Reaching Out Part 5

She was losing time, it slipped through her fingers faster than she could grasp it.

Being an admiral had its privileges.  No one questioned her when she requested a transport to see Voyager in dry dock.

Voyager had become something of a tourist attraction, no one was allowed in of course but plenty went out of their way in space dock to pass by the Intrepid class vessel.

She wasn't wearing her uniform, just some khaki pants, a white button up shirt, and a dark leather coat.  Most people passed by her unawares.  Her transport took two hours to arrive at headquarters o pick her up.

She had arranged to stay a night at the Starbase to get people used to seeing her around.

She had taken a few moments before she left to write letters set to deliver automatically in three months if she didn't return.  After seven years on Voyager that kind of thing had become old hat.  They would probably think she was foolish, and maybe they were right.

B'Elanna had agreed to take care of her dog.  If she had been suspicious of Kathryn's sudden departure she hadn't hadn't said  anything.

Torres knew perfectly well what her former captain was planning, but she chose not to say anything.  At one time Kathryn had allowed her to engage in almost suicidal behavior when she thought her soul was in danger, she had to grant Janeway permission to do the same thing.  Kathryn had to go, had to find out, she had been empty ever since Seven had gone.

Janeway sat in a transport shuttle, organizing the bag she had packed.  She
really just wanted to look at the picture of Seven she had brought with her.
For the first time it didn't hurt to look at it.

The Delta Flier was not in dry dock parked outside of Voyager like she had been told, instead it was tucked cozily inside Voyager's shuttle bay. This was not good.  If it was out in the open she could grab it and make a run for it.  Getting the flier out of Voyager, then out of the Starbase was another story.

Seeing Voyager felt good, but made her chest ache.

She checked the time. Forty nine hours.

Once she arrived she checked into her quarters and took a stroll around Voyager, purely to keep the impression it was out of sentimentality.

Voyager was being repaired for its refit and there were more people on board than she expected.  She strolled leisurely through the ship, nodding to the smiling engineers who were overjoyed to see the famous captain walking the corridors.

She went by the Delta Flier and checked the security, and watched the personnel to see who was working where.

As she walked she contemplated how she was going to make this work.  She could order them to let her take the flier, but as much as she wanted to she couldn't abuse her rank.  It would be more honest if she just stole it.

Unconsciously,she found herself following a route she had taken often in the last few years before Voyager had gotten home.  Her feet moved of their own accord and she found herself standing in Astrometrics.  Her heart sank in disappointment.  She halfway expected to see Seven standing there, tossing a glance over her shoulder, her ocular implant raised slightly.

It was strange to be alone in the lab, she felt downright uncomfortable. She walked to Cargo Bay 2.

"Admiral?"

She snapped her eyes open and looked at the young man staring at her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, just thinking."  She was standing in Seven's regeneration chamber and had closed her eyes.  No wonder everyone thought she had lost her mind. At 1900 everyone left Voyager, the engineering shift over, leaving the ship deserted.  This was her opportunity.

45 hours.

She went to her room on the station and spent an hour or so reading a book to get her thoughts settled.

A padd tucked inside her bag contained a debilitating Borg algorithmic program developed to attack Starfleet programs.  Seven had created it during the Equinox incident.  The disabling effect was temporary.  If anyone tried to stop her, that's's what she'd use. She slept another twelve hours like she did the day before and nearly panicked when she saw the time.

28 hours.

Her body shivered with excitement and apprehension.  In a little over a day she'd see Seven, and greet whatever fate would befall her.

She had twelve hours to get on her way.

She spent the afternoon walking around Voyager, by now her presence was no surprise.

"Admiral to the bridge."

The hail startled her.

"On my way."

When she got there she found it empty except for one person who appeared to be working on the OPs station.

"It's in the ready room, sir."

"Thanks."

At least the ready room had remained untouched.  She sat down at the desk and accepted the incoming communication.

"Enjoying your visit?" Admiral Paris asked.

Janeway tensed in her chair.  "Actually, I am.  It's a lot different now."

He nodded and paused.  "Don't think about taking the Flier."

"Wouldn't think of it, Admiral."

24 hours.
 

She left Voyager before the day shift ended, and then re-boarded at 2100 hours.

With no one board she got to the Flier without being spotted.

Once inside she transmitted the Borg code to the station's bay doors.  No one would notice they were frozen until someone tried to close them.  Then she overrode the security protocol and opened Voyager's docking bay doors. This was her ship afterall, she still had a few tricks up her sleeve.

She wasn't a great pilot and hoped this wouldn't require a lot of maneuvering.  Hopefully, she'd move to fast for them, but they'd probably get a chance to try a tractor beam.

The engines hummed to life and shot forward.

The cavernous starbase loomed in front of her and made her feel slightly claustrophobic.  Hulking starships were docked to either side of her route to the exit.

She raised the shields.

Immediately, she began receiving hails.

"This is Cap...Admiral Janeway."

"We have strict orders from Starfleet Command to keep that shuttle here, Admiral."

"Sorry, I'm taking her out. I'll bring her back, don't worry, Janeway out."

As she flew towards the doors she noticed them move a bit, then stop.  Ahead lie the open star field and her gaze fixed on it.

A warning klaxon began to sound in the cabin.  They were trying to lock on a tractor beam.

They didn't know the Flier had defenses against such things.  A few run ins with the Borg will teach you that soon enough.  The shield matrix altered, rendering the tractor beam useless.

The Flier shot out of the station and banked left, then jumped to warp.

The sixteen hour flight went by a lot faster then she thought it would.  A lot of it was filled with ponderings about her time as Captain in the Delta Quadrant.  She had become so entrenched in the role of captain part of her humanity had been lost, trapped in that numbing shell.

She took a short nap around midnight.

1 hour

The rondevouz point was right under her.  She had arrived early.  Now she was getting apprehensive.  It was like some great beast was going to swallow her up and spit her to places unknown.

As she waited she glanced over some Starfleet records relating to Captain Delia Standridge.

The U.S.S. Glasgow had been a courier ship, and one with a very high security clearance, probably used in classified maneuvers, more than likely some scouting missions.

The chief engineer had been found with a snapped neck.  Apparently not a popular fellow, and the list of suspects was long.  Standridge was on the verge of being eliminated as a suspect before her death because the engineer's neck had been broken with "super human strength".

Standridge was involved in a shuttle rescue mission which was responsible for taking her life.  A shuttle was caught in the gravitational pull of a gas giant.  The rescue maneuver was risky.  The captain flew another shuttle in, positioned it beneath the endangered craft, and actually pushed it to safety.  After it was clear the captain's shuttle fell victim to the
planetoid and was yanked back, lost forever.

At least until now.

"I lived on that planet for 800 years, nothing to cheer about.  You should be worried about the here and now, Janeway," she had said, and then with a smirk added quietly, "I'm an immortal."

She was jarred out of her thoughts as she felt something grab the ship and start to move it.

The event horizon of the wormhole should've been visible but it wasn't, there was nothing but a heavy blackness that poured over her.  Her last thoughts were a sneaking suspicion she'd been duped.
******

A loud bang woke her up and she found the Flier taking a nose dive towards the reddish planet that was Omega Prime.  There was a terrible moaning sound as the engines failed and the Flier began rocketing through the atmosphere, fire licking it's belly.

On the planet's surface D'Lara stood on a high rock formation and watched the firey streak, adjusting her binoculars. The engines came on line, but not in time to halt the descent.  She brought it in low over the planets surface and hoped it would skip like a rock.

And it did, initially, until it had a change of heart and decided to flip over.

Finally, after tearing across the desert it came to a halt upside down, the dust settling around it.

Kathryn was unconscious for an unknown amount of time until she heard a doorbeing forced open, the metal shrieking.

"They say any landing is a good landing.  You okay?"

She lifted her head and peered up at the figure silhouetted in the bright sunlight.

"Just...bumped my head."

"What the hell were you trying to do?  Didn't you get our hail.  We needed you to wait until we deactivated the shield."  The figure moved in to view.
D'Lara.

"I never received a hail, I was passed out."

"Passed out?  How'd that happen."  She crawled into the cabin and checked her for injuries.  There was only a small cut up by her hairline near the right temple.

"That thing knocked me out, that was no wormhole. What was it?"

"It's hard to explain, a fold, space is constantly folding in on itself.  No uniform today, oh Captain my Captain?"

"This isn't a Starfleet sanctioned flight," she grumbled as she sat up.

"Let's get your things and get out of here."

The sun was bright and the desert was harsh.  D'Lara was dressed in dark robes and has a light brown scarf around her neck that reminded her of the garb people wore in the middle east on earth.  The scarf was probably large enough to be wrapped around the head.

The Nejad clothing was similar to black ji's, or martial art uniforms. Black pants with a wrap around long sleeved tunic, belted at the waist. They customarily wore dark cloaks over their clothes and dark boots.

"I need to know what's going on with Seven. Where is she? You said-"  She eyed the huge lizard that stood next to the flier.  It was almost as tall as a camel and was saddled.

D'Lara took her bag and strapped it to her mount, who turned to watch her with big reptile eyes.

"Where's Seven?"

"Seven's back at the homestead."

"You said she was in danger."

"Danger wasn't my exact wording.  She's been terribly lonely since you left, and depressed.  I was worried."

"What?"  She asked, levelling a glare that would peel the paint off the poor wrecked Flier's hull.

"She's depressed."

Janeway felt the powerful desire to strike her.

D'Lara looked down at the fuming Admiral.  "You'll get over it."  SHe mounted the behemoth lizard and reached her hand down to Janeway.

"Come on, you can stew about how much you hate me later."

"She IS alright?"

"Physically, yes."

She took the offered hand and climbed into the saddle.  The lizard had a dry dusty smell and reached a good speed.  It didn't gallop like a horse, but moved side to side when it really got going.

"I'm glad you came, I wasn't sure that you would."

"How are things going here?"

"Not bad, better than expected.  Seven's served us very well."

They approached the rocky hill that Janeway knew concealed the entrance to
the underground facility.

She pulled around the back and led the beast down a narrow steep tunnel that led to what looked like a huge stable area where other lizards lumbered. After dismounting D'Lara petted the lizard gently on the nose, and he lifted his head up and closed his eyes, leaning into the caress.

"Gotta keep on his good side.  Come on, Seven's teaching a class for me."

"More trainees?"

"Yea, just two." They walked up the hall and the air became considerably cooler.

After navigating a maze of corridors she was led to a room with a vaulted ceiling. Janeway moved behind one of the dark stoned pillars and watched. Far ahead was a sparring area with a matted floor.  Seven was dressed in black and two children, five or six years old, were doing their best to knock her down.  The girl launched herself at Seven's knees and the boy jumped on her back.

D'Lara gave Kathryn a quick glance and a nod.  "I'll leave you to it then," she whispered.  She walked into the room, her boot heels clicking.

"Alright you two, bath time. You've played with Seven enough."

Seven helped the boy off her back and they both ran merrily out of the room.

"How are they doing?"

"They are...enthusiastic."

"Good." Suddenly, D'Lara moved so quickly she was literally a blur.  A punch was thrown, and Seven blocked it.

"You have a visitor," she said, and then left the room.
***

Janeway had been watching Seven from the behind the pillar.

Her blonde hair was falling about her shoulders.  It seemed like she had been standing there for a long time now, spying like some juvenile.

When D'Lara left she knew she couldn't hide forever.  She drew in a breath and stepped out.

Seven froze, and had to remember how to breathe.

"Captain?" she whispered.

The realization hit her that for the first time they weren't captain and crewmember.  It was a good feeling.

"Seven."

Seven moved forward cautiously as did Kathryn.

Seven's eyes filled with tears and her bottom lip began to tremble.

"I-I desire to touch you."

"Then do so."

Seven reached out and touched her shoulders, sliding her hands down her sides, then pulling her into and embrace.

Kathryn closed her eyes and sighed.  They held each other for a very long time until Seven drew back, her eyes going wide.

"You are damaged."

"It's just a scratch.  I crashed the Delta Flier."

"Where's Voyager?"

"Voyager's home, Seven, and I'm not captain anymore, call me Kathryn."

"Why aren't you Captain?  What's happened? D'Lara says Starfleet is untrustworthy, did they-"

"They promoted me, Seven."

She paused.  "That is proper."

"Didn't she tell you I was coming?"

"No. We should check your injuries."  She walked over to Janeway's bag and started rifling through it until she found a tricorder.

Kathryn was reminded of when Seven would enter her ready room unannounced
and had to smile.  Seven scanned her.

"Nothing a little time won't heal, I'm sure."

"You are correct," Seven stated, lowering the device. The blonde seemed suddenly on the verge of collapsing and Kathryn wrapped her arms around her waist.

"How are you going to get home?  The Alpha quadrant is...far."  Was she malfunctioning?  She couldn't even do simple interstellar mathematics.

"I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too.  Let's go somewhere to talk."

The sun was setting, and Seven took her to flight of stairs that led up out of the rock and onto the top of a rock formation.

"Many people find the sunsets here extraordinary, they last a long time." Naturally, since days lasted 72 hours on Omega Prime.  Seven probably found them irrelevant, but then again, people can change.  Either way, Janeway was pleased to be watching the beautiful red horizon with Seven sitting by her side.

Kathryn allowed herself to relax, to push StarFleet and the crashed Delta Flier out of her mind.  She was happy just to be there, enjoying the moment.

"I received your letter." Seven stated.

Janeway felt her cheeks flush.  Well, this is what you wanted, too late to back out now.

"Do you..." Seven paused  as she scrambled for words.  Kathryn took her hand and squeezed it lightly.

"I love you, Seven, my life's been miserable without you."

The blonde sighed.  "As has mine."

"Would you consider coming back home with me? D'Lara said she could get me back."

"Will you still have a commission?"

"Probably not," she laughed.

"Then perhaps we should stay here."

"Are you serious?"

"It's an option."

"I suppose it is."  She kept a hold of Seven's hand for a while, then turned to look at her.  Her heart began to flutter wildly in her chest.

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Shhh."  She reached her hand out and ran her fingertips lightly over her eyelids and they closed in response.  She caressed Seven's face gently, touching her implant at her jawline and the one framing her eyebrow. Reaching her other hand up she cupped her face and pulled her close.

Seven thought she would fall over when she felt Kathryn's lips touch her own.  They were soft, even a little insistent.  The kiss ended and Seven opened her eyes.

Janeway's eyes were brimming with tears and she looked away, a tear cascading down her cheek.  Seven gently took her face in her hands, brushed away the tear with her thumb, and kissed her.

The sunset was fading by the time they returned hand in hand to the underground sanctuary.

Part 6