A/n: Thanks to Sweetdeath04 for updating her C/7 fic "Masks" on Saturday, I love the new chapter and the whole fic!
Captain Kathryn Janeway breathed a sigh as she set another long winded report down on her desk and couldn't help but selfishly wish that she'd ordered Chakotay to do his usual, unenviable, task of sorting through the constant influx of reports, deeming what was worthy of her attention and passing it on, before he'd left with Seven but unfortunately she hadn't thought that far ahead when she'd given him permission to be Seven's chauffeur for three days. Oh well, she'd just have to remember that for next time, she thought resignedly as she reached for her habitual energy booster, a cup of black coffee. She couldn't complain really, she'd encouraged Seven to go to the conference and although she'd been mildly surprised by Chakotay's willingness to accompany her, as far as she knew the pair had never spent more than a few minutes alone and Seven wasn't about to win any prizes as a conversationalist, she'd been perfectly happy to allow it. Chakotay was very a tolerant man for someone who'd once waged a guerrilla war, often to the point where the trait irritated her more impetuous nature, but he'd always been wary of her ex-Borg protégé and Seven was exceptionally reserved around him, never showing, as far as she knew, the defiant streak herself and the Doctor saw a little too much of at times. However, she'd been detecting subtle changes in their relationship ever since she'd given Chakotay that ill-fated order to monitor Seven's holodeck use. The fact that Chakotay had then had the nerve to clam up about what Seven had been doing, she'd now come to suspect that he'd never heeded her request at all, still irked her, but if it led to two of the most complex characters on her crew being on friendly terms then she could content herself.
She spluttered in disgust as she brought her anticipated coffee to her lips and was met only the dregs, a few ice cold, congealing replicated coffee granules staining her favourite mug. The Doctor might often lecture her over the extent of her caffeine addiction but even she wasn't that desperate, not tonight anyway. As she stood up slowly, dragging her cramped, complaining muscles out from behind her desk with the cup in hand, she debated whether to chance going down to the Mess Hall to try one of Neelix's homebrewed coffee substitutes or to use up a few precious replicator rations on a refill. One glance down at her overflowing desk told her she'd didn't have time for the Mess Hall, a conclusion her taste buds were grateful for, and she made her made over to the replicator, just dialling in the instructions as her comm. badge beeped. "Janeway here."
It was Ensign Simmonds of the Bridge's Delta shift who replied, "The Ledosian Ambassador is hailing us Captain. He's asking to speak to you."
Janeway sighed in exasperation as her coffee appeared in the replicator, hot and steaming. She supposed she'd have to wait just a little while longer for her peace and quiet. "Patch him through to my Ready Room Ensign." She ordered briskly as she strode back to her desk and positioned herself in front of her own personal comm. screen. Fixing a polite smile on her face as Weltin's own pudgy one appeared on the screen, she greeted him pleasantly, "Good Evening Ambassador, what can I do for you? I hope Tom Paris hasn't messed up the first of his flying lessons." Her lips quirked, thinking of Tom's mortification earlier that day when he found out he'd need to follow Ledosian law and complete remedial flying training after breaking an obscure flight regulation.
"As far as I know, he is doing all our legal system asks of him Captain." Ambassador Weltin replied before biting his plump lips apprehensively, something that immediately set the experienced Janeway on edge, "I was wondering if you've been in contact with your away team…"
The Captain's brows furrowed questioningly, "Commander Chakotay and Seven of Nine? No we haven't, I'd presumed they were busy at the conference. Is there something wrong?"
"That's just it Captain, your people have not arrived at the conference…" Weltin began.
"What?" Janeway cut in anxiously, "What's happened to them Ambassador?"
"I…I don't know." Weltin stammered, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "We've seen…no trace of them since their shuttle entered orbit initially."
Janeway's eyes narrowed as her gut told her she wasn't getting the whole story. "Is there something you're not telling me Mr Weltin?"
Caught out, Weltin cleared his throat. "Well, our authorities have good reason to believe your people may be with the Ventu."
"The Ventu?" The Captain echoed, impatiently waiting for him to elaborate. "Kidnappers? Terrorists?"
Weltin shook his head vehemently, "Oh no, nothing like that, they're completely harmless. Related to us in fact, a link in our evolutionary chain. They live as hunter-gathers in the rainforests on the far side of our planet, we used to live just like them before the industrialisation of half a millennia ago."
"How could a group of unindustrialised, rural forest dwellers have my people?" The Captain asked incredulously, "They were in a shuttle flying to the conference…"
"Ahh, there's something I neglected to mention about the Ventu, their habitat as it were, is completely encircled by a protective shield. An advanced alien species erected centuries ago without our consent, apparently they believed we'd "pollute" the Ventu's way of life…" He trailed off as Janeway glared at him, "This shield is impenetrable, we've been locked out of a third of our planet's land mass for almost four centuries now. Any vessel which has ever hit the shield, accidently or otherwise, has disintegrated on impact…"
Janeway felt her stomach twist sickeningly and was suddenly glad she hadn't drunk that cup of coffee as bile rose in her throat. "Are you telling me you think my people may have been vaporised?"
"If they did hit the shield, then yes Captain." Weltin answered regretfully.
The Captain snapped up onto her feet, "I expect your government's full cooperation in the search for my people, your secrecy about this shield may well have endangered their lives!"
Utterly cowed, Weltin mumbled, "Of course, of course, everything we can…"
Giving into her anger and fear for a moment, Janeway cut their comm. link unceremoniously and hit her own comm. badge. "Red Alert. I want every possible scan conducted on Ledosia, surface and atmospheric, we need to find Chakotay and Seven now."
Seven's eyelashes fluttered as the heavy sleep she'd surrendered to began to leave her, but even as her eyes opened fully confusion still reined for a moment as she felt dirt beneath her and saw a ceiling of rock, blackened by smoke, soaring above her like a cathedral. It was only when she heard the patter of soft, steady footsteps and then focused on the yawning hole in the rock where sunlight streamed in that she remembered where she was, in the cave that made up part of the native inhabitants' camp where Chakotay had insisted they stay for the night. The thought of her injured crewmate instantly made her prop herself up by the arms. "Chakotay…" She called out worriedly, cringing as she heard her own sleep hoarsened voice, "Commander!" A tightening in her chest she hadn't really been aware of before relaxed exponentially as his laughter, deep and huskily warm, unmistakable, reached her ears. She shook her head in wonderment even as she felt a smile tug stubbornly at her lips; he really did like it here! At least he was okay and that allowed her to rise a little slower, rubbing at her bleary eyes and trying to salvage her dishevelled hair. Sleep was so inefficient when compared to regeneration! When reactivated from her alcove, she could be fully alert within two seconds…
She spotted Chakotay almost as soon as she left the cave, basking in the pleasant morning sun and, unintentionally or not, the rapt attention of every alien in the camp. The youngest toddler to the most aged man, and everyone in between, was watching his every move as he scratched markings in the ground with a stick. Almost as soon as she stepped out into the full light herself however, she felt all of those curious gazes transfer to her. Just as she froze nervously, Chakotay glanced up from what he was doing and saw her, a reassuring smile immediately spreading wide over his face, settling Seven's nerves a little even before he spoke. "Good morning Seven."
"Good morning." Seven replied, inclining her head slightly in acknowledgement before frowning at him quizzically, "You did not wake me."
Chakotay gave a small shrug, "I thought you needed the rest."
Seven was reluctant to agree, although it was undoubtedly true, to admit such a thing went against the grain for her. "Thoughtful but inefficient." She finally replied softly, "It must be mid morning by now; I could've spent the time searching."
"You'll need good light to spot the shuttle." Chakotay pointed out calmly before glancing back down at the marks he'd made in the ground.
Seven's interest was peaked, "What have you been doing?"
"Trying to collect some local knowledge." Chakotay answered with a wry grin, ushering her over. "They won't hurt you Seven." He assured her when she hung back, glancing at the people around them warily.
"No." Seven agreed quickly, striding over to him and feeling somewhat surprised that he'd managed to sound reassuring without being patronising, generally the crew made her feel embarrassed about her more unfounded fears. "Explain." She stated as she squinted at the squiggles he'd scored into the ground.
Chakotay bit back a chuckle at her blunt phrasing and pointed to what he'd drawn. "This…" He indicated a rough triangle, "…is the mountain we always saw in the horizon while we were walking yesterday, and this…" He followed a wavy line with his thumb, "…is the river we walked along. Now according to your calculations, the wreckage should be within a relatively short distance of both these landmarks, right?"
"Correct Commander." Seven confirmed with a nod, "But I fail to see how making an amateurish representation of them in the dirt will assist us."
Chakotay laughed, Seven certainly didn't pull punches. "Amateurish, huh?" he asked, eyebrows arched high, chuckling again when she had the grace to blush in response. "The drawing itself isn't important Seven, I'm trying to get these people to give us some guidance. They know these surroundings better than anyone and they're so curious that surely they must've noticed the shuttle crashing somewhere in this area."
Seven sighed to herself as she looked over the makeshift map, "Your idea has merit Commander, but firstly we have no way to communicate with these people even if they do have the knowledge, secondly we should not wish them to find the wreckage. It would be dangerous for them."
Chakotay grimaced in disappointment as her words sunk in, "You're probably right." He conceded, wiping away his drawings with his hand, "But we can communicate with them." Seeing her doubtful look, he held up the stick he'd been using, "The old man who treated my leg carved this walking stick for me. This is "thank you." In their language." He clenched his hands into soft fists and crossed them at the wrists over his chest, bowing slightly.
Seven couldn't help but be impressed by his perceptiveness as she watched the aliens react excitedly to his attempt at their language. "No doubt you would've made an effective anthropologist." She murmured, acknowledging his smile in reply before refocusing on the task at hand, "Since your injury still limits your mobility, I will search for the wreckage myself…" She was interrupted by an eager young girl handed her a bowl of what looked like some kind of porridge and eyed it uneasily.
"It's breakfast." Chakotay informed her, "Try it, its better than most of Neelix's concoctions."
"That would not be difficult." Seven remarked wryly, making him chuckle, but catching his watching eye, she awkwardly mimicked the thank you he'd shown her to the girl, who grinned in delight. "As I was saying…" She continued stiffly as she picked at the surprisingly palatable meal, which seemed to be a mix of a corn like grain and some sweet nuts. "I will resume my search for the wreckage and you can remain here."
"Which one of us is in the command here?" Chakotay reminded her, feeling guilty as she blanched in mortification. "I'm just teasing you Seven. If I could come up with something better I'd suggest it, I'm not happy about you going out alone, but your plan seems to be the only one we have." He glanced down at his ankle in frustration.
"I will have my tricorder, so I should be able to avoid most dangers." Seven assured him, setting her bowl aside and tightening her grip on her tricorder.
Chakotay was dissatisfied with that, but knew it would do no good to show it. "Be careful." He instructed her firmly.
Seven looked at him seriously, holding his gaze. "I will be." She replied before distractedly pushing her hair, which was progressively falling free of her few remaining hairpins, out of her eyes but quickly realised it was futile. Ripping a bit of fabric from her torn biosuit sleeve, she proceeded to tie her hair back in a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Chakotay found himself strangely captivated by the deft movements of her fingers as she did so.
"It looks nice like that." He murmured without thinking, quickly clarifying when Seven stared at him blankly, "Your hair."
Seven forced her eyebrows up, hoping that would distract from the colour she felt flooding her face, "How so?"
Chakotay shrugged awkwardly, suddenly very self-conscious. "It just looks a little less…severe I guess. More relaxed."
Seven's head bobbed nervously as she stood to her full height. "I will keep that in mind." She mumbled in response to the compliment, before sighing as she looked out at the tree line. "I do not feel very relaxed…" She admitted in a shy whisper.
"Don't worry." Chakotay told her bravely, "We're going to get out of here. Voyager will already be looking for us."
Seven's brow furrowed, her lips parting to say something more, but she seemed to think the better of it. "I'm sure they will be." She said heavily. Without another word, she trooped out towards the deep forest she'd been studying so apprehensively moments before.
"Be careful!" Chakotay shouted out after her, scrambling to his feet using his stick to watch her go. He hated how small she looked as she disappeared into the dense tree cover and had to rein in a groan of frustration. If only he could walk properly! Suddenly he saw the girl how'd served Seven's breakfast start to follow her, only to pause and look back at him. Without thinking he made another sign he'd learned from watching mothers and children interact, "Go on". The girl grinned at him before shooting after Seven at a run and Chakotay found he was smiling in relief. Seven would have a guide with her whether she wanted one or not.
A/n: PLEASE REVIEW! :D