Chapter 20: Bringing Baby Home
Sat at her desk in her office, the Captain had to stop what she was doing and rub the arch of her nose. Along with the Harrallian authorities, they had been interrogating Mr. Hudersona all afternoon to no avail. Apparently, he had no idea what Seven was talking about. According to his statements, Seven was simply a compulsive liar who had made up the story to stop herself getting in trouble for lashing out at him in Engineering.
First Minister Telveki had been shocked by the accusation against Hudersona. He spoke of the man favourably, describing him as an able tradesman who would never harm another being under any circumstance. However, an accusation so serious couldn't be ignored so he had agreed to fully cooperate with Mr. Tuvok's investigation.
With a sigh, the Captain continued looking through the data collected for Seven's case. The Doctor had confirmed she had given birth within the last 24-48 hours. That was certainly one blow against Hudersona. However, it wasn't enough for the Minister to warrant his detainment. Without the baby, no evidence would be enough.
Chakotay entered their quarters that evening to find her still working upon popping his head into her office. He knew she was doing it for Seven but she still hadn't been to bed for over 16 hours. That wasn't good for her or the baby she was carrying.
Rolling back his shoulders while stood in the doorway, Chakotay began to remove the top layer of his uniform.
"Anything?" he asked lightly.
The Captain shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "Not a thing."
Sighing as he nodded and disappeared into the living area, she leaned forward to turn off her computer. She then stood up and after stretching out her aching back, she went to join him in the living area.
"Oh." Chakotay smiled lightly when he saw her settle down onto the sofa, "Shall I go straight to Red Alert?"
The Captain raised her eyebrow, rubbing her extruding abdomen subconsciously, as he folded his uniform top and placed it on the back of the dining chair.
"What makes you say that?" she queried curiously.
"You never voluntarily leave your work unless you want to talk about something."
She laughed softly. He was right.
Joining her on the sofa and allowing her to snuggle down into his arms, he gently kissed her forehead as she sighed into his chest.
"We'll find him." Chakotay whispered through her flowing locks, silently hoping he was right.
She hoped he was right too. She couldn't imagine how Seven would be affected if her baby wasn't found – it had been heart-breaking enough to see her remembering his birth.
"You know," she started after a few moments peace, "I'm beginning to wonder if Q's involved in all of this somehow."
"Now Kathy, that's unfair." a voice she had expected to appear anytime soon almost cried.
The Captain and Commander both sighed deeply before slowly turning in sync to see Q stood by the doorway to their bedroom. Pulling up from the Commander's embrace, she met the being's eye. For the first time in a while, she didn't feel threatened by him.
She briefly turned to face Chakotay. "Commander." she silently requested.
He recognised her meaning immediately. She wanting him to leave the pair of them alone. He couldn't deny it – he didn't want to. He never wanted her to be alone with him again, but he recognised the almost pleading tone her eyes were shooting him.
With a soft grunt, Chakotay nodded and pushed himself up in order to vacate the room. He grabbed the top layer of his uniform from the chair and headed into their bedroom. At least it gave him something to do.
"So," Q began, moving over to flop down on the sofa next to her, "What have I done this time?"
The Captain's elbow leant on the backrest of the chair and her balled fist was used to balance her chin.
"Oh, you don't know…" she pretended to realise. She really could be cynical with the alien currently in her company.
"Look." he said putting his hands up, "I know I've made some mistakes, but this time I genuinely haven't a clue what you're on about."
"Really?" she asked, "You know nothing about what, and why, Mr. Hudersona did what he did to Seven?"
Q sighed deeply, meeting her eye. A few weeks ago, she would have been angry. Now she simply accepted it. Allowing herself to become angry would have come to no avail.
"Oh, so you do know?"
Q thought about it.
He wasn't directly responsible for what had happened to Seven. He hadn't made them do it. Then again, perhaps he was to blame. None of it would have happened if it weren't for him.
"I didn't make them do it to her." Q explained slowly, softly, "They were going to do it anyway."
The Captain's brow creased. "Then why do you look guilty?"
"Because…" he paused, "In a way, I made it happen."
The Captain found her frown growing. "I don't understand…" said confessed.
Q turned to look out the viewpoint. "I made Hudersona's ship cross paths with Voyager." he admitted, "I knew exactly what he was going to do to her."
The Captain released a rough breath. "Why?" she simply asked.
"I hoped it would help you bond more with Seven." he told her, "So you wouldn't feel so alone when the Continuum take your baby away."
The Captain found her hand protectively placed over her bump and she gulped. It somehow seemed official after he said that. The Continuum were going to take her baby away from her.
"So," the Captain managed to bring herself to say after brushing her heavy heart aside, "You let them traumatise her… to help me?"
Q nodded, hoping she understood his reasoning.
"Oh, Q!" she cried, standing up in attempt to maximise the distance between them.
She had to compose herself. She knew if she shouted again, Chakotay would soon be back in the room. In all honesty, she was surprised he still hadn't come back in.
The Captain turned to look out of the viewpoint and down at the planet below. A few moments of silence followed before she brought herself to speak.
"Where's the baby?" she asked.
Q shook his head. "I can't say." he barely whispered.
"Why not?" asked the Captain, gathering her strength together to turn to look at him.
Their eyes met. "Seven won't ever see her son again." Q explained quietly, "Just like how you won't be able to see your daughter."
The Captain's eyes widened and her heart fluttered as she listened to his words.
"Daughter?" she questioned in a whisper.
Q's eyes widened. "Oh!" his shoulders dropped, "I forgot you didn't know yet."
The level of protection the Captain felt over her baby intensified dramatically within seconds. Her daughter. They were going to take away her daughter.
"And you want to take her away from me?" she managed to ask, having to hold back her tears as her strength distinguished in seconds.
"No." came Q's reply, "But I have to."
The Captain nodded, turning away to look back out of the viewpoint as silent tears fell down her face. Everything just seemed to be too much.
"Kathy, I'm sorry." he apologised.
Shaking her head, the Captain sighed deeply, "Just go." she ordered, "Please."
=/\=
The Captain arrived at Transporter Room 2 to see the rest of the away team already in place on the Transporter Pad. She hadn't meant to be late but she had found her morning sickness had stepped up a notch that morning. She didn't really understand it – she had believed after the first trimester, nausea and sickness tended to ease.
"Ready when you are, Captain." the Transporter Chief reported.
The Captain nodded in acknowledgement. She, Tuvok, the Doctor and Seven were beaming down to the planet in order to meet up with First Minister Telveki and search Hudersona's laboratory. They were hoping to find any evidence that would support of Seven's story.
They beamed down to the outside of the building in which Hudersona's laboratory was. Nestled in idyllic greenery with a creator of dusty rock formations, the away team could clearly see why most of the Harrallian public were unaware of its existence. It wasn't surprising really – it was a weapons testing facility for the Harrallian worldly authority.
The away team met the Harrallian team fronted by the Minister and within moments, they could see Hudersona vacating the building and coming over to meet them. Instinctively, the Captain went over to stand next to Seven. It wouldn't be easy for her to come face to face with someone she was sure had violated her.
"Captain." Hudersona stated when he reached the group, "I assure you, you will find nothing in here."
He approached Seven as he continued to speak. "The only reason you're here is because someone on your crew has got you wrapped around her little finger." he stated harshly, "I guarantee there is no baby anywhere on this site, hers or otherwise."
Seven had to move away in order to stop herself from breaking his nose.
"Why don't you just tell the truth?" he enquired, moving closer to her once again and invading her personal space, "Just admit it!" he sneered, "You're a compulsive liar!"
The Captain could see that the Minister was more than shocked at Hudersona's behaviour.
"I think that will be all for today, Mr. Hudersona." stated the Minister, "I can show them the lab."
Hudersona sighed roughly, his features tight as he met the Minister's eye.
"Understood, sir." he acknowledged before leaving the group.
Watching Hudersona leave, the Minister sighed before turning to the Captain. That little display certainly hadn't worked in Hudersona's favour.
"Right, Captain. This way please."
Once they all arrived at Hudersona's laboratory, the away searched for a good ten minutes to no avail. However, they weren't giving up. If there was any evidence for Seven's account of events, they were going to find it.
Seven did find certain aspects of the lab familiar – the basic layout of the doors, wall and control panels. However, it wasn't exactly how she remembered it. There were no examination tables, no overhead lamps. Instead there were just consoles where she recalled the tables being.
"Is there any evidence of the room's recent reconstruction?" asked the Doctor, scanning the room with his tricorder.
"Not that I can detect." answered Commander Tuvok, analysing the readings he was collecting. So far, nothing indicated they were stood in anything more than a standard weapons construction lab.
"I told you Hudersona wouldn't do something like this, Captain." the Minister pointed out. He for one was sure the man was innocent – the evidence was all pointing in his favour for the moment.
"We're not finished yet, Minister." the Captain pointed out.
The Minister felt his eyes narrow. "You seem very sure that Hudersona's done this."
The Captain supposed that was true, and he was right, she was. Q had spoken as if what had happened to Seven were real and although she just couldn't come out and say that, she couldn't ignore it.
It was then that Seven turned her head suddenly, the sudden movement capturing the attention of every person in the room.
The Doctor frowned. "Seven?"
Seven stood uncertainly, her eyes looking over everything in the direction she'd heard the noise come from.
"Did you hear that?" she asked slowly, looking between the crew members.
Everybody in the room frowned slightly. It was the Captain who stepped a little closer to her.
"Hear what?" she asked.
Seven slowly walked over to the nearby wall. She was sure she'd heard something from that direction. Without thinking, she knocked her knuckle against the cool metal. To everyone else in the room, it sounded normal, but not to her.
Closely examining the area with her ocular implant, it wasn't long before something caught her eye – a panel hidden behind the console she was stood next to. Seven quickly examined the technology. It looked pretty simple to decode the alien language and work out how to use it.
In no time at all, the away team and Harraillan team watched Seven tap in a sequence on the panel which revealed a doorway. It was then that the sound of a young baby's gurgles filled the lab.
The Captain's eyebrow rose, watching Seven carefully as she hesitantly entered the room. It was no bigger than a storage cupboard and filled with what appeared to be deactivated technological devices. Seven recognised them. They were the medical monitors she and Ensign Kim had been hooked up to. The only active device in the room was also familiar – an incubator.
Walking over rather slowly, Seven felt a lump form in her throat when she saw a new-born baby lying inside it. Wrapped in a white blanket, the child was beginning to move its arms about. It was clearly waking up.
Without scanning the infant with her tricorder, Seven knew the child was human, one with a small asterisk-shaped Borg implant on its cheek. She gulped and found her hands shaking as she instinctively reached out and picked the baby up. The gurgle which escaped his lips only made her laugh lightly and she found her eyes expelling a few tears. It wasn't just a baby, it was her baby boy.
It took a few tense moments on the Captain's behalf before Seven emerged from the newly discovered room cradling the new-born. The look which the Minister received from her was enough to make the Doctor struggled not to smile.
"Is this enough evidence for you, Minister?" Seven asked, trying her best not to sound too rude.
=/\=
Seven, her baby boy and the rest of the away team had beamed up to the ship immediately after discovering the infant. With the child being examined by the Doctor in Sickbay, the Minister put out a major planetary alert calling for Hudersona's arrest for violation and kidnap of off-worlders.
Hudersona had retreated to his lab after the first search by the authorities. He was aware that he didn't have long before they found him.
"Hedrina!" he yelled, his call making the young woman scurry into the lab.
"I'm so sorry, sir." she was fearful of him. She'd never seen him quite so angry before.
"Oh, don't mind that Borg drone's infant!" he exclaimed, working vigorously as the nearest console, "In a few hours, they're going to find me, but I know a way I can get out of this mess."
The young woman frowned. "How?"
"There's another baby that I need to get my hands on."
"Sir!" she cried, "No, not again!"
"We won't be performing the entire procedure again this time." he reassured her, "This baby's already about to enter its third trimester." his following smirk made the young woman tense, "If we stimulate it to grow to the age of seven after birth, it's powers will be ours to use forever."
He stepped closer to her, his eyes wide with wonder.
"Think of it, Hedrina." he smiled down at her, "All your family's issues will be gone in a heartbeat. You'd never go hungry. Your father could be cured with a mere thought."
The young woman gulped. She couldn't deny it sounded appealing, but it was wrong. Far too wrong. Doing it once to someone was bad enough. She wasn't sure she could do it again.
"But Sir, we…" she tried to argue.
"Oi!" he warned, cutting her objection off, "Last time I checked, you were working for me."
The woman nodded slowly. There really wasn't anyway she could get out of it. She was stuck with him up until he decided to cut her loose.
"Yes, sir." she agreed, "But what makes this baby so special?"
His smirk returned. "It's omnipotent." he cocked up his eyebrows, "Imagine its potential, our potential, once we have it!"
The young woman was more than confused and her mouth was beginning to grow dry.
"Where've you found this baby?" she had to know.
"On Voyager." he glanced up, "Captain Janeway's baby."