A/n: Yay, my alerts are working again! I hope everyone else who was having trouble has had theirs restored too.
"So, is she really...me?" The Captain whispered to the Doctor while giving her aged doppelganger sitting on the biobed an apprehensive glance. Yes, she'd certainly seen some strange things in her time but this was beyond mind blowing. She found herself hoping, as she watched the Doctor study the scans he'd taken, that this was some sort of alien impersonation. Troublesome as that would be, at least she'd know where she stood on how to deal with this…
The Doctor crushed those hopes with an equally conspiratorial whisper in reply, "Oh yes, she's definitely you, down to the last atom of DNA, although I'd wager on her being around 26 years your senior."
"26 years?" The Captain echoed hoarsely before rapidly regaining her wits, fighting her urge to stare at herself for answers. "Can you make any guesses about what may have brought her here?"
The Doctor barely had time to give a clueless shake of the head before Admiral Janeway broke in, "I already told you precisely why I'm here Captain, to get our crew home."
Her self-confident, almost lecturing tone made the younger Janeway bristle. "I'm in the middle of getting my crew home right now Admiral." She informed her icily.
The Admiral's expression darkened, her age beaten but still strong hands tightening around the edge of the biobed. "Maybe." She finally conceded tersely, "I suppose it must depend on perspective." Seeing an indignant question come to her alter-ego's lips, she turned swiftly to the Doctor, a wry smile creasing her features, "You were a little off on your estimates Doctor, I'm 26 and a half years older than your Captain is right now." A light laugh bubbled in her chest as they shared a startled look, caught out. "I may be old but my hearing is perfect." She flashed a brief, indulging smile at the Doctor, "Probably due to your exemplary care over the years Doctor."
The holographic medic was never immune to compliments; whoever they might have came from, and so straightened with pride. "Well, thank you Admiral…" He began to reply awkwardly before the swish of Sickbay's doors interrupted him.
Seven of Nine entered the room with all of her usual businesslike directness, a PADD gripped tightly in her hand as she stopped in front of the Captain. "I have finished my analysis of the Admiral's shuttle Captain." She reported hurriedly, handing her PADD over to the Captain, "The cerebral piloting interface and the phaser technology are incompatible with Voyager, but I believe we can adapt the shielding technology and the torpedoes to the ship's specifications."
Captain Janeway wasn't sure whether to be pleased with this information, after all they were in a region crawling with Borg and any advantage was desirable, or to be worried that they were already somewhat indebted to this inexplicable traveller. Seven looked as if she had decided on the other; it was unusual for the proudly detached Borg to be so visibly ill at ease. She put the PADD carrying the new data down to be able to sign her answer, "GOOD WORK. START INSTALLING THE ENHANCEMENTS UNTIL I LET YOU KNOW OTHERWISE."
"Yes Captain." Seven agreed quietly with a slight bob of her head, grateful for not having to lip-read under such unnerving conditions but deciding to speak herself in an effort to appear controlled. That attempt fell apart when Admiral Janeway stood up and touched her arm to get her attention, causing her to jump before she wheeled around sharply to face the older woman. The Admiral didn't even apologise for startling her, instead just staring at her for a few seconds with an eerily similar expression to the one Seven had seen on the Captain's face at first sight of the Admiral, disbelief and a degree of awe. Despite her reasoning telling her this thought was irrational, why would the Captain's future self be shocked by the sight of her, the knot that had settled in her stomach since the Queen's invasion twisted even tighter. Something just wasn't right… She frowned as she realised the Admiral had spoken to her, but from what she could see it was only two words, "Hello Seven".
She gave a hasty nod of acknowledgement and stepped back, almost colliding with the Doctor, who had to grab her shoulders to steady her. "Are you alright Seven?" he asked her, his face serious, "You haven't had a maintenance check for over two weeks. I know we've both been busy, but I could examine you now if you'd like…"
The Captain peered at Seven curiously for a moment as the former Borg's demeanour went from uneasy to uncharacteristically skittish, blood tingeing her pale cheeks for a moment. "No, thank you Doctor." She declined bluntly, "It is…inconvenient right now…" She continued, stumbling over her words, "I have a great number of upgrades to supervise."
The Doctor frowned at her questioningly but quickly realised she wasn't going to budge. "Of course." He agreed reluctantly but added firmer, "Later today then."
Seven gave another unnaturally rapid nod and left Sickbay just as quickly without another word. The Captain, looking after her, saw that the Admiral was also watching their protégé, her expression transformed from the shaky, fearful stare of a minute or so before to a small but knowing smirk. It was beyond the Captain's powers of self control not to put her hands on her hips and pointedly ask her, "What's going on there?"
The Admiral's smirk widened as she responded with a noncommittal shrug, "You'll find out."
Seven breathed a heavy sigh of relief as she escaped into the hallway and then let herself lean back against a bulkhead as brief wave of exhaustion and nausea overcame her. Stubbornly, she refused to think about the more probable explanation for these sensations, preferring to blame the oppressive, uncertain atmosphere in Sickbay. She closed her eyes for a moment, and opened them again to find Chakotay gazing worriedly down at her. "Chakotay! What are you doing here?"
She saw his chest heave a sigh, his face and broad shoulders tense. "The Captain wants me to…assess our new arrival." He said, before saying another sentence Seven didn't catch.
"What was that?" She asked tiredly, pressing the cool back of her cybernetic hand against her warm and aching forehead.
"I SAID YOU LOOK AS WHITE AS A SHEET." He explained, "ARE YOU OKAY?"
"YES!" Seven answered a little too firmly, making his eyes narrow in suspicion. Backtracking, she murmured, "It has been a somewhat stressful day, that's all."
He gently ran his strong hands soothingly up and down her arms. "I know, first the Borg and now time travel…"
She smiled wanly, trying to reassure him. "Both of which I find disconcerting but I have dealt with before, as have you."
"Yeah." Chakotay muttered, running a strained hand through his hair. "What's she like then?"
"The Admiral?" She paused as he nodded, not sure how to phrase how she felt. "I DON'T BELIEVE SHE IS ENTIRELY TRUSTWORTHY." She finally confided in sign, although regretted it slightly when his face darkened in agreement. She really did want her fears to be unfounded and it didn't help to find that Chakotay shared them.
Her feelings must've been obvious, for he leaned over to give her a quick kiss before heading into Sickbay himself. "WE'LL BE FINE." He assured her.
"You can't possibly blame me for being in the dark about why you want to do this!" The Captain exclaimed irritably some time later as she walked with the Admiral back towards the Bridge. "From my perspective your future looks pretty damn good…"
The Admiral snorted at her younger self's naivety, "It's not what it seems, believe me!" she retorted bitterly.
"Oh no?" The Captain pressed, eyebrows raised. "You got the crew home, you're an Admiral. What's wrong with all that?"
"Plenty!" The Admiral snapped irately before taking a deep breath to calm herself, "I got my crew home sixteen years too late, that's what's wrong!"
"There's a time not so long ago I was told it would take us 75 years to get back, remember?" Captain Janeway reminded her, "I can't believe I would ever consider breeching the Temporal Prime Directive so drastically…"
"Let me give you some advice from a senior officer, the Temporal Directive isn't some holy covenant, it's a rule devised by some Starfleet Admirals to cover their asses…" The Admiral muttered in exasperation.
"You're an Admiral!" Captain Janeway pointed out incredulously.
"An extra gold pip on your uniform isn't worth the lives of friends, of family!" The Admiral hissed, "Over the next sixteen years you are going to lose 25 more crewmembers, aren't they worth the risk?"
Although the Captain had expected bad news, that number, a tenth of her current crew complement, hit her like a kick in the gut, rudely pushing all thoughts of duty from her mind. "What happened?" she asked in an anguished whisper.
"What about your precious Temporal Prime Directive?" The Admiral questioned infuriatingly.
"To hell with it?" The Captain snarled, glaring viciously at her younger self, who looked triumphant for a moment before regret and sadness took over.
"Firstly, Tuvok has a degenerative brain disorder he hasn't told you about yet, it can only be cured using a mind meld with a member of his family." A lump rose of guilt rose in the Admiral's throat, her matter of tact tone slipping, "That Borg nebula could save him from a long descent into dementia and we denied him that!" Despite herself, the Captain felt that same guilt clench around her heart as the Admiral took a breath, "And then there's Chakotay and Seven…"
"What about them?" The Captain demanded, now beyond restraint.
"Three years from now, you will decide to travel through a particularly unstable quantum nebula. It would've taken five years to go around so… Anyway, a violent discharge struck a direct hit on Astrometrics, where Seven, Chakotay, and their two year old all were at the time. Seven, who was also pregnant again at the time, and their child died before we could get them to Sickbay…" She paused, taking another shaky, grieving breath, "Chakotay survived the initial blast, but with his wife and children dead, I think he lost the will to live. He…succumbed to his injuries within hours…" She pursed her lips as she watched the Captain buckle over, shuddering with horror. "Do you understand why I came now?" she asked harshly.
"Y…Yes…" The Captain choked out in utter anguish.
A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D
