Uberfics
New Star Trek: Voyager-based Uber Fiction.
Glass Animals parts 1 - 9
Glass Animals
1
The new one was barely into her twenties, maybe two, or three years. She brought no weapons of her own, save for a pair of empty ammunition straps.
"What makes you think you're good enough for the resistance anyway, Girl?"
That was Torres, one of the more impetuous members of my little resistance band. Kim and Tuvok stood on either side of her, glaring down our newcomer with their huge arms crossed against their chests. When the new girl didn't answer her, Torres's teeth began to grate. That's when I knew, as Captain of the lot of them, it was high time I stepped in.
"That's enough for now, Torres," I said firmly, my grease-stained hand upon her tunic made her take a slow step back. I turned to face the new girl, "All right. If you refuse to use your tongue, then I will be forced to cut it out." I pulled my phaser from its holster, it activated with a tiny hum. The girl did not even give a flicker of her eyes. I didn't know if her demeanor made me more furious, or impressed. I pointed the phaser at her pretty mouth, half expecting her to present her tongue, just for the sake of being spiteful.
"I am Seven."
The new girl spoke in even, icy tones. Her defiant glare, I will admit, set a quiver to my throat. "Seven what?" I asked her,thrown momentarily, "years?" The look she gave me would have made a grown man cringe, and hide his balls beneath his hands. If I knew the grown men behind me, I would guess that some of them probably did.
"Seven. It is my name."
I looked this 'Seven' up and down. "Seven, you say? Strange name for a human girl." When Seven offered no explanation, I turned to Torres, who scowled at the new girl from behind me, "So Torres, what do you think?"
Torres curled her hand around the handle of her knife. The sheath of which, was tied by leather cord to the belt around her waist. "I say we cut her wrist and see what she's got blood in her veins. We can't tell from her word only - she could be a Bionic in disguise!"
It took me a lot of effort to restrain myself and resist the urge to sigh. "A Bionic, Torres? Please. You know as well as I do, without their protective armour, they are as good as dead."
Torres took a breath and began to protest angrily , "But Captain!"
Knowing that she had a point, I held the palm of my hand up, Torres stopped obediently, still in mid-complaint. I tossed my own knife to Seven, who plucked it from the air with easy grace. "All right then, Seven. You heard her," I gestured with my chin to the knife she now held in her hand, "Slice your wrist and prove to us that you have blood."
Seven raised an eyebrow in disgust, "This test is archaic." But she did it, none the less. She held out her injured wrist to me, the edges of the wound had begun to ooze with dark red blood. "Now, will you accept me?" she stated arrogantly, "you know you cannot let my superior talents go to waste."
I saw Torres, now beside me, begin to scowl. I took the knife from Seven and sent someone to fetch a regenerator for her wrist. "Fine. You're with us. But no mistakes. I will have Torres set for watching you. So don't even think about trying anything, because believe me, I will know." I said these final words to Seven almost a millimetre from her face. I did not quite reach her eye-level, and so to make eye-contact, she was forced to tilt her head. The movement was almost intimate, and I retreated unsteadily. I turned away from Seven and ordered Torres to bring her a combat-pack.
My heart was still pounding alarmingly when Torres returned, dumping a black, medium-sized backpack on the ground at Seven's feet.
"Here. This is Tom's."
Seven bent down and retrieved the bag which had been thrown at her feet. She pulled on the fastenings and inspected the contents indifferently. "You say this belongs to someone else, Torres. Will not this 'Tom' be needing it?"
I felt my lungs catch at this, knowing that Tom had been Torres's beau. Not one of my rebels dared to say anything. Instead it was Torres who provided Seven's answer, her still-raw emotions twisting horribly over her face.
"Tom won't be needing it because Tom's dead, isn't he!"
All of us half expected Torres would attack her, but we watched, instead, our own consciences wretched, as Torres crumpled against the wall in tears. Some of her comrades went to console her, whilst I forced down and away my own twisted pangs of guilt. I looked over to Seven, still holding the black bag silently. Her icy, hard exterior appeared to melt, momentarily. As soon as I could close my eyes to blink, the lost expression which I had thought I'd seen, had vanished completely from her face.
I left the rebels to comfort Torres, and gestured Seven to walk beside me as I led her to a vacant sleeping place. I pointed her to the empty square of floor. Granted, it was no high-class mattress, but this was war. We all made sacrifices for the rebellion; comfort, warmth, daylight...even our lives, regrettably, like Tom did.
"Put your things over there, and get some rest, Seven. Tomorrow's going to be a long night."
2
The feel of cautious footfalls tore me from my sleep. In seconds, I had armed the phaser I kept beneath the clump of rags I used as a pillow for my head.
"Captain! Relax, it's only me!"
Kim had entered the wall-less space of cavern which I thought of as my 'quarters', and approached me anxiously with his hands held up.
"God, Kim. What is it? Speak!" I put my phaser away, allowing myself to relax slightly. I eyed the young man impatiently, hoping this wasn't some foolish fancy interrupting the precious little time I'd had to sleep.
"It's the Bionics, Captain. They've made an ambush on Sector 24."
My eyes widened, quickly losing any misguided fantasies of sleep. "Twenty-four? Shit!"
Sector 24 was pratically right outside. I was off the ground in an instant, kicking aside my bedding so that it flopped against the wall. I threw on my undershirt and tunic, the rebels long accustomed to seeing each-other in the nude. Privacy was not such a big issue when you had other things, like Bionic death machines, for instance, on your mind. "Wake the rebels, Kim," I commanded, "I want everyone armed and ready in two minutes. Have Torres and the new girl carry the bombs." Kim hesitated, watching my hands thrust a dagger into my belt. I glanced up at him, my voice was a roar. "Do it!"
Kim blurted out a "Yes Ma'am!" and scampered from my space. By now I could get armed and ready blindfolded, with not a second laid to waste. In one minute and thirty seconds, I was out, and waiting for my rebels to parade. I knew my speed at prepping impressed them, and my ego, admittedly, enjoyed the admiration-boost.
Seven was already waiting, to my combined irritation and surprise. Her shoulders held steadily at-ease, chin arrogantly raised. Her booted feet, had I measured the distance, were likely to have been exactly thirty centimetres apart.
I raised a questioning eyebrow at Seven's eagerness, and she merely raised one back. I fumed inwardly, fully prepared to retaliate, to hit her...I do not know. The rest of my rebels soon formed-up around her,combat packs shouldered, and ready to fight. Sector 24, the Bionics were advancing. It was business now, and I had no time to give Seven a piece of my mind.
We exited our hideout and wormed our way through the vast rebel network of underground caves. The dirt and the grease from days without bathing stained our hair and faces, the scummy film of it helping us fade into the shadows. I cradled my phaser rifle in the palms of my hands. It was a solid, familiar weight. We climbed to the planet's surface using a ladder, whose rungs were long and thin. It trembled beneath our fingertips, but we were used to it. Confident that the ladder was secured firmly to the rough, rock wall.
A cold, biting wind tugged at our clothing when we climbed out into the open air. What had been, ten years ago, a bustling metropolis, now an neverending, desolate plain. What had been wicked, boiling clouds at first had now opened up into a winking, star-lit sky. It was good to see the sky again, even though the only reasons we ventured up here now were to steal supplies, or fight. And there, in the middle distance, were the Unimatrix Cubes. The magnetic variations of the rock beneath our planet's surface made subterranian to surface transports unfeasible. To transport from site to site on the surface, however, was not.
My rebels rematerialised inside the nearest Cube, our phaser rifles held high. I made a wide sweep with my rifle and determined the area clear. The lack of Bionics didn't mean we were safe, however,only that we hadn't been detected...yet.
I waved Torres to the nearest Cube interface. "Find the Tertiary Adjunct," I ordered her. "You have five seconds, nothing more."
Torres turned to the interface after smirking at me cockily, confident that she would have the codes in less than five seconds, possibly even two. I glanced across to Seven, making sure that someone was keeping an eye on her. My attention was redirected again when Torres clenched her fists and muttered, "Shit!"
"Problem, Torres?" I peered over my engineer's shoulder, whilst keeping an eye on the rest of my rebel band.
The younger woman nodded, her brows a knot of concentration across her worried face. "I can't keep up with it. The field's adapted. The algorithms are altering faster than I can type!" Torres's efforts had triggered a security lockdown, and suddenly our position was brightly, greenly lit.
"The Bionics have detected us, Captain," one of my rebels said.
I took out my tricorder and made a scan. "They've locked us in. Forcefield level Six." I returned my attention to Torres, years of combat keeping the panic from my voice. "We're certainly in the shit now, Torres. You had better start working on bringing that force field down."
"Yes Ma'am."
Seven's tall, black-clad figure shoved Torres aside bodily, and took over the controls. "I will assist."
"Seven!" I whispered harshly, placing a restraining hand on her forearm, "stand down! I haven't got time for ridiculous games."
Seven ignored me, shrugging me off with a ripple of the muscles in her forearm, beneath my hand. I watched the fingers of her right dance across the interface, so fast I would swear she had done all this before. I could hear the Bionics bearing down upon us, their armour scraping with metallic shrieks. I heard my rebels behind me, readying their arms. I hefted my phaser rifle, and checked for the closest defendable space. The Bionic soldiers rounded the corner, their metal-encrusted limbs raised. I chanced a look over Seven's shoulder, flinching at the first volleys of the inevitable phaser-fight.
"Whatever the hell it is you're doing, Seven, do it fast."
3
The fight was violent, but short-lived. The first wave of Bionics sent to capture us had been unexpectedly easy to defeat. We put the anomaly down to whatever it was that Seven had done with the security interface.
Two of my rebels were down, and Kim was running a bone regenerator over his leg. "Hurry up with that," I snapped, jostling him lightly with my knee. Kim shut off the device and pulled himself up onto his feet. "You take Hogan back to base camp," I said, gesturing to the other man who had a gash along his side, "I need you both taped up and back on your feet, ASAP. You're useless to me as cripples."
With Hogan and Kim back at the barracks, it left only thirteen of us to infiltrate the Unimatrix' Tertiary Adjunct Cube. I checked my chronometer and sought after Torres. I found her hunched against the corridor, preparing the bombs. "Torres, was Seven able to access the UTAC code?"
Torres slammed another detonation pin home. She glared up at me angrily, sweat tracking streaks through the grime upon her face. "Yes Captain, she did. Though you can search me as to how," Torres handed the completed weapon to me for inspection, "I don't know where she gets off, that arrogant little..." I watched my engineer clench a threatening fist, "...if she isn't careful I'm going to break her nose."
I handed the bomb back to Torres, and absently stroked the handle of my knife.
"Torres," I warned, "nobody will be breaking anyone else's nose. As for Seven, I will speak to her myself. Is that clear?"
Torres placed the readied bombs into her combat bag. She nodded in acknowledgement, and I accepted it, despite the scowl which remained upon her face. Weapons readied, I nodded to Seven, and she tapped in the UTAC code into the interface console.
The UTAC did not differ in design to the cube we had been inside, its conduits and angular walls cast black shadows against metallic grey. We stalked past alcove after alcove of inactive Bionic drones. Someone muttered a puzzled, "must be sleepy time..." as we traversed the dormant rows. A male voice snorted in the background, "Yeah, maybe we've got lucky and they're taking the day off." "From the general destruction of the universe?" the first rebel replied, "Sure. That'd be the day."
From somewhere behind me, Seven said, "Whilst taking down the forcefield in the other cube, I accessed the Tertiary Adjunct's computer and deactivated the drones. The measure is only temporary," she continued, "we must hurry."
I turned to face her with astonishment. I knew she was good when she applied to join us, but the level of knoweldge needed for a stunt like this, well, if it wasn't completely impossible, I'd be tempted to think that she'd gained those skills from working on the Bionic's side. "You did this?"
I wouldn't swear upon Seven's reaction, but I thought I detected a hint of hesitation cross her gaze. "Decrypting Bionic algorithms is a hobby of mine."
Torres used her rifle barrel to prod Seven in the back, "What, along with reflections on your efficiency and contemplating your existence? It'd be more entertaining to watch grass grow…"
Seven shoved Torres's phaser away, "Entertainment is irrelevant," she said.
There was no more conversation after this until we reached the heart of the Unimatrix. Seven and Torres planted the devices, arming them with two distinctive clicks. Torres nodded to me as an indication that they were ready to go. I made sure all the rebels were within transporter range. As soon as we beamed out of there, the devices would explode.
I tapped my transponder, "Engergise."
5
W hen we returned to the rebel base, I pulled Seven aside. "You and I, we need to talk." I led her roughly by the arm to the area of floor I had claimed for myself. Lacking any furniture, I directed her to my mattress, upon which she should sit.
Seven watched me with her usual distanced gaze. "I have done nothing wrong," she said.
I shrugged off my combact pack and practically threw it on the floor, Seven had to dodge out of the way. I had to temper my initial reaction by sucking a breath of air from between my clenching teeth. I paced away from her, and then paced back again. I placed both hands upon my hips, one hand deliberately close to the knife sheathed to my belt. My threat of violence was clear. "Nothing?" I questioned, "Well, let's start with insubordination and disobedience!" I had to pause for a moment, as I had begun to shout. Some of the rebels glanced curiously our way, but my glare made them find other things to do, and fast.
I directed my attention to Seven again, having regained my relative calm. "Pushing Torres away from that console today was out of line. I assigned that task to Torres, not to you."
"Her attempts were insufficient," Seven stated, "I prevented anything else from going wrong."
I held the palm of one hand to my forehead, feeling a headache begin to throb. "Seven, that is beside the point. I told you to stand down - you ignored me. I give my orders for the best interests of our objectives. I give my orders in the best interests of the team - you can't simply pick and choose the rules which you like best!" I crouched down so that my eyes were in line with hers. Had this been anyone else, this would be the point at which I pressed the point of my knife against their throat. With Seven, however, I did not. "I will tell you this only once, Seven; never disobey my orders, ever again. Do you understand me?"
"Of course, Captain," she replied, with only the slightest hint of defiance, although I really did not expect anything less. The previous topic closed, I only had one more issue on my mind. "I know you have experience, Seven, but how did you deactivate those drones?"
The younger woman's gaze broke away from mine, her chin tilted down toward the floor. "My parents were scientists. I inherited their interests."
I nodded, only slightly convinced, "I see." Then, I asked her, "And where are they now?"
Seven was reluctant to reply further when she answered that she did not know. Our conversation halted abruptly after that, as Seven declared the topic irrelevant and decided to leave. I let her, having nothing more to say. I settled down onto my mattress, which still held Seven's body heat, and closed my eyes, with the vague intention of a minute's sleep.
Bionics chased me in my dreams, all of them, for some reason, wearing Seven's face. Someone was prodding me with their boot. I was torn from the nightmare in a sweat, taking only seconds to grab my phaser with a trembling hand. It was Seven. I lowered my phaser, wondering why she had come to my bed. "What do you want?"
Seven's voice was irritated, but her expression was otherwise, blank. "You are experiencing a nightmare," she said, withdrawing her boot, "it is disturbing my sleep."
I had half a mind to strike her, but I didn't want to draw the attention of the rebels I had assigned to guard the base. "Oh, is it really?" I rejoined sarcastically, "or have you already forgotten our talk?" I casually toyed with my phaser, caressing the firing button lightly with my thumb. "I do so dislike having to teach lessons forcefully," I told her, which was only slightly true, but it helped to appear benevolent, none the less.
To my secret satisfaction, Seven took a cautious step back. "No, Captain. I have not."
"Good," I said, and returned to my dreams.
6
When evening came eventually, I was roused by a shout. I ignored the bickering resolutely, a message from Headquarters on my console gaining my first priority. I opened the communique, not bothering to rise yet from my bed. Another sabotage mission, this time in Sector 16. I shut off my console just as the noise-level rose in the background. I sighed, donning my shirt and weapons-belt. Resigning to the necessity of breaking up the fight.
I followed the noise to one of the storage chambers which we had annexed by carving into the main cavern wall. Torres was circling around Seven, both of them apparently engaged in a fist fight. The rebels lined the walls of the annexe, cheering Torres on. I succumbed to an urge to roll my eyes, disappointed by their behaviour. Torres reached to her belt, and raised her hand again with her fingers wrapped around her knife. Torres lunged, and as she did, Seven drew back her arm, thrusting her fist around and upwards so that it impacted with a crack against Torres's nose. Torres roared, I decided that I had seen enough. I fired my hand phaser toward the cavern roof, a shower of debris pattered to the floor.
"Enough!" I barked, redirecting my aim to the two women who were still in fighting pose. I fired my phaser again, this time at the gap of floor between their feet. They both jumped back, the trickle of blood from Torres's nose splattering on the dirt. I glared at them impatiently, "Any more disobedience and this time I will miss," I threatened. I gestured with my phaser's barrel at Torres's head. I flicked the weapon sideways to direct her back the the main cavern. "Torres, get yourself cleaned up. The rest of you lot, combat packs on and ready to ship out in two minutes." The rebels stood around dumbly, so I repeated the order, "Move!"
I stopped Seven from filing out with them by firing my phaser at the ground before her feet as she neared the annexe mouth. "Not you, Seven," I growled, "You stay here."
She turned her eyes to me and glared, she turned to face me defiantly, hands clasped behind her back. "May I remind you that I was not the only one?" Seven questioned, obviously expecting me to her opponent back.
I reholstered my phaser and hooked one thumb into my weapons belt. I stalked towards her until we were almost standing chest to chest. "Oh don't you worry Seven," I said darkly, "As soon as she has fixed her nose, I will be talking to Torres, too."
Seven nodded, with apparent satisfaction. There was not even a glimmer of remorse in her gaze.
I shook my head, breathing out a disgusted sigh. "I don't care what the hell you were doing, and I certainly don't care why. If you can't get along with Torres, then that's just tough. Either you work out your differences, or I throw you both out on your asses. I let you join us to fight the Bionics, not to scuffle in the dirt like little boys!"
Seven raised an eyebrow, "I believe that we were sorting our differences out."
I ground my teeth together and clenched my fist. I was incredibly unimpressed by her retort. I stepped even closer to her, forcing her to readjust the angle of her head so that she could keep eye contact. "I like you, Seven," I told her plaintively, surprising her as well as myself, and then added quietly, "although god knows why." A second passed and I grew stern again, I reached up and squeezed her bicep, using enough force to make Seven wince. "See this as your final warning, Seven," I said, "another slip-up, and I will string you out to dry."
The young woman swallowed and nodded her acknowledgement. She turned her gaze to the floor and looked up again, and her usual arrogant demeanor fell back into place. I stepped away from her, and gestured to the cavern's mouth. "Go and get your combat gear," I said flatly, then, "Dismissed."
7
Infiltrating the Unimatrix on Sector 16 was always a difficult task. The Bionics had established a major compund there, and the Cubes had highly efficient regenerative abilities. Destroying the Tertiary Adjunct was the best way to bring a Unimatrix down, with the Bionics requiring two to five hours to regenerate the damaged Cubes. My team's main function was to sabotage the Cubes. The breaches we caused in the Bionic's Planetary Containment Grid allowed other rebel units to send scout ships to the Kinboté System for supplies and intelligence.
I wanted to remind Seven that I had given her yet another second chance, so I ordered her to deactivate the drones as she had on the Section 24 UTAC. I regarded Seven's body as she worked on the Bionic console. The action was of course, purely an appreciation of aesthetics. I wondered how a pair of ammunition straps could possibly accentuate the female body's curves, but Seven was wearing them, and there they were. I would have to admit, if questioned, that Seven carried off the straps quite well. I would also, quite possibly, have to kill the questioner afterwards.
The sound of Seven stepping back from the console alerted me to our progress and I dragged my mind back on task. I ordered Torres to activate the UTAC code and beam us in. As expected, the drones were dormant when we materialised inside the Tertiary Adjunct Cube. I readied my phaser rifle, regardless. I ordered my rebels to follow suit. We made our way stealthily through the corridors and catwalks of the dormant Cube. The drones in their alcoves looked no less sinister in their sleep.
We had almost reached the inner matrix when the drones reactivated ahead of schedule. I yelled out that the Bionics had adapted, and that we ought to hurry up and get out of the Unimatrix before we became stuck. I led my rebels onward to the heart of the Cube, knowing that Seven and Torres would be ready to arm the devices once we reached the inner matrix. I rounded a corner, rifle raised, and saw too late the Bionic drone's arm which was swinging in an arc towards my head. I grunted under the impact, blood from the cut on my forehead stinging as it ran into my eye. The drone was too close to fire my phaser rifle at. Its heavy armour plating would simply cause my phaser-burst to rebound. The Bionic started to attack me again, and I made a desperate swipe at it with my knife. As I pulled my shoulder up, I was hit by phaser fire from behind. Both myself and the Bionic stumbled. I cursed very loudly as the walls spun. I fell, hard against the Bionic drone which had already slumped to the floor, a scattered mass of flesh, wires and metal was all that remained of its head.
I felt one of the rebels lift me up and throw me across their shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Sorry about that, Captain," Torres's voice said from near my hip, "Seven had to shoot the Bionic, but your shoulder got in the way. You weren't going to make a dent in it with that knife."
I grunted, only half comprehending, and proceeded to black out.
8
I regained consciousness, head and shoulder throbbing, to the news that one of my rebels, Chakotay, was dead. It was an unfortunate loss, it is true, but Chakotay had not been a specialist, and for this reason he was expendable. Despite my being Captain, the severity of my shoulder injury resulted in strict orders from the field medic for me to stay in bed. I had to comply, however reluctantly, but drew some satisfaction by promising revenge. I lay back and stared at the dull cavern ceiling whilst the rebels noisily enjoyed themselves at Chakotay's wake.
I sighed deeply, resisting the urge to poke at the bruise across my head and closed my eyes. I snapped my eyelids open again at the thud of a combat pack being dumped in my space. I shifted to my side, wincing as my shoulder pulled, and blinked to clear my blurring vision. Seven knelt nearby, busily arranging her things into a makeshift bed.
"Seven," I started, my voice sounded horrible, so I cleared my throat, "What do you think you're doing?" I had to pause for a moment, as my shoulder gave a particularly insistent throb, "Why aren't you with the others at the wake?"
Seven looked up from bundling her clothing and combat pack into the vague shape of a pillow. "I do not require entertainment at this time," she stated, "my usual space is currently occupied by the crowd."
I couldn't think of anything to say, so I defaulted with an "…Oh." I watched Seven unpinning her hair. It was longer than I had expected, and despite the streaks of dirt in it, it was a very gentle shade of blonde. I imagined that her hair would look gorgeous when she washed it, and then caught myself. I concealed my confusion, adding tartly, "Well then, Seven, I will see to it that my presence does not interrupt your sleep."
I regretted the comment almost as soon as the words had flown from my mouth. Seven nervously looked down at her hands, "My attitude was in error last night, Captain," she said, "I apologise."
Seven's apology made me lost for words. "That's…uh, alright," I stammered, having expected at least an icy retort.
We soon recovered from our lapses in character. Seven sat down abruptly on her now readied bed and pulled out a data PADD. "I do not intend to go to sleep," she told me, her voice returned to its usual brief tone, "I have these algorithms to compute."
"Fine," I said, slowly lowering myself onto my back. I stared at the ceiling again, and ignored the awful pounding in my head. After a minute of doing nothing, the subtle beeping from Seven's data PADD ceased. I twisted my head around, to see what was going on. Seven was looking at my shoulder wound with a slight frown. I tried to look at my own shoulder too, despite knowing that the angle of my pillow made the movement impossible. "What?" I asked.
Seven put her PADD down and crawled to my bedside. I felt her fingers prodding the bandages around my wound. "Seven, what the hell are you doing?" I hissed. Seven drew her fingers back, the tips of them shone with my blood.
"Your shoulder, Captain," she said, wiping her hand, "It is bleeding."
"Well of course it bloodywell is now..." I grumbled, trying to sit up. The pain flared and I gasped, slumping back onto my bed. "Go and get the medic," I said.
Seven didn't, instead she reached into her combat pack and pulled out a bioregenerator and some bandages. "Fetching the medic would be inefficient," she said, "I am here now. You must allow me to dress your wound."
I gave her a look which was less than agreeable but nodded my head anyway. She proceeded to remove the bandages, her fingers felt cool against my injured skin. Seven tossed the bloodied bandages aside and regarded my shoulder and upper chest. "Your shoulder has become infected," she said slowly, "the inflammation of your skin has spread to your chest." Seven reached in to her combat pack again and drew out a bottle of clear liquid. She used the liquid to dampen a spare piece of bandage and then dabbed it gently against my skin. The liquid stung and I cried out, arching slightly from the bed. Seven placed the back of her fingers against my cheek. I was surprised by the expression of worried tenderness upon her face. "Sorry, Captain," she said, "It is a disinfectant. It will hurt for a while."
I nodded gruffly, blinking back the tears of pain which had sprung into my eyes. I breathed out slowly, and tried not to wince as Seven set to my shoulder with the disinfectant once again. "Sure, no problem," I managed to gasp. I gritted my teeth and hoped that she'd give up and call for the medic.
Seven eventually finished torturing my shoulder and re-bandaged the wound. "Thank you, Seven," I told her, watching as she crawled back to her own bed. As she picked up her PADD again, I was suddenly struck by a thought. "You're free to move your things to that spot permanently," I said, gesturing to her new sleeping space, "...if you want."
Seven glanced across at me, her lips curved into a very tiny smile. It was the first time that I'd seen her do so, and it added to her beauty considerably, I had to admit. "Thank you, Captain," she said.
9
A frigid gale whipped at our clothes, it threw dust into our eyes and down our throats. Kim looked up into the glassy sky and cupped his hand like a shield across his forehead. "Still no sign of the Delta, Captain," he reported. I had to strain my ears in order to hear his voice above the screaming wind.
We were hunkered down within the meagre sheltre of some mid-sized boulders, waiting for a shipment of supplies. I had to get Torres's attention by throwing a stone at her foot. She jerked around angrily, only curbing her response when she realised that it was I who had interrupted her keeping post. She shouldered her phaser rifle and moved low across the ground, stopping in a crouch beside me. "Captain?"
I was concerned about the shuttle because it was already thirty minutes overdue. I couldn't keep my team outside for much longer in this gale. I instructed Torres to retrieve a spatial tricorder from her combat-pack. "Torres, I want you to hack in to the Planetary Containment Grid. Scan for any Bionic activity within range of planetary orbit. There must be something up there holding the Delta Flyer up."
Torres nodded, already working the tricorder controls. I reached into my combat-pack and took out my own scanning device. I checked for the possibility of a nearby Unimatrix, possibly cloaked, but the tricorder provided no anomalous readings. "Useless," I muttered, putting the tricorder back into my pack. I leaned over Torres's shoulder, "Anything?"
The engineer tapped some commands into the tiny hand-held tricorder. A sequence of Bionic symbols flashed up across the screen, followed by an oscillating line. "What the hell is that?" Torres said. I reached to Torres's hands and took the tricorder, I didn't recognise what the readings said.
"May I be of assistance?"
Torres and I both turned around. "Seven," I said in exasperation, "how many times must I tell you to stay at your post?"
Seven did not have the grace to look chagrined, the young woman gestured to the tricorder with her chin instead. "I have superior algorithm decription skills. I can be of help in this instance." Seven paused, and then looked straight at me, "You must comply."
Torres bristled, throwing Seven a hostile glare. "Listen, woman," she started, pointing her forefinger in Seven's face, "I have no idea where you get off, but you have no right to order me around." The engineer's hand shot out, Torres wrapped her fingers around Seven's throat. She leaned in closely as the younger woman started to make gagging sounds, "Seven, you are [I]this[/I] close to pushing me too far," she said, and then shoved Seven backwards, releasing her throat.
I gave Torres a disapproving glance, and then handed Seven the device, keeping Torres away from the young woman with my free hand. "All right Seven, see what you can do."
Seven took the tricorder and studied the screen intently, hunching over the tiny device. I caught her subtly touching her fingers to the reddened skin where Torres had gripped her throat. Into my ear, Torres grumbled, "I don't understand why you haven't already thrown her out."
I picked up my phaser rifle, watching Seven's hunched back before I answered, "You know what Torres, niether do I. She does posses some excellent skills, regardless."
"Sure. I suppose," Torres growled. She hefted her phaser rifle into the crook of her arm, and huffed into her freed hand to fend off the cold.
Seven was soon finished with her study of the tricorder. She handed it back to me, with a defiant glance at Torres. "Seven, report," I said.
"It is a substellar pulse created by the Bionics," Seven stated, "I believe the source is the Primary Unimatrix, located in Sector 17. Whilst the pulse is activated, the Delta Flyer cannot get through the grid."
"Good work, Seven," I answered, looking over the readings again myself, "Looks like we've got ourselves another mission. I want you and Kim to return to base, arm yourselves with our upgraded tri-phasic cluster bombs, and then beam back to rendez-vous at the Sector 17 Unimatrix, " I prodded Torres to regain her attention, "Torres, you go with them. Myself and the rest of the team will beam to Sector 17 now, and start working on the UTAC code."
The two women nodded, and I signalled to the rebels to shoulder their combat-packs. "Let's go!"
TBC
Glass Animals parts 1 - 9
Glass Animals
1
The new one was barely into her twenties, maybe two, or three years. She brought no weapons of her own, save for a pair of empty ammunition straps.
"What makes you think you're good enough for the resistance anyway, Girl?"
That was Torres, one of the more impetuous members of my little resistance band. Kim and Tuvok stood on either side of her, glaring down our newcomer with their huge arms crossed against their chests. When the new girl didn't answer her, Torres's teeth began to grate. That's when I knew, as Captain of the lot of them, it was high time I stepped in.
"That's enough for now, Torres," I said firmly, my grease-stained hand upon her tunic made her take a slow step back. I turned to face the new girl, "All right. If you refuse to use your tongue, then I will be forced to cut it out." I pulled my phaser from its holster, it activated with a tiny hum. The girl did not even give a flicker of her eyes. I didn't know if her demeanor made me more furious, or impressed. I pointed the phaser at her pretty mouth, half expecting her to present her tongue, just for the sake of being spiteful.
"I am Seven."
The new girl spoke in even, icy tones. Her defiant glare, I will admit, set a quiver to my throat. "Seven what?" I asked her,thrown momentarily, "years?" The look she gave me would have made a grown man cringe, and hide his balls beneath his hands. If I knew the grown men behind me, I would guess that some of them probably did.
"Seven. It is my name."
I looked this 'Seven' up and down. "Seven, you say? Strange name for a human girl." When Seven offered no explanation, I turned to Torres, who scowled at the new girl from behind me, "So Torres, what do you think?"
Torres curled her hand around the handle of her knife. The sheath of which, was tied by leather cord to the belt around her waist. "I say we cut her wrist and see what she's got blood in her veins. We can't tell from her word only - she could be a Bionic in disguise!"
It took me a lot of effort to restrain myself and resist the urge to sigh. "A Bionic, Torres? Please. You know as well as I do, without their protective armour, they are as good as dead."
Torres took a breath and began to protest angrily , "But Captain!"
Knowing that she had a point, I held the palm of my hand up, Torres stopped obediently, still in mid-complaint. I tossed my own knife to Seven, who plucked it from the air with easy grace. "All right then, Seven. You heard her," I gestured with my chin to the knife she now held in her hand, "Slice your wrist and prove to us that you have blood."
Seven raised an eyebrow in disgust, "This test is archaic." But she did it, none the less. She held out her injured wrist to me, the edges of the wound had begun to ooze with dark red blood. "Now, will you accept me?" she stated arrogantly, "you know you cannot let my superior talents go to waste."
I saw Torres, now beside me, begin to scowl. I took the knife from Seven and sent someone to fetch a regenerator for her wrist. "Fine. You're with us. But no mistakes. I will have Torres set for watching you. So don't even think about trying anything, because believe me, I will know." I said these final words to Seven almost a millimetre from her face. I did not quite reach her eye-level, and so to make eye-contact, she was forced to tilt her head. The movement was almost intimate, and I retreated unsteadily. I turned away from Seven and ordered Torres to bring her a combat-pack.
My heart was still pounding alarmingly when Torres returned, dumping a black, medium-sized backpack on the ground at Seven's feet.
"Here. This is Tom's."
Seven bent down and retrieved the bag which had been thrown at her feet. She pulled on the fastenings and inspected the contents indifferently. "You say this belongs to someone else, Torres. Will not this 'Tom' be needing it?"
I felt my lungs catch at this, knowing that Tom had been Torres's beau. Not one of my rebels dared to say anything. Instead it was Torres who provided Seven's answer, her still-raw emotions twisting horribly over her face.
"Tom won't be needing it because Tom's dead, isn't he!"
All of us half expected Torres would attack her, but we watched, instead, our own consciences wretched, as Torres crumpled against the wall in tears. Some of her comrades went to console her, whilst I forced down and away my own twisted pangs of guilt. I looked over to Seven, still holding the black bag silently. Her icy, hard exterior appeared to melt, momentarily. As soon as I could close my eyes to blink, the lost expression which I had thought I'd seen, had vanished completely from her face.
I left the rebels to comfort Torres, and gestured Seven to walk beside me as I led her to a vacant sleeping place. I pointed her to the empty square of floor. Granted, it was no high-class mattress, but this was war. We all made sacrifices for the rebellion; comfort, warmth, daylight...even our lives, regrettably, like Tom did.
"Put your things over there, and get some rest, Seven. Tomorrow's going to be a long night."
2
The feel of cautious footfalls tore me from my sleep. In seconds, I had armed the phaser I kept beneath the clump of rags I used as a pillow for my head.
"Captain! Relax, it's only me!"
Kim had entered the wall-less space of cavern which I thought of as my 'quarters', and approached me anxiously with his hands held up.
"God, Kim. What is it? Speak!" I put my phaser away, allowing myself to relax slightly. I eyed the young man impatiently, hoping this wasn't some foolish fancy interrupting the precious little time I'd had to sleep.
"It's the Bionics, Captain. They've made an ambush on Sector 24."
My eyes widened, quickly losing any misguided fantasies of sleep. "Twenty-four? Shit!"
Sector 24 was pratically right outside. I was off the ground in an instant, kicking aside my bedding so that it flopped against the wall. I threw on my undershirt and tunic, the rebels long accustomed to seeing each-other in the nude. Privacy was not such a big issue when you had other things, like Bionic death machines, for instance, on your mind. "Wake the rebels, Kim," I commanded, "I want everyone armed and ready in two minutes. Have Torres and the new girl carry the bombs." Kim hesitated, watching my hands thrust a dagger into my belt. I glanced up at him, my voice was a roar. "Do it!"
Kim blurted out a "Yes Ma'am!" and scampered from my space. By now I could get armed and ready blindfolded, with not a second laid to waste. In one minute and thirty seconds, I was out, and waiting for my rebels to parade. I knew my speed at prepping impressed them, and my ego, admittedly, enjoyed the admiration-boost.
Seven was already waiting, to my combined irritation and surprise. Her shoulders held steadily at-ease, chin arrogantly raised. Her booted feet, had I measured the distance, were likely to have been exactly thirty centimetres apart.
I raised a questioning eyebrow at Seven's eagerness, and she merely raised one back. I fumed inwardly, fully prepared to retaliate, to hit her...I do not know. The rest of my rebels soon formed-up around her,combat packs shouldered, and ready to fight. Sector 24, the Bionics were advancing. It was business now, and I had no time to give Seven a piece of my mind.
We exited our hideout and wormed our way through the vast rebel network of underground caves. The dirt and the grease from days without bathing stained our hair and faces, the scummy film of it helping us fade into the shadows. I cradled my phaser rifle in the palms of my hands. It was a solid, familiar weight. We climbed to the planet's surface using a ladder, whose rungs were long and thin. It trembled beneath our fingertips, but we were used to it. Confident that the ladder was secured firmly to the rough, rock wall.
A cold, biting wind tugged at our clothing when we climbed out into the open air. What had been, ten years ago, a bustling metropolis, now an neverending, desolate plain. What had been wicked, boiling clouds at first had now opened up into a winking, star-lit sky. It was good to see the sky again, even though the only reasons we ventured up here now were to steal supplies, or fight. And there, in the middle distance, were the Unimatrix Cubes. The magnetic variations of the rock beneath our planet's surface made subterranian to surface transports unfeasible. To transport from site to site on the surface, however, was not.
My rebels rematerialised inside the nearest Cube, our phaser rifles held high. I made a wide sweep with my rifle and determined the area clear. The lack of Bionics didn't mean we were safe, however,only that we hadn't been detected...yet.
I waved Torres to the nearest Cube interface. "Find the Tertiary Adjunct," I ordered her. "You have five seconds, nothing more."
Torres turned to the interface after smirking at me cockily, confident that she would have the codes in less than five seconds, possibly even two. I glanced across to Seven, making sure that someone was keeping an eye on her. My attention was redirected again when Torres clenched her fists and muttered, "Shit!"
"Problem, Torres?" I peered over my engineer's shoulder, whilst keeping an eye on the rest of my rebel band.
The younger woman nodded, her brows a knot of concentration across her worried face. "I can't keep up with it. The field's adapted. The algorithms are altering faster than I can type!" Torres's efforts had triggered a security lockdown, and suddenly our position was brightly, greenly lit.
"The Bionics have detected us, Captain," one of my rebels said.
I took out my tricorder and made a scan. "They've locked us in. Forcefield level Six." I returned my attention to Torres, years of combat keeping the panic from my voice. "We're certainly in the shit now, Torres. You had better start working on bringing that force field down."
"Yes Ma'am."
Seven's tall, black-clad figure shoved Torres aside bodily, and took over the controls. "I will assist."
"Seven!" I whispered harshly, placing a restraining hand on her forearm, "stand down! I haven't got time for ridiculous games."
Seven ignored me, shrugging me off with a ripple of the muscles in her forearm, beneath my hand. I watched the fingers of her right dance across the interface, so fast I would swear she had done all this before. I could hear the Bionics bearing down upon us, their armour scraping with metallic shrieks. I heard my rebels behind me, readying their arms. I hefted my phaser rifle, and checked for the closest defendable space. The Bionic soldiers rounded the corner, their metal-encrusted limbs raised. I chanced a look over Seven's shoulder, flinching at the first volleys of the inevitable phaser-fight.
"Whatever the hell it is you're doing, Seven, do it fast."
3
The fight was violent, but short-lived. The first wave of Bionics sent to capture us had been unexpectedly easy to defeat. We put the anomaly down to whatever it was that Seven had done with the security interface.
Two of my rebels were down, and Kim was running a bone regenerator over his leg. "Hurry up with that," I snapped, jostling him lightly with my knee. Kim shut off the device and pulled himself up onto his feet. "You take Hogan back to base camp," I said, gesturing to the other man who had a gash along his side, "I need you both taped up and back on your feet, ASAP. You're useless to me as cripples."
With Hogan and Kim back at the barracks, it left only thirteen of us to infiltrate the Unimatrix' Tertiary Adjunct Cube. I checked my chronometer and sought after Torres. I found her hunched against the corridor, preparing the bombs. "Torres, was Seven able to access the UTAC code?"
Torres slammed another detonation pin home. She glared up at me angrily, sweat tracking streaks through the grime upon her face. "Yes Captain, she did. Though you can search me as to how," Torres handed the completed weapon to me for inspection, "I don't know where she gets off, that arrogant little..." I watched my engineer clench a threatening fist, "...if she isn't careful I'm going to break her nose."
I handed the bomb back to Torres, and absently stroked the handle of my knife.
"Torres," I warned, "nobody will be breaking anyone else's nose. As for Seven, I will speak to her myself. Is that clear?"
Torres placed the readied bombs into her combat bag. She nodded in acknowledgement, and I accepted it, despite the scowl which remained upon her face. Weapons readied, I nodded to Seven, and she tapped in the UTAC code into the interface console.
The UTAC did not differ in design to the cube we had been inside, its conduits and angular walls cast black shadows against metallic grey. We stalked past alcove after alcove of inactive Bionic drones. Someone muttered a puzzled, "must be sleepy time..." as we traversed the dormant rows. A male voice snorted in the background, "Yeah, maybe we've got lucky and they're taking the day off." "From the general destruction of the universe?" the first rebel replied, "Sure. That'd be the day."
From somewhere behind me, Seven said, "Whilst taking down the forcefield in the other cube, I accessed the Tertiary Adjunct's computer and deactivated the drones. The measure is only temporary," she continued, "we must hurry."
I turned to face her with astonishment. I knew she was good when she applied to join us, but the level of knoweldge needed for a stunt like this, well, if it wasn't completely impossible, I'd be tempted to think that she'd gained those skills from working on the Bionic's side. "You did this?"
I wouldn't swear upon Seven's reaction, but I thought I detected a hint of hesitation cross her gaze. "Decrypting Bionic algorithms is a hobby of mine."
Torres used her rifle barrel to prod Seven in the back, "What, along with reflections on your efficiency and contemplating your existence? It'd be more entertaining to watch grass grow…"
Seven shoved Torres's phaser away, "Entertainment is irrelevant," she said.
There was no more conversation after this until we reached the heart of the Unimatrix. Seven and Torres planted the devices, arming them with two distinctive clicks. Torres nodded to me as an indication that they were ready to go. I made sure all the rebels were within transporter range. As soon as we beamed out of there, the devices would explode.
I tapped my transponder, "Engergise."
5
W hen we returned to the rebel base, I pulled Seven aside. "You and I, we need to talk." I led her roughly by the arm to the area of floor I had claimed for myself. Lacking any furniture, I directed her to my mattress, upon which she should sit.
Seven watched me with her usual distanced gaze. "I have done nothing wrong," she said.
I shrugged off my combact pack and practically threw it on the floor, Seven had to dodge out of the way. I had to temper my initial reaction by sucking a breath of air from between my clenching teeth. I paced away from her, and then paced back again. I placed both hands upon my hips, one hand deliberately close to the knife sheathed to my belt. My threat of violence was clear. "Nothing?" I questioned, "Well, let's start with insubordination and disobedience!" I had to pause for a moment, as I had begun to shout. Some of the rebels glanced curiously our way, but my glare made them find other things to do, and fast.
I directed my attention to Seven again, having regained my relative calm. "Pushing Torres away from that console today was out of line. I assigned that task to Torres, not to you."
"Her attempts were insufficient," Seven stated, "I prevented anything else from going wrong."
I held the palm of one hand to my forehead, feeling a headache begin to throb. "Seven, that is beside the point. I told you to stand down - you ignored me. I give my orders for the best interests of our objectives. I give my orders in the best interests of the team - you can't simply pick and choose the rules which you like best!" I crouched down so that my eyes were in line with hers. Had this been anyone else, this would be the point at which I pressed the point of my knife against their throat. With Seven, however, I did not. "I will tell you this only once, Seven; never disobey my orders, ever again. Do you understand me?"
"Of course, Captain," she replied, with only the slightest hint of defiance, although I really did not expect anything less. The previous topic closed, I only had one more issue on my mind. "I know you have experience, Seven, but how did you deactivate those drones?"
The younger woman's gaze broke away from mine, her chin tilted down toward the floor. "My parents were scientists. I inherited their interests."
I nodded, only slightly convinced, "I see." Then, I asked her, "And where are they now?"
Seven was reluctant to reply further when she answered that she did not know. Our conversation halted abruptly after that, as Seven declared the topic irrelevant and decided to leave. I let her, having nothing more to say. I settled down onto my mattress, which still held Seven's body heat, and closed my eyes, with the vague intention of a minute's sleep.
Bionics chased me in my dreams, all of them, for some reason, wearing Seven's face. Someone was prodding me with their boot. I was torn from the nightmare in a sweat, taking only seconds to grab my phaser with a trembling hand. It was Seven. I lowered my phaser, wondering why she had come to my bed. "What do you want?"
Seven's voice was irritated, but her expression was otherwise, blank. "You are experiencing a nightmare," she said, withdrawing her boot, "it is disturbing my sleep."
I had half a mind to strike her, but I didn't want to draw the attention of the rebels I had assigned to guard the base. "Oh, is it really?" I rejoined sarcastically, "or have you already forgotten our talk?" I casually toyed with my phaser, caressing the firing button lightly with my thumb. "I do so dislike having to teach lessons forcefully," I told her, which was only slightly true, but it helped to appear benevolent, none the less.
To my secret satisfaction, Seven took a cautious step back. "No, Captain. I have not."
"Good," I said, and returned to my dreams.
6
When evening came eventually, I was roused by a shout. I ignored the bickering resolutely, a message from Headquarters on my console gaining my first priority. I opened the communique, not bothering to rise yet from my bed. Another sabotage mission, this time in Sector 16. I shut off my console just as the noise-level rose in the background. I sighed, donning my shirt and weapons-belt. Resigning to the necessity of breaking up the fight.
I followed the noise to one of the storage chambers which we had annexed by carving into the main cavern wall. Torres was circling around Seven, both of them apparently engaged in a fist fight. The rebels lined the walls of the annexe, cheering Torres on. I succumbed to an urge to roll my eyes, disappointed by their behaviour. Torres reached to her belt, and raised her hand again with her fingers wrapped around her knife. Torres lunged, and as she did, Seven drew back her arm, thrusting her fist around and upwards so that it impacted with a crack against Torres's nose. Torres roared, I decided that I had seen enough. I fired my hand phaser toward the cavern roof, a shower of debris pattered to the floor.
"Enough!" I barked, redirecting my aim to the two women who were still in fighting pose. I fired my phaser again, this time at the gap of floor between their feet. They both jumped back, the trickle of blood from Torres's nose splattering on the dirt. I glared at them impatiently, "Any more disobedience and this time I will miss," I threatened. I gestured with my phaser's barrel at Torres's head. I flicked the weapon sideways to direct her back the the main cavern. "Torres, get yourself cleaned up. The rest of you lot, combat packs on and ready to ship out in two minutes." The rebels stood around dumbly, so I repeated the order, "Move!"
I stopped Seven from filing out with them by firing my phaser at the ground before her feet as she neared the annexe mouth. "Not you, Seven," I growled, "You stay here."
She turned her eyes to me and glared, she turned to face me defiantly, hands clasped behind her back. "May I remind you that I was not the only one?" Seven questioned, obviously expecting me to her opponent back.
I reholstered my phaser and hooked one thumb into my weapons belt. I stalked towards her until we were almost standing chest to chest. "Oh don't you worry Seven," I said darkly, "As soon as she has fixed her nose, I will be talking to Torres, too."
Seven nodded, with apparent satisfaction. There was not even a glimmer of remorse in her gaze.
I shook my head, breathing out a disgusted sigh. "I don't care what the hell you were doing, and I certainly don't care why. If you can't get along with Torres, then that's just tough. Either you work out your differences, or I throw you both out on your asses. I let you join us to fight the Bionics, not to scuffle in the dirt like little boys!"
Seven raised an eyebrow, "I believe that we were sorting our differences out."
I ground my teeth together and clenched my fist. I was incredibly unimpressed by her retort. I stepped even closer to her, forcing her to readjust the angle of her head so that she could keep eye contact. "I like you, Seven," I told her plaintively, surprising her as well as myself, and then added quietly, "although god knows why." A second passed and I grew stern again, I reached up and squeezed her bicep, using enough force to make Seven wince. "See this as your final warning, Seven," I said, "another slip-up, and I will string you out to dry."
The young woman swallowed and nodded her acknowledgement. She turned her gaze to the floor and looked up again, and her usual arrogant demeanor fell back into place. I stepped away from her, and gestured to the cavern's mouth. "Go and get your combat gear," I said flatly, then, "Dismissed."
7
Infiltrating the Unimatrix on Sector 16 was always a difficult task. The Bionics had established a major compund there, and the Cubes had highly efficient regenerative abilities. Destroying the Tertiary Adjunct was the best way to bring a Unimatrix down, with the Bionics requiring two to five hours to regenerate the damaged Cubes. My team's main function was to sabotage the Cubes. The breaches we caused in the Bionic's Planetary Containment Grid allowed other rebel units to send scout ships to the Kinboté System for supplies and intelligence.
I wanted to remind Seven that I had given her yet another second chance, so I ordered her to deactivate the drones as she had on the Section 24 UTAC. I regarded Seven's body as she worked on the Bionic console. The action was of course, purely an appreciation of aesthetics. I wondered how a pair of ammunition straps could possibly accentuate the female body's curves, but Seven was wearing them, and there they were. I would have to admit, if questioned, that Seven carried off the straps quite well. I would also, quite possibly, have to kill the questioner afterwards.
The sound of Seven stepping back from the console alerted me to our progress and I dragged my mind back on task. I ordered Torres to activate the UTAC code and beam us in. As expected, the drones were dormant when we materialised inside the Tertiary Adjunct Cube. I readied my phaser rifle, regardless. I ordered my rebels to follow suit. We made our way stealthily through the corridors and catwalks of the dormant Cube. The drones in their alcoves looked no less sinister in their sleep.
We had almost reached the inner matrix when the drones reactivated ahead of schedule. I yelled out that the Bionics had adapted, and that we ought to hurry up and get out of the Unimatrix before we became stuck. I led my rebels onward to the heart of the Cube, knowing that Seven and Torres would be ready to arm the devices once we reached the inner matrix. I rounded a corner, rifle raised, and saw too late the Bionic drone's arm which was swinging in an arc towards my head. I grunted under the impact, blood from the cut on my forehead stinging as it ran into my eye. The drone was too close to fire my phaser rifle at. Its heavy armour plating would simply cause my phaser-burst to rebound. The Bionic started to attack me again, and I made a desperate swipe at it with my knife. As I pulled my shoulder up, I was hit by phaser fire from behind. Both myself and the Bionic stumbled. I cursed very loudly as the walls spun. I fell, hard against the Bionic drone which had already slumped to the floor, a scattered mass of flesh, wires and metal was all that remained of its head.
I felt one of the rebels lift me up and throw me across their shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Sorry about that, Captain," Torres's voice said from near my hip, "Seven had to shoot the Bionic, but your shoulder got in the way. You weren't going to make a dent in it with that knife."
I grunted, only half comprehending, and proceeded to black out.
8
I regained consciousness, head and shoulder throbbing, to the news that one of my rebels, Chakotay, was dead. It was an unfortunate loss, it is true, but Chakotay had not been a specialist, and for this reason he was expendable. Despite my being Captain, the severity of my shoulder injury resulted in strict orders from the field medic for me to stay in bed. I had to comply, however reluctantly, but drew some satisfaction by promising revenge. I lay back and stared at the dull cavern ceiling whilst the rebels noisily enjoyed themselves at Chakotay's wake.
I sighed deeply, resisting the urge to poke at the bruise across my head and closed my eyes. I snapped my eyelids open again at the thud of a combat pack being dumped in my space. I shifted to my side, wincing as my shoulder pulled, and blinked to clear my blurring vision. Seven knelt nearby, busily arranging her things into a makeshift bed.
"Seven," I started, my voice sounded horrible, so I cleared my throat, "What do you think you're doing?" I had to pause for a moment, as my shoulder gave a particularly insistent throb, "Why aren't you with the others at the wake?"
Seven looked up from bundling her clothing and combat pack into the vague shape of a pillow. "I do not require entertainment at this time," she stated, "my usual space is currently occupied by the crowd."
I couldn't think of anything to say, so I defaulted with an "…Oh." I watched Seven unpinning her hair. It was longer than I had expected, and despite the streaks of dirt in it, it was a very gentle shade of blonde. I imagined that her hair would look gorgeous when she washed it, and then caught myself. I concealed my confusion, adding tartly, "Well then, Seven, I will see to it that my presence does not interrupt your sleep."
I regretted the comment almost as soon as the words had flown from my mouth. Seven nervously looked down at her hands, "My attitude was in error last night, Captain," she said, "I apologise."
Seven's apology made me lost for words. "That's…uh, alright," I stammered, having expected at least an icy retort.
We soon recovered from our lapses in character. Seven sat down abruptly on her now readied bed and pulled out a data PADD. "I do not intend to go to sleep," she told me, her voice returned to its usual brief tone, "I have these algorithms to compute."
"Fine," I said, slowly lowering myself onto my back. I stared at the ceiling again, and ignored the awful pounding in my head. After a minute of doing nothing, the subtle beeping from Seven's data PADD ceased. I twisted my head around, to see what was going on. Seven was looking at my shoulder wound with a slight frown. I tried to look at my own shoulder too, despite knowing that the angle of my pillow made the movement impossible. "What?" I asked.
Seven put her PADD down and crawled to my bedside. I felt her fingers prodding the bandages around my wound. "Seven, what the hell are you doing?" I hissed. Seven drew her fingers back, the tips of them shone with my blood.
"Your shoulder, Captain," she said, wiping her hand, "It is bleeding."
"Well of course it bloodywell is now..." I grumbled, trying to sit up. The pain flared and I gasped, slumping back onto my bed. "Go and get the medic," I said.
Seven didn't, instead she reached into her combat pack and pulled out a bioregenerator and some bandages. "Fetching the medic would be inefficient," she said, "I am here now. You must allow me to dress your wound."
I gave her a look which was less than agreeable but nodded my head anyway. She proceeded to remove the bandages, her fingers felt cool against my injured skin. Seven tossed the bloodied bandages aside and regarded my shoulder and upper chest. "Your shoulder has become infected," she said slowly, "the inflammation of your skin has spread to your chest." Seven reached in to her combat pack again and drew out a bottle of clear liquid. She used the liquid to dampen a spare piece of bandage and then dabbed it gently against my skin. The liquid stung and I cried out, arching slightly from the bed. Seven placed the back of her fingers against my cheek. I was surprised by the expression of worried tenderness upon her face. "Sorry, Captain," she said, "It is a disinfectant. It will hurt for a while."
I nodded gruffly, blinking back the tears of pain which had sprung into my eyes. I breathed out slowly, and tried not to wince as Seven set to my shoulder with the disinfectant once again. "Sure, no problem," I managed to gasp. I gritted my teeth and hoped that she'd give up and call for the medic.
Seven eventually finished torturing my shoulder and re-bandaged the wound. "Thank you, Seven," I told her, watching as she crawled back to her own bed. As she picked up her PADD again, I was suddenly struck by a thought. "You're free to move your things to that spot permanently," I said, gesturing to her new sleeping space, "...if you want."
Seven glanced across at me, her lips curved into a very tiny smile. It was the first time that I'd seen her do so, and it added to her beauty considerably, I had to admit. "Thank you, Captain," she said.
9
A frigid gale whipped at our clothes, it threw dust into our eyes and down our throats. Kim looked up into the glassy sky and cupped his hand like a shield across his forehead. "Still no sign of the Delta, Captain," he reported. I had to strain my ears in order to hear his voice above the screaming wind.
We were hunkered down within the meagre sheltre of some mid-sized boulders, waiting for a shipment of supplies. I had to get Torres's attention by throwing a stone at her foot. She jerked around angrily, only curbing her response when she realised that it was I who had interrupted her keeping post. She shouldered her phaser rifle and moved low across the ground, stopping in a crouch beside me. "Captain?"
I was concerned about the shuttle because it was already thirty minutes overdue. I couldn't keep my team outside for much longer in this gale. I instructed Torres to retrieve a spatial tricorder from her combat-pack. "Torres, I want you to hack in to the Planetary Containment Grid. Scan for any Bionic activity within range of planetary orbit. There must be something up there holding the Delta Flyer up."
Torres nodded, already working the tricorder controls. I reached into my combat-pack and took out my own scanning device. I checked for the possibility of a nearby Unimatrix, possibly cloaked, but the tricorder provided no anomalous readings. "Useless," I muttered, putting the tricorder back into my pack. I leaned over Torres's shoulder, "Anything?"
The engineer tapped some commands into the tiny hand-held tricorder. A sequence of Bionic symbols flashed up across the screen, followed by an oscillating line. "What the hell is that?" Torres said. I reached to Torres's hands and took the tricorder, I didn't recognise what the readings said.
"May I be of assistance?"
Torres and I both turned around. "Seven," I said in exasperation, "how many times must I tell you to stay at your post?"
Seven did not have the grace to look chagrined, the young woman gestured to the tricorder with her chin instead. "I have superior algorithm decription skills. I can be of help in this instance." Seven paused, and then looked straight at me, "You must comply."
Torres bristled, throwing Seven a hostile glare. "Listen, woman," she started, pointing her forefinger in Seven's face, "I have no idea where you get off, but you have no right to order me around." The engineer's hand shot out, Torres wrapped her fingers around Seven's throat. She leaned in closely as the younger woman started to make gagging sounds, "Seven, you are [I]this[/I] close to pushing me too far," she said, and then shoved Seven backwards, releasing her throat.
I gave Torres a disapproving glance, and then handed Seven the device, keeping Torres away from the young woman with my free hand. "All right Seven, see what you can do."
Seven took the tricorder and studied the screen intently, hunching over the tiny device. I caught her subtly touching her fingers to the reddened skin where Torres had gripped her throat. Into my ear, Torres grumbled, "I don't understand why you haven't already thrown her out."
I picked up my phaser rifle, watching Seven's hunched back before I answered, "You know what Torres, niether do I. She does posses some excellent skills, regardless."
"Sure. I suppose," Torres growled. She hefted her phaser rifle into the crook of her arm, and huffed into her freed hand to fend off the cold.
Seven was soon finished with her study of the tricorder. She handed it back to me, with a defiant glance at Torres. "Seven, report," I said.
"It is a substellar pulse created by the Bionics," Seven stated, "I believe the source is the Primary Unimatrix, located in Sector 17. Whilst the pulse is activated, the Delta Flyer cannot get through the grid."
"Good work, Seven," I answered, looking over the readings again myself, "Looks like we've got ourselves another mission. I want you and Kim to return to base, arm yourselves with our upgraded tri-phasic cluster bombs, and then beam back to rendez-vous at the Sector 17 Unimatrix, " I prodded Torres to regain her attention, "Torres, you go with them. Myself and the rest of the team will beam to Sector 17 now, and start working on the UTAC code."
The two women nodded, and I signalled to the rebels to shoulder their combat-packs. "Let's go!"
TBC