Disclaimer: not mine
Sorry for the long wait
Chapter 24
Sora leant against the bedhead, going over his notes on a PADD, one of Kairi's arms flung over his legs, Riku pressed into his side. They were both asleep but he'd been unable to rest once he joined them. He was…frustrated by his lack of progress in adapting the transwarp coils to work for Voyager. They almost had the information from Cid and the others translated for the crews use at least.
Riku stirred beside him, blinking up at him sleepily. "S'ra?"
"I didn't mean to wake you," he murmured, letting his hand move to run through silver hair, Riku's eyes sliding shut in response. "Sleep, it's too early."
"Hmmm…" Riku shifted even closer if that was possible, arm moving to lie over Sora's lap. Between the two of them there would be no slipping out of bed without waking them.
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Kathryn ran into the wall and got knocked down, dropping her phaser. Then she grabbed it up again and shot the target square on.
"Full impact. Final round to Janeway. Winner Janeway," The computer announced.
"Good game," she smiled at Seven.
"For you," the younger woman answered.
"Oh, come on, Seven. You won four out of ten rounds. Nothing to be ashamed of," she assured her as the holodeck reset.
"On the contrary. I have superior visual acuity and stamina. I should have won every round."
"Well, Velocity is more than a test of stamina. It's a game of wits," she explained as she put her phaser away and picked up her bottle of water.
"You are a frustrating opponent. During the final round, after you dropped your phaser, you did not look at the disk, and yet you were able to acquire the target."
"Intuition." You didn't have to see a target to know where it would be.
"Intuition is a human fallacy," Seven argued. "The belief that you can predict random events."
"Oh, belief had nothing to do with it. At some level, conscious or otherwise, I was aware of several factors. The trajectory of the disk after I hit the wall, the sound it made on its return, and the shadow it cast on the hologrid," she tried to explain.
"Intriguing but implausible."
"I won, didn't I? Thanks for the match."
"I wish to play again."
"Not today," she shook her head.
"You are fatigued and concerned that I will defeat you," Seven decided, and Kathryn chuckled.
"Tired? Yes. Concerned? No."
"Computer, begin first round."
"Belay that command. Seven, try to be a sport. Game's over." She picked up her water and towel and went to shower and change.
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Kairi read through the information the Doctor had given. She had decided that the best place for her to help the crew was in Sickbay. Healing magic and potions meant getting to skip actual medical lessons but she's agreed to give it a go, starting with humans since at least she knew something about them. Then she'd move on to species similar to humans before continuing on to those who were truly alien. It was rather fascinating how many species they knew of.
She looked up when the doors opened, following the Doctor as he dealt with a burn from Engineering. She could heal it in a second with magic but it was good to learn how to do it without, there were ways to be cut off from magic after all.
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B'Elanna glanced over at where Sora was working, Riku beside him. They were working on seeing if Voyager's systems could be upgraded to survive the trip to their home. If it could then the work would begin and they would go. They would be safe there, safe enough to work on Voyage in peace and fix all the small things that often got overlooked for more urgent issues. The ship had taken a lot of wear and tear over the last four years that no one had expected without being able to go into dry dock or even a space station for maintenance.
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Riku stopped in the doorway and turned to kiss Sora softly. "Night," he murmured.
"Good night," Sora smiled at him, every time he did Riku felt so light. He would never take Sora's smiles for granted again. Sure, they were different to how they used to be, but he'd take it over seeing Sora so blank as he had been at first before his memories had started coming back. "Will you Dive?"
"Okay, see you in a while," he promised, watching Sora head for the turbolift. Kairi had a late shift in Sickbay so he changed for bed and lay down, waiting for the shift in his Dream Eater abilities that would signal Sora's readiness.
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Mickey stared at the picture Riku had finally convinced Sora to let him send. It had been one thing letting Kairi see, but he'd been very hesitant to show his appearance to others. Seeing what had been done to him Mickey felt sick. How could anyone do that? He'd asked Riku who had sent back estimate numbers of just how many various species and systems had been Assimilated, it was mind boggling.
How was he going to show this to Donald and Goofy? They'd spent so long travelling with Sora that he'd become family to them. To see the pain and torture he'd been put through…he knew they'd blame themselves for letting Sora go alone. But they'd been so desperate for every scrap of news since Riku had found Sora, he couldn't keep this from them.
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Captain's log, stardate 51978.2. It's been five months since we received the encoded message from the Alpha Quadrant. We know that the transmission was from Starfleet Command but we still can't decrypt it. B'Elanna thinks it's a lost cause, that too much of the datastream has been destroyed. But I haven't given up. I keep hoping inspiration will strike, somehow.
"Good morning."
She looked up to find Chakotay standing beside her table in the mess hall. "What time is it?"
"Oh five hundred," he answered, frowning at her.
"Oh. Well then, good morning." She waved at the empty chair and he sat with his coffee.
"I just heard from Tom and Neelix. They're about to leave the trading colony," he informed her.
"Any luck?" she hoped they'd had some, while they were good on food supplies thanks to Sora's people, there were other items they needed.
"According to Tom, the shuttle's so loaded down with supplies, he won't make half impulse. Neelix is asking permission to bring one of the locals on board. He's been very helpful, and Neelix wants to repay him by giving him passage to the next system," her first officer explained and she smiled, good news was always nice.
"Permission granted."
"You might want to grab some sleep. We've got a big day ahead."
"I will in a while," she shrugged slightly.
"Still hunting for buried treasure?"
"We've found the treasure; I just can't pick the lock," and it was driving her insane. "I've tried over fifty decryption algorithms. Every time I piece together a datablock, ten more come unravelled. What did Starfleet send us? A map? The location of a wormhole? If I could decode this today, Chakotay, we could be home tomorrow. Then again, it could be Admiral Chapman's recipe for the perfect pound cake. I've been pinning our hopes on this message, but I'm starting to wonder. Even Seven and Sora are trying in between their other work, you'd think if anyone could break Starfleet encryptions it would be two ex-drones."
"They should have a few Borg algorithms up their sleeves, they haven't cracked it yet?" he asked in surprise.
"No, then again Seven only seems to work on it if she's in the mood. And Sora's pretty busy with working on upgrades."
"Problems?" he frowned in concern, and she leant back in her seat, taking a sip of her own cool coffee.
"I don't know if she's getting restless or if it's just me, but we're butting heads more than usual lately. She seems to challenge everything I say."
"She's learned a lot from you over the last year. Maybe the pupil thinks she's outgrowing the mentor," he offered.
"Maybe. Well, this mentor would like another cup of coffee. Will you join me?"
"Love to."
She went and got two fresh cups. "Has anyone reported similar issues with Sora?"
"No, but his circumstances are very different, especially now," Chakotay told her and it was true.
Now that he had his memory back, Sora was a person again while Seven was still struggling to form her own fully functioning personality separate of her identity as a drone. Yes, he had more issues with emotions thanks to his more contrictive implants but he also had very strong support. She was fairly certain it was more than friendship between the three, especially with them sharing quarters, but unless it began impacting duties or other crewmembers it was none of her business. Unless the Doctor spoke to her with concerns for their health, which he hadn't. She just didn't know how else to help Seven when she hadn't made any close friends, the closest she had really was Sora due to shared experiences and there was a significant age gap there.
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"You weren't exaggerating, Captain. This datastream is badly damaged. I'd like to see the entire transmission again," the voice of a stranger almost had Sora hesitate as he entered astrometrics. The stranger turned and saw him, looking him over. "Are you Borg?"
Sora blinked, "I was." He glanced at the Captain in confusion.
"You're much more attractive than the average drone," the man commented and Sora felt…uncomfortable.
"I am no longer part of the Collective," he pointed out, moving over but keeping the Captain between them.
"Mr Arturis has offered his help in decoding Starfleet's datastream," the Captain murmured. "Have you encountered his species before?"
"Species 116," Sora answered just as softly. He'd never personally met a member of the species, thankfully. His species were highly gifted in the art of cryptology and were refined linguists, capable of learning any new language almost immediately after hearing or reading a few words. Their ability to learn and adapt was what had kept them free of the Borg so far.
"Is that what you call us?" he glanced over at them, showing he had good hearing. He appeared to be a rather standard member of his species, bald, with a slightly larger head than was average for humanoids.
"Yes. As of my disconnection, the Borg had never been able to assimilate them. Not yet." They were getting closer though, had it happened since he was rescued?
"Sora," the chiding was gentle but he still flinched slightly, he hadn't meant anything by it, it was just inevitable.
"Oh, it's all right, Captain. The Borg Collective is like a force of nature. You don't feel anger toward a storm on the horizon, you just avoid it." His words sounded good but there was something…a warning, this man was not all he seemed, but Sora couldn't put it into words. He seemed to dismiss Sora, turning back to the screen. "I see, I see. I think I see the problem. May I?"
"Please," the Captain moved to let him use the console.
"Ah. Here it is. It's a simple matter of extracting the iconometric elements, and triaxilating a recursion matrix," Arturis announced after a short time.
"Now why didn't I think of that?" the Captain murmured, and Sora frowned slightly, that was not something used by Starfleet, at least so far as the Borg know. Of course it made sense that they had updated their decryptions.
"There's a great deal of information here, Captain. I think it might be useful to utilise the other monitors."
Sora moved to call up the message onto the main display.
"You've done it…" Captain Janeway stared at the information in wonder.
"Almost," Arturis corrected her. "I've reconstructed over sixty-eight kiloquads of information, but a lot of it is still garbled."
"What about that datablock. Fourteen beta?" she asked.
"That part of the message is too degraded to recover."
Sora let their words wash over him as he began analysing the data in the message. "Captain, I've found a spatial grid. 6-98 381-33 02-77 913-41."
"They've marked a set of coordinates. It's less than ten light years from here," the Captain checked the location.
"Maybe Starfleet wants us to proceed to that location," Sora offered.
"Maybe. There's only one way to find out," she smiled at him, and Sora nodded.
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"What have they done to you," Donald whispered, staring at the image of Sora standing with Kairi.
He looked uncomfortable, like he wanted to be elsewhere, not away from her but the camera. He got the feeling the shorts and t-shirt weren't his normal clothes anymore, not from the way one had was tugging a sleeve. Seeing all of the metal, the scars…and how much more was hidden by the clothes? That one around one side of his throat made Donald feel sick but there'd been no mention of him being unable to talk so it mustn't be too deep.
Sora was taller, older, but his hair was the same as ever. He was an adult or close enough now. Wasn't the kid they'd looked after for years anymore. Would he even want to see them? He hadn't sent any messages for them and apparently it'd taken convincing just to let Riku send the King the picture.
"Oh the poor boy."
He hadn't even heard Daisy come in! "Daisy…"
"I won't tell anyone," she promised, touching his shoulder. "But staring at that won't help him either, or you."
"I feel…"
"It's not your fault Donald, or Goofy's. It's whoever did that to him. And he has Kairi and Riku with him now, they'll look after him," she soothed, and he nodded.
He could almost feel sorry for anyone who came after Sora with those two there, they wouldn't let anything separate them again.
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"We're approaching the coordinates," Tom announced.
"Take us out of warp. Scan the vicinity," the Captain ordered.
"I am picking up a vessel," Tuvok announced as they slowed to impulse.
"On screen."
"Identify," Chakotay called.
"Unless I am mistaken, Captain, the warp signature is Starfleet," Tuvok answered after a few moments, the image of a sleek silver Delta wing appearing on the viewscreen.
"I'll be damned. They came through," Tom couldn't help grinning.
"Tuvok."
"Hailing them. No response," Tuvok's answer killed some of the elation.
"Lifesigns?" Chakotay pressed.
"There is no organic matter of any kind," Seven announced from her station.
"No sign of damage to the outer hull. Primary systems are online including life support. Something must have happened to the crew," Harry called.
"The answer is somewhere in that Starfleet transmission. We need to finish decoding it. May I call on your talents again?"
"Of course," Arturis agreed from where he was seated beside the Captain.
"Take an away team. Secure the vessel."
"Tom. Tuvok," Chakotay called and Tom stood, allowing an ensign to take his place.
"Captain. I won't pretend to know you well, but I am surprised you're not more encouraged by this discovery," their guest commented.
"I've learned to walk the line between hope and caution. We've had other opportunities that didn't work out. But I will admit, I'm leaning toward hope this time."
"Sora, meet us in Transporter Room 2," Chakotay called as they entered the Turbolift.
"Understood."
"Sora?" Tom asked.
"Just in case," Chakotay offered. If there was an issue with the ship, then Sora would likely spot it.
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"Wow," Tom's response as they appeared on the bridge was very him.
"Wow indeed," Tuvok agreed, and Sora's lips twitched in a small smile even as he looked around, making full use of his optical implant.
"I've never seen this kind of hull geometry. Looks like they've taken a whole new approach to starship design," Chakotay moved to study the walls.
"USS Dauntless. Registry NX-01A. Launch Date 51472," Tuvok read off the plaque.
"Sixty thousand light years in three months?" Tom was almost gasping in shock as Sora moved to a console.
"I'm trying to access the crew logs but there are none," he announced after a few seconds. That was very strange.
"I don't think there was a crew. This helm was set for auto-navigation to these coordinates," Tom told them as he checked the helm.
"It appears that Starfleet has provided us with a new ship," Tuvok suggested.
"Let's not pack our bags just yet. I'd like to know how they," Chakotay was cut off by an alarm, and Sora checked the console.
"Power fluctuations in the warp core, although it is not like any warp core the Borg have seen. The engine configuration is completely unknown," he told the others even as the ship shook.
"Let's go take a look," The Commander ordered and they made their way through the ship towards engineering.
There was something about it that just felt…off, though Sora couldn't say how. Could Starfleet really have adapted their technology so much since the last update he had received through the Collective?
Instead of a tall warp core in engineering there was a hemisphere with a plasma globe inside it and they all stopped to stare.
"I think we've found our engine core," Tom murmured as Sora and Tuvok moved to the consoles.
"Some kind of new warp drive?"
"It's not antimatter, I am uncertain what it is," Tuvok admitted.
"They call it a quantum slipstream drive," Sora announced, frowning. Quantum slipstream?
"I've never seen that in the engineering manuals," the Commander admitted, but his information on the Federation was even more outdated than Sora's.
"The ship's powering up. Auto-navigation is kicking in," Tom suddenly called in alarm.
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"Bridge to Janeway. The vessel's moving away at high impulse," Kim suddenly called over the comm. "I can't raise the away team."
"Pursuit course, Ensign," she ordered immediately.
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Riku's head shot up from the PADD he'd been looking at as he sensed Sora's presence growing distant…too distant for him just to be on the other ship. What was happening? He picked up the comm badge he'd been given and hesitated but then activated it. "Riku to Sora," he called, but there was no response. He couldn't feel any major distress but he headed for the shuttle bay, he'd go after them himself in needed.
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"I can't shut down the drive," Tom called from the console he was at.
"Computer, disable propulsion."
"Unable to comply," the computer answered.
Sora moved to the drive, studying it, looking for a weakness to exploit.
"Hang on!" Tom called and the ship suddenly accelerated.
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"Bridge to Janeway. They're gone."
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"Look at this. Energy from the quantum drive is being routed through the main deflector."
"Is that what's creating the slipstream?" Chakotay asked.
"It looks that way," Tom didn't sound entirely sure but it was a new propulsion system.
"Fascinating. Can you make it stop?"
"I'll try accessing helm controls. Sora?" he called.
"I've found an access point, working," the younger male answered, hands buried in something connected to the drive.
"Helm controls active!" Tom's worked the console and then relaxed. "We're back in normal space."
"Scan for Voyager," he ordered.
"No sign of them. Commander, we've travelled over fifteen light years," Tuvok answered and they all looked at each other. Over fifteen light years in such a short time?
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"He'll be okay," Kairi whispered, arms around Riku who held her just as tightly.
"I can still sense him, he's not hurt," he answered. "If he's gotten kidnapped…"
"We can tease him later," she promised.
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"Slipstream technology is experimental and high risk, but it's come a long way in the past year. We've conducted forty-seven trial runs, all of them successful. But each flight lasted only five days. In order to reach Earth, you'd have to remain at slipstream velocities for a full three months. Can your crew survive that long? We believe they can, and we encourage you to try. Everything you'll need is on the Dauntless. Power cells, supplies, living quarters. Safe journey. We hope to see you soon."
"Admiral Hayes. Good man, fine officer, bit of a windbag. Let's talk about the risk. Doctor?"
Riku blinked, was the Captain meant to talk about an Admiral like that? He was honestly surprised he and Kairi had been invited to the briefing.
"I've examined the away team for signs of cell damage or physiological stress. Nothing. Their little joyride didn't harm them in the slightest."
"Long term effects?" She pressed, understandably. Three months was a lot longer than the trip Sora and the others had taken.
"I'm running medical projections right now. So far, the results are encouraging."
"And the Dauntless itself?" She looked at her Commander.
"I'd say it's in pretty good shape, considering."
"I've been looking over the primary systems. Helm, Ops, Tactical, they're comparable to Voyager's. But it's a lean ship, Captain. No shuttlecraft, only one transporter, no holodecks, no replicators," B'Elanna explained.
"Well, Mister Neelix, you may have your work cut out for you."
"Ready and willing, Captain."
"So what are we waiting for?" Harry asked.
"Your enthusiasm is premature. Voyager is a proven vessel. It would be reckless to abandon it so quickly," Seven pointed out, and Riku agreed with her, especially after Sora had struggled to explain to them how something on the ship had felt wrong. If something seemed too good to be true it usually was.
"Come on, where's that Borg spirit? We'll adapt," Harry argued with her.
"My Borg spirit gives me an objectivity you lack."
"She has a point. This would mean leaving Voyager behind," Tuvok spoke up.
"Is there any way we could modify Voyager to create a slipstream?" Chakotay asked.
"In theory, but it is doubtful the ship would hold up very long under the quantum stresses," Sora offered. "The modifications needed for the journey to our home may actually be easier," he warned.
"Try to make the modifications. If there's a way we can bring Voyager along for the ride, I'm all for it. Harry, B'Elanna, I want you to take an Engineering team down to the Dauntless. Start working on a way to shut down the slipstream drive at a moment's notice. Seven, Sora, start working on modifications for Voyager."
"Aye, Captain."
"Once we have that safeguard in place, we can start making the test flights. I want this entire crew to familiarise themselves with that ship. See to it. Dismissed."
Riku got up and walked with Sora and Kairi.
"I"ll help the Doctor with those tests," Kairi quickly kissed them both on the cheek before heading to Sickbay.
"Want me to try and help?" Riku asked, and Sora nodded, so he went to Engineering with him.
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Captain's log, supplemental. So far, the crew hasn't found any evidence to support my doubts about Arturis. Nevertheless, I've told them to keep looking and to keep their optimism in check. But that's one order I don't expect them to follow to the letter.
Despite my apprehension, I can't help but wonder what I'll be doing in three months' time. Still guiding Voyager through the Delta Quadrant, searching for a way home, or looking up old friends in Indiana?
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Daily log, Seven of Nine, Stardate 51981.6. I've analysed the quantum slipstream technology of the Dauntless. It is similar to the transwarp drive used by the Borg. As a result, mine and Sora's expertise will be crucial to the mission's success. Voyager's crew is counting on that success but I find myself ambivalent, so I'm carrying out my assignment, nothing more.
If we do return to Sector zero zero one, will I adapt to human civilisation? A single Borg among billions of individuals? If further surgeries are possible, it is likely Sora will return to his home, will he be able to handle it? Perhaps it would be better to go with him in that case.
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Daily Log, Sora, Stardate 51981.6. Earth. The idea frightens me a little but I don't know why. Maybe because before Riku found me, it would have become my home once we reached it. And it is the last hope I have to remove or deactivate the implants. So long as Earth is a distant dream, I can hold onto that hope but once we are there I will know for certain. Naomi too is uncertain, she has never been either due to being born onboard, but she will have her family.
The crew will likely be split up, I do not like that idea. But not matter what, I will have Riku and Kairi.
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"One step closer to home." Ensign Kim announced as Seven joined them in the Dauntless' engineering room.
"Tuvok wants us to run a metallurgical analysis of the bulkheads to look for anything unusual."
"Thank you. You two run the analysis. I'll be on the bridge with Arturis. Our resident genius said he'd help me figure out how to use the control sequencers," Torres answered.
"Lieutenant, you seem eager to return to Earth."
"Eager? I wouldn't go that far."
"You were a member of the Maquis. Starfleet Command will no doubt hold you responsible for a multitude of crimes. You will find nothing on Earth but adversity," Seven warned her.
"That's looking on the bright side. Let's put it this way. I'd rather face the music back home than spend the rest of my life in the Delta Quadrant. What about you? Looking forward to seeing Earth?"
"No."
"I'm not surprised. You think people are going to resent an ex-Maquis? What about an ex-drone? We'll be outcasts together," Torres shook her head. "I'm kidding, Seven. It's a joke. Work on that sense of humour. It'll help you make friends on Earth."
"Seven, can you give me a hand down here? I'm picking up an anomalous energy surge," Kim called.
"There are no power conduits running through this section."
"Believe me, Seven, one look at that big blue marble, and you'll fall in love. It's got just about every ecosystem you can think of, and hundreds of different humanoid species live there. Bolians, Vulcans, Ktarians. If you like Ktarians. And there are several other planets to choose from. And Sora will be there too."
"If you will excuse me, Ensign, I must speak to the captain."
"Seven," he called and she paused. "For what's it worth, it won't be the same without you."
She found herself smiling slightly as she left.
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"Kim to Tuvok."
"Tuvok here," he answered.
"I'm on the Dauntless, in the engine room, and I've found something that qualifies as unusual."
"I'll be right there."
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Sora stepped back from the open panel and accepted the tool from Riku. Retrofitting Voyager to accept a completely different propulsion system was not easy, he'd learnt that in trying to adapt the transwarp coils.
"We'll figure it out," Riku murmured, sensing his frustration, and Sora nodded.
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"Computer, display datablock fourteen beta, auxiliary display." She glanced over as the doors opened. "Seven, I could use your help. I'm trying to reconstruct the last fragment of the Starfleet message."
"Arturis said it was irreparably damaged," Seven pointed out but joined her anyway.
"I know, but I think he gave up too easily."
"Intuition?"
"It's intuition if I'm right. I've designed a new decryption algorithm. Let's give it a try."
"Captain. I will not be going with you to the Alpha Quadrant," the sudden statement was a surprise, and Kathryn looked up at the younger woman.
"I can understand your reluctance," she admitted after a moment. "It's been hard enough dealing with a crew of a hundred and fifty individual humans. The prospect of an entire planet must be overwhelming." And if it was overwhelming to Seven, how much more so to their three younger guests who were used to small world populations?
"I am not overwhelmed. I simply do not wish to live among humans," Seven answered as they continued to work on decrypting the data.
"Well, whether you like it or not, you're one of us. You've come a long way from that drone who stepped out of a Borg alcove nine months ago. Don't turn your back on humanity now. Not when you're about to take your biggest step. Earth. Your home."
"I may have come a long way, but not in the direction you think. You've attempted to influence my development. You exposed me to your culture, you ideals. You hoped to shape me in your own image. But you have failed. You may have noticed our tendency to disagree."
"Oh, I've noticed," she chuckled.
"Then you must also recognise that I do not share your values. Your desire to explore space is inefficient. Your need for familial connections is a weakness. Your infatuation with this planet is irrational."
"I won't argue that you've turned out differently than I expected, and that we often have conflicting points of view. But right now, the stakes are higher. This crew needs your expertise. Abandon them and you diminish their chances of getting home," she explained.
"Irrelevant, Sora is just as skilled."
"No, it's not. We've given you a lot, Seven. It's time you gave something in return. And yes, Sora is skilled, but our chances are better with both of you. He looks up to you, Seven."
"I have given in return, on many occasions. Now I refuse. And Sora will adapt, he does not wish to remain on Earth either, he wants to return home. Will you stop him?"
"No, if he can return home safely then I will wish him well," she would miss the bright young man though, his friends too. "What would you do, go back to the Collective?"
Seven hesitated for a moment. "I don't know."
"Then what exactly do you have in mind?"
"I don't know."
"That's my point. You're asking me to cast you adrift in the Delta Quadrant alone and without support. I wouldn't grant that request to any member of this crew because it's too dangerous."
"I will survive," Seven stated stubbornly.
"On what, Borg perfection?"
"Precisely," Seven nodded.
"I don't buy it. This isn't about your independence or your superiority. This is about your fear. You're not making this choice because you've outgrown humanity. I think you're afraid to go back to Earth." Before she could say more the computer beeped. "The algorithm's working. It's reconstructing the datablock. That's strange, I thought we already recovered this part of the message."
"Perhaps it is an addendum from the Admiral. You did designate him a windbag," Seven pointed out.
"Oh, I don't think so. The data index doesn't match. This is a completely different message," she frowned and brought it up.
"Apologies from everyone at Starfleet Command. We've had our best people working around the clock, trying to find a wormhole, a new means of propulsion, anything to get you home. But despite our best efforts. I know it's not what you were hoping, but we've sent you all the data we've collected on the Delta Quadrant. With any luck, you'll find at least some part of it useful. Maybe enough to shave a few years off your journey. Safe journey. We hope to see you soon."
"Your intuition was correct," Seven stated as the image of the Admiral vanished.
"Unfortunately." How could he have decrypted and then altered the message so fast and without them noticing?
"Arturis must have created a false message," Seven too seemed puzzled by how he had managed that.
"It sure as hell looks that way. Janeway to Tuvok."
"Yes, Captain."
"My suspicions have been confirmed," she answered, leaving astrometrics. "Arturis tampered with Starfleet's message." Right under her and Sora's noses, it just didn't seem possible. Unless…he was aware of the message before coming aboard? "The Dauntless isn't what it appears to be."
"I agree. We've discovered alien technology behind a bulkhead in Engineering. I can't identify it."
"Where's Arturis now?"
"On the Dauntless bridge, working with Lieutenant Torres."
"Go to the bridge, but don't tip our hand," she ordered. "I'll be there with a full security team within minutes."
"Understood."
"Let's get weapons," she told Seven.
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Arturis moved to the helm and was about to press a button flashing red when B'Elanna looked up.
"Don't touch that! You almost kicked us into slipstream drive," she warned.
"Oh. I wouldn't want to do that. jIQaqh."
"No problem," she shook her head and then looked at him again. "You speak Klingon."
"I do now. Your captain was kind enough to let me review your linguistic database," he explained, and she almost envied him for how easily he learnt new languages.
"I only know speak a few phrases myself," she admitted.
"Oh, a shame. It's a robust language."
"A little too robust for me," she told him. There'd been a few times she wished she knew more though, maybe one day…she blinked as the Captain and Seven beamed onto the bridge with two security guards. What?
"Evacuate the repair teams," Janeway ordered.
"Captain?"
"Do it," the Captian's voice left no room for questions and B'Elanna left the bridge, worried.
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"Explain yourself."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Arturis denied.
"You fabricated the message from Starfleet. I recovered the real transmission. The one you said was irreparably damaged."
"That's absurd."
"Starfleet didn't send us this vessel and you're not here to help. Is this your ship?" she kept her phaser on him.
"Please, stay calm, There must be an explanation."
"I tried to ignore my gut feelings, because I got carried away by the excitement of getting home. But you preyed on that, didn't you? You took advantage of our hopes and now I want to know why." She motioned to the guards to move in even as Seven moved to the console to lock the ship down.
"I believe that there is a threat here, Captain, but not from me. I didn't feel it was my place to make accusations, but I saw her reconfigure several key algorithms two days ago in your Astrometrics lab, and it seemed obvious. She must have been tampering with the Starfleet message."
"You are lying," Seven denied.
"Her and the other sex-Borg have been sabotaging your every effort to reach Earth. You don't have to believe me, Captain. You can find all the evidence you need in her personal database."
"Evidence you undoubtedly put there yourself just in case you got caught." Given Seven's attitude towards going to Earth she might have been swayed, but adding Sora in showed his hand. While Sora was nervous, he also wanted to go for the hope that Starfleet medical could do more to heal him. "Take him to Voyager, throw him the brig," she ordered.
To her surprise, Arturis beat off the two security guards. Tuvok stepped into view and shot him in the abdomen, but he still managed to pull a lever before they could drag him away from the helm. The Dauntless transformed into an alien vessel, with the primary motif of red. Then Arturis managed to set up a forcefield.
"Janeway to Voyager. Beam us out of here."
"He's trying to deflect our transporters. Stand by."
Tuvok was beamed away, then the security personnel. Janeway and Seven started to dematerialise, then solidified again.
"One moment," Sora called over the comm, "reactivating transporter modifications. Try now Ensign."
To Kathryn's relief, the three of them appeared on the transporter pad, security immediately grabbing Arturis. "Throw him in the brig."
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"The ship's going into slipstream mode," Tom warned.
"Pursuit course," Chakotay ordered.
"The Dauntless is gone Commander.
"Chakotay to transporter room, did we get them?"
"We're here," the Captain answered and then stepped off the turbolift with Tuvok. "Thanks to Sora's quick thinking.
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"Good work," Riku grinned at him and Sora nodded, relieved he had gotten the changes he'd made during the fight with the Hirogen back online.
And he hadn't been sure they'd work, not when Arturis' species had been very good at getting around Borg technology. He glanced at his console as it beeped. "The modifications are done; we can begin computer testing now."
"If it works, then what?"
"Voyager returns home. I assume Seven and I will face questioning due to being ex-drones," he admitted and that…scared him.
"We won't let them do anything to you," Riku swore. "There's no lock that can stop a Keyblade."
Sora nodded, not as sure, but it was nice to hear. "If I am lucky, Starfleet medical can remove more of my implants, perhaps fix some of the scarring."
"If they remove enough…will you come home for good?" Riku asked quietly, and Sora turned to him.
"Voyager has become my home but…once back at Earth it is unlikely the crew will be kept together and the ship will need extensive maintenance work, likely even upgrades after four years cut off. I would like to visit, the crew…"
"Are your friends," Riku smiled. "Until you get your Keyblade back, I'll bring you myself," he promised. "And I'll still come after, they're our friends too. And…if you can't come home?"
"I can still come and visit."
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"Where were you trying to take us?" Kathryn asked, staring at the man in the brig who glared back.
"Home."
"How'd you create the Starfleet bridge? Holograms?"
"Particle synthesis. Beyond your understanding."
"Is this what your people do? Prey on innocent ships?" Chakotay demanded.
"Innocent? Typical of Captain Janeway and her precious crew. Self-righteous," was the sneered answer.
"If I've offended you or your people in some way, please tell me," she told him.
"Diplomacy, Captain? Your diplomacy destroyed my world." he moved closer to the forcefield, angry.
"What? What are you saying?" they would never do that.
"You negotiated an agreement with the Borg Collective. Safe passage through their space. And in return, you helped them defeat one of their enemies."
"Species eight four seven two," Seven spoke up.
"In your colourful language, yes. Species eight four seven two. Did it ever occur to you that there were those of us in the Delta Quadrant who had a vested interest in that war? Victory would have meant the annihilation of the Borg, but you couldn't see beyond the bow of your own ship!" He snapped at them.
"In my estimation, Species eight four seven two posed a greater threat than the Borg," Kathryn pointed out, it was unlikely they would have stopped with the Borg.
"Who are you to make that decision? A stranger to this Quadrant."
"There wasn't exactly time to take a poll. I had to act quickly."
"My people managed to elude the Borg for centuries. Outwitting them, always one step ahead. But in recent years, the Borg began to weaken our defences. They were closing in and Species eight four seven two was our last hope to defeat them. You took that away from us! The outer colonies were the first to fall. Twenty-three in a matter of hours. Our sentry vessels tossed aside, no defence against the storm. By the time they'd surrounded our star system, hundreds of Cubes, we had already surrendered to our own terror. A few of us managed to survive. Ten, twenty thousand. I was fortunate. I escaped with a vessel. Alone, but alive. I don't blame them. They were just drones, acting with their Collective instinct. You, you had a choice!"
"I'm sorry for what happened to your people, but try to understand. I couldn't have known." She had heard similar stories before, even back home, from worlds attacked by the Collective.
"It took me months to find you. I watched and waited for my opportunity to make you pay for what you'd done. Then the Starfleet message, and I knew that your selfish desire to get home would surface again. That I could lure you to my vessel. That I could see to it that you'd all be assimilated and spend the rest of eternity as Borg. I was hoping to get your entire crew, but I'd have settle for just you or even those two so-called ex-drones. In a matter of hours, my ship will return to my homeworld. Inside Borg space except now it's empty. You ruined everything again!"
"When that happened, you would have been assimilated as well," Seven pointed out.
"That's irrelevant. It's what you wanted all along, isn't it? To go back to your Collective? You should thank me," he glared at Seven.
Kathryn motioned to the others and they left.
"So what do we do with him now?"
"We'll drop him somewhere; we can't keep him in the brig forever. And now we know about him, we'll be on guard."
"Risky," Seven warned, and she nodded.
She headed for the turbolift, surprised when Seven followed her. "Seven?"
"You were correct. My desire to remain in the Delta Quadrant was based on fear. I am no longer Borg, but the prospect of becoming human is unsettling. I don't know where I belong," Seven admitted.
Kathryn smiled at her. "You belong with us. Now, let's see how Sora got on with those modifications while we were gone. Who knows, his desire for revenge may have given us a way home."
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"Bring the modifications online," the Captain ordered.
"Aye," Sora answered from the bridge engineering console, linked to B'Elanna's in Engineering. "Modifications online."
"Set course Mr Paris," she ordered.
"Course set, Captain."
"Here goes," she murmured. "Engage."
"We're at full impulse, but we're not breaking through the quantum barrier," Tom spoke up a few minutes later.
"I'm having trouble controlling the field parameters. I need more power to the deflector," Sora answered.
"Bridge to Torres."
"I'm already on it, Commander. Riku watch those readings. Stand by. Reroute auxiliary power to Deflector Control. Make sure that quantum warp field is stable."
"Deflector at maximum. I am focusing the quantum field," Sora announced.
"Make it quick. Hull temperature's at critical," Harry called.
Voyager suddenly entered what appeared to be almost a tunnel.
"We're at slipstream velocity," Tom announced in shock.
"Structural integrity's down by nine percent. We've got less than an hour before the hull starts to buckle."
"Then lets make the most of it people. Doctor, any problems?"
"No Captain, all crew life signs are normal."
"Astrometrics, our course is drifting, please correct Lieutenant Paris," Seven called.
"Correcting," Tom answered.
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Captain's log, supplemental. We remained in the quantum slipstream for an hour before it finally collapsed. Our diagnostics have concluded that we can't risk using this technology again. But we did manage to get five hundred light years closer to home.
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"Well, it got us further," B'Elanna commented as they disconnected the modifications.
"The technology put too much stress on the ship, but maybe in time we can alter it further to work with the ship," Sora offered, and she nodded.
"You've done more than enough today Sora, go Regenerate, I can finish here."
"You are sure?"
"Positive."
"Very well, good evening Lieutenant."
"Pleasant dreams," she told him as he left. Once he would have corrected her but now he just smiled and returned the sentiment before leaving. He'd really come so far since they'd found him, even if they weren't responsible for all of his progress.
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"Full impact. Final round to Janeway. Winner, Janeway."
"Nice play. You almost had me."
"Almost," Seven agreed.
"Go again?" the Captain offered.
"I must report to the Astrometrics lab. There is work to be done," she denied the offer, and the Captain looked at her.
"Work? I gave the crew strict orders to take some R and R over the next few days, and that includes you."
"There are more pressing needs. I am attempting to design another method of travelling at slipstream velocities without damaging Voyager." She would leave the transwarp project to Sora and then they could compare their findings, coming at the problem from two ways would hopefully increase their odds of success.
"I thought that was impossible."
"Impossible is a word that humans use far too often. I wish to continue my efforts."
"A few days ago you were ready to abandon ship, and here you are, practically laying in a course to Earth." The Captain smiled at her.
"After hearing what Arturis had planned for us, I began to re-evaluate my future. The prospect of becoming a drone was unappealing."
"Sometimes you've got to look back in order to move forward. Sounds to me like you're starting to embrace your humanity."
"No. But as I said, nothing is impossible," she smiled softly, and the Captain laughed.
"Computer. One more game."
The disk appeared and flew around Seven. She waited and then fired.
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"Hello Riku!" Mickey greeted him happily, and Riku smiled.
"Hello Mickey, there's someone here who wants to say hello," he turned and smiled, offering his hand, and Sora stepped forward, clutching his hand tightly.
It was obvious the moment Sora came into view on the screen, Mickey's eyes and smile widening.
"Hello, Your Majesty," Sora greeted almost shyly.
"Sora…it's so good to see you again. We've all missed you so much."
TBC…
So thanks to Sora, they got them off before the ship got away, so Arturis didn't end up in Borg space. And without having to chase his ship when they tested the Slipstream, they got another 200 light years closer than in canon.