Chapter 2
Stardate 54969.05 (May 2378)
"There is a vessel coming through the rift."
"Klingon?" Chakotay asked, trying to make sense of the readings.
"No…Federation," Tuvok stated in a tone that sounded a lot like wonder.
There was an astounded moment of silence on the bridge as everyone took this in. Chakotay exchanged a look with the captain, finding his own curiosity and cautious excitement mirrored in her expression.
"We're being hailed," Harry announced, sounding a little astounded himself.
"On screen."
The transmission took a second to appear, and when it did, the captain sprang from her chair in surprise. "Seven!" she whispered on a breath, barely loud enough for Chakotay to hear.
Chakotay stood as well, staring at an apparently older version of the person standing not far behind him on the bridge, and shared Kathryn's astonishment when she threw him another glance. He gave a small shrug, then followed the captain's gaze to "their" Seven who stood behind them with a curious frown on her face.
"Captain Janeway," the older Seven from the shuttle acknowledged. "We have no time for pleasantries, you must seal the rift. Recalibrate your deflector to emit an anti-tachyon pulse."
"Captain, a Klingon vessel is coming through," Tuvok warned.
"Captain Janeway, you would do well to do as I say. Close the rift," the older Seven insisted, rather more forcefully than Chakotay was used to.
"Do as she says," Janeway ordered, before returning her attention to the screen. "I did what you asked. Now tell me what the hell is going on."
"There is much to explain, please allow me to come aboard," the older Seven replied, "I have come with a plan to bring Voyager home."
Captain Janeway hesitated for just a second. "Access granted, we will transport you directly to sickbay," she replied as she walked closer to the viewscreen, one hand on her hip. "Forgive me but I need to take some precautions, I'm sure you understand."
"Of course. You need to ascertain my identity. I would not have it otherwise."
"Very well." The captain gave a definitive nod and Harry cut the transmission even as she started making her way up the steps. "Chakotay, you're with me. Mr. Tuvok, you have the bridge. Seven," she hesitated, "this will probably end up concerning you as well, but for now I need you in Astrometrics. I need to know more about that rift she came through. Mr. Kim, I need you to go down to Engineering and take a team to search her ship – from top to bottom. Consult with B'Elanna, if she's feeling up to it."
"Understood."
Chakotay followed the captain as she stepped into the turbolift.
"What do you make of this?" she asked as the doors closed.
Chakotay gave a small shrug – he wasn't exactly sure yet. "It sounded like her."
"Sickbay," she commanded. "Yes, but a Seven from the future? I wonder what could possibly be her motive to travel back in time?"
Chakotay smiled a little, he could almost hear the wheels in the captain's head as she tried to decipher this mystery. "I guess we'll just have to ask her."
She let out a crooked smile as she threw him a wry sidelong look. "You're sucking all the fun out of this. A little speculation never hurt anyone, Chakotay."
"You know I don't do well with speculation. But she said she's here to help us get home, and if she is who she claims to be, then I like to think we might actually get a shot at it this time." While he didn't dare get his hopes up, he had to admit there was something exciting about the prospect.
"That can't be all there is to it. Seven of Nine might be getting more and more in touch with her humanity, but I don't think any amount of years could make her want to change the future to make Voyager's trip home a little shorter."
Chakotay looked down guiltily as she mentioned Seven's humanity – it seemed like he had an increasingly important role in that, and he had yet to tell his captain, Kathryn, about any of it. For all he knew she already knew and the news left her indifferent – after all she had seemed to move on from the chemistry that had – to him at least – seemed to characterize the early years they had spent on Voyager. Yet something told him that it would affect her. He was her first officer, her friend, and Seven was… well, her protégée. It was bound to be awkward, and this certainty had so far compelled Chakotay to remain silent on the subject. A little voice inside his head told him his silence was just plain cowardice, but he did all he could to quiet that annoying reminder and convince himself that waiting a little before telling her anything was for the best.
She went on, unaware of his turmoil. "No, there has to be something more important going on, some event she's trying to prevent from happening." She gave a frustrated sigh as she rubbed her temples. "I love a good mystery as much as the next person, but I have to tell you, time travel paradoxes give me a headache."
"Then let's go get some answers," Chakotay said as the turbolift doors opened and he gestured with his arm for her to go first.
She gave a small smile again, and squeezed his arm in passing. "What would I do without you?"
She was teasing him, he knew, and while her question would normally comfort him in the knowledge that he was doing his duty by standing by her, this time the comment made him cringe inwardly, and he hated himself for it. While he knew that her faith in him had never wavered, that particular phrase had somehow lost its true meaning over the years, it had lost its quality that had made his place on Voyager, that had made him, feel special to her.
He pushed the uncomfortable, petty, feelings aside as he followed the captain into sickbay. The older Seven was sitting patiently unmoving as the Doctor scanned her with his tricorder.
"Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay," she said with a small, cautious smile as she stood with her hands clasped behind her back in a very familiar posture. "Allow me to say, while this is all rather strange, it is a pleasure to be standing here again, with you both."
Janeway nodded, but turned to the Doctor instead of addressing her. "Doctor?"
"The DNA tests show that this is indeed Seven of Nine, approximately 26 years from now."
"Forgive me, but I no longer answer to that designation. I prefer Annika."
That caught Chakotay's ear and he turned to look at her more fully. Even though she was years older than the woman he knew, this Annika remained overall unchanged, with a few exceptions: her eye implant was much smaller now, a mere linear piece of metal next to her eye, and lines had appeared at the corner of her eyes and mouth. What struck Chakotay the most however, was how tired, even haggard, she looked. Her mismatched clothes reminded him of the impromptu uniforms of the Maquis; her blonde hair, now tinged with streaks of white, was pulled back in a messy braid that allowed locks to escape. The Annika he knew would not have allowed that. And her eyes, while still sharp and intelligent, held an emotion in them that Chakotay couldn't quite name. Pain, perhaps? Sorrow? Resignation? Whatever it was, it worried him. Especially as it was coupled with a strangely calm determination.
"Very well, Annika," Janeway acknowledged as she studied her carefully. Chakotay was fairly certain that the captain had noticed the changes as well, and that they probably piqued her curiosity just as much as his. "What's going on? You said you have a way to bring Voyager home? "
Annika gave a sharp nod before diving right in. "If I am correct in my calculations, three days ago, you detected elevated neutrino emissions in a nebula in Grid 986. You thought it might be way home. You were right. I have come to tell you to take Voyager back there."
Chakotay frowned, and the Captain's expression mirrored his. "It was crawling with Borg," he replied, incredulous.
"I am aware. That is why I brought technology that will get us past them. Your engineering team will no doubt confirm this shortly." Janeway stayed silent as she considered this, but Chakotay could feel how tense she was as she stood next to him. Apparently Annika saw it too. "I understand your reluctance to trust me, Captain, but I would not be here if I had not made precise calculations about the risks, and the outcome. And while I alone am here now, know that I was not the only one of your friends to set this plan into motion. They agreed that taking this chance is for the best. For Voyager and for the crew."
"You drew the short straw?" Janeway drawled sarcastically.
Annika's eyes darted briefly to Chakotay before returning to the Captain's, which made him frown curiously. "I volunteered. It was the most logical course of action."
"Alright, for the sake of argument, let's say I believe what you're telling me. Why would you want to temper with a timeline in which, I assume based on your ship's Starfleet designation, Voyager has returned home?"
"Captain, I know you place value on Starfleet's temporal prime directive, and in order to answer that, I would have to tell you more than what the directive allows. But suffice it to say, unless you do what I am suggesting, Voyager's return home will not be the happy ending you are all hoping for. It will come at an extremely high cost."
Chakotay exhaled slowly as he took this in. While he was cautiously excited about the prospect of returning home, getting a tip from a crewmember from the future felt like cheating. It didn't sit well with him.
Harry chose that moment to enter sickbay, a PADD in his hand, and his presence diluted the tension that Annika's last comment had left in its wake. Harry smiled at Annika before handing the PADD to the captain. "The technology aboard the ship is pretty impressive, it looks like it's been specifically designed to defend against the Borg."
Annika had the good sense not to look smug as the captain threw her a glance. "Could we install these systems on Voyager?" the captain asked.
"Seven – I guess, our Seven," Harry corrected with an apologetic smile, "believes the stealth technology is incompatible, but she thinks we could adapt the armor and weapons."
Annika took a step closer. "Captain, you must make a decision. Time is of the essence."
Kathryn glanced at Chakotay again, and since he saw no harm in at least taking advantage of the technology, he gave a small nod. Even if accepting help from the future felt like cheating, that discomfort was meaningless if the technology could ultimately help protect Voyager and the crew against the Borg.
"Alright. Do it."
"I believe it will take a few days to outfit Voyager with the ameliorations," Annika added, nodding. "I'll provide assistance to accelerate the process. I believe if you reverse course now, we should be able to complete the process before we reach the nebula."
The captain turned to Chakotay and they exchanged a silent look. Chakotay immediately understood her tacit order of do it, and he gave a nod before leaving the sickbay for the bridge.
oooOooo
"Look, you can make fun of me all you want, but I know I'm right," Harry replied defensively. His naivety was endearing, and Kathryn chuckled to herself.
"Sure, Harry," Tom replied, smiling, from the helm console.
Kathryn exchanged a smiling look with Chakotay before standing from her captain's chair with a sigh. "Well on that note, I will retire for the night. Commander, you have the bridge."
Chakotay nodded, still smiling from the conversation.
"Oh," Kathryn stopped for effect, "and I'm with Harry on this one," she threw with a grin.
Her comment provoked some additional chuckles from the bridge officers, and even a raised eyebrow from Tuvok. These were the kinds of moments that she would miss the most if Annika's plan of returning home sooner worked – the lighthearted conversations on the bridge, or how the crew rallied behind her scientific curiosity when they discovered a new cosmic phenomenon.
Still grinning, she was about to leave the bridge when her combadge crackled to life. "Captain Janeway, you are required in sickbay," the Doctor's voice spoke. "Seven of Nine was just found unconscious."
The mood on the bridge instantly sobered as Kathryn herself slowed down to a stop. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Chakotay jump to his feet before resolutely halting his step midway. He clamped his hands together behind his back slowly, as if every move was measured, but Kathryn saw a look of concern cross his features before he schooled them. What was that about?
"Thank you Doctor, I'll be right there." She hit her combadge again. "Captain Janeway to Annika, please meet me in sickbay."
When Kathryn arrived in sickbay, the two Sevens were present, and both were awake. The younger version was sitting on the bed, while the older stood a short distance away.
"What happened?" Kathryn asked as she stepped closer.
"She appears to have suffered from a cortical EM surge, likely caused by a malfunction in her regeneration alcove," the Doctor explained.
"It was not a malfunction. While I was regenerating, the Borg Queen made contact with me. She was able to establish a connection with my mind."
Kathryn inhaled sharply as she looked from one face to the other – none looked as grim as she felt. It was annoying to be the only emotional one in a room.
"She is aware that Annika is aboard," Seven went on with a brief look at the older version of herself, "and that we are returning to the nebula."
"Then why has she spared us thus far?" Annika asked before Kathryn had a chance to.
"She mentioned her fondness for me, and my own fondness for this crew. I stated that Voyager was no threat to the Collective – that all we want is simply to return to the Alpha Quadrant. Nevertheless, she responded that she would destroy Voyager if we entered her nebula."
"Why is that nebula so important to her?" Kathryn asked as she took this in, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the console and clasping her hands together.
"That is of little relevance. She will not be able to act on her threat," Annika replied stoically.
"How do you know?" Kathryn asked, made apprehensive by her confident tone. Overconfidence had been the Achilles' heel of all too many captains, including herself, at times. However she wasn't ready to risk her crew because of it this time, unless the odds truly turned in their favor.
"My own past as a Borg notwithstanding, I have had much experience with the Queen in my timeline. I am confident that the technology I have brought will be sufficient to survive any encounter with the Queen or any of her cubes. In fact, I would not be here had the technology not been successful in my timeline."
"I wonder, if the Queen knows you're here, why hasn't she contacted you directly?" Kathryn asked curiously.
"I no longer regenerate. As any human, I now reenergize through sleep."
"That explains a few things," Kathryn muttered under her breath, as she once again observed how bone tired this version of Seven – Annika – looked. "Look, it was one thing to attempt this when we thought it was a secret, but if the Borg are monitoring us…"
"There is no guarantee the Borg will not assimilate Voyager, even if we do not go back into the nebula," Annika countered forcefully, and Kathryn couldn't help but wonder if she was speaking from experience, from something she had gone through in her timeline. It was a chilling thought.
The Doctor leaned in, looking concerned. "Is that supposed to be reassuring?"
"Of course I know better than anyone what a destructive force the Borg can be," Annika went on, "however from my perspective, they are decades away from the technological advances I have brought and installed on Voyager. They will not be in a position to match us."
"But that's no reason to push our luck either," Kathryn replied as she weighted her options. None felt right. "Do you even know what is causing the neutrino emissions inside the nebula? Are we certain that it will be a way home?"
Annika seemed to hesitate for a moment, maybe trying to figure out what she could say without tempering with the prime directive.
The appeal to ignore it altogether was getting more powerful by the minute to Kathryn, and she finally gave in. "Just tell me," she requested, deflated, as her headache returned.
"Very well. The nebula conceals a Borg transwarp hub."
Shocked speechless, Kathryn straightened and stood immobile for a long moment. Then she exhaled. "You can't be serious!"
"I have little cause to make attempts at humor at the moment. Of course I am serious."
"A transwarp hub!" Kathryn repeated incredulously. "Imagine the blow we could give the Borg if we could destroy it!"
This seemed to rattle Annika — she looked up in alarm. Apparently she had not anticipated this reaction, that the greater good of the galaxy would outweigh Kathryn's desire to get home.
"Captain, please-" she started, but Kathryn held up her hand.
"This is a lot to take in, I need to think about this. And talk to my officers. This is too important to make a unilateral decision that would affect everybody's lives. I'm not doing it this time."
oooOooo
Chakotay hurriedly made his way to the Astrometrics lab, lost in thought. He had been briefly informed of Annika's revelation, and he wasn't sure what to think of the situation yet. A Borg hub? He understood the captain's instincts of wanting to destroy it, yet he also believed that this was one of the best shots they had ever had of getting home. He knew Kathryn would be counting on him to have an opinion on the matter, but he needed more information to-
"Chakotay."
He looked up and smiled as he saw Seven catching up to him and finally falling in step with him. "I heard what happened, are you alright?" he asked quietly as they walked.
"I am functioning properly."
"Good, I was concerned."
"There was no need."
Chakotay nodded. "I've been meaning to ask you, how are you dealing with all this, with having an older version of yourself aboard? I doubt anyone's asked you if you were okay with it."
"My feelings are of little importance. To me, she is an altogether different person." She gave a small shrug. "Nevertheless, I concede that it has been quite satisfactory to work with her on the improvements to Voyager. She is… very efficient," she added with a smile.
Chakotay grinned at her teasing and the scene that it prompted in his mind's eye – the two Annikas ordering around the engineering teams in the most efficient manner possible, sometimes saying the same things at once, as if they read each other's minds. "It must have been quite the sight, sorry I missed it!" he teased.
He and Seven were still smiling when they made their entrance, and immediately Chakotay's eyes found the captain's – only to find her staring right at them, her expression a flickering of curiosity and apprehension. Was it possible that she already had some suspicions about them? They had been discreet, but gossip was impossible to contain on a ship like Voyager. The realization turned his stomach into a tight knot, and that instinctual reaction annoyed him.
He checked his smile and didn't directly follow Seven, but rather walked to stand up next to the console by the captain. From the corner of his eye he noticed that both Annika's and Janeway's gaze followed his movement across the room – one almost reproachful, the other suspicious – and as much as he tried to stop it, he felt like the captain had caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to. As though, somehow, he was betraying her. That fueled his irritation. Why should he feel guilty when she was the one who had given up? How was it that she still had so much power over him even though she had long made it clear that nothing could and would happen between them?
When he finally looked up at her face, the stunned hurt in her eyes – and the fact that her shock was too raw and immediate for her to conceal her pain from him – instantly killed his anger. He had never seen her look at him like this before, with as much surprise and hurt, and it tugged at his heart so forcefully that he felt actual physical pain. She must have seen something of this reflected on his face, though, because she quickly looked away and schooled her features as she cleared her throat and got down to business.
"Looks like we're all here. Annika," she requested with a nod.
Annika nodded as she touched the console and brought up images of the nebula, and then blueprints of a Borg hub. "While I have no direct knowledge of this particular hub – we did not encounter it in my timeline – I have prepared a schematic map of what they usually entail. Hubs connect with thousands of transwarp conduits with end points in all four quadrants. It allows the Collective to deploy vessels almost anywhere in the galaxy within minutes."
"Of all the Borg's tactical advantages, this could be the most significant," Tuvok said as he considered the blueprint.
"It's no wonder the Queen didn't want us in that nebula," Chakotay commented, impressed by the scope of what they had discovered.
"So how do we destroy it?" Janeway asked, to the point.
Chakotay noticed Annika didn't look pleased by this question. It was Seven who answered. "The structure is supported by a series of interspatial manifolds. If we could disable enough of them, theoretically, the Hub would collapse."
"This is unproductive," Annika interjected. "The shielding of those manifolds is regulated from the central plexus by the Queen herself. You may be able to damage one of them, perhaps two, but by the time you moved on to the third, she would adapt."
"There may be a way to bring them down simultaneously," Janeway suggested.
"Such an action can only be performed from inside the Hub. Voyager would be destroyed, or assimilated," Annika replied.
"What about taking the conduit back to the Alpha Quadrant and then destroying the structure from the other side?" Chakotay asked. Maybe they could kill more than one bird with one stone.
"This hub is here," Annika replied. "There is nothing in the Alpha Quadrant but exit apertures. We have only a small amount of time before the Queen learns of our technological advantages – time is of the essence. So, I beseech you once again, take the ship back into that nebula and use the transwarp conduits, before it's too late."
"We have an opportunity to cripple the Borg, here, Annika, it could save millions of lives!" Janeway retorted, not without a hint of empathy.
"Forgive me, Captain, but I, and other members of this crew, have spent years designing a plan to help this crew get home safely, and now you are discarding it all on a self-righteous impulse. I have always admired your willingness to help others, but at least give it some more thought before you make your final decision."
The captain considered it for a second, though she didn't look pleased by Annika's statements. "Very well, I will. In the meantime, Mr. Tuvok, I'd like you to work on ways to destroy that Hub. Dismissed."
Chakotay briefly met the captain's gaze before she looked away, and he nodded to himself. If she needed time to herself, then he would give her that. However, he needed her to know that he was still her first officer, her friend.
"Captain, if you need a sounding board, I'll be in my quarters."
She nodded, but didn't look at him as she gathered her PADDs. "Thank you, Commander. I'll keep that in mind."
Chakotay sighed, but gave another nod before turning on his heels.
oooOooo