A/N: I seem to be doing this a lot, apologizing for taking so long between chapters. Things in that annoying distraction called Real Life have settled somewhat, which I hope translates into getting off my butt and writing on a regular basis. I would like to thank everyone who's stuck with this story and your comments are very much appreciated.
Time Enough Chapter 17
"What is that?" Mio said with a laugh.
"It's called a piña colada," Jan replied. "I found it in a list of beach drinks. It's rum and pineapple juice and this sweet coconut stuff mixed with pulverized ice. Like it?"
"It's wonderful," Mio said after a sip. "And I love the coconut shell cups. But what's the point of the little umbrella?"
Jan shrugged. "No idea but it had one in the picture so I figured it was part of the whole beach thing."
Mio picked up the tiny umbrella and grinned. "It's fun. All drinks should have umbrellas."
Jan held up her drink which contained pieces of fruit impaled on a plastic sword. "Swords are better than umbrellas. Swords have fruit!" They both laughed. Jan set her drink down and kissed Mio. It felt just like before, like no time had passed, like no horrible things had happened since the last time. She wrapped her arms around Mio and kissed her neck sensuously.
Mio melted into Jan's arms. She sighed and vaguely wished she had somewhere to set her drink. She considered just tossing it and pulling Jan to the ground. She opened her eyes to see if the path down was clear when she saw something moving in the water. A figure holding a stick stood in the waist-deep water. That was odd, Mio thought. She stiffened as she realized the figure was Nels and the stick was a rifle.
"Mio? What's-" Jan never finished. There was a pop and suddenly she was falling. She wondered why Mio so upset as everything went black.
Mio screamed as she saw the growing red stain on the gauzy top Jan wore over her swimsuit. The drink fell from her numb fingers as she felt something kick her in the stomach. What was that popping noise? She saw the sand rush up but never felt herself hit the ground.
"It wasn't your fault," Janeway said gently. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around the distraught Borg.
"If I'd gotten there a few seconds faster Ensign Cavanaugh and her friend would not have been shot," Seven protested. "If I'd paid more attention to the changes in the holodeck programming I might have stopped Crewman Nels altogether. I regret having changed the setting on my phaser rifle."
"Seven, you don't mean that," Janeway objected. "You did the right thing stunning him. You aren't a murderer."
"Really? How many people have I assimilated? Is that not a kind of murder?"
Janeway stood and walked over to stand directly in front of Seven. "You had no control over that," she said quietly. "I don't blame you for anything you did while you were a part of the Collective. You have to forgive yourself for the things they made you do." Janeway wasn't sure what else to say so she just wrapped her arms around Seven. She felt Seven stiffen then relax. Janeway slowly rubbed Seven's back. She felt the Borg's tears on her neck and hugged her tightly. "It's okay, my darling. It's okay."
Seven latched on to Janeway and let her fear and anger wash away. She felt more secure in Janeway's arms than at any other time she could remember. Not even the Collective made her feel so connected, so cherished.
"What did you do after you arrived at the holodeck?"
Tuvok noted that Harry seemed to be relaxing into his role. He had not chugged water in over 15 minutes. "Upon my arrival, I spoke with Seven. The defendant had already been transported to Sickbay. Seven told me where the program changes had originated. Seven and I went to that location with two members of Security. "
"And where was that? Where it originated?" Harry asked.
"The quarters of crewman Carol Johnston."
"What happened?"
"We requested entrance, to no response. After giving a warning that we were entering, we bypassed the lock and entered."
"What did you find?"
"We discovered the body of Crewman Johnston." He continued on dispassionately, "There was evidence of blunt force and stab wounds on her body. Her skull was crushed and there was an unrecoverable loss of blood. I checked for life signs and, finding none, advised the Doctor that his presence was low-priority."
"Low priority?"
"She was dead," Tuvok said. "I did not know the conditions of Ensigns Cavanaugh and Sato but if they were alive, they should be his priority. We sealed the room until such time as the Doctor could make his examination."
"That will be all for now," Harry said. Tuvok's scanner readings of the body were entered into evidence.
"Crewman Nels," Harry asked dispassionately, "you have admitted to killing Crewman Johnston."
"You people said I did and I can't remember," Nels replied.
"Crewman Johnston's blood was found on your clothing," Harry said. "Your skin was found under her fingernails."
"She was screaming at me and then she came at me with a weapon. I was defending myself. I went there to break things off with her but Carol just went crazy. I defended myself and then I don't remember anything else." He leaned back in his chair. "I must have been in a dissociative state. I'm ill, not responsible."
"You don't remember gaining unauthorized access to the ship's computer, sabotaging a holodeck program, replicating parts to assemble a bolt-action rifle, and beating Crewman Johnston to death?"
"No," Nels said. "I blacked out when Carol took a swing at me. I don't remember anything until I woke up in the brig."
"You seemed to have a full understanding of your actions when you were questioned in the brig." Harry turned to the judges' table. "Enter the recording of Crewman Nels' confession."
"Carol came after me first," Nels shouted. "It was self-defense, not murder."
"This is very inefficient," Seven complained to Janeway. She sipped her coffee. She really wanted to like it. Janeway loved it. She tried another sip. No, it was still unpleasant.
Janeway watched the Borg pretend to enjoy coffee with amusement. "What's inefficient?"
"This trial," Seven huffed. "There is no dispute that Crewman Nels is guilty. He has admitted it. Why is he not being expelled from an airlock?"
"Even those who admit to a crime are entitled to a fair trial," Janeway said. "It's a cornerstone of the Federation and of many Earth governments long before we had space travel."
"It is still inefficient." Seven abandoned the coffee. She did not like the odd jittery feeling it gave her. At least, she did not like it when she was about to regenerate. It annoyed her that Janeway had consumed two full cups with no evidence of negative effect. In fact, the Captain was clearly suppressing a yawn. Seven's eyes narrowed.
Janeway smiled. "I'll give you that it can be inefficient. Still, it's the best system we've found." She saw Seven about to comment and added, "The best system that doesn't involve forced mind probes. We can agree to disagree on that point," she added with a wry smile.
"My ancestors once used trial by combat," Neelix commented as he walked over with a carafe. "More coffee?" Both women shook their heads. "It's just as well we moved on from that. I'm not much of a fighter." He wandered off to see to the other tables.
"I'd better get to bed," Janeway said with a sigh. "Tomorrow will be a long day." They locked eyes for a moment then each got up and walked away in opposite directions. They weren't alone. Seven understood Janeway's position on letting others know about their, well, whatever it was they had. She understood, but she decided she didn't like it.