Star Trek Voyager: Disunity

Star Trek Voyager: Disunity (Chapter 8)

White, like being wrapped in a dense fog, it was all that surrounded her. The incessant buzzing and bright light she could feel even behind closed eyelids intensified an already ferocious headache, the pressure of mangled voices building up inside…

“Seven, can you hear me?” This voice subdued the others to a dim murmur, why? Yes, but who are you? Her own thoughts replied. It’s all irrelevant anyway, the headache won’t leave and that’s all I want. “Seven, wake up!” I can’t, I’m not asleep. I don’t know what I’m doing at all. “Wake up! Do this one last thing for me please!” Chakotay, I can’t wake up, don’t you understand? This angry thought had passed through her brain before she had really processed it, who was she referring to? Chakotay. The name and the voice echoed through her, so anguished and desperate and lonely. It sounded as if, and she could now feel his emotions too, he cared for her, more than these others that were holding her here anyway. Her dreamy mind began its struggle to focus, perhaps if she tried she could go back to him, whoever he was, if she called out his name he would help her…

Suddenly the white mist faded away and for a few precious seconds she was fully aware of his mental and physical presence near her and the once resistant lids began to flicker, aching for sight. His violent pulling back, as if he was dropping her into a void, made panic rise in her soul. “Chakotay…” Her ears registered her own half forgotten voice but she knew it was futile; he’d already fled from her and the trauma that she now remembered they shared. Her eyes obeyed her earlier command and opened but a blurry film of tears blocked her vision as the Doctor’s familiar voice and touch made a mostly futile attempt to soothe her.

“What do you intend to do?” Icheb asked Zina quietly from his place at the Astrometrics console.

She immediately turned to look at him, breaking her own rule of avoiding eye contact, what did that mean? Why was it relevant? Of course her would increase presence would improve the efficiency of this vessel considerably but… Efficiency is not what he wants! Not from you anyway! No, that would surely be a false hope. His eyebrow is raised, he expects an answer. “I…”

The sound of Icheb’s comm. badge spared her from answering more completely. It was the Doctor. “Icheb, Seven is awake!” Zina ran to him questioningly wanting confirmation and he beamed down at her before a sudden irrational and unexplainable impulse came over him. He pulled Zina into a kiss and conducted it in what could certainly not be described a chaste manner, not that Zina was particularly experienced in assessing this of course. “Icheb?” The Doctor asked, confused at not getting a response.

That snapped Icheb out of it and he pulled back but noticed Zina kept her arms in place around his neck as he replied, “That is gratifying news. We will come to see her.”

“Good, Doctor out.”

Icheb began to blush furiously and refused to look into Zina’s eyes as he muttered, “I’m sorry…I…”

Zina met his panicked gaze as she leaned forward and returned the kiss. “I’m not…and I intend to remain exactly where I am.”

Icheb looked at her as if to say “Really?” but it went unsaid as he kissed her again, only the sudden opening of the door driving them apart, their blushes extremely noticeable to the person who entered. “Captain!” They exclaimed in mortified unison.

Janeway smiled at the two former Borg, though at the moment they were only a pair of flushed, slightly dishevelled teenagers. “Am I interrupting something?” she asked teasingly, watching them blush in embarrassed silence before moving swiftly on to the subject that had brought her into Astrometrics. “As you know, Seven has woken up. Commander Chakotay roused her, mentally.”