"Wait Chakotay, I think I might have a plan." B'Elanna said quietly.
Despite the promise in her words, it took Chakotay a few seconds to break eye contact with, whose intense blue eyes still glared at him with questioning resentment even as he turned tersely to the half-Klingon, "Well B'Elanna?" he prompted, his dark brows slightly raised before he glanced back at Seven, a sigh detectable in his voice as he continued, "I think we'd be willing to hear anything out, considering the situation." Seven caught his eyes narrowing at her as he said the words and cast her eyes downward, sufficiently chastised for her outburst, though more by her own Borg dominated mind than by Chakotay himself.
Tom had been watching the pair with interest, caught up in trying to read their mixed signals to each other, but he wasn't distracted enough to stop him sending a smirk in B'Elanna's direction when he heard Chakotay's words, "Not exactly a ringing vote of confidence."
B'Elanna's pondering frown deepened to one of anger, "As if you'd know!"
"Hey, even if we've not been on the best of terms throughout our acquaintance, I've still known Chakotay long enough to…" Tom shot back with that laconic teasing tone Seven had heard the Tom she knew use so often with B'Elanna, here it was without the usual layer of confident affection but she still heard Chakotay chuckle softly beside her.
"Some things don't change, whichever reality you're in." He whispered near her ear when he caught her questioning glance before clearing his throat, "You were saying B'Elanna?"
B'Elanna shot Tom a parting glare before blushingly turning back to Chakotay. "Yes, sorry…" She studied Seven again for a moment before saying in clipped tones, "You said we've got 48 hours until the Cardassians come?"
"Yes." Seven replied, frowning in irritation, that was one fact she'd didn't want to have to keep repeating, dread's icy fingers crept around her heart every time she did so, despite her efforts to disengage her emotions. "Obviously your plan must be completed before then."
"On the contrary…" B'Elanna contradicted her, "I think we should wait until they're here, until we're being transferred into their custody."
Seven's cheeks flushed in incredulous disbelief, "That would defeat the purpose of escaping! What are you…"
She stopped mid exclamation when Chakotay put a firm hand on her arm, his face intrigued, "Just hear her out Seven."
Waiting until the other woman had pursed her lips and fallen silent, B'Elanna continued, "Of course, being that you're not from here, you wouldn't know but whenever anyone is transferred into Cardassian custody they made a big show of it. The prisoners are led out into the grounds and paraded in front of the other prisoners, then the Cardassians made a fuss about leading them peacefully over to their transport, with hardly any restraints at all. I always thought it would be the best time to do anything but the prison security net is such that we'd be caught as soon as we tried to run, even with the guards overstretched by having the entire prison population outside at one time…"
"We'd need a distraction…" Tom began doubtfully.
"And a way to disarm the security net…" Chakotay added, his eyes gleaming in relief when he noted Seven's thoughtful expression, "Do you think you could use any of your Bo…" He stopped the word "Borg" from leaving his lips just in time, this Tom and B'Elanna would probably give themselves up to the Cardassians rather than trust their lives to a Borg, former or not. "…any of your…tricks to solve those problems for us Seven?
Seven's brain sifted through all that she'd observed while in the prison and quickly found its Achilles' heel. It was so obvious, why hadn't she thought of it before? "Yes." She responded decisively, twisting back towards the door, eager to start her task before anyone became suspicious of the amount of time she spent talking with three Maquis prisoners.
"Seven, aren't you going to tell us what you're going to do?" Chakotay asked uneasily.
"No." Seven replied bluntly, then gave him an apologetic look for her lack of explanation."It would be better if none of you were certain of the details, just be sure to be outside the prison precisely when you're supposed to be…"
"And have a plan of which direction we're going to run in?" Tom suggested lightly, but the undercurrent in his words was deadly serious.
Seven nodded, "That would be wise." She agreed before glancing nervously at the clock, "I must go." She mumbled regretfully, more to Chakotay than to anyone else.
He smiled encouragingly at her, "Good Luck." Her head bowed painfully and he gave her upper arm a gentle squeeze, "I'll see you in two days, alright?"
"Yes Commander." She answered stoically, meeting his eyes briefly before leaving the room without another word.
B'Elanna frowned at Chakotay apprehensively, "Are you sure you can trust her Chakotay?"
Chakotay turned away from the door and looked them both straight in the eye. "I'd trust her with my life, just as I would the two of you." He was almost as surprised at the certainty in his voice as they were, when exactly had he developed the ability to trust the former Borg so implicitly?
Seven heard the electronic look of the cell's door click behind her as she stepped out into the hall, scanning the area for what she dearly hoped was there. Just as she began to feel panic sink its jaws into her, her eyes finally found what she was looking for, an unmanned access panel! She practically ran to it, already lifting her left arm up in preparation before she remembered that no assimilation tubes would extend from it to accelerate her access, she'd have to do it manually. It was a strange experience for her to miss her implants, even for a millisecond, she'd always privately longed to be freed of them, and now that she was… Agitated, she pushed those thoughts aside and cleared her mind, her fingers beginning their rapid dance over the keys as she overrode the programming. Even without her implants her vast library of Borg knowledge meant she could bend any piece of assimilated technology to her will, and the Federation's was thankfully no exception, within two minutes she'd planted a virus and five layers of Borg encoding which should activate in precisely 48 hours… "Dr Hansen? Are you waiting to be shown out?"
Seven whirled around to see the young guard who'd been assigned to look after her during her visit peering at her curiously. "Yes… I've completed my investigations, thank you." She replied, trying not to sound flustered as she mentally breathed a sigh of relief that she'd completed her task just a moment before he'd appeared, leaving no discernible trace behind.
"Great, I'll show you out." He indicated the space in front of him and she obediently fell into step beside him as he led her towards the exit. "You know that those inmates you were talking to are going to be extradited to Cardassia the day after tomorrow, don't you ma'am?" he asked her politely as they walked.
Seven fought her body's immediate instinct to tense up, "Yes, I am aware of their circumstances."
The guard nodded. "Well, the prison governor wants you to know that you're welcome to come that day to see if you can convince the Cardassians to back your research."
"Really?" Seven gasped, and although she had the sinking feeling Chakotay wouldn't approve of the risk, said, "I think I will attend, thank you."
A/n: I'm sorry this chapter is so short and rubbish, I'm a bit out of practice with this story, but please review! :D