Chapter Eleven
Images swirled before Seven. As soon as she began to register what she saw, it disappeared and was quickly replaced with another image before being quickly replaced with another image. It all happened so quickly, like if the Doctor was flashing through one of his holoimage presentations too quickly. It was enough to give her a headache. She saw flashes of her past. The Raven melted into a Borg curb, which melted into Voyager all in the blink of an eye. She began to run down the hall that stretched without end before her as her surroundings continued to morph and change. The constant changes left her feeling disoriented and confused. One second she would be rushing down a long corridor, the next it would change into a dead end, forcing her to change course at a moment's notice. She was alone. Never before had she seen the corridors of Voyager so empty. Even in the middle of the night, she always came across someone every few minutes. Whenever images of Voyager flashed before her, however, she knew she was completely and utterly alone. For some reason, her movement felt sluggish and labored. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to get her bearings.
"Seven." Her head whipped around. Despite the voice calling her name, she was still alone. It was as if all three ships had been completely abandoned. Something wasn't right.
"I'm right here," she stated loudly as she stopped running. She squared her shoulders and looked around to find the source of the voices. Nobody was anywhere near her.
"Seven," the voice repeated. No, the voices repeated. It was the Collective, but she could also hear Chakotay, the Captain, the Doctor and even the faintest hint of her parents mixed into cacophony. The voice surrounded her, steadily growing louder until they were almost deafening. All it did was repeat her name over and over again, almost in a chant of sorts.
"State your business," she shouted as she clapped her hands over her ears and stumbled backwards. She lost her balance and fell to the ground. The voices continued to grow louder, as if everyone were hovering right over her, screaming at the top of their lungs even though there wasn't anyone there. Seven was sure her head was going to explode.
Tom gently pressed the back of his hand against Seven's cheek. It might have been an old school method, but it still got the job done. It wasn't that he didn't trust his tricorder, but he felt compelled to double check. Unfortunately, his tricorder had been correct, she was literally on fire. Beneath his touch, her head whipped back and forth, and she began to mutter under her breath.
"Seven, wake up," he prompted as gently as possible. Gasping, her eyes flew open. Disoriented, her unfocused eyes darted back and forth in the darkness, and her breaths came out in short, labored bursts. She attempted to push Tom's hand away weakly while muttering something he couldn't understand under her breath. "I'm going to meet Chakotay and Harry. I'll be back in twenty minutes." He hated the prospect of leaving her, especially in such a delicate condition, but they needed food, and he needed to tell them what was going on. This had gone on for too long. Seven grabbed his arm, her metallic fingers digging into the exposed flesh of his arm. Suddenly, she looked coherent.
"Don't tell Chakotay," she pleaded desperately. "I am undamaged, I just need to rest."
All Tom said was, ,"I'll be right back," There was no way he was going to keep this from Chakotay, he didn't care how much Seven begged or pleaded. This was a desperate situation, and it was time the First Officer was made aware of just how precarious their situation was.
Tom rushed to the rendezvous point as fast as he could. His muscles screamed in protest from the sudden burst of movement after spending so many nights sleeping on the ground with nothing but a balled up shirt as a pillow. He ignored the discomfort and pushed forward without breaking his stride. He had to get to the hole as quickly as possible so he could get back to Seven. It went against all his medical training to leave her alone like this, but they weren't exactly in an ideal situation, and they would have to adapt. With any luck, she wouldn't even realize that he was gone. They wouldn't be able to last much longer down here in the cave; they needed to find a way out of here and fast. Only then could they focus on finding Seven's mobile regenerator and repairing the shuttle to get out of here.
When Tom arrived at the hole, there was still no sign of Harry or Chakotay; he was early, forcing him to wait. He nervously paced underneath the hole. The light from above quickly passed over his hunched shoulders before disappearing again as he walked from one side of the cave to the other. His mind whirled as he tried to think of what to say to Chakotay, this situation had to be handled delicately, not that it would make matters any better. He knew he would be incredibly mad. This was something that should have been brought up days ago, this was a big secret to keep. Tom knew that if something were wrong with B'Elanna, he would want to know immediately, and he'd be furious if someone kept it from him. Tom was actually glad he was stuck down here, at least it would put some distance between him and Chakotay when he had to break the news to him, not that he expected him to do anything rash.
Time seemed to crawl at a snail's pace for Tom as he anxiously waited for Chakotay and Harry to show up. Usually he didn't mind if they were running a little late, it usually gave him a chance to think of a plan for the day if it was the morning or catch his breath if it was the evening. Today, however, he needed to talk to Chakotay and fast, time wasn't on their side. He still had no idea what to say. Every scenario he came up with in his head seemed wrong. Should he be blunt or try to break the news to him gently? Should he come clean and say that he's known for a few days that something was wrong or keep that information to himself? What could he tell Chakotay about Seven's condition? He knew almost nothing other than the fact that she desperately needed to regenerate, and she had an alarmingly high fever. He knew Chakotay would ask a million questions, questions he didn't have the answer to.
At long last, the faint voices of Chakotay and Harry trickled down through the hole, instantly causing Tom to freeze in his tracks. His heart pounded in his chest, and he wiped his hands nervously on his pants as his mind continued to race. He still had no idea what to tell Chakotay, but he was out of time. It would probably be best just to come clean and tell him everything; to keep more secrets would only make matters worse. He took a deep, shaky breath and attempted to collect his thoughts. A million thoughts plagued him. He thought about Seven. Would Chakotay be angry that he left her behind? He couldn't exactly bring her with him, and he needed to come to the rendezvous point. Tom also thought about how Chakotay would react and how he would react if the tables were turned. He'd be furious. Although the First Officer tended to be calmer than he was, he still felt that it was difficult to gauge how he would react to this. He took another deep, somewhat calming breath and approached the hole. It was now or never.
Harry appeared first. In a way, it was a relief to Tom. It gave him a few more seconds to think of something to say, but still nothing good came to mind. He decided that he just had to say everything and then let Chakotay react however he would, it wasn't like he could stop him.
Harry opened his mouth, but Tom cut him off, "We have a problem." Confusion immediately flashed across Harry's face. Chakotay appeared to materialize out of nowhere, which instantly caused Tom's heart to skip a beat. He'd been hoping against all the odds that it would just be Harry here this morning, although he knew that that probably wasn't going to happen.
"What kind of problem?" Chakotay pressed urgently. After everything that had been going wrong with this away mission, he had been hoping against all the odds for some good news.
"It's Seven," Tom blurted out. Once the floodgates opened, there was no stopping him. The words spilled out freely. "I've known something was wrong for a few days, but I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure. She was in pain, getting confused, not acting like herself. I thought it was the stress of being stuck down here. We haven't been able to leave the camp the past two days, she's been in too much pain. She finally told me last night, she needs to regenerate, and it's getting bad. When I woke up this morning she has a fever of a hundred and four, and I don't know what to do. I have no medical supplies, not that they would do any good. We need an immediate medical evacuation so she can regenerate and get to the Doctor." Once the words were out in the open, Tom felt as if a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He could actually relax, even if it was just a little bit. There was still a life or death situation at hand. At least now he wasn't keeping secrets anymore.
While Tom felt significantly better, it felt as if the ground had fallen out from under Chakotay. His mind spun as Tom's words sank in, and he felt physically sick. He'd been so caught up trying to get Seven and Tom out of there that it didn't even dawn on him that she needed to regenerate. How could he have been so clueless and self-absorbed? He tried to think of a solution, but there was nothing they could do. Tom was right, an immediate medical evacuation was the only solution.
"How bad is it?" he demanded once he finally found his voice. He sounded stressed, and his voice was full of emotion.
"Pretty bad," Tom admitted. "I'm sorry, Commander. She begged me not to tell you, but I can't keep it to myself any longer. I don't know what to do. If I had some medical supplies, I might be able to stabilize her condition a little bit until we could get out of here, but all I have is my tricorder. She needs immediate medical attention back on Voyager." Tom sounded genuinely apologetic. There was no way Chakotay could blame him. The normally easy going and carefree man seemed distraught, which only added to the severity of the situation.
"How much longer can she last?" Chakotay asked. His voice was tight with stress and frustration. Tom shrugged.
"I don't know," he admitted. "She said she doesn't even know what happens to a Borg when it can't regenerate; the Collective doesn't know, it would be inefficient. All I know is that her condition has been steadily deteriorating, and we need to get her out of here and back to Voyager as soon as possible." Chakotay had no idea where to start. Getting Tom and Seven out of the cave was only half the problem. They needed to get back to Voyager, which was currently impossible. He thought they'd simply be able to wait it out until they missed their rendezvous and then be rescued a few days later. Yes, they'd be tired, dirty and hungry, but they'd been through worse. Now, it was a matter of life or death. They could no longer afford to wait it out.
Chakotay could feel the pressure on his shoulders increasing exponentially. It was a physical pain bearing down on him, pressing down on him, nearly crushing him in the process. He always knew what to do, always had some sort of plan, no matter how unconventional it might be. It was why he'd been such a strong Maquis captain. There had been so many times that he got the Val Jean out of trouble by the skin of their teeth. It had taken a lot of creativity and ingenuity, but he always managed to think of something. Now, when it was perhaps most important to him, he couldn't think of anything. His mind swirled with thought of Seven, making it difficult to think clearly. All he could focus on was the fact that she was extremely ill, and he couldn't even be by her side to comfort her and take care of her like he should be able to. He let out a sigh.
Harry could tell that Chakotay felt lost. In all honesty, it was very disconcerting to see his commanding officer appear so lost as to what the next steps would be. He knew he would have to take charge of this situation, at least until Chakotay got his head screwed on straight.
"We're going to head back to the shuttle to see if there are any medical supplies they left behind," he announced. It was a longshot, but it was the best shot they had right now. It was the least they could do. With any luck, there was something left behind that would be useful. He might be able to extract some of the Borg technology from the Delta Flyer to help Seven regenerate. "We'll meet back here in an hour."
"Got it." It felt strange to Tom to be taking orders from Harry, but at least someone was calling the shots now. Harry tapped Chakotay on the shoulder as he got to his feet, which drew the First Officer out of his deep, conflicting thoughts. They had to get back to the shuttle and start looking right away. Right now, it was Seven's best chance.
The second Chakotay got back to the shuttle, he began to blindly yank open every compartment he could reach. He looked like a mad man, desperately searching each one for something, anything they could use to help. Whoever had been through the shuttle had been incredibly thorough; it was a miracle they found those ration bars in the first place. He knew there was nothing left. They'd been over this shuttle with a fine toothed comb so many times. Both he and Harry knew that, but it was the only way they could feel useful right now. Harry helped Chakotay search, but apparently not quickly enough. Chakotay continued to brush past him, urgently searching every nook and cranny of the small craft.
"There's nothing left," Harry said, finally admitting what they both knew to be true but refused to acknowledge.
"There has to be something," Chakotay announced in desperation.
"I'm sorry, Commander, but there's nothing. We're lucky we found those ration bars." He knew he was right, but in his desperation to do something, anything to help Seven, he refused to give up. He continued to search each compartment and drawer, carefully scrutinizing every inch, just to make sure. His mind raced as he tried to find anything left behind.
While Chakotay continued to search, Harry did the only thing he could think of to help. He sat at the communication panel, and his fingers flew across the console. As far as he could tell, the communication system was still fully functional. He knew it was a long shot, especially given the amount of interference in the atmosphere, but it was the least he could do.
"Away team to Voyager, we have an emergency. I repeat, we have a medical emergency." The more Harry spoke about the situation, the more frenzied his voice became; it was as if talking about it made the situation all the more real to him. "Please, hurry." He ended the transmission and programmed it to play on a loop. With any hope, Voyager would at least be able to pick up part of the distress signal and alter course to come get them before their designated rendezvous time.
Harry glanced over at Chakotay, who continued to search for any sort of supplies, completely oblivious to the emergency transmission that had just been sent out. He went over and put a tentative hand on the First Officer's shoulder. This madness had to end. Searching here was a waste of time, he shouldn't have suggested coming here in the first place, but it was the only thing that came to mind.
"Chakotay, there's nothing here. We need to get back to Tom and start looking at a way to get them out of there." His voice was gentle but forceful, just like Chakotay's when he gave orders. There was a moment of clarity in Chakotay's brown eyes when he realized that he was right. Searching the Delta Flyer was a waste of time, and they might as well use their time searching the caves.
"You're right. Let's go." Chakotay brushed Harry's hand off his shoulder before stalking out of the shuttle angrily. They had already wasted precious time coming back to the shuttle in search of what they knew wasn't there.
As Chakotay exited the shuttle, he glanced at the cave. His heart sank. Seven was right there and in desperate need of help, but he couldn't even get to her. The helplessness was the worst part. This should be such an easy problem to fix, but the countless complications made it nearly impossible. Seven's life was on the line for an away mission that they all thought would be a piece of cake. Guilt and anxiety ravaged Chakotay, leaving him feeling torn and increasingly stressed. Suddenly, it dawned on him, they did have something left to give Seven and Tom. He made a beeline for the cave. Confused, Harry trailed after him. They'd looked over the debris from the cave in at least a dozen times, there was no possible way to get to Tom and Seven that way.
"We have something we can give them," Chakotay announced proudly. It had been right in front of them the entire time. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it sooner.
"Commander?" he asked in confusion.
"The sleeping bag," Chakotay pointed out. "It's not much, but at least it's something." At least the sleeping bag could be used to make Seven comfortable. It wouldn't help her current condition, but Chakotay needed to feel that he was doing something to provide for her. Harry knew the First Officer was grasping at straws as they entered the cave. Chakotay snatched up the sleeping bag before storming out of the cave once again. This was a man on a mission.
When Tom returned to camp, Seven appeared to be asleep. On his way back to the camp, he'd stopped for some water. He carefully put down the canteen full of water before pulling off his grey shirt long sleeved shirt. Cool air tickled his arms, but he ignored it and focused on Seven. He dipped part of his shirt in the water and gently dabbed Seven's forehead. She muttered indistinctly and shook her head back and forth. Her eyes fluttered open.
"Chakotay?" she questioned. Tom cracked a small smile.
"I'm flattered but no. Sorry to disappoint you." Mindful of her implant, he continued to press the cool cloth to her forehead. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel sufficiently rested," Seven replied as she tried to sit up. The second she did, she instantly regretted it. Pain consumed her, it felt like her head was being crushed in a vice. To make matters worse, the world around her began to spin. "The ground, it is tilting," she observed as she reached out to grab Tom's arm in an attempt to stabilize herself.
"You have vertigo," he observed. "Lay back down. You're not going anywhere." He adjusted the makeshift pillow under her before gently laying Seven back down. The second her head hit the pillow, she felt infinitely better. The pounding in her head subsided to little more than a dull throbbing that she could ignore. The dizziness had stopped as well. She relaxed just a little. There was still the sharp pain in her leg and overall fatigue that she had to deal with, but it wasn't as bad as she previously felt. She would be able to get past all of that as soon as Tom let her get up and start moving.
"We must continue searching for a way out of here. This is an inefficient use of time." Tom noted that her words slurred together. Had the conditions been different, he would have laughed. She sounded drunk. Now wasn't the time for making observations like that.
"And dragging you all over the place in your current state is an inefficient use of what little energy you have left. Chakotay and Harry are just going to have to find us themselves." Tom pulled out his tricorder and scanned Seven. "Your temperature is down three degrees, but you still have a fever. You need to rest, Seven." She felt her eyes getting heavy. She hated this and mentally cursed herself. She had been reckless, and now she was paying the price. Seven continued to mentally berating herself as she drifted off once again.
As field medic, it went against everything Tom knew and believed in to leave Seven, again, while she was in such a delicate condition, but it wasn't like he had a lot of other options. He needed to meet with Harry and Chakotay again. His only consolation was the fact that her fever was down a few degrees. It was the best news he'd heard in ages. With any luck, they'd at least found some minimal medical supplies left behind on the shuttle by whoever broke into it, but he knew that that probably wasn't the case. With one final glance to make sure Seven was alright, Tom left her alone. Hopefully she'd sleep the entire thing and never even know he was gone.
Chakotay waited impatiently at the hole. He paced back and forth nervously for a few minutes before crouching down next to the hole. When he had had enough of that, he returned to pacing. Harry felt equally restless but simply sat next to the hole and drummed his fingers against his knee while he waited. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Chakotay was feeling right now. In all his years on Voyager, he'd never seen the First Officer so stressed out, which was saying a lot because they'd been through countless sticky situations. The personal level of this situation understandably made matters worse. He wished he could think of something to say to him, but no words came to mind. All he could do is sit back and watch helplessly as Chakotay waited impatiently for Tom to return.
"Hey! Anyone up there?" Tom's voice drifted up through the hole, instantly catching both Harry and Chakotay's attention. Chakotay's eyes lit up with excitement. He hoped Tom would have better news than they did. They both crouched down on either side of the hole and gazed down at Tom.
"How's Seven?" Chakotay asked without bothering to waste time with any sort of greeting. There were more important things to discuss.
"Her fever is down approximately three degrees," Tom replied. "She thinks she's well enough to start searching for a way out of here again." Chakotay opened his mouth to protest, but Tom immediately cut him off. "Don't worry, I immediately shut down that idea. We're not going anywhere, Commander."
"Which means we need to come find you," Harry pointed out.
"We're going to start searching immediately," Chakotay said. "We're going to sleep in the caves tonight so we can search more. How much food do you have?"
"Not enough to get us to tomorrow."
"We'll get you food and fuel. We will get you out of there, Tom. We also have a sleeping bag from the camp. It's a bit torn, but it's better than nothing." Despite his attempts at reassuring Tom, Chakotay knew that getting them out of there was only part of the problem. Seven's mobile regenerator was still gone, and they had no idea where to even start looking for it. Their tricorder continued to pick up no signs of life anywhere around here, so whoever took it was either long gone or using highly sophisticated cloaking devices. Either way, they had their work cut out for them.
"Aye, Commander. What do you want me to do?"
"Keep an eye on Seven." Chakotay's implied message was clear: do whatever possible to keep Seven alive. Tom had no idea how he was going to do that, but he would do everything in his power to keep Seven as comfortable as possible until they got out of here.
With the newfound information about Seven's condition, Chakotay moved at double speed as he lead the way back to the caves. The way he held his head high and his eyes darted back and forth across the landscape spoke volumes about his current mindset. He was a man on a mission, and nothing was going to stand in his way. Harry didn't complain or even ask Chakotay to slow down as he stalked across the desert with his long legs. Instead, he quickened his pace to match the First Officer's. Despite his quickened pace, he was still a few feet behind Chakotay, he simply wasn't a match for his long, powerful stride. He didn't bother getting out his tricorder, he trusted Chakotay as he lead the way as he trailed after him.
The wind started to pick up. It was gradual at first, so Harry didn't notice right away. He was more focused on keeping an eye on Chakotay and making sure he kept up with him. As it started to pick up, he realized that it was the onset of a plasma storm. They had to find shelter, but they were still roughly a kilometer and a half from the entrance to the cave.
"Commander," he called over the steadily increasing wind. "It's a plasma storm. We need to head back." Chakotay turned around. He'd been so wrapped up in his thoughts and on getting down to the caves that he didn't even realize what was going on around him. The wind whipped around him as he looked around for shelter. About a hundred meters away, he saw what looked like a hole in the ground hidden by a small cluster of bushes. He couldn't believe they'd never noticed it before. With any luck, it was an entrance to the same series of caves that housed Seven and Tom.
"Over there!" he called over the sound of the wind as he pointed in the direction of the opening. Harry felt skeptical, but it was all they had right now, so he dashed over to the openin.
Chakotay ushered Harry towards the mysterious hole before running after him. The wind was picking up dangerously fast, nearly knocking them over in the process. Upon closer inspection of the hole, they realized that it was a small opening to a cave. It was significantly smaller than the other entrance, causing both men to have to wedge themselves to get through. The entrance immediately gave way to a slope, catching both of them off guard as they scrambled to safety. Both men slid down into the cave and caught their breath. Chakotay couldn't figure out why they hadn't found this opening before. They could have been search the wrong set of caves this entire time without even knowing it. So many hours could have been wasted. For all they knew, this would lead them right to Seven and Tom. Harry immediately pulled out his tricorder.
"Harry, can you tell if this is connected to the other system of caves we've been searching?" Chakotay asked. Harry read the results of his tricorder.
"I don't know, Commander. It has the same geological makeup as the other caves, but it also has the same geological makeup as the cave we've made camp in. It could be the same system of caves, but it could be a completely different set of caves." Chakotay looked around. This area didn't look familiar to him, but, then again, most of the cave looked the same to him. They could have been by here half a dozen times, and he wouldn't have even known.
"Well, we're down here, so we might as well make use of the time and start searching. I have a good feeling about this." Try as he might not to get his hopes up, Chakotay sounded optimistic.
"Aye, Sir." Harry snapped his tricorder shut and returned it to his holster. He hoped Chakotay was right. With any luck, they'd be leading Seven and Tom out of here by the end of the day so they could focus their attention on saving her.
Tom dumped the supplies from Chakotay and Harry on the ground and went to check on Seven. He knelt down next to her and scanned her with his tricorder. Her temperature was up by one degree. So much for her temperature dropping. He picked up his shirt and dipped it in water before gently dabbing her forehead. Moaning, her eyes slowly opened.
"How are you feeling?" Tom asked.
"Sufficiently rested. I want to sit up." Stubborn as always, Seven ignored her discomfort and tried to sit up. Just like before, she was immediately hit with an overwhelming headache and dizziness, but she ignored the sensations. If she had to lay down on the hard ground for any longer she would lose mind. Her hips and back were hurting from laying down in the same position for so long, and the hard rock ground didn't help at all either. It was difficult to decide what hurt more. Although her head hurt more than her back and hips, she still decided to sit up for a little while. With any luck, the headache would soon dissipate as her body adjusted to sitting up again.
"Here, let me help you," Tom insisted as he carefully guided Seven to the side of the cave to prop her up. He looped his arm around her waist and didn't protest when she leaned against him as she slid across the ground awkwardly. Every jostle made her head feel like it was going to split open, instantly making her regret her decision, but she persisted. She'd made it this far, she wasn't going to turn back now. She knew it was going to be just as bad when she had to move back.
As soon as she was against the wall of the cave, Seven closed her eyes and leaned back to regain herself. The cave continued to feel as if it was spinning and rocking back and forth. Groaning, her hand fluttered to her head, brushing against her optical implant in the process. The cold metal sent shivers shooting through her fingertips and down her spine. Tom pressed a piece of fruit into her free hand. The metal encrusted fingers twitched several times before slowly curling around the fruit, but she made no effort to eat it.
"You need to eat," he directed as gently as possible. "You have to keep up your energy. Maybe it'll help with the symptoms."
"I'm not hungry." Her voice was weak and shook with fatigue and fever as she tried to hand back the fruit, but Tom refused to take it. She needed to eat.
"It doesn't matter if you're hungry, you need to eat. It'll help you body fight off your fever." Seven shook her head in protest but instantly regretted it. Her headache had just started to trickle away, but now it was back in full force. She groaned and closed her eyes. "What's wrong?"
"My head, it feels like it's going to explode."
"Do you want to lay back down?"
"No, I would like to remain sitting for a little while longer." Tom took another piece of fruit and carefully peeled it before breaking it into small pieces and handing them to Seven. He hoped that by taking the extra step, Seven might be more inclined to eat. She popped a small piece in her mouth and chewed slowly before swallowing. Doing that felt like an exhausting chore. Even the seemingly mundane tasks of sitting up and eating drained her of energy.
Try as she might, Seven simply couldn't force herself to eat more than one piece of fruit, and even that felt like too much. The fruit sat heavily in her stomach like a pile of rocks. For a moment, it seemed to help, although she felt sick. Her pain temporarily subsided but only just slightly. Everything still hurt, and she was already starting to feel drained of all energy. Her eyes grew heavy, and her head began to loll to one side. The action caused her headache to start up all over again, jolting her awake in the process. She winced.
"You should lay down," Tom pointed out as he scrambled over to her. "You need to conserve your energy." Seven didn't protest. She knew he was right. Rather than crawl back to her original position, she laid down against the wall. Tom figured that that was probably the best idea, it would allow her to sit up later on without having to drag her across the cave. Once she was laying down, he carefully arranged the makeshift pillow under her head and spread the sleeping bag over her. She had no idea where the sleeping bag came from, but she wasn't complaining. She was starting to get cold, and the sleeping bag instantly helped warm her up. She continued to fight to keep her eyes open. "Go to sleep, Seven. Chakotay and Harry are on their way to come get you. Then we'll get you back to Voyager, I promise." His promise fell on deaf ears. She was already asleep again. Sitting up for a few minutes had drained her of all energy.
Harry and Chakotay walked with extreme dedication and purpose through the caves. The limited light made it difficult to see where they were going and if there was anything down here that posed a threat. Chakotay's hand twitched anxiously, ready at any moment to pull out his phaser with seldom more than a moment's notice. Harry kept his ears and eyes open as well, ready to find any trace of Tom or Seven. The only time they stopped was when they marked if they turned right or left so they didn't get lost. Harry didn't bother getting out his tricorder, they were too far underground to pick any life signs down here. They would have to rely on old school search and rescue techniques to find the rest of their away team, just like they had been doing for the past few days.
Chakotay stopped dead in his tracks and tilted his head to one side as he carefully listened. Harry had been so caught up in his thoughts that he ran into the First Officer in the process. He grunted and stumbled backwards before catching his footing at the last moment so he didn't fall.
"Oh, sorry Commander," he muttered as he nervously ran his hand over his face.
"Shh," Chakotay snapped as he held up his hand. Harry immediately clamped his mouth shut and kept his ears open. He had no idea what he was listening for, but based on Chakotay's reaction, it had to be something important. After a few moments, he asked, "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" All Harry heard was their voices, but, then again, his hearing wasn't as keen as Chakotay's
"Footsteps," Chakotay replied. Harry immediately pulled out his tricorder. It was pointless, but it was second nature to him. Just as he predicted, nothing came up on the scans, no signs of life other than their own.
"Scans aren't picking up any life signs," he stated while looking a the results on his device. He knew that that didn't mean anything, most results this far down were inconclusive, especially on this planet where nothing seemed to make sense. When Harry listened closer, he could hear the distant sound of footsteps as well. Chakotay opened his mouth to call out to Seven and Tom but instead decided against it. Instead, he walked as fast as he could in the direction of the footsteps. Harry pulled out his phaser. He had a bad feeling about this.
Chakotay lead Harry in the direction of the footsteps. He was a man on a mission. It was difficult to figure out how far away the footsteps were, they bounced off the walls of the cave faintly, meaning they could be coming from any direction. They weren't keeping track of all the turns they made as they searched for the source of the footsteps.. Harry prayed they didn't get lost. At first, he couldn't hear the footsteps and thought Chakotay was just hearing things. He'd never suggest it, but the thought did cross his mind. Then, he heard it, the distinct sound of footsteps against the ground. It lit a fire inside him that motivated him to pick up his pace to match Chakotay's as he started to feel optimistic. Their heavy footsteps echoed off the walls, giving away their current position, but neither man cared, there were more important things to focus on right now. The other footsteps started to grow fainter. Harry knew it couldn't be Tom or Seven, they wouldn't be running away from them. He glanced over at Chakotay who seemed all the more determined to catch up to whoever was in the caves. A glorious thought crossed both men's minds; it could be whoever stole the supplies from their shuttle, which meant they could get back Seven's mobile regenerator and put at least part of this horrific nightmare behind them.
Practically jogging to keep up with Chakotay, Harry fell into step next to the First Officer. The footsteps were getting closer, they were almost there. They blindly rounded a corner, and both of them ran head on into two solid forms. Grunting, they stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. One of the mysterious forms held up a torch, temporarily blinding both men until their eyes adjusted to the sudden onset of light. Once their eyes adjusted, both were able to see who they had run into, and it wasn't Tom and Seven.
Author's Note: I'll probably be posting the first chapter of my new story later this week. It's called Adjustment Period and is another Chakotay/Seven story, but it has a completely different vibe to it. I hope you like it as much as I do. In the mean time, make sure to leave a review for this one.