Chapter One: Split Collective
Surfacing from water, blind and unconscious of their surroundings, their only function was to gasp aloud and suck in the air. Breathable air, air flush with life, sweet and plentiful and pumping through their lungs.
"S-Seven!" Vision clearing, B'Elanna reached for her crewmate, instinctively reacting to the new panic striking her ice blue eyes, moving through the water (a pond, a lagoon, vines draping their surroundings, dipped low and teasing the surface, light broken into fragmentations streaming through the thick branches of tall leaning trees) and grasping hold of Seven. "Kick your legs, can you kick them?" Seven couldn't answer, lungs still adjusting to the air while B'Elanna's Klingon biology graced her with a faster recuperation period. "Lean back into me, I have you, just kick!" No motions. "Seven, comply!"
The sounds of wherever they were (maybe a rainforest, it reminded B'Elanna of pictures of the Amazon) rippled through the air. Insects and the calls of wild animals, unidentifiable and strange. Almost birds, almost monkeys, almost the roar of lions but not quite, even worse, so much more strange. The water was cold, the color greenish and gray, and B'Elanna couldn't feel anything beneath them, only an unknown depth. She recalled Tom's arm sneaking around her shoulders, turning her body and curving his face into hers, grinning against her lips, sensing her startled reactions to the sounds floating in from the insipid ancient classic Creature from the Black Lagoon. One arm preoccupied with gripping Seven's taller body to her, the other engaged in long backward strokes toward the moss covered bank, B'Elanna breathed heavily, supporting Seven's weight in the water, feeling the weak kicks above her own, their legs brushing against one another. Each touch frightening, imagining some creature passing by.
"Almost there... almost there... there... okay, Seven. Seven!" B'Elanna struggled, her arm bursting out from the water, her hands slipping on the bank. Muscles aching, she kept up the motion of her legs, managing an elbow onto the bank. "It's covered in moss, I think. It's slippery, get a good hold." Seven turned slowly in her hold, their gazes meeting. "It's okay... you won't si - " B'Elanna bit her tongue at the greater rise of panic shown in the borg's eyes. "I have you."
They managed to get up out of the water, Seven pulling B'Elanna up after her, and free from the confines of the cold environment they were suddenly shot down by the enveloping humidity of the air, previously unfelt. It rested heavily on their skin. They began to sweat, chests constricted, again struggling to breathe. "Your… your com…. your combadge." Seven finally managed, leaning toward B'Elanna and pressing her fingers shakily against the badge, forgetting her own.
"Voyager," B'Elanna attempted, Seven tapping insistently against her chest. "Torres to Voyager, respond." Nothing. "Seven," She grabbed the borg's fingers, ceasing the panicked assault against her badge. "Try yours."
"Thomas, are you coming to bed?"
"Yeah, in a moment." He rubbed his hand against his chest, the skin growing raw beneath his palm. He couldn't shake the odd chills that wracked his body, every nerve in his body tingling, and instinctively he knew something was wrong but he couldn't place it, identify it in any way beyond the clenched feel within his gut.
"Hurry... I have something for you, and it's impatient."
Tom turned, grinning at the shadow just behind the bedroom door, but the playfulness lingered only around the edges of his mouth. His eyes remained anxious. I feel like... have I forgotten something? Dropped off the kids, responded to the Admiral, picked up Owen's present... another letter to Harry, inviting him to come up. He sighed, frustrated, rubbing harder against his chest, glancing out the window. The Chicago skyline glittering and somewhere on the street so many stories below he was sure the city was bursting with color and sound even in the dead of night. Even though the wind cut so cold, pushing hard against forms, waylaying them, even through all that Tom knew were he let loose he could find a spark of warmth and color. Glorious heat to revel in, seep back into.
"Thomas..."
There is something I've forgotten. Damn it, what is it? I know it's important but I can't think what. But alright, she's calling me, I'll go to her now and make love to her now but now this will be just another time. Something always stirring in the back of my head. Doesn't matter where I am, how hard I'm thrusting into her, no matter how deep, no matter how tight and good she feels there's something tapping me on the shoulder and begging me to turn around. Maybe if she lets loose just once I can escape just for a little while and go back down to that pub I used to go to all the time. Enough drinks knocked back, that hard liquor burning my tongue and my throat, no ice, and maybe then the tension will ease away, I'll be okay, clearing away the back of my mind.
B'Elanna had never seen Seven so agitated, or look so un... Seven. The blonde tendrils had broken from the confines of her many pins and B'Elanna watched as Seven miserably pushed on through the dipping branches and extended thorns catching on her hair, leaves and yesterday's rainwater continuously falling on her head for rest. Her biosuit was ruined, ripped apart and barely hanging on thanks to the torn fabric sticking to her skin. B'Elanna marched through the rainforest environment behind her, the two of them seeking shelter, and couldn't help fascinated glances at the glints of metal peeking from where the biosuit had been stripped away. Hideous ingenuity; the melding of metal and flesh. In so many ways B'Elanna loathed what Seven's presence represented, but there was a small part of her that housed admiration for the Borg Collective in only that as an engineer she recognized that their technology was amazing. Thoughts she housed during idle hours when the time needed to pass slowly and her anger against the monster race of drones hadn't spiked yet.
"A nutritional supplement?" Seven paused, pointing toward the plants a few steps away from them, protected by thorns.
"They look like berries." B'Elanna stepped past Seven, bending to get a better look. "And they smell sweet." The fragrance drifted through the air, emitted from the miniscule plump purple fruits. "Let's pocket them for now. Hopefully we'll meet someone who can tell us if they're edible or not."
"Agreed."
B'Elanna scratched her forefinger and thumb on the thorns but otherwise escaped unscathed, a small pile of berries tempting and captured in her palm. "Let's keep moving."
The sound of drums beat back the dawn. Chakotay walked through the darkness, a blade of grass between his lips, caught in his teeth, his mind lost between idleness and some shadowy memories he paid little attention to. It felt nice to be alone, sometimes, but right then he enjoyed the feel of his youngest son's hand leading him through the wood. "Where are we going?"
"I found something." Peta's excitement was never loud, always smooth, a subtle hitch in his breath. "I want to show you, so you can tell me what it means." The drums began to dim away. Peta led him through an enclave of strange vines, ducking under the extended branches of ancient trees. "There, what is that?"
He didn't have to point, Chakotay saw it with his eyes, night beginning to crack, pierced with early morning light; streams of orange, red, pink. They stood together, staring, the small lake, almost a pond, in front of them, completely still, devoid of ripples, water without movement. Chakotay moved forward. "I see..."
"Sometimes I see women walking through." Peta watched his father's face. "Sometimes I can hear them whisper."
Chakotay watched, amazement striking his face. Shadowed figures beneath the surface. He bent forward, reached his finger to dip into... ripples spread throughout the water, a regular normal lake, light broke out across the sky and the shadows flickered and went away.
"They're approaching the southern river." Tal climbed down from his perch on the tree, the first sun beginning to set on the western mountain, sweat shining on his darkly tanned face, muscles straining beneath the thin cloak he wore draping his tall form. "Shall we meet with them there?"
One more day. Let them rest the night. There's no rush. We have - all of us - all the time in the world.
"They must be frightened. Confused about where they are, what they're doing here." Tal landed on a lower branch, crouching with the agility of a cat, dark eyes peeking out from long lashes, staring at the lowering sun. "It would be a comfort to them, perhaps, if they knew sooner where they've been brought. And why."
Let them sleep, they must rest. A sweet year of unconsciousness to restore their wits and their health. And then they will be ready to hear, to listen, take comfort in your kind words. But until then, dearest Tal, heed me and stay away.
They lounged about, dispersed around the living room, violin and piano playing, melody lulling them into the night, wine brought to their lips, Nicolette's long fingers teasing Kathryn's skin, slices of cheese, olives, grapes, jam and baguette piling on her tongue. The heavenly temptation of spice and sweet.
It's so easy to forget it all ever happened. The Delta Quadrant is little more than fantasy, far less than memory. An expanse of space and danger that bears no relevance to real life. A fantastical story soon to be disregarded as myth in a few short years perhaps. No one will know, these details of my mind so vague. A period of lost years muddled into hazy seconds, I can't remember and I won't try to. Not any more.
Sleepy blue eyes raked over the forms of flirting Captains and Admirals, Judges and famed artists. Lawyers and doctors and politicians. Individuals of great influence who had invited Kathryn into their little society of soirees. She was an intriguing addition, a fascinating collector's item.
Still, something pulls me back into those hazy memories. Tugging on my brain. Asking questions that make no sense to ask.
Roh'man arrived to the party late, dashing in an elaborate green toga speckled with gold. His black irises shimmered as they grazed the party, smiling in greeting into the apartment flushed with plates of food, a fire roaring, spice hanging heavily in the air. He felt the pull of Kathryn's emotions and made his way toward her, bending down where she rested on the coach to kiss the corner of her mouth. "Darling, so good to see you."
"So good to see you, Ambassador." Kathryn enjoyed his scent; the morning dew on grass, subtle and bitter honey. Nicolette leaned into her body, kissed her bare shoulder, lips lingering against Kathryn's neck, nodded at Roh'man and then easily dismissed herself, her brown eyes seeking new pleasurable skin to graze. "How are you enjoying Sydney?"
"Delightful. I love anyplace with water. And perhaps because of the company I've been keeping," He grinned. "It seems more remarkable."
Forget the strange thoughts, impossible questions. I'm home. Of course I've escaped the Delta Quadrant. We all have.
They broke through the jungle foliage, a few branches snagging Seven's leg at the last moment, thorns scratching B'Elanna's hips through the filthy, soaked uniform. Ahead of them was a riverbank, an odd glow cast along the water as the first sun disappeared completely behind one of the mountains. Partially on the water, partially on the sandy surface of the bank (the small soft particles seemed to change colors so seamlessly that neither Seven nor B'Elanna could register its color, watching as blue drained into white that turned pale, quickly reflecting the yellow of the sky, into orange which was really red, colors deepening and waning at the same time) a hut was balanced on the ground.
"Shelter," Seven moved forward, a thin line of blood running down her leg between strips of cloth that used to be her biosuit. B'Elanna followed, a slight limp due to her sore feet, an uncomfortable bump she didn't want to think about or inspect on the ball of her right foot.
They circled the wooden structure, scouting the perimeter, light dimming further as the second sun that hung in the sky began to sink, joining its mate. With no tricorders to aid them or phasers to defend them, Seven and B'Elanna relied on their own imperfect scents and strength. They saw little to suggest booby traps, peering through the square shaped holes resembling crude windows in the wood.
"No dust, no cobwebs." B'Elanna stepped through the door of what resembled a classical Caribbean tropical hut, the wooden floor creaking beneath her feet but there was little movement of the boards, no feeling of bending and she judged it safe to walk on, strong enough to support her weight. "This must still be in use, or else abandoned very very recently. The planet, or wherever we are, must be inhabited."
"There are no indications of modern technology." Seven walked around the perimeter, studying the walls, looking for some sort of generator, choosing to keep alive the hope that both she and B'Elanna had contracted amnesia and were in fact stuck in the holodeck. Hope was still an odd emotion she hadn't fully grasped the understanding of, but it was easier to indulge in it than usual faced with these extraordinary circumstances. She was uncertain as to why these circumstances seemed more frightening than the usual run of the mill brushes with death and loss; the frequent separations from Voyager and from Janeway.
"Probably we're in a pre-warp society, if there is a society here." B'Elanna gently brushed her long tanned fingers against the berries carefully stored in her pocket. "We'll stay here, spend the night, if no one comes tomorrow we'll scout around for food sources and just hope nothing's poisonous. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
They left the hut, moving slowly with subtle limps in their step, casting wary gazes along the surface of the water. "Pretty shallow here." B'Elanna crouched on the bank, the odd luminescence of the water and sand, the second sun even lower behind the mountain, her fingers dipping into the whitish blue liquid, the river rushing against her skin. "Warmer than you'd expect."
They didn't both want to go into the water at the same time. While the river itself was fairly shallow, it was a slightly uncomfortable distance between the bank and water, especially for two exhausted, severely sore women. Seven was bleeding the most and at B'Elanna's instruction she seated herself on the bank, her legs dipping into the river. B'Elanna slipped in, briefly overtaken by the current before Seven grasped her shoulders and held her steady.
"Spread your legs," B'Elanna pulled herself into the opening, Seven's feet wrapped just below B'Elanna's waist. Dark caramel hands felt the dark plum material. I always forget how soft it is. How smooth. Like silk, but something harder. Stronger. More durable. She traced the rips, revealed patches of freshly scarred skin below Seven's chest, a torn pattern decorating her ribs. "This tore so easily today. The plant life, the thorns, must be stronger than any we've encountered before. I've never seen your suit rip."
Seven nodded; jaw stiffening at the slight sting that struck patches of her body. She refused to make a sound, teeth lingering above her tongue, ready to clamp down if necessary.
"Without medical supplies I can't do much for you. And I don't want to use any leaves as bandages. They could all be poison ivy, for all we know." Seven cocked her head. "Nickname for toxicodendron radicans." Seven nodded. "All we can hope to trust is the water."
It burned. Seven's teeth sunk into her tongue, unexpected pain as B'Elanna lapped water at the blood between strips of dark plum fabric. Her skin began to steam and B'Elanna stopped, wide-eyed, as the cut on Seven's upper thigh began to heal itself, skin straining for skin. B'Elanna looked up at her face, noting the hitch in the former drone's breath, the closed lids. After a moment she continued lapping water where fresh scars and bruises from hard camouflaged rocks had bumped into Seven's legs, cleaning the blood that decorated her waist and abdomen. Steam rose, skin burned, but it began to heal. Her suit ripped but my uniform remains mostly intact, if filthy. And now the water burns her, heals her, but I feel nothing beneath my clothes, my hands are immersed in the water and I feel nothing, these new scars are still here, the blisters that sting my palms.
Seven's grip around her shoulders tightened, arms now wrapped around B'Elanna's neck. She continued covering the revealed patches of her skin with water. "Does the already healed skin hurt when the water touches it?" Seven shook her head. "Alright, pull me up."
Together they worked to peel the strips of fabric off Seven's body, trying not to stretch the material too much and further ruin the suit. Because the Doctor couldn't store as much engineering data as he could medical data, on occasion B'Elanna had been called upon to assist in maintaining her borg implants. Seven in the nude wasn't anything she hadn't seen before. They removed her heeled boots and then Seven sank into the water, crying out as her implants began to sting as painfully as her skin. B'Elanna held onto her. "Go under."
Seven took a deep breath, shuddering, her skin on fire. It was so easy to give into the authority of B'Elanna's touch, her hard voice despite the drained energy. Seven sank, B'Elanna's hands gripping her underarms, and began to writhe, the liquid flames licking her skin, scorching and healing. With a choked gasp she burst out of the water, wrapping her arms around the lieutenant's waist sitting on the bank and laying her head in B'Elanna's lap, trembling as the fire consumed her body. Visible steam rose high into the sky, the third and final sun alone and not sinking, its color slowly turning into white; a crystalline moon.
A few hours sooner than he'd been ordered, Tal set out for the southern river, a pack of medical supplies and weapons slung over his back. The moon began to shift back into the sun, strips of pink and orange light piercing the dark jungle. The wild beasts that roamed the ground lied sleeping in their various colonies except for the squealers (a nickname for the screeching snake-like creatures) that never seemed to sleep. Tal stuck to the trees, moving quickly amongst the birds that began to wake up.
The second sun began to rise from behind the eastern mountain by the time Tal reached the hut where the human women were staying. Leaping off a branch he flipped through the air and landed nearly soundlessly upon the sandy ground. He walked up to the hut, carefully opening the door and stepped in.
On the wooden floor, propped up against the wall in a corner of the room, beneath the window and so safely out of sight of anyone peering in, a darkly tanned woman with ridges upon her forehead and dressed in black and yellow uniform slept, breathing steadily though her body appeared tensed. Across from her, spread out on tattered cloth, a nude woman with cream skin and metallic implants entwined with her flesh rested on her back, blonde tendrils loose around her head. Tal watched her breathe through sleep, breasts rising and falling.
Silently he let the bag of medical supplies and weapons rest on the floor in the middle of the two women. He turned to leave, setting out to get clothes and food in time for the two women to wake. They don't look too much like criminals. I wonder what they did to get here. He shook off the thought, remembering that it wasn't his place to question Comra's ways. Scratching his ears (layers of flesh, distinguishable folds of skin against the side of his head) his walking progressed to a jog, entering the jungle once more, the third sun rising up to join its brethren, lighting a new path for Tal.