# Chapter 4 – The Vidiian Fragment
"The trader said they are called the Vidiian Fragment," Chakotay remarked when Seven exited her hiding place in the back of the shuttlecraft. The two of them had been gathering information for the past couple of days. The three Federation warp signatures led all the way to the outskirts of the system, but in-system there were so many signatures, the trail became impossible to follow. Fortunately, there was only one planet in the system that was habitable. As it turned out, Saychek had been right about using the shuttle. Many small craft littered the system, and the habitable M-class planet itself hosted a vibrant trading community. It was easy for them to move about unnoticed.
Although the Borg had been absent from this sector for the past five years, memory of their destructive push through was still evident. The remains of what was once the largest trading compound was now only an angry scar in the ground, scooped up by the attacking Borg. When they first sighted it from high orbit, Seven remarked that she had no memory of the system itself. The events must have occurred after her cube crashed on New Earth and her link to the Collective severed. Because of this however, they decided it would be prudent for Seven not to be seen during interactions with traders. Saychek had been right about that as well.
"So the compound on the southern continent is the Vidiian stronghold as we suspected," Seven said, taking her seat beside Chakotay. "But they seem to now be outcasts."
"Indeed," Chakotay replied. "That Vidiian we met yesterday suggested as much." Chakotay rubbed his chin and looked out the shuttle's forward window in thought. "So here's what we know. Apparently, when the phage was cured seven years ago, most Vidiians attempted to repair relations with their neighbors and pay reparations. The Vidiian Fragment, however, did not want to give up their status or their slaves. It's possible the prisoners, including survivors from Voyager, are still alive and serving them in that stronghold."
Seven looked dubious. "I realize the Vidiians would no longer have to harvest organs with the phage cured," she remarked. "But we have discovered no evidence that the Voyager crew is on the planet."
Chakotay nodded. "It's possible they have always been kept within the confines of the stronghold," he suggested. He realized obtaining that evidence, however, might prove problematic. By all accounts, the stronghold was well guarded. It occupied an entire basin in the southern continent of the planet adjacent to a mountain range rich in dilithium and other minerals. The Vidiian Fragment was the primary source for dilithium in the sector, and they guarded their territory fiercely. From what the traders told them, no one ever left the stronghold. Fortunately, a Borg sphere packed a pretty good punch. "What do you think Seven. Should we return to Phoenix with the information we have, or should we head to the periphery of the stronghold to take a closer look."
Seven considered her response. They already had a complete reconnaissance of the compound from orbit. It was unlikely the view from the ground would yield any new information, but not impossible. She was enjoying this away mission with Chakotay. What he had told Captain Janeway was true, they indeed worked well together. With each passing day, they drew closer, and at times, she almost forgot she was Borg. If the Doctor, a collection of programs, algorithms and sub-routines, could find love, perhaps she could as well. Human or Borg or both, she was convinced now that she did in fact love him, whatever that meant. And looking at him, waiting expectantly for her answer, all she saw was acceptance of who she was, and perhaps he loved her as well. "A closer look couldn't hurt," Seven finally replied, wanting to extend their time together, even for a little while. "We can set the shuttle down in the foothills close to the stronghold and observe their defenses from afar. It would only delay us by an additional few hours at most."
"I concur," Chakotay replied. It was what he was thinking as well. They were in a low orbit about the planet where they had just rendezvoused with a trader vessel. In fact, only a slight adjustment to their current trajectory was necessary to get them to the stronghold.
Seven consulted a map they had made of the entire planet from orbit and studied the terrain about the stronghold. "Head for the southern portion of the stronghold's basin," she said. "It is closer and on higher ground and will offer us the best overall view." Chakotay adjusted the shuttle's course and headed for the location indicated by Seven on a descent trajectory. It would be a few minutes before they arrived at the site.
"So what was it again you gave the Doctor?" Chakotay asked after a time.
"I never told you what I gave the Doctor," Seven replied evenly.
"Oh?"
"As I have said to you befpre, it is a surprise. If this is another attempt to ascertain that secret, it will not succeed."
"I'm just curious," Chakotay laughed. "You can't blame me for being curious. Do you think he'll have it ready when you get back?"
Seven wasn't buying into his game. "Have what ready?"
"You tell me."
Seven fell silent. She was inexperienced at this sort of banter, and suspected if Chakotay did lure her into a conversation that danced around the subject she wished to conceal, she would inadvertently divulge the secret eventually. It wasn't really much of a secret. Chakotay knew she wished to expunge her body of the Borg implants and mechanisms. She had told him so on several occasions in recent days, and even the initial results of her research with the Borg data nodes. The fact that she was actively pursuing that option was the real secret, but she didn't want him, or herself for that matter, to have any unrealistic expectations. She suspected Chakotay knew anyway and was only teasing her about it. The time would come soon enough to discuss it with him and decide, depending on what the Doctor's research revealed.
"There is a small lake in a valley up ahead," Seven said. "The rocky pass nearby overlooks into the stronghold's basin and will allow us an unobstructed view."
"I see it," Chakotay responded, examining the area out the front. "It's an ideal location. I'll set down in that clearing near the north end of the lake."
"Agreed."
Chakotay smoothly guided the shuttle to a soft landing beside the lake. Soon enough, the shuttle's engines powered down and the outside door to the shuttle opened. Seven and Chokotay stepped out onto the pebbly shoreline of the lake. Around them were rolling foothills covered with a thick evergreen forest of short trees. Besides the Vidiian Fragment, the southern continent was largely uninhabited. The trees thinned out to the north and the pass that Seven had mentioned beckoned in that direction. Beyond the foothills to the south were snowcapped mountains. The lake was a crystalline blue and calm, reflecting the distant peaks on its surface. The sun, now low in the western sky, illuminated the surrounding forest with long and sharp shadows. Chakotay took a deep breath and then exhaled. The air was cool, but not unpleasantly so. "What a beautiful place," he remarked.
Seven scanned the surrounding area. Beauty; as a Borg drone, she might have said that beauty was irrelevant, but she bit her tongue and tried to soak in the surroundings with the mind of a human. She tried to process and assess the visual impressions of what she was seeing. Several things presented themselves and she began listing them in her mind. Stratocumulus clouds were building off to the east, brightened by the sunlight and with a slight reddish tint due to the K8 type star that was the primary of this system. Some dust and aerosols made the distant mountain peaks more indistinct and the atmosphere close to the horizon appeared pink. The snow on those mountain peaks was very bright and might very well be glaciers, for it was summer in this hemisphere. Moving closer, the trees surrounding the lake appeared to be of a uniform species, and in places reached the lakeshore.
"I can imagine living in a place like this," Chakotay mused, interrupting Seven's thoughts. He pointed to a small rise on the opposite side of the lake. "Perhaps a cabin over there on that hill. We could spend our days hiking in the nearby mountains or just enjoying ourselves by the lake. Studying the wildlife, or perhaps there is even evidence of a prior civilization buried somewhere in those hills." He sounded excited about the possibility.
Seven immediately noticed his use of the pronoun 'we', and this pleased her. She tried to picture herself at Chakotay's side in that cabin on the hill. It was difficult for her to imagine. Images of a Borg alcove next to a fireplace filled her head. She brought her eyes down from the hill beyond to examine her hand and arm. The Borg armor glistened a flat grey in the sunlight, and only a bit of human skin showed on her hand surrounded by the silvery web of a Borg implant. Even that skin was colored unnaturally. She didn't notice his approach, but suddenly was aware of Chakotay by her side, his hand casually resting on her shoulder. Despite the layer of Borg armor, she felt the comforting pressure and could imagine the soft warmth of his hand.
After a short time, Chakotay motioned towards the nearby pass. "I guess we'd better get moving," he said with a sigh. "I have a holo-imager with a magnifying lens. We'll take some images of the stronghold, then make orbit and head back to the Phoenix." His hand persisted on Seven's shoulder for a short time longer, and she stayed perfectly still until he let it slip off and started for the pass. Before she followed, Seven instinctively closed the shuttle and then fell in behind.
It was a slight upward climb to the pass, and when they came to it, they saw the Vidiian Fragment's stronghold spread out in the basin beyond. In the distance and circling the basin were several small shuttlecraft, perhaps from the stronghold and perhaps keeping sentry. The two of them edged closer to the rocky hillside on the east side of the pass to conceal themselves. Chakotay first took a wide angle holoimage of the entire basin, and then increased the magnification and starting taking more detailed images of individual buildings.
"Do you suppose we could live in a place like this?" Seven asked suddenly, her mind still thinking about the proposed cabin on the lake.
Chakotay stopped taking images and turned to look back at Seven. "It depends on what we plan to do. Captain Janeway has expressed the desire to continue our voyage back to the alpha quadrant. If that were the case, we would probably spend the rest of our lives in space." He frowned at the thought, and then returned to imaging the stronghold.
Life in space; Seven had spent the majority of her life in space, even before being assimilated by the Borg. She looked back at the lake and the small hill beyond. She again tried to picture herself in the scene, with Chakotay there by her side. Was visualizing the beauty in a landscape like that? The beauty only manifesting itself because of the emotions that resulted when you pictured yourself in the scene? The image in her mind came a little easier. Both she and Chakotay didn't notice the movement on the other side of the pass.
The attacker came at them out of the glare of the late afternoon sun. With a scream, the long blade swung down from above and sliced to the right. Chakotay was the first to react, deflecting the blade with his forearm and sending the blow into the rocky hillside where the two of them had been hiding against. Seven realized with a start that if the blade had not been diverted it would have decapitated her. She hadn't thought to activate her personal force field, having been caught up in the moment of observing the lake. Chakotay gasped at the contact, and fell back onto the ground, his sleeve already turning red with blood. The sight of him clutching his damaged arm instilled within Seven a feeling of rage. She turned to face the attacker, who had swiftly retrieved the long blade and prepared for another blow. It was a primitive weapon, obviously hand crafted from some metal wreckage; sharpened on one side with two sets of points. The attacker swung the blade again, this time in a sweeping horizontal motion with the intent of cutting Seven in two at the waist. Seven was ready this time.
As the blade came close, Seven's Borg force field stopped it with a metallic thud. A cloth covered the attacker's face, but the eyes through a gap in the cloth blazed in frustration as the blade proved ineffective. In the startled confusion that followed, Seven grabbed the blade and wrestled it from the attacker's grasp. Using her enhanced strength, she bent it in two and threw it off to the side. The attacker howled and cursed in frustration. Seven heard Chakotay groan behind her and call her name. She quickly stepped between the attacker and Chakotay to protect him from further damage and said, "stay back Chakotay."
The attacker was preparing for hand to hand combat, but stumbled in mid-step upon hearing Seven. She then stood looking at the two of them as if for the first time, the eyes still blazing behind the mask, but now those eyes also held questions. "Chakotay?" the attacker blurted, and suddenly removed the cloth over her face. Seven immediately recognized the cranial ridges on the forehead and distinct facial features as that of a Klingon female. The Klingon look past Seven to see Chakotay.
Chakotay was on his knees and teetered on the verge of unconsciousness. Blood oozed from his arm and a wound in his side where one of the points of the bat'leth had penetrated. He looked up at Seven. She stood with her back to him, bracing for another attack. When he had seen the blade arching towards Seven's neck, he instinctively moved to block it, sacrificing his arm to save her life. He felt a wave of relief with the knowledge she wasn't injured. He cared for her deeply. "Seven," he murmured.
"Chakotay," the attacker repeated and again tried to step to the side to get a clearer view.
Chakotay heard her say his name this time and tried to focus on the attacker's face. She was fully Klingon, and also vaguely familiar. He suddenly remembered the experiments the Vidiians had conducted from his last encounter with them. "B'Elanna?" he whispered, and then slumped forward, succumbing to the loss of blood.
The Klingon screamed a sound halfway between a howl and a laugh. It was too much for Seven to take, with Chakotay bleeding to death at her feet. She stepped forward and slammed the side of her hand against the base of the other's skull. Whoever the attacker was, she crumpled to the ground unconscious. Seven then turned back and knelt beside Chakotay, gathering him up into her arms. She heard herself sob, an ache inside gripping her like a vice. She had to get him back to the shuttle and stop the flow of blood. Inside would be a med kit.
She lifted him tenderly and moved towards the shuttle. Tears she didn't realize she could shed streamed down her face.
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Author's note: Thank you scifiromance, Rono777, sushmajo, lizzy74656, Djsmith, and Alaster Boneman! So, I'm thinking we're about halfway done.