2012- author's note- If you're here looking for Castle then this is not it!
To those of you who PMed me and asked for the rest of this series- god, luv ya! LOL! I'm not re-reading this, and i wrote it sooooooo long ago! I have no idea what it's even about but when scrolling my harddrive looking for it I found a heap of J/7 fics so i'll post the lot as soon as I work out what order they go in. It's probably crap. Sorry!
Cheers!
I found this on my hard drive with two different names and one had three parts and the other four. I've not read through it so if the chapters don't line up or something else is hinky let me know and i'll have a better look to see what's up (that's assuming it's even worth reading, it may well not be)...
Okay, this is the first fanfic story i have managed to finish. There are still a few things i am not entirely happy with and as soon as i can figure out how to fix it, i will.
Any comments or suggestions, you can mail me at
I don't handle criticism well, so... please be gentle.
Disclaimers:-
Paramount, or someone other than myself, owns these people, their ship and, i imagine, some parts of the universe thru which they travel.
If you think i'm likely to make any money outta this, you obviously haven't read the story yet :-)
This story may contain some slightly naughty words, same-sex relationships, very minor violence and bad coffee. Sorta like a toned-down version of the real world.
I don't hold a degree in medicine, astrophysics, biology or anything else for that matter, so if i try to say something techie and it makes no sense, just make like it does :-)
..Here & Now..
by MoJoR.
Prologue.
"Captain, long-range scans have detected what may be an inhabited class M planet." Ensign Harry Kim, the operations officer of the USS Voyager looked eagerly at his Captain from his duty console.
"Warp signatures?" Captain Kathryn Janeway tapped at her own computer terminal while waiting for her crews analysis.
"Yes Captain." the excitement obvious in Kim's voice, "There is an increase in warp activity in this area."
Leaning a little closer to her first officer she spoke quietly, "Fingers crossed, Chakotay." then a little louder the Captain addressed the officers on the bridge. "I want a full analysis, everyone" Standing and favouring Harry with a nod, the Captain made her way across the bridge. "I'll be in my ready room." She announced as the door slid shut behind her.
Taking a seat at her desk, Janeway immediately accessed her terminal to keep up with the information her crew processed. It had been months since they had encountered a civilization advanced enough to allow contact. In increase in residual warp signatures had been detected several light years away and Voyager had begun searching for the source.
They were in desperate need of supplies. Nelix did his best, but... there were only so many ways to prepare Leola root! Not wanting to get her hopes up prematurely, Janeway scanned thru the data scrolling slowly down her console.
A primarily Iron and Nickel based planet. High levels of tritium in some areas, which wasn't a good sign. A larger percentage of the planet was covered in medium density forest than what was typically found in industrialized civilizations. Approximately 28 percent of the planet was covered in water. Several large densely populated regions with a significant amount of land seemingly dedicated to agriculture. Promising.
Making a few of her own enquiries, Janeway discovered a single space station orbiting the planet. The space station apparently discovered Voyager at about the same time.
"Captain, we are being hailed." Chakotay announced over the internal comm system.
"I'm on my way, Commander."
"On screen, Tuvok." The Vulcan security officer pressed the necessary lights on his display to activate the transmission.
A dark skinned woman appeared on the main view-sceen. Generally humanoid in appearance, with a square jaw and forehead, her features somewhat flattened. A colourful turban was wrapped around her head and shoulders. She sat primly at a wooden desk, her tiny hands placed flat in front of her.
"Welcome. Please identify yourself."
"I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager."
"One moment please." The woman seemed uninterested as she accessed her computer.
"I do not appear to have you on our records." She spoke after a few moments. A second voice mumbled behind her and she turned to speak to the invisible person before returning her attention once more to her visitors.
The alien woman looked attentive all of a sudden as if realizing there was something different about these people.
"I apologize. You're ship's configuration is unfamiliar. One moment while I transfer you to the Presidor." The image blinked off and a complex design of interconnecting lines and curves filled the screen.
"Bureaucracy" came a mumbled voice from the direction of the conn. Kathryn chuckled and smiled at Lieutenant Tom Paris before turning back to the view screen to wait for the Presidor. A few moments later, a young man of similar appearance smiled at the visitors.
"Good day to you. I am Presidor Devi. Welcome to D'jeri. I must apologize for any misconduct and wish you once more, a good day."
Captain Janeway inclined her head slightly in greeting and smiled at the man.
"A good day to you, Presidor Devi. I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the starship Voyager."
"Captain Kathryn Janeway," he stumbled over the unfamiliar sounds, "I do not believe I am familiar with your people or the configuration of your ship. I think perhaps, we are the first to meet." Tilting his head slightly sideways, he grinned, looking for all the world like an adorable child.
"I do believe you are correct Presidor. We have travelled quite some distance."
He stood then and bowed from the waist extending his arms towards them. He was quite slim and no more than a metre and a half tall. He hands were similarly small with single jointed fingers. His bearing though was one of proud authority.
"Then we shall talk. Does your ship require maintenance? Our station is fully equipped."
"Thank you, but we need no repairs at this time. I would however like to discuss the possibility of resupplying our food stores and perhaps shore leave for my crew?"
Janeway questioned, hopeful that perhaps she could give her crew a well earned break. The Presidor's smile fell, just a little, as he nodded crisply once at the Captain.
"We shall talk." he keyed several commands into his terminal, "Our arrival pad. An aide is welcome also." He grinned winningly once more before severing the connection.
Janeway and Tuvok materialized at the end of a large cargo hold, the Presidor waiting directly in front of them. After giving them a moment to orient themselves, he stepped forward, once more extending both his hands. The Captain did likewise and he grasped them in welcome. He then repeated the gesture with Tuvok. Presidor Devi then stepped aside for a second man to greet the officers.
"Consulate Tern, my aide and advisor." Devi announced as Tern clasped hands with both federation officers. Both the dark-skinned D'jeri wore vividly coloured clothes although the Presidor's turban had been removed to reveal a bald head which appeared to be tattooed or painted with a variey of images and patterns.
"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, my aide and advisor." Kathryn introduced her security officer.
"Would you perhaps like a tour?" The Presidor indicated the door to their left and fell into step beside the Captain as they headed into the corridor.
The station was quite small although from the several areas that Janeway and Tuvok were shown, appeared to serve as an inspection point for imported goods, repair port and research facility.
Two other vessels were currently docked at the station, both inter-system shuttles being upgraded however, Presidor Devi assured them that they regularly serviced warp capable ships as large as Voyager. Both they and the neighbouring Renari people were explorers, having travelled to the four nearest star systems.
As they wandered the facility, Devi introduced them to a number of his scientists and despite their technology being considerably less advanced than their own, Janeway was impressed by both the people and their achievements.
Finally able to turn the conversation towards possible avenues of trade between their races, Janeway found Devi was eager to trade for produce. The station itself produced a surplus of fresh vegetables that he was willing to trade for information on alternative horticultural techniques.
The D'jeri took pride in their gardens and farmlands and were frustrated by their inability to reproduce these environments on their space stations and vessels. Hoping to be able to secure shore leave for the crew, Janeway expressed a desire to see their gardens for herself. Devi was quick to ablige with a tour of their botanical labs on the station. The planet itself, he was sorry to say, was most definately off limits to outworlders.
The senior officers sat around the briefing room table, chatting amongst themselves as they waited for their Captain. Having returned from the D'jeri Space station, Captain Janeway immediately called a meeting for senior staff. Each one of which was now equal parts hopeful and wary of the class M planet below them.
The door whooshed open admitting the Captain and Tuvok who took their places without delay.
"It seems the D'jeri have strict regulations that would prevent access to the planet in groups. We have their permission to send a trading party of three people to their capital, but... I'm afraid shore leave is out of the question."
An audible sign came from the end of the table and Janeway wished she could have told then otherwise.
"We have been guaranteed the opportunity to meet with someone to discuss food supplies. The D'jeri are more than willing to trade in a variety of fresh produce." At this news, Nelix sat a little more upright in his chair and waited eagerly for more information. Janeway passed a data pad towards him.
"A list of what they have available." Turning her attention to Chakotay she asked, "Ensign Mojawa is our most qualified botanist isn't she?
"She currently heads hydroponics." after accessing his personal padd Chakotay continued, "Yeoman Jefferson is also a fully qualified exo-botanist."
"Okay. Apparently the D'jeri, while extremely successful farmers on their home world, aren't having much luck adapting their crops to either the station or the colony they have on the moon of this systems fifth planet. We were given a tour of their facilities and I think they could benefit from Ensign Mojawa's experience. In exchange, they have agreed to fill our pantries with something more interesting than Leola root!"
Chapter One.
The grey corridor echoed with the metallic 'clunk... clunk' of Kayla's boots as she strode along the narrow gantry that spanned the width of the space station. A small square of plas-glass opened onto the inky void surrounding her every ten paces. If she were to press her good eye to the glass and look thru the very bottom corner, the pale blue sphere of D'jeri would be visible.
For her first few duty shifts on the station, she had done just that, today however, the thought didn't cross her mind as she closed the last few metres to the hydroponic plant. Not that Kayla took her being on the station for granted. The fact that she had been given the chance to do something other than the menial work she had been allocated since coming to D'jeri was still amazing to her. It had been 11 turns of the D'jeri star, or near on 2 Earth years since the humanoid people of D'jeri had recovered a ship's complement of their own people from the Borg. That she too, was severed from the collective, was a miracle.
"Four-of-Twelve, initiate coolant release."the voices boomed as one. Echoing so sweetly thru the drones consciousness. A single drone, a single command, a single goal. Four-of-Twelve was released from the regenerative bay with a hiss, ahead of her was one of the many sections in the Borg cube where newly assimilated species were fully merged into the Collective. Accessing a panel on one side of the entrance, the drone keyed the commands to release the buildup of coolant in that section of the cube. The floor under the Borg's feet bucked suddenly as yet another of the inconsequential missiles impacted on the cube.
"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. You're technological diversity will be added to our own."Four-of-Twelves voice was added to that of the Collective as the small vessel was informed once more of their fate.
Stepping into the assimilation chamber to vent the second coolant chamber in this section, the drone was aware that the original classification of these new drones was Species 5831. The same species that was now attacking the cube. This information was immediately recognized as being irrelevant by her processor and the files transferred to tertiary.
Repeating the commands to initiate the coolant release, the drone stood facing the control panel until she became aware that the release had been successful. The cube could now engage the tractor beam which would lock onto the small vessel outside. The humanoids would be assimilated. The components of the ship integrated into their own. A single purpose. The drone stood at attention. The red light of her eye a steady point on the bulkhead directly in front of her. The implant at the end of her arm rotating every 2.6 seconds. Waiting for her next command... nothing came.
In an instant, the drone was surrounded by a bright orange light, as painful as the green of her Borg home was comforting. The deafening roar of metal being torn all around her, and then silence...
Kayla stopped in front of the oval shaped access hatch and lowered the anti-grav trolley to the walk-way. The magnetic grips activating at the slightest contact with the deck.
A large white button in the centre of the hatch alerted the workers inside that she was requesting entry. Permission was granted almost immediately as the door rotated up inside the bulkhead allowing Kayla to manouvere thru the hatch with her trolley. The room was a mass of yellow and green for as high and as far as she could see. Only three varieties of vegetable grew successfully on the station, and they certainly grew a lot of those. Plant beds hung in layers, suspended from the ceiling some four hundred metres above her and ran along the full six hundred metre length of the bay. Kayla kept to the edge of the wall as she headed towards the labs at the very end of the bay. Merga, the botanist in charge of this field was attempting to adapt another of the planet's food crops to life on the station and Kayla's trolley contained the latest allotment of seeds and seedlings. Kayla suspected that it had been Merga who had somehow assigned her to duty on the station every other roster. Strangely enough, it had been the face of Merga's wife that Kayla first saw upon regaining consciousness after being separated from the Borg.
Voices floated just outside her reach. Strange, whispery voices that seemed somehow fragile, small.Voices.The voices of the Collective. Jerking herself upright, Four-of-Twelve attempted to contact the Collective.Silence.Only the feeble noises of the humanoids behind her, and the soft hum of the ship she was on. Suddenly aware of the danger behind her, the drone attempted, too late, to turn to face her captors. A burning sensation covered her body, inside and out, as each of her Borg implants were over stimulated and Four-of-Twelve lost consciousness once again.
She dreamt. Of her life before the Borg. A hundred different images, different memories. A young woman scaling the face of a cliff, grunting with each upward movement. Another woman standing high above her, shouting encouragement as she inched her way closer.
A group of men and woman, running together, bouncing a ball, a game, they laughed as one of the men fell over and lost the ball. His team-mates stopping to help him up as the young blonde woman skipped her way to the goal area before plonking the ball on the ground and sitting on it.
Her mothers eyes, red and puffy as she leant over and rested her forehead against her own. The soft "I love you Kay" followed by a choked sob as she broke down and cried, pressing her face against her only daughters cheek she lay dying in a hospital bed surrounded by beeping machines and white coated doctors.
The steading beeping noise from her dream slowing merged with that of the machines now attached her. The pressure on her cheek a feather soft hand gently encouraging her to wake up. Fighting to open her eyes, Four-of-Twelve blinked at the humanoid standing over her and attempted to decipher the words being spoken so softly.
A female of Species 5831. She did not appear to be a threat.
"You are safe. You are free child. You are safe. Wake up now and speak to me. Come wake up girl-child." the phrases repeated themselves, encouraging her to respond.
Four-of-Twelve felt lost and confused. Isolated. She was free.Free. The former drone's throat constricted and she gasped to breath as her body left her control. Curling into a ball, the young woman cried as she had not done in all her time with the Borg. She cried for the battle lost in that hospital so long ago on Earth, for the people, like her, found drifting in space in cryogenic suspension that were swiftly assimilated by the Borg. For the lives she had taken since, lives sacrificed to the Borg. She cried for the loss of her identity, the loss of order, given to her by her enemy. She cried because nothing else was possible, the thoughts and images in her mind were conflicting, contradicting each other. Nothing made sense, nothing was clear, there was no order, no direction. She could not function.
"Drink this child, take a deep breath and drink this." An arm wrapped itself around her stomach and pulled her upright, the firm pressure of the older females body behind her, supporting her weight, a bottle was placed against her hand.
She would take a breath, and drink as she was told. There was nothing else to do.
As Kayla moved steadily through the plants, she played over her recovery in her mind. It has been slow, slower at least than the other drones that had been severed from the Collective. Admittedly, the eighteen others had all been members of Species 5831 and had been assimilated only weeks before their rescue. The D'jeri people had since decided that Kayla had probably been with the Borg for at least a year. Though with her genetic code and physical form being different to their own, they were undecided. A subsequent rescue mission returned 5 more of their people, along with six other drones that were unable to be recovered. By then, the Borg had adapted to their recovery methods and further attempts at rescue only cost more lives.
Kayla adapted to life on D'jeri. The planet was a startling mix of highly technological cities and huge farming and agricultural communities. But it was beautiful. Her lack of birth-right prevented her from working or living in the agricultural provinces but everyone, regardless of caste was allowed to visit the farmers and spend their free-days basking in the sunshine before returning to the cities for their next roster. It had been a full turn after her release from the medical facility before she had been allocated a work roster. But once she had, free-days were limited. For the next six turns almost every day from first light to dark, Kayla spent with the Carriers. Hauling machines and crates of supplies in and out of the docks, warehouses or space-stations depending on her teams duty-roster. Strangely enough, Kayla almost enjoyed the work. She was constantly busy, almost always too tired to think too much and certainly never alone or without the constant chatter of her team-mates.
It had been a chance comment made in front of one of the Botanists that had caused a change in duties. A comment made mostly to herself, that perhaps a hybrid plant would adapt better to life on the station rather than focusing on trying to force an unwilling plant to thrive when it would rather turn brown and wither away. The botanist had stared for quite some time at the Terran woman before introducing himself. Kayla's next roster had her as an internal Courier on the station. A nice break from the physically exhausting work of a Carrier. The job gave her a chance to meet new people, which in retrospect wasn't all good, Kayla chuckled to herself and returned from her musings to find herself outside the laboratory hatch. The form of Merga visible beyond the glass, hunched over his table.
He looked up as Kayla pressed the toggle to request entrance. Signalling for her to wait, he continued for a few moments with the tray in front of him before placing the glass cover over the tiny shoots and releasing the hatch.
"Good Day Courier K'la." His greeting friendly, if predicable. His rank made it unnecessary for him to speak to her at all, but Merga acknowledged her presence with a small smile and ushered her along the corridor to one of the available labs. The knowledge Kayla had assimilated while with the Borg had allowed her to fully grasp the D'jeri language in all it's intricacies quite quickly.
"We may soon have more ideas like yours I think K'la." The structure of the D'jeri jaw bone making it extremely difficult to pronounce the 'ay' of her name correctly.
"I think we trade ideas for food. Some say, not a good trade, but I think we will be far wealthier in time." Merga spoke to Kayla not expecting or requiring a reply, but the simple comment spoke highly of his regard for her, and it made Kayla smile despite her knowledge that any kindness offered her from Merga likely came from pity. Still, he was a friendly old man and Kayla enjoyed his odd comment or two throughout the day.
"I shall inform the Presider that we have the seedlings. Come tell me when they are secure. I look forward to this, Courier." Merga walked quite quickly into his office and Kayla was left smiling at his enthusiasm as she unloaded each specimen sphere and placed them on the specially designed shelves along one edge of the wall. That done, the empty grav-trolley was fastened to the wall for next time and Kayla made her way into his office to collect her return load.
What she saw on the vid screen in his office almost caused her to faint for the first time in her life. Instead, she fell with a thud against the back wall as she stared at the woman on the screen and listened to her speak, understanding every word, even before the translator Merga was using, kicked in.
Kayla spoke a little louder than she may have hoped to, and over the computers interpretation of the Botanists speech, Captain Janeway of the USS Voyager heard an unmistakable "Holy shit!" before the shelf of books behind the man on forward view-screen came crashing down behind him.
Chapter Two.
"Cut audio. Harry, what was that?" Janeway turned and faced her operations officer, her expression a mixture of curiosity and anxiousness.
"The computer did not translate that. Someone definitely spoke Standard."
"That's what I thought." turning quickly back to the view screen, the Captain moved a step closer, and motioned to Tuvok to resume communication.
"Professor Merga, is there a problem?" Janeway watched as he straightened and turned from whoever was in the room with him.
"Not a problem I think. Maybe something you will find interesting." He spoke in the stilted sentences typical of his people. Janeway watched as he adjusted the settings on his vid-screen to show more of the room behind him.
Leaning against the back wall was a humanoid woman who was perhaps in her late twenties. Dressed in a simple yellow tunic with short blonde hair. She was a stark contrast to the ebony skinned man in front of her. Her features were typically human, while each of the D'jeri people she had seen thus far had had flattened, somewhat angular faces with large eyes and tiny nasal and aural openings.
Captain Janeway took yet another step towards the view screen, as if hoping she could get close enough to make contact with this young woman. Glancing quickly behind her, Janeway looked to Ensign Kim for more information.
"I am picking up a single human life-reading, Captain." he replied, knowing after 4 years in the Delta quadrant what his captain required of him .
*Well this is interesting* Kathryn thought to herself before returning her gaze to the D'jeri scientist. The man was speaking in hushed tones to the woman behind him. His actions were clearly dominant and the fact that the woman had not spoken directly to her was worrying and the reason why was a question she was determined to have answered. The confrontation between the pair seemed to finish abruptly as Merga spoke to the Captain.
"Captain, I wish to enquire as to the planet of your origin."
"The Federation of Planets encompasses quite a number of star systems in the Alpha Quadrant. The control centre of the Federation, however, is based on the planet Earth."
As she spoke, Janeway tried to watch both the D'jeri Professor and the young woman at the back of the room for some kind of response. The slight smile and nod of his head was all the indication that the man was familar with her home planet. The woman however, stood straight up, almost at attention and spoke the man's name in a strangled voice. Janeway saw him motion with his hand, telling the girl to stay silent and her alarm bells began to ring.
"I believe Captain, that you offered to assist us in beginning with our studies. To send over one of your own botanists..." Merga paused, waiting for her response.
"That was part of the agreement, yes"
"Then I would ask that you be prompt. I will be prepared to receive them in 10 minutes if you would please inform me before you begin the matter transfer."
He looked pointedly at the Captain as he spoke, as if willing her to continue as originally planned.
"My people will be ready in ten minutes." The Captain nodded to the alien once more before ending transmission.
The Captain turned and looked at each of her officers. Sharing with them a nod or a questioning raise of one eyebrow before letting her gaze rest of her second officer, Commander Chakotay. After a quick tap on her comm badge, Janeway contacted Ensign Mojawa.
"Ensign, please find Yeoman Jefferson and report to transporter room one immediately."
"Yes Captain. Jefferson is with me now and we are on our way."
"I'll meet you there, Ensign. Janeway out."
Janeway looked at Chakotay and with a slight twist of her head , silently asking his opinion on this turn of events. His responding shrug answered very little and she nodded to her Chief of Security before heading towards the turbolift.
"Commander, you have the bridge." Janeway stepped into the lift, Tuvok a step behind her. Both turned to face the door as it glided closed. "Deck Ten"
Janeway waited an instant to feel the slight motion of the turbo-lift before speaking.
"Another human this far in the Delta Quadrant? We've encountered no evidence that any ships from the Alpha Quadrant ever entered this part of space."
"Perhaps not. She does, however, appear to be human." Was Tuvok's helpful reply. The opening of the turbo-lift door saved them both from continuing a pointless conversation. Tuvok refused to speculate, or at least put voice to his speculations without further information.
Ensign Mojawa and Yeoman Jefferson were heading towards the Transporter Room from the other direction, both greeted their Captain at the same time. Janeway motioned for them to enter before her as the doors whooshed open. The young officers stepped up onto the transporter pad as Janeway headed to the control console replacing the duty officer with a nod. The Captain initiated a comm channel with the station.
"Professor Merga, we are ready to transport on your mark."
"I thank you for your help Captain. Please welcome K'la. Transport when ready." The console registering that the connection had been severed, Janeway keyed in the coordinates fed to the system from the bridge and informed the away team she was about to energize the beam. As the silver light encompassed the two crew members and began to disperse and transfer their molecules, a second beam joined with Voyagers. The Captain worked the controls to isolate the beam, she identified it's source and it's content.
"Incoming transport." she informed Tuvok as she completed the transfer. As the beam coalesced, the young blonde woman stood stiffly at attention, looking cautiously towards the other occupants in the room. Still dressed in the bright yellow tunic that came to her knees. Solid mag-boots for working in low gravity areas came to mid calf. She was about the same height as the Captain although slightly more muscular. Janeway stepped out from behind the console and walked quickly towards the transport platform.
"Welcome K'la, to the Starship Voyager. I'm Captain Janeway, and this is Lieutenant Commander Tuvok."
The newcomer smiled and for no reason she could figure, Janeway blushed.
Chapter Three.
In main engineering Seven of Nine, Voyagers Astometrics officer and former member of the Borg Collective was suddenly silent. Lieutenant Torres watched for a moment, concerned about her sudden change in demeanor.
"Is everything okay, Seven?"
"I am not sure." Was the only reply Torres received as Seven headed towards the computer console, leaving her commanding officer standing alone in the middle of the room.
Something was not 'okay'. For an instant, the neurotransceiver still located in her upper spinal column, registered the presence of anther Borg. Seven of Nine attempted to locate the signal without revealing her own presence. Nothing. Gaining access to the ships sensors, she ran a sweep to detect transwarp signatures. Nothing. To eliminate room for error, Seven of Nine conducted a level two self diagnosis. Nothing. Yet, she couldfeel the proximity of the Borg. A shiver ran thru her body at the sensation of disgust, and longing that knowledge gave her.
"Kayla. My name is Kayla, The D'jeri have a little trouble with the 'ay'. With their jaw and all." Kayla waved her hand under her chin and then realized she was babbling. Dropping her head to look at her feet she feel silent.
"Well, Kayla, it's nice to meet you. Would you like to tell me how you managed to end up in the Delta Quadrant? I gather you are Terran?"
Looking up once more, she was surprised by the warmth and colour in the older woman's eyes. Forgetting for a moment all that had happened and where she was, Kayla remembered what it was like to talk to someone.Really talk. To have someone who wanted to listen to what she had to say. She felt a connection here, as if part of what she had lost was waiting right here for her.
"What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" Kayla answered with a grin. She felt like laughing. Like jumping up and down on the spot. She knew she was probably grinning like a fool. But, damn it was good to see another human after all this time. *But for how long?* a little voice inside her asked, and the grin faded.
"It's a long story, Captain. I've been on D'jeri for about 2 years but to be honest, I don't exactly know where that is. Compared to Earth I mean."
"About 50 years at maximum warp." Janeway replied succinctly.
Kayla was silent for a second, precessing the implications of that.
"Oh." was the best she could come up with for a response, "That's, umm... That's quite a trip. I'm glad I was asleep for the most part!" Kayla watched the emotions play across the face of the woman in front of her as they spoke. Revelling in the contact she had been without for so long.
"I'd like to hear the story if you have time. How long are you able to remain onboard?"
Janeway placed her hand on the Kayla's shoulder and motioned for them to leave the transporter room. "Honestly, I'm not sure Captain. I imagine I probably shouldn't be here at all. Merga wanted me to have to opportunity to see you I think. Though I'm not sure he really has the authority to transport people." Stepping into the corridor, Kayla looked to her left and right, noticing the difference between the sleek lines of this ship, the bleakness of the D'jeri station and the technological clutter of a Borg cube. Janeway dismissed her security officer with a nod and then led the way down the carpeted aisle.
"What did Merga say to you before you left?"
"That you were my people. Which I knew when I saw you. He didn't speak of it again, I was told to report to the transfer site and... My birth-rank makes it unnecessary for him to explain his actions."
"Birth-rank?" Janeway queried.
"D'jeri society is based on rank. Although, people can earn their status by promotion, I work as a courier now. On the station sometimes. But, generally, the family a person is born into determines their position and responsibilities."
"Of which you have none?" The Captain asked, attempting to discover this woman's place on this world. *Is she happy here? Does she have people to care for her? Is this where she belongs?*
As soon as Janeway realised Kayla had stopped walking, she turned back towards her. Kayla looked guardedly back at her.
"Was that meant as an insult?" Doubting that this woman would deliberately degrade her, she searched for another meaning to her question. "I work as a Courier. I still spend every other roster as a Carrier but still... I have had a duty roster almost since I first came to D'jeri"
"I don't understand the social structure you are familiar with. I was simply trying to determine if you were settled here, if you had a home on this world." Kathryn explained to her.
Seeing the confusion on the young woman's face, she reached back towards her, encouraging her to continue along the corridor. Kayla took the hand that was offered her and gently squeezed it before letting go.
"I know. It's just been so long since I've had a conversation like this. I guess I'm not sure what to expect, or what I should say."
"Well, how about we get something to eat and you can tell me how a nice girl like you ended up in a place like this!" Kathryn smiled as she repeated Kayla's earlier joke as they headed towards the mess hall.
As Tuvok stepped out of the turbo-lift onto the bridge, he heard Seven of Nine's voice over the comm channel.
"You have detected no anomalies?"
"No, but we will extend the long range sensors to be certain."
"Very well. Seven of Nine out."
Taking his post at Security, Tuvok accessed the station's log. *Curious* An extensive sweep had just been conducted to detect transwarp signatures or any Borg transmissions. The Vulcan re-checked Ensign Hoyt's findings to be sure of their accuracy before continuing to monitor the officers currently on the space station.
Every nanoprobe in Seven's body told her another Borg was close. So close. Yet every scan she ran showed inconclusive results at best. *Is this human intuition?* she wondered, *or perhaps Borg intuition!* Seven was unable to reach a conclusion herself, to calm the uneasiness she felt.
"Computer, locate Captain Janeway."
"Captain Janeway is currently in the mess-hall." the computer's expressionless voice answered as Seven left engineering.
Kathryn listened, enthralled by the tale this young woman told. It was amazing to her that someone from the early 21st century could be here, today, in the Delta quadrant. That although she had apparently died on Earth when she was 25, she had actually managed somehow to survive. The cancer that ravaged her body on Earth, was destroyed by the Borg when they 'rescued' her from cryogenic suspension. After being assimilated, she lived as a drone for a year before being freed two years ago by the D'jeri who then proceeded to integrate her into their society as a servant.
"Do you know, I haven't spoken this much in ages... since before I left Earth I guess. That's a weird feeling."
"What is?"
"It seems like another life-time. Like someone else's life, really. Being here makes me realize that that person was me."
"You've been through a lot. Today has probably been a bit of a shock." Kathryn laughed at the look on her dinner companions face.
"Yeah, you could say that!"
"After we finish here, there's someone I'd like for you to meet. A member of my crew that I think you may have something in common with."
For both Seven's sake and for the woman in front of her, Janeway hoped a meeting between the two would be beneficial. Although, there was always the possibility that confronting that part of their lives again would cause more anxiety... Her internal debate was cut short as Kayla abruptly stood up and turned around, almost knocking her dinner plate to the floor. Janeway leaned sideways to look around her, to see Seven of Nine framed in the doorway.
Seven looked questioningly at her Captain, who now stood next to an unfamiliar woman in a bright yellow dress. She looked undeniably human, yet... For what seemed like an eternity to Janeway, the two former Borg stood staring at each other. It was the newcomer that finally broke the silence.
"You are Borg."
"Yes. As are you."
There seemed to be some kind of unspoken communication between the two although Janeway knew that there was no longer any link to allow them to communicate.
Kayla reached tentatively towards Seven, and Janeway was suprised to see the slim assimilation tubules extend from the tips of her fingers. Seven met her hand half way and allowed the tubes to enter the back of her wrist.
Stepping quickly towards them Janeway attempted to stop whatever what happening.
"It is alright Captain." Seven's calm assurance halted the hand that had instinctively raised to prevent the contact, but it did nothing to still the panicked voice in her head.
As contact was made between the two former drones, information was given and received. Seven of Nine identified herself and her current designation on Voyager as Kayla did the same.
It was only seconds later when the tubules retreated and Seven spoke.
"Four of Twelve. It is... nice to meet you."
Index | Part One | Part Two | Part Three |