Chapter 3 – Temptation

Engineering was abuzz with activity as crewmen worked to expunge Borg components from various systems. The temperament of Voyager's Chief Engineer was keeping everyone alert and on their toes. Lieutenant Torres and Ensign Kim were working at a station near the warp core, and both were none too pleased after a morning of frustrations. "All right, I think I've got all the Borg garbage out of the plasma intake manifold," Torres fumed. "Let's try reinitializing the antimatter reaction."

Kim tapped on a few buttons and then examined the output. "Matter antimatter reaction at twenty two Cochranes and rising," he said hopefully, but then immediately after he spoke, the reaction began to shut off. The whine of the warp drive trailed off to a whimper.

"Damn!" Torres exclaimed. "What happened?" She felt it was getting worse and more intolerable with each passing minute.

"Intake manifolds eleven and thirteen are still blocked," Kim replied.

"This is like pulling weeds," Torres said, clearly frustrated. "You think you've got them all out and then…" Torres paused when she noticed Chakotay and Annika enter Engineering. She had heard about the incident outside sickbay, but the two looked fine now. Chakotay was in his regular uniform and Annika was dressed in a gold engineering type uniform. B'Elanna did a double take at her appearance. She looked so… human, and the two of them were walking so close together.

"You have neglected to remove the autonomous regeneration sequencers," Annika observed.

There was an air about the ex-drone that Torres did not appreciate. It didn't matter in the least what she looked like, she still was a Borg in B'Elanna's estimation. "The Captain told me you were coming," Torres finally said, "I was expecting you nearly a half hour ago."

"We were delayed," Chakotay replied.

How should I know how to put one on?

You figured it out just fine.

Torres frowned a bit, and then tilted her head towards Annika. "So, one day a Borg drone, the next day you're an engineer."

"This is the uniform that was selected for me," Annika replied. "And since I will be helping you in Engineering, it seemed appropriate. I could equally qualify for a science position, or a command position for that matter." She glanced about Engineering and added, "The qualifications don't appear to be too difficult to obtain."

"Is that so," Torres bristled.

"We have a few hours and then Annika has to see the Doctor for a follow up," Chakotay offered, attempting to defuse the growing tension.

Torres gestured over her shoulder. "Vorik needs some help with the dilithium chamber," she said. "Chakotay, perhaps you can help him while … Annika helps here with these plasma relays."

Chakotay nodded crisply and started to move off to the other side of Engineering. He didn't get far before turning back around, anticipating what Annika was about to say. "It would be unwise to break up Chakotay and me," Annika stated firmly. "With our mental link intact, we can work more efficiently on any problems we might encounter. Otherwise, we might be…" She looked at Chakotay and then finished, "…distracted."

Torres looked back and forth between the two, her eyebrows raised. "So the Doctor still hasn't been able to sever the two of you apart?"

"No," Chakotay replied.

"So when I talk to one of you, I'm actually talking to both of you," Torres persisted.

"That is essentially correct," Annika replied.

"Not quite like that," Chakotay interjected. "We can keep our thoughts separated enough." Annika and Chakotay glanced at each other briefly.

Hardly.

That's not true, we're still individuals, even when we're thinking the same things.

Annika raised an eyebrow, and then Chakotay turned to see that Torres was looking at him with a bemused smirk. "However, it's certainly true we cannot keep things from one another," he added.

"What sort of things?" Torres asked.

"Everything."

Torres looked away. She'd be humored more by Chakotay's predicament if the situation with the Borg junk in the Engineering systems wasn't so infuriating. "Fine," she finally replied. "The two of you can start with the plasma relays then. You can start in Jefferies tube thirteen."

"Jefferies tube thirteen alpha section twelve. We fully recall the engineering specifications of your vessel," Annika said.

Better you than me.

And you were the First Officer.

"Good. Can you also recall the way it looked before you turned it into a Borg circus?"

The Chief Engineer's attitude was getting on Annika's nerves, and it didn't help that Chakotay was humored by her sarcasm, friends as they were or not. "Yes."

Torres leaned over to the engineering station and started typing in some commands. "The linkages are the main problem," she explained. "Every time we pull one out another one comes back in its place."

Chakotay stepped up, deciding to try and defuse the growing tension yet again. "As Annika said before, it's the autonomous regeneration sequencers. They function to counteract resistance."

"Amazing," Ensign Kim chimed in, edging closer to Annika. He had been quiet and observing all this time, but his sudden eagerness didn't sit well with Chakotay. Was he attracted to Annika? "How did you come up with the pattern duplication design?" he asked.

Annika was annoyed and didn't mind letting it show. "We came up with nothing. The Borg assimilated this technology in Galactic Cluster three from species two five nine."

"I'm not interested in a history lesson," Torres interrupted, equally annoyed and losing patience. "How do we disable it?"

"You must disconnect each sequencer conduit at the insertion juncture," Annika replied calmly. "You and Captain Janeway might consider fully incorporating some of this technology into Voyager's systems. It could boost performance and reliability of Voyager's warp drive."

"No thank you," Torres immediately replied. She gestured to Chakotay and Annika and waved them away. "Why don't you two go start your work."

Inefficient and slow. It's no wonder we've been stuck in the Delta Quadrant for so long.

We should be more tactful.

In the Borg, there is no need for the delicacies of diplomacy or tact.

Chakotay and Annika made their way to Jefferies Tube thirteen alpha, section twelve, and opened the appropriate panel. The autonomous regeneration sequencers were clearly visible attached to the various plasma relays, and both knew what they had to do. A tedious albeit simple procedure. Chakotay moved to one end of the panel while Annika stepped over to start working from the other end.

"Species two five nine," Chakotay mused out loud. "And Galactic Cluster three. A transmaterial energy plane intersecting twenty two billion omnicordial lifeforms."

Annika frowned a bit. It was something she had almost said to Ensign Kim earlier, to wipe that smug grin off his face. She was tempted to point out it was beyond Chaktoay's comprehension, but of course he knew as much about omnicordial lifeforms as she did. She couldn't quite bluff her way through pretending she knew more than a Borg drone would know. She had just been a cog in the machine, after all, with only a tenuous grasp of the bigger Borg consciousness. Something caught Annika's eye as she positioned herself at the next relay and she looked closer. A communications node - Starfleet ID 59S47B. Of course, there's one at every junction like this one. It occurred to her it would be a simple matter to tap into the node and contact the Borg directly. Rejoin the Collective and have clarity again. Something she had wanted to do just the other day.

Chakotay stopped his work on the third autonomous regeneration sequencer, his hand poised to disconnect it's conduit at the insertion juncture. The two of them hung there for a few moments until he broke the silence. "Are you really tempted to return to the Borg?" he asked.

Annika's frown deepened. Billions of voices speaking as one. A unified and coherent vision where there was precision and purpose. Resistance was indeed futile and there was no need for subterfuge or intrigue. "No," she finally said and then turned to face him. "But I'm confused by your thoughts. You are tempted?"

"Not to go back to the Borg," he said with a laugh.

"No," Annika replied. "But to get away." There were many disparate but related thoughts within Chakotay's mind. A complex and intriguing intellect with a subtle cacophony of images for much of the time. She wondered idly if he experienced the same when confronted with her mind.

All the time.

And then two thoughts coalesced in her own. "With me?" Annika questioned. "To find your Green Gables?"

Chakotay shook his head. "It's not quite that."

"Enlighten me," Annika persisted.

Chakotay sighed. "Annika," he began, trying to both clear his thoughts and form a more coherent one. "You can't… We can't act or react to each of our random thoughts. I'm not seriously tempted to leave Voyager. I was just considering your impulse from two days ago and desire to escape. To get away. I'm sure everyone entertains thoughts of this nature at one time or another, but not seriously. It is…"

"So you do not desire to find a hospitable planet and settle down with me," Annika interrupted. "Find that forest."

Chakotay hesitated and Annika raised an eyebrow. "Your thoughts are very clear on that matter, both yesterday and today." And yes, Ensign Kim was attracted to me as well.

"How can we not be attracted to each other?" Chakotay countered.

Two individuals could despise each other despite being mentally linked.

That's not the case here. In fact…

You don't know who I am. It's only been two days.

How well do you know me?

We are constantly connected and together.

In each other's thoughts.

Far more intimate than with anyone else before.

"Yes, I see your thoughts as well," Chakotay concluded. Despite the fact that she had been a Borg drone the past twenty years, there was knowledge and acknowledgement of that fact.

I do not see how that was ever possible. I have had no relationship of that sort before. Annika decided to redirect the current conversation to a different topic. There were still things she didn't understand from Chakotay's original thoughts and she was more comfortable having him divulge it rather than probing the memories on her own. "What is this Green Gables?" she asked. "I think it has something to do with your mother."

Chakotay now looked down as he tried to wrap his own thoughts around what he had been thinking. "It was something my mother would say," he finally said. "One of the few memories I have of her."

"Finding my Green Gables," Annika completed the thought. "But what does it mean?"

Instead of just thinking about it, knowing Annika would understand eventually, Chakotay decided to continue speaking.

Yes, it is easier to remain separated that way.

"It's from a fictional story," Chakotay began. "Centuries old. Before any of the World Wars on Earth. One that she apparently loved about an orphan girl."

"Anne."

Chakotay nodded. "Anne of Green Gables. That was the name of it. Anne was about ten or eleven years old, and was adopted by an older couple." Pieces of the plot and book were remembered. Perhaps he had seen an old holoprogram as well. "A brother and sister. Matthew and… Marilla. Green Gables was the name of their home on Prince Edward Island in North America on Earth. I think to Anne, it meant safety, comfort, a sense of permanence. Of belonging to a place. And to my mother, it was an ideal to be grasped… yearning for the same thing."

"Our life on Dorvan Five was anything but," Annika observed, only belatedly realizing she had used a more inclusive pronoun. Images of the desert, cold mornings, and a nurturing mother entered her mind.

Chakotay brushed it off. He knew what she had intended and meant. "The colony was young, and we moved about quite a bit to find a home on the planet's surface. I don't have many memories of my mother. A prayer she used to say. Some devotions she had. I cherish them all."

"She died when we were young," Annika said, still using the inclusive pronoun for it felt appropriate. Chakotay stayed quiet, although Annika could see his thoughts clearly, letting them wash over her. "You feel like this forest of yours, the one you've been thinking about, is like your Green Gables. A place you would like to settle. To grow roots."

This broke Chakotay out of his reverie. "Not my forest," he corrected. "The forest is from your memories."

Annika furrowed her brow. How is that possible? "You know as well as I do there were no forests on Tendara Colony," she said tentatively. "And I was assimilated when I was six years old. How can the forest be from my memories?"

"I'm not sure. Still, it is a forest I do not recognize. And it's not the forest itself, but the impressions and feelings you have towards it. They are quite clear. Those very feelings my mother associated with her Green Gables."

"I do not know what you're talking about."

Images of the forest formed and danced through their minds. Distinct in places, but also to a degree hidden. "Might they be dreams of yours? Perhaps something…" Chakotay hesitated, but the remainder of the thought was clear enough.

"…I assimilated from someone else as a drone?"

The Borg assimilated not you.

I am Borg.

No you're not.

Chakotay shrugged. That part of her past could not be ignored. It hovered over and around both of them, although those memories were not as frequently acknowledged. Annika thought some more, trying to grasp hold of any memories she might have of this forest. Other thoughts of Chakotay's were intermingled. A cabin by a lake. The warmth of a fire on a cold winter night. "The clearest recollections I have of this forest are from your own memories," she finally said. "From your secondhand impressions."

"Ironic, isn't it?" Chakotay mused. I would like to show you that cabin, by the way.

Suddenly there was a noise from further down the Jeffries tube. Someone's coming.

Perhaps B'Elanna checking up on us.

And we haven't completed cleaning the plasma relays.

Chakotay laughed and turned back to the panel. Annika, however, stepped closer to the opening from where whoever was approaching was coming. "Kes," she said as the other woman turned the corner and bent down to come into the junction.

Kes was smiling, and looked back and forth between Chakotay and Annika. "I think it's marvelous," she finally said. "The two of you here together."

"What do you mean?" Chakotay asked.

But Kes ignored his question and shook her head. "But I sense there's little time. Something is happening to me." She turned to face Annika. "I can see in your mind the source of your problem. The other day, when you were in sickbay, I could see the two of you clearly, as if I was standing next to you. Your minds, your thoughts. I told Captain Janeway, but she's more concerned with my mental control. She's worried, but I can't wait much longer. I had to come see you. I can see the connections beyond the subatomic."

"There is nothing beyond the subatomic," Annika replied, unconsciously saying what Tuvok had told Kes just a few hours earlier.

Kes shook her head. "But I can see them," she insisted. "And I can see the source of your problem, Annika, it's like a switch. And so much more." She looked back and forth again between Chakotay and Annika with a childlike innocence, and then clasped her hands as she had an idea. "The forest you are both thinking about. I can take you there. I can see the link and can follow it with you."

"The forest is real?" Annika asked intrigued. Chakotay stepped up beside her so now the three of them were in a small circle. He was apprehensive. If the Captain is concerned?

What does the Captain know?

I trust her instincts.

"In a sense," Kes replied to Annika's spoken question. She closed her eyes and her expression became rapturous. A satisfied grin formed on her face. "It's all so amazing," she whispered. She then opened her eyes and placed her hands on each of their shoulders. "Come see."

There was a brief feeling of weightlessness, as if falling, and then a flash. Even though there was the sensation of movement, it was also clear they hadn't moved at all. The afterglow of the burst of light faded and then they were surrounded by warmth. The three of them were standing as they had in the Jeffries tube, but now they were in a glade. Soft sunlight filtered down from the canopy above, and the air was fresh and humid. It was all so familiar. Impressions from fragmented memories now more concrete. "We're here," Annika whispered as she looked about. As Chakotay thought about it, birds familiar to him appeared and flew between branches high overhead. Their song reached his ears and he remembered. Melodies from nature heard long ago. And all along, the feeling of contentment. Of belonging.

"I do remember this place," Annika finally said. "But where are we?"

"Were we just transported off Voyager to this planet?" Chakotay asked, although it didn't quite feel right. There was an undercurrent of artificiality about the place that hadn't been conveyed in Annika's fragmented memories. Was it the sky or something else? It felt more closed in.

Kes continued to smile as she also looked about, soaking it all in. "It's not that at all," she said with a laugh. "Although not what I expected either."

"Then what?"

Before Kes could answer, a group of about a dozen people entered the clearing and approached. Each seemed to be of a different species. Several from the Alpha Quadrant Chakotay recognized immediately, while others only known from Annika's memories and by their Borg designation. They appeared curious, but approached cautiously. Presently, someone in the group stepped forward away from the rest. He wore a simple outfit and had a receded hairline and a spoon-shaped depression on his forehead. He seemed so familiar, species seven five two, but it was difficult to understand why. His expression was one of both relief and confusion. He looked at Kes and Chakotay in turn, and then settled on Annika. "Annika," he said. "We've been worried. Where have you been? And who are these new people with you?"