Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal
Part Twelve
"B"ELANNA," Seven screamed as the woman she loved fell to the floor.
Everyone in the restaurant was staring at B'Elanna's body, not knowing what to do. The blood was pouring out of her so quickly it seemed as if there was no way to save her.
Seven rushed over to B'Elanna and knelt down next to her, pulling B'Elanna's head into her lap. As she looked into her pale face she knew that if B'Elanna died she wouldn't be able to go on. "Please B'Elanna don't leave me," she begged. "We have only just found each other."
"Seven," B'Elanna said weakly. "I will always love you, no matter what. Always remember that," she said as her heart stopped beating.
"No," Seven screamed in anguish. "I won't lose you B'Elanna, not now, not ever," and, almost as if answering her prayer, the whole world around Seven was engulfed in a white light.
"The choice has been made," the now familiar voices sounded.
"Are you prepared to accept everything that is Omega?"
"I will do whatever it takes to save B'Elanna," Seven said in a determined voice.
"So be it."
Seven felt a surge of power rush through her body. As she looked down at her hands they began to glow a bright white. She saw her hands reaching for B'Elanna's injured back and watched, fascinated, as the light shot out from her hands and entered the wound. In bewildered awe, Seven watched as the wound rapidly closed itself off and the blood surrounding B'Elanna began to seep back into her body. It looked almost as if she was watching it in reverse.
Slowly the light began to fade and B'Elanna's eyes slowly opened. "What happened Seven?" B'Elanna asked, touching the place where she had been stabbed.
"B'Elanna!" Seven cried as she threw herself at the older woman, finally letting her tears spill.
B'Elanna wrapped her arms tightly around Seven, letting her cry. "Everything's going to be okay Seven, I'm fine now," she said, trying to comfort her.
"B'Elanna, are you okay?" Naomi asked, still in shock over what happened.
"I'm fine Naomi, thanks to Seven," B'Elanna said pulling Naomi down and hugging her as well.
The people that hadn't run off as the light exploded out of Seven watched the women hugging each other on the ground. There wasn't a single doubt in any of their minds that today they had witnessed a miracle. It was something that would be talked about for a long time to come.
As the three women broke apart, B'Elanna was the first one to speak. "We should get out of here," she said, standing up and pulling Seven and Naomi to their feet.
Seven began to feel dizzy as soon as she stood up, almost collapsing to the floor again.
"What's the matter Seven?" B'Elanna asked getting worried.
"I am tired B'Elanna, doing that has depleted most of my energy."
"We have to get you to bed," B'Elanna said as she lifted Seven into her arms and carried her out of the restaurant.
Seven was asleep by the time B'Elanna got her back to their room. Just how much of her own reserves she had expended to save B'Elanna was begin to worry the other two women. Seven was proving to be the kind of person that would give help to anyone that needed it, even at the cost of her own health.
"Maybe it won't be like this the next time," Naomi said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Seven said that she had to make the choice between healing and protecting right?" Naomi asked.
B'Elanna nodded, starting to see where Naomi was going.
"What if she's tired because she made the choice, and this was the final stage of the transformation?"
"I hope so Naomi," B'Elanna said, still concerned. "In either case though, we have to get out of here as soon as we can. Voyager no doubt detected the energy Seven let loose and is probably going to investigate. We have to leave by tomorrow afternoon at the latest if we want to avoid them."
"Can we be ready that soon?" Naomi asked.
"If we go to sleep now, and get an early start tomorrow we should be able to manage," B'Elanna said, putting Seven down on the bed and sliding in next to her.
"Wake me up if Seven gets up before me," Naomi said as she lay down on her own bed.
"Captain," an alarmed Ensign Kim announced. "I've just detected a massive energy burst originating from the space station. It was enough power to destroy everything within a 25 kilometer radius."
"What could be capable of generating that much power?" Janeway asked.
"That much energy could only be generated by a wormhole," Tuvok informed the captain.
"While Chakotay is retrieving the equipment that we need, I'll head a second away team to discover the cause of the energy blast."
"Understood Captain."
"I guess I'm going to need my rest for this one," Janeway said, standing up. "Mr. Kim, you have the bridge."
"Yes Captain," Kim said as he sat down in the captain's chair and watched as Janeway left the bridge.
"In just a few days B'Elanna, Seven, and Naomi will be back on Voyager," Kim thought happily. "After they see everything we have done to welcome them back they can't possibly stay mad at us." he mused confidently.
"Tom, is everything ready for the welcome home party?" Kim asked.
"Everything's set, all that's left to do is to wait for the girls," he said grinning. "If everything works out, I think things should get back to normal soon."
"Let's not rush things Tom, maybe we should wait until they're settled. We might drive B'Elanna and Seven away if we push too hard."
"How long do you think we should wait?" Paris asked.
"They'll probably be most relaxed at the party, we can ask them to dance and see how it goes from there."
"Works for me," Paris said smiling.
Seven woke up feeling completely energized and refreshed. As she tried to sit up she felt a now familiar arm holding her in place.
"B'Elanna," Seven said smiling. "It is time to wake up."
B'Elanna responded by mumbling and wrapping her arm tighter around Seven.
Seven laughed softly before getting an idea. She twisted around until she was facing B'Elanna and started kissing her lips very softly.
B'Elanna woke to the feeling of soft lips pressed against her own. When she opened her eyes she looked into a pair of bright blue eyes. B'Elanna placed her hand gently behind Seven's neck and pulled her in for a deeper kiss. When their lips parted, B'Elanna was smiling as well. "You know I could get used to waking up like this."
"When you get used to it, I will simply have to find another way to wake you up," Seven said smirking.
"Well it looks like you're feeling better," Naomi said waking up as well.
"Yes I am, thank you Naomi," Seven said, smiling brightly.
"We still have to fix the other ship and get the parts for ours," B'Elanna said as she realized that they only had a few hours left. "You and Naomi gather up all the parts that we need, and I'll get the other ship fixed."
The three women got ready quickly and had a light breakfast before they made their way to the hangar. Time was running out, and they had to be ready to leave soon. Eventually Voyager would figure out where the energy discharge came from, and that would lead them right to the three hybrids.
"Chakotay, you and your team will get the scanner, and my team will try to find out what we can about that energy surge. When you have the device, beam it to the ship and join up with us again. If we can find out what this power source is and how it works, it could cut years off our journey," Janeway said excitedly.
"Yes Captain and I think I understand what you meant about B'Elanna and Seven. They could probably figure out this power source faster than any of us," Chakotay said as he stepped on to the transporter pad.
"You all have your assignments," Janeway said, addressing the two away teams. "I want this done as quickly as possible, so Seven and B'Elanna don't find out what's happening." Janeway faced the transporter chief. "Energize."
Janeway felt a tingle as the transporter began to disassemble her molecules and, before she knew it, she was on the space station. As she looked around the market place she couldn't help but think how she would have loved to take Seven here. "After I get Seven back there should be plenty of time for us to explore the station," Janeway thought to herself. "After all it was always pretty easy to get her to do what I wanted."
"Captain, I have detected traces of the energy surge coming from that establishment," Tuvok said pointing in the direction of the restaurant Seven, B'Elanna and Naomi had visited the previous night.
"Alright, I guess that's the place to start," Janeway said as she started to walk towards the restaurant.
When Janeway and her away team stepped into the restaurant they were shocked. It looked like the place had literally been torn apart. There was blood, broken tables and garbage strewn across the floor.
"What happened in here?" Janeway asked one of the men trying to fix a table.
"I'm not really sure," he said. "The boss told me there was a huge fight last night, and everything was trashed.
"Captain," Tuvok interrupted. "I am detecting faint traces of Klingon DNA in the area."
"What?" Janeway asked shocked. "B'Elanna's?"
Tuvok looked down at his tri corder, examining the DNA structure. "It is confirmed Captain, half human, half Klingon DNA. It could only be B'Elanna."
"They shouldn't be out yet, we have to find Carkonas," Janeway said getting worried.
Janeway tapped her comm. badge. "Janeway to the bridge, I want you to track down Carkonas. I have a few questions to ask him," Janeway ground out.
"Yes Captain," Kim said over the comm. badge, closing the link.
"Alright everyone," Janeway addressed the away team. "The hybrids are assumed to no longer be in custody, we have to find them before they leave this space station."
Janeway then looked around the restaurant until she found a man that looked to be in charge. "Excuse me," she said calling him over. "We are looking for two women and a girl. We believe that they were here last night."
"There were many people here last night," the owner said distracted. "You will have to be more specific."
"The first one was a woman with dark hair and facial ridges, about this tall," Janeway said raising her hand.
"Oh yes, that one," the owner said, remembering. "She was accompanied by a beauty with golden hair and a child with horn's growing out of her forehead."
"Yes, that was them," Janeway said, happy that she had found a lead so quickly. "What can you tell me about them?"
"The dark one sure as hell knew how to fight," he said. "She tore up this place and walked right through some of toughest guys I've ever seen. Hell, she only got hurt when one of them snuck up behind her."
"What do you mean?" Janeway asked, confused. "Is she alright? What about the other two women?"
"No one's really sure what happened, some guys came in and started giving them trouble. The dark one tried to fight back, and for a while it looked like she was going to win. Then one of them snuck up behind her and stabbed her in the back. The beauty screamed and ran over to her. That was when it got weird. Pure white light poured out of her, it blinded everyone here. When we were able to see again the beauty had collapsed, and the dark one was completely healed. The thugs ran off and the women you're looking for left right after that."
"Captain," the voice of Chakotay sounded over Janeway's comm. badge. "We have the scanner."
"Good, transport it to Voyager and get your team here on the double."
"Yes Captain," Chakotay said as the link terminated.
"Do you have any idea where they could have gone?" Janeway asked the owner.
"Sorry not a clue," the owner said as he walked away.
"Captain if I may make a suggestion," Tuvok said. "They will undoubtedly be looking for a way to leave the space station. Since they do not have anything to trade, they will most likely trade labor for a ship, and due to time constraints they will find the cheapest space worthy vessel."
"Brilliant Tuvok," Janeway said commending her security officer. "All we have to do is search for the cheapest ship dealer on the station."
"Correct Captain," Tuvok confirmed.
"We have to find Seven. What ever she did must be related to the power source we're looking for."
Just as Janeway finished her speech, Chakotay and his team materialized in the restaurant.
"Chakotay, the hybrids are not in Socadan custody. They're somewhere on the station and are most likely tracking down a ship. What's the cheapest place to trade for a ship?"
Chakotay, having researched the space station before they docked, knew just about everything there was to know about it. So it only took him a few seconds to narrow down the list.
"Quazo's ship yard," he said triumphantly. "It's the closest to the restaurant and the only one that would trade parts for labor. They have to be there."
Janeway's badge chirped again. "Captain I have some bad news," Kim said.
"What is it Ensign?" Janeway said, not liking where this was going.
"Carkonas has left the space station. We have no way of contacting him."
"What about the workers on Voyager? They probably know where he went."
"I already looked into that Captain, it turns out they were hired locally. They know even less than we do."
"Janeway out," she said as she slapped her comm. badge. All of her careful planning was falling apart. Carkonas was gone, and he was the only one that could tell them what was going on. Without him they would not be able to control the hybrids as completely as she had hoped.
"Chakotay call star base security, and have them meet us at Quazo's ship yard."
B'Elanna had just finished working on the last ship, and Seven and Naomi had completed loading up their ship.
"You are more than welcomed to finish repairing your ship here," Quazo said as he gave them the deed to the ship with a friendly smile.
"Thanks Quazo, but we have to leave as soon as possible. The ship is space worthy, and we can repair it pretty much anywhere," B'Elanna smiled at the ship yard owner.
"I really want to thank you. If you hadn't come along and fixed those ships I probably wouldn't have been able to pay the rent this month."
"Don't worry about it. We were glad we could help."
"Well, if you get away from whatever is chasing you, come back and visit," Quazo said happily.
"We may just take you up on that," B'Elanna said as she made her way to her ship. "Voyager will have to give up on us eventually, and continue heading back to the alpha quadrant."
Naomi and Seven stepped out of the ship, as they both wanted to say goodbye to the kind alien.
"Stop right there," a familiar voice shouted. "You are not going anywhere."
The three hybrids turned around quickly to see Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok. They were followed by some Voyager security officers, and a large group of aliens that were presumably the security on the star base.
B'Elanna almost screamed in frustration, they were so close to being free. If only she had finished faster they wouldn't be stuck in this situation.
"What the hell do you want, Janeway?" B'Elanna snarled.
To Be Continued...