|
|
|
The
Away Mission
by
Susan McCrackin
|
"The
coordinates are laid in."
"Thank you, crewmember. Good
job."
Seven of Nine turned back to her console,
aware of the broad smile on the face of Naomi Wildman.
Even though
she was just a child, Naomi was the one person on
Voyager with whom Seven of Nine felt completely
comfortable.
With Naomi, she felt a natural bond , a
connection. Naomi looked over her scans and Seven
noticed she was
frowning.
"Crewman, report."
"Seven, there's something
strange out there."
Seven quickly looked to her scans and
immediately saw the anomaly on the screen.
"Seven of Nine to Voyager."
"Voyager, here." It was Captain Janeway,
amusement in her voice, "What is the report of the
away team?"
"Captain, there is a subspace energy flow heading
in your direction."
It was only a moment before the Captain's voice came
back, urgent and commanding.
"Shuttle, move toward
the meteor field and away from the energy flow."
Seven heard Janeway giving commands to raise shields,
turn the ship and go to warp. She raised the shuttle's
shields while setting a course for the meteor field. Her
mind was racing -- she had to get them out of danger.
She
could see the meteor field as they approached and
thought they would be safe when a shrieking frequency
caused
her to grab her head in pain. Then, the shuttle
was rocked violently and she felt her world turn upside
down. Her last
conscious act was to reach toward Naomi
to protect her.
"Seven?"
She heard the voice as if from a great distance. She
slowly opened her eyes and looked into the worried face.
"I am all right."
She tried to rise and grabbed her left arm in pain.
"I am damaged."
The words were out of her mouth before she could stop
them.
Naomi looked at her, concerned. "What's wrong with
your arm?"
Seven tried to move it and grimaced. "I think it is
broken."
"Oh, no." Naomi looked scared and worried.
"I will be all right," Seven said, more
confidently than she felt. "We must try to contact
Voyager."
She looked at Naomi. "Crewman, have you assessed
our status?"
Naomi saw the smile in Seven's eyes and knew she was
making an effort to make her feel better.
"No, I haven't, but I will check."
She helped Seven get to her feet and saw that her friend
was unsteady and in obvious pain. She went to her
console, checking her scans while Seven attempted to
hail Voyager. After a number of failed attempts, Seven
turned to Naomi expectantly.
Naomi responded, "All but emergency systems are off
line." Her voice was quivering but she continued,
"Propulsion systems have been damaged. We have only
two hours of power remaining."
She raised her chin slightly. They were on an away
mission, surveying a meteor field near Voyager. Naomi
had
actually come up with the idea and talked Seven into
it. Seven had approached Captain Janeway about the
mission,
talking about the educational experience it
would offer. The Captain had asked if it might also be
fun but just
grinned when Seven looked at her with an
eyebrow raised. Seven had asked Naomi's mother, Ensign
Samantha
Wildman, and could tell she was concerned about
Naomi being away from the ship. Seven had assured her
they
would not even be out of transporter range. She had
looked at Seven for a long moment and finally gave her
permission. Seven had felt compelled to assure Ensign
Wildman she would make certain that Naomi returned to
Voyager safely. Naomi's mother had told her she knew she
did not have to worry about her daughter while she was
with Seven. Those words had touched her. She had looked
at Naomi's mother and given her a small nod. Seven had
been surprised to realize that Ensign Wildman's approval
was important to her.
Now, Seven looked at Naomi, fear mounting inside. All
she could remember was the promise she had made to
Naomi's mother. She would find a way to get them back to
Voyager. She had to. They were working in the control
panels underneath the main console. Naomi was serving as
the hands carrying out Seven's instructions.
"Push the panel in."
Naomi did as she was told and was rewarded with the
lights flickering on.
Seven said, relief in her voice, "It appears as if
the repairs were successful."
They climbed back into the cockpit. Seven stumbled to
her chair and sat, her head leaning on the headrest.
Naomi
moved to run her scans.
"Seven, I can't find Voyager."
Seven ran her own scans. "No, it is there but it is
submerged in the energy flow."
She concentrated on the scans, ignoring the pain in her
arm. Suddenly, she leaned forward, reading the scans
carefully.
"Naomi, adjust your scans to these
coordinates."
She sent the commands to Naomi's console and continued
to read the results as Naomi programmed in the
information. Naomi came over to Seven, reading the
results of the scan over her shoulder.
"What is it, Seven? What are you seeing?"
"I have seen these energy signatures before. When I
was with the Borg, we encountered this species."
"Species?"
"Yes. They are energy beings. They travel in
subspace in swarms. They must have been attracted by
Voyager's
energy output. It is likely we were caught in
the energy feedback when they emerged from
subspace."
"Is everyone on Voyager okay?"
Seven heard the fear behind the question and turned to
face her young companion. "I suspect that they are
alive
but incapacitated. Did you hear the sound before
the energy wave hit?"
Naomi nodded and Seven continued, "When the Borg
encountered these creatures, that sound incapacitated
many drones before we were able to adapt. The frequency
of the sound waves renders most beings
unconscious."
She looked Naomi in the eyes, "We must find a way
to get to Voyager. Then, we must find a way to get
Voyager
away from those creatures. Once we do, the crew
will be safe."
"But, how?"
"I do not yet know. But we will succeed. We will
not fail."
Seven watched as Naomi fought back tears. She saw her
small friend shake both from fear and sobs. She saw the
longing in Naomi's face and, before she could think
about what she was doing, she reached out to her. Naomi
folded herself into Seven's arm and Seven pulled her in
close.
"It will be all right, Naomi. I promise you,
it will be all right."
They were working on the power relays to the propulsion
systems. Seven was trying to remove a damaged conduit
switch. Many of the switches had been blown by the
energy feedback. She thought they could reroute enough
conduits to provide minimal power to the propulsion
system. That was all she needed for her plan. Actually,
it was
more of a concept. There were many details to
work out. First, they had to get the propulsion system
working. She
was pulling on the damaged power relay, her
broken left arm hampering her efficiency. She had her
hand pushed
down into a belt she had strapped on to
immobilize her arm but it was less than adequate.
"Naomi, assist me. We must remove this relay."
They pulled. Suddenly, the relay pulled free, causing
them to stumble backward. Seven could feel herself
falling.
As she hit the floor, her world went black and
she heard someone screaming.
"Naomi," she thought, fighting to stay
conscious. "She is hurt. I must help her."
Then she heard Naomi yelling her name. She realized the
screams she heard were her own. She forced her eyes
open
and saw Naomi leaning over her.
"Seven, please. Talk to me. Are you all
right?" Naomi was frantic.
Seven looked at her, the pain from her arm overwhelming
her. "I am all right."
But she heard the words
come out as sobs. She felt tears streaming down the
right side of her face.
This is not
right, she thought. I do not cry. I
am scaring Naomi.
But the sight of Seven crying from the pain did not
frighten her. Instead, it seemed to strengthen her.
"Seven," she said, straightening herself, her
voice firm, "I will attend to your arm. It must be
stabilized before you
attempt any more repairs."
Seven opened her mouth to protest but Naomi continued,
"No. We are a team. You have been hurt and it is my
responsibility to take care of you. The Doctor taught me
emergency procedures. I can bind your arm to your
body."
She retrieved the emergency kit they had brought with
them. Seven watched her prepare the bandages and felt
herself fill with pride.
Her voice cracking through
tears, Seven said, "I wish I had thought to bring a
medical tricorder."
Naomi smiled, "Yes, but we weren't supposed to be
out of transporter range. Remember?"
"Yes, that was an important part of our plan,"
Seven smiled back, conspiratorially. "However, next
time we will
reconsider our strategy on supplies."
It took Naomi quite a while to bind the arm. Seven
helped as much as she could but found moving extremely
painful. When Naomi finished, she said, "I am going
to get us nutritional supplements."
"No."
"Seven," Naomi interrupted, "You must eat
to keep up your strength and you must rest. If you are
going to be
efficient, you must give yourself time to
recover."
Seven found she could not argue. With her arm secured
and no longer causing as intense a level of pain, she
realized she was exhausted. She rested. It seemed as if
she had just closed her eyes when Naomi was waking her
to eat. As they ate, Seven told Naomi about her plan.
"We will use the propulsion system to set us on
course. Before we enter the swarm, we will cut all power
to the
ship. If we set our trajectory correctly, we
should be on target to dock with the emergency docking
station outside
of Cargo Bay One. We can enter Voyager
there."
"But how will we survive without power?"
"We will wear emergency suits."
"But what about the sound?"
"I will adjust the frequency of our helmets to
counteract the effect of the sounds they are giving off.
I still
remember the frequency we adapted in the
collective."
"But then what will we do?"
"That will depend on what we find on Voyager."
Naomi hesitated, "What do you think we will
find?"
Now it was Seven's turn to hesitate, "I do not
know. I suspect we will find that all of the systems are
being drained
of energy. If the energy beings have not
entered, the crew may simply be incapacitated. If they
have managed to
get inside of Voyager, it is possible we
will find fatalities."
"What?"
"The energy beings feed off of energy. They drain
the energy from anything they come into contact
with."
Naomi was silent. Seven watched the young eyes in front
of her, watched the questions that flashed, the fear and
finally the resolve. "We will succeed." The
childish voice was determined. "We will not
fail."
They were drifting in the swarm. It was dark and silent
inside the shuttle. Seven was mentally counting off the
seconds until the docking time. At ten seconds she
started calling out the time and Naomi breathed a sigh
of relief
when they felt the shuttle bump. They moved
into the escape bay and Seven checked the docking
indicators. She
nodded to Naomi and, together, they
opened the hatch. Seven stepped through, alert for
anything unusual. She
turned to help Naomi out.
"Do you see or feel anything?"
"No. I do not. It does not appear as if the
creatures have found their way inside. At least, not
this section."
Seven moved to a nearby console, pleased to find it
still had power.
She read the scans, frowning, "It
appears the warp core is down and Voyager is running on
emergency power only.
The same energy feedback that
damaged our shuttle has damaged Voyager."
"Is that bad?"
"Actually, it is good. It means that there was less
energy to create a feeding frenzy by the creatures. That
might
mean they have not entered the ship and will
increase our chances of successfully getting Voyager out
of the
swarm."
"How will we do that?"
Seven glanced up from her work, "I do not know. I
have not worked out that part of the plan."
In spite of herself, Naomi laughed. Seven looked at her
in surprise and then smiled. Naomi thought for a moment
that Seven was actually going to laugh but she just
shrugged and turned her attention back to the console.
"The crew is incapacitated and most of the systems
are shut down, including the turbolifts. That means
getting to
the bridge will be difficult." She
stopped and stood, thinking. "We must come up with
a plan."
"We?"
"We."
They talked, both mindful of the fact their timeframe
had to be within the life support system of their
emergency
suits. They could not recharge their suits
since the system was not powered and they could not
change into new
suits due to the risk of being
incapacitated. They discussed idea after idea for
piloting Voyager out of the energy
flow but all of them
involved using energy that would attract the beings and
put the ship back into the center of the
swarm.
"We need a distraction." Seven sat thinking.
"We need to find a way to nudge Voyager out of the
swarm in a way
that doesn't draw the swarm back to the
ship. We have to move Voyager without using impulse
power."
"Seven?"
"Yes?"
"Could we send a shuttle back into the swarm? Would
that pull the energy beings away from Voyager?"
Seven of Nine was silent. So silent, Naomi was starting
to feel stupid.
"I guess it was a silly suggestion, Seven. I'm
sorry."
"No, Naomi," Naomi heard a hint of excitement
in Seven's voice, "No, it is a good idea. We can
use a shuttle to
push Voyager out of the energy flow and
then send the shuttle into the swarm."
She moved quickly to the console.
"We will shut
down all systems except life support and piloting
controls. We will use one of the shuttles in the
shuttle
bay, first anchoring it just inside the outer doors. We
will open the outer doors and fire only the shuttle's
propulsion engines. That should start us moving. We can
use the forward thrusters to pilot Voyager outside of
the
flow. Then, we will fully power up the shuttle,
release it and send it into the flow. That should
attract the energy
beings. If we can get far enough
away, we can escape. Once out of the flow, the power
should come back on line.
With the energy beings away
from the ship, the crew should recover."
She looked at Naomi, "Can you pilot Voyager?"
Naomi looked at her in shock. "What?"
"Can you pilot Voyager?"
"I, uh, I think so. Mr. Paris has taught me how to
use the helm controls."
"You will need to pilot the ship, making certain we
maintain a course away from the swarm."
"But," Naomi stopped.
Seven watched her square her shoulders, the indecision
disappearing from her eyes.
"I can do it."
"Good." Seven came over and sat next to her.
"We must plan."
They were sitting side by side, almost but not quite
touching. They had been over the plan time after time.
Both
understood their assignments and both knew they
were moments from separating. Each was thinking about
what
that might mean.
"Seven, if you..."
"Do not think about that. You carry out your
assignment. It will be all right."
Naomi stood and moved to stand in front of Seven. She
did not say anything, just looked as best as she could
through her helmet into Seven's. Both were quiet. Then,
Seven leaned into Naomi, letting their helmets touch.
They
stared into each other's eyes, speaking without
talking. Naomi suddenly realized that Seven had grabbed
her left
hand and was squeezing it tightly. She reached
her free hand out to press it against Seven's helmet.
Seven looked
at it and pressed her head against her
helmet underneath it. They smiled at each other.
Seven said, "We will succeed."
Naomi replied, "We will not fail."
They walked out of the cargo bay together then
separated. Naomi started the long trek toward the bridge
and
Seven started for the shuttle bay.
"Crewman, report." The sound came through the
headset in Naomi's helmet.
"I am approaching the Jeffries tube to start my
climb to the bridge. I saw one crewmember. He was
unconscious."
"Did you approach him?"
"No. I followed orders."
Seven smiled to herself. They had discussed Naomi's need
to remain focused and not be distracted by any
members
of the crew she might encounter. They had a limited
period of time to carry out their mission and they
could
not afford any distractions. Naomi had clearly
understood.
"I have entered the shuttle bay and am currently
positioning the shuttle. The power to the coupling
systems
appears to have failed. I will have to manually
secure the shuttle to the floor."
Naomi had started her climb up the Jeffries tube to the
bridge. She paused when she heard Seven speak. She
knew
what that meant and what Seven of Nine was telling her.
Fear and grief played itself across her face but she
pushed the emotions back. She could not let herself be
distracted by emotions. Then she started to climb again.
"I have just passed Deck Nine."
Seven nodded and continued her work. Doing this manually
was hard enough work but doing it with only one
functional arm was making it extremely difficult. She
used the pulleys to maneuver the shuttle so that it was
facing
inward, engines pointed toward the shuttle bay's
outer doors. When she fired the propulsion system, their
hope was
that it would give Voyager enough propulsion to
move out of the flow. Once Naomi reached the bridge, she
would
cut all power except life support and what they
needed to deploy forward thrusters to give her the
ability to pilot the
ship. Naomi knew to deploy these in
one-second bursts only. They thought these bursts would
not be enough to
attract the energy beings back to
Voyager, that the shuttle would be attracting them away
from the apparently dead
ship. Key to the plan would be
to cut all power to the hull. That also meant that all
power to the shuttle bay would
have to be terminated.
Seven knew she would have to complete her task without
the benefit of gravity and in the
dark. Further, she
knew that to manually release the locks securing the
shuttle, she would need a light and a
phaser. Using
those meant she would appear as an energy source.
She pushed that thought from her mind and locked the
shuttle into position.
"Shuttle is secured."
"I am two decks away from the bridge. I should be
there in a few minutes."
"Have you seen anything unusual?"
"No."
Seven could hear that Naomi was breathless. "Naomi,
I have been thinking."
"What, Seven?"
"I think we should plan another away mission
soon."
Again, Naomi hesitated, but only for a moment. "I
would like that."
"While this one has not turned out exactly as we
had hoped, I have enjoyed spending the time with
you."
Naomi's eyes teared but she kept climbing. "I
enjoyed our time, too, Seven."
"Thank you for taking care of me on the shuttle.
You did a good job of tending to my injury. The Doctor
will be
proud of you."
Naomi clamped her jaws together and concentrated on her
ascent. Finally she said, "I am at the
bridge."
"Good. Naomi, listen, before you go
in..."
Naomi stopped, her hand on the Jeffries tube door,
"Yes, Seven. What is it?"
"Everyone in there will be unconscious. Do not stop
to attend to them, remember?"
"Yes, Seven. I remember."
They had been through this many times but Naomi knew it
was important to Seven to go through this one more
time.
"Once we leave the flow and the energy starts to
return to the ship, it is likely some members of the
crew will
awaken and try to take over control of the
ship. You must resist them. There will not be time to
explain what is
going on and you must concentrate on
your task. "
"I understand."
"No matter what happens, you report exactly what is
happening."
"I will."
"And," this time, Seven stumbled over her
words, her own voice growing thick with emotion,
"no matter what
happens, you carry out your
assignment."
Naomi closed her eyes and took a breath, "Yes, I
will."
"Good. Proceed, Naomi Wildman."
Naomi entered into the bridge. She was immediately aware
of all the officers lying around the bridge. She
concentrated on not looking at any of them as she moved
to the helm. She stepped over the body of Tom Paris
and
took his seat.
"Seven, I am at the helm. Transferring all of ships
controls to the helm. Shutting down power to the hull.
Minimal
life support to all decks. Rerouting power to
forward thrusters. Bridge and shuttle bay operational.
All other
systems terminated. The bridge is ready."
Seven of Nine listened to the young voice calling out
each procedure. Naomi went through them, one by one,
just
as they had planned. She knew with a deep sadness
that Naomi had just lost part of her childhood. After
today,
nothing would ever be the same for her again. She
felt a wetness slide down the right side of her face.
She was
crying again. She cleared her throat and fought
for composure. It was her turn.
"I have tethered myself to the shuttle bay console.
I am now transferring shuttle commands to the shuttle
bay
console."
Seven of Nine's hand worked the console controls.
Finally, she raised her head, paused and said,
"Bridge, terminate power to the shuttle bay,
shuttle bay console
power on."
"Power terminated to shuttle bay, shuttle bay
console power on."
The shuttle bay went black. The only light in the
expanse was a dim glow coming from the console. Seven
moved
her hand over the console and stopped before
initiating the next command. She took a deep breath and
continued.
"I am opening the outer shuttle bay doors."
She braced for the decompression that began immediately.
Everything that was not secured was sucked through
the
doors. She felt the air rush around her, pulling her
toward the open doors. She was jerked against the
tethers
than held her to the console, the force pressing
her arm tighter against her body. She groaned in pain.
"Seven?"
Naomi could hear the groans. It
seemed to take forever to get her words out. Suddenly,
the pressure subsided and
she was able to breathe again.
"The shuttle bay has decompressed."
She caught
her breath and looked at the console.
"The energy
beings are entering the shuttle bay. I am firing shuttle
engines."
Seven fired the shuttle's engines. The energy beings
began to swarm the shuttle. She fired the engines for
twenty
seconds. According to their calculations, that
would be enough to get Voyager moving. She watched with
relief as
the locking mechanism held the shuttle in
place. She heard Naomi's voice in her headset.
"Firing forward starboard thrusters."
A few seconds later, she added, "Ship is coming
around. Heading two eight five and on course."
"Reversing shuttle engines."
She entered the command and then started moving toward
the shuttle, feeling her magnetized shoes cling to the
shuttle bay floor and the tether tug against her as she
moved. She had counted the steps that would put her into
position to fire on the release mechanism.
"Preparing to release the shuttle."
Naomi held her breath, dreading what would happen next.
With the shuttle engines firing, Seven's suit energy was
not enough to attract the energy beings. But once she
turned on her light and fired the phaser, she would
present a
strong energy target.
"Light on, firing phaser."
The locking
mechanism released the straining shuttle which shot
backwards from Voyager.
"Shuttle has
deployed."
"Firing forward port thrusters to correct heading.
Moving out of flow at ninety degrees."
She glanced at the helm scans. "Seven, what is your
status?"
She could see what was on the scans and knew what she
was going to hear.
"Not all of the energy beings followed the shuttle.
I think I have a number around me. My energy signal
should be
diminishing and they should follow the shuttle
soon. Terminate power to the shuttle bay console."
"Terminating power to shuttle bay console."
Seven stood in the dark, watching the light from the
shuttle fade into the darkness. She could feel the power
being
drained from her suit.
"Report heading."
"Heading is two eight five and on course. We are
moving out of the energy flow. We will clear the flow in
one
minute, fifty-eight seconds."
"Very good. What is hull integrity?"
"Hull integrity is eighty-eight percent and
holding."
Naomi was reading all of the indicators
on the helm, narrowing her concentration to the tasks
ahead of her.
"Naomi," Seven's voice was soft, almost
distant.
"Yes, Seven?"
"You have done a good job. I am proud of you."
Naomi caught her breath, tears springing to her eyes.
She blinked them back. She could not let anything
interfere
with her ability to carry out her assignment.
"We make a good team, Naomi Wildman."
"Yes, we do, Seven of Nine."
"Report our status."
"Clearing the energy flow. Heading still at two
eight five." Naomi was concentrating. She was
trying not to think
about what was happening in the
shuttle bay. She could hear Seven breathing and could
hear her breathing start
to labor.
"Voyager is in your hands now, Naomi."
"I will not let you down."
"I know you will not."
She was alone. But she wasn't really alone. Inside her
head was Seven, talking her through every step, every
maneuver, every situation.
Keep your heading at two
eight five.
"Heading two eight five, on
course."
Once you clear the stream, the drain on the energy
will be terminated and the power will be restored.
Maintain the
ship on life support only. If you do not,
you risk attracting the beings back to Voyager.
"Maintaining all systems on life support
only."
The crew should start to revive as soon as Voyager
escapes the flow. Do not let them distract you. You do
not
have the time to explain. They will most likely be
disoriented. Resist them.
The Captain was the first to open her eyes. She
looked around her bridge, her head whirling and her ears
aching.
She shook her head and opened her mouth, then
swallowed to clear her ears. She noticed a small body at
her
helm, dressed in white. There was an alien piloting
her ship. She reached for her phaser.
Maintain a close watch on the hull. With the power
terminated to the hull, it is possible there will be a
failure. If
the hull starts to fail, you will need to
reroute power.
"Hull integrity is eighty-eight percent and
holding."
The Captain heard the muffled voice speaking. She
recognized the words and frowned.
Captain Janeway will probably be the first to recover.
She will attempt to get you to relinquish helm control.
You
must resist her. Keep reporting. She will listen to
what you are saying and she will understand. It is
important you
keep reporting.
"Maintaining life support only. All other systems
offline. Distance from the energy flow is seven thousand
meters."
The Captain slowly moved around the helm, phaser drawn
and held steady on the small figure. Her eyes widened
as
she recognized Naomi Wildman.
"Naomi? What are you...where is Seven of
Nine?"
This species follows particle streams. Voyager must
have crossed within five thousand meters of such a
stream.
The Borg learned that this species cannot move
that far from a stream without an alternate energy
source. Do
nothing at five thousand meters. At eight
thousand meters, power up impulse engines.
"Distance from the flow is now eight thousand
meters. Powering up impulse engines."
"Naomi, what are you doing? Stop."
She only glanced at the Captain.
"No, Captain, I
cannot comply. Impulse engines at fifty percent, seventy
percent."
At ten thousand meters, go to one half impulse.
"Impulse engines at ninety percent, distance from
the flow nine thousand, five hundred meters. Impulse
engines at
ninety-five percent, ninety-nine, one hundred
percent. Distance from the flow nine thousand, nine
hundred meters,
ten thousand meters. One half
impulse."
"Naomi, I am giving you an order to stop."
Run one half impulse for the count of ten only.
Then, shut the engines down. Any energy beings still
inside the
shuttle bay should be attracted by this
energy discharge. Once you terminate impulse power, they
should follow
the energy stream back to the flow and
away from Voyager. Do not shut the shuttle bay doors
yet.
She looked at the Captain, shaking her head, trying to
tell her with her eyes that she should not be stopped,
all
the time, counting down from ten.
"...three,
two, one, shutting down impulse power. Shuttle bay doors
still open."
Her eyes drilled into the Captain's as she said those
last words. The Captain looked at her, eyes narrowing.
She
was listening intently and Naomi could see her mind
working. She was aware that others on the bridge were
starting to come around. Tom Paris was getting to his
feet behind her. She felt his hand on her shoulder but
saw
the Captain wave him off.
"Captain?" He looked at his Captain.
"Get her helmet off."
Captain Janeway was holding the phaser on her, still not
quite certain as to what was going on. She felt Tom's
hands undo the fasteners on her helmet and start to pull
it off her head.
Keep reporting everything you do and everything you
see. Once you get to fifteen thousand meters from the
flow,
power up impulse engines again.
"Distance from the flow is thirteen thousand
meters. Heading still at two eight five, hull integrity
holding."
The helmet was coming off. She looked at Captain Janeway,
her eyes steely with determination.
"Distance from the flow is fifteen thousand meters.
Bringing up impulse engines."
Captain Janeway watched, still confused but somehow
knowing she should do nothing at this moment.
At twenty thousand meters, go to full impulse power.
"Distance now at eighteen thousand meters."
"Tuvok," Janeway commanded, "can you read
anything from that energy flow?"
"Distance at nineteen thousand meters."
"Negative, Captain," reported Tuvok, "All
controls have been rerouted to helm. I do not have scans
to read."
"Distance at twenty thousand meters. Full impulse
power."
Once you go to full impulse power, scan for energy
beings inside the shuttle bay. If there are none, then
and only
then can you shut the shuttle bay doors.
"Scans indicate no signs of energy beings inside
the shuttle bay. Shutting shuttle bay doors."
Pressurize the shuttle bay.
"Pressurizing the shuttle bay."
Captain Janeway's eyes widened. She looked at Tuvok,
"Rescue team to the shuttle bay. Now!"
Tuvok moved to the turbolift, which did not open for
him. He turned.
If there are no signs of the energy beings outside
Voyager, restore power to all systems on the ship.
"Scans indicate no signs of energy beings outside
Voyager. Restoring power to all systems on the
ship."
The turbolift doors opened and Tuvok entered. No one
else on the bridge moved. They were all staring at the
small
figure sitting at the helm, controlling the
starship.
You can then turn control over to the Captain.
Voyager will be safe and your mission will be finished.
She looked at the helm controls. Course was reading
steady and systems were normal. She slumped, her hands
slowly moving from the helm to her lap. She raised her
head to look at Captain Janeway.
"Captain, returning control of the ship to you. The
mission of the away team is completed."
Kathryn Janeway walked toward Naomi. She watched as the
child's face crumpled and felt the sobs that
racked
her
body as she gathered her in her arms.
****
They were in her ready room, Naomi telling the Captain
what had happened after the energy beings dropped out of
subspace. She had stopped crying and was standing
straight, her voice now emotionless. She reminded
Janeway
of Seven of Nine. The Captain listened, both
proud of the child standing before her and horrified at
the experience
she had been through. Suddenly, the doors
opened and Ensign Wildman came running through.
"Naomi!" She ran halfway into the room before
she realized the Captain had risen to greet her.
She
stopped, coming to attention, "Captain."
"No, Ensign. That's all right." She waved the
Ensign on to her child.
As Samantha Wildman reached her daughter, all of Naomi's
firm resolve once again crumpled as her mother
gathered
her up.
"Oh, thank God you are alive." She hugged her
daughter tightly. She turned and looked around the room
and back
at the Captain. "Where is Seven of
Nine?"
The Captain just looked at her, not trying to hide the
sadness in her eyes and shrugged. Samantha Wildman's
eyes widened in shock. She hugged Naomi tighter to her,
tears springing into her own eyes.
"Tuvok to Captain Janeway."
She hit her combadge, "Janeway here. Go ahead Tuvok."
"I have transported Seven of Nine to Sickbay."
The Captain turned from Naomi and her mother, lowered
her voice and asked, "What is her status, Tuvok?"
"I cannot answer that."
"Is she dead or alive?"
"Captain, you will have to ask the Doctor. I do not
know the answer."
She sighed, "Thank you, Tuvok. Janeway out."
She turned back to the family in her ready room and saw
that Naomi had pulled away from her mother and was
looking directly at her. She saw the look on Naomi's
face and turned to look at her mother. Ensign Wildman
slowly
nodded her head. The Captain lowered her head and
put her hands on her hips.
Then, she said, "Okay.
We'll go to Sickbay."
They walked, Naomi between them. The Captain looked over
at Ensign Wildman who gave her a reassuming look.
Samantha Wildman still did not know everything that had
gone on while she was unconscious, but she knew that
Naomi had to make this trip to Sickbay. They hesitated
when they reached the Sickbay doors but Naomi did not.
She walked in and walked straight for the biobed where
the Doctor was working on Seven. The first thing the
Captain noticed was that the Doctor looked concerned but
he was not upset. And the biobed was activated. A wave
of hope washed over her. She watched Naomi walk up to
the bed and stand, looking up at Seven and then at the
Doctor, waiting, her face resolute. As the Captain and
Ensign Wildman approached, the Doctor looked down at
Naomi.
He came around to her and squatted down,
"Seven is alive."
It took her a moment to comprehend what he had told her.
She looked at him, puzzled, "What?"
He smiled and picked her up, holding her over Seven's
bed so Naomi could see her better, "She is alive
."
He looked at the Captain and Ensign Wildman, "I
have her in a coma-induced state which I will keep her
in for at
least twenty-four hours to give her system
time to recover. Also, it will allow me to monitor her
without an
argument." He gave them a broad smile.
"Doctor, how could she have survived?" Captain
Janeway was as shocked as Naomi had been.
"Let's just say that there are some real benefits
to being Borg. Apparently, there were enough Borg
implants to
maintain her system in the vacuum. She would
not have lasted much longer, though. It was a good thing
Tuvok
got to her when he did."
"Thank Naomi for that, Doctor."
When both the Doctor and Ensign Wildman looked at her
questioningly, Janeway continued.
"Naomi was
reporting everything she did. If she had not kept
talking, I wouldn't have known the shuttle bay doors
were open. I guessed that Seven was in there, but it was
an educated guess."
She looked at Naomi proudly, "You saved her
life."
"Seven told me to keep reporting everything I did.
She told me you would listen and understand. She told me
everything to do."
"And she was right." Janeway smiled.
"Yes. We make a good team."
Naomi's eyes were still glued to Seven.
"Yes you do."
The Captain moved closer to the bed to look at Seven.
For the first time, she noticed the bindings around
Seven's
body.
She looked at the Doctor, indicating the
bandages, "What are these?"
Before the Doctor could respond, Naomi spoke up,
"Seven broke her arm. I bandaged her arm to bind it
to her
body. The Doctor taught me how to do that."
The Captain and Samantha Wildman looked at each other
and then at the Doctor, amusement etched on their
faces.
Seven was wrapped up like a mummy.
"Looks like you did a good job," said the
Captain, "I don't think that arm moved at all with
all those bandages."
The Doctor cleared his throat. "Naomi did an
excellent job of stabilizing the arm." He paused
and added, looking
at Naomi, "The next lesson will
include aesthetics in wrapping."
Samantha Wildman opened the doors to their living
quarters and welcomed their dinner guest in.
"How are you doing, Seven?"
"I am well, thank you, Ensign Wildman." She
awkwardly held out a box of candy, "The Doctor says
it is
appropriate to bring a gift when you are invited
to eat."
"Thank you, Seven," she smiled, repressing a
chuckle. "That is very thoughtful. Come on in,
dinner is almost
ready. By the way, why don't you call
me Samantha."
Seven nodded and then followed her into the living area.
Samantha could tell how uncomfortable she was and
searched for something to say to break the ice.
"Did you successfully regenerate this
afternoon?"
She knew the Doctor had Seven regenerating most of the
time while she recovered.
"Yes."
Well, Samantha thought as she set their dinner on the
table, that did not get me very far.
She stopped what she was doing and turned to face her
dinner guest.
"Seven, I want to thank you for
everything you did. You promised me you would take care
of Naomi and bring her
safely home and you did. What you
did saved her life and mine. I will never be able to
thank you enough."
Now, she could tell Seven really felt uncomfortable.
That wasn't what she had hoped for.
"Naomi did much to save herself and you. And she
saved my life, also."
She stood, straight and apart. Suddenly, Samantha
Wildman saw through the reserve and the aloofness. All
she
could see was the need and vulnerability in her. At
that moment, Seven reminded her of Naomi when she was
trying
to be grownup and yet needed to be told she was
loved. Before she could stop herself, she crossed to
Seven,
reached up and gently placed her hand on Seven's
cheek.
"I know. I am proud of her but I am proud of you,
also."
At that moment, Naomi came running in. They turned to
greet her, Seven both grateful for the interruption and
saddened by it.
"Naomi Wildman."
"Seven of Nine. How are you today?"
"I am well. But I am hungry." Her eyes were
humorous.
"Then let's eat," said Naomi's mother.
They sat and ate. During the meal, Naomi
enthusiastically related the events of their away
mission with Seven
correcting or affirming her account.
"But Seven, why didn't you have Naomi close the
shuttle bay doors after the first impulse burn?"
"Because I was not certain all of the energy beings
would have left Voyager at that point. With all of the
power
terminated in the shuttle bay," she
hesitated, aware of Naomi next to her, "and with my
own suit drained as well,
I knew that they would leave
with the second burn if they had not left with the
first. If any energy beings had
remained inside Voyager,
other members of the crew would have been at risk."
Samantha reached over, placing her hand over Seven's,
"But you put yourself at great risk in doing
that."
Seven sat still, staring at the hand covering hers. She
found she could not speak. Samantha patted her hand and
then pulled hers away, "What you did was very
brave."
She stood, "Why don't you and Naomi go play some
Kadis-Kot while I clean up."
Seven stood, "I will assist you."
"No, you're still recovering. Besides, Naomi has
been eager for you to get better so you could play with
her again.
I'm afraid I'm not much of a match for
her."
Seven nodded and followed an excited Naomi to her room.
They played for more than an hour before Samantha
came
in.
"I hate to break this up but it is time for Naomi
to go to bed. Just as the Doctor has you regenerating
most of the
time, I'm making Naomi get a lot of rest
right now. Both of you have been through a lot
lately."
"Of course. I will leave now."
"No, Seven," said Naomi, anxious to keep her
close as long as possible. "Can you stay until I go
to sleep?"
Seven looked to Naomi's mother who quickly said, "I
think that would be a good idea. That is, if you would
like to,
Seven."
To her great surprise, she felt herself nodding. She was
not ready to leave this family yet. She watched as
Samantha helped Naomi get ready for bed, admitting to
herself that it felt good to be a part of this ritual,
to share in
its closeness. Soon, Naomi crawled into bed
and pulled the covers over her. Samantha pulled a book
from the desk
and opened it as she sat on the side of
the bed. Seven stood, uncertain what to do.
"Please, sit down, Seven." Samantha indicated
the opposite side of the bed, next to Naomi.
"On the bed?"
"Yes."
Seven looked down at the bed doubtfully.
"It is just like being on a
bio-bed, Seven,"
Naomi said helpfully, "only much more
comfortable."
Seven gingerly sat down and realized she was facing away
from Naomi and her mother. She twisted to face them,
the
obvious confusion written on her face. Samantha smiled
to herself, got up and walked around the bed to where
Seven very uncomfortably sat.
"Here, let me help you."
Soon, she had Seven situated on the bed, stretched out
and propped up on pillows.
"How does that feel?"
"It feels strange."
"You'll get used to it. You'll find that it is
really quite comfortable."
She absently patted Seven on the shoulder and moved back
to Naomi's side of the bed, taking up the book and
sitting back down.
"Now, Naomi, where was I?"
As she read, Seven listened, not to her words, but to
the sound of her voice. She could still feel Samantha's
hand
on her shoulder. She found all of this somehow
comforting. She closed her eyes, remembering Samantha
Wildman
touching her face and telling her she was proud
of her. Part of a memory from long ago flickered and she
chased it
in her mind but it was fleeting and escaped
her. She sighed, finding she was drifting in the
singsong melody of the
voice filling the cabin. Naomi
and her mother were right, the bed really was
comfortable. Samantha Wildman
finished reading the book
and looked up. Naomi was sleeping soundly, her face
peaceful. She smiled, leaned over
and kissed her child
on the forehead. She looked over at Seven to tell her it
was okay to go and was amazed to
see that she, too, was
sound asleep. She sat there, wondering what to do.
Finally, she got up and picked up a
blanket from a
nearby chair. She walked over to where Seven was
sleeping and covered her with it. She turned and
walked
to the bedroom door, then turned back to look at the two
figures sleeping on the bed.
"Computer," she whispered, "lights
out."
|
|
|
|
|
|
