Title: One Week 3/?
Author: quew
Please see part one for Archiving info, disclaimer and rating, and part two for the summary.
Warnings:
Notes:
#
B’Elanna paced, punctuating each muttered curse with a footstep and marching up and down her quarters, scowling fiercely and occasionally glancing at the padd she held in her hand.
It was twenty two hundred hours, and she should have been asleep as she had an early shift tomorrow, but somehow the information the padd held kept her from her bed, making her anxious and angry. She glanced down the list of names once again, determined to find out what was going on before the other twelve entries became a reality. Some of the names she knew very well, like the last one: Seven Of Nine. She was the last entry, and according to the tri-corder data, she died exactly one week and one hour from that very moment. Twenty three hundred hours, one week from today.
B’Elanna gritted her teeth and threw the padd into the wall in a fit of rage. Though she would have laughed at the idea a few months ago, Seven was now a close friend – they worked well together and enjoyed each others company, focusing on the similarities instead of the differences between them. They still had arguments, but now they lacked the animosity that had dogged them before – now, their clashes were merely…heated discussions, and they’d say so to anyone who asked.
B’Elanna even admitted to herself as she paced that she enjoyed working with Seven – the woman was smart, a quick worker, a brilliant thinker, and now she had quite a sense of humour too, something B’Elanna couldn’t help but think she had helped to nurture, which was a thought that gave her a small burst of pride.
She stared at the broken remains of the padd and sighed; she knew she would not be able to sleep tonight. She picked up her jacket and left her quarters. Soon she was ensconced behind a work-station in the laboratory, determined to prove without a shadow of a doubt that the tri-corder was not from the future, but an elaborate hoax that some sicko was trying to play on the hapless crew of Voyager. She was halfway through trying yet another test when the doors swooshed open and in marched Seven, her guards on her heels.
‘Lieutenant,’ Seven said, surprised to see the half-Klingon it seemed.
‘Seven,’ B’Elanna said, nodding in greeting. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I…I…’ For the first time that she could remember, B’Elanna saw that Seven was flustered, and she stepped in to save the drone further embarrassment.
‘I knew you weren’t as cool as you appeared to be about this whole thing,’ B’Elanna said, pulling a face, ‘C’mon, you can help. I’ve tried just about every test I know and now I’m making them up as I go along; I could use your input.’
Seven blinked, and then moved to the nearest work-station. ‘You are here testing the tri-corder?’
‘No, I’m making a new recipe for peach cobbler,’ B’Elanna replied, not lifting her eyes from her work.
‘Oh,’ Seven said. For a moment she watched the guards make themselves comftable around the room, then she turned her attention back to the engineer. She found that B’Elanna was staring at her, a faint smile on her face.
‘Maybe your sense of humour needs a little bit more work,’ B’Elanna said, amused. ‘Look, I’m here because I refuse to accept that this is the absolute truth. You’re here because you don’t want to die.’
‘I…’ Seven took a moment to let this sink in, and then inclined her head. ‘Yes. I do not want to cease being an individual. I find that idea…lacks appeal.’
B’Elanna laughed. ‘You could’ve just said ‘Yes.’’
Seven allowed herself a small smirk. ‘I believe I would miss these exchanges should I cease to function.’
She looked at B’Elanna, and found the engineer staring at her with an unfathomable expression. They watched each other for what seemed like many minutes, but Seven’s internal chronometer told her that it was only sixteen point zero eight seconds. She’d never realized that sixteen point zero eight seconds could last so long. Finally, B’Elanna smiled and said,
‘So would I, Seven, so would I.’
#
‘It is real,’ Janeway took the tri-corder from B’Elanna’s hand and stared at it thoughtfully as she sat in her Ready Room couch, drinking coffee on her couch. ‘You’re sure?’
‘Absolutely, Captain,’ she said, her voice tight. ‘We tried ever single test we could think of and several we made up, plus one we think might have irradiated our feet. It’s a long story.’
‘We?’
B’Elanna rubbed her face with one tired hand. ‘Seven came into the lab about an hour after I did and we were there pretty much all night.’
‘How is she holding up?’ The Captain asked, trying to keep her voice level and calm but failing when she detected a faint tremor running through her words. B’Elanna didn’t see to notice as she answered.
‘She’s ok, I think. She’s convinced we’ll find a way to stop this from happening.’
‘And you? What do you think?’
‘I think…I think someone sent this back to warn us.’
‘So we could prevent it from happening?’
‘Yes. I think someone found a way to send this back; to try and help us stop it before it started.’
‘It’s too late for that,’ Janeway sighed. She ran her hands through her hair and tried to drag her thoughts away from her dead crewmember.
‘How’s Harry dealing with it?’ B’Elanna asked: She knew the captain had been making regular checks on the young ensign ever since they’d found out he was eighth on the list.
‘He’s…scared,’ The Captain said. ‘And so am I, B’Elanna. We have to find a way to figure out who’s doing this. I’ve had Tuvok investigating the Allyn’s murder, but so far he’s found nothing.’
B’Elanna’s lips compressed into a thin line as she listened to the Captain describing Tuvok’s investigation to date – she was honoured that the captain felt comftable enough to share the details with her, but she really wished she wouldn’t. It was disconcerting to see the brilliant Captain Janeway so…shaken.
‘Don’t worry Captain,’ she said. ‘We’ll get through this.’
Janeway smiled. ‘I’m glad you’re doing all you can B’Elanna, and I’m sure Seven is too. You’re very good for her, you know. She’s made leaps and bounds in her humanity since you two stopped fighting, and she has you to thank for it.’
Ignoring the unnamed warmth that spread through her chest but basking in the sense of pride she felt B’Elanna smiled slightly and said. ‘Well, it’s not just one way Captain. She’s teaching me a lot too.’
‘You’re two of the best engineers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, B’Elanna,’ The Captain said. ‘I’m pleased that you two can work together now too. Between you, I don’t think there’s anything you can’t solve.’
B’Elanna’s smile turned slightly forced – was Janeway pinning all her hopes for a speedy resolution to this on them? Were they going to be the one’s with the twelve lives over their heads? ‘I hope so, Captain,’ She said slowly. ‘I really hope so.’