Chapter Text
"Seven!" Janeway gasped as she dove out of the way of the former Borg drone. Her hair, tangled and grimy, hung limply in front of her face as she brushed the sweat out of her eyes.
Seven turned swiftly, eyes searching for Janeway in the dimly lit cell. Janeway inched backwards, silently trying to catch her breath. Her heart was beating too loudly in her chest to hide entirely from the former drone, but Janeway still tried to remain as quiet as possible. She moved silently away from Seven, clutching a sore spot on her arm. As she moved backwards, her palms collided with the rough surface of the rocky cell she and Seven found themselves in. Finding a tiny alcove amidst the rocks, Janeway tired to encase herself in it.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Janeway sucked in a breath, wedging herself into the alcove. She needed to catch her breath, she needed to take stock of her injuries, and she needed to get them out of here. She could hear Seven somewhere in the cavernous cell still searching for her, and a shudder went through Janeway involuntarily. Although all Starfleet captains were required to maintain peak physical condition, she was nowhere near a match for the former drone.
Janeway's arm throbbed where she had wrenched it from Seven's grasp some hours earlier, and the cut on her forehead had stopped bleeding a little while ago. Dehydration and sleep deprivation were both catching up with her, and her response times had become more sluggish as the hours progressed. She wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to hold out, but she needed to try.
Their captors were a powerful band of traveling collectors who were greatly displeased that Janeway would not trade Seven of Nine for expedited passage through their star system. Desiring Seven for her superior intellect, strength, and tactical knowledge of an extensive amount of cultures who had been assimilated, the Collectors had been quite forceful during negotiations trying to depart with Seven - even going so far as to try and beam her off Voyager. Janeway had thought she had eluded the Collectors when Tom warped them out of their sector of space, but little did she realize just how vindictive they could be. The collectors had allied themselves with the next sector of space, unbeknownst to the Voyager crew, and after a serious and intense struggle, Janeway and Seven had found themselves beamed off Voyager and onto the Collectors ship.
Janeway and Seven stumbled off the transporter platform and were quickly accosted by the security detail of the Collectors ship. They were brought to what could only be described as a throne room of sorts.
"Well, well, well," the leader of the Collectors smiled, sauntering down the steps of the throne to where Janeway and Seven stood. "I told you before, Captain, I do have my ways," he said smiling brightly at Janeway.
"You won't be able to get away with this," Janeway said angrily, struggling to no avail against the security detail detaining her. "Seven is not up for trade. Not now, not ever."
But the leader just laughed. "You see, Captain, that's where you're wrong." He came to stand inside Janeway's space and sneered sinisterly down at her. "And for your unwillingness to see reason, you too can play a role in our demonstration."
"Demonstration?" Janeway asked, a sense of foreboding building within her.
"Yes, a demonstration," the leader purred, turning to stroke Seven's cheek. She flinched and pulled away as he just chuckled. "We already have a group interested in conscripting Seven for her tactical abilities...and her ability to be controlled."
At this proclamation, both Janeway and Seven looked incredulous. "You cannot control me," Seven stated indignant, "and I refuse to work with you," she snarled angrily, trying to break free from their captors.
"that is what you think," the leader said turning to look back at Janeway. "But she'll have no choice. As a former drone, her implants can be programmed to carry out any tactical operation we see fit, and turning on her own Captain...one who fought so valiantly for her will be just the demonstration needed to seal our contract."
At his explanation, Janeway and Seven lunged at him.
"I will never turn on my Captain," Seven snarled at the same time Janeway yelled "You can't do this! She is an individual!"
But their struggle was for naught, as the hiss of a hypo spray could be heard against both of their necks, and the sensation of grogginess crept up on both Seven and Janeway. As they slowly sank to the ground, the last thing Janeway saw was Seven being dragged away.