The Q-Factor

Star Trek Voyager. The suicidal Q accidentally causes all males to disappear from Voyager, and the grief-struck women left have to reorganize their lives and duties to continue their journey towards home.
Has been dropped and is unlikely to ever be continued.
(Seven/B'Elanna)

Read The Q Factor

Disclaimer: Star Trek Voyager and all that it entails belongs not to this little dragon, but a whole bunch of other people. No profit made, just having a bit of fun, no harm intended, you know the drill.

It is intended as a Seven/B’Elanna story, if it gets there. Oh, a bad word in there somewhere... don’t know why my B’Elanna is always swearing, but alas, she is. ^^;




The Q-Factor
-----------------------------------------
by Carola “Ryûchan” Eriksson


It seemed like a strange dream, or perhaps someone’s odd and somewhat cruel joke. Anything at all, just not reality, and it took a long time before the truth settled firmly on the shoulders of one Captain Kathryn Janeway, much in the way the realization that she had caused her entire ship the way back to their home with the destruction of the Caretaker’s array once had.

It had started innocuously enough, by Delta Quadrant standards.

Q had appeared on Voyager, a pesky and troublesome guest to be sure, but not really one to invoke fear or adversity. In fact, Janeway regarded the mercurial entity as somewhat of a friend and wouldn’t have minded a visit at all... if he could keep from making her life difficult every time he appeared. Why, Janeway even felt a somewhat familial bond to his son, the young Q, for whom she had been saddled with the role of ‘aunt Janeway’.

Still, something was off with her friend this time around... and Janeway blamed herself for not catching it in time. Surely she should have seen it, the gleam of desperation in his eyes, the despair in his speech? But Q had seemed much the way he always were, perhaps a return to somewhat flirtier days when he had tried to make her bear his child, true, but after a few stern but friendly rejections, he returned to, well, what passed as normal for him.

Next thing they all knew, Q was gone, erased from the continuum without a trace. A Q suicide, only he had, like so many other times in his existence, not thought of the consequences... and ended up taking every other male onboard Voyager with him.

Horrified, Janeway and the remaining women onboard realized that half the crew was missing... every single male, right down to the holographic doctor. With the connection to Q readily apparent, it was no surprise when the female Q suddenly appeared, pale as a ghost and angry enough to tear the ship in two.

Janeway confronted her, and after a shouting match that was quite impressive, female Q broke down in tears in the arms of a mere mortal fleshling, telling Janeway what Q had done. She had felt it.

Janeway pleaded with the female Q to bring the male members of the crew back, stating that they had nothing to do with Q’s decision, and if female Q wanted to punish someone for not stopping Q, she should punish Janeway herself, not the men. But female Q shook her head and told Janeway that what one Q had done, another could not undo... and that there was nothing Janeway could have done to stop Q anyway.

After a desperate pep-talk session with Janeway, female Q left for parts unknown to enlist the aid of her son in finding a way to circumvent the rules of Q-hood to undo what Q had done. She promised to keep in touch, then left Janeway to try and bring some kind of order of the chaos that was her ship, and hope and pray that the finicky creature would find a way to save her people even if that was not her priority.

Left with a ship in shock, half her crew missing and nearly every single senior officer among them, Janeway called a meeting with the few that remained with a heavy heart.

---

Janeway looked out across the table, feeling the pain sharply in her heart at all the missing faces... her crew... her friends... her family. She steeled herself not to let her feelings show in her expression more out of habit than for any real reason, as the two women looking back at her from opposite sides of the suddenly all too large table were the two people anywhere she’d trust not to judge. That in fact she had trusted with a lot of things over the years... and in all the misery Kathryn Janeway suddenly felt a strong gust of gratitude to whatever forces guided the journeys of mortals that these two had not been taken from her. These two... so dissimilar yet similar at the same time, these two faithful friends and companions, these two... daughters of her heart.

B’Elanna was pale and haggard, black eyes stormy and her features drawn, slumping forward in her seat but still managing to give the impression that she was a single word away from exploding with rage over the state of things, her fists curled so tightly the knuckles were almost white where she rested her hands on top of the table.

Seven appeared calm on the surface, collected, her expression giving nothing away. Janeway thought idly that perhaps she was not the best of role models for her young ward, as the command mask and poise she herself projected was something Seven had quickly adapted to. One had to know her well to see the devastating pain that lurked in the pale blue eyes, which Janeway did... and it cut even more deeply into her, knowing that Seven carried a deeper loss that any other woman aboard the ship.

Biting back the bile that threatened to rise, Janeway nodded to Seven who, not surprisingly to Janeway, handed her a padd then stood to attention.

“What’s that?” B’Elanna’s voice was somewhat rusty, bearing the evidence of hours of tears and screaming, no doubt. Somewhat more surprising to Janeway, Seven responded by handing B’Elanna a padd of her own. Too tired for a smart remark, B’Elanna merely gave Seven a curious glance when accepting the padd trust at her, then scanned the contents of the data.

Janeway was bit ahead of her, and quickly realized what Seven had given her. The look that she bestowed on her beloved unofficial daughter was brimming with affection and gratitude, and in response Janeway saw the pale blue eyes soften, warm up slightly with an almost shy answering affection. Most never realized how much Seven, like Janeway herself, communicated with her eyes alone. Most never bothered to learn.

“What the hell?!” B’Elanna snapped, loudly, and giving Seven a murderous look, about to say something else when Janeway pinned her with a glare and a raised hand. Swallowing twice B’Elanna bit out a more civilized retort than the one she obviously had intended on at first. “_When_... did you come up with this, Seven?”

Seven inclined her head slightly. “It is an adaptation of data and research performed for the efficiency report I presented at a meeting for the senior officers at stardate...”

B’Elanna waved the answer away, she remembered the meeting... and more to the point, the statuesque woman’s evaluation of herself. In fact, although B’Elanna wouldn’t admit to it under torture, the padd containing Seven’s opinion of B’Elanna’s work was hidden away in B’Elanna’s quarters, occasionally brought out after one of those long days when she gave it everything she had and still felt that it wasn’t enough. Rereading Seven’s crisp, precise wording evaluating her work effort and approving of it soothed a lot of aches and pains in a curious way, especially since B’Elanna knew full well how hard it was to attain such a favourable assessment from the former Borg.

“Never mind that! You drew this up back then, for what purpose exactly? And... awfully snappy to get it together now, weren’t you? Did you...”

“B’Elanna, that’s enough!” Janeway’s voice snapped out and reined B’Elanna’s misdirected tantrum in like a mother putting her foot down, and like a child knowing when to get away with pushing and when to keep her mouth shut, B’Elanna immediately grew silent and sat back in her chair.

“Thank you Seven.” Janeway’s gratitude was quite palpable in her voice. “It would have taken me a long time to go through the crew manifest to make the necessary list of changes, time that we quite frankly don’t have to spare... and effort that I, if I’m honest, am not sure I could put in right now. Especially since rearranging and reassigning crew was Chakotay’s job, and has been since he became my second in command. You just made my job considerably much easier, Seven, thank you.”

Seven inclined her head slightly in acceptance of the gratitude. “I am... glad... to have eased your burden in some way, Captain.”

B’Elanna actually felt ashamed at Janeway’s frank admission and Seven’s unusual response to it. Of course Seven was just trying to help out, make things less difficult for Janeway in anyway she could... B’Elanna should know that and not jump at the other woman’s throat over what was really a good and useful suggestion.

Silence reigned in the room as Janeway read the rest of the contents of the padd, nodding slightly in places, raising a surprised eyebrow at others. Finally she put the padd down, and turned facing away from the table and the younger women for a moment. Wiping at her eyes Janeway took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, then turned back to face them.

“We need to call in all that are going to replace...” Janeway’s voice trailed off, noticing Seven’s small nod. “You’ve already summoned them, Seven?”

“Yes Captain, I have instructed all concerned to stay outside awaiting summons since five minutes ago, although I did not inform them why and made it clear that if they receive no summons in the following fifteen minutes, they are free to go.”

“Efficient as ever, dear Seven.” A small smile ghosted past Janeway’s lips. “Very well, let’s get them in here, shall we? Oh, and both of you, move up next to me.” Somewhat awkwardly B’Elanna and Seven took the seats that previously used to belong to Chakotay and Tuvok, flanking Janeway on either side.

Janeway tapped her commbadge once, issuing the order, and the three women watched in silence as a small group of somewhat bewildered women entered the room, hovering for a moment before responding to Seven’s instructions and taking up the available seats around the table.

Janeway stood. “Welcome ladies, how good of you to respond to the summons, even if it was somewhat cryptic and unorthodox.” She swept her gaze around the room, trying to instil some confidence here, soothe some nerves there, lull them all into a sense of calm by her commanding presence alone. “I believe we are all painfully aware of the circumstances being... beyond difficult, and it will be made perfectly clear to all of you why you’re here if you bear with us for a moment.”

Janeway nodded slightly at B’Elanna, who blinked at first, then caught on and continued with a strong voice. “As I’m sure no-one in this room is unaware of, we have a serious problem with the sudden lack of senior officers and personnel in a number of key positions. That’s the reason you’ve been summoned here.”

Janeway nodded at Seven, cueing her to take it from there. The ex-Borg stood as she spoke, unconsciously intimidating quite a few of the women seated around the table with the sheer force of her presence. “First position, Chief medical officer.”

“The EMH has so far proven to be irretrievable from Voyager’s systems, although the database remains intact. Creating a new EMH will be a priority, a female one as the holographic systems will no longer produce the image of a male creature of any sort, however that will take considerable time before one is remotely operative. The more prudent course of action is to promote a member of the crew as CMO, with a number of assistants from various departments.”

“As I am aware that Ensign Samantha Wildman would have received her commission as a medical doctor two years ago had she been in the Alpha Quadrant, and undoubtedly already practised as a physician full-time, I suggest reassigning Ensign Wildman to the post of CMO.”

Sam Wildman met Seven’s gaze quite calmly, having expected the suggestion since receiving Seven’s summons. It was the logical thing to do after all, and she had been working part-time in Sickbay with the doctor for the duration of Voyager’s stay in the Delta Quadrant. It had spurred her to seek a change of career, and so her old medical studies had been brushed up on and expanded, until she was quite qualified for the position. It was not the way she would have wanted to reach the intended goal of working as a doctor however, not by any means.

Sam appeared calm and collected on the surface, the only real sign of the grief she felt the bright red lines of her eyes, because as a mother Sam had gotten quite some experience at hiding her emotions when needed. There would be time to mourn and grieve lost friends and family members later, when she was alone in the privacy of her own quarters, and her little girl was asleep. That would have to do.

“Towards that end I suggest elevating Ensign Wildman to the rank of Lieutenant and Chief Medical Officer.” Seven finished her little speech formally, turning her gaze upon Janeway. Janeway nodded and searched the eyes of a woman in her crew that she herself had felt a great deal of private admiration for, although she was often forgotten beside the colourful exuberance that was her daughter. Samantha Wildman had somehow managed to remain true to her husband though separated by so many years, and raised a precocious daughter, all the while pursuing medical knowledge that was as inspiring to Janeway as it was much needed, and remaining a calm, solid if understated presence onboard.

“What do you have to say about this, Sam?” Janeway dropped the formality deliberately, gracing the woman on the far end of the table a small smile. “We, this crew and I, desperately need you for the job... will you take it?”

Sam nodded. “Yes Captain. Until such time as there is someone more qualified for this position than I am, I will fulfil my duties to the best of my ability.” Her brief pledge earned her a nod of approval from B’Elanna and Janeway, and a slight incline of the head of Seven who had expected nothing less. Sam gave the young woman that was her daughter’s best friend and role-model a brief smile before settling back to hear the next point on the agenda.

“Second position, primary helmsman of the alpha shift.” Seven continued. “Ensign Theresa Jenkins is next in line for the position of first helmsman, and best qualified. My suggestion is to make the current arrangement official, and assign Ensign Jenkins to the alpha shift.”

“Jinx will do great in the position.” B’Elanna offered with a small lopsided smile at the blonde Ensign. “Tom and Harry both had lots of good things to say about Jinx’ piloting skills.” Jenkins face twisted slightly with grief at the mention of her friends, but nodded gratefully at B’Elanna for the praise.

“Unless you have any objections, Theresa, I will have you officially reassigned.” Janeway stated, receiving an accepting nod from the currently subdued Ensign. Normally Jenkins was a chatterbox, but circumstances were far from normal now.

“Third position, chief security and tactical officer.” Seven continued crisply. “I suggest elevating Ensign U’Lanai to the rank of Lieutenant and chief security and tactical officer, based on my own evaluations, the evaluations made by Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, and Lieutenant Commander Tuvok’s suggestion in a situation such as this.”

All eyes tracked to the tall Vulcan woman who sat next to Ensign Jenkins. She appeared completely unruffled by recent events, Vulcan to the fingertips despite the fact that most aboard the ship said that she and Vorik had made an arrangement to marry the next time he entered Pon Farr.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about you from Tuvok, U’Lanai. Your mentor and my old friend practically gushed about you.” Janeway’s lips twitched slightly as she spoke, knowing how untrue they sounded, and how true they really were. For Tuvok, the small words of approval had been the equivalent to someone else’s endless gushing. The cultivated and slightly disbelieving eyebrow that arched on the motionless face before her cut Janeway deeply, so reminiscent of Tuvok that the man’s own daughter could not have appeared more like him in that moment. The calm “Indeed.”, spoken with the same kind of non-inflection he did made her swallow hard not to give in to her tears.

U’Lanai had joined the Maquis together with her mentor for the purpose of being Starfleet’s undercover agents, although in U’Lanai’s case it had been her own idea to follow her teacher and not Starfleet’s suggestion. Were they of another race than Vulcan, Janeway would have said that their bond had been very much a father-daughter one, but being Vulcan, Tuvok would have said that he was merely U’Lanai’s mentor and teacher. Regardless, Janeway was fortunate to have someone whom her old friend had respected and trained to fill his position, as it was one that would be very demanding and essential.

“I approve of Seven and Tuvok’s recommendations and will have you officially instated as chief security and tactical officer, Lieutenant U’Lanai.” Janeway said formally, knowing how anything more personal would not be appreciated by the young Vulcan.

“Fourth position, primary operations officer.” Seven moved on to the next point on her list. “My research suggests that crewman Marla Gilmore would be most qualified for the position.”

Everyone of the junior officers and crewmen in the room besides U’Lanai gave a start at that, Marla herself included. She was the only remaining of the still distrusted and shunned Equinox crew, never allowed work of any real importance, and most of all, there wasn’t a woman in the room that didn’t know of Marla’s own part in the horrors committed upon Seven by the Equinox crew, however unwillingly.

Even Janeway had been surprised by the suggestion when she read her padd, but she quickly realized a very basic thing about Seven... Seven would not let personal feelings interfere with what was best for the ship, for her collective, and she had an amazing propensity for forgiving the most heinous of crimes committed against her own person.

“Crewman Gilmore has served in this position before, and has both the necessary skills required and the benefit of experience. I suggest elevating crewman Gilmore to the rank of Ensign and the position of primary operations officer.”

Janeway tried to meet the eyes of Marla Gilmore where she sat next to U’Lanai, but the former Equinox member sat staring at her hands, looking as if she would faint at any moment. It was a toss-up between her and Tal Celes for which of them looked more nervous and Janeway imagined she could even see the faint tint of green on Marla’s face. She knew from Tuvok’s reports that the woman had kept to herself or her fellow former Equinox members as much as possible since arriving onboard Voyager, and that her behaviour suggested that the woman still felt extreme guilt over her actions. It was something that Janeway had thought to give some attention as the good leader she tried to be, but there was always something that got in the way... and Janeway was self-aware enough to know that she harboured a smidgen of resentment of her own for what had happened to Seven.

Seeing the whites of Marla Gilmore’s eyes, Janeway decided to take a page out of Seven’s book for once. “Crewman Gilmore, do you have anything to say about this proposed arrangement?”

“No ma’am.” Marla’s voice was somewhat shaky. Janeway tried again.

“Do you feel you can perform as needed in this position?” Janeway knew she sounded stern, but she had a point to make. “Can your comrades, your fellow crew, depend on you to do your outmost as the primary operations officer?”

Marla Gilmore snapped to attention, a determined look settling on her face. “Yes ma’am!” Was the strong answer, and Janeway almost smiled. “I swear I will do everything in my power to serve this ship if you chose to give me the opportunity, ma’am! I won’t let you down.”

Janeway nodded, mentally buffing her nails a bit in self-congratulation. As she had predicted, Marla Gilmore was bound to approach her new position with a fervent dedication and determination to do her outmost, as a kind of penance for past crimes. It was a kind of attitude that would help the woman get accepted eventually, as others would see her dedication, and it was a good starting point for an officer whom Janeway would be able to depend upon, in time.

“Fifth position, replacement for Mr Neelix duties maintaining the Messhall.” Seven looked at Janeway. “My suggestion is based on the need for an individual to handle dining arrangements and food supplies, and not Mr Neelix other duties such as morale officer.”

“To this end I suggest Ensign Tal Celes to be reassigned to have responsibility for the Messhall and its subsidiaries.”

Janeway nodded, ignoring the audible gulp that came from the very pale Tal Celes. “What Mr Neelix did for Voyager’s crew could not be emulated, and you would not be expected to perform his duties as morale officer or any of the other things Mr Neelix did. However there are a great many things that the person in charge of the Messhall will inevitably discover during the course of duty that might be important for the welfare of the crew, and as such I trust that you, if you accept this assignment Tal, would come to one of your superior officers in this room with.” Tal Celes said nothing, merely looked between Seven and Janeway with wide eyes.

“Ensign Celes is qualified for the position and have prior experience in the culinary trade.” Seven informed them calmly.

“Is that true, Tal?” Janeway asked gently, trying to ease the young woman’s nervousness with a friendly approach. In truth Janeway knew that if Seven said so, then the young woman was well suited for the job, and with her own knowledge of Tal Celes’ insecurities she could not help but wonder if perhaps the radical change in duties would not do her a world of good.

“Yes ma’am...” Tal said somewhat shakily. “I used to work part-time in a restaurant when I was at the academy, and I have spent time in the Messhall with Mr Neelix. I... if you think I can do it, ma’am...”

Next to her, Sam Wildman patted the nervous young woman on the arm reassuringly. “You’ll do fine, Tal, Neelix thought highly of your skills in the kitchen.” She winked at the girl. “Even if he wanted to spice up your recipes a bit.”

Across the table Theresa Jenkins gave Tal a toothy grin and a wink of her own, causing the young Bajoran to blush slightly. “I can’t wait to have a taste of your cooking, Celes.”

Janeway hid a smile as she watched how the other women got Tal Celes to relax considerably. “As I know that you also have considerate medical knowledge, I would like you to be one of the people assigned to work partial shifts in Sickbay as Sam’s medical aides. If this turns out to be too much for you we’ll make another arrangement, but I would like you to try it for a time.” Not only did Janeway think that the young Bajoran really did have medical expertise that would make her suitable as an assistant, but she also thought that putting her under Sam’s experienced eye would be a good way to make sure Tal Celes could handle her new assignment.

“That’s five to add to the senior officers list, Seven... anyone else?”

“I would request that Ensign Megan Delaney be reassigned to Astrometrics to replace Ensign Celes.” Seven tilted her head slightly, and the haggard looking Megan Delaney nodded in response, having figured out why she was there when she heard that Tal Celes would be given other duties. “With my... with Icheb gone and Ensign Celes reassigned, I would require someone of Ensign Delaney’s skills and abilities to cover Astrometrics when I have duties elsewhere. I also intend to have my... Mezoti gradually brought in to do work alongside myself in Astrometrics.”

“What?” B’Elanna blurted, although there were disapproving looks on several faces in the room. “Seven, you can’t do that, Mezoti’s just a kid. You can’t make her work...”

“I was not suggesting long and unsupervised work shifts, Lieutenant.” Seven interrupted calmly. “It is my intention to have Mezoti spend some time assisting Ensign Delaney in Astrometrics as a part of her training, once I have ensured that she is properly prepared for the task.” Seven’s expression did not change, but there was a dark look in her eyes that made B’Elanna shiver. “My daughter is Borg, Lieutenant. She will not hesitate to do her duty for this ship, and she is in fact the individual that, myself excluded, has the most knowledge of the workings of the Astrometrics systems.”

“We are in a bad situation where the crew have been depleted by half its numbers. All skills and potentials must be utilized to the fullest for our continued survival, and as such my daughter’s skills cannot be ignored merely because of her age.”

“Your... daughter? Oh Seven...” B’Elanna breathed in startled sympathy. There were a few shocked and tearful looks from the other women around the table as well at the admission that Seven looked upon the children as her own, since they all knew that only one child remained.

“It... was my error not to address Icheb, Azan and Rebi as my sons previously. I shall not perpetuate this error any further with my daughter.” Seven spoke quietly, the pain in her eyes suddenly only to obvious for a moment.

Janeway cleared her throat delicately, forcing her own pain down in order to bring things to an end. There really was just a few items left to discuss, but those were pivotal indeed.

“What about you, B’Elanna? Any reassignments in Engineering that I need to know about? I expect you will need to replace Vorik and Carey as shift leaders for starters.”

B’Elanna tore her eyes away from Seven. “I still have Nicoletti, whom I’ll be putting as my second in Engineering, but I want to put in Ashmore and Swinn as shift leaders as soon as possible as well. Other than that I think reassignments in Engineering will be just within the department, and I’ll have to see where they’re needed.”

“Is Lieutenant Nicoletti your suggestion to replace you as the chief of Engineering, Lieutenant?” Seven inquired politely while entering the data into her padd.

“WHAT?” B’Elanna roared, shooting to her feet. “What the hell are you saying? Are you saying I can’t do my job? That I should be replaced?”

Seven managed to look slightly surprised by the outburst. “On the contrary, Lieutenant. You are extremely capable and well qualified for your position as chief of Engineering. However, as the highest ranking officer remaining, a senior officer and one with a great deal of leadership experience, logically it follows you will be promoted to the rank of Commander.”

B’Elanna’s ire imploded like a burst balloon, leaving her gaping uncomprehendingly at Seven for a long moment before turning to Janeway and shaking her head.

“It is logically sound.” U’Lanai stated calmly, more as if speaking to Seven than to the others in the room. Seven nodded briefly in reply.

“No... no it’s not...” B’Elanna looked at Janeway. “You can’t be serious! You don’t want me to be the ship’s Commander, Captain, seriously.” She sounded almost desperate. “I’m no good for that, and frankly Captain, you need me right where I am.”

Janeway nodded slightly and closed her eyes for a moment. “Will all of you please sit down?” They obeyed without comment. “Now, let’s talk about this. Yes, B’Elanna is the highest ranking officer I have left, and all the other things you mentioned Seven. I take it that is why there was no mention of filling the position of Commander in your data?”

“Yes. The solution is obvious.”

“Hmm, perhaps. B’Elanna has proven herself a good leader and would undoubtedly do well as my first officer.” Janeway looked at her young chief of Engineering solemnly. “I would trust you implicitly, B’Elanna.” A slow blink and B’Elanna ducked her head, unable to keep a surprised but pleased smile from tugging at her lips.

“The thing is that I and Voyager need B’Elanna where she is. Her skills as chief Engineer have often been the only thing that has kept this ship together in the past, and our situation is even more perilous now.” Janeway looked at B’Elanna until the engineer met her eyes and nodded her understanding. She needed B’Elanna to understand where her decision was coming from, or what she was about to suggest would blow up in her face.

“Which leaves me with one obvious choice for the position of my first officer.” A pregnant pause during which all present seemed to lean forward just slightly with their interest to hear what Janeway was about to say. “You Seven.”

The tall blonde did not blink nor change expression, rather she appeared to freeze. Janeway gave her no chance to speak. “Your knowledge, skills and abilities are certainly not in question, and you have considerable command potential... even a fair share of experience in command situations. I can think of no-one better for the position of first officer, and the fact that you stepped in unasked today to perform the duties that normally would have fallen to Chakotay only strengthened that decision.”

“Captain... I cannot be Voyager’s first officer.” Seven spoke at last, slowly. “I am Borg.” As if that explained everything.

“With all due respect, ma’am...” Surprisingly enough it was Tal Celes that spoke up, if hesitantly, from her seat at the other end of the table. “You are Borg, I am Bajoran... does it really matter if you’re qualified for the job?” A set of agreeing noises from the other newly appointed senior officers followed the simple statement, making Janeway feel hopeful about her new set of officers.

“Because of circumstance, this is what I intend to do...” Janeway declared. “I will follow Seven’s recommendations in regards to the rest of you, and a small official ceremony will be held tomorrow, in the Messhall, for the promotions and for the official declaration of your new assignments.”

“The next is a bit more unorthodox, but I think we can all agree upon that our situation very much calls for unusual methods. At the small ceremony tomorrow, I will promote both Seven of Nine and B’Elanna Torres to the rank of Commander, although Seven will be instated as Voyager’s first officer and B’Elanna remain as chief of Engineering.” Janeway raised a hand to forestall the surprised gasps from becoming voiced protests from either woman. “Look at it as a safety measure in these troubled times, if you will.”

Looking at the two young women she cared so greatly for, Janeway lowered her voice and let some of her emotions shine through in her eyes. “I need you both.”

It was curious to see how similar their reactions to that was, as both Seven and B’Elanna swallowed hard, then slowly nodded once to show that they would go along with Janeway’s decisions. In the stillness that followed, Janeway let her gaze sweep across the others gathered in the room. “I suggest most of you try to prepare for your new duties, and for the reassignment of quarters that comes with it. Dismissed.”

As the women in the room filed up to leave, Janeway put a familiar hand on the shoulders of both Seven and B’Elanna, squeezing them slightly. B’Elanna nodded once, squaring her shoulders, then left for the reassigning she had yet to perform in Engineering. Seven was about to follow suit when Janeway patted her shoulder affectionately on the way out.

“It is time for you to wear a uniform, Seven... and it will be in command red.”

---

Janeway didn’t get much sleep that night, not that she had expected to, but still the strain of long hours was felt very keenly when she stepped into the Messhall for the upcoming ceremony. The sight that met her was one that thankfully lifted her spirit somewhat, and she was able to mask the worst of her fatigue. Moments after she entered the room, B’Elanna came bounding in wearing, to everyone’s surprise, her dress uniform despite the fact that Janeway had told those involved that they could forgo the dress uniforms for the occasion.

Meeting just inside the door, Janeway raised an eyebrow at B’Elanna’s choice of attire, making the younger woman give a small wry smile and a shrug. “Chakotay would have insisted.” She said quietly so no-one else would overhear. “And Harry and Tuvok wouldn’t have dreamt of having it otherwise... heck, even Tom would have gotten a few laughs out of making me wear this.”

Janeway smiled gently and nodded, not commenting.

The first thing B’Elanna and Janeway noticed once inside the Messhall was Tal Celes walking around, apparently forgetting that she was wearing a white apron over her crisply pressed uniform, as well as a curious little white cap on her head. Celes walked over to Sam Wildman, who like B’Elanna had opted to wear her dress uniform for the occasion, and as she followed the young woman with her eyes while trying to figure out what the cap was for, B’Elanna gave a start when she saw who else stood in the small group of people just off the far end of the kitchen counter.

Seven of Nine, looking as if she was fidgeting nervously in her new uniform.

B’Elanna gaped.

Sam and Tal both fussed slightly over the tall ex-Borg while Naomi and Mezoti watched their idol wearing her new uniform, but at first B’Elanna noticed none of that. Yes, B’Elanna had often grumbled about Seven not wearing a uniform like everyone else onboard, and she had thought that the bio-suits she wore only served to aggravate Seven’s somewhat outsider status on the ship... apart from just being plain to revealing for B’Elanna’s comfort. Heck, B’Elanna had a pyjama or two that looked exactly like what Seven wore around the ship every day, didn’t that, alone, say just how ill suited Seven’s choice of clothing really was?

But this new uniform... B’Elanna never thought a mere uniform could look so good. Yes, Seven’s uniform was cut considerably more tightly than the average Starfleet norm, but it was still considerably more loose than the bio-suits that fit like a second skin. The material was not standard either, for the black parts absorbed the light in a way regulation uniforms did not, and even the band of command red appeared darker due to the fabric.

Looking a bit more closely B’Elanna saw that Seven was wearing something black underneath her uniform jacket, rather than the standard issue grey, and that her black shoes, while not the painful-looking high heels of her bio-suits, still had quite a bit more heel on them than uniform shoes usually did. Seven still towered over the women around her with her new shoes, and now that the men were gone, B’Elanna doubted there were all that many women onboard that matched Seven’s height, heels or no.

Sam fussed with the collar of Seven’s uniform jacket, pulling at it and wiping some microscopic particle of dust from it while Seven looked at her uncertainly, and B’Elanna felt to her own surprise a strong gust of irritation directed at Sam. Who was Sam to have her hands all over Seven like that?

B’Elanna blinked a little in surprise, realizing that she and Janeway had reached the group while she had been busy ogling.

“Seven...” Janeway said warmly. “...you look wonderful in your new uniform.”

B’Elanna agreed silently, the ex-Borg certainly did. Somehow the way the uniform hugged her form made Seven look more slender, and the darkness of it contrasted sharply against the pale skin and white-gold hair, making it shine as if lit up from the inside. Yes... wonderful.

Seven spoke, and first Janeway then Sam responded. Finally Sam Wildman turned to B’Elanna with a smile, and attempted to include her in the conversation. “Don’t you agree, B’Elanna? Seven is so undecided about the uniform we designed, but it really does look good on her, doesn’t it?”

B’Elanna wondered briefly if drooling would be considered an affirmative answer, then struggled to put on a more nonchalant air... oh Kahless, look at that, was Seven actually blushing faintly? “Sure... it’s a uniform... but looks are irrelevant anyway, right?”

The answer was perhaps a bit more flippant than B’Elanna had intended and she regretted it the moment the words left her lips, as Seven’s blue eyes widened slightly, then kind of... closed. At once the softness that had graced her features was wiped away along with the faint blush that had dusted her cheeks, as Seven straightened rigidly to her normal pose.

“Yes Lieutenant... it is irrelevant.” Even Seven’s voice was brisk and distant, all traces of the slightly insecure young woman from moments before, erased. B’Elanna could have kicked herself. And the glares she received from Sam, Janeway and even a clearly disapproving look from the timid Tal, felt much like a few good kicks in the shin.

What was wrong with her anyway? Her ex and most of her friends had just... gone missing, B’Elanna was unwilling to think of them as being dead just yet, and here she was, drooling over Seven like some hormonal teenager? She really needed to get a grip.

B’Elanna also wanted to apologize to Seven but wasn’t entirely sure what for, and that annoyed her. Looking around for something to say, B’Elanna realized that there was really only very few people in the room for the ceremony. Clearing her throat slightly, she asked Janeway about that.

“Yes, well...” Janeway sighed a little. “...most are needed to remain at their posts, but the ceremony will be broadcast throughout the ship so everyone can witness it, even if we can’t have people gathering here for it.”

“It’s ironic really... now that the crew compliment has been cut in half, conserving energy is no longer a priority. Replicator rations, holodeck time, things like that... we have energy and rations in abundance.” Janeway wiped tiredly at her eyes for just a moment. “We just don’t have enough people to use up the surplus, and not enough time left off-duty for those that remain to indulge themselves much.”

“I predict further decrease in the amount of replicator rations used, both effective immediately and over a longer period of time.” Seven informed Janeway calmly, crossing her arms at the small of her back, unintentionally looking as the perfect poster-child for Starfleet.

“Why would that be?” Sam wanted to know while straightening the arm of Naomi’s clothing.

“Most replicator rations were regularly used to provide food as Mr Neelix cooking did not agree with many onboard. Ensign Celes’ cooking is likely to be found much more palatable, and there will be a noticeable decrease in replicator rations used for food among the remaining crew.” Tal Celes blushed predictably at the unexpected praise, then realised with wide eyes that she was still wearing her apron, and mumbled an apology before fleeing into the kitchen section.

Seven watched her go. “Captain, I would suggest allowing Ensign Celes to replicate a set of clothing to wear while cooking, so that her uniform will not be soiled.”

Janeway smiled. “If that is your recommendation, Seven, then make it so. It’s part of your duties now, too.”

B’Elanna smirked, amused. “Will you be calling her Number One now, as well?”

The hurt expression that passed over Seven’s face made B’Elanna want to bite off her tongue. What had she just said?

A small hand tugged on B’Elanna’s elbow, and looking down B’Elanna was met with the very serious face of young Mezoti. “I believe, Lieutenant, that Sev... that my mother... does not appreciate being called by the designation held by my eldest brother, as the reminder of his loss is quite painful for her.” Mezoti tilted her head and looked pointedly at B’Elanna. “I would appreciate it if you do not seek to further injure my mother, Lieutenant.”

B’Elanna blinked, then looked rather baffled at the other women present. “Uhh...” She shook her head slightly, then mumbled “I think I just got scolded by Seven Jr.”

Identical expressions of a raised eyebrow, or in Seven’s case, implant, met her from the newly minted mother and daughter, and it made B’Elanna smile a little.

“Little one...” B’Elanna began carefully, squatting down slightly to be on an eye level with the little girl. “I know it’s hard to understand and it might not be obvious to you, but I don’t want to hurt your mom. I’ve never really wanted to hurt your mom since she became part of this crew, and it wasn’t my intention to do that now... in fact I wish there was something I could do to make her not have to hurt so much right now. Do you understand?”

Mezoti pondered the information. “I am uncertain I fully comprehend what you mean, although I have some idea. I will give it some thought.” The child promised seriously, earning a grin and a pat on the head from B’Elanna.

Straightening up however B’Elanna realized that in wanting to be earnest enough with the child that Mezoti would know B’Elanna was telling the truth, she had forgotten that there were others listening as well... such as the owner of a pair of very wide and astonished blue eyes that B’Elanna found herself staring right into. Suddenly feeling herself blush rather strongly, B’Elanna tore her gaze away, only to be met by a very surprised but amused half-grin from Janeway and a knowing, suggestive smirk from Sam.

Groaning quietly to herself B’Elanna wished Q would come back and take her with him, right at that moment. Anything had to be better than this.

Janeway decided to take pity on her surprisingly blushing Engineer, and spoke up to get everyone’s attention. “Allright ladies... let’s get started.”

The ceremony itself was a blur to most, despite it being almost flippantly brief and informal. There was just too much raw emotion there for it to be otherwise, but necessity was a harsh taskmaster and the ceremony needed to be gotten out of the way as soon as possible.

Duties were reassigned, additional pips pinned to collars, and the new senior officers acknowledged in front of the watching crew. B’Elanna blinked a tear away as a duplicate of Chakotay’s Maquis insignia was pinned to her collar in place of her old one, then there was only one person left. The one that undoubtedly would come as the biggest surprise to those that watched through viewscreens and consoles.

B’Elanna imagined she could almost hear the surprised whispers from the ship around them as Seven stood tall in her new uniform while Janeway held a small speech to declare the young ex-Borg her new second-in-command. Then she pinned the sign of Seven’s new rank to the collar of the dark uniform, and B’Elanna strained to see what it was without turning her head to look.

For some reason, B’Elanna had expected Seven to be given a Maquis insignia, thinking that would be a way for Janeway to circumvent any possible future grief with Starfleet over her decision to elevate a former drone to the rank of Commander. But no.

What Janeway attached to Seven’s collar was the usual number of Starfleet pips, no deviation in design nor placement... the only thing that set them apart from Janeway’s own, besides the number, was that Seven’s new pips were made out of dark Borg metal, polished until they gleamed darkly against the black collar. It seemed odd yet strangely fitting, all at once, to B’Elanna, and she couldn’t help wondering who had thought up the idea. It didn’t quite seem like a thing Janeway herself would think of.

Janeway finished and stepped back, and Seven of Nine, formerly Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One, was now Commander and First Officer Seven of Nine of the Federation starship Voyager.

Well, B’Elanna found herself thinking, things would certainly get interesting from here on in.

---

If there were any voices raised in scepticism against Seven’s new position onboard the ship, they quietened quickly in the days that followed. Although Seven’s approach was often rather unorthodox, and her people skills no better than before, there was no doubt she was well equipped for the position.

The first days of transition had been understandably hard on everyone.

The first point of order, though not an official one, had been the relocation of quarters. Because of the lack of manpower, each of the reassigned women were required to clean out the previous tenants personal belongings and place them into long-term storage. It was a process that was not supervised in any way, and for most women it proved painful, even when the men in question had not been close personal friends.

For the senior officers, the relocation meant that suddenly Seven of Nine and her little daughter went from having no quarters at all to having Commander Chakotay’s former quarters, one of the largest and most luxurious onboard. It posed quite a problem for the former Borg, as not only would it take time to install alcoves for mother and child, indeed longer still if B’Elanna got her way and a new alcove could be designed that would be integrated into a bed, but also once Chakotay’s belongings had been cleared, mother and child had no possessions of their own to speak of nor any idea how to decorate living quarters.

It was then that Sam Wildman approached Seven with what would become a surprisingly close-knit group of women that would not only support one another in their new positions, but Seven as well. Sam, curiously taking over for Neelix as the unofficial Morale Officer, had gotten her new sidekick Tal, who clearly adored the other woman like an older sister, both the Delaney sisters, Jinx, and eventually even the still somewhat reclusive Marla Gilmore, together to help out with the relocations where needed. Under Sam’s supervision, and with Tal’s surprising understanding of her superior officer’s distaste for needless clutter, the group breezed in and, within moments, transformed the empty quarters into a home.

Sam herself had not changed quarters, since not only had the EMH not had quarters of his own, but Sam and Naomi already shared one of the largest living quarters aboard the ship, since they required a family residence. The Delaneys had also opted not to change quarters, even though there was no need for anyone to share quarters anymore... the newly appointed Astrometrics Officer and her sister just preferred to live together as they had always done. Still the Delaneys and Sam had started out helping Tal Celes moving into Neelix old quarters, neighbouring the Wildmans... it had been difficult for Sam, but together the four of them had cleaned out the curious belongings of the missing Talaxian, leaving some for Sam to bring home to her little girl.

Jinx had approached them with some questions regarding what to do with some of Tom Paris’ more eccentric possessions, and so the group of women had joined her in cleaning out the pigsty that the helmsman had left behind. As an attempt to reach out to their new fellow senior officer, the group had then located Marla where she was moving into Harry Kim’s old quarters, and helped her out. They approached U’Lanai to help her clear out Tuvok’s old quarters as well, but the tall Vulcan had declined, stating that there was very little of Tuvok’s personal belongings that she would put in storage, choosing instead to move into his quarters as they were. The group, save U’Lanai, then poured through the decks, helping out where they could during the times they were not on duty.

It didn’t take long before the Delta Quadrant threw the first obstacles Voyager’s way, and the still somewhat reeling crew ended up pulling through by the skin of their teeth and the ingenuity of their new First Officer. While not a big event on the Delta Quadrant scale, it turned ‘that Borg’ into ‘our Borg’... and that made all the difference.

Slowly routine made its way back into the lives onboard. Lost friends and lovers would be grieved for a long time still, but life moved on, and other things took priority in people’s minds.

Like Seven had predicted, Tal Celes’ cooking proved a great success, and faced with the enthusiasm of women who chose to forgo using the replicators for their meals in favour of her cuisine, even the young Bajoran grew comfortable in her new position. The surplus rations were occasionally used for more luxurious items for some, but more often than not, they were saved for some future occasion, leaving Voyager with an even bigger energy surplus than before.

This caused B’Elanna to have quite a few ideas for how to use the energy for the ship instead, and ended up with her and Seven spending many long nights in Seven’s quarters discussing changes and possible technology that they could make use of on the ship with the current conditions. Before she knew it, B’Elanna had gotten used to spending what free time she had in the company of Seven and Mezoti... and she liked it.

What B’Elanna was far less thrilled with was the prospect of adding so much Borg technology to her ship, especially the slave circuitry. But with the glaring lack of people to handle day-to-day details, slave circuitry seemed the only way to keep the remaining crew from getting overworked in no time. Still, with the adaptations Seven and B’Elanna worked out, the ship would not only run smoothly, but also quite a bit better than before, while easing the workload considerably providing everything worked as intended. The problem was that in order to implement the changes they needed a spacedock, and the nearest potentially friendly dock was some distance away. Until then the crew would just have to tough it out.

An important point of the agenda from the start had been the creation of a new EMH. However, Sam Wildman had so far excelled in her new position as CMO, so the parameters for the new hologram had been changed. Although it would still preferably be, like the doctor before it, a fully equipped medical hologram with the knowledge of the entire medical database at its disposal, Sam would remain the CMO for Voyager. It took time to create a viable EMH to satisfaction, and a lot of people were involved with the programming.

When the time came to activate the new EMH, Em as the hologram got dubbed by the crew, Seven and Janeway were present in Sickbay to commemorate the event. When Seven cocked a Borg eyebrow in Sam’s direction at the sight of the new EMH, Sam shrugged and informed her that the physical perimeters of the program had been co-created by the Delaneys and Jinx, and she herself had nothing to do with it. Janeway smirked and shook her head slightly, while the present medical assistant Tal Celes frowned somewhat disapprovingly.

Em looked mostly human, with shoulder length red hair, friendly eyes and an easy smile, though curiously enough with Vulcan ears and a Bajoran nose – but also rather young, well endowed and dressed in a copy of Seven’s uniform in medical teal. When asked, the three women responsible would smirk or giggle, and refuse to explain themselves... but whatever prurient thoughts involved in choosing Em’s outward appearance, it was soon forgotten in the face of the new medical hologram’s childlike innocence, in fact Em seemed to more easily relate to the children onboard than to adults. And the day she unexpectedly began to quietly sing snippets of the doctor’s favourite songs to herself as she worked it brought tears to the eyes of many women onboard.

Nearly a month passed before Voyager got into real trouble.

Two large Hirogen hunting ships, larger than the ones Voyager had encountered so far, swept out of nowhere, obviously hunting for Voyager itself. The battle that followed was intense, and Voyager made a good show of itself, crippling one of the ships before a final blast knocked out the Voyager’s shields.

The Hirogen had been prepared for that to happen, and within moments interior sensors warned that several very large parties had beamed aboard at various locations on the ship... but then something strange happened, the sensors noticed a brief flickering of multiple lifesigns at the indicated locations, then nothing.

Several long moments passed with furious activity onboard Voyager, then the sensors indicated a second wave of presumably Hirogen hunters beaming aboard... only to flicker into nothingness the moment they turned solid onboard Voyager.

Finally having an idea what happened, Janeway seized the opportunity to open channels to the Hirogen vessels, successfully bluffing them into leaving Voyager alone, limping on their way towards other prey instead. Undoubtedly it would take quite some time before another Hirogen vessel chose Voyager as its next prey, given the rather convincing speech Janeway had given about having a new superweapon onboard, and the large number of Hirogen lives lost attempting to board the ship.

It left the crew of Voyager grateful for the rescue, but also in a very sombre mood. Apparently no male creatures of any kind would be allowed aboard, and while it had been their salvation this time around, what it would mean for the future was anybody’s guess.


---unfinished----