章節 100: The Killing Games, part 3
A few long hours later, the holo-decks were shut down, most of the Hirogen were off the ship, and a skeleton crew was working on repairs while the majority of the Voyager crew was off-duty to recover. Karr and Turanj stayed onboard along with another dozen Hirogen to ensure that I keep my word as well as discuss exactly what they wanted for their facility, but that would happen after I talked with Janeway.
Speaking of talking with Janeway, after things had been temporarily settled, she followed me back to the Fae Dragon while the rest of my group decided to help with repairs. We headed for the second floor, and I grabbed a bottle of Spirit Wine before joining her on the couches. I poured us both a drink and passed hers over to her.
"Thanks... for everything," Janeway sighed before taking a sip of her drink.
"Meh... it was nothing, just utilizing the element of surprise. I'm actually disappointed that we ended it all so easily since I wasn't able to take out any stress on the Hirogen," I complained with a soft grumble.
"Raven?" Janeway asked, realizing that she had not seen her or heard me speak of her.
I swallowed my drink in a single gulp and poured myself another one as I replied, "We had her... she was in Echo's arms after she sedated her, but when we found her, we also found a powerful artifact that has a host of abilities from our past, though we had only discovered a few of the uses. One of those said abilities is to pull a person from anywhere in the galaxy with a unique code to whichever artifact that it is input. She was taken away from us, likely by the Borg Queen, but it doesn't matter since she's still gone. We took the artifact that we found on the planet with her, but without the proper code, it's a waste of space for anyone but Katye who studied the Anomaly Stones for over ten years in our past world."
"I'm so sorry," Janeway said sympathetically.
"It is what it is," I sighed before finishing my second drink. "I'm sorry for you... If we had never left, things with the Hirogen would have been a lot different. I'm not sure if things would have been better, but at least you wouldn't have had to face it alone."
"You knew that this would happen, could happen, didn't you? Seven's modification to her ocular implant modification was the main reason why we were able to keep the Hirogen back until you reached us."
"I knew it was a possibility, but it was Katye's idea to figure out the Borg modifications to make Seven more helpful. Unfortunately, this isn't the only time that the holo-deck played the main staging ground of one of my visions, so it's better to have any advantage that we can think of," I replied with a shrug, pouring myself another drink.
"Do you know how annoying it is to have someone who knows the 'future' yet won't tell you?" Janeway asked with a smirk after finishing her drink, then placed her cup down for a refill.
"Not exactly, but I've driven nearly a dozen people crazy during our time on our last world as we tried to make a future for our people, so I can recognize the signs," I chuckled. "You are still below Kane's and Abby's level before Priamfaya, even with this problem with the Hirogen, so you'll manage."
"Priamfaya?" Janeway asked.
"It is what the population called the 'end of the world' through nuclear fire. That world had been destroyed long before Katye and I entered it, but conveniently, the second coming of it was less than a year into our time in the dimension. Both of us were overloaded with images of the future and all of the struggles that those closest to us would have to face, so we tried to make things better. At first, it seemed like we did overall, but the Final War still came, and we lost, which resulted in losing everyone that we were close to aside from Raven and Echo. That's why I always warn you, and keep what I can from you, about the future. Our powers are helpful, but they can't solve the struggles that are part of living a full life. Some things can't be avoided no matter how much you want to."
While I spoke, I filled Janeway's cup and let my words sit with her. She took a sip and closed her eyes. "So... How did you manage this stalemate with the Hirogen?"
"I promised Karr the holo-deck technology, and he went a step further, saying that we would help with designs for a large facility."
"Rebecca, the Prime Directive..." Janeway started.
"If you'd like to go back to being tortured for sport, be my guest, but I think the crew deserves the choice of a quick, painless death or the long drawn-out one that I just saved you all from," I growled.
Janeway sighed with annoyance, but did not continue to argue.
"I know that it's a violation of the Prime Directive, but it's also the only way to save Voyager as well as the same decision that you made in my vision. What Karr wants to do with the technology is make a new future for his people, where they simulate the Hunt. Currently, the Hirogen people are spread out through the quadrant, chasing their prey and isolating themselves during the solitary pursuit. If they keep to their habits, they will Hunt themselves into extinction. Karr wants to create something that can reunite his people and save them from themselves, before it's too late. There are also the countless lives that will be saved while they hunt holograms instead of organics," I explained.
She sighed again, but this time with understanding. Taking another sip of her drink, she leaned back against the couch and agreed, "Fine, I'll have B'Elanna sit down with the Hirogens to figure out what they want. Could you spare L'Naan? She's just as good of an Engineer as B'Elanna and I won't feel like I need to have security officers posted if she is there."
"Of course, though I would like to ask for a few days off for L'Naan and me, only after the Hirogen leave. With how things ended up with Raven, some problems have risen between us and we need to sort them out sooner rather than later," I requested.
"That should be fine. Is it anything serious with L'Naan?"
"It depends… she's the newest 'member' of our group, so she is still getting used to what comes along with being a Vazukuru. She didn't have the twelve years with Katye and I that Echo and Raven had before coming here, yet she is what she is because of us," I explained as best as I could while staying in line with what I had told her and whatever background was created for her after Sancu's last game; it was surprising how good I had gotten at these minor lies that I wove with the truth.
"How did you meet her then?" Janeway could not help but ask.
I chuckled and finished my drink before saying, "That unfortunately will only be a story for you if you join my crew."
She smirked but did not push the subject. We talked a while longer about different things, mostly confined to the subject of Voyager, and had several more drinks. When she was finally ready to leave, I had to dispel most of the effects of the alcohol before she left the ship. For a moment, while I had a hand on her skin as I purified her bloodstream, she looked me in the eyes, and I could swear that I saw a hint of desire, but it might have been my own dreams making me think so.
She left with a simple goodbye which left me alone, yet again. While I should have gotten used to it by now, I could not help but feel restless with no specific 'task' to do. Training with Fae was helpful, yet limited, while the holo-decks were down for the next week or two, best case scenario.
Without anything better to do, I started drawing up plans for the Hirogen holo-deck facility. Once upon a time, I was an architect... well, drafter for an architectural firm, with several years of college experience, so I did enjoy coming up with new creations. Using Fae's systems and my mana to supply the costs, it was not hard to design a space station, as they had used in the show, with a large 'hunting ground' for the Hirogen. I did not stop there and even designed a system that could be set up on an M-class world and built up over time since I never understood why they would want to have a space station when a planet could work much easier and become much larger.
L'Naan and Echo did not come back to the ship for the first day as both worked multiple shifts so that an extra member of the Voyager crew could rest. Katye also worked late, helping the Doctor and Danara check over the members of the crew for any underlining injuries, but she did come back around dinner time, so we ate together. The next day, I joined the meeting with Karr and showed him my designs, impressing him and even B'Elanna. He wanted some minor changes, of course, but nothing that took more than an hour to resolve. Along with the designs, he requested some complex holographic characters to use as templates for their future 'prey' which B'Elanna created by the end of the day. With everything that he wanted in his hands, I almost expected Karr to betray us, but he kept his word, and the Hirogen armada that had been surrounding Voyager left peacefully.
Although I wanted L'Naan to start going through my memories of what I had been through when I first entered Tori's twisted training, I had something else to do first now that things had calmed down on Voyager. I made my way to Cargo Bay Two, which was empty as Seven was helping with repairs most likely and headed to my alcove. The regeneration cycle started, and I opened my eyes in Unimatrix Zero.
Before I could take a step forward, a white portal opened in front of me, and Raven ran through. Without any hesitation, she leapt into my arms, and I caught her, of course. Her arms snaked around my neck as she kissed me passionately. I returned her kiss while also suppressing the sadness in my heart since we were still separated despite this moment.
"Where have you been? It's been over a month since you and Echo have regenerated. I was starting to get worried," Raven asked when she finally broke our kiss.
"I'm sorry that we didn't tell you, but Echo's favor was a chance to save you, or so Sancu claimed, but obviously, he doesn't play fair. The Anomaly Stones are here in the Voyager universe and someone, probably the Queen, yanked you away from us when we captured you. He promised us that you'd be safe from the Call of the Collective for two years in return, but..." I explained with a sigh.
Surprisingly, she pushed out of my embrace and said, "Good, it's too early for me to come back."
"What?" I could not help but ask with confusion.
"It's not like I don't want to be with you and the others, but I need to stay here and with the Collective," she sighed.
"Why?"
"Because, if she wants the Legacy that Istar has prepared for her, she needs to break the Queen's hold on her by herself," Susanna explained, appearing near them.
"Legacy?" I asked, looking between both of them.
"A wealth of Soul Power, Mental Power, and a powerful bloodline that fits with Raven's affinities, but to be able to handle it all, her Will needs to be strong enough to overcome the Borg Queen."
"With it, I can match up with you and Katye, for a time at least before I need to rely on my personal training to advance," Raven added.
I sighed, knowing that Raven had long made up her mind about this, but I could not help but ask, "You know that Seven still has all of her memories from her time with the Borg? You don't even know what 'she' is doing to you, what things 'you' are seeing, doing... Those memories will eat at you."
"And yours don't?" she replied, knowing full well that I used to wake up to nightmares of the battle against Iseto's army before my dreams became Dystina's memories. "We all make sacrifices to grow and choices that we wished that we did not have to make... You already saved me from a crippling injury and watching my friends die terrible deaths. As thankful as I am for that… we all know that my Will is the weakest of our group because you've shielded me from the worst of our past. It's not the first time that flaw has been exploited, but if I can do this, it could be the last without a major gap in strength."
Raven gave me a sad smile, silently asking if I understood and accepted her decision. While I still wanted nothing more than to protect and keep her at my side, I also knew that she was right and I was stunting her growth by not letting her take things head on, on her own. Her being away from me was the only way to truly prevent my overprotective nature from doing more harm than good.
"I swear, you are just as bad as Katye… I can never win an argument against you," I replied with a weak smirk.
Her smile brightened at my words and she moved closer to me. I tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear before I leaned in and kissed her. When we broke our kiss, we rested our foreheads together and stayed like that for awhile, enjoying the closeness that we both had been missing.
"I love you," I said softly.
"I love you too," Raven replied.
A/N: Hey, Readers! Will you guys let me know if you feel like the story is dragging? I've recently lost one of my readers who started with my first story who said the story was dragging too much, so I was wondering if it really is, or if he is not much of a Star Trek fan, as the 100 was more 'action packed'? Thanks for your input!
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