Time Enough
Chapter 4: Stand Off
Voyager faced twenty-five Mencari vessels, just past a desert outpost of a planet. The largest Mencari vessel was the flagship, with stylized serrated teeth represented on its forward hull and its sixteen laser cannons pivoted between targeting Voyager's life support and its warp engine. Though any Mencari vessel was inferior in firepower to Voyager, as a fleet, they were a formidable force.
The red alert klaxon was sounding; Janeway was gripping the sides of the command chair. She'd just issued an order to bring all weapons online.
"Torpedo bays fully loaded," Ensign Kim said. Janeway could almost hear the adrenalin rush in the lad's tight voice.
"Phasers are online, Captain." Lt. Tuvok's voice was cool and even.
Having her back to the wall was nothing new to Captain Kathryn Janeway and her crew. They'd defied the odds countless times since being stranded in the Delta Quadrant. Firepower of any kind was always inferior to shrewd ingenuity. Captain Janeway always preferred to talk her way out of tight spot first. She was first and foremost the consummate diplomat. Ruling out all other options, Janeway was as cunning and resourceful as any Starfleet captain. Maybe more. She didn't have the safety net of an entire fleet of starships to watch her six.
A Mencari in bright red and orange scales flashed on the view screen. Her sash was gold and her tattoos at her left shoulder were menacing daggers. A large necklace of teeth adorned her neck. They were not Mencari teeth, Janeway noted. Some looked to be Nihydron, Mawasi and perhaps even Krenim.
But the most arresting part of the Admiral's uniform was the skin of a Hirogen complete with an eyeless, screaming face draped over her head and shoulders.
Janeway set her jaw, not willing to be cowed by such barbaric practices.
The Mencari leader jerked her large head back and forth, each eye turret twisting around. In their earlier encounter, the Mencari had seemed so much more fluid and graceful to Janeway.
Finally, the Mencari opened its long snout to reveal jagged teeth and dripping, pink saliva. As she began to speak, her tongue slithered in and out. "Captain Kathryn Janeway."
"Yes, I see you know me."
The Mencari snapped her mouth shut, inclining its head. "I am Fleet Admiral Chock B'laam."
Janeway crossed her legs, letting an arm drape over a thigh. "What can I do for you today, Admiral?"
Janeway watched as B'laam's scale colored deepened. She heard a crewman gasp and she hoped it was out of decibel range of the Mencari.
"The child," B'laam hissed. "She is ours." Her lisp became more pronounced; her movements more erratic and her streaming pink saliva more effusive. She raged on threatening Voyager with all manner of curses and B'laam ordered the fleet to target the ship's life support and warp core.
Slowly, Janeway slipped a silver pocket watch from her trousers. She adjusted the chain and dropped it, allowing it to swing. The Captain fixed her gaze upon the watch. Slowly, she could hear B'laam's voice begin to grow softer. The lisp became less pronounced and the invectives ceased altogether.
As she stood, Janeway winked at Chakotay, who had given her the watch as a gift during a particularly nasty battle with time thieves. They survived then and they would survive now.
=/\=
In the end the Captain had secured a temporary truce of sorts. Janeway agreed to meet the Mencari High Council on their flagship to further discuss the child's custody. She could not fathom what possible motive the reptilian race could have for wanting her daughter, but they would have to present a formidable case of facts before she would even let them sample one molecule of Dani's DNA.
Janeway would be leading the away team personally. The only question was who would accompany her. Later, as Janeway sat in her ready room, thinking about the skills she needed on the delicate away team, she steeled herself for a formidable confrontation with Seven of Nine. The ex-Borg was not on the list. Janeway knew their almost-kiss and the daughter they now share would make the apparent away mission snub go down like a forkful of Klingon pipius claw.
Since becoming a member of the crew and the command staff, Seven had felt no qualms about openly challenging the Captain. The line between functioning as an individual or as part of a cohesive unit still a blur for Seven. The Captain had been lenient with her insubordinate outbursts because of her circumstances. But now, the personal complications promised to make a nest of ravenous Cardassian voles seem like a picnic compared to this discussion.
Janeway sighed, telling herself she was still the Captain and that was that.
=/\=
Janeway stopped just outside the briefing room. She could hear Tom Paris asked if anyone knew when the Captain had acquired lizard-charming skills and wondered if she would teach him.
"For you, Tom, snagging any charm no matter how revolting would be a step up." B'Elanna Torres' comment produced ripples of laughter among the command crew.
Janeway almost laughed out loud as she imagined Tom's indignation. Oh, they all needed time off desperately if they laughed at that. But not now. Now was never the time.
Janeway blanked her face and strode in, her confident gait setting the tone. The Captain noted, as she always did, how the conversations usually faded away when she walked in. It went with the job, but she hated it sometimes. It was a necessary and painful flaw of command.
She laid a padd down at the head of the table and took her seat. "Good morning," she said evenly. She looked around at her command staff, each watching her expectantly. The sight of twenty-five Mencari vessels off the port, not to mention the ongoing yellow alert, had set everyone on edge.
She glanced briefly around the table, then at Commander Chakotay, sitting in his usual post to her left. A thought nearly sucked the air from the room. Chakotay's dark eyes were the color of rich coffee. Janeway wondered if that had been his allure for her all along. Coffee addiction explained her attraction to him, more than hormones. Now that she had a regular supply, her need for him had receded to nothing but professional consideration. "Commander?"
He nodded graciously, though Janeway noted the absence of his usual gleam. He began efficiently to brief the command staff on a plan he and the Captain had discussed to deal with the latest belligerent race that they had inadvertently crossed. Janeway marveled at his relaxed, but efficient tone. It made him an exemplary XO.
Chakotay's face always seemed to smile, even when he was as serious as a photon burst. "The plan," he said, looking at each crewmember in turn, "is simple, really. The Captain will lead a small away team to the Mencari Flagship Yohl Ik'nal. The mission is obviously to find a diplomatic solution to our impasse."
"What exactly is our impasse," Lt. B'Elanna Torres asked. She knew the rumors about a child, the supposed offspring of Captain Janeway's and Seven of Nine. She hadn't been on the bridge during the shocking revelation and she'd yet to meet the kid. But she was not about to face an enemy on hearsay.
Janeway glanced sparingly at Lt. Torres, ever at Chakotay's elbow. She'd proven herself a gifted Chief Engineer without the usual credentials and attendant course of study at Starfleet Academy. Her brilliance was outmatched only by her temper and, as Janeway understood it, by her deep passion for the blond sitting beside her. Unfortunately, the side effect of her love affair was a whittling down of the mythology of her volatility. Still, she remained a formidable force and Janeway was always thankful to be working with her.
"Good question, Lieutenant," Janeway said. "The Mencari believe they possess a claim on a human child. My and Seven of Nine's child, to be exact, if DNA tests are to be believed."
The Doctor bristled slightly. "Captain, I assure you that those tests are full proof, though not knowing the state of medical technology and knowledge of the Mencari, it would be hard to say whether they find the test credible or valid."
Janeway softened her gaze. "I understand, Doctor and I meant no disrespect. The point was Dani is clearly human and yet, these...." Janeway restrained an urge to use any perceived derogatory reference to the unusual race. "Mencari are not. But they are clearly not willing to step aside."
"Twenty-five warships represents a compelling assertion they intend to pursue their entitlement," Tuvok said, in a voice devoid of any loyalty or feeling. It was a voice Janeway had often heard, usually finding much wisdom there. Not today. She was resentful now of its lack of sentiment.
Lt. Paris tipped his head, turning it slightly. From his expression, Tom was trying to figure something out, but couldn't quite grasp it. "Why do they even want the kid?" Paris asked.
Lt. Paris lifted a corner of his brow in a small smirk. He knew Janeway was studying him. Insolent rascal. The irony of Thomas Eugene Paris was that no one ever guessed that the Captain and the Lieutenant were hewn from the same quarry. Starfleet brats. That's what they were. Both of their fathers were Starfleet Admirals with two wives, one of flesh and blood, and the other a Federation ideal.
"That's what I intend to find out," Janeway said. Her gaze gravitated to Seven's, as if she were the only one in the room. It sounded like a promise to everyone's ears, even her own.
"Captain," Paris said thoughtfully. His concerned expression was inconsistent with his usually buffoonery. "I'm not sure if I'm not that away team, but I'd like the chance to accompany you." He leaned forward, as he ticked off his justification. "If you get caught over there with our transporters down, you're toast."
"The Mencari have trained their laser cannons on our transporter system," Tuvok confirmed.
"Without a good pilot, you're stuck in lizard hell." Tom did a double take on B'Elanna. The pride in her face was unmistakable, as was the ripple of fear for him. He curled his lips just for her eyes. Then he took on a deadly serious look. "And I'd suggest that the Delta Flyer be your mode of transportation, instead of transporters."
Chakotay had steepled his hands, resting his lips on the tips of his index fingers. "What about Voyager, Tom? She needs a good pilot."
Tom's small smile vanished when he trained his eyes on the First Officer. "That's the beauty, Chakotay. If we get caught behind enemy lines, I can whisk the away team off of Reptile Central and rendezvous with the ship." Tom faced Captain Janeway, brushing Chakotay's objections aside. "You have a good plan. My suggestion will make it better, Captain."
Tom had certainly proven himself an able pilot—more than able, a superb pilot—and vital member of the command staff. He'd come a long way since Janeway tapped him to pilot Voyager while he was serving time in a Federal penal colony.
Janeway tried to comfort herself in Tom's redemption, both professional and personal. She smiled when she thought of Tom having two wives as well. One a living, fiery bat'leth of a woman and a Federation ideal. Janeway admired, and sometimes even coveted, his union, one that she mercilessly denied herself.
Janeway noticed Tom's face turn to concern and she moderated her own expression to plain attentiveness. "All right, Tom. You're in."
Tom nodded once. "Now I wonder if I should take some flies and crickets with me," he said with a heavy lace of laughter in his voice. "Lizard snacks might come in handy."
Some crewmembers chuckled, but he was still chided by Janeway, who didn't even crack a faint smile. "That's enough, Tom. The last thing we need is to denigrate the Mencari to 'pet' status."
Chakotay cleared his throat. "So here is the away team list. Lt. Commander Tuvok, along with two other security personnel, Ensign Hite and Crewman Lennox; Ensign Samantha Wildman as the resident xenobiologist; and Lt. Mitchell, a scientist, and now Lt. Tom Paris." He looked around the room. "Any questions?"
"I do not have a question," Seven finally said. Her icy blue eyes locked onto the Captain. "I merely wish to point out that you are making a tactical error, Captain, by keeping me from the away team mission."
Janeway looked out of the window, listening to Chakotay and then Tuvok try to reason with Seven. It was like trying to hit a baseball with a noodle sometimes, especially when Seven believed she was right, as she most certainly always did.
Janeway had no intention of allowing Seven or Dani anywhere near that ship. She was trying to keep them safe. But her other reasons were purely selfish. Personal passions clouded reason and an unreasonable captain meant certain destruction. She'd borne the heart-wrenching cost so far of trying to get crew back home. The distance and alienation of command made difficult decisions as these easier sometimes. But Janeway knew that Seven of Nine was dangerously close to tearing down the walls she had carefully and painstakingly built.
Their liaison started out as mutual preservation. The Borg was in a losing battle against Species 8472. They needed Voyager, whether they would admit to that or not was irrelevant. Janeway rescued Seven, though, at the time, the ex-drone thought of it as a cruelty.
Now they were tethered by loyalty to a starship, by Starfleet protocols and now a child they shared. But there was always something more. Janeway felt it, a chemistry between them. The Captain chalked it up to gratitude for freeing the woman from the most tyrannical power in the galaxy.
But yesterday's near kiss shattered that delusion. Janeway now knew that Seven felt the same magical attraction and it scared the hell out of her.
Janeway inhaled deeply. She compacted the yearning for love and companionship, making it a quantum black hole in the middle of her heart. She allowed every longing to be sucked in, never to see the light of day. Janeway's growing affection for and devotion to Seven fiercely resisted the divorce.
But logic would win out. Nothing more could come of their relationship. Not now, not ever.
But out of Janeway's deepest self, an agonizing wail rose to her consciousness. She pressed a finger to her ear while she hammered it down ruthlessly. That was the hurt that would never be allowed to heal, not if the Captain would ever get them back home.
Reluctantly Janeway finally allowed herself to look at the ex-drone, listening intently to Chakotay and the others discuss the plan again. Seven seemed absorbed in their conversation.
Of course, Seven immersed herself completely in every moment, whether it was realigning the field coils in the warp nacelles or trying to defy the Captain on the Velocity Court. Janeway's eyes softened as she thought of Seven dashing and whirling in a desperate bid to win just one game against an "inferior opponent." She nearly chuckled out loud to consider a huffing Seven queuing up an additional round after Janeway soundly thrashed her on the court. Five times.
After listening to the others list a host of reasons to keep the contingent small, Seven finally acquiesced. "You will have to remain here, Seven," Chakotay said, with no bitterness or arrogance. He was relieved that she would be out of harms way.
Seven lifted her chin and said, "I will comply."
When finally, Seven disengaged from the intensity of the plan, she met Janeway's eyes. It was a split second, but not even the composed Kathryn Janeway could quash the tormenting ache for unattainable lips. Janeway's eyes darted away, sure that Seven had not seen it.
"Questions about any other details? Are we all clear on contingencies? Commander Chakotay?" Janeway was surprised no one made any remark, however inappropriate. She knew that her new relationship with Seven was the new morsel of gossip onboard the news-starved starship, but this trepidation was highly irregular, not to mention unprofessional.
Janeway swiveled her chair to her first officer. Since he'd been elevated to her number one, Chakotay had been nothing but expert. She could see the strain around his eyes, but he'd always been the best poker face around. "Commander?"
He smiled, one whose light did not touch his obsidian eyes. "I understand, Captain. But I still don't understand why they can't come here?"
Lt. Torres frowned at Tom, who only raised an eyebrow in warning. "It feels like a set up," Lt. Torres added. "Every instinct in me screams it."
Janeway regarded the team, knowing that their personal loyalties to her as Captain were impeccable. "I understand your misgivings. But we cannot negotiate with a race who has something to prove. We'd never get out of this unbloodied. We have the technological upper hand. If our diplomacy is going to work, we've got to do one thing. Let them sit down at the table with us as equals. We can only do that if we make a strategic concession."
"And a risky one," Lt. Paris added.
"That's why it's called give-and-take, Tom."
"It's not the giving that scares me, Captain. It's what they want to take."
Janeway and Seven's eyes met again, the mutual magnetism drawing them together. But the Captain dragged her gaze away. "If this child belonged to any one of you, we'd be fighting just hard," she said.
"Like with Chakotay's supposed son," B'Elanna added.
"Yes," Janeway said, grateful for a precedent that wasn't her daughter. "The issue is our survival and that of our children, all of them." She looked around for any questions or comments. "Okay, then—"
"Captain," the Doctor said evenly. "I believe there is one more thing."
She arched a brow at him, wondering what he could possibly say about this away mission.
"It's about Dani...." He registered the quizzical looks around the room. "That's the girl's name...Elizabeth Eridani Janeway."
Janeway swallowed her surprise. Elizabeth was her own middle name. Eridani was probably Seven's astrometric contribution, she thought amusingly.
"What about her, Doctor?" Seven finally asked.
"Normally, I would tell both parents alone. However, I think this information may impact your mission." He looked between the two mothers. "It's about the mechanism in Dani's cerebral cortex."
He briefly explained to the rest of the command staff about the device of unknown origins and where it resided.
Janeway squinted, steeling herself. "All right, Doctor. Go ahead."
"The device is integral to her brain functions, Captain."
"Meaning?"
"There are very long neuropeptides connecting the object with her central nervous system – both autonomic and somatic."
"Doctor," Janeway said with a tinge of shock. "What does it do?"
The Doctor's sigh was frustration. "I don't know," he admitted reluctantly. "I need to do more tests."
"You don't know!?"
The Doctor realized belatedly that she was no longer the Captain but now the Mother. The latter were always more difficult to handle, more so than their children. He considered Ensign Wildman, a nervous mother to be sure. Perhaps he did learn something useful from her hysteria after all.
"Captain," he said in his most reasonable tones. "The device has begun emitting a biogenic field." He explained that she was surrounded by an energy field powered by her biological energy.
Janeway's eyes snapped back to the Doctor. Her voice was low and steely. "When?"
"Sensors show it began when the Mencari fleet moored beside the ship."
"Biogenic?" Seven said, musing aloud. "Is it a reaction to the Mencari or a—"
"Stimulus from the Mencari? I don't have these answers. As you are well aware, after dealing with Species 8472, the biogenic field interferes with the sensors."
"And it cannot be removed."
He had never heard Captain Janeway sound defeated. "No. It could kill her. It assists her own autonomic nervous system in regulating her heart rate and other involuntary functions."
Janeway placed a hand on her hip while the other toyed with her chin. "The questions are simple then: does that thing in her head control her or—"
"Does she control it?" Seven finished the question. They both were on the same track.
"And who the hell put it there?" A hard look settled on Janeway's face.
"The Mencari know more than they are saying," Tom added, deeply suspicious of the reptilian race.
"It would appear so," the Doctor allowed.
Janeway was looking off in the distance. The Doctor could not be sure what she was thinking, but whatever it was, her features were beginning to assume those of the Captain who defeated the Krenim and their temporal weapon ship that had distorted the timelines of countless worlds. The strength he saw there provided the Doctor, and perhaps others in the room, with a sense of reassurance.
"Is Dani in any immediate danger?" Janeway asked, ashamed that it wasn't her first question.
"No, I don't believe so. But the computer is monitoring her system and reports to me every thirty minutes with any changes."
"Good," she said. "Notify me immediately of any changes, even if I'm on that ship."
"I always do," he said, with only a faint whisper of biting sarcasm.
"Then we're done," she said. Most of the others were filing out, she heard faint whispers about "the child." No doubt that Seven could hear everything they said.
She stood up and looked out at the stars distorting in the window. "Good luck, Captain," the Doctor said. He was one of the last to leave, anticipating more questions from the mothers, but surprisingly receiving none. "I am sure once you turn on your charm and diplomacy, the Mencari will be offering you the very ships they travel in."
"Damn right," she muttered to her reflection in the transparent steel.
=/\=
Janeway spun around on her heels. There was much to do before they boarded the Delta Flyer and she wasn't going to waste a single moment, not with so much at stake. She was surprised to find Seven of Nine still seated, staring at her.
Captain Janeway opted to sound nonchalant. "Oh, Seven," she said, walking to her chair to pick up a padd. "I didn't see you there."
When she turned to go, Seven stood up. "Captain Janeway, I remained here to have a word in private with you."
Janeway sat down, pushing back against the seat. "All right."
Janeway assumed her customary listening mode, fingers to chin and full attention.
Seven assessed the Captain, feeling oddly and vaguely removed from someone she nearly kissed just three hours prior. It was an unsettling emotion that Seven had trouble not only processing, but setting aside. She felt a nearly overwhelming need to discharge saline solution from her tear ducts; however, Seven of Nine suppressed the feeling. Tears are irrelevant, she chided herself.
Janeway knew from experience that Seven could say nearly anything and usually did. Her ideas were sometimes off the wall, but never stifled. Creativity was a human ingredient after all.
"You are punishing me." Her comment was flat.
Janeway leaned forward in earnest. "No," she said. "I am not. This was a command decision, Seven. Why would you believe I am punishing you?"
Seven raised an eyebrow. "I wished to kiss you—"
"Hold on, Seven of Nine!" Janeway raised her arms. "That discussion should be saved for another time."
"You wished for me to kiss you as well, though you undoubtedly deny it."
Janeway stared at Seven, surprised at her insight. But still the Captain's face was implacable. But she remembered the hovering of lips and the puffs of hot breath on her cheek. Janeway remembered thinking that she wanted Seven's lanky arms around her instead of resting on the bulkhead. But her face said none of this.
Seven relived the moment as if she were there again. She ignored Janeway's words, and focused on what her body was saying. With Seven's ocular implant, all of Janeway's physical responses could be measured. Her pupils dilated. Her heart rate soared to 92 beats per minute. Her respiration climbed to 24 breaths per minute. Her body temperature escalated in particular zones, on her face, under her arms and between her legs. This was identical to how Janeway had responded three hours ago.
When Janeway did not respond, Seven stood and walked catlike to the other side of the table. Seven was a scientist, a woman of learning who developed a hypothesis, testing it under certain conditions.
Janeway stood to meet Seven eye-to-eye, bringing a nod from the ex-Borg. "You wanted me to kiss you, Kathryn—"
"Seven!" Janeway barked, too quickly she knew. The Borg moved infinitesimally closer, her aim to test the theory. "Seven," Janeway whispered. She rubbed her temple with her fingertips. "I was hoping to debrief the situation between us. Later. When the Mencari were well behind us and we were operating in neutral space."
Debrief. Seven noted the cold word. No, she did not have much relationship experience, but Janeway's vital signs contradicted her attempts at distance.
Seven would supply her the data she needed. "Because Kathryn cannot accept a token of my affection, the Captain denies me a place on the away team as punishment. It is an unsound and irrational strategy."
"Seven," the captain said. Her voice was low and warning. "What parts do you find to be unsound?"
"Is it not the first officer's duty to ensure the safety of the Captain?" Seven knew the answer to this. It was Starfleet protocol that the First Officer lead an away team, particularly one as dangerous as this.
She doesn't want me to go, Janeway thought, with tenderness yanking at the edges of her awareness. And this is why most Starfleet captains are bachelors. Or old maids, she reasoned. Janeway conceded the point to Seven, surprised that she had immersed herself into protocols she did her dogged best to defy.
"Chakotay and I discussed it. In the end, the Mencari know me. Because of my part in their Ritual of Friendship. I am not about to give up the advantage of good will we earned saving that Mencari vessel from pirates."
"My absence from the away team provides the Mencari an insurmountable advantage."
Janeway was not about to make the mistake of a rookie captain and enter that little trap. "Considering your self-confidence, I'm surprised you haven't asked to face them alone."
Seven heard no censure in the comment, but reacted with pride. "I had not considered that possibility," she thought, as if the Captain would seriously deem it an option.
Janeway turned away finally, shaking her head with a small smile. She walked to the window, staring out again with her arms across her chest.
"Exactly how many tactical errors have you identified, Seven?"
"Seventeen."
Janeway sniffed, then nodded. "Seventeen? It seems like you've given this more thought than I have."
Any cadet worth her salt would have taken cover at Janeway's tone. But for the Captain to use a gross exaggeration signaled the need for a full retreat even to the bravest heart. But not Seven of Nine. "I am thorough, Captain," she agreed.
Janeway considered the best way to steer a course through this morass of insolence and personal entanglements. The last thing she needed was to alienate a command staff member, a Borg and the mother of her child.
Decision made, Janeway whirled around, clasping her hands behind her back. "If I were looking for a war tactic, I might agree with you, Seven. But that's your first error."
Right on cue, Seven's chin went up, Janeway thought. Her signal of arrogance was usually a source of amusement for a patient teacher. But not today. "This away mission isn't about overwhelming the enemy. It's about diplomacy."
And if Seven really knew me, I wouldn't have to tell her this, Janeway consoled herself.
"Diplomacy is irrelevant, Captain." Her gaze was predatory and unflinching, pinned on the woman standing toe to toe.
"To the Borg, maybe it is," Janeway conceded. "But we aren't the Borg. Voyager is not one of millions of cubes and our mission is not conquest. We will be approaching this with Starfleet goals and protocols. As it should be."
"Sometimes Starfleet regulations should be repudiated." Seven's voice was not its usual monotone. The hint of emotion was like the first blush of spring.
"This ship is Starfleet and this Captain has promised to uphold its ideals." Janeway met the blue gaze with a commanding veneer.
Seven read the signs of Janeway's obstinacy. She was brainwashed to believe that all regulations were equal, just as Seven had been as a drone. "Kathryn," she whispered. "Fraternization, a measure of Starfleet conduct, is insignificant compare to the ideal of the Prime Directive."
Janeway stared at the blonde, realizing they weren't talking about the away mission anymore. It was about what their future could be. Janeway shook her head. "I cannot pick and choose what Starfleet rules I will obey, Seven. What kind of example would I be setting? Insubordination could destroy Voyager? Strand us here forever?"
Janeway had never seen so much disappointment in her. Never had she allowed it show. The emotion hooked the ones the Captain was suppressing.
The mere thought of touching Seven nearly brought Janeway to her knees. Foolish, foolish, foolish. It would have been merely sexual experimentation and then Seven of Nine would be right back in Chakotay's bed. The thought tightened her chest painfully.
Janeway used that pain to smash her feelings for Seven into oblivion again. I am not standing near a chasm, the Captain told herself. I will not fall. Captain Kathryn Janeway drew herself up, tugged her tunic down, adjusted her collar with a slight shake of her head and fixed a determined expression on Seven of Nine. Once again, she accepted the mantle of loneliness, calling it instead duty and responsibility.
Her voice hardened again. It was business as usual. "As for the away mission, I did not put you on the team for a very good reason, Seven."
Seven lifted a chin, waiting for the response.
"The Mencari worship Borg." Janeway held her breath, waiting to see if the Astrometrics Officer would understand.
"And I am Borg."
Janeway rewarded her with a proud nod. "Yes," Janeway said, feeling a change in the ambiance at last. "Just because I'm willing to give up the home field advantage doesn't mean I'm going to play my closing pitcher just yet."
Seven had hardly studied such an obscure sport as North American baseball. She did not completely understand the significance of what her Captain had explained, but she understood the gist. "Very well," she finally said rising. "I shall comply with your plan."
Janeway's small smile warmed Seven to the tips of her toes.
"I'm grateful," Janeway said facetiously.
Before the silence could transmute to sexual energy, Janeway abruptly picked up the padd and started walking toward the door. "Good day, Seven," she said without looking back.
"Captain," Seven said in her even tones again. The Captain stopped and half-turned. "I have been asked to relay a message."
"From Dani?"
At Seven's nod, Janeway pursed her lips. "Let's hear it."
"Dani said she wants to see you."
"Yes, of course," Janeway replied. "I'll be there as soon as I can."