Dinner Tonight: Chapter 3
by Kate
The Story:
I'm coming, Icheb!, Naomi called as she marched purposefully through the green-tinted winding corridor of a Borg sphere. Conscious of her vulnerable position, her relative powerlessness, Naomi nevertheless felt no fear. Her mind was calm, her reactions quick. Naomi walked with the cool precision of a machine, confident that each step took her closer to Icheb, and the resolution of a situation that, although once frightening, now seemed hardly more than one more thing to get through before lunch. Part of her sense of invulnerability came from the new weapon she held in her hands. She marveled at the Doctor's ingenuity and general brilliance. To invent a munition capable of destroying a whole Borg sphere was one thing. To find a way to compress its power into a handheld weapon the size of a phase rifle, deadly to individual drones, was a whole other level of genius. Naomi silently thanked the doctor as she carefully weaved through the corridor, avoiding stepping on the myriad bodies of fallen drones.
she heard again. She continued stepping over the Borg.
Naomi, wake up!
Naomi's eyes flew open as she was pulled suddenly from her dream. She wanted to stay there. She needed to rescue Icheb. She was almost there. Just a few more Borg to make her way through, and she would have reached him, brought him back. Why did the world of dreams and the world of waking have to be so cleanly divided? If only she could reach back into her unconscious imaginings and draw out the photonic rifle. Or Icheb himself, safe, unharmed... But it was useless to waste time on such idle fancies. She had a job to do, and now someone to speak to, apparently.
Naomi looked up with drowsy eyes to see who had woken her.
Hey, Naomi, the young ensign's eye's were filled with worry as he looked down on her, Um, maybe you should go to your quarters and get some real sleep. You've been working for hours past your duty shift. And you'd have to be pretty tired to fall asleep on one of this ship's consoles. They don't make the best pillows, Clark said in a conciliatory tone. His expression and shyly friendly demeanor begged forgiveness.
Naomi eyed Clark semi-suspiciously for a moment. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to him just then. She was still furious with him for lying to her. He let me think my... he let me believe that Icheb was dead. That killed me. For a few minutes back there I died, or a part of me died. it doesn't matter. When one part of you dies, the rest can't help but soon follow. And yet, Naomi knew that she had to forgive Clark at some point. To continue with even a righteous rage against him would only hurt her, him, and anyone else connected to them. And if she was going to forgive him anyway, there was no point in carrying on any longer in anger. Spite was a fruitless and distracting endeavor.
Maybe you're right Clark, Naomi said gently, I just want to do all I can to help get Icheb back. But I guess I m not much help if I'm falling asleep on top of my calculations.
Clark smiled as he acknowledged the cessation of hostilities. He opened his mouth to express what he had come to say, Naomi, I'm so sorry. I only wanted to keep you from the pain of... Well I know how you and Icheb feel about assimilation. I figured that Icheb didn't have a chance, and I just wanted to spare you from thinking of him as a drone.
Naomi smiled grimly, but not coldly, Clark, Icheb and I have been through a lot together. We experienced so much on Voyager, and even before Voyager, in Icheb's case. And from those experiences we were able to draw certain truths. Yes, one thing that Icheb and I learned is that assimilation is truly a fate worse than death. But we also learned that hope is a priceless weapon in a seemingly hopeless situation. Sometimes you just have to be persistent and keep going until you've accomplished whatever you set out to do.
I'm sorry Naomi. And I think I understand what you're saying. Let's go do the impossible.
That's the plan, Clark. But first, I'm going to get a few hours sleep before my next shift.