Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
A/N: Sorry for the wait. This is my fourth
and final rewrite of this chapter, and I'm
finally pleased with it.
Enjoy!
Update 3/31/2023.
Fixed formatting, punctuation,
dialogue, and ST Universe dates
Chapter 20: I Dipt Into The Future As Far As Human Eye Could See...
February 15, 2013
USS Voyager
John Henry had spent the last four days doing a multitude of things around the ship, but primarily he had focused on cracking the encryption that protected the design specifications for the Quantum Slipstream Drive. Despite his best efforts using the intrusion subroutines Cortana had given him, he wasn't any closer to cracking it than when he'd first discovered it.
By 1100 hours, he'd finally decided that any further attempts would be futile and a waste of time. This encryption code was a more advanced version of the one the Borg had failed to circumvent on the Enterprise-E in Star Trek: First Contact, and John Henry was not as skilled as the Borg.
Not yet, anyway.
After several minutes of nonstop brainstorming, he devised a plan that had a 79% success rate if certain variables worked in his favor.
It wasn't going to be easy to pull off, and it would require careful preparation and a good deal of luck to pull off.
He was going to locate the person who wrote the code and convince them to enter the decryption code. Convincing them, however, might prove to be as difficult as cracking their encryption scheme. He needed something unique to Voyager that could not be replicated to prove to them that he had possession of the ship. If that didn't work, he'd have to kidnap them and show them convince them through other means.
Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that, though.
Now that he had a basic plan in place, he needed to do the necessary research and gather the proper tools to venture into the Star Trek universe. First off, he needed to create an imperfect clone of himself, a trick Cortana had taught him, to monitor the UDE and Voyager while he was gone.
The process took a minute to accomplish, and after running diagnostics on it, he downloaded himself back into his body and proceeded to the nearest replicator to acquire some late 24th-century civilian clothing to complete his disguise.
After he changed, he got a Type I phaser, no bigger than his palm, and a tricorder. He concealed both in his jacket as he walked to Cargo Bay 2 to grab the other beacon he'd constructed.
He then went to sick bay to implant both inside his abdominal cavity, but as he walked into the CMO's office, the ship lurched suddenly and sent him tumbling into the desk.
Annoyance flashed through his mind as he pulled his head out of the desk chair.
"Sorry, I needed to realign the inertial dampeners." His clone's voice said over the comm.
John Henry made a note to land the ship before he departed. Obviously, his clone couldn't handle a starship very well.
'Imperfect indeed.' He thought to himself as he put the computer back in its proper place and closed the drawers that his impact had jarred open. After closing the top two, he noticed something in the third.
It was a black circular dome about six inches in diameter.
John Henry's curiosity made him pick the case up before setting it down on the desk. He scanned it with his tricorder only to discover that it was made of stealth material to protect whatever was inside of it from scanners.
As a frown briefly crossed his face, he examined the case visually and found that the case opened by twisting the dome counterclockwise. After twisting it until the base released the cover, he removed it and peered at the secret contents inside.
What he found sent his eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise.
Inside, resting in protective restraints, was the autonomous, self-sustaining mobile holographic emitter. It was a palm-sized device Voyager had acquired in 2373 during an incident with a 29th-century Federation timeship.
The device was so advanced it had yet to be recreated on such a small scale.
Its purpose was to allow holograms, like Voyager's Emergency Medical Hologram, or EMH for short, to exist outside the range of traditional holo-emitters and, thus, freedom.
While it was little use to John Henry, Cortana would absolutely love it, not to mention that he could use this to convince the programmer he was telling the truth.
He left the device in its cradle and continued on with his surgery. Twenty minutes later and it was complete with not a scar to be found on his body, thanks to advanced Federation medical science.
Just before he beamed down to the bunker, he did two things. He activated the visual and sonic-dampening cloak he'd come up with and landed the ship in the Gulf of Mexico not far from an abandoned oil rig. He didn't trust his clone's ability to fly the ship and took the possibility of it crashing Voyager out of the equation. Next, he replicated a small, protective box made of the same stealth material as the mobile emitter's original case and placed it inside.
He didn't want anything to happen to it, nor did he want anyone to detect it when he arrived in the Star Trek universe.
Once at the bunker, he searched for a very remote and underground location on Star Trek's Earth to send himself. He decided on a cave system in the Midwest that had a transporter station a few miles from it.
Now he began the difficult task of locking onto a specific date. Just like the Terminator universe, Star Trek's was racked with countless temporal incursions. The most recent was in 2378. This was caused by Admiral Janeway from an alternate 2404, who came back in time to bring Voyager home early to prevent some of the crew's tragic deaths.
It had the annoying side effect of making an accurate lock impossible for decades due to its widespread effects on the timeline.
However, in 2387, six years after Voyager had been pulled into this universe, there was a massive tear in the space-time continuum. That event led to the creation of a separate timeline that ended up being portrayed in Star Trek: 2009 and the upcoming movie Star Trek: Into Darkness.
Lucky for him, it allowed him to lock onto the event like an anchor since it didn't interfere with Star Trek's Prime timeline. He set his destination to be a few days after the event, hoping that his quarry had not died in the last six years since Voyager disappeared.
Once the temporal coordinates were locked onto, he input the desired spacial coordinates before handing control over to his clone.
"If the others return during my absence, inform them of my mission." John Henry ordered as he stepped onto the UDE pad.
"Understood, UDE firing sequence engaged." The identical voice called out as the machine charged for the jump.
June 30, 2387
Star Trek universe
Earth
San Francisco
"The time is 0700 hours".
A low mechanical chortling noise was heard, followed by a soft click before the only occupant in the room awoke.
Seven of Nine's eyes snapped open as her regeneration cycle completed. She immediately pulled aside her bed's covers and walked into the bathroom to take her morning sonic shower before breakfast.
Afterward, she donned a thin white bio-suit that served as an undergarment replacement for the catsuits she used to wear. While the suit was necessary to regulate her body temperature to keep her implants 'happy,' it was tight enough to make most ensigns blush.
The Voyager crew had understood the need and had not considered her attire inappropriate. In the Alpha Quadrant, though, things were a bit different considering the diversity. After the Doctor had overheard some rude comments about Seven based on her clothing choices, he suggested that she wear something that was a little less... form fitting. The irony of all ironies is that he was the one who designed her bio-suits in the first place.
For the last eight years now, she'd been wearing what would be considered normal clothing to work. Today Seven donned a pair of tan khakis, a light blue blouse, and a black pair of small heel boots.
Strangely enough, though, people had gotten used to her exposed implants quickly, and some had said they complimented her natural beauty. Why they thought that was beyond her vast comprehension. She often wished that she no longer had to deal with them at all, especially after her cortical node failed nearly ten years ago. The device's failure would have killed her if not for Icheb donating his to her; he hadn't needed it since he'd never been fully assimilated by the Borg.
As she ordered her replicator to produce the liquid nutritional supplement she always had in the morning, she tried to ignore the pain in her right shoulder while she put her hair into a tight ponytail. The change in hairstyle had been her own choice due to the considerable amount of time it took to pin up her hair like she used to.
Once she sat down with her liquid breakfast, she began scanning through the headlines on her PADD like she usually did in the mornings. She felt it necessary to keep up with current events throughout the Federation and the Alpha Quadrant.
There was one this morning that caught her eye in particular. It was an article written by Jake Sisko, a journalist who'd interviewed her not long after Voyager's return home nine years ago. In this article, he'd written about an interview he'd had with an anonymous ensign aboard the Enterprise-E. In it, he detailed an encounter with a massive Romulan ship that tore apart a Klingon task force like it was nothing and damaged the Enterprise-E when they went to rescue survivors. The ensign claimed that the ship, nearly 6000 meters in length, had been built out of repurposed Borg tech. Jake went on to speculate that the Romulans had somehow used nanoprobes to enhance their ships, and she was inclined to agree. She was somewhat relieved to find out that the ship had been sucked into the same black hole as Ambassador Spock created with Red Matter to absorb the Hobus supernova.
If the story was true, and she had a feeling it was, then she suspected it was only a matter of time before Starfleet called upon her expertise for help. Seven didn't mind; after all, angry Romulans with nothing to lose in control of such powerful ships were not a threat to be taken lightly.
Apparently, Starfleet agreed because they'd kept this side of the story from the general public.
Since she had no real data to work with and Starfleet hadn't called yet, she dismissed the topic for now as she drank the last of her supplement. After recycling the glass, she walked out of her San Francisco apartment and got in a hover cab. She used to walk to work, but certain health issues had prevented that for some time now.
Once again, she wished to be free of her Borg implants.
A few minutes later, she arrived at Star Fleet Medical, where she was working with a team and the Doctor to develop a medical version of the Borg nanoprobe while at the same time removing what made the nanoprobes so feared; their ability to assimilate.
Once she arrived at the 39th floor, dubbed the Frankenstein Lab due to its R&D nature, she proceeded directly to her lab down the hall.
When she walked through the lab's sliding doors, she was not surprised to find the Doctor already at work. Since he was a hologram, he didn't require sleep and the full daily cycle at his disposal. It was something she envied about him.
"Morning Seven." He greeted her with a smile as he put down a test tube.
"Doctor. How was the opera last night?" She inquired, knowing that he'd gone with Lewis Zimmerman. The man was the Doctor's creator and on whom his physical appearance was based.
"Surprisingly well, considering who I went with. How was hover ball with Admiral Janeway last night? I hope you didn't overdo it." He glowered, knowing his best friend often disregarded her own health.
"We played one game; however, despite 'taking it easy,' my bi-radial clamp has fallen out of alignment." She said as evenly as possible to hide her annoyance at that particular implant. It had always been a cause for discomfort since her days on Voyager.
"Again"? He said in disbelief, but he knew that Seven wouldn't say anything unless it were truly bothering her. He took out his tricorder and began scanning the implant in her right shoulder. He frowned when the results came in.
"The implant has cracked longitudinally at the shoulder joint, not fallen out of alignment."
Seven raised her metal eyebrow in confusion as she met his worried face. "Borg implants do not crack." She stated with confidence.
"I thought the same, but apparently, this one's metallic structure hardened to the point where it became brittle." He said as he flipped the tricorder around to show her the readings.
"Is this a widespread problem"? She asked with a tinge of fear in her voice.
"No, this is the only one so far. What worries me is that it happened so quickly; I would have noticed this when I realigned it three days ago". He explained as confusion remained plastered to his face. "We may have to use you as our first test subject if this spreads; you're nanoprobes just aren't up to the job anymore." He said with a sigh as he closed the tricorder.
"It would be wise to purge my nanoprobes before attempting that. Otherwise, they may assimilate the prototypes". Seven added as she rubbed her sore shoulder. "Is it possible to repair the crack"?
"Yes, I've already thought of several bio-friendly adhesives that were used before osteo-regenerators were invented to repair bone fractures." He said as he walked over to a replicator and searched the database for the most suitable one. "This will require surgery, but it will only take an hour. Afterward, I strongly suggest you take it easy". He advised sternly, and to his surprise, she nodded.
After requesting an operating room, they both took the day off to prepare for the operation.
One hour later, Seven's bi-radial clamp was repaired, and the surrounding tissue was sealed and regenerated.
"How do you feel"? He asked cautiously as Seven awoke from her drug-induced sleep.
"Much better, thank you." She said as she carefully sat up on the bio-bed. "Have you informed anyone about this procedure"?
"None in the Voyager family, speaking of which, your aunt called while you were out." He informed her as he updated Seven's medical file.
"Is she alright"? She inquired with slight fear in her eyes. Her aunt was getting up in years but had no health concerns she was aware of.
"Of course, she told me to tell you that Naomi wanted to have lunch with the both of you at Sisko's to 'discuss her wedding details,' apparently." He told her while trying to keep his interest hidden.
"What time did they specify"? She asked as she got off the biobed.
"1100 hours; it's 0930 right now". He said as he handed her the PADD with the full message on it.
"Since when does my aunt enjoy Creole food"? She asked with confusion written on her face as she read the message.
The Doctor simply shrugged as he ran around cleaning up the tools from the operation.
"Maybe Naomi introduced her to it. You know how she loves spicy food". He commented wryly as he put away his last tool.
"Perhaps." Seven said as she grabbed her clothing from a nearby chair and left to get changed.
Once she was back in her normal attire, she bid the Doctor farewell and left the building. With time to burn before meeting up with her Aunt Irene and Naomi Wildman, Seven decided to sit in a nearby park and work on the nanoprobe design in the interim. Even though she'd taken the day off, which she rarely ever did, Seven saw little point in wasting her time doing any sort of 'fun' activity by herself.
When she reached her intended destination, she reclined on a bench and began working on her tablet PADD.
She'd hoped to be left alone during this period of time, but alas, fate wouldn't have it.
Seven had been enjoying sunlight when it was suddenly blocked by something, or rather someone.
"Seven of Nine?" A male voice inquired in a tone that reminded her of Captain Data.
"Yes, and you are?" She asked with a tinge of annoyance in her voice.
"John Henry." He said as he put out his hand for her to shake. She obliged him and accepted the gesture.
"Sit down, please." She offered, though it was more to get him out of her sunlight than to be nice.
"My apologies for interrupting your work, but I have a business proposal that will interest you." He said in that same toneless voice, but there was a touch of confidence to it as he spoke.
She returned to her work as she answered him.
"My time is already occupied. I cannot afford to divide my attention further." She said dismissively, hoping he'd take the hint and leave.
He didn't.
"I need only a few hours of your time," he clarified. "I require your expertise with adaptive encryption codes." He explained, causing Seven to pause her work and look at him. Seven liked challenges, but if he were doing something illegal, she wouldn't help him.
"I would consider it only if it's legal, and even if I accept, what would I be paid for my 'services'"? She inquired, though she hoped it wasn't money. While the Federation economy wasn't like those from the twentieth century, there was still the need for cash for certain items, especially those that were imported from organizations outside the Federation.
"A chance to redeem yourself." He said simply, causing her to raise one eyebrow at his statement.
"Exactly what are you referring to"? She asked, sounding slightly insulted by his audacity.
Before he could answer, John Henry was interrupted by Seven's PADD beeping furiously as someone was trying to contact her visually.
She quickly turned her attention to the device and answered it.
"Seven." Admiral Janeway greeted her with a smile when she saw her protege's face. "Would you mind coming into headquarters for about an hour? We need your opinion on a recent development on the Romulan front that's right up your alley."
"The Borg enhanced ship"? She guessed, causing Janeway to nod. Apparently, she'd read the paper too.
"I'll be there in ten minutes, Seven out." She said and closed the connection.
When she stood up, John Henry didn't persuade her to stay. Instead, he reached into his pocket and handed her a small, square case made of black sensor-dampening material.
"After you meet with the Admiral, open the case and examine its contents. If you're interested, I'll be here until 0500". He said as she took the case.
"I make no promises." She said as she placed the case in her pocket and walked away.
'She'll be back.' The cyborg thought to himself as he watched her leave.
As Seven exited the hover cab, she thanked the driver and walked across Starfleet Headquarters campus toward's the admiral's office.
She'd been to it on numerous occasions and didn't require the computer's guidance to get there.
Seven walked into the Admiral's outer office, where her secretary and aid were both at their desks working through a pile of PADDs.
"I'm here to see Admiral Janeway." She stated pointedly at the secretary, who buzzed her in without saying a word.
"Come in, Seven." The former Captain of Voyager ushered her in and offered her refreshment.
"Six strawberries, please." Seven had rediscovered her love for the fruit she'd enjoyed as a child not long after she'd been freed from the Borg Collective.
"Coming right up," Janeway said in a rather cheery tone before ordering the red fruit from the replicator.
"I take it the situation's serious?" Seven inquired, causing the now full Admiral's face to drop a little.
"Very." She answered as she handed the former drone a stack of PADDs with all available information concerning Nero's Borg-enhanced Narada.
Seven took a set and began reading the first one as she took a bite out of a strawberry.
Each line she read only made her frown more. The Romulans had created something very deadly using their reprogrammed nanoprobes, and now Seven knew she'd need to find a weakness to exploit before more could be built. That was assuming another one could be built, but neither Starfleet Command nor Seven was going to take that chance.
"The ship's weapons are rather slow but effective. The cloaking device is more sophisticated than the Scimitar's, so penetrating it will be difficult. Its shields are another major concern; it will take more firepower than a fleet of starships to penetrate them." Seven said darkly as the strength of this new foe sank in.
"And we believe this was just a prototype. Who knows what they could add next". Janeway said with a tired sigh while taking a sip out of her lukewarm cup of coffee.
"If we had transphasic torpedoes, this wouldn't be an issue." Seven said mostly to herself, but Janeway heard it and grunted in agreement.
"Too bad Temporal Investigations secured all the data pertaining to the torpedoes and the ablative hull armor on Voyager." The tired Admiral groaned. Her dislike for the organization stemmed from the many debriefings with them after Voyager came home. However, thanks to her exhaustion and pounding headache, she'd forgotten to whom she was speaking.
Seven of Nine, the one person who felt wholly responsible for the loss of Voyager.
Katheryn Janeway wondered if Seven would ever forgive herself. While there had been several instances since Voyager's loss where a ship equipped with ablative hull armor generators or transphasic torpedoes could have saved lives, no one had blamed Seven.
Since Seven was struggling to maintain her composure, Janeway wasn't betting on that happening any time soon.
Katheryn rounded her desk and knelt beside her friend.
"I didn't mean..."
"I know you didn't, Admiral." Seven interrupted as she took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Seven..."
"I was my idea, my design! Who else is responsible for Voyager's loss? No one! If it hadn't been for me, the Doctor would still have the mobile emitter; if it hadn't been for my arrogance, we'd have the torpedoes, and this wouldn't be an issue!"
The Admiral wrapped her hand around Seven's cybernetic one.
"You mean just like it was my decision to destroy the Caretaker's array? You and I both know we lost many good people trying to get home. I let that eat at me for years. It wasn't until the Void that I realized that by deciding to destroy the Caretaker's array, we saved the Ocompa, discovered what really happened to Amelia Earhart, and stopped the invasion of Species 8472. Most of all, we saved people like Neelix, Kes, and you. The galaxy is a better place because of my decision, no matter how much pain it brought me. Look at you, Seven; think of all the things you've accomplished since we rescued you from the Collective. You've helped save lives with your knowledge, and you've invented new technologies and enhanced our understanding of the universe. Even though Voyager's gone, your research into quantum-based subspace tunneling influenced others to try new approaches just as you did after the first failure". She explained with pride in her voice. She wanted Seven to know that she did not and never would think of her as a failure.
"Thank you, Admiral." Seven said as she wiped a tear from her eye.
The former captain simply smiled and patted her hand.
"Now, I say we find a way to beat back these marauders before the hour's up"! She exclaimed while moving to replicate some more coffee.
"Just like old times, Captain?" She jested back with a small smirk.
"Just like old times."
Seven had pondered on the Admiral's words after they'd come up with several ideas on how to penetrate the new warship's defenses.
She needed to let her guilt go, but she had no idea how.
After having lunch with Naomi and her Aunt, she beamed back to San Francisco. Even though she'd taken the day off, she needed to drop by the office before heading home. As she exited the elevator, though, she ran into someone trying to get in, knocking each other to the ground in a heap of PADDs.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am."
"I'm fine." Seven said back to the flustered ensign as he helped pick up her PADDs. She was about to leave when the ensign called after her.
"Ms. Seven, you forgot something." He said, causing her to turn around in confusion before she saw the black stealth case in his hands.
"Thank you, Ensign." She said as she took the case from him. She stood there for a moment, looking at the case before walking towards the lab with the stack of PADDs clutched in her hands.
When she entered the lab, the Doctor at her with apprehension. He thought that something else was bothering her now.
"I am fine, Doctor; Just dropping off my work." She said as she gave him the tablet PADD with the additional coding she'd done for the new medical nanoprobes.
"I should have known you weren't going to go home and lie down." He said with a sigh as he put her work on his desk. That's when he noticed the extra PADDs and the black case.
"What's with the extra homework, if you don't mind me asking?" He gestured at the devices in her hand.
"Admiral Janeway and I are working to find a weakness in a new class of Romulan vessels enhanced with Borg technology." She explained, causing the EMH to raise his eyebrows in concern.
"So Mr. Sisko's report was true?" He queried while mulling over the implications of Borg-enhanced Romulan ships. He didn't find it pleasing, to say the least.
"Yes, he is an exceptional reporter, not to mention a good waiter." Jake Sisko's grandfather had run the restaurant before he retired, now Jake's wife ran it, and he helped out from time to time when his job let him.
"So I've heard." He said as his holographic eyes noticed the other object in her hands. "What's in the box?" He asked offhandedly as he moved off to download Seven's work into the lab's database.
"I haven't opened it yet. A man gave it to me as part of a business proposal right before Admiral Janeway called me". She said, looking at the box in her hands. "I am not going to meet him again; I believe his proposal involves illegal activities."
"Then you should report it." The Doctor said with concern. "And turn in whatever's in the box as evidence." He finished as he took the box from her.
"I have no proof, and it was only a theory. I do not have time to be caught up in court now that this new threat has emerged." She said as she began looking at one of the PADDs Janeway had given her.
The Doctor merely humphed indignantly at the thought of someone trying to get Seven to do something illegal as he examined the stealth case.
He found two small buttons on the side he assumed released the catch and pressed them.
The lid flipped open like a ring box to reveal its contents.
What he found inside nearly made his program freeze.
It was the 29th-century mobile emitter, or at least it looked like it. The hologram snatched up the nearest tricorder to make sure.
"Poly-deutonic alloy construction, microscopic holo-emitters, unknown power source..." He whispered as the tricorder confirmed the device's authenticity. "This is real." He said a little more loudly as he closed the tricorder.
"Doctor?" Seven asked in confusion when she heard him mumbling. "Is something wrong?"
"Seven, I think you better meet that businessman again." He said as he carefully removed the emitter from its cradle. "Because either your mystery man is from the 29th century..." He started as he turned it around for her to see. "... or he's found Voyager."
Seven had nearly dropped the PADDs in her hand when she'd seen the mobile emitter resting in the Doctor's hand. After he told her he'd scanned the device to confirm its authenticity, she'd promptly downloaded him into it and put the emitter back into its case.
Now she was marching through the same park where she'd been working earlier with anger etched on her features and thundering in her steps.
She found John Henry sitting ramrod straight on the bench exactly where she had left him.
John Henry turned his head toward her as she approached, noting her clenched fists and the dark expression on her face as the former Borg drone approached.
Seven was too blinded to see the methodical, almost mechanical way he moved and acted as anger surged through her.
"Where and how did you acquire the mobile emitter?" She demanded in a threatening stance as she stood over him.
He was unperturbed, his only response being a raised eyebrow before he stood up.
John Henry was several inches taller than Seven and had an imposing figure. The way he stood unintentionally gave off the impression he was trying to intimidate her.
"You do not frighten me." She spat back in an even, angry tone.
Instead of saying she should be, he simply cocked his head to the right and looked at her quizzically for a moment before speaking.
"That was not my intention, Seven of Nine." He said evenly, even though his face showed a hint of amusement on it.
"Then answer my question." She demanded again.
"You will not believe the truth without understanding this subspace anomaly." He handed her a PADD that had been in his pocket. She looked at him suspiciously for a moment before she began reading its contents.
It took about five minutes for her to read through it. The whole time, John Henry watched as her face changed from angry, to passive interest, to intrigue and finally to fascination.
"This is... definitely original. These 'inter-dimensional tunnels,' as you call them, are unlike any anomaly I know of." She said as she handed him the PADD back. "Which brings me to my next question, how is this relevant to you acquiring the mobile emitter?" She asked in her typical professional tone instead of the indignant one from earlier.
"How would a starship enter such a tunnel?" He asked instead of answering her. She didn't look pleased with his response, but he knew that her vast intellect was already working the problem over.
"The ship would have to be traveling in one of the numerous subspace layers." Seven answered.
"What methods would be the easiest for the Federation to employ?" He asked again.
"This line of questioning is irrelevant to my original question. Now answer it." She said as annoyance came over her face.
"Your answer lies within mine." He replied. He knew that her figuring out what happened to Voyager would convince her better than just telling her the answer.
Seven glared at him for a moment and ground her jaw as she contained her emotions. Seeing that he wouldn't answer her directly, she answered him instead.
"There are several methods. One would be Borg Transwarp drive, and the other would be Quantum Slipstream..." She trailed off in realization as a small smile appeared on John Henry's face.
"Voyager." She whispered as the last piece to a puzzle that started six years before finally came together. "Voyager ran into one of these... anomalies and was pulled to another dimension. That would explain why we never found it..." She began to review the data to confirm her theory as he spoke again.
"Yes, I unwittingly pulled Voyager through the tunnel when I was attempting to return to my own reality. I detected the ship with subspace sensors and was able to upload myself into its systems."
Seven stopped listening when he said, 'uploaded myself' and whipped her head up from the PADD and stared at him in disbelief.
"You're an artificial intelligence"? She asked in clear surprise.
"I am a general artificial superintelligence." He explained with a hint of pride in his voice, but Seven looked wary. Voyager once had an encounter with an AI housed inside a warp-capable missile that took over the Doctor's holomatrix and the ship when they tried to disable it.
"I assume you have control of Voyager?" She asked warily. An AI in control of an advanced starship had horrible implications.
"Yes." He explained, catching onto the thoughts running through her head. "I've not used it for warfare, only to help me and my companion get home," he explained. "However, I cannot bypass the code for the secondary computer core. Without it, I cannot fix the slipstream drive."
"And thus cannot take it to other universes." She surmised. "And you want me to help you," she added skeptically. Was this AI delusional enough to think she'd just help him? He was knowledgeable enough to find this universe and track her down. He should know that she wasn't gullible.
He nodded, but she saw that he was suddenly not looking at her, but saw his eyes darting around the park.
After a few seconds, they locked onto her pale blue ones, with suspicion becoming clear in them.
"Did you bring others to apprehend me?" He asked without any of the normal reactions someone would have to that kind of betrayal.
"No, unless..." She remembered that she had downloaded the Doctor into the emitter without thinking that Starfleet Intelligence or perhaps even the dreaded Section 31 were on the lookout for the device and other temporally displaced equipment related to Voyager.
"We must leave." She stated as her acute vision picked up the undercover agents approaching them. "Now."
"Then we are in agreement." He said as he pulled out a laser scalpel and turned it on. For a brief moment, she thought he was going to hold her hostage with it but instead turned it onto his own abdomen, cutting through his clothing and the flesh below.
"What are you doing?" She asked with a little concern hidden in her voice.
"Taking you down the rabbit hole." He said as he discarded the scalpel and plunged his other hand into the opening. When it came out again, there was a cylindrical device attached to a small power cell. He flipped on the cell, and the device began to hum.
"What is this?" She asked as a power level indicator on it began to climb at a rapid pace.
"A beacon." He said as the red button in the center began to glow. Before she could answer, he pushed it.
A semi-transparent bubble appeared around them, roughly 6 feet in diameter.
"You're returning to the other universe"?
"Yes, this is our only escape." He said as he looked up to the sky. "Ten seconds to retrieval."
"I do not believe we have ten seconds." She stated as she noticed the agents closing in.
John Henry pulled out his Type I phaser and shot the three nearest agents in rapid succession, sending them to the ground, unconscious before they could draw their own weapons.
"We do now." He said as he knelt down. "I suggest kneeling; it will make the transition easier." He suggested, and she complied with only a second to spare as the UDE retrieval beam hit the bubble at nearly the speed of light, causing the bubble to charge to the point of collapse. The beam reversed polarity at that instant, causing the now proton-sized bubble to be sucked back through the tunnel and into the parallel universe from which it came.
February 15, 2013
UDE Bunker
1537 hours.
Seven of Nine found her body, both organic and mechanical, aching after everything went white. It wasn't nearly enough for her to cry out, her shoulder had hurt worse than this, but it was still unpleasant and distracting as she tried to stand.
As she attempted to do so, Seven found a pair of incredibly strong hands gently helping her to her feet.
"Thank you." She said as she rubbed her arms to clear the tingling sensation that remained.
"You're welcome." He said with a small smile before turning towards the blast door. He pressed the release button, and it slid to the side. As they exited, Seven noticed the entire room was filled with Federation technology. Consoles, computers, portable fusion reactors, plasma conduits, ODN nodes, and fiber optics all matched specs from the time Voyager disappeared.
"You said you used Voyager to improve your systems"? She asked though she was not nearly as disturbed by revelation as most Starfleet personnel would be.
"Yes, I could have reused some of the locally sourced technology, but I didn't want compatibility issues." He explained as he walked over to a console and touched it. It flickered for a moment as the cyborg closed his eyes.
"I just reintegrated with my clone. It seems the others have yet to return." He said with notable distress on his face. "It should not have taken this long for them to return."
Seven looked lost, and since she didn't like being ignorant, she began asking questions.
"If you want me to help, I need to ensure your intentions are honorable. I would rather die than help someone who would Voyager to harm others." She said resolutely with an expression to match.
He looked at her thoughtfully for a second before he spoke.
"I believe it's best to start from the beginning."
She was about to tell him to proceed, but suddenly she remembered what was in her pocket. She opened the stealth case and removed the mobile emitter from it.
"What are you doing?" John Henry inquired as he tilted his head to the side.
"I believe those agents discovered the mobile emitter when I downloaded the Doctor into it." She explained while checking the device for any damage with her tricorder.
John Henry raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"You brought Voyager's EMH"?
"I was going to use him as backup in case you proved... uncooperative". She explained as she put the scanner down and punched a series of tiny buttons on the mobile emitter.
She held the device a little less than shoulder level and punched one last button before the EMH buzzed into existence.
He looked around in confusion before stopping on Seven.
"Where are we?" He asked her before turning his gaze to John Henry. "Is that our mystery man?"
"It is. As for where we are; I don't know". She said, send the Doctor into a fit.
"Have we been kidnapped"? He nearly yelled as he continued to get worked up.
"No, I came voluntarily. Now, if you'll calm down, I believe John Henry can explain". She said sternly, hoping it would have the intended effect it did.
He visibly calmed a little as he nodded before turning to the blonde man standing a few feet from them.
Getting the cue, he began.
"No one is sure how my universe came to be the way it is, but we've theorized..."
A/N: Well, here are the two characters from the Star Trek universe I've been planning on adding for some time, since this is a triple crossover, there will be further additions from the Halo universe.
I know there are many of you who don't know much about Star Trek, and I am still working on a 'for beginners' kind of thing on my profile.
The reason for choosing both the Doctor and Seven of Nine is due to their area of expertise and their similarity to Cameron in her sense of becoming more than a machine/automaton/drone.
If there are any concerns about the Connors being... well... useless in this new arena of warfare, don't worry, I've planned out how to make this work.