Post "Unity"

[maquis_co]

Days had passed since the destruction of the Borg cube and Voyager was now traveling once again toward home. Without missing duty or neglecting his responsibilities, it was clear Chakotay was still processing the recent events. He'd been quieter than normal, keeping his responses to the necessary minimum. He'd also shown little of himself in the mess hall. Like the last three evenings before, the solitude of his quarters had won out over the company of others. Silently, he watched the stars race past the view port. The voices of his ancestors called to him. Uncharacteristically, he ignored them.

Comments

[directives]

On some level, one she would never admit to, Kathryn was equal parts jealous and wary of the link. It wasn't something she wanted to experience firsthand, but she envied the easy depth of the connection, of that which was shared readily between her first officer and the other members of the rogue collective. And at the same time, she feared it. Kathryn was an intensely private person who kept much to herself, locked away in various crevices of her mind with the intention of never allowing them to see the light of day. The link would eradicate that protective layer, exposing her in a way she wouldn't appreciate.

"It should," she reassured, lightly squeezing the flesh beneath her palm. Kathryn didn't understand how all of this worked, but she was confident that with time, the lingering effects of the link would wear off.

And she hoped that it would stay that way. Running into more Borg was an inevitability she had already excepted, something she knew was a possibility from the moment they began charting a course through the Delta Quadrant. The last thing Chakotay needed was for the link to reactivate itself once the Collective reared its ugly head.

[maquis_co]

"I wish there was some way to guarantee that," he commented, knowing full well there wasn't. Ever since he was a child, he'd feared losing his faculties, prizing his intelligence above all other gifts. Watching his grandfather grow worse heightened that fear.

[directives]

"As do I," she admitted with some reluctance.

Her hand fell away from his arm so she could take a step to the side, pacing a bit in front of the door.

"I went through all of it," Kathryn told him. "I even combed through archived entries from lower deck crewmen who were aboard the Enterprise when Q first flung them out into the path of that cube. None of it has given me any insight on how to help you or handle the Borg while in such close proximity to their native hunting grounds, so to speak."

Not even Captain Picard's experiences. Of course, the flagship's captain words were overshadowed by the rightful fury he felt towards the Collective for the violations he suffered at their hands. His words were invaluable, but ultimately unhelpful.