Chapters 9 to 11 added on 19 Sep 2000
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: PG13
Chapter 9
"BEEP"
Seven looked up as the chime to her ready room activated. It had been a week since she had seen B'Elanna, a week since their fight. Seven had taken a week's vacation while she let her First Officer deal with Voyager's modifications as well as her Chief Engineer.
"Come"
"Hello Skipper, just wanted to let you know that the modifications have been completed. Starbase 131 has given us clearance to depart and the senior staff has gathered in the conference room for the first staff meeting." Commander James Scott said as he stepped into the room and handed her a data pad. "So as soon as the meeting is wrapped up we can leave."
"Indeed. I was just going over your reports of the last week. Seems like the Chief Engineer was extremely efficient. Any complaints?" Seven asked as she rose and walked to the replicator. "Darjeeling Tea with cream, hot"
"Chief is a hard taskmaster and I did hear a few grumbles on the first day but after that the Engineering staff settled down and seem to like her method of working. But let me tell you there is not one person on this ship who is not afraid of her temper if something happens to her precious engines, me included. Can that woman curse and that too in three languages!" James was shaking his head with a sardonic smile on his face as he thought of B'Elanna Torres in a full temper tantrum.
"You are wrong, James. There are three people who are not afraid of her temper." Seven looked pointedly at her Number One.
"Of course Skipper. I didn't include you in the list but the other two?"
"Ensigns Wildman and Janeway."
"You were all together on the original Voyager, weren't you? That explains it. Believe me if I was not the First Officer, I would be intimidated still she has a very positive attitude and is supremely self confident. Her staff have complete confidence in her and this is just after a week of working together."
"How are the other two doing? I saw that Ensign Wildman took over her post the same day as Commander Torres."
"No complaints. She is as you would say `efficient'. She is going to go far in Starfleet."
"Indeed. I always knew Naomi would do well. She always was a very intelligent child." Seven said with pride for her protégée.
"Ensign Janeway reported to Ayala the same day and at the end of the first day informed him of 12 changes to make security more efficient. Needless to say her ideas were approved and Ayala suggested that she might make a good second." James replied with a twinkle in his eye. " Gods you should have seen the look on Ayala's face as Mizati suggested her changes. I thought I would have to pick up his jaw of the floor. Like Mother, Like daughter."
"Mizati has always been efficient. I am sure she was polite in suggesting her changes." Seven was very proud of her daughter but she was not about to show James just how much.
"Yeah, she was. It's just she is so you sometimes, it can be scary."
"And that is bad, How?"
"Uh,, No it's not bad just uncanny. You know what I mean." `James' he thought 'you just had to walk into that one'
"No I do not know what you mean." Seven loved these conversations where her First would stumble into topics that made him uncomfortable. She loved to make him squirm and see if he could get himself out of the mess that he got into. She looked at him with a blank expression on her face and a very definite gleam in her ice blue eyes.
One look at them and James knew she was teasing him. " Aw hell!! Skipper you do know what I am talking about."
"All right James. We have a meeting to go to." Seven had faint note of amusement in her voice.
`Why me?' James thought as he followed her out of the room.
B'Elanna Torres had spent the past week wondering about Seven's reaction to her on the ship. She had tried to contact Seven during the week but the ex-drone was not returning her messages. She was apprehensive about Seven's reaction. She knew they both had over reacted to what was essentially a case of mis-communication. She had talked to Naomi and Mizati over the week to inquire about Seven. Naomi was willing to talk to her and told her that Seven had taken the week off to go to Indiana. That had come as a surprise to B'Elanna. She knew that Seven was close to the Admiral but had no idea that Seven kept in touch with Gretchen Janeway. `Just goes to show', she thought `I don't know a lot of things about Seven.' So she had spent the rest of the week trying to find out more about Seven's life in the last 10 years. Although Naomi was forthcoming, Mizati very firmly and politely informed her that it was none of her business how Seven spent the last 10 years. Mizati was not one of her supporters.
She needed to win back not only Seven's trust and love, but she had to face her daughter as well. Ruefully shaking her head she brought her thoughts to the present. The sliding of the doors announced the presence of Seven and Commander Scott. B'Elanna took one look at Seven and felt like she had been punched in her gut. Seven did not look any different to the casual observer but B'Elanna could see the sadness and fatigue in her eyes.The last week had been hell for Seven as well.
Outwardly though she appeared calm and collected, the consummate Starship Captain inwardly Seven was anything but calm. She had not seen B'Elanna for a week and had refused to reply to any of her messages. Seven quickly entered the room followed by James and sat down at the head of the table. She looked at B'Elanna for a few seconds and drank in her features before pulling down her command mask. Sitting beside her, James noticed the look of longing on Seven's face and decided he needed to keep a close eye on the Chief Engineer. The Skipper's reaction was quite interesting.
" I thought this would be a good opportunity to brief you on the mission as well as introduce our new crew members. As you all know, our previous Chief Engineer decided to sit down on the job." Seven looked around as she made this comment. A round of quiet smiles and muffled laughter passed around the table. Lt. Commander Madison was a confirmed workaholic so having to take enforced bed rest for six months was like pulling teeth without a hypospray for him. He had pleaded with the Doctors at Starfleet Medical to be returned to duty but they had refused his requests.
"Taking over from Mr. Madison as our Chief Engineer is Lt. Commander Torres-Paris. As you should know she designed a lot of the systems used in Voyager-A. So if anything goes wrong you know who to blame." Seven said in a deadpan tone.
Hearing those words brought a round of laughter from everyone at the table except for B'Elanna who was looking thoughtfully at Seven. `Well, she's cracking jokes in front of the crew. Her mood can't be all bad. Maybe I can talk to her after we leave Earth orbit.' Seven's voice interrupted her musings.
"Our new Operations Officer is Ensign Wildman who just graduated from the Academy. Ensign Janeway has joined Lt. Ayala's security detail. I would just like to say welcome aboard. I hope you have settled down and adjusted to life on a starship again. Before I forget let me introduce you to the remaining members of the senior staff. My first officer is Commander James Scott, Helm is Lieutenant Nancy Bates, Security and Tactical is run by Lieutenant Ayala and Sickbay is the domain of Starfleet's only sentient hologram Dr. Zimmerman. Ship's Counselor is Lieutenant Commander Devora Tal, our resident Betazoid. Lt. Celes runs Astrometrics." Seven was looking for reactions to the fact that her daughter was on the crew.
"Ensign Janeway? Isn't that.." Nancy asked as she looked at her Captain.
"My daughter, Lt. although on this ship she will just be another of my officers, is that understood? She asked for this posting from Starfleet and they agreed." Seven was glad the question had come up, as she wanted to clear all misunderstandings from the start. "She is to be treated like any other crew member with regards to duty shifts and assignments. If that means she has to crawl through 10 Jeffries tubes chasing a rodent, she gets the assignment. Who knows? Might do her some good." Seven said with a very definite smirk on her face.
Mizati's eyes went wide at her mother's statement. Surely they would not make her do that. Although hearing the burst of laughter that statement evoked she started to question her wisdom in asking for this assignment. Other Captain's would have been hard taskmasters just because she bore the Janeway name but Seven would be the worst of the lot just because she was Mizati's mother. This was going to be a long hard mission. Mizati spent a few minutes observing Seven in her Captain mode and found a charming witty woman who commanded and received the loyalty and respect of the crew. She seemed very different from the woman Mizati knew as her mom. At least the sight of Commander Torres did not affect her much. Only Mizati had an idea of how miserable Seven had been the past week. She had urged Seven to talk to the commander and clear up the misunderstanding but her mother was a proud woman and sometimes she refused to accept that she could have read too much into the situation. Still Mizati was glad that she seemed to be in a better mood today.
" Have all personnel reported in?" Seven asked
"The last of crew reported in half an hour ago at 1130 hours." Doctor Zimmerman replied. He had just spent 10 hours in sickbay as the crew reported in to him.
"Ensign Janeway, you are dismissed. Report back to your post." Seven said in her command tone although there was a smile on her lips.
"Yes, Captain." Mizati said and quickly left the room.
"Now the rest of you, take a look at the consoles in front of you."
Twenty minutes later the meeting broke up and Voyager had left Starbase 131 on route to the edge of the Delta Quadrant. B'Elanna was in the engine room monitoring the slipstream drive. At this velocity they would make it to the Delta quadrant in two weeks.
Seven was going over personnel reports in her ready room. Her shift had ended hours ago but did not want to go back to her quarters since she knew she might run into B'Elanna.
"Tal to Seven. Captain, is it possible to talk for a few minutes?"
"Is there a problem, Counselor?"
"No. Just wanted to address a few concerns."
"All right come to my ready room."
The door to the ready room opened five minutes later to admit the young Betazoid. She had undergone training under Counselor Deanna Troi and had known Seven Janeway from the time she had served on the Enterprise.
"Please take a seat Counselor. Can I get you something to drink?" Seven asked as she gestured to the couch. Seven had learnt social graces pretty quickly as a Captain.
"No. Thank you, Captain." Devora took her seat on the couch. She was pretty young when she took over as counselor on Voyager-A. Going to the Enterprise straight from the Academy had been a boon in more ways than one. She had trained under one of the best in the field and chances for promotion came much faster because of that. Now five years later at the age of 27 she was already a Lt. Commander on one of the most famous ships in Starfleet. Besides it was her Captain that intrigued her the most.
"Now what can I do for you?"
Devora thought about how best to approach the situation. Finally settling on the straightforward approach since Seven appreciated it she straightened her shoulders and looked her Captain straight in the eyes. "How do you feel about Mizati being on your ship, Captain? I felt a certain reluctance on your part when you mentioned that she was onboard as part of your crew."
Seven heaved a sigh of relief at the question. Her Counselor was very observant and Seven felt sure that she had observed her reaction to B'Elanna.
"Frankly I had no say in the assignment. I was only informed of the posting by Admiral Janeway after she had approved it. I know it will be tougher on Mizati than on me. Being a Captain's daughter can't be easy especially on her ship. Although I am confident she will adapt just fine and so will I. Does that help, Counselor?" Seven looked pointedly at Devora.
"Yes Captain. Now there is one other matter I need to discuss with you."
"Indeed." Seven sighed. She knew she could not have escaped her Counselor. The woman was by nature observant. Add to the fact she was Betazoid and that really didn't leave much scope for escape.
"Normally, Captain you are one of the toughest persons to read. You have a control over your emotions that rivals a Vulcan but today you were anything but in control. I have never seen you cover your unease with humor before. You reacted quite strongly to Commander Torres before you clamped down on those emotions. Is there something you need to tell me?" Devora had a very gentle soothing voice and she knew how to project it to her advantage.
"Counselor, I think that deals with my private life and I need not answer it." Seven informed her in a frosty tone. Seven was quite alarmed that she had been so obvious.
"No Captain you were not obvious. It is just that I can never read you normally. So today was kind of an eye opener. Does the Commander even know how lucky she is?" The depth of emotions she felt coming from Seven surprised Devora. `Wish someone would love me that much' she thought.
"That's between the Commander and myself, Counselor. This is a topic we will never again refer to, is that clear?"
"Of course Captain. Forgive me for asking but your reaction set of my alarms. Thank you for clearing that up, Captain. I thought your shift ended two hours ago." Devora asked as she rose from the couch.
"Yes it did but I thought I should get caught up on the `paperwork'. Although I think it is time to call it a day." Seven smiled as she too got up. She was planning to return to her quarters and take a hot bath before retiring for the night.
Making her way to her quarters she found that Mizati had been by. There was some chicken stir-fry and some vegetarian fried rice on the dining table. A note placed on the table read `Tonight Naomi craved some Chinese. Thought you might enjoy it as well. Love Mizati'
Seven smiled at her daughter's thoughtfulness. Perhaps having her aboard was a good thing. She did wonder about her feelings for Naomi though. Both of them were well inseparable and often seemed to know what the other was thinking. She decided to have a talk with Mizati at the earliest opportunity.
Going to the en suite, Seven turned on the water to fill her bathtub. She had discarded her jacket as soon as she entered her quarters and was just about to remove her red turtleneck when the door chime to her quarters sounded.
Surprised at the interruption, Seven walked into her living room and said `Enter'.
The door swished open to reveal B'Elanna. She had a very determined look on her face.
"We need to talk."
Chapter 10
Seven raised her eyebrow at the statement. "I was under the impression that we said all that we had to say to one another."
"Did we say what was really important? I know I didn't tell you why I reacted that way." B'Elanna replied as she stepped into Seven's quarters and made her way to wards Seven as if she stalked into Captain's quarters everyday.
"Does the reason even matter, B'Elanna? I thought you would have a little faith in me. Perhaps I was mistaken in assuming that you can see past the Borg exterior. You used to accuse me of being callous with the emotions of others. The other day you were callous with my emotions. I do not show my emotions for the world to see but know that I do possess them and they are as real to me as yours seem to you. I did not speak to you about how I felt because I feared your reaction. My fear was justified. It is quite clear that you have no intention of committing to a relationship, B'Elanna. So don't feel you have to explain anything to me. After all I have no claim over you." Seven's voice held a touch of the sadness she felt. She had not wanted to fight then and she didn't want to fight now but knew that they both had issues to deal with before they would be comfortable around one another.
"But you still don't get it, do you? I was scared, Seven. You evoked feelings in me that no one ever has. A single touch from you makes me want to burst into flames. A single kiss has more passion and love in it than I have ever felt before. That scares me, Seven. I have always been the one in control of my life and its decisions. To suddenly not have that power is the most frightening thing I have ever felt. Because when I am with you, I am not in control, Seven, you are. I know for a fact that I have been more miserable this past week than ever before. It just goes to show that I need you in my life Seven and I can't live without you Two days Seven. In just two days you had made yourself a part of my life as well as Katie's. Even you will agree to talk of marriage was a little premature. If I feel like this now, how would I survive if you left me." B'Elanna looked at her beseechingly.
"So you decided to not find out? You were never such a coward before, B'Elanna. Where did all that Klingon courage go? For someone who claims to love me, you have very little trust in me. You conveniently forgot that I have felt like this for you for 14 years. 14 years during which I was not even involved with you. It was not about to change for any reason especially after I had found you." All the hurt and anger that Seven felt was clearly reflected on her face. She had always remembered the Klingon as a courageous woman. So she simply did not understand why she shielded her emotions in this manner.
"I.. I'm sorry. I never did take into consideration what you might be feeling. For that I can only apologize from the bottom of my heart. I know now that I need to win back your trust and love. Will you at least give me a second chance?" B'Elanna asked. She was hoping that they could at least agree to be friends for now.
"Actions often speak louder than words, B'Elanna and I do not know if I can trust you with my heart. All I can do is try to be your friend. That is all I can offer at the moment."
"Then I must accept what you offer for now." B'Elanna was glad she would at least get that from Seven. "Seven, I do believe we both over reacted to what was basically a small misunderstanding. I can only say I am sorry for my part in it."
"Perhaps, but there are some serious issues that must be dealt with before we can even be friends much less lovers. I think we both need to earn each other's trust. I am also sorry that you believe I would ever leave you. I make commitments for life and I made one to you a long time ago. I guess I need to convince you of that." B'Elanna nodded at Seven's statement. She knew that her fears had been a large part of the rift.
"And I need to convince you that I love you and need you in my life too." B'Elanna turned around and started walking back to the door. Just as she stepped out she heard a whispered phrase come from Seven
"Amen to that."
So soft and low was Seven's voice that B'Elanna for a moment thought she had been imagining it but one look at Seven's face told her that she had heard correctly. The fact that Seven wanted them to be together gladdened her heart. Perhaps this would not be that difficult. Holding that thought she made her way to her quarters.
As soon as the doors swished close, Seven's legs gave way and she collapsed on the couch. That had been harder than she thought it would be. She felt drained and fatigued and sad when she really didn't want to feel that way. All she had wanted to do was grab B'Elanna and hold her and tell her it didn't matter if they were together for two days or two weeks or two years. She knew that had she done that they would probably have shared her bath together but in her heart she knew she would not have been happy with just the little time with B'Elanna. She wanted a lifetime with her and for that she needed B'Elanna to trust her. Sighing she got up from the couch and made her way to the en suite where her now lukewarm bath awaited her. Taking off the rest of her clothes she settled in the tub brooding over all that had gone on in the last week.
Going to Indiana had been a good decision. Although most of the times she turned to Kathryn for guidance, Seven found that Gretchen Janeway often offered a unique point of view to a problem maybe because she was far removed from it. She was also the only person who insisted on calling her by her human designation and insisted on feeding her a variety of dishes. She claimed Seven was far too rigid in her tastes and needed to expand her horizons. One look at Seven and Gretchen had gently led her inside the house, sat her down on the sofa and slowly coaxed out the entire story from her. As Seven drank the tea that Gretchen had prepared for her, Gretchen informed her that both she and B'Elanna had over reacted and that the issue underneath was one of trust.
"Do you trust her?" she had asked gently.
"I honestly don't know."
Bringing herself out of her musings, Seven rose from the tub and snatched her towel. Drying herself she made her way to the bedroom and crawled into bed. She still didn't really understand the concept of modesty. Besides she was in her bedroom. On that thought she drifted off to sleep.
"The time is 0630 hours."
"Someday I hope Starfleet produces a computer with a less irritating voice," mumbled a sleepy eyed Naomi as she got up from her bed. It had been a week since they had left Earth Orbit and were tracing the origin of the technovirus. So far all their efforts had revealed a very slim clue as to a possible origin.
"Perhaps the fact that you like to sleep in makes the computer's voice so irritating." Mizati's voice came from the ensuite of the crew quarter's they shared. Although both were eligible for separate quarters they had spent all their years at the Academy together as room-mates and were not inclined to change the arrangement.
"Borg enhanced hearing can be such a pain in the butt sometimes." Naomi mumbled as she stretched out her body to remove the kinks in the joints.
"I heard that."
"You were supposed to. After 3 years at the academy together you should know that I am not a morning person. So just let me rant and rave in peace will you?"
"Naomi Wildman, you are supposed to be at a staff meeting at 0700 hours or did our operations officer forget? Besides you need at least 25.3 minutes each morning to operate at acceptable efficiency levels." Mizati knew her friend had forgotten that the Captain had called a meeting before alpha shift. Even though she did not need to report for duty before 0800 she had gotten into the habit of rising at 0600 hours everyday. So often she was Naomi's wake up call.
"I do not need 25 minutes to get ready. I can get ready in ten minutes." Naomi was pouting since she did not like to be ribbed about her penchant to sleep in.
"I'll believe that when I see it. Now I suggest you get ready and leave for your meeting." Mizati stated as she stepped out of the ensuite in her uniform with every strand of hair in place on her head and a smile on her face.
Still muttering about Borg efficiency and what they could do with it, Naomi accepted her friend's suggestion and hastened to prepare herself.
Exactly 25.3 minutes later Naomi Wildman had emerged from her quarters with a very definite frown on her face. She had secretly timed herself today and found that her friend was telling the truth. Why did Mizati always have to be right? Lost in her thoughts she entered the turbolift and did not notice that she was about to collide with someone until she felt a hand reach out and gently stop her.
Startled she looked up. "Captain, er.. Sorry I wasn't looking where I was going."
Seven smiled at her. "I can see that, Ensign. Can you tell me what has my operations officer distracted?"
"Mizati." Naomi offered without thinking.
Seven's cortical implant nearly climbed off her forehead. She leveled a force one glare at Naomi.
Suddenly realizing what she had said and to whom Naomi blushed before quickly adding" Well, er.. it's like this, Captain she seems to know that I take exactly 25.3 minutes everyday morning to get ready. I timed myself today and found out she's correct and well it can be disconcerting when someone can time your actions to the minute."
Seven burst out laughing at her protégée statement. "Well Mizati always was very observant. Perhaps she was just honing her skills on you." Seven said although she too wondered as to why her daughter paid that much attention to Naomi's daily routine. She also seemed to know a lot of details about Naomi like what kind of food Naomi liked. Interesting. She needed to talk to her daughter soon.
Naomi just frowned even more at that statement. In the silence that followed she observed Seven. The past week she and Mizati had spent a lot of time observing Seven and B'Elanna. The two women were a lot more comfortable around each other than they had been that first day during that staff meeting. Often they could be found in the Mess hall eating lunch together along with Katie. The little girl had adjusted to life on a Starship with ease. In fact she reminded Naomi of herself when she had been a child. Curios, inquisitive and always ending up in places she was not supposed to. I n fact once she had even wandered into Engineering after her mother. Her favorite place on the ship was however the Holodeck. Luckily since the ship had several families Starfleet had provided for a teacher as well as some space designed especially for the children. Katie always called Seven Captain when she saw her in a public place. Privately Seven had given her permission to call her by name. The girl simply adored Seven and Naomi knew the feeling was mutual.
B'Elanna and Seven though comfortable around one another were a totally different story. They obviously enjoyed each other's company but seemed reluctant to push their relationship beyond the friendship they had developed. It was like both were afraid of pushing the other. She had seen them barely able to keep their hands off one another before that fight. Now it was like each step was taken with extreme caution. She hoped they got together because in her heart she knew they were right for each other.
The turbolift deposited Seven and Naomi on the Bridge. As they made their way to the conference room, Lt. Harper who had conn interrupted Seven.
"Captain, I think you should look at this."
Seven moved down to her command chair and punched up the data he referred to on her console. One look and Seven reached out to activate her comm badge. "All hands this is the Captain. Go to Red alert. Senior staff report to the bridge. "
Closing down her comm link she called to the ensign manning tactical "Shields up." Looking over at the Ops. Station she saw that Naomi had already made her way over and had relieved the ensign.
"Naomi, I need sensor analysis to confirm these readings." Although outwardly calm Seven had been experiencing a quiet feeling of dread. `Let it not be what I think it is'
Chapter 11
Seven could hear the voices in her head, a residual effect of her time with the Borg. Whenever she came in contact with the Borg she could almost touch the unity that was the Collective but today she could feel the fear running through the Collective for the first time since that battle 17 years ago. The battle that almost decimated the Borg. It was the single greatest defeat the Borg had ever experienced, and left them vulnerable to Species 8472. A hundred cubes, more than 10 million drones all had been destroyed in a single battle and then as quickly as they had appeared the enemy had disappeared.
"Captain, sensors are picking up signs of debris. They bear a Borg signature. From the amount of debris, I would have to estimate at least 4 cubes have been destroyed." Naomi looked shocked at the carnage the sensors were picking up.
"Scan for life signs." Seven ordered even though she was sure they were not going to be any survivors.
Species 10001
The V'ok. They were the most ruthless force the Delta quadrant had ever seen. No one knew their home planet or even their home system. The Borg had encountered them once and she still shuddered at the memory of that meeting. The V'ok were humanoid but that was all the Borg had been able to discover. Their ships were small biological entities but carried firepower that was disproportionate to their size and suddenly a long buried detail popped to the surface from Seven's memory. The V'ok used no energy weapons instead they used technobiological entities and the damage seemed similar to that which had destroyed the Borg cube in the Alpha Quadrant.
"All available power diverted to shields and weapons, Captain."
Seven looked up to see B'Elanna at the Engineering console on the Bridge.
"Captain, we are approaching the debris field." Ayala reported from his station at Tactical.
"Helm all stop. Keep the shields up Lt. Ayala. Ensign Wildman, change the calibrations of the long-range sensors to look for a biological life sign resembling the Earth creature called a spider. Helm, be prepared to jump to transwarp at a moments notice." Seven was back in full Captain mode. Having identified the enemy she wanted to ensure her crews safety. But her countenance still reflected some of the fear she felt.
James noticed Seven's mood. "Captain, is there something we should prepare for?" The very fact that he called her Captain and not Skipper was a dead giveaway that he was worried. Before she could answer the doors to the Bridge swished open.
Glancing up she saw that Mizati had entered the Bridge.
"Ensign Janeway, I thought I told everyone to report to their posts." Seven did not like it that her daughter had disobeyed her orders.
"Sorry Captain but I think there is something you should know. I know the species we are dealing with." Mizati had paled visibly, the only indication that this was scaring her.
"Species 10001. I am aware of the V'ok, Ensign. I was there at the battle in Grid 2950." Seven replied, her cortical implant climbing up her forehead.
"Indeed, Species 10001, Captain. What we have here are living breathing space organisms, with the firepower of 4 Borg cubes in a ship half the size of Voyager-A. The Borg encountered them again in the battle of Grid 2500 about 5 years, 7 months and 21 days after the battle at grid 2950. The entire Borg assimilation fleet was destroyed, 200 cubes and 15 spheres. The number of drones lost was 20 million two hundred and forty nine thousand. The Borg lost Unimatrices 345 to 360 and were effectively removed from Sector 179 due to the battle." Mizati said in a flat monotone.
"Kahless!!"
"JESUS!! What was the enemy tally?" James exclaimed. The shock and fear evident on his face
"Of the 105 ships the Borg encountered, they were able to destroy 25"
"Holy Mother of God!!"
One look around the bridge told her the feelings were universal.
"Ensign, during Red alert from now on take the secondary tactical station here on the Bridge."
"Captain, I am picking up a distress call from a vessel about 300000 kilometers off our port nacelle. The signature is very weak but appears to be coming from a Romulan ship. I am picking up 2 life signs. Life support is failing." Naomi interrupted from the Ops. Console.
"Bring it up on the view screen."
The all turned to the view screen. In front of them lay what was left of a new D'Tang class battle cruiser, a ship comparable to the Flagship of Starfleet.
"Helm Lay in a course and engage. Sickbay, prepare to receive injured."
"Sickbay here, Captain. Understood." Came the voice of Dr. Zimmerman over the comm.
Seven looked at her First officer thoughtfully.
"What are our Romulan allies doing so far from the Beta quadrant?" he asked puzzled at the distance the Romulans had traveled.
"Indeed. That is a very good question. Scan for any gravimetric distortions that would indicate a wormhole. Perhaps our allies would have an idea of what happened here."
"Captain, we are within transporter range." Lt. Butler reported from helm.
"Transporter Room 3, beam the survivors directly to Sickbay."
"Sickbay here, Captain just received the injured. It looks like we got their First and Doctor, Captain."
"Commander you have the conn. I'll be in Sickbay. Counselor, if you would join me." Seven looked at the strangely silent Betazoid. She looked almost as if she had seen a ghost.
"Counselor, are you all right? Devora, you do not seem well." James asked as he too noticed her condition.
Devora visibly pulled herself together. "Sorry about that Captain, but the voices were a little too many. They all died in agony, Captain. It was like something was eating them alive from the inside." She seemed to be back in control but the fear was very evident in her eyes.
"I know, Devora. I have experienced that fear before. It was the most terrifying thing I had ever felt even though I was Borg at the time." Seven gently put her arm around her Counselor as she led her to the turbolift.
Before leaving Seven turned and looked at B'Elanna who looked very worried. She gave her a reassuring smile and then said, "Commander Torres, I think it is time to bring the new package online. Voyager-A needs to disappear for a while."
"Aye, Captain. I'll need to go down to Engineering and bring it online."
"Then let's get cracking, Commander" Seven replied as she motioned to the turbolift.
Once Seven, Devora and B'Elanna were in the turbolift, Seven ordered the car to Deck 6. Sickbay occupied the entire deck on Voyager-A just as Engineering made up the entire decks 8, 9 and 10.
"Should I be as worried as you both look, Captain?" B'Elanna asked as she looked at Seven and Devora.
"I would not be truthful if I said we had nothing to fear." Seven replied "but if we are cautious, we will get through this alive. Now I understand why the Borg seem to be moving closer to the Federation. The V'ok are moving closer to Borg territory." Seven said as she looked at her crew members.
"The V'ok?"
"That is what they called themselves at Grid 2950."
"You mentioned that before. Was it like Grid 2500?"
"Only worse since the Borg had no clue what hit them. I think it was just 20 ships. A raiding party. The V'ok consider themselves hunters. It was over in thirty minutes. Of a total of 120 Borg ships, 20 survived and we managed to kill 10 V'ok ships."
"Kahless! At least they can be destroyed." B'Elanna could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up at the thought of battle against such a force. Her Klingon blood was pushing her adrenaline.
"Indeed but we will avoid battle as far as possible."
Just then the turbolift car came to a halt in front of Sickbay.
Seven and Devora stepped out of the car and made their way into Sickbay.
"Shall we find out what our guests have to say about the battle, Counselor?"
"Frankly Captain, I don't really want to know."
Seven smiled at her but inwardly she was thinking the very same thing. The V'ok were a greater threat to the Federation than the Borg ever were.
Continued in next part ....