STAR TREK: VOYAGER
An Original J/7 Voyager Story
Ó2008 by Patricia L.
Givens
February 2008
This Story Won An Award! Hot Damn!
FanFic Hero Award 2008
Disclaimer #1: This
story is an original work of fiction set in the pre-existing universe of Star
Trek: Voyager. As such, many of the
characters and references used within belong solely to Paramount Pictures. I have borrowed them for the purpose of
creating this scenario and promise to return them unscathed, and smiling, as
soon as I am done. No gain, monetary or
otherwise, is expected from their use and no copyright infringement is intended
or should be inferred.
Disclaimer #2: All
original characters and storylines contained herein belong to the author. (Like
anyone else would claim them! J
) This story may be archived upon
request with the stipulation that it must be posted exactly as it was written,
with all disclaimers intact.
Disclaimer #3: This
story does depict a romantic relationship between two women and it will
probably be graphic because, well let’s face it, I’m a member of the rabid lesbian
horde and I like that kind of thing. If
this bothers you then please either delete it as fast as you can or admit that
you kind of think your best friend is a hottie.
If you are under 18 then you probably know some really good new
positions, drop me an email would ya? If
this is illegal where you live then you’ve got bigger things to worry about
than whether or not someone finds this on your computer. (Like the Earth’s
crust shifting and that pesky ice age coming on…)
Who To Blame: This one is all the
fault of KathieGOTaGun for coming up with such a cool idea that I had to steal
it and run away with it (And I will love it and pet it and call it
George!) I also need to thank Ky for
putting on the little skirt and picking up the pompoms when I needed it.
(Taking a moment of silence to giggle at that image.) Thanks also to Andrea and Anne for continuing
to beta read even as I continue to butcher the English language. Big thanks to ZoeAmory for being my partner
in crime on this one, even before we knew what it was we were conspiring to do. (Really, your walls do deserve to suffer!) The Vid and the PhotoManip are divine as
usual!
A Tip O’ The Nib to XV (Why does everyone keep calling her
fifteen?) and her Lovely Lady Wife Jane!
This one is dedicated to KathieGOTaGun… cuz the revelation
was hers.
This story is set in the time period roughly following Imperfection. There is some disagreement as to the actual
year of Janeway’s birth. For the sake of
my own sanity I just picked the one that seemed to make the most sense.
This is very much a Seven of Nine vehicle, with most of the
other characters playing very small parts.
Oh and Tom will always be an ensign in my heart…suits his playful nature.
No motorcycles were damaged during the writing of this
story, but I would be the first to volunteer to be skinned just to make the
leather for that seat.
To all that makes us unique!
DAx =/\=
ZoeAmory for President!! Now that's Bush I can get behind!
“Birth does
not lead to greatness;
but the
cultivation of virtues by a person
leads her to
greatness”
Chapter
One: And It Was Such A Pleasant Morning…
Captain
Kathryn Janeway glanced up at the woman sitting across from her in the mess
hall, her lips pursing in curiosity when she realized that Seven was being strangely
quiet this morning. Even more so than
usual. “Something on your mind?” The blonde raised her head and she felt her
heart catch painfully at the gentle confusion conveyed in the bright blue eyes.
“Captain,”
The blonde’s brow furrowed as she carefully chose her words. “I am experiencing difficulty with the
enormity of the events which have transpired over the last six months. I find myself… returning to the same thoughts
repeatedly, regardless of my attempts to categorize them and move on with my
existence.”
Janeway
picked up her coffee mug and took a long drink, her eyes never leaving Seven’s
face as she thought about how to respond. On one hand, she cared a great deal
for the young woman, more in fact than she was comfortable with, and wanted to
help her in any way that she could. But
on the other hand, there were certain aspects of Seven’s most recent
experiences that she simply did not want to know about.
For the
sake of her own heart.
Sighing,
she shrugged slightly. “You’ve been
through a lot, Seven.” Her gaze slid
down to rest on the table. “You
discovered that you had a relationship with someone, and just as you decided to
embrace it, it was ripped away from you.
That isn’t something anyone would get over easily.” She raised her eyes again to find the
ex-drone looking at her quizzically.
“I was not
referring to
Her eyebrows
rose in surprise. “You weren’t?”
“No.” Seven cocked her head slightly to one
side. “My time in Unimatrix Zero, while…
pleasant… was too brief for me to reconnect with
“You don’t…
miss him?”
The Borg
considered the question carefully. “I
do. But I find that the sense of loss
where his memory is concerned is more for that which might have been, not for
what was.”
“I see.” The Captain wrapped her fingers around her
coffee mug to keep from running them through her hair. So Seven
isn’t heartbroken over
Seven
shifted uncomfortably. “The situations
which occurred in relation to my cortical node failing. I find the lengths to which Icheb and…
others… were willing to go to save my life…perplexing.”
“How
so?” Janeway sat back in her chair, more
relaxed now that she would not have to discuss Seven’s feelings for
“The fact
that he was willing to risk his life for mine, while unacceptable, was
commendable. The concept of giving your
life for those you care for is one I have learned quite well from the time I
have spent with you. I am honored by his
sacrifice.”
“So what’s
the perplexing part?”
Seven
looked into her eyes. “Your reaction.”
“Mine?”
“Yes. While I am well aware that you have often
risked your own safety to ensure the safety of this crew, my safety in
particular, I have never before heard of a circumstance where you were willing
to do another harm to achieve that goal.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“When it
was apparent that the salvaged cortical node would not suffice, you remarked
that you would find another, from a living drone if need be. That is contrary to everything you have ever
taught me. I wish to know why you would
be willing to go against your own principles.”
Janeway
felt her stomach drop. “Who told you
that?”
“The
Doctor.” She saw the dark look that
passed over the Captain’s features and hurried to explain. “When I had given up, he took it upon himself
to try and demonstrate reasons why I should not. He seemed to feel that this uncharacteristic
remark was telling on your part. But of
what, he would not elucidate. Please
explain.”
The older
woman felt her mind begin to race as she tried to figure out a way to diffuse
the situation without sharing more information than she was ready to.
CHIRP!
“Chakotay to Captain Janeway!”
She held up
her hand to stop the conversation, trying to hide the relief she felt. “Go ahead, Chakotay.”
“Captain, we’ve received a distress
signal from a vessel approximately a light year from our present position. I’ve already changed our heading to
intercept, but I think you’re going to want to come up here.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“The signal is Federation, Captain. And there’s a hail piggy-backed on top of it…
addressed to you and Seven.”
Her
eyebrows crawled up her forehead. “On
our way.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Janeway
strode onto the bridge with Seven right behind her. “Report!”
She barked as she slid into her command chair.
“We’ve
cleaned up the signal, Captain.” Harry’s
hands flew over his console. “I can
connect when ready.”
“On
Screen.”
The view screen
lit up with a flickering image and Janeway felt her cheek twitch. Oh, for the
love of…
“Captain
Janeway!” The handsome young officer
nodded at her. “Long time no see.”
“Not long
enough, Lieutenant Ducane.” She looked
past him to the familiar bridge of the Timeship Relativity. “In fact, I had hoped our association would
be a one time thing. No offense.”
“None
taken.” He smiled. “In truth, I would have preferred the
same. It is Captain Ducane now,
however. Thanks to you.”
Janeway
pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “There are two things an Officer of a time
ship can say to me to make me nervous.
Thank you is one of them.”
He laughed
tightly. “We need to talk.”
“And that
would be the other.” She stood. “I suppose time is of the essence.”
“As ever.”
She nodded
ruefully. “We’re en route to you as we
speak. If you change your heading we
should be able to meet-“
“I’m afraid
that isn’t possible.” He cut her
off. “You’re going to need to come to
us. Maximum warp. I will explain everything when you
arrive. And this time, I’ll need to
speak to your entire senior staff, so I am issuing you clearance to bring them
up to speed.”
Seven’s
eyebrow rose as she glanced at the Captain but she said nothing.
“Understood. Maximum warp should put us there in a little
over three hours. Janeway out.” She turned to find Tuvok and Chakotay both
eyeing her curiously. “I need the senior
staff in the conference room immediately.”
When they
were all assembled she looked across the table at Seven and nodded. “You’re where this whole thing started so why
don’t you begin?”
“Yes,
Captain.” She nodded. “On stardate 52861.2 I was contacted by the
Timeship Relativity which was then under the command of one Captain Braxton-“
“Braxton?” Tom sat forward, turning towards Janeway in
shock. “The same Braxton-“
The Captain
held up her hand to forestall any further questions, earning a curious glance
from the ex-Borg. “Hold your questions
until the end.”
Seven
quelled her curiosity and continued.
“Captain Braxton recruited me to help him locate a saboteur who was
attempting to destroy Voyager by placing a disruptor on board designed to fracture
space-time and cause temporal distortions that would demolecularize the hull
and tear the ship apart. I proceeded to
travel back and forth through time in my attempts to locate first the weapon
and then the insurgent. When it became
apparent that I was beginning to suffer from sensory aphasia I persuaded the
crew of the Relativity to enlist Captain Janeway to assist in our endeavors.
With her help we were able to ascertain that the criminal was none other than
Braxton’s future self, who blamed her for his being stranded in the 20th
century, as well as for the temporal psychosis from which he was suffering. Lieutenant Ducane took both the present and
past versions of Braxton into custody for reintegration with his future self,
at which point he was to be held accountable for his actions. As the Captain and I had only traveled to the
past, Ducane did not deem it necessary to resequence our memories. We were, however, placed under strict orders
to share the experience with no one. Until
now.”
“So Braxton
ended up blaming you for being stuck on earth for thirty years?” Chakotay shook his head. “Even though it was his actions that set the
whole chain of events into motion in the first place?”
“Apparently
he conveniently forgot the definition of a Causality Loop.” Janeway retrieved a cup of coffee from the
replicator, hoping that it would help the pounding behind her eyes.
“So what
does all of this have to do with Voyager now?”
Tuvok asked. “It would seem that
situation has been resolved. Why would
Captain Ducane need our aid at this time?”
She
sighed. “I wish I knew. But it looks like we’re going to have to wait
to find out what’s going on until we rendezvous with Relativity. In the meantime, I want complete diagnostics
run on all essential ship systems, from the warp core to the replicators. Whatever it is, I want to be prepared for
it. Dismissed.”
The senior
officers filed out one by one until only the Captain and Seven were left
sitting at the table. She glanced at the
Borg curiously. “Yes?”
“Captain, I
believe I am lacking information in regards to your past dealings with
Braxton. I feel it would be prudent if
you were to ‘fill me in’.”
“Of
course.” She nodded. “I actually had my first run in with Braxton
the year before you joined us. At that time he was captain of the Timeship Aeon. He sought to destroy us in an attempt to
prevent a disaster that would result in the complete eradication of Earth’s
solar system in the 29th century.
The Time Corps had found wreckage from Voyager’s secondary hull in the
debris after the explosion and assumed that we were somehow involved. He refused to explain anything further and I
felt that his refusal to be more forthcoming prevented me from accepting his
conclusion that our destruction would somehow prevent the event from
occurring. Our ships engaged and his was
damaged during the fight, resulting in both of our vessels being thrown back in
time, his to 1967 and Voyager to 1997.
It was there that we came across Braxton again. He was living on the streets as his ship had
been stolen by a man named Starling. Starling ran a computer company called
Chronowerks and was cannibalizing the Aeon’s technology to further the
advancement of his own company. He was
determined to use the ship to jump to the 29th century to acquire even
more technology. It was that jump that
was to cause the paradox that would destroy Earth.”
Seven
nodded thoughtfully. “I assume that
since we are all still here you succeeded in your attempt to stop him.”
“Yes.” She sighed.
“At the time I thought that would put an end to our interaction with the
Time Corps. Obviously I was wrong.”
“What do
you surmise is the reason for our current interaction?”
Janeway
exhaled sharply. “I don’t know,
Seven. But whatever it is, I somehow
doubt I’m going to like it.”
* * * * * * * * *
“We are
within visual range, Captain.”
“Thank you,
Mr. Kim.” She faced forward. “On screen.”
“Oh my
god.” Tom breathed quietly as the rest
of the bridge crew took in the image on the main view screen with varying
degrees of shock.
The Relativity
hung in space before them. It was
listing slightly to one side and venting plasma from a gaping hole in its
underbelly. As they watched a small
explosion ripped through the port nacelle, causing the ship to shudder until a
force field shimmered into place.
Hanging by a thin tendril of conduit from its underside was a long thin
silver tube.
“Is that
the warp core?” B’Elanna whispered.
Seven
tapped her console. “Their propulsion,
shields and weapons are offline. Life
support is at minimal.”
“They’re
hailing.”
“Open a
channel.” The image shifted to that of
Captain Ducane. He was standing before
the tactical console.
“Captain
Janeway.” He nodded. “You made good time. Thank you.”
Janeway
stood. “I would suggest we save the
small talk for later, Captain. Our
sensors show your life support is about to fail. We need to begin an immediate evacuation of
your personnel.”
“Agreed. I have my crew standing by for transport in
the cargo bay, except for a small security squad overseeing a prisoner in the
Brig. If you could facilitate his
transport directly to a holding cell, I would feel much more comfortable about
it.”
Janeway
glanced at Tuvok. “Do it, and meet his
squad there.” She turned back to
Ducane. “How large a crew complement are
we talking about here?”
“Not large;
sixteen crewmembers including myself.”
“I think we
can find room for you. Prepare for
transport. Janeway out.” She walked up behind Seven and glanced at her
computer screen, trying to ignore the faint vibration that went through her due
to the other woman’s proximity. “Harry,
meet our guests in Transporter room one.
Turn the crew over to Neelix and bring Captain Ducane to the
bridge. I think it’s time we found out
what the hell is going on.”
* * * * * * * * * *
The senior
staff watched quietly as Captain Ducane and his second, a quiet woman named
Crey, settled themselves into conference room chairs. They whispered quietly to each other for a
moment and then Ducane faced Janeway, laying a PADD on the table between them.
“Well,” He
smiled tightly. “Is it safe to assume
your staff is aware of the events that have brought us to this point?”
“Yes.” The Captain leaned forward in her chair. “Now it’s your turn. Why is Relativity here in the Delta Quadrant
and what the hell happened to her?”
He
sighed. “The information I am about to
share with you is classified and will remain on a need to know basis as far as
most of your crew is concerned.” He
waited for her to nod in agreement before continuing. “There was an incident on Aldana Prime that
led to us being sent here to find you.”
“Aldana
Prime?”
“It’s a
small artificial moon that was placed in orbit around Earth in the early 29th
Century.” He looked at her
pointedly. “It is utilized as a maximum
security medical facility for Starfleet personnel.”
Janeway
felt a sinking sensation in her stomach.
“Starfleet personnel?”
“Time Corps
Officers to be more specific; those suffering from the advanced stages of-“
“Temporal
psychosis.” She groaned. “Braxton.”
He
nodded. “Starfleet was unaware that
Braxton had managed to acquire access to the medical database. He used it to ferret out information on Time
Corps officers who were most susceptible to paranoid propaganda. Within weeks he was able to form a small group
of supporters that were sympathetic to his views.”
“Which
are?”
“Braxton
and his followers maintain that all of the time fractures that led to their
conditions can be traced back to one definable source.”
She held up
her hand. “Let me guess! Voyager?”
Ducane
cleared his throat. “Not exactly. They believe that Voyager is merely a pawn in
a much larger temporal conspiracy known as… The Janeway Factor.”
She stood
up, not knowing whether to laugh or scream.
“The…I’m sorry…the what?”
“The
Janeway Factor.” He repeated. “They believe that if your influence was to
be eradicated, then their conditions would no longer exist. They also maintain that you pose an enormous
threat to the timeline as a whole; one that must be removed… immediately. They managed to escape from the facility a
week ago; from there they took control of two small timeships and fled.”
The Captain
slumped back into her chair as the air left her lungs.
“So they’re
out here, somewhere, just waiting to ambush us?” Harry asked.
Ducane
stared at Janeway. “No, they are not.”
“But you
just said…”
He reached
for the PADD in front of him and tapped in his security code before handing it
to her. “We intercepted this transmission
two days ago. It outlines an intricately
detailed plan to jump to this timeframe, to this quadrant, where they would
find Voyager and destroy her.”
“I don’t
understand, are they or are they not here in the Delta Quadrant?” Janeway’s frustration finally cut through her
patience.
“No. It was a ruse. The prisoner in your brig, his name is Duc Tao. He was sent here in one of the time ships to
draw us to this location. When we
engaged his ship, he rammed us at full speed, resulting in the condition the
Relativity is currently in.”
“I don’t
understand.” Harry looked from one
Captain to the other. “Why would he ram
your ship?”
“To remove
them from the equation.” Janeway said
quietly.
“Yes.” Ducane nodded. “With propulsion and long range
communications down, we have no way of reporting our current condition or the
fact that Braxton and his men are still at large. The only advantage we’ve had in all of this
is that the kamikaze pilot chosen was far more advanced in his psychosis than
Braxton realized. He missed his mark
when he rammed us, and he was incredibly easy to break once he was in our
brig.”
“So you
know where Braxton is?”
“Where…and
when.”
Janeway
took in the look on Ducane’s face and swallowed hard. “Tell me.”
“Sometime
in the next two days they will be utilizing the second timeship to facilitate a
jump to Earth;
Janeway
paled so quickly that Seven half stood to go to her. She was silent for several long moments and
when she finally spoke her voice was so low that the entire senior staff had to
lean forward to hear her.
“Oh dear
god… Mama…”
Chapter
Two: The Chicken or The Egg?
“So what
you are saying,” Janeway spit out each word. “Is that while we are sitting here
there is a psychopath hell bent on killing my mother just to keep me from being
born?”
Ducane
blinked. “Yes.”
She bit
down on her cheek, trying to keep her temper, as well as the panic climbing up
the back of her throat, under control. She
glanced up and caught Seven’s gaze from the other end of the table. The blonde’s eyes were so filled with
compassion that for a moment Janeway felt confused. She had never seen the ex-Borg look at anyone
that way before.
Drawing
strength from the connection, Janeway pulled in a deep breath. “There has to be something we can do.”
“I believe
there is.” Ducane tapped the PADD
controls again, bringing up a schematic of the Relativity. “All timeships are constructed with two separate
engine rooms; one to house the primary propulsion systems and one for the
temporal drive, each at opposite ends of the ship. The Time Corps found out early on what would
happen if both engines blew at once. Those
early catastrophes led to our current ship design. Tao either forgot that part of his briefing
or ignored it, because he only managed to take out our traditional warp core.”
“And this
is relevant how?” Seven finally spoke up
from the other end of the table.
“I believe
we can retrofit Voyager with technology from the Relativity.”
“Wait a
minute!” B’Elanna reached over and took
the PADD. “I’m all for doing whatever it
takes but we’re talking about merging 24th and 29th
century technology here. It can’t be
that simple.”
“Actually,
it is. The temporal drive and shield
emitters are self contained units tied into ship systems through external
conduits. A good pilot with a steady aim
could cut them loose without any problem.
Then we use Voyager’s tractor beam to pull them into position and weld
them directly to your secondary hull.
Voyager is not that much larger than the Relativity; I believe we could
utilize the drive to open a temporal rift and send this entire ship back to
2336.”
“And the
hard wiring?”
“Well, that
might be a little trickier. Luckily you have someone on your crew that
could blend the two technologies together fairly quickly.”
Seven
raised her chin as every head at the table swiveled in her direction. “You wish for me to assimilate both
technologies and merge them into one.”
“To put it plainly,
yes.”
The Borg
stared at Ducane for several seconds, feeling slightly offended by his offhand
attitude, as though it would be the easiest thing in the world to
accomplish. Then her gaze shifted to the
Captain and she felt a fierce protectiveness fill her chest.
“Can you do
it, Seven?” Janeway asked quietly.
“Yes.” She said without hesitation. “But you should be aware, Captain, that the
removal of the merged technology will be far more difficult than its
installation.”
Janeway
graced her with a soft smile of gratitude before standing. “We’ll jump off that bridge when we come to
it. In the meantime, we have a lot of work to do and very little time to get it
done. Tom, you’re with Ducane, get the
flyer and get the equipment cut off the Relativity. B’Elanna, you’re with Crey. Get whatever information you can from their
database and upgrade ours accordingly.
Tuvok, get two security teams together, one to look after our friend in
the Brig and the other…well… for whatever comes next. Seven… You’re with me.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Eight and a
half hours later Janeway stood on Voyager’s outer hull in an environmental suit
as she watched Seven bend over the large chunk of technology that had been
plasma welded to the skin of her ship.
The job had been done quickly, and was ugly as hell, but she knew that
it would hold. That was all that
mattered.
All that
remained to be done was the final merging of the energy and information
conduits which would bring power to the temporal drive and shield emitters and
allow them both to be controlled from the bridge. She held her breath as the younger woman closed
the air seal around her left wrist and pulled the glove free, handing it to her
to hold.
Without
hesitating, Seven plunged her tubules into the end of the conduit hanging from
the new drive. For a moment, nothing
happened, and then faint green tendrils extended from the ragged opening,
stretching until they connected with the open power array beneath them and then
contracting to pull the two together.
When the gap finally sealed itself, Seven leaned her head to one side
and Janeway could almost hear the calculations running through her mind. After a moment she smiled slightly and
disengaged. “It is complete, Captain.”
Janeway
nodded. “Bring us in, Chakotay.” They rematerialized in transporter room two
where they removed their helmets and suits.
She reached out to place her hand on the Borg’s arm in appreciation only
to jump back slightly when Seven flinched.
“What’s wrong?”
“I
apologize, Captain.” The blonde looked
away. “It is my hand. It is artificial, and cannot be damaged by
the cold, but that does not mean I cannot feel it. It is…aching…at the moment.”
“Seven!” The older woman reached out again and took
the freezing appendage between her own hands, rubbing it briskly. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“The
discomfort is irrelevant. I could not
have completed the repairs without removing the outer garment. The pain will pass.” She swallowed as she realized the pain had already passed and had been replaced by
an intense tingling where the Captain’s skin came in contact with her own. Her lips parted slightly as her respiration
increased.
Janeway
felt the warmth rush back into Seven’s fingers and smiled up at her. “Better?”
“Y… yes. Thank you.”
The younger woman felt momentarily caught in the intense gray-blue gaze
then she pulled her hand away and clasped them both behind her back.
The Captain
swallowed. For a moment… Shaking her head she pulled her thoughts back
to what was pertinent. “We need to get
to the bridge.”
When they
arrived, Ducane was sitting in the First Officer’s chair, doing a run up on the
temporal drive.
“What’s the
verdict?” Janeway threw Chakotay a
conciliatory look and slid into her own chair.
“It looks
good.” He smiled. “In fact, it looks
just about perfect. Good work. I recommend we jump immediately. Once we arrive we can scan for the other timeship’s
temporal signature. That way we’ll know
just how much time we have to work out our plan of attack.”
“Agreed.”
“Voyager is slightly larger than Relativity,
Captain.” He frowned. “I recommend inertial dampeners be raised to
maximum and that you inform the entire crew that things might get a bit bumpy
for a few minutes.”
She touched
the control panel situated between them.
“This is Captain Janeway to all members of the crew. We are about to test an experimental
drive. It is recommended that you cease
all nonessential activity and proceed to a safe area until further notice. Janeway out.”
She looked over at Seven, studying the blondes classic beauty for a
moment before turning to Ducane. “Let’s
do it.”
Ducane
nodded. “Raise shields. Prepare to open temporal rift on my mark. Time Frame:
Stardate 13375.0 – Alpha Quadrant.
Astral Target: Earth – Dark side of the moon.”
“Target
acquired.” Seven responded.
He smiled
at Janeway. “Your ship.”
With a
reckless grin, she sat back in her chair and grabbed onto the armrests. “Engage!”
A deep hum
began to reverberate throughout Voyager as a purple beam of light shot out from
her hull and began to tear a small rift in the open space before them. As they watched, the rift began to widen, the
edges becoming smoother as space-time was folded before their eyes.
An ominous
creaking sound began and grew louder as the seconds passed, causing Janeway to
look at Ducane in concern.
“
The rift
was now the length of Voyager and was beginning to glow a sullen purple-black
color as the gap in the middle widened.
“Prepare
for Time Jump… NOW!”
Seven
slapped her palm onto her console and squared her stance, trying to steady
herself as the ship slid sideways towards the aperture.
“Voyager’s
shape is disrupting the temporal field!”
He grabbed his own armrests as the ship began to shudder. “Hang on!
This is going to be rough!”
The ship
lurched painfully as it was caught in the edge of the rift and pulled
forward. The inertial dampeners did
their best, but the crew was still tossed about as their speed increased.
“Passing the
threshold! Five seconds until
emergence!” Ducane shouted.
There was a
loud crack and the view screen went dark as Janeway flew forward, landing
heavily on the floor where she remained until the last of the vibrations
passed.
“Are we
alive?” She sighed.
“Yes.” Seven picked herself up from the deck and
moved to her console. “The jump was a
success.”
“On
screen!”
The monitor
flickered for a moment and then steadied as the image of a small, dark planetoid
filled it. Janeway looked beyond its edge and felt her breath stop.
There, half
hidden, shining in all of its blue and green splendor, was Earth.
“Stardate?” She whispered.
“13375.32.”
Ducane smiled. “Only a .32
variance. Not bad for merging 24th
and 29th century technology.”
“I’d have
to agree.” Janeway slid back into her
chair. “What about the other timeship?”
Seven
scanned the time matrix. “No indication
of their presence. It appears that we
have arrived ahead of schedule. According
to my calculations it is 08:53 AM on May the 17th, 2336.”
“Ship
status?”
“We have
minor hull breaches on decks eight and twelve.
Force fields are already in place.
Slight fluctuations in the power grid but no essential systems have been
compromised.”
She
straightened her jacket. “Get work crews
to those areas immediately. All senior
officers to the conference room. It’s
time to figure out a game plan.”
* * * * * * * * * * *
All members
of the senior staff were assembled and waiting patiently when Ducane and Crey
entered the conference room. The timeship Captain was carrying a small cargo
container which he placed on the table before taking his seat.
“All right,”
He began to pull several items from the box.
“As I see it we have a few technical issues we’re going to have to deal
with straight away, not the least of which will be the difficulties we’re going
to face based on where your parents have chosen to live.”
“The
Traditionalist Farming Community?”
Janeway raised one eyebrow.
“Yes. At this point in time there is a strong
technology dampener over the entire area.
Only rudimentary conveyances and certain machinery are exempt from its
affects. As such, Voyager will not be
able to scan the areas immediately surrounding the Janeway farm. Her sensors will be limited to trying to pick
up the timeships temporal signature as it enters this atmosphere. In addition, our handheld devices will be
useless.”
“You’re
telling me 29th century technology is no match for a 24th
century tech dampener?” The Captain
rolled her eyes. “You’ve got to be
kidding.”
“Unfortunately
I’m not. We were not expecting to be
visiting this time period or this region so the devices we had on hand before
Relativity’s replicator system failed are not constructed properly for the
task. As such, we will have to rely
heavily on the technology that helped us once before.” He threw a meaningful look towards the end of
the table.
Seven felt
anger well up inside her as she returned his look with one of cool disdain. She had just opened her mouth to speak when
someone beat her to it.
“Seven of
Nine is NOT a piece of technology, Captain Ducane.” Janeway’s voice was quiet, but the tone left
no doubt as to the level of her displeasure. “She is an individual, a valued
member of this crew… and a good friend. I
would suggest that you remember that... or has your promotion led you to follow
in more than just Braxton’s footsteps?”
Ducane
flushed bright red. “I apologize,
Seven.” He laid his hands on the
table. “I sometimes forget that not all
of the things we say or do will be erased from time, and even if they are,
that’s no excuse for rudeness.” He
waited until the blonde nodded. “What I
should have said was, we will be relying on you to help us find Braxton and his
men. Your implants are self contained,
part of your internal structure and as such will not be compromised by the
dampener. Your ocular implant is already
capable of picking up irregularities in space-time. With a few minor adjustments, I believe we
will be able to enhance it to the point where you will also be able to see the
slight temporal imbalance that surrounds all individuals who are out of
time-phase.”
Seven
leaned her head to one side. “The
chroniton flux of .003.”
“Exactly. Through
your implant it should appear as a faint blur.
If you will allow me…?” He held
up a thin metal instrument.
Seven
glanced at the Captain before nodding briefly.
Ducane
stood and moved to her side where he took her gently by the chin and angled her
left eye towards him. Carefully, he slid
the point of the slender implement into a small opening in the corner of her
implant. She flinched and closed her
eyes, swallowing against the invasive feeling of the procedure. A moment later, the pressure was gone and she
opened her eyes.
The
timeship Captain’s tall form was outlined in a small series of waves that
seemed to emanate outwards from his body.
She glanced around the table and saw that everyone present was
exhibiting the same visual distortion.
“Seven?” Janeway raised her eyebrow questioningly.
“The
adjustment has been successful.”
“Good. While our hand scanners will work within the
city proper, your ability to simply ‘see’ the flux will make your scanning
ability much more valuable.” Ducane reached across the table and picked up
another device which he placed in her palm.
It was small, and circular, its diameter slightly less than that of a
commbadge and had the same backing as medical devices meant to be worn against
the skin.
“What is
this?” She asked.
“It’s a
cloaking device. When you helped us last
time, we were able to occlude your implants with our external dampening
fields. We won’t have that luxury this
time. The device has been keyed to the
specific harmonics of your Borg technology.
Once activated, it will shield them from view to as close as 3
centimeters. This is only a visual cloak
however, so you will have to be careful who and what you touch with your left
hand.”
Seven
tapped the controls and then held the device in her right hand while holding up
her left to watch as the Borg mesh disappeared from view. “Acceptable.
Where is it meant to be worn?”
“On the
back of your neck. May I?”
Seven
raised one eyebrow but nodded.
Ducane took
the small disk and pressed it against the skin just below her hairline. She
felt the device lock into place and turned her head from side to side, testing
its comfort.
“One last
thing.”
Seven
jumped slightly when she felt his fingers slide into her hair, releasing it
from the pins that held it neatly against her head. She glanced across the table and saw the
Captain’s eyes fastened on her, watching as Ducane fluffed her hair slightly
with his fingertips, ignoring the snort of humor that came from somewhere in
Tom’s direction.
“There.” He returned to his seat.
Janeway took
in a deep breath, unable to tear her gaze away from the woman sitting across
from her. With her hair down, Seven looked
very young; very young and very vulnerable.
She swallowed against the dryness in her throat as her fingers began to
fidget against her thigh. The rush of energy and heat was familiar, but it had
never been this strong, nor had it ever come at such an inappropriate time
before. When Seven reached behind her
neck and turned off the cloaking device, she was shocked by her bodies reaction
as the implants shimmered back into view.
It was as though the Borg technology actually fed the desire she was
feeling.
What the hell is going on with me? She tore her eyes away and cleared her
throat. Whatever it was, she did not
have time for it right now. Later… she promised herself.
Glancing back down the table, she caught Seven staring at her with a
mixture of emotions in her eyes that she could not identify.
Definitely later…
“Because of
the dampener, our communication with Voyager will have to be at scheduled
intervals when we are actually within the city limits of
Janeway
shook her head slightly, as though she had misheard, her eyes narrowing as they
focused on him. “I beg your pardon?”
The
timeship Captain folded his hands in front of him on the table and looked at
her squarely. “Captain Janeway, please
believe me when I say that I hold you in the utmost regard and that I am aware
that this is your ship and your command.
But the bottom line is incontrovertible.
You cannot set foot on Earth. The
potential damage to the timeline could be catastrophic.”
She felt
the pressure behind her eyes start to build and fought the urge to place her
fingers against the pressure point on the bridge of her nose. “So you expect me to just sit here and do
nothing?”
“Not at
all. You will be invaluable for the
information you can offer us regarding your family during this time. In addition, Seven will be in contact with
you as often as possible, to keep you informed of our progress and to retrieve
any other data you have been able to collect.”
Janeway
took a deep breath and settled back into her chair. He was right, but she didn’t have to like it.
“What can
you tell us about the circumstances of this period? Why would Braxton pick this date instead of
an earlier time?”
She thought
for a moment and then it struck her. “Of
course… my father. He was called away on
a top secret mission right before I was born.
Braxton must be aware of that. My
mother would be alone at the farm.”
“A perfect
opportunity to carry out his mission.”
He pulled out a PADD and tapped in some information. “I believe that we need to move immediately. I doubt Braxton or his people would hesitate
to put their plans into motion the moment they entered this time frame. We will have Voyager beam us to downtown
“You
already have an operative here?”
Ducane
looked at her, his expression unreadable.
“We have made it a point to situate Time Corps personnel at high levels
in Starfleet Operations during all pertinent events in Federation evolution.”
Janeway
smiled sarcastically. “And my birth
qualifies as such an event?”
The corner
of his mouth twitched. “That information
is classified.”
“Of
course.”
“We will
not have access to replicators while on the planet. I suggest you all create attire appropriate
to the period and locale. We will meet
in transporter room two in one hour. Any
questions?”
When no one
responded Janeway nodded. “Dismissed.”
The senior
staff filed out one by one, followed by Ducane and Crey, leaving only her and
Seven still seated at the table. When
they were gone, Seven rose and moved to stand beside her.
“Captain, I
am unfamiliar with the dress of this period.
Could you assist me with my preparations?”
“Of course.”
They walked
in silence to Cargo Bay Two where Janeway busied herself at the replicator.
Seven watched her silently, taking each piece of clothing the Captain handed
her and placing it into a Starfleet issue duffel bag. There were three pairs of jeans, several
different styles of shirts and two black sweaters, as well as a set of black
slacks, boots and a thigh length black coat.
When she reached for the last of it, she felt the Captain’s hand close
over her own.
“Seven…” She began.
“Do not
worry, Captain.” She remained perfectly
still, very aware that the older woman was standing well within her personal
space. “I will not allow harm to come to
either you or your mother.”
Janeway
smiled tremulously. “I know you’ll do
your best, Seven. But I want you to
promise me that you’ll be careful too.
Braxton’s men may not know you, but he does. And you tend to be rather… memorable.”
The last
word was said in such a gentle tone that the Borg’s eyebrows rose. Without allowing herself to stop and think,
she linked her fingers within the Captain’s and pulled her forward. As she wrapped her arms around the redhead,
she felt the much smaller frame tense slightly and then begin to shake.
It felt
incredible.
After a
moment, Janeway slid her arms around Seven’s waist and laid her head on her
shoulder, trying desperately to regulate her ragged breathing. Finally, she gave up and allowed the tears
she was holding back to slide down her cheeks.
“He’s going after my mother, Seven.
I can deal with anything he might try to do to me… but my mother… and
there’s nothing I can do to help.”
Seven
brought her hand up and awkwardly stroked the soft auburn hair. “I understand.” She whispered, feeling her spine stiffen with
resolve. “He will not succeed. Kathryn,” Her heart beat faster as the name
fell from her lips and she pulled back slightly to look into stormy gray eyes. “I will not allow it. I could not… bear your loss either.”
The Captain looked into the bright blue eyes, astounded to find them glistening with unshed tea