Chapter 2 – Found

"Try now Commander," Seven said after reconfiguring the escape pod's communications circuit for the fifth time. Repairing the damaged systems on the escape pod was proving to be a challenge.

Chakotay cleared his throat. "This is Commander Chakotay broadcasting on all frequencies, can anyone hear me?"

Seven examined the readouts. Everything appeared to be operating within specified parameters, but they still were not receiving a response. The input signal was strong, and the diagnostics of the outgoing antenna checked out. "We are broadcasting Commander," she finally said. "Your message is getting out and should be easy to receive. It's possible our receiving antennae was damaged to a greater extent than we previously thought and we're unable to pick up a reply because it is emanating from a source that is too distant."

Chakotay frowned. "For all we know, many of the escape pods could be in the same shape we are," he said. "Keep sending that last message on all channels, perhaps we'll eventually get a response." He then moved to the other side of the escape pod to sit in one of the seats along the far wall from the operations console. There were three on each side forming a rough semicircle at that end of the pod. He pulled his hand through his short black hair and then crossed his arms. He appeared fatigued. "What's the status on our sensors again?"

Seven glanced back to the appropriate display. "Still running that level four diagnostics," she replied.

"On our initial scan, we did potentially locate several pods in our general vicinity."

"We can't trust those readings. That's why we're running the diagnostics."

"We could use thrusters to move to the coordinates. See what might be there."

"We'd potentially be chasing sensor ghosts," Seven said and tapped the console, as if to try and speed up the process. "I advise we wait."

Chakotay nodded and leaned back in the seat, his eyes half closed. "I know. When the sensors do come back on-line, we'll go and rendezvous with them then. I'm just getting antsy. I think I'm going to try and get some sleep. How long has it been since the explosion?"

"Fourteen hours, twelve minutes, thirty-two seconds," Seven replied automatically. If she wasn't careful, she found that she often still sounded like a drone. Normally she wouldn't care, but something had changed. At the very least, she was more conscious of it. She wondered if it had to do with her proximity to Commander Chakotay. Not only was it the most contact she had had with another human before, but they were in constant and close proximity and he also happened to be the person whom she had linked minds with. That experience, and his memories, were becoming easier to recall.

Chakotay closed his eyes and slouched back even further. He did need sleep, and Seven resolved to try not to disturb him. She was just about to turn back to the operations console when he sat back up quickly and startled her. "What about you? The Borg alcoves in Voyager's cargo bay have all been destroyed. Are you able to ingest food yet?"

She had thought of that earlier. What surprised her was the concern she detected in his voice again. Just over a week ago this man had tried to kill her, and more recently than that he essentially had accused her of sabotage and causing the warp core breech. Granted, in that first instance, she was still connected to the Hive Mind and attempting to take the ship into fluidic space… "The Doctor said I would soon be able to do so, but I would still need to regenerate to sustain my remaining Borg components. I can go several days, however, without regenerating," Seven assured him.

"The alcoves are gone," Chakotay reminded her soberly. "Can you go without regenerating indefinitely?"

Now Seven frowned. "No," she said. "Eventually my cortical node will cease to function if I don't regenerate, and likely I won't survive if that occurs."

"What can we do?" Chakotay said, now fully awake and sitting on the edge of the seat. Again, his concern seemed incongruent to his previous actions. Seven had recently witnessed, however, various random acts of kindness within the Voyager crew. Obviously the First Officer was not immune to such behavior. "Is there another way of regenerating without an alcove?"

Seven nodded slowly. "As a matter of fact, as we've been awaiting the results of the level four diagnostics on the sensors, I've been considering the alternatives," she said. "If one of Voyager's shuttles survived the explosion, we can use its warp core to generate the correct energy and channel it to a Borg power interface in my wrist."

Chakotay visibly relaxed. "All the shuttles were launched as part of the evacuation," he said. "Hopefully they're looking for us now in one or more of them." He leaned back in his seat carefully. "This has been done before?"

"Yes," Seven confirmed. "A Borg drone was recovered by the Federation ship Enterprise on Stardate 45854.2. The Enterprise crew fashioned a power interface in their brig to supply the drone with the necessary energy. I believe I could fashion a similar interface to function in the same manner."

Chakotay leaned back forward. "I remember reading about that incident."

"You may know more than I do in that case," Seven replied. "The reintegration of the drone created a disruption in the Hive Mind. Twelve percent of the Borg were lost in the incident and certain memories were purged from the Borg consciousness as a result."

"You're kidding," Chakotay replied dumbfounded.

Seven looked at him curiously. "No I'm not," she finally said in return.

Chakotay smiled and shook his head. He appeared again to be settling back down for a nap, although his eyes remained open. "What about constructing an interface and using what we have in the escape pod?"

Seven glanced about. "I perhaps could fashion a crude interface, but the energy in the escape pod would be insufficient to allow me to regenerate efficiently."

"It's not intended for long-term survival anyway," Chakotay commented. "With just the two of us, I imagine we could go for a few months on what we have."

Seven nodded. "I would estimate about that much time for me as well before my cortical node suffered irreparable damage."

The two of them remained quiet for a time, and then Chakotay sighed and stood back up. He moved over to the porthole and looked out. The porthole was on the escape pod's door and close to the control panel where Seven sat. The pod's thrusters had long stabilized the motion and so now only a limited view was available. They were far from any system, the closest star being a red dwarf about a light year away and visible at the periphery of the porthole's view.

"Commander," Seven said. "Do not lose rest on my account. I assure you, I can go several days without regenerating. I will wake you when I find something after the sensor diagnostics is complete."

"I'm tired, but my mind is racing," Chakotay replied. "Voyager's gone, and we're cooped up here in this escape pod. We have no idea of the condition of the rest of the crew. I feel unsettled and... claustrophobic."

Seven looked about the interior of the pod. "This escape pod is luxurious compared to what it could be."

Chakotay continued to look out the porthole, but then turned to look at Seven. He was thinking of something, trying to piece together thoughts in his mind. "That's what it is," he said absently.

Seven didn't understand. "Clarify."

Chakotay stepped up to Seven. "I've been having this feeling of deja-vu for some time now and have been trying to figure out why. It suddenly occurred to me. It's a memory of yours. You were once in an escape pod. You were trapped, I think."

Seven nodded. She had recalled the same memory hours before and now she could remember the time vividly. "When I was five," she stated. "My parents would have drills and I once inadvertently locked myself inside the escape pod and was stuck for three hours."

"You were frightened," Chakotay commented.

"Yes." Some other memories from the Raven came to mind. "Ironically, when a real emergency did occur, when those Borg drones came aboard our ship, I hid under a console instead. Not that retreating to the escape pod would have made any difference."

Chakotay closed his eyes and cringed. "If I think about it, I can remember that as well," he said. "And... other things. Curious. I don't recall those memories surfacing when we were linked. I remember you running in a field. And being held by your parents. Of them calling your name."

Seven nodded. Chakotay had called her Annika during the link. The neural link occurred just one week before. It was how the Voyager crew had distracted Seven when they initiated the power discharge and disconnected her from the Collective. Her mind and Chakotay's were linked, and during that time, they shared not only their thoughts but these memories as well.

"I haven't recalled any of your memories in the past week," Chakotay continued. "Why now?"

"We were linked for forty-two seconds," Seven replied. "On the conscious and sub-conscious level. Our minds were combined as one."

Chakotay frowned. That didn't quite answer his question. "I thought that was the end of it. It's not as if we've been dwelling on these memories or the link." he remarked.

"That's the point," Seven replied. "We've had limited interaction with each other in the past week. In time, these memories would have naturally dimmed and perhaps never surfaced. Our continued interaction over the past fourteen hours and accessing them now is only easing their recall."

"I'm sorry," Chakotay said. "I feel like it's an invasion of your privacy."

Seven paused and looked up at Chakotay. "The transfer was reciprocal Commander," she said softly. "I have access to your memories as well."

"Oh," Chakotay replied with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty. "I hadn't thought about that either."

Seven wondered if she should tell him how his memories were now allowing her to better process her emotions in the current set of circumstances. Full disclosure was only fair. He had again turned to look out the porthole, but was still standing close. She tentatively reached out her hand to touch his and noticed her arm incased in the silver dermaplastic garment the Doctor had fashioned for her. So unlike the Borg armor she had worn for the past eighteen years. Despite the Borg implants on her hand, she appeared so… human. With each passing day, she felt more human. Before she had a chance to touch his shoulder, a signal went off on the communications display. She turned back and studied the readout. "An incoming signal," she said. "It's source appears to be approaching at full impulse."

"Put it on and open a channel," Chakotay replied. He moved up next to Seven. The speakers crackled with static with an indistinct voice. "Can you clear that up?"

Seven worked at the controls and suddenly the last part of the transmission came through clear enough through the static "… will tractor you." It was Captain Janeway.

"Say again Captain," Chakotay replied. "We only caught the tail end of your transmission."

"Chakotay. It's good to hear your voice. We received your transmission and are moving to your position and will tractor you to where we're assembling the other escape pods. What is your condition?"

"We're fine Captain. A few bumps a bruises."

Seven glanced down at the wound on her hip. A bit more than a bump or bruise by her estimation, but it was healing fine with the nanoprobes.

"The shuttle took a beating and its sensors are still not functioning correctly. How many are with you in your escape pod?"

"Just two of us Captain. Seven of Nine and myself."

"Very good. There are still eight pods and thirty-one crew members unaccounted for. Prepare for the tractor beam. We'll assemble the senior staff on the shuttlecraft Tereshkova after the search for the other pods is complete."

"Understood. Chakotay out." The escape pod shifted slightly when the tractor beam engaged, and then they felt a steady acceleration in the opposite direction as the pod's porthole. Just then, the console beeped indicating the level four diagnostics on the sensors was complete.

Chakotay turned to Seven and laughed. He was clearly relieved. "It's about time, but now we don't need it anymore." He looked about the escape pod. "So now what do we do?"

Seven wanted to talk to him more about these memories that they shared. She wanted to understand the mixed feelings he felt for his father and the ache he held in his heart for his mother and reconcile it with her own thoughts about her parents. She wanted to know more about the incident when the Val Jean battled the three Cardassian destroyers in the Badlands and how it shaped his command in the Maquis. Tenuous strands and half glimpsed patches in the tapestry of his life. But all that could wait. She motioned towards the empty seats at the far end of the escape pod. "I would suggest Commander that now is a good time for you to finally get some rest."

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Author's Note: I was going to post a chapter a day for the first two chapters for each of my current stories and then slow to a more manageable pace, but I guess today we'll get a bonus chapter.

I wrote the original teaser in "Possibilities" and in this story in first person/present tense to see if I could and to do something different. I kind of liked how it turned out, but I suppose that's not what everyone thinks. This chapter is now in third person limited (from Seven's perspective). So, I'd like your opinion. Should I continue this way or go back to first person/present tense?

Please review if you get a chance.