This is a work of fiction. Characters belong to Paramount. This story contains a romantic relationship between female characters. If you don't like it, don't read it! I would welcome any reviews/comments. Enjoy!
That Groundhog Day Feeling
"Captain's log, Stardate 52464.3. Seven-of-Nine and I are returning to Voyager aboard the Delta Flyer after a successful survey mission to the unusual system nearby. The T-class nebula surrounding the type 2 pulsar shows promising signs of deuterium and other useful substances. End log."
Janeway turned to her companion, stifling a yawn. It had been a long and – apart from when the first scan of the nebula showed a multitude of goodies badly needed by Voyager – rather unexciting away mission. She was looking forward to a hot bath, a good meal and a long sleep, in that order.
"Are you going to relax a little once we get back, Seven?" asked Janeway, putting her hands behind her head and reclining in her chair as she watched her astrometrics officer with a smile.
Seven-of-Nine shot her captain a pointed look which was entirely expected. "I shall begin the analysis of the astrometric data we collected," she replied, refocusing her attention back on the control panel in front of her.
Janeway studied the younger woman as she piloted the shuttlecraft. The ex-Borg had made huge progress in her struggle to regain the humanity that was snatched away at an early age, forcing the little girl that Seven once was into the life of a mindless, murderous Borg drone before being rescued by Janeway and her crew. Seven still showed traits that had been ingrained and developed during that time, including efficiency and single-mindedness, and Janeway tried often to persuade the younger woman that sometimes she needed to take a break.
"You know, Seven, you should take some time off for once; the scans can wait. Socialise a little, use the holodeck if you like."
"Excellent idea, Captain. A holodeck simulation would allow me to combine the sensor data from several scans simultaneously, and I could use Mr. Kim's assistance - "
Janeway laughed, interrupting the younger woman who gave her that look again, and the captain choked back her amusement. "That's not what I had in mind, Seven. I think it's safe to say Mr. Paris's holoprogram of Sandrine's will be running tonight – why not go along, have a meal, a dance. Half the officers will no doubt be there."
Seven scowled, releasing the controls as she left the shuttlecraft under automatic guidance. She turned to Janeway who met her gaze quizzically.
"Something on your mind, Seven?" asked the older woman, sitting up straight and leaning towards her companion. She had caught the slight change of atmosphere that usually preceded one of Seven's profound and often difficult questions.
"I was wondering if I should try…dating again," Seven finally replied, almost but not quite meeting Janeway's eyes. The captain relaxed; questions about the nature of humanity were one thing, but this one wasn't quite that tough.
"Why not? Just because you had one bad experience doesn't mean you shouldn't try again. Whom do you have in mind?" Though the Captain didn't want to pry, she was curious, and given that Seven's last choice was inadvisable Janeway wanted to steer her friend clear of another certain disaster.
"That is the problem, Captain. My analysis shows that there is a lack of suitable mates aboard Voyager."
Janeway leaned back with a shrug, acknowledging Seven's point. Then, with a sly grin, she turned to the blonde again. "What about the women?" she asked, carefully watching the other woman's expression. It did not alter in the slightest.
"I considered all members of the crew, Captain. The same is true for the females as for the males; they are unsuitable. Many are already attached, a significant number possess ranks that are too low or too high to consider a match, some are too intellectually inferior, and some I have found…disagreeable."
"Ok, I take it back; it sounds like you've done your research. Just wanted to make sure you'd considered all the options. I'll have a think, see if anyone occurs to me." Janeway smiled and looked out of the viewscreen. As her glance idly swept across the stars she noticed a faint glow at the very top of the screen.
"What's that?" she asked, not particularly addressing either her companion or the computer as she pressed buttons to initiate a scan. Seven understood immediately and ordered the computer to run a full sensor sweep. The glow became brighter and suddenly warning beeps began to sound from several stations. The shuttlecraft began to shake, gently at first then wildly, almost throwing the occupants from their seats.
"I am detecting an increase in polaron and chronoton particles, Captain," said Seven calmly, as though she was talking about the weather. A massive jolt impacted the Delta Flyer, sending Janeway tumbling to the floor.
"What the hell is going on?!" shouted Janeway, struggling to right herself. Seven was studying the sensor data as she hung on with one arm.
"An unrecognised wave phenomenon. Shields holding at forty percent."
"Try a graviton burst, might be enough to disrupt whatever it is," ordered Janeway. Seven hit buttons and the computer beeped in response. The turbulence appeared to subside for a moment but then continued as before.
"No effect. Impact in four…three…two…one -"
********************
Seven-of-Nine's eyes blinked open and she awoke to the sight of Voyager's Chief Medical Officer waving a tricorder in front of her face. The Doctor snatched the piece of equipment away quickly as Seven suddenly sat up.
"Ah, welcome back, Seven. Nothing wrong with your motor functions, I see. How are you feeling?"
The former Borg swung her legs down from the bed and took stock. She felt a slight headache but was relieved to find all of her limbs intact and her brain still functioning.
"I feel fine, Doctor. I must return to astrometrics to analyse - "
She caught sight of the Doctor's worried expression and stopped mid-sentence, raising one eyebrow questioningly.
"I think you should remain in sick bay for the time being, Seven. We don't yet know what happened to you, and whatever it was seems to have affected the Captain." He indicated a bed across the room where Janeway lay, unmoving.
"All the more reason for me to analyse the Delta Flyer's scans, Doctor."
Seven stood, appearing more confident than she felt, and strode over to her captain. She reached out a hand and briefly touched the older woman's arm, then turned to the Doctor as he began to speak again.
"As far as I can tell, her brain pattern is slightly out of phase. I could correct it easily with a medical phase resequencer, but without knowing what caused it I'm reluctant to do so. I need more information."
Seven nodded in reply. As she did so, the sick bay doors slid open and Chakotay entered, followed by Tuvok. The worry in Chakotay's face was evident as he was briefly updated by the Doctor.
"Seven, I want you in astrometrics. Torres has downloaded your scans of the nebula and pulsar, see if you can find anything unusual."
"Commander, I believe it would be more useful to analyse data regarding the accident. There were high readings of polaron and chronoton particles in a wave-like phenomenon which caused the events aboard the Delta Flyer."
Chakotay forced a smile. "I agree, Seven, but the sensors were damaged in the accident. All readings immediately prior to the shuttlecraft being damaged have been corrupted. It'll take time for B'Elanna and a team of engineers to sort out. In the meantime, I want you to work with the data we do have."
Inclining her head in acknowledgement, the young woman cast another glance at Janeway's peaceful expression before making her way to astrometrics.
***********************
Three hours had passed since Seven had awoken in sick bay, and she had yet to find anything of any significance in the sensor data they were able to access. Frustrated, she shook her head, trying to clear the niggling pain behind her right eye. After staring at the information displayed on the huge astrometrics screen, she slapped her hand against her commbadge.
"Seven-of-Nine to Lieutenant Torres."
"Torres here, I'm a little busy, Seven. What is it?" The Chief Engineer sounded more than a little harassed.
"Have you made any progress on retrieving the corrupted scans?" asked Seven in her usual blunt tone. The reply was even more testy than usual.
"I told you it would take at least six hours, and that was three hours ago. I'm not a miracle worker!" There was a long pause, then Torres continued more gently. "We're all worried about the Captain, Seven, but we're going as fast as we can. I'll let you know as soon as we recover anything. Torres out."
Seven turned back to the console and slammed her Borg-enhanced fist down in an uncharacteristically emotional gesture. Though she knew she was not responsible for the accident, she felt that she should have been able to do more to prevent what happened. Because she hadn't, the Captain was lying in a coma instead of relaxing in Sandrine's. Seven made a promise to herself that once things were back to normal she would take Janeway's last piece of advice and socialise more; after all, you never knew what was around the corner.
**************************
Neelix was distracted, his mind on the shuttle accident, news of which had rapidly spread throughout the ship. He looked over at a table in the far corner where Seven-of-Nine sat alone, a plate of food and a drink untouched in front of her. All the time Neelix had observed her, the blonde's attention had been focused on several PADDs which she had brought with her. He had considered trying to cheer her up, but since that was usually futile he decided to stay away, well, for now anyway. The furry little Talaxian glanced across again in consternation.
"Well," he muttered, "she hasn't even touched my delicious five-season soup with – AAAARRRRRGGHHHHHHHHH!"
His mutterings were abruptly cut short in a high-pitched scream as the pan he was supposed to be watching caught fire and flames shot up, singeing his eyebrows, whiskers and a good portion of hair. Everyone in the mess hall turned to see Neelix frantically beating at his face with a towel as burning food spat out of the pan in all directions. Two crew members rushed to his aid whilst another contacted sick bay. Seven-of-Nine, who had begun to rise out of her chair, settled down again, satisfied that all was under control, though privately she wondered if that could ever describe any situation that involved Mr. Neelix. She returned to her study of the data yet again.
"Hey, Seven," a little voice piped up by her elbow, startling the Borg somewhat. Naomi Wildman appeared across the table and slid into a chair opposite. "How're you feeling?"
"Naomi Wildman. I am well, however I am extremely busy."
"I heard about the Captain," replied the girl, her expression sad as she looked down at the table. Born aboard Voyager, Naomi regarded all the Voyager crew as family, and Seven's tone softened as she replied.
"We will find a solution, I am certain. Do not worry."
The girl glanced up at her friend, a small smile creeping across her face. "I'm not worried, Seven; I know you'll figure it out. But you should eat," she said insistently, nodding at the soup, "Neelix deserves it after what happened." She laughed, and Seven regarded her, frowning.
"I assume Mr. Neelix is well," said the Borg, and Naomi nodded.
"But he's upset about his whiskers – apparently they will take weeks to grow back. Well, I'll leave you to your work. Bye, Seven."
Naomi rose from the table and gently patted Seven-of-Nine's arm as she walked away. Scooping up the PADDs, Seven also left the mess hall, intending to return to sick bay to enquire about Captain Janeway. It was five hours since she had left the Doctor in sick bay and Seven hoped that he had made some progress whilst she herself had been making none whatsoever.
******************************
Slowly, as her senses began to function again, Seven-of-Nine became aware of her surroundings. Shaking her head to clear the slight dizziness she felt, she slowly opened her eyes and struggled to a sitting position. The Doctor came into view, and he snapped his tricorder shut and helped the Borg to sit up.
"Easy, Seven, don't rush it. How are you feeling?" He asked, peering into her eyes. Her head ached still, but the Doctor had said previously that that was to be expected. She eased herself from the biobed and looked over at Janeway's stationary form.
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy I suppose. Is the Captain still unconscious?"
The Doctor nodded. "Whatever it was you encountered, it seems to have affected her more than you. I suggest you rest here awhile, though I know you'll be itching to get back to work."
"I must return to astrometrics," replied Seven, walking off briskly before the Doctor had a chance to reply. She left sick bay and turned down the corridor to a turbolift, which Chakotay and Tuvok exited.
"Seven, are you alright?" asked Chakotay. "I'm not sure you should be working so soon," he added, his face creasing with concern.
"I am fine, Commander, nothing but a dizzy spell. I will be in astrometrics if you need me."
The blonde stepped into the turbolift, and as the doors were closing she caught Chakotay's words to Tuvok: "Same old Seven". She allowed herself a brief smile. Ordering the turbolift to proceed to astrometrics, Seven pressed her commbadge.
"Seven-of-Nine to Torres."
"Torres here," came the reply.
"Have you been able to retrieve any data on the accident yet," demanded Seven brusquely. A sharply exhaled breath was followed by a cutting tone typical of Voyager's Chief Engineer.
"We've only been at it two minutes, Seven, give us a chance! Torres out!"
Seven stared at her commbadge as though it had been the one speaking. Of course the engineering crew had their work cut out repairing the shuttle, but she was entitled to ask. It seemed that everyone's nerves had become more than a little frayed since the Captain was out of commission. Deciding against returning to astrometrics since there was no more information to analyse as yet, Seven diverted to cargo bay two to regenerate. Hopefully Torres would contact her with useful information in the meantime. If not, Seven intended to go to engineering herself to offer her assistance, welcome or otherwise.
*********************
The shortened Borg regeneration cycle that Seven had programmed was uninterrupted, and Seven emerged in an irritated mood. She had fully expected to be contacted by Torres regarding the scans from the shuttle and she strode out of the cargo bay purposefully and headed for engineering. On the way, her thoughts returned to her Captain, the small form laid comatose in sick bay because she, Seven, couldn't prevent the accident. Pausing the turbolift, she leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes. She could remember every word of their last conversation, how Janeway had laughed and smiled at her as they talked, and Seven raised a hand to brush away an unexpected tear. Standing straight once more, she headed instead for sick bay.
"Ah, Seven, nothing wrong I hope?"
Seven ignored the holographic doctor and walked over to Janeway's bed. Without turning, she asked the Doctor how the Captain was.
"No change, I'm afraid. Until I know more about the accident, I can't risk waking her. You appear distracted, Seven. Anything I can do?"
"No, thank you Doctor. It's just – I feel… responsible in some ways, for the Captain's condition. If I had perhaps -"
At that moment the sick bay doors opened and two uniformed crew members entered, half-carrying, half-dragging a moaning Neelix. The Doctor immediately went to their aid, helping to deposit the Talaxian onto a biobed and assessing his injuries. Seven-of-Nine watched, startled. Surely the idiot fur ball wasn't intellectually incompetent enough to set fire to himself twice? As the doctor expertly wielded a dermal regenerator whilst pacifying the ship's cook, Seven looked on, slowly coming to a realisation.
"My, whiskers, my lovely whiskers," moaned Neelix, rolling around on the bed and waving his arms frantically.
"Hold still, Mr. Neelix," snapped the Doctor, "I can't treat you whilst you are squirming around like a Klingon appetiser."
After several minutes the hologram placed his instrument down with a flourish. "There now, good as new, minus a few whiskers. Everything will be just fine."
Across the room, Seven-of-Nine shook her head slowly, gripping an unconscious Janeway's hand almost unthinkingly.
"I think not, Doctor," she stated. Neelix and the Doctor looked at her in surprise.