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Dreamers

Chapter Three

TWO DAYS LATER

"What do you think, Captain?" The Doctor asked as they stood in the cargo bay looking at the result of his two day labor on Seven of Nine. Tuvok and Tom had salvaged a Borg regeneration alcove from the Borg escape pod and Joseph Carey had installed it. "Does she look like the Seven of Nine in your dream?"

"Yes," Kathryn smiled. "She looks exactly the same. You've done a marvelous job, Doctor. Well done."

"Shall I wake her?"

"Yes, please do."

The Doctor did so and Seven came out of regeneration. For a moment she stared at them both blankly, then she spoke.

"Captain...Doctor."

"You recognize me," The Doctor said in surprise. "But then I suppose you know me. I just don't know you."

"What's going on?" Seven asked. "Why am I here? I'm supposed to be on an away mission. Did we crash or were we abducted?"

"Neither," Kathryn replied. "You've been dreaming. We all have. Everything you think that's happened over the passed four years has only happened in a dream. Five years ago my crew, and Chakotay's Maquis crew, were abducted by aliens and put into a kind of stasis. Our minds were linked and we all began to interact with each other in a collective dream."

Seven put her hand to her head and paced to and fro. "I remember now," she said. "Our cube malfunctioned...went on fire...we had to escape...got in a pod...found the array. Then we...I can't remember." She cradled her head in her hands as though it was hurting. "Too many memories...too many thoughts...why can't I remember...?"

The Doctor put his hand on her shoulder. "Take it easy. The confusion is a result of your disconnection from the dream. It will pass. Everyone has experienced the same thing."

"I made us join your collective," she went on. "The others didn't want to....they wanted to be free....I made them....I didn't want to be free....I wanted to be Borg....I wanted a collective...needed a collective...any collective...They have not survived....I cannot hear them...I killed them..."

Kathryn seized Seven. "Something similar happened in our dream, remember? Three drones that were once part of your unimatrix came to Voyager. Their minds were linked and they wanted to know why. You tried to help them and in doing so discovered that you were the reason for their link. After crash landing on a planet you were all severed from the Collective but you re-assimilated them because you were afraid of being an individual. Some time later they escaped from the Collective but could not break the link between the three of them because of what you'd done. They fell into a coma after linking with you and..."

"I remember," Seven interrupted. "Because of what I'd done, The Doctor could not make them individuals without killing them. I chose to let them have a month of individuality rather than a lifetime as a drone."

"Which was the right choice and one they appreciated. And I don't think it was just a dream. I think they were the drones with you on the array. After weeks or even months of being connected only to each other, I think they finally connected to us. The alien matrix that was connecting us all was extremely sophisticated and adaptive. I think the drones connected to us, and in connecting to us disconnected from each other, but in connecting to us their circuitry overloaded and they died. In our dream this translated to what we can remember. But the important thing is that they did connect to us and when they connected to us they made their peace with what had happened. And so did you."

"I did," Seven said. "I remember. I remember it all. The confusion, the chaos, it's passing. My thoughts are clearer. The dream...reality...I am able to distinguish between them. All is calming. All is clear."

"It's important to remember," The Doctor said, "that while your dream wasn't real, your experiences in it were. Think of it not so much as a dream, although that is what it was, but as having lived for a time in another plane of existence. The friendships that you made, the personal advancements that you made, they are all real. None of you will ever be the same after this experience. For while your memories of the dream will fade, the bonds you made and the relationships you forged, will always be there."

"That's right," Kathryn said. "We've all changed as a result of what's happened, and although the dream is receding further and further into the back of our minds, we all feel a bond to each other that is strong and constant."

"For me, Captain?" Seven asked. "Do you feel a bond to me?"

"I do," Kathryn said honestly. "And so does everyone."

Kathryn had just replicated herself a cup of steaming black coffee in her ready room when the door chime sounded. Regretfully, Kathryn put down her drink and called out.

"Come in!"

The doors opened and B'Elanna came in.

"We've done it, Captain," she said euphorically. "We've managed to configure the array."

Kathryn got to her feet, her coffee forgotten. "Oh that's fantastic, well done!"

"I had a break through this morning and everything fell into place afterwards. I've set everything up and we can be home in the touch of a button!"

"You're sure? Absolutely certain?"

"Absolutely. I've checked and double checked everything and nothing can go wrong. The array will generate a wave that will terminate in the alpha quadrant so all we have to do is ride it. It'll be a bumpy trip, just like the first, but the Rayzin are willing to help us enhance our shields so that we have maximum protection."

"Then get to it," Kathryn smiled. "You're in charge."

"Yes, Captain."

Happily, B'Elanna turned to leave, but just as she reached the door, Kathryn called her back.

"B'Elanna..."

The half-Klingon turned around.

"I'm very proud of you."

B'Elanna smiled warmly and then went on her way.

Five hours later, all enhancements were done and everything was ready for the trip. Kathryn thanked the Rayzin for all their help and then got Voyager into position to encounter the wave. Not a sound could be heard on the bridge as they all waited for it to appear on the viewscreen.

Then it did.

A white light flashed across the screen and then Voyager began to shake. Kathryn was thrown from her seat at the turbulence and her head slammed against something sharp. Then the light disappeared and the shaking stopped. Kathryn pulled herself back into her chair, her hair wild and her head bleeding, and addressed Harry.

"Our position, Mr Kim."

The young ensign was a moment in answering. "Right where we wanted to be."

There was a long silence as everyone absorbed the enormous implication. At last, at long long last, they were home. Then Tuvok spoke. "We're receiving a transmission...Starfleet Command."

"On screen," Kathryn said quietly.

Admiral Paris's face filled the viewscreen and he smiled with visible emotion. "Welcome home."

Kathryn smiled in return, her eyes moist. "It's good to be back, Sir."

End of Chapter Three