seen. The bridge crew have seen me use my Patronus as a messenger before, but that's not what it's usually used for. It's a spell where you take positive thoughts and feelings to create a protective shield or even a weapon against Dark creatures. I initially had a lot of problems with this spell because the normal way you were taught was to think of happy thoughts. I didn't have many. Luckily for me, my teacher was a werewolf who didn't have a lot of happy thoughts to work with either. He had found that it was more the emotion than actual memories that were the key. You may not have many happy memories and I'm betting the few you might remember from your parents are tainted because you know they ended up drones."

Seven nodded, "I rarely think on my pre-Borg memories. As you said, they are painful and give me little comfort."

Harry waggled his index finger at Seven, "Exactly! To get around this we need to use a different pathway to that positive emotions. That's where hope comes in. Where desire comes in. For no matter how bad things can get, there is always the dreams of better days. To imagine what life could be like. Of how you want to make it. You want to comply, as you put it, with B'Elanna because no matter what the Borg did to you, you're still human and we crave love and affection. You need to focus on the feelings you get when you do something that B'Elanna likes. Of what you might secretly desire, even if you don't believe it will come to pass. All of those hopes and dreams that make you feel warm inside, to smile simply at the memory."

Before Seven could think of anything to say to this, Harry made a quick series of wand movements, "Expecto Patronum!"

Seven couldn't help but let out a gasp as ghostly animal made of white light burst into the room. It turned its horned head and took a step closer to Seven. She reached out, but did not touch, the mesmerizing apparition. It was hard to describe what she was feeling as waves of contentment and warmth were radiated by the magical being."

Harry let Seven bask in the glow before softly saying, "Thanks, Prongs!" He released the spell and gave Seven some time to compose herself. Harry wondered if Seven was capable of crying, whether in sorrow or joy since she looked like she might do so at the moment.

Finally, Harry broke the silence, "Not to put too much of hyperbole into this, but that was love made manifest. It is a projection of my memories, my dreams and even in a way my sorrow for those that I've lost but who continue to inspire me. That is the what the Borg steals away from people. They say they are driving towards perfection but it's a sterile, cold one. You felt the love in my spell. That love was mostly driven by what other people did for me. By being there for me, for putting up with me and for just being my friend. And I did the same back and so it feeds off itself. B'Elanna was asking that you help her get to that point where there is the positive, even if only for the moment. To comply, you must let yourself go of the analytical and let your emotions out to guide you."

Seven was silent for a long time, "I feel this path is fraught with many dangers of emotional pain."

Harry laughed, "And that's why the teen years you had stolen are all about. Love can turn to hate. To open oneself up to love comes with the risk of rejection. No one can hurt you like a former lover. Still, the risk is worth taking. I think we wizards never realized how lucky we were for the Patronus. To be able to have a physical manifestation of what love can feel like. To help give us a reason to keep trying after heartbreak. It's a goal worth going after."

"I believe that it may take me time to be able to process this lesson," Seven said. She sounded a bit defeated. "I am concerned that Commander Torres might see my inability to comply as a sign I am not interested in her."

Harry laughed again, "And we're right back into teenage angst. Worrying if your partner likes you the way you like them seems to be a universal thing. Give B'Elanna some credit. I doubt she'd be anything but surprised if a former drone didn't take a while to get back into the swing of things."

Seven mulled that over. For all her volatility, B'Elanna Torres was an engineer of the highest caliber. She would understand the need for test runs and trials.

"Seven, I'd like to do something to you to give you a better understanding of what I've been saying. It will require that intimacy I warned of," Harry said.

"What will you do?" Seven asked.

Harry smiled his lop-sided grin, "I'm going to kiss you like I mean it."

Seven's eyebrow went up in surprise, "I doubt you have that level of interest in me to accomplish this goal."

Harry chuckled, "True, but the thing is when you're kissing someone with your eyes closed, it's easy to fill that moment with the feelings from another. Trust me. I have a lot of pent up desire I never got to express. It will be real enough."

Seven pondered this for a moment before nodding, "It would be illogical to come to you for help and then reject it. I will comply."

Harry smiled, "Computer, dim lights by 50% and set my 'do not disturb' level to Extreme."

A male voice responded as the lights dimmed, "Emergency only contact protocols are now in effect."

Seven's eyebrow rose in surprise again, "You gave your computer the voice of the Seron photonic Dejaren?"

Harry shrugged, "In repairing his code, I ended up talking with him for hours at a time. I found I liked his voice. Voyager's computer reminds me too much of how my friend Hermione sounded when she was nagging me and Ron for not doing our homework on time."

He reached up towards Seven's head and then paused, "May I?"

Seven had flinched away but after a moment, nodded.

Instead of taking her head in his hand as she expected, Harry began to unknit Seven's tightly braided hair. He smiled when the blonde tresses final cascaded down onto her shoulders. "There! Sort of hard to connect with positive emotions when your head is wrapped up tighter than a goblin's contract. Computer! Play romantic mix 1 on shuffle."

Seeing the odd look Seven gave him, Harry chuckled, "Music helps. Too often people feel that silence needs to be filled. When you have music, it is easier to just let the moment play out without words. This is music I like to play when I'm wanting to cherish certain memories."

A few minutes went by as the pair sat on the bed and listened to the music. It didn't have words but Seven felt herself starting to understand what Harry meant. The music was helping her feel her emotions better.

Slowly Harry reached out and his hand gently onto the nape of Seven's neck. She couldn't help but shiver at the touch. So different and yet so similar to B'Elanna's touch. Harry's eyes locked with hers. Seven had heard so many others comment about Harry's eyes. Peering into their green depths, Seven began to understand why they had made such comments. Various emotions swirled in those green eyes.

However, Seven was mindful of what Harry had said as he slowly moved forward. Her eyes fluttered close before their lips made contact. At first, Seven could not help but have her analytical side analyze the moment. To compare and contrast it with similar moments with B'Elanna. But Seven found that analysis begin to slip away as that very analysis began to show how enjoyable the experience was.

Her encounters with B'Elanna were almost always high energy events. The half-Klingon threw herself into sex like she was going into battle. With little experience to go by, Seven had followed her lead. This passivity encouraged B'Elanna to try harder to evoke a response from her. Seven had to heal many bites and scratches after such nights.

As Harry's tongue began to slowly caress her own and his fingers gently massaged the back of her neck, Seven found herself falling into the moment. If B'Elanna was a raging fire of passion, Harry was a slow burn which gave her a glow of warmth but with little in expectations of what was to come next. Harry seemed to be lost in the moment just as he said he would.

Seven leaned into the kiss and she shifted so that she was pressed more tightly against Harry's chest. She was beginning to understand how 'present' Harry was. His kiss was deep and languid. Even when he broke the kiss to nuzzle her neck before returning to the kiss, it was done slowly and reverently.

"You know, I really expected you to smell more like an alcove," Harry murmured as he nuzzled her neck again by her ear. "Yet you have a nice scent. Almost earthy. It's quire pleasant."

Seven realized that she too was enjoying the scent coming off Harry. This was her first direct contact with a human male since her last day with her family before the Borg came. There was definitely a different energy than when she was with B'Elanna. She found it not only to be pleasant but also becoming erotic.

Harry must have begun to feel the same as his other hand had begun to caress her back. He began to lean into the kiss as well which was quickly turning more heated.

Minutes of such play went by before Harry's hand began to become wander into more pleasurable areas. Seven knew he had to feel how hard her nipples were. She'd learned early with B'Elanna how truly sensitive they were. So, when Harry's hand brushed up and against one breast, she moaned into Harry's mouth.

Harry pulled back with a slight smile, "Well this lesson has gone south. I think we're going to have sex now. How does that sound to you?"

Seven found herself nodding a few times as she almost stuttered out, "Yes, that sounds very agreeable."

Whereas she and B'Elanna usually shed their uniforms quickly, Harry undressed her even as he slowly took off his own clothes. Seven shivered at how much just the feeling of Harry's hands caressing her made her blood sing. She began to realize that maybe B'Elanna did not have much experience in the type of love-making Harry was doing to her. While their sexual encounters were filled with electric, sexual energy, this slow dance seemed just as charged. Perhaps B'Elanna was asking her help to achieve such a state? It was difficult to think on as Harry's ministrations were distracting on a basic, animal level.

The sexual dance went on and Seven found she'd lost track of time. Harry seemed willing to set the pace and Seven responded as best she could. It became apparent to her, however, that Harry was seemingly getting just as much enjoyment given her pleasure as she was in feeling it.

Indeed, Harry's face was a picture of a satisfied smile as he gazed up from between her legs after bringing her to a most satisfying oral climax. Their eyes met and Harry's eyes seem to ask her a question that she responded to by opening her legs wider.

Harry moved on top of her but paused. "Are you sure about this Seven? If there is one thing about the Borg is they are all about violating you with long, appendages injecting you with a foreign substance. We don't have to do this if it feels rushed."

Seven blinked at this. She realized that at once Harry was making a joke even as he was being deadly serious. While B'Elanna had finger-fucked her during their first and subsequent trysts, this felt different. She could feel the tip of Harry's hard penis against her mons. His body ready to penetrate hers. She found herself feeling grateful to be asked a question she didn't know she wanted to be asked.

Still, Harry had said to let her emotions go and right now, as it often happened with B'Elanna, lust was winning out. "Yes, I do desire it."

Harry began kissing her again and slowly moved his hips until he was finally able to get the right angle to penetrate her. Seven didn't gasp, but it did feel so much different than she had been expecting. Soon, however, as Harry's pace picked up, she lost interest in trying to analyze her feelings and just lost herself to the moment.

OoOoO

Seven slowly awoke to find herself being spooned by Harry Potter. It was a satisfying feeling given their height differences that it was her who spooned B'Elanna. Still, she ran a diagnostic on herself. She knew that there were rarely used controls in all drones to engage if certain parameters were met. She had a vague, unsettling memory of such a thing happening to her but she could not access the memory in question for some unknown reason. During her next regeneration cycle, she would do a full scan to be sure.

It occurred to her how Harry had said the Borg had stolen not only her going through puberty but also the so-called teen years. She had, after all this time, finally gone 'all the way' as humans were wont to say in regard to a basic reproductive act. Not that she had to worry about that and Harry had said, due to his connection to his own altered nanoprobes, could control his own spermatozoa to keep impregnation from happening.

Seven managed to unentangle herself from Harry without waking him. After using the facilities, she found herself looking at herself in the mirror. By the standards of almost all sentient beings, she now was a fully adult woman. She did not feel different enough to feel as if she'd somehow crossed a threshold but then again, most females didn't spend their formative years in a Borg maturation chamber.

She left the bathroom to find Harry sitting up on the bed, a contented smile on his face. "How are you doing, Seven?"

Seven gave a small nod, "I seem to have weathered your lesson without complications. I do believe that you have given me more than enough to work with. I am much more confident I can now be closer to giving B'Elanna what she has asked for."

"Well I'd like to thank you as well. For all that I've lived an exceedingly long time, I actually have had a mere handful of lovers other than my wife. Most of those were just heated sex to deal with living through an incredibly terrible time. A time when you just wanted to blot everything out and just enjoy the touch of another. A passionless passion if you will. Tonight was the first night in a long, long time where I had sex that had some meaning to it. So again, thank you."

"It does raise again the query from Commander Torres. Even with what Kes did to me, I am suspicious of how well I am integrating back to my human side. With my going through the maturation chamber process, it is far more likely that I would be even less likely to revert than a standard drone assimilated in adulthood," Seven said evenly.

Harry shrugged, "All too true. However, that's something to deal with at another time. Instead, how about we try doing it in the shower?" Harry suggestively waggled his eyebrows.

Before Seven could agree, the computer interrupted, "A priority request from Commodore Janeway is pending. Do you wish to accept?"

Harry stood up, "Hit me!"

"Captain Potter," Janeway's voice said from a speaker by his desk. Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes at this. He was sure that she called him that just to spite him for his lecture of her about buying into the captain's myth.

"Yes Commodore, what can I do for you?" Harry asked.

"We have a situation. Long-range sensor found a damaged Hirogen ship so Tahl took the Equinox to check it out. We've rendezvoused with that ship. There is only one survivor of his hunting party. Worse, is his prey is apparently on Voyager. To make matters even worse, I've just heard from Tuvok that it is a member of Species 8472."

Harry looked at the clock on his desk and realized that he and Seven hadn't just napped after their sex but had slept over six hours. He was surprised, if gratified, that Veer had not overridden his do not disturb order. "Alright. I take it you want my help in magically finding your intruder. I know the Borg had trouble tracking 8472 on their cubes so I'm betting you can't find them at all."

"You'd be right," Janeway agreed. "We're about to have a captain's meeting in 10 minutes."

"I'll be there," Harry said and with a wave of his hand cut the connection.

Seven was looking tense, "I will assist you in tracking the Species 8472 entity."

Harry shook his head, "No, you're going to go to an alcove and regenerate." Before Seven could disagree, Harry shook his head, "Seven, as you said, you just went through another intense, emotional event. And you've missed most of your regeneration cycle. I know sleeping isn't going to kill you but if you want to help, you need to be fully charged. Besides, given my magic, either it's going to still take quite some time to find one entity on a ship the size of Voyager or I'm going to find it right away. Either way, you need to regenerate."

Seven looked rebellious before she seemed to deflate, "You are correct. I would be more efficient after regeneration."

"Good. You also need to regenerate here. I know that won't be as efficient but given you, Veer and Alars are the most Borg of all the former drones, I think it prudent to keep you here for now and off Voyager till we know more. Given how the fight with the Borg went, I doubt this entity would try to board a ship that has the most Borg like signature."

Seven thought on this and nodded, "That is indeed a tactically sound course of action."

"Good, let's get you to the regeneration bay," Harry said as he gestured to the door. They quickly made their way to room in question. Veer was at one of the computer stations which meant Alars had the bridge. That probably explained why he and Seven hadn't been interrupted earlier.

"Veer, can you hold off regeneration for at least two hours? I want to lessen the time you and Seven are regenerating."

Veer made a dismissive gesture with one of his mechanical arms, "I am operating well within tolerances. I can easily forgo regeneration long enough for Seven to undergo a full cycle and thus only have one regeneration ongoing at a time."

Harry nodded, "Even better!" He gestured towards where the regeneration alcoves were. There were three. One for Alars and the other for Veer with the last being designated as a spare. It was this one that Seven took. She settled in but before she could begin her cycle, Harry leaned in and kissed her quickly but passionately, "Sweet dreams, Seven."

She found herself cracking a slight smile before she intoned, "Computer! Activate regeneration cycle!"

Harry watched her slide into the regenerative sleep. She looked so peaceful. So different from her normal, Hermione-like intensity. That and she looked damned fine in and out of that catsuit.

Harry felt his cock stir and he chastised himself. Hunting one of the 8472 was certainly not the time to be acting like the horny teenager he never got to be. Seven wasn't the only one who had much of his childhood and teen years tainted or stolen.

He turned to Veer, "Stay sharp. I'm going hunting." He apparated away with barely a sound leaving Veer to turn back to running diagnostics on the shield array Alars had repaired earlier in his duty shift. After a moment, Veer thought about the situation and activated more sensor protocols. All over the Phoenix, electronic and other 'eyes' kept watch while Seven slipped into a pleasant dream filled with sunlight, a forest and long-lost friends.

XxXxX

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Special thanks to guest reviewer L-Dawg who caught my honest mistake of forgetting that Suder was a Betazoid and not a Bajoran.

Also, something I hadn't realized till a few days ago is that both Korath and Ventrys are victims of the Augment Virus so they'd look far more human as seen in The Original Series as laid out in Deep Space 9.

I also had to go back and make a correction to chapter 5 given ENS Steinbeck should have been Sternbach as seen in this chapter. In fact, I have to go back and update a lot of various things. For example, Tsmir's race has been two (maybe three) different ones. That and I kept forgetting that certain people I wanted to be Elasian I had as Troyans given the name of the Star Trek: TOS episode was Elaan of Troyus because she was being wed to a Troyan from Troyus.

Please feel free to PM me when you think I've made an error. AU or not, it's easy to make mistakes. Just be aware that given the change in intercepting Equinox early, I can do episodes out of order and will. That's not a mistake but just author fiat.

CREW: Again, I really try not to create Original Characters when I can just use existing ones even if they are just a name on a screen. However, I also don't create new races either. For those who never seen Star Trek: The Animated Series, Veer is an Edosian like Lieutenant Arex. So if you want to know what he looks like, either go to the Memory Alpha website or just google LT Arex.

STARSHIPS: People have been asking for a breakdown of the ships. I wish I could draw properly or had someone I could pay to do so (like with the uniforms) so my poor descriptions will have to do. Listed with each ship would be their "Alpha shift" team bridge crew with their original Star Fleet career track. I will just do the main ships for this chapter.

VOYAGER: Little has changed on the ship (at this point in the story at least) except a series of cradles to carry the 10 Marauder fighters on the underside of the ship.

Primary Crew

Commander (P-Sci): Commodore Kathryn Janeway (Human Female)

XO (Ops): CDR Thomas Riker (Human Male - Jonathon Frakes w/a beard. For those who somehow missed it, Thomas Riker is a 'clone' of William Riker in that Riker was being beamed back to a ship and a double pattern was created to help get that done. However, one pattern ended up on the ship, the other went back to the planet. Shown in TNG and DS9)

Tactical (Tactical): LCDR Tuvok (Vulcan male)

Operations (Ops): Ensign Harry Kim (Human male – Janeway still keeping him close even though a JLT or SLT should be in this slot)

Engineering (Engr): SLT Susan Nicoletti (Female human – Has a Memory Alpha page)

Science (P-Sci): SLT Tridiva Mohindra: (Memory Core alpha has a dark picture of her. Instead think of her as looking like actress Freida Pinto)

Navigation (Tactical): SLT Ro Lauren (From TNG and DS9)

EQUINOX: You can google what this ship looks like as well as there is the USS Rhode Island in the episode Endgame. However, it would look different in this story as a Nova class ship is 221 meters long while the new Equinox is closer to 245. Also, it has armor like Voyager had with Admiral Janeway's additions. Although this armor looks a little bulkier and still has more lights and the like on the hull. Given the armor is Borg inspired, imagine it has a lot of that green Borg tint to it even though the ship is the same blue/grey all Federation ships use. Like Voyager, it has the cradle for the Marauder fighters underneath.

Primary Crew

Commander (N/A): Captain Tahl (Romulan male – Imagine Chow Yun Fat as a Romulan.)

XO: CDR Dhael (Romulan female - Think of the Robin Curtis version of Saavik but with the straight Romulan haircut)

Tactical: SLT Trevor Santos (Human male – He has a Memory Alpha Page – Former Maquis)

Operations (Ops): JLT Garth Tabor (Bajoran male – He has a Memory Alpha page; promoted as of this chapter and was a former Maquis. Like many characters, I gave Tabor a first name. Since my brother's middle name is Tabor, I felt it appropriate to give this character his first name.)

Engineering (Engr): JLT Decius (Romulan Male – I'm going with the look of Sub-Commander Tal from the TOS episode The Enterprise Incident. Tal has his own Memory Alpha page)

Science (P-Sci): SLT Ventrys (Klingon female – Think Mara from the TOS episode The Day of the Dove but having more of a forehead closer to B'Elanna's. Google her image as you'll get a better idea of what her uniform sort of looks like.

Navigation (Tactical): SLT Tom Paris. As of this chapter, not only has he regained his rank, but Tahl promoted him to Senior Lieutenant.