Seven shivered as she walked, together with Chakotay, down the long, implausibly winding corridor that led to Captain Yates' office. Chakotay noticed and frowned in concern, shrugging his jacket off and placing it around her shoulders, "You okay?" he murmured in her ear as he rang the doorbell for admission.
Her smile in reply was tinged with guilt, the last thing she wanted to do was worry him even more. "I'm fine." She replied in a firm, reassuring tone but glanced at all the trimmings of Starfleet officialdom with unease, "I find this place rather…unsettling, that's all."
He nodded solemnly, "I can't say I disagree with that." He said quietly, seeking her hand out with his and squeezing it, "Listen, don't be disheartened if they don't accept your offer right away, Starfleet like to think they can do everything themselves…"
Her rising eyebrows were accompanied by a wry smirk, "I'm well aware of that…"
She was interrupted by the sudden swift opening of the doors, seeing Captain Yates come forward with a smile of greeting, stopping mid-step in surprise as he realised his new recruit was not alone but quickly recovering his geniality, "Very punctual, I can tell we're going to get along fine, come in please."
Chakotay let Seven slide quietly into the front in front of him before warmly shaking Yates' hand. "Hello Captain, it's good to finally meet you."
"The feeling's mutual." Yates replied brightly as he politely extended his hand to Seven, who grasped it with little of her usual reserve, immediately warming to the man. "You're Seven right? It's nice to meet you too."
"Likewise." Seven replied softly as Chakotay smiled encouragingly at her.
The sound of a throat clearing in the back of the room made Yates jump, then laugh, turning round to face a previously unnoticed occupant of the room, a middle aged female commander. "Oh, I'm sorry, this is Commander Annabel Reese. She's going to be one of your colleagues Chakotay, one of the best defence engineers in Starfleet if I may say. Annabel, this is Commander Chakotay and his wife Seven of Nine, both formerly of the U.S.S Voyager."
The smile of pride that had formed on Reese's face quickly dissipated as she observed the two newcomers, her nod of acknowledgement cold, and Seven noticed that she moved protectively to shield the plans spread out on the briefing table from her sight in particular. "Charmed." She said in clipped, formal tones, though both Seven and Chakotay doubted her sincerity.
Yates now studied Seven with friendly curiosity, "Did you come to hear what your husband would be doing with us?" he asked, casting a sympathetic, if slightly patronising glance at her pregnant belly, "I assure you he'll be in good hands…"
Seven braced her shoulders, "I'm sure he will be, but that is not my main reason for being here today, I believe I could be of some assistance to your efforts."
Yates took a sharp breath in then swallowed before cautiously replying, "In what way exactly?"
Seven sighed; did she have to make everything obvious? "I have a great deal of knowledge about the Notsinians, until this invasion they were completely unknown in this quadrant, I can help you to rectify that deficiency of knowledge to the best of my ability."
"I'm sure that you could…" Yates began awkwardly, "…but don't you think your condition is a little too advanced for that? Surely you're on leave from your normal job?"
"I am, but I am not so far along as to be incapacitated, the Doctor will watch my health carefully." Seven stately with confidence she didn't fully feel. "My only wish is to help protect the planet on which my family and I live."
"That's noble of you, even though everyone knows you think this war is a lost cause." Reese remarked pointedly. "Who's to say you'd be averse to helping them along, with them being so cosy with your Collective and all?"
"Are you calling my wife a trait…" Chakotay began to growl angrily until Seven put a strong, restraining hand on his arm to stop him, sighing as she did so and looking Reese straight in the eye.
"It is true that I fear for the Federation's defeat, but only because I know what the Notsinians are capable of. The Borg have never succeeded in assimilating them, what the Collective know of them, and therefore what I know for I was a drone, comes from scavenging the remains of the civilisations they destroyed." She stated with icy matter-of-factness before her eyes narrowed to a glare, "It is irrelevant to me what you think my motives are, but you must believe me when I say that they are a dangerous enemy."
Yates gulped audibly before frowning at Reese, "Let her look at the plans."
Reese stared at him in horror. "Do you really trust her Borg technology, which has killed more of our citizens than any other, to protect us?"
"You're acting as if we have lots of options!" Yates snapped, "Let her look at the plans Commander!"
Reese reluctantly stepped aside as Seven approached the table and let herself become absorbed in study for a few minutes before beginning to move the plans around to suit the logic of her mind. She met Yates' frowning eyes, "You're considering using Breen planetary shields?" she asked.
Yates sighed, "We were, but the Klingon energised plasma cannons, the only weapons that have any affect on their ships, also overload the shields, so they're useless."
Seven digested that for a few seconds, then suggested, "If you use a field stabiliser, such as Species 53…" She cut herself off as they winced, "…the Hikarins use, you could eliminate the problem, and if you combined the plasma cannon technology with Romulan phase torpedoes you may get a more effective weapon."
"If it's that easy for you to figure out, why haven't the Borg wiped them out?" Reese accused, earning herself another glare from Chakotay as he curled his arm supportively around his wife's back.
Seven bit her lip, finding the Collective's thought process about such things difficult to explain. "The Borg assimilate others knowledge, they do not invent their own, it is time consuming and inefficient, but efficiency is low on the Federations priority list at the moment and I am not a drone."
"No, I don't believe you are…" Yates mused thoughtfully, "I think we'll take you up on your offer, until your baby arrives at least or this damned war is over, hopefully the latter before the former if this works."
Seven contained her relief and happiness until they'd left the building, then finally allowed Chakotay to wrap her in a proud and exuberant hug, both of them laughing with a reckless abandon they hadn't experienced in weeks.
A/n: I'm sorry this is so short, I had a three hour Chinese lesson today and so am very tired. PLEASE REVIEW! :D I have new C/7 fic up called "The River of Time", please read it too!