Here's the next part. Five full pages of angst, drama, and a little humor. That's the good news. The bad being that there's only one part left. I hope you all enjoy.

~Gimpy~

****

Part 8

The tension on the bridge was so thick it was almost staunching. The crew looked to their Commanding Officers for a sign but the two of them sat in silence, each lost in their own unrelenting thoughts. The theme was the same-Seven; the content different. While Kathryn wondered what had happened between her and Chakotay, he couldn't stop reliving the vision, the moments afterwards... the kiss.

'God the kiss,' he hummed inwardly. Mentally shaking his head, he turned his attention away from it. That didn't matter as much as her well being. Which was absolutely true but why couldn't he get past it? It had been so soft, so demure he almost couldn't believe it happened. Yet he knew deep down, all the way to his bones, that it had. He also knew he wanted it to happen again. Not now, she's too vulnerable for that and he was an honorable man. Still he was assaulted with the idea over and over again.

Kathryn on the other hand couldn't stop wondering. What had Chakotay and Seven shared? Was she okay? As the Captain of this ship she'd always prided herself on knowing all that was happening with every individual under her command. It made it hard to stay in the background, cloaked behind a curtain, unable to know the extent of it all. What made it even harder for her to comprehend was that her first officer, her best friend, her confidant was keeping it from her.

Turning, she peered at him out of the corner of her eye. She took note of the lines creasing their way into his forehead and the sides of his mouth. They'd always been there but their existence was made bold by the worry that was washing off of him in waves. She could feel it and wanted nothing more then to be a listening post for him. Dismissing the idea, she turned her attention to the view screen before her, nothing but stars whooshing past them. Bored, unnerved and irritated, she turned to her Tactical Officer.

"Anything of interest on sensors?" She desperately wished his answer would be a yes. Boredom was not the way she wanted to start off their first day on regular duty.

Tuvok glanced down at his console then shook his head, "Nothing."

She cursed under her breath but it was loud enough for the rest of the grave crew to hear. Uncaring, she mentally prayed for some sort of distraction. A Borg ship sounded more enticing then sitting for the next eight or nine hours doing nothing. As if answering her prayers, a red alert sounded abruptly causing her to shoot out of her chair.

"Report!" she called out to whoever was quickest with the answer.

Harry Kim spoke out swiftly, "An unauthorized shuttle launch is in progress."

Chakotay's heart dropped straight into his stomach at Harry's words. Springing out of his own chair he practically ran to Harry's station. "Who is it?" he snapped.

"Umm..." The younger man scanned the small shuttlecraft, his eyes widening. "It's Seven."

"What!" Janeway practically had a heart attack. Livid, she turned to Tom. "Close the shuttle bay doors."

"It's too late, she's out."

"Hail her, now." Her words seethed forth from her clenched teeth.

Tom did as she asked, hailing the small craft. Waiting a moment, he turned back to his Captain. "She's not responding."

Grumbling, she spoke sternly, trying not to bark at her helmsmen. "Open a channel, all bandwidths."

"Aye." He did as she asked, casting an awkward look towards Chakotay. "Channel open."

A habitual hand ran through Chakotay's hair. How could he have just let her walk out of his quarters without making her promise? He should have seen it coming, should have known his words wouldn't have swayed her. Instead he allowed her one kiss to blind him. He wondered then and there if that had been the intent... he quickly dismissed the thought, Seven was not capable of deception like that.

"Seven!" Kathryn called out, breaking Chakotay's stream of thought. "Damn it Seven, answer me!"

"She is increasing her speed. Warp is eminent." Tuvok recited off the information gathering on the console before him.

Getting agitated Kathryn, stepped closer to the vid-screen, as if her proximity would enhance her ability to reach her pupil. "Shut down your engine and return to Voyager or I will open fire."

Chakotay's throat clenched at her words. Seven wasn't going to listen, he knew that much. As Kathryn tried once more to reach the former Borg, he made his way to an empty station. Silently, hoping not to alert the rest of the crew, he worked diligently to get the effect he was looking for. Chancing a glance at the Tactical/Security Officer, he realized he was catching on.

It was now or never. Taking one last look at the large view screen of Sevens departing shuttle he rammed his finger down on the last control. In a flash of bright blue light he vanished from the bridge of Voyager.

Silently Tuvok's brow rose. "Captain, the Commander has transported off of Voyager."

Momentarily taken away from the shuttle before her, she searched for her First Officer. "What the hell is going on!" she demanded when she couldn't catch sight of him.

"It would appear that the Commander transported himself onto the vessel," Tuvok stated the obvious.

"Get them back here." She turned back to stare at the view screen just in time to watch as the runaway vessel slipped into warp and vanished from view. Shocked into silence, all she could do was stand and stare. They were gone. Taking in a long slow breath to stop herself from going mad, she walked to Tom. "Mister Paris, find her ion trail, now."

"Uh..." he stuttered hesitantly. "I've already tried... there's nothing there. She must have masked it somehow."

That was the last straw for the now infuriated woman. "Find it, I don't care how long it takes, just find it... I'll be in my ready room." She didn't give anyone time to respond before she marched off the bridge.

****

As Chakotay re-materialized inside the small craft, he was greeted with the sight of Seven, disheveled and shaking, hunched over the helm. He opened his mouth but quickly shut it when Seven erected a force field, blocking his path to her.

"You should not have come," her voice was soft, unsteady.

"Yeah well, you know me, never did like being out of the loop." His joke was ill-timed, landing on deaf unyielding ears.

She shook her head and repeated herself, "You should not have come."

"Then take me back." He knew she wouldn't but couldn't help himself.

"It is too late. I'm sorry." She quickly withdrew herself, concentrating solely on the task at hand. It became difficult to listen as he tried over and over again to start a conversation with her. The moment she'd left the safety and security of Voyager she knew he wouldn't let her go without a fight. The fact that he was here brought a small amount of relief and even more regret. Never had she intended for him to be caught up in this and now he would more then likely die with her as she searched the stark galaxy for her assailants.

It didn't take long for Chakotay to realize she wasn't going to talk to him. He didn't give up though, finding a less then comfortable spot on the floor as he talked. None of what he said was vital, or even relative to the situation. He couldn't tell you why he did it. It just seemed like the thing to do.

Seven listened, not to the words but his voice, until she couldn't take it any longer. Silence was her passion, her comfort zone and he was breaking it. Setting the controls to autopilot, she swiveled around in her chair. Her incestuous glare stopped Chakotay mid-sentence.

"Why are you here?" she snapped.

"I'd think it were obvious Seven. I'm here to try and get stop you before you do something incredibly stupid but," he paused, flashing her a mischievous smile. "Mainly I'm here because there's no way in hell I was about to let you do this on your own."

A frown played across her lips, his answer angering her. "No matter what you say I'm going to go through with this." She spoke with a strange confidence but he knew she was still trying to convince herself and just nodded. "The possibilities of going back to Voyager alive are small." Again he just nodded his head. "Do you not care?"

A bitter laugh echoed throughout the relatively silent room. "Of course I care but not enough to leave you."

"Then you are a fool."

"Maybe I am but that was my choice."

"How can you sit there unnerved by the possibility of your own death?" Disbelief was written all over her saddened eyes.

"Because." Again an enigmatic smirk found its way onto his face. "I trust you to do the right thing."

"You're trust is misplaced," she murmured, turning back to the helm.

Crossing his arms across his chest, the smirk stayed etched onto his face. "I never misplace my trust."

His words forced a dark cloud to loom over her. At first she'd been more then willing to risk her life for what she wanted but now... she didn't think she could accept the idea of being responsible for his death as well. Second guesses shot through her mind like a wild fire. She started to wonder if it was worth his life along with her own. Somehow she managed to delude herself that it was his choice to come. He knew what he was getting himself into so it couldn't be her fault.

An hour passed in a shared muteness until Chakotay had to speak up. "What are you doing?"

A gasp of air flew out of her mouth, her body jumping. Closing her eyes, she composed herself before answering. "Scanning." One word, one simple and completely abrupt word.

"For the Hirogan?" It was a futile question.

"Yes." Annoyance filled her and again she tried to envision why she hadn't prevented him from beaming aboard.

Groaning, he shifted on the ground for a better position. "So what's your plan? Fly around until you find a trace of them?"

"Yes."

Rolling his eyes, he mentally cursed Seven's one worded responses then shifted gears. 'At least she's talking,' he told himself. The somber hush that had settled on them before had become inhabitable, almost madding even.

"Kind of a half ass plan if you ask me." He knew exactly what kind of reaction he'd get from his words and wasn't disappointed.

"I never asked you!" Her bark was volatile but he knew better. She was getting defensive and defensive was a good thing.

"True..." Introspectively he hated himself for doing what he was about to do. "Though if you had asked me I probably could have come up with something a little better then blindly searching for nothing."

His words dug deep, creating a wake of fury and maliciousness. She swirled in her chair once more, shooting daggers in his direction with her glare. "Your opinion is irrelevant."

"You turned around so obviously it is relevant." His words remained impassive, his voice calm.

Her mouth opened and closed several times as she strived to find a suitable comeback. Coming up empty, her nose flared and something he could only determine as a snarl manifested from her tightly knit jaw. Unwillingly he found it undeniably adorable. He was really starting to hate how easily she could affect him. Regarding her with awe, he caught the glint of recognition. She was on to him.

If possible, her frown increased with disdain. "You are intentionally causing an argument. Why?"

Shrugging, he dryly spoke, keeping himself guarded. "I'm bored, hungry and it's nicer then the silence."

Her implant encased brow rose faintly and they both knew he was lying. "You are trying to distract me so Voyager has a chance to catch up." Quirking one side of her lips into a half smile, she blatantly broke that idea down with her next few words. "You're attempts have been wasted. Voyager will never be able to track us, I've made sure of that."

His throat constricted tightly as he tried to swallow her words. "What'd you do?"

"It was simple, I masked my ion trail. If they do find it, which I highly doubt, we will be long gone."

He cringed at how smug she was being. "Voyager and her crew are smart Seven. You should never underestimate them."

Ignoring him, she brought her attention back to the console. However smug she may have looked on the outside it was the exact opposite inside. Her heart was slowly breaking and fear was rising. Chakotay's presence was as perturbing as her own inability to truly make up her mind. Just him being here had made her feel less strained, more in control yet at the same time she was unraveling, losing herself and the idea she'd started off with.

Sighing at her backside, Chakotay slid further down the wall. Round one went to her but there was far more to come.

TBC