Taking Command

By letterx

Disclaimer: Paramount is god and I'm the devil just messing with his toys. :) Loving relationship between women yada, yada. Character death of several major characters and is really depressing (made myself cry). Be forewarned. Okay enough is enough.

Code: T/7.
Rating: PG13

Archiving: Please ask first

Constructive feedback welcome.

Any feedback or other comments should be sent to letterx@webtv.net

Description: Can Seven rise to the challenge of command? First Instalment of Taking Heart Trilogy.

Chapter 1 to 4

30 Jan 2001

Part 1

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Sparks flew, consoles blew out, systems were failing, and Voyager constantly rocked as it was bombarded with weapons fire they had never seen the likes of before.

On the bridge bodies were scattered about and debris was thrown all over the place. The red alert was flashing and casting a dull red glow over the entire bridge. Acting Captain Harry Kim was sitting in the captain's chair yelling orders over the sounds of chaos. The only other senior officer present on the bridge was Seven of Nine who was standing at the tactical station trying her best to protect Voyager from incoming fire. Both torpedoes and phaser banks were off-line and the helm console was completely destroyed so Seven was just trying her best to fly the ship out of harms way.

But that was made even more difficult with warp engines off-line as well and using only limited impulse engines. With systems failing across the board, there was little any of the other junior crew members present on the bridge could do, but pray for their lives. The chief of engineering, Lt. B'Elanna Torres, had her hands full just trying to keep the ship in one piece. She couldn't even begin to work on the warp engines as she was too busy trying to keep life support on-line and the shields up. But if Voyager stayed where they were much longer, they weren't going to need life support after all. It was a catch 22 for the engineer and one that had no quick answer to. But B'Elanna had to hand it to the Borg on the bridge because if it wasn't for her surprisingly well apt skills in flying, the lieutenant wouldn't have a few more minutes to try and work out of this catch 22. Unfortunately, it took more than a few minutes. Voyager's shields finally went down and was hit with one final crippling blow. Kim was thrown about in his chair while Seven crashed into the front of the console. When a secondary explosion ripped through the panelling behind Seven, she was flipped over the tactical station to come to rest lifelessly on her back. When the ship finally quieted down, Harry immediately thought boarding party but instead the view screen crackled to life. An alien that looked like a cross between a wolf and a human filled the screen.

They were known as the Grendali, a species Voyager was just recently introduced to. They stood on two legs like humans but were covered with greyish fur like wolves. They had pointy long ears and eyes the color of midnight. They also had sharp teeth which tended to protrude down over the lower lip and a light pinkish skin color.

"You have been given a warning, Voyager. We have come across your kind before and were forced to obliterate them. We no longer tolerate beings like yourselves but since you are of a far land, we take pity on you. We leave you with warning that if we ever do meet again, we will not be as kind as to spare your lives. You have been driven off of our lands and you shall not return."

And with that the screen went dead again.

"Captain, the Grendali ships are breaking off pursuit and heading back to their home world. One of the lead ships is releasing the Delta Flyer from their docking bay," one of the ensigns on the bridge managed to report from ops.

"Get a tractor beam working and bring in the Delta Flyer. Then begin getting reports from all stations. I want casualty and damage reports in the next hour. For right now you have the bridge. I'm going to see the Captain," Harry said as he began to help Seven up off the floor to bring her to sickbay. She was only semiconscious, but is was still better than nothing. Then acting Captain Harry Kim was going to go give Janeway her title back because he really didn't know how much more of this he could take. He just really wasn't ready for this type of command yet.

"Aye Captain," responded the battered and bruised ensign.

Part 2

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It was about a week ago when Voyager had come upon this small planetary system in space. It had one sun, four M-class planets, and few moons scattered here and there. But for such a small system, it was heavily populated. On the outskirts of the system, Voyager was met by a scout ship of a species called the Grendali.

It was a peaceful meeting in which Captain Janeway explained that they were only looking for a peaceful route through the system in hopes of shaving some time off their long journey home. The Grendali were more than happy to accommodate and even seemed interested in some possible trading despite the fact that this species was significantly more advanced than Voyager's Federation technology. Janeway, however, was a bit reluctant to get involved with this species. First and foremost, Neelix nor Seven of Nine had ever heard or encountered a species such as the Grendali. Secondly, Voyager was trying to shave off time from their journey not add it on by having lengthy diplomatic meetings. But the Grendali suggested a compromise. Captain Janeway could come to the Grendali home world with a small group of her own choosing to hammer out trade agreements while Voyager crossed through the system. The captain and her team could catch up with Voyager later. It was a compromise the captain could hardly refuse. After all, the Grendali were quite a bit more advanced than them and if they found something worth trading for on Voyager, then all the more better. It was the following day when Janeway took her away team on the Delta Flyer and headed for the Grendali home world. Accompanying the captain was Lt. Tom Paris, as pilot of the Flyer, Lt. Tuvok, as head security, Lt. Ayala, as back up security, Mr. Neelix, as diplomat, and Commander Chakotay just because he begged (it seemed that he had some interest in the cross between being half wolf and half human). Not one of them was heard from again until the Delta Flyer was just dropped out of a Grendali docking bay.

For what ever reason, the Grendali seemed to have it in for any species that resembled a human. Thank the gods that they decided to show mercy on Voyager for being so far from home, because if they didn't, then Voyager would most likely have been destroyed. What really puzzled Harry was why the Grendali even invited the captain to visit their home world under the pretense of trade negotiations. Was it always a trap or did they just want to get to know their enemy first? Whatever it was, it was the point in which the half wolf species learned of Voyager's plight and subsequently deciding to have mercy on them.

Now Voyager was orbiting a small uninhabited planet a few light years away from Grendali space. The reports were in and repairs were ready to begin but there was something else that needed to be done first. The injury report read that 71 crewmen were injured and now were recovering nicely. But the casualty report read that 38 crewmen had lost their lives. Goodbyes now needed to be said and closure brought to this horrible tragedy. A mass funeral was held in docking bay 2. A total of 38 caskets lay side by side awaiting their final send off. Most crewmen not injured or on duty were there to attend the funeral and for those not able to be there it was broad cast over the comm system. Four crewmen stood in the back playing Amazing Grace on four sets of bagpipes. A group eulogy was given for the dead and as each name was read off by Harry Kim, their caskets were ejected into the cold stillness of space. Such fine officers such as Ensign Megan Delaney, Lt. Carey, Ensign Nicolletti, and Ensign Samantha Wildman were among the names read off.

Naomi stood close by to Seven and said her own little goodbye as her mother's casket was ejected into space. But as Harry reached the last six names on the list of fallen, he found that he just couldn't go on. He broke down in tears and nearly collapsed into B'Elanna's arms as she wrapped them around the young ensign. Seven who was standing next to the group, took one step forward and continued where Mr. Kim left off only adding her own few words of goodbye as she did so.

"We offer up these bodes to the vastness of space in hopes that they may truly find their way home someday. We give our final farewells to Lt. Ayala, Mr. Neelix, Lt. Tom Paris, Lt. Commander Tuvok, Commander Chakotay, and Captain Kathryn Janeway. May you rest in peace."

As each name was read off their caskets were sent out into the blackness of space leaving all of Voyager feeling alone, lost, and hopeless. As the last body floated silently away into oblivion, Seven raised her hand to her forehead and saluted one last time to her captain. It was an old earth military gesture of respect and honor bestowed upon their leaders and Seven just felt it right to say goodbye to her captain, mentor, and friend in that manner. One by one every crew member repeated the gesture holding the salute until the caskets were out of sight as the bagpipes played one more rendition of Amazing Grace. Soon there after everyone left the docking bay, having said their formal farewells. All that remained were Seven and Naomi. Still watching the caskets float farther and farther away through her borg enhanced eye, Seven had one last thing to say.

"I promise to get your crew home, Kathryn. It is what you would have wanted and is the only way I can think of to begin to repay all that you have done for me. You saved me from the Borg collective and have given me a human collective who I can truly call family. I promise to do everything in my power to make sure that this collective finds a way home in one piece. It is the best way I can honor your memory and never forget you. Goodbye Kathryn," Seven whispered in a voice racked with emotions out to the empty expanse of space.

She closed the doors to the docking bay while Naomi went over to shut the open comm link off, realizing that Seven must have forgotten it was still active. Without any other words, Seven picked up Naomi in her arms and left the docking bay. The doors there after shutting closed on a part of their lives lost forever.

Part 3

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It was now two days after the funeral. Voyager was resting on the planet's surface at the request of B'Elanna. She reasoned that it was easier to do repairs on the surface rather then floating around in space. Seven ordered the ship to land. Harry, who was suppose to be the acting captain at this point, was down in sickbay, relieved of duty by the Doctor. The Doctor noticed that Harry was slipping into a mild depression and had ordered him two days of rest. Lt. Torres was down in engineering busy trying to get repairs started. This only left Seven,out of the remaining senior staff, to run the ship. Neither she nor Lanna had really had a chance to mourn the losses of friends, loves, and family, but then again, neither of the women were ones who displayed their emotions openly. It was rumored,however, that Lanna and Harry had a 'crying out' session after the funeral. Seven was a different story. She had yet to have that luxury. As soon as the funeral was over and she realized that Mr. Kim was just as emotionally distraught as the rest of the crew she, was forced to take command of Voyager, temporarily. Seven had mourned the loss of her friends, most notably Tuvok and Janeway, while in the quiet comfort of cargo bay 2. She spent her time in the bay, crying alone rather than regenerating like she should have. No one would ever realize just how hard hit Seven was. The rest of her time was spent trying to organize the ship.

While Seven spent most of her time running the ship, Naomi spent her time right by Seven's side, helping out with whatever she could. With both her mother and godfather, Neelix, gone it was to be expected that Naomi would latch onto Seven looking for comfort, guidance, understanding, and most of all love. But what wasn't expected was that not once did anyone see Naomi cry. It particularly worried the Doctor, so much so that he approached Seven about it. Seven promptly relieved his fears by telling him what Naomi told her. It seemed that Naomi was only comfortably crying while wrapped up in the safety of Seven's arms while in the comfort of her own quarters.

The little Katarian was quite uncomfortable with crying itself, but more so in front of the adults. Whenever possible she would try not to cry and act more like the adults around her.

Even Icheb felt the loss of these individuals from his new collective. He would have mourned and cried for the loss, if he knew how to, but being in the collective for several years, Icheb never learned how. So instead of mourning the loss, Icheb tried to go about business as usual and avoided as much contact with others as possible. Everyone had their own way of coping with the grief but at least everyone was coping.

Now with repairs under way and the funerals taken care of, there were still a few questions that need to be answered. One of which was,'now what?' Some were beginning to wonder if they should just find a comfortable M-class planet to set down on and set up a community instead of trying to get home. Others had more immediate concerns like, who was going to captain the ship now that Janeway and half of the senior staff were dead. It wasn't a simple matter of who was next in line, but rather who was best suited for the job. B'Elanna felt that this question above all others needed an answer immediately, so she called a senior staff meeting which now consisted of four members. When each crew member arrived for the meeting in the conference room, they each took their usual seats, not yet willing to move into the vacant seats, regardless of how spread out they were. Torres began the meeting since she called it.

Not one for beating around the bush, Lanna blurted out, "We need a captain and we need it now. Officially." She said that last word while looking directly at Seven who had essentially been running the ship as an unofficial captain would. "Harry, you'd be the obvious choice for captain since you are on the command track and have had experience with being captain of Voyager."

"But that was only during the night shift and Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay were always comm link away." Harry interrupted.

"Yes, but it's certainly more experience then any of us have. I know you don't feel up to taking command of Voyager as captain but from what Seven had wrote in her report of the away mission in which you took command of the Nightingale, you may have been a little rough around the edges, but in the end you were able to captain that ship home."

"Lanna, that was only because of Seven's advice to me about being a good captain. I guess she picked up more from Janeway than I ever could. Maybe some day I'll be ready to captain a starship but today is not that day." "Alright, Harry, I won't force you to take a command that you are not willing to take. But what about being first officer? Will you at least take that position?"

"That I think I could handle a little better."

"Doctor, is Harry fit to return to duty?"

"I have given Ensign Kim mild anti-depressant medication to help with his depression but I think that he can most certainly return to active duty. I think that once we get Voyager repaired and move on from this crisis, everyone will better off."

"Well, at least we have some good news. Now back to the captain issue. Since Harry is now out of the running for the position, I would be next in line, but I, too, have to decline. I'm needed in engineering now more then ever. With Carey gone and Vorik now blind due to an explosion,there's no one left to run engineering but me. And someone has to keep this bucket of bolts together. Besides, I wouldn't want the position of captain. With my aggressive tendencies, Voyager would probably end up in one too many fights. Not to mention, too much responsibility for me. Now, that brings us to you, Doc. But, somehow, I have a feeling that you've learned your lesson when you had those fantasies of becoming the hero captain."

"Ahem, well, yes. I realize that even if my program is expandable and I'm able to learn new things, being captain may just be too far of a stretch. I think I'll stick to leaning new operas to perform."

"I thought you might say that. Well, since that eliminates us, there's only one other choice left." Lt. Torres said as everyone turned to look in the direction of the very quiet Seven of Nine. Just as Seven looked like she was going to protest, B'Elanna jumped.

"Look, Seven, you are the most logical choice for the job. I rather put you in charge than a junior lieutenant or an ensign. You know how to organize things and run the ship as you have demonstrated the past few days. As Harry said, you were the one who gave him the advice on being a good captain. You'd be more logical about decisions made for the ship than I would, and you care for this ship and the people on it as your own little collective. In the past you have shown that you would give your life to save the ship just as willingly as Captain Janeway would have. You certainly have the knowledge to run this ship efficiently and you have the support of this crew."

"You make valid points, Lieutenant but I do not believe I have the support of this crew. I am Borg and there are those who still see me as such. Starfleet would not approve of an ex-drone being captain of one of their ships."

"Well, Starfleet could go kiss my.... You know what. They are how many light years away? We have to do what we have to do in order to survive, Seven. You are wrong about the crew supporting you. After the funeral, when you were saying goodbye to Captain Janeway, I guess you must have forgot the comm link was still open. We heard everything you said about how you vowed to do whatever you could to get this crew home and promised never to forget Kathryn Janeway. At that point you inspired this crew, Seven. No one was willing to continue on with the journey home. They all thought it was best if we just found a nice M-class planet to settle down on but you changed that. You gave this crew hope again. Everyone knows that you don't lie, Seven, so when you said that you would get this crew home, they believed you. The only question is are you going to live up to your promise to Kathryn and get this crew home?"

"Do you all feel the same?" Seven asked of Kim and the Doctor. When both nodded their heads 'yes' she continued, "Then I am only left with one choice. I accept."

With those two last words, the almost palpable tension in the room lifted. The crew had a captain and they also had hope. The smiles that had adorned the faces of Lanna, Harry, and even the Doctor had quickly vanished. Although the relief of picking a captain was still present there was also a sense of anxiety in the air.

"So, what now, Captain?" Torres asked.

"What now, indeed?" Seven replied as she tried to figure out how she, of all people, was suppose to run this mighty ship.

Part 4

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It was only a few minutes in which Seven took to compose her thoughts but for the other three still present in the conference room it seemed like an eternity. The question 'what now?' hung in the air like a heavy fog.

"I believe the next step would be to fill the empty positions left in the senior staff. Ensign Harry Kim, I accept your promotion to first officer and promote you to a rank of Commander. Lt. B'Elanna Torres, I accept your willingness to remain as chief engineer but promote you to a Lieutenant. Commander. You will be my third in command. Doctor, you will remain as chief medical officer but I authorize you to train two medical assistants of your choosing and upon their willingness to learn the trade. I would also like to promote Ensign Kayla to chief pilot and give her the rank of lieutenant. Without any objections from you, she will join the senior staff."

Seven waited for any objections but none were made so she continued on.

"I would also like to promote junior Lt. Harris to lieutenant and give him the position of chief tactical officer. Again without any objections, he, too, will join the senior staff." And again, no objections were heard.

"Commander Kim, is there anyone you feel would be best to promote to chief operations officer?" It startled everyone in the room just how easily Seven was able to use Harry's new rank when addressing him, including herself. But the new captain felt that being casual about it would help everyone get used to all the new changes.

"Coty Keller. He worked the night shift while I was captain and I did teach him everything I know." Kim answered as soon as he got passed the fact that Seven just referred to him as Commander.

"Very well, Mr. Kim, Ensign Keller will be promoted to junior lieutenant and given the position of chief of operations. I will also be promoting Ensign Jennifer Delaney to chief astrometrics officer to fill in my absence. Both officers will be joining the senior staff. That only leaves one more position to be filled. And that is the position of cook. Although we may be able to continue on without a morale officer or diplomat we will not be able to do without a cook. As we must still survive on replicator rations it would be to our benefit to promote someone to the position of chef. Commander, please make an announcement to all of the crew that the position of head chef is open and anyone who would like to fill that position may come and see either you or myself. You will also have the responsibility of reorganizing the positions of the rest of the crew as well as their shifts to compensate for the lost crew members. I will inform the new members of the senior staff of their promotions as well as to what their new duties will entail. Lt. Torres, please continue on with the repairs. I would like to see a schedule of when the repairs could be completed and exactly what repairs still remain. Doctor, you may return to sickbay and tend to your patients. Please keep me informed of their conditions as well. I also suggest that you look for those medical assistants as soon as possible. Are there any other concerns that need to be addressed at this time?"

"Yeah, are we going to continue our journey home or are you going to tell Delaney to look for a nearby M-class planet as soon as repairs are done?" Lanna asked wanting to know if she choose the right person for the job of captain.

"That, Lieutenant, is not an immediate concern of mine. We must first repair and re-organize Voyager. It may still turn out that Voyager will be unable to make the journey home. But, I will 'deal' with that when the time comes. If there is nothing else, you are all dismissed."

The three officers gathered up their things and proceeded out of the conference room. Within the space of twenty minutes, Seven had organized the senior staff and had taken care of the more immediate concerns that faced the crew. B'Elanna left happy in the knowledge that Seven passed her little test. She may just turn out to be one heck of a captain yet.

"Let's hope that she doesn't give any numbers for names again. Wouldn't want a mutiny just yet.'

~~~

The next day was filled with meetings for the ex-drone. She not only had to meet with the new senior staff members but she also wanted to have a ship wide meeting to announce the new promotions to all the vital positions. But first things were first. For the past week now, Seven had resided in the Wildman's quarters keeping Naomi company while she slept. But it wasn't until a few days ago that she began to sleep herself. While she was still regenerating, at a limited rate, Seven found that she still ended up very tired at night. When Naomi first began to have her nightmares, the newly appointed captain would hold her through the night and rock her back to sleep if she was awakened by the dream. Now that the ex-drone was beyond tired she found that she could no longer stay awake when holding Naomi in the big comfortable bed.

"Hey, Seven." Naomi said in between yawns as she walked into the kitchenette.

"Naomi Wildman. Are you functioning properly?" Seven greeted while standing in front of the replicator.

"Yeah, Seven. I actually feel a little better today. No nightmares last night." The little Katarian climbed into a chair at the kitchen table.

"I have made you some scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast for your morning nutritional supplement..... for your breakfast." The ex-drone corrected her vocabulary immediately after seeing Naomi's eyes roll.

"Would you prefer orange juice or apple juice?"

"Apple please. Seven, are you nervous about today?" An innocently asked question.

"Nervous?" Which was met by a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, you only start talking like you're still Borg when you're upset or nervous. You don't seem mad, so are you scared about today?" Seven grimly thought that Naomi needed to stop hanging out with the adults so much cause she was starting to get too smart for her own good. So with a sigh, Seven knew she had to answer in complete truth or the child would never drop the subject.

"I am... concerned about how the crew will respond to me taking command of Voyager. But Lt. Torres has assured me that the crew will respond positively. However, I still.... fear that they will reject me, not because I am unqualified but because I am Borg."

"Oh, well, if B'Elanna says it will be fine then I'm sure it will be fine. Besides you have a lot more friends now then you did when you first came aboard. I'm sure everything will be fine." Naomi tried her best to reassure the woman sitting across from her daintily eating a piece of buttered toast.

"Indeed." Was accompanied with a small smile.

~~~

Breakfast was finished shortly thereafter littered only with idle conversation. Both women continued their new morning routines by washing up together and then going off to change into their respective uniforms. The only difference today was the type of uniform Seven had to change into.

"I do not believe that red is my color." Seven said while standing in front of the full length mirror. Naomi giggled at the common yet uncommon phrase coming from Seven. The lanky blonde still wore her hair up in an impossibly tight bun, but now instead of wearing one of her biosuits she now wore black boots, black uniform trousers, and a black tank top underneath a red uniform jacket. When the four pips on her collar caught the light reflected in the mirror it nearly brought tears to the Borg's eyes. This was not the way she had planned on getting to dress in a Starfleet uniform.

"Here you go." Naomi had seen how tense Seven had gotten and decided to break the moment by handing her comm badge. Seven took the badge and then picked the little girl up in her arms as well.

"Thank you Naomi Wildman, for everything."

"You're welcome."

"Now we have duties to attend to."

"Indeed."

The ex-drone never let Naomi go as she carried her out of her quarters and into the corridor.

~~~

Walking through the corridors proved to be less of a challenge than Seven thought it would be. She was afraid of being stopped or stared at for wearing command red and she wasn't read yet to explain to the crew about her appointment to captain. Thank what ever celestial being was out there that it was still early in the morning and the alpha shift had yet to begin. But the real challenge was yet to come; walking onto the bridge. 'Perhaps I should have beamed myself directly into the captain's ready room,' Seven thought as she felt the butterflies in her stomach worsen the closer she got to the bridge. "Perhaps it will not be too uncomfortable. I have been running the ship the past week, maybe they will not even notice when I take the command chair that I am wearing a captain's uniform.' All those hopes were soon dashed as Seven walked out of the turbolift and onto the bridge. "Captain on the bridge." Commander Kim announced. The shocked faces and stares she got were overwhelming but what drove her into hiding was the smiling face of one Harry Kim.

"Commander, I'll be in the ready room. You have the bridge."

"Aye, aye Captain." Harry answered realizing that this was actually going to turn out quite amusing. It was all he could do not to burst out laughing at the shocked faces of his fellow crew members. For the first time he actually knew what was going on before everyone else and it felt good.

~~~

Seven sat in what was now officially her ready room waiting for her first appointment to show up. Now that Harry had announced to the crew that she was the captain, the blonde realized that before the end of the night she was going to have to hold that ship wide meeting to explain what was going on, even if she wasn't ready for it. Seven knew that with the rumor mill being the only thing to remain intact after the altercation with the Grendali, the entire crew was going to be talking about this before lunch time. Her thought were cut off by the chime to the door.

"Enter."

And in walked Coty Keller. A slim but fairly tall human man who probably stood about 5'9", 5'10". He had dark brown hair as well as dark brown eyes who wore the color gold on his uniform.

"Uh... Captain?... You wanted to see me?" Keller stuttered not knowing if he really should be referring to Seven as 'Captain' and of course from being nervous as hell being in front of her.

"Captain is the correct way to address me now. Please have a seat." Seven was nervous as well but tried to think about how Janeway would act in a similar circumstance. The soon to be junior lieutenant took a seat at the captain's desk across from Seven.

"If you agree to relax, Mr. Keller, then I will agree to not assimilate you." The captain tried a joke in order to ease Keller's discomfort but it only served to frighten him even more. "A joke, Lieutenant I was 'pulling your leg'." And that did make Coty smile. Every time he heard the Borg try and use a colloquialism it would come out sounding odd and cause him to laugh.

"Wait, did you just say lieutenant?"

"Yes. As you have already figured out, there need to be promotions of several of the crew to currently vacant vital positions. I have accepted the appointment to captain and have already appointed Ensign Harry Kim to Commander and second in command. I would now like to take this time to inform you that you as well have been promoted to a junior lieutenant. You will receive the position of the chief operations officer and will have the responsibilities of performing your duties for the alpha shift as well as running your department. You may want to speak with Mr. Kim about getting oriented into your new position as well as ask for advice on how to best perform your duties. You will also be a part of the senior staff which means that you will have to attend all of the senior staff meetings and will be expected to contribute to the maintenance and well being of Voyager. Are you willing to accept this promotion? Remember that you are under no obligation to fulfill this role, but it is you whom both the Commander and I feel is best suited for this job."

"I... uh.... wow!. So you're really the captain now?"

"Yes, I am. Do you have a problem serving under me?" Seven braced herself for the worst possible answer.

"I really don't know. I mean we all thought that naturally Kim would accept the position of captain. I guess, I really don't have a problem with it. You ran this ship for the past week now and was able to pull us all together when we were ready to fall apart. And you did promise to get us home." Keller slyly referred to Seven's promise made to Kathryn the day of the funeral. "I'd be honored to serve under you. Besides when we do make it back to the alpha quadrant then I get bragging rights as to being one of the few officers to serve under an ex-Borg drone." A smile then lit up the face of the lieutenant and a matching one appeared on the captain's face. Harry was right. Coty maybe green just like he was. The only difference was that, in Coty's case, his nervousness tended to make him more standoffish. But once you got past that, he really was a nice guy.

"Thank you, lieutenant, for your willingness to accept this new promotion along with all of its responsibilities. If that is all, then you may go and speak with the Commander about switching your shift and getting yourself acquainted with your new job. I am giving you tomorrow off so that you may adjust your sleeping habits and familiarize yourself with your new responsibilities. Dismissed."

"Yes, ma'am."

And with that, Coty left the ready room and Seven felt like today might not be such a bad day after all. One meeting down, three more to go.

~~~

Each meeting went just about the same. Ensign, now Lt. Kayla ended up being more excited about her promotion to chief pilot and being able to fly Voyager during the alpha shift than about any concerns over Seven's promotion to captain. Lt. Beth Kayla was a humanoid female who had light blonde hair and the prettiest green eyes. She stood at about 5'4" and the ex-Borg had to wonder if she had another Tom Pars on her hands. 'What is it with pilots that affects their personalities and turns them into grown children?' Ensign, now Lt. Jen Delaney was honestly happy for Seven's promotion. They may not have been the best of friends, but Jennifer does care about her co-worker. And last but not least, was Lt. Harris. Seven had to wonder at how much time he and Tuvok had spent together. Although Harris was a human male, he acted as if he were more Vulcan than human. He didn't act surprised when the captain told him of her recent promotion but his eyes did dilate. Neither did he act happy when he found out about his promotion, though his lips did curve upwards slightly. Harris a dark reddish head of hair along with dark blue eyes and he stood about 5'6". But even though he was small for a male, his muscular frame more than made up for anything lacking in height. Seven was confident that he would make a good head of security as well as chief tactical officer. He was not only a part of Tuvok's special forces team, which meant that he really knew what he was doing, but he also had the respect and loyalty of his fellow tactical officers. This new set of senior staff members may not be as good as the original, but this captain was proud of her team and, more importantly,had faith in their abilities.

~~~

Later that evening, after all of the individual meetings had taken place it was time now for Seven to hold the ship wide meeting. All those who were not on duty were instructed to gather in cargo bay one. It was there that Seven announced her promotion to captain as well as all the other changes within the senior staff. She also reinforced her promise to get Janeway's crew home and also announced that she would,

to the best of her ability, uphold Starfleet rules and regulations even if they were illogical. That side comment caused the whole cargo bay to erupt in laughter and B'Elanna wondered just how right Janeway really was. How could she have missed he fact that Seven was indeed human? She just hid it very well. Soon there after Captain Seven dismissed her crew telling them to get a good nights sleep for they would surely need it. Seven and B'Elanna had stayed behind to make sure everyone cleared out of the cargo bay.

"So, how are you holding up, Captain?" Lanna smirked at the honorific realizing just how ironic the situation was. A few weeks ago, she could barely keep from arguing with the ex-drone and here today she was her crew member. 'Funny how life has those twists you never see coming.'

"You were correct, Lieutenant. The crew may have been surprised by my promotion to captain, but they seem willing to accept it. I am glad that in this case I was wrong."

"Glad to hear it. I think that over the past week or so you have really opened up to the crew and shown us a more human side to yourself. The crew is really starting to come around to you."

"Are you starting to come around to me, too?"

"Yeah, ya big ol' Borg drone. I may even like you a bit. But don't tell the captain. Wouldn't want to be stuck doing special projects with you when she finds out that I can actually tolerate your presence now."

B'Elanna joked around, but both realized that over the past few days both women had seen different aspects of the other that weren't visible before. Those aspects some how managed to change an adversarial relationship into that of mutual respect and a budding friendship.

"Are you going to see Naomi now?" Lanna asked as both women stepped off of the turbolift and onto deck 3.

"Yes, it is dinner time."

"Well, tell her I said hi. And good night, Seven," the engineer said as they reached the door to her quarters.

"I will and good night to you, Lieutenant."

For some reason both women felt like they didn't want the other to leave just yet but Naomi was waiting. The captain nodded her head and was the first to make any motion to leave. She turned down the corridor heading for the Wildman quarters. B'Elanna stood outside her quarters a few moments longer, watching the slender woman walk out of sight. 'Got to admit she is one beautiful piece of work. And I'm just getting to find out how special she is too.' That thought left a smile on the lieutenant commander's face as she activated her door and walked in her quarters. Some how the loneliness she felt every time she walked into her quarters since Paris died wasn't as painful tonight.