This is a work of fiction. Characters belong to Paramount. This story contains a romantic relationship between female characters. If you don't like it, don't read it! I would welcome any reviews/comments. Enjoy!
That Groundhog Day Feeling – Chapter 2
Loop 2
"Computer, what is the time?" Seven demanded, ignoring the bemused looks from the Doctor and Neelix. She knew the answer before it came, at least approximately. The slightly strange feeling she had had since waking up in sickbay for a second time now made sense.
"The time is 21: 18 hours."
"Seven, what's the matter?" asked the Doctor, whipping out a medical tricorder and starting to scan the former Borg. Seven brushed him away and glanced at the bed where Janeway lay.
"I believe Voyager is caught in a phenomenon, a time-loop of sorts. I was not certain until Mr. Neelix entered, but now I am sure. I witnessed his accident in a previous loop."
Neelix laughed nervously. "But, Seven, it only just happened. I think I would remember if I'd already lost my whiskers once!"
"No," replied Seven, "you wouldn't, if time were repeating itself. I seem to be the only person who remembers it, no doubt because of the accident aboard the Delta Flyer. However…"
Seven approached the Captain and leaned over her, brushing her face lightly with the back of a hand. "Perhaps Captain Janeway would also be aware of this…phenomenon, if she were awake. You must revive her."
"Oh no, Seven, I can't do that. I know we've encountered some odd things in the Delta Quadrant, but a time loop?" The Doctor stepped between Seven and Janeway, easing the Borg away from the biobed. Seven shook him off.
"I do not have time to explain, believe me Doctor. But you must wake Captain Janeway, now!"
"I can't, Seven, you know that. She might have a relapse; I have no way of knowing. Besides, the treatment will take a while. I have to calibrate a resequencer, then -"
"How long?!" Seven almost shouted, stepping so close to the hologram that he took a step backwards. The Doctor shook his head, startled.
"Ten minutes, give or take, but I'm simply not willing to do so. Unless you have evidence that indicates it would be safe?"
"I don't. But it is imperative that I speak with her. The Captain may hold information vital to Voyager's safety. I do not believe she will be harmed, and even if she were, her physical condition would be restored at the start of the next time loop."
"You can't be sure of that," insisted the Doctor, again shepherding the younger woman away from her Captain. Seven met his steadfast gaze and stepped away, inclining her head.
"Then I shall run a test," said Seven-of-Nine calmly. She picked up a laser scalpel from a nearby counter and handed it to the Doctor who regarded her suspiciously. Seven held out her hand, palm-down.
"Make a small incision, on my hand and the Captain's. If we are unmarked when the next time loop begins, I will know that our physical states are restored when the loop restarts, in which case you can wake the Captain without fear. If she were to relapse, how long would it take?"
"I can't be sure exactly, but within an hour. If she is fine for longer than that, I doubt there is any risk."
"And if not, we will not wake her when time loops again." Seven raised her arm and one eyebrow. The Doctor regarded her for a long moment before nodding. Using the scalpel he deftly made a small cut on Seven's hand, then Janeway's.
"I don't like butchering my patients, Seven," he said, turning to face her and placing the scalpel on the side of the biobed. "I hope it's worth it. Now what?"
"Now we wait. It should be only minutes."
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Loop 3
The dizziness was back when Seven opened her eyes, and it took her a moment to remember what had happened. When she did, her eyes whipped immediately to the hand which the Doctor had cut. It was unmarked. Shoving the Doctor to one side as he attempted to scan her, she leapt out of bed and hurried over to Janeway. Her hand was also uninjured, and Seven held it gently, closing her eyes and sighing with relief. After a few seconds, she turned, steeling herself for what she knew would be a difficult conversation.
"Seven, are you alright? I insist that you lie down! I will call Commander Chakotay if necessary -"
"He is on his way, Doctor. I need to speak with both of you." The ex-Borg turned to face the sick bay doors expectantly, watched by the Doctor who was still wielding his tricorder. The doors parted and Chakotay and Tuvok walked in. Before either of the men could speak, Seven addressed Chakotay.
"Commander, please listen carefully. Voyager and her crew are experiencing a repeating time-loop that lasts approximately five hours. I appear to be the only person who is aware of this, but I believe Captain Janeway would know also, once she is awoken. I have ascertained that there would be no danger in waking her, as we revert to our previous physical state at the start of each loop."
It was a testament to Chakotay that he didn't waste time questioning Seven's assertion. He knew the former Borg well enough to know that if she said they were in a time-loop then it was undoubtedly true, and most questions could wait until a more appropriate time. He focused his attention on Janeway.
"How do you know you return to the same physical state?" he asked of Seven, frowning.
"In the last loop I had the Doctor make a small cut on my hand and on the Captain's," Seven replied, indicating the areas in question. "As you can see, we are unmarked."
"Very well. Doctor, wake her," ordered Chakotay.
The hologram pursed his lips as though to argue, then nodded, informing Chakotay that it would take a little time to calibrate the equipment. During this time, Seven told the First Officer of everything that had happened during the previous two loops, leaving out her rather insulting observations of Neelix but including a mention of his accident.
"Can these events be altered," asked Tuvok, his usual frown deeper than usual. "Can we prevent Mr. Neelix's unfortunate singeing?"
Seven nodded once. "Of course. This loop is already different from the last. We merely have to warn Mr. Neelix, though in his case it might be wise to remove him from the mess hall entirely," she added pointedly, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Tuvok. Chakotay smiled despite the circumstances. As Voyager's Doctor treated the Captain, three worried faces watched intently. After a short yet agonising wait, Janeway began to stir, opening her eyes slowly and then gripping the Doctor's and Seven's hands as she struggled to sit.
"How long have I been out," asked Janeway groggily, propped up by Seven as the Doctor scanned her from head to toe.
"We're not sure about that, Captain," replied Chakotay, smiling as he stepped up to the biobed.
"It is a short but complicated story, Captain. I suggest that we hold a briefing for the senior officers in one hour," Tuvok added, and Janeway nodded without speaking. Her head was pounding
"I need to analyse these scans in my office, Commander, if that's alright," the Doctor put in, tricorder in hand.
"Of course, Doctor. Seven, I'd like you to stay with the Captain and explain what is happening once she's had a little time to recover. Tuvok, run full sensor diagnostics on Voyager – I want to know if the same thing hit us as hit the Delta Flyer. I'll be in engineering explaining things to B'Elanna, or at least trying to. Temporal mechanics was never my strong subject." Chakotay issued his orders and departed, leaving Seven alone with her Captain.
"All right, Seven, give me the very short, very simple version for now," Janeway murmured, dropping her throbbing head into her hands and causing Seven's arm to slip around her shoulders. It felt warm and comforting and Janeway felt vaguely disappointed when the Borg moved away.
"Voyager is caught in a time loop which repeats approximately every five hours. Up to now I am the only person aware of this, but I believe you will be too. The scans from the Delta Flyer are corrupted, and on a previous loop Lieutenant Torres estimated that it would take six hours to repair the damage."
"Well, we obviously need to cut that time down somehow. What do we know?"
"The shuttlecraft was hit by a wave containing high levels of chronoton and polaron particles. We activated the polaric shielding installed on the Flyer and initiated a graviton burst. I awoke in sick bay, five hours passed, then the time loop restarted and I woke in sick bay again. I established that it would be safe to revive you, and this is now the third time loop."
Janeway's head felt like it was coming off her shoulders, but her quick mind was already working on the problem.
"Get to engineering, help Torres retrieve the scans from the shuttle. Don't worry about repairs, just extract the data. And ask Harry to send out a message to any ships in the area – we might not be alone in this…time loop. Oh, and Seven?" added Janeway, raising her head and meeting the ice blue eyes of the younger woman, "tell the Doctor I need an aspirin!"
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By the time the briefing was started, Janeway felt almost back to normal. Her headache had passed and the Doctor had finally allowed her to leave sick bay, after making her wear a monitoring device with threats of dire consequences if she were to take it off. Sitting at the table in the briefing room, the Captain sipped a scalding cup of coffee and surveyed her senior officers. Time and again they had worked together to beat seemingly impossible odds, to win unwinnable battles, and she was convinced that this time would be no different. On every display panel was a countdown to the end of the time loop, when everything would start all over again. It read three hours and fifty-three minutes.
"Captain, I'd like to start," began Torres, moving over to a display panel on the wall. Nobody stopped her, so the feisty Klingon continued, bringing up a rather crude diagram to illustrate her meagre findings.
"The scans Voyager has sent out have all been 'bounced back' by some kind of subspace barrier. So far, we haven't been able to find out anything more except that it's like nothing we've seen before."
Everyone continued to watch Torres, who shrugged her shoulders. "That's it, Captain, so far."
Janeway was silent as Torres returned to her seat, and quick glances were exchanged around the table. Seven looked at Janeway and shook her head. "The Delta Flyer was badly damaged. As yet we have been unable to retrieve any useful data."
"I only remember measuring the chronoton particle increase, sending out a graviton burst, then waking up in sick bay," Janeway mused, resting her chin in her cupped hands. The group of officers were unusually silent, waiting for more from the Captain. When nothing came, Chakotay cleared his throat.
"I assume that only you and Seven will remember anything we do find out once the time loop begins again, Captain?"
Janeway nodded. "We'll have to remember things the old-fashioned way," she said wryly, glancing at Seven across the table. "In the meantime, gentlemen, carry on. We need information, anything that might help us. Tom, Tuvok, work with an engineering crew on the shuttle, get me that sensor data. B'Elanna, Harry, try enhancing Voyager's sensors; let's find out more about this subspace barrier. Seven, you're with me. I want full reports in three hours. Dismissed."
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"What do you make of all this, Seven? After all, you've had longer than anyone to think about it."
Janeway and Seven-of-Nine had spent over two hours in astrometrics, reviewing all sensor data from their away mission before the Delta Flyer was damaged, but they had found nothing more than the former Borg had during the first time loop, which was nothing of relevance. Janeway moved closer to her friend and leaned against a console, stretching her aching limbs. Nothing made sense to Janeway and it was a new experience for the highly intelligent Captain. So far none of her crew had reported any progress, and time was short.
"I am unsure," replied Seven, surprising Janeway. The blonde woman was rarely short of a theory and usually provided an instant solution. "However, the readings we experienced aboard the Flyer showed a sudden emergence of particles in a regular pattern. I believe this is not a natural phenomenon."
Janeway considered her words. "Are you saying that someone caused this to happen? Why? Who would want to cause a time loop that repeats every five hours?" Try as she might, Janeway couldn't imagine any situation where such a thing would be useful. Her head had started to ache again and she badly needed coffee. Moving away from the console, she stumbled and was caught by the strong grip of Seven's arm around her.
"Thanks, Seven. Guess I'm a little tired. Let's go and get a drink, hmm?" Without waiting for an answer, the Captain walked towards the exit, leaving Seven-of-Nine little choice but to follow.
***********************
Janeway and Seven faced each other across a table in the mess hall, a jug of coffee between them. They had discussed ideas, theories, each one more bizarre than the next and though Janeway would never admit it, she felt exhausted.
"Ok, plan of action. Next loop, I want you to work on the shuttle. You've reviewed what Tom and Tuvok have tried already – see if you can come up with a different approach next time. I'm going to work on the sensors – there is something out there and I want to know what it is. I have a few modifications in mind that might just work." Janeway leaned forward, her blue-grey eyes fixed on Seven.
"So," she continued, "thought any more about that date, Seven?" she asked, a crooked, impish smile flashing suddenly across her features.
"I have not thought about the matter, given Voyager's current circumstances," replied Seven stiffly. Janeway laughed and reached out a hand, squeezing the younger woman's arm briefly.
"Life goes on, Seven, for us anyhow. We don't know how many of these time loops we'll have to go through. You could have a practice date, and nobody else would remember a thing!"
The astrometrics officer stared at Janeway. Although it seemed that the Captain must be joking, there was a small part of it that made sense, and Seven began to wonder. "I will...consider it, Captain."
The two women's eyes met yet again, and Janeway felt an odd sensation, as though her breath were caught in her throat. As she spoke to Seven, it had dawned on her that she, and Seven, could do anything at all, and nobody but them would remember.
"AAAAARRRRGHHHH!"
The strangled yelp came from the kitchen, and both women leapt to their feet.
"I apologise, Captain. I neglected to warn Mr. Neelix about his accident. I assure you he will suffer no permanent damage."
Janeway clapped her hand on the taller woman's shoulder, and together they went to Neelix's aid.
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Loop 4
Janeway awoke, her consciousness arising slowly from the murky depths. Opening her eyes, she looked into the icy blue gaze of Seven-of-Nine, and awareness came flooding back.
"Here we go again," she muttered, clawing herself into a sitting position and setting an expression of steely determination.
***************************
"Captain, I'd like to start," began Torres, leaving her chair and moving to a display panel. Janeway met Seven's amused glance and smiled.
"By all means, Lieutenant."
"The scans Voyager has sent out have all been 'bounced back' by some kind of subspace barrier. Using the reflected signals as you suggested, Captain, Harry and I were able to map this barrier. It extends approximately twelve light years in all directions around this solar system." A red light flashed on the diagram at the point Torres indicated.
"We haven't been able to get detailed readings yet," interrupted Harry, "but it appears that inside this barrier, in the space where Voyager is now, levels of chronoton particles are increased and arranged in a wave pattern." Blue lines appeared in concentric circles on the display.
"I believe this area is affected by the…time loop, whilst in the surrounding space time is passing normally. However, we can't scan outside the barrier, so your guess is as good as mine," finished Torres.
"Well, at least we know where it's coming from, even if we don't know what IT is yet," remarked Tom Paris laconically, earning him a sharp glance from the Chief Engineer.
"Captain," began Seven, rising from her chair, "the system at the centre of the disturbance is approximately six hours away from our current position at maximum warp. Voyager cannot reach it in the time available in one loop."
Janeway drummed the fingers of her left hand on the table whilst sipping from a cup in her right.
"Any data from the shuttle yet?" she asked, directing the question at Seven-of-Nine, who shook her head.
"No; however, I am confident that we will have more success during the next loop, as we have now established the extent of the sensor damage. It was caused specifically by the chronoton wave in combination with the Delta Flyer's polaric shielding. It will take several hours from the starting point but I will be able to retrieve most of the sensor information regarding the accident."
"Well, that's something. Don't start it now, Seven, there isn't time to finish before the next loop so it would be an…inefficient use of time." Seven raised one eyebrow at Janeway's choice of words, and the Captain grinned briefly in return. "B'Elanna, could you modify the deflector to emit a scanning graviton sweep of the barrier? It might give us more information. Harry, use the astrometrics sensors to scan the system at the centre of the disturbance and send out a hail on all frequencies."
"A hail, Captain?" Harry sounded confused, and Janeway smiled at the junior officer.
"Just a suspicion of mine and Seven's, that we may be dealing with a who rather than a what. Full reports in two hours, please. Chakotay, you have the conn. Dismissed."
The officers filed out, chattering amongst themselves, until only Janeway and Seven remained. The younger woman inclined her head and frowned.
"What do you require me to do, Captain," she asked. Janeway stood and moved around the table behind Seven's seat and placed both hands on her friend's shoulders, leaning down so that her lips were almost touching Seven's ear.
"We've been working on this for too long without a break, Seven. You and I are taking some time off," Janeway said softly.