Chapter 3

Seven opened her eyes. She looked in surprise around her. She inhaled the sweet scent of the lush, slightly wet grass that surrounded her on all sides. Low rolling hills bordered a setting sun in the west. It cast a deep orange glow across the meadow as dusk and the first stars began taking their places in the darkening night sky. An owl hooted in the distance.

She examined herself, still expecting to find injuries, and was perplexed to find herself unharmed. Instead of the blue-green science uniform that she had recently requested for her duties, she was wearing a silky white blouse, which brushed lightly against her skin, as well as faded blue jeans.

"Captain?"

"I'm here."

Seven rose to her feet and stared at Janeway. The Captain was clad in similar attire to her own, except that Janeway's blouse was a deep velvet-green and her hair appeared slightly longer, falling more loosely around her shoulders. Subconsciously, Seven noticed her own hair was no longer in its usual efficient French twist, but rather, it hung in equally loose ringlets.

Janeway smiled beautifully and laughed, "Welcome to Indiana."

"How is this possible? We are undamaged."

"Everything you see is a product of my memory. None of it is real, but I thought the change in scenery would be better for us," Janeway said, becoming more serious again. "We can fight Archon, but you needed to believe me first. I couldn't let you trust him like I did the first time."

"Archon. The entity's designation," Seven mused. "Then we are not…deceased?"

"Certainly not."

Something else clicked in Seven's mind. "You have encountered this lifeform before."

"Yes," Janeway sighed. "But we don't have time for the full story. We have to escape."

A deep male voice scoffed, "Good luck." Both women turned to face their adversary as he continued. "Captain Kathryn Janeway. Always the optimist. Always finding a way around what would have otherwise been inevitable. Always escaping death when it stares you in the face and reaches its talons out to you. But we both know that you can't go free unless I release you."

Seven watched Janeway's head slowly lower in a level death glare at Archon. "And you can't force us to go with you if we don't want to," the Captain retorted suspiciously. "It appears we're at a stalemate. We can't go, and you can't take us, but something tells me you're not too worried about that. What are you proposing?"

Archon smiled wickedly. "If it were just you and me today, you wouldn't hesitate to continue standing here forever. No. I've waited a long time for you, and I have planned for this day. I have her as well."

Janeway's eyes widened slightly when she realized what he was implying, but Seven stated coolly, "'Standing here forever' is an inefficient and unnecessary use of your limited energy."

"Maybe so," Archon replied. "However, I can live for a few more years. Your bodies will have wasted away by then. And what about your friends? Your loved ones on the outside? What would it do to Chakotay to watch you die so slowly, Seven? I have nothing to lose; you have everything."

"I'll do it," the Captain said quietly.

Seven looked at her in surprise. "Captain?"

"I'll stay." She turned away from Archon to face a horrified Seven.

"I am not leaving without you," Seven insisted.

Janeway smiled sadly, perhaps at the memory of speaking those same words to Seven on a Borg cube. Seven remembered how the Captain had made good on her promise and rescued her in the end, but she had a terrible feeling that she could not save her Captain if she left.

"You have to. Trust me, Seven, one last time. I made Chakotay a promise to bring you back to him, and I am keeping it. You have your whole life ahead of you to enjoy your freedom and humanity. I want you to live it to the fullest, Seven." Tears filled Kathryn's eyes as she held Seven's gaze and told Archon, "Send her back."

Seven tried to step forward and take Janeway's hand, but she was blocked by an invisible wall. She placed both hands desperately against it and pushed. Finally, she stared in dismay at her mentor's motherly expression, the one which had comforted her so often before and held such great depths of emotion. She took in every detail because she had a dreadful feeling settling in her chest. I may never see her alive again. A fiery golden wave began climbing over the barrier from behind Archon and over her Captain.

"No!" Seven cried. "I do not want to lose you."

"I love you, Seven," the Captain whispered, "my daughter."

The dome of pulsing, glowing light engulfed her.

I'm sorry if this is a slower chapter than the first two and that it's so short again. There's more coming soon, I promise!