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By Root 568 0

and whirled, her heart racing. Quickly she ducked behind two other large bins a couple of feet away, not knowing why she did so. Cautiously, she peered around the bin, trying to see who had intruded upon her little sanctuary.

There was no one else in the room.

The door shut. Naomi frowned, but then her puzzlement turned to an icy fear when she heard footsteps moving in her direction. They stopped, and to her utter horror she watched as Plotter was lifted into the air about half a meter. He hung there, grinning, for several seconds. Naomi gaped, too enthralled to look away.

A male voice chuckled, then Plotter was set down. The footsteps resumed.

There was still no one else in the room.

Naomi crouched back, fighting back a whimper of fear. What was going on? Was she going crazy, like Neelix?

The footsteps came closer. They passed right by Naomi's hiding place and continued on for a few more steps until they reached the cleared area that Naomi had been examining only a few moments earlier. As before with Plotter, the curious trinkets she had touched suddenly rose into the air.

Then they vanished.

Scuffling noises ensued, a rough voice spoke in a language Naomi had never heard. There were sounds that seemed familiar, though she couldn't place them-beeps, clicks, hisses. Then the footsteps began again, this time heading back toward the

door. From her hiding place, Naomi watched as the door hissed open, then closed again.

She hardly dared breathe.

Voyager had a ghost.

"Naomi Wildman." Seven glanced up from the console as the little girl rushed inside.

"Seven!" gasped Naomi. "I know you won't believe it, but it's true, and I have to tell somebody and-"

"Naomi Wildman. Calm yourself," said Seven flatly. "Speak slowly and in complete sentences."

Naomi gulped. Seven noticed mat the girl's face was flushed, and sweat had begun to gamer at her hairline. With an effort, the child composed herself.

"I was playing in the cargo bay-not yours, the other one-because I'm not allowed on the holodeck anymore. I'd set up-" Naomi stopped in midsentence, then continued. "I'd set up kind of a play fort. You know."

"No " said Seven honestly, "I do not Elaborate."

Naomi squirmed. This part of the conversation obviously made her uncomfortable. Seven did not understand why, and her frown deepened with every second Naomi hesitated. The girl saw the expression on her face and rushed to continue.

'I'd moved some boxes around, and made some toys and stuff. It's a special place just for me. I go there to play and be by myself."

"Ah," said Seven, comprehending. "A regeneration chamber."

Naomi giggled. Seven was puzzled. She was unaware that she had said anything humorous.

"Yes, that's it A regeneration chamber. Anyway, I noticed that some really big boxes had been moved. So I set up a trap-strung some hairs between pieces of equipment If whoever it was came back, I'd know."

Seven raised an eyebrow. "Inventive."

"So I checked back in an hour. I didn't get a chance to see if the hairs had been broken, but I did see some stuff there that I didn't recognize and then..." Naomi's voice faltered.

"Continue."

"The door opened, and I heard footsteps. But there was nobody there, Seven! I watched, I saw... and he lifted Plotter up and laughed at him. And then he left again. It's a ghost, Seven! We've got a ghost on board!"

Naomi's wild story no longer interested Seven. She returned her attention to the console. Although the leap into warp had not damaged the ship-at least as far as they could tell-constant monitoring was required to avert any possible disasters. She did not have time to listen to Naomi's tales.

"There are no such things as ghosts."

"Commander Chakotay thinks there are."

"Then perhaps you should continue this conversation with Commander Chakotay. I am busy, Naomi. Return to your regeneration chamber."

Out of the corner of her eye, Seven noticed the girl's face crumple. What was the phrase the Doctor