Star Trek Voyager: Their Human Errors

Star Trek Voyager: Their Human Errors (Chapter 6)

“I’ve brought the report from Engineering you requested Commander.” Tal Celes said quietly as she reached Chakotay’s chair, but the normally attentive man she knew appeared to be completely lost in his own thoughts and she was loath to intervene. She shifted the PADD she was holding apprehensively in her hands as she awaited a response, even after almost seven years being on the Bridge still intimidated her. Finally, she placed a cautious hand lightly on Chakotay’s arm. “Commander? Are you alright? I can come back later…”

Chakotay jumped slightly at her touch, pulled back to awareness of where he was. He turned in his chair to give a nervous Celes an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry Celes…” He took the PADD from her then ran a tired hand through his hair, “I’m just a little…distracted today.” Against his will, his eyes automatically moved to the source of that distraction, the doors of the Ready Room that Seven of Nine had entered a matter of minutes ago with the Captain.

“It’s okay Commander…” Celes mumbled shyly, resisting a curious urge to follow the direction of his gaze. “Even the Prophets get distracted sometimes.”

“Yeah, I guess we all do.” Chakotay agreed, a little too quickly. He was just about to force himself to tear his attention away from the door when his patience was rewarded. Seven strode out of the room and across the Bridge as she had many times before, but he felt his jaw clenching involuntarily as he watched her head for the turbolift a little too fast, her eyes downcast and her shoulders hunched over, as if she wanted to curl in on herself. He knew, at least partially, what she had just faced, had expected this in a way, but her reactions still unnerved him even as she disappeared from the Bridge on the turbolift. Even after the most contentious of arguments, and Seven had had them with most of the crew at some point including himself, he’d never seen her looking so defeated before. She always exuded some form of confidence, or perhaps given what he’d seen of her the past few days it was defiance, that had enabled her to stare her detractors down and maintain an impassive, detached stance that Tuvok would be proud of. Now though, that unshakable impassivity had gone. Her expression was still unreadable, he couldn’t pinpoint any particular emotion on her face, but for once he knew for a fact they were there, storming under the surface. He sighed audibly at his own train of thought, maybe he was reading too much into all this…

“I wonder what she’s done now?” Chakotay heard Ensign Calderon, at the comm. since Tom had left for his night off, mutter loudly to his friend Crewman Jackson.

“Well, just then with the mines was a near miss.” Jackson speculated, “But I heard she was doing some weird Borg project on the holodeck and nearly blew up Deck Six…”

Chakotay had had enough even before the mention of the holodecks but now he began to lose his temper. “Does this conversation have anything to do with the duties I’ve assigned either of you?” he asked sharply, his tone unexpectedly heated. Both crewmembers immediately fell silent, shell-shocked by the force of their Commander’s disapproval. “Good.” Chakotay told them tersely, standing up hurriedly as he saw the Captain re-enter the Bridge out of the corner of his eye, looking just as grim as Seven. He headed over to her impulsively when she pointedly avoided him, “What did you say to her?” he asked, hopefully out of earshot of this gossipy Bridge shift. He was surprised by the accusatory tinge to his own question, Seven had most certainly been in the wrong this time by neglecting her duties after all.

The Captain didn’t seem to pick up on it though as she heaved a dissatisfied sigh. “I just told her not to neglect her duties again.” She answered shortly before continuing, “I just don’t get it this time Chakotay.” She admitted, her unease evident. “God knows I’ve gotten used to people lying to me about their indiscretions over the years…” At these words she shot him a coldly pointed glance which in an instant told Chakotay that Seven hadn’t told the Captain anything, and in turn that Janeway half-blamed him for the current situation. “I just never thought I’d need to go through the lecture about duty with Seven of Nine…” The Captain confided disbelievingly as she regarded Chakotay again, “That’s the one concept of humanity I always thought she understood from the beginning.” Sadness and apprehension flicked briefly over the Captain’s controlled features, “It makes me doubt if anything we teach her really gets through that Borg armour in the end.”