Chapter Text
“Captain Janeway’s condition is deteriorating, Lieutenant. I’m afraid if we wait too much longer it may be too late. We must return her to the planet’s surface before her unconsciousness transforms into a coma!”
Seven of Nine listened closely to the Doctor’s words from the other side of the medical bay as he and Lieutenant Tuvok spoke in hushed voices. Ordinarily she would have tuned them out, as her superior hearing had often resulted in unintentional eavesdropping of conversations she’d rather not recall, but this time it was important. They were discussing the captain, who lay silently on a bed a few meters from the computer console at which Seven stood.
“Surely there’s got to be another way to handle this,” came Commander Chakotay’s concerned voice next. Seven silently agreed with him. “We can’t just leave her down there. It’s inhumane.”
“The Captain has already expressed her desire for us to do just that, Commander,” countered Tuvok, his Vulcan intonation–or lack thereof–sending a surprising stab of uncertainty into Seven’s stomach. The feeling was unfamiliar, but brief. “We were given a direct order.”
“This isn’t like the last time,” Chakotay continued, and Seven watched as the dark lines of his tattoo furrowed with his brows. “Last time I was with her. We were asymptomatic. We send her down there in this state, she may never wake up. You can’t seriously be considering–”
“She will certainly never wake up if the two of you cannot make a decision in the next few minutes!” the Doctor cried in exasperation. “Her body can’t take any more of the stimulant. It’s becoming less effective by the dose. We have to leave her on the surface until we can synthesize an alternative to the planet’s naturally-occurring chemicals.”
“What about a stasis pod?” asked the Commander, his eyes wide and hopeful as he glanced between his companions. “Wouldn’t that slow the progression of the disease?”
“In a perfect world, Commander, we would only be prolonging the inevitable,” the Doctor replied, his head shaking in frustration again. “We’ve simply spent too much time deliberating over this and now the stimulants needed to bring her out of any stasis could very well provide the killing blow.”
“Then send me down with her! I’m willing to take that risk!” Chakotay’s body had gone rigid and tense, a touch of red forming in his cheeks.
“The Captain was not , Commander, and she entrusted me with her decision,” Tuvok cut in, his face devoid of all expression as always. “Captain Janeway wants Voyager to see this crew back to Earth, no matter the cost. She was unwilling to lose any other members of the crew to this disease. I cannot betray that trust any more than I can disobey her orders.”
Seven watched as he pivoted to look Chakotay in the eye.
“I am sorry, Commander. This was not my decision, but the Captain’s, and her decision is final.” Tuvok turned back to the Doctor. “I will have Ensign Kim prepare a transport to the planet’s surface with everything the captain will need for her survival. Please ready her for her own transport immediately.”
Chakotay spent a long moment looking between Tuvok and the Doctor before storming toward the door. As he passed the console where Seven stood, he paused.
“Are you going to just stand by and let them do this to our captain?” he demanded, and Seven felt surprise at the antagonism in his voice and the harsh way he stared her in the eye. She raised her optical implant.
“Your dissatisfaction with the Captain’s choice is misdirected. I am no more capable of changing it than you are.”
Chakotay scoffed.
“I don’t believe this,” he snapped, and promptly left Sickbay. She watched him go.
“Seven of Nine,” came Tuvok’s voice from where he now stood beside the unconscious captain’s bed. The ex-Borg left her station and strode up to stand next to him, waiting for his voice to come again. “Is it possible to extend the range of the Captain’s communicator using some of your Borg nanoprobes?”
Without hesitation, Seven nodded.
“I will need some time to make the required improvements, but yes.”
“How much time?”
“12.2734 hours.”
“Very well. We will return Captain Janeway to the surface and stay in low orbit until you have completed the necessary modifications.”
The blonde gave another nod, turning to leave. She thought better of it, however, and rotated back to Tuvok a moment later.
“Lieutenant Tuvok–The Captain has often encouraged me to…speak my mind…when I may disagree with an order or procedure. As…an expression of my human individuality.”
The Vulcan sighed.
“I would like to speak my mind.”
“Go on,” Tuvok issued, raising an eyebrow of his own.
“I believe that Commander Chakotay’s concerns for the Captain’s well being while on the planet’s surface have merit.”
“In what way?”
Nearby, Seven realized the Doctor had paused to listen to their conversation as well.
“I believe it is unwise to leave Captain Janeway alone while Voyager attempts to find a solution. She has confessed on several occasions her difficulty with the solitude she finds aboard the ship. The Captain will suffer without a companion.”
The Vulcan was shaking his head and sighing again.
“I cannot change her decision, Seven,” he replied. “She specifically asked that–”
“I am neither a member of the Voyager crew, nor a human whose life would be adversely affected by never returning to Earth,” Seven interrupted before he could finish. “The Doctor has already demonstrated that my Borg nanoprobes are able to ward off the effects of the planet’s chemicals. I am unlike the other humans on this ship. My life is not threatened by the disease. To allow me to join the Captain on the surface would not be disobeying her orders as it would be to allow another to go in my place.”
“Captain Janeway would not appreciate technicalities such as this being used to circumvent her wishes, Seven. You, of all people, should know that.”
Seven felt the annoying rise of the emotion called anger as it simmered in her chest.
“I am the logical choice, Lieutenant.”
She was right. She knew she was right. Tuvok was a Vulcan, a logical being. He would understand. Her logic was irrefutable.
“Logic is not everything, Seven of Nine. Part of understanding your humanity is to recognize that although the Captain may not have considered the exact scenario you put forth, the intention behind her orders remains the same. To her, you are a member of the Voyager crew, and she would not wish to see you give up your future on her behalf. In fact, it is quite possible that you doing so– you , in particular, Seven–could be the proverbial ‘last nail in her coffin.’”
Seven, confused, knit her brows.
“Explain.”
“You are important to her. There need be no other explanation.”
“This offers further evidence to support my proposed course of action.”
“The answer is no, Seven.”
Tuvok’s words were issued with a finality that set Seven’s only recently discovered anger ablaze. Still, she kept her composure, practicing what Janeway had taught her about the chain of command aboard Voyager. She nodded. Tuvok appeared relieved once she had done so.
“We will beam you down to the planet once you have completed the modifications to the on-board communications array. Once the Captain has regained consciousness you will work with her to test the array from her comm badge. When it is sufficiently functional, we will abide by her wishes and Voyager will depart. Is that understood?”
Her voice was low and irritable, but she answered nonetheless.
“Yes, sir.”