Star Trek Voyager: Their Human Errors

Chapter 17

Seven studied her borrowed tricorder intently for a moment before refocusing her eyes on Chakotay and the villagers he was carefully directing to lift the main part of the shuttle. Chakotay must've seen the contemplation on her face for he shot her a gently questioning look, "Ready Seven?"

She held off from answering immediately, even for her quick mind interpreting the data the tricorder presented her with and correlating it with the real situation around her was proving a challenge, one she normally would have relished but was now tainted with worry for Chakotay and their helpers. Forcing herself to relax, the answer slipped confidently into her mind and out of her mouth. "Ready Commander. I need you to direct them to move it 1.5 metres directly ahead, almost where you're standing." She went to his side and showed him the details on the tricorder and he nodded briskly in understanding, allowing himself a small smile of hope.

"Right, I'll tell them." He assured her calmly, managing to move on his wooden crutch with an agile purposefulness Seven couldn't help but pause to admire. Stopping directly in front of the nose of the shuttle, still thankfully recognisable even after the impact of the crash, he signalled to the group that had gamely arranged themselves around the shuttle and were already holding it clear off the ground, their toughened but supple muscles straining but coping with the immense weight. "Over here, then lower!" he signed bluntly, wishing, as he knew a nervous Seven had since he'd proposed this effort, that he was able to give them more detailed, cautionary, instructions.

When they began to move however, he saw that however he'd mangled their language, they understood more than he ever could have explained. They bore their burden forward with a fluid, uniform calm, so in sync that no crew in Starfleet, or even members of the Borg Collective could've given them lessons in teamwork. In fact, Chakotay suspected that if the crew of Voyager had had to undertake such an endeavour there would have been muttered discord and griping rather than the proud and encouraging smiles these people exchanged. He heard a soft, awe filled, gasp from Seven as the shuttle was lowered to the ground on the spot she'd indicated and grinned widely at her, "Impressive aren't they?"

"Undoubtedly." She murmured in agreement before glancing down at the tricorder again, "That should be the correct position, if my calculations are correct..."

"Which they have an almost alarming tendency to be." Chakotay teasingly reminded her as he heard the doubt creeping into her voice.

Seven's only reply to that was a slight rise of her eyebrow before turning away from him to head for the shuttle. "Tell them to keep their distance at all costs!" she instructed him, her words echoing eerily as she disappeared inside the shuttle through an open gouge in the side.

"Easier said than done." Chakotay muttered to himself as he watched several of the fascinated people flocking to follow Seven inside, with many more continuing to scavenge curiously among the smaller scraps of debris. Eventually he had to resort to physically pushing the ringleaders back with his free hand, then scrawling out a "do not cross line" in the ground with his stick, which seemed to finally get the message across and they backed off. "How's it going in there Seven?" he called anxiously as he coaxed a playful young boy back to his mother.

"The relevant shuttle components have been recalibrated to emit a signal which should disrupt the shield." Seven reported as she clambered awkwardly out of her confined workspace in the shuttle, "I will activate now." Leaving a good distance between herself and the shuttle, leading Chakotay back with her, she remotely activated her contraption using her tricorder.