A/N: THIS is my favorite chapter. I know it's a little long, but I hope you enjoy reading it as I much as I've enjoyed writing it. Thanks to Ifuritka for asking an interesting question about Seven and Harry. I never even thought to explore that.

This chapter is also dedicated to TracesofBeing who thinks I have a fixation about getting Janeway punched. That is so not true. Wink.

Quantum of Chaos

Chapter 8: Spoils of Victory

Seven of Nine and Captain Janeway each stepped out of their respective quarters, nodding graciously and greeting each other with an aloof good afternoon. They strode side by side to the turbo lift in complete silence. None of the other crewmembers passing them in the corridor were remotely aware of the unquenchable passion they had shared only moments ago during their meal break.

When the turbolift door slid open, Seven gestured for the Captain to precede her.

After murmured thanks, Janeway entered. She nodded to the others already traveling and turned. With nearly a wink, Janeway wordlessly said goodbye to her lover as she barked: "Bridge!"

Seven slipped her hands behind her back, gripping one wrist while she waited for her ride to Astrometrics. The turbolift chimed and the door slid open. The Borg woman raised her eyes to see a pale Lt. Harry Kim. He backed up into the lift when their eyes met.

"Seven!"

She appraised him for a moment and entered. "Deck 8," Seven said, while she continued to look at him.

"I thought you'd be starting your lunch shift," he replied weakly.

"Of what interest is my midday break?"

"Well, I—uh—I, uh—"

Seven glanced at the lift controls, noting the singular terminus. "What brings you to Deck 8?"

Harry's eyes widened slightly. "Uh…" He cleared his throat and deepened his voice. "I was going to see Jenny and Megan. They work in Astrometrics."

"That explains your destination but it does not adequately clarify your interests in my schedule."

While the man stuttered, Seven glanced down at his legs. Janeway had spoken of his injuries, particular the compound fractures in his tibia and femur.

"You appear to have convalesced adequately."

He glanced down, running the palm of a hand along his pants. "Yes—I mean, no. I'm still in sickbay, pending release."

Seven resumed her open perusal of him and then she startled him. "Computer, stop lift."

A small flutter in his stomach told him that the lift was motionless. "Why'd you do that?"

Seven dropped her hands to her side. "You have not been released from sickbay, yet you are headed to Astrometrics. Why?"

"Well, as I said, Jenny and Megan work there—"

"Of this I am already aware as I am the department head in charge. Yet—"

"We're dating!" Harry grimaced, as if he'd injured himself. "What I mean is, we are serious, Jenny, Megan and I."

Seven tipped her head to one side. "You copulate?"

He felt a burn on his face, but refused to look away. "Yes," Harry said through clenched teeth.

"The three of you together?"

Seven, of course, had heard of this type of sexual activity, but it had never drawn her attention. Seven could not even bear the thought of sharing Kathryn with any collective, regardless of how small.

"Well, not simultaneously," he said.

She considered him for a moment, finally abandoning any further questions along those lines as irrelevant. "Why would you wait until my break for such a visit?"

"Because," he said. "I haven't—I mean, I want to talk to you about—I wanted to apologize to you and Eridani about…."

"About your physical abuse of my subunit?"

He frowned. "I'm sorry."

"Captain Janeway has mentioned your contrition," she replied.

Harry sighed heavily. His shoulders sagged.

"However, contrition is irrelevant," she stated.

Harry Kim was like a marionette then, instantly taut and jerky. "What can I do to make up for it?"

Seven raised her Borg appendage. It was no longer the chain mail covered facsimile of a human hand. It had morphed into needle-nose pliers with small, serrated teeth. "I believe the ancient Earth saying of 'tooth for a tooth' would be apropos. Do you not agree?"

"No!" he shrieked.

A chime interrupted them.

"Delaney to Kim."

"Megan!" he shouted looking up, as if he would see the apparition of his desire.

"This is Jenny, Harry." Disappointment squeezed the edges of the voice.

"Jenny! Thank God!" he shouted, watching Seven lower her hand in resignation.

"Where are you? We've been waiting. Seven went to lunch early and—"

"Jenny," he said. "I'll be there momentarily. I really appreciate you checking up on me. Especially now."

"Why now?"

"Computer, resume!" he garbled. "I'll explain later. Kim out."

Seven turned toward the door lift and clasped her hands behind her back.

Kim studied her profile for a moment. "You weren't really going to remove a tooth, were you?"

She glanced at him, an eyebrow impertinently arched. "I believe the proper term is 'defang,' Mr. Kim," she said. Then Seven looked forward. "It is unfortunate we were interrupted. There will be another opportunity."

The lift chimed and opened. Lt. Kim edged around the tall woman and practically sprinted down the corridor.

Seven allowed herself a microscopic smirk, patting her fist into the palm of her hand behind her back. She was pleased to keep the promise she made to Kathryn.

=/\=

Several days later, Captain Janeway entered the VIP quarters, smiling to find her lover Seven of Nine and their daughter seated at a small table eating breakfast. "Good morning," she said.

She leaned over, pecking Seven's lips with her own. She pulled back to smile adoringly at her lover. Impulsively she offered another kiss.

Janeway slipped by Seven, running a finger surreptitious along the woman's shoulders as she made her way toward their daughter. She patted Dani's shoulder and leaned over, but as her lips hovered close to Dani's, the girl pulled back.

Janeway blinked at the grimace on the features that were so much like hers and Seven's. "What's the matter?" she asked. Janeway huffed into her palm and sniffed. "Yep, I did brush."

Dani crinkled her nose a little. "It's not that," she replied. "I just—um, I—" Dani closed her eyes, scratching the side of her nose as she did. She opened them and looked between both parents. By this time, Janeway had sat down at spot reserved for her, a steaming plate of deviled bakru and a cup of green tea waiting for her.

"I think I'm too old for that," Dani replied, her eyes darting like neutrinos on a pinhead.

Janeway paused the cup midway to her mouth. "Since when?"

"Since today," she replied. Dani hastily stuffed a spoonful of bakru in her mouth and chewed it with an exaggerated hum.

Janeway took a sip of tea and shared an amused expression with Seven. She set the mug down, took her own fork and began to root around for the right bite. Just as she was about to take a mouthful, Janeway asked, "So is this kiss ban just for me or all of your parents?"

"I was informed of the new greeting protocol this morning," Seven replied.

Janeway gave a silent nod. She was more relieved than anything. She didn't mind being the least popular parent sometimes, but not all the time. The trend was not promising. "So is there any particular reason for the change?"

"No," Dani said curtly.

Seven lifted a brow. "You stated this morning that you were saving all of your kisses for someone."

Dani colored so furiously, her freckles disappeared for an instant.

Janeway covered her mouth under the guise of cleaning it with a napkin before she spoke. "Someone I know?"

Dani flopped her head into her palm and closed her eyes. "Mom," Dani hissed. It was a three-letter summation that was both warning and plea.

"Ah," Seven replied. "I was not informed of the confidential nature of our discussion."

"Why can't you tell me?" Janeway asked, leaning forward a little.

"Because!" Dani squeaked.

Janeway looked inquiringly at Seven.

"Unfortunately, I am not aware of the recipient of Eridani's oral affections."

Dani grimaced again and covered her face with her napkin. "Mom," she murmured through the white cloth. "That's gross."

"What is gross?"

"Calling it 'oral affections'!"

"What would you prefer I—"

"I don't want to talk about it!"

After a few minutes of silence, Dani lowered a small corner of the napkin to peak at her parents. Cappie's face was red and her lips sucked into her mouth. Seven had the smallest curls at the corner of her mouth; her eyebrow and Borg eyepiece loomed high. Dani slammed her napkin down. "I'm going to school now," Dani hissed as she mercilessly shoved her chair back. It screeched a few centimeters along the deck and then fell back.

Dani reached for a book, but it fell. After she picked it up, Cappie caught her arm. "We're sorry, darling," she said. "It's just—We're sorry, Dani. Please don't leave angry with us."

Dani kept looking forlornly at the door.

"So what can we give you?" Janeway asked, her hand rubbing her daughter's forearm.

"You can kiss my cheek," Dani informed.

Janeway rose halfway from her chair and kissed the defining ridge of her cheekbone. "Have a good day, sweetheart," she said.

Dani nodded once and took one step toward the door.

"What of me?" Seven asked.

Dani sighed and dashed to her Borg mother, who proffered her cheek dutifully. Dani pecked it, barely touching her skin. "Bye," she whispered.

When the door had safely slid closed, Janeway burst out in a fit of laughter. Seven, in characteristic Borg stoicism, kept her amusement merely as a delicate patina around her eyes and mouth.

"What was that all about?" Janeway finally asked through a few hiccups.

"I do not know," she replied. "Perhaps her infatuation with Mr. Paris is blossoming."

Janeway tisked her teeth. "Oh, I hope not," she wheezed through another round of chuckles.

"Indeed," Seven replied. "B'Elanna Torres would be a woman most scorned."

Janeway's subsiding laughs gathered more steam from Seven's remark. "Oh, darling," she replied. "I wish we could have more times like these." She patted her lover's arm.

Seven covered Kathryn's after leaning down to kiss the plump flesh of the woman's thumb.

"You know," Kathryn replied, taking another bite of the bakru. "This could be scary."

Seven's face blanked and she lifted her eyes to her lover. "Explain."

"She's eight, Seven. I was figuring we wouldn't have to deal with crushes until—oh, I'm thinking—twelve."

"Was that the year of your first crush?"

Janeway's lips skewed. Seven arrested every one of her own movements to record with her perfect memory Kathryn's glorious crooked grin.

"You really don't want to know about it," she said offhandedly.

"That is incorrect," Seven stated allowing the moment to pass. "I aspire to know the sum of your experiences."

Janeway nearly choked on her tea. She sputtered into a napkin before finally pounding her own chest. "I hope—" Kathryn cleared her throat. "I hope you were teasing, Seven."

"If I was not?"

"Then I hope you have more aspirations because I'm not that interesting."

Seven stacked Dani's plate on hers and rose from the table. She leaned over, ensnaring Kathryn face between two hands and capturing her mouth with her own. Seven withdrew with a playful nip to her lover's lips. She lifted the used dishes and returned them to the recycling station.

A little breathless, Janeway had a momentary lapse of thought. Her lips were parted and her throat gurgled but words seemed to blur and float at the edges of her awareness.

Seven glanced lightheartedly over her shoulder. Her lips were teased into a small curl at the havoc she had wrought.

Janeway blinked several times before finally coming to herself. "That was quite a comeback," she said in a husky voice. "Are you going to let me get the last word?" Janeway asked with more amusement.

With her task complete, Seven turned. "No," she said in all seriousness. Then she walked over to the table and held out her hand.

Kathryn threw herself back in her chair, crossing her arms. "That's it? No?"

"Yes," Seven replied evenly. "It is time for Alpha Shift to commence and our senior staff meeting."

Janeway took one last drink, before handing her lover the cup and plate. "Thank you, Seven. It was delicious." The Captain admired the way Seven swayed toward the recycling station. It was catlike and erotic.

Janeway's hand rested in her palm when Seven returned again to the table. The Captain looked up at the thin, Nordic face and smiled, taking the woman's hand. Seven swung their clasped hands gently, her eyes sparkling with contentment.

"You are adorable," Janeway said.

"Thank you," Seven said. "Shall we?"

Janeway sighed, stood and kissed her lover's knuckles before releasing them. She gestured with a chin. "Out there, we are Captain Janeway and a crewmember."

Seven raised a brow, but her only response was to tug the reluctant Captain to the exit of the quarters.

Janeway pulled back just inside, allowing the door to hiss closed again. She swung Seven into her arms, pulling her tightly against her body. "You've had two opportunities to remind me about the difficulties of our relationship and yet you haven't."

Seven rubbed Janeway's back in small circles. The temptation to turn in her monthly report late presented itself. Another hour, even another minute, with Kathryn would be sheer bliss. But Seven would not steal what her lover should give openly.

"Would it change you?" Seven inquired.

"I'm not the one that has to change," she said. Janeway raised her arms, palms up. "This—all of this—does. It has to normalize."

Normalize, Seven thought to herself. She wanted to reply that normal was a sine wave. Up, down, up and down and all repeated for a lifetime. Seven wasn't sure what clue Janeway was waiting for that would make the news of their relationship easier to digest, but she'd laid down the condition: normal. She knew Kathryn would not be rushed. So Seven graciously nodded. "I understand," she replied.

Janeway studied her for a moment, twin lines etched between her brows. "Are we okay—you and I?"

Seven leaned down and pecked her lover's lips. "Yes."

=/\=

They walked in silence to the turbolift. When the door closed with them inside, Janeway turned to Seven. "It's Naomi!"

"What is Naomi?"

"Dani's crush."

"No, Kathryn."

"But they bicker constantly—Naomi likes to come over and—"

"Your conclusion is false because your data is flawed," Seven replied. "You presume an amorous intent."

"Isn't it? It's classic."

"Eridani quarrels with Naomi due to jealousy."

"Jealousy?"

"My friendship with Naomi is a constant source of irritation for Eridani. Our daughter is jealous."

"Is that normal?"

Seven nearly inquired about Kathryn's standards for normal, hoping it would offer clues about their relationship. In a nanosecond it took her to calculate the ramifications, Seven decided it would be useless data. Their child's infatuation could not reasonably be compared to their relationship. "I do not know what normal is, Kathryn. I was assimilated at six."

Janeway looked stricken. "I'm sorry, Seven." Her hand was midway to the small of Seven's back when the turbolift doors opened.

Commander Chakotay smiled, as he looked between both women. "Good morning, Captain," he said. "Seven, good to see you."

Janeway's hand jerked out of sight, but the movement brought Chakotay's eyes down during their greetings. He looked back up, offering a million-watt smile. "Can I have a lift?"

He waggled his eyebrows and the Captain chuckled. "Commander," Janeway replied with all due seriousness. "You may use your humor as a weapon but we are unphased."

Chakotay nodded and ordered the computer to resume turbolift. He turned to stare at Seven. "What about you? Are you going to hit me with your best pun?"

She arched a brow and looked forward. "Puns are irrelevant."

"Oh, c'mon," he said. One dark-skinned finger gently poked Seven's middle and she jerked to one side only a fraction of a millimeter before grabbing the offending appendage. "How about if I make a pun about the Borg?"

"Suppress the urge," she replied evenly as she tossed his hand away from her.

Chakotay gave a confused look, but turned to face forward. "Captain," he said. "Seven wants us to play by the book."

"Careful, Commander. I think Seven is about the throw the book at you."

Seven glanced quickly at her lover, flicking a brow at her in dismay before returning to face front.

"I have the perfect prescription, Seven," he said.

"Prescription for what?" Seven continued to stare at the lift door.

"You're surliness," he replied.

"I am not surly."

"The prescription is dinner with me. What do you think?"

The turbolift chimed and the door slid open. "It is ill advised, Commander," she said, narrowing her eyes at her ex-lover. "For you to practice medicine without a license."

Then without a sideways glance at her lover, Seven stepped out and advanced on the conference room.

Janeway felt her blood drain to her feet when Chakotay had asked her lover on a date. Seven's icy response was well-contained fury. Chakotay should know it, she thought. The Captain felt her face muscles aching from the grimace and then Chakotay looked back at her. She allowed the tension to slip down to her hands that she fisted and unfisted, but offered her First Officer a neutral expression.

"Wow," he said. "Did you hear that?"

Janeway lowered her head and stepped out. "Don't involve me, Commander," she said over her shoulder.

=/\=

Captain Janeway swallowed the fear and frustration she felt as she stepped into the conference room. It had been much easier to address a full crew convocation in the hangar bay a day before. This was the senior staff's first meeting since the mutiny. This smaller group knew her and she knew them. She had to be sharp.

She strode confidently to her place at the head of the table, laying a padd in front. "Good morning," Janeway said, giving each face a meaningful nod. "It's good to see everyone."

There were murmurs of ascent and for the most part, her senior officers seemed prepared. When her eyes met Lt. Harry Kim, who was seated opposite Seven of Nine, he looked pale. "Lt. Kim, are you all right?"

His head jerked back to the Captain. "Oh, yes. I'm fine, Captain. Never better."

She lifted her brows in wonder but began what she hoped would be considered a diplomatic overture. "We've been through a great deal as a crew in these past seven years," Janeway said. "I am expectantly hopefully that the last six months, especially the last week, are all behind us. Just as I said when we first came together as a crew—we need each other—Starfleet and Maquis. Some of us were under outside influences and acted out in ways they would not have otherwise. As Captain, I have seen fit to overlook these infractions for obvious reasons."

Each of the faces staring back at her was sober. Some were optimistic and it offered her some confidence. "We are still one crew and our goal is still to get home as fast as we can," Janeway said. "Is that understood?"

"Aye, Captain" was muttered around the room, some together and some a fraction of a second off beat.

"If you have any questions or concerns, now is the time to address them."

Captain Janeway favored each senior staff member around the table. Every one of them met her azure gaze with unswerving loyalty. She nodded once, accepting their support. "We have a lot of work to do, so let's get started."

Captain Janeway reviewed a report on a class M planet that Voyager was approaching. "This planet is just this side of Borg space."

"But we were nearly through all of it when…." The comment died on Lt. Kim's lips. They were nearly out of Borg space when the fireflies flung them away from their destination, toward the outer edge of the Delta Quadrant. Now the entire expanse of Borg space stood between them and home.

"Let's not dwell on that," Janeway said lightly. "Let's focus on this planet. Unfortunately, sensors are picking up some interference and transporters will be inoperable. But we'll be within shuttle range in three. And the best part is we'll be clear of the…." Janeway looked to the Chief Medical Officer as a nod for naming it. "….new Class X nebula."

There were murmurs of relief from most of them. "That's too bad," Lt. Tom Paris said.

Janeway turned to look at him. He was still tinged green, but it was the lightest of hues. She was happy to see him returning to his old, irascible self.

"Mr. Paris?"

"I, for one, will miss the nebula."

Janeway frowned, raising a hand to stop the man. He was definitely feeling like himself again, she thought. Which was good. But not now.

His wife and Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres pounded his quads with her knuckle.

"Owww! That hurt!"

"Good," she hissed.

"Moving on," Janeway replied over the disturbance. "Commander Chakotay is going to lead a large away team to the planet's surface. If sensors are correct, this planet is teeming with flora and fauna. We are going to need every bit of it to make it back to earth and welcome our newest crewmembers in a few months. Commander, want to take us through it?"

The Captain felt it was paramount that she show confidence in the First Officer, especially now. She believed it would advance their ability to re-unify as a crew.

Commander Chakotay nodded graciously. The only thing that gave away his angst was a hard swallow as he faced his crewmates and subordinates. He began by outlining his objectives that a smaller away team would lead to collect water, food and animal samples. "If plants are found to be edible or medicinal, the away team would be expanded. I don't want to leave any stone unturned," he said.

"Commander? How do you propose to conduct the foreign extraction?" Seven turned to look at Lt. Kim just as she spoke the last word.

He paled further and fumbled with his padd before Seven looked away to the First Officer. Chakotay had answered with a brief outline of the usual protocols, though he considered the issue to be routine this long into their Delta Quadrant journey.

Chakotay then read a list of crewmembers selected and it included Seven of Nine. She favored Captain Janeway with a brief but significant expression. It was a look no one picked up because none was aware of Seven's nuances like Janeway.

When Chakotay had concluded, Janeway glanced at her padd. "Next, I want to discuss our nursery requirements."

"Captain," Harry managed to say through a dry throat. "Is there something wrong with airponics?" As the Operations Chiefs, Lt. Kim had direct oversight of Airponics.

Janeway smiled crookedly. "No, Mr. Kim," she said. "By nursery I mean for children, not plants."

Soft chuckles rippled around the room. It was good to see the senior staff working and laughing together, she thought.

"Sorry," he replied. His eye caught Seven of Nine's curious look and he turned his chair to face the Captain.

"This is what I want to see happen," she said. Janeway explained her plan to transform Cargo Bay Two into multiple rooms, all for rearing children. "We'll relocate airponics in favor of a nursery, arboretum, classroom and general play area."

"Wow," B'Elanna said. "That sounds fantastic."

Janeway patted Mr. Chakotay's arm. "We've been working hard to try to accommodate everyone."

Her First Officer inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"I've sent the full plan to every crewmember," she replied. "I want everyone to have a part, if they wish it, in planning for this. Make no mistake, it will affect every one of us for the foreseeable future." Janeway shifted in her chair. "Which brings me to personnel changes. I have offered Crewman Tal Celes a newly created position. She has accepted the post of educational director and promotion to Lieutenant."

She read the surprise on some of the faces. Celes was known for bumbling the most basic calculations, but her quick thinking during the last crisis may have highlighted her strength. If this voyage was going to be longer than anticipated, the Captain needed everyone at his or her strongest position.

"What are we going to call the school?" B'Elanna asked.

The Captain smiled. "Voyager Academy."

"Oh, I like that!" she said. "I really do."

There were a few other voices of encouragement, but her lover seemed distracted. Seven was dividing her attention between Chakotay at the other end of the table from Janeway and Lt. Kim. She's mad at me, Janeway thought morosely. Why couldn't I just step in and tell Chakotay about us? Janeway sighed.

After an extensive discussion about morale issues, mitigation procedures and cross-training opportunities, Captain Janeway shut down her padd. "Now I believe that Lt. Kim as an announcement for us." She leaned back in her chair. "Harry?"

He jerked toward her. "Is it my turn already?"

"Yes, Lieutenant," Janeway said indulgently.

The man stood up, pulling down his tunic as he did. "I would like to request the honor of your presence at an engagement party," he said.

"Who's getting married?" Tom asked.

"Me," he said, carefully avoiding Seven's eyes.

"You? You mean you finally chose between the sisters."

"Tom," Janeway said quietly. "Can we allow Mr. Kim to make his own announcement?"

"Oh, sure, Captain," he said. "I was just trying to help."

"Go ahead, Mr. Kim."

"Thank you, Captain. And I really couldn't choose between Megan and Jenny Delaney. So we're all engaged."

B'Elanna jumped up out of her seat and captured Harry in a Klingon embrace, complete with a growl. "Congratulations, Starfleet," she said.

Others offered handshakes. "So is there a date set?" Tom asked.

"No, but the engagement party will be planned just before I leave on the away team mission," he said.

Captain Janeway surprised Lt. Kim with a warm hug. "It's so good to have you back, Harry," she said. "I really missed you. It's also nice to see you growing up."

"Thank you, Captain," he said.

"I'm sure your mother would be so proud."

A touch of sadness shaded his eyes. "She will be."

=/\=

Two days later, Captain Janeway stepped into the Mess Hall, smiling at the first sign in the thaw of crew hostilities. Commander Chakotay was conversing amiably with B'Elanna and Tom by the hors d'œuvres.

Tuvok was speaking with Crewmen Harren and Jarvin. The men from the lower decks appeared to be uncomfortable. She wasn't sure if it was because they'd ventured from their gloomy fold or because they felt menaced by Seven whose incisive precision could slice open any mendacities. Seven eyes met hers across the room and they held it for a fraction of a second before Janeway's attention was interrupted by Mr. Neelix.

"Captain," he said, offering her a bubbling blue liquid in a champagne glass. "For the toast."

"I just got here," she lamented.

Mr. Neelix leaned in. "I think Harry's a little nervous," he replied.

She listened to Neelix offer some plans he had for the festivities later, wanting her to make those announcements. Though she had no intention of extending her party time longer than necessary, it did give her more opportunity to study the room. Lt. Kim was standing with the Delaney sisters and Crewman Tal. She was surprised to see Dani in that circle. Her daughter's hand was inside one of Tal's and her gaze studied her new teacher intently. It was a look Janeway had never seen before; it was earnest, raw and naïve. Janeway shook her head, telling herself she was imagining it.

By this time, Mr. Kim had disengaged and bounced nervously to her. "There you are," he said. "I'd like to, ah…." It was as if he were remembering for the first time he was speaking rather impertinently to the Captain. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" she asked quietly.

"I'm nervous and I want—I'm ready to get this over with."

Janeway smiled at the usually nervous man. It reminded her of his first day on Voyager. "I'm ready, Mr. Kim. The real question is are you ready?"

"It was Emerson who said we are always getting ready to live, but never living," he replied thoughtfully. "Today, I'm changing that for me."

Janeway tipped her head to the side, studying the man who entered Voyager's crew so young, so guileless seven years ago. He'd literally grown into a man before her eyes. "Well, Harry," she said with a whisper of parental pride. "You're a fine man and you'll make a wonderful husband and father."

"Thank you, Captain."

He stepped back over to Jenny and Megan Delaney, with their identically garish hairpieces. Lt. Tal had just said something and the twins had tipped their head back and their brash laughter rang out in hiccupped guffaws.

Janeway took the champagne glass that Neelix offered her with a wink, tapping it with a spoon for attention. "I cannot tell you how magnificent it is to see the crew mingling." Her emphasis on the last word left no doubt in anyone's mind to what she referred. She thought it would have taken a lot longer than ten days. Perhaps I short-changed everyone, she thought.

"First, my thanks to Mr. Neelix for putting out a fine banquet of the finest our airponics has to offer. Only he has the magic to turn ordinary vegetables and meat substitutes into a epicurean delight." She led the crew in a round of tepid applause. Mr. Neelix looked proud and conspicuously humble.

"We've been through a lot together and not together," she said. Again, the crew understood her double entrendre. "Today, we are here to celebrate a very special occasion. Harry Kim, our very own fresh-from-the-Academy Lieutenant. He's grown before our eyes—"

"Captain," he said, dropping his voice to its lowest register to try to sound more manly. "You are sounding like my mother."

"I am a mother, Lieutenant."

He blushed, and looked around uncomfortably.

"Today, Mr. Kim announces his wedding engagement to not one, but both Delaney sisters." The crowd murmured their surprise. "Best wishes, Harry, Megan and Jenny!" The crew took a long sip of Neelix' own better-than-champagne Champagne. Janeway coughed a bit, its bubbles a little too strong.

She smirked to see Dani saunter over to try to sneak a sip from her Borg mother. Seven pulled the glass away from her daughter, lifting it out of reach. Her daughter's mouth began to move rapidly, no doubt to bring her mother to her viewpoint. But Seven was unpersuaded, much to their daughter's chagrin.

Neelix cleared his throat and Janeway blinked around. "If you drank all your lovely champagne, we need more! I'm not done with the toasts."

Seven met her gaze across the room and it warmed Janeway to the tips of her boots. Later, she thought.

Janeway lifted her glass. "To the future Kim household, Megan and Jenny are both expecting his children! So here are to the babies Kim!"

She lifted another glass. "Speaking of babies. B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris are expecting their own child. To their bundle of joy, we toast!" Janeway looked at B'Elanna. "May the child live in honor!"

The Klingon woman tipped her head in kind acknowledgement.

Janeway sipped lightly again. She ended up toasting for three more children and two more future weddings. By the end she was nearly light headed. The Captain hadn't felt this hopeful in nearly a year and she was going to enjoy it.

Later, Janeway ended up watching Lt. Kim face certain defeat in Kal Toh against his archrival Lt. Commander Tuvok. She took a sip of the water she had finally smuggled into her champagne glass. It was too late. The six-week baby inside her womb evidently didn't care for the bubbles and she was making her revulsion known. She jabbed a finger into the corner of her eye, hoping to stem the pain.

She and Chakotay stood side-by-side, occasionally bumping elbows. "Do you think Harry has a chance?" Chakotay whispered.

"Everyone has a chance," Janeway replied back, stroking a temple. "Even a busted chronometer is right at least once a day."

Chakotay laughed when Harry offered the Captain an annoyed look. Despite the throb behind her eye, Janeway managed a chuckled, so much so that she didn't hear Seven of Nine step up behind her.

"Are you all right, Captain?" Chakotay whispered.

Janeway rubbed her stomach. "I think it was Neelix' Goulash Krenim," she lied. "It's come back to haunt me." She felt like vomiting and she knew exactly the reason.

"You better use your replicator rations for breakfast because I heard Neelix boasting that his Goulash Krenim would be traveling forward in time for an encore," Chakotay cautioned.

"Thanks for the warning," Janeway replied.

Kim huffed at the two senior observers. "Do you mind? You're distracting me…well, Commander Chakotay is," he clarified with stumbling words. "Not you, Captain."

Janeway rolled her eyes. "Was Harry always this obsequious?" she whispered to Chakotay.

"Yep, everyone's back to normal," he replied in kind.

"I didn't expect it to happen this soon," she said with an unabashed smile. "But I think we are finally normalizing."

"Whatever that is, right, Captain?"

She laughed at his multi-layered joke. "Exactly." Captain Janeway took a small step back, bumping into Seven. "Oh, Seven, I'm sorry."

Seven's hand lingered on the small of the Captain's back, earning a stern look from the woman. Seven dropped it casually, as if she had completed her task of steadying her Commanding Officer. "I am sorry to disturb you, Captain…."

Janeway gave her an odd look. "You aren't disturbing me," she replied, her voice husky.

"However, it is nearly time for Eridani's regeneration cycle."

"Would you like some help?" Janeway's crooked smile tried to assert itself, but she quickly tamped it down. She was keenly aware of the scrutiny of her First Officer.

"No," Seven said, looking everywhere but to the person with whom she spoke. "As I stated, I do not wish to interfere with your official duties. Good evening."

"I can help," Chakotay offered.

"Unnecessary," she replied as she retreated.

Janeway wondered what had bothered her lover. She watched the woman sway across the Mess Hall toward their daughter, who laughing loudly with Crewman Tal, Naomi, Mezoti and the other Borg children.

"Seven's a good mother, isn't she?" Chakotay asked.

"Very good" came the Captain's distant reply.

Seven made her announcement and, right on cue, Dani's face darkened. The Captain heard enough bits of words to extrapolate the nature of her daughter's protest across the room; it was something along the lines of "Naomi isn't going to bed."

Seven's face was impassive, but her retort was strong enough to force Dani to stand and wave goodbye to her friends.

=/\=

Within thirty minutes of her lover and daughter leaving, Janeway made her regrets. Her stomach was roiling and her head pounding, but she made her way to the VIP cabin instead of her own quarters.

She was surprised the VIP cabin door was locked. Two sounds of the chime finally brought Seven to the door. "Captain," Seven said formally.

Kathryn looked confused. "Can I come in?"

Seven returned to the couch, where a series of padds lay in a precise array of stacks.

"What are you doing?"

"Preparing for the departure of the away mission tomorrow." Seven resumed her position at the couch, lifting a padd that she thumbed through.

Janeway stared at her for a moment, wondering what had set Seven of Nine off so badly.

"What's the matter?" Janeway asked as she sat on the coffee table across form her lover.

Seven did not look up from the padd. "You are ashamed of me."

The tone was so flat it took Kathryn several seconds to register the fury. Janeway leaned forward, trying to get the Borg's attention. "No, darling, never. Why would you say that?"

Seven inhaled before she spoke. "You announced the relationships of four other couples," she replied. "But not ours."

"Darling." Kathryn placed on a hand on her lover's knee. "Please—"

"It is all about your image," Seven said, a small but unusual quake in her voice. "Your need for secrecy is not about protecting Eridani or I. But about protecting yourself."

Kathryn pulled back, as if struck in the face. "That's not true, Seven!"

Kathryn tried to take her hand, but Seven snapped it back. "Do not touch me," she said.

Kathryn strangled a frustration in her throat. "Please, Seven," she said. "It's only been a little over two weeks since we returned to Voyager, a week since the mutiny. It is like no time has gone by. It's like nothing."

"For you, perhaps, it is 'nothing.' For me, it is everything." Then Seven stared intently at the gray-blue eyes. "You are everything and your shame of me is…damaging."

"No, Seven, this is not about shame or reputation. It's not! I promise you. Please tell me what this is about!"

Seven stared at Kathryn a moment. "You stated that when events normalized you would embrace our relationship publicly."

"I know what I promised, Seven. I still want that."

"It is evident that you do not, as you agreed with Commander Chakotay that the crew has 'normalized'—your exact word. Yet, you still insist on secrecy. The only answer can therefore be that you are ashamed of me."

Seven abruptly bolted upright and marched to the door, Kathryn following her closely. "Seven, it was a casual observation. I didn't know you were listening."

Seven opened the cabin door. She lifted her chin as she turned to face her lover. "Your allocated time has expired."

"I hope that doesn't mean something drastic."

"It means it is time for you to return to your own quarters, Captain."

Kathryn tried to reach out, but Seven stepped back. She was unblinking, unflinching and, Kathryn feared, unconvinced. "All right," the Captain whispered finally. "I'll go, but this doesn't mean that I'm ashamed of you or that I don't love you more than life. It means only that I am honoring your request."

Seven stared at her. The ex Borg felt like stone and she was frozen in place like a statue.

"Do you understand, Seven?"

"Yes, Captain." It was a mechanical reply.

When she was alone, Seven felt herself shatter like a marble statue struck by a hammer. She was not aware, until now, that emotional pain could cause her to cry out.

=/\=

Kathryn Janeway stepped into the empty corridor, feeling a cold grip squeeze her heart. She'd forced herself to heed her lover, but it had taken all of her willpower to move her feet one step at a time, to turn away from the woman she loved. Why can't she just wait for me? the Captain wondered.

=/\=

Earlier that day, as the Delta Flyer skimmed the top of a thick forest of silvery green trees. They could see a waterfall in the distance as they landed in a small clearing.

The rainforest was cool underneath the canopy of trees. Thick silvery vines hung low from the thick trees and they were covered with a silvery blue moss. Birds flitting overhead scattered from the treetops. Strange macaw-like sounds erupted.

The away team poured out, checking their tricorders, phasers and other essential items. Chakotay handed each team a padd.

Seven of Nine lifted a brow as she thumbed through hers.

"Commander," Lt. Kim said. "I didn't get a padd."

"You're teamed with Seven and I," Chakotay said absent-mindedly. He didn't notice the dread that blipped across his face. "Okay, let's be methodical," he said to the entire away team. "I've given each of you a specific group of plants and animals to look for. Don't go beyond that scope unless you clear it with me. We need to maximize our efficiency. Right, Seven?" he asked with a wink.

"That is correct," she replied. Seven was able to ignore Chakotay's flirtatious affectation while at the same time telegraph a stealthy menace to Mr. Kim.

"Okay, we'll rendezvous here at eleven hundred."

"Uh, Commander?" Kim said, stepping close to the man.

"What do you need, Mr. Kim? We've got real work to do."

Mr. Kim understood Chakotay was trying to explain that their relationship dynamic wasn't the same as it had been for the last six months. He got it. He didn't just graduate from Starfleet Academy yesterday. "I think—" Then Mr. Kim felt her or rather smelled the woman's iron-like fragrance. On the ship, her scent got lost in the recycled air. But here in this virtual paradise, it stood out like a rusty bolt among roses.

"What is it, Harry?" Chakotay asked.

Mr. Kim blinked. He wasn't going to complain to the First Officer about the ex Borg. Maybe he could make his peace with her. "Never mind. Let's get going."

Seven walked due east, following Chakotay, who nearly sprinted ahead. Lt. Kim fumbled with his tricorder. He turned in a thirty hundred sixty degrees, before following the senior pair.

Within a matter of thirty minutes, the cool of dawn had already given way to an oppressive heat and humidity in the forest. The sweat was already dripping from Harry's forehead by the time he caught up to the senior pair. He noticed the sweat drops hanging off the tips of Chakotay's hair but Seven was completely dry. Just then a spindly, thorny limb that the Astrometrics officer had shoved out her way snapped back. It left a welt across his forehead.

"So Seven," Harry said haltingly. "How are you?"

"I am currently navigating to our designated search grid, Lieutenant."

"I said how are you, not what are you doing?"

She stopped and perused his form, making him blush furiously. "I see you're damage has been repaired."

"If you're asking how I feel, I do feel fine," he said. "The Doctor released me for active duty just this morning. Thank you. Hopefully I'll stay fine."

He caught the glare from Chakotay. Of course, the First Officer had picked up the implication of what he'd said. Seven seemed oblivious to Harry's fear. He had to get this monkey off his back before it drove him crazy.

"Do you remember that time—just after you joined the crew—"

"I did not join the crew," she stated. "I was severed from the Collective, impressed into the crew, if you will."

"Okay—anyway, remember that time you misaligned the optical relays by point-five percent?"

"Garrulous," she replied.

"Huh?" The non sequitur threw the man off.

She stopped and looked up from her tricorder. "When you are operating within a normal parameters, you are quite garrulous. Furthermore," she said resuming her course. "I have heard it deemed 'mindless chatter' by others—"

Harry could see Chakotay's shoulders quaking just so, even though the man was nearly three meters ahead of them. "Let's go, you two," the First Officer shouted over his shoulder. "This isn't a stroll."

Harry frowned slightly. "Who calls it that?" Then he winced because even he could hear the crack in his voice. Who cared who said that, he thought. It didn't matter. But it did.

"Anyone who has experienced it, I'd imagine." Seven turned to resume her unerring course toward their grid.

"Look, I'm not trying to fill the void with niceties."

His tone made Seven stop and look back at him. He noticed that even her blue biosuit was dry, especially under the armpits. "What are you attempting then?"

"I was your first friend. That's what I was getting at. Everyone else thought you were a robot."

"Robot is a grossly inaccurate term."

"No it isn't—but regardless, I was your first friend and I'm trying to get you to talk to me about what happened between Dani and I—please don't say it again!" He held up a hand for emphasis. "I didn't mean to 'abuse your subunit'—well, me—my real self—not some hormone-addled psychopath. You don't know how many times I've dreamed that I've hit her again. It scares me…." His voice trailed off.

Seven dropped the tricorder to her side. "I am not a member of the clergy, Lieutenant. You harmed my child, and while I have been ordered not to damage you, it is also not my function to assuage your guilt."

He gave her a sour look. "That's why I asked you if you ever made a mistake."

Seven gave the appearance of giving the question due diligence. "I have not," she finally responded. "Not the sort of any significance."

He cursed under his breath, ran a hand through his sopping hair and turned his back.

Chakotay gestured for them. "Our spot is just around this bend," he said. He disappeared behind a large thick bush.

Harry picked his way quickly toward the woman, catching up to her just as she was about to round the large shrub. He cut off her path and aimed his gaping mouth at her.

Seven pulled back, shaking a faint look of disgust from her features. "What are you doing, Lieutenant?"

"Pull out a tooth," he said, managing to keep his mouth as wide as he could. "Then you'll stop hating me and I don't have to worry about what you'll do."

She frowned. "I will not harm you, Mr. Kim."

He snapped his mouth shut. "So all of these extraction puns and the comments about defanging were what? A sick joke?"

"Not a joke, Mr. Kim," she replied. Seven inhaled slowly, closing her tricorder. She ran a palm along her temple to the back of her head, while she studied the younger man. "I obeyed the letter of the regulations. Call it 'malicious compliance.'"

"What's the point of obeying orders if you're still mad?"

"Apprehension can be its own punishment. Would you not agree?"

"You know, I won't even sit with my back to the Mess Hall entrance because I was afraid you'd sneak up on me?"

"And extract a molar while you dined?" Seven shook her head. "You must think I am crass and uncivilized."

"You are Borg." He mimicked her oft-quoted affirmation, surprised when he saw the ghost of a smile on her full lips.

"To answer your question," Seven said, watching Chakotay sniffing some leaves a few meters from them. "There are many things of which I am ashamed, Mr. Kim." Her gaze shifted upward toward the dappled sky. "I can still hear the screams of those I assimilated," Seven whispered.

Just as suddenly as she had lowered her personal shield, Seven raised them. She began to run her hands over the bushes, assessing each for their potential value to the crew. "My responsibilities with the Borg were monstrous. I was the perpetrator of unjust suffering, Mr. Kim. And I am helpless to undo it. Was it a mistake? Not in the usual sense."

Harry Kim stared at the woman, trying to imagine some of those atrocities. Seven of Nine tightened her lips under his scrutiny and turned abruptly.

Beside her, he pitched his voice low. "Then you live in your own prison, of sorts."

"I did," she replied softly as she turned a leaf over.

Mr. Kim studied her profile. The starburst at her ear the only testimony to her enslavement. She leaned over, closed her eyes and inhaled the fragrance of a beautiful yellow flower. Seven straightened. "There was more to being severed from the Collective than disconnecting me from the hive mind. Nature abhors a vacuum."

Kim tipped his head to one side. "So you what? Plugged yourself into work?"

"For a time," she replied. "That was why your attempt to copulate with me was disconcerting."

Mr. Kim colored to remember that just after her arrival, she sensed his arousal with her Borg implants.

"His what?" Chakotay asked, finally stepping back. This was the first indication he'd given that he was even aware of their conversation. Chakotay stared between the two of them

"Uh, it sounds worse than it was, Commander," Harry replied. "I mean, I had a crush on Seven. Who doesn't, huh?" The comment brought a deepening glare from the Commander. "But that's all it was. Seven called my bluff."

Chakotay turned to Seven, studying her eyes and mouth in a slow agony. "So are the two of you…you two are…?"

Seven lifted her chin. "No, Commander. I copulate with no man at this time index."

Kim noted the sigh of relief on the First Officer as he pointed toward a large copse of bushes. "I'm going to check out that fruit over there," Chakotay said. "That's give you time to work this out."

Kim watched the First Officer made his way gracefully through the thickets. "You don't love him, do you?"

"No, Mr. Kim, I do not," she said, resuming her study of the flora in the vicinity.

"So nature abhors a vacuum," he prompted. "What do you mean?"

"I still needed a collective of sorts and my liberator filled that role. Captain Janeway freed me from the tyranny of the Borg and the slavery of my own self-loathing."

"I can understand that. All of that," he said. "The Captain is like a parental figure to me." Mr. Kim cleared his throat. "I can understand that. That's why I can't close my eyes without seeing the terrible things I did while I was drunk on testosterone and adrenaline. They told us at the Academy we'd be tested in the field. Kobayashi Mari was the no-win scenario, but you essentially remained who you were. I don't think I was ever prepared to fight the monster inside of me. The villain I'm afraid still waits there."

"No one is prepared, Lieutenant. You were unnaturally manipulated by your hormones and I was assimilated. We are also victims in a sense." She stopped to meet the young man's gaze.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I really am. I would never hurt Dani or any kid."

"I know that, as Kath—as the Captain has offered me similar chance," she replied. "However, Eridani and the other children may be more difficult to convince."

She squatted to look at a large, elephant ear leaf.

"You weren't really going to yank out a tooth, were you?"

Seven looked up, a giant leaf between a finger and thumb. "No, Lieutenant, I would not have extricated a tooth," she said. "It was a puerile prank."

"So you're not going to kill me either?"

"Not at this time, Mr. Kim," she said.

Harry Kim opened his mouth to speak, but brushed his lips and chuckled. He'd seen it, Seven's vapor of humanity was now more like an ocean. He hoped she could find someone to appreciate it.

=/\=

Later that day, Captain Janeway had received the first initial planetological toxicology test results, showing the planet's dangers were minimal. She hit on an idea. "Janeway to Tal."

"Tal here, Captain. Is something—Is everything okay?"

"Yes, Lieutenant," Janeway said, smiling as she looked up. It was going take a lot of work to help Tal find her confidence, she thought. "Everything's fine. I had an idea though. But let me say, if you don't like it we don't have to do it. It's merely a suggestion."

"What is it, Captain?"

"The toxin reports show no known environmental dangers and from Commander Chakotay's descriptions, the planet is quite lush and idyllic. He mentioned a garden paradise not far from the away team camp."

"Sounds beautiful."

"How would you like to lead the children on a field trip—with a suitable security escort, including yours truly?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, Lieutenant," Janeway said patiently. "Happily serious."

"Yes, Captain! Judging from the faces of my pupils, I'd say it's a wonderful notion!"

=/\=

Captain Janeway entered the transporter room, Lt. Tal Celes, all the older children and a security detail of four other officers were standing ready on the pad. She smiled and greeted them.

"Okay, listen up. There are a few simple rules to make our trip more enjoyable. There are no large animals in the immediate vicinity, but as a precaution no one is allowed to venture beyond a kilometer from the campsite. Is that understood?"

For another thirty minutes, Captain Janeway exhausted all possible permutations with which the children could find themselves. "No one is to taste anything without permission. Don't venture off by yourself…." She believed it was a thorough list of curbs, especially for her daughter's natural and prodigious curiosity.

By the time she'd finished, Dani was sitting crisscross on the pad with elbows propped on her knees and her chin wedged between two fists.

After the group acknowledged the rules, they materialized on the surface. The air was fresh and mossy-scented. Interspersed shafts of light cut through the dense vegetation but still it was darker on the surface than the children expected.

Naomi and Dani were giddy with their own flashlights, jumping and spinning their heads around. The Borg children viewed the location as any other site. Though their curiosity was peaked, it was not evident. Instead of allowing their senses to dictate any movement, the Borg children watched Captain Janeway, awaiting their orders.

"You may explore as we discussed," the Captain said.

Janeway watched as Dani stepped toward Lt. Tal, but she stopped short when Naomi slipped her hand into Celes' and they began to watch a nest of birds chirp and cry out. A red mother bird stretched her dark wings to land on top of them. They opened their beaks and she filled them with something she collected.

Dani frowned and looked around. The other children had already paired up with another child or adult. She turned slowly to meet Cappie's gaze.

Cappie held out her hand. "Can I be your field trip buddy today, Dani?"

Dani smiled faintly and took her mother's hand. "Sure," she replied.

Cappie unzipped her tunic and tied the jacket around her waist. "It's warm today," she replied.

"It's a rainforest, Cap," Dani said as she looked down, her interest captured by a colony of green ant-like insects. They were carrying seeds, leaves and food bits back to their large mound near a tree.

Cappie crouched beside her daughter. "I was always fascinated by ants," she said.

"They're Borg-like," she said.

Captain Janeway patted her daughter's knee in pride. "They are that," she replied. "How are your mother and ants different?" The very question made Janeway laugh, drawing Dani into the humor of it.

Dani watched the ants move bits of food and leaves along a line, straight to their mound. "Ants don't seem to know how to have fun," she said. "Mom does, 'cept no one really knows it. I think she scares people." Dani looked at her mother. "Kinda like you, being Captain and all."

"Well," Cappie said. "Someone's perceptions may not be accurate. Scientists—like you and me—should always try to see what we see."

"These ants are huge," Dani said, pointing them as they trekked before them. "Bigger than the ones in Indiana."

"Just," Janeway replied.

Mother and daughter submerged themselves in the teeming life that surrounded them on the jungle planet's surface.

=/\=

After lunchtime, the group resumed their exploration of the rainforest. Dani and Janeway had encountered a small waterfall by a pond. "It's awful hot, Cappie," Dani said, gazing longingly at the glass pond. "Can I jump in?"

"Oh, no! Oh, no," the Captain said. "We aren't sure what lurks in those depths."

"But you said there were no big creatures."

"I know, darling," she whispered. "But even small creatures can wreak havoc. Please obey me on this. Their could be microscopic parasites or—"

"Ew," Dani replied with disgust. "Can we sit here and look at it?"

"Oh, we can definitely do that, love."

They found a suitably shaded rock where they climbed up together to watch the soft ripples of the water in the placid, glasslike pond. They sipped their canteens.

"Are you having fun?" Janeway ventured. Though she'd arranged this field trip for an off chance to see her lover, its byproduct—namely spending time with Dani—had turned out to be the highlight of the day for her.

"Yeah," she said, tipping her head on the Captain's shoulder. "It reminds me of all the fun we had on Gweelee."

Janeway flung an arm around the girl's shoulder. "I feel the same way," she replied.

A communicator chirp joined the din of the birds overhead and it was followed by a hail from Lt. Commander Tuvok, who remained in charge aboard the ship.

"Janeway here," she said.

"Captain, there has been an incident."

"What kind of incident, Commander?"

"Is this line secure, Captain?"

Janeway glanced down at Dani, who frowned. Just then Lt. Tal and Naomi happened by. Janeway waved the Starfleet officer over and scrambled down the perch to a safe distance. "What is it?"

"Commander Chakotay reported in only a moment ago. He, Lt. Kim and Seven of Nine were attacked and Seven remains unaccounted for."

"What happened? How long?"

Tuvok relayed that Chakotay and Lt. Kim had been knocked unconscious about an hour ago. When they came to, Seven was gone.

"I thought there were no signs of sentient life on the planet, Tuvok."

"Circumstances appear to contradict our sensors."

"What of her comm signal?"

"We located it a few kilometers due west. Commander Chakotay is en route to that location now."

"All right, I want the children's and the security detail returned to the ship immediately. Send me the coordinates and I'll take charge of the Rescue Mission myself."

"May I remind you, Captain, that transporters are inoperable here and you have only one shuttle?"

She brushed an eye with the heel of her hand. Her forehead was sopping and salty sweat poured over her, stinging her eyes. Her blue Starfleet shirt was stained dark along her neck and armpits. "Have Chakotay retrieve me. Janeway out."

Janeway tramped over to Lt. Tal. "One of the away team has gone missing. This field trip is cut short," she barked, choosing not to glance at her daughter. "Gather everyone together and return to Voyager immediately. Is that understood?"

Tal jumped involuntarily at the last question. "Of course, Captain. Let's go, girls."

Naomi followed immediately, but Dani stared at her mother. Only moments ago, the Green-Text Messages had begun to roll across her visual center. She'd known the details, down to the cause and the outcome before her mother had been informed of the urgent matter.

Dani had found it strange that the GTM, as she now called it, had given her so much information. It was as if the messenger was concerned with her own fear. Knowing the outcome, she knew her Borg mother would be fine. But judging from the veins corded at Cappie's temples and the flush red of her face, her other mother was traumatized.

Dani edged toward the end of the rock. But letters began to appear superimposed over the image of her mother biting her own back teeth, the jaw muscles rippling.

"Don't tell Cappie this," the message warned. "She won't understand."

Dani wondered why she couldn't. She was so involved in the details of the message that she forgot she was staring at her mother instead of obeying her. But a sharp bellow brought her back.

"Elizabeth Eridani Janeway!" Janeway growled. "Let's move. Now!"

Dani jumped from the thunder of command.

"C'mon, Dani," Lt. Tal said, holding out her hand.

Dani hopped down and took the proffered hand.

"You okay?" Tal asked the girl.

"I didn't hear her," Dani tried to explain, hoping her mother heard.

Janeway's mind was racing, already reconfiguring equipment in her head to do localized sensor sweeps and detect ion trails and any other means at her disposal to find Seven of Nine.

=/\=

That morning at dawn, not far from where the away team rally point on the jungle planet near a high sacred plateau, two humanoid figures quarreled. The ornately tattooed men both wore animal skins. One had thick raven black hair, a hawk nose and a grotesque cleft that split his thick, upper lip.

"You promised me, Tayloc!" The man's language was distorted, due to his congenital deformity. "I could have your daughter when the time came."

Tayloc's hair was thick and white, brilliant against his burnished skin. He shrugged as he chewed his tobacco. "Zoli, you must understand. Acala has chosen another."

Zoli grimaced and cried out, a deep guttural war cry. "Women don't have those choices!"

The older man studied the younger one. "Perhaps this is why Acala did not choose you. My daughters were free from the day of their birth."

"That is unlawful," the younger man hissed. He stabbed his own palm with a calloused finger.

"This is my land," Tayloc said. "And my law."

Zoli threw his spear, gritting his teeth as he did. He skewered a small, gray-haired gruna. Retrieving his feather-garnished spear, he shook the carcass from the tip, cleaning the flint tip with some leaves.

Tayloc regarded Zoli's waste of resources with disdain. That was another reason, he mused.

"You agreed to this marriage," Zoli finally said. "You must fulfill it, even if you have to find another woman."

Tayloc gestured with a chin toward the valley. "There are several strangely dressed women by the small waterfall of Cenatuke. They are off-worlders, but quite beautiful. They have trespassed on the land given to me by the Genshu himself. You may have one of them."

"If I do not like them?" he asked suspiciously.

"One has hair like the sun, spun by the gods themselves of pure gold. She is…" The old man cupped empty space in front of his breasts. "She is well endowed for bearing children. She will be suitable, Zoli."

=/\=

Captain Janeway sat at the Operations Station as Lt. Paris watching the Delta Flyer descend through a small opening in the canopy. It was a damn shame they couldn't use the transporter. Even the sleekness of the Delta Flyer was too large in many cases to land just anywhere. The canopy was so dense that the shuttle could damage too much of the delicate ecosystem.

Chakotay had brought with him the cream of the crop. The Chief with his mobile emitter was treating Harry Kim head wound. "Captain," he said, wincing from the Doctor's touch.

"My apologies, Lieutenant," the Chief said. "The natives here were pretty crude in their anesthesia."

"Captain," Harry started again. "I'm really sorry—I just can't believe that it happened so quick. One minute we're talking about this fruit we saw and then—bang—Commander Chakotay is slapping my face to get me to wake up."

"Sorry, Harry," the First Officer said.

"It's not your fault," Janeway said flatly. "So neither of you saw who took Seven?"

Both men shook their heads. She kept reiterating in her head it wasn't their fault. Meanwhile, she had to hear a litany of reasons why Harry Kim felt a strong obligation to help find Seven, especially after what he had done to Dani.

"If the Doctor clears you, I can certainly use your help," she said, sitting at ops. Every known sensor sweep she'd performed had turned up absolutely nothing.

Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres stepped up behind Janeway. "My people have done all that, Captain. They came up with the same answer. It's like it was magic."

"I believe in magic like I believe in luck," she said coolly.

"Seven's a survivor, Captain," Neelix replied from the back of the Flyer.

"Thank you, Mr. Neelix," Janeway said, more as an automatic response to silence the man.

=/\=

The small team fanned out, looking for Seven. "The first to find her, summon the Doctor," she said, ordering him to remain behind at the shuttle.

Janeway pushed the thick branches of the underbrush aside. Some of them were thorny, but she felt none of the pricks. Only one pain registered. The loss of Seven of Nine. If something happened, Janeway would never forgive herself.

Her communicator chirped. "Janeway here."

"Captain," Chakotay said. "I've found something."

"Is Seven okay, Commander?"

"There is no Seven. We were chasing her commbadge. Well, we found it attached to her biosuit but no Seven of Nine."

Janeway bit down hard on her back teeth. "I'll be right there." Why did Chakotay have to find the damned clue? Why couldn't I? How did he know she was ticklish and I didn't? The recriminations she lashed herself with kept her from feeling the sharp whips of some of the branches as they snapped back against her as she trudge along to Commander's location.

He stood holding the blue biosuit—Janeway's favorite—with delicate care, as if the woman were still in it. Chakotay opened the outfit from the front, a ragged rip trailed top to bottom. "She was stripped."

It took all of Janeway's command experience to block out the anger and the fear that threatened to overwhelm her senses.

Janeway wiped her sopping brow. "Who could subdue a Borg?"

"Whoever took Seven," Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres said.

"All right, I want us to fan out. Look for trails. DNA, anything. Let's go!"

=/\=

Rainforest darkness was thick. Strange animal calls echoed around them in the palpable blackness. Janeway ordered them to make camp. Biotents were erected. A campfire was lit.

The away team had turned up no trails nearby. There was no sign of Seven's DNA. There was no sign of Seven of Nine anywhere on the planet's surface. Voyager's sensors still showed the planet devoid of sentient life except for the away team.

The away team was eating rations for a late dinner, or early breakfast, quietly around the fire. Small blood-sucking insects flitted around the fire, landing occasionally to feast on a crewmember. Tom slapped one at his neck. "I hate mosquitoes," he mumbled.

"How do you know they're mosquitoes?" B'Elanna inquired, as she chowed on a bit of rations.

"They're sucking my blood!"

Captain Janeway wanted to thrash them all. They shouldn't be eating! They should be looking for Seven! But the Captain knew there were physical limits. She was feeling weak, but shoved it brutally away from her. Instead, she stepped away from the crew, just inside the shadows to reassert control over her chaotic emotions.

Janeway brushed a tear, when her commbadge chirped. "Tuvok to Janeway."

"Janeway here."

"Captain, I regret to inform you that our sensor sweeps, using every known measure we have, are unable to detect any signs of Seven of Nine."

Her head dropped into a hand.

"Captain?"

"I'm here, Tuvok."

"It is as if she has vanished."

"Tuvok." Janeway's voice nearly broke, but she ruthlessly stamped down her fears. Her crew was listening. And she would never give up on Seven. Ever.

"However, we have just received a message, Captain."

"A message? From where?"

"Sensors indicate it came along the Borg communications network."

"The Borg sent us a message?"

"If Voyager's sensor logs are correct, yes."

"What does the message say?"

"Nothing, other than a set of spatial coordinates for a moon orbiting this planet."

"Can you detect her?"

"Sensors read no lifeforms, Captain."

"Is the moon class M?"

"It is with milder temperatures and a nitrogen-oxygen rich atmosphere."

"Send those coordinates to the Delta Flyer. We will leave right after we break camp. And Tuvok?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Save those sensor logs for me. Don't let anyone delete them or alter them in anyway."

"Aye, Captain."

=/\=

The Delta Flyer gleamed in the rising sun, as it darted toward a green moon just breaking the horizon of the planet. As they approached the coordinates, tall stone structures, some pyramidal and others columnar rose from a grassy steppe.

The shuttle touched down just shy of a large complex of stone buildings, all connected by a canal. In the center of the vast swamp stood a giant stone pyramid with a square building on top.

"I think these rocks are interfering with sensors," Tom said, as he cut the engines. "I had to land without computer-assist."

They'd drawn a large crowd, but curiously, the stone-aged inhabitants, who appeared to be human, did not seem to be threatened by the shuttle as it opened or at its crew exited.

The weather was mild, even pleasant after spending the night on the rainforest planet. Janeway looked around, trying to find someone who appeared to be in charge. The natives had dark complexions and hair, wearing animal skins. The women were topless.

"We aren't here to harm you," she said, trying to meet the gaze of anyone. But they all looked down as she tried to communicate with them.

Two one-man aerocrafts zipped over them and buzzed back. Men similar in appearance to the townspeople were riding the stone-like transports as they would a horse. They brought the crafts to land near the growing crowd.

"Look at those aircycles," Lt. Paris exclaimed. "They're made of rock. I've heard of Steampunk, but Stonepunk?"

The two men wore armbands made of leather-like material. Glyphs decorated the surface of the bands. They waved for the crowds to disburse and marched to Janeway's position. They offered Janeway a leer before speaking over her in a complex language of dipthongs and clicks.

"I think they believe I'm in charge, Captain," Chakotay said.

"Cultural hubris, Commander," the Captain whispered.

Janeway stepped aside, gesturing for Chakotay to come forward. After the native pair had spoken, the Universal Translator had only translated a fifth of the words. "I think our Universal Translator needs an overhaul," she said.

The men kept speaking, until finally the translator started to interpret most of their words. "Who are you?"

"We come in peace," Chakotay said. "We are looking for one of our crewmembers. Her name is Seven. She is tall and blonde and—"

"Follow us."

=/\=

The inside of the pyramid was a palace. Torches lit the corridors. Fine marble-like floors stretched out in polished allure. The away team was taken to a vast room without a single stick of furniture. Tall, stone columns lined the room with a giant fresco painted on one end.

It was a scene of a jaguar-like creature defending or attacking smaller animals. Chakotay studied the scene. "This is the throne room," he said.

"How do you know?"

He pointed to the jaguar. "This jaguar is a symbol of kingship. See it's inlaid with jade and gold. The symbology correlates amazingly to the native Pre-Columbian peoples of Meso-America."

"That squares with my findings," the Chief said, closing his tricorder. "Preliminary scans show that these people are from Earth, perhaps thousands of years removed. But completely human and in fact, Commander, your mitochondrial DNA, haplogroup B, to be exact, is found among these people. You're related."

Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres was studying the columns. "Look at this workmanship, Captain," she said. She tried to insert a slim card into the grooves of the columns. "This building is amazing, considering I haven't seen any tools beyond a pick and an axe."

"I suppose you're forgetting their aircycles, right?"

She frowned. "I wasn't counting those."

Just then several dark-skinned warriors, carrying plumed spears, poured into the chamber, lining up along side the away team.

The away team heard the scraping of heavy stone. What they thought was a wall, was an ornately carved door. It slid open to reveal a tall, dark-skinned man who was well muscled. He stepped into the room, cloaked in jaguar skins and his lips were pierced with ringlets of gold. He was followed closely by a white-haired man, who stood beside and slightly behind the man.

"The great Genshu has done you a great honor," the older man said to Chakotay.

"Oh, how is that?" he asked.

"He has granted you an audience. He presumes you have come to bless the union of your woman to our man."

Janeway's eyes widened and the rest of the away team looked around.

"No," Janeway said carefully, "We've come to retrieve our crewmember."

The older man frowned. "It is a grave dishonor to allow your wanamaukay to speak in the presence of the Emperor."

The older man waved his hand, as if to dismiss Janeway. She turned red-faced to her First Officer. "What is he talking about?"

Chakotay stepped up. "We don't understand what wanamaukay means, sir."

"Wanamaukay! Wanamaukay!" The man attempted to yell his way into understanding.

Chakotay touched his ears and grimaced. "Please tell us another way."

The man babbled something so quickly the universal translator did not even attempt a translation. Quickly, scraping stone was heard again as the great door eased open and a topless woman entered. She was tall, with long straight dark hair and obsidian eyes. She walked over to the older man, head bowed.

The older man placed his palm behind her head and then grabbed a handful of hair. He turned the woman to him and smothered her with a kiss.

The older man kept his eyes on Chakotay, who nodded. The older man relinquished the woman and smacked her backside as she left.

"You mean wife and no, the Captain isn't my wife."

Janeway stepped forward. "I'm his Captain and we—"

The older man stepped back, his face deeply offended by her intrusion. He shook his head and pointed to Chakotay. "I am Svante, Chief Minister of the Boolarai Empire."

Chakotay introduced himself and tried to give the appearance of listening as the man introduced the Imperial Genshu, reciting his lineage for twelve generations. "Captain," Chakotay whispered. "Please let me lead this negotiations. So we can get our Seven back."

Our Seven, she thought. Janeway reluctantly agreed.

Chakotay reiterated his request for the return of Seven of Nine.

The white haired man shook his head. "Kuro is a grave dishonor."

"Here we go again," Janeway muttered.

"What do you mean? 'Kuro' is a grave dishonor. What does kuro mean? We don't understand, sir."

"Kuro—to take back what you have arranged."

Janeway shook her head slowly. "We never—" A narrowing of the man's eyes stopped Janeway.

"Svante, we never arranged anything," Chakotay said. "Seven of Nine was taken against her will."

The old man turned slightly, studying Chakotay from the corner of his eye. He gestured to one of the guards. "Wasn't Zoli hunting on Tayloc's land?"

The guard appeared to be an officer. He was covered with more skins, his tattoos were more elaborate and the plumage of his spear brighter.

"This is so."

"Bring them both to me now."

The guard ran off while the older man settled his eyes on Chakotay. "You wish to sit?"

The away team glanced around at the empty room.

"There are no chairs," Chakotay said lightly.

Svante clapped several times. Instantly, three topless, brown-skinned women rushed in. They were covered hip to thighs in animal skins and wore feathers and beads as anklets. Two of the women ran silently to the raised dais, where they promptly fell to their knees. The Genshu smiled as he sat upon their backs.

Janeway's face turned to horror when the other woman fell to her hands and knees near Chakotay. She glanced helplessly at Chakotay, who raised an eyebrow. "They are a curiously primitive and advanced society," the trained anthropologist said.

"Are you going to sit on this woman?" Janeway hissed.

"Do you want me to insult them before we get Seven back?"

That sobered her and she gritted her teeth, as she watched Chakotay lower himself to the human furniture. The man had the good sense to grimace when his body met hers.

"I hope this Zoli fellow comes soon," he said.

Within a few minutes, a single man accompanied the guard captain. He was stocky with ornate tattoos and a cleft lip.

The Chief Minister and the stocky man exchanged a heated discussion that the universal translator had difficulty interpreting and when it did, its translations lagged by several seconds.

"Is this true, Zoli? You stole the woman?"

"No, Tayloc gave her to me."

Just then, the giant doors slid open again and Tayloc entered the great chamber. The Chief Minister and Zoli bowed in deference to the Emperor's kinsman. He was followed closely by a young woman, whom Zoli refused to bow his head to, regardless of her royal blood.

"Brother," Tayloc said to the Emperor. "You have summoned me."

The Chief Minister inquired with Tayloc about the transfer of the woman. Slowly, he regarded Chakotay. "He confirms what we know, Great One. Zoli said he found the woman and she informed him that she was unmarried. Therefore, she was free. She was on Tayloc's land and so she was his to give."

Janeway shook her head, but she allowed her First Officer to speak. He rose from his uncomfortable perch to face Zoli and Svante. "Your countryman cannot take what he doesn't own. People in our culture cannot be owned. But you're right, she is free. Free to return with us to our ship."

The Chief Minister clapped his hand and several more guards stepped in, followed closely by Seven of Nine.

Janeway gasped at the sight of her lover. Like the other women they'd seen, Seven's breasts were uncovered and her lower torso covered in brown pelts. In typical Borg fashion, Seven was oblivious to the shame most Federation women would have felt. Even Janeway herself was not immune and she flushed white-hot anger at her mistreatment.

Seven's face was powdered white. A black gag was inserted into her mouth and her hands and feet were bound. She was barely able to walk, shuffling her feet instead because the bonds were short.

Her blue eyes went wide as she focused enough to see Captain Janeway, who wondered if the woman were drugged. Her usually fluid motions were sluggish and uncoordinated. Janeway tried to convey all the love she could in one glance. But it was far too fleeting.

The Chief Minister studied Seven, appreciating her finer qualities with a nodding leer. "Woman, are you married?"

Seven turned slowly toward her captor and shook her head.

Svante smiled tightly. "There is one way to decide this issue for a woman of marriageable age," he said in a placating tone to Chakotay. Then turning to Seven, he asked: "Woman, do you have a hogoshaw?"

Seven tried to work her mouth, but no sounds could be heard. The Chief Minister nodded to a guard, who tapped controls on his stone arm brace. The black ball disappeared and Seven swallowed, as if control of her mouth had been returned to her. "I am unfamiliar with that term," she stated hoarsely.

"Patron…guarantor." The Chief Minister struggled with a definition.

"Guardian?" the Captain asked.

Svante glared at the foreign woman for breeching protocol, but reluctantly agreed to her translation. "Yes," he said. "That is so. Guardian."

Before Janeway could stop him, Chakotay stepped forward. "I am her guardian."

The Chief Minister exhaled deeply, nodding his pleasure, while Zoli frowned.

"You are hogoshaw?" Svante inquired as if to confirm.

"Yes," Chakotay said, straightening himself. "I am her hogoshaw."

Zoli looked Chakotay up and down. The First Officer towered over Seven's claimant by nearly twenty-four centimeters. Zoli barked something to the Emperor that the universal translator had difficulty interpreting. As they were arguing about the diplomatic impasse,

Seven and Janeway exchanged glances. Janeway could see the edges of fury marking the taut skin around the woman's azure eyes. Janeway sighed quietly, allowing her concern to skim across the room and plead with her stubborn lover to accept Chakotay's solution to the hostage situation. But Seven's face hardened.

"No," Seven barked. "He is not my hogoshaw."

"What?" Chakotay asked, even as Zoli shouted the same from the other end of the room.

The new revelation delighted the scar-faced man. "Then she belongs to me, Genshu! She is without hogoshaw. She's mine."

The guards began to herd Seven away when Janeway jumped forward. "What's going on here?" Janeway asked.

"The woman denies hogoshaw," the Chief Minister replied, still ignoring Janeway and addressing Chakotay. His brow was deeply etched with lines. "She has no guardian, therefore Zoli will be her guardian henceforth. It is our way."

"No! She belongs with us," Chakotay said, stepping forward. Without hesitation, the guards lunged forward, pointing their spears at his heart.

He backed up, his hands raised in resignation.

"This is our way," the Chief Minister explained. "She has no hogoshaw. She belongs to Zoli."

"No," Janeway said. "Seven said Chakotay wasn't her hogoshaw. But she has one."

The Chief Minister raised his hand and the guards stopped their shoving of Seven of Nine. "Who? Who is her hogoshaw?"

Captain Janeway stepped forward. "I am her hogoshaw."

The Chief Minister, the Emperor and Zoli laughed. "You?" Svante said through derisive guffaws. "You're just a woman."

"And her hogoshaw," she said. "Ask her."

"Is this so?"

"Yes," Seven said, keeping her gaze on Janeway. "This is so."

The Chief Minister looked in alarm at the Emperor. This was unprecedented. Women were rokamani—possessions to be traded for the benefit of the tribe. The Emperor listened to Zoli plead his case based on the traditions and laws of these people. Chakotay tried to argue the same, but he was unfamiliar with their customs and made no headway.

The Emperor finally spoke. "It is decided a woman cannot be a hogoshaw—"

"Brother," Tayloc said gently. "It was my land. I say we should let the woman play Zoli. Let the Gods Themselves decide." He turned to Zoli. "Unless my esteemed nephew is afraid to face the short rokamani."

Zoli looked back at Janeway, assessing her prowess. "I'd accept the challenge," he'd lisped.

=/\=

Janeway eyed the ball court. It was made of precisely laid iron gray stones, hewn so perfect she could not even insert her fingertip into a seam. The ball court was long and narrow. Two rings inscribed with unreadable, swirling glyphs stood at a meter-and-a-half above the ground. The court walls angled out at about a 45-degree angles. Janeway reasoned it was to keep the ball in play, sending a bank in a more unpredictable trajectory.

She picked up the brown ball at center court. It was heavy, perhaps four kilograms. Its bounce was lethargic. Janeway was legendary in Velocity. With a slower ball, she reasoned she'd be mythic.

Svante joined her at center court, still bedecked in ornamental feathers from his hair and a jaguar coat on his shoulders. He reached for the ball that Janeway returned. Only then did she get sight of her opponent. Up close, Zoli was a lot bulkier than she remembered in the great hall. His cleft looked painful and he growled at her when she stared too long at it.

Janeway turned to Svante to keep her head in the game. "What is the object of this game?"

"You may win your captive back."

She'd surmised that, but little else of the rules had been explained, as she was shown down to the court behind the great pyramid. The Emperor's viewing pavilion was high above in a side room off the main pyramid, where he kept Seven of Nine with him, along with Tayloc and his daughter.

The crew was allowed to join her by the sideline, but was strictly forbidden from the court on pain of death.

"How would I accomplish that?"

Svante pointed to wall near the royal pavilion. An hourglass would be tipped to keep time. "You will have the time it takes for sand to spill from this jar into the canister to score more than your opponent."

"You score by...?"

"Placing the ball through your goal more than your opponent."

Janeway was beginning to see a frustrating circular logic to these rules. "What are the rules?"

The Chief Minister blinked at her. "To place the ball through the goal more than your opponent within the time allowed." He had started to speak slowly, as if he were speaking to an imbecile.

She ignored the meaningless insult. "If I lose?"

"You die." He smirked briefly at Zoli, who had rubbed oil on his dark, muscled body.

Janeway had already stripped her jacket. She covered her eyes and squinted. The sun was high and she could feel its warmth under her collar. At least we aren't on the jungle planet, she thought.

She felt the burn of her opponent's gaze. She was as tall as he was, but his heft meant he outweighed her by a good twenty kilograms. His bulk seemed to suggest slow, clumsy movements.

Svante ordered them to their sides. Zoli had been joined by his kinsman while Janeway stepped close to her crew, divided by a small stone wall. "Captain," Chakotay said. "I want to volunteer for this."

She turned to look at him sharply, shaking her head. "I don't think so, Commander. If anyone dies, it will be me or no one."

"Preferably no one," he replied softly.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Your welcome, but don't let your opponent deceive you. He's probably quicker than he looks."

She glanced again at the dark man in the loin cloth with the blunt straight haircut. "I'm sure he is."

"And this isn't the holodeck and this game is probably a lot more complex than Svante suggested."

"Thank you for the analysis, Chakotay. I have a few tricks up my sleeves."

"I would recommend that you go barefoot and strip down to your undershirt and pants."

"Why?"

He glanced up. "This heat will become oppressive, if the current temps are any indicator. And sometimes less is more."

"Thank you, Coach. But I think I can manage."

=/\=

Captain Janeway stood in the center court, watching her opponent. He had a smug expression on his fat lips. She wondered if she was being hustled by a pool shark. Of course, it didn't matter. The there was no way in hell she'd walk away from her crewmembers, especially Seven of Nine.

Zoli scoffed at her apparel, as he strutted around the circle, a proud peacock like walk that sent the native crowds into a cheering frenzy. "The bigger they are," Janeway whispered. "The harder they fall."

He only smiled, a grotesque expression that revealed the inside of his mouth.

Janeway looked away, telling herself that now was not the time to pity anyone. Instead, she focused on a another man wearing a loin cloth who stepped onto the field, holding a rubber ball. He set the ball on the floor, under his foot. Then he whipped out two wooden paddles, about as big as a man's hand. He presented a handle to each in turn with an exaggerated flourish.

Janeway eyed the paddle suspiciously, turning it over side to side. No one had mentioned a paddle and she wondered what other little surprises were in store for her. Her expectation was not disappointed when she watched the game ball tossed up. It swayed unevenly.

Gyroscopic force, the scientist inside her exclaimed. There was a spinning mass hidden within the ball, complicating its trajectory and therefore the game play. Surprise!

Her opponent took advantage of Janeway's brief moment of examination to jump up and slam the ball into the wall. Janeway ran to intercept it on its banking trajectory. Her opponent was further down and he received the bank, due to its unexpected trajectory arc.

"Damn ball," she muttered to herself as she darted down to defend her own end zone. Its hidden, rotating center made the ball a great deal more unpredictable. This was nothing like the ball they showed her. "Foul!" she shouted to the referee.

He merely laughed. "It is a great honor for them to use this ball, rokamani. It signifies a great respect for your skill as a warrior."

Janeway got the impression she was being mocked. "I'd appreciate a lot less respect and a normal game ball," she huffed as she tipped the edge of the ball to alter its course from her goal. "Ha."

Zoli smirked as he twirled his body, his legs falling hard on the ground and the paddle slamming the ball on his second twist. Its banking curve took it on a high arch to Janeway's goal. With one mighty leap, Zoli knocked it through the small goal.

Janeway huffed, breathing hard with both hands on her hips. "I think I should have worn my Velocity uniform," she muttered.

"It's just one, Captain!" B'Elanna shouted.

"You own this guy!" Neelix yelled. "Not that I condone slavery, Captain!"

She nodded at the jest, grateful for the support. Janeway chanced a glance upward, trying to catch a glimpse of her love. She could see the pale hair and skin as a blurry mirage with a definite black speck where her mouth should be.

The image drove Janeway charge the ball. She managed to gain control of it, only to lose it on a clumsy dribble down court and out of bounds. Janeway smacked her thigh with the paddle and stood in front of her opponent at center court. The ball was tossed in the air and she was there to gain possession of it. She shepherded it down the court, sinking it for a goal. "That more like it," she muttered, with a swipe across her sweaty brow.

=/\=

Fifteen minutes later, Janeway was behind by two goals. She glanced up at the "clock" as she was bent over at the waist, her arms slung low and the paddle held near her knees.

Her opponent looked smug as he watched her trying to catch her breath. "What a ridiculous sight," he snorted.

Janeway was able to tune him out as she considered his mid-section. She could hear the voice of father, Edward Janeway, berate her during a game of sovet kezi. A combination of Earth soccer, basketball and lacrosse, the Bolian game required the ball to be bounced or dribbled, with limited out-right carries. Her coach-father had often tried to explain to his daughter that the ball could fool her. "Your opponent's core is a more efficient predictor of velocity and path," he chided.

Janeway nodded, as if accepting the decades old lesson.

Instead of flying up to fight for possession, she allowed Zoli to jump and slam the ball in a direction not previously used. Kathryn was down court, intercepting it before he had reached it. She used her own feint and in quick succession, the strategy worked to score two points.

Zoli growled at the clock, while they waited at mid-court. In mid jump, Zoli's paddle sliced the ball, sending it directly at her. It slammed her eye, knocking her to the ground. The crowd cheered wildly, while her crew grew quiet.

Her own body twisted at the end, sending the ball in the wrong direction than her opponent had anticipated. He reversed course while Kathryn rose slowly from the ground. By this time, Zoli was shepherding the ball past her. She stuck out a foot at the right time, sending the ball where she wanted it.

But just as she tried to run past the man, her opponent hammered her shoulder, sending her a few meters into the wall.

She hit the stone wall with a dull thud, her head snapping back sharply. Janeway wanted to let herself sink to the ground and call time, but she had a feeling that once the sand grains started, nothing stopped them.

"Dirty move, cretin!" B'Elanna roared.

Janeway pushed off the wall with a grunt. Before she could reach him, he had scored. She was rubbing her shoulder as they walked to the center court. "Is that how we're going to play?" she asked.

Zoli laughed, a rumble she didn't care for.

Janeway glanced back at Seven through one eye, the rapidly swelling shut from the ball slam. Her opponent followed her gaze.

"Get one last look."

"The hell you say," Janeway mumbled, lowering herself for probably the last two plays. It was now or never.

This time, she stayed planted as he jumped. She stepped out of the circle, in time to see him come down with a paddle in one handle and a shiv in the other. She was barely able to scramble out from under his deadly thrust.

Zoli surged forward, but he met her shoed feet on his belly. He flew backwards a few meters, surprise etched on his ugly face. She scrambled to her feet, looking for the ball. As she ran past him, he held out the shiv, aiming for her leg.

Son of a bitch! she thought. Doesn't he care that I haven't threatened him once?

Thanks to Starfleet self-defense courses, Janeway easily eluded his clumsy attempt to maim her. Before he reached her, she had scored.

Zoli slashed the crude knife across the air in a malicious 'z'.

"I don't want to hurt you," Janeway said in a hoarse voice as she wiped her brow.

"Your very presence here hurts me and every honorable man. A rokamani has never entered this sacred ball court," he hissed. "They belong in a man's bed with their legs open."

"You're not my type," she snarled. "Neither is Seven."

"It doesn't matter," he replied. "Only a man's wishes count here."

"Wrong," Janeway said as she watched the ball descend. "Only one goal counts."

He growled as he slammed the ball so hard, it sailed over her. It was a long trajectory, past her goal. But Zoli reasoned he was quicker than her and he could recover it before his unworthy opponent.

Janeway realized the same thing and changed her strategy, making her stand between him and her goal.

"You're pathetic," he said, nodding at her paddle. "Since you do not use the weapons at your disposal."

"There are more weapons here than you can see," she said enigmatically.

The comment gave him pause. In the brief hesitation, Janeway stripped the ball from his control, running down the court in an erratic pattern. He took a page out of her book and stood between her and the goal. But she didn't wait.

Janeway slammed the ball against the wall beside the goal, surprising him. Before he could turn to predict its movements, the game ball sailed high overhead. She jumped up to tip it into the goal.

She walked smugly to the center, the referee waiting for them. She knew by the look in his expression that this would likely be the last play.

Just before the ball released from the referee's hand, Janeway took that moment to unlock the shiv from inside the paddle. It drew her opponent's eye and she slammed the ball toward his end zone, running at an angle away from his slashing arm.

Just as she was about to take what she hoped was the final shot, a heavy body slammed into her from behind, sending her sprawling forward. Her knife and paddle hurtled in opposite directions. Janeway grunted as she hit the grassy ground, but twisted her body to find her opponent looming over her, slicing his shiv across his paddle.

"That is your weakness," he said. "Rules in your own mind that do not really exist."

He lunged forward, slapping her legs out of his way. Kathryn blinked. Everything slowed down to painful time. Zoli's large body was going to slam into her, likely breaking some ribs. His knife was aimed at her heart. She rolled away from his right arm, but couldn't clear his body slam. His arm smacked into her ribs with a hard thud. She cried out, as did her cheering team.

"Dirty cheat!" Tom cried out.

"You dishonorable pig!" B'Elanna shouted.

Zoli hit the ground with a squall and his shiv drove into the grass. Janeway continued rolling until she was well out of his reach.

He grabbed her blue striped shiv and grunted in an attempt to unsheathe his own from the hard ground.

Meanwhile, Janeway scrambled up to get the ball with her own hands. She was holding it against her chest, both arms wrapped around it.

Two shivs glistened in the high noon sun. Steam was rising from the ground.

"You can't win," he growled.

"I can't lose," she replied. "But I won't harm you."

He muttered a curse.

Zoli watched Janeway unconsciously rub her aching ribs with her elbows. He could tell from the odd lumps that he'd probably broken a few with that slam. He could use that against her.

Zoli circled her. "You're going to die."

"No, I'm not. I've got too much to live for." Janeway kept her feet light.

"Kick his ass, Captain!" B'Elanna's cheer almost made her smile.

Janeway dropped the ball to her feet, tapping it as she kept an eye on her armed opponent. He charged her. She reared her booted foot back. The ball punched his forehead, popping straight up. Zoli blinked for a moment, clearly stunned.

Janeway zipped by him, tapping the descending ball with a fist toward the goal. She was nearly away when she felt a sting in her ass. She cried out, lurching forward. A hand told her what she feared. Her own blood dripped from her fingertips. The ball landed in a thud a few meters ahead of her.

The stocky body rumbled past her. He bent down to scoop it up, but was met with his own irresistible force. She slammed down on him with the full force of an elbow in his spinal column.

"Oh, Captain!" Tom shouted. "What a great wrestling move!"

"Look at the grimace on that man's face," Neelix pointed out.

B'Elanna smirked. "She's not heavy, but weight, gravity and a sharp elbow are a potent force."

Zoli fell to the ground, but as soon as her feet touched earth, Kathryn lunged forward. She held her side, her eyes intently focused on the still ball just a step ahead of her.

She kicked it from his grip, dribbling it down the field toward the goal. She heard a deranged cry from behind her. But she eyed the goal, bringing her foot back. She sent it sailing, wobbling back and forth. It ringed the goal once before falling in just as the referee called time.

Zoli disregarded the official, slamming into her full force from behind. Her back bowed, her head and legs dangling behind from the thrust. Janeway was barely able to bring her arms up to prevent from being slammed against the angled wall. It still hurt like hell when his body smashed hers against the stones.

He raised the shiv to strike, but her boot crunched the top of his arch with her heel. Zoli cried out, but it was strangled when her elbow smashed into his throat again and again.

Janeway felt his weight slump from her and she turned to catch his form double over. Her elbow pounded the back of his neck, beating him to the floor in blow after blow, just as her knee pummeled his solar plexus.

Janeway twisted his thumb until he dropped the last shiv, as he fell. She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and nose. She was surprised to find blood, as she staggered back, slamming into Doctor's solid form.

"Easy, Captain." His holographic hands steadied her as she nearly collapsed. "Let's sit down, hmm? Oh, on second thought, let me take care of that laceration to your gluteus maximus."

She dropped her hands to her knees, letting her head loll forward. She felt like she could collapse right here. Only the scent of water from a proffered cup snapped her eyes open again. One of the native women offered the cup with a nod, while gesturing to her sister who'd fallen to her hands and knees. Janeway accepted the big jug gratefully but waved away the human furniture. "I'll stand," she said in a smoky, cracked voice.

The Doctor gripped her bicep to raise her up, while his medical tricorder began to assess her other injuries. B'Elanna Torres appeared from out of nowhere, or so Janeway thought. The Klingon handed the woman's Starfleet tunic. "Here you go, Champ. I'm here to cover your ass," she said.

Janeway smiled gratefully. "Thank you," she croaked. She fumbled with the jacket, but her shaking hands couldn't manage. Finally, B'Elanna handed the water jug back to Janeway and began to tie the jacket. "I think you've been eating too much of Neelix' vicious swah, Captain," she said. "I think you've gained weight."

"I'm not that grateful, Lieutenant," Janeway replied sharply.

"You know, we wouldn't want to offend the natives. Should I take your shirt and bra?"

Janeway thought about chuckling, but she swung her head back and let most of the water fall into her dry mouth. The rest sluiced down both sides, joining the other stains of her sweater.

She sputtered and coughed when she pushed the jug away. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve. Her smile looked grotesque through the red, swollen eye and bloody nose. Janeway could hear the boneknitter running over her ribs. She wanted to cry out at the sheer relief as the Doctor healed the worst of it.

Meanwhile, Chakotay held a clean cloth up to her face, holding it to her bloody nose. She tried to tip her head back, but his gentle hand held her forward. "Don't do that. It sends the blood back into your sinus cavity. We want it to go onto the cloth."

"You've done this before," she rasped into the rag.

"Boxing was a foolish interest."

"Doctor, fix my face." Janeway's order was muffled, but it still cracked with the command.

"But I'm not done with your ribs. You have three compound fractures and—"

"Later," she said. "And give me something for the pain."

"But if I fix it—"

Janeway turned a frown on the holographic doctor. "Do it."

She could hear the whine of the dermal regenerator as she watched the Emperor descend to the ball field from his pavilion. His brother Tayloc and Seven of Nine followed him closely.

The Emperor waved a hand, as two guards carried a slumped and bloody figure from the field.

"Take him away," the Chief Minister ordered.

"Please," Captain Janeway said. "Don't hurt him."

"You do not want revenge?" he asked curiously.

"Revenge? For playing as good as he could? No, Svante. Please don't punish him."

For the first time, the Chief Minister allowed himself to really look at Janeway. He touched his chest and bowed slightly. "You have fought like a Dagecki—a true warrior—and we always honor warriors."

She watched as the guards dragged him from the field. "Would you allow our doctor to treat him?"

"But he is not your concern."

"No, but we could help him," she said, gesturing to her own lip. "We could help him with more than just a band-aid for today's wounds."

Svante stared again at the Captain. "You can do this?"

"Yes, and we will if you'll allow it."

Svante inclined his head in thanks. Suddenly, he clapped his hand. Seven of Nine and three native women, all topless, were brought forth to stand in a line. "Your reward." He gestured to them. "Now you must choose."

Janeway's eyebrows scrawled together. "What do you mean 'choose'?"

"Your spoils."

"I thought Seven would be released."

"You are Dageki—The Champion of the Gods. You must choose…." He gestured to the women.

"But—"

The Chief Minister sighed. "Your bride is among them."

Janeway's eyes widened to twin moons. "My bride?"

She could hear discreet chuckles from her crew. "But—"

The Emperor's smile vanished and he gestured to his Chief Minister. "It is a grave insult to refuse totemo shooree, Captain."

"What is totemo shooree?

"The Spoils of Victory, of course. You are Dagecki. We honor our heroes, as I have said. Our holy man will perform the deed."

"Captain," Chakotay said in her ear. "I can take over. Maybe you can cede your rights to me—"

"No!" Janeway shouted peremptorily. "No, Commander. I think it's high time I step up to what I should have done months ago."

Janeway's eyes met Seven, who waited. She could sense that Seven was hopeful, but was trying to project a Borg-like indifference. It didn't work, Janeway thought. She wants this as much as I do. The Captain pointed to the tall blonde. "That one."

Instantly her gag and bonds were loosened. Seven stepped toward the woman. Janeway released the knot of her tunic arms, holding it up for Seven. She grieved that it was too small to fully cover the woman, but her breasts were now hidden from the leers.

Seven's arms held the tunic against her, as she ran the backs of her fingers along the planes of the noble face. "Are you...?"

"I'm fine," Kathryn rasped. "Are you okay?"

"Just play along, Seven," Chakotay said. "You'll have to marry the Captain but it won't be legal. Not in any Federation court. Then we can leave here and get back to normal."

Seven turned slowly to Captain Janeway, her hand dropping from the face she loved. "Is this so?"

Kathryn swallowed. Well, Katie. Dammit. You got your ass prodded. Your ribs cracked. Your face smashed and you nearly lost her. What the hell are you going to do now?

Kathryn kept her eyes on Seven, though one was blurry. Though the Doctor had run the dermal regenerator over it, it remained swollen and red. "Only if you want it that way," Janeway said quietly. "Or…we could do this once and for all."

Seven's eyes widened a nanometer. She still held herself about six centimeters away from the Captain.

Chakotay grabbed Seven's hand to pull her away. Seven's resistance stopped him. Then he blinked, trying to make sense of what he heard instead of trying to impose what he wanted to hear. "What did you say, Captain?"

Tom, B'Elanna and Neelix stared at the scene in wonder. The Doctor was smiling indulgently. Harry Kim looked as befuddled as Chakotay, as he searched the three faces.

Seven freed her hand from Chakotay's grip. Her gaze was still intent on Captain Janeway. "Is that a proposal?"

"Not a very good one, I'll admit," she said.

"What going on here?" Chakotay asked, placing his hands on hips.

"Perhaps you require practice," Seven suggested.

Janeway smiled crookedly. "You aren't going to make this any easier on me, are you?"

"I do not believe my function is to make it easier on you," Seven replied.

Chakotay stepped closer, looking between the two women. "What's going on here?"

"Spoken like a wife," Janeway said. "Seven of Nine, would you please form a new collective with me?"

"A new and permanent collective?" Seven spoke the words, but the entire crew echoed the words in disbelief.

Janeway nodded. "A new and permanent collective that will be imperfectly efficient," she said. She finally stepped closer, shaking hands cradled Seven's face. "But I promise to do everything both possible and impossible to make you as happy as you make me. If you'll have me, despite my selfishness and stupidity in the last few weeks."

Seven tipped her head and lightly kissed Janeway's bruised lips. The woman grunted with pain, but held Seven in place after she tried to pull away.

Seven inhaled sharply at Janeway's open display of affection. "I surrender, Kathryn Janeway."

The Captain shook her head, making her swoon slightly. One of Seven's hands steadied Kathryn's hips, while the other kept the tunic over her chest.

"I'm the one surrendering, you know," Janeway said.

"Then I accept your terms."

Seven's open mouth descended on Kathryn's. Their bodies pressed together, the tunic sandwiched between. Despite the crowd, it was a ravenous and thorough kiss, tongues unashamedly surging and retreating in brazen possession.

Seven's arms circled Janeway's shoulders, working frantically to seal them together. When they pulled back, both women were panting.

"That's quite a proposal," Neelix said.

"Is this really happening?" Tom asked, chancing a glance at his wife.

"Damn, Seven," B'Elanna said. "That was some, uh...Wow!"

"You can say that again," Tom said.

"Like Kahless wow!"

Kathryn pulled back. "Is that a yes then?"

Seven ran the backs of her fingers down Kathryn's cheek and along her jaw line. "How can I refuse as I am the Champion's reward," she said smoothly and calmly.

"Do you want to refuse?" Worry suddenly sullied Kathryn's battered face.

"The contrary is true. I insist, Pips."

"Pips!" Tom and B'Elanna bellowed together.

From the security of her lover's embrace, Kathryn's eyes finally focused on her crew. Seven recognized that Kathryn was on the verge of becoming the Captain at that moment. So she took the time to pull back, tipping Kathryn's chin to her.

"But I make one demand, Kathryn."

Janeway blinked, refocusing on Seven. It was so easy now. Just so easy to be Kathryn at this moment. What a gift Seven has given me, she thought. "Anything, darling."

"Darling?" Tom and B'Elanna repeatedly soundlessly to each.

"Do not again endanger our unborn child." Seven's hand went automatically to her lover's belly, rubbing the growing mound. She glanced at the Doctor. "She is fine, is she not?"

"Oh, yes," he said. "The baby was the first one I checked. The human womb is remarkably cushioned."

In the crew's open-mouthed shock of silence, their eyes dropped to see the connection.

"Baby?" B'Elanna, Tom, Neelix and Harry screeched after understanding finally hit.

"Wait a minute! Waitagoddamnminute!" Chakotay shouted. He drew the attention of the Emperor and his entourage.

Seven's face became stony as she turned toward her former lover.

Chakotay's eyes followed the line of Seven's arm to where the two women's hands were joined. "Is this the end for us, Seven? Out of the blue? On a strange planet? All for her?" The last word was issued in a stinging rebuke that nearly made the Captain step forward. But Seven's hand tightened around the Captain's sore appendage, bringing her interference to an excruciating halt.

"No, Commander," Seven replied evenly. "On stardate 54836.5, I informed you our relationship was terminated. I have not by word or deed given you any other encouragement." She raised an eyebrow as challenge.

Chakotay glanced around, scratching his tattoo as he met the gazes of his crewmates. "Look, I don't want to make a public spectacle..." He glanced at the Captain, his thick lips drawn tightly. "More of a public spectacle. I think we should just discuss this."

"Inefficient," Seven declared. "Commander. I have accepted Kathryn's marriage proposal. She is carrying my child and we will raise our children together."

Chakotay's eyes darted down to the Captain's swollen belly. "So it's not really Neelix' Goulash Krenim?" he asked.

"No," Janeway said quietly, covering her abdomen with her splayed fingers.

"Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I believe I did," Seven replied.

"No, why didn't the Captain tell me, especially as she was blowing smoke about crew unity," he looked away, a painful laugh echoed out as he remembered something. He blasted Captain Janeway with a scornful gaze. "Or how you didn't want to get involved with Seven and my relationship. Remember that?"

Before Janeway could answer, Chakotay turned his back. "I am going to have to think seriously about my role on Voyager now," he hissed.

"Commander Chakotay," Captain Janeway said, stepping out of Seven's embrace. "This incident is personal and will not affect my professional respect and trust in your abilities as my number one. So if you choose to sever your relationship with us, it will be for another reason other than the regard I hold you."

"I believe I'm due on the bridge," he said without looking back.

"Dismissed, Commander."

"Aye, Captain."

He stepped over, tapped his commbadge and dematerialized. Janeway wished the rest of the crew would dematerialize. Instead, they drew closer.

"So are you really going to tie the night?" Tom asked.

For a brief second, Seven feared that Janeway would become the Captain again and shrink away from her. Instead, Janeway slipped her arm around Seven's middle, pulling the woman up against her.

The move startled the crew, having never seen Janeway display such open affection and love. "Yes, we are," she said. "Nothing could keep me from that rendezvous." She lightly pecked Seven's lips, drawing a sharp intake of breath from the crew. It only made Janeway smile. "And, Doctor?"

"Yes, Captain."

"I want you to make an official entry in your log so that our ceremony is legal and binding."

The Chief Medical Officer nodded, satisfaction smoothing his features. "Of course."

Seven stared down at the battered state of her future spouse and of her uniform. "I will require you to bathe prior to sharing your bed."

"What did you just say?" B'Elanna asked incredulously.

"Aye, darling," Janeway said, with a nod as she nestled closer.

Then B'Elanna blinked at the Captain. "Did you just...did you just—"

When the Captain turned to regard her Chief Engineer, her features were stern, in customary Janeway fashion. "Did I what, Lieutenant?"

"Did you just give in to Seven of Nine without a big official inquest?"

Janeway frowned. "You make it all sound out of place," she said. "I—"

"It is!" several of them replied loudly.

Seven pulled the Captain close. "It is a delicate dance we mastered on Gweelee. Kathryn was the perfect housewife." The ex Borg kissed the top of Kathryn's head.

Janeway wasn't satisfied. She lifted her lips, offering them to the taller woman. Without hesitation, Seven leaned over and kissed the woman soundly, leaving her breathless. The obvious affection garnered some coos and some sharp inhalations from the crew.

The Captain looked over at the group. "Oh, grow up! For heaven's sakes."

"We are all having a little trouble," B'Elanna said with a hand flourish. "Imagining Captain Janeway as a...as a...housewife."

Janeway smiled crookedly. "I was a damn good one," she said. "Bet on that."

"I'm unconvinced," the Klingon said with a playful grin. "You're notorious for burning replicated food—"

Janeway raised a finger and was about to give B'Elanna a lesson in history, when Seven squeezed the woman's middle. "I can assure you," Seven replied in her fiancé's defense. "Pips is quite conversant in the ways of the traditional preparation of food."

"And the bedroom?" Tom asked, earning an elbow from his wife and a glare from the Captain.

"If your inquiry refers to Kathryn's sexual prowess," Seven replied before Janeway thought to stop her, "then she is an authority who—"

"Seven!" Janeway shouted too loudly. She could feel her face burning. "Darling, he's baiting you."

Seven regarded the smug Tom Paris with an assessing eye.

"Don't fall for that," she whispered. "Keep our private life private."

"I shall remember that tactic, Mr. Paris."

He smiled brazenly. But his wife entered the foray again. "What remains to be seen will be whether a former Borg drone can be a damn good Captain's wife," B'Elanna said with a challenging look.

Seven lifted her chin. "As with all of my roles, I will be efficient or I will adapt."

=/\=

The Chief Minister approached with a smile. "I am gratified that the gods have favored you with Victory."

Janeway squeezed Seven's middle. "Thank you, Svante. So are we."

"Now, where are your fathers?"

"Our fathers?" The question made Janeway blink.

"Yes, yes, it is part of our tradition. Your fathers must oversee the wedding ceremony."

"They are deceased," Seven replied.

He eyed them both. "Perhaps I should not be surprised with maidens…blossoming so late in season."

Seven stepped forward, her Borg hand reaching out for him. "Seven," Janeway whispered. "Please let it go."

Janeway turned to Svante. "Is there some other way we may honor your tradition?"

"I suppose there is precedent," he said, stroking his beardless chin. "You may select your Tenzai."

"Tenzai being…?"

"Honored fathers. They are needed as the traditional Boolarai wedding ceremony will begin immediately."