Chapter 2

Whatever Seven believes to be real will be real in her mind. Tuvok's warning before the meld now meant that any weapon Seven believed to be working would work. The thought did nothing to calm the Captain as she faced the woman she'd come to save. She tread lightly. "Seven, put the phaser down," she tried.

"You are not going to fool me. Captain Janeway is dead. State your identity." Ice-blue eyes stared her down, but she could see Seven breathing deeply and heavily, something the Captain's protégé only did when she was struggling emotionally.

Good Lord, what has she seen? Janeway thought. "Seven," she said evenly. "Please, you're going to have to trust me. I am Captain Kathryn Janeway. This – this Voyager – it isn't real. I need you to trust me."

"Your orders were to trust no one," Seven replied uncertainly.

"Don't listen to her, Seven!" Seven turned abruptly, but Janeway still didn't dare make a grab for the phaser. She couldn't risk the tentative understanding she'd seen flicker in Seven's eyes.

"Chakotay?"

"The Captain was killed trying to fight the aliens and let the rest of us escape from the bridge," Chakotay said, "so I'm warning you, don't listen to her. Most of the crew are already in escape pods and heading down to the surface. The aliens have nearly taken over the ship. We need to go, now."

"Seven," Janeway pleaded. No, no, no! Don't let him trick you!

"Neither of you are who you claim to be," Seven asserted, looking from one to the other. "Both of you, stand aside, or I will fire."

"Seven, focus on me," Chakotay said. "I'm not going to hurt you. I love you, and you must believe that if you believe nothing else, but we have to get out of here. That was the Captain's last order. Abandon ship."

"No, Seven!" the Captain cried at last. "Don't go with him. Remember what happened. There was an accident in engineering. You were hit by an energy discharge in an explosion. You're not really here; you're on Voyager, in Sickbay, and Chakotay is there with you. Listen to me. An entity traveled through the electric surge and into you. You need to break free!"

"Seven!" Chakotay shouted. "It's now or never! Decide!"

The Captain stated quietly, "Stardate 52841."

Seven caught her breath at the vivid memory the words evoked.

Kathryn's voice threatened to crack as she finished, "For the first time, Seven tells the Captain, 'Thank you.'"

There was a long silence before Seven spoke quietly, "It was Stardate 52842. 0600 hours in the mess hall. We had just finished breakfast."

Her captain gave her a teary smile and whispered, "My mistake."

All her attention was now focused solely on her Captain. Kathryn seemed to echo Seven's thoughts as her voice became strained with emotion once more. She begged, "All I'm asking is that you trust me again, Seven, please. Just like you did then."

Seven's expression softened, and she lowered her weapon. "I do…Captain."

At that moment, a flashing round object rolled around the corner. A loud BOOM rang out and echoed off the walls as everyone in the corridor flew against the bulkheads.

"Doctor!"

"I can't do anything!"

There was a loud crackling sound as electrical energy suddenly coursed from Seven into Tuvok and the Captain, who both collapsed instantly. Chakotay and Tom rushed to their aid. The lights in Sickbay flashed and sparked; the Doctor made a dash for his mobile emitter and a medical tricorder.

Tuvok began to stir almost at once.

"Easy," Chakotay said.

"The alien is gathering the last reserves of its strength to use against us. It is dying, but that fact has made it bold," Tuvok rasped. "I sensed its desperation. It requires a source of energy." He groaned as Chakotay helped him stand and move to a nearby biobed.

"I can't wake the Captain," Tom said worriedly.

The Doctor's holographic features looked more grim than usual as he moved his scanner over to Janeway. "The entity now has both Seven and the Captain," he told them. "Their brainwaves are virtually synchronized to its neural pattern."

Sorry; I know it's short!