Chapters 10 - 12 added on 30 Jan 2001
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: NC17
Chapter 10
Seven turned her head as she heard the main cargo bay doors open, instead of the auxiliary doors she had installed that would lead into her own quarters. Of course that was only logical since she had given it the same locking mechanism that you would find on the doors to any crew quarters. In fact she actually improved upon them with Borg algorithms since her "sleep" rendered her more helpless then biological sleep. She saw that the person who had just entered was Commander Chakotay and while she initially wondered what brought him to the bay he answered the question by walking up to her. "Commander." "Seven, I thought I would stop by and check in on you." Seven arched her brow. "You are not the first to do so, though I have only been on the project for a day."
She then paused, her face showing her discomfort as her voice softened. "But I. appreciate the concern my crewmates have been showing." Chakotay smiled, but it fell quickly away. "Those crewmembers had informed me of the situation, and I thought I would come down and see how you are doing." The look on his face was serious, and Seven found herself mirroring it as he continued. "The entire engineering crew seemed eager to help you finish your quarters. Even the Captain wanted to come down and help, but with so many qualified engineers volunteering I figured there was no reason to make her swing a spanner." At first Seven felt herself pale at the mention of Captain Janeway, but her color quickly returned when Chakotay told her that she would not be coming to the cargo bay. Briefly Seven wondered it B'Elanna's volatile emotions had somehow infected her body through the saliva that they transferred during kissing.
That thought was shoved aside as she replied. "You do not swing a spanner." He grinned at that. "Just an example." At her arched brow his grin grew. "Ok, a poor example. I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner, but I had a meeting with Tuvok." There was something about the way he said the security officer's name that stood out to her. Suddenly she realized why the commander was speaking in veiled terms. She found herself swallowing as she kept herself from staring wildly around the room, he noticed the look and stepped a little closer in a silent gesture to try to calm her. It seemed to work as he started speaking. "I know you normally like to work alone, but I thought you might like some company." She took a deep breath, but it was still shaky as she released it. "That would be acceptable, and efficient, thank you." Of course what she didn't add was that the reason it would be efficient is that not only would it give Seven help in constructing her quarters, but it would also give her company as Janeway watched her.
She forced herself not to tremble as he turned and started to leave. "Crewman Chell is bringing me a list of names of the suitable candidates and I'll have one here, five, ten minutes tops." Sure enough, when he opened the doors of cargo bay 2 the blue skinned former Maquis was there waiting for him. For the next 10 minutes Seven forced herself to keep from showing any sign of knowing Kathryn Janeway was looking at her over a security monitor. After those inordinately long 10 minutes the cargo bay doors opened to admit the Bajoran engineer Tabor. She looked up and nodded as he stopped and came to a parade rest. "Ensign Tabor, have you been assigned to assist me?" He nodded. "Yes, mam." Suddenly an odd impulse came over her. "Are you sure you will be comfortable taking orders from me?" He looked confused and she elaborated.
"You once expressed discomfort taking orders from me because B'Elanna Torres disliked me." He suddenly grinned from ear to ear. "I apologize mam, I don't see that as being a problem anymore." She grinned as well, and while it was not as obvious it still seemed blatant. The two quickly set to work and Seven found that the company did indeed alleviate her sense of being watched. While it was still there she no longer felt the nearly uncontrollable sense of panic. In fact she initiated a conversation. "Ensign Tabor, may I ask you a question?" He looked up and shrugged. "Go ahead." "May I inquire Bajoran beliefs on same sex relationships?" While Seven didn't realize it that caught the attention of her unseen observer. Again Tabor shrugged. "Before the occupation we concerned ourselves with the castes. So it was considered more acceptable to have a relationship with someone of the same sex if they were from a similar caste then it would be to have a relationship with someone of the opposite sex who is from a lower caste."
Seven barely paused as she replied. "That seems inefficient." He nodded. "If there is one thing the occupation taught us is that all Bajorans are equal, we all died the same." His expression darkened and he focused his attention no what he was working on as Seven spoke. "I apologize if I have made you uncomfortable." He took a breath and shook his head. "No, no, it's me. I'm sorry. During the occupation things were so grim and uncertain you found happiness where you could find it and didn't think about the details." She nodded thoughtfully at that as he continued. "Of course the Cardassian "family" values usually meant that if you were discovered to have a same sex partner you got to die together." She bristled at that and he noticed it. "What? I always thought the Borg would consider Cardassians excellent subjects for assimilation. Both of them are always striving to be perfect, and don't care who they have to hurt to do so."
He noticed her uncomfortable expression. "Not that I consider you one of them, not any more. I mean you were taken and forced to labor for them at a young age." She nodded, but still seemed uncomfortable. "You are incorrect however. While Cardassian drones are valued for their mental abilities they are also considered a highly inefficient species. In the Collective individuals are evaluated based upon their own attributes while Cardassians tend towards judgements based on irrelevant things like species. " Tabor seemed shocked at that. "So what you are saying is that Cardassians are worse then the Borg?" She seemed to consider that. "Yes." He actually smiled as the cargo bay doors opened to admit Captain Kathryn Janeway. As Seven laid eyes on the captain of the Federation starship Voyager she tensed up and found herself oddly comforted as she saw Ensign Tabor tense up as well. Janeway seemed to notice it and strangely gave a small smile. "At ease. I'm not here to check up on you. I was just hoping to talk to Seven."
They both paused for several long seconds as they both looked for a way out, but unable to find one Seven stood and took her normal posture with her hands behind her at the small of her back and looked directly at her superior officer. "Yes Captain?" Janeway nodded once. "Come with me please." There was another long pause as Janeway turned to look at Tabor. "I assume you can continue on your own Ensign?" He nodded curtly. "Yes mam." Seven then took a step forward and followed Captain Janeway out of the cargo bay. As they reached the turbolift Janeway ordered the computer to let them off near her quarters and Seven felt a wave of panic begin to crest inside of her. As they stood in the turbolift Janeway turned to Seven. "There is something I have to tell you." Since Seven had taken her normal posture her hands could not be seen nor could the knuckles that were white as she clenched her fists. Though the rest of her body gave no outward sign.
"Commander Tuvok has been relieved of duty." Strangely the wave of panic evaporated as if it had never existed, because in her heart Seven knew that Janeway was somehow responsible. Her expression actually became relaxed as her normally emotionless nature rose. No longer was she looking at her mentor. Now it was as if she was evaluating a species for assimilation, a specimen that she found unworthy. "Why?" Janeway still was looking sad. "He has entered Pon Farr." Seven arched her brow. "It is early." Janeway looked confused. "How would you know?" Seven's typically superior expression surfaced. "I have known that the condition affects all Vulcans every seven years. While Ensign Vorik's has been dealt with I knew Tuvok's would need to be dealt with as well, but it is early." Janeway's expression had all emotion forced from it as she shrugged and Seven knew that the Captain had somehow induced the condition in her security officer.
"Is he in sickbay?" Janeway shook her head. "I have taken the Doctor off of the immunization detail and let him focus on treating Tuvok in his quarters." Seven nodded once. "I will assist him." Janeway again looked surprised. "How?" Seven simply arched her brow. "The Collective suppresses all of an individuals personality and I have been attempting to adapt such procedures to cure Tuvok's Pon Farr." "So what, you're going to assimilate him?" While Seven thought her expression conveyed how ridiculous she considered the idea for an odd reason Janeway smiled. "No Captain. I have been working on an implant that could regulate the imbalance that occurs during Pon Farr." Seven ordered the turbolift to take them to Tuvok's quarters as Janeway spoke. "So there would be surgery?" Seven nodded. "Yes Captain, but it could be used for bonded Vulcans who are unable to reach their mates." "Still, I doubt you would find many willing to be implanted with Borg technology."
The turbolift came to a halt and Seven stepped out. "When the only other option is death they may reconsider. Either way I wish to present the option to Tuvok." Janeway nodded. "Carry on. I'll be in my ready room." Seven didn't bother to nod as she walked to Tuvok's door and keyed the admittance chime when she received the "do not disturb" notice she overrode it. Once inside she saw the quarters were darkened except for the glow of Tuvok's meditation lamp. As Seven's enhanced vision amplified the ambient light she saw that Tuvok was staring intently into the lamp while the Doctor scanned him. Tuvok was the first to address Seven. "I apologize, but any concerns you have will have to be taken to Commander Chakotay." Seven shook her head. "That matter concerns you." Even in the distressed state of Pon Farr Tuvok arched his brow. "How so?"
"I believe Captain Janeway has induced your Pon Farr." Tuvok nodded. "I had considered the possibility as well." The Doctor held up his tricorder and pushed several buttons. "Well so far I have not found any evidence of tampering with Tuvok's brain chemistry." Neither seemed to address the hologram's contradiction. Tuvok continued to address Seven of Nine. "My suspicions were raised by my knowledge of my reproductive cycles. What raised your suspicions?" "The same. You are a friend, and Pon Farr is a life threatening condition, so I sought to increase my knowledge of the affliction both in general and in your case in particular." The Doctor kept his eyes on his tricorder. "I was able to cure Ensign Vorik, and I will be able to cure Tuvok." Suddenly the EMH paused and both stared at him until he turned around and dashed to Tuvok's console. Both were curious but Seven asked the question. "Have you found something Doctor?"
He stepped back. "I'd prefer if Mr. Tuvok confirmed it." The two turned to look at the kneeling Vulcan who got to his feet with a grunt. Walking over to the console he tapped the keys a few times and then looked back to his companions. "It appears that the captain's command codes were used to access Ensign Vorik's medical files, and then to attempt to remove all traces of the access. Could such information be used to induce Pon Farr?" The Doctor nodded mournfully. "In medicine part of discovering the cure is discovering how the damage happens in the first place. I just hope that means I will have an easier time treating it then I did in treating Vorik." Seven was the next to speak. "There is another option. In my research into Pon Farr with a possible treatment." Tuvok seemed interested and the Doctor was surprised as she spoke. "I can incorporate assimilation technologies to regulate the biochemical changes brought on by Pon Farr."
"So you would have to assimilate Tuvok?" She looked at the Doctor. "No, it would be a single implant programmed only to regulate the changes brought on by Pon Farr." Instead of the normally emotionally cool tone Tuvok's voice seemed forcefully bereft of emotion. "Where would the implant be located?" "It would be placed between the left and right hemispheres of your brain." Both men were surprised at that, but Tuvok was able to hide it as he continued. "And how would it be powered?" "The implant would receive regular maintenance in which energy could be transmitted." Tuvok arched his brow. "It appears the implant would be quite impairing." Seven arched her brow. "No more so then death." He nodded. "None the less I will first attempt to work with the Doctor on an alternate cure." Seven nodded calmly. "It is a prototype, but I wanted you to know it was an option." Tuvok nodded. "Thank you for your efforts."
The Doctor seemed lost in thought. "While were not going to put an implant in Tuvok's brain I may be able to use your nanoprobes in his treatment." The Doctor found himself the focus of attention as he continued. "I may be able to use the nanoprobes to stimulate the areas of the brain that are. stimulated during mating." Tuvok seemed ready to reply, but as he did both Seven and the Doctor noted his voice seemed shaky. "While it is true that many of the reactions of Pon Farr are biochemical there is a uniqueness that is provided through my link with T'Pel." The Doctor moved to support Tuvok as Seven followed his lead. "Yes, but if this would work they could take the edge off and allow your meditation to finish the job." Suprisingly Tuvok did not resist as they helped him kneel before his meditation candle. The Doctor then spoke. "For now use your meditation to hold on while I work on a cure. Seven, will you be all right on your own?"
"Yes." The answer was so calm both men searched her face for the truth as the Doctor arched his brow. "Are you sure?" "Yes, before you had only been inconvenienced because of the Captain's obsession for me. Now Tuvok has been injured and his life is in jeopardy." The Doctor cursed under his breath. "What is the Captain thinking?" Tuvok spoke as he started to stare into his meditation candle. "Undoubtedly she figures that you will be able to cure my condition as you did Ensign Vorik's but we will both be kept occupied as you do so." "Well I appreciate the compliment on my skill, but this is still unbelievable." Seven arched her brow. "Yet it is happening." He nodded and then turned to Tuvok. "I'm going to sickbay to start work, but I'm going to leave you with a cortical monitor, and I want you to call me if you experience any changes." The Vulcan nodded once as the Doctor affixed the monitor. The Doctor then turned to Seven. "While I won't affix a monitor the same goes for you. Call me if you need anything."
Her face was impassive. "You should focus your attentions on Tuvok. but I will keep your recommendation in mind." The Doctor looked skeptical but nodded and left. "Seven." Seven turned around to find Tuvok looking up at her. "While I know you are angry with Captain Janeway I know you will act logically. I however am making a personal request that you show leniency." She nodded reluctantly and left the room as well. When she entered the turbolift she sent it cruising towards Cargo Bay 2. As she walked to the doors she was preparing to dismiss Ensign Tabor for the day. As the doors opened she realized the duty was more difficult then she would have imagined. For not only was Tabor working on her quarters but over two dozen other individuals were as well. While she realized that most of them were gathered for B'Elanna she recognized Ensign Wildman, and sure enough Naomi was seen soon after running up to her. "Seven! Isn't it great? Everyone heard about you finally getting your own quarters and decided to help."
Seven arched her brow at the young girl. "Naomi Wildman. Are you assisting with their efforts?" Naomi scrunched her face up. "Well, sorta. I'm running around getting them tools and stuff." Harry walked up to them smiling. "And she's going a great job of it too. You should really see this Seven. Tabor called in some friends of his from the Maquis, and they called a few friends in engineering, who told a few friends in astrometrics. and here you are." Seven didn't show the shock she felt, but as she observed closer she did indeed detect individuals like Tal Celes and others from astrometrics. Seven looked at Harry and her expression of confusion was blatant. "I do not understand why so many individuals are willing to provide assistance." Harry smiled and leaned in to speak in a hushed voice. "Well there are some obvious cases like Neelix and Naomi, but the Delany sisters decided to help out because they knew some of the guys checked you out as you regenerated and they were happy to see you doing something to stop them. While some of the guys are probably hoping to get on your good side."
Seven simply arched her brow as he grinned. "Some just think you have a right to quarters, and I figure some of them see it as you becoming more human. Whatever the reason you made a quite the impact with the crew, and this is the result." Seven's eyes were wide and her voice was faint. "How do I respond?" Harry smiled. "You don't have to." At first she looked at him and then she looked over to where the crew was working and found several of them smiling kindly at her. The shocked expression she did have quickly turned to embarrassment. The blush was rising on her cheeks as she turned away. "I need to speak with Commander Chakotay. I will return to assist with the construction after I have done so." Harry was still smiling as he watched her leave. "Take your time." While walking to the turbolift Seven found that the elation of seeing how many people were helping to construct her quarters was quickly tempered by the fear of their reactions of what she was about to do.
Chapter 11
The turbolift let her off on the bridge and she walked up to the command chairs. There she felt the familiar gaze of Captain Janeway attempting to take liberties with her, but now it felt as if they were attempting to do so through a layer of Borg armor. "Seven, what can I do for you?" While Janeway's voice showed her pleasure at Seven's visit she showed no response at all. "Actually I need to speak to Commander Chakotay." The reaction could only be described as a "captain-like pout". "All right, please feel free to use my ready room." Chakotay nodded and stood up to follow as Seven walked brusquely through the ready room doors. Before either of them spoke she turned and entered a long string of commands into the pad at the side of the door.
He looked at her confusedly and she quickly answered. "I have used Borg algorithms to scramble all sensors in the room." He nodded. "Won't that make the Captain suspicious?" "Yes, but she will only be able to act on those suspicions if she reveals that she attempted to eavesdrop on a private conversation." He stepped close and seemed ready to try to calm her. "It still might cause her to take action." Seven straightened her already perfect posture. "She already has taken action. There is sufficient evidence to indicate she is responsible for Tuvok being relieved of duty." He knew there was more to what she was saying, but decided not to follow up on it since the reasons behind Tuvok being relieved of duty were being kept hush-hush. "Can you prove it?" Seven shook her head. "Not yet, but I can prove that she has been harassing me. That will occupy long enough for further evidence to be gathered." Chakotay looked down, his reluctance obvious, but before Seven could speak he took a deep breath and seemed to shake himself.
"Since Tuvok is unavailable I will have to draw up charges myself, but that could take a day or two." Seven arched her brow. "One day or two?" He smiled a faint smile. "I would prefer to say two. The first to gather statements and file the appropriate forms, the second to inform the Captain of the charges and make any necessary modifications to the command structure." He noticed she was trembling slightly. "Seven, are you alright?" She took a deep breath and the trembling stopped. "I will be." He nodded. "Until then I will denote you as off duty so that you can finish your quarters and get settled in." He then paused. "But if the Captain has reached the point of injuring members of the crew we need to take steps to insure your safety." She arched her brow and straightened her shoulders as she waited for him to continue. "While your quarters do need to be finished it is too obvious of a location for it to be safe. Would you be able to skip regeneration for tonight and spend the night in B'Elanna's quarters?"
Seven nodded. "I have been attempting to sleep, and believe I could do so." Chakotay smirked and that and Seven noticed. "Commander?" His smirk grew. "I was just wondering where you have been trying to sleep since you are only now getting a bed?" She blushed lightly and his smile grew. The mood thus lightened his face grew solemn. "I will set the computer to read you are in your quarters until Captain Janeway has been formally charged and we can provide a security detail as needed. For now I believe this will be sufficient. Though you can carry a phaser if you wish." Seven shook her head. "I am capable of defending myself, and with the exception of the Captain I feel safe on Voyager." He smiled, but also seemed confused, so she elaborated. "I have researched criminal acts and their impact upon their victims. My abilities and environment afford me a sufficient amount of protection, being armed would be surrendering to fear."
He nodded. "That's good, but don't be afraid to call for security." She arched her brow in a condescending expression. "Of course Commander." She then paused and seemed unsure of how to continue. "Thank you. I know this is not easy for you." He looked her in the eyes and nodded. She took that as a silent dismissal and left the room. From there she made her way past Janeway with out pausing to look and strode into the turbolift. The turbolift let her off at cargo bay 2 and when she arrived she found the number of individuals at work had nearly doubled, and as she stared on in awe Chell explained. "Chakotay decided that since he was giving you two days to get settled in he might as well make sure you got settled in right away. So he called in some favors. It must be nice having friends in such high places." Seven's eyes were wide. "It appears I have more friends then I thought." While Chell did not look up nearly a fourth of those gathered did, and smiled. With out another word Seven walked to where the tools were gathered and set in to work.
Several hours later after a reluctant Naomi Wildman had been dragged away by her mother they were left surveying barren, but complete quarters. Harry Kim was standing next to her and clapped his hands together to remove some non-existent dust. "Well, we were hoping to furnish it for you, but the rush order kinda quashed that idea. Still, I suppose you won't need much right away, I mean we built right around the alcoves and console. So you can furnish it according to your own tastes." Seven turned and arched her brow at Harry. "I do not have tastes." He grinned at her. "Yeah, but you will, and until then you can ask other members of the crew for advice. Like you said, you have more friends then you realized." Seven smiled shyly at that, Harry smiled back at her. "Well, now we will leave you to regenerate." She raised her voice so that everyone assembled could hear her. "I have often said that Voyager is my new Collective, and that meant that I would do anything to insure its safety and well being. What I did not realize is that my new Collective felt the same about me. I have now realized my error."
Everyone present seemed strangely moved by the woman's words, and they all were smiling as they left through the doors to her quarters. Now alone she quickly walked up to her console and entered commands. The first set put her alcove into a regeneration cycle, but with out an occupant, the excess energy was simply returned to ship's function. The second set of commands routed any incoming transmissions to her console to instead go to B'Elanna's quarters. That done she initiated a site to site transport to B'Elanna's quarters. The air in the room was cool, but that was to be expected because any time a crewmember was scheduled away from the ship more then a day the life support to their quarters was cut to conserve energy. With a sudden burst of inspiration Seven redirected the energy from her alcove to B'Elanna's quarters, because while her biosuit maintained her body temperature her face and hands were exposed and would be more comfortable in a warm room.
Of course she would change before she slept. As B'Elanna had informed her, high heels and high tech fabric were not suited for sleeping in. Of course the previous times she had slept were usually after she and B'Elanna had made love and she would not be wearing anything at all. So she had made that her common practice. Since B'Elanna's transmission had yet to arrive she decided to get ready for bed, and shed her biosuit. She calmly folded it and set it on B'Elanna's dresser. Then she realized she had a problem. While she had been nude before it had never been for long. She found that she felt self conscious lounging around B'Elanna's quarters nude. Even though she knew that she would be alone for most of the next two days she had the desire to put on some sort of covering. She finally decided to look through B'Elanna's dresser. While the engineer had often taken exception to Seven borrowing things with out asking Seven figured her status as "girlfriend" allowed it.
Finally she settled on one of B'Elanna's undershirts and a pair of B'Elanna's undergarments. There was a strange feeling of excitement when she realized how close these garments were worn to B'Elanna's body. Now feeling both sufficiently covered as well as sufficiently casual she sat down to wait for B'Elanna's transmission. After 30 minutes of waiting she noticed several PADDs on the table. Actually she had noticed them when she first arrived, but after 30 minutes she thought to see if they could occupy some of her time. Unfortunately they were mostly for completed projects that B'Elanna had wrapped up before leaving the ship. They were able to occupy an hour, but most of that was from the day's physical and emotional fatigue slowing her down. After that hour she started to look over B'Elanna's furnishings since she was going to have to find decorations for her own quarters. Thirty minutes more had passed as she found another PADD powered down and tucked away in a spot that was not readily apparent. There was a stab of guilt because it appeared to be something B'Elanna wanted to remain hidden, but curiosity won out and she powered it up.
It was called "Daughters of the Empire" and it appeared to be a klingon novel. She brought up the synopsis and learned it was in fact a klingon romance novel that involved the typically warring houses of the empire. Then as she read the names of the main characters she realized they were both female and a smile formed on her face. It was at that precise moment the console started beeping signaling the incoming transmission. It startled her enough to drop the PADD that she was holding in her human hand. Her Borg hand quickly picked it up, powered it down and tucked it back where she found it as she turned and walked to the console. Opening her end of the transmission B'Elanna's face was seen, and Seven automatically smiled. Torres smiled as well, but there was a subtle question to it. "Seven, are you ok?" Seven was confused. "Ok? "You're blushing." Seven's blush deepened. "Your call surprised me." B'Elanna nodded. "I thought you might be regenerating by this time."
Seven nodded as well. "I would be, but there have been developments. Captain Janeway has progressed to hurting members of the crew." Torres looked like she didn't believe it. "How?" "She induced Tuvok's Pon Farr." That caused B'Elanna's eyes to widen. "Pon Farr, but that's fatal." Seven nodded. "Yes, but it is assumed that she is counting upon the Doctor to be able to cure him." At that B'Elanna started nodding. "Which would take them both out of play, clever." Seven continued for her. "But dangerous. It was at that point I chose to press charges." Torres nodded and her voice softened. "Ok, since Tuvok has probably been relieved of duty who did you talk to?" "Chakotay, he had expressed that the Maquis had made him aware of the situation and he was on our side." Seven saw her smile as she continued. "The Commander suggested that I be marked as off duty while he filed the charges." B'Elanna nodded. "Ok, why does he have you marked off duty?"
"He listed it as time to get settled into my quarters." B'Elanna was confused. "Settle in" does that mean they are done?" A large smile appeared on Seven's face. "A large group of individuals provided assistance. Friends of yours. and mine." B'Elanna grinned. "Can I assume they said as much?" The already large smile on Seven's face seemed to grow. "Yes, but the Commander suggested that I in fact spend the time in your quarters in case the Captain tries to get to me." The growl came over subspace loud and clear. "And you have to face it alone!" Seven shook her head. "Even now Tuvok is willing to provide all the support he is able. As well as the Doctor and numerous members of the crew." B'Elanna seemed ready to explain what she was trying to say as Seven continued. "Your presence will be missed tonight, when I am trying to sleep alone." B'Elanna held her hand up and touched the monitor on her end an action Seven mirrored.
"So how was your day?" B'Elanna laughed at Seven's words and Seven arched her brow. "Sorry, sorry Seven. For some reason that struck me as funny. Probably since you've had such a. odd day yourself." Seven nodded. "Odd is as accurate term because of positive and negative events occurred." B'Elanna bit her bottom lip for a moment. "Well, so far so good. Since we are in transit not much has been able to happen, though the Doctor will have to treat Tom when we get back." Seven seemed scared. "Is he. functional?" B'Elanna laughed. "He lives to tell the tale, and while his eye is swollen up it is not swollen shut so he's fine." "Didn't you use the dermal regenerator?" B'Elanna chuckled. "Oh, I used it all right. I hurt my hand on a hatch and he healed it, but didn't want to let it go after the wound was treated. So I took the dermal regenerator and knocked him upside the head with it. Well it broke, the regenerator, not his head. I guess Tom is lucky he is human, because it is their God who is supposed to look after fools and small children."
Seven grinned. "And which category does Mr. Paris fall under?" B'Elanna laughed. "Both." As they both laughed Seven yawned, and then seemed shocked that she did so. Giving Seven a soft smile she said. "I think it's time for my little drone to get herself to bed." Seven looked ready to argue, but still smiling Torres shook her head. "Hey, it's late and you've had a big day." "But I am not on duty tomorrow so I can "sleep in." B'Elanna grinned. "Yeah, but I can't and I need some sleep too." "I had not considered that." Seven then paused. "But I believe you did." The grin remained. "You caught me. I don't want to go, but the two of us could, and probably would talk until we dropped." "So? I miss you." B'Elanna's smile turned into a pout. "I miss you too. I don't know how I will manage to sleep with out you watching over me." With out missing a beat Seven replied. "I always am." B'Elanna's eyes actually teared up slightly. "I love you." "I love you too." Slowly, reluctantly B'Elanna reached out and closed the channel.
Chapter 12
Kathryn Janeway had to stab at the PADD several times before she was able to finally power it down. Yet it didn't help because its message had been burned into her brain. "Sexual Harassment" in the 24th century Federation it was considered a thing of the past, but the laws remained on the books, and now it seemed it was with good reason. Janeway cursed her father, that damn Janeway pigheadedness that can make them a fine captain, but suitable for little else. She blamed Seven because if she was so ready to be emotional with B'Elanna Torres could she have been emotional enough to tell Janeway to leave her alone. Then there was this little voice deep inside her. It sounded like her mother because it even was faint like Janeway was already in the process of doing whatever it was her mother would advise against, and she knew it would do any real good. Yet this time Katie heard.
Her father might have been pigheaded, but Kathryn wasn't just his daughter and her sister had shown that there was more to it then the Janeway DNA. Seven, well Janeway had been sensitive to her emotions until she started courting her, and while she didn't want to admit it she was still aware, but she was oh so determined to change them. Starfleet had the protocol for a reason, and now she was seeing exactly why. Then she realized the problem. Seven didn't understand subtlety. Or perhaps she did, but she considered it irrelevant. So she really did bring this upon herself. When she should have just come right out and admit her feelings she hid them and used manipulation to try to get what she wanted. It was with a stab of guilt she realized that Seven deserved more then that. Resolved she got to her feet and vowed to find Seven and explain her feelings while apologizing for her actions. While she knew that the sexual harassment charge forbid her from coming anywhere near the one who had filed it she figured that wouldn't be a problem once Seven withdrew the charges.
As she got up and walked on to the bridge she saw that no one was willing to look her in the eye, and she realized how badly she had messed things up. A crew needs confidence in their Captain, and while her dating Seven wouldn't shake that using her influence to deal with her competition would. She filed the information back in her head and focused on finding Seven. As she got into the turbolift she asked for the location of Seven of Nine. "Seven of Nine is in her quarters." Janeway did smile slightly at that. If she was unsure if Seven was ready for romance the fact that she requested her own quarters proved that she was indeed ready. Striding up to the crew doors that stood next to cargo bay 2 she pressed the admittance chime, and got no response. Waiting a couple of minutes she pressed it again to no response. Her face scrunched up and she wondered if Seven could be regenerating. Who could blame her after the way Janeway had confused her? "Computer, status of the Borg alcoves." The calm voice of the computer immediately replied. "That information is under a privacy seal."
The confused Janeway, but she barely paused. Override, Captain's authorization Janeway pi2." "Privacy seal overridden. The Borg alcoves are not in use." Again Janeway's face scrunched up. "Then where is Seven of Nine." Unbidden the computer responded. "Seven of Nine is in her quarters." "Computer, open the doors." "Unable to comply, doors are sealed with Borg algorithms." Janeway sighed and run her hands over her face. "Computer, scan for lifesigns inside Seven of Nine's quarters." "No lifesigns detected." Janeway's expression got dark and she nodded to herself. "They feel the need to hide her from me, not that I blame them. I NEED to get this resolved." She wasn't surprised when she saw Chakotay step from the turbolift, but she was surprised when she saw the phaser on his belt. "Is that for me?" Chakotay shook his head. "It's for regulations, like the ones that say you have to stay away from Seven until the trial." Janeway shook her head. "I was hoping to speak with her privately and resolve this issue before that became necessary, but you are right. Regulations are regulations."
He didn't seem to believe her, but he nodded and she sighed. "I'm handing over control of the bridge to you until this is all over. I'll be in my quarters." He looked concerned. "Kathryn?" She shook her head. "Don't worry Chakotay. I'm not going to sick into another depression. I'm just going to try to find a way to explain this was all a misunderstanding." He nodded once and turned back to the turbolift. She waited for the next car and got in. Once there she spoke to herself. "And to do that I have to explain the misunderstanding to Seven. Computer, sickbay." She noticed that the computer seemed to take an extra second to process her command, and with a shock she realized that her access to the ship had been restricted. She gave her fists and let out a deep breath, but sickbay seemed to be on the list of areas of the ship she was allowed to visit and moments later she was walking through the doors to sickbay. The EMH looked up and this time he didn't disguise his disdain for the Captain of the Starship Voyager. "Doctor." "Captain."
She walked to stand in front of him and he turned to avoid her. "Doctor. I need to make things right." He didn't even bother looking up as he responded. "Then you can tell me how you induced Tuvok's Pon Farr." "What good would it do? All I did was speed up his biological clock." He did look up at that. "And endangered his life!" She straightened her posture and arched an eyebrow. "Have you managed to find a cure?" He grimaced. "Yes I did, but that is not the point!" She shook her head. "No, the point is that I can't do anything to help there, but I can try to explain myself to Seven." The Doctor shook his head. "She understands all to well." She shook her head sadly. "No Doctor, she doesn't, and neither do you. Yes, I was wrong to use my rank to try to come between her and B'Elanna. I still however think that B'Elanna will be bad for her and was acting with the best of intentions." He looked up and looked her directly in the eye. "And they paved the road to a personal hell for Seven of Nine. Do you even realize how much it did to her to have someone she considered a mentor doing the things you did?"
She actually smirked at that. "I would think you of all people would understand that." He looked disgusted. "Captain, there is a difference between having feelings and acting on them." "Be that as it may, I need to speak with her." He shook his head. "What you need is counseling. Now please leave before I am forced to call security." It was bad enough for Janeway to have fallen in love with a hologram, but now one was looking down on her. She turned to the computer console and started entering commands. At first she feared it would be restricted, but it appeared that Chakotay had trusted his previous commands to keep Seven safe. All he was doing was restricting her movements. The Doctor looked over. "What are you doing?" Then on some level he seemed to feel it as she opened up his program parameters. "Don't!" Maybe it was too late, or maybe she just didn't listen, but she disabled his ethical subroutines with only a few keystrokes. She was smiling as she turned back to the Doctor, but to her surprise her was turned away from her and fixing a hypospray.
"Doctor?" He voice was light and cheery, and he actually had a smile on his face. "Yes Kathryn?" "Is that something to help Tuvok." He grinned at her as he stepped close. "In a way." He was still smiling as he quickly extended his arm ad pressed the hypospray to Janeway's neck. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped while her hand went to cover the spot he had injected the compound into. "W.w." He smiled. "Don't try to speak. There is no point to exerting yourself. I injected you with a compound that is liquefying your gray matter even as we speak. I figure it is defective anyway so why keep it around. Of course you'll die in the process, but I figure that's best in the long run for everyone involved." She had collapsed to the floor as he was speaking and he calmly lifted her up unto a biobed. While she writhed in agony and began to bleed from her nose and ears he started breaking out instruments. For a second he almost seemed sympathetic to her pain. "I know the pain is excruciating, but such concerns are a matter of my ethical subroutines which you so thoughtfully deactivated. So I was finally able to act on the desire I had to hurt you ever since I learned what you had put Seven through."
Janeway seemed to be trying to speak as he started lifting the tools up. "Kathryn, Kathryn, Kathryn. I said you might as well not try to speak. By now those parts of your brain are about like the coffee substitute Neelix tries to serve you. I just thought I would get my autopsy tools out early, but my procedural subroutines are still in tact so I can wait until you finally die. Really Kathryn, those lustful thoughts you had. I mean while I may have feelings for her they are far nobler. Perhaps you should have gotten some ethical subroutines installed. Could have kept you out of the mess you are in now." He looked again and noticed that Janeway's eyes had closed and after a quick scan with a tricorder he confirmed she was dead. "Ah well, back to work." The doors to sickbay opened and Commander Chakotay entered, but the biobed holding the body of Captain Kathryn Janeway was not immediately visible. "Doctor. Where's the Captain." He smiled at the first officer. "In hell probably, but that goes beyond the scope of my programming."
He pushed past the Doctor and saw her body. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" He looked calmly at him. "I removed a threat to the lives of my patients." "Computer deactivate the EMH!" He looked shocked. "Now see here!" "And override autonomy." He turned to the biobed and tried opening Kathryn Janeway's eyes. "Kathryn! Kathryn! Can you hear me?" His hands then fell away. Her skin was cold and her eyes were the all to familiar glassy gaze of the dead. He still used a tricorder to confirm it, but he slammed it shut and slammed it down on the console. As he held his head low he saw a console on the wall was active. Looking over to it he saw the EMH program's protocols were still open, and he saw how the ethical subroutines were still open. "Oh Kathryn, what did you do?"
It was several days later and Chakotay sat in what was now his ready room trying not to feel the weight of the four pips on his collar. He still wore his Maquis symbol but it was on the opposite side. He took a breath before speaking. "Captains log. computer fill in the appropriate stardate. I have just returned from the funeral services for this ships former commanding officer Captain Kathryn Janeway. At first I wasn't sure how many would even show up, but the crew apparently decided to celebrate her life and it's accomplishments. Though her final days still cast a pall over the proceedings. It could be seen in the face of Seven of Nine who she had harassed, and it could be seen in the face of Tom Paris whom she had enlisted to help her. If only she could have been hit in the face with the truth like Ensign Paris had been when he was hit in the face with a dermal regenerator. Thankfully Lieutenant Torres has declined to press charges, because I don't think this crew could take much more."
"There will also be no charges filed in the death of Kathryn Janeway as the fully recovered Tuvok ruled her death accidental through her own actions deactivating the ethical subroutines of the EMH. If only the EMH could be convinced of the same. He is currently on limited duty while Tom Paris has been picking up much of the slack in sickbay." Chakotay looked wearily around the room still feeling the presence of its former occupant as he took a breath and continued. "Otherwise things have been running smoothly, perhaps too smoothly and the facts have not sunk in. Or maybe her final actions severed those close ties that still bind her to the bridge crew? I prefer to think that they simply decided the best way to honor her memory is to do their duties to the best of their ability." He sighed again. "End log." Running his fingers over a symbol his people believed honored their dead he said a small prayer and walked out to the bridge. "Status."
Harry Kim looked up from his new position in the command chair. "Warp 5.9 heading back to the alpha quadrant." Many Had expected Tuvok to take the position but the Vulcan had requested that he be allowed to remain in his chosen field of security and had instead taken over the ops position as well while the looked for a replacement. So Harry Kim was given the promotion that many had considered long overdue. As he sat down at his command chair and looked at his console. Seven of Nine was still off duty, but B'Elanna Torres was as well. While he worried for both of them he saw that they were now sharing the newly remodeled quarters next to cargo bay 2. He rested back in his chair thinking to himself. This is a fine ship, and a great crew, and they would adapt.