“Regeneration cycle incomplete.” The automated warning of the computer was Seven’s only greeting as she stepped down from her alcove.
Her mind instantly traveled back to the few times Captain Janeway had brought her out of her regeneration cycle early. Even if what the Captain had to tell her was bad news, it was always pleasant to have Kathryn’s face be the first thing she saw when she awoke.
But Seven knew she would never feel that pleasantness again. After weeks of investigating Janeway’s disappearance, Commander Chakotay had reluctantly took command and ordered the crew to continue it’s journey back to Earth yet another crew member short The once warm and welcoming ship now seemed cold and lonely without it’s real Captain.
Seven’s eyes scanned the room for what had interrupted her regeneration cycle this time. She spotted a small, slender figure looming in the shadows of the cargo containers. Though she couldn’t make out the face, Seven immediately recognized it as her Captain. Somehow, Kathryn had made it home!
Overwhelmed with relief, a smile plastered itself on Seven’s face. She started toward her friend, but then the figure moved into the light, causing Seven to halt in her tracks. The figure took another step forward and Seven stumbled backwards.
The hair, the uniform, the size, it all told Seven this person was Kathryn, but the face was horribly decayed. A few scraps of skin and muscle clung to the skull, and the eyes that once mesmerized Seven were now sunken and filled with despair.
Kathryn’s jaw creaked eerily as she parted her rotting lips. “Why?”
Horrified, Seven slowly backed away.
“Why did you leave me Seven?” The Captain’s haunting voice pleaded. “I risked my ship, my entire crew for you. And you repay me by leaving me to die.”
“No!” Something sharp poked Seven in the back and she realized she had backed into her alcove’s console. She gasped for air, but the alveoli in her lungs seemed to have had ceased their function.
Janeway’s corpse continued towards her, closing in. Seven tried to run, but instead her knees gave out and she fell, her bottom hitting the floor with a solid thud.
Seven stared helplessly at the bony hand reaching down for her. “No!” She felt the icy grip of death squeeze her neck gently. Though logically she knew the pressure wasn’t enough to actually seal off her airway, she still struggled for air. What is happening to me?
“I should’ve just left you with the Collective. I might’ve been better off then.” A tear escaped down Kathryn’s boney cheek.
Seven suddenly felt hot tears cascading down her own face as well. “I’m
sorry. I know I failed you. I’m so sorry.” She sobbed.
“Warning. Regeneration cycle incomplete.”
Seven stumbled out of her alcove, still gasping for breath. She looked around the deserted room, slowly coming to realize that what she had just experienced had only been a nightmare. But why were her lungs still not cooperating?
She reached for her combadge, and struggled to find enough air to speak.
“Seven to...Doctor. Medical emergency.”
Lightheaded and queasy, Seven sat on a bio-bed while the Doctor ran some final scans.
“Everything seems to be in working order.” The Doctor reported. “I believe you just had an acute anxiety attack and hyperventilated. Nothing to be worried about.” He walked over to a table and picked up a hypospray. “This will help you relax so you can finish regenerating.” The hypospray hissed as it released the tranquilizer into her blood stream.
“Thank you.” Seven rubbed her neck where she could still feel the bony fingers from her dream.
The Doctor looked sympathetically at the young woman. “I know how worried you are about the Captain. But I have every confidence that we’ll find her safe and sound.”
Seven wanted to be as optimistic, but for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to get her hopes up. “I hope so.”
A baby’s cry interrupted, and the Doctor rushed to check on Miral Paris who had been asleep in his office. The newest crewmember, now a month and a half old, was under her godfather’s care while her parents were busy helping with the search.
Seven followed behind and watched the Doctor pick the baby up and cradle her in his arms. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the Doctor made silly “goo-goo” sounds at the bawling Klingon-Human hybrid.
“Seven,” The Doctor rocked the baby in his arms. “I think Miral is hungry. Will you hold her while I replicate something?”
Seven carefully took the baby and held it close to her chest while the Doctor disappeared around the corner to fetch a bottle. Looking down into the adorable face momentarily made her forget about the events of the last few days. She traced the baby’s cranial ridges with the fingers of her human hand. To her surprise, Miral’s cries quieted to an occasional grunt.
Her mind wandered to what it would be like to have a child of her own one day. She imagined it would have auburn hair, smokey blue eyes, and a perfect smile, just like the Captain. Her and Kathryn’s child.
Kathryn. Just thinking her name made Seven’s heart flutter. She had worked so long and hard to push her feelings for the Captain aside. She thought she had finally succeeded when she started dating Chakotay, but after being forced to truly face life without Kathryn these last few days, it was evident she had failed.
Perhaps having my fail-safe device removed wasn’t such a good idea after all. I don’t know if I can bare these feelings much longer. Please come back, Kathryn, she silently prayed.
Seven’s throat tightened with a sob, but she managed to withhold it as the Doctor returned carrying a bottle of warm milk.
Noticing the now content look on Miral’s face, the Doctor smiled. “Well,
perhaps she just needed a maternal touch.”
It had taken a few days, but Kathryn was finally getting the hang of the tools and learning how the generator worked. She made a mental note to thank the instructors at Starfleet who taught her how to adapt to alien technology when she returned to Earth.
She wasn’t sure how long exactly she’d been there, but she believed she was close to completing repairs. The Nomandi seemed very generous and grateful, but she couldn’t wait to return to Voyager. She wished there was a way to contact them, but either the field, the rock, or both was preventing her com signal from getting through, and the Nomandi were very insistent that if she went to the surface she would end up a prisoner of the Montua. They told her as soon as she finished repairs, an armed escort would take her to the surface and protect her until Voyager picked her up. She might’ve tried to sneak to the surface if there wasn’t always someone keeping an eye on her.
She knew Tuvok had probably put the ship on red alert after the first missed status report and felt guilty about letting the crew worry, but also felt she didn’t have a choice if she was going to help these people. Chakotay and Tuvok would no doubt have a few words with her if they knew what she was up to. And with any luck, she’d be back on board soon enough.
She replaced a panel cover over the circuitry she’d been working on and stood. As she waited for the generator to complete a self diagnostic she found herself wondering what Seven was doing now. Probably either comforting Chakotay or vice-versa, she thought bitterly.
The last three years, Kathryn had a recurring fantasy that she would eventually find the nerve to let Seven know how she felt and Seven would admit she felt the same. Though in her logical mind she knew Seven only saw her as a mentor and friend, her heart had clung to the hope that a future relationship was possible. But that hope had been destroyed after seeing Seven and Chakotay together.
The last few days, Kathryn found herself not only preoccupied with the kiss, but also with the way she had acted towards Seven after the incident. I shouldn’t have let my jealousy take control of me like that. I should be glad she’s found happiness, even if it’s not with me. When I get back to Voyager, the first thing I’m going to do is march to Astormetrics and apologize.
A beep from the generator returned Kathryn to the present. The grid map was now illuminated in green, meaning all systems were functioning. Kathryn smiled to herself and walked over to Thrimpic who was standing outside the entrance.
He smiled at her as she approached. “How are things going?”
“The generator is now fully functional.”
He let out a relieved sigh. “Bless the fates. And bless you. You have no idea how much your help means to my people.”
“It was my pleasure. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m rather eager to return to my ship.”
“Yes, of course. I will assemble some of our security to escort you to the surface. I am rather sorry to see you go, however. You are truly are remarkable individual.”
Kathryn felt herself blush slightly. “Thank you. I’m glad I had the chance to get to know you and your people as well.”
He nodded and went off to assemble the team.
Harry rushed to his beeping console and read the report. “Commander! I’m picking up the Captain’s signal, but there’s a lot of interference, as if she’s near an electric field of some kind. She appears to be surrounded by other humanoids, but I can’t tell how many.”
Chakotay stood and rushed to Harry’s side. “Can you contact her?”
Harry resisted the urge to pound his fist on his console. “Our signal’s being deflected somehow, so is the transporter.”
“Well keep trying!” Chakotay’s heart was in his throat. Kathryn had been
missing for three days and he had no idea if she was safe or not, and not
knowing was killing him. And now they were so close to rescuing her, he’d be
damned if an electric field would stop him.
Janeway followed her escorts up a ladder to the surface. She blinked at the bright sunlight as the man in the lead threw back the hatch. “I forgot how bright it is above ground.”
Two pairs of hands helped her out, while another two stood ready to fire their guns at the first sign of trouble.
“I hope your journey is short and safe.” Baldev, a tall muscular man, smiled and bowed his head in Janeway’s direction.
“Thank you.” Kathryn tapped her combadge but again all she heard was a failed chirp. “We must still be too close to the field.”
As she and her escorts began walking further away from the tunnels, Janeway took in her tropical surroundings, “I’m curious, with such a beautiful planet, why do you live underground?”
“Our people did at one point live on the surface.” Baldev explained. “But a couple factors contributed to us moving underground. One, was that our race was growing and there wasn’t enough land to compensate. And two, a great flood that lasted over three years was rumored to have plagued our planet. I guess we just got so used to living underground that afterwards we only returned to the surface to gather food.”
Just then, she heard a loud popping noise and something whizzed by them. She was knocked to the ground by one of her guards as the others returned fire. She crawled behind a rock just large enough to offer some cover and watched helplessly as the Nomandi escorts were taken down one by one. Then all was quiet.
She peaked around the rock and suddenly felt strong hands grab her shoulders and yank her up. She started to struggle until the man raised his gun to her head and she was surrounded by who she assumed were the Montua, though they looked exactly like the Nomandi.
“You are not of this world.” The man holding her squinted his eyes and looked her over from head to toe.
“No.” She silently prayed that Voyager was in orbit and they would beam her up any second.
“C’mon!” Barked another one.
She was yanked along with them to another hidden hatch a short distance away and forced back underground.
Years of Starfleet training allowed her maintain a strong exterior, but
inside she felt her panic rising. She was weaponless, and had no way of getting
a signal to Voyager now, and likewise she doubted their sensors could penetrate
the rocks either. Well Katie, you’ve really got yourself into it this time.
“I’m sorry sir.” Harry felt tears well up in his eyes, but held them back. “The Captain’s signal disappeared.”
“Disappeared where?”
“Sensors aren’t showing any structures in the area. Either she went underground or there’s something else blocking our sensors.”
“Send the coordinates to the transporter room. Tuvok, assemble a security team and search every inch of the area. Take Seven with you.”
Chakotay returned to his seat trying to send a mental signal to the Captain,
hang in there Kathryn.
Seven materialized on the surface ready for a fight. She looked around but didn’t detect any life forms in the area. Pulling out her tricorder, she studied the coordinates Harry had provided. “Her signal was last received point seven kilometers from here.” She nodded the direction to the rest of the team. She walked along side Tuvok to the area and stopped.
“Search for any cave entrances or trap doors in the area.” Tuvok ordered.
Seven walked only a few feet when her occular implant picked up some unnaturally shaped micro fractures in the ground. “Commander, I believe I found a door.”
“Commander,” called Ensign Alexandria Munro. “I found something else.”
The team first went over to where Alex was bent over an alien body. “Scans indicate he’s only been dead around twenty minutes.”
“What killed him?” Tuvok asked.
Alex pointed to a small, dark hole in the alien’s chest. “Scans showed a small lead object inside his body. It’s similar to a bullet as used on ancient Earth.”
Seven lead the team back to the door she’d discovered and helped Tuvok remove some of the dirt and plants until they found a small handle. “Stand ready,” he ordered the team.
Seven rose and pointed her phaser at the door as Tuvok lifted it open. She scanned the opening, “I’m not picking up any life signs, however the rock is making it difficult to get an accurate reading.”
“Cover me.” Tuvok turned and began descending the ladder, followed by Seven and the rest of the team.
They’d walked only a few kilometers when they were stopped by two guards pointing rifles at them.
“Halt! Drop your weapons!”
Tuvok nodded at the rest of his team and they let their phasers drop to the ground.”
“Identify yourself!”
“I am Lieutenant Commander Tuvok of the Starship Voyager. I am here in search of one of our crew members.”
One of the guards laughed and stepped forward, roughly grabbing Tuvok by the arm. “The alien woman? She is our property now. And so are you.” The guard lowered his gun and started to drag Tuvok forward, while the second one moved to herd the others.
Seizing the opportunity, Tuvok ripped the gun from the second guard’s hands and hit the first guard over the head with the handle. Without pausing, he whirled around and pinched the nerves on the other one’s neck and shoulder, quickly taking him down.
The rest of the team quickly retrieved their weapons and stood ready for any more aliens that may’ve heard the commotion.
After another minute, Tuvok gestured for the team to continue forward.
The team followed their leader to the entrance of a city reminiscent of the ancient west on Earth, only not quite as primitive. Lots of people were mingling in the streets in front of shops, and the place was lit with hundreds of lights that lined the ceiling making it bright as daylight.
Ensign Munro crept through the shadows next to Tuvok and observed the scene. “If those other two guys were any indication, I don’t think we’ll be very welcomed here.”
Tuvok pulled out his tricorder and scanned the area. “I’m picking up her signal about a kilometer from here.” He tried to formulate a plan for reaching her, but with so many people and no way that he could tell to remain hidden, logic dictated that his team would be overtook before making it half way. “We will have to return to Voyager and develop a different plan..”
“No!” Seven said a bit too loudly.
Tuvok gestured for her to silence and quickly scanned the area with his eyes. Satisfied that no one else had heard, he gestured for his team to retreat.
Seven followed only a few feet until they were hidden by a curve. “By the time we return to Voyager, the Captain could be dead. That is an unacceptable risk.”
“We have no choice.” Tuvok insisted. “I saw no path that would allow us to reach her without being overtaken.”
Seven heard the guard’s words again, ‘She is our property now,’ and clenched her jaw. “We have superior weapons. We could easily make a path.”
“Seven, I’m giving you an order. Return with us to Voyager immediately.”
“I’m not leaving without the Captain!” Seven turned and started to march into the alien city, but Tuvok grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
“Not only will you be putting yourself in danger, but also the Captain.” Tuvok noticed this made Seven stop struggling. “If these aliens are holding her hostage, they could harm her if they suspect danger approaching.”
Seven just glared in response.
Tuvok let go of her arm and pointed in the direction from whence they came.
Seven reluctantly complied and took the lead back to the transport site.
After being lead through an underground city, her captures took Kathryn into a large building and left her tied to a chair. She struggled against her restraints until she heard footsteps approaching behind her.
“Fiesty little thing, aren’t you?” Came a man’s deep voice.
She turned her head and saw a burly man walking towards her. “Who are you? What is it you want?”
He stopped next to her and ran a finger along her cheek, causing her stomach to churn. “Lufir. There’s no need to be frightened. We treat our servants well.” He paused and gave her a crooked smile. “As long as they behave.”
“I am no ones servant.”
Lufir chuckled. “You do the crime, you do the time.”
“What are you talking about? What crime?”
“Assisting in the aid of criminals.” Lufir leaned against a desk in front of her.
“What?”
“The Nomandi. I believe you assisted in keeping our officers from arresting them, no?”
Janeway glared at Lufir. “I saved them from having to endure slavery by your people.”
“It is what they deserve.”
“No on deserves it.”
“They gave up their rights to freedom when they broke the law. They have no one to blame but themselves.”
“What do you mean, ‘when they broke the law’?”
Lufir crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “I suppose they left that part out when asking for your help.” He chuckled again. “The Nomandi are an organized group of criminals. They lie, cheat, and steal their way through life. Somehow they managed to escape with the aid of an off-worlder and hid themselves behind some sort of barrier, but they still occasionally manage to steal our food supplies from the surface.”
Janeway scowled, not sure which side to believe.
Lufir continued, “Recently we made progress in breaking through the field, but now we have to start from scratch, thanks to you. If you were one of us, we would hang you for treason.”
Kathryn continued to glare, but said nothing.
“Anyway,” He stood and fastened a bright red bracelet with alien writing to
Kathryn’s wrist. “You already have a buyer. Best not keep them waiting.”
“Isn’t there any way you can modify the transporters to get a beam through the rock?” Chakotay sat at the head of the conference table surrounded by the security team who had just returned from the surface and informed him of the circumstances.
“Only with transport enhancers placed below the surface,” Seven replied.
“Is there any way to contact the aliens? Try to peacefully negotiate?”
“We are not aware of any form of communication system. They did not appear to be very technologically advanced, using only technology similar to that from twentieth century Earth. And judging by the guards’ attitude, any attempt at personal contact will likely result in hostilities.”
Chakotay stood abruptly and walked to the window. He ran his fingers over his left temple and turned back to the staff. “Seven, work on the transporters. See if you can find away to increase their power.”
“Um,” Alex nervously cleared her throat. “If I may suggest something Commander?”
“By all means Ensign.”
“We know where the Captain is being held, all we need to do is find a way to reach her without being noticed. If the Doctor could alter our physical appearance to match the aliens’, we should be able to blend in long enough to find her and set up the transport enhancers.”
For the first time since they lost the Captain’s signal, Chakotay felt hope. Why didn’t I think of that, he scolded himself. “Good thinking Munro. We’ll beam one of the bodies you found to sickbay so the Doctor will know what to do. Tuvok, put together a small undercover team and report to sickbay immediately. Dismissed.”
A few hours later Munro lead two other undercover security officers through the streets of the alien city. After the Doctor had reported it would take too long to alter Tuvok’s appearance because of his physiology, Tuvok had entrusted her to lead the mission. She lifted the corner of a cloth covering the basket she was carrying which contained the transport enhancers and her tricorder. “Her signal’s originating from there.” Nodding casually towards a large two story mansion, she glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to them.
Ensign Jurot, a Betazoid, stepped closer to Alex and lowered her voice. “I can sense her. She doesn’t seem to be frightened, but she’s very agitated.”
Alex glanced one last time at her tricorder before letting the cloth fall back over it. “There are six other beings in the building with her. We’re going to have to do this fast before they alert anyone else we’re here.”
“We’re ready Alex.” Ensign Chang narrowed his eyes and began marching towards
the house without waiting for Munro’s orders.
Kathryn disgustedly dropped some dirty plates into a sink. This is ridiculous. There’s gotta be a way off this planet. Kathryn had kept her eyes open for a route of escape as Lufir lead her to her owner’s home, but the streets were more crowded than she had expected. She quickly concluded any attempt at leaving the house would abruptly end in recapture and probably torture or death. I’m sure as hell not going to spend the rest of my life as a maid though. She stepped to the side and let another slave, whose name she recalled was Hela, dropped another stack of dishes into the sink.
There’s got to be some way out of this place.
Kathryn spun around at the sound of a crash and saw Grivit, one of her owners, sprawled out on the floor. The swinging kitchen door caught open on his foot revealed three aliens who looked rather familiar.
“Captain!” Munro quickly jumped over Grivit, keeping her phaser pointed at Hela. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine Ensign.” She motioned for Alex to lower her phaser, knowing Hela wasn’t a threat.
Wide eyed, Hela took the opportunity to bolt out of the back door, screaming.
“Why didn’t I think of that?” Janeway joked with herself.
Munro and the others quickly set up the transport enhancers in a triangle
surrounding them.
Harry sat, staring at his console when four green indicator lights finally lit up. “Commander, I have their signal.”
“Beam them directly to sickbay.”
Seven’s heart began skipping wildly in her chest as she made her way to the
turbolift without asking permission to leave her post. “Sickbay.”
Seven hurried into sickbay where she spotted Captain Janeway sitting on a biobed looking tired, but overall healthy. “Captain!” She rushed past the Doctor to Kathryn’s side and enveloped Janeway in a suffocating embrace.
“Oh!” Caught off guard, Kathryn didn’t move for a moment. She had never seen Seven so overwhelmed with emotion before. “Oh, Seven.” As tears began welling up in her eyes, Kathryn wrapped her arms around the young woman and held her tight. “I missed you.”
“I have missed you too.” Seven pulled back, but her hands remained on the Captain’s shoulders. “Are you all right?”
Kathryn smirked. “I am undamaged.” The smirk quickly faded from her lips, remembering the promise she had made to herself on the surface. “Seven, I want to apologize for the way I acted before I left.”
“It is all right Kathryn.” Seven noticed the Captain’s arched eyebrow and realized her error. “Captain.” She self-consciously glanced at the Doctor who gave her an amused look before returning his focus to his tricorder.
The doors to sickbay hissed open again and Chakotay strolled in. “Are you all right Kathryn?”
Janeway nodded. “As I keep telling everyone, I’m fine.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” The Doctor did a few more scans before folding his tricorder and setting it on a table. “Well, Captain, I’m happy to give you a clean bill of health. Physically anyway. However, I would like you to come by for a counseling session tomorrow after you’ve gotten plenty of rest.”
“Counseling?” The Captain looked distastefully at the hologram.
“People who have gone through a traumatic experience can suffer from a number of psychological disorders afterwards. Therapy often reduces the risk of any long term effects. And I am programmed with-”
“Thank you Doctor, but I’m fine.” The Captain interrupted and eased herself off the biobed with Seven’s help. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on the bridge.”
Seven blocked the Captain’s path, “I see you’ve picked up some bad habits.”
Kathryn blinked. “Seven?”
“I believe the Doctor said you needed some rest.”
“I told you, I’m fine.” Kathryn tried to move around the towering blonde, but Seven quickly intercepted and once again stood between the Captain and her destination.
“It is time to sleep. The bridge will still be there tomorrow.”
“I’ll get plenty of sleep after my shift.”
Seven once again countered Janeway’s move toward the door. Kathryn looked up and met Seven’s gaze. “No,” Seven ordered firmly, but with a small, satisfied smile sneaking across her features. “Now.”
Kathryn almost reached up to caress Seven’s cheek, but caught the Doctor watching out of the corner of her eye and stopped in mid motion. But she couldn’t stop a teasing smile from planting itself on her face. “Is that an order?”
Seven’s smile broadened. “Yes, Captain.”
Kathryn shrugged. “Then I guess I have to comply.”
“Don’t worry Kathryn,” Chakotay grinned. “I think I can keep the ship in one piece for one more night.”
The trio made their way out of sickbay, Chakotay heading back to the bridge, while Seven escorted the Captain to her quarters.
“Good night, Seven.”
“Captain?”
Kathryn stopped in her doorway and turned back to her. “Yes?”
“It is good to have you back.”
Janeway smiled. “Thank you.”
Seven hesitated, not wanting to leave Kathryn’s side just yet and feeling insecure about whether the Captain would disappear again, though logically she knew she was overreacting. “Sweet dreams.”
Kathryn watched Seven turn and walk down the corridor, her hips swaying in such a way that actually made the Captain forget to breath until the sultry figure disappeared around the corner.
Normally the methodical Captain would’ve immediately started on the official
report of her ordeal, but tonight all she wanted to do was crawl under her
covers and dream about Seven.