Star Trek Voyager: Their Human Errors

Chapter 16

Seven couldn't quite restrain her sigh of relief as she saw her companion's skipping pace ahead of her through the undergrowth slow to a measured walk. The sheer physical, and emotional, toll this day had taken on her had caused her innate stubbornness to wane slightly, enough for her to admit to herself that she was exhausted. Perhaps Chakotay had been wise, rather than inefficiently thoughtful, to allow her the couple of extra hours sleep this morning. Unfortunately, as the Doctor frequently reminded her, she needed to regenerate regularly to function properly for an extended period of time. The nanoprobes now beginning to degrade in her bloodstream were gradually bringing on a dull but persistent ache to every remaining Borg implant in her body, adding to the purely psychological burden she carried of being permanently on edge in this alien, wild environment. She shivered as she remembered the unrelenting panic of when she'd lost her tricorder. Despite having no idea if the girl was leading her anywhere useful, and the fact that her sunny, unconcerned manner was going against her own current mood and circumstance, Seven wasn't ashamed to be grateful for her presence.

Just then, the girl stopped at a gap in the trees, leaning through before beaming back at Seven with a delighted smile. "We have reached your destination?" Seven asked tentatively as she carefully made her way over. Part of her argued that it was pointless to talk to someone who couldn't understand any oral language let alone of from a planet a quadrant away, but she found that she now wholly empathised with Chakotay's attempt to communicate. It felt comforting, necessary even, to at least try. The girl seemed to read the uncertainty on her face and reached for Seven's arm, her gaze reassuring as she gently pulled her through the gap along with her.

An amazed gasp unconsciously left Seven's lips as they left the cover of the trees. They stood in a lush green clearing, bushes of berries hugged the ground and bright wildflowers lay colourfully underfoot, but the main thing that captivated Seven stood proudly in the centre of all that like a crowning glory. It was a waterfall, crystal clear but still mesmerizingly blue, which cascaded down in a graceful arch from the shining granite rock face which enclosed part of the clearing and into a circular pool framed by more flowers. She could feel herself relaxing as she took in the scene, she was unable at that moment to imagine a more perfectly picturesque place; even the splash of the water was rhythmical and calming. She realised, as she watched the girl have a similar reaction beside her although she must have seen this before, that perhaps this was the relevance, the power, of beauty. A wry smile passed briefly over her lips, the Commander had proven his point to her, though certainly not in the way he had intended. She caught the girl watching her expectantly and returned her smile, in a slightly more restrained manner, as the girl pointed again to the waterfall. "Yes, it's very impressive." She murmured, her gaze captured by the sight again for a moment, "But I need to find my shuttle, I can't remain here."

The girl, of course, didn't understand her, just pouted at Seven's serious expression before walking to the pool and scooping up a few handfuls of water to her lips. Seven knew this was a sensible idea and headed to the water herself, drinking the cold, deliciously fresh water greedily, the replicated drinks offered on Voyager couldn't compare with it. The girl seemed to relish her enjoyment and came to her side holding a handful of small maroon berries, gulping a few down herself before pressing the rest into Seven's palm. Seven eyed them sceptically, just because the girl could eat them didn't mean they weren't poisonous to her, but the hungry growl of her stomach won out as she rationalised that she'd need to eat something in this forest eventually and it would be better to take what the native people offered. Swallowing them all in one go, she was pleased to find that they tasted a lot like cranberries but sweeter, without the parched feeling in her throat afterwards. The girl grinned knowingly and brought her another handful before dunking her feet into the pond with a contented sigh. Watching her, Seven's feet, hot in her dirty, tattered ankle boots, gave a jealous throb and within minutes Seven had cast aside protocol and added her feet to the water, echoing the girl's earlier sigh of contentment.