IntERactive
Part Six - Momento Mori
By Anna Rousseau
annadelamico@yahoo.co.uk

CATEGORY: Crossover (Star Trek, Voyager) (Don't be put off, please)
RATING: PG-13 (language)
SPOILERS: Be Still My Heart
ARCHIVE: Feel free to archive, just contact me

DISCLAIMER: All these characters do NOT belong to me...but if TPTB at WB are reading, it's a month till my birthday...

WARNING: Concentration is needed, and so is careful reading otherwise you will not get what is going on ie. who is real, and who is a photonic lifeform...I aim to confuse. Don't bet on a PT moment you Trekker, I'm not into all the 'I love you Tom' stuff! Sorry.

If anyone is wondering, this is the last part and I have been pretty cryptic with some of the titles, maybe a little explanation is due, this isn't that enthralling so feel free to skip...

1)"Paging Dr. Torres, Holosuite 2" ('Calling, Dr. Hathaway', isn't it - season three)
2)"The Party" (Boring, eh?)
3)"Behind the Door" (Ashamed to say, an SVH book, eek)
4)"Erase/Rewind" (yes, after the Cardies, best band ever)
5)"Breathless" (nicked it from Mutt Lange's song via The Corrs)
6)"Momento Mori" (season 4 episode of the X-Files when Scully discovers she had a terminal brain tumour)



RESULTS:

Through out this series I have had an overwhelming response, the biggest feedback session was triggered by 'Erase/Rewind', and I have enjoyed all your suggestions. The weakess feedback was on 'Breathless' partly because I didn't give any options, but anyway, my trusty Trekker pal Sarah 'Ro Laren' Bradley came up with a peach of an idea which I'm going try and mix with the excellent a.t.e.c suggestions. Thanks everyone, I must say completing a fic series is one of the hardest things to do. Maybe we'll have other Trek characters in the holodecks if anyone else likes that idea. Of course, killing off Neelix, Harry and Tom would be a priority, Michelle H!

1)"OK so Isn't there a Jeffrey's tube there that they used in Killing Game? Harry goes in search of supplies and returns too late Torres is dead, but power has been restored so holodeck is running, the Doc uses a mix of 23rd and 21st century technology to revive her (the holoprogramme started back up where it stopped). Torres is fine eventually and feels that she achieved something in the program to Tom's surprise she insists on trying his other ER holoprogrammes on one condition, she leaves the safeties on and doesn't go off on some 'hollow person cause' as Mulder said........THE END. Finite etc." Sarah 'Ro Laren' Bradley

2)"What to happen next? Well, they will save Torres, of course, then Kerry will mercilessly question the holodoc about who he is and what in the Hell he thought he was doing in her "ER". Carter will live as well, and Lucy will show up to help at the end of that trauma, blaming herself for not going directly upstairs sooner to get someone from psych down to look at Sobriki." Cathy <3 Votes>

3)"Well they have to save B'Elanna some way allowing Tom and her to have a "quality" moment at the end of the piece. How about the holodeck come back on bit by bit, So they have more equipment than the tricorder? That would make the doc work a bit more. Now if I could only figure a way to get Romano in to start quizzing them on what went on!" Darragh

"Oh, shi-" Tom Paris cursed, cut off as the ship lurched beneath their feet for the third time.

The Doctor ran his medical tricorder over Torres' body frantically, the extent of her injuries was like nothing he imagined in his silent photonic sleep. It made a lump rise in his throat as he uncharacteristically panicked, not sure what he could do with her. It was the only time he had ever doubted his medical abilities. Torres was going to die.

Harry Kim walked backwards and forwards across the floor, every so often staring at B'Elanna, sighing and burying his face in his hands. He continued pacing, muttering quietly in a confused way.

"Ensign!" The Doctor barked, "Stop wearing a hole in the floor." His photonic nerves were frazzled at the complexity of the situation as he tried to figure out what the best course of action would be. Torres' thoracic cavity had been opened and she was bleeding severely from the sternal entrance, her face was pale from her near exsanguinated state. Her breath was nearly non-existent.

Harry rushed over to one of the walls of the holodeck and started yanking at a manual lever. "Thank god for the Jefferies Tube," the young ensign sighed as he crawled into the small space that was usually reserved for engineering repairs, or as the case may be, emergencies.

He was joined shortly by Tom who was amazed to see that the Jefferies Tube was still accessible, "I forgot about this, we used in that World War simulation the Hirogens put us through."

Harry gulped as he stopped crawling along the reflective metal tube, "Tom!"

"What?" Replied the lieutenant, sticking his head into the portal and taking his gaze off B'Elanna.

"We're...I..." Harry stammered.

Tom crawled in after his friend, after one last check on B'Elanna's worsening medical status.

Then he saw what Harry had discovered.

Harry's hands were pressed against what seemed to be thin air. He couldn't advance any further, it was if a force field had been erected where a safety route should have been.

Tom grabbed his tricorder and scanned the area around him, taking in the readings with a look of disbelief. Within seconds he had scrambled out of the Jefferies Tube and was on his way to B'Elanna.

The Doctor was running his fingers over her face, closing her eyelids," I'm...she's...I'm sorry Mr. Paris," he quietly stammered as he made a few more readings. B'Elanna was now cold and riga mortis was setting in, at an alarming rate. Her muscles relaxed, her cold body sighed as all the remaining air was expelled from her lungs.

Tom ran the tricorder over her body and made a firm conclusion based on the identical results he had received from the scans he had made on all present.

"Doc, this holodeck is a photonic projection...this...she's a holodeck representation, we all are!" Tom said, looking down at B'Elanna who faded into the floor. "What in Hell is going on around here?"



Captain Kathryn Janeway was having a bad day. First off, Chakotay was coming down with something she guessed had been contracted by a set of Taxillian hitch-hikers they picked up from a class-B planet the previous week. Now she was having to deal with a security breach amongst one of her senior staff.

"Captain," Tom Paris started from his position in the pilots seat. He had been there after a shower stop direct from the Hoverball game, Harry had joined him for their bridge shift at the same time, both men were surprised to hear about B'Elanna's activities. He wasn't sure what she was up to, but he new she wasn't in any real danger. She had learnt her lesson after the last scare- hadn't she?

"Yes, Tuvok," she barked as she realised her Vulcan security officer had asked her a question. She ignored Paris and his incessant questioning as she looked ruefully at the seventh drained cup of coffee that morning.

"What do you want me to do about Lieutenant Torres?" The Vulcan asked calmly from tactical.

The words were about to come out of her mouth when Seven of Nine hailed her commbadge, "Captain, report to Holodeck 2."

She sighed as she left her station, "Tuvok, you have the bridge."



"So, Seven, you're saying that this pulsar is interfering with the holodecks?" Janeway asked, sipping the coffee she had replicated on the way to her meeting.

"Precisely," the Borg answered, continuing with her barrage of theories, "this would explain why the holodecks have been malfunctioning, what with the strange aesthetics of the pulsar and the nearby nebulae, it seems as if it is a place of much activity regarding stars and magnetic fields. Holodeck Two is inaccessible from all doors and the connecting Jefferies tubes, the computer indicates that Lt. Torres is present, but all our hails have been ignored, or not received."

"And that would also explain the trouble we've had with the Doctor," she thought back to his lack of concentration during the examination of Chakotay, only earlier that day, which had led to his malfunction- which had been solved in a few minutes by Harry Kim who had arrived with a strained muscle in the sickbay after a game of Hoverball with Tom Paris.

She sipped her coffee, "And the fact we had a holoprogramme of an empty holodeck, the Doctor, Harry and Tom running in the other suite. It seems to have merged, all different parts of different programmes. It seems to be creating its own simulations- but why?"

Seven wore an expression that Janeway couldn't quite identify, "Captain, if that theory is true, the crew members could've easily have been simulated by past computer databases. If that is the case, the holorepresentation of Lt. Torres dying would've had to have come from some where."

Janeway rubbed her temples, willing the impending headache to retreat from where it had come from, "Hmmph."

Seven cleared her throat but did not lower her voice, "Captain, are you aware that Lt. Torres attempted to override the holodeck's safety functions with Lt. Paris authorisation?"

"Yes, yes, but what can I do when there is no way in or out and no method of shutting the thing down?"

"Site to site transport-" Seven attempted.

"Not from that suite!" Janeway replied anxiously, downing the last of the caffienated drink with the precision of a liquor drinker.



Torres wrenched her eyes open and stared across the floor, splattered with her blood. She fought desperately against the waves of unconsciousness threatening to drown her, gasping in its turmoil with quick shallow breaths.

She could see Sobricki in the corner, muttering to himself in the throes of insanity. He passed the sharp, shiny object from hand to hand, its metallic glitter lighting the dim room in brief flashes of dazzling white.

Torres became aware of the hopelessness of her situation, remembering how she had violated the safety precautions that the captain had imposed on her. Her mistakes were emblazoned on her neck, back and stomach- killing her slowly with excruciating pain.

She willed someone to come and find her: anyone, a holodeck character, Tom, Harry, even Seven, she didn't care. Torres wasn't ready to die.

Then she heard it. A series of footsteps, approaching the door, their owners talking then stopping.

At last the sound of the hinges of a door opening, which was the last thing Torres heard before she sunk under the cold comfort of a pain induced state of unconsciousness.



A small foot tapped impatiently against the floor of the elevator, whilst its owner flicked back her highlighted hair.

At last the elevator doors opened and Lucy Knight exited, chart in hand. Immediately she was hit by the sense of panic in the ER. She stood there for a minute gazing open mouthed at the squad of policemen cordoning off Curtain Three. As she neared the the area, she saw the cause for concern, the whole floor of the patient treatment area was covered in an abnormal amount of blood. It was then that she noticed that her patient was missing.

"Any news on the suspect?" Asked a tall black police officer picking his way through various objects in the room.

"He's a pysch case, they think her went nuts all of a sudden, amazed he didn't stab that other doctor," an older Hispanic cop replied, as he pulled the tape across the third door.

Lucy was in a state of shock, confused, worried that what ever had happened was her fault.

Suddenly, her attention was drawn to a gurney being rolled down the hallway.

"Stay with me man, come on, stay with me!" Peter Benton ordered as they came into view, "Dave, we've got him, go help Kerry!"

She approached the gurney and peered over the heads of Dr. Chen and Lydia. Lucy was struck with fear and nausea as she saw who the patient was.

His fluffy chestnut hair was streaked with red, the sheet underneath his bare chest was tie-dyed with his own blood, his eyes darted from one person to the next.

"Carter!" Lucy exclaimed as she moved over to the gurney, not sure what to say or do.

"Whoa, a patient did this?" Mark Greene's voice asked as he appeared behind them with Elizabeth Corday.

"How many units?" The woman surgeon inquired.

Benton was still concentrated on Carter and he barked back at her absentmindedly, "Go, Elizabeth, Kerry needs you."

Lucy fought back the tears in her eyes and avoided Carter's as she started to talk, now fully aware of the traumatic event that had involved her patient and teacher.

"I'm sorry...I, didn't...god, Carter, please...be okay," she broke off overwhelmed by the situation. She helped Benton and Lydia roll the gurney into the elevator she had just disembarked.

Lucy placed her small hand on top of his, which bore his dried blood. Unexpectedly he folded her hand in his and Carter's glassy eyes met hers, they were pained and anxious as he talked in a weak and breaking voice, "It's not...your fault, Lucy. I'm...just glad," he gulped, "it..wasn't...you."

Benton saw his student slip away, "Come on, stay with me man."

Lucy gasped and whispered quietly as she gripped his hand, "Stay with me, Carter, stay with me."



Lt. Carey struggled to release one of the panels outside holodeck two. Finally there was a hiss and he peered inside, a tool grasped in his left hand.

He spotted the problem after a few seconds, amazed at the simplicity of the once perplexing conundrum, within minutes he turned towards the assembled crew, gave the captain a nod and replaced the tool in the Starfleet issue kit.

Captain Janeway stepped inside the holodeck, feeling at home in the cold streets of Chicago, "Computer, engage safety protocols, authorisation Janeway Kappa Delta Zeta."

The computer was silent for a moment then its acknowledgement filled the still night air, "Safety protocols on line."

Within seconds they were met by a group of security guards who refused to let them pass.

"Let me through," The Doctor said, appearing from no-where, and showing the guard a CCH ID card. He had a habit of activating himself nowadays, which wasn't a bad thing, Janeway mused.

"OK, you can, but you lot scram," the guard replied, letting the Doctor through. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, no media, OK?"

Janeway looked on, shocked, "What happened here?"

The guard was about to answer when an ambulance drew up and unloaded a man wearing barely any clothes, kicking and screaming.

"Are you sure that's him?" One of the people asked.

"We found him walking around in the middle of the road, got hit by a car," a paramedic exclaimed.

"What is going on?" Janeway asked to anyone around her, her anger growing by the minute.



"Ooh, we've gotta pumper here!" Robert Romano exclaimed as he swabbed an area in the chest cavity, "Clamp!"

Corday looked up from where she was working and looked at her patient, her face etched with sympathy, "It seems a great shame that we have to cut this poor girl up, only a third year, I didn't even know her."

"Well it's better than the alternative," Romano commented as he ordered more suction. "She was on her first shift of her rotation, no-one seems to know her, I can't say I've heard of a Torres around County."

"Hmm," Corday said as she sutured a rip in the muscle of the stomach, "Poor Carter, I really can't believe-"

"Hello, doctors!" A voice came from across the room. He seemed quiet distressed as he rushed across the room, "What's her status?"

"Who the hell are you?" Romano demanded as he cleaned an area with one hand, gesturing with the other, "Shirley, security!"

"Me?" The tall man in blue scrubs replied, "I'm Dr. Amadeus Zimmerman, and I am here to assist with a new sort of procedure."

"I haven't heard of you!" Romano retorted, "Security, Shirley, NOW!"

The man produced a set of shiny instruments and began to work, pushing Romano to the side, "For heaven's sake, I'm a doctor, not a pyschopath!"

"Get the Hell out of here, you-"

The other man sighed as Corday and the nurses looked on in disbelief, "Computer pause all holocharacters."

"Affirmative," a voice replied as Romano's protests were silenced, his raised fist paused before it connected with the man's jaw.

"Hmm, Miss Torres, luckily I've done this programme before, so let's get a Greenfield filter in, shall we?" The Doctor said, talking to no-one in particular as he busied himself with a medical tricorder and a dermoregenerator

Torres' only reply was the inhalation of a ventilator and a beep of the EKG.



"B'Elanna?" A soft voice accompanied a tap on her shoulder, "B'Elanna?"

She complied and opened her eyes, surprised that she was alive. "Hmm?" Her chest ached, and her head felt extremely groggy.

"Hi," Tom said as he reached down for her hand, watching her squint against the bright light above the sickbay's primary bio-bed.

Her mouth was dry and her voice was croaky as she replied, "What happened."

Tom smiled down at her and explained quietly and slowly, "You were on the holoback and you were injured because the safety protocols were off line. The Doc had to perform a few surgical procedures but, you'll feel fine tomorrow, but the captain has ordered you to take as much R&R as possible."

B'Elanna smiled back, "No, I meant,...what happened next in the simulation?"

"What?" Tom asked, wondering why she was so concerned. He then thought back to the holodeck's logs, her excessive use of the ER simulation and her irritability.

"How are Carter and Lucy?" She asked as he brushed her hair back from her face.

"Carter was in surgery but he's fine, Lucy wasn't injured...don't worry, they'll all live. I even saved the simulation and programmed it to create an alternate timeline," Tom grinned at his girlfriend who's eyes had now closed because of the exertion the conversation had demanded.

She smiled inwardly, knowing that she had achieved something, even if it was for two holographic simulations. With that she drifted to sleep, having every intention of filling her next few weeks running the simulations, right from the beginning.

THE END

ha ha, notice the joke in the last line LOL (sarcastically of course!) :)