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Computer, Lights
"Hey Harry."
At first, Tom continued on his way, but abruptly, the impact of what he had just seen registered. Harry. Standing in the corridor. Outside a closed door. Whose door was that again? He turned around to investigate.
"Harry?"
"Yeah."
"Why are you standing outside your own quarters?"
Harry did not answer.
"Are you locked out?"
"No."
"So, what’s up?"
Harry let out a sigh of resignation. He stepped forward to open
the door of his darkened quarters and motioned for Tom to follow him.
As the doors slid shut, Harry said, "Computer, lights."
Nothing, not even a flicker.
Both men automatically took a step back, bringing them out into the
corridor, and right in front of Commander Tuvok.
He was raising his eyebrow at them. "Gentlemen?"
They demonstrated the phenomenon for the tactical officer. Seven was passing and stopped to watch.
"I do not understand." Was her only comment.
"It’s one of the first things you learn at the Academy," Tom attempted to explain. "If you walk into a room, or wake up in a room, say, "Computer, lights" and the lights don’t immediately come on, it can’t be a good thing."
Harry nodded his agreement.
Seven turned to Tuvok with one of her most skeptical looks.
"Experience has proved on multiple occasions that caution is warranted," he informed her.
She looked as though she were about to press the point when B’Elanna arrived.
"Party, Harry?"
Quickly, she was brought up to speed.
She considered for a moment. "Well, let’s check it out."
Tom spoke first. "Are you sure?"
She looked over their group of four Starfleet officers (including a Vulcan with advanced tactical training) and a former Borg. "Whatever’s in there, I think we can take it."
It was a surgical strike that even Tuvok could not fault. Tom and Harry went in first, following the walls so as not to be out-flanked. Tuvok and Seven crouched in the doorway, keeping the doors open to provide light and cover for B’Elanna who made straight for the room’s environmental status console.
Captain Janeway had been on her way to the bridge, but she paused to watch the proceedings. Momentarily there was a triumphant "Ah ha!" from the interior and the room was illuminated soon after.
Looking slightly sheepish, Harry saw his friends out, thanking them for their help. As she left, Seven noticed the captain observing.
"Well Seven, what do you think?"
"It is a most inefficient means of replacing a damaged illumination device."
Janeway shrugged. "It never hurts to be careful."
Seven still looked dubious.
"Look at it this way. You’ve found the answer to a question that has puzzled thinkers for centuries."
"Oh? And what question would that be?"
Janeway couldn’t help smiling. "How many Starfleet officers does it take to change a light bulb?"
