Author's Note: Oh my god! I can't believe it! I got… what… six reviews in like two days? Okay, I know, sad that I think that's the best thing in the world… but still, I so love gettgin feed back.
Okay I plan on correcting the errors that were pointed out consul is really consule? Go figure Just not at the moment cause… I'm lazy/busy
Enjoy the second chapter.
"Seven?" The doctor said into his comm. She gave no response. "Computer, scan for Seven of Nine."
"Seven of Nine is in cargo bay two." It replied almost instantly.
"Doctor to Captain Janeway." He said to his comm.
"Janeway here."
"Will you please check on Seven? She just contacted me, but cut off. She's in cargo bay two." The doctor said with a hint of concern.
"On my way." Janeway said. The communications ended.
The captain stepped into the cargo bay, looked around. Her eyes automatically went to the alcove, but it was empty. A frown graced her features when she didn't spot Seven immediately.
"Seven?" She called as she wove through the containers. "Seven!" Her eyes widened when she saw Seven collapsed on the base of one alcove. "Seven!" Janeway searched for a pulse and found one, but it was much too rapid and Seven's breathing was shallow. "Janeway to the doctor, you're going to have company."
"Understood."
"Two to beam directly into sickbay." The transporter beam picked them up and the next thing she knew, she was in sickbay. She lifted the younger woman onto the medical bay bed. The Doctor quickly began to use a medical triquarter to scan Seven. The heavy frown that appeared on his face wasn't reassuring.
"Doctor?" Janeway questioned and the doctor responded automatically.
"The amount of metallic alloys in her blood has dropped by almost ninety percent." He continued to scan. "Not only that, but her blood pressure is through the roof and her alveoli aren't picking up as much oxygen as they should." The Doctor extracted some of Seven's blood to place under a microscope.
"Captain, tell me what you think of this." He moved aside to let Janeway take a look at the blood sample.
"It looks like normal blood, except for those blue cells." Janeway lifted her head from the eyepiece.
"Captain, there aren't any nanoprobes in there. Those blue cells aren't cells. They are made up of a metallic organic compound which I haven't seen before." The doctor turned back to Seven and hooked her up to an artificial respirator. "I'm hoping that increasing the oxygen level in her blood will lower her heart rate. I'll have to run more tests and try to find the reason for this change before I can truly do anything. I'll keep you informed."
Janeway nodded and headed back to the bridge to inform Chakotay. For the first time in a long time, she prayed.
Little one. I didn't want to get up, to leave the comforting darkness. Little one. I tried to ignore the gentle voice. Little one! I jumped to my feet at the barked order. I opened my eyes.
The halls of the ship were silent. No one was walking down the hallway no one was around. The normal sounds of living were notably absent. The lack of noise was almost as frightening as there being no one.
Go to the Mess Hall. I obeyed that voice. When I reached the doors, they parted for me, and my eyes widened at what I saw.
The room was absolutely packed. Everyone in the ship was packed into the small mess hall. Not one made a sound, though a few had tears slipping from their eyes.
Go on, they won't notice you. Go see what they see. I was propelled forward, through the mass of bodies. It was if I was a ghost to them. I managed to get to the front, where Tuvok, Commander Chakotay, and the Captain all stood. Tuvok was holding back tears and Chakotay openly wept. The captain's voice broke when she spoke.
I didn't actually hear her words, but I knew what she was saying. There were coffins, resting on a table. I stepped forward to look into the faces of who had died.
In one small coffin was a child, no more than a year old. Her klingon characteristics made it obvious as to whose child it was. B'Elanna's and Lt. Paris's child. In the coffin next to the baby was B'Elanna herself. She looked peaceful in death, her face smooth and without the pressure of day to day living.
The third and final coffin took the longest for me to gather my courage to look into. I knew I would have screamed if I could have made my throat work. Inside the third coffin was my own face. The implants shone in the light, glittering. There were burns on one side, piercing through the skull to damage the cordical node.
You died trying to save B'Elanna and the child. You were forced to hide behind your Borg technology and you life was taken from you. Even when Janeway freed you, you were still within the cage you were just able to see beyond it. You're truly free now. Make the best of it. The voice was maternal and caring. Almost like the tone the captain sometimes gained. It filled me with the feeling of security. Don't waste this chance.
I opened my eyes to look around me. I was in the sickbay, on one of the medical beds. The doctor was humming in his office, a light tune of a forgotten musician.
I was restrained to the bed, and an artificial respirator forced oxygen into my lungs. I could feel the needle in my arm, taking samples of my blood, monitoring the different levels within the blood.
The doctor came over, continuing to hum. When he saw that I was awake, he broke out into a broad smile.
"Seven! You're awake. How do you feel?" He waited for my reply until he realized that the respirator inhibited my speech. "Sorry Seven. Do you think you can breathe on you own? Blink once for yes, twice for no.' I purposefully closed my eyes once. He carefully removed the tube from my lung.
"Doctor." I said when I could. He shook his head.
"You were in a coma for close to a week. You stabilized two days ago. At first, your blood pressure was higher than most humanoid species can tolerate and your oxygen level was low. You began to have minor seizures, so we were forced to restrain you so you would not hurt yourself. You temperature rose three days after that, to about fifty degrees. A while after that, your brain activity picked up and you stabilized shortly after that." He ran a hand over my hair. "I'm glad you're okay Seven."
He tapped his comm. badge. "Doctor to Janeway."
"Janeway here." The captain's voice replied.
"You asked to be informed when Seven awoke." The doctor stated. "She's well enough to allow visitors."
"On my way, Janeway out." The comm. badge chirped. The doctor smiled at me.
"The captain has been quite worried about you. I had to order her out of sickbay yesterday to get some sleep." He turned to look at the console, checking the data it gave him. "Lt. Torres was also worried, though heaven forbid she admit it. She regrets what happened to you. I think she's blaming herself." The doors slid open.
"Doctor, I need to run a diagnostic of the systems in here," The familiar voice said. "For maintenance." She added. The doctor shook his head to keep from laughing.
"You ran that diagnostic yesterday. Why not just keep Seven company until the captain gets here." The doctor went back into his office, whistling a happy song that I didn't recognize.
"Hello Seven." B'Elanna pulled up a nearby stool and sat to Seven's left. The half klingon let her gaze wander for a few moments. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired." Seven murmured. It drew B'Elanna's gaze to her.
"Should I get the doctor?" she asked quickly. I shook my head carefully.
"I will be functioning within acceptable perimeters soon." Something was missing. I just couldn't quite figure out what it was.
"Seven, how are you taking it?" B'Elanna asked. I gave her a quizzical look. Except it was only the barest of movements in my eyebrow. The doors slid open before she had a chance to answer.
"B'Elanna, how's the patient?" Janeway said. She came to stand next to B'Elanna. She gave me a smile. "Glad you're feeling better." Her smile slipped a bit. "Has the doctor told you yet?"
"No Captain, I haven't. I thought it best to have a comforting presence nearby when I told her." The doctor came out of his office with a serious look. He released the restraints and helped me sit up. He gave me a data pad. I quickly scanned through it. It had the complete blood work of one of the crewmembers. It seemed as though the person had picked up a virus or a parasite.
"I am not familiar with this organism." I handed the pad back to the doctor. "I would suggest asking Lt. Tuvok, perhaps he may be of assistance in identifying it." The doctor gave me a half smile.
"Seven, this is your blood, taken ten minutes ago. The nebula gas… destroyed your nanoprobes and those organisms have taken over some of their functions." He said it gently, but it still shocked me. I knew it was showing when Janeway placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. "That's why when you tried to regenerate, it damaged some of your systems."
I tried to maintain my composure, but it slipped just a bit. "My cordical node?" He shook his head.
"Replaced with a smaller structure of the organic alloy that's in your blood. All your implants are. It will be a big adjustment on your part. There is no more need to regenerate, just as your biosuit is no longer needed to help the nanoprobes. Your body will require a lot more sustenance now. And you'll need to get a good amount of sleep. No more pulling eighteen hour days." I nodded to acknowledge his words.
"Eighteen hour days?" I winced at the tone in the captain's voice. I had never told her because I knew she wouldn't approve.
"Yes Captain. Eighteen hour days. But it was that or telling Seven she had to do nothing for at least four hours a day." The doctor replied.
"Why didn't you go have fun? Go on the holodeck or something." B'Elanna commented. I looked at my hands and tried to remain calm.
"Okay you two are upsetting my patient, so unless you can drop the subject, I want you out of my sickbay." The captain went to stand a few feet away, muttering to herself. I pretended I couldn't hear her words.
"Seven? Why not join some of the other crewmembers at Sullivan's sometimes?" B'Elanna commented.
"Who would you suggest Lt.? Your dislike of me is widespread among the crew. I would rather not be made the target of more remarks that I already am." I said. I said it with a bit of anger, the hot rage that seemed to have suddenly washed over my system.
B'Elanna didn't know how to reply. She was about to say something when she was summoned to engineering. She left quickly, unable to contain her embarrassment.
"Seven, I hope you know I'm there to talk if you need it." Janeway said quietly. I let my muscles relax.
"I am aware of that Captain." I replied. She pulled me forward and gave me a firm embrace. I patted her back awkwardly, though a blanket of security settled on my shoulders.
"I have to get back to the bridge. But I will make sure that you have quarters set up so when you're released from sickbay you have somewhere to go." I nodded into her shoulder and she left the doors sliding closed behind her.
"It'll be alright Seven. We'll figure this out." The doctor tried to be reassuring, but it was so hard to believe him just right now.
"Hey chief!" one of the crewmen waved from his console. B'Elanna waved back as she headed for her office. Another crewman stepped into her path. In his hand was a data pad.
"Here you go Lt. that report you wanted. So, is the machine fully repaired yet?" his cruel smirk of satisfaction told her who he was talking about.
"Back to your station Crewman." He obeyed immediately and B'Elanna went into her office, report in hand and guilt gnawing at her.
I sipped at the hot drink that Nelix had assured me was both nutritious and tasty. I sighed. It was most definitely one of those acquired tastes that the doctor had told me. The tea was bitter, but it soothed my nerves. The doctor had ordered me not to return to Astrometrics for another two days. To make sure I followed his orders, he informed the captain, who promptly added her own command.
I had no idea what I was to do with leisure time. The captain had ordered me to take leisure time that I was not to do any work for the time that the doctor said I wasn't to be in Astrometrics.
The captain had suggested that I use some of the replicator rations I had saved to 'get a wardrobe and to add a personal touch to my quarters'. I had looked over some of the clothing selections, and settled on an Astrometrics uniform, which is what I was currently wearing. The captain had made her disappointment of my choice obvious, but had not tried to correct it.
It was late. The beta shift had traded with the gamma shift an hour ago. The doctor would be horrified to know that I wasn't sleeping. But sleep just would not come to me. No matter how long I lay on the bed in my quarters, sleep would not come to me.
"Up so early? I know the captain gave you strict orders to relax." I turned to see B'Elanna yawn as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
"I find the view aesthetically pleasing." I replied as I turned to gaze out at the stars flashing by.
"Nice one. Couldn't sleep either?" B'Elanna commented. I shook my head. "I just couldn't get comfortable and I was keeping Tom up with my tossing and turning."
"You both work the Alpha ship correct?" I commented. She nodded and sighed.
"Yes, but as Chief Engineer I have a lot of overtime. Tom gets mad sometimes at the hours I work." She shook her head. "But you don't want to hear about my love life." She peeked into my mug. "What is that?"
"Chamomile tea. I was reassured it was soothing for the nerves." I took another sip of the liquid in question.
"Don't know how you stand it. I find most herbal teas disgusting and I can't force myself to drink them." She took a sip of her coffee. "The captain would be surprised that I drink coffee sometimes, so please don't tell her. She'll think she has another convert."
"Understood. The captain will not hear of it from me." I replied. She gave me a smile and waved, leaving the room. I turned back to the view. I touched the metallic blue alloy that had replaced the implants near my eye and sighed. "No, she will not hear it from me."
"Where were you this morning? I missed you." Tom said as he collapsed in the chair across from B'Elanna. His hair was a mess from running his had through it too many times. She raised her sandwich to her month and took a bite
"I couldn't sleep and I was keeping you up, so I decided to get some of Nelix's coffee and work on some reports that I've been putting off. Seven was here and we had a nice chat." B'Elanna frowned when Tom nearly choked on his drink. "Tom?"
"You and the Borg Queen had a civilized conversation that didn't end up with security being dragged in? What'd she do, drug you?" Tom shook his head in a condescending way. "Sometimes I wonder."
"Tom you're being ridiculous." B'Elanna retorted. "Seven is really nice, she just gets on my nerves sometimes."
"I wonder what drug she used." Tom continued. B'Elanna swatted him and he laughed.
"She didn't and you know it."
"I think you gave me a bruise." Tom said, rubbing his arm. When B'Elanna glared at him, he got up. "I think I'm gonna go see if Harry wants to go to Sulivan's later. Want to join us if we do?"
"Sorry Hon, paperwork." She gave him a rueful smile, her anger already forgotten. "See you at home." He nodded and left.
"Seven, I thought you weren't supposed to be in here?" Chakotay said as he entered Astrometrics. He went to a nearby console.
"Orders were that I was not to engage in any manner of work, that I was to have some leisure time. This is the most efficient place to create series of holographic commands." I replied. I hoped he would just leave me alone at that. But of course, this was Chakotay, and he didn't know when to leave things alone
"You writing a holonovel?" He inquired. I sighed.
"Creating is too broad concept. I am merely deciding what is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and programming plausible characters." He laughed.
"Well, I promise not to tell the captain you're in here making a holonovel. Good luck with it." He was still chuckling when he left the room.
He was irritating. Something about the way he spoke made me want to get away from him. He was intelligent, but somehow, he acted like Lt. Paris sometimes, with the pilot's miniscule I.Q.
I shook my head to get rid of the odd thoughts and returned to typing in the long, complex patterns that would hopefully form a realistic being in the hologrid.
"Doctor to Lt. Torres." The doctor's voice rang over the comm. system, interrupting the klingon, who was currently adjusting a warp conduit.
"Torres here. Can this wait doctor? I'm busy." She replied as she carefully scanned the adjustment for faults.
"Unless it is something that no one else on the ship can do, I want you here now. You're late for your checkup." B'Elanna groaned. She had totally forgotten that the Doctor had scheduled her in for about now.
"Sorry Doctor, it slipped my mind. I'll be there in ten." She reached to adjust it a bit more.
"Now Lt.!" She sighed at the doctor's order and handed the assignment off to Voric, ever patiently standing by.
"Make sure to get it precise! Don't want any experiments leaking into the warp core!" she hurried out the doors to the turbo lift.
She stepped into the sickbay to meet a grumpy doctor and Seven. Seven was standing near the microscope, looking at some sample beneath it.
"Glad you finally decided to show up." The doctor said sarcastically.
"What put you in such a bad mood?" The engineer said as she hopped onto bio bed. He immediately began scanning her with a medical tri-quarter, muttering something under his breath. "What?"
"I do believe he was stating the fact that I disrupted his routine by asking to study the samples of my blood he took." Seven stated. B'Elanna could have sworn she sounded a bit put out.
"Seven, when I said you needed to relax this is not what I meant! I meant go have fun, go singing or something! Not do an analysis of your own blood!" The doctor snapped. He slammed the scanner onto the tray. Though he was obviously furious, when he took the blood sample, he was as careful as ever.
"I am required to relax and I find this easing tension. Does that satisfy you Doctor?" Seven replied without looking up.
"Maybe that nebula did more to your head than to your body." The doctor muttered. "I will be back in a few minutes." The doctor went into his office, analyzing the tube of blood. B'Elanna hopped off the biobed and stretched.
"Do you really find that relaxing?" She asked Seven. The former Borg spared her a quick glance.
"No." Seven adjusted the settings of the magnification. "It occupies time."
"Why not read a book or something. That's bound to be better than doing that." The klingon gave Seven a smile. "Heck, I could recommend a few books, though I have no idea what type you like."
"Lt. I would rather do this." The tone in Seven's voice brooded no argument. B'Elanna chose to be unrelenting.
"Why? It's got to be dull as hell." B'Elanna was surprised when Seven turned to face her. Her face was unreadable, the blue implant dark against the pale skin.
"Because I need to understand." B'Elanna thought she saw some trace in Seven's bright eyes. A haunted look, one of confusion and desperation. Not one she would have associated with the woman.
"Seven?" B'Elanna stepped closer instinctively, the maternal side of her making its rare appearance.
"I have to comprehend what this means." Her eyes were frustrated. It didn't show in anything else but her eyes, but it was still there. "There is no precedent, no pattern, nothing to indicate a change but the organic alloy. There is no logic behind this."
"Let me take a look." B'Elanna offered. The other woman stepped aside and allowed her to see the sample.
It wasn't logical, if you looked at it though a viewpoint like the Borg. The organic alloys seemed chaotic, but after a few moments observation, B'Elanna noticed something. Seven's human cells moved in much the same manner. It was an efficient chaos. The two systems were in perfect harmony, with neither dominating the other. Whatever the alloy was, it was clearly an improvement over the nanoprobes.
"Seven, there is a pattern to the alloy. Watch the other cells for a few moments." B'Elanna calmly told Seven, who complied.
"They work efficiently together. With stability and harmony, they achieve what the Borg could not, acceptance of the invasion by the host body." Seven's tone was a combination of relief and understanding, with just a hint of something else. "Thank you. For showing me." Within Seven's eyes and voice was a wealth of information and B'Elanna couldn't understand why she didn't see that before.
"Hey no problem." The doctor made his timely entrance just then. He had a hesitant look.
"Have you been feeling nausea at all?" B'Elanna shook her head. "Any change in bowel movements?"
"Not that I noticed. Why?"
"Well, I would like to be the first to congratulate you. You're pregnant." Whatever she had expected, it clearly had not been that. Her jaw went slack and her eyes lost focus.
"Pregnant?" she whispered.
Lol, okay, I thought I should mention, B'Elanna is NOT married. And sorry people, I'm not the biggest fan of Tom, but I'll try not to be too mean to him… I know exactly where the next few chapters are going, I just haven't written any of it yet.
And sorry if you get confused by the changing views, but so you know only Seven is narrative.