Star Trek Voyager: Disunity

Star Trek Voyager: Disunity (Chapter 6)

The walk along that dimly lit corridor seemed time defying to Seven, a horribly drawn out agony, yet the end came abruptly giving her no time to arrange her thoughts as her limbs were halted by Chakotay’s unfeeling strength and Riley, who had her back turned on them as if their approach was the last thing in her list of priorities, finally turned to face them, her lips twisted upwards in a chillingly cruel smile. “You came. I must say your level of humanity has exceeded my expectations, no Borg would do something so futile.”

Determined deep seated pride wouldn’t allow Seven to give Riley the pleasure of a reaction, somehow she succeeded in keeping her face even colder and more detached than Riley’s as she replied, “No Borg clings to a defunct relationship, your humanity is almost as intact as mine, perhaps more so.”

Riley’s lips pursed. “All the better.” She suddenly seemed to notice that Chakotay’s hand was still clenched around Seven’s arm and if Seven wasn’t mistaken she heard a hiss as she jerked her head and Chakotay instantly let go. Despite herself Seven shuddered, she could almost heard the mental command between them, her last connection to him however painful was now gone. Riley saw the shudder and a smile of triumph lit her still outwardly attractive face and instead of calling Chakotay to her side she approached them, wanting to revel in her glory right in front of her captive’s frosty eyes. “What exactly was your plan?” She asked in interest, running her fingers up Chakotay’s muscular arm when she got no response. “That at the sight of you he’d recant and return to you?”

Her nails dug into the palms of the hands clasped behind her back until they bled, but Seven said nothing, keeping her eyes fixed on a nondescript conduit in the distance, as far as she was concerned that drone wasn’t Chakotay, or at least this is what she told herself in order to keep up her reliable invisible wall of aloofness. Riley pouted slightly and provocatively kissed Chakotay, deepening it with every passing second of Seven’s silence. “Seven, can you hear me?” Seven almost jumped as Icheb’s voice filled her mind.

“Yes!” Her initial reaction of elation quickly faded as she glanced furtively at Riley, but she only smiled and drew back from Chakotay.

“So the statute lives!” she exclaimed mockingly, obviously thinking that her baiting had succeeded.

“What is your situation?” Icheb asked her. Seven felt this couldn’t be expressed in thought alone and despite her human instincts resisting she opened her mind completely and allowed him to see and hear through her, hoping desperately that he would understand.

Janeway saw Icheb’s hands tighten suddenly on the console and his face for a moment contained nothing but unadulterated fear. “What?” she asked tersely.

Icheb gulped before slowly answering in a constrained voice. “It…is worse than we feared.”

Janeway was suddenly reminded of Icheb’s extreme youth, Seven would be angry at him for even doing this. She stepped up to him and put her hand over his cybernetic one. “Tell her the plan and her part in it as clearly and confidently as you can.” She murmured. Icheb nodded once before his eyes again became distant, his link with Seven detaching his consciousness in some way.

“Seven, we will get you both out of there but we need the exact code of the shield harmonics before we can beam yourself and the Commander off and attack the Cube.”

“There are three more Borg vessels.” Seven reminded him.

Janeway thought she was imagining things when she saw Icheb smirk, his lips moving with his telepathic words to Seven. “You and the Commander are only on one. Do not worry, the Captain desires your return not Voyager’s destruction, we will flee as soon as you are on board.”