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!open rp

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OPEN RP POST

✔ Comment with one of your muses.
✔ Choose one of my muses from this list!
✔ Set up a scene or prompt (song lyrics, a photo, a quote, etc) or leave it for me to decide. { plot punter | other wordly | visualosities }
✔ Profit!

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[ A damaged ship, a rogue transwarp conduit and it’s the Delta quadrant all over again. There’s something familiar, something wrong about the stars when she drops back into normal space, peering out of the cracked windows, forcefields keeping life support in place. It’s certainly a corner of the universe Seven never expected to find herself in again, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, years as a drone somehow managing to keep the panic from spiking. Sending out a distress call is risky but there are few options; her ship isn’t large enough for an escape pod and the computer keeps reminding her there are 13.43 hours of oxygen remaining. She almost wishes she were in a cube; at least her resources would be nearly limitless.

But fate, if it exists, seems to have different plans in store for her.

Voyager’s shadow easily envelops her little flyer, awed and shocked as her distress signal is answered, Tuvok’s familiar cadence on the other end. It’s audio only, the sights and sounds of home nearly overwhelming her before she can find her balance again. The bridge is understandably mistrustful but her ship is Starfleet-made and it’s enough to convince the Captain (the Captain — she hasn’t seen her Janeway in too long) to beam her on board, security in place to meet her.

And there she is again, safe and sound and still very far from where she is meant to be, met in transporter room three by Janeway herself, flanked by Tuvok and Harry Kim. Seven’s mouth quirks up at one corner, wondering, of course, if her past self is here, if they’ve met yet, if any of these people she knows as her family know her. ]

Greetings. Do... you know me, Captain?

[ This definitely isn't a turn of events Janeway saw coming. Granted, that seems to be the eternal theme in the Delta Quadrant - expect the unexpected, but that is easier said than done. There's no way to prepare for the unexpected, even when you know it's coming.

A Starfleet ship in the middle of the Delta Quadrant is suspect enough, but there are a few other bits and pieces Harry and Tuvok quickly honed into. Anomalous temporal readings, for one, and the fact that the ship's signature wasn't... quite right. When Tuvok scanned the ship and found traces of Borg technology, that had been enough to get Kathryn's heart pumping. She and Chakotay quickly came to an agreement with wordless head-tilts and nods, and she was at the transporter room door in what felt like a timeless frenzy. She took a deep breath before she entered, clearing her mind. Expect the unexpected, she reminded herself.

So, somehow, she isn't nearly as surprised as she feels like she should be when she walks through the door. ]

I believe I do.

[ Her words hang in the air, and she can feel Harry's anxiety radiating off of him like a suffocating mist. It's distracting. But looking back at this... woman, well, that isn't helping, either. She's obviously Seven, but not her Seven. Not the one who is currently holed up in Astrometrics, being prickly and aloof and, hopefully, entirely oblivious to what's happening in the transporter room. It's not just the way she's dressed or the fact that she looks a little older. She holds herself in a different way. Kathryn likes to think she knows Seven well enough to pick up on that. ]

Report back to your stations. [ She turns to look at Harry. ] And not a word to anyone about this. Understood?

[ Harry doesn't seem to need any encouragement to agree and skitter out. Tuvok isn't as eager, but he leaves too, and once the room has cleared, Kathryn gestures to the door silently. She doesn't say a word as she quickly escorts Seven to sickbay, taking a few roundabout ways to avoid any high traffic areas. Once they reach sickbay, she secures the door to make sure no one barges in on them and gestures to one of the beds. ]

Take a seat. [ Her tone is soft, but not exactly welcoming. ] And tell me what you're doing on my ship.

[ Everything is so blindly familiar that it nearly overloads her optical sensors, her human emotions, the desire to clasp hands with Tuvok, to shake Harry’s hand, to envelop Janeway in her arms (they haven’t always been physically affectionate but a hug every now and again has been more commonplace than not.) Seven’s years in Starfleet, most of which were spent on Voyager, on this ship, her first true home after the Borg have taught her the proper protocol here, so she nods silently and follows the captain without question, straight to sickbay. It’s instinct to glance around for the Doctor but for now, it’s only the two of them, and likely, it’s better this way. ]

I am not entirely aware of the changes the transwarp flux may have induced but I believe, from my initial observations, that I have merely traveled backwards in time and not to another reality different from my own. It would seem that I am... indeed the Seven of Nine that you know, but from the future, Captain. [ Respectful still, always, although she declines to sit down, not holding her arms behind her back in her once customary fashion but loose at her sides, doing her best to look non threatening. ]

I am certain it is difficult to believe but if you run the proper biological scans, I believe they will concur with my hypothesis. [ Seven finally pauses, shifting not uncomfortably but oddly, not entirely knowing how to process this, this place that made her the woman she is today. She holds Janeway’s gaze, her expression softening, easing into something near imploring. ]

It is me, Captain. Older and... changed, I would assume, but you do know me.

[ This is difficult for Kathryn, too. Her first instinct with Seven is to always reach out, to offer comfort and the promise of safety. She'd taken on the responsibility to protect Seven since she severed her from the Collective, and a few years and some distance is not easily going to sway that.

But right now, she needs to keep her head clear and not let her emotions dictate her behavior. With both Sevens on this ship, she has to tread lightly. ]

I'm hesitant to make any sweeping judgments about what reality you've ended up in. I think you'll agree that our experiences here aren't always as clear cut. [ Another reality, a fractured duplication, a new entity that was able to adopt Seven's image, personality, memories, even without knowing... There is no way to make the call without more information.

But Kathryn is already thinking of Seven's suggestion before the makes it, tricorder in hand as she scans her. She runs it over her optical node and makes a few adjustments before she moves to a panel to pull up Seven's medical record to compare the two. She doesn't have to examine it long to get the gist. Besides age, of course, all the readings are identical.

With that out of the way, she faces Seven, leaning against the terminal and looking at her thoughtfully, but not without wariness. ]

Was this deliberate? Please don't tell me you've come back to avert yet another disaster on Voyager.

[ They’re probably a little closer to the same age now, an odd thought Seven considers as they look each other over, Janeway momentarily satisfied by the tricorder readings. Her hair is still that vibrant auburn, no hint of gray at her temples, no lines in her face, and even if she isn’t as openly welcoming as she’s accustomed to seeing her (Seven understands why, given the circumstances) this is who she remembers when she’d first come out of the fog of the Collective into the harsh, lonely reality of individualism. Seven’s own expression is likely softer than she’s used to seeing on her past self’s face and she shakes her head once in response. ]

No. I do not think it is a coincidence that I am here but it was not intentional, Captain. I was... perhaps unwisely experimenting with short range transwarp conduits and my calculations were clearly incorrect. [ Technically a Borg queen for a few minutes aboard the Artifact, Seven had been plugged back into the smallest fraction of the Collective for the first time in decades, and with that had come some valuable knowledge.

She has just as many questions as Janeway likely does, crossing her arms over her chest, trying to parse where to begin. ]

I am uncertain whether my presence will tamper with my future or yours. Since you are acquainted with me, I can assume I am aboard Voyager at this moment? [ Another strange thought, her younger, less controlled, more erratic self somewhere near by, still trying to find her footing, trying to understand what it means to be human. But truth be told, Seven still spends her days attempting to understand what that means. ]

[ The corner of Kathryn's mouth tugs into something akin to a smile. She's not surprised. If anything, she's a little proud. To know that Seven is still out there, causing trouble and getting into things she shouldn't... It's a nice thought, actually. ]

You are. [ She pushes herself off the console and takes a step closer to her, tilting her head thoughtfully. ] Right now, I think you're in Astrometrics. Probably unwisely experimenting with something else you shouldn't be.

[ She has so many questions, and most of them are ones she knows better than to ask. Not that she's ever held the Temporal Prime Directive to a high degree. Mostly because she'd just prefer not to put too much thought into it. ]

You look good. [ It's all she can think of, but it doesn't seem like enough. But Seven standing here, years from the future, looking healthy and whole and somewhat, dare she think it, relaxed, is something she could have never dreamed of. For a moment, she feels a weight lift from her shoulders that she's forgotten she's been carrying. ] You have a Starfleet shuttle. Which makes me believe things for Voyager will start to look up. [ She holds up her hand briefly, staying Seven from interjecting. ] I know you can't tell me specifics. But I'm not going to lie and say I'm not extremely curious as to how you've ended up here.

Truthfully, I wish to tell you everything. [ And she means it, wanting nothing more than to reach for her captain’s hand (Kathryn Janeway will always be her captain, and so much more) and tell her how bright her future remains, that all isn’t lost. Her expression is noticeably soft when she looks over Janeway now, forgetting for a few long moments everything she’s just left behind in the Alpha Quadrant, losing Hugh, Icheb before that, the hodgepodge little crew Picard had scrambled together for the better.

The Seven of Nine Janeway knows now, the one down in Astrometrics was never keen on returning to Earth and even now she still prefers space over solid ground. ] I suspect you already know it, but you have reason to hope, Captain, for yourself and Voyager’s crew. And I... while these circumstances are far from ideal, I am very pleased to see you.

[ There is no one in the universe Seven owes more to, feels more gratitude towards, her found family, her learned individuality. It’s the woman who stands before her now who’d made the decision to sever her from the Collective, to give her a new life, to make her a person again, as resistant to it as she initially was. Clearing her throat and focusing, she arches one brow, still so characteristically Seven. ]

Currently, I technically no longer serve in Starfleet, although I recently assisted an admiral with a specific mission. I am part of an organization that patrols and secures an unstable sector of the quadrant. [ Janeway doesn’t need to know the details behind the Fenris Rangers, but there are a few details about her mission with Picard that are impossible to side step, considering her current situation. ]

During the mission, I was aboard a Borg cube, severed from the Collective for some time. I was, for a short time, re-connected to the Borg remaining on that vessel. [ A pause here — this was kind of a big deal. ] I acquired the knowledge needed to form a transwarp conduit, or at least, I believed such. It would seem I require more information.

You were connected to the Collective again?

[ It's telling, that that is the first thing she hones in on. It's not that she's oblivious to the more pertinent information Seven has offered--she might have found a way to create a transwarp coil, a concept that is pretty relevant to Voyager's specific problem--but her concern overpowers that for the moment. ]

How could an entire Borg cube be disconnected from the Collective? And why would you re-connect to it? [ Janeway has tried so hard to never put her through that again. Maybe the most important fact was that she was able to escape again, but that still doesn't mean Kathryn is thrilled with the idea. ] I have to admit, that's the last thing I would have wanted for you.

It was reclaimed by the Romulans and was used for research as well as re-integrating the former Borg drones back into society. The damage the Romulan ship it was attempting to assimilate inflicted severed the link to the Collective. There was... a coup, of sorts aboard and I connected to the cube in an attempt to take it back. [ Seven can see the concern written clearly across Janeway’s face, layered in the tone of her voice, grateful for it even after all this time; it must be a strange, alarming piece of information for the woman who’d rescued her from the Borg to begin with to hear. This time, she does each other, tentative and polite but still familiar when she briefly touches Janeway’s arm, metal fingertips gentle against the sleeve of her uniform. ]

I am... well. I promise. It was only a small number of drones and I was under a very strong impression that the cube’s submatrix did not wish to reassimilate me. My uniqueness, in this particular case, was to my benefit. [ She’s only had a nightmare or two since, which truthfully Seven counts as a win. ]

In any case, the knowledge gained was worth the risk, both at the time and currently. Perhaps I can assist Voyager differently than... the version of myself already aboard.

[ Kathryn glances down at Seven's touch and finds herself comforted by it. To see her now, and to know whatever happens in the future has not changed anything between them--in fact, time seems to have stoked the affection between them rather than mitigate it--warms her. While Janeway loves every member of her crew, she's always felt a certain way about Seven. Voyager liberated her from the Borg, taught her to embrace her humanity and grow as an individual. While Kathryn acknowledges it as a group effort, she's still always felt loyalty and responsibility to Seven. She's gone to great lengths to secure that.

Raising her hand, she places it gently over Seven's hand and squeezes. ]

It seems like your separation from the Collective may have set a precedent.

[ An entire Borg cube liberated and reintegrated into society? No one in Janeway's timeline could even fathom it. Of course, no one but Janeway had any faith in rehabilitating Seven in the beginning, either. ]

You think you could use your knowledge obtained from your brief link to the Borg to build a transwarp conduit and get Voyager home?

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